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

Chapter Twenty-Two

"Jack, time for you to get ready for bed," said his caring mother, Abigail. She crossed her arms and hoped that the soft smile she gave would help him comply.

However, it did not. "But I don't want to!" Whined Jack, making a pout. "I need a story first!" He did enjoy himself a good book before drifting off to sleep. It was becoming habitual.

Abigail sighed; she knew it was not going to be easy. He always insisted on hearing a story and she was not adept to read. Usually, Hosea would read to him, but he was busy with work. Especially now, Hosea was occupied on the family feud near Rhodes. "No story book readin' tonight," Abigail said. "You've read every book you got anyway-"

"No! I haven't finished one book," Jack interjected. "It's getting really good at it's almost done with." He sounded more upset than mad. It made Abigail feel guilty in a way. Reading was good for the boy, but no one was there to help him learn at the moment.

"I can read it to him," said (Y/n). She loved a nice book. Reading was all she ever did back home, mostly because her parents forced her to constantly educate herself through literature, but she enjoyed it.

Jack's face lit up. "You can?" He turned to his mother, practically begging, "Can she please?"

"Fine. I guess, that'll be okay," Abigail gave in. "But don't stay up too late readin'!"

Jack jumped up for joy. He grabbed (Y/n)'s hand and dragged her to his tent where his book was stashed away. The boy dusted off the cover and handed it over to her. "The page is bookmarked, just start reading from the top-"

"What's goin' on here?" Said Arthur, hands on his belt as he came over.

Jack smiled. "Uncle Arthur! Ms. Johnson is gonna read me a book! You wanna hear, too?" He was very excited.

Arthur raised his brows at (Y/n). "Is that so? Well, that seems like a fun idea. Sure, I'll join y'all." He was smiling, imagining the characters (Y/n) would have to play using different voices. He was looking forward to it until he sat down.

"That's good you're here, Arthur," she said. "That means you can help read some of the character parts and take turns reading." (Y/n) was not going to let Arthur stay and do nothing. This was going to be a team effort.

He sighed heavily, "I guess...if you need me to." He scooted close to (Y/n) with Jack sandwiched in between them two. "Now, where we readin' from?"

"From right here, Uncle Arthur," said Jack as he pointed to the top of the page. The book being read was not a singular story, but a book full of tales from The Brothers Grimm. This last story happened to be The Sleeping Beauty.

Arthur sighed and began to read as promised. "Once upon a time, there was a king and a queen who both longed for but one important wish. 'We want to have a child!' They said." He stopped and looked over to (Y/n), wanting her to take over in reading.

"Ahem," (Y/n) cleared her throat. "Then came along a magic frog that assured the queen she would soon have a daughter of her own within the year-"

Jack scrunched his face. "Ms. Johnson, how did the frog know and how are babies made-"

"It's magic, Jack, okay?" Said Arthur, nearly choking on his words. He did not want to explain anything on the subject and neither did (Y/n).

"Oh, alright. That makes sense, I guess." Jack could tell neither one of them wanted to answer his questions, so he listened to the story once more.

(Y/n) chuckled, "Anyway, they did end up having a daughter. She was a very beautiful girl, and a huge celebration was thrown in her honor. Guests came to the party and blessed her with many gifts: wealth, virtue, and more." Now, she looked towards Arthur to signal his turn.

"Later during the celebration, an old lady had come to get her revenge, for she was not invited to the party. The spiteful woman was a witch and set a curse on the little girl. When she had become the ripe age of fifteen, the girl shall poke her finger on a spindle and sleep for one-hundred years..."

The two read the short story with enthusiasm for the sake of their audience of one. Soon, he began to yawn, and the tale had finished.

"And the two married and lived happily throughout their life and onward, the end." Arthur shut the book and looked over next to him. There he saw a sleepy Jack and a sleeping (Y/n) who had fallen asleep on his shoulder towards the end of the story.

Jack rubbed his eyes. "Thank you for reading to me." He was growing tired by the second.

Arthur smiled warmly, even if he was tired himself. "You're welcome, Jack." He ruffled the boy's hair on his head. "Let me take Ms. Johnson here so you can get to sleep." Arthur cradled (Y/n) into his arms and rose to his feet. Then, Jack began to lightly giggle to himself.

"What's so funny?" Asked Arthur. He was curious to know what had caused the sleepy boy to laugh.

Jack laid his head down on his sleeping mat and blankets. "It's that Ms. Johnson is really, really sleepy. It's almost like the witch put a cure on her." He was still slightly chuckling.

"Yeah, I suppose it seems that way, huh?" Agreed Arthur. He looked to (Y/n)'s peaceful face. It was about time she rested. Of course she was exhausted; she was stressed the whole day worrying about her aunts, uncles, and ex-fiancé.

"Maybe if you kissed her she'd wake up," teased Jack who had seen the way Arthur was examining (Y/n)'s face.

Arthur could feel his face burn. "Okay, alright, you go to sleep now, you hear? Sweet dreams, boy." He wanted to hurry up and leave. It was embarrassing having a little boy poke fun at him. All the reading Jack had been doing was making him quite sharp and witty at such a young age.

"Okay, good night, Uncle Arthur and Ms. Johnson."

Arthur carried (Y/n) to her tent and set her down on her sleeping cot. He lightly caressed her face, admiring her briefly. He had many thoughts rushing through his head. How long will he have before (Y/n) is taken away from him? Could they ever live a normal life together? And, after reading to Jack, a spark ignited in his being: will we one day have children of our own to read to?

Never had the feeling of wanting to start family been so strong in Arthur's mind. He had past loves, ones that he thought he loved, and even then he never saw himself having a family with them. His eyes had been open and before him was (Y/n). Then, Arthur had an epiphany. It was like he had been the one under a curse; one that had caused him to stay asleep to the world around him even when wide awake. He chose to be an outlaw; he chose to do some wrongs in his life; he chose what to prioritize. But, now, (Y/n) broke the curse. Now, Arthur was able to wake up and see-through clearer eyes. He needed another person to show him that he could be a better person and it all started with himself.

Before leaving, Arthur sketched a sleeping princess in his journal, tore it out, and left it for (Y/n) to see when she woke up in the morning.

He then got back on his horse and rode to Saint Denis to take down the wanted posters. He decided it would be better to be done at night to avoid being seen and called suspicious.