Beta Read by: Crescent Sunrise
Quick note: I normally leave notes for the end. This was just really important so I wanted to put it up at the top. Even if you're not interested in leaving a review I would really appreciate it if you sent a thank you to Archer1eye telling him how much you enjoyed this. It would not be here without him.
Chapter 1: The Girl that Won the West
Silver eyes.
Her father used to tell her that people with silver eyes were blessed with bright futures and happy endings. When she was a little girl she believed him.
He would come in from the field where their cattle were grazing with a smile every evening, kiss her mother, hug her and her sister before pulling them onto his lap and telling them a story. He would always claim the stories were some ancient Indian legend or old Chinese myths. But they always knew he made them up as he went along. Usually because the details would change on retellings, and in hindsight, they were never really very good.
Taiyang Xiao Long had come over to America with a boat full of other migrant workers, meant to mine iron and set down rail road tracks. It was hard, back breaking work, but he did not have any complaints about it. According to him it was still a step up from how he was living back in China, unwanted by most everyone there with his bright blonde hair marking him as having at least one foreign parent. So he worked, mining ore while his wife, Raven, helped around the camp by hauling water to keep the workers from dehydrating.
Tai had never learned how to read, but he was able to speak the English of his overseers, having made the acquaintance of a drifter by the name of Qrow before moving to America. Never mind that the drifter was also his brother-in-law. When his employers learned this, he became more valuable to them. Suddenly his workload lessened as more and more they turned to him to talk with other workers so their needs could be understood and vice versa.
Less and less Tai had to haul iron or hammer road spikes as more accommodations were made for him and Raven. No one begrudged Tai this increase in status because the comfort was something he shared happily, and many knew he only kept enough to ensure the comfort of the then pregnant Raven. As the more gravid she became, the less she was able to work.
Tai always told her that he had four moments in his life where he could not have been happier. His marriages, first to Raven and later, to Summer. And the days she and her older sister were born.
It was shortly after Yang was born that the camp her father was working at was raided. He didn't know if it was the Native Americans made aggressive by the encroaching camps on the territories, some band of outlaws hired by a rival company, or some band of bandits looking to steal any valuables the workers might have brought with them from China. In the end, it didn't matter. Some workers made it away, Tai was one of them, holding Yang in his arms.
Raven was not.
It was a few weeks later, after selling most of his own possessions to keep himself and Yang fed that he came across the small bit of farmland owned by the Rose family. The parents had fallen ill with fever and needed help with their small herd until either they passed or recovered. Tai leapt on the chance, securing a roof and food for his daughter and honest work. He never complained, and learned quickly from the daughter of the couple, Summer Rose.
He quite obviously made a good impression on her. Because, even after they elder couple passed away he wasn't asked to leave, as he had feared she would sell the land and he would be without a livelihood once more if he couldn't convince the new owners to keep him on. He learned the reason why a year later, when after falling for the woman, she accepted his hand in marriage.
Two years after the gift from the gods that was his first daughter, he was once more blessed with a second. And Ruby grew to be a cheerful and innocent girl with a love of the color red with bright silver eyes. As she grew he would trade milk, meat, and leather with a local tribe. And always returned home with a small sack of red dye he would mix and use to color the tips of her black hair.
For several years they were happy. Yang Xiao Long and Ruby Rose grew into young and desirable beauties with a father and mother who couldn't have been more proud of them. If a bit cautious on Tai's part at the attention they received from men.
But happiness is not a thing easily kept and the west was often referred to with a 'wild' in front for a reason. Life was comfortable, and while they were not rich they had the necessities, and it was enough. It was not meant to last. The first warning was a gunshot from out in the field one evening. A common enough sound to meant to drive predators away from the herd or the small chicken coop. The ladies of the house thought nothing of it. Yang had left some time before, heading into town to tend bar at a local tavern where her golden curls and impressive bust would encourage many return customers.
When the second shot came, Summer frowned, she stood up heading to the door. It's rare for any predator not to take its chances elsewhere after the first shot is fired, and Taiyang was a good shot. Having picked up a Model 73 Winchester lever action and started practicing with it, before starting to teach his daughters. No one was too innocent in the West to learn self-defense. Too many predators, both man and beast, to pardon such a lapse no matter how peaceful a life was lead.
As Summer opened the door leading to the field, Ruby heard her gasp and got up from where she was sewing a tear in her cloak to see what was going on. The fearful look on her mother's face as she grabbed a revolver and a box of rounds was not comforting. Her mother paused, rushing over and picking up Ruby's cloak, draping it around the young girl's shoulders before leading her from the house by the hand, revolver gripped with white knuckles in the other.
"Ruby, take Dahlia and get to town. Find the sheriff first and have him and his deputies' ride out here as fast as they can. Then I want you to find your sister, and stay with her until your father or I come to get you. Go now, I need to help Tai." She says as they run for the stable. When everyone was home, there was three horse on the property, Dahlia, Georgie and Max. Georgie was ornery and only let Taiyang ride him, so he went into the field with Tai while Max was Yang's favorite. So she took him into town with her when she had to work. That left Dahlia, a pretty and young chestnut mare they got recently for Ruby to practice riding on and also so they could make trips into town while Yang and Tai were working.
Ruby was confused, and it showed. More shots were being fired out in the field and nothing like this had ever happened before. "Ma, what's going on? Why do I need to get the Sheriff?" She asks, panic settling into her tone and unnerving the horse as the saddle is placed swiftly, then Ruby is pushed onto it.
"There's no time little rose. Ride at a full gallop, Dahlia is young but she can make it, especially since you're riding light. Don't look back Ruby. Don't look back and don't stop for anything until you reach the Sheriff." Summer says, pulling the horse out of the stables before slapping its hind quarters to get it moving. The mare takes off down the road as Ruby lurches forward to keep her balance, her small hands gripping for the reigns.
She's almost over the first hill when she finally gets her hands around the reigns and does exactly what she was told not to. She looks back. Her eyes wide in horror as she spots the blonde head of her father in the field, his rifle in hand as he fires over the barrel chest of a downed Georgie towards a group of people in their field shooting back and shouting. That's all she can register before Dahlia goes over the hill and cuts off her sight before she looks forward again and urges the horse faster, leaning tight to the frame of the powerful animal as it thunders down the road toward the town and safety.
Cool orbs of dull silver open quickly before snapping shut as a low groan escapes the woman. A hand lifting to cover her eyes from the sunlight streaming from the window next to the bed. She grumbles incoherently as she shifts, hoping to ease the headache throbbing in her brain. A hangover and an empty whiskey bottle on the nightstand, combined with the clothing left on the floor and the warm body wrapped around her providing a legacy to her activities the night before.
She slowly cracks her eyes open as they adjust to the light of the room, before lowering her blanket and gently shifting the arm wrapped around her waist aside before moving to sit up on the edge of the bed. Her hand grips a crumpled box of cigarettes on the nightstand before shaking it and opening the top, taping out one of the sticks of sweet tobacco before replacing the box on the stand for the lighter that had been left next to it.
With a flip of the top she strikes the flint a few times before shaking it and trying again, letting out a frustrated sound before closing the lid. She was about to leave the bed when a pair of firm breasts press into her bare back. Tanned arms reaching around her, hugging her gently with one hand while the other flips open a silver plated lighter with some fancy design on the side. It lights on the second strike of flint and brought to the stick hanging from the silver-eyed woman's lips. It holds steady as the woman with silver eyes takes a few puffs to light her smoke.
Once lit, the smoker gives a small grunt and the lighter is closed and moved away before the hand returns, sliding teasingly up along the woman's stomach to gently cup a breast. The touch is soft and tender as it tries to tempt her back into the warmth of the sheets she just pulled herself from.
She pauses, seeming to contemplate the silent offer as she draws in a lung full of burning smoke before letting it out in a slow exhale. Eventually she pulls away from the skilled hands rubbing at her body and begins pulling on her clothing. Black denim gripping her thighs before being matched with a soft red shirt that is tucked into the pants and followed by a belt, lined with the ammunition and a holstered Peacemaker as clean as the day it was purchased. She finishes with a cloak, before pulling a roll of bills from her pocket and counting out a few, setting them on the nightstand before grabbing the empty lighter and crumbled box of smokes.
"Ya don't have to pay me, you know? I'd be happier if you didn't actually." The woman on the bed comments as the now dressed one turns to meet her eye. Dull silver meeting the disappointment in a single steel blue orb. It wasn't the first time May had made this offer, and it wasn't likely to be the last. They both knew what it would mean if Ruby didn't pay. But as much as the silver eyed woman appreciated the sentiment, she just wasn't looking for a relationship.
"Ya know I do. Sorry May, but you know I can't provide that for ya. You're sweet, and I'm too cold for it." She replies, ignoring the sigh from the girl behind her as she heads for the door. May was a comfort girl, some might just call them 'whores' or 'prostitutes' but a comfort girl, at least a good one, wasn't just about spreading her legs. It was about providing companionship to travel weary souls who pass through, needing someone to tend to wounds you can't see. Even if it's only a temporary balm. The Wild West had certainly earned its name, and there was a darkness in the hearts of man that seemed to feed on the loneliness of those living in the plains.
The silver eyed woman found her balm in the arms of the comfort girls working at this tap house, and May was her preferred care giver. The woman had lost an eye in an accident when she was young, but it hadn't made her hard. Instead, it only seemed to make her softer, both in body and temperament. She had a way of soothing those who came to her that made her worth every cent spent on the service.
Unfortunately it was that service that now prevented the armed woman from pursuing something more meaningful with her. Not because she looked down on the profession, far from it. It was simply that she had shared far too much of herself with the dusky rose haired girl. Her darkest moments and thoughts she had laid bare while crying into the shoulder of that far too kind woman. Things she would never want lingering over the head of a relationship, no matter how accepting the partner is.
She makes her way to the bar, her hood pulled up to protect her eyes as she focuses on keeping her feet steady. The empty whisky bottle she had left behind had been full the night before when she walked in, and she had done most of the emptying herself. With a heavy thump she lands on a stool before lowering her face to the cool wood of the bar counter, her lit smoke hovering an inch or so over the surface.
The blonde in front of her rolls her eyes and moves to a bubbling pot of rich black fluid, filling a cup before setting it between them, along with a cup of water. "Drink the water first. And if that smoke marks my counter top, Ruby, I'm going to tan your hide." She threatens before going back to drying the collection of glasses that had been soaking in a tub of soapy water overnight.
Ruby grumbles, lifting her head again before obediently pulling the glass of clear water closer, sipping it slowly at first, letting the coffee cool while she does so it won't scald her tongue.
"Were you with May again?" Yang asks conversationally. Violet irises flicking from the red cape of her half-sister to the staircase leading to the bedrooms.
Ruby's eyes narrow under her hood as she looks up from the glass. "Don't start Yang. You know I'm not looking for it and I'd rather not start the day with a tussle." She replies, drinking more steadily from the glass now as the liquid rehydrates what the alcohol tried to dry out.
Yang was the only person in town immune to her sisters' nastier moods, and wasn't the slightest bit concerned by the threat as she let out a distinctly unladylike snort before crossing her arms under her bust. "Please, I handle drunks twice your size on a daily basis little sis. And you're still hung over. I could lay you out and leave you on the porch without so much as messing up my hair right now." She says with a challenge that Ruby doesn't rise to. It's not worth it so early, and the blonde was probably mostly right. After all, Ruby wouldn't fight dirty against her sister, and they both knew it.
"Honestly though Rubes, that girl is holdin' a torch for you somethin' fierce. I'm not sayin' give up the ranch and move into town, though ya know I want ya too, I just think ya ought ta' give her the chance. I think she'd do some real good for you." Yang mentions, frowning as Ruby pulls out another smoke, lighting it with the cherry on the one in her lips before putting the spent nub out on the side of the empty glass of water. The condensation letting out a quiet hiss before she pulls the mug of coffee closer.
"I said, don't start, didn't I? An' sure she might do good for me, but I wouldn't do anything but drag her down. She don't need that and I don't want it." Ruby says moving her smoke between her fingers in her left hand as she brings up the drink she actually wanted. "And don't start on the ranch. You know I'd rather you left the tap house and came back home. But we both know that ain't happnin' with the owner sellin' you this place."
There's a silence following this as the two stubborn women resume their chosen activities while staring each other down.
The stalemate is broken when May joins them at the bar, her hair wet from washing smelling pleasantly of flowers as she takes the stool next to Ruby and nodded to Yang for her own cup of coffee. She seems unaware of the tension she broke upon her arrival. Her presence serving to calm the enflamed tempers of the two sisters. "Hey, did you two hear about the Schnee heiress coming into town? From the sound of things they're lookin' to expand the railroad out this way, and she's supposed to survey the town for potential as a station."
That was news to Ruby and from the looks of things, it was the same for Yang. A train station would be a boon for the town and the tap house more than most others. The Schnee Rail Company was holding the future of the town in their hands.
"Where'd ya hear about that?" The blonde asks as both sisters turn gazes to the comfort girl.
"Mr. Port from the bank mentioned it last night before Ruby came in. Nice man, shame his wife passed away, God bless. He only ever wants someone to listen to his stories. I think he just misses the conversation." She comments with a sad smile on her face as she sips at her coffee. "Anyway, she should be in sometime this mornin'. Mayor's got a little greetin' being put together. His aide shoulda' said somethin' you ya Yang. She went around a couple days ago informing the business owners." She says with a frown that Yang mirrors with a hint of distaste.
Miss. Glynda Goodwitch was known by all to be a prude and very much against the services offered at the Little Ember tap house. It's no surprise to anyone she would forget to inform Yang about a get together to greet an important guest. Despite it being obvious that Yang would meet the woman eventually. Owning the only tavern in the small town of Beacon there was a good chance this was where the Schnee would be staying while in town.
"Alright May, I'm goin' ta head on over then. Keep an eye on the place fer me. Should only be a few more guests that stayed the night." Yang mentions setting a Model 1873 Winchester rifle on the counter that she was holding for her sister. The weapon modified to hold the same .45 colt rounds used in Ruby's Peacemaker. The rifle was Taiyangs, it and the Peacemaker her mother used were brought back with the Sheriff the night after they got to the ranch and found the husband and wife dead. The bandits had only been after the cattle and they got it.
Ruby tried to offer Yang the rifle but she turned it away. If Ruby was going to live at the Rose Ranch then Yang wanted her armed with weapons she was comfortable using. And according to Yang, the double barrel shotgun under the bar counter was good enough for her.
Before either could leave though May lifts herself to sit on the counter with a smirk on her lips. "Oh, Yang? I heard Miss. Belladonna is going to be there too. You should say hello." She adds with a wink towards the now blushing sputtering Yang before giving a tinkling laugh that practically shouts mischief.
Ruby blinks and glances between the two taller girls for a moment. Belladonna? As in Blake Belladonna the school teacher? She briefly wonders about that before shrugging and turning back to the counter. She doesn't spend enough time in town to bother keeping up with the local gossip.
Ruby grabs the rifle and heads out and across the dusty street to the general store. She had been by the previous evening, selling the milk and butter from the cows, along with eggs from the chickens she didn't use as a method to earn a small livelihood. She only really spent money on necessities, cigarettes, and occasionally for a night across the street at Yang's. She never had to pay for the room, only the drinks and services if she partook of them.
Stepping inside the store, she grabs a few boxes of ammunition along with a small bag of flour and a fresh pack of cigarettes. Grain and a bushel of apples were delivered to the ranch so she didn't have to cart them to and from herself. Which was great since she didn't have a cart of her own. She paused as she approached the counter, sitting on the counter was a familiar looking box of chocolate. Nostalgia set in, her father returning from town a wide smile on his kind face as he pulled out a bar of chocolate from his saddlebag and snapped it in half giving one half to her and the other to Yang after taking a brick from each for her mother and himself.
She shakes her head and scowls taking a step past the box before pausing, glancing back before rolling her eyes and grabbing a bar. Getting a wide smile from the store owner at the small sign that somewhere under Ruby's hardened exterior the happy young girl remained. She didn't have it in her to correct him about that notion. It would be cruel, while she had grown cold, she would never be cruel. She would be just as bad as the group that took away her parents if she did so.
She takes her purchase and heads over to where Dahlia is tied up next to Max. The horse noses at her a moment before nickering, as if in greeting, while she places her purchases in the saddlebag before untying the horse and pulling herself up. Her eyes move towards the road out of town before turning back towards the small stage where her sister is. The general store owner closing his store and heading towards the stage himself. She glances back at the saddlebag and sighs before shaking her head and guiding Dahlia towards the crowd.
She finds Yang near the back of the crowd and pulls Dahlia to the side tying her up again sliding the Winchester rifle into a saddle holster before dismounting again and grabbing the chocolate bar. Patting Dahlia's nose before walking to stand next to Yang, her hood drawn up to protect her skin from the sun as she takes the chocolate and snaps it in half, nudging the taller blonde before presenting her offering.
Yang blinks in surprise before noticing the chocolate, a sad smile crosses her lips before she takes it. They share a look and a small nod before snapping off a single brick each. Yang hands the brick to Ruby, who wraps it up with her own in the wrapper before taking a bite of the candy.
She blinks and looks at the bar, there's a slight tang to the bar that matches the bitter sweet memories of her childhood. She hears a sniff from her side and looks over at Yang. The blonde blinking and rubbing at her eyes with the back of her hands as she sniffles and takes bites from the bar, no doubt recalling the same moments Ruby was. The open display of emotion emphasized the changes between the two. Where Ruby got cold and distant after their parents were taken, Yang opened up. As if seeing the change in Ruby drove her older sister to make up for it.
Still, a crying Yang wasn't right. Yang was born to smile, she lit up the room when she did. So Ruby shifts, leaning into Yang's side, setting her head against her sister's shoulder and letting the taller woman wrap her in half a hug. The supporting weight from the smaller girl bringing a watery smile back to the tap house matron. The two ate the slightly bitter chocolate and supported each other before Yang let her go. She wipes at her eyes one last time as Ruby leans up and kisses her sisters cheek. Then Ruby moves to her horse and places the two bricks in the saddle bag.
When she turns back she spots her sister blushing brightly as a black haired beauty wearing glasses wipes at her face with a cloth. The sight is a new one for Ruby and she stops to watch, leaning against Dahlia's side with a small smile growing on her lips.
"Yang you look like you've been crying, what happened?" Blake asks, her voice calm and cultured. No lick of southern twang coloring her words as she practically demands the larger blonde to speak. Ruby looks her over and nods a bit to herself. Yang has very good taste.
"I-It's nothin' Miss. Belladonna, really. Just a bit a dust in the eye." She tries glancing at Ruby, as if asking for help, only to get a small shake of the head in response and a thumbs up, making her blush.
"Yang, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Blake? And you're a horrible liar. Did Goodwitch say something?" She asks with narrowed eyes, at which Yang has to rapidly shake her head.
"No, no, now hold on there Miss. Bellado- Blake." She corrects herself with a small smile. "Only thing she did was fail to mention this here gatherin' which really, I expect from her. Nah, the water works were just because my little sis did somethin' real sweet." She comments motioning towards Ruby who gives a short one handed wave back to the pair.
"Yang, I've got to head back. You two have fun." The silver eyed woman comments pulling herself back into the saddle for the last time, barring any other distractions between here and the edge of town.
She should learn to stop thinking things like that. She barely gets her horse turned away when she hears some excitement start up behind her and she turns to look. Spotting a carriage pulling up next to the stage, with the Rail Company logo on the side.
Curious, she watches for a moment from her seat as the carriage driver gets off the front and opens the door, a set of stairs folding down as he extends his hand inside. A girl dressed all in white with long white hair tied in a ponytail coming from the side of her head takes the hand, useing it to step down before letting herself be lead up onto the stage where Mayor Ozpin and the town Sheriff stand waiting to greet her.
Ruby slouches in her saddle as she watches the Schnee girl look out over the crowd until cold silver meets icy blue. The moment is broken as quickly as it started as she continues looking out, before clearing her throat. She starts speaking in German before blushing and shaking her head, switching to a fluent English that bespoke of tutors and long practice.
"Thank you all for coming out to greet me, I am touched by such a warm welcome from the citizens and governing bodies of Beacon. I have only just arrived and I can already tell this town is a wonderful place. As you all know, my family company is looking to expand our rail lines further west, and I'm hoping to find towns in which we can build stations along the way that will bring a positive result to not only our rail line, but also the towns along the way. I'm sure this town will-" She states in a calm even tone with a warm smile that doesn't reach her eyes. Ruby can see it from her saddle that this whole ordeal is a chore for the young woman and starts to turn away when another voice cuts in, followed by a scream from someone in the crowd.
"Sorry to interrupt the festivities but we need to borrow this little heiress. You see, her father has a lot of money. And it's his money that interests us." The line is delivered with a sultry tone from a ravishing brunette holding a knife to the throat of the heiress. While a group of others join them on stage, guns bared, masks up to cover their faces.
"What? Unhand me! What is this?" The young woman demands, starting to struggle until the knife draws a trickle of blood from her throat, making her still.
"I thought it was obvious Miss. Schnee, we're kidnapping you until your father pays us a lot of money to get you back. Sheriff, I would put that down, guns make me nervous and my hand might start getting' all twitchy-like." She states narrowing her eyes towards the Sheriff and his deputies. Her armed friends chuckling darkly as the lawman clicks his tongue with annoyance before holstering his gun and motioning for his men to follow suit.
"You know you're not getting away with this. There's not a chance in Hell we're not coming after you." He states with every bit of authority that comes with his office.
"Well Sheriff, you see, that's where you're mistaken. See, you're not going to do anything to me. Do you know why?" She asks her eyes still narrowed and now gaining a dangerous glint.
"Why?" He asks through gritted teeth, his hand trembling to keep from reaching for his pistol again.
"Because dear Sheriff, You can't chase someone from six feet under. Bury'em boys." She orders as those with her open up, filling the lawmen with lead, the bullets peppering their bodies amongst the screams of the crowd. Ruby narrowing her eyes at the scene, not wanting that many guns turned her way she keeps her hands on the reins, tightened to a white knuckled grip.
With people cowering everywhere and starting to run, Ruby watches the leader cackle with glee as she pushes their kidnapping victim to one of her men before turning to follow them into the carriage.
It's the image of her back that ends Ruby's inactivity.
The tattoo between her shoulder blades matches the charred ground left in the field of her ranch where her father was murdered. It was the symbol of the Grimm Gang.
That makes her Cinder, the leader. And as soon as that thought hits Ruby's mind she pulls her rifle and cocks it. Firing from the hip and catching the gang leader in the arm. She snarls at the miss and cocks her rifle again ejecting the spent and smoking casing before lifting it to aim properly, and catching a bullet in the side for her trouble. The force of the hit knocking her from her horse as the bandits hightail it out of town.
Ruby's vision swims as she struggles to get back up, walking in the direction of their retreating forms before falling forward as darkness overcomes her vision.
AN: Hello everyone and welcome to Whiskey Rose. I'm so very grateful for everyone who takes the time to read this story. I've been looking for a western RWBY fic I could really sink my teeth into for a long time and when I couldn't Find one I figured I'd write it myself. Big thank you to Crescent Rose for beta reading this. None of my other works are going on hold for this. one is being delayed but w/e. I won't update Dear Minnie while this is going on because I only have so much room in my head and i'm already back to writing pretty much constantly.
I know it's a whiterose! so different! But pairings in this story were chosen from the start hoping certain people would really enjoy seeing them.
Also Ruby is not 15 in this. she is in her 20's I probably won't put an exact age to her. Please remember to send your love to Archer1eye for being the driving force in bringing this about. The more full his inbox gets the sooner I'll crank the second chapter out. It will come out regardless but it would be a big motivation to know he's getting the recognition I think he deserves. Reviews would also be quite welcome but, as always, quite unnessesary.
I hope you enjoyed reading this. I love you all and I'll see you next time.
