//BEARING ARMS//RDR2//ARTHUR x READER

Chapter Twenty-Two

"(Y/n), what have you been hidin'?"Arthur asked, clearly concerned.

She rode in front of him. "Come follow me, now," (Y/n) ordered. She knew Arthur urgently needed answers, but it was not the place to do so. They rode out of Saint Denis and towards camp but veering off to the south coast. It was better to speak when they were completely alone.

Arthur dismounted his horse and briskly walked to meet (Y/n). "Now, tell me what's gotten you so shook up for?"

She hugged him and felt comfort after he roped his arms around her. (Y/n) hesitated, "Before I met you...I was on my way to somewhere with my parents."

"Go on..."said Arthur as he began to slowly pet the top of her head, ruffling her hair ever-so-slightly.

She continued. "And we were heading somewhere important- business related. We were traveling here to meet my fiancé and go through with our wedding."

Arthur stopped his hand from brushing her strands and held her close instead, standing still. "Oh..." he said, his face in disbelief.

"But I don't love him!" (Y/n) asserted, digging her face closer into Arthur's chest. "And I didn't love him then either!" She was scared; scared of his reaction; scared of being taken away from her true, newly found love; scared of being rejected and alone.

He found relief in her confession. Arthur relaxed and rested his chin on (Y/n)'s head. "Who, um...who was he?" All he was focused on now was to comfort her. She needed to open up to him and he would be willing to support her.

In distress, (Y/n) replied, "No one important...his name is Peter Hillington. He's a wealthy business owner. It was all an arranged marriage, and I went along with it for my loving parents."

Arthur had questions to ask still. Yet, he did not want to ask them himself. Did he cause (Y/n) to stray from her deceased mother and father's wish? Had she ever met this Peter Hillington man? He knew she said she never loved him, but was she once interested in him? How could (Y/n) forfeit a wealthy man for the likes of him, a poor, no-good outlaw?

"So," Arthur started, "that Peter Hillington man is tryin' to hunt you down?" It made sense. He was expecting a beautiful bride, so Peter was searching for her. But did he care for her or the increase in shared wealth?

(Y/n) nodded. "Him or my aunts and uncles. They were more insistent than my own parents for me to marry that man. Oh, I don't want to think of it!" She was not an outlaw, but (Y/n) was a wanted woman. The arranged marriage was her prison cell.

"I won't let them take you away, (Y/n)," said Arthur. He fought to keep her in the gang, and he would not let it go in vain. She was the woman he dreamed of the woman who he held in his arms, and he would not let her go simply because outside forces decided to tear them apart. The world was never quite in Arthur's favor, but he always fought against the grain. As long as (Y/n) was willing to be by his side, he had the ambition to fight against all odds.

"Let's just, I don't know, get back to camp and try to be discreet," Arthur suggested. He walked (Y/n) over to her horse and helped her up. Then, he mounted his own and the two went up the trail to the gang's hideout.

When they returned, the people at the camp him were carrying out their business. "I hope no one finds out about the posters," (Y/n) whispered over to Arthur.

"Don't worry about it," he assured. "They try to stay out of the city as much as possible. Anyway, I'll leave back to Saint Denis later on and try and take down as many posters." Arthur was sure to try and keep her from slipping away.

* * *

It was getting darker now. The crickets were playing their tune and the owls joined on in song. The gang sat around the campfire, trying to keep warm while Arthur wrote in his journal under his tent.