Work Text
Coming back from a successful con to an abandoned camp wasn’t what the Sages expected. They knew that something was wrong when they noticed that there was no guard on duty, but this was new. “What the hell?” Riley Sage asked, sliding from his Paint horse “Did they leave us?” “They wouldn’t,” his twin, Daron, answered, “that’s not how they work. Something happened, something big enough to force them”. “Daron has a point. There’s too many things forgotten for this to be planned,” Alice observed. There were odds and ends scattered all over, a shirt or two snagged on a rock, a couple of lean to tents still standing. From what she could tell, they had gotten most of their stuff as well, at least anything that they hadn’t taken with on the job. Before anyone could speak again, they heard horses galloping towards them. Riley took his horse’s reins in case she spooked. Blackwater police came, but thankfully didn’t assume anything. Alice was slightly grateful that they had stayed in the nicer clothes they had used to pull this job. Looking like lost rich folk would be better than looking like outlaws. “How can we help you officers?” Alice asked, gaining their immediate attention. “What’s your business here? The four of you aren’t part of that outlaw gang, were you?” the sheriff asked. “No sir!” she answered, thinking quickly, “My siblings and I were simply looking for a hunting spot. We thought someone might be hurt around here, not that there were dangerous outlaws nearby. We’re not from these parts,” “What about the brunette back there? She doesn’t look anything like you three,” “She’s adopted,’ Alice and her brothers answered in unison. She could have kicked herself for that, or her younger brothers. Her best friend Cas looked nothing like them, with her brunette hair and being notably shorter than the other three. Compared to their black hair and nearly six-foot-tall statures It wasn’t a lie though, Cas had been riding with the Sages for so long that she was one of them. Thankfully, the sheriff got a kick out of their answer and took it as sibling banter. He let them go instead, asking that they stay out of the area for a few days, in case the outlaws came back. They must have thought that they left something valuable behind. Riley mounted his horse again, agreeing with his siblings to stay out of the way. Once they were far enough away, they stopped by a creek to let the horses take a rest and figure out a plan. There were no clues of where the gang had gone, and even if there had been, the police had likely found it by now. Alice slid off her black Clydesdale, she noticed Cas was unusually quiet. It wasn’t hard for her to figure out why, and honestly, she didn’t blame her. “You’re worried about Arthur,” Alice said, walking over to her.“That obvious?” Cas asked. “You were really quiet when we found camp back there. Normally you back up the sibling story or even say that you’re adopted. There you just seemed kind of…. Shell shocked”. “I’m surprised you’re not more worried about Hosea.” “I am, but I’ll let myself worry more when we find a place to stay. I don’t need to give those two assholes,” she gestured at the twins, “more leverage to mess with me either. God knows they have enough of that.” “Are you sure about that?” “Woman, those two are just as worried for us as we are for them. I’ll be amazed if they ever admit it, but they are. Now we need to figure out what we’re going to do until we find the gang again. I think the boys know about a cabin we can borrow until then,” Alice slung her arm around Cas’s shoulders, an easy thing to do being nearly a foot taller than her, and a set of heels that added a couple more inches. Cas was fine with Alice doing it, as long as it wasn’t the top of her head. Riley did that to her constantly to be a pain. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Up North in the mountains, the Van der Linde gang was hiding in the abandoned mining town of Colter. They managed to get caught in the middle of a snowstorm that helped cover their tracks. It also gave them a chance to get their bearings, even though there wasn’t much supplies. Davey died on the way up, and they lost Jenny back in Blackwater, now they weren’t entirely sure if they would survive the storm. Arthur Morgan sat in front of a fireplace thinking about what happened in Blackwater, how the ferry job had gone bad and who had been left behind. He wondered if the Sages had found the abandoned camp yet or escaped the law. Last, he had heard, they were running a fairly large con a few towns West. They hadn’t expected it to take too long, and the cash would have been good if it was pulled off. Truthfully, he wouldn’t have been surprised if they took the chance to leave the gang without a trace and go legit. The twins could become lawyers like they talked about, but he had no idea what the girls would do. They weren’t exactly the housewife types, preferring to get their hands dirty when they needed. As far as he knew, Cas Serene was his girl, but he wouldn’t be entirely surprised if she left. If she found a man that she deserved instead of someone like him. He did doubt Alice though, he didn’t think she would leave Hosea. Ultimately, it might ride on what Alice did, he knew those four were closer with each other than the rest of the gang. He knew her younger brothers were absolutely more loyal to her than all four were to Dutch and Cas had been riding with them since they were teenagers. Alice and Dutch would often butt heads about where the Sage loyalty lied, usually in jest though. He saw through their actions that they still had loyalty to him. “Alright there Arthur?” Hosea asked, sitting next to him. “Yeah just thinkin’,” he answered. “About Ms. Serene?” “Her… and the Sage siblings. If they didn’t caught, will they come back with the gang?” “The girls will come back, and the twins will certainly follow. I’ve seen the way Cas looks at you, she’s not going anywhere,” Arthur snickers “What way is that?” “Don’t act dumb with me,” Hosea scolds, “You know exactly what I mean, even if you don’t want to admit it to yourself.” Slowly, Arthur nodded in agreement. Hosea was right, he didn’t want to admit it to himself, he didn’t think he should. He and Cas were far more open about displaying affection in camp than Alice and Hosea. Cas would always run and hug him when he got back from whatever minor errand he might run, and he always brought her back some candy if he found it. Alice and Hosea were a bit different about it though. A cup of coffee in the morning or a quick peck on the cheek when they thought no one was looking. Maybe he was overthinking the whole situation, or the weather was getting to him. There was nothing he could do except wait and see. Maybe they would surprise him.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A few weeks passed and the Sages couldn’t find a trace of the gang. It was odd, usually they could find one of the guys prying at the saloons, or someone listening in on the locals. Maybe they should look in a different town, but there was also the possibility of getting ahead of them. One more week would be enough time for them to try and find one slight trace of them. Riley had heard that there was a snowstorm up north. They might’ve tried to hide in it, get the law off their trails for a bit. If there wasn’t a sign by them, they would move on and keep looking. Valentine was a nice enough town, not somewhere Alice would stay permanently, but still nice enough. It felt like a town that ran off of traveling, something that could be useful for finding the gang. It gave her an opportunity to sit outside of the general goods store, half reading her book, and half watching the people. She would have left her spot long ago, but she was waiting for Cas who was inside buying some candy. Alice looked around once more after turning the page and spotted a familiar face coming out of the gunsmiths. She was up in an instant and walking halfway across the street, it had to be him. “Arthur!” she called out, causing the one and only gunslinger himself to turn and face her. She sighed with relief that it was him, or at least someone from the gang. Not that she wasn’t happy to see him, but Cas would be happier. He met her in the street then let her lead him to the general goods store. “Well I’ll be,” Arthur exclaimed, “You didn’t take off on us after all.” “If you’re going to be an ass, Cas is inside,” Alice remarked, “We spent damn near a month looking for the gang.” “You four have been here for a month? What made you so sure we would come through?” “Couldn’t hurt to be thorough.” “Well I’m glad you were, we’ve got a new camp set up not far off,” “Then go get your lady and show us where. I’ll get my brothers from where we were later,” Arthur nodded in response and headed into the general store. Alice made sure that her spot was marked in her book before going to get the horses. She just wanted to get back with the gang as quick as she could. Inside, Cas was fucking finally paying for her candy. It was taking the clerk a moment to ring up the sheer amount of it, but before she could get the money a stack of bills landed on the counter. Arthur had come up behind her while she wasn’t looking and payed for it all. The thud of the bills caused her to turn around. Cas couldn’t believe that he was really there for a minute. She wasn’t sure what happened to him while they were apart but right now, she didn’t care. It seemed as if she had frozen to the spot for a minute, but then her brain kicked into gear again when Arthur grabbed the candy bag for her. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and she leaned into it like it was the most natural thing in the world. Her hand reached up and interlaced fingers with him. He was back and that was what mattered in that moment. “Are you two love birds coming or not?” Alice called from on top of her horse, Alister. She refused to admit it out loud, but she was getting anxious to get back to Hosea. She missed him, that much was obvious from how quick she was moving and by looking past Valentine. She figured he was fine, but damnit it had been too long since she last saw him. Alister was pawing at the ground in response. Cas took Nova’s reins from Alice and tied them to Arthur’s saddle before he lifted her onto his horse with him. Once they started leaving Valentine, Alice relaxed a bit but Alister wanted to ride ahead of the other two. She made sure that he stayed with Arthur, but his head stayed in front of Arthur’s horse. He was too used to leading the pack. “What happened back in Blackwater?” Cas asked once they were out of town. “That ferry job that Dutch and Micah planned went wrong. Lost a lot of people because of it. Sean and mac might be alive, but Davey and Jenny passed. Me and Hosea had to drop that good lead we had because of it,” Arthur explained. Alice cursed under her breath, she didn’t trust Micah as far as a mule could kick him. The girls went quiet, giving Davey and Jenny a moment of silence. “What’s the plan now?” Alice asked. “We lay low but try to earn money and get back on our feet,” Arthur answered “What about you four? What happened there?” “Well that con went well, then we got back, and the entire camp was gone. We convinced some nearby lawmen that we were just looking for a hunting spot before we left as quick as we could. We figured you guys went north so we found a place between Strawberry and Valentine. The boys knew of an abandoned cabin and we holed up there. They’re back there, we needed some supplies and to keep looking. I suppose we’ll have to go get them eventually,” Cas and Arthur chuckled at Alice’s remark. They figured she wanted her reunion with Hosea to not be witnessed by them. There would be no end to their teasing for a couple of weeks, or anytime they were apart afterwards. The rest of the ride was spent finding out about what happened up in Colter. Both girls were surprised to hear that there was an O’Driscoll in camp. Arthur was almost sure that he wasn’t going to give up any information about Colm just yet. Javier Escuella was standing guard not far off of the camp at Horseshoe Overlook. “Long time, no see ladies!” Javier called to them, once he saw who it was, “Where are the twin fools?” “Being stupid in the woods, where else?” Alice answered, I’ll go back and steal their stuff later!” Javier chuckled, going back to his post. Arthur helped both Cas and Alice down from their horses and unsaddled them so they could get some rest. They had certainly earned it. Unfortunately for Alice, it was a couple of minutes before she could go look for Hosea. Dutch wanted to speak with her and Cas about what happened. They weren’t surprised that they had to relay that story once again and figured it would happen a couple more times before the day ended. She promised Dutch that the twins would be back in camp by the end of the day before she went looking for Hosea. Thankfully, that wasn’t hard to do. He was sitting on a rock by the edge of a cliff, a book in hand. “Mind if I join you?” Alice asked, standing next to him.Hosea looked up, surprised to see her standing there. He didn’t expect Arthur to go into town and come back with more members. The next thing Alice knew, she was wrapped up in one of the biggest bear hugs of her life. It took her two seconds to process and hug him back. She was just glad that Hosea was there, alive and safe. As safe as an outlaw could be at least, but that’s all that mattered. In that moment there was nothing else but him back in her arms, not wanting to let go anytime soon. She could hear sweet nothings being muttered in her ear, while she buried her face in his neck. Hosea was safe, and they would be okay, the gang would survive.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The party was in full swing by the time night fell. Alice went to go grab her brothers hours before the sun had even set. Once they got back to camp, they set up their tents next tp each other in a decent spot. A couple of cases of beers and whiskey came out, and the party was going. Most of the gang was sitting around the campfire or a nearby table. Most everyone had a bottle in their hands. Javier was playing his guitar, playing almost anyone’s favorites. Alice was grabbing a couple of beer bottles for her brothers when she heard Dutch’s phonograph. It gave her an idea to make the party just a little more enjoyable. Before she could put it into place, she gave the beer to her brothers. Then she went looking for Hosea, who was sitting at the table by the fire, smiling at the celebration. Alice walked over to him; hands held in front of her. “Come dance with me, my love.” She said. He looked at her for a moment before asking “Are you sure you want to dance with an ol’ man like me?” Alice rolled her eyes, which Hosea chuckled at before accepting. Dutch was already dancing with Molly, while Uncle was dancing with a beer bottle. The pair found a spot just off of the others, but still close enough to hear the music. In that moment, there was nothing but the two of them and the music. A simple waltz that didn’t have any real steps to, just followed the music. Not far off by the closest box of whiskey, Daron watched Hosea dance with his older sister. She looked so happy to have the conman back by her side. He knew that she worried more than she let on while they were gone. Daron worried too, but for different reasons. He worried about her one day accidentally breaking her heart or that something would happen and cause them to separate. But tonight, he could see that Hosea would be nothing but a gentleman to his sister. If their grandparents were still alive, they might like Hosea. His grandmother would have had to warm up to him but being a gentleman would have worked in his favor. Elenora Sage always thought that a gentleman would balance out the rebel in her granddaughter. Maybe that was because her own marriage had been similar. It seemed as if she was right, even from the grave. “Daron!” Riley called, “Hurry up with the beer!” “Get it yourself, fucker!” Daron hollered back. He looked over once more, just in time to see Alice get spun around. There was the biggest smile on her face, like nothing could take it from her. It made him smile while he took a couple beers and a whiskey to split back to his twin. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The next morning, Alice woke up to the sound of Mrs. Grimshaw yelling. Oh, how did not miss that sound while they had been stashed up in that cabin. Maybe she could sneak into Hosea’s tent unnoticed and try not to wake him up in the process. The arm that tightened around her waist told her she didn’t need to. Coming to sleep with Hosea in his tent happened after a couple more drinks and songs. The liquor in their systems and lateness of the evening had lulled them to sleep. Carefully, Alice tucked her head under Hosea’s chin, feeling some of her black hair fall in front of her face. She didn’t want to wake him up, he deserved to sleep for a bit. Plus, this position was far too comfortable to resist staying in. She was felt back into a light sleep almost immediately. It felt like moments later that the hair that had fallen was being pushed from her face. Alice hummed in content before pressing a light kiss to his jaw. Then a few more to his neck with ‘good morning’ mumbled in between because she could. Waking up like this felt like it would never get old. “Ali,” Hosea spoke after a few moments, “You wouldn’t mind terribly if I borrowed Daron for a job at Emerald Ranch, would you? Here in a day or two.” “Not at all.” She muttered. Whatever this was, she knew that it was probably something good. It would help the camp, and he probably needed someone who wasn’t just going to act like some dumb muscle to intimidate someone. With the two of them, they could convince someone to streak across Valentine for nothing at all. First, she had to finish a couple things with both the twins in Valentine. Then they could do whatever was needed. “Just let me steal you away for myself.” She said, “We can go to that cabin my brothers found.” They spent a few more minutes there, enjoying the morning. It took a bit, but they decided they should probably get up, before someone came looking for them. Soon enough, they were putting on their shoes and their gun belts. Alice was sitting on the cot, lacing up her heeled boots when she heard Hosea start coughing. The sound alone made her freeze for a moment. Once her boot was properly laced up, she looked at the man adjusting his green jacket. Gently, she took the hand that was closest into both of hers. That cough didn’t sound good, and you never knew what it could be. “I’m alright, dear.” Hosea reassured her, “Just somethin’ I picked up in the mountains.” After a moment, she simply nodded in response. It didn’t sound too serious just yet, and maybe it was something the cold of the North had brought on. There was nothing they could do about it right now. Instead, Alice brushed her lips across his knuckles. If it got any worse, she would make him go to the doctor one way or another. The moment was ruined by the twins calling for her outside. Dumb bastards had to go and mess it up, but they wanted to get things done today. Alice adjusted her low bun one last time before following Hosea out. A quick glance around showed exactly where those two were. The twins sat by the campfire, watching the camp contently. They were glad to be back with the gang again; they were their second family after all. There were somethings in the world that just couldn’t be replaced. From where they were sitting, there was a clear view of Bill Williamson threatening the O’Driscoll member that had been captured up in the mountains. “I don’t think he’s loyal to them,” Riley said. “I don’t either.” Daron agreed, pushing his glasses up to his green eyes. “He probably thinks that whatever information he has is useless.” He didn’t see his older sister coming up behind them to snatch his coffee cup. Truthfully, she could have done it without them seeing, but this was her revenge for messing with her moment with Hosea. “Why mine?!” Daron exclaimed. “You were closer.” She answered simply. She took a drink of the dark liquid as Riley looked in the direction that he thought she came from. “Ohhhhh,” he started, “So that’s where you – FUCK!” Alice had kicked the chair over, taking him with it. Daron started laughing in response, while she tried to look as innocent as possible. The chair was small enough that it didn’t hurt but damn did it surprise him. “Now I’m glad I didn’t end up with Daron’s glasses.” He said, picking himself and the chair back up. “Small favors that you two aren’t identical.” Alice commented. “I would absolutely hate having the same ugly mug as Daron.” “At least I don’t have the face of a horse’s ass.” Daron countered, finishing his retrieved coffee.The two could look like twins when they wanted to, hell all three of them could look like triplets even. But it took a bit of work to pull off when they needed to. They all had high cheekbones, fair skin, and black hair, but Daron’s cheekbones were sharper than Riley’s and his eyes were green. Riley had darker blue eyes than Alice, and a squarer jaw. Riley also let his hair be messier than Daron’s, preferring to shave the sides. Daron liked to keep his in a more gentleman like style. “Are we getting shit done today or not?” Alice asked. The twins agreed, putting their cups away. They just needed Alice to saddle her horse and they could go. There was no way in hell that they were going to try and saddle that big brute for her. He would probably shit stomp them for trying to get near him with the reins alone. Soon enough, they were up and gone. Valentine was fairly uneventful, for the most part. A day of simply tying up loose ends in case they needed to leave quickly with the gang. Daron won a big Blackjack game that had been planned for a while. Riley made a couple of quick bucks by helping some of the local farmers, while Alice managed to get around town and sell things they didn’t need. It was nice being able to unload some unnecessary items that might slow them down. The three agreed to meet up at the saloon when they were done for the day, since Daron would already be there. Alice made her way there right after the last item was sold to a sweet old lady looking for a new shawl. Before she could take more than a few steps, the hair on the back of her neck stood up. Carefully, she looked around, just in time to see a bald man in black duck into an alley. Outwardly, she showed no fear, but since she was young, bald men made her nervous. The best thing she could do right now was go to her brother; it would be busy there. Thankfully, Charles and Javier were there too. They might have been talking to a pair of whores but having them near calmed her nerves a bit. They could have their fun, but she sent a couple of drinks their way with a quick wave. They waved back in thanks. Daron was still playing blackjack when Alice came up beside him. He just needed to win the one last round and he would hit the jackpot. Personally, he liked playing in the middle of the day rather than at night. Opponents were usually more challenging, and he couldn’t cheat as much. It was a true game of luck and wits. Then there was always an added bonus of men being less likely to break into drunken fights over losing. He did win this final round with his opponent, who busted by about 4 too high. He backed out there, wanting to quit while he was ahead, and bid them good day. “And then there was one.” Alice commented, grabbing a different table “How much did you win?” “Couple hundred, one or two of them were from out of town. You sell everything?” Daron asked. “Easiest thing I’ve done all week. Less junk to deal with.” “Anyone else see the black and gold stagecoach this morning?” Riley asked, sitting between his siblings. Both Daron and Alice visibly tensed up at the question, slightly paler than they had been. Riley could have sworn he saw Alice’s hand flex like she wanted to grab her gun. “Unmarked?” Daron asked, “I thought he was expanding up North.” Riley nodded, “Last I heard, he was. Although I doubt, he’s actually here. There’s no way that he actually knows where we are, and he won’t show up unless he does.” “He might have men scoping the town.” Alice shuddered “Remember the bald bastard that dragged me from the house? I thought I spotted him earlier, came straight here when I did.” “Then we should all be careful for the next few days. Watch your backs, try not to spend too much time in town, or deal in Strawberry.” Daron suggested. His siblings nodded in agreement; it would be a challenge, but it could be done. They didn’t want anything happening to the gang or themselves. Before anything else could be said, a fight broke out near the front. A chair that was thrown by Charles flew by them causing them to stand and a quick glimpse of Arthur was spotted. They all nodded in silent agreement that they didn’t want to deal with it. Daron pointed to the back door and they slipped unnoticed out of it. They bust into laughter once the door was shut. Barfights were fun and all, but their faces were a little too familiar in Valentine and they needed to lay low. But watching Charles just hurl a chair for no reason was the greatest thing they had seen all day. They probably should have stayed and helped their friends though. Oh well, they would make it up to them one way or another. Moments later, they heard the front window crashing. Some poor bastard must have been thrown through it, and the fight was moving outside. Now a street fight would be some great entertainment. They went to see what was going on, only to see that the poor bastard that got thrown was Arthur. He was fighting an even bigger man named Tommy. Cas wasn’t going to be happy when she found out about this. How did this even happen? It took a couple good swings, but soon enough, Arthur took Tommy down and was beating him in the mud, until a scrawny man managed to keep him from killing Tommy. Annoyed at the whole situation, Arthur made his way through the crowd and down the street. He was done with the fight. He had won, even though now he was an absolute muddy mess and would be sore for the next day or two. “Making new friends again I see, Arthur!” a voice called out from the street. Dutch and none other than Josiah Trelawny made their way to him. “Look who we found, sniffing about.” Dutch told him. “Josiah Trelawny” Arthur greeted, “Well, well… I thought you’d gone to New York.” “And miss all this glamour?” Trelawny asked, “You must be joking.” The Sage siblings watched them for a minute before deciding they should go and greet the man. They liked Trelawny, when he was around anyways. Conversations with him were always nice, different than the rest of the gang for sure. It reminded them of home in a way, a life they once knew. Hearing that he went to Blackwater looking for the gang was surprising, but since he hadn’t been there during the botched job, it made sense that no one was looking for him. It seemed that they weren’t the only three that came back, Javier, Charles and Bill came up just before they did. None of them had noticed Bill at first, but he might not have been in the saloon when they walked in. “Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten about us,” Daron called out in greeting. “Ah so you three have returned as well, good to see you” Josiah answered, kissing Alice’s hand like the gentleman he was. She liked Josiah, but the man was a mystery that came and went. Always kind to the ladies in camp when he was there. “You’re right, we aren’t too popular in Blackwater.” Dutch told Trelawny. “We left a lotta money there.” Arthur said. “And young Sean it seems.” Josiah told the group. “Sean? You’ve found him?” Dutch asked. “Yes, I have. He’s being held by some bounty hunters trying to see how much money the government will pay them. I know he’s in Blackwater, but there’s talk of them moving.” Sean was alive, thank god. He could be annoying at times for sure, but he was still part of the gang. The annoying little brother that they all put up with. Of course, Arthur brought up the fact that if they set foot in Blackwater, they were dead men for sure. “There’ll be Pinkertons all over the place, but if he’s alive we gotta try.” Dutch told him. “It’s you they want Dutch.” Josiah said. “Always is. Charles, go find out what you can, carefully. Josiah, take Javier. Daron, Riley, one of you two go with them as backup. Arthur, go with Alice and get yourself cleaned up.” The group disbanded, making their way to where they needed to. The twins followed their sister and Arthur to the hotel, where Alice gave him a dollar to get a real bath, claiming she didn’t want Grimshaw and Cas to kick his ass. The twins were talking about who was going to go help get Sean. “Looks like you’re up. I already agreed to help Hosea with a different job.” Daron told Riley. Alice figured he must have asked while she was saddling up her horse. She knew that Riley was more interested in helping get Sean back, figuring that there would be more action in that. Whatever Hosea had planned probably could have some action with it, but not intentionally, and things would have to go largely south for it to come to that. He usually planned so things would go through as smoothly as possible. Once Arthur came out of the hotel, much, much cleaner than he had been, they whistled for their horses. Now Cas could worry about the bruises when they started showing up. Somethings just couldn’t be avoided though. The twins rode side by side, while Alice rode next to Arthur. None of them were aware of the trouble that was brewing just for them.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Once Arthur was taken care of back at camp, Alice decided to steal Cas away for a couple hours. They left him under strict instructions to rest for a couple hours. They of course asked Tilly and Mary-Beth to keep an eye on him while they were gone. Once that was taken care of, Alice helped Cas saddle up Nova. Alister was waiting nearby, impatiently pawing at the ground. He wanted to run, and it looked like he was going to get a chance soon. If Nova or Silver Dollar got saddled up, it generally meant there was going to be some fun involved. He knew better than to try and take off like a bat out of hell while they were leaving. The further away they got, the more Alister tried to speed up. “Hey Cas,” Alice spoke up, “How about we let the horses loose for a bit?” Cas thought about it for a second, before simply kicking Nova into a run without warning. Alice cursed as she let Alister break into a run after them. It took a few seconds, but the Clydesdale caught up with the Hungarian Halfbred. He could have passed her if he wanted, but it was more fun this way. The horses took the girls down a canyon and up the river before leaving the road entirely. They found a clearing that was mostly hidden from view. It looked like a good spot to stop and rest, with plenty of wildflowers around. Alice decided to let her horse roam around for a bit without his saddle, they were going to be there for a couple hours. The second that she took his saddle off, he started rolling in the grass. She muttered about him being a “jackass” before setting her saddle near a tree. He wouldn’t go far without her, and probably fall asleep in the grass now. Cas was sitting in the shade of a tree on the edge of the clearing, while Nova grazed in the sun. Alice sat next to her, carefully taking out her low bun. She felt Cas helping her untangle a few strands that had come out during the run there. She ran her fingers through, snagging a couple of knots in the process. As thick as it was, she would be amazed if she didn’t end up with knots in it. Nothing she could do about it right now though, except put the brown hat she stole from Hosea back on. “We think our uncle is looking for us again” Alice told Cas, picking a few wildflowers. “Riley saw a stagecoach that looked like his, and I thought I saw one of his lackeys.” “Do you really think it was him?” Cas asked. “I’m not entirely sure, I might’ve just been paranoid. I’ll be ready for him this time; I’ve got you and the twins to bust me out of wherever it is he decides to lock me up.” Alice laid her head in Cas’ lap, careful not to squish the pile of flowers. They weren’t going anywhere anytime soon. The sun was warm, and the light breeze made the temperature just right, it was the perfect spot to take a nap. She just might soon enough, Cas was probably going me make several flower crowns while she did. “Remember the day I brought you home?” Alice asked. “I thought my grandmother was going to shoot me three different times that day!” Cas laughed in response, she remembered it very well. She had run away from her home, being the only girl with seven brothers. The bastards only wanted to sell her into marriage for more money, even though they were already fairly wealthy. Cas had decided she wanted nothing to do with it, so she ran and didn’t look back. By some stroke of luck, she stumbled across Alice, who was borrowing one of her aunt’s horses. When she first found them, Cas didn’t see Alice sitting up in a tree reading. She only saw a brown thoroughbred grazing in the shade with a saddle attached. She figured it didn’t have a rider, so she mounted it, and picked a direction. She didn’t get too far before a whistle caused her to be bucked off and the horse went back to the tree. Alice wasn’t scared off Cas, hell she came prepared with a pistol just in case someone took the horse and wanted a fight. Instead, she saw a girl about her age, in clothes that might have once been considered fancy, turned skinny from being on the run. So, she decided to take her home, and help her. It took Alice’s family a couple of hours to notice Cas had even been brought home, being busy with their own things. It suited Alice just fine, giving her a chance to get to know Cas without disturbance. That night was when they all met Cas “officially”. Elenora was more annoyed that she now had two girls sitting at her dinner table while wearing pants instead of skirts. She wasn’t about to turn the poor runaway that Alice picked up out. Hell, that night she didn’t realize that she had adopted her fourth grandchild. “I thought your grandfather was going to protest me staying as long as I did.” Cas told Alice. “Nah. I think he was just happy to have someone else that messed with Riley” Alice responded, knowing that he was actually the first one to notice but didn’t say anything. Cas took Hosea’s stolen hat from Alice for a moment, putting a freshly made flower crown around the band, then setting it back on Alice’s stomach. She was going to make a flower crown with nearly every flower she could, for anyone, including little Jack. “Have you told Hosea about your past yet?” Cas asked, starting another crown. “Rough versions.” Alice answered, playing with the flowers on the band just a bit. “I haven’t given full details, and he hasn’t asked either. Truthfully, I’m scared of what will happen when I do… But if things get worse, and my uncle does end up getting involved, I’ll tell him. What about you? Tell Arthur anything yet?”“I told him my family tried to sell me into marriage, so I ran and ended up adopted by you guys. That’s about it.” Alice hummed in thought, knowing that her brothers wouldn’t tell anyone anything. They were roughly the same boat as her. She needed to know if her uncle was really still looking for them around Valentine, or if he had really found them. It wasn’t fair to keep this from Hosea, but she didn’t want him to worry. He wouldn’t do something dumb, but if her uncle was involved, he might try and hurt Hosea and the gang. She decided right there that when she found out what her uncle was up to, she would tell Hosea the truth, even if she lost him over it. The pair stayed there for a bit, talking about everything and anything. It was different than with the other girls in camp. They couldn’t quite explain it themselves, but they were closer with each other than the others. Maybe it was because they had known each other longer, or different circumstances were involved. The girls at camp didn’t mind though, they all still got along with each other most times. At some point, Alice had dozed off on Cas’ legs. When she woke up, leftover wildflowers had been braided into her hair, and a couple of flower crowns were nearby, with a considerably smaller one sitting on top. She figured that one was for Jack, and she was almost certain that one would end up around the band of Arthur’s hat by the end of the day. It was going to get dark in a couple of hours, they figured they should head back. Hopefully they could avoid Mrs. Grimshaw, they hadn’t exactly done anything too helpful around camp today. They could fake it into some bad hunting if they really wanted to, Alice had her rifle strapped to her saddle. If nothing, Alice figured she would trade some guard duty with John. With Riley out getting Sean, Daron would probably have his nose in a book most of the night, which was fine by her. Taking a nap this late in the day probably jacked up the amount she would get. The ride back was much calmer than their race out. Cas mentioned that she agreed to go hunting with Arthur in the mountains for a few days. They were still putting everything together, but he didn’t say what they were looking for. He told Cas that he wanted to keep it a surprise for Hosea, on the off chance someone found out. Alice swore she would keep quite about the whole thing until they actually left. When they got back to camp, Alice was surprised to find that Daron and Hosea were gone. Some lead out in Emerald Ranch apparently. That was fine by her, might give her some motivation to stay up later. Of course, John was more than happy to trade Alice guard duty for the night, he didn’t really want to just yet. He swore that he would tell Karen to be on time when she came to trade later on that night. They both knew the blonde woman would, but Alice still appreciated the gesture behind it. She ended up taking her favorite shotgun, wanting more power than anything. Even if it was going to end up being an uneventful evening. -------------------- With his twin gone and his sister off with Cas, Daron decided there wasn’t much else he wanted to do besides read. His portion of chores was done, and it would be a while before someone needed some help with something. He was in the middle of borrowing his sister’s copy of Dracula, might as well make some progress on it. He thought Riley might read it at some point, but he could never tell with his taste in books. He spent a couple hours reading in the same spot of shade, looking over the cliff. Hosea came looking for him soon enough though. “Feel like helping me out with a lead?” Hosea asked. “A lead? What kind?” Daron countered, marking his spot. “A fence over in Emerald Ranch. I mostly need someone to come help me convince him that he can work with us.” Daron agreed to it, figuring it might be fun. He needed a few minutes to get his gray Andalusian, Gypsy, saddled up. Hosea told him to take his time with it, he was going to head up ahead of him and see if he could get the fence to start talking. It gave Daron a chance to figure out how he wanted to deal with this fence. Gypsy was excited to go somewhere new, Daron noticed as they left nearly ten minutes later. She always liked exploring new places. They were careful to take the roads far from Valentine, leading them through more dirt and wild grass instead. It was dustier, but there wasn’t any wind thankfully. It was also safer for him. The fence was located on the edge of Emerald Ranch, Daron noticed as he came up on it. Silver Dollar was standing by a giant red barn, Hosea and another man sitting in front of it. He didn’t look like he would be too hard to convince, but he knew not to judge a book by its cover. Daron hitched Gypsy next to Silver Dollar, then adjusted his tie a bit. He could hear the fence tell Hosea that it was trusting he didn’t do so well. Well, two could play at that game. “Daron,” Hosea greeted, “This is Seamus. He’s our new partner.” “I ain’t no such thing.” Seamus interjected. “Prospective new partner, if he likes us.” Daron arched an eyebrow at the men, this was already interesting. “Liking ain’t the problem, trusting is, as I said.” Seamus told them. “Keep your voices down, I don’t want my boss hearing. This is a sideline.” Of course, it was, the place didn’t look like it was exactly thriving. Hell, it didn’t look like they were making hardly any money at all. It looked almost like a ghost town. “Course.” Hosea told Seamus, “Look at us, honest as the day is long. I’ll tell you what, let us prove ourselves.” “Prove ourselves? To him?” Daron sneered. “Good day Hosea. Good luck with your business.” Seamus said starting to leave. “Listen!” Hosea interjected, catching up with him. “He’s cold and quick with his tongue, but you can trust him, and you can trust me. You don’t even have to like him.” Daron smirked, leaning against the barn. Hosea could convince him to work with them. He kept his eyes narrowed as he watched the conman convince Seamus to work with them. Daron wasn’t sure if they could trust him, but he had yet to be given reason not to. He did trust Hosea’s leads though. Hosea waved Daron back over when he had Seamus convinced that they could do a job for him. One that needed to be done carefully. “Old Bob Crawford and his boys bought a beautiful stolen stagecoach from upstate. It’s in their barn. Now you go get that, and we can work together.” Seamus explained to them. “Who the hell is old Bob Crawford? Daron asked. “Know him personally?” “Sort of. He’s a cousin, by marriage. I also want to see if you boys got what it takes.” “Where is he?” Hosea asked. “He’s in a farmhouse,” Seamus answered, “just Northwest of here, called Carmody Dell. Up the train tracks, as your headed up towards Fort Wallace. There’s also some money in that house, but that’s your business, not mine. Don’t kill nobody. Folks know we ain’t intimate no more, they’ll know it was me.” “But you’re fine with us robbing your cousin?” Hosea asked. “By marriage, and yes I’d love it.”Daron snickered at that; he was starting to like this guy now. Couldn’t blame him for wanting to rob his wife’s cousin if they had a falling out.“You heard the man. Let’s go rob his cousin.” Hosea told Daron. “By marriage.” Seamus called as they mounted their horses. Daron let Hosea lead the way out of Emerald Ranch. Gypsy would keep up easily in a minute when they figured out where they were going. “I wasn’t expecting the cold angle, Daron.” Hosea said once they were far enough away. “I don’t pull off the brute like Arthur does. My brother might though.” Daron told him. “I’ve seen Riley try it, you’re both too skinny.” Daron laughed at that, even though Hosea was right. Their height could make them seem intimidating, but some visible muscle could make it convincing. Could be worse though, outsmarting people was one of Daron’s favorite things. Hosea told him more about Emerald Ranch on the way there. The place used to be an actual town, but then it shut down for some reason or other. They still had money though. The owner also had a daughter, but she rarely left the house anymore. All this was Hosea found out through Seamus, who liked to talk when he opened up. If he liked to talk, how could they be sure he wouldn’t talk about them? Well maybe if they robbed Seamus’ crooked cousin by marriage well enough, he would actually keep quiet. Once they got near the house, they dismounted and scoped out the place. Someone was sitting on the porch but there might be another inside. Hosea figured they could get the job done now, he would distract them while Daron robbed the house and the stagecoach. Or they could wait until nightfall, Daron would still rob the house, and Hosea would get the coach. Daron thought about it for a second before deciding to get it done now. Hosea could keep them distracted longer, which would give him more time in the house. Plus, it would make the whole job more fun that way. Hosea could come up with some interesting ways of distraction. Hosea agreed to it, and they split. Daron took a slightly longer way around the house, careful not to get spotted, and entered a side room. As he started looting drawers, he heard a third voice make its way outside. Hopefully, everyone was out of the house now. Daron was careful to close everything he opened as he made his way through the top and bottom of the house. Before he left though, he checked the only chimney that didn’t have a fire under it. A thought occurred to him as he found a stash of cash up there. His grandmother was likely rolling in her grave since her children had become outlaws. It was so far from the future she had wanted from them. So much different than how she thought their lives would go before she passed. He knew that she didn’t expect this from Alice, even if she was a rebel. He also knew that he was her good child of the three and were she alive today, it would have given her the shock of her life.Daron slipped the chunk of cash into his vest pocket before leaving the way he came. Quick and quiet, he slipped around the house and into the barn. He had heard the conversation wrapping up before he left, which was good timing. Thankfully, the horses were already hitched to the stagecoach. The wait for Hosea was short, he slipped in the barn minutes later. “Got everything?” Hosea asked, climbing onto the passenger’s side. Daron nodded, flicking the reins, ready for anything. They made a quick escape, wanting out of sight as quick as possible. There were shots behind them, but they were absolutely awful and nowhere near the pair. Hosea whistled for their horses as they passed by, certain that they were following behind. When the gunshots stopped, Daron kept the horses moving quickly for a minute before slowing them to a steady pace. They didn’t want to look too out of place, and this was better than rushing like a bat out of hell. “So, you glad to have my sister back in camp?” Daron asked. “Of course! Hell, I’m glad to have all four of you back in camp.” Hosea answered. “Arthur and I weren’t going to leave without you.” “So, you’re not leaving my sister?” Daron asked. He was trying to be subtle, really, he was. But with the threat of his uncle around, he was having a hard time with it. He wanted to see if the whole situation would be reason enough for Hosea to leave her. He would let Alice tell him what was happening though. “Daron, we are sitting on top of a stolen stagecoach, just robbed a house, and are headed back to a fence,” Hosea told him, catching on, “yet you’re askin’ me if I’m about to break your sister’s heart. At least your subtle about it.” Daron at least had the decency to look a little embarrassed that he got caught. He probably could have waited until after they were on the way home. Truthfully, he wasn’t sure how to bring it up in the first place, yet here they were. “I ain’t gonna break your sister’s heart, not if I can help it.” Hosea told him truthfully. “She’s a good woman, deserves better than an old conman like me.” “You ain’t old.” Daron asked, “But thank you.” They got the stagecoach back to Seamus in one piece, just as it was getting dark. Daron parked it in the barn, slipping back into the cold façade, at least in front of Seamus. He split their pay for the coach evenly, planning on giving Hosea a share of the stolen money later. He had kept the residents distracted while it went missing after all. Thankfully, the moon was bright enough that they could make it home with no trouble at all.----------------------------- Later that evening, long after everyone had gone to bed, Alice remembered why she loved the night and absolutely hated guard duty. At night, she felt freer in a way, she could think without someone seeing her emotions written all over her. She could think about the future, or let her mind run wild with endless possibilities. She felt like she had nothing to hide from the night. Now guard duty itself was boring, there wasn’t much to do except stand there. She got bored easily, tired of watching a random rabbit or two run her way. It had to be done though, to keep the camp safe, they didn’t want someone unsavory to end up in camp. Slowly, the hours passed and not a damn thing happened. Alice contented herself with memories of her grandparents and the younger years with her brothers. Back before the gang, when she was still her grandmother’s “rebel child”. When one of her biggest concerns was getting back into a dress before dinner time and hoping that her grandmother didn’t find out about whatever her latest stunt had been for a few days. Or her brothers didn’t snitch her out for whatever the latest stunt had been if they knew about it. The sound of snapping twigs brought Alice out of her thoughts instantly, her gun close behind. That was too heavy to be some sort of small animal. “Who’s there?!” She called, half hoping that if it was an animal it would scare them off. “Put the gun down, sis! It’s just us.” Daron answered, Hosea riding next to him. “Well hello handsome, good to see you too, Daron” She didn’t miss the middle finger Daron hid from Hosea’s view, by Gypsy’s neck, but said nothing. He was probably too tired to deal with her shit, and honestly, she didn’t really have much else in terms of ways to mess with him right now. Both the boys looked tired and needed sleep. “Go get some sleep.” Alice told them. “You two can tell me all about your adventure in the morning.” The pair went in camp without another word. Sleep was calling their names, but Alice still had another hour of guard duty. They would be dead asleep by the time she was done. On the plus side, those two were home safe and now she just needed Riley. She knew that he would be fine with Javier and Charles but she still worried about her little brother. When Karen came to trade places with Alice, she was glad to be done. Karen was glad to get away from morning chores and Mrs. Grimshaw thanks to it. Before she left, Alice made sure that Karen didn’t need anything. She was good to go, and Alice went towards her tent. On the way over, Alice took a quick peek into Hosea’s tent. It was nice to see him sleeping peacefully so she didn’t disturb him. He needed it, even if he didn’t want to admit it. She stuck her head into the twins’ tent but was surprised that Daron wasn’t in there. He was probably nearby, so that didn’t worry her. Gypsy was still there, and he didn’t seem drunk when he came home. She wasn’t expecting her brother to be dead asleep on the floor of her own tent. Luckily the moonlight was bright enough to see him curled up next to the box she kept her lantern on. Alice couldn’t bring herself to be mad at him for whatever reason brought him there. If she had to guess, he missed Riley and wouldn’t admit it. The only thing that could possibly separate them might be wives they could have in the future, and even that might be a stretch. They were absolutely close with their sister, but it was in a different way. Maybe it was the fact that a year separated them, or the fact that they were twins. It didn’t really matter to them, they still wanted to be close by incase something happened. She knew that from experience, from the way they followed her as she left home years ago. Their grandfather used to say if they had been triplets, the world wouldn’t have been able to handle it. So, it sent Alice first. Careful not to wake her brother, Alice took a spare pelt from her cot and draped it over his sleeping form. She also picked up his glasses and set them next to the lantern so they wouldn’t get stepped on. Once that was taken care of, she slipped under the blankets of her own cot and fell into a dreamless sleep. In the morning, Alice never heard Daron leave the tent and come back with coffee. He set one of them on the box with the lantern and sat on the ground. He took small sips, watching camp from the partially open tent flap. He waved to Tilly when she passed by, but he was busy in his own head. He was thinking about one of the last times he and Riley slept in the same room as their sister, back in their younger days. This was before Cas had become part of their family. At the time, they had been terrified that their sister had been turned into someone else, someone she wasn’t. They had gotten lucky after that, but he remembered that for nearly a year Alice carried a knife on her at all times. He also remembered that during the same year, she avoided churches as much as she could. Daron was pulled out of his thoughts by Alice coughing at the strength of her coffee. “Did Hosea make this?” Alice asked. She loved Hosea’s coffee, but damn was it strong. Daron chuckled, tossing her a bag of sugar cubes. He did know that Hosea made it, and he made sure to grab some sugar once it was ready. He had a cube in his own cup now. “He did, it’s stronger than I like” Daron answered her. Alice nodded, mixing a cube, or three, into her own cup. Normally she would put some more in, but their stash was running low. They should probably save a couple for the horses as well. “You alright?” Alice asked, taking a sip. Daron caught on to the hidden meaning behind it. Are you worried?
“I’m alright” Daron replied. Just a little.
“He’ll be back.” “I know.” For all both us.
Alice nodded in understanding, pulling her hair back into its usual bun. They should probably go get a couple of chores done before Grimshaw came looking for them. She might’ve been more lenient when people had guard duty, or came in late, but it only went so far. Alice really did not want to get stuck doing laundry today. She hated that worse than she could ever hate guard duty. While she was putting her cup away, she heard Mrs. Grimshaw getting after poor Tilly. It sounded closer than she would like. Wanting absolutely no part of it, she slipped behind Strauss’ wagon. The chopping block was nearby, but so was Hosea, reading the paper. A proper good morning wasn’t going to kill anyone, the wood could wait for a moment. “Good morning, handsome.” She said, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. “Mornin’ love.” He replied, leaning back against her. She leaned down and kissed his cheek, letting him finish the article he was reading. Once he was done, he turned his head and gave her a proper kiss, letting it linger. Now that was a proper good morning. Alice moved to sit next to him, laying her head on his shoulder. They spent a few minutes like that, talking about everything and nothing. No one else was around for the moment, which was nice. It also reminded her that they still had a trip of their own to plan. They figured that they could slip away from camp once the party came back with Sean, there would be more than enough people to help out around then. Alice suggested the cabin that her she and her brothers originally hid out in; it should still be abandoned. Or if they wanted, they could go find a nice fishing spot and spend the day there. Before anything could officially be decided, someone came looking for Hosea. Alice figured that was her cue to go chop wood before Grimshaw came looking for her. Right as she picked up the axe, she thought she heard Cas getting roped into laundry. Decided she wanted absolutely no part of that, she started swinging. True it was a chore that most of the girls at camp wouldn’t take up, but it was better than laundry any day. When Alice was most of the way through chopping wood, Daron made his way over to her. Mrs Grimshaw had asked him to run to Valentine for a few fabrics. He wanted her to go with just in case he mixed up a few of them, which she agreed to. “One more question.” Daron said. “Will you wash a couple of my shirts?” Alice swung the axe at her brother, even though it was nowhere near hitting him. “Daron Sage, I’ll turn this place into Sleepy Hollow!” she threatened. He retreated, chuckling the whole time. He knew how much his sister hated laundry, but it was just too good of an opportunity to pass up. Even if one day she would probably take his head off with an axe. “Is there anything you would take laundry over, Miss Sage?” Strauss asked from the shade of his wagon. “Honestly? Midwifing.” Alice answered. “One of my aunts tried to show me what it was like once. I fainted five minutes in.” Strauss shook his head, unable to believe that a woman who could shoot someone without thinking twice, couldn’t handle childbirth well. It was almost ironic. To each their own he supposed. Alice certainly didn’t seem like she would have the bedside manor for it. “For the record,” Strauss remarked, just before she left, “I would have taken your brother for an Ichabod Crane.” Alice laughed at the comment; it couldn’t be unseen now. It was an interesting, but fairly true concept. Daron had been a lanky teenager. Hell, they all were at one point, since they were tall, but Daron’s seemed to last the longest. Alice liked Strauss; he was an interesting conversationalist when the mood struck him. True, she didn’t always approve of the money lending, but from what she had seen, it wasn’t as bad as some members made it out to be. Usually the desperate people he loaned money to managed to make the money back and didn’t want to pay it back. Or they did something even stupider with it. Desperate could be seen in many different ways. She took a moment to look around camp, standing by Pearson’s wagon. Abigail was comforting the Adler woman, a couple of the men were sitting by the campfire, while Tilly, Karen and Mary-Beth were doing laundry by the horses. Cas was busy brushing Nova while a few others were grazing on a new bale of hay. Since she didn’t spot her brother immediately, she decided to pester Cas for a bit. Calmly, Alice slipped between Alister and Silver Dollar, patting their sides. She knew Nova could tell she was there, by the way her ears flicked towards here. Before she could say anything to Cas, Silver Dollar nudged her back for attention. “How was laundry?” Alice asked, stroking the silver horse’s nose. She knew Hosea had been here giving him attention, but something must’ve taken him away from that. “Oh, shut up.” Cas remarked “How the hell did you get out of that?”“Chopped wood instead. You know she won’t let me anywhere near clean clothes after that.” Alice’s go to chore to get out of laundry was wood, but Cas’ was usually feeding the horses. Arthur beat her to it this morning. They talked for a bit, while Alice slipped Silver Dollar a sugar cube. Alister was sniffing the same pockets moments later, wanting one of his own. Of course, she gave him one, she did spoil her own horse a bit, well a lot. Daron came up and started saddling Gypsy, he had an official list of things that they needed now. Alice started saddling her horse, asking Daron if he was sure going into Valentine was a good idea. They had just agreed to try and stay out Valentine for a bit, but Daron swore up and down that it would be to the general store and back. Nothing would happen, and they would take an hour or two at most. He also swore they would take different ways in and out of town, just to make sure. Alice agreed to it, but she also let Hosea know that they were going to be out for a bit. It made her feel a bit better about the situation. They asked Cas if she wanted to join, but she had already made plans with Arthur. It was an uneventful ride into town and in the general store. Nothing went without hitch and silently they were both grateful for it. Daron wouldn’t admit it, but he knew what he was doing in terms of fabric. His sister was a double check, because of the one-time John and Riley brought back the wrong supplies. That had been a terrifying thing to witness. Once the pair was done, they loaded up their horses with the supplies. They didn’t realize that Riley was just over at the stables, getting a few things for his Palomino, Marigold. It took him a second, but he would recognize his siblings anywhere, especially if they got to bickering. “Are you two the welcome party?” Riley asked, walking over with his horse. His siblings greeted him happily, Alice gave him a big hug as well. They both wanted to know what happened, and if they got Sean back. Riley said that he would tell them the story on the way back to camp. All three mounted their horses and started heading for the North road of Valentine. --------------------- If there was one thing that Riley was glad for, it was that his sister didn’t end up with Josiah Trelawny. The man just did not shut up, but he was seeing if he could find out where Sean was. Riley was up on a cliff with Javier and Charles, watching Blackwater with a pair of binoculars. They were laying on their stomachs, Javier on the other side of Charles asking the important questions. “Gentlemen,” Trelawny greeted, sneaking closer to them, “Sean’s being moved up the Upper Montana, then to a federal prison out West.” “Shit.” Riley cursed, “So it’s either now, or we cut him loose.” “We’re not cutting anyone loose,” Charles countered. “Then we gotta be quick.” “Ike Skelding’s boys are moving him to a camp nearby before handing him to the government.” Josiah told them. They would have to act before the bounty hunters got to camp. Charles would go up the North side, Riley and Javier would head up the other side of the Valley. Then they would have them on both sides, Josiah would go with him and Javier to find the boat Sean was on. As they followed it up river, Josiah continued to not shut up, not really noticing that neither one of his companions was contributing much. The three of them stopped and watched with binoculars when it stopped on shore. The Skelding boys were having one hell of a time dealing with the man they dragged off the boat. It was Sean alright, and for a moment, it looked like he was giving them more than they could handle. Charles was already on the other side, which gave them a chance to attack from the back. Riley and Javier left their horses far enough back that they wouldn’t be seen, while Josiah was going to create a distraction. It gave them the perfect chance to take them out from behind. Once that was done, Josiah bid them good day, before leaving them. Carefully, Riley snuck up the canyon with Javier, taking out two more, before it became a full shootout. There were a few more up the canyon, it didn’t take long to deal with them. Charles had a great spot to keep the ones they couldn’t see down. Once they ran up the canyon, they met back up with Charles and went for the camp. Riley found a hiding spot behind a log, remembering to try and count his bullets as they fired. He had put his pistols away, using his rifle instead. A few bullets flew past his head, scaring him for a split second as they hit the wood. He couldn’t focus on it now. Right now, he needed to focus and shoot another bounty hunter in the head. They killed the last of the bounty hunters, stopping for a second to see if any more showed up, none did. Riley could hear Sean going off from where he was hanging upside down tied to a tree. Deciding this would be the easier thing to do, Riley lifted up his rifle and shot the rope holding him up. He snickered, making his way over to help cut him free. “Ya know, you’re a lot less ugly from the other angle, Riley” Sean told him.Riley rolled his eyes as he helped pull the ginger to his feet. Then he flung an arm around his shoulders. “Ya know Sean,” Riley started, “I am incredibly grateful to this gang for taking in me and my siblings. For everything that’s been done for us. But I only came to get you because my sister likes drinking with you, and I had nothing else going today.” “Ah c’mon! Ya love me, I’m like the fourth Sage!” Sean told him. “That’s Cas’ spot.” “The fifth then!” “That spot’s on hold. You’re more like a favorite cousin of sorts.” “I’m hurt Riley, truly I am.” Charles stopped the two of them, by telling them that they should all get going before the law gets there. They would also split up along the way, making sure they weren’t followed back to camp. Sean would ride back with Javier, if the poor man didn’t kill him first. Riley decided that he was going to take a quick trip up to Valentine and take care of his horse.----------------- Taking the road up North from Valentine, was longer, but Daron had agreed to it. Riley noticed that they were taking a longer way back to camp, and once he heard their reasoning for it, he agreed that it was the smarter thing to do. It was more secluded, less people on the road. It was nice in a way, just a little less to worry about. They might have let their guard down a bit too much, however. None of them noticed that there was a black and gold stagecoach waiting for them at the edge of the tree line. The Sage’s horses nearly reared and bolted when they stagecoach pulled out in front of them. “What the hell?” Riley yelled at the driver. The driver said nothing, simply getting down and opening the door. A tall bald man with two scars running across his right eye got out first. Followed by a man in a full suit, with swept back light brown hair and brown eyes. The smug grin on his face made the Sage’s distrust him instantly. Alice saw that smug grin for a split second, a bit too focused on the bald man. Her face had gone completely pale, and her hands started shaking. There was no way that wasn’t him. She could feel the memory of being dragged, like it was still fresh.
It happened in an instant. One minute, Alice was asleep in her bed, the next she was being yanked out, forearms being gripped so hard there would be bruises in a few hours. She thrashed as hard as she could, realizing in the back of her mind that she was being dragged out of her bedroom and through her family home. Once they were in the light, she turned and tried to see who her attacker was, with her back against his chest. A bald man, nearly twice her size with a scar running down the right side of his face.
She was dragged down the stairs to the large front door. Alice kicked and fought the whole way down, even trying to throw her head back against him. She tried everything she could to escape his grip.
“Careful with her Leo. We can’t deliver her too badly damaged.” A voice said from the right. It was her Uncle Anton. Still in a full suit, an overcoat and his long blonde hair tied back in a ribbon.
They all heard Elenora Sage’s yell of her brother’s name ring throughout the hours, her wrath shaking the walls. Anton gestured for Leo to take Alice outside, he would deal with his older sister as she made her way through the house.
Alice kept fighting, screaming for her grandmother as she was dragged through the door. She could have sworn her brothers were on the top of the stairs. Her grandfather was restraining them, and himself most likely, from going after her. She absolutely heard her grandmother slap her younger brother across the face, before she was dragged into the moonless night.
Leo practically threw Alice into her uncle’s black and gold stagecoach. She hit her head as she landed, causing her vision to black out for a second, making her dizzy. She didn’t have the chance to try and escape, the coach was moving before she could recover.
Her hand stayed on her gun, to keep it steady and in case he decided to make one wrong move. The smug man brought Alice out of her head when he spoke. “Well, well. If it isn’t the very three people I’ve been looking for. You’re certainly a lot harder to find than I thought you would be.” The Sage’s said nothing, watching this stranger very carefully. The twins had their hands next to their own pistols. That was without a doubt, their uncle’s stagecoach, and that was one of his favorite bald henchmen, Leo. The smug one next to him though, they didn’t know. “Allow me to introduce myself.” The stranger said. “The name’s Frank Atlas Sa- “ Alice’s revolver was out of its holster before he even got a chance to finish that name. She pulled the hammer back without thinking, wanting to show that she was fine, she had control of herself again. And just in case Leo got anywhere near her or her brothers. “Finish that name, and it will be the last thing you ever do.” She threatened. “So, he was right, you are made of spitfire.” Frank commented “Fine. I am Frank Atlas Hyde, and I’ve been sent to bring you three back home. Your poor uncle Anton has been so worried about you.” “You made a goddamn deal with the devil if you’re helping him.” Alice sneered. “I see it as repaying him, for helping me in the world. The least I can do is help him get his family back.” “Chirist.” Riley hissed “You worship the ground that he walks on.” Frank’s smile only seemed to grow at that remark. Riley was onto something, but he had no intentions of revealing what just yet. Oh, but they would soon enough. Slowly, carefully, Alice released the hammer of her gun and but it back in its holster. As much as she wanted to shoot these two bastards right there, they didn’t need more attention. The smarter option was to run, but they all knew they couldn’t take them back to camp. They would have to split up. “Boys.” Alice spoke, getting the twins’ attention. She glanced their way before grabbing her reins with both hands. She didn’t see, but they did the same as subtly as they could. If they could catch them off guard, that might help lose them faster. Frank watched them curiously, finding their silence odd. “SPLIT!” Alice shouted, causing the stagecoach horses to rear. Alice took off in front of the stagecoach, the twins headed back in the direction of Valentine. It was one of the last things she saw before focusing on her own escape. They followed the road for a minute, but she heard the bullets catching up behind her. She turned Allister off the roads, knowing that the stagecoach couldn’t follow as well. If she could lose them in the trees, she could go around Strawberry entirely on the way home. Alister weaved through the trees as best as he could. Alice looked around as much as she dared, only to see them chasing her on the road. They needed to get out of sight and fast. They ran a bit further in, the nearby mountains helping them stay out of sight as well. Alice didn’t dare stop yet, in case they started looking on foot. The more distance she put between them and the stagecoach, the better she felt. Her horse felt safe to stop before she did, but she trusted his instincts. She did urge him up a small hill though, wanting a better view in case they came back. They were both breathing hard for different reasons, but they would be safe enough to take a rest. Alice slid off her horse, landing on unsteady legs. She took a few steps forward before they gave out, collapsing on her knees. Her skirts were bunched up around her, and her hair was half out of its bun. She clasped her shaking hands against her mouth to keep from screaming, out of fear or anger, she didn’t know. He had found them, somehow, after all these years, he had done it. Some part of her thought her uncle would give up, stop searching for them long ago. They weren’t even his grandchildren. Not that he ever had any of his own. And, how the hell did this smug bastard Frank even know her uncle Anton? Another lackey they had to worry about along with that miserable bastard Leo. Or maybe he was some sort of second in command trying to prove himself in some twisted way. Either way, this was a problem for all of them. Not only were the O’Driscolls and the Pinkertons on the gang’s tail, but now their own uncle was on theirs. Her uncle didn’t know about the gang, and he didn’t need to. They would keep them out of it as much as they could. It wasn’t until Alister nudged her back that her thoughts finally stopped running wild. Alice forced herself to take deep breaths and calm down. She was still free, she hadn’t been taken in the middle of the night, and the twins were still safe. That’s what mattered in that moment, they were all still free. Slowly, she stood up and faced her horse. He sniffed her softly, making sure she was okay. Instead Alice wrapped her arms around as much of his neck as she could. He had done fantastic today, she knew he would. She would make sure that he got spoiled a bit more than usual when they got back to camp. But as she leaned her forehead against his warm neck, one of the worst thoughts she could have had hit her like a punch to the gut. She had to tell Hosea, and she didn’t know how he would react. Riley hadn’t been perched up on Caliban’s Seat for long, maybe an hour at most. Marigold was in the shade nearby, taking a very well-deserved break. He knew that he and his twin hadn’t been followed, but they still split in the middle of Valentine just in case. There might’ve been men surrounding them or waiting in town. It didn’t hurt to be safe. Finally, he spotted Daron and Gypsy coming down from a side trail. Riley was rushing down as quick as he could, waving at his twin. He was relieved that he was safe, but they needed a story for camp. “Thank god you’re safe.” Daron said, stopping his horse. “Think Ali made it back?” “Doubt it.” Riley told him, “I think she headed North.” “They’re going to think something’s up; we need a reason for her to not be back. We’ve been gone too long, and half the supplies were on her horse.” Riley cursed under his breath. Of course, it would look odd coming back with only one of his siblings. The longer they took, the more likely they were going to send someone after them. Well, Hosea might send someone, while Cas would come looking.“We were chased by Pinkertons?” Riley suggested. “They don’t know we’re a part of the gang.” Daron reminded him “But… The O’Driscolls don’t need much reason to mess with anyone.” Riley thought it over for a moment, “Alright, but we’ll need to get the story to her somehow.” Daron agreed with him; their sister was pretty quick about catching onto their stories. Even if it was a thinly veiled version of the truth. Riley mounted his horse and they went back to camp. It was a silent ride back, but Daron had been right about them noticing that Alice wasn’t with them. Mrs. Grimshaw was annoyed that only half the supplies she asked for came back, but she did also want to know what happened to their sister. Both Hosea and Cas came rushing over when they heard Alice wasn’t with them. Even Dutch had a few questions about the situation. They made sure to keep their answers simple, not wanting to make the story too complicated. Once they were done, Hosea wanted to have Arthur and Cas to go looking for her. They managed to convince him that she would be fine, and if she wasn’t back in an hour Cas would go. A whole search party might look suspicious around town. Hosea wasn’t entirely happy about it, almost wanting to go find her himself, but when he heard that she went North, he agreed to the wait. For all he knew, she was just taking her time coming home. Cas ended up going after Alice not long after, but she didn’t have to go too far. She would have made it back to camp in about another half an hour. Cas noticed that Alice looked entirely disheveled, her bun was still ruined and there were bits of grass and leaves still attached to her skirts. They got off the road to fix her up a little bit, not wanting to worry anyone more than necessary. While that was being done, Alice filled Cas in with what really happened. Cas told her that her brothers said that the O’Driscolls had been chasing them. Alice nodded slowly, picking a leaf from Alister’s mane. It was better than the Pinkertons. She took a moment to collect herself before getting back on her horse. They had to go home soon, and while she wasn’t ready for it, she would have to tell Hosea eventually. He would probably never speak to her again, but it had to be done. They made it back just in time for Sean’s welcome back party. Alice made sure to unsaddle her horse and spoil him a bit before she joined. He had done well in keeping her safe today, he deserved a proper rest. “And the wise woman returns to us at last!” Dutch boomed from his tent. Alice rolled her eyes, grabbing a nearby whiskey bottle, she needed a strong drink after today. “Oh, c’mon Dutch,” Alice told him “Colm O’Driscoll is going to have to quit hiring skinny pukes like that one tied up over there to catch me.” Dutch laughed at that, loving the jab at Colm. Alice took a giant swig from her whiskey bottle before looking around camp. She could see Sean at one of the tables with Karen and Bill, telling them what happened. It was good to have him back, and since tonight was a party, she had her drinking buddy back. But, before she got as drunk as she could, she wanted to find Hosea. She wouldn’t tell him anything tonight, but she’d be a fool not to at least enjoy some time with him. He was standing at a beer crate, listening to Javier play the guitar. As quick as she could, Alice went over to him. She got his attention, then kissed him hard, both hands cupping his cheeks. She wanted him to know that she loved him, and secretly, if this was going to be one of the last times, she was going to get to do it, it should be a good one. His hands landed on her waist, not minding that the camp could see for once. None of them were paying attention anyways. “Now what was that for?” Hosea asked after Alice pulled away. She grinned in response, “Just because I love you.” He watched her for a moment, wanting to ask her why there was a sad look in her eye. He decided against it, there was no need to spoil a good party. Whatever it was, it could wait until tomorrow. Besides, he could hear Sean calling her over to come drink with him. This was sure to be an interesting evening now.