𝐍𝐎 𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 ➳ 𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐑𝐄𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐏𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝟐

𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝟯𝟳

"Hey," Arthur's gentle but raspy morning voice woke her the following morning. Ruth opened her eyes to find herself looking directly up at the man, catching him brushing her hair out of her face. She smiled at him.

"Hey," she muttered through a smile. Arthur smiled before looking around. Ruth watched as he looked back down at her. 

"I can't get up, you're on me," he informed. Ruth laughed, sitting up. She must have fallen asleep with her head in his lap. The outlaw got to his feet, stretching his tired limbs. "Seems like you slept well."

"I guess I did," Ruth nodded at him. She did, she felt protected with him. It was almost like his presence scared off all her bad dreams. Arthur nodded at her with a small smile, picking up his coat from the singular couch he tossed it onto last night. 

"You needed it. When was the last time you had a decent sleep?" Arthur asked her out of curiosity. Ruth's lips pulled down as she thought before her heart sank.

"Before Danny... it still don't feel real," Ruth sighed as a wave of grief washed over her. Ruth looked back over to Arthur to see the man shrugging on his same tan jacket. Rather than wearing the blue shirt he usually preferred, Arthur wore a white one, a few of the buttons undone. 

"It won't, not for a long time," Arthur explained to her. "It'll never get easier, but it will become liveable," Arthur nodded before tugging at the sleeves of his jacket before looking at her again. "Reckon we go talk to Mr Fields."

"John told you?" Ruth was puzzled, John seemed to sum up last night's events quickly to both Arthur and Dutch. Arthur nodded at her.

"Vaguely. Just told me that he knows Cornwall and well, that's a good enough reason to me," Arthur shrugged in honesty. Ruth chuckled, rising to her own feet. She took a few steps closer to the outlaw, the man looking down at her. 

"Right then. But you keep your cool," Ruth ordered him. Arthur scoffed at her, shaking his head as a smile broke out across his face. 

"I should be telling you that," He chuckled. The two left Ruth's room, heading down the stairs to hear faint shouts from out the back. The two exchanged a concerned look before running out the back door to see David tied to a large tree however he was not alone. Micah was there, taunting the man. Ruth's hands clenched into fists at the sight of the blonde man before she marched towards him. She heard Arthur shout her name behind him but her sight was set on the slimy man. 

"Hey!" She shouted at him, announcing her arrival. David looked at her, his eyes full of terror. Micah was laughing, his head slowly turning before letting out a sigh of annoyance. 

"Oh, it's you," he rolled his eyes dramatically. Ruth placed her hands on her hips, biting her lower lip in frustration as she stared at the blonde man. His nose was demanding to be broken again. 

"What the hell are you doing?" Ruth demanded, her voice cold and firm. Arthur was by her side now, looking at Micah the same way. Micah looked at Arthur, letting out a small chuckle.

"Well if it ain't Romeo and Juliet... I was just introducing myself," Micah explained, casting David a look. "We get along quite nicely."

"Sure seems like it," Arthur commented sarcastically, seeing David visibly trembling. Micah's eyes darted to Arthur as soon as his voice was heard. 

"Good party last night, Morgan?" Micah asked, a sly smirk growing on his face. He looked at Ruth briefly before looking at Arthur again. "Must've been better than Miss Kelly's night eh?" Ruth's jaw clenched at his words, her heart pounding furiously. She wanted to wipe that smug look off of his face with her hand but Arthur blocked her view, stepping closer to Micah.