(Pero Tovar x F!Reader)
"¡De nuevo!" Tovar shouted at the young man. His armor rattled as he struggled to regain his balance. The sword was heavy and it was obvious he had not handled one before. Tovar was light on his feet, trying to catch the boy off guard at any moment. The boy swung the sword again; beads of sweat flew from his forehead. He was getting tired.
Using his weight and body's momentum, Tovar drove the young boy down again. "Agh! ¡Estás peleando con tus ojos! Usa tus instinctos. ¡Instinctos!" He shouted. The solid wooden doors came open and I stepped inside, accompanied by another guard.
I had been the only one in my village who volunteered to help the army fight. I had planned on faking my way through it all. I didn't think they'd allow women on the battlefield. After all, it's a man's place. Instead, I played up the part. I remained mostly silent. I knew I could wield a sword better than the boy. Tovar took him down once more.
"Leventarse." Tovar ordered. The boy rose up to his feet, still struggling. Tovar placed his hand on his shoulder, bearing his weight down. "O aprendes a pelear o haces las paces con Dios porque en el campo de batalla, mueres." The boy simply looked down. "Vamos." Tovar said, pushing him towards the door. The boy dropped the sword and scuffled away.
Tovar came walking over. The movements of his body were pleasant to look at. The sway of his body with his armor and the clanking sound that followed. My eyes wandered all across his face, stopping on his mustache. His lips were pouty, chapped and slightly aged by the sun. His skin was a darkened color and his eyes matched. What a lovely Spaniard.
He stopped before us, his hand falling to grip the hilt of his sword. "Otro?" Tovar asked the person who had brought me in. "Solo lo mejor para ti, Tovar." The man said, chuckling. Tovar scoffed, unamused. "Nombre?" He asked me. I remained silent. Tovar moved over to in front of me. He raised his brow, looking down on me. I wanted to shrink into my armor. "Nombre?" He growled again through gritted teeth. The man quickly interrupted. "El no habla. Bueno con una espada atravesada. Perfecto para ti." Tovar grunted, jerking his head towards the open space where he was previously practicing.
I just stepped away from him and the other man, heading for the mat. The conversation quickly ended between Tovar and the man. "Confio en que sepas como usar eso." He said, moving to stand across from me. He motioned towards the sword. I nodded my head. He drew his from the sheath, letting it make a pleasant ringing noise. My fingers gripped around the hilt of my sword, raising it to the proper height.
"Comenzar." He instructed. I immediately stepped forward, swinging my sword in time with his own. I blocked his advance, continuing to move forward. A small battle ensued between us as we moved around the mat attempting to get at each other. Finally, I slapped him against the bottom of the leg and used my other to bring him to his knees. We were both a little winded.
I rested my sword against his shoulder, lingering the blade near his throat. Sunlight spilled into the room. He looked up, causing the sun to give his eyes a shimmering hazel color. "Muy bueno." He said, softly. I swallowed thickly, dropping my sword down and allowing him up. "Pareces muy habil." He said. I just nodded my head. He turned away, doing something. "Pero...siempre debes estar...custodiado!" His movements were fast and before I knew it, I was on the ground.
He chuckled. "No tan consciente como crees." He touted. I went to sit up and the cover up fell off, revealing my hair that fell down from being held in place. Suddenly, it became knowledge that I was not a boy...but a girl. Tovar suddenly grew angry...he had been bested by a woman! Oh he, who was a great warrior and a greater mercenary had been brought to his knees by a woman!
I quickly moved, trying to pull the cover back over my head, but he reached down, attacking me. I surely thought the worst would come and let out a scream. His large hand flew to cover my mouth. "Silencio!" He snarled. His grip was tight and unyielding. I was breathing heavily and it started to calm down.
"Que crees que estas haciendo exactamente?" He questioned. "Pense que lo estaba haciendo bien por mi gente." I whimpered. He wrinkled his brow. "Por favor, Tovar. No dejes que me lleven lejos." I begged. He frowned. "No te aceptaran. Pero ya no puedes estar aqui." He assured. I just nodded my head, reaching up and wiping my cheeks free of their tears. A warrior should never be seen crying.
I was escorted from the camp by guards and given a horse to get back to my village. Pero felt bad about letting her go. She was an honest and good fighter. She was strong and he could used someone like her, on the battlefield...and possibly in his bed. He shook his head. He didn't know how old she was or even if she'd be interested in a vejito like himself.
~ ~ ~
Months passed and finally a battle took place. Millions of villages were overrun and lots of people were taken prisoner. They killed my parents and I tried to fight them off before I was overpowered. I don't know how long it's been since I've even seen another human being. I've just been stuck down here in this darkness.
"This is where we know their base camp is." The man spoke in English. Pero himself knew a bit of English, but he was mostly responsible for translating the plans to the other soldiers. He, his general and some other men hovered over the table that had the strategic placements on it. "We have reason to believe that they do have a small amount of villagers that are trapped there." The man said. "Villagers?" Tovar repeated, his accent thick and heavy. "Yes, maybe women and children. We haven't been able to get much information." He said.
My fingernails dug into the mud as I saw the shadows of the men passing by from the tiny lighted crack at the base of the door. I kept myself plastered against the wall, afraid that they'd come in. I just closed my eyes and said a prayer to myself. I just wanted things to go back to normal. I don't want to be here anymore.
"We go tonight, when they're all drunk." The man said. The General looked over at Tovar as if to ask if he thought that plan was okay. Tovar nodded his head. "Sounds like a good plan." Tovar responded.
~ ~ ~
Later that night, the smell of smoke hung heavy in the air as I sat in the darkness. I could hear the men talking, laughing and the sound of women screeching with drunk joy. All day, I had crawled around the filthy, looking for anything I could maybe use as a weapon. I couldn't find anything. No rocks, no sticks...nothing at all. Instead, I backed myself into a corner, ready to spring on anyone that walked through the door. I could hear people talking outside and it sounded like they were drawing closer.
Outside the containment, the tribe was walking around, drinking and laughing. Suddenly, the happy moment was broken by the whooshing of arrows flooding through the air. The campsite was being invaded. Hundreds of warriors came down the hill from the darkness of the night. They were wielding weapons and shouting in different languages. Pero was with them.
My head snapped towards the door as the lighting from outside started flashing as the people were running by. Their screams were blood curdling. I moved towards the door and started to use my body to break through the rotted wood. It started to crumble under the pressure as I continued to smash my feet against it. Finally it came loose and I broke it down, climbing out of the dark place. The light was blinding for a moment and it was hotter outside than I remembered. The urgency of hooves running against the slimy ground was all I could hear as I tried to be aware of my surroundings.
The army broke through the campsite, slicing through all the people who were trying to fight back. Bodies were beginning to pile up. "Go find her!" The general shouted. Pero jerked the reins on the horse, leading the animal further into the camp.
I stumbled through the people who were running. I didn't know what direction to run in or who was an enemy and who my people were. I crashed into someone and they turned around. "You!" it was one of the guards that had been holding me. I scrambled to my feet, wanting to get away from him. He grabbed me by my hair and I let out a scream, attempting to fight him off. His size was to his advantage, but so was mine. I reached into his belt, grabbing one of the knives he had. I drove it straight into his lower belly, twisting and turning it to do as much damage as possible. He shoved me back down on the ground, towering over me as he ripped the weapon from his body. He threw it away before unsheathing his sword.
I couldn't get a good enough grip on the wet ground to get up and away. He raised the sword, saying something in a language that I didn't understand. I closed my eyes and just waited. Suddenly, there was a sharp gasp that seemed to break through all the other screams of terror. I opened my eyes to see the man lowering his sword. He dropped down to his knees and fell forward, his face landing in the mud beside me feet. Behind him, sitting on his horse was Pero. In his hands was a bow and arrow. At first, I didn't believe it was him. And then, he spoke to me. "Te vas a sentar ahi?" He asked me a smile cracking through his lips. He offered his hand to me as I got to my feet.
"Te llevo el tiempo suficiente." I muttered as I took his hand and he pulled me up onto the animal. I wrapped my arms around his waist, resting my head against the leather material of his armor. He tugged on the reins before using his heels to urge the animal forward out of the campsite.
~ ~ ~
"AGH!" I screamed. Several of the soldiers were restraining me in the bed as the doctor dumped the putrid smelling liquid all over my leg. I had sustained a pretty nasty injury when they had captured me. The doctor said he would do everything possible to fix it to prevent me from losing my leg. Pero was kneeling by the bedside with a death like grip on my hand. He was doing more damage than good, but it was obvious he was concerned for me. I must've passed out from the immense pain, because when I came to everyone was gone and my leg had been wrapped up. Everyone except for Pero, who was asleep in the chair by the door.
I winced a little and it caught his attention. His eyes flew open and he jumped up from where he was sitting to come over where I was. "Estas bien?" He asked. I looked over at him, frowning some. "La verdad es que no." I said, placing my hand on his arm and shifting around a little. "Try not to move around too much." He said. I looked over at him, wrinkling my brow. He smiled. "I learned to speak a little English for you." He said. His arm moved around my waist, lifting me up some. I leaned against him. "How sweet." I said, sarcastically.
"The doctor says you need bed rest and I intend to keep you in bed for as long as possible." He said. I looked up at him. "I thought I was just a burden to you. It sure seemed that way." I said. He looked away. "It was not wise for me to send you away. It cost the lives of the people in your village and then it almost cost you your life." He said. He looked up at me. "I'm sorry for that." He said. Never in a million years did I ever think I'd hear an apology out of Pero Tovar. "Is that why you came to rescue me?" I asked. "Partly." He said. "The other part being that you're an amazing soldier and I think we should train more together."
His eyes moved over my face as if he was looking for something else. "Estas seguro de que no tiene nada que ver con el hencho de que puedo vencerte en combate?" I asked, a smirk playing on my lips. "Puede que me mejore en combate, pero no en la cama." He said. He leaned forward, kissing me on the lips.
Translations [English to Spanish]
- "De nuevo!" -- "Again!"
- "¡Estás peleando con tus ojos! Usa tus instinctos. ¡Instinctos!" -- "You're fighting with your eyes! Use your instincts. Instincts!"
- "Leventarse." -- "Get up."
- "O aprendes a pelear o haces las paces con Dios porque en el campo de batalla, mueres." -- "Either you learn to fight or you make peace with God because on the battlefield, you die."
- "Vamos." -- "Go."
- "Otro?" -- "Another?"
- "Solo lo mejor para ti, Tovar." -- "Only the best for you, Tovar."
- "Nombre?" -- "Name?"
- "El no habla. Bueno con una espada atravesada. Perfecto para ti." -- "He doesn't speak. Good with a sword. Perfect for you."
- "Confio en que sepas como usar eso." -- "I hope you know how to use that."
- "Comenzar." -- "Begin."
- "Muy bueno." -- "Very good."
- "Pareces my habil." -- "You are very skilled."
- "Pero...siempre debes estar...custodiado!" -- "But...you must always be...guarded!"
- "No tan consciente como crees." -- "Not as conscious as you think."
- "Silencio!" -- "Silence!"
- "Que crees ques estas haciendo exactamente?" -- "What exactly do you think you're doing?"
- "Pense ques lo estaba haciendo bien por mi gente!" -- "I thought I was doing good for my people!"
- "Por favor, Tovar. No dejes que me lleven lejos." -- "Please, Tovar. Don't let them take me away!"
- "No te aceptaran. Pero ya no quedes estar aqui." -- "They will not accept you. But you cannot stay here."
- "Te vas a sentar ahi?" -- "Are you going to just sit there?"
- "Te llevo el tiempo suficiente." -- "Took you long enough."
- "Estas bien?" -- "Are you okay?"
- "La verdad es que no." -- "Not really."
- "Estas sequro de que no tiene nada que ver con el hencho de que puedo vencerte en combate?" -- "Are you sure it has nothing to do with the fact that I can beat you in combat?"
- "Puede ques me mejore en combate, pero no en la cama." -- "You might best me in combat, but not in bed."