Notes: I suppose you could say, this story introduces my original character, Adriana
Wilmington, into the OW universe. I'm mentioning this, because I know some
people have a hard time with original characters. However, I'm a writer who
cannot work without original characters, because I like shaking up the
dynamics. Consider yourself warned. Adriana will be in almost all of my
stories, though her role will vary according to the requirements of the story.
The four women had been watching
inside the Clarion over the last ten minutes, as the Seven fought with Sheriff
Stains and his men from Eagle Bend. Again. Mary Travis
exchanged a look with Casey Wells, smiling faintly as Inez Rescillos
muttered under her breath in Spanish. However, the other member of the Snoop
Sisters, as they had taken to calling themselves, just laughed at Inez. She
observed, "That goes without saying, Inez. They're men."
"Mrs
Travis, what did she just say?" Casey whispered, not wanting to appear
stupid in front of the other women. Inez had been teaching Mrs
Travis how to speak in Spanish. . .and Casey had
overheard the spirited Mexican lady teaching her how to cuss in Spanish. Casey
wondered if she could get Inez to teach her as well. Or
maybe. . . Her eyes strayed to the other female with them.
Casey jumped when the fourth woman
answered, "Inez was commenting on what idiots the guys are." Casey
blinked and the small brunette said with an impish grin, "I picked up
quite a lot of Spanish while I was riding with Vin. .
.and before." Inez muttered something else under her breath, and Casey
watched in amazement as the speaker blushed and added, "I'm not
translating that, Inez. Mary shouldn't be hearing that, much less Casey."
"I think that it would be the
same idea, no matter what language, Adriana," Mrs
Travis observed. The brunette nodded her agreement, though Casey was shocked to
see Buck Wilmington's younger sister still blushing. She was the ultimate
tomboy, Adriana Wilmington. While many in the town had sought to protect Casey's
innocent ears from hearing everything, Casey had learned from both JD Dunne and
her own aunt that Adriana and Buck's pa had lost her in a poker game when she
was fifteen, and then all manner of horrible things happened to her. Aunt
Nettie didn't believe in protecting Casey from the truth. She was almost a
woman, and a woman who had grown up on the frontier. Ugly things happened.
Adriana escaped when she was
eighteen, and met Vin Tanner a year after that. They rode together for two
years, Adriana pretending to be a boy, until that Eli Joe up and made trouble
for Vin. Casey's dark eyes narrowed. She wished Eli
Joe was still alive. She'd teach him what happened to people who hurt her
friends! And Vin was more like her older brother than
a friend. However, Eli Joe was dead, Chris had killed
him to save Vin.
She could ride and shoot (though not
with a rifle. If she wanted to hit someone in the heart, she had to aim between
their legs). Mrs Travis and Mrs
Potter were among the few respectable ladies in town who would talk to her,
because Adriana wasn't a lady. Not that anyone said so in her aunt's hearing. Mr Conklin once made the mistake of calling Adriana names
where Aunt Nettie could hear him. That was the last time he done that, 'cause Vin was one of Aunt Nettie's, and Adriana would ride through
hell for Vin. That made her one of Aunt Nettie's, too.
The fight was over now, and the
Seven were 'encouraging' the men onto their horses and out of town. A glance
passed between the four women, then they made their
way out onto the porch, Mrs Travis quietly picking up
a rifle on the way out. A good thing, too. One of the
men from Eagle Bend approached, his face twisting with hatred. Inez grabbed a
broom, Mrs Travis lifted the rifle to her shoulder,
and Adriana removed her pistol from the folds of her skirt. And from behind the
man, Chris Larabee cocked his own pistol.
In that low voice which had been
known to make seasoned gunfighters wet themselves, Chris said, "Now I know
you ain't gonna do something stupid, and attack those
ladies." The man swallowed hard. Casey's hand closed around her knife,
prepared to defend herself. Until she thought about it.
He had four very angry women in front of him. . .and
Chris Larabee behind him. He wasn't really that stupid, was he?
He wasn't. He backed off, and Chris
pushed him toward his horse as Vin hollered, "Git on yer horses! GO!"
Adriana and Inez both lowered their respective weapons. Casey glanced at
Adriana, who had a mysterious smile on her face as she watched Vin. The young girl glanced away from her new friend, and
toward Vin. He stood in the middle of the street,
hands on hips, and bareheaded. As the men galloped away, Vin
put his hat back on his head with a "WOOOOO!" Casey, who had been in
town during the first street fight between Stains' men and the Seven, grinned.
"Give him twenty minutes, and
he ain't gonna be saying that. None of 'em are. They're all gonna be sore puppies before the day is
out," Adriana observed. Inez began muttering in Spanish again, and Adriana
added, "Try to be gentle with him, Inez. . .my
brother is gonna be black and blue. He doesn't need a bruised ego to go with
it. Then he really will be unbearable." Casey snickered.
"Senorita Adriana, I will be
very gentle. With him and Senor Ezra," Inez replied. The look Adriana gave
Inez said that she didn't believe her. Inez was forced to continued, "As
gentle as Senora Mary will be with Senor Chris, as gentle as Casey will be with
JD, and as gentle as you will be with Senor Vin."
Adriana looked at Mrs Travis, and Casey was somewhat
alarmed to see twin expressions of evil glee appear on their faces.
"You know," Adriana said
slowly as the four left the porch, heading for their respective men, "it just occurred to me. Maybe we should thank Sheriff
Stains and his men, for coming into our town and trying to beat up our
men." Inez and Casey both looked at her in shock, while Mrs Travis just smiled impishly. Adriana made eye contact
with Inez and Casey, adding, "After all, thanks to them, we get to fuss
over our men. Kiss and make all better."
The End
feedback to LadiSwan@aol.com