Under The Eyes of The Wolf (an rdr2 Arthur Morgan x oc story)

36-Oh What A Beautiful Arsenal

A/N: I know that all the pics that I add in with this story are often pretty bad. I am not very skilled in photoshop or any other forms of photo editors (obviously) but I enjoy making them and like to give a visual of what I'm picturing in my mind along the way. So bear with me🤗

The group of riders and wagon traveled at a comfortable pace along the trail. They'd decided since it was so late that they would take the children back to camp for the night. There they could get cleaned up, have their wounds tended to and fill their hungry bellies.

They rode in silence for a bit, letting everything they'd just witnessed sink in before K decided to break the silence.

"So, how old are y'all?" She asked the children.

Miguel looks to Lee for reassurance. Lee nods at him, giving him the go ahead.

"I am four years old."

"Four, huh? Do you know how long it's been? Since he..."

Lee cut K's question short. "Miguel was brought in about six months ago. Jess, she doesn't talk much since he brought her in. She's five and was down there for almost three months. I'm ten. I've lost track of how long I was down there...let me think, it was summer when they took me. It's been winter twice now I believe. So that means, wow, about two years now." He said emotionlessly.

"Jeez Lee, two years? I'm sorry." She whispered.

"Don't be. All that matters now is that we're all free and that piece a shit is dead and won't be able to hurt anyone else...pardon my language."

"No need to apologize. What about your families?" Charles asks.

"Miguel has a mother and a father along with two older sisters in Valentine. Jess has a father and a baby brother in Emerald Ranch." Lee responded.

"...and you?" Charles pressed.

"I...after we get them both home to their families you can just drop me off wherever is convenient."

"Don't you have any family Lee?" K questions. He remains silent for a bit. Finally he speaks up.

"My pa was hanged when I was five. My momma raised me and my baby sister till I was seven. Until one day a gang a low life shit smellin' piece's a...s'cuse me...a gang a O'Driscoll's, came..." Lee paused to spit on the ground at the mention of them... "they came and they raped my momma...and my five year old sister...then killed 'em. They kept me around for a while to do their chores and to pick pockets in town or to be their decoy to get wagons or travelers to stop, on account of seein' a young boy on the side a the road, alone. Mostly they just pushed me and smacked me around in their camp when they was all drunk and bored. Until one day Colm was doing some kinda business with Bronte. Bronte saw me, told em he could use a young boy to work around his place, mostly as a servant to his women, seein' as how I was too young to have to worry about his women screwin' the house boy, at my age. So Colm sold me to him. Only I never did see any of his supposed women."

"I'm sorry about your family. And everything you've been forced to go through already in life. We'll figure something out. We're not gonna rescue you from that nightmare just to turn around and go dump you on the side of the road somewhere." K reassured him.

It was about 2 a.m. when they arrived home at Shady Belle. Miguel and Jess had both fallen asleep and Lee sat next to John on the wagon. As they pulled in, the place was still surprisingly lit up and many of the gang members were still awake around camp. Apparently waiting on their return. Dutch and Hosea had been sat on the front porch and both stood to walk out and greet the returning party. When they lay their eyes on the three additional guests that rode in with them, a look of realization and shame washed over Dutch's face.