Chapter 30: Black Belle

Snow. Mountains. A town with red dirt. A white horse in the snow by a lake. Two gray wolf pups jumping from an oak tree. Fire. Sean's dead body on a red dirt road. A ship sinking in the sea during a storm. A bank in Saint Denis. An island. A treasure map in Flaco's cabin. A woman, the spitting image of Lilly, holding the real Lilly down.

"Let me out," the woman says. "Release me."

Lilly woke up with a start. She looked at Arthur and shook him. "Arthur! Arthur wake up!"

"Mmm?" Arthur opened his eyes slowly and rubbed them. "What is it?" he groaned.

"I had a dream about Flaco's cabin. There was a treasure map in it. And there was a white horse by Lake Isabella, I think. We gotta go back and get 'em!"

Arthur rolled over so his back was to her. "The only thing I'm goin' back to is sleep, you crazy ass woman."

Lilly chuckled and kissed his cheek. "Fine. I'll go take a look myself."

"Uh huh. You do that." Lilly stayed until Arthur fell back asleep and she left their small tent that was out in the wilderness of the grizzlies.

Arthur opened his eyes slowly with a groan. Lilly wasn't there. Huh. Where'd she run off to? Then he remembered. "Shit!" Arthur shot up and crawled out of the tent. It was morning. He saw Liath and a fire but no Lilly. "Lilly!" he called out. "Lilleh!"

"Would ya calm the feck down? Yer gonna scare yer new horse."

He turned in the direction of her voice and his jaw dropped. Lilly was brushing a white Arabian female horse. "How? How did you-"

"I told ya, mo chuisle. I dreamed it. Oh," Lilly said, reaching into her sidebag. She pulled out a rolled up paper and shook it at him. "Found the treasure map, too."

Arthur stomped over and grabbed it from her hand. "You should'a waited for me to wake up, Lillian." He opened the map and sighed. Yep. It was a treasure map. "You shouldn't be goin' out alone."

"Yer concern fer me well bein' moves me, darlin', but I'm perfectly capable of handlin' meself!" Lilly snapped, patting the horse and walking over to the fire. "I bring breakfast, a map, and a horse fer ya and ya don't show the slightest ounce of gratitude?"

"I am grateful but god dammit, Lillian," Arthur said as he marched over to her. "You can't go out by yourself!"

"You can't go out by yourself," Lilly mocked in his voice. "I tried wakin' ya, fer fuck's sake!" Lilly pulled out a piece of meat and began to cook it. "And ain't ya the least bit curious as tah why I dreamed up things that were real? Do ya even care what I dreamt about?"

Arthur frowned. "I do, but you can't go-"

Lilly shoved the cooked meat on a plate and put it in Arthur's hands angrily. "Ya know what? I died. I admit it! But what are the chances I'm gonna get flogged and poisoned again? Joseph bloody Pierce and Brutus are in an Irish prison fer what they did tah me!"

"Yeah but we still don't know why they did it. We still don't know if they were workin' alone. And you're carryin' my child!"

Lilly threw up her hands. "Oh, so now I'm supposed tah be coddled again? Like I was when I was lost fer three days? What about you, ya feckin' arse? You have a better chance of dyin' out there alone than I do!"

Arthur laughed bitterly. "Why's that?"

Lilly looked around for something. Arthur watched as she stormed over to a tree and punched it. It made a hole in the trunk and she growled. "Because I can do that and you can't. Because I killed two god damn bears and you haven't. Because I'm..." Lilly turned and glared at him. "Because I'm some sort of super human freak and you're not!"

Arthur frowned again and went over to her, putting a hand on Lilly's arm. "You ain't a freak. I'm sorry if you feel like I'm coddlin' you, and maybe I am, but Lilly...you ain't invincible. And you have to consider the baby. If somethin' happens to you, the baby might..." Arthur stopped talking and swallowed hard. "I can't lose either one of you. Okay?"

Lilly sighed and nodded. "You're right. I'm sorry. I guess I just got excited and...wanted to bring you stuff."

Arthur smiled softly and kissed her. "Thank you for the gifts." He started eating his breakfast and grinned. "Mmm. Now, what do you think I should name my new horse?"

Lilly shrugged. "Your call."

Arthur squinted one eye. Dutch had a white Arabian, too. "Ah. I know. The Countess," he said with a playful smile.

Lilly laughed. "Are ya serious?"

The corners of Arthur's mouth stretched down and he nodded. "Why not? It fits, don't it?"

"Yeah, kinda. We don't got counts in Ireland. In England, sure, but-"

"Then what's the problem? Hey, you know what? We could breed 'em. Have little Arabian foals runnin' around Darach ar an gCnoc."

Lilly smiled. "That's not a bad idea. It would bring in a good income." Lilly went over to the Arabian and stroked her neck. "So now ya got two horses named after me? I should get another one and name him Arthur...or Earl."

Arthur guffawed loudly. "Who said I was namin' her after you?" He walked over and let the horse take his scent in. "How's about a nickname then? How about Tessa?"

"That's a good one."

Arthur gave Tessa an apple and she ate with a cheerful neigh. "So, where are the boys?"

"Huntin', I suppose. Are ya just makin' small talk or do you have somethin' on your mind?"

"I do, actually. Your oak tree. What happened? We never got into that discussion."

Lilly took a short breath, huffing through her nose. Her mouth scrunched up to one side as she eyed Arthur. "Honestly? Not a god damn clue. There's so much about my childhood there that I don't remember. It's almost like my memories are locked in chests and I don't have any of the keys." Lilly frowned. "I wish I had more answers to..all the weird shit that's been happenin' to me lately. Me comin' back to life, me super strength, me new talents and the old ones bein' out of whack, that tree, and now me dream was...well, prophetic. I'm pretty sure all of ya are scared of me. Ya pretend not to be, but I know fear when I see it."

"Not really. Well, maybe a little. I mean, who comes back from the dead?" Arthur laughed. "I don't know about the others, but I ain't scared of you. I'm scared for you."

Lilly put a palm to his cheek and Arthur kissed it lovingly while breathing in her scent of apples. "I'm scared of myself. What other powers are goin' to turn up? I really am frightened, Arthur." Lilly's eyes began to fill with tears. "What if I accidentally hurt any of you or the baby? I mean, during my night terrors, did I ever hurt anyone?"

Arthur kissed her palm again and looked into her eyes. "No." Arthur embraced her and kissed her temple. Arthur knew she felt horrible and guilty about all of this. He wasn't just scared for her because of her newfound abilities, but for her state of mind. He knew the pregnancy was going to wreak havoc on her emotions as it did Abigail and Eliza. What really stung is he had no clue how to help her with any of it. Maybe Patrick could shed some light on it, so Arthur decided he should write to him and see what he knew. All of this felt so heavy on his shoulders, yet it wasn't even his shoulders it was all on. It was hers, but he was happy to carry the burden with her. "We're in this together, Lillian. We're goin' to figure all this out. I don't know how, but we will." He kissed her softly, then he kissed her tear-stained cheeks, then her eyes. "I promise."

When they reached the swamps of Leymoyne and passed over a bridge on the Kamassa River, the sun was setting in the west. Lilly felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. They were being watched. The Night Folk. She remembered them all too well, but at least Brian and James were with them and they were more than alert; they were on edge.

"What's wrong with them?" Arthur asked.

"The Night Folk. They're out here," she said.

"The Night Folk?"

"Nasty buggers. People who come in the night to rob and pillage, then brutally murder their captured victims, but they ain't even people. They don't even talk."

"Should we head back away from the swamps for the night?"

"Nah. We're fine. We got Brian and James with us. Just watch out for traps. They like to lure people in with...other people."

Lilly wished they would turn back. She hated this place. She loathed being this close to Saint Denis, her own personal version of Hell on Earth, but she wanted to meet this 'Black Belle' woman. It wasn't every day she met a fellow female gunslinger. She trailed alongside Arthur who was now on Tessa. They'd stopped at one point to stable Rose and give her a break from all the long distance rising. Liath, however, seemed no worse for wear. Lilly reckoned he liked it. Just then they saw a rider up ahead and he fell off his horse.

Lilly stopped. "Boys, go check that out." Brian and James went sniffing about while the now unburdened horse walked on by. Lilly pulled out her revolver and looked around. When the boys came back to her, she slowly got off her horse. "Arthur, you see any movement, you get out and I'll catch up, okay?"

"Lillian."

Lilly sighed and looked st him. "I've had plenty of run ins with these sick bastards. You have not. Just trust me on this please. You don't want to get surrounded by a bunch of Night Folk, especially with Tessa. You know how skittish Arabians are."

Arthur sighed and pulled out his rifle. "Just be careful, darlin'," and he kept a look out. Lilly went over to the man and checked him. "Hmm. Dead by bullet. We're good for now."

"How do you know it ain't a trap?"

"Night Folk don't use guns. Just bows and knives."

Arthur chuckled. "Is that how you got so good with bows and knives?"

Lilly smiled as she walked back to Liath. "Nope. I was always good with bows and knives."

Lilly mounted up and they went on the move again. It was then that Saint Denis was off in the distance. Just barely, but Lilly could see the smoke stacks of the factories and she became apprehensive. She ignored the city and focused on the task at hand. They went over another bridge and Lilly saw a house on the south side. They got to the makeshift bridge and started walking up to the house. As Arthur went up the stairs, the door opened slightly.

"You there," a woman said, a shotgun in her hand. This had to be Belle.

"Woa." Arthur and Lilly stopped and put their hands up. "Hello?" Arthur said.

"You a bounty hunter?" the woman asked.

"Not right now, I ain't. You Black Belle? I'd like to talk to you about your Wild West days."

"Tch. I don't care much for reminiscin'." The door opened and Lilly grinned. Yes. This was the lady in the photo. "You got any friends as bounty hunters?" Belle asked as she slowly walked through the door, the gun still pointed at them both.

"None that spring to mind," Arthur muttered.

"Well then you done led them boys here and you none the wiser."

Lilly scowled at Brian and James. "Sure, let's be in alert for Night Folk but don't feckin' warn me about anyone else followin' us, ya damn blockheads!" Lilly said with a laugh.

Arthur turned at the waist. "Ah, those bounty hunters."

"Knew my luck'd would run out sooner or sooner," Belle said.

"Well get inside. I'll tell 'em you're gone," Arthur said, trying to approach the lady.

Lilly shook her head. Men are so trusting and stupid. "Don't do that, Arthur..."

Belle inched forward with her gun. "Oh ho, no no. I ain't hidin' from those scalp hunters. Not runnin' from them, neither. And fightin'? Well, if it's just me against them, that'd be a waste of time and nitro-glycerine."

Lilly chuckled. Belle was a kindred spirit indeed. "Well, let me know what I can do," Arthur said with a helpful tone.

"You want that Wild West story, don'tcha?"

"Yes I do."

"Alright. Both of you get up here quick." Lilly sent the boys off to check the perimeter as she and Arthur went on the porch. "Now when I give you the word, boy, hit that," Belle said as she pointed at a lever. "Whole place is wired." Belle winked at him.

"Black Belle!" one of the bounty men said. "I got a contract here for your life or your liberty." The hunter started walking on the bridge while holding up a bounty poster. "And we'd sooner it be liberty.

"That's mighty reasonable of you, mister! C'mere, let me take a look at it!"

The hunter started walking again and Lilly had to supress a laugh. "What a load of eejits," she whispered. "Were the bounty hunters just as stupid in your day?"

"No. They were worse," she whispered back. "Come on!" she yelled. "Oh, come on!" When the men got to a certain point, Belle shouted again, her gun still raised. "Stop just there! Now," she looked at Arthur. "Set it off!"

Arthur pulled the lever and an explosion knocked the hunter into oblivion. Lilly backed up and giggled. "Holy shit!" The shooting began immediately and Lilly whistled for Brian and James. "Go get 'em, boys!"

Lilly watched as the boys came back around for the slaughter. Lilly pulled out her repeater and started shooting. "I hope you can shoot!" Belle shouted.

"We can!" Arthur shouted back, shooting a man down with his rifle.

"They're tryin' to flank us!"

Lilly went to the side and began shooting. Belle and Arthur did as well. "Lady, I can't see you much in need of my help!" Arthur said.

"Sugar, that's sweet! You're lucky I'm all married out!"

"And yer lucky I like ya, Miss Belle, because ya just hit on me husband!" Lilly said with a laugh.

Arthur cackled as he pressed another detonator and more hunters went flying. "Yep, my wife don't need much help neither!"

Lilly ran back to the front and pulled a plunger. Four men were blown up. "Wow!" Lilly laughed. "No wonder you like dynamite!"

"Ha! It ain't over yet, sister! I guess all their friends heard the hubbub!" Lilly went back to the side. She jumped over the porch, took out her bow and started milling the hunters down with four arrows in her bow, letting them go one at a time. Brian and James came running back around and took care of the stragglers. One guy tried to tackle Lilly from behind but she turned and side swept him with her arm. He went into the air and crashed into some boxes. "Well, I seen a lot of things, kid, but I ain't never seen that!" Belle yelled.

Lilly laughed as she put her bow away. Another hunter popped out and she hit him in the neck with a throwing knife. "I got a set of rare skills, Miss Belle."

"Whew!" Belle shouted. "Is that the last of 'em?"

"Yeah...you got them scalp hunters off your back," Arthur replied.

"For now."

"For now," Arthur repeated.

Belle went back inside and Lilly kissed her husband. "This was a nice day out. Thank you."

"Ha! You're welcome, darlin'." Belle came back out. "You gonna tell us about your Wild West days? Runnin' with Jim "Boy" Calloway?"

"Little Boy Calloway?" Belle asked as disbelief hit her face. "Heh heh heh, the only runnin' he did was away from a fight." Arthur lit a cigarette. "And that's about the end of it." Belle went back inside.

"Well, the man's apparently a famous gunslinger."

"Yeah, so they say. But uh, don't get what's famous confused with what's true," Belle said, packing things up in a sack. "The ones of us who lived that life, we was too busy bein' scared for our scalp to talk to no newspaper writers," Belle carried on with a sack over her shoulder and reached for her gun. "Or dime novel men." She walked off the porch and the couple followed with the boys.

"Well, what were they like then? Those days they all talk about?" Arthur asked

"Same as now, I guess. Only longer ago," Belle paused, emphasizing the exhaustion in which she said the last sentence.

"Alright. I'm gonna need your picture true, if it ain't a trouble."

"No sir. No trouble at all."

Lilly looked around for Liath and Tessa while Arthur went and took the woman's picture. She whistled for them and they both came running. She sat on the ground and looked up at the stars. As interested as she was in Belle, Lilly heard enough, she supposed. Belle was a rare woman like she was but Lilly had a feeling the lady wasn't the sentimental type. She heard hooves clopping away and Arthur sat down beside her. "You okay?"

"Yes, I think so. I might be havin' an existential crisis, though."

Arthur laughed. "What do you mean?"

Lilly frowned a little as she stared at the stars. "Well, I've struggled through life tryin' to figure out where I really fit in. As an outlaw, sure I fit, but I'm a woman. Couldn't really have heart to hearts with women and the kind I had with you and Da and Athair were moreso about male troubles. So if we have a girl, what kind of mother will I be if I can't teach her how to be a proper woman?"

Arthur turned her face to look at him. "You'll be a great mother. We'll have the other women in the gang to help, you know that."

"...What if she's like me?"

"Then she'll be perfect." Arthur placed his hand on her tummy. "Just like her mother."

Arthur and Lilly slept for a few hours at Belle's house and left just after midnight. When they got back to Clemens Point, it was first light and only Pearson was awake cooking breakfast. When he saw the happy couple walking into camp he waved a knife at them.

"Ah, I was just makin' breakfast. I got just the thing for an expectant mother!"

"Please tell me ya got more pickles!" Pearson laughed and handed her a whole jar. Lilly giggled, thanked him, and grabbed the jar...a little too hard. The whole thing broke and vinegar and pickles and glass went everywhere. Pearson let out a mighty guffaw, Arthur burst into a hysterical fit, and Lilly's face went red from embarrassment. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Pearson! I didna mean tah-"

Pearson started cleaning up the mess. "It's alright, Lilly. You just don't know your own strength. Bet you could beat anybody in an arm wrestling contest."

Lilly snickered and helped clean up along with the two men. Once done, Lilly began to gobble the pickles up like a pig eating slop. "Why the hell do pregnant women crave pickles? I mean, they're so good but," Lilly swallowed then crunched into another pickle. "Why pickles?"

"Maybe it's the salt?" Pearson hypothesized.

Lilly crunched some more. "Mmmmm. Perhaps. I do have, mmm," Lilly reached into her bag and pulled out some salted meat. She took a bite from that and her taste buds exploded with sublime satisfaction. "MMMM! Oh yeah. It's definitely the salt."

Arthur laughed and grabbed a pickle from the new jar Pearson placed out. "I'd say we should re-vinegar the pickles but I have a feelin' they'll all be gone before the day's out," Arthur said.

Lilly giggled and grabbed a few more pickles. "I think he's gotta worry about the salted meat now."

"Hey you two."

Lilly turned around and saw Dutch approach as she chowed into another pickle. "Mmm! Hi Da!"

Dutch laughed. "Happily stuffin' your face, I see. You guys wanna go fishin'?"

Lilly rolled her eyes, then a devious smile formed on her lips. "Ya know what? Yes!"

Arthur grabbed her hand and they both caught up with Dutch. "Hey!" Dutch yelled at Hosea who was tending to Silver Dollar. "Old girl, come on down here, why don't you show us this 'crick' you been pissin' in?" They got closer and Dutch sighed. "Hey, you don't look too rosy, old friend. I thought this warmer weather would-"

"My days of looking good are long over, Dutch," Hosea said.

Dutch climbed onto The Count and laughed. "Always dream crushin' and bubble burstin', you. Come on, Hosea, let's go fishin'!"

Hosea got onto Silver Dollar. "Come on, then."

Lilly climbed onto her horse Doc, and Arthur got onto Tessa. Dutch had been very receptive to the Count and the Countess' future foals idea, but so far the two hadn't really met yet. "Hey, where's Brian and James?" asked Arthur.

"Hell if I know. It's not like I keep those boys on a leash, as if I could," Lilly replied.

Arthur chuckled as they trailed behind Hosea and Dutch. "You're right, I'm sorry. I just worry when they ain't here."

"You worry too much, mo chuisle." Still, Lilly whistled for her pups and they came bounding out of the forest towards her. "See? They're fine." Lilly continued snacking on her pickles and salted meat. "God, these are so good!"

Arthur coughed. "Why don't we fish here? There's a whole lake of 'em."

"Because I need to get out for a bit," Dutch replied. "Me and the old guard. Before any of them back there, there was us!"

"The curious couple, their unruly son, and their wild Irish daughter," Hosea commented.

"It feels good here! Charles did well findin' that spot! It's like I can breathe again. Thick and soupy as this air is. Might even do your whistlin' pipes some good, Hosea."

"I was once in this country with Bessie," Hosea reminisced. "Oh, it feels like a lifetime ago."

"It was a lifetime ago. But what a life we have lived...how well we have fought. Especially the three of you."

"I hope so," Arthur spoke.

"But now, when things are desperate, we have to stick to the plan," Dutch said. "Make enough money, then go to Ireland, where we don't have to hide. I got some ideas hatchin' but I need you with me, not against me. All of you."

"'Course," Arthur interjected.

"Yes, Da!" Lilly replied.

"Still, we do need money. So keep a low profile, especially in the local town. After Horseshoe Overlook, I want everyone on their best behavior here, no trouble," Dutch scolded. "But start turnin' over the soil and the rocks, see what turns up."

"Dutch, we have gotta be discreet," Hosea interrupted.

"Imagine what a slew of rich simpletons there must be down here. Oh ho ho, this is perfect for you, Hosea. You'll be able to play them like a fiddle."

"Nothing would give me greater pleasure, but-"

"No buts...not today. We fish and we enjoy the day." They crossed a bridge to see some men up the road with a prison carriage. They were stopped by a train. "Looks like law up ahead. Play it cool."

The gang members and the wolves pulled up to the carriage and Lilly noticed that Josiah Trelawny was in the back, along with four nameless men. Her mouth dropped.

"Hello, gentlemen, and my lady," Josiah whispered.

Dutch chuckled. "Well, look what the cat drug in!"

"I seem to have gotten myself in a spot of bother."

"Quiet back there!" one of the lawmen yelled.

"Let's see if we can't sort this out," Dutch said smoothly. He trotted up beside the officers and started talking.

Lilly inched closer to Arthur. "Bet you five dollars he got caught sleepin' with someone's wife."

Arthur chuckled. "I say he was runnin' a scam. You're on." Lilly and Arthur overheard the sheriff say something about a gold mining investment scam, and Arthur cackled quietly. "Told ya. Pay up." The train whistled and began to move along.

"Shit," Lilly said before reaching into her satchel and paying Arthur the bet. She glanced at one of the men trying to pick the lock. "Think we should stop 'em?" she asked discreetly.

Arthur shook his head and whispered into her ear. "Nah, let's see how this plays out, darlin'."

Brian and James started growling at the prisoners and Lilly snapped her fingers at them. "Quiet, boys," she hissed at them.

Lilly and Arthur pretended not to notice as they opened the lock and started sneaking out. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, I..." Trelawny stammered.

"Shit! The Anderson boys! I can't have more scandal!" the sheriff yelled as the prisoners got onto the back of the train.

"Well allow us to help, my friend. Arthur!"

"Chase wanted men?" Arthur asked as he went to the tracks.

"A-And...and take Archibald with ya!" Lilly snickered as Arthur pulled the other deputy onto the back of Tessa. "Perhaps we can discuss the foolish magician?" Dutch continued to the sheriff.

Lilly went to follow but Hosea stopped her. "Now now, you stay with us. Arthur's got it covered, dear. You're expectin'. You gotta be careful."

Lilly pouted, eating the last of her pickles. "You're gonna leave me out of all the fun?"

"Not all of it. Just stuff like that. I think it's time I really taught you the tool of my trade."

"Your silver tongue?"

"Yes. You have your own, but this old dog still has much to teach you."

Lilly stuck her tongue out and giggled.

So, now I'm going to be adding in scenes from the original with some slight changes. Shout out to Ronin Kenshin for their review! So review, fav, follow, and thanks for reading!