So Blue, Scarlet

Winter 4th, 1868

Days were getting more and more stressful for Mina as Darla had told her Danny had asked her to marry him and of course she said yes. Mina should have been happy for her little sister now that her job was done and her goal had been accomplished but but happy was not the emotion she was feeling. Angry was more like it. Danny was winning, he was taking Darla away from her, he was driving the wedge between the strongest bond Mina had ever known. The Hart sisters were once insperable and now Darla was leaving her. She was moving on, growing up, and where would this leave Mina? Alone, always alone. It was what Mina was born to feel. The only time she hadn't been alone was when she had Darla. Darla had always loved her as much as she loved that little girl, and then that little girl grew up and Mina was content being her guard dog. Then that little girl found love and became a young woman. That young woman knew her love was true and said yes to a marriage proposal and now that young woman was going to get married. She was going to live happily ever after with Danny and Mina was going to be alone. Cast off and forgotten, she felt a little like a martyr.

"Give me another drink." Mina ordered and grabbed the new shot glass slamming it back. She couldn't cry her fears away, she could go on feeling sorry for herself. Mina was still too strong for that. All she could do was drink that pain away and numb it a little. She was going to numb it well up until the wedding then when Darla was good and happy and Mina couldn't stand being the stranger looking in anymore she was going to leave Buffalo Creek Bay forever. She didn't know where she would go or what she would do but hell she was a big girl she could take care of herself. She would take River and ride towards Denver, once she got there well she would keep on riding. Perhaps she could put together her own gang. Mina and the Hart boys. Had a sort of ring to it but nothing like The Hart Sisters did. No nothing would be as perfect, as flawless as the Hart sisters. They took care of each other not because they were a 'gang' but because they were blood and they loved each other. Now there was no need to take care of Darla anymore what with Danny in the picture and because of it there was no reason for Mina to be alive.

Hell if Mina was the sort to just give up she would wander off and die. Lay down on the ground, close her eyes and never wake up. But Mina was a fighter, she wanted to go out in glory not with a whimper. In with a roar out with a roar Mina always said. She had to go out fighting, a hero's death or at least to die by the gun. Playing with her shot glass she gazed down at it empty and clear like her dear sister. Girl was dumb as bricks but she meant well. Mina had never known anyone to be as innocent as her little sister. Hell the girl was practically an angel, she was that glimmer of light and hope in the dark world. Every morning Mina could wake up and look up at Darla's face and even if she was doomed to hell she has that little bit of heaven all to herself...at least until Danny came along and took that away from her. With nothing left to call her owns she was feeling betrayal. Not only from Darla but from herself. She hadn't been there to keep Danny off her little sister so in reality it was all her fault. All she could think of was when they were younger, Darla was just a day over sixteen years old and Mina had near died on her again. Darla looked at her with those big baby blues that nearly made you weep and she said in her most darling of tones. "Mina don't you ever leave me okay, and I'll never leave you. We are sisters forever. We go out together." Broken promise, forever wasn't ever going to be long enough.

Winter, 1868Scarlett puffed a sigh of boredom. She leaned against the counter, boot up against a bar stool, emphasizing the outline of her thigh against her dress. Her body was teeter-tottering against her leg while she surveyed the room, a dull and uninterested gleam in her blue eyes. God, she wanted to leave this place with all its dust, and criminals, and horse droppings. Damn Dover Hill and his inconsolable pride. Damn his goons and all his little minions. Damn the world! Her spirits continued to damper. She sighed once more, this one was, however, in defeat. What good was it to complain anyway? Scarlett was simply making it harder for herself by simply dragging along, day by day, in desperation and poverty, as if she had no purpose anymore. Thanks to Dover Hill's unwanted pampering, she couldn't even remember the last time when she actually relied on herself. God, what was wrong with her? There she was, in the middle of Colorado, hiding from the baddest mafia-man known to the state of New York, in danger of being discovered at any moment, with not a penny to her name, and complaining as if she were a common well-bred socialite... As if she had the right... At least she had a job, a second chance, and, of course, her freedom. There were so many opportunities she could milk for herself in her little new home.Home. New home. She had to accept it. There was no going back now.With new fire in her heart, she had the gumption to straighten her posture and slowly start to make rounds once again. The saloon was fairly full, mostly occupied by the regulars who were most often drifters and cowboys. These customers were easy; mostly shots of whiskey and a hint of cleavage were enough to make them happy. The occasional man would get a little too happy and try to put his hands somewhere they were not welcome, but thankfully it wasn't a daily occurrence. In the short couple of months she had been working in the saloon, she already had to strike three men on separate occasions for slapping her rump, and hopefully of these demonstrations others won't start to get any ideas either. Currently in the saloon however, some were contently drowning themselves in bourbon, others chatting quietly, and others had already knocked out on the rickety table surfaces, their snores varying in pitch and volume. As she passed the table with a lone, gruff-looking woman she loudly demanded for another drink, emphasizing her request with the slamming of glass on table. Scarlett had gotten used to not expecting to hear any 'please's' or 'thank you's', and quickly retrieved her drink (as the young woman didn't seem like the type to be kept waiting) and placed the shot glass filled to the brim with liquor carefully in front of the woman. Now that she had an opportunity for close inspection, she concluded that she had seen the young woman before. She floated around town at times, stopping often at the bar, although she usually had been observed with another young woman, though Scarlett didn't know precisely know whether they were kin or just friends. Scarlett was a bit curious about her now. It seemed in the West, gender roles were slightly more blurred than back East. Perhaps that's why she was both very surprised and intrigued."Can I get ya' anything else?" Scarlett inquired, interest slightly peaked, as she placed a delicate hand on her hip.

"Nah darlin that will be all thanks." Mina replied putting the glass to her lips and looking up at the serving girl. It was alarming what you never noticed when you had a ditsy little brunette around you all the time clinging to you like you were god and distracting every god damn man in the saloon. Hell if it wasn't for Mina and being protective of her baby sister then Danny's fiancee would be a whore. Quite literally actually. The little girl was destine to be another whore in the whore house. Now that little miss Darla was too busy with Danny she was starting to notice a lot of things. The first being that Buffalo Creek Bay had a bank, secondly that Bella's husband ran it, then that Bella had a husband. It was sort of sad she had liked that woman, she was damn pretty too and here she owned a big bank now and had a baby boy and a husband. Life seemed to work out so perfectly when you had a love for men rather than women. Mina didn't so much as have a girlfriend who hadn't at some point been a whore who slept with everything that moved and whores were not within Mina's taste. She got jealous too easily. Now she was starting to notice the hot little serving girl at the saloon who wasn't Lila. Lila was cute, hell Mina would keep her in her pocket like a pet mouse. Bonnie was a fox, Mina loved that woman, in fact she was the only girl around here Mina could truly be good friends with. They could swap war wound stories, show off each others guns, and talk about a bunch of fun shit no one else thought of because they were too busy fixing their frilly skirt. Maybe she could bump off her cute baby on Darla and introduce her to the life she was going to face once she married Danny. She deserved it, getting knocked up and being miserable and having a baby that freaked her out.

This girl now...she was damn classy looking. Pretty brunette just the sort Mina liked the most obviously. Wouldn't you like brunettes too if you spent your life around Darla? Not that she thought her sister was hot...well everyone thought her sister was hot. Mina just felt she had to find a girl who could actually distract men FROM Darla. Thus there was a great treasure hunt to be had. Pushing a chair back from the table Mina did just what she use to do for Darla when she followed her about like a lost puppy dog. "Have a seat you look like the men have had you running circles around this place." Mina sat back up trying to keep her good posture. Slamming back her drink she set it down lightly and tapped the glass with her finger. "Have you ever felt betrayed before?" Mina spoke up a little more and threw her boot up on another chair to stretch out her leg. After riding River around for a few hours she felt like her legs were a bit still and her ass was far gone by now. She hadn't felt it since six this morning. If only she could sit the trot on that horse but unfortunately River liked to move like she was part saddelbred. "I have been raising my baby sister practically since the time she was pissing her pants...which isn't her fault she has a weak bladder and wet the bed when she was seven. She did outgrow it to be fair." And it hadn't been fair bringing that up knowing how high and mighty Darla liked to be.

Hell Darla could be a little embarrassed. Not that she would ever whip out the naked baby pictures because lord knows everyone would be a little too excited to see those and Mina didn't have any. Her sister was mostly always completely clothed in Mina's care. "You give some snot nosed little brat the best years of your life and she goes off and does stupid shit and now...now I am just cast aside. Maybe I should be happy for her...but why do I still feel so alone and forgotten...you know I could use another drink. I normally do not drink because I am sad but I'm...upset."