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IT WAS DAWN BY THE time that the Tunstall's and the Regulators decided to travel back to the ranch. Belle was half-asleep behind Josiah, her arms limp around his torso and her head propped against his back.
The boys began to sing 'Auld Lang Syne' drunkenly, slurring their words with loud voices. Their mixed voices were the only reason that was keeping Belle awake.
"Darling?" Josiah quietly asked over his shoulder. Belle quietly hummed, indicating for Josiah to carry on. "Hold on,"
Belle raised her head questioningly but did as she was told, wrapping her arms more tightly around Josiah's torso, linking her fingers together for more support. Josiah pulled on the reins attached to his horse, resulting in the creature to pick up its pace.
Belle screamed in shock, but her yells soon turned to laughter as she started to feel more awake with the gushing wind rushing past her face. Belle and the Regulators rode around the open fields on their steeds, as John stayed on his spot on the hill in his wagon, watching the group with a smile on his face. Belle turned to wave at him with a smile, but a frown grew on her face as she watched a group of men approach him from behind.
Belle watched in horror as the men raised their guns at her father, pulling their triggers, sending bullets through his body. John stood up, accepting all the shots that were given to him.
Belle screamed in terror, jumping from Josiah's horse and began to run to her father. Josiah followed her hastily, pulling her back into his chest. Belle struggled against Josiah's grip, desperate to reach John. Josiah turned her around to face him, pulling her head into his neck. Belle cried into the crook of his neck, her hands shaking uncontrollably.
"Belle. We have to go," Josiah picked the girl up in a bridal style, carrying her to his horse. This time, he placed her in front, to ensure that she wouldn't fall or try to run back to her guardian. Josiah rushed away from the criminals, following the rest of the shook up Regulators with a traumatized Belle in his arms.
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The next day, Belle organised John's funeral with her boys. Belle stood in a cemetery, dressed in a long-sleeved black gown, with a black fascinator hat placed delicately on her head. Her bright ginger hair seemed dull in its pinned-up style, trapped in many pins, clips and nettings.
Josiah encircled his arm around Belle's back, rubbing her arm comfortingly. The sombre group listened to Dick's prayer as he officiated the funeral.
"For as much as it hath pleased Almighty God, in his wise providence, to take out of this world the soul of our deceased brother, we, therefore, commit his body to the ground. Ashes to ashes and dust to dust," Dick read out from his bible. Dick closed his holy book, taking a moment of silence.
