#prestory

Schuyler was born the only child of Edward “The Midnight Sky” Schuyler when he was 39 years of age.  He met Schuyler’s mother Samantha at the age 20 when she was 18 in Texas during his days in the army.  Though Edward traveled during much of his time in the armed forces and was deployed during the Vietnam War he often found ways to visit Samantha during his leaves. When he was discharged at the age of 26 he returned home to California with nine men from his Splatoon including his best friends John Teller and Piermont Winston.  Together, with nothing left for them after the war, the group organized a club of sorts that would serve to give each of the members an excuse to meet regularly and remain in touch.  This group was an unofficial and dispersed motorcycle club that formed in 1967 called the Sons of Anarchy: Redwood.  Very little came out of this group other than monthly rides and camping trips resulting in opportunities to relive the “good ol’ days” for the first few months of the club’s existence.  However, things changed when John’s wife Gemma became pregnant and the group decided to settle down in her home town of Charming, California.  The expectations that came with the expected arrival of a baby did two things to the club: divide it and expand it.

John, who had been made the unofficial “President”, knew that he would be unable to keep a house and provide for his new family on the salary of a lone mechanic. He knew he had to do more; he had to invest.  He partnered with Clayton Morrow, the youngest of the First Nine, and purchased a plot of land with an auto shop that functioned as its main attraction.  Six months after it was opened he began to lay the plans for a private owned bar to be built on the same property which would eventually hold all club meetings.  With the introduction of a business to provide jobs for club members the club became less about motorcycles and more about community.  Teller-Morrow as the establishment was named became one of the most profitable and beloved family owned businesses in Charming.  The club was secure and prosperous for a time.  Those in association with the members found companionship and those who wore the club vest and logo formed a brotherhood that many carried with them from the army and extended to those who later joined.  

Everyone that is, except for Edward.  He poured his life into the formation of the club, but his heart had been with Samantha since he was 20 years old.  Samantha’s home and family were in Texas and she would never leave. The annual drives Edward would take to visit her became harder to wait for and his visits lasted longer each year.  Eventually he would make the decision not to return at all.  

While John and his wife’s baby brought prosperity to the club as a whole, his arrival made Edward realize that he had been neglecting his own desires by remaining apart from his wife-to-be.  In 1975, Edward said goodbye to his life and family in Charming and moved to Texas to be with Samantha.  This move was sanctioned at a cost.  Edward was entrusted to create and run the first branching charter of the SOA club in Texas.  This would mean that the club operated in two separate states and business would have to grow to meet the demand and keep up the traditions of brotherhood and community that had quickly been instilled in those effected by its presence.  Edward pulled all his resources and was able to open his own shop in Valor, Texas where he resided as the sole owner.  With the help of Ethan Dyer, a patch brother who would reside as the Texas charter’s first Vice President, he was able to set up a functioning clubhouse to hold meetings within a month of his transition.  It was decided that the smallest a settled charter could be was 5 men, so Edward and Ethan recruited three more (locals that Samantha could vouch for) in just two weeks and tentatively patched them in with success. The charter continued to grow from there.

With the near immediate success of the Texas charter, SOA would continue to expand rapidly for the next thirty years.  Charters sprung up from the border of Canada to small towns across Europe and one even branching as far as away as Australia. The club at its largest size combining all charters rounded out to 568 at one point in 1998 and has since continued to fluctuate.  The Texas charter under Edward Schuyler is widely considered to be the second most successful in the club’s history due to its equal parts’ ideal location and strong leadership.

Each charter is under democratic rule headed by a President, Vice President, Sgt. at Arms, and Secretary.  Those in charge are free to make their own rules and decide the best way for their members to produce a sustainable profit.  Many chose to work out of auto shops as the original had done while others owned escort businesses and even fewer owned gas stations or convenient stores.  However, all charters looked to the ‘Mother charter’, since renamed the Redwood Original, SAMCRO, for guidance.  It was Vice President Clay Morrow’s idea, with support from several other members across charters, to introduce the club to the business of gun running in 1977.  With a great deal of persuasion, he was able to convince John that it was the right direction for SOA.  Soon, the primary denominator of all groups was that they sold guns to neighboring outlaw groups for profit.  By 1979, the SOA was recognizable worldwide as an outlaw gang, but this did not slow the club’s progression. 

Guns were supplied from a branch charter in Belfast, Ireland and arrived in California to be spread from charter to charter throughout western America.  Product that wasn’t sold to organizations within the states left the country through Edward’s charter across the Mexican border. Each branch of the club faces its own obstacles when earning a sustainable living, but Valor obtains most of its money by making monthly runs bypassing Border Control and entering Mexico.  Valor was chosen as the town to settle in due to its small population with an equally small police department where the force was more than willing to operate on the club’s payroll.  Being so close to the border, at an entrance with significantly less border control than anywhere else, and equally as close to New Mexico made SAMTEX an ideal place for traffic. The charter found plentiful wealth in this location with few years of unprofitable business.  However, the promise of success and riches comes with a cost.  The costs being the constant looming gaze of Border Control and similar federal agents watching over the club’s every move and the constant threat of confrontation with notorious Mexican outlaw gangs and even the Mexican the Cartel.  These factors led Edward and Samantha to wait several years after the club was developed and for their finances to become secure before they ever tried to conceive a child. 

The gender of the highly anticipated baby was kept a secret from all including the patiently awaiting parents until the night of its birth. A nurse fresh out of college placed a healthy, happy, new born baby girl into Edward’s arms at 12:07 am and his first instinct was to cry out of a pure joy that he had never previously experienced.  His second was to pass the infant to her mother and call his friends that remained in California.  John didn’t answer on the first attempt, so Edward called Piermont. Piermont answered immediately and the two talked for hours.  Edward received nothing but joy and praise from his companion, if not some friendly chiding for having taken so long to have his first baby.  John returned Edward’s call in the early morning hours and his first question to his best friend was not “is it healthy”, but rather, “is it a boy”?          

The answer being ‘no’ brought about a different sort of conversation to the one Edward had with Piermont.  While congratulations were in order for the first-born child of SAMTEX John was overly concerned with the future of the charter entrusted to maintain the border and questioned his close friend about when he and his wife would be trying again to produce a male heir to the Presidential seat.           

This conversation didn’t spring from a malicious place but rather from one of genuine concern.  Due to the fact that the SOA club has a list of unspoken bylaws that must be followed by all charters, such as the fairly prominent one stating that all patched members are male, Edward’s first born would not be eligible to join.  While any ranking official including the president can be replaced and the position held by anyone a charter sees fit at any time, SAMTEX had only known one president and due to its success, it would be ideal if its successor was of the same bloodline.           

Edward, having known this to be the case, was still infuriated at the thought of his first born being ineligible to wear his club’s ‘cut’ or bare its ink.  Edward attempted to reason with original President, who he was obligated to adhere to, over the course of several days to seemingly no avail.  Piermont argued for Edward that any legitimate child of a First Nine member had more right to be patched in than any other relative of a club member or outsider regardless of sex because they were of direct family line.  John, exhausted with arguing during a time that should have been a joyous occasion and with tensions rising high in his own charter where he would soon be needing Piermont by his side, finally settled on an agreement with his fellow President down south.        

Edward had 18 years to groom his daughter for the club.  She would have the opportunity to ‘prospect’ like any man who wished to join.  After a year of observation, SAMTEX could decide if the daughter was fit to bare the Reaper or be cast out.  Until her fate was decided no member outside of SAMTEX would know the name, gender, or whereabouts of the SAMTEX child.  The secret was kept between the three friends and one would even take it to his grave before the secret was ever brought to light.          

Edward and Samantha knew the risks of keeping the secret from other charters. They independently decided that they would never bare another child before coming to that very decision together and put all their combined love and attention into their beautiful daughter Meredith.  They spent her entire adolescence making sure she was exposed to two ways of life: the civilian side where she went to school and was well educated with few friends and a promising future in any career she chose.  And the gangland side where her family and closest friends resided.  Few in the club were educated, but with the combined force of twenty club members, eight adoring wives, and five children who grew up alongside Meredith she became when adverse to interacting with an assortment of individuals from different backgrounds and learned many trades to concur the world she was born into.       

Meredith was 10 when she first asked her father what a cigarette was.  Nearly every adult in his daughter’s life smoked cigarettes and almost as many smoked marijuana.  At such a young age Edward already knew that he would be unable to prevent his beautiful daughter from taking up such an unhealthy habit.  Being the responsible father, he politely told Meredith the truth of what they were and that she would never be allowed to smoke them herself.  He then smiled as his daughter laughed in his face and ran out the front door to join her friends in the front yard knowing that they had most likely been asking their father’s the very same question.  

At 12 she began voicing the thought of wanting a tattoo.  It came as no surprise to anyone considering both of her parents bore some and nearly every member in the club had at least one symbol representing Sons of Anarchy on some part of their body along with their own tattoos.  By 14 most of the boys were learning how to shoot guns and Meredith had seen a few begin to ride on the back of their father’s motorcycles with the intent of learning how to balance for themselves.  At this point she didn’t know that she was being carefully observed by her parents for what she took an interest in and what things she ignored.  All she knew is that she wanted to hang out with her friends in the shooting range and go on bike rides with her dad.  Edward smiled fondly and agreed under a set of conditions: she continued to make A’s in school and she learned a skill that her friends were not interested in learning.  That year she learned how to shoot a hand gun and became proficient by the age of 19.  She also took up the skill of throwing knives which took her several additional years to master.  Her friends were very jealous of her knife collection.  

At age 15 Meredith became Schuyler.  The name allowed her to better fit in with the rambunctious boys she grew up with and don her father’s name with pride.  The name along with the nickname of “Sky” fit her well because she was often found outside playing in gardens or on hot asphalt chasing after boys who sometimes slowed down to stay with her and sometimes made her keep up.  This made her fast and build endurance at a young age.  Wrestling was a popular event in the group who took after their father’s who were often seen throwing fists to settle disputes.  Sky learned how to throw a punch and receive one in return.  This was also the year when Schuyler began to ask for her own motorcycle.  She was jealous that her best friend Jesse Dyer (born a week before her and son to V.P Ethan Dyer) received his own before any of the other boys in their friend group. He was always getting things before she was.  Unknown to her the parents of the two children regularly discussed when they should introduce things to their children before either was exposed.  She received her first bike on the following week, a fixer upper that she repaired with her father and it took until she was 16 and old enough to drive it on her own for the project to be complete.          

At age 16, with the help of her mother who is bilingual and Hispanic members of the club, she became fluent in reading and speaking Spanish. This was also the year her friends began to talk excitedly about the year to come when they could begin their prospecting year to enter the motorcycle club and ride alongside their father’s as quickly as they would be able to.  One must be 17 to begin prospecting and no one under the age of 18 can be sworn into the club.  This was about the time that Schuyler began to realize that she had in fact been being prepared for the day when she could start her prospecting year and the club would soon be judging her every move; if they hadn’t already been doing so.  She was observant enough to realize that there was one major difference between herself and the other children she would potentially be prospecting with.  While the boys she grew up with didn’t seem to notice this daunting difference their father’s, while they had helped to raise her and loved her dearly, certainly did. 

At 17 she began prospecting with all 5 of her friends.  Each child belonged to a member who was already patched, and their fathers took it upon themselves to sponsor, or shadow, their children during their prospecting year.  The prospecting year is an opportunity for the ‘prospects’ to ride alongside members of the club, follow them on jobs for the club including some across the Mexican-American border, and learn the meaning of being in such a well-established gang.  During her prospecting year Schuyler proved herself a valuable translator and to be persuasive during negotiations with other organizations.  She was attentive, even tempered, and eager to learn from the patches she rode with.  She never once showed that she was intimidated when in the middle of a group of men or shied away from a situation when things took a violent turn.  Rather she put herself in the middle of the conflict.  And if she could not deescalate a situation she drew her gun and made sure every member with her returned home in one piece.  It wasn’t long before Edward started to look to Schuyler before making decisions just as much as he looked to his V.P and SA.  Sometimes he asked for her opinion before seeking out others.  Near the end of her prospecting year all it took was one look to her father for them to communicate and come to a decision between the two of them before they acted on it without doubt. 

Schuyler turned 18 and watched all 5 of her friends get patched into the club.  One right after the other.  Schuyler knew not to press her father on the subject because the decision required careful deliberation and the results would be life as well as club wide altering.  In November of 1994, Meredith Rose Schuyler became the first woman to ever be patched into the SOA motorcycle club with a unanimous vote.  This was the same month she would be accepted into her dream school. Semesters were spent in a dorm room blaring loud rock music to block out the neighbors who spent their time partying. Summers and holidays were spent on the back of a motorcycle flying down the highway at twice the posted speed limit. A gun on her hip and a set of throwing knives strapped securely to her right leg Schuyler counted down the hours to each weekend she could travel home.  She never felt more sure of herself than when she was on the road with her family doing the one thing they were best at.  Earning.  It was on one of these weekends, when a class that Schuyler particularly despised was cancelled, that she would return home early and receive the news that would change her world forever.

In 2006, Edward Schuyler was diagnosed with prostate cancer.  Schuyler’s immediate reaction was to drop all her educational responsibilities and move back home to help her father run the club. Edward forbade her from returning home until she graduated with her degree as she had set out to do. Furious, and unwilling to disappoint her father, Schuyler remained at the school until she graduated with her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) 6 months later.  Instead of entering the work force with her newly earned degree, Schuyler would spend the next 18 months of her life caring for her father, orchestrating jobs and making deliveries based on her own judgement, and preparing SAMTEX for the day they would no longer have the leadership of their first and only President. 

In February of 2008, Edward Schuyler lost his battle with prostate cancer at the age of 67.  The wake and proceeding funeral were held a 4 days later.  SAMTEX had lost many brother’s due to gangland violence before, but had never experienced the loss of an officer, much less a President.  The SOA hadn’t seen a loss so tragic since the passing of John Teller over a decade prior.  While many wanted to make the journey to Texas to pay respects to their sibling charter and the mourning family only members of the Original Nine were allowed to attend.  Three of the surviving members made the trip and were able to meet Schuyler personally. The secret was extended but had yet to be fully released.  Piermont was unable to make the trip and has regretted it ever since.  When all was said and done Samantha retained most of Edward’s worldly possessions including the deed to the mechanic shop and his official club vest which she hung in the living room on display; the Presidential patch worn with age facing the room at large.  Schuyler requested only two things: Edward’s impressive vinyl record collection and the last motorcycle he owned.

Many expected Schuyler to naturally inherit the President’s patch in the face of Edward’s passing.  The club was ready to vote her in and had pushed for her to take the patch even while Edward’s health had been deteriorating.  After all, she had done the unthinkable.  She had proven herself a worthy attribute capable of wearing the cut regardless of her gender.  It was the role she was breed for.  The position she was intended to fill.  She was the rightful heir to the gavel that rested at the head of the meeting table.

But it was after many long and difficult conversations were held with the members at that very table, and with her mother who struggled the most because she had dreamed of little else than seeing her daughter break down barriers and take up the President’s seat, Schuyler decided to take a very different path.

She revealed to her club that her father had intended for the two of them to take a trip to Northern California and visit the charter he had left behind for many years before his untimely passing.  It wasn’t until the cancer was discovered that Edward realized that he had missed his opportunity to do so.  Schuyler revealed that Edward had always intended for Schuyler to transfer charters when she came of age in order to find her own path and build her own legacy in a separate charter as not to compete in her father’s demanding shadow.  Schuyler wanted nothing more in the world than to keep her promises to her parents to make something of herself and make her father proud by continuing his legacy for him and finding her own way in the world.

Schuyler remained in Valor until new ranking officials could be appointed (Ethan Dyer was elected President and his son Jesse became his VP) and SAMTEX was prepared to continue in her absence.  Then she began what would essentially be a 7-week long journey to her new life.  It was decided that before Schuyler attempted to make contact with the Mother Charter (now headed by Clayton Marrow who wore the President’s patch and John Teller’s son Jackson Teller who resided as the V.P) she would first be sponsored by a third-party charter.  If she could convince a third charter of her worth and to vouch for her in just a few weeks time her chances of the original charter accepting her would likely double.  This trial period would also allow her to experience working with a different charter and experience life and club structure from a different perspective.

It wasn’t difficult to find a suitable host.  Nearly every branch of SOA in the States wanted to host the mystery SAMTEX child with an impressive club track record.  Eventually it was decided that she would stay with the Southern California charter known as SANDINO due to its location.  It also happens to be headed by one of the last surviving First Nine members Thomas “Uncle Tom” Whitney who had met Schuyler after her father’s passing and would know what to expect from the club transfer.

Schuyler spent just over 6 weeks with the sibling charter.  Tom, along with his fellow patch brothers, were skeptical to say the least upon meeting Schuyler.  Many members felt betrayed at the very aspect of a female patch being kept from them for so long.  Schuyler, never one to disappoint, was quick to show her eagerness to work and proved herself valuable enough to earn the respect and comradery of each member before it was time for her to move on.  Many were sad to see her go but they knew her destiny lied within another charter.  

At the end of her trial period, and nervous for what was possibly the first time in her life, Schuyler moved on from SANDINO and arrived on Charming’s doorstep 3 days later, ready to take on her next great adventure. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I applaud you if you’ve gotten this far.  It’s greatly appreciated.  I love this character a great deal and have spent a long time building her up.  I can’t wait to start diving into her story.  This was just the beginning!  The next “big thing” I will post for Schuyler’s story will be a WIP intro page.  So, look forward to that. 

Taglist:  @themildestofwriters, @writersshock, @writingmyselfintoanearlygrave, @sashathewriter, @annelaurant-writing, @samsfictionstuff, & @bluewritesforever