Seven of Hearts: 'Peacemaker'
Ah, I reckon it was about three months ago, I saw a Card. The legend's everywhere now, y'know? But hell, I've never seen
anythin' quite like this.
It all began when she came to town, some of our townsfolk called her the devil's daughter. I'm thinkin' she was still a
kid, not quite eighteen years old yet. They called'er the devil's daughter for the long white hair an' pink eyes - one of
them albinos the doc' later called her. An' one fine mornin' she came strollin' her way into town an' stopped at the inn.
It was a cryin' shame y'know, she had no chaperone an' an accent like she never stayed in one place for very long, pickin'
up pieces here and there. Anyways this girl came in the inn an' smiled politely at the 'keep, askin' him for a room.
Y'wouldn't think she was holding a Card if you saw her just standin' there, she smiled real pretty and thanked the 'keep.
The next day, she was mindin' her own business, stayin' out of ours. Not one of us had an idea she was packin' one of
those Guns, an' we were better off not knowing about it. Hell we wouldn't've known if it weren't for ol' Billy an' Bobby
Rich, brothers who came into town that next evenin'. They were a rough and rowdy duo, Billy was the brain an' Bobby was
the brawn. An' then before we knew it they were pickin' a fight with the sheriff outside the saloon an' shot him a couple
o' times, messed him up real bad. The poor ol' sheriff didn't even have a chance to draw his gun. Them brothers didn't
kill him though, no sir, they only hit his hand an' thigh. Them brothers were fixin' to finish the sheriff off though,
seein' as he put 'em away for a robbery years back.
--
Then the little lady that checked into the inn the night before came runnin' out lookin' terrified. Them brothers didn't
notice her an' circled the sheriff like vultures, exchangin' some dirty words. An' I remember it clearly, brother Billy
shoved the barrel of his pistol against the sheriff's head. An' everyone jumped at the first gunshot, an' it took a few
seconds I reckon, 'til I realized what happened there. That little lady they called the devil's daughter drew out her gun
from under her dress, I reckon the holster was on her thigh. It was silver-plated .45 six shooter I reckon, an' had a
white handle an' a dove carved into the barrel. An' I remember the card imprinted on it too, but I couldn't see it at the
time. An' in a split second this weird-lookin' Card raised an' fired. It hit Billy's gun dead-on an' punched a hole clear
thru' one end an' out the other!
Now about this time, Billy an' Bobby are both furious. They look all around only to see a little angel standin' there to
challenge 'em. An' the second Bobby drew his revolver we all heard a second shot. I reckon the second bullet from the
young lady's gun tore through the revolver's handle an' blew off his thumb and several fingers. An' now Bobby falls to his
knees bawlin' like a baby while ol' Billy is just fuming. I never heard such profanity used at a lady like what Billy said
to that girl before, that's for sure. Then he pulled out a knife an' went lungin' at her, before the third and final shot
from her gun. It hit him in the foot an' he fell over just a couple o' feet short of the girl.
Now by this point the deputy comes along with his big ol' rifle. an' the fightin's over. The deputy arrests the Rich
brothers an' hauls them to jail, while the doctor came runnin' next. That mysterious little lady an' some of the bystanders
helped move the sheriff to the doctor's, an' patched him up alright. The poor fella' will always walk with a limp for the
rest of his life now though.
--
I never saw the little lady again, but the doctor had a nice, long talk with her 'fore she left town. He an' I had a drink
together a few days later, an' he tells me the little lady was a poor little orphan named Aimee, on her way up north to
Philadelphia. 'Don't know what she's fixin' to do there, but the doc' said he doubted the girl could live much longer out
here. He told me that girl didn't believe in killin' and didn't want to hurt a fly. It was only the third gunfight she's
ever been in, and so far not one soul was lost in a fight where her "Peacemaker" fired a bullet. I reckon from what the doc'
told me that evenin', she was just a child playing a game for adults, in way over her head. An' the doc' warned her, he said
she would be the one who died if she wasn't willin' to kill someone with that gun. But y'know what she said? Seems she got
this far all the way from Sacramento believin' she could end every fight peacefully. The doc' was very skeptical, but here I
am thinkin' maybe she could do it alright, with that kind of faith.
Another thing the doc' told me, he said her Gun was the Seven of Hearts. To this day he an' I wonder how the hell a child
like her got mixed up in the Cards, but I'll never know.