The Last Love Of Arthur Morgan

Black Shadow

The sun was just coming up when Arthur finally came to bed. Lorna woke when the bed dipped and rolled over, placing a hand on his arm. He turned and brushed his fingers against the side of her face. She smiled and held his hand.

"I missed you."

"Not as much as I missed you."

He chuckled and then just as quickly, coughed into his glove. He discretely wiped his hand off on the side of his pants, just in case there was blood like before.

He shrugged off his vest and unbuttoned his shirt, tossing them both over in the dirty clothes pile. They certainly needed a wash.

"Did you finish what you needed to do?"

Arthur shrugged."Sorta."

Lorna nodded and rolled back over, pulling the sheets up over her shoulders. 

He was respecting her wishes by keeping his business to himself. She didn't need to know what he was doing, not now not ever. But if she happened to find out somehow, he hoped she appreciated what he did for her.

After discarding his pants, shirt and boots, he climbed into bed behind Lorna. He turned his head away from her and coughed into the crook of his arm.

"Are you getting sick?" She mumbled.

"Nah, just have a tickle is all - probably dust or swamp air, who knows."

She hummed and nodded her head, quickly lulling herself back to sleep. Arthur yawned and closed his eyes too. 

He was standing in the middle of the forest, naked and cold. He folded his arms as he marched through the leaves and branches, careful to watch for snakes. How he ended up in the forest alone and naked was puzzling him.

He felt his chest tighten just then, his throat closing. He coughed and gagged, then finally spat. Blood dripped from his mouth as if he'd been kicked by a horse. He began to panic, but the more he panicked, the more the blood poured from his mouth. 

A twig to his right snapped and he whipped around, coming face to face with a buck. An eleven pointer, at least. They stared at each other for what seemed like hours.

Arthur studied the creature, totally fascinated by his unusual size and markings. 

Looking at the deer made him feel peace and tranquility, despite bleeding profusely from his mouth. The deer shook his head and grunted, but it never took his eyes off of Arthur. 

Arthur gasped and sat up with a jolt, he looked around the room almost in a full blown panic, until he felt warm arms wrap around his shoulders.

He glanced behind him and locked eyes with Lorna, the beauty that she was when she woke. He slumped, laying his head against her chest.

"A nightmare?"

He nodded, panting."Yes."

"Shh." She cooed, running her fingers through his hair."It was only a dream, it's over now."

He wrapped his arms around her waist and closed his eyes, breathing in her scent. She was calming to him, even from afar. One look and he would feel better. But this dream was making it impossible to feel better. It felt too real, too life like.

He glanced toward the French doors and took note that the sun was high in the sky and the locust were already making music. It had to be close to noon, he thought. He pulled away and scrubbed his hands over his face, yawning.

"Are you going to be okay?"

He nodded."Yeah."

Lorna nodded, pulling her knees up to her chin. He went about his morning routine as usual, but, something was certainly off.