Hi all,

I'm new to this fandom, I've only just started watching Bonanza recently and as I watched I started to wonder what it would be like if the Cartwrights had a girl in the mix (yes, I'm one of those fans lol)

I've read a lot of fanfiction since I found Bonanza and most of the stories I've read have followed the same line- Ie Ben had another wife after Joe's mother and she died and left a girl behind etc (Just my noticing that's all, no disrespect to those writers)

I decided I wanted to get away from that general storyline and come up with something different and unique that as far as I know no other author has posted yet. The stories I've read either go from one extreme to the other, a girl who's an absolute loose cannon who constantly wants to get her way and work with the men with no sense of being a lady or the Cartwrights constantly forcing a girl to stay in her 'place' in the home.

I wish to bring a new category to this fandom. A young, strong, capable female character who behaves like a lady in word and deed but one that can hold her own with the best of men. I want to get away from the typical stereotype of female characters written in this fandom and create one who is sweet as honey but has the heart of a lion. A character who doesn't take nonsense from no one yet is as ladylike, gentle and kind as they come.

I wanted to create her with a bittersweet backstory too, adding depth to how and who she is in the story. I wanted a character who could challenge the Cartwrights, mainly Ben as being the father and how he deals with the challenges her past brings with her. He won't be the only one challenged, each of the boys has to adjust to having a young girl around and it isn't going to be an easy journey for any of them.

As I have only watched to the 4th season so far there may be times when I don't write them exactly in character. I apologise in advance, I am trying my best to stay true to the brilliant characters that they are but at the same time bring a new side to them.

As mentioned in the summery, physical and mental abuse of a minor is a recurring theme of this story. Discression is advised if these topics are offensive to you.

Teaser

The howl of the wolf brought the girl out of her fevered slumber, her eyes opening in fear as it echoed around the mountainside. It was coming, it was coming for her. There was nothing she could do except lie there and wait. Wait in agony, listening to the hungry howls of the wolf that had been hunting her down waiting for its opportunity.

A canopy of branches and leaves were above her, the forest in which she thought she might have been able to take shelter, to find safety. All she'd found however was a mess of more trouble. Looking up at them she could see the stars, the light of the silvery moon filtering through the trees. It was beautiful, a beautiful place to be, the clear sky with the stars twinkling in their place and the soft gentle rustle of the leaves as a breath of wind cooled her warm body.

Hearing the wolf howl again, closer, it brought her back to her grim reality and she couldn't help the shiver that coursed through her body. She knew she was going to die, it was only a matter of time. Somehow the promise of impending death both scared and calmed her at the same time. Death would bring with it sweet relief from her pain, it was just the process of dying by the fangs of a wolf she hadn't expected. She could think of ways more dignified to die then like a lamb led to the slaughter.

It howled again, closer, the girl trying to move to sit up to try and be ready for it but all it brought was another wave of pain through her body and she couldn't help a scream as she fell back to the ground. Her heart racing, pounding in her ears she tried again, closing her eyes as she grasped the bark of the tree she was lying next to. Dragging herself up inch by inch she was able to sit against the tree, panting heavily as she tried to get some rest. The pain, the pain was excruciating, worse than she'd ever experienced in her whole life and the slumber of unconsciousness threatened to take her once again in its grasp.

She rested there, breathing through the pain as she looked back down at her leg. It was mangled, absolutely mangled in the jaws of the trap she'd stood in. She could see it was bleeding again but there wasn't much she could do about it except wish for the nightmare she found herself in to end soon.

A soft rustle of leaves and the snap of a twig made her look up. There, in the moonlight not twenty feet away from her stood the wolf. It stepped forward, the girl swallowing down the lump in her throat. This was it, this was how she was to die. Caught in a trap like a deer at the mercy of the king of the mountains.

Without knowing really why, her hand clutched at the knife hanging from her belt as the wolf stepped closer. The eyes of the hunter and the hunted met, the girl swallowing back her fear as the wolf lifted its lips to snarl and growl at her. If she was going to die she wasn't going to lie down and take it. She'd fight. Maybe it was the fever making her delirious or maybe it was the fact now she was staring death in the face that made her want to live.

The wolf lunged, the girl screaming as it latched onto her throat. She could feel the fangs digging into her skin as she tried to break free, trying to push it away with one hand while trying to stab it with the knife in her other. There was a flurry of fur as they rolled over, the wolf losing grip and taking a step back, both of them with blood dripping from their wounds. The girl gasped for air now that the wolf's fangs weren't pressing on her throat, her heart racing as the wolf snarled at her. It obviously hadn't been expecting her to fight back.

Adrenaline running through her she was numbed from the pain as she focused on the wolf in front of her. The animal was dripping blood from the cuts she'd given it but what she really needed was to be able to stab it and hard. The wolf was strong, much stronger than her and as it snarled again she could see the look in its eyes. It wasn't about to back down. It wouldn't go down without a fight.

They stared at each other, the girl waiting anxiously for it to make its move. Her hand gripped the handle of the knife tightly, her heart pounding as she waited. The waiting, watching the eyes of the wolf was only serving to make her more frightened. If death had a face she could argue that it would be the one staring back at her. For her though it was if she didn't kill this mad animal.

It leapt again but this time it's movements were slower, more deliberate and the girl was able to roll herself out of the way just in time to give the wolf another wound. The wolf turned, snarling again and she waited with held breath. The way of a wolf to fight was jump in and slash, the first time it had tried to maintain a hold on her but now it was trying to take a chunk out of her throat instead.

It came at her again and this time the girl reached up with one hand, grabbing it by the throat as she stabbed it with the knife and rolled over at the same time, pinning the wolf to the ground.

It snarled, kicking, fighting, the two of them rolling over in a flurry of fur and calico skirts. They rolled over and over, each of them trying to get a hold on the other so they could finish them off but neither of them were able to hold the other down and so they kept on fighting. Hand to fang, the wolf with a kill in his sights, the girl not quite ready enough to give up and die just yet. She was a survivor, it would be a disgrace to die at the fang of a wolf after the hell she'd lived through already.

It was the girl who was finally able to get a strong hold, pinning the wolf underneath her as blood flowed down her neck and chest from where it's claws and teeth had ripped through her skin. The wolf snapped it's jaws, trying to wriggle free to bite her as she held it down but the girl wasn't letting go. She ran the knife into the side of the wolf, twisting it as it howled in agony, it's fight weakening as she pulled the knife out with blood flowing freely. She stabbed it again and again, watching as it went limp and the light faded from its eyes. The wolf didn't move, the girl watching it gasping from breath as she left the knife in the wolf, moving away from its corpse as her vision started to go black. She tried to move forward back to the tree, her vision blurring as she struggled forward on her stomach. Finally the pain was too much, the girls head landing hard on the ground as she finally succumbed to her wounds. The wolf was dead but the girl didn't move either...