The harsh winds of winter made the land feel restless. No one could get warm in this cold, no number of layers or fire could cure the sharp shivers that take control of each and every limb. Cassidy O'Driscoll wasn't built for the cold, just like her father Colm. Few Irishmen could withstand any amount of snow. She would sometimes think that her mother would've been the same if she were still alive. The thought of her dead, nameless mother came and quickly left her mind whenever boredom struck, which wasn't often. The job of assisting her father in running a gang kept her busy most days, though waiting out a blizzard had delayed their plans of heading east. Now, huddling over the only campfire they had, she allowed her mind to wander.

"You seen Colm?" asked one of her father's lackeys. She didn't bother to learn their names unless they survived longer than a month or two, most of them died on their first job. Colm said it was better that way, fewer people meant more money for them. She agreed since that was their way of life after all. Whenever she felt lonesome, she'd invite the most tolerable of the men into her bed. They made for decent company until they got attached to her, then she'd set them loose like an undergrown fish.

"You got eyes, don't you?" she responded, her gaze still fixated on the fire.

The young man stifled a sigh. He knew not to pester her. Cassidy was more than Colm's daughter, she took on the role of leader when he wasn't around. She's had that responsibility since she turned twenty-four about a year ago now.

"I been looking, Miss…" he added nervously. The O'Driscolls had been on edge ever since they were ambushed while robbing some remote farmhouse, none of their men had survived. They weren't alone out here.

Cassidy momentarily thought about giving him an earful before getting up and taking in his appearance. A young face, kind eyes, unflattering facial hair. "What's your name?" she asked, raising a curious brow.

He swallowed before answering. "K-Kieran Duffy."

"Colm just left for Six Point Cabin. We ain't gonna see him till we join him there, so I suggest you spit out whatever you gotta say, Kieran." She aimlessly walked towards the main hub of their camp, Kieran following her like a lost puppy without being asked.

"Well, one of them boys on patrol swears he seen someone poking around, said there was some big feller trying to get a look at us." Kieran spoke faster than his mind worked, he sounded like he was going to self-implode any moment now.

Cassidy paused to make sure she'd heard everything correctly. It sounded more like a delirious guard who got spooked by a wolf. Those mystery attackers wouldn't follow them this far, what motive could they possibly have to come after them?

She scanned the area while speaking, making sure everyone was still pulling their weight around camp. "Relax Duffy, ain't nothing to be scared of out here unless you can't handle some wolves or a bear. Get some more boys to watch the area if you can't…" she was suddenly distracted by what appeared to be the top of someone's head who was failing to properly crouch behind cover. She squinted her deep blue eyes at what she thought she was seeing, then a blaring gunshot confirmed it. She dragged Kieran behind a few barrels before they became a target.

"Alright boys kill these sons of bitches!" shouted a powerful voice. Cassidy noted that these unfriendly visitors couldn't possibly be lawmen. This must be a direct attack against their gang.

Angry foes were quickly upon them, shooting from several angles. She fired back with her pistol, as did the rest of the O'Driscolls, but they were at a disadvantage. Leaving cover meant getting shot or even killed.

"Who the hell is that?!" Kieran asked fearfully, shooting randomly into the open space. He had worthless aim, it almost made Cassidy want to laugh in the middle of a firefight. She was a decent shot, but far from perfect.

Cassidy took a peek between the barrels they were hiding behind. She immediately recognized one of them as Dutch Van der Linde. Her father's long-time rival, those two hated each other with as much passion as an outlaw can muster. She'd only heard of him since Colm kept her hidden from him, knowing what Dutch might do if he ever found out about her. Nothing would stop him from protecting his only living legacy, the one person who could keep the O'Driscolls going once he was gone.

"It's fucking Van der Linde and his boys!" she shouted angrily. This wasn't a fight they could win, Dutch's men moved quicker and shot better than everyone on her side. Colm always told her to look after herself first. "We ain't winning this, follow me or die here with the others!" She burst into a sprint towards her horse, not bothering to wait for Kieran's response. She didn't really care what happened to him anyway.

They rode away from the fight unnoticed, leaving behind the strangers who gave their lives to a man who probably didn't know their names. Cold-heartedness was the way of the O'Driscolls now and forever. Nothing could change that.

…

Cassidy grasped the reins tightly, trying to make out the snow-covered path they were following. The horse was too tired to gallop after a solid ten minutes. She was beginning to worry about the Van der Linde gang catching up with them. Would they shoot her and Kieran without hesitation, or take them both hostage? She didn't intend on finding out.

"You really think everyone back there is dead?" Kieran asked softly, gripping her shoulders instead of her waist. He felt a bit awkward to be holding onto a woman from behind, considering most real men would insist on taking the reins.

"Half of our boys were too drunk or too cold to put up a fight, and Van der Linde's men? Hell, we didn't stand a chance. You should be thanking me, Duffy." She partially looked back at him, giving him a familiar judgemental look. Cassidy was the sort of woman that men wanted to please for some unknown reason. She wasn't a rare beauty by any means, she was resourceful, strong, yet mean and wicked. Her chocolate brown hair was pinned back on one side, resting just below her shoulders. Colm said her ocean-like eyes were the prettiest thing about her since she got them from him.

Kieran frowned to himself when she turned away. He didn't like most of the men in their gang, but he didn't think they deserved to die like that. "I know… thank you, really."

Cassidy didn't respond, she lifted her chin up towards the sky, hearing an oncoming sound from behind. It was hard to hear anything because of the powerful winds. She looked behind them to see the Van der Linde gang on their trail.

"Fuck… look, Kieran, don't take this personally, alright?" she said with fake sympathy for him.

"What?!" he yelped as Cassidy shoved him off the horse, hoping it would allow her to escape certain death. The mount sped up, not by much. She shot a quick glance back at Kieran, who was being tied up by a gunslinger with dark skin and long black hair. That's when she noticed another man following her closely with a lasso in his hand.

"Come on…" she mumbled angrily to herself. "I promise you, I ain't worth it!" she yelled at whoever was chasing her. Her horse was slowing down again, she was about to draw her weapon when a rope wrapped tightly around her stomach, dragging her onto the freezing ground. She was met with a rough landing and a mouthful of snow, frostbite would kick in soon at this point.

The man forcefully tied her hands behind her back. "You're coming with me, lady…" he said, sounding a lot tougher than her previous company. She tried squirming, it was pointless, she probably wasn't much more than half his size.

"You've made that much clear by now," she answered, nearly spitting out her words. Her captor tossed her on the back of his horse and got moving quickly. There're few positions as uncomfortable as the one she was currently in. "If you let me go, I'll consider not killing you the first chance I get."

He chuckled at what he perceived as an empty threat. After all, she wasn't in much of a position to be saying something like that. It was a typical O'Driscoll attitude, stupid and furious.

"Yeah? Good luck with that," he said with a smirk on his face. To him, it seemed foolish to take this woman who was probably nothing more than a whore that the O'Driscolls purchased. Dutch had insisted on getting her and the boy since they could have useful information. His leader was always looking for ways to mess with Colm.

"If you is planning on using us as bait I'd rethink that. Colm ain't got no shortage of replacements," she added, her voice sounding strained from discomfort.

"Naw, we got other plans for you two… what's your name girl?" he asked with his eyes on the abandoned mining town that was his temporary home.

"Does it matter?" she retorted, huffing when he scooped her up onto his back, tossing her carelessly next to Kieran. She finally got a look at that man who had taken what little freedom she had. He was rugged with greenish-blue eyes and dirty blonde hair that sat under his black hat. Cassidy narrowed her stare in a menacing way, a wild spark in her glare. "What happened to your face, mister? Looks like you got hit by a train." She was clearly mocking him.

He ignored her, turning to Dutch and a few other boys who came to inspect their prisoners. "This one seems like more trouble than she's worth, Dutch," he stated, feeling quite irritated by the mouth she had on her.

"We'll see about that, Arthur…" Dutch responded, looking down at the woman whose cheeks were flushed from the cold. He expected her to be a bit more dolled up like most working girls. There wasn't a dot of powder or blush on her freckled face. "Welcome to your new home, hope the both of you are real happy here."

Arthur picked up Kieran, someone Cassidy didn't recognize did the same to her. She avoided looking at Kieran entirely after leaving him to die back there. If she had to do it again, she would.

"Want me to make them talk?" Arthur asked.

"No, all we'll get is lies. Charles, Bill, tie these maggots up someplace safe. We'll get them hungry first. From my experience, folks start talking once they start starving…." He turned his back to them, letting his boys do the work. "Can't believe it, two O'Driscolls here in my camp!"

"I ain't an O'Driscoll, I hate that man!" Kieran cried out as they were forcefully guided elsewhere.

Cassidy kept her mouth shut. She wasn't a person who was easily broken, the O'Driscolls were always hungry these days. These men didn't have a clue as to who she was, and hopefully it would stay that way.

Two days later…

"You two must be getting real hungry by now… how about you tell us where Colm is for a slice of bread?" Arthur questioned them like they didn't even possess half a brain. It'd been like this for what felt a lot longer than two days to Cassidy. Whoever was told to watch her and Kieran would either pester them or fall asleep, depends on which of them was doing the job. Arthur always had something to say.

"Or you could shut up for a goddamn second, do all old men talk this much or is it just you?" she replied, leaning towards him. Her wrists were sore from being tied up for this long.

"Watch your mouth or I'll tell Dutch you know nothing. Then I'd finally get some peace and quiet." Arthur got up from his chair, towering over her. Cassidy rolled her eyes; big men like him had more bark than bite.

She looked over at the commotion going on outside, it looked like their gang was getting ready to move on. Miss Grimshaw was barking orders at a bunch of brittle-boned women. She'd learned most of their names from overhearing conversations or bothering one of the guards for answers. The weakest link so far had been Micah, he'd been more willing to chat.

"You going back west?" she asked calmly since she was genuinely curious.

Arthur paused, wondering if he should be telling her about their plans. "No."

"East?"

Another pause, this time with a sigh. "No."

"North?"

"No!"

"You gonna answer my question or do I need to keep going?"

He finally caved in. "East, near a town called Valentine."

She wasn't satisfied yet. "Why?"

He shot her a death stare as a warning. Arthur Morgan didn't have much patience for anyone. "I ain't fond of hitting ladies. Don't test me."

"Oh I'm a lady now? I thought I was O'Driscoll scum."

Kieran finally interrupted since this conversation was ruining his attempt to fall asleep. "Come on Cassidy… you heard what he said."

Arthur perked up at the sound of her name. "Looks like you do have a name."

She mouthed an insult at Kieran, who was sitting directly across from her.

"And what would that be?" asked Dutch as he entered, followed by an Irish redhead wearing a finely made coat and scarf. She didn't fit in with this crowd.

"Cassidy," Arthur said while nodding.

"Cassidy huh? Well, I suppose it's about time we learned your name since you'll be travelling with us," he commented, tilting his head towards the wagons.

"You should leave that dirty little minx behind, she's just an O'Driscoll whore!" the woman behind Dutch shouted hatefully.

Cassidy flashed her a cruel smile, the ends of her mouth curving in a mischievous manner. "If that's what I am, what does that make you?"

The woman was about to respond but Dutch put his hand up. "Why don't you go cool off, Molly." It was a command, not a request and she did as she was told. Cassidy pegged her as unstable right there and then.

Dutch got down to her level. "I got a feeling about you, Cassidy. I can tell you'll prove yourself to me. Time will tell.

A/N: Hey guys, some of you might be familiar with my other book "A Man's Pride". I decided to write this story because looking back I had all these unused ideas for a new OC in RDR2. I'm planning on focusing on the O'Driscoll plot of the game.

Looking for some reader input… who do you want Cassidy's love interest to be?

Disclaimer: I do not own RDR.