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        Lina stepped out of the stagecoach, no one bothering to help her. She sniffed, stifling the sneeze that the dusty Arizona air had conjured up in her head. She looked around, observing a bustling city with women and men in expensive looking clothes parading the streets. The town wasn't without the minority too, drunks, rather dirty looking men and prostitutes lined the darker places, in the alleys and around a few choice business establishments.

        She picked up her trunk, which conveniently had wheels on one end and headed to the nearest safe looking hotel, which happened to have a saloon and restaurant under it, which concerned her a bit, but the weight of a small revolver on her hip comforted her. "The Oriental" was plastered across the front of the building, with prettily drawn letters and lights adorning the trim.

        She crossed the threshold, entering a warm and maybe even a bit stuffy environment. The smell of food and booze permeated the place, and there were a couple of games of pool as well as a few big games of Faro underway at that moment. She scanned the place, making awkward eye contact with a gambler in the left corner of the building. His eyes were rimmed red and he was pale, a sheen of sweat coated his features. A man with a healthier color sat next to him, whispering into his ear as he stared at Lina with intense green eyes, hands clutching a hand of cards in front of him. The other man leaned back, stroking his big brown mustache, considerably larger than the gambler's. He elbowed another man near them, who's gap-toothed boyish grin never faded from his face. Lina looked away, kicking herself for staring too long and walked up to the register where an older man with salt and pepper hair was cleaning whiskey glasses.

        She stopped in front of him and he looked up at her, a pleasant smile greeting her warmly.

        "Can I help you dear?" he asked, putting the glasses aside.

       "I would like to purchase a room, for at least a month." Lina replied carefully, looking at him expectantly.

        "I can make that happen," he said. "I'm assuming your man will be by to pay shortly?" he asked, digging around in a drawer not visible to Lina for the correct key.

        "No, I'm alone. Don't have a man. I'd even go as far to say I don't have much use for one." she replied, voice hushed. He chuckled.

        "Don't be going around tellin' folks all about that." he said good-naturedly. "You let me know if you need anything, girl. Okay? Anything at'all."

        "Thank you," Lina replied gracefully. "Do you know of any jobs a woman could do around anywhere?"

        He looked thoughtful. "You're going to have to give me some time to ask around, but I'll have an answer for you this evening. Will you be round for supper?" he asked, stroking his goatee with interest. The woman nodded.

        "I'll keep an eye out for you, and getcha that answer" he said, holding out a pair of keys to her. "Name's Sam by the way."

        "Lina," she replied politely.

        "Room seventeen, upstairs one floor, then take a right." he said, dropping the keys into her clutch.

        "Thank you." Lina replied, gracefully ducking away to grab her trunk.

        "Don't fuss with that!" he said loudly, causing people to look up and Lina's stomach to drop. "I'll have some men take it up for you. You just focus on finding the damn place." he smiled at her before turning away, probably to find some people willing to do some heavy lifting for a dime or two.

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        Room number seventeen was small and quaint, but Lina didn't mind much. There was running water and a stove, which were really all she needed. The small dining table, bed, and nightstand were all an added bonus, and Lina was thankful. She had slept in worse places for a lot more money.

        Someone knocked on the door and she opened it with one hand, the other hanging dangerously close to the revolver concealed in a pocket located in the folds of her skirt. It was just a man toting the trunk. Nothing was really unique about him other than a funny red sash he wore tied around his waist like some sort of swashbuckling pirate, but Lina thought nothing of it. He looked young, not a day over eighteen, so she dismissed it as him expressing himself with questionable fashion choices and nothing more.

        She unpacked her few belongings and draped a jacket around her shoulders, immediately heading out to scope out the shops in town. This town would have to do for the time being, she needed money to make it to Houston, where she would train to be a nurse for the U.S. Army. Although she had the knowledge, she needed to earn the credentials. She would make her father proud even if it meant sacrifice.

a/n — hey guys, long time no see! i hope you enjoyed the first chapter of the diyd rewrite. i think it is much better than the original, and i hope you do too. and if you're new here, then i hope you enjoyed the first chapter of diyd and feel like sticking around. it would mean a lot to me if y'all voted, commented, and dropped me a follow on my profile. support like that really motivates me to write and update more often. anyways, have a good day/night, and i'll see ya at the next update.

        xoxo, orrin

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