It didn't take long for Maisie to memorize Dwight's schedule. She knew she had at least an hour before he would be back.

She knew she was nearing the hallway as she heard the horrible music Dwight played to drive them into insanity.

We're on Easy Street, and it feels so sweet, cause the world is but a treat when you're on Easy Street...

The chipper song sent shivers down her spine and irritated her at the same time. When she reached the correct door, she crouched down on her knees, irritably pulling up the hem of the jacket that was tucked under her behind. Negan had promised to find one that fit her.

"Do you want me to turn the music off?" she asked softly, her voice barely a whisper.

She waited a moment, her eyes darting around as she picked up on the slight shuffling. Then finally, a grunt. "Please."

Maisie went and switched off the music that was starting to get on her nerves and returned to the door.

"Are you okay?"

The notepad came back to her.

"No. Who are you?"

Maisie bit her lip, unsure of what to say. Daryl clearly didn't recognize her voice, probably because it wasn't hurling sassy remarks at him, and god knows what he might do if he knew she was within the compound.

"Doesn't matter," she finally replied, careful of her voice.

"Tell me who you are," Daryl insisted with a rasp. He sounded like he was in need of some water.

Before she could form a response, she heard approaching footsteps. She got to her feet quickly, brushing the dust from her knees and tried to look nonchalant as Dwight rounded the corner. He was early, and his eyes immediately narrowed at the sight of her in the hallway.

"What the fuck are you doing in here?" he demanded.

"Nothing."

"I know what game you're playing."

"Oh, yeah?" Maisie challenged, cocking an eyebrow and crossing her arms.

"Yeah."

"You don't know jack shit about me."

"I know you're just a scared little bitch who thinks she's tough."

"Well, if that's the case, we have that in common," Maisie responded coolly.

She anticipated Dwight's next move and grabbed his wrist when he raised his arm to strike her. "Slap me again and I will not cover for you," Maisie growled, her eyes like two pieces of pale green ice as she slowly released his wrist.

Maisie was tiny compared to most of the men that walked the compound but she packed the bigger punch. They underestimated her, a mistake that worked out well for her.

She was only mildly surprised when Dwight stepped closer to her, trapping her between the dark blue painted brick wall and himself.

"You wear those wings like they're yours."

"You're no angel yourself, hun," Dwight whispered in her ear before stepping back and walking away.

Oh, how Maisie hated that man. She hated many men inside this compound, but Dwight topped the list.

Casting a glance at Daryl's door, Maisie turned and walked away with a sigh. She struggled to find things to occupy herself.

She was free to go anywhere she wanted inside the Sanctuary but she was banned from going outside unless she was told otherwise by Negan and only Negan. She was a prisoner inside the Sanctuary.

When she climbed up the stairs and leaned boredly against the railing of the catwalk, she was surprised to look down and see people kneeling for her. She dismissed them and watched them continue their hustle and bustle. She witnessed Dwight bullying a man and her hatred for him burned even brighter.

〄

Daryl curled into a tight ball against the wall, trying desperately to block out the cheerful music that tortured his hardened soul. Maisie kept creeping into his thoughts, a welcomed distraction. He tried to focus on her but she seemed blurry and out of focus until she slipped his mind. His next thought was who was talking to him. He heard someone pass quickly, their hurried movements sending a draft under the door and over his naked body, but the music stopped. He knew it was the same person who had spoken to him. The blissful silence lasted for a while, until someone he could only assume was Dwight returned and switched it back on. Daryl's whim had yet to be broken, but he himself was cracking.

〄

Maisie jumped at the knock on her door that had pulled her from her daydream. She got up begrudgingly and pulled open the door, revealing a young Savior, maybe twenty years old, standing on the hallway.

"Negan, w-wants to see you in his r-room, m-miss," the Savior stuttered, his cheeks flushing.

Maisie pittied him. "Okay. You don't need to be scared of me, I'm not Negan."

"We're all Negan," the guy responded fearfully.

Maisie cocked her head to the side. "My name is Maisie, call me that and nothing else, alright?"

"A-alright."

〄

"Come in," Negan's voice called from the other side of the door after she tapped her knuckles against it. She pushed open the door to see Negan standing in his pants and undershirt.

"A bit over dressed, don't you think?" Negan teased, winking at her.

She said nothing and looked around.

His room was by far the largest she'd seen so far, and so was his bed, complete with red satin sheets peeking out from under the comforter. She had no idea, nor did she want to know, how he had acquired those.

"Like the satin, huh?"

"Yup. Very fine material," Maisie responded plainly.

She could tell Negan had taken a dangerous liking to her over the past two weeks, and Maisie made sure to shut down his advances. She knew Negan cared about consent, from hearing the story he told her after he beat a man to death with Lucille for suggesting Negan could rape the women in his camp, and wouldn't force himself on her, but she needed to make sure she wasn't interested in him. She had other people on her mind.

"Why did you beckon me?" Maisie asked, turning the attention away from the satin sheets.

"I have something for you," he told her, turning away from her and rifling through the contents on his desk. He returned with a battered book and held it out to her. She accepted it, and turned it over in her hands, letting out a small gasp as her eyes slid over the title:

The Shining, by Stephen King

It was her favorite book of all time.

"I heard you've been asking around for it."

"Thank you," she said sincerely, giving him a smile that was only half fake and leaving his room.

As she passed through the hallway of cells to get back to her room, she paused outside Daryl's door and knocked on it gently. Once again, she heard the little bit of shuffling before Daryl's plea for silence reached her. She gave him just that, scampering off and turning off the radio.

If Maisie had her way, Daryl wouldn't be in there, but she didn't quite have Negan wrapped around her finger. For now, it was the little things she did to help him.

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