RDR2: Taciturn

Chapter 1

I sat with my back to the smouldering remains of my home. I felt my eyes water, my head ducked down as my whole body began to shake. The tears burst forth like water from a dam, cascading down my cheeks, the walls that held me together just collapsed. The sobs wracked my entire body, my hands balled into fists, my breaths came out in short gasps.

I gave myself away to the grief I felt, the bottomless pit I seemed to fall into. I cried as though it would bring my family back, as though the force of my grief could undo what I had seen. I cried until no more tears came, but still the emptiness and sorrow remained.

Then I just sat. Darkness had fallen around me, the only light given off was the small fire still burning away behind me. It was cold, my shirt doing little to keep me warm, but I didn't care. My family were gone, the only people I could turn to were gone. Why had I been left behind like this?

When the O'Driscolls had descended upon us, my father had pushed me out the back door, demanding I hide in the bushes to the back of the house. Implored me to remain quiet and hidden until the men left. I knew better than to argue, I had seen the O'Driscolls before and knew what they could do.

When I saw the fire start, the screams of my parents as they were roasted alive, I was frozen in spot. When I heard the laughter of the men as they rode away, I wanted to scream and cry out, but I couldn't. All I could do was collapse in front of my home and let the grief consume me.

I didn't know what to do anymore. I just wanted the ground to swallow me up, take me away from whatever the hell my life had become. I knew I was going to starve, succumb to the elements or be killed by either wildlife or people. But I no longer cared.

"Hey kid," I hadn't even noticed anyone approach me, I was too wrapped up in my thoughts. It seemed my demise was to come sooner than I thought.

"Is she the only survivor?" another voice asked.

"Looks like it," the man in front of me spoke again before he bent down to be eye level with me, "Kid, you're alright. We ain't gonna hurt you. What's your name?"

I looked up at him, I felt his eyes scan my appearance, my puffy red eyes, tear-stained cheeks, blotchy skin. His brow furrowed as I made no attempt to answer his question, and he shot a look behind him.

"Do you have anywhere to go?" He asked, "We can take you wherever, make sure you're safe."

I shook my head silently, my head dropping down.

"Was this your only family?" I nodded, "Who did it?"

I didn't reply. I fidgeted with my hands as I sensed him stand and walk away a bit.

"She's a kid," the man spoke to whoever else was with him, "She doesn't have anyone else. We have to take her back, Dutch will know what to do. But we can't leave her here."

"Alright," the other man agreed.

"Hey kid," the first man was talking to me again, "We've got a camp not far from here. We'll take care of you until you're back on your feet, then you can decide what you want to do. Is that alright?"

I looked up at him, not responding still. At that point, I didn't even attempt to say anything.

"I promise we won't hurt you, we ain't like whoever did this to you," he extended a hand to me and I cautiously took it, allowing him to lift me to my feet, "My name is Arthur Morgan. That man there is Javier Escuella. Are you fine with riding on my horse?"

I nodded as he mounted up, before he helped me up behind him. 

The ride was a silent half hour, neither of the men spoke and I also didn't. We arrived at the camp, I swallowed thickly as I realised just how many people were in this group. Sure, they seemed friendly enough, all chatting and laughing, but large groups were one thing I didn't deal well with.

I was frozen on the horse as Arthur moved to help me down, wide eyes scanning the camp. Many of the members had turned to look at the two men returning, their eyes settling on me, frowns appearing on their faces. Arthur gave me a comforting smile, moving his hand again to convince me to come down, and I grudgingly took it.

"Arthur, who is this?" a man with dark hair strode towards us.

"We found her home burnt to the ground, she was the only one left," Arthur replied, "Looked like the work of O'Driscolls."

"We couldn't leave her, Dutch," Javier agreed, "She didn't have anywhere to go."

"I agree," the man, Dutch, smiled at me, "What's your name, miss?"

My eyes scanned the many faces that were staring at me, intrigue evident. I gulped, taking an instinctive step back, and Dutch seemed to understand immediately. He turned to the others, giving a pointed look, before turning back with a soft smile on his face.

"Come with me, we'll find somewhere private to talk," he extended a hand to me but I turned to Arthur with a panicked look, "Arthur can join us if you want, don't worry."

Arthur put a hand on my shoulder, slight relief washed over me. I didn't know him, but something about him made me feel I could trust him. After all, he was the one who took me to this camp!

I was led to a tent in the centre of camp, the drapes being closed as soon as the three of us stepped in. Dutch gestured for me to sit on a chair as Arthur and him stood, staring down at me.

"So, miss, what's your name?" Dutch asked again, but I still didn't respond, my brow furrowing slightly as my mouth opened but no sound came out.

Eliza, I thought.

"She hasn't said a word to me either," Arthur told him quietly as I sighed in frustration.

"Are you..." Dutch scratched his head slightly before crouching down to be at eye level with me, "Are you mute?"

I nodded slowly, avoiding his eyes.

"Do you know how to read and write?" I shook my head, "Okay, this might pose a bit of a problem... Hosea, another of our members, can teach you but until then..."

He stopped speaking and sighed, a sad expression on his face.

"You're free to stay here as long as you like, miss," he plastered a smile on his face, "After what you've been through, we're happy to have you. I'll explain to everyone what the situation is, they'll understand."

And so I was convinced to leave the tent, Dutch leading me to sit down at the fire as he addressed everyone. I felt their eyes on me, my head was completely down as I wanted the ground to swallow me whole. Could this day get any worse?

"Hey kid," I looked up to see Arthur giving me a small smile, "We've got you a tent set up. Do you want to head there now?"

I sighed in relief, nodding gratefully.

"I thought so," he gave a small laugh, "Follow me."

He brought me to a more secluded corner of camp where a small tent was set up, a bedroll inside along with a lamp.

"I figured you might want to be away from the main hubbub of camp for a while," he said as he showed me, "I can always move it if not. My tent is that one there, so if you need anything, come get me."

I gave him a grateful smile as he left before I collapsed on my bedroll, burying my head in my hands. What the hell was I going to do? My parents were dead, I was stuck with a bunch of strangers and I couldn't get the words out even though I wanted to! Who even were these people? They were camping out in the wilderness, I highly doubted they were law abiding citizens!

I cried myself to sleep that night, my whole body shaking yet my sobs silent. I felt more alone than ever.

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This has been written for ages but I never got around to posting it bc I've been writing a Harry Potter fanfic that I don't even intend to post as that's a really good use of my time guys :)

Sorry for the delay! This probably won't be updated daily bc I'm awful at remembering things but there will definitely be more than one chapter a week I promise that! ANd if there's not you have permission to harrass me

Thanks for being patient and I'm sorry for my what is my inevitable Harry Potter phase mark 2 I have like 5 unpublished HP fanfics that I will never publish and they just exist for me to be happy

LupinsWerewolf