Pretty as an Angel (Arthur Morgan X Reader)

Chapter 3 - Accidental Hello

~ photo does not belong to me ~

A few months had passed and you were beginning to become extremely agitated, you could find no bounty work nor did you receive any tip off's for robbery's.  A small cabin was where you spent most of the day, rattling around doing nothing in particular, trying to stretch what little food you had left.  Your cabin was on the outskirts of a small town called Rhodes.  It had one room with a single bed, sofa and a few workspaces for preparing food.  You rarely used those.

"I'm going to have to go and rob some people on my own accord."  You thought to yourself, you didn't care about the risk at this point, you were so hungry your stomach seemed to be eating its own lining.

You left your tiny cabin and headed into the town, the sun was beating down on you as you walked which made you itchy, sweat was running in beads down your back, your hands were clammy and the sun extracted the little motivation you had left, leaving you wondering if it was even worth trying to survive.

Once you arrived in town and had pushed through the seemingly endless walk, you were drained, but laying eyes on a huddle of well dressed women sparked a small drive within you.

You meandered up to your targets, who were shouting about rights for women, each one of them dressed in frilled, laced gowns varying in colour.  You silently approached a lady in a blue dress and slipped your nimble hand into her bag, you grabbed whatever your fingers found first and moved away quickly to the next target.

A lady stood next to two gentlemen, one was very well dressed with a shirt and frills, the other wearing a blue shirt and a hat that shadowed his face. 

"I'm going in."  You said to yourself as the lady's silver bracelet caught the sun and glinted into your (e/c) eyes.  Taking a deep breath in you grabbed the lady's wrist and snatched the bracelet from it, she let out a shriek but you were already running in the opposite direction.

"Officer, please, she stole from me!"  You heard the lady scream, still sprinting, you glanced back and noticed two lawmen on horses coming straight for you.

"Shit!"  You exclaimed and you picked up your pace as much as your body would allow.  A bullet shot past you which caused you to stumble, as you regained your posture another bullet whizzed just by your ear.

"Stop there!"  An angry voice yelled from behind.

Suddenly your shoulder was burning and racked with pain, you clasped it with your hand and let out a deafening scream, the pain was agonising, it ripped through your arm and chest.  You took your hand away and looked at it, it was covered in crimson blood, the colour drained from your face, but the fear of having that excruciating pain in your head kept you running.

Along the path towards the forest, dust kicked up behind you as your pace quickened for the final stretch.  With the lawmen still on your tail you ducked into a thick row of shrubs.  To your surprise as you rustled through the shrub and made it to the other side you rolled down a steep drop and into a small stream scattered with jagged rocks.  One of the rocks cut your face as you fell into it, another bashed your knee causing you to whimper as your kneecap throbbed and tingled.  You pressed on, limping through the dense forest until the sun began to set behind the trees and you could no longer hear the lawmen shouting for you to stop running.

Sitting on a nearby rock to catch your breath, you rolled the silver bracelet around in your hands, admiring every chain link of it.  You were starving, the lactic acid had kicked in and made your weak legs feel like they were burning and your shoulder had gone numb through throbbing.  Through the dense, dark green leaves of the tall trees, you noticed a cluster of lights flickering in the indigo sky.  As you ventured closer to the light you heard the faint sound of classical music.

"Could be a target."  You assured yourself as you creeped closer and closer to the lights, the music was becoming familiar.  Filled with curiosity you carried on, stepping silently over twigs and stones.

Suddenly a harsh voice stopped you dead in your tracks.

"Who goes there?"  It shouted.

You froze, still as rock, you wanted to run but the lactic acid still coursing through your legs made it impossible to even start.  A large arm hooked around your neck and a hand pressed on the back of your head.

"I was l-lost, please!"  You coughed, gasping for air as your throat was crushed under the muscled arm.  The stranger hauled you into a clearing that was littered with tents and people, he threw you onto the grass and you let out a scream as your bullet wounded shoulder smashed against the ground, your screaming quickly became interrupted by a violent, hacking choking fit.

You lifted your head, saliva dripping down your chin from the violent coughs, blood soaked through your clothes.  You noticed everyone was standing around you in a circle. 

Your empty stomach dropped as a tall well dressed man with a thick black moustache swanned over to you with his arms crossed.

"Get up."  He ordered aggressively.

You stumbled to your feet clutching your bloodied shoulder and stood hunched before him.

"Well well well...". Said the man, approaching you.

You couldn't respond, the pain in your shoulder was causing you to feel dizzy and nauseous, before the man could finish speaking you collapsed into a heap on the floor.