AN: Hi guys! So after taking a brief sesebatical for June I'm back with a new character and story. You don't need to have seen Texas Rising to understand this story though I encourage everyone to watch it because it was a terrific show despite the historical inaccuracies. I've messed with the timelines too, mostly of Sam Houston's life. I'm warning everyone upfront that this is the wild west. There will be cursing, violence, implied and later graphic sex, rasist slurs, and character death. I'm not trying to offend anybody I'm just staying true to the times. I hope you all enjoy Lily May and Kit as much as I do. Welcome to Texas.
1836—Republic of Texas.
The Mexican territory is home to thousands of U.S. settlers. Tensions rise as Comanche and Karankawa fight to keep their lands. Outlaws roam free, and slaves are caught in the crossfire. Mexican General Santa Anna battles to reclaim the land. U.S. President Andrew Jackson is hesitant to intervene and Texas has no choice but to declare itself an independent nation. Outnumbered, General Sam Houston's Texas Republic Army and Stephen Austin's Ranging Company are all that stand between Santa Anna's tyranny and independence. Texas in flames; the Alamo in ashes. Pioneers, Mexicans, Tejanos, Indians, Soldiers, have no choice. ...fight or die!
Gonzales, Texas
March 7th
Lily May Houston jumped in the watering hole with a splash and a holler. Her runnin start off the grey and brown rocky bank made a splash so big she worried it might have soaked her carefully folded clothes restin themselves on a nice nearby rock. Not that it mattered much with the Texas spring sun beating down through the lush, protective tree tops that surrounded this deep end of the stream. Further down there was another deep drop in the stream, far enough away from the trees and rocky banks that nothing could be seen, the rest of the rangering company could be heard doin their own splashing and carryin on together. Lily May rolled her large moss green eyes playfully and set to work scrubbing her while long johns clean of whatever managed to work its way under her clothes in the four days since her last bath.
All ready they were spotted and scented with sweat, red dirt, gun powder, and ash. God help her clothes. They had gotten the worse of four days scoutin on a horse and left her yearnin for her clean skirt and blouse waitin for her back at Camp Gonzales. In the meantime she just wanted to at least get rid of the smell. As she swam and scrubbed in the lukewarm water that felt more like ice to the sun weary woman she indulged herself in a song. An old Cherokee lullaby she could vividly remember her father cooing her with as a child in the territory broke up the muffled silence.
As the words fell easily from her cracked pale pink, sandpaper like bow lips Lily May closed her eyes. Relaxing into the stream she dropped to her knees, finding relief in the icy splash of the water on her neck. Her honey blonde hair stayed dry, secured into a bun at the crown of her head a thick strap of leather she'd found in her saddle bag. Pausing at the chorus she tossed two cupped palms of water across her dirt smeared face, revealing freckles painted across her high set nose and full cheeks. Sighing contently she opened her mouth for the next verse.
Instead the sound of a branch snapping broke through the wooded surroundings. Green orbed popped open on a dime. shoulders squared and posture straight Lily May scanned the horizon. There was no sound nor movement but Lily May's senses were set higher. Cautiously she crept over to the bank, letting the last verse of the lullaby fall softly as she reached out with her left hand and grasped her flintlock pistol. Tiptoeing back into the watering hole she scanned the tree line once more.
As the last line sounded through the uneasy peace a twig gave way to someone's weight from the trees in front of her. Lily May cocked the flintlock with a smirk and aimed. A mere second later Vern Elwoods came falling through the greenery holding his sides as they fell apart in laughter. "God dammit Vern!" Lily May screeched like a hyena, droppin down further into the water like he wouldn't be able to see her through the crystal clear stream.
"What in the hell do you think your doin?!"
She covered her breast that shown through the white cloth with the hand not holding her gun. Her sun browned cheeks were stinging red with fury. Vern just laughed. "Sorry princess, break times over. We're movin out." Lily made a sound like a horse as he turned.
He stopped half way up the bank and spun on his heels, stroking his mustache quickly in thought. He didn't even try to hide his leering eyes. "Though we might have a minute if you wanted me to join ya." She threw him a look that could drop the devil himself. Vern laughed his way up the bank until a three pound cowboy boot nailed him in the head.
Now Lily May had never set foot on a boat once in her nineteen years but that didn't stop her from using words that could make a sailor blush as she scrambled into her clothes and up the bank past the shelter of the tree line. The sun bared down familiarly at once. Lily flipped her wide brimmed leather hat ontop of her head for protection and mounted her horse. Clicking to the white and grey spotted horse she'd dubbed Beau she took off after the rest of the Texas Rangers. They hadn't gotten more than a couple yards away, an easy catch up for her.
Yancey was lagging behind but she didn't acknowledge him as she kept Beau trotting forward to the head of the party. She rode straight to where Vern was riding, discussing the General's lack of action with Karnes, Smith, and Anderson, clutched her saddle with one hand smacked Vern in the head hard enough to echo through the plains. The others all paused to watch but said nothing and went unacknowledged by Lily May. Vern was too busy glaring at her to check the men's reaction to his cry of pain.
"Bitch!"
"And don't you forget it!" She smiled smugly, turning to back to the nonexistent path in front of her before flicking them back to her onry, perverted friend.
"Oh, and uh, Elwood if you go pullin shit like that again and I will shoot you in the leg."
Truitt snickered through pursed lips. Yancey smacked his vexatious friend in the arm with a look of annoyance. Truitt stopped his gigglin and returned Yancey's look. They locked in an intense stare down that quickly dissolved into fits of laughter leaving them falling against each other for support. Bean's straight face dissolved into his own fit of laughter at the younger members of their company which in turn left Zacharia in a mimicking state. Even Anderson and Karnes couldn't help but chuckle deep and quiet. Deaf rolled his eyes before another one of his coughing fits came on. Lily glanced over at him uneasily but changed the subject.
"Besides Elwood you best rethink your strategies there. We listen to you and we'd all be dead in a field right about now."
"How you figer that?" He challenged.
"Well for one thing we're outnumbered and outgunned." She started, "We go chargin against Santa Anna now and they squish us like cockroaches."
"Ladies right, gotta pick our battles." Deaf spoke in a raspy voice as he pulled a bloody cloth back from his lips and tucked it away. Lily May nodded pointedly in his direction knowing Vern would at least listen to Deaf. "That's why we're on as scouts." Anderson threw in like he was speaking to a small child. Lily May smiled smugly. "Just trust the General boys. He knows what's he's doin."
"Ya well he also let a woman talk bad bout his manhood and let his daughter join the rangers. What's that tell ya."
Lily May's smile dropped. She sat up straighter on Beau feeling his alter his trot beneath her in response. She looked at Vern through tight green slits and huffed; turning back to the plains before her temper could flare any higher by more coals being tossed at it.
"In the leg Vern. In. The. Leg."
Truitt and Yancey chuckled from the back until a booming yell sounded over them.
"Smoke! I see smoke!"
"Woah!" Lily May pulled Beau to a stop by his reins as Karnes through up his hand to his rangers. Kit came barreling forward so fast he barely kept from toppling into Karnes.
"I've seen smoke! Bout twenty miles from here."
There was an exchange of worried looks all around before Karnes even spoke up. They all knew what was there but waited on their captain to speak. "That's the Alamo." Lily caught Kit's eye as they waited with baited breath while Karnes examined the scene through a small telescope he kept in his own saddlebag. She figured her own expression was just as tormented.
Karnes wordlessly passes the scope to Deaf, suddenly unable to look away from the smoke, an unreadable expression masking his face. Deaf pulled back quickly from the scope again not looking away from the stacks of smoke. "That's the Alamo boys. We've lost it."