I Guess... I'm Afraid.

[ARTHUR coughs. ANNIE flinches. That noise has come to be more terrifying to her than a gunshot or dynamite blast. It echoes in her head longer, too. And it's just as fatal.]

Sunrise was forever tainted for Annie Ridley.

It used to be her favorite time of day. The fading blackness of night, melting into pinks and oranges like some watercolor in a museum. Sunlight washing over the tall grass, dappling the leaves on the trees. The perfect time for a ride across the plains or some early morning loving, tucked away in her bedroll.

She used to prop herself up by the campfire, a steaming cup of coffee in her hands, and watch camp come to life. At first, it was just Hosea and Dutch, ready and rearing to go. Then more folk started to trickle out of their tents over the years. Uncle would stir from whichever patch of dirt he'd drifted off in the night before. Jack began to toddle around behind his mother.

Arthur would sit by her some mornings, journal in hand. She liked to watch him sketch the chickens and horses that milled about camp. Mostly, he drew animals and forestry, but now and then, he'd sketch someone. Pearson making his stew, or Jack playing in the dirt, or Tilly and Mary-Beth gossiping by the wagons.

She saw plenty of other doodles there, too. Sketches of her. He didn't like to bring attention to them, but she could persuade him to add another one if she asked nicely enough. And when he gave in, she would toss her hair over her shoulder and make herself pretty, like he was taking a photograph. Like she was something to be memorialized.

The sunrise turned him golden. Tanned, weather-beaten skin glowing in the sunlight, his mousy brown hair practically blond. He used to comment on how red her hair looked when the light hit it, but she thought he looked like the sun itself. And maybe he was.

If Arthur Morgan was the sun, then Annie Ridley was the moon— forever meant to hold the sun in her hands for just a few precious minutes before it faded away until the next morning.

It Weren't Us Who Changed.

[ANNIE looks at ARTHUR. The sun is setting. Her hand grazes his. For a brief moment, she thinks about what could be. Times are changing. There is no freedom in the West anymore. They could move East. Raise a little family on a farm somewhere. But the sun is setting on outlaws, and the sun is setting on them. There won't be a family or a farm, and they know it.]

𝒜.𝑅. ／Annie Ridley
You Can't ♟ Help Yourself

ARTHUR. You know I don't like you bein' too close. Don't want you to...
ANNIE. End up like you?

𝒜.𝑀. ／Arthur Morgan
You Know ♙ What You Are

ANNIE. Feels like I didn't do enough, these last few weeks.
ARTHUR. You were good. You were real good.

We're More Ghosts Than People.

I. Everywhere I Go, Cat Clyde ／ II. Cancer, My Chemical Romance ／ III. Fake Plastic Trees, Radiohead ／ IV. Caesar on a TV Screen, The Last Dinner Party ／ V. The Only Exception, Paramore ／ VI. anything, Adrianne Lenker ／ VII. Landslide, Fleetwood Mac ／ VIII. A House In Nebraska, Ethel Cain ／ IX. In a Week, Hozier (feat. Karen Crowley) ／ X. About You, The 1975 ／ XI. Like Him, Tyler, The Creator (feat. Lola Young) ／ XII. Family Tree, Ethel Cain ／ XIII. We'll Meet Again, Vera Lynn

【 WARNINGS . . . 】 ⠀⠀⠀rdr2 is a rockstar game. be prepared for violence, strong language, major character death, sexual content, and period-typical bigotry. this book will also contain referenced substance abuse and VERY briefly referenced/implied predatory behavior. if you are sensitive to anything listed above, please click away! your mental health is far more important than a work of fanfiction!

【 DISCLAIMER . . . 】 ⠀⠀⠀all gifs are made by me or come from tumblr! the central plot of Red Dead Redemption 2 is not mine, but the subplots that surround my characters are! and SPOILERS!!! please y'all. i know the game has been out for years now, but i'm making it clear that there WILL be spoilers ahead.

【 COPYRIGHT . . . 】 ⠀⠀⠀no part of this story may be recreated without my permission. i do not own Red Dead Redemption or Red Dead Redemption 2, nor do i own any characters or plots within the two games, as they all belong to Rockstar Games and any other respective creators.

【 DEDICATIONS . . . 】 ⠀⠀⠀this book is dedicated to the wonderful blushingly-, bland_bean, and -EMMAHERRON, as well as all of its lovely readers!

【 BIRDIE'S PEANUT GALLERY . . . 】 ⠀⠀

did you like those sunrise gifs :) i think they're just so pretty :) did you like how they kept getting closer and closer to that mountainside :)

anyways hello! welcome to my arthur morgan fic :0 i have been thinking about this for a solid year or two at this point, and now that i have rdr2 on PC, i can finally make annie real! yes i braved the horrors of red dead online to make her lore-accurate. worth it!

and PLEASE excuse the literal dogshit quality of her gifs. i am running this game on an hp laptop which means the graphics settings are WAYYYY down. yes it still sounds like a jet engine when i boot it up. yes it crashes at least once per day that i play it. if i had a real PC this would be solved, but alas.

hey guys did you notice the chess pawns in their introductions? yeah it's because they're both dutch's pawns except the color of the pawn reflects their respective honors at their deaths as well as the sun/moon motif :)))))

STARTED | november 16, 2024
FINISHED | n/a