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"I was behind the bar, wiping down a glass when I heard the clatter of hooves stumbling to a stop just outside the door, and then two pairs of boots struck the ground. Next thing I hear is her say 'Mind the horses, sis, I got some business to tend to.', and then a silhouette appears behind the doors, outlined in the gold of the mid-afternoon sun like an angel dropped straight out of heaven. She pushed open the doors, and BAM! All eyes are on her.
"Damn, what a woman. Blonde hair brighter than the sun at high noon dangling down her back, cushioning one of them wide-brimmed duster hats you see a lot out west, and purple eyes that blazed like the star over Bethlehem. You want to find her, you ask anyone if they seen those eyes. Anyway, she stomps across my saloon in her tall leather cavalry boots leavin' dust all over my floor, her spurs clinking with every step, her hands restin' on a pair of revolvers strapped 'round her hips, and God damn what hips, and leans onto my bar. Her hat comes off and she puts it on the table and shakes her head, and I can see all my boys watchin' her, drooling like the mangy hounds they are, but I nod my head and tell 'em to settle. Y'see, I know this girl, and this girl you don't mess with, so I told 'em to settle.
"She turns to me and says 'Howdy, Junior, been a while. Where are the twins?' So I say 'Upstairs with a couple customers.' Then she smiles, winks at me, and heads upstairs. 'Watch my hat for me, darlin', I won't be long.' she says, and I watch as she climbs up my steps to the second floor. Now, I got a nose for trouble, and she put up a mighty stink with that smile of hers, so I had one of my boys watch the place and followed her up. That girl puts fear in my bones, but don't tell anyone, got it?
"So I follow her up, quiet as I can, and I see her standing by one of the rooms, her hands on those revolvers. I know what's comin' next, but I can't look away. Y'see, about an hour 'afore she got here, I had none other than Mercury Black wander in askin' for a room. I'm no man to turn away someone like him, so I chucked him a key and off he went. If I'd known, well... Maybe I wouldn't have to replace a door.
"As I'm watchin', she kicks open the door and layin' there's Black with one of my twins crouched over him, the both of 'em straddled in bedsheets, mouths open and eyes wide, and I see him see her and reach for his gun. Maybe if he'd been faster or she'd been slower I wouldn't have to replace a bed too. BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! My ears were ringin' as she hooked her guns back into their pockets and turned on her heel, pushing past me back to the bar. That room looked straight out of hell, Black's brains splattered all over the headboard and walls, and my poor sweet Miltia screamin' her dear head off.
"I stumble back down to the bar, and she's sitting there smokin' with one hand and drinking with the other, looking mighty pleased with herself. 'Sorry 'bout the mess, Junior. You know I'm good for it.' she says. I say 'Blondie, I don't know why you keep comin' here but I don't want you here again!', but she just laughs and says 'That's what you said last time!'. But this time I meant it, I didn't want to see her again, so I whistle and all my boys stand up. Maybe if I hadn't been so angry, I wouldn't have to replace some of my boys.
"She sees what's goin' on and sets down her drink, plopping her smoke back between her lips and stands from the bar stool and now I'm lookin' into those purple eyes the same way you look down a gun barrel. 'You kickin' me out, Junior?' she asks as she walks to me and she stands too close; I'm smellin' the drink on her breath and sweating, prayin' to the Almighty above. It was 'bout now I'm thinking I probably just made my last mistake, and the devil and I would be shaking hands in a minute or two. Tryin' to defuse the situation, I say 'Don't do something we'll both regret, Blondie...', but I swear she took that as a challenge. She smiled, and I got an itch so bad in my nose that I thought it'd come alive and was trying to run away on its own.
"One of my boys, the damn fool, walks over and grabs her arm. Next thing I know he's upside-down in the corner spittin' out teeth because, and I'll be damned, she threw him across the room. Now, I'm thinking 'Damn, better end this quick before she kills us all!' so I wave all my boys in and we rush her. Faster than a blink of an eye, those revolvers are out and it's 'BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!' all over again. I won't go into the dirty details, to spare your fragile ears, but I watched from underneath a table as she walked out, pulling her hat onto her head and scraping blood off her heels.
"So, I don't know why you're looking for her, but that's who Yang Xiao Long is. The beautiful blonde bounty hunter, faster than a rattlesnake and three times as deadly. Anything else I can do for you, honey?"
The cloaked figure sitting on the opposite side of the table unlinked their fingers and stood, the ends of the long white woolen coat brushing the tops of finely tooled leather boots the color of fresh snow, reaching into a hidden pocket and pulling out a fat wallet. "You would make a fine orator, Mr. Xiong. I've dined with men twice as educated who have half your skill. I very much appreciate the information you have given me." The figure placed five twenty lien notes on the table, securing them under an empty glass tumbler. "For your services."
As the figure turned to leave, white-gloved fingers pulling the hood low, Junior chuckled to himself and swiped the lien off the table. "A pleasure to be of aid, Ms. Schnee." The figure whipped around, a hand flying back to rest on a silver-handled derringer holstered on its hips, but Junior's upheld hands made it pause. "Yes, Ms. Schnee, I know it is you. Your family is famous, even all the way out here in Vale. It makes one curious, however, to find a Schnee girl alone in unfamiliar country." He grinned, raising his eyebrow in a hyperbolic expression of curiosity, and tapped his index finger twice on the table's surface.
The figure relaxed, reaching up and pulling down the obscuring hood. Alabaster hair tied into a tight bun was the first thing revealed, closely followed by dazzling blue eyes, sharper than needles, that rested above an aristocratic nose that curled up at the end to give off an air of haughty nobility. As the hands descended back to her sides, and the light was allowed to brighten her face, a long, jagged line of pink skin that dashed across Weiss Schnee's left eye was presented, and Junior whistled in appreciation. Weiss pulled out her wallet once again, dropping two more lien notes onto the table. "For your silence, if you please."
Junior mimed a bow while remaining seated. "Have no fear, milady. I wouldn't make much business if I didn't know how to keep a secret or two."
"Then I wish you a good day, Mr. Xiong." Weiss snapped her wallet shut and tossed her head as she made her way to the exit.
"One more thing, Ms. Schnee," Junior shouted as he counted his money, catching Weiss just before she reached the saloon doors, "Don't ask about her three rules!"
"Is that your nose talking, or just a general word of advice?"
"Both. Excuse the expression, ma'am, but you bein' here by yourself stinks bad, but you, alone and looking for Xiao Long... That smells worse than a faunus latrine."
The scarred Schnee smirked, raising her hood back over her head as she stepped out of the saloon and back into the dusty street. "I'll keep that in mind when I meet her..."
Author's Notes: Let me begin by saying that this chapter is not entirely indicative of the style of the rest of the story; it was something I wanted to try, and I'd like your opinion on how it worked. I also don't really plan on including that many more references to Christianity or biblical stories, but they'll probably appear again when I feel they're necessary to stay relevant to the time period.
I realize Westerns are not the most popular genre for RWBY fanfiction (there being only seven other stories on the whole site that aren't crossovers with something), but I've had this idea for a while and wanted to give it a shot. Hopefully it all works out.
Please let me know what you thought!
Thank you for reading!
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