This here is my first go at a Django Unchained fanfiction. Credit for this idea goes to Superfan44, and I am just attempting to bring his challenge/idea to life. I'll also apologize for how close this chapter follows script, though I couldn't find the direct movie script or clips long enough to show the whole scene, so it might not be exact in the parts where I didn't directly change the dialogue and actions.
Warning: Due to the film's language and how close this fic will be following the movie at some points, the N-word will be used. I am simply using it for Canon, I do not in any way, shape, or form like the word, nor do I use it outside of this fic. I am willing to bump ratings if it bothers enough people, but for now I am putting this as fair warning.
Cooper's Gold
...
Chapter One
Mud was a beautiful horse, Elijah knew so. The animal was well built, his coat a light brown that seemed to drop into a darker brown around his under belly and legs. Yes, Elijah liked the horse and felt slightly bad that he wasn't able to give the animal a more creative name. Mud. Yet, in a way, the name grew on him.
Regardless, Mud was an old horse, and Elijah could almost feel the frustration from the animal he rode on. The sun had disappeared for the night, darkness clung tightly to the trees and area around Elijah. He could hear the wheels of the waggon only a few feet in front of him, Elijah wanting to be closer to it and the lantern that swayed with each bump.
Yet, Mud could only keep up a good trot for a few moments until he would give up with a snort and fall back to a slower trot that allowed King to gain some distance from Elijah and his tired horse. With a light growl, Elijah dig his heels into the sides of his horse, the animal letting out some protest as he closed the distance between King's cart and Elijah.
"Schultz," Elijah called out, making the older man peer around the cart towards him, "I don't think my horse is going to take much more of this."
"Ah, well I hope he will be able to continue on, as I believe we are closing in on the Speck brothers," King said, looking out ahead of him once again as Elijah managed to keep his horse along side the cart.
"And you believe that they might have a slave from the Carrucan Plantation with em'?"
"I believe they do, though I can't say for certain that the mentioned slave will have knowledge of the Brittle brothers."
Elijah nodded his head, Mud letting out a frustrated snort as he slowed his pace slightly. Elijah placed his hand on the horse's neck, as if the gesture would be enough to keep the animal going.
Eventually, after a couple more minutes of riding through the dark, Elijah spotted something shiny behind one of the trees. He frowned, narrowing his eyes slightly as the object revealed itself to be the light from a lantern.
"Is that them?" he asked, glancing down at King. The older man lifted his head higher, a grin passing his face.
"I believe so," he glanced up at him, "now, allow me to do the talking. If things get hostile, I suspect that you will have my back?"
"I always do, Schultz."
King nodded his head, the two riding towards the slavers at a somewhat leisurely pace, Elijah adjusting the hat on his head with one hand as he started to see the figure of the two men and the slaves behind them. He frowned at the sight, though not quite phased by the sight. He had seen slaves all his life, though didn't harbour any ill feeling towards them. If anything, he felt a little bit of guilt. Still, Elijah would protect them for the sake of information if it came down to it.
It didn't take long before one of the Speck brothers noticed the two, Elijah's hand drifting down towards his pistol hidden under his blazer.
"Who's that stumblin' around in the dark?" one of the Speck brothers called out towards them, "state yer business or prepared to get winged!"
"Calm yourselves, gentlemen," King called out in a soothing voice, pulling his cart to a stop, "we mean you no harm. I am Dr. King Schultz, and this is my horse, Fritz," Fritz bowed his head in greeting upon hearing his name, "and the man beside me is Elijah Cooper and his horse, Mud."
"What kind of doctor?" one of the brother's asked, Elijah taking notice of his hand on his gun. Elijah felt the need to have his hand on the pistol at his side as well, but decided that he would just draw attention to himself.
"A dentist," King answered simply, "now, are you the Speck brothers? Did you purchase those men at the Greenville slave auction?"
"So what?"
"So...I wish to parley with you."
"Speak English."
King let out a chuckle, "I apologize, it is a second language. Now, amongst your inventory I am lead to believe that you have a specimen I am keen to acquire," King stood up on his cart to address the slaves that stood, chained, behind the Speck brothers, "hello you poor devils! Is there someone amongst you who was formally a resident of the Carrucan Plantation?"
Elijah continued to remain silent, sitting atop his horse as one of the Speck brothers kept glancing over at him. He could sense a building hostility, though with the way things seemed to be doing, Elijah hoped that they would be able to get this slave and continue on without much of a fight.
"I'm from the Carrucan Plantation," one of the slaves called out, rather quietly. King hopped down from his cart, grabbing the lantern as he started to walk forward.
"Who said that?" he asked, walking up to the line of slaves, holding his lantern up to the faces of the ones he passed before he paused before one of them.
"What is your name?" he asked, the man in front of him pausing before answering.
"Django."
"Then you are exactly the one I am looking for," King said, "do you know who the Brittle Brothers are?"
Django nodded his head, "Big John, Ellis, Roger- sometimes they call him Lil Raj. They was the overseers of the Carrucan Plantation."
"Not anymore," Schultz said, "tell me, if you were to see those three gentlemen again, would you be able to recognize them?"
"Hey!" one of the Speck brothers called out, interrupting Django and King's conversation, "stop talkin' to him like that."
"Like what?" King asked, turning to look over at him with a quizzical expression on his face.
"Like that."
"My good man, I am simply trying to ascertain-" King started, being interrupted once again.
"Speak English, God damn it!"
Elijah's hand drifted under his jacket, gripping his pistol as he prepared himself to shoot if he had to. Schultz seemed to have noticed that as well, giving Elijah a look as he seemed to address both him and the Speck brothers.
"Everybody calm down," he stressed, holding his hands up slightly, "I am simply a customer trying to conduct a transaction."
"I don't care," one of the brothers stated, Elijah's hand still on his pistol, "no sale. Now, off with ya."
"What do you mean, of course they are for sale."
"Move it!" Elijah noticed the man raised his rifle towards King, Elijah removing his pistol from its holster, pointing it towards the other brother, who was also focused on King. He wondered if he should keep one alive, seeing as they may need to speak with one of them.
With a slightly saddened expression, he lowered his pistol towards the head of the man's horse instead.
"Now," King said, raising his hands once again as he found himself facing the barrel of the rifle, "have you simply gotten carried away with your dramatic gesture, or are you pointing that rifle at me with lethal intention?"
"Last chance, fancy pants," the rifle barer growled, Elijah pulling the hammer of his pistol back with a click. The Speck brother that wasn't addressing King, started to turn himself around at the sound.
"Oh, very well," King said with a disappointment, dropping his lantern quickly and whipped out his pistol, two shots ringing out quickly as King shot the man in front of him, and Elijah shot the horse out from under the other.
The horse collapsed onto the ground, crushing the remaining brother's leg under its dead weight. He let out a yawl of pain as Elijah hopped down from his own horse, glancing towards King as he walked towards the remaining brother.
"Nice shot, Elijah," King said, the younger man giving him a slight frown.
"I don't like shootin' horses."
"Yes, of course," King said quickly, glancing down at the yelling man under his dead horse, "now, I am sorry my associate had to shoot your beast, but we had to do something so you wouldn't do anything rash before coming to your senses."
"You sons of bitches, you shot Roscoe! You killed Ace!"
"I only shot your brother once he threatened me, and Elijah acted accordingly because his life was threatened as well," King said, "I do believe that I have..." King turned and started to count out the slaves standing behind them, "one, two, three, four, five witnesses that can attest to that fact."
"You busted my leg!"
"Won't be the only thing busted if you don't stop your yellin' and bitchin'," Elijah stated, "your already adding to my headache."
"Fuck you!"
"Now, now," King said, stepping in, "please, do not mind Elijah here, he has had a long day. Now, if you could keep your caterwauling down to a minimum, I would like to continue my conversation with young Django here."
"I'll keep him quiet," Elijah muttered, the remaining Speck brother letting out a loud yell and cursed the both of them as King walked back towards Django. Elijah let out a growl, giving a swift kick to the side of the pinned man's head.
King turned to glance back towards them for a few moments once he reached Django again before turning to the slave, "now, as I was saying, if you were to see the Brittle Brothers again, you would be able to recognize them?"
"Yes," Django answered.
"Sold American!" King exclaimed, turning back towards the other two men, "so, Mr. Speck, how much for Django here?"
"Go to Hell!" he exclaimed.
"Don't be silly. How much for Django?"
"Eight hundred dollars!"
"Oh, come now, I may not have much experience in the slave trade, but I wasn't born yesterday," Schultz said, he glanced at Elijah, "Elijah, you seem to be more educated on such things. Tell me, what do you think is a reasonable price for Django?"
Elijah glanced over towards Django, studying him for a few moments before glancing back at King, "I'd say about two hundred and...twenty-five dollars."
"Great, thank you Elijah," King said, then glanced down at the man under the horse, "I'd also like to purchase your brother's nag, seeing as he won't be needing it anymore. Now, as for a bill of sale..."
King walked towards the remaining horse, digging around in the sacks and bags that hung off the saddle before he pulled out a pad of paper. "Oh, Elijah, will you unshackle Django there while I finish this? I believe the key should be on Ace's person."
Elijah walked towards the body of Ace, bending down and started to dig through the dead man's jacket before gripping something metallic. He pulled it out, the keys jingling as he picked up a lantern and walked towards the slaves.
He felt his heart squeeze slightly with guilt as he took in the condition of the slaves, noticing some of them shivering in the cold air and the shackles bound to their ankles. Elijah walked towards Django, taking a moment to look at the man before he started to unlock the the shackles around his hands and feet.
"I know you," Django said, his voice still soft, but held some sort of hardness to it. Elijah glanced up at him, a small smile crossing his face.
"That is unfortunate," he said, "as I am sure I was a different man back when you first saw me. Though, I am not that man, I never was. Now, I would go get Speck's jacket while Schultz finishes up here."
Elijah turned on his heel and walked back towards his horse, not noticing Django's suspicious gaze as he watched the man return to the horse that stood by the cart.
"That is Django with a silent D, right?" Schultz asked, glancing towards the unshackled man as he walked towards the dead Speck brother.
"Huh?"
"Don't you dare touch my brother!" the remaining Speck yelled out towards Django, who paused before the dead Speck. Slowly, he started to walk back towards the other brother, standing above him for a few moments before he stomped his foot down on the horse, adding pressure to Speck's already broken leg as he let out a loud and painful cry before Django lifted his foot off and grabbed Ace's coat, walking over to the only unoccupied horse left.
Elijah strode past him on his horse, lantern held out in front of him as Schultz climbed back up onto his waggon. He rode towards the remaining slaves, stopping beside them.
"Now, for you poor devils," he said, tossing the key towards one of them, "now, as I see it, you have two choices. The first being that you lift that beast off that man over there and carry him to the nearest town, which is thirty seven miles back the way you came. The second being that you unshackle yourselves, pick up that rifle there," King pointed towards the rifle in the hands of the slave he had asked to hold it when he was talking with Django, "you put a bullet in his head, bury him deep enough, and make your way towards a more enlightened part of the country. The choice is yours."
King started to pull on the reigns on his horse, but paused and added, "oh, and if there's any astronomy aficionados amongst you, the North Star is that one," King said, pointing towards the brightest star in the sky, "Ta ta."
His cart jerked forward, King seeing Elijah riding off ahead of them quite a bit. The lantern that he carried with them seemed to be getting dimmer with his distance.
"Elijah!" King called out to him, raising his hand once the man turned to glance back at him, "would you be so kind as to share some of that light with us?"
Elijah let out a small sigh, pulling Mud to a stop as he waited for King and Django to catch up. He muttered an apology to his friend as he started to ride alongside the cart.
He could only hope that sleep would be the next destination King had in mind.
He didn't feel like dealing with more slavers and shooting any more horses.