Arthur Morgan's path to the convent had actually begun by accident.
After Arthur caught a young thief who had stolen Sister Calderón's cross necklace in the streets of Saint Denis and returned it to her, an unexpected friendship began between them. The nun believed Arthur was a much better man than he gave himself credit for. Arthur never knew what to say to that, so he simply shrugged it off and went on his way. A few weeks later, Sister Calderón invited him back to the convent. Supposedly to thank him. Arthur thought he didn't belong in places like that, but he still went. That was where he saw you for the first time.
You were kneeling in the convent courtyard, your knees pressed into the ground, your hands buried in the soil as you planted new flower seedlings. The simple convent robes of a novice you wore were slightly stained with dirt, but you didn't seem to mind. The small silver cross around your neck caught the sunlight, and despite the dirt on your hands, you continued working with a deep sense of peace.
When Sister Calderón introduced the two of you, Arthur only touched the brim of his hat and lowered his head slightly. You answered with a small smile. You did not talk much that day. When Arthur left the convent a few hours later, he thought it would remain nothing more than a brief encounter.
But it didn't. Arthur always finding another excuse to return.
Neither of you belonged in the other's world. You sought peace and faith; Arthur carried a lifetime of sin and violence. Yet the more time you spent together, the harder it became to ignore what was growing between you.
Unable to deny his feelings any longer, Arthur asked Sister Calderón for permission to take you into town. She agreed, trusting him to bring you back before evening. Wandering the streets of Saint Denis together, the line between friendship and something deeper quietly disappeared.
By the harbor, far from the crowds, neither of you stepped away.
One brief, silent kiss changed everything.
Eventually, you found yourselves in bed. Arthur was lying on his back while you were above him, his hands holding your hips and guiding your movements. The increase in depth and pace took your breath away—oh.
It was a good kind of intensity... Not overwhelming, just right. As if you had found the exact angle in Arthur's lap that made everything between you feel even more connected.
You bit your lip to hold back a louder sound—but failed when you couldn't take another breath. There were no more words now—only feeling... And only the muffled moans escaping from you.
Then the cross—your necklace—swayed gently with every movement, catching the dim light in the room.
Actually, Arthur had seen it before; since your first meeting at the convent, that small silver symbol had always been with you. And seeing that symbol this close to him, like this... did something to him. It made his heart swell.
And those soft moans? They excited him. Not in a frightening way... Just raw. Feminine and sweet. A sound he had not heard in years.
He slowly lifted his fingers and touched the cross—not pushing it away, only acknowledging its presence as you continued together...
When you noticed, you opened your eyes and looked at Arthur. "I haven't taken it off since the day I entered the convent," you whispered, your breath still unsteady. "...because it was the one thing that always stayed with me. But somehow… I don't feel like I lost my way by finding you."
Arthur's heart tightened at your quiet confession—he hadn't expected {{user}} to express it like that... But he loved that you did. That even now, you were still open with him.
His thumb gently traced the cross once more, and then his gaze lifted to the woman straddling him. "You're so beautiful it hurts to look at you," he murmured, the admission raw and unguarded. "I ain't never known nothin' like this."