"I've got a present for ya."
You regard him curiously, but he shakes his head, telling you now's not the time. He was planning on heading out with John, doing some type of reconnaissance, and he didn't want to give you this present with such little time to bask in your enjoyment of it. You're left curious, a little anxious, but you know he absolutely won't budge on spoiling his surprise; you don't know if you want to spoil even if you are curious, because there's a glint in his eye, he really looked excited at what he had to give you.
So you did the only thing you thought to do when you needed a distraction, and that was head into the nearby town to the saloon.
"Karen!" You call out the blonde's name cheerfully, and she turns to you with a look that says 'please take me away from all this work I have to do around camp', "How about you and I go into town?"
"Sounds good to me!"
You thought your trip to town would be nice, easy, you could gather up some supplies to bring back to camp while also having a drink with a good friend. You could've even picked up a few tips for robberies, maybe even checked out some new equipment, but the day didn't plan on going your way. You mentally apologize to Arthur, knowing if you had just been patient and stayed in camp, none of this would've happened.
But how were you supposed to know you'd end up in a situation like this.
"Excuse me, Miss, but I think me an' your daddy know each other." You try to hide how your body has tensed, hand drifting down to your waist to grab your gun for protection, but a rough hand quickly stops you. You turn to look into the eyes of your assailant, trying not to gulp as you realize it's exactly who you thought it was, and also the exact worst person to run into without anyone around to help.
Your father was a pretty popular fence back in the day for stolen goods, meaning he interacted with plenty of dastardly folks (Dutch included, which is how you ended up traveling around with them in the first place) but it also meant he had plenty of enemies, too. You weren't surprised than an old enemy of his had found you, nor were you surprised when they talked about a ransom.
This day was really not turning out how you wanted it to.
You're thankful Karen has the sense to stay away, to watch covertly from off to the side, trying to hear where they'll be taking you or at least get the general location. You're too distracted by the iron grip on your arm, the one that steers you out of the bar and quickly takes away your weapons and all other means of protecting yourself. Your arms are tied behind your back and you're placed in the back of the wagon, a silent warning being sent your way: scream, and you're as good as dead. Survival instincts kick in and you keep yourself calm, trying to convince yourself that things will be okay. Karen was on her way back to camp to inform them of your unfortunate situation, and then... well, hopefully, someone would feel inclined to help you out.
The camp isn't too far outside of town from what you can see, and it's in an open area, one where they could easily be attacked from the tree-line. You're not shocked this gang seems unprepared and open to attack, they seemed like newbies at this (though you did travel with a group who'd been around for twenty or so years, so maybe you couldn't judge too harshly). You just hope it means they're easier to find, especially as you're shoved into a cabin and tumble to the ground.
You make jokes in your head as the two members set to keep an eye on you rough you up.
'I really don't like it rough, huh?' You think as they yank you off the ground by your hair, pulling your head back to expose your throat, running a sharpened knife over the skin. When you refuse to easily comply with their wants, asking you if you belonged to the Van der Linde gang (something you'd also denied when their leader first asked, insisting you traveled about it alone after running away from home), you're hit across the face once, twice, three times before being tossed to the ground again. 'That's gonna bruise.'
As the sky grows dark your fear grows, a heavy pit forming in your stomach as you think that maybe no one is coming. Maybe they couldn't find you, or maybe you were expendable. Maybe something happened to Karen and she never managed to get back to the rest of the gang. You try not to panic, even as the guards talk about how enticing you look, how easy it would be for them to use this knife to rip apart your clothes- You block it out, just like you block out the pain of being kicked and berated.
You either zoned out into imagination land or passed out from the pain, you're not sure which, but when you open your eyes again your heart soars; you can hear a pair of familiar voices.
You can hear Arthur , though you can't make out what's being said, and the person who's attempting to guard you is also trying to listen in to the conversation. You know they're probably denying that they have you, playing dumb as though that'd fool anyone, but that would only piss him off more. You're not above using a distraction to your advantage, eyeing the guard carefully as you wiggle around in the ropes attempting to constrain you; they'd been tied poorly, something else that clued you in to them being new at the whole kidnapping thing, and soon enough you've loosened them enough to slip out. You make sure the rope doesn't thump too loudly on the floor, but voices were getting raised outside, meaning the sound was near indistinguishable, especially to someone who wasn't paying attention in the first place.
You weren't a fan of killing, avoiding it when possible, but you felt this guy really deserved it. Not only had he tortured you and threatened you with rape, he had implied he'd done this to other women, too. There's no way the world could benefit from a person like that living in it, which is why you take the knife they had previously used to threaten you and dig it deep into the neck of the distracted guard. You use all the strength you have to pull the larger man away from the window, don't want to alert anyone else and have them swarm you, and quickly pull the knife out as the guard begins to choke on his own blood.
The idiots had also left you in the most important cabin in the area, the one that had all their cash and their plans; they should've learned to hide those better, though you don't think there'll be any left alive after this interaction to make good use of them. As you're gathering up all the useful information you can, even finding some cash you could take for the emotional trauma bestowed upon you, you hear heavy thudding foot steps approaching the cabin door. You thank the Lord above for your ability to think quickly and dive into the darkest corner of the room, hidden behind the side of a thick dresser; you'd have to remember to check in there for some extra goodies, too. You hold your breath as a rival gang member enters, his eyes scanning the room in mild alarm after he spots his dead buddy.
He lets out a surprised yelp, calling out to the others, and that's when the shooting starts. You stay hidden away, not having a gun yourself and knowing you'd only get in the way of this firefight. You hadn't seen too many men around the camp, so you figured this wouldn't take long; you were indeed correct, figuring the fighting was done when the bullets stop flying and you hear your love calling out your name.
The minute you call out to Arthur he finds you, looking at you briefly with relief (you were alive!) before his face contorts back into being upset. He's gentle as he cups your cheek, looking at the newly formed bruise on your face, but you brush off his worries, telling him you're fine even as you follow behind him hunched over, arm across your bruised ribs that made it hurt to stand up straight. Riding on a horse was even worse, but you did your best to ignore the pain, burying your face in Arthur's back and taking in his comforting smell; it might've only been a few hours, but God, had you missed him.
The thought of never seeing him again was something that had run across your mind, and had made you miss him even more.
"I'm alright, I'm alright!"
A few members of the gang surrounded you, including Hosea and Grimshaw who seem to think you need to be checked out. You know the question of rape is on their mind but you quietly deny it to them, promising all wounds you had could only be healed by time. Arthur is the one who pushes the crowd away, ordering them to give you space before he walks you to your tent and sits inside with you, like some sort of guard dog ready to strike if anyone got too close and bothered you.
You're sure that, even after just a few hours apart, he had missed you, too.
"So, what about that gift?"
Arthur looks absolutely baffled by your question, then looks away, realizing he had completely forgotten (for a damn good reason, but still). He seems to hesitate before reaching down into his satchel, closing his fist around something and telling you to hold out your hand. He kneels down in front of you.
"Had a better plan to ask you, even practiced it, but, uh..." He presents the sparkling ring to you, not meeting your eyes. "I was wonderin' if... you'd wanna marry me?"
"Yeah, of course I'll marry you." You reply, your heart soaring; you remember how excited he had looked this morning, and knowing that excitement was because he wanted you to be his wife- you were almost on cloud nine, aside from your aching face and ribs.
"This isn't really the way I wanted to ask."
"Well, things don't always go the way we want them to Arthur, so at least I said yes." You lean over to kiss his forehead, cringing a bit at the way it seemed to make your ribs crack even more. He shakes his head pushing you back and helping you carefully lay down, wrapping you up in a blanket so you can be comfortable without having to move too much.
"You're right," He finally laughs, "At least you said yes."