The Dusty Shamrock ~ OC RDR2 fanfiction

Chapter 12

I woke up before Arthur, and managed to sneak out and grab my other clothes. I'd just happened to be changing into them when Arthur woke up. Great timing, buddy.
"Oh, I- uh I'm sorry, I'll-uh-" he stuttered.
"It's fine, Arthur, you were gonna see it sooner 'r later" I chortled, however only making my partner in crime go red in the face. "I've got a bit of scoutin' I need t'do"
"A'right, So when're you gonna officially be doin' gang business with us?" Arthur asked me. I buttoned my trousers up before sighing.
"That's what I wanted to talk to ya' 'bout" I sat on the bed, next to Arthur. "I don't think I'm ready to be in a gang again." I said, solemnly.
"Again?" Arthur queried.
"I was in a gang before" the memories of our ole gang came flooding back into my mind. "When I was wee girl, me da' led a gang. We lived like sultans, our fucken' tents" I reminisced on the wonderful times I had in the gang. My father would rob banks, later on, so did I. Wanted, dead or alive in almost every county. My best friend was in that gang, Victoria. She was British, she was a couple years older than me, but nonetheless, we were completely inseparable. We'd always dreamed of starting our own gang one day. It never happened, all because of a rival gang. No doubt my father had a few disagreements over the years, but none of them had ever done such a thing like that. They burned down the camp, threw our supplies in the river, and killed almost everyone there. I happened to be out with my father when it happened. I never knew what became of my best friend, nor the rest of the camp.
"And what happened to your gang?"
"A rival gang attacked and killed everyone. After tha' me an' me da' decided to start up the horse ranch" Arthur nodded, not pursuing the subject any further. Knowing that it would only bring up a horrible image in my mind.

Later on in the morning, when both Arthur and myself we ready to make a move to our next destination. We slipped out the back exit of the Hotel, hoping not to rouse too much attention in the town. I quickly placed the skirt and blouse into my saddlebag and hopped onto Ama's saddle, settling my feet into the stirrups and setting off, followed by Arthur.
"So where exactly are we scoutin'?" He asked.
"I'm just lookin' 'round" we had ridden into a partly wooded area, rolling hills to the right and thick forest to the left.
After around an hour of riding around the area, we stopped to give the horses a rest and I stopped to look around.
"Arthur" I called out.
"Yes?"
"You wouldn't happen to have a pair o' binoculars on ya', would ya'?"
"Just So happens, I do" I walked over to him and took the pair of binoculars that he was holding down to me out of his hands. I crept over into the nearby bushes, the small clearing in the trees had a prominent plume of smoke eerily creeping towards the heavens. I crouched down low, just as if I was deer hunting with Charles. I'd hit the jackpot. Through the binoculars I spied a large camp. Most likely O'Driscolls by the looks of things. It was much bigger than I'd first thought, there was at least three campfires set up throughout. There was cabin, where the camp leader stood tall. Another minion appeared from within the cabin, he whispered something in his comrades ear.
"Come on! Colm says you lot ain't worth shit- he'll have us shot if we don't pick up the pace!" The first leader bellowed. Then, out from the cabin appeared and short, skinny man, yet power oozed from every orifice. He had tangled grey hair, a hat stood tall upon the nest of hair. Next to him, a woman of a slightly smaller stature, clearly younger too, stood. I couldn't quite make out her features enough to identify her, however I could identify the man. It was Colm O'Driscoll.

I scurried back out to where Arthur and the horses were.
"Find what you were looking for?" I nodded and hopped back onto Ama. "Ready to head back?" Arthur jumped back onto his own horse.
"Sure am, lead the way." Luckily, the O'Driscoll camp didn't seem to pay us any mind when we rode past them. We had to pick up our pace if we wanted to make it back in time for stew.

Much to our happiness, Arthur and I did get back in time for stew. Just as I'd taken Ama's saddle off, I heard a strangely familiar voice in the distance. A female, British rasp reverberated from the campfire. I hooked the saddle over the hitching post and gazed in the direction of the voice. It couldn't have been who I thought it was, surely? I slowly itched myself closer to the logs where people were seated next to the fire. The red coat, the hair, the hat, the voice, everything told me that it was her. The familiar figure in the coat was cosied up next to Javier.
"Vix?" I called out, it was a nickname that only she would recognise. I called her that after she started feeding a particular Vixen, a female fox. It was also shortened version of her name, Victoria.
She turned around, slowly, acknowledging my presence looming from behind her.
"Bo?" She stood up to face me. I couldn't believe my eyes.
"I t'ought you were dead" I breathed out before engulfing my long lost best friend in a suffocating hug. As we released each other, she kept ahold of my forearms, staring down at me as if I weren't real.
"Why are you here? I thought you were with your dad?" She blinked and shook her head in confusion. I took a deep breath, readying my answer to her question.
"My Father, he got killed by O'Driscolls. Everythin', it's gone. I'm gonna get redemption, revenge for 'im" Vix patted my shoulder, she looked at me with solemn eyes.
"I'll help, anytime, anywhere" she replied. We walked over to the cooking pot and ladled some of the stew into the bowls we'd collected from the table. We sat down with the others, on the logs, next to the fire.

The stew was lacking in some parts, perhaps some herbs would've made it slightly more flavourful. From what I could tell, the meat chunks inside the stew were fish. Most likely the fish that Arthur and I had caught a few days prior.

Arthur came and took a seat next to me at the fire, holding his own bowl filled with the stew. We maintained a nice level of chit chat with the others while we enjoyed our stew. After finishing, I placed my bowl near Pearson's wagon to be washed up. I waved my hand at Vix, beckoning for her to come follow me. I led her into my tent, ready to explain my plans to her.

I'd made a mental plan of how I would get my redemption.

Vix and I slinked into my tent, hoping no one else would notice us disappear for a while.
"So, what did you want me for?" She asks, bluntly and just how I remember her being.
"You said you'd help me get my redemption?" I replied, in a similar callous tone.
"Yes, Of course."
"I think it's about time we got in contact with one of our ole associates. Tomorrow, we ride out to the swamps and find Black Belle. She help us." Vix nodded along and waited for me to continue "I found quite a large O'Driscoll camp, Colm was there. We'll attack it, raid it, make sure that everyone's dead. But, listen, Arthur an' Dutch can't know anythin' 'bout this."
"What about Javier and Sean?" She asked.
"Javier can know, but not Sean. Sean'll want ta' come along an' he couldn't shoot a black bear in a snowstorm" she nodded, agreeing. I still had yet to teach Sean how to shoot well. He can scrap but he couldn't hold himself in gunfight.
"Alright, I'll get the guns clean for tonight and make sure the horses are fit and ready to go for tomorrow morning" Vix tipped her hat and crept out of my tent.

Man, was I fucking glad to have her back in my life. America was gonna wish we'd never emigrated.