'Escuella' - A Javier Escuella x Reader story

Chapter 1

You don't know how it happened. After all, it happened so fast that it was nothing but a blur. But, somehow, you were stuck. Stuck in a cold, dark place, nothing but the sound of drunken men's cackling just outside the door.

You take it you were their hostage, it's not like you're bound by ropes but the silhouette of a chair cast by their bonfire was visible from the crack beneath the door.

A fire.
You want to go home, but you needed warmth more.

They stripped you of whatever clothes you were wearing that day, leaving you in your undergarments and corset. Luckily enough, no funny business was had, it was more of a...safety protocol...you didn't make the kidnapping too easy for them so they felt it fit to ensure you were nothing but vulnerable and unarmed.

Which of course you were. You were the only daughter of a 'civilised' man who hated gunslingers, especially woman ones.

"Hey, who's that?"  You hear one of the men say before their party fell dead silent. Only crickets now.
"How many have you had? There's nobody."
"No. I was sure I saw someone."
"It was probably an animal."
With no certainty in their words, they stayed cautious. Silent as night until the blood curdling sound of guns being fired brought you to tears, followed by deathly gurgling as if someone was choking on their own blood.

"He ain't here." A different voice says. It was deep and raspy but still scary.
"I-i-I'm sorry, I thought he was! I swear!"  Says another.
"It was a set-up."
"No! It wasn't! I-i saved your life!"
"That's true, Arthur."
"I know that Colm likes to keep money hidden inside fireplaces! Big bouts too! It's all yours!"
"Bill, circle the place and make sure we got all of them. Javier, go see what this fool is on about and check the fireplace."
"On it."

Heavy footsteps neared the cabin, spurs a-rattling. The door slowly creaks open and shortly after came the glistening barrel of a revolver slithering through the door first.

The fear coursing through your veins caused your heart to race and a lump in your throat to form.
This is it. You thought.

You did what you always did when you were afraid. You curled yourself up into a ball, squeezed your eyes shut and covered your ears. It worked when you were little. In thunderstorms and arguments but not nearly enough now.

"Hey! There's someone in here!"

Your body tensed more as tears finally began to fall again. Your eyes remained shut and your hands stay hugging your ears but the bloodthirsty footsteps of the other two men were so terrifying, it simply wasn't enough.

"It's just a...girl?"
"You think she's one of them?" You hear one say, followed by the reload of a gun.
"Oh, for heavens sake idiota! Can't you see she's scared?" A Mexican sounding man responds, shoving the others gun away. "Miss?"

He kneels down in front of you, the kindness in this one's voice made you feel at home again. Like a long time friend or maybe you were being stupid and delusional, only purely hoping for the best.

"Hey..." He softly says as you open your eyes, slowly moving his hands towards your own but retracts them once you flinch. He bites his tongue and grits his teeth as his eyes drift from yours and down, noticing your garments, or lack thereof.
In one quick motion, he pulls his poncho off, wrapping it around you and you gladly take it.
"You'll have to excuse my friend here." He begins, "He never has had any manners, clearly doesn't encounter much women either."

"Kieran!" The quieter one shouts and in runs a rather clumsy looking one. "She one of yours?"
"Definitely not..."
"Then we'll take her with us."

The one knelt down in front of you holds his hand out towards yours as his other wraps around your waist, pulling you up into his side.
"You okay?" He asks, earning himself a silent nod in exchange. "I'm Javier by the way...the fat brute is Bill, the charming one next to him is Arthur and the skinny nag is Kieran. He was like you, you know."
Javier feels your body ease against his, happy with himself because of it. He decided it was probably for the best if he left out the part where they strapped him to a tree for a few days, starved and almost castrated.

"Psh! Except I wasn't so lucky-"
"O'Driscoll..." Arthur growls.