~~~~♛~~~~

Can we not tell anyone about us, keep it our little secret?

•

•

•

Your eyes slowly shutter open to the sound of snow falling from the trees. You sit up and wrap the only blanket you have around you body as it shivers. You exhale, seeing your breath in the cold air. It was May, where did this awful weather come from?

You got stranded when the snowstorm hit. The snow got so bad, you didn't know what direction you were headed in. You found a small cave which is were you set up camp, and have been stuck there for three days.

Your stomach yelled for food, but you were to weak to go hunt. You pulled your last can of fruit from your satchel and ate it. You began to lay back down when you heard the sound of snow being walked upon outside. You looked out to see a deer standing right at the caves entrance. You held your breath and tried to silently find your bow and arrow, but before you could the deer dropped dead, with an arrow clean through it's eye.

You stayed silent as you heard footsteps get closer to the deers body. You haven't seen or heard anyone the whole time you were stranded.

"I think that's all we can carry. You pick up that one and I'll get the other" you hear a voice say.

"You sure your hands okay?" Another voice asks.

"It'll be fine once I get it on my shoulder." The first voice responded.

Suddenly you saw a man walk up and start to pick up the deer. As he bent down, he looked to the side and his eyes met yours. There was silence for a few moments before he yelled to his friend. "Charles, might wanna come take a look at this."

The other man ran over and spotted you sitting in the small cave. They looked at each other for a moment, trying to figure out what to do.

"What are you doing out here alone?" The one you now know as Charles asked. "Are you okay?"

"I've been out here for three days, I've run out of food." You told him.

"We should take her to camp, and see what Dutch thinks." The other man said to Charles. Charles nodded in agreement.

Charles extended his hand for you to take. You try to stand up but you were to weak.

"Here I'll help you, his hand is messed up." The other man said to you, helping you stand up. "I'm Arthur."

"My names f/n l/n" you told the two men.

"Where's your family Miss l/n?" Arthur asked.

"Don't got none." You said quietly. It wasn't a topic you wanted to talk about. Arthur and Charles shared a glance but decided not to pry.

"So you don't have anywhere to go?" Arthur asked.

"No, I've just been riding around alone for a while, never staying in one place to long." You told them.

"Why is that?" He asked.

"Never found the right place." You responded.

You finally arrived at the horses and Arthur lifted you to sit on the back of his horse. You placed your arms around his waist and help him close, grateful for the body heat he was giving off.

"We will make sure you are warm and have plenty to eat when we get back Miss l/n" Arthur said to you.

"Thank you both, you don't have to do this." You responded.

"We weren't going to leave you out there to die." Charles said in response to you.

The ride back to their camp went fast, with light conversation keeping you busy the whole way there. They were trying to find out why you were alone in the mountains, but you wouldn't give any information. You arrived at what seemed to be an old mining camp. The men hitched their horses Charles took the deer off his horse and carried it over to the camp cook. Arthur helped you off his horse and made sure the blanket was wrapped around you.

"Who is this?" The camp cooked asked.

"This is Miss l/n, we found her stranded while out hunting, I'm going to talk to Dutch about her staying, at least until we can get out of the snow." Arthur said.

"Nice to meet you Miss l/n, my names Pearson." The man said to you. You smiled to greet him.

"Okay follow me this way Miss l/n" Arthur said to you, leading you to a cabin. He opened the door and you saw two men sitting in front of a fire. Both men stood up to greet Arthur, but were shocked to see you standing next to him.

"Who's this young lady?" One of the men asked. He looked a bit older, a skinny man with gray hair.

"This is Miss l/n, me and Charles found her while out hunting, she was stranded and had no food. Dutch do you think she could stay with us?" Arthur asked the other man.

The man turned to face you. He was tall with slicked back black hair. He had a large black coat on, but you could see his fancy attire under it. He had rings on many of his fingers, and had a few chains on his pants. You could smell a mix of cigar smoke and cologne radiating off of him. He studied you for a moment, looking you up and down. You blushed. A smile then appeared on his face. "But of course. Miss l/n, why are you out here alone?" He asked while leading you to the seat he was sitting in.

"For a while now I've been on my own, just moving around, I never stayed anywhere long." You said to him.

"What about your family?" He then asked.

You knew that you would have to answer the question eventually. "Dead. They were killed by a gang a few years ago." You told them.

Dutch looked at you with a sympathetic look on his face. "I'm sorry Miss l/n. I know how hard it is to lose someone dear to you. You are welcome to stay with us as long as you need." He said placing a hand on your shoulder.

"Thank you." You smiled to him. He smiled back and looked into your eyes. The eye contact lingered for a moment before he looked over to the older man.

"Hosea, can you ask the girls if they have anything warm they can lend to Miss l/n here?" He asked. The man nodded and walked out of the cabin.

"Where will she sleep?" Arthur asked. "There isn't anymore beds in the cabins."

Dutch stood and thought for a moment. "She can have my bed." He spoke up.

You rose to stand in front of him. Even with you standing, he towered over you. "No you don't need to do that, I've haven't slept in a bed for years, I'll be okay." You said to him.

"And that's exactly why you should get one. I don't sleep much anyways. I promise Miss l/n, I would be happy to give it to you." Dutch responded.

Arthur chuckled. "He doesn't give his bed up to just anyone, id take the offer."

You smiled at him. "Well thank you, for everything."

Hosea walked back in the cabin holding a change of clothes and a few blankets. "Of course. Now you get changed and get warmed. We will buy you clothes once we are out of the snow." Dutch said before walking out of the cabin. You walked back to the room that was now yours. You sat on the bed and exhaled. You weren't sure what you have gotten yourself into.

You change into the clothes Hosea brought for you and wrapped the blanket around yourself. You walked out and sat in front of them fire. As the sun started to set, you went back to the room to lay down.

As you were getting into bed, Arthur emerged at the doorway. "You okay Miss l/n?" He asked leaning against the door frame.

"I'm all good. And please, just call me f/n" you said.

He chuckled. "You got it y/n. Don't worry, I know it's overwhelming now, but we will make sure you stay safe as long as you want to stay with us."

"Thank you Arthur." You responded. He left for you to get some rest. You snuggled into the bed, not being able to remember the last time you slept in a bed. You fell asleep as soon as your head hit the pillow.

———————————————————————————