Red Dead Revelation I: A Good Thing (ArthurXEliza)

Chapter Nine: Stay

Since becoming intimate with Arthur, Eliza desired discretion. She didn't want anyone to figure out where she was going or who she was with. It was looked down upon, she knew, but she didn't really care. If Arthur were to ask her to marry him, she would. So, in her own mind, she was already his woman; she could never imagine being with anyone else.

For Arthur, it was a little thrilling, for they came up with different ways to be together. Perhaps it was the risk of being caught, or an adventure different than that of robbing and killing for survival.

It is also going to be harder for Arthur to say goodbye to her when he has to head back to camp.

Today is that day. It is Sunday morning, and Eliza watches as Arthur puts his shirt back on. She covers her head under the quilt as if to hide from the fact that he is leaving, hoping to stall his departure.

After buttoning his shirt, he begins to bring his suspenders over his shoulders and turns to look at Eliza, only to find a small mound under the covers. He smiles. He knows she doesn't like goodbyes either, but there was something amusing in how she showed it. He walks over to the bed slowly.

"Now, Eliza..." He reaches to pull the cover away but finds that she has a tight grip on it. He jerks it, eventually pulling it away, revealing her balled-up body underneath. She unravels, taking the blanket to wrap herself, as if embarrassed, which is rather ironic.

She sits up and he kneels down in front of the bed, facing her.

She doesn't say anything, but her doe-like eyes begin to water.

"I have to go, but I won't leave you here like this. I need to take you home."

"So I'll stay this way, and won't come out of the bed."

"Eliza, please."

"Please, don't go."

"I have to; I've been gone too long. They need me. They all do."

"But do they appreciate you? Do they care about you as much as I do?"

"In their own ways, they do." He eyes her exposed shoulder and the way her hair falls against her cheeks and down her neck. His body didn't want to go, but he had a family. Albeit, an unorthodox family: a curious couple and their two unruly sons, and other members that he hadn't yet told Eliza about, but it was his family. The only real family he had ever known. They were outlaws for riches, but it wasn't about the money. Not to Arthur. But he doesn't blame Eliza for how she feels, for she didn't fully understand his ways. But in their act of intimacy, time and again, she had bound her heart to his. Little did he know that he was her family, in an unorthodox sort of way.

"You know that I will come back to you," he attempts to reassure her.

She blinks, and a solitary tear falls down her cheek. He reaches up and uses his thumb to wipe it away.

"I know. Please let it be soon."

He finds her waist from under the blanket and as he stands up, he lifts her to him, holding her tightly. He takes a deep breath and smells her hair, making a memory to take with him. He wanted to come back to her soon, but he could never know. Dutch always had a plan to make money, and with it were its dangers. Dutch always talked about getting more members to even the odds, but Arthur was his protege and was the person to trust if he wanted a job done.

"Put on your clothes and get your things, I'll be outside saddling up Boadicea."

"Okay," she sniffs.

He sets her back down and doesn't look at her as he heads out the door. Combing her hair back with her fingers, she locates her clothes and begins to put them on.