The car skidded to a stop, Rick opening the door and cautiously climbing out. Jesus was already on the ground once Rick began to question him. I blocked it out and turned to Daryl while they talked. He gazed down at me, catching the fear that laid deep in my eyes. He slipped his hand into mine and lifted it up to his lips, kissing it. I gave him a faint smile, the anxiety not subsiding. A few beats went by before Daryl opened the door and stood up to see what was taking so long.

"The hell're we waitin' on," he questioned, annoyed. Jesus pointed towards a hill.

"Them," he simply stated. Two men appeared riding horses, the horses' hooves clicking on the pavement as they briskly approached. Daryl leaned down towards me.

"Stay in the car," he whispered, leaving my side.

"Who dares to trespass on the sovereign land of the--" one of the men abruptly ceased talking before immediately continuing. "Shit, I'm sorry Jesus." The Kingdom, old timey language, body armor, horses: was this a joke or a set-up? When I shifted my gaze back to the window, my heart leaped. A man stood before it, staring daggers inside.

"Get out of the car," he demanded. I climbed out of the car, my legs shaking nervously. Everyone in the car trailed out after me, still managing to stay close to the vehicle for safety. Daryl immediately grabbed my hand and rubbed circles on my skin. "Line up." A chill ran down my spine. Line up? Line up like Negan forced us to? What was this man gonna do to us?

"This is a waste of time," Daryl grunted, gripping my hand even tighter. "Let's go."

"You're right." The man nodded emotionlessly. "The King is a busy man and it's a dangerous world; we don't allow random packs of strangers to walk through our doors."

"We want to make the world less dangerous and we're here to show the King how serious we are about that," Michonne spoke honestly. The man was quiet for a few moments, thinking.

"The car stays outside," he stated. "And you gotta hand over your guns."

"That's alright," Rick smirked. "We only have two." He handed over the guns to the man. He took hold of them and swiveled around on his heel.

"Follow me," he instructed. We staggered after him onto a path. Jesus and him chatted quietly while the rest of us stayed silent. Daryl and I walked side by side, hand in hand. As we approached the gates, they slowly swung open to let us step foot into the Kingdom. I quietly gasped at the first few glances I took around the vicinity. This place was even better than all the other refuges I've visited, not to mention that this was probably the most normal looking community I've ever seen; there was a garden, large buildings, and an abundance of people doing a plethora of different activities.

"They have the numbers," Rick observed as a group of joggers jogged past us. "But can they fight?"

"Oh," Jesus sighed, smirking. "They can fight."

"Morgan?" Tara's voice was filled with slight confusion, catching our attention. We turned around to find Morgan approaching us.

"Hi," he smiled at everyone.

"How do you know each other," the frightening looking man questioned us in suspicion.

"We go way back," Rick nodded with a small smile ghosting his lips.

"The King is ready to see you," the man stated, hurrying up some stairs. The group began to follow him. Rick, Daryl, and I stopped briefly in front of Morgan.

"Did you find Carol," Rick asked in a hushed voice. My heart began to beat a little faster at the sound of her name. God, I missed her.

"Yeah, I did," Morgan answered.

"Where is she? Is she okay," I blurted out, eager to know more.

"She was here... she wasn't happy with me following her. She wanted to get away from everyone, but when I found her she was shot. It was just a graze though." Morgan paused. "I brought her back here. They've got doctors, really good ones here."

"Was it them who did that to her," Daryl growled, an obvious tenseness to his voice. Morgan nodded.

"She crossed some of them then she was followed by one. He tried to kill her, but I stopped him. I killed him... I had to. Carol was here but she got help and now she's gone," he concluded. Rick continued forward, Daryl following in anger.

"Thank you," I warmly smiled at Morgan before trailing after Daryl and Rick. We entered an auditorium, the stage brightly lit.

"Jesus, it pleases me to see you, old friend," a man joyously bellowed from the stage. I focused on the man; he sat on a throne and possessed long gray dreadlocks. He looked powerful: a tiger laid next to him. My eyes widened in fear. Was that real? Was I really seeing a live tiger right in front of me with my own eyes? "Tell me, what news do you bring King Ezekiel? Are these new allies you've brought me?"

"Indeed they are, Your Majesty." Jesus turned to face us. He paused, lowering his voice to a whisper when he noticed all of us staring at the tiger in awe. "Right, I forgot to mention that—"

"Yeah, tiger," I squeaked nervously. The tiger roared. I almost jumped out of my skin.

"This is Rick Grimes: the leader of Alexandria." Jesus sauntered down closer to the stage. The group reluctantly followed him. I gulped as we got closer to the tiger. I couldn't take my eyes off that thing. I felt like it was watching me right back, ready to pounce at any given moment. "These are some of his people."

"I welcome you all to the Kingdom," the King beamed. "Now, what brings you to our fair land? Why do you seek an audience with the King?"

"Alexandria, Hilltop, and the Kingdom — all three of our communities have something in common: we all serve the Saviors," Rick began. "Alexandria already fought them once and we won. We thought we took out the threat, but we didn't know then what we know now: we only beat one outpost. We were told you have a deal with them so you must know that they rule through violence and fear."

"Your Majesty," Jesus turned to the King. "I only told them of the—"

"Our deal with the Saviors is not known among my people and for good cause," Ezekiel interrupted him. "We made you a party to that secret when you told us of the Hilltop's own travails, but we didn't expect you to share this with anyone. We brought you into our confidence. Why did you break it?"

"Because I want you to hear Rick's plans," Jesus stated.

"And what plans have you, Rick Grimes of Alexandria," the King challenged Rick.

"We came to ask the Kingdom, you, to join us in fighting the Saviors; fighting for freedom," Rick proposed. Ezekiel was quiet for a moment.

"What you're asking is very serious."

"Several of our people were brutally killed by the Saviors," Michonne spoke up, pain clearly in her voice.

"Who," Morgan asked. Shit, he didn't know... he was never there.

"Abraham," Rosita spat, her arms crossed over her chest. "Glenn, Spencer, Olivia. Eugene was taken, they took Daryl and Aften too but they escaped. Every second they're out here, they're targets." Morgan shook his head in disbelief.

"I'm... I'm real sorry," he muttered.

"Negan murdered Glenn and Abraham, beat them to death," Rick said. I shivered, the moment replaying over in my mind.

"And he terrorized the Hilltop: set loose walkers just to make a point," Sasha revealed bitterly.

"I used to think the deal was something we could live with, a lot of us did but that's changing. Let's change the world, Your Majesty," Jesus offered graciously.

"My people are strong, but there's not enough of us. We don't have enough guns either..." Rick trailed off.

"We have people and weapons. If we strike first, together, we can beat them," the frightening man spoke up. "Your Majesty, no more waiting for things to get worse beyond what we can handle. We can set things right. The time is now."

"Morgan," Ezekiel bellowed after a moment of thought. "What say you?"

"People will die. A lot of people and not just the Saviors. If we can find another way... we have to. Maybe it's just about Negan; we could capture him—"

"The hour grows late," King Ezekiel cut Morgan off, rising from his chair. The tiger stepped forward and I sucked in a sharp breath at the rustle of the chains and the growl that emitted from its jaws. "Rick Grimes of Alexandria, you have given the King much to ponder. I invite you all to sup with us and stay till the 'morrow. I shall deliver my decree in the morn." He banged his staff on the stage, people dispersing and everything falling silent.

"I can show you where your rooms will be if you'd like," Jesus offered. "I've been here many times before."

"Go ahead," Rick huffed, clearly annoyed. Jesus led us through the courtyards of the Kingdom. We weaved in between groups of people gardening and socializing. Many of them stopped to stare at us. I kept my eyes focused on the ground, my hand in Daryl's. Jesus showed Daryl and I to an empty room. I immediately shuffled to the bed, sitting down. Daryl finished up his brief conversation with Jesus before quietly shutting the door as I bit my nail.

"I don't know about this place," I muttered. "It's so beautiful, but I don't know... I don't know about anything anymore, really. Going to new places just makes me nervous... you know that." Daryl sat by my side. He brushed my hair away from my face and kissed the side of my head.

"We'll be outta here tomorrow mornin'," he reassured me. I leaned my head against his shoulder. Daryl wrapped his arms around me, holding me close as he laid back. I rested against his chest, my eyes fluttering closed. The comfort of his strong arms around me always reassured me: he was there ready to protect me at any given moment.