Trying to write something else besides Seven Brides For Seven Brothers. If you haven't seen The Magnificent Seven, you should definitely watch it. And no, I don't mean the new version, I'm talking about the original remake of Seven Samurai.

This story will be told from Petra's (young Mexican woman) point of view, as she finds herself drawn to Chico who is one of The Magnificent Seven.

Me and the rest of the young women have been hiding in caves for almost two weeks now. I really missed the village. Sitting in those caves was like a torture for me. I didn't have the freedom to do as I pleased anymore. But papa and Sotero, who was the leader of our village said that it was necessary for us to hide from those crude and terrible men. It's a pity...first we have Calvera and now these new gunslingers.

Even though, these men were hired to rid our village from the bandits, my father and the rest of the male villagers did not trust them so much. Especially, they didn't want us to appear in their presence. So, I spent most of my time hiding and being afraid. I didn't want Calvera to come upon me and the rest of the girls. And neither did I want those seven gunmen to discover us!

I couldn't even attend the big festival that our village held once a year. We usually celebrated the founding of our small and yet wonderful village. I loved to dance and preform on that day, but this year, I spent the whole celebration in caves hiding together with other girls.

Few times a week, our families would come and visit us, bringing us food, and other supplies that we'd be needing.

I easily started getting bored. What if my father was wrong? Maybe these men, who were trying to help our village were different and they wouldn't harm us?

My curiosity and desire to have a glimpse of them grew stronger and stronger day by day.

One hot sunny afternoon, I sat a bit farther away from our cave and gazed in the distance. I hoped that soon I would be able to return to my own home and stop hiding.

"Petra!" My amiga Rosalinda called out. "Just come inside. It's dangerous! What if someone discovers us?"

"Oh Rosa...don't start." I whinned. "We've been hiding for so long. I can't live like this anymore. Let me enjoy this sunshine." I begged.

"Petra, you have this tendency to run off and explore things. Which worries us all." Rosalinda said sternly. "If someone finds you...like Calvera or one of those men...it's over."

"Nothing's gonna happen." I insisted. "Besides, I'm not going anywhere."

Rosalinda shook her head. "Dear sweet Petra, you know that we're just looking out for you. Right?"

I sighed heavily. "I know, I know."

They were worried and afraid...So was I. But this was getting out of hand! I couldn't stand to live in those caves any longer. I missed my parents and younger siblings very much. My little sister who was only eight stayed in the village. And all of the girls who were small like her were allowed to stay, and so could the women who were mothers. But the unmarried females aged fifteen and up, and the young women who did not yet have their own children, had to hide. So that those men, wouldn't touch and harm us. Just a month ago, I turned eighteen. I was no longer a little girl...but my parents and most of my amigas who were in their early twenties, treated me as if I was still a child.

I knew how to protect myself and stand up for what I believed.

"Please, Rosalinda...let me stay outside." I asked softly and desperately as I sat on a nearby rock.

Rosalinda took a deep breath. "Oh alright, but don't go too far." She got up and walked towards the caves. I knew I promised her to stay...but I wasn't going to miss another beautiful day hiding and panicking.

As soon as she was out of sight, I put my farmer's hat on and hid my long braids in it. Then I made my way towards the river and came down from the hills.

The river in this region, was the only water close to my village. We would wash our clothes, bathe, and even drink from here.

I was still wondering around, when I noticed a figure from a far. I quickly hid behind a large tree and tried to be as quiet as possible.

I saw a man playfully challenging our village's old bull. "Toro. Toro!" I heard him say. He was wearing completely different clothes from what the man of our village wore. I couldn't really see his face clearly, but I did notice a gun hanging around his belt.

A strange man, so close to my village, and with a gun? Well, I knew he wasn't one of the bandits of Calvera...and then it occurred to me: He is one of those hired men who are trying to help us.

I hesitated to run away and hide again. I watched him as he gently played around with the animal. "Come on little bull." He said and that made me laugh... He definitely didn't look like a bad or a scary person...rather than a young and fun-loving man. All was well, until I stepped on a wrong thing and made a cracking noise. This caught his attention and he quickly looked at my direction with a gun in his hand.

That made me panic, and I quickly started making my way back to the hills. I ran as fast as I could and kept looking back, in order to make sure that he wasn't following me.

So far...he was out of sight. Because I was so worried that he would come after me, my head was turned back, so when I accidentally bumped into something, I didn't see what or who it was at first. When I turned to face what was in front of me, I found myself caught by that man. My hat fell off and my long braids were down on my shoulders now. When he saw that, he eased back and stared in disbelief. Apparently, he didn't know that he was dealing with a girl. But I was afraid of him! So I didn't let the moment slip away. I quickly started hitting and slapping him violently.

"You do anything to me and I'll kill you while you're doing it!" I exclaimed and slapped him hard. All my father's warnings came rushing back! How dangerous, cold-blooded, mean, and ruthless men like him were.

"You little chicken brain! You almost took my eye out!" He said and grabbed my hands in order to stop me.

"Let me go. Let me go!" I yelled and tried to break away by biting him. I had to do everything in order to protect myself. I wasn't giving up that easily.

But he seized me strongly and I couldn't manage to get away from him. He pulled me close to him in anger and frustration. "Oh, you bite me and I'll bite you right back!"

"I got a good mind to throw you in the river." He added, while I kept struggling.

"I'll smash you with a rock! Cut your head off!" I yelled at him.

"Shut up. Shut up!" He shouted and held my hands down. "Where are the others?" The young man asked sternly.

"I'll never tell you." Was my final answer to him. Without another thought, he swung me over his shoulders and even grabbed my hat that fell off me. He took me towards his horse, but I kept fighting and struggling. For him I probably was light as a feather...He threw me over the animal...and quite soon I was draped like a piece of cloth on that horse. We started moving and he caught me strongly, so that I wouldn't fall off.

My head was spinning already, and I wanted to throw up. From the looks of it he was taking me to my village. I recognized the area.

Finally, the horse slowed down and we approached something. Because of the uncomfortable position and that terrible ride, I felt like I would vomit.

"Look what I found." Said the young man and pushed my down from the animal.

I was presented in front of several other gunmen and some of the villagers. For some reason, all of them had shovels and were digging something. When they saw me, they all stopped. The gunmen had surprised expressions on their faces, while our village folk looked ashamed.

"Who is she?" Asked the man dressed in black. I could already tell that he was the leader of the hired group.

"...she's from our village." Hilario answered quietly.

The man in black clothes approached me and came closer. He looked quite intimidating.

"So that's where they were." He said. "You hid them."

"Sure they hid them." Remarked the young and rude man who caught me. "But she won't tell where. Their're afraid. She's afraid of me, you, him...all of us!" He announced from his high horse.

"Farmers!" He spat angrily. "Their families told them we'd rape them." The young man was about to dump my hat on me, but I snatched it from him and glared at him with an evil expression.

"Well, we might." Said the intimidating man. "In my opinion, though, you might have given us the benefit of the doubt. But... just as you please." He finished his speech with a very disappointed tone in his voice.

"As long as you were out there, why didn't you bring 'em all in?" Asked another gunman with a peach colored shirt. He came up to me with a smile on his face. So far, he was the most pleasant and gentle one compared to the other two.

"What for? Leave them out there." Answered that rude young man from his high horse cynically. "Let Calvera find them. He'll take good care of them." He added sarcastically.

Oh how I wished to smack him in that moment.

There was a brief awkward silence...but at last the leader turned and said to him. "Bring them in."

"Show him the way." He told me. His calm and yet powerful voice made me realize that I had to obey them.

I wanted to move towards the horse, but the man in peach colored shirt stood in front of me and raised his hat. "Ma'am." He nodded.

Before I understood what was happening, he swept me off my feet and I found myself in his arms. He helped me up on the horse, and I was taken by surprise with this act. The man gently motioned me that he wasn't trying to hurt me, while I circled my hands around the back of that proud fellow who found me earlier, as he snapped the animal into action.

"Come on, little angel." He said and we trotted away towards the hills.

Well, that's it for the first chapter.

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