Red Dead Revelation I: A Good Thing (ArthurXEliza)

Chapter Twenty-Two: Two Colliding Hearts

Arthur has been at Aspen's Way longer than normal, not that Eliza's complaining. Isaac isn't bothered by it, either, as Arthur's secret was coming true. The young boy cannot hope that it means forever.

"Okay," Arthur exhales, stepping away from Eliza. "I'm going to throw this bottle in the air, and you're gonna shoot it, alright?"

Eliza raises her gun, both hands firmly gripping it. "Okay."

Arthur leans back, prepared to throw it in the air. "Ready?"

"...Throw it..."

With a quick throw, the bottle flies in the air. Eliza watches it and as it comes back down, she aims, and fires.

The bottle shatters into hundreds of pieces. The light from the sky ignites the shards as though it were part of a stained glass window.

"I did it!" she cries. "I hit a moving target!"

Arthur nods, concealing his smile. "You sure did. Now, you can try it out on some small game. Maybe we can go for a small hunting excursion if you can have someone watch Isaac." While the aspect of continuing their lessons was a logical choice, it was the idea of being alone with Eliza that thrills him.

Eliza walks over to the broken glass, reveling in her work. Her loose hair falls against her face, the sun casts down on her head, highlighting the red undertones in her chestnut hair. "Maybe." She turns her head and they lock eyes. "But do you think I will get good enough for when it matters?"

He knows what she means. Will she be skilled enough to kill an attacker? If it were anyone else, he would have a ready answer. But it was like telling a deer that she would become a fox one day. It isn't in Eliza's nature. She could aim to kill, but how could she handle the aftermath? Would it change her?

In his silence, Eliza begins to wonder if it is too late to change things. She has tried to ask him to stay before, but she's always accepted things for how they are. Arthur knows that things are changing and he, too, is wrestling with the what-ifs.

As Eliza traces her fingers around the shattered glass, she cannot help but feel something in her stomach–an urgency. Like as though she were on the top of a cliff–being pushed farther and farther to its edge. She doesn't want him to leave. She doesn't want to jump.

***

"Stop! You're under arrest for disobeying the law!" Isaac calls, dragging his father's lasso as he chases the outlaw.

"You'll never take me alive!" Arthur calls back, jogging away and weaving around Eliza as she hangs wet clothes to dry.

"Arthur!" she chastises, but she cannot hide her laughter as she watches the spectacle. Isaac rushes behind her as he pursues his target.

"Well, maybe I'll take you dead instead!" He drops the lasso and takes a fighting stance. "Draw, or else!"

Arthur turns around and takes an exaggerated dueling stance–standing a few feet away. They eye each other for a moment, tension building. Arthur already knows that he'll let Isaac win, so when Isaac pulls his finger gun out of an imaginary holster, he braces himself.

"Bang! Bang!" Isaac mimics.

Arthur holds onto his chest, emitting a moan. He falls to his knees and falls over into the ground, remaining still.

Isaac laughs. "I got you, Daddy!" Eliza shakes her head and continues to hang laundry.

Isaac's laughter dies down. Arthur hasn't moved.

"C'mon, Daddy! I want to be the outlaw this time!"

Arthur doesn't answer.

"Daddy...?"