It was a sunny and quiet day around Horseshoe Overlook. The Van der Linde gang had a heck of a time in Colter, and even though they weren't safe yet, at least they were out of the cold. Arthur had been out everyday, since they settled at the overlook, searching for provisions and money for the gang. He was putting the camp's cut into the lockbox, when Dutch approached him with a pleased look on his face.
"Arthur, care to go to the circus?" he asked.
Arthur raised a brow. "Are we robbin' a circus? I hear some o' those folk're crazy."
He laughed. "No, no, son, I have a contact there. I need you to escort them here."
"Ain't we supposed ta be hidin'?"
"Do you remember that boy we saved in Blackwater before the heist, Arthur?"
"Yeah, said he had his own family an' couldn't come with us." He shrugged.
"He also told us that he would give us someone that could help. I asked Trelawny to have a look. Turns out the family he was talking about is his circus troupe, and Trelawny knows them."
Arthur raised a brow. "So are they sendin' some carnie? Rather take in another Sean."
"He says anyone from that circus is worth it."
"Do we even trust him?"
Dutch chuckled. "His leads are never wrong."
"Okay then. If you're sure, I'll go get 'em."
A short ride to east of Valentine, Arthur came along a big circus. The grounds were filled with clashing noises, an overwhelming smell of popcorn, and patrons, trying hard to win at those rigged games. It was an assault to the senses. In his time, Arthur had his share of circuses. Some of the slimiest and greediest of con-men were born and bred there. If this was someone who had Trelawny's stamp of approval above everything else, he half expected to be hogtying an eel to take back with him.
The ticket taker, a young and well-groomed man, winked and charmed all the women who went by. He had a pretty face for someone who usually worked on the move. Arthur approached and the young man turned to him with a lopsided but handsome grin."Well hello, my good sir! Did you want to enjoy the show?"
"Actually, I was sent here by, uh, Archibald Smith?"
"Oh! Good ol' Archibald, huh? Well, the gal you're lookin' for is about ready to go on stage, so you might as well enjoy the show first. Right on in with ya! No charge for a friend of Archie. For now."
A little reluctantly, Arthur went inside and took a seat. He just wanted to get the errand over so he could go back to doing more important things. There was a bottle of whiskey waiting for him and money to be earned.
When the show started, the ticket taker took center stage. "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! Welcome to the High Rollllller Circus! I am your ringmaster, the one, the only, Beasttamer Bobby!"
"Excuuuuuse~ me!" a light-hearted voice called from the shadows. Another spotlight flashed on and shined at a figure who made a lot of the men in the crowd hoot and holler. "Don't you go forgetting about me now, Bobby! The show-stopping ringleader, Lovely Lily!" Tipping her tophat, she struck a confident pose, made much more provocative with her revealing clothing. Her tight bloomers were short enough to show her garters, and her top was just a corset that pushed up her already well endowed breasts and an embroidered tailcoat. Her whole outfit squeezed her body in a tight, crushing hug, but the crowd could barely keep their eyes off of her.
But Lily had more than looks to keep all eyes on her. She could soar with the other acrobats through the air, pull rabbits out of hats, and dance on the highwire like she was on a stage. Bobby was no slouch either. Like his moniker suggested, he was a master beast-tamer, able to control exotic animals, dangerous animals with just a flick of his wrist, and no whip in sight. His frequent companion was a large lion, which stayed with him throughout the show. It struck fear into the audience, but seemed no more dangerous than a house cat.
On their own, they would be able to put on a show worth the ticket cost, but they had other incredible talents with them, including that boy Dutch helped at Blackwater, a skilled trapeze artist. They all performed with incredible talent and energy. It wasn't a surprise that they were so popular.
After the show, Arthur went down into the ring, where Bobby was signing autographs. He seemed well liked by the crowd, especially the women. He was a good-looking man, clean-shaven, sandy blonde hair and blue eyes, and he talked with a young Dutch's charisma. At times, when he talked, even Arthur seemed to be invested.
After signing the last of the autographs, Bobby took off his hat to fix his hair. "Sorry to keep ya. I get a little carried away with the fans sometimes."
"You sure got a lotta o' 'em."
"Well, I've got a pretty nice face." He chuckled. "Definitely lucky to get that in the draw."
"Nice o' ya to take that from the rest o' us."
Bobby laughed and patted Arthur on the shoulder as he led Arthur back to the tentyard, where all the performers settled. There were a lot of them around, practicing or relaxing. Plenty of exotic animals too, most of them which Bobby used in the show, roaming around outside their cages in pens. Bobby made a beeline for a particularly large tent, giving quick praise to all the people in the show as they passed.
Inside, the tent was as lavish as a tent could be with all the commodities of a bedroom, plus a bath. It was Lily's tent. She was there at her vanity, and the trapeze artist was sitting on her bed.
"Miss Lily Lee, you have a visitor," Bobby announced.
She turned to them. Up close, Lily was East Asian, not too clear from where exactly, but her face gave her away. She was fair-skinned and had lively brown eyes. Just like Bobby, she also had an award winning smile. "Oh, a backstage fan? What a rare occasion." She giggled and looked over to the trapeze artist. "This can't be Mister Archibald Smith, could it, Emery?"
He laughed. "If it is, then I must've been hit hard in Blackwater."
"Well, if not, then who might you be?" She turned back to Arthur.
"Mr. Van der Linde sent him here, Lily," Bobby explained. "I'm guessing he's here to bring back our Emery's gift."
"Is that so?"
Arthur nodded. "Yes ma'am."
"Well then, we shouldn't keep the man, waiting." She gave him a lighthearted curtsy, showing more of her cleavage and the mole just on the side of her breast. "It's a pleasure to meet you, uh..."
He gave her a once over before answering. "Arthur Morgan."
"Alright, shall we, Mr. Morgan?"
Arthur politely let her out of the tent first, and they made their way to his horse. He helped her onto its back before mounting it himself. She settled in as best she could, side-saddle, and they took off back to Horseshoe Lookout. Despite her chatty and boisterous personality on stage, she was mostly quiet the whole way. Arthur expected her to be like Trelawny, chatting nonstop about nothing.
When they arrived at camp, Javier was on lookout and welcomed Arthur back. As they rode past, he saw the passenger, and he could only stare. Giggling, Lily winked and blew him a kiss. Javier smirked and was suddenly very interested in Arthur's errand.
Arthur hopped off and helped her down, gripping her waist tightly. Just as it was during the show, all eyes were on her as the two of them walked through camp. The shock of her scandalous attire, unsurprisingly, caught the attention of passerbys. Even without her tricks and impossible feats, she was a showstopper.
Dutch came out of his tent to meet the pair, a teasing smile appearing on his face. He made no attempt to hide the interest and curiosity in his eyes. He was followed shortly by Hosea, "Now, Arthur, I sent you to fetch my contact. Who, may I ask, is this stunning young woman?"
"Mr. Van der Linde, I am your contact." She whipped off her hat and swooped into a long dramatic bow, before fluidly returning to her normal posture. "I am Lilly Lee, the co-founder of the High Roller Circus. I'm here on behalf of our beloved trapeze artist that is still alive because of you and your kindness, Mr. Emery de la Croix."
His eyes quickly ran over her whole body. "The boy said he was gonna repay me somehow, but I didn't think he'd send me a star."
An amused expression crossed her face. "We come from the same place, Mr. Van der Linde. The cards we were dealt weren't favorable, in the socially acceptable way, and we became outcasts in a world that favors conformity. We want to create a place where we can just exist. Because nobody else will, outcasts help other outcasts survive."
Dutch let out a jolly laugh. "Miss Lee, you are a well-spoken woman. I believe we're kindred spirits, but now, I've got enough mouths to feed, and I'm sure that's not the only reason he sent you to me."
"Then allow me to show you. Are you familiar with South American dance, Mr. Van der Linde?"
He studied her carefully, attempting to read her. "I can't say that I am."
"It is very new, but no worries. Dancing is about fun, and I wouldn't be much of an entertainer if I couldn't put a smile on even the most hardened of souls." She put one hand against her chest and the other in the air. She began to move her legs in a way that made her hips sway, crossing them over the other as she stepped to a steady beat. With a twirl, she held out her hand. "Care to learn to tango, Mr. Van der Linde?"
"I'd be honored." He humored her, taking her hand and placing the other on her hip.
She gave him a wry grin and repositioned his hands, moving it all the way up to touch her shoulder blade, and unlaced his other to simply rest on hers. "The tango is a very close and passionate dance. The movement is in the hips, but you follow just as you would in any other dance."
Lily drew him into an energetic dance to her steady counting, gliding her feet with every step and twirl. She coaxed Dutch into dipping her. Much lower than he would in a normal dance. He supported all her weight as her limber torso fell almost limp. She gently hooked her leg around his, sliding his pant leg up a bit. The dance wasn't something to do in good company, for sure.
Her smile brightened as Dutch's steps and movements became more confident, which caused him to smile too. They were quite the pair. Both had their charm, and both were well-spoken. But as much fun as Dutch looked like he was having, it would be an impulsive decision to bring in another mouth to feed for just entertainment. They already had a couple of those.
Coincidentally, one of them happened to be Molly, Dutch's latest lover, who at the moment, was red in the face, a shade to match her hair. Hopefully this was worth her anger.
As Dutch dipped her again, Lily took her hands off of him and took her hat off with flair. When Dutch suddenly brought her back up, he caught her hand as it came out of his vest pocket. "Ah, nice try, Miss Lee." He chuckled at her. "You're gonna have to do better than that."
"Well, golly." Lily laughed, her hat clutched against her stomach sheepishly. "I should've picked a different target."
"You've got a good head, and I admire that. You'll get far with it."
Her expression returned to her normal pleasant smile. "Mr. Van der Linde, the skill that I'm offering you is stealing but not just pickpocketing." She brought her hat away from her and tipped it to reveal a lockbox, the camp's lockbox.
Dutch and Hosea froze, and Arthur looked at the empty spot where the lockbox used to be.
"I can steal things from right under people's noses."
He let out a genuinely amused laugh and took the box from her. "Well, would you look at that. Looks like I underestimated you, Miss Lily Lee."
"The more who do, the richer I get." She started moving her arms and hands dramatically with every word. "They tend to be the ones who focus on the featherbrained tart instead of what her hands are doing." Holding it by the barrel, she brought up Arthur's revolver, seemingly from thin air.
"What the hell..?" Arthur's eyes immediately snapped down to his empty holster and then back up to his gun.
With a bright giggle, she gave it back to him. "So, will you accept Emery's gift? Or do we have to go back and get the lesser of the two ringleaders instead?"
"Could you give me a moment with these gentlemen, Miss Lee?" Dutch gave Arthur a pat on the shoulder.
"I'll keep my hands to myself." With a nod, she made herself scarce.
Dutch turned to his two most trusted confidants. "What do you say, Hosea?"
"Either she's a good thief or you two are getting rusty," Hosea joked, "but I can tell that you've already got an answer in mind, Dutch."
The look on his face was a tell-tale sign that Hosea hit the mark. "I care about your opinions, my friends. What about you, Arthur?"
"If she don't make it as a thief, I'm sure the boys would find some way to appreciate her. Saw Javier eyein' her like she was a steak."
Dutch laughed, patting the two on the shoulder in amusement, as he went to talk with Lily. Arthur wondered how much of it was actually going to be talk about her work. Dutch also looked at her like she was a steak. It was the same look he had with Molly when they first came across her. He was never one to keep a lady around for too long before getting bored. But, he might have met his match. Lily Lee charmed audiences for a living, and her attitude was flirtatious. She wasn't the type to get attached easily, and both seemed the type to move on when things weren't fun anymore.
Dutch soon walked back to Arthur with a pleased expression. "What a woman. What a woman. Intelligent, articulate, an idealist."
"Well what did you two agree on?" Hosea asked.
"She's willing to share her extra profits and lend us her hands. For whatever we need them for." He smirked. "That, Hosea, is a woman who understands my vision."
Before Arthur or Hosea could say anything else, Molly stormed up to him. Hosea took a few steps back, stopping next to Arthur, not wanting to get caught up in her wrath. "Dutch, what do you think you were doing?" Molly sneered, her accent cutting.
Dutch's previous smirk was gone as she got right up to him. "Miss O'Shea, what are you talking about?"
"You know what I'm talking about, Dutch! You think I'm blind?! Everyone saw that dance," She jabbed a shrill finger at him.
He brushed her off. "Would you please contain your anger?"
"I will not. You were slobbering over that trollop like she was your last meal!"
"It's called 'admiration'. I admire a confident woman, who can look after herself, Miss O'Shea."
"It better be just that, Dutch! I won't have you making a fool of me!"
"No, we wouldn't want that now, would we?" he remarked sarcastically.
Knowing exactly what he was implying, she let out an annoyed noise before swiftly stomping off.
Arthur watched her leave the camp. He couldn't hear her anymore, but from the way her hands were moving, he knew she was mumbling about something in anger. When she was completely out of sight, he turned back to Dutch. Hosea let out a long sigh and shook his head. "I hope you know what you're doing, Dutch," he warned.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Well, if it helps," Arthur interjected, "I'd rather have the girl who can pull her weight 'round an' do somethin' than...well, Molly."
"Noted," Dutch said sternly. "Don't you two have something to do?"
Arthur put his hands up in defense. "Okay." Hosea grumbled something under his breath and exasperatedly walked off.
"She's exactly what this group needs, Arthur," Dutch's tone calmed. "Not just a thief, but a beacon of hope. She believes in my cause, and she understands. We can do this, Arthur."
"I get it. I get it. I ain't doubtin' that. Just Molly's gonna go crazy with the two o' ya...well, bein' the two o' ya."
"It's fine, son."
"Whatever ya say, Dutch."