𝑯𝒆𝒓 𝑵𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝑾𝒂𝒔 𝑹𝒐𝒔𝒆 | Arthur Morgan

1. better than nothing

I wake up at dawn, startled by the horse hooves on the ground clacking softly. Somebody had come back from a trip. I rub the sleepiness out of my eyes and see that it's Arthur.
He looks tired, like he hadn't slept in a while. Arthur notices me and sends a small nod my way as if to say ' good morning' so I send a small wave back, he smiles. I watch him go back into his tent and collapse on his cot. Since nobody was awake, I slipped away from my bed to the riverbank.
Clemens Point was okay, it was better than Horseshoe Overlook, but I knew we couldn't stay here forever. Mary-Beth said we'd do okay, so did Miss Grimshaw. But I was still worried about everything and felt anxious everyday. Thinking about this made time pass by faster than usual and the sun had already risen. The girls then came by to wash up in the river.

"Good morning', Miss Rose." Mary-Beth greeted, she walked up to me in her pajamas. "Hi. Sleep well?" I ask. She shakes her head, "My back hurts from sleeping on the ground, if I'm being completely honest." Tilly laughs at that. "Still better than the cold. I just hate these darn mosquitoes everywhere." She adds. "Where is Miss O'Shea?" I ask as I dipped my feet in the water. "Aw, Miss High and Mighty no longer sleeps in our tent, remember? She's Dutch's little lady now." Karen complains in a sarcastic tone. I stifle a giggle from the way that she said that, I had nothing against Molly, but the way Karen talked about her was funny.
"I'm just gettin' tired of doing chores, I want to shoot and kill!" I say, Sadie's eyes widen and her mouth twists into a smile. "That's what I've been thinking!" She replies, a big grin on her face. I laugh, "Mr. Pearson keeps making me stuff the chicken, and any more of his whining is going to make me stuff my fist in his mouth." Karen grumbles. The girls giggle. "How's Dutch and the other boys?" I ask.
"Lenny's alright. So is Charles. Uncle is...well, Uncle." Mary-Beth informs me. "Dutch seems a little off, Hosea looks very worried for some reason and...Micah's being his usual, annoying self."
My eyes dart from my lap to the girls, "and Mr. Morgan?" I ask hopefully. The rest of girls give each other knowing looks and erupt in laughter. "What?" I ask a second time, confused.
"Of course you'd ask about Arthur, Ms. Eleanor." Tilly teases, "You fancy him, don't you?" Mary-Beth asks. I shake my head, "Heavens, no! I'm just worried, that's all." I reason. They probably knew I was lying. It didn't take a scientist to figure out my small but growing crush on the gunslinger. "I often wonder what you girls see in these men, all of em' are as dumb as donkeys. Except Hosea, maybe." Sadie says, kicking the water with her feet.
-
After the bath in the river, I walked towards the food tent to get some stew for breakfast. Eating stew every day, three meals a day, was getting boring. "But it's better, trust me. It's deer meat this time, caught by Mr. Morgan!" Pearson boasted proudly. Arthur laughed and shook his head, pouring some stew into his bowl. "He did all the work, all YOU did was cook it!" Sean joked, shoving a spoonful of stew into his mouth. The girls giggled lightly at that, a few of the gang members were all gathered by the fire. "You doin' alright, Ms. Harper?" Charles asked next to me, I nodded. "I'm okay, you?" He shrugs, "You know how it is." I look up at him, "I really want to go into town, but it seems that everyone is too busy these days." I say, a little disappointed. He chuckles, the hot sun shining on his sweaty face. "I see, well, I will take you hunting at least, if you want. You're pretty skilled with a bow right?"
I shrug, "Guns startle me too much. I prefer something silent." He agrees. Charles was always a good friend to me, and we got along well. I wanted him to meet some girls, he seemed lonely.
Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Arthur staring at me, or at least looking my way. I blush. I've had tender feelings for him for a while, but I never had the courage to tell him. I've always felt a special kind of affinity with him. Maybe it was the way he was gentle with horses, or the way he treated women with respect, unlike most men. He was a gentleman and has always treated me nicely. But I fear he was too occupied with his travels to care about love and other things like that.
"I think I might go for a walk," I announce, I hear a chorus of 'okay's and grunts. I was the only girl with a tent, but it was mostly because I gathered the materials myself to make my own. It was private and I didn't like sharing with the rest of the girls. Ms. Grimshaw allowed it only because I put in the work and tried my best to earn it. I changed into a looser and more comfortable maroon dress with paisley designs. Then, I stepped out of my tent.
Just as I was about to walk away from camp, I heard a clattering of hooves and a gruff voice behind me. I didn't even need to turn around.
That rough voice, it's the first thing I noticed about him when I first met him. 'Not another woman, Dutch! We've had enough of those.' Micah complains, the moment I step into their camp. They were planning a big heist in Blackwater apparently. I met Dutch at a bar when I tried to steal from him, I would have gotten away if Hosea hadn't noticed me. Instead of punishing me, they brought me back here. A few months ago, I was this malnourished, skinny girl with rags for clothes. I left home at 17 because both my parents were dead from the police thinking they were criminals, but they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I was a rich city girl at one point, or at least I was comfortable. Then, after being moved to my wretched aunt's house, she took all the money and left me for Saint Denis. If I ever get to Saint Denis, I planned on getting my revenge.
Relax, Mr. Bell. She is one of us now. A sharp and quick-footed girl, I tell you.' Dutch proudly declares. The girls rush to greet me with kind smiles. After Ms. Grimshaw cleans me up and gives me nice clothes, a man named Mr. Pearson hands me a bowl of stew that's filled to the brim. I hungrily dig in. 'Woah, relax there, darlin' I look up and see the prettiest face I've ever seen on a man. He looks at me, amused, as if he was looking at a lost little puppy. I can feel the heat rising to my cheeks and I avoid eye contact. 'This is Mr. Arthur Morgan. Arthur, this is Rose Harper. She's a lot like you.' Hosea introduces us. He tips his hat, 'Ma'am.' I wave, 'It's nice to meet you, sir.' He shakes his head, 'Arthur is just fine.' He says nonchalantly.
I whip my body around, "Arthur!" I say in surprise. His horse, Bojack, neighs. One of the chores I loved to do was tend to the horses, and I loved Arthur's big, black Shire horse. "Hello, darling." I greet the horse as it grunts in delight. "I heard you wanted to go into town, today?" He nervously says, scratching the back of his head and fixing his hat.