Blessed are the Peacemakers {[RDR2 Arthur X Reader]}

chapter 12; what's yours is her's

When the ringing in your ears finally stopped, you began to regain your bearings, realizing you were in the house, the kitchen to be specific. Arthur had sat you down in a chair and had run back outside to deal with the situation. From the window you could see Arthur and Dutch screaming back and forth with several others piping up when they could.

"What the hell do you think yer' doin' Arthur? I never told you to pull that trigger!" Dutch screamed. 

"Didn't you see what he was gon' do to [Y/N]? After he spit that bullshit, I'm surprised you didn't do it yourself." Arthur shouted, angrily pacing back and forth.

"That was never your decision Arthur, who are you to sentence him guilty? If it weren't for your affections for the girl, we wouldn't even be having this discussion. We wouldn't be burying a body today."

"Don't tell me you would've welcomed him back, Dutch." Hosea stepped forward then, arms crossed, coming just between the two enraged men.

The gang leader looked at the white haired elder, hesitating to answer. "I don't know. Not welcome but..." He cuts his answer off and waves him off, turning his back to the pair. 

Everybody surrounding the situation, mostly the men of the gang, simultaneously groaned in anger at his response. 

"Now I know. You've changed Dutch. You are not the man you once were." Arthur shook his head in disappointment.

"Arthur-" Hosea tries to play mediator before the stupid men say anything regretful.

"I should've known a long time ago. All you care about is getting as much cash as you can so you can get to your idea of paradise, sacrificing whoever and whatever you need to to get there. Micah was never gon' get you there, Dutch. Don't you see that?!" His voice was still loud and angry but had deflated slightly. The truth is he's heartbroken by the decisions Dutch is and isn't making.

"I have done nothing but take care of you!" Dutch hollered. "Everything I do is for the sake of this family! Micah had leads on jobs that would've gotten us the money we needed to get somewhere safe! We represent everything that the world fears. They want to get rid of us! I'm trying to save you all, dammit!" Dutch was walking around, talking to everyone now. His tone was strong but unconvincing. The rest of the gang had fallen silent, staring at the ongoing battle of right and wrong. It was perfectly silent aside from the chorus of frogs in the river mud. All eyes fell to Arthur who had served as their faithful leader in Dutch's absence.

The tall gunslinger just shook his head, slowly stepping back from the crowd. He went straight for his horse, mounting up and taking off.

Micah's body laid in the hot dirt, his mangled face already crawling with flies. 

The crowd dispersed, leaving Dutch on the porch. 

Soon enough he'd see where loyalties lie.

~~~~~

Things calmed down over the course of the afternoon. The shock you endured was beginning to wear off and you were able to face the others. For the majority, it had stayed pretty quiet aside from the little murmurs of gossip spinning between tents and wagons. People were managing to keep themselves distracted and busy with unloading supplies and turning Shady Bell into a proper camp. 

Charles and Bill didn't bother giving Micah a proper burial. Still fuming in their hate for the wretched man, they wrapped him in cloth and ditched his body in the river for the alligators to feast on a few miles from camp. When they returned, they told Dutch they'd buried him in an unmarked grave and while he wasn't happy about it, he knew he was on thin ice with his people so he let it go.