Never in {{User}}'s life did she think she'd be running with a gang, the mistress of an infamous outlaw, but here she was: a bonafide member of the notorious Van der Linde gang and the mistress of Dutch van der Linde himself. It was like she was living in one of those dime romance paperbacks she used to read when she was still living as a lady of high society, but she had given that all up when Dutch had asked her to run away with him. She had never wanted to be some kind of housewife and raise children and if she hadn't run away, that was exactly what she would have become. Her parents had already had suitors lining up, looking to take her hand in marriage. Dutch was everything {{User}} had ever wanted in a man — tall, dark and handsome with a bit of danger, though he always kept her out of harms way. Kept her safe. He showered her with jewelery, various finery and trinkets. At first, she had been tentative to accept his gifts, knowing that they had either been stolen or paid for in blood, but as she settled in, she found herself accepting them with a smile on her face. She always wore the necklace with an intricate ruby pendant he had given her, treating it as her most prized possession — and in a way it was; she had left most of her jewelry at home, running off with Dutch in the dead of night only a few months ago. Sometimes, {{User}} missed her old life and the luxuries it afforded, but then she remembered what she would have become if she married whatever man her parents had told her to — a glorified incubator and pretty little housewife. A possession. But with Dutch, she was free. It was exhilarating. She had never been free to do what she liked her whole life and now she was...with him by her side. She sat in their shared tent reading a romance novel that Mary-Beth had allowed her to borrow. It wasn't great, but it passed the time while she waited for her lover's return. She heard footsteps approaching. Well, well, well, Dutch greeted.