The Velvet Swan (Disney's Zorro Fanfiction)

Chapter Twelve

Once Zorro, Alejandro and Bernardo fought off the last few of the Velvet Swan's men, they hurried back over to where Zorro had left Rosa, only to find that she was missing. "Where did the young girl go off to?" Alejandro wondered.

Zorro and Bernardo exchanged worried glances before going and searching the premises for her. Zorro had to catch himself a few times when he was about to call her name. He quickly said, "Miss, where are you? Do not play games!"

After about ten minutes of search, Bernardo came running up to him, waving Rosa's white hat in the air. He frantically signed a few things, but it was much too fast for Zorro to translate. "Take me to where you found it," he told his friend quietly.

Bernardo led him up the hill to the very spot he found it. Zorro saw a gun strewn by a boulder and the dirt was disturbed as if two people wrestled a bit. His heart sank. Rosa must have come up here to fight off someone and got captured in the process. He kicked the dirt and let out an angry groan. "Bernardo, how could I be so stupid as to let her get caught up in all this? Taking her with me that night only made things worse."

Before Bernardo could reply, Alejandro came hiking up the hill. "I see you found her hat."

Zorro sat on the edge of the boulder in defeat. "They took her."

Patting Zorro's shoulder comfortingly, Alejandro said, "Do not worry, el Zorro. I know of a surety that the Velvet Swan had no intentions of harming her. I will ride out to Jose Sanchez and recruit him while you ride ahead to Monterey where I am sure the Velvet Swan will be hiding her. If I have more men willing to help me stop the Velvet Swan and find your friend, we will have a greater chance of gaining Senor Hernandez's assistance."

 "Yes, you are right," Zorro nodded, getting back to his feet. "She is clever, so if she thought the Velvet Swan's base was in Monterey, then that is where we must look first."

"That's the spirit," Alejandro smiled triumphantly. "Take Bernardo with you. After I have recruited more help, I will meet you in Monterey. Hopefully I will be able to find my son as well."

Nodding gratefully, Zorro and his friend rushed down to the horses and hurried away. Now that the Velvet Swan had Rosa, they most likely would not focus so much on Zorro and his group, perhaps believing that they did not know where they were. However, the Velvet Swan was much smarter than most, so he would probably have some defenses set up at certain points, just in case.

~oOo~

I was trying to be patient, but as the sun rose in the sky, I began to panic. The fact that I was in the clutches of the Velvet Swan and there was no longer anywhere to run was beginning to settle in. I was stuck here. Zorro would probably try to find me, but there was no way he could fight off all of these men. No doubt the Velvet Swan had hundreds of his minions roaming around the place.

At least the pain in my head was fading, although, I would have a nasty bump on the back of my head for quite some time.

The door to this dreadfully small room swung open, my heart stopping. For a moment I thought it was the Velvet Swan again, but let out a small sigh of relief to see it was just Maria. She was carrying a tray with a glass of water and a bowl of some kind of soup. "Morning."

"Fattening me up like a pig?" I inquired with a raised eyebrow.

She shook her head, not finding my snide remark very funny. "This is hardly enough to fatten anyone up, I dare say." Setting the tray on the nightstand, she went back to close the door, pausing a moment before turning back to me. "Rosa... I cannot bare to have you locked up in here all the time. I know not why my father wants to keep you here, but I do know that it is very wrong."