The first thing that Julia remembered when her consciousness came back to her, was the feeling of floating. She felt like her body weighted nothing and she felt strangely relaxed. Her eyes were still closed, her breath regular and slow and the only sound she could hear was her heartbeat.
Then, like a rock falling on the ground, she suddenly felt her body on something hard and warm.
She tried to move her feet and arms, but every attempt seemed futile. Her mouth was dry and her throat achy.
She suddenly felt a sharp pain in her leg which reminded her about that night with Uncle and the others and about Arthur, taking care of her.
She also remembered the talk with agent Abney and Arthur leave the camp with Karen and Bill to robe the bank of Valentine.
Now she could hear some voices, but she couldn't understand what they were saying.
She tried to move her hands again, and this time her fingers raised from her stomach and stretched towards the sky.
Then, she opened her eyes. The movement was slow and after a little peek Julia had to close them again due to the strong light of the sun passing through the tent over her head.
When she tried again, she blinked for a couple of times and then moved her head to her left where she saw an empty chair.
She couldn't understand where she was until, looking at her right, she saw some photographs stuck on the side of a wagon. In one of them was pictured Arthur with Hosea and Dutch. All of them were much younger and so serious that it made Julia smiled.
She was in Arthur's tent.
She tried, then to sit up, but the sudden movement made her head spin and forced her to lie down again.
She started to ask questions to herself: how much time had passed, how she was there, what had happened during her blackout.
But then, she heard some steps becoming more and more clear and turning her head, her eyes fell on Arthur who was coming back with a bucket full of water.
"You're alive" he said sitting on the chair.
"About so" Julia replied.
Her voice was so hoarse that her hands flew to her throat, feeling it burn.
Arthur, who had noticed that, sat onto the chair and filled the ladle in the bucket with some water, helping Julia to drink it a couple of times before her thirst was appeased.
"Thank you" she said, and Arthur nodded.
"For how long have I been sleeping?" she asked.
Arthur shrugged looking at the camp.
"Two days"
Julia looked at him and then sighed.
"Shit..." she said sitting up, and this time her head didn't spin.
She looked at her leg, noticing that her pants had been rolled up so the bandage was visible.
"What happened?" she asked staring at her leg.
"You passed out. Your body fought against the infection and suck out your energies. You were more dead than alive. But yesterday the fever dropped and now you're awake"
Julia rubbed her forehead and then tried to move her leg. It hurt but less than she remembered.
She looked around noticing the others intended on working, or at least the most part of them.
"You should eat something" said Arthur getting up.
"Yeah, I'm starving" replied Julia still a little bit fuzzy.
Arthur looked at her as if she would have passed out again and noticing his worried gaze, Julia looked at him in turn.
"I'm fine Arthur, really" she smiled.
The man nodded and then walked away under Julia's gaze.
When she couldn't see him anymore, she started to look around noticing a flower on the table near the cot, and some other things like a book, a piece of a newspaper and a photograph.
Julia took it and looked at the woman in the photo, not recognizing her. She guessed it was his mother, but she wasn't sure. She couldn't see any resemblance to Arthur.
Julia put it in its place and looked over the crates piled up behind the cot. There, there was another photograph, but this time Julia recognized the woman in the photo.
It was Mary.
Julia took it and stared at her picture feeling her heart sink more and more to her empty stomach. She was beautiful, she couldn't lie. No doubt Arthur had fallen in love with her. No doubt why he continued to run after her every time she called for him.
"If you keep squeezing that photograph so hard it'll end up in pieces" Julia heard from her right.
Turning her head, she met eyes with Sadie who smirked at her before she brought her cigarette to her lips.
"Arthur told me you were awake" she added walking towards Julia who returned her eyes on the photograph.
When she realized she was still staring at it, she put it back on the crates and looked at Sadie who was observing her.
"So, what happened while I was almost dead?" asked Julia to change the subject.
Sadie shrugged and kept smoking her cigarette.
"Nothing exciting. John kept going to the Grays to discover where their gold might be. Hosea the same thing but with that other family. What's the name...?" she said with a thoughtful expression.
"Braithwaite" Julia said.
"Yeah, them. Dutch keep arguing with Molly. Uncle did nothing as usual. Charles was worried for you, but not as much as Arthur" said Sadie smirking at Julia who frowned and shook her head a little bit confused.
"What you mean?"
Sadie huffed and threw her cigarette away.
"I mean that he stayed here, in this very same chair all the time. Almost didn't eat if Miss Grimshaw wouldn't have forced him" she said looking into Julia's eyes.
She felt a thrill in her guts at Sadie's words and her heartbeat sped up. But then she looked at Mary's photograph and that pleasure sensation vanished.
Julia shook her head and lowered her eyes on her feet.
"That's not Arthur" she said in a low tone.
"Maybe not the Arthur you remembered" suggested Sadie.
Julia felt that little thrill came up again, but she suppressed it quickly.
"I..." she started, but Sadie stopped her with a quick elbow in her arm.
She looked at her and then moved her eyes to Arthur who was coming back with a plate of steamy stew.
"Am I interrupting something?" he asked noticing the two of them were staring at him.
"No, absolutely. Okay then...I'll let you eat in peace" Said Sadie before she took her leave.
Julia looked at her until she was far and then moved her eyes on Arthur who sat down on the chair and stretched the stew to her.
"Thank you" she murmured taking the plate and the spoon.
Julia started to eat under Arthur's careful gaze.
"You feeling okay?" he asked.
Julia nodded bringing some stew to her mouth.
"So, how's the bank robbery gone?" asked Julia looking at him.
"Pretty good. It was easy enough, even if some lawmen chased us after we took the money, but we outran them with no problem" explained Arthur.
"How was the take?" asked again Julia.
"Good. How did you know there was all that money in that bank?" asked Arthur frowning.
"Well, I lived in Valentine for months. I saw farmers deposited their money there, especially the rich ones" said Julia bringing a spoon of stew to her mouth.
"You were dangerous even then" chuckled Arthur.
"Well, thank you. You on the other side were always tough and stupid" mocked Julia.
"Show some respect and gratitude, you're on my bed" said Arthur with a fake angry tone.
"How can you sleep on this by the way? It's hard and uncomfortable" said Julia smiling.
"Better than sleeping on the ground" replied Arthur.
"Mmh...I prefer the ground" said Julia.
"You are impossible" muttered Arthur shaking his head.
They looked at each other for a moment before they both chuckled like idiots, noticing only after that Dutch had reached them.
Julia lowered her eyes on her plate, still smiling a little.
"Well, I'm glad to see you awake" the man said looking at Julia.
"I'm good" replied Julia nodding.
"I'm happy to hear it. Are you regaining your strength?" he asked again gesturing to the plate of stew on her legs.
"Slowly but surely" answered Julia.
"Good" he said and then looked over at Arthur for a moment.
The other looked at him in turn, waiting for him to speak.
"Arthur, Hosea is at the Braithwaites. He wanted me to tell you to join him. He might have some plan to gain their trust and maybe this will help us with robbing them" said Dutch.
Arthur sighed and taking his hat from the table, he got up.
"I'll go straight away" he answered.
"I'll come with you" Julia said putting aside the plate.
She got up but stopped soon after a sharp pain crossed her tight. It wasn't so bad, but she surely couldn't run.
"No, you ain't" Arthur said stopping her by her shoulder.
"You can't tell me what to do" she replied moving away from his hand.
"No, but I can. You still need to gain your strength back and fallout might be dangerous. I need you to recover completely, even if for a day or two. Then you'll go back and join them on jobs" said Dutch with a tone that suggested no compromises.
"But I..."
"No buts. You heard me" he concluded before he glanced at Arthur and left.
Julia stared at Dutch the whole time he walked away and then sighed. She felt a hand over her shoulder again and turning her head she met eyes with Arthur.
"He's right. You need to rest. I'll come back as soon as possible" he said looking into her eyes.
Julia covered his hand with her own, staring back at him.
"Alright. But be careful. I don't trust that old shrew" she said.
Arthur chuckled scratching his nose lightly. Then he nodded at her and took his leave while Julia watched him.
When he disappeared from her sight, she sat back on the cot and finished her stew and then left the plate on her side.
She looked at Mary's photo again and then shook her head and laid down staring at the tent over her head.
Her leg continued to sting slightly, but most of all it itched like hell. Sign it was healing.
Julia turned on her side and closed her eyes, thinking about Arthur and Hosea's plan. She started to fantasize about what it could have been, how dangerous and stupid or easy and smart. She thought so much, she didn't notice she was dozing off again, and soon enough she fell asleep.
When she opened her eyes again, it was almost dark outside. The sky was a strange electric-purplish blue, in contrast with the warm yellow tone of the lights of the lanterns spread across the camp.
Julia sat up and rubbed her forehead, feeling a slight headache near her left temple.
She looked at the horses, noticing that Arthur and Sean had still not come back, but all the others where there.
Julia got up and limped towards the center of the camp, not sure of what to do. But then she heard a voice calling her and turning her head, she saw Mary-Beth walking towards her with a small diary in her hands.
"Julia, how are you feeling? I've heard you woke up this morning" she asked smiling at her.
"Yeah, I'm still alive" Julia replied looking at her and then her eyes moved to the diary.
"Were you writing?" she asked.
"Oh, well...yes, I was trying to go on with my story" answered Mary-Beth lowering her eyes and blushing.
"You got a story?" asked Julia surprised.
"Oh, no...it's just a little stupid romantic novel. Nothing important" said again the girl now looking absentmindedly at the pages of the diary.
"You think you'll publish it one day?" asked again Julia.
"I don't know...I'd like to be a good writer but...it's just a stupid dream for a silly girl" said Mary-Beth with a sad tone.
Julia looked at her noticing her change of expression while the girl kept staring at her diary
"Don't say that"
Mary-Beth looked at Julia with a confused and surprised look on her face.
"Well, it's the truth. All Miss Grimshaw and the other girls do is tell me so" said the girl chuckling sadly.
"And why should you listen to them?" asked Julia frowning.
"Because they care for me" answered Mary-Beth defensive.
"Maybe they do, but this doesn't mean that all they say it's the truth. I think you should finish your story and try to publish it" said Julia pointing at her diary.
"What's the point of it if I won't succeed?" sighed the girl
"Well, at least try. So you won't regret it" shrugged Julia.
Mary-Beth looked at her and smiled nodding.
"I'll try then" she said in the end.
"Good" replied Julia returning the smile.
They stayed in silence for a few moments, and suddenly the air filled with embarrassment.
"I'm gonna go now. Kieran asked me to teach him how to read" said Mary-Beth pointing at her back.
"Yeah, sure" said Julia looking at her as the younger girl walked away.
Then, she continued to wander around the camp, feeling her good leg tired of dragging her entire weight.
"You should sit for a while" Julia heard from behind her and turning around she saw Lenny and Charles seated on a log.
Lenny was looking at a map while Charles was sharpening a knife.
"What you doing with that map?" asked Julia getting closer to them.
Lenny looked around as if someone would have listened to him, and then he turned his head to Julia and smiled.
"I find a place near the swaps" he said in a low tone.
"A place?" asked Julia sitting between them.
Charles looked at her for a moment, his eyes moved to her leg, but Julia ignored it.
"It's a house. A big house" said Lenny, marking the last words.
"So?" asked Julia frowning.
"There's a gang of fools holed up there who think their war ain't never ended" explained Lenny.
"They're not the only ones apparently. I met so many people who thought the war wasn't over. Their mind's gone" sighed Julia stretching her wounded leg.
God how badly she wanted to scratch it.
"Exactly, but what it's more important is that they are weapon dealers and in their dealings, sometimes sit on a decent pile of cash" said Lenny more exited.
Julia looked at him more interested in what the young boy was saying.
"Which type of weapon are we talking about?" she asked.
"Rifles and some dynamite" answered Lenny.
"Interesting. Were you thinking of going with someone?" asked again Julia.
"Well, yeah. You interested?" asked the young man, his face lightened up.
"I'd come with you if it wasn't for this leg. And Dutch wants me in camp. But if you think about waiting for a couple of days, I'll come with you" said Julia sighing.
"A couple of days is doable. But not more. Those idiots might change place" shrugged Lenny.
"It's a deal then" smiled Julia.
Lenny chuckled and got up, ready to leave.
"Robbing a bunch of old crazy fools with the Hound. What's better than that?" he asked walking away with a toothy smile.
Julia looked at Charles who peeked at her continuing his work.
"What?" asked Julia noticing his disapproval.
"You shouldn't go" he said.
"I'll be fine in a couple of days" sighed Julia looking at her leg.
"Maybe your leg will need a little more of time for healing" replied Charles looking at her.
"If I can't run, then I'll ride or walk. But I won't stay stuck here for two weeks" said Julia almost in a challenging tone.
He stared at her for a moment and then moved his eyes away.
Julia sighed in discomfort, now the itch more and more insistent.
The man on her side noticed her expression and asked:
"You okay?"
"It itches" answered Julia biting her lip.
"Let me see" said Charles putting the knife away and raised Julia's leg on his lap.
He gently undid the bandages and looked at the wound. It was red and the new skin was visible under the burning.
"Wait here" he said getting up and putting Julia's leg on the log gently.
Julia looked at him as he walked towards the wagon with the medical supplies.
When he came back he had some alcohol and new bandages.
"Here, let's use some of this and change the bandages" he said pouring some of the liquid in a clean cloth.
Then he patted it on the wound making Julia squirm and groan.
"Does it burn?" Charles asked stopping right away.
"Not so much" Julia answered sighing.
"It's healing fast" said the man observing the wound.
"Good. So I'll be able to left camp sooner" replied Julia and Charles gave her an exasperated look.
"You don't like to stay here, why?"
Julia sighed and looked away for a moment. Then she shook her head and shrugged.
"Too many memories. Too many and too sad" she said in a low tone.
Charles hummed while wrapping the new bandages around Julia's leg.
While she waited for him to finish, she saw Hosea walking a few feet from them with a newspaper in his hands.
"Done" said Charles catching Julia's attention.
She smiled at him and looked at her new bandage, feeling it tight and comfortable and also the itch wasn't so bad anymore.
"Thank you, Charles"
The man nodded and then went away leaving Julia alone.
She moved her eyes on Hosea again and then she got up and limped towards him, who had sat on a chair.
"Hosea" she called him.
The old man raised his eyes on her and put the newspaper down.
"My dear. Arthur told me you woke up. How are you felling?" he said smiling at her.
"Good...just a little bit fuzzy" answered Julia.
"You gonna be okay" assured the old man.
"About Arthur...where is he? What did that old woman ask him to do?" asked Julia while playing with her hands.
"He's at the Grays with Sean, maybe waiting for dark to completely come" replied Hosea looking in the distance.
"Why?" said Julia frowning.
Hosea sighed lowering his eyes on his feet and then looked at Julia again, who was waiting for an answer.
"They have to burn their fields"
Julia bit her lip nodding and then looked at her back, hearing Karen scream something at Miss Grimshaw.
"And what do we get in return?" she said ignoring the two women arguing.
"They paid us one thousand dollars and they promised us more" said Hosea rubbing his forehead.
"If we do as they ask. You think this is a good move? I mean...they might be using us and when they won't need us anymore, they kill us" said Julia taking a step ahead, imploring Hosea with her eyes.
"I don't think they're so clever. I believe we can rob them just fine" said Hosea ignoring Julia's plea.
"For how long though? We already got some money; we can move again and make some more somewhere else" scolded Julia.
"It's not that easy" replied Hosea calmly.
"No, but it's better than be killed, don't you think?" Julia almost yelled.
Hosea got up from his chair and put his hands on Julia's shoulders looking into her eyes.
"Listen to me, Julia. I now you think that what we're doing is reckless and...that we could make some money in other ways. But we got no other choices. We made so many people angry that whatever we do now it's going to worsen the situation. We need to stay and go on until we can"
Julia sighed and looked down at her leg.
"Until you going to get someone else angry or someone of yours gets killed" she murmured.
"We chose the wrong side time ago. We can't make up now" said Hosea after a while.
"I bet you to tell Dutch" she sniggered bitterly.
"Yeah, he's...Dutch has changed as you said some time ago. And I'm afraid this new version of him will be the end of us" said Hosea sighing.
"But you can help him find another way. A better way" suggested Julia.
Hosea seemed to think about Julia's words for a moment but then he shook his head.
"I'm tired and old and he's too stubborn, more than I can remember"
For the rest of the evening, Julia stayed in Arthur's tent, waiting for him to come back. In the meantime, she observed the gold bar he had given him the day they took Clements Point to establish the new camp and remembered their talk.
She was turning it around her hands when she heard some horses in the distance and soon after she saw Arthur and Sean coming out the thick wood.
She got up, hissing when she put down her wounded leg without thinking.
It must have been late in the night because almost all the others had gone to sleep.
With the gold bar in her left hand, Julia limped towards Arthur who was taking off the saddle form Tundra.
"Hey" she said once behind him.
Arthur turned around a little surprised to see Julia awake and on her feet.
"What you doing still awake?" You have to rest he said with a reproachful look.
Julia huffed and rolled her eyes.
"I for almost three entire days, I'm not tired" she replied.
Arthur sighed and shook his head.
She was so stubborn sometimes.
"How is your leg doing?" he asked pointing at the bandages.
"Good. Charles helped me changing the bandages and he said it's healing fast" she said looking at her leg.
A light breeze hit them, causing Arthur's smell of moonshine and ash to hit Julia's nostrils.
"So, you burnt the Grays' fields" she said.
Arthur sighed taking a cigarette from his satchel.
"Yeah, I did"
"Sean did good Or did he was the usual blithe?" asked Julia while Arthur lightened up the cigarette.
"He was like a pig in the mud" answered Arthur making Julia chuckle.
Julia looked up at Arthur, noticing he was staring at her with a small smile on his face. She couldn't move her eyes from his, so clear and comforting that made her wish not to move away her gaze never again.
"I wanted to give you this..." she said raising her hand with the gold bar.
Arthur looked at it and frowned.
"I thought you had sold it"
"I didn't. I wanted to give it back to you because it's yours"
"I gave it to you"
"And I'm returning it to you as a word of thanks for helping me" said Julia stretching it to him.
"You don't have to..." he started.
"But I want to" blurted out Julia.
Arthur stared at her and then took the gold bar, looking at it and sighing. Then, without even think about it, Julia limped ahead and kiss him on the cheek.
"Thank you" she whispered in his ear.
When she moved away, she noticed that Arthur's ears were red, and his eyes were fixed on her.
She smiled and lowered her eyes, feeling a little bit stupid for what she had done.
"You can sleep in your cot tonight. I'm moving back to my tent" she said to cut off the embarrassing silence between them.
Arthur said nothing, but stared at Julia the entire time, not knowing what to say or do.
After a few moments, Julia smiled at him while playing nervously with her hands.
Then she turned around and walked to her tent, biting her lip to stop herself from smiling so hard, but any attempt seemed useless.
Arthur stood there, looking at her while she walked away. The gold bar still in his hand seemed to weight more than he remembered now that Julia had given it back to him for thanking him.
When Julia disappeared into her tent, Arthur threw away his cigarette and put the gold bar into his satchel.
Then he felt something hit his elbow and turning around he saw Tundra trying to get his attention.
"Sorry, girl" he said and returned to take care of her.
...
HI EVERYONE!
I'm so excited and so thankful to all of you because this very story here reached the 6K views!
OMFG! I can't believe it, thank you so much, you guys!
I also want to apologize for the late, but in these past few days, I had so many things to do that I couldn't find some time alone to collect my ideas and write a good chapter. In fact, I'm not so happy with how this turned out but I couldn't let you wait any longer.
So, here it is! I hope that, despite how badly I wrote it, you still like it. I promise the next one will be more interesting.
Anyway, I'm gonna go now. Have a nice week!
KISSES!