Chapter One: Valentine

Several Months Earlier

"Shit," Eliza cursed aloud. "Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit!"

On the bed in front of her she had spread out her remaining money and it wasn't a lot. She paced the length of her hotel room for the hundredth time, her head swirling with doubt and dismay. Since running away from that…that monster, she had somehow landed herself in the small livestock town Valentine. Between stabling her horse and paying for the hotel room for the past week she had blown through more than half the cash she had brought with her. Once it ran out…well she had no clue what she was going to do.

She glanced out the window and wrinkled her nose in disgust. She hated this damn town. The stench of shit permeated in every crevice of Valentine and she was sure the smell had permanently sunk into her skin and clothes by now. Not only that but she stuck out like a sore thumb. Even her plain dresses were all too fine compared to the other woman's here and too dark in color. Maybe it was time to replace her wardrobe. Eliza glanced down at her silky black dress and felt a rush of emotion flood through her. Nothing would ever be the same again. It was time to rid herself of the past, starting with new clothes.

A huge bang in the room next door caught Eliza's attention. She froze in the middle of her room and closed her eyes, straining to hear any further commotion. After a few seconds there was another crash.

"Stupid bitch!" A man's voice roared. Without hesitation Eliza immediately crept out of her room and up to the door of the room emitting all the commotion. She pressed her ear against the door. "I'm going to get what I paid you for whether you like it or not!" The man screamed. Eliza heard the sounds of two people struggling followed by the sound of a girl screaming out and falling to the floor.

He had hit her!

Without thinking Eliza threw open the door, coming face to face with a man in only his ridiculous white undergarments, standing over a buxom blonde who was sprawled out on the floor holding her already bruised chin.

"Who the fuck are you?" The man demanded but Eliza ignored his question.

"Get away from her!" Eliza yelled and pushed past him, kneeling next to blonde. "Are you okay? Let's get you out of here!"

"Oh, hell no!" The man said as he slammed the door to the room. The click of the lock echoed in Eliza's ears and she gulped. What had she gotten herself into? "She ain't leaving and neither are you! One of you is going to fuck me!"

Eliza stood as tall as she could, which wasn't anywhere near impressive even compared to other woman, and faced the man with as brave a face as she could muster. He didn't hesitate to rush forward and back hand her out of the way. The sound of the slap echoed through the whole room and she fell to the ground from the force of it. Tears stung her eyes and her ears were ringing, but she refused to cry out in pain.

The blonde shot up and grabbed the man's arm. "Hey! Leave her alone, you're here for me not here!" She demanded. He turned on his heel and punched her again. She hit the floor looking dazed by the second blow. He loomed over her, ready to hit her again.

"Get off of her!" Eliza screamed at the man as she sprang up and grabbed his arm before he could punch the blonde again. He ripped his arm out of her grasp, and simultaneously pushed her back onto the bed as he did. Eliza's heart was racing. How the hell were they going to stop this guy?

"I'm getting what I paid for!" He roared at her, but turned his fury back on the blonde yet again. He raised his fist again.
"Hey!"

The door flew open with a bang, having been kicked in by a tall man wearing a cowboy hat and a dark gunslinger coat. Splinters from the doorframe flew across the floor. Eliza flinched. He was by far the most intimidating man she had seen in Valentine yet.

"Who are you?" Their attacker demanded.

"A friend of hers," The man gestured to the blonde. Eliza couldn't help but breath a sigh of relief. Thank god someone had come.

"Get outta here buddy, I paid!" Their attacker replied like it was the most sensible rationale to the situation.

"Ain't paid to hit them, you goddamn animal!" Their saviour growled through clenched teeth. "Come here!" He sprang forward, his fist connected with the man's face. He grunted in pain but shook off the blow and attempted to hit back, but the blonde's companion was like a rabid animal. Within moments he had landed several more hits on the man and knocked him completely out. His limp body hit the floor with a hollow thunk. With a final grumble he spat on the unconscious man and turned to the blonde.

She stood slowly, gently cupping her sore jaw. "Thanks, Arthur," she nodded to the man who had busted into their room. She turned to Eliza and extended her hand, helping her off the bed. "And thank you Miss…?"

"Eliza," She replied breathlessly, nodding to both her and the man named Arthur. "Eliza Coleman."

"Karen Jones," she replied. "Come on, lets get out of here." Karen waved her forward and they followed Arthur out of the room.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Arthur demanded of Karen.

"Trying to play him. Not very well," She admitted with a sullen look.

"You okay?" he asked more gently this time.

"Fine…" Karen nodded.

"And you?" he asked glancing back at Eliza. She was able to get a good look at Arthur. Damn it all, he was a handsome man. His blue eyes were bright and surprisingly warm, a stark contrast from his gunslinger jacket and thick beard. His dirty blonde hair was in desperate need of a fresh cut and some pomade, but despite his rough look Eliza couldn't help but feel her heart race as his eyes traveled over her face, but guilt quickly weighed the pounding down and she felt sick to her stomach. What was wrong with her. Realizing he was waiting on an answer, Eliza forced those thoughts out of her mind and focused on the stinging of her cheek to keep herself present.

"I'm fine, sir," she replied.

"Arthur Morgan," he replied.

"Thank you, Mr. Morgan," She managed to say. It was hard to talk when his intense blue eyes were piercing into her. Part of her wanted to run back to her room and squeal into her pillow like a pubescent girl, and part of her wanted to follow them and learn more about this man. She decided to follow them, reasoning that Karen and Arthur were the most interesting people she happened upon in Valentine so far. That was absolutely the only reason, at least that's what she told herself.

Arthur tipped his head in acknowledgment to Eliza, then turned back to Karen, eyeing her chin again. "You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah. Nothing…nothing to worry about just…men, but…stupid bastard." Karen's fell into step next to Arthur and her voice dropped to a whisper. Eliza could barely make out a few of her next words. "Stupid bastard…the bank."

"The bank?" Arthur replied in the same hushed tone. His rough voice was not as easily concealed as Karen's.

"Sure…a livestock town," Karen continued whispering. "…lots of cash sometimes."

That part caught Eliza's attention. They were skulking for robbery tips. Eliza's stomach soured even further and she wondered if she could hold her breakfast in. They were outlaws. Gang members more than likely, and Eliza didn't know if she could be apart of that lifestyle. Not again. Still, if it meant getting the money she needed to leave everything behind for good…she was willing to do whatever it took. Now she had another reason to keep following them.

"Okay…keep investigating," Arthur muttered as they reached the ground floor of the hotel.

"I will," Karen replied with a nod.

Arthur held open the door and waved them both forward. "After you ladies," he said. He eyed Eliza as she stepped through the threshold, and she offered him an innocent smile hoping that would convince him she hadn't heard anything. Once they had exited the hotel, Karen immediately began heading across the street to a small group consisting of two other women and an old man.

"Thank you Arthur, I don't much like being saved but...when I have to be," She called back to him.

"I understand," he replied just as they reached the group.

"You okay?" The woman in a yellow dress asked Karen.

"Sure, he only punched me," Karen replied sarcastically. "Arthur punched him a lot harder," she scoffed. "Though if it wasn't for Miss. Coleman over here jumping in and stalling the man, I don't think Arthur would have made it on time." The two other girls eyed her warily.

"Please, call me Eliza," she replied with a small smile.

"Sorry…Eliza," Karen rolled her eyes. Guess she didn't like her name so much. "Anyway, this here is Mary-Beth Gaskill," The brunette extended her hand and shook Eliza's with a small smile. "And this is Tilly Jackson," Karen introduced the Umber-skinned woman. Tilly didn't hide her skepticism as well as Mary-Beth. She kept her hand to herself and eyed Eliza up and down with a look of disdain on her face.

"Pleasure to meet you both…" Eliza muttered.

"And this old sack is Uncle," Karen finished.

"My, my, it's a pleasure to meet you," he said with a large smile. He grabbed her hand and bent down to kiss it but Arthur quickly blocked him and pushed him away.

"Keep your hands to yourself, old man. She don't need your grimy lips all over her," he said with a smirk. Eliza smiled at the exchange but it quickly faltered when she saw the intense glare Mary-Beth had turned on her. Were they together? Eliza quickly scolded herself for even wondering.

"Just trying to be polite," Uncle grumbled.

"Hey, who's that guy over there looking at us?" Mary-Beth suddenly interjected, pointing to a man across the street. Everyone quickly turned to see a man dressed in a suit, atop a horse watching the group intently.

"Weren't you in Blackwater a few weeks back?" He asked, pointing directly to Arthur.

Blackwater? That rang a bell. Eliza searched her mind trying to remember what news she had heard about Blackwater recently.

"Me? No, sir. Aint from there," Arthur replied, shaking his head.

"Oh, you were. Well, I definitely saw you. With a bunch of fellers." the man insisted, not realizing what dangerous territory he was treading into.

Eliza racked her brain but the memory wouldn't come to her. The damned man in the hotel room must have knocked her brain a silly.

"Me? No. Impossible." Arthur sighed, resigning to the fact that this man was not going to stop his prying. "Listen, buddy. Come here for a minute," he called out.

"I saw you…" The man gulped suddenly much less brave with his accusations than he had been mere moments before.

"Come here!" Arthur yelled.

With a frightened look the man yanked on his horse's reins. "Come on, get!" he yelled as he took off in a gallop.

"Shit, go get the girls home!" Arthur yelled to Uncle. "Im gonna have a word with our friend!"

"Be careful, Arthur." Mary-Beth called out as he hopped onto the nearest horse and took off after the man. Eliza was sure she could hear a man call out to Arthur about his horse, but he was long gone now. Hopefully he brought it back.

As they all silently watched Arthur ride away Eliza suddenly remembered what she'd heard. A gang had robbed a ferry in Blackwater a few weeks back. A few of the members had been caught, but most of them had disappeared along with the money. Over one hundred thousand dollars from what she had heard. Eliza bit her lip. If she could get her hands on even a sliver of that cash, she'd have more than enough to buy her ticket out of here and then some. She glanced to the group around her. She almost couldn't believe these people were part of that gang - what had they been called? That detail she couldn't quite remember. Eliza eyed the group around her. She knew the girls had been out trying to play a few of the local men, so she could imagine them running with a gang, but Uncle? Her gaze landed on the old man. There was no way this guy was some ruthless gunslinger. Still, if this was the gang from Blackwater, she'd have to come up with a plan to get a piece of that money. As much as she hated it, her mind was made up.

"Shit!" Karen muttered. Uncle cleared his throat and shook his head at her, but she didn't catch the hint. "Barely got here and already we got people recognizing us from Blackwater."

"Karen!" Mary-Beth snapped. Only then did the blonde seem to remember that Eliza was among them.

"Shit!" Karen cursed again when she looked at Eliza.

Tilly sprang forward and grabbed Eliza's wrist in an iron grasp. "Damn it, Karen!" She hissed through clenched teeth. "What should we do with her, Uncle?" she asked.

Eliza tensed. Karen's slip up may have just cost her her chance at getting any part of this money. Or even worse…her life.

Uncle sighed and scratched his beard in thought.

"Oh, come on, Uncle," Karen pleaded the old man. "Lets just take her back to camp with us and let Dutch decide… I'll vouch for her."

"What?" Eliza and Mary-Beth asked at the same time.

"She had my back in there, which is a lot more than I can say for some of you lot," She glared at Mary-Beth in particular as she spoke. "So, lets take her back to camp."

Uncle shrugged nonchalantly, "Alright then."

"You can't be serious!" Tilly said.

"Dutch is never going to approve," Mary-Beth added, crossing her arms. "We got enough mouths to feed as it is and not enough to go around!"

Eliza was just as shocked as the two girls. Maybe luck was actually on her side today. Finally.

"Karen wants her, I'll let her make the case to Dutch," Uncle replied. "Let's just hurry and get on back."

Tilly scoffed and threw Eliza's arm down and stalked after Uncle. Mary-Beth quickly followed. Karen stepped forward and looped her arm with Eliza's, pulling her towards the direction Uncle had gone.

"Come on," she said. "Cart's over here."

"Wait! My bag!" Eliza said suddenly realizing she was leaving all her possessions behind. She tried to dig her heels into the ground but Karen easily pulled her forward.

"Leave it," Karen told her. "We'll ask one of the boys to get it for you later."

Eliza shook her head. "My picture…There's a picture I need to get!" She insisted. The thought of possibly losing her picture brought tears to her eyes. It was the only one she had of him…it was the only way she could remember Edward. "Karen, I don't care about anything else. I just need that picture."

"Look, I'll send Arthur back for it when he gets back to camp, okay?" Karen suggested. When Eliza still hesitated she continued, "He'll do it. He's real good about important stuff like this."

"Okay…" Eliza relented. "Thank you."

"Pfft, don't thank me yet," Karen chuckled as she resumed leading Eliza forward. "We still gotta convince Dutch you're better off in a tent rather than dead."

"Right…"

Despite Karen's warning, Eliza wasn't worried. If this Dutch was anything like Uncle…she'd have him wrapped around her finger in no time.


Hi everyone!

Thanks for reading the first few chapters of A Crow's Feast! I hope you enjoyed it. I feel like chapter one is a bit of a rough start and could probably be better but I really just needed to get myself going. I have a habit of getting stuck on the first chapter and never completing anything, so I'm definitely proud that I made it to my first goal of getting this posted. I hope the start isn't too confusing!

This story is mainly a fun piece for myself. I write it in my spare time or when I get tired of my more serious writing projects. I hope it helps to stretch my writing legs and help me grow a little bit. I plan to try and update this story once a week by at least wednesday or thursday night so please keep on the look out for updates.

Any constructive criticism is appreciated but please be nice. This isn't meant to be a serious or perfect story but I still hope you guys enjoy it.

Till next week!

-Lexi