Just Like Old Times

Fear Álainn

Arthur took a deep breath in. "God, that hurt!" He sat up and grabbed the back of his head. He assumed he hit his head and got knocked out. Oh yeah, he got shot. He looked down at himself and spotted a bullet hole on his shirt pocket, so he reached into it and pulled out his gold pocketwatch. It had a bullet in it. "Ha! Son of a bitch! Oh!"

He reached into his back pocket and took out the billfolds. Well that was nice of the kid to give them back. He put them in his satchel, but he still had something in the pocket. He grabbed the item by its chain and lifted it up. Lilly's family pockwatch. That's what Lilly gave him to remember her by? It was silver, highly decorated, and was crafted with passion and perfection. A white argent and a green vert with a white wolf and oak trees were etched into the shield. There was a dexter arm holding a sword with a snake entwining the blade. It had to be her family crest. He wondered if the motto was somewhere on it too. When he turned it over, Arthur saw the words 'Fidus Et Audax' inscribed into the back. Yep. His Latin was a but rusty but...nope, couldn't think of it. He opened the watch and a picture of a family was under the lid. A man, a woman with a baby, a teenage boy, and two little girls. One of them was a younger version of Lilly.

Arthur couldn't figure it out. They didn't even know each other, yet this young girl acted so courageous and signed away her freedom and possibly her life just to spare the life of a stranger. His life. Perhaps it was because Arthur saved Lilly first, but Arthur had a feeling there was more to it. Like the name she called him. Fear something. What did it mean? Was it a joke only meant for her to know? A pet name? A term of endearment? Ugh, he would probably never know because she was gone, and that made his heart ache. Why? Lilly O'Callaghan was just a girl. Right? Then why was he so drawn to her? Initially he thought she was just a helpless kid until she charged him from the dark under the stage and threatened him with her blade.

That was when he knew she wasn't helpless and his mind kept drifting back to her sacrifice to save him. He closed the watch. Something to remember her by. Heh, as if he could ever forget her. Lilly leaping out from the dark and putting a knife to his throat, robbing him and Dutch, tricking them into thinking she had returned their money, watching her leap from one roof to another, staring in awe as she scaled a building with only her hands, seeing her break a window with her palm...no, Arthur was never going to forget that little girl. That sneaky, knife wielding, red headed, freckle faced, bright little monkey.

He pressed his lips to the watch. Arthur wasn't going to forget Lilly because he was going to go after her. He was not going to let that child get dragged to whatever Hell she was afraid of going back to. With his face and mind set with determination, he grabbed his hat, got up, and put the family heirloom in his satchel. He placed the hat back on his head, he checked his guns in case he needed to reload, and quickly strolled out of the apartment like he was on a mission. As he stormed down the hallway Dutch and Hosea came around the corner.

"Arthur!" Dutch said with relief. "What happened?!"

"Lilly was taken." Arthur marched past them and stuffed the gold watch back into his shirt pocket. "I'm gonna go get her back."

"Alright then." Dutch and Hosea followed after him. "You know where they're goin'?"

"Back home. I don't know where that is but I will find her," Arthur replied with a calm resolve as he quickly trotted with ease down the stairs. "And when I do find her, I will kill every last one of those mother fuckers and no one is gonna take that kid from me again."