A.N. Hello all. Time for another chapter, but first...Stat Chart
Reviewers:
Guest (Hmm...now I feel that I might just do that, in the future of course)
Viewers:
42+
Now let us continue. Oh, by the way, if anyone wonders why I make Carter out to be the villan every time is because there's a student in my school named Carter who is an absolute DICK! Anyways, continuing on with the story.
[Time Skip to the first voting scene (forget which year it was)]
James woke up to his brother, Ian, prodding his arm with a rifle.
"Stop pointin' that thing at me." James says
"It ain't loaded." Ian responds
"Still, it's dangerous to do somethin' like that."
"Alright. Oh, pa wants us to go huntin' with his after the votin'. Should be fun."
"Ask if I can invite Quiet, she'd love somethin' like that."
"Ask 'im yourself."
James got out of his bed and got dressed as Ian ran downstairs and out the door to feed the replace some pickaxes that would be used in work later. The mining business was going well, and there seemed to be more and more wealth to be dug up from under the stoney ground.
Once the Winter family had finished getting ready, Marcus had James and Ian get the horses and wagon ready while they made sure they didn't leave anything that they might need behind.
While the parents and Samantha were inside, Ian lifted a plank from the wagon and showed James a pair of revolvers. One having Ruby etched into it, and the other Gold.
"Thanks for gettin' me these little brother. Ma and Pa don't know do they?" James says
"Nope, I got Nickolas to craft these beauties for a good price."
"I'll be sure to thank him when I see him at the fair."
Once Marcus, Lily, and Samantha exited the house, Ian quickly shifted the boards back in place, while James climbed into the wagon, with Ian following him after completing his task.
"Alright boys, we're headin' out" Marcus says, taking a seat on the "driver's" side while Lily and Samantha sat on the passenger's seat and wagon respectively. After a good amount of time riding, Marcus tied the wagon and horses down while his offspring met up with the other youths of their age.
James immediately went to Nickolas to thank him for the revolvers, to which He responded by saying it wasn't a problem. Things were going well, as Quiet and the other Winter and Snake relatives joined them, until Carter decided to ruin the moment.
"I see you've got some new pistols there James, do y'know how to use them." Carter says
"'Course I do...say, why don't we have a shootin' contest." James suggests
Everyone else agrees whole-heartedly, as a target was set up away from the crowd as they each took turns shooting. So far Luke had gotten the clossest. James took a rifle and aimed down the sight, when Carter says, "Why don't you try with those new pistol's of yours?"
"You know what? I might just do that. Get a feel for 'em." James says, handing his rifle to Quiet, who looked at the revolvers with envy. James loaded a single round into the Ruby gun, aimed down the sights...and fired. Everyone was surprised to see the bullet hit the edge of the target, almost making it a complete miss.
Confused, James pulls out the Golden revolver and tries shooting with that one, same result. In the back Carter was laughing so hard he could pass out, and says, "Guess you ain't so good a shot as you think."
"No...somethin' wrong here." James says, examining the gun
Everything looked fine, the firing mechanism was fine, trigger, fine, barrel...wait. The barrel was shifted ever so slightly, making it almost un-noticable.
"Nick, you sold my brother faultly revolvers?" James says, the agitation clearly evident in his voice
"What!? No, I swear I didn't."
"Look at this barrel, curved. You tryin' to make a fool outta' me?"
"No, James, you know I wouldn't pull somethin' like that on you. I swear I don't know what happened."
Ben heard Carter stop laughing, and looked towards his cousin. James saw the movement as his eyes met Carter's, the amusment dancing around like snow in the wind.
"Carter...I got somethin' for ya." James says in a sing-song voice
"What?"
"A biiiiiiiig punch to the face, you little-"
"James!" Quiet yells, gaining everyone's attention
"You know He isn't worth it."
Quiet locked arms with James and gently pulled him away towards the forest.
"Why don't we go for a walk, and relax, ok?"
"I...fine."
Nickolas sent a silent "thank you" to Quiet when she turned her head back. She responded with a nod, as the two walked into the forest. Quiet led James to a nearby lake, where they took a seat on a smalll ledge.
"I like you're guns, by the way." Quiet says
"Thanks...wanna take a hold one of 'em?"
"Could I!"
James give Quiet the Gold revolver as she practically drools over it.
"Wow, look at this design, beautiful."
"You like it?"
"Yeah."
"You can keep it."
"What? Really?"
"Yeah, It's yours. I've got it's twin, so we'll each have something that connects us together."
Quiet jumps on James and enraptures him in a hug.
"Thank you so much."
"You're very much welcome."
James takes notice of the position they're in, with their faces close together and Quiet's leg in close proximity to a certain area.
"Why don't we-uh, head back. I'm sure you'll want the barrel on the revolver fixed. We can probably ask your brother to help repair them."
The two go back to the fair where things were starting to settle down, and people were leaving. Nickolas promised to repair the revolvers free of charge, and made Carter apologize for interfering. The two families part ways, but Tobias and Nick couldn't be found, so they were left behind. Their parents knew that they could find their way home, so they didn't worry about them getting into too much trouble.
It took a few hours, but the two brothers made it home, but not before dropping someone off at the Head of the Family's home.
"Roseanna, mind telling me why you're staying at our house? It's nice to see you again and all, but I'm a bit curious." Samantha asks
Roseanna was to sleep in Samantha's Room with a makeshift cot. Marcus Winter was a generous man and saw no problem in letting the young McCoy daughter spend a night at their residence.
"I was out with Johnse Hatfield walking around, but my family accidentally left me behind."
"It was lucky my brothers found you. Who knows what that Hatfield could've done."
"He isn't too bad, and I doubt he would have tried anythin'."
"You never know with men. Anyways, I'm gettin' tired, so let's call it a night ok?"
"Alright, night."
In the morning, Marcus Winter personally returned Roseanna back to her father. Randall was overjoyed to have his daughter back and thank Marcus. Marcus then took his leave and returned to his own family.
"Come on boys, huntin' time." Marcus called out
James and Ian came running out with their rifles in hand.
"Pa, can we stop by Quiet to see if she wants to come?" James asks
"That's a bit out of our way, but ok."
A few minutes later, the group walked to Quiet's house, where the girl herself was outside tossing a knife into the ground.
"Hey Quiet." James calls out
"James, good to see ya. What brings you here though?"
"We came to ask if you'd like to come huntin'."
"I'll ask my pa real quick."
Quit runs inside, and after muffled sounds of a conversation Quiet exits the building with Carter tailing behind her. James and Ian hid their sighs of disappointment. Quiet walked up to them with the Ruby and Golden revolvers. James graciously took the Ruby one while Quiet holstered the Golden one.
"Pa said I had to take Carter. Suppose to be some kind of family-bonding-thing." Quiet says with a scoff
"I'm sure my Pa will let us go on our own if we ask. We both know these wood, so he should be fine with it." James says
"Let's hope you're right."
After a few more minutes of walking, the small group arrived at their hunting destination. A nearby stable was a landmark that was normally used whenever they Winters went out hunting.
"Hey Pa, do you mind if Quiet and I go on our own? We won't get lost and promise to meet up back here before it's time to go."
"Alright, just make sure you don't get lost."
"Yes sir."
Marcus handed James a small pack of food to lure the wildlife out and a water pouch. James then took Quiet by the hand and led her deep into the forest. Instead of hunting, the two sat down on a fallen tree and talked. The sun passed overhead as the two eventually got off the log and searched for their prey.
"James...I wanted to get something off my chest." Quiet says, leaning against a tree
"Is something the matter?" James asks
"I...I wanted to tell you-"
A snapping of sticks can be heard, before a buck rushes through, followed by a gunshot. James jumps down and out of the way as the deer pelts it's way through the forest. James then hears someone gurgling and is horrified to see Quiet grabbing her throat in an effort to stop the blood flow.
"Holy sh*t, Quiet, NO!" James yells, and quickly rushes to her aid
James grabs the water pouch and cleans the wound area without water getting into the opening. It was deep, but with lucky she could be saved.
The others came bounding over and quickened their step at the sight of a bleeding Quiet. James tore off the sleeve of his shirt and wrapped it around Quiet's neck. The girl was grasping at James with a scared look in her eyes. James placed a kiss on her forehead and picked her up bridal style. (A.N. I don't know what someone would do in this situation, so...yeah. If that's a rookie move then sorry :/)
"We need to go NOW!" James practically yells
The group quickly maneuver their way through the trees until they find themselves back at the forest's border. They all head to the ranch, with Ian running ahead to alert the people there. Once everyone else arrived, the owner already had a horse saddled, ready and waiting.
"I'll take her back to town." James says, already lifting himself onto the horse. It took a small bit of assistance to get him on while holding Quiet. After finally getting situated, James speeds them away towards the town, in hopes of reaching the clinic. James made sure the wound didn't start bleeding again and kept the makeshift bandage on the cut.
Quiet had felt herself growing weak, and resigned herself to the warm comfort of James' arms, as the black abyss of unconsciousness consumed her.
A.N. Alright, sorry it took so long, but school and the holidays take up a lot of time. On a side note, have a late Merry Christmas and Happy New Year :) I'm sure a lot of us can guess what happened with Quiet's "incident", but still. Of course, this is where Quiet loses her voice. Yeah I had to do it, sorry. I guess that's it for now
Reviews would be appreciated
Anyways stay awesome guys and gals of the world, and I'll see you next chapter