The tumblereeds rolled across the desert sand, the cold, quiet night hovering overhead hauntingly as the moon shone down upon the city with just enough light to guide wanderers on their way. The townsfolk still out were either couples, drunks, bandits or lawmen...all doing what they do best--living their lives.

It was a great deal easier for them, of course...then it was for a certain young indian girl riding into town on her horse, her clothing heavy to prevent the night's chill from effecting her. She wore a tattered old black cowboy hat on her head, and a holster around her waist with a single pistol tucked inside. To many who didn't know her story, they would find it an odd sight to see an indian girl in a dress with a cowboy hat and holster...

... but to those who were familiar, it was an all too grim reminder of the day where she lost the one person who completed her in life.

A soft sob escapes her lips as the cruel memories enter her mind, her love's old horse neighing gently... almost sensing the very pain flooding her senses and trying to calm her. As always, however, the pain is too much...and she simply breaks down, hugging the horse's neck tightly and sobbing into it. The horse slowed, trotting to the side of the empty road to allow the girl to calm.

Some townsfolk looked at her strangely, others softened their eyes as they watched... and many felt her pain.

The town of Redemption would never die in her memory... but for all the wrong reasons on this mortal plain.

"Why did you have to go, Dominic... why did you have to leave me alone." she cried softly, the town watching this gentle angel losing her spirit right before their eyes. She'd already lost so much in her life... so many family members of hers had died during the winter after Dominic's death... she was losing everyone important in her life.

And it all started when a knife peirced her love's heart.

A scream to wake the heavens (and many of the townsfolk) erupted from her lips, as the tears came ever-stronger and the sobs came ever-harder. A gentleman in a suit quietly came to her side, his eyes softened as he gently placed a hand on her shoulder, trying his best to sooth her mind as he addressed her.

"Miss Minamoto...? If you would like, I could help you to your room... I'll have an attendant take care of your horse for you..."

"That... would be nice..." she choked between her sobs, gently rubbing her horse's neck and slowly being helped down off of it thereafter, tears continuing to stream down her face. She wiped at them softly as the gentleman called out for an attendant before leading her on towards the hotel. She carried with her a bag that contained her clothing and other odds and ends inside as she leaned against the man for support, her grief-stricken face catching the attention of the attendant the instant he stepped outside.

The young man motioned to the gentleman questioningly, prompting a small, sad nod from the gentleman. The young man lowered his head grimly and continued on towards the horse, staying silent all the while.

Madam Rita's hotel was a fine one, stationed in North Point...it was one of the better hotels in the whole area. Suki was glad she could make it here.

20,000 dollars was alot to live on for Suki, who for so long in her life had grown used to living off the land with her tribe. It was Dominic who entered her's and her tribe's lives... it was Dominic who helped them develop further... and it was Dominic who stole her heart, and left her the 20,000 dollars in his will to live off of.

He was always thinking of her when he did things... that was what others would tell her when she mourned. They still say it, even today... after all, she's still in mourning.

Though she never married... she felt like a widow.

It was a cold, miserable feeling... and it was one that she felt she would never shake for the rest of her life. The Madam looked at her as they entered and covered her mouth with widened eyes, before they too softened and she lowered her hand, a sad expression taking over her features.

"Howdy... Suki," she said softly, her voice gentle, "Your room's upstairs..."

"Thank you Madam... I won't be needing your help any longer, kind sir... thank you as well." she replied, sniffling lightly. The gentleman stepped to the side and nodded his head solemnly, watching as she made her way up the stairs to her room, soft sobs still escaping her lips.

"Poor girl..." whispered Madam, "She still can't get over that day..."

"He was her everything, Madam," sighed the gentleman, looking over, "ever since he died, she's scarcely gotten any rest. She cannot get the image out of her mind from that day... of him dying in her arms."

Madam nodded her head and sighed, water welling in her eyes for the girl.

"It's such a shame... they would have made the happiest couple in all of the west." she smiled sadly, looking back down at the papers before her.

Upstairs, Suki quietly sat on her bed wih a single picture in her hand. It was a picture of her and Dominic, taken by a professional photographer days before he'd left for the first time.

"God, boy... I miss you so damn much..."

A quiet sob sounded again, but she held back the tears this time, she refused to be weak now... not after all she'd gone through. He was always telling her to be strong for him... always telling her that he believed in her more then anyone else... that she was the one who made it worth living.

"I love you so much..." she whispered to the picture, her fingers lightly tracing over his face, "God... I still love you so much..."

Eyes closed softly, a lingering image of the smiling cowboy who entered her life oh so long ago...

... and the haunting, horrible realization that he never got to realize his greatest of dreams... he'd never be known throughout the western skies. He wasn't the legendary cowboy he hoped so hard he could become...

The outlaw, Alex the Violent cowboy, made sure that he wouldn't.