Wanted Dead Or Dreaming | Rue Bennett x Fem!OC | No Saints In Texas
synopsis: Rue begins tracking Ronnieโs movements through old newspaper articles, missing posters, and town gossip. She discovers Ronnieโs crimes may have been exaggerated to hide something bigger.
warnings: sexual themes, Cowgirl!Rue, vulgar language, mature themes, mentions of violence and blood, western concept, original characters, S3 Atmosphere, Futuristic elements, Sci-fi
playlist
Rue roamed the halls of her home in the dead of night, her footsteps quiet against the wooden floors as her mind wandered.
Bishop's story replayed over and over in her head, each detail sitting heavily as she tried to piece together the contradictions. The blue nails. The indigo ink. The scratches. The stories from the men across town.
And the victim.
Every version of Ronnie Blue seemed different, but Rue knew there had to be a connection hiding beneath the rumors.
Unable to let the mystery rest, she slipped away to her father's old library. The room remained untouched, filled with the scent of aged books and memories she wasn't ready to leave behind.
Rue stepped inside and began her search.
She pulled out old newspapers and a few books from her father's collection, the worn covers stacked high in the corner of the library. The tales written about Ronnie Blue were vicious and dramatic, each story more unbelievable than the last.
It was almost as if she wasn't a real person.
Almost as if she were a character in a movie.
Rue brushed the dust away from the small lamp sitting on the desk before flicking it on. The dim light flickered against the walls as she leaned closer, carefully reading through the articles scattered across the wooden surface.
"The Blued Woman Strikes Again."
"Another Man Marked in Blue."
Each headline painted Ronnie as something more than a woman.
A warning.
A myth.
A name people whispered when the night grew quiet.
The story about the robbery immediately caught Rue's attention.
She ran her fingers along the edges of the newspaper, rereading the details over and over. How could Ronnie have pulled off something like that?
A bank sitting in the center of town, surrounded by armed security, witnesses, and guards prepared for any threat.
Yet somehow, Ronnie Blue walked in, took what she wanted, and disappeared without a single person being harmed.
No blood.
No casualties.
No trace.
It didn't make sense.
Rue leaned back in her chair, staring at the article as the questions continued to pile up. Everyone spoke about Ronnie like she was a monster, a woman who left destruction wherever she went.
But the evidence told a different story.
A thief who didn't kill.
A woman who vanished without a trail.
A legend that seemed too impossible to be true.
As Rue glanced toward the window, she realized the sun had already risen. Golden rays spilled through the glass, replacing the darkness that had surrounded her only moments before. The smell of bacon drifting through the house pulled her back to reality.
She quickly gathered the newspapers and books, placing everything back exactly where she found it. The last thing she needed was for her mother to discover she had been digging through her father's old belongings before sunrise.
Rue slipped out of the library and rushed down the hall, making her way back to her room before Leslie could notice.
She climbed into bed and pulled the covers over herself, lying perfectly still as if she hadn't moved all night.
A few moments later, a soft knock echoed against the door.
"Rue?"
The door creaked open as Leslie peeked inside.
"Breakfast is on the table if you're hungry," her mother said gently. "I also need you to make a quick run into town and pick up everything on this list."
She walked over to the dresser and placed the folded paper down before turning back toward the door.
"Don't take too long."
With that, Leslie closed the door behind her.
Rue slowly sat up, staring at the list while the events of the night before still lingered in her mind.
Rue took a quick walk to the bathroom and washed up before facing her family at the table. The cold water splashed against her face as she took a moment to wake herself up, gathering her thoughts after a long night of searching through her father's library.
She fixed herself up, trying to hide the exhaustion that lingered behind her eyes before stepping back into the warmth of the house.
Gia sat at the table, chewing down on her breakfast while waiting for the day to begin. She glanced up as Rue entered, her expression curious but quiet.
Rue took her seat, pretending the late night never happened.
For now, she had to focus on the morning ahead.
Rue picked at her breakfast, eating small bite by small bite. Across the table, Gia had already cleaned her plate and excused herself, joining Leslie out on the porch.
Left alone with her thoughts, Rue barely tasted the food in front of her.
The newspaper headlines lingered in her mind, refusing to let go.
The Blued Woman Strikes Again.
Another Man Marked in Blue.
She replayed Bishop's story over and over, searching for the missing piece. The blue nails. The indigo ink. The scratches. None of it fit together, yet somehow it all pointed back to the same woman.
Ronnie Blue.
The more Rue thought about her, the less she believed the stories.
And that was exactly what bothered her. Rue cleared her plate and carried it to the sink before making her way back to her room. She grabbed the folded list from the dresser, tucked it into her satchel, and headed outside.
Her Palomino, Jolly, waited for her patiently by the stable. The mare's chestnut coat gleamed beneath the morning sun, her white spots standing out against the warm light as Rue fastened the saddle and gathered the reins.
With one smooth motion, Rue mounted up.
Jolly let out a soft huff before carrying her beyond the ranch and back toward civilization, the steady rhythm of her hooves echoing along the dusty road.
As Rue began checking the items off her list, she stumbled across a group of older women gathered together, their voices carrying through the town streets.
She already knew their version of the story would be filled with exaggerations and rumors, but she needed another perspective. Another set of eyes on the mystery that had been following her since last night.
Her boots pressed against the dirt, one foot after another, as she approached the group. She swallowed hard, adjusting her notebook in her hand before making herself comfortable.
"Excuse me," Rue politely asked. "Could you elaborate on who Ronnie Blue is?"
The women immediately exchanged glances at the mention of the name.
"Chile, who is Ronnie Blue?" one woman repeated, shaking her head. "That heifer who killed ol' Stanford years back? That high yellow girl couldn't keep her eyes off other people's husbands and got that man killed because she couldn't keep her desires to herself."
"Preach," one woman chimed in.
"Tell it," another shouted, leaning forward as the others nodded along.
Rue stayed quiet, pen hovering over the page as she listened.
Another story.
Another version of Ronnie Blue.
But somehow, none of them sounded the same.
"Could you tell me what you believe is the reason she left?" Rue asked, keeping her voice polite as she scribbled notes onto the page.
The women exchanged glances, each one seeming eager to share their own version of the tale.
"Oh yeah, she died," one of them said matter-of-factly. "They shot her because they found out she stole something valuable from this town."
Rue's pen paused slightly.
"Something valuable?" she repeated.
The woman shrugged.
"I don't know what she was looking for, but I suppose she got her answer in the end."
The others hummed in agreement, as if the story had already been decided long ago. Rue looked down at her notebook, the pieces refusing to line up.
A bank robbery with no casualties.
A woman covered in blue.
A stolen treasure no one could name.
And now a death no one could prove.
The more she searched for the truth about Ronnie Blue, the more the legend seemed to bury it.
"Thank you ladies so much for your help," Rue thanked, closing her notebook and offering them a polite smile.
Before she could step away, one of the women leaned forward, narrowing her eyes at her.
"Whatcha being nosy for?" she questioned. "Them newspaper people send you? They just love being in somebody else's business, don't they?"
"Right," another woman chimed in, shaking her head in agreement.
Rue paused, taking in their suspicion.
She knew better than to push too hard. In a town like this, people guarded their stories just as closely as they guarded their secrets.
"I was just curious," Rue replied calmly.
The women continued watching her as she walked away, their whispers following behind her.
But Rue wasn't interested in gossip.
She was looking for the truth hidden underneath it.
Back in the library, Rue laid out every piece of information she had gathered across the wooden desk.
The newspaper clippings.
The stories from Bishop.
The rumors from the women in town.
She began piecing everything together, creating a timeline from the beginning of Ronnie Blue's story all the way to her supposed death.
But the more she connected the dots, the less it made sense.
How could one woman rob a bank in the center of town, surrounded by armed security, and disappear without a single person being harmed How could someone leave behind evidence of their crimes, yet somehow vanish before anyone could find them?
And how could everyone be so certain Ronnie Blue was dead when there was no body, no grave, no proof?
Rue leaned back in her chair, staring at the scattered papers in front of her.
Every story had a different ending. But they all started with the same name. Ronnie Blue. Something about the legend didn't add up. And Rue was determined to find out why.
