The lost spark in your eyes //RDR2 // Arthur Morgan

Chapter 11

Most of the women thought about elegance when Arthur mentioned the plantation house. A mansion surrounded by fields and the green of nature. They thought of a veranda, enveloping the house and tall, gracefully framed windows and a fountain outside with clear water.
High ceilings and mahagony furniture in the inside, with portraits adorning the walls.

Shady Belle was none of that.

Shady Belle is an abandoned plantation house in the Bayou in the state Lemoyne.
The large colonial house is surrounded by swamps and alligators. It has four pillars at the front and two chimneys at either side of the mansion. The water fountain at the front is empty and the rooms dirty and destroyed.

The first floor of the building contains several living rooms. The three bedrooms on the second floor are used by Arthur and Katie, Dutch and Molly and John and Abigail. The rest of the gang has to sleep outside the house in their usual tents.

The gang had arrived in their new hideout just a couple of minutes ago, as Dutch walked up to Katie and Arthur, holding his horse's reins in his hands.

"Arthur, Katie, take a ride with me." Without waiting for a response from them, he turned around, leading his horse. Having no choice, the couple shrugged at each other to follow their leader. After walking a few steps their got stopped by Molly who walked up to them in a rush.

"Dutch, could I have a word with you?" Her Irish accent called out to them.

"Not now." Dutch answered while mounting his horse, Katie and Arthur following his example. Katie looked back to Molly, who had started to walk back to the house. She knew that the Irish woman loves Dutch. But their relationship seems to get more tumultuous. They have their moments of affection and kindness, but they seem to get rarer. While Molly seeks stability she often collides with Dutch's unraveling vision and plans of a new life.

"Can you believe that girl? All I've got going on, and she wants to talk." Leaving the hideout behind them, they spurred their horses into a light gallop.

"Everything alright between you two?" Arthur seemed to also have noticed the tension between the couple.

"I got far more important things to worry about right now than Molly." Following their leader, they rode along the paths through the swamps towards Saint Denis.

Stopping their horses on a bridge that led over a river, they took in the sight of the city in front of them.
Saint Denis.
A real city.
The future of the modern world.
Saint Denis is a maze of towering buildings and narrow streets, filled with hustle and bustle of city life. The smoke erupting from the chimneys of the factories were a contrast to the blue sky they were used to.

Splitting way with Dutch, they rode further into the city, trying to gain information about Angelo Bronte and Jack's whereabouts.
Riding further into the city, Katie learned to hate riding through the narrow streets. Trolleys were passing their way. Other riders and wagons made it nearly impossible to navigate in the city. People were crossing the streets without waiting for the riders to pass by and calling out to them to slow down or watch their step. Sharing a look with Arthur, she knew that he felt the same way. Both of them missed the nature of the west and the open country.

Stopping and dismounting their horses in front of a saloon, they spotted Dutch, who was leaning against the buildings wall. Walking up to them, he laid his hands on their shoulder, standing in the middle of them, while two children were running past them.