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

Chapter Thirty-Seven

So much for a honeymoon thought Arthur. He truly intended to have a romantic day after the mess they went through the past couple of days. But family was family and that's what the Van der Linde Gang was.

(Y/n) followed Arthur to the casino boat's location. She told him that wherever he goes, she does too. Of course, he tried to convince her to stay home, especially since (Y/n) was feeling sick that morning.

"Are you coughing or anything?" asked Arthur while he sat his wife down. "No pain in your chest or nothin'?"

(Y/n) mustered up the weakest smile. "No, nothing like that." She winced and laid her head down on the table in front of her. "I feel queasy, but that's it. It'll pass." He gave her fresh water to drink and found some stew they made the night before.

Now that they were at the docks, it was all or nothing. They could see Dutch, Bill, and Micah clear as day waiting for them. "Hey, Arthur," called Dutch, "and...Miss Robinson. Pleasure seeing you back with us again." Although he tried to hide it, he obviously did not want (Y/n) seeing Arthur anymore. Dutch thought he had done away with her days ago. He knew it was too good to be true when she left, knowing how much Arthur loved her.

"Yes, likewise. It looks like we've made up about the whole situation." (Y/n) squinted her eyes and smugly grinned. She knew now how Dutch set her up all for money. It didn't matter to her now; she was safe anyway.

Arthur cleared his throat, slightly wheezing, to cut through the tension in the air. "Well, maybe you've heard from Micah," he started, "that Miss Robinson is now my wife." He could see the muscles in Dutch's jaw clench at his words.

"Is that so? Well, congratulations!" Dutch's face began to fester. He turned to Micah; the rat next to him. "Why did you keep such wonderful news to yourself?"

"Wanted the two to tell you themselves."

Bill chimed in next. "Alright, alright, let's just hurry this along now. I'm already tired and we've done nothin' but chatter and waste our breath." He folded his arms and scrunched his brows. "Arthur, we got you a cheap suit to blend in with the crowd." He nudged his head to the right towards an empty freight farther out, "Javier will pass it to you and go over the plan. It's over yonder, so get."

Arthur looked to (Y/n) before making his way over. She nodded and looked at the men before her. "I'll mix with the crowd as well. Looks like you'll be needing all the help you can get." She saw Arthur disappear into the freight to change his clothes and then shifted her attention back.

The men only stared at her disinterestedly. Micah then chuckled before building up to a hardy laugh. "That's just wonderful. Glad to have your assistance, Miss Robinson, Mrs. Morgan, whoever the hell you are."

Dutch stood up straight and walked slowly to (Y/n). "Yes, thank you. We have the perfect job for you to do." He looked down to meet her eyes. "Bill, Micah, grab her." Before (Y/n) could react, the two men seized her by the arms and lifted her up. Bill then quickly gagged her with a balled-up handkerchief to keep her quiet. "You just don't learn, do you (Y/n)?"

She tried to kick her legs to get out of their grasp to no avail. No matter how much (Y/n) squirmed, she couldn't break free. Desperately, she looked to the freight in the distance, hoping Arthur would walk out again and help. But, right at the nick of time, Javier walked into the freight with a folded suit, unknowingly distracting Arthur. They bound (Y/n)'s hands together tightly with scratchy twine before picking her up again.

Bill and Micah began to walk over to an open barrel. "Toss her in," said Dutch. They did as instructed and sealed her inside. (Y/n) tried to tilt the barrel, but Bill sat over the lid. She began to tire, and her breaths were erratic. Arthur's voice moving closer. For one last attempt to break free, (Y/n) screamed. Dutch turned on his heel, "Shit." He ran over to Arthur after telling them, "Hurry and dumper over the dock. That'll do away with her just nicely"

(Y/n) screamed louder, so much, that her throat felt torn apart. Her screaming was cut short when the barrel turned on its side and rolled. The speed was picking up and, before she knew it, she was falling. Her heart thumped like crazy and her eyes were tearing up. A splash was heard and (Y/n) could feel the pressure of the ocean water surrounding the wooden barrel. It sunk down, yet no water made its way inside. Then, she could feel the barrel push upwards to the surface. The entire container bobbed on the water's surface and drifted.

Quickly, (Y/n) used her tongue to push the handkerchief out of her mouth. After some force and struggle, three squared cloths fell from the material ball that was lodged in her mouth and onto her knees. Next, (Y/n) shifted enough to reach for her tiny pocketknife Arthur had given her that hidden was in her corset. Last time she had used it it did little to help. She briefly wondered which situation was worse: being attacked by a pack of wolves or nearly drowning and drifting off to the ocean?

* * *

Arthur was met with Dutch. "Where's (Y/n)?" he said as he looked behind Dutch. All he could see was Micah and Bill talking together, pointing, and bickering.

"She offered to help us. (Y/n) is on her way inside the casino." Said Dutch. He turned Arthur away and laid his hands on his shoulders, leading him to the boat.

"What is doing then?" asked Arthur. "I got to know she's okay."

Dutch shook his head. "Arthur, you've gotten so soft! You must really like this girl." Once they were farther away, he turned Arthur to face him once again to fix his tie for him. "She's a strong woman. (Y/n)'s going to be just fine."

Once they made their way into the casino boat, Arthur's instinctively went searching for (Y/n). He could only feel that something was amiss. He couldn't see her anywhere in the crowd.

"-then we'll be- Arthur!" said Dutch, annoyed. "Were you not even listening to a thing I said?" He could see the concern in Arthur's face. "Oh, no, no, don't tell me. You were thinking about that girl again, weren't you?"

Arthur's face changed instantly. "Let's set something's straight here, Dutch. (Y/n) isn't just 'some girl' she's my wife!" He moved in closer and shoved his hand onto Dutch's chest, pushing him backwards. "Give her some damn respect! And tell me," He closed in on Dutch's face, "where the hell is she?"

* * *

(Y/n) held the blade in her hands, unsheathed it, and started cutting away at the twine. It fairly easily cut through. After breaking free, as she held the knife to the lid, something bumped the side of the barrel. Please, I can't deal with anything else right now she thought. (Y/n) closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and let it go. When she opened her eyes a second later, she used the knife to pry the lid off. It took time to wear down the wood to see the nail that sealed the barrel.

Then, as the lid was close to being pried off, gun shots were heard. God, no, don't let that be what I think it is, she thought. Yelling and screams followed and the water around her started to wave. Finally, (Y/n) pushed the top of the barrel and tipped over into the ocean. She choked on the salty water and opened her eyes to see the casino boat in chaos. She swam to the dock and saw another boat leave past her. The wave pushed her away and there on the ship she saw Arthur.

"Arthur! Help!" (Y/n) cried as best as she could. It was no use. Him and the other gang members looked oblivious to her pleas.

"Oi! There's a woman in the water!" said a fisherman nearby. "Don't worry, we'll get you!" The man and his crew rushed to her aid. Before (Y/n) knew it, she was on land once again with a blanket over her shoulders.

With her wet hair in her face, she shivered profusely. "I knew this was bad. I knew it. Arthur, where are you?" (Y/n) said to herself.