The Ballad of Redemption (Promo Sample) Sadigail Fanfic

The Ballad of Redemption Chp. 2

Sadie Morgan

Days pass slowly as Sadie finds herself picking up Arthur's slack on the ranch. She doesn't mind, but since her father's death, the workload has been distributed within the Morgan family. Sadie milks the cows, shovels shit, and moves hay bales in the morning, joins John or Arthur when they go on a hunt, and spends dinner time with the Marston family.

After dinner, Sadie and Abigail usually sneak away to the back porch where Abigail reads to Sadie who sharpens her knife or cleans her gun until dark. Once the sun is asleep and the moon has joined them, Sadie kisses Abigail goodnight and returns to her cabin, where the memory of her father haunts her until her body collapses from the day's exhaustion.

Days remain insignificant, but Sadie keeps her ears open for the whispers and secret meetings between Arthur and John. She knows what they're planning and who they're tracking, and she wants to be a part of it, despite it being against Arthur's wishes.

Sadie wakes on an early Spring morning to Arthur pulling on his boots and sits up swiftly. He's dressed differently, nicer, which means he's leaving Hill Haven Ranch today.

"What's the occasion?" Sadie asks while rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Nothin' really," Arthur answers. "Just headin' into Valentine again to pick up some things for the ranch."

Sadie knows her brother's telling the truth, but he definitely has ulterior motives. Maybe he's also planning on meeting someone in Valentine who might have more information on this Colm O'Driscoll and his gang. Suddenly, a rush of adrenaline soars through her body and wakes her up completely.

"Can I come?" she asks.

"I'd rather you stay here and get started with the chores," Arthur declines.

"Please, Arthur?" Sadie begs. "I promise I'll behave."

"You? Behave?" Arthur chuckles to himself and stands. "Fine but hurry up."

Sadie jumps out of bed and pulls on a pair of men's trousers that Abigail tailored to fit her more feminine figure along with a loose button down and boots. She quickly brushes and braids her hair and splashes her face with cold water before she's racing out the door. Arthur is already loading the wagon he's driving into town, so Sadie joins in helping him.

Then they're off to Valentine, which is a good half-days ride from Hill Haven Ranch.

"You cleaned your gun?" Arthur nags.

"Yes." Sadie sighs.

"Sharpened your knife?"

"Yes."

"Extra bullets?"

"Yes Arthur," Sadie groans. "C'mon now."

"I just wanna make sure you can hold your own," Arthur says.

Sadie knows his nagging is coming from a good place, but he should trust her a little more. Has she not proved herself over the past few weeks? She's been working really hard to keep up and learn as much as she can from him but hasn't necessarily had a chance to prove herself yet.

"So..." Sadie starts. "What are we gettin' over in Valentine?"

"Well, I gotta go to the post office first, then the gun store for ammunition and the general store..." Arthur begins rambling off his to-do list and Sadie realizes she's in for a long day, but she doesn't mind. "...I also gotta talk to a guy meetin' me at the saloon."

"About what?" she asks.

"Just some business dealings," is all Arthur tells her.

Sadie narrows her eyes at her brother but doesn't push her luck. If she did, he would retract from her even more, and that's not at all what she wants. So instead, she sits back and relaxes the rest of the way to Valentine.