EXPLANATIONS
by Kathryn. D. Green
NOTE: This story is a sequel to the flashback sequences of Zorro: The Legend Begins.
Don Diego smiled approvingly as he scanned Felipe's lessons from previous months. Don Alejandro had collected them for him, since Diego intended to take over the boy's lessons. A lump arose in the caballero's throat as he thought again of his father and Victoria Escalante, and how nearly he had lost them to the new alcalde's cruelty. A half-hour earlier, the elderly caballero had made a trip into town to run some errands, leaving Diego and Felipe alone in the library. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the boy leaning forward on the satin-brocade couch, keeping a steady gaze on Don Diego.
I had to save them, he thought. I had no choice. I had to become what the government will call an outlaw, to save innocent men from an unjust hanging. Diego sighed.
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he gazed at Felipe. "My father has taught you well." He set the sheaf of parchments on the table. "And you have applied yourself diligently to your lessons." Felipe smiled his appreciation. Diego glanced down at the parchments. "I'll put together a lesson plan tonight, and begin your lessons tomorrow. The need to rescue my father and Señorita Escalante has made it impossible to do anything else, but now that things are quiet, I'll have time to start tutoring you." Felipe nodded.
Don Diego smiled. "As I promised you the day I left for Spain, my friend, I'm going to teach you everything I know. Señor Spencer has prepared you well for my teaching. He taught you astronomy, the earth's history, and biology; I'm going to teach you the physical sciences." Felipe nodded his acquiescence. The de la Vegas had already told the boy that Señor Spencer was going to devote his full attention, henceforth, to the young caballero he'd been hired to teach. His days of coming to the de la Vega hacienda in the evenings to teach Felipe science were over.
Don Diego sat back in his chair. The same events had forced him to put on hold a question that had been nagging at him ever since he had learned that Felipe could hear. The servant boy fidgeted, an uneasy expression clouding his face.
Diego gazed at him for a long moment. "Felipe, I have a question for you. I want you to answer me honestly, all right?" Felipe nodded. "How did you regain your hearing? And when did it happen?"
Felipe gestured so fast Don Diego held up his hand to slow the boy down. "Start over," the handsome young don ordered. Taking a deep breath, Felipe obeyed. As he slowly signed his answers, Don Diego watched him closely.
"A few months before my return?" Felipe nodded. "Your accident restored your hearing?" Felipe nodded.
Don Diego shook his head in amazement. He had already known about the day Felipe and his Shetland pony had fallen off a cliff. Don Alejandro had told him about it the day of his return. Felipe had still been in convalescence at that time; a week later, he had resumed his lighter tasks on a part-time basis. Two weeks afterward, the events leading to the birth of Zorro had taken place.
"You're fortunate that fall didn't kill you," he said quietly. Felipe nodded. "I know you won't go near that cliff again, so I won't say anything more on the subject." Felipe nodded again. "Your hearing is a miracle, my friend. A true miracle." The boy smiled in agreement.
Don Diego paused. "Felipe, now that we have a way to contain the alcalde, my father and I have decided to lift the ban on your going to town. You will attend Mass and confession once more there, and run errands for us as you did before the new alcalde arrived."
Felipe's brown eyes shone with joy. He wiggled, then leaned back. He looks like a person who's had a heavy burden lifted, Don Diego thought ruefully. That ban must have been quite hard on him.
The two sat silently for a few minutes. Once, Diego glanced at his piano; in that instant, an idea came to him. "Felipe, tell me. Has my father played the piano since your accident?" The young boy shook his head. "Have you ever heard anyone play one?" Felipe shook his head again, a rueful smile on his face.
Chuckling, Diego rose to his feet. "Come with me." Felipe followed his patrón to the ebony piano that stood near the dining room. The caballero sat down on the piano bench and stretched out his fingers. Felipe leaned against the side and held his breath.
A musical sound startled the boy; he started. Diego laughed at the boy's reaction. "You've just heard your first piano music."
Without another word, he played a romantic ballad. Felipe stood motionless until Diego finished.
Diego leaned back for a long moment. "Felipe, my father has taught you to appreciate art." The boy nodded. "It occurs to me that some lessons in music appreciation are in order, as well. Therefore, I'm going to add the study of music to your curriculum. Come with me."
He led the boy into the secret cave, now used as Zorro's hideout. Already, he had arranged a few tables and chairs in there; Zorro's costume hung from a coat rack. Diego picked up a miniature table-top piano.
"A friend of mine gave it to me when my father called me home," he explained. "It was a going-home present. Until today, I didn't know what I was going to do with it; now I do." Felipe stared at him in evident puzzlement.
Diego laid a hand on the boy's shoulder. "I'm going to teach you to play the piano and the guitar," he said. "I will also teach you about the history of music and of the great European composers. You will be an apt student, I know, since you have an innate sense of rhythm. Your art lessons will continue as they have." Felipe nodded his acquiescence.
Diego gazed around the room. "Since we've decided to keep your hearing a secret, Felipe, we will have your music lessons in here. Your fencing lessons, too, when the time comes. I've ordered some practice foils and epees for your lessons in swordsmanship; they'll arrive in a few months. In the meantime, we will commence with your other lessons." He tapped the table. "Have a seat, my friend, and I will give you a piano lesson now. Later, I will give you your first lesson in playing the guitar."
Obediently, Felipe pulled out the chair and perched at the table. Diego set the tiny piano in front of him, then bent over the boy's shoulder to instruct him in his first music lesson.
THE END