Worried, Ginny looked up at you from the small shelter he was sitting in.

Bushes covered the entrance to all sides.

The horse was standing ready with the carriage that was stacked with supplies and other valuable items.

"Here.", you handed him a bag, stuffed with bank notes and jewellery. "Remember what I told you."

With shaky hands, he took it.

But as you pulled away, he grabbed you by the wrist and refused to let go.

"(Y/N)!", his voice was trembling. "Can't we just leave? We don't need the money. We can always make I'll work!"

Pain was visible on your face as you wrapped his hand with yours and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"The money is on Arthur.", you said and tried to calm him by caressing his cheek. "But what about Karl? Could you leave him here?"

His grip loosened.

"He has a dad..."

"One that will kill him. Ginny, I know it's always been just us. But Karl needs someone as desperately as you."

He shook his head, eyes filled with tears again.

"I don't want him to die...", he whispered. "But I want you to come back. I don't want to be alone."

Something inside your chest pulled together.

Looking at him was like facing a former version of yourself.

It was the same fear in his eyes that you had felt many years ago, abandoned by deadbeat parents and left with the responsibility of a child that wasn't yours.

You knew how lonely he felt, how scared to be all alone with the possibility to he abandoned.

You had sworn yourself that he would never have to know this feeling.

But now he did.

It felt like you had failed him.

"I'll be back.", you placed a kiss on his forehead. "And I'll bring Karl. We'll make it out of here. I promise."

Shaking, he forced himself to let go of you.

"One day.", he said and managed to bring a smile to his face.

But he was afraid, it was obvious to tell.

It almost broke your heart to let go of him and see how the doors fell shut to hide him in the ground.

It took you a moment to finally be able to turn your eyes away from the shelter and walk away.

A few steps ahead, Arthur was waiting.

His eyes were hard, but as he spotted you he did look a bit softer, almost relived that you were still around and not gone yet.

He shifted in the saddle, wanted to make space fir you out of habit.

But you didn't ride with him.

Not this time.

Another horse was waiting next to his.

You managed to climb it with a little difficulty. But thanks to a certain somebody, you now were skilled enough to not fall off.

"Lead the way.", you gave him a nod of the head. "I'll follow."

A shadow crossed his face.

"You sure about this?", he asked.

Sighing, you rolled your eyes and made the horse turn.

"I don't need you to give me advice, Arthur. I need the money. Dutch owes me."

He hummed.

"I get that, sweetheart. But I know Dutch for a while now. He won't be pleased."

"I've got bigger things to deal with than Dutch."

"That's what you think.", he got his horse walking. "But he's more than you expect."

"We'll see about that."

Chatter.

There was a lot of chatter going through the woods.

As soon as your horse crossed the border of the trees and emerged into the shadows, voices started to dance through the air.

They sounded cheerful, excited even.

Confused, you glanced at Arthur.

But he seemed just as confused as you.

With his eyebrows knitted together, he signalised for you to stand back and let his horse run ahead.

You ordered your horse to stand back.

Irritated, the animal threw its head back. Ears moved.

A few moments passed.

You shifted in your seat.

Still unstable to sit stable in a saddle, you bend over the neck of your horse to slide down its back in a sloppy, unsure kind of way.

A nervous sound escaped the animal. Restless, it started tapping the hooves on the ground as if it wanted to run away.

You raised your head.

Arthur took awfully long.

The chatter calmed down.

In a calming manner, you patted the horses nose.

"Easy, girl.", you hummed and took the reins to walk up the last bit of the hill.

Silhouettes appeared between the trees.

The campfire was burning as always.

But this time camp seemed a lot more lively.

Many people could be seen. They laughed, chattered. Some of them raised bottles into the air.

Dutch was sitting at the top of a carriage. He seemed to be very pleased about something.

Javier was next to him and a guy who fit Arthur's description of the man named Micah.

Confused, you frowned.

After what had happened at your place, it seemed disrespectful for them to have a good time.

It didn't even make any sense that they celebrated. Unless something had happened that you didn't know about.

Seeking answers, you searched for Arthur's face in the crowd.

But he was nowhere to be seen.

A hissing sound escaped you.

"I can't fucking believe it...", you growled with a grim gaze and wanted to step into the light. "Did he really..?"

"Did I do what?", Arthur's voice suddenly asked.

Struck by surprise, you flinched.

"Don't sneak up on me."

"I did though.", he grabbed your horse by the reins and tugged in a way to make you turn around with him. "C'mon. It's time to go."

You refused.

"I need to talk to Dutch.", you said.

Groaning softly, he rolled his eyes and kept insisting on you to move.

"I settled your issue already."

"My issue is that I lost everything and have no money."

"You do.", he showed you a bag. "It's all yours. Put some extra on top as well. As an apology."

Baffled, you froze.

"But...", you threw a glance into the bag. "Why would you steal from Dutch?"

His eyes narrowed.

"I didn't steal. Its rightfully yours."

"Arthur. Dutch won't see it that way. Why did you do this?"

He curled his lips.

"We need to get going. Now."