𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐈𝐑 𝐎𝐏𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍 ➳ 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐥 𝐆𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬

Chapter 14 ~ Wow, That's A Really Big Cat

We all filed into the former school gymnasium after Jesus. The first thing that caught my eye though wasn't the man sitting on the throne, the overly-cheerful man beside him, or even the boy who eerily looked like Tripp Campbell from that old Disney show I used to watch. No, what caught my eye was the very large and imposing tiger sitting beside the King. My eyes went wide as saucers as I breathed out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding.

"Wow. A cat," I said in awe.

Carl arched an eyebrow at me and I clarified, "A really big cat,"

"Jesus! It pleases me to see you, old friend!" King Ezekiel greeted the long-haired Hilltop man.

"It pleases him, indeed!" the cheerful man beside him boomed out.

"Jerry," the King sent him a warning glance to which I lightly chuckled, "Tell me, what news do you bring good King Ezekiel? Are these new allies you've brought me?"

"Indeed, they are, Your Majesty. This is-" Jesus nodded, turning to us before suddenly remembering something, "Oh, right. I forgot to mention that-"

"Yeah, a tiger," Rick breathed out.

Just then, it roared loudly, making us all take a hesitant step back before we were ushered forward by Jesus.

"This is Rick Grimes, the leader of Alexandria, and these are some of his people," he introduced us all.

The dread-lock-haired man nodded to us graciously, "I welcome you all to the Kingdom, good travelers. Now, what brings you to our fair land? Why do you seek an audience with the King?"

We all silently spread out amongst the chairs and I went to stand beside Carl, bumping him playfully with my hip to which he sent me a cheeky wink. A light pink blush lit up my cheeks and I looked away only to be met by the stern glare of my father. Coughing, I moved away from Carl a few inches.

"Ezekiel - King Ezekiel. Alexandria, the Hilltop, and the Kingdom - all three of our communities have something in common: we all serve the Saviors," Rick began to say, speaking diplomatically, "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've been told you have a deal with them, that you know them. Then you know they rule through violence and fear,"

King Ezekiel sent a wither glance to wards Jesus and he looked up guiltily, "Your Majesty, I only told them of the-"

"Our deal with the Saviors is not known among my people - for good cause. We made you a party to that secret when you told us of the Hilltop's own travails, but we did not expect you to share-" the King started before being cut off.

"We can help each other!" Jesus interjected loudly.

"Don't interrupt the King," the man next to the King grumbled.

"We brought you into our confidence. Why did you break it?" King Ezekiel asked finally.

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

"And what plans have you, Rick Grimes of Alexandria?"

"We came to ask the Kingdom, to ask you, to join us in fighting the Saviors, fighting for freedom for all of us," Rick told him, his voice soft but firm.

"What you are asking is very serious," the King said seriously.

"Several of our people - good people - were killed by the Saviors, brutally," Michonne finally spoke up, stepping beside Rick.

"Who?" Morgan asked and I felt my stomach drop as they began to list off the names.

"Abraham. Glenn. Spencer, Olivia. Eugene was taken. They took Daryl. He escaped. Every second he's out here, he's a target," Rosita began to tell him and I shared a look with my dad, "You gonna say you were right?"

Morgan looked down at his feet, an expression of defeat mixed with sadness on his face.

"No. I'm...I'm just real sorry they're gone," he said truthfully and I knew he was genuine.

"Negan murdered Glenn and Abraham, beat them to death," Rick went on, pressing his point.

"Terrorized the Hilltop, set loose walkers just to make a point," Sasha added and I glanced back at her briefly before turning my gaze back to the others.

"I used to think the deal was something we could live with. A lot of us did. But that's changing. So let's change the world, Your Majesty," Jesus told the King, trying to emphasize the seriousness of the situation.

"I want to be honest about what we're asking. My people are strong, but there's not enough of us. We don't have guns - not enough, at least. Not a lot of weapons, period," Rick continued to say.

"We have people. And weapons. If we strike first, together, we can beat them," Richard spoke up suddenly from beside King Ezekiel, "Your Majesty, no more waiting for things to get worse beyond what we can handle. We set things right. The time is now,"

The King was silent a moment before he asked Morgan his opinion. Morgan - being the pacifist that he is - of course, said no. Rick tried to press the King to hear us out though - even going as far as to tell him a story he'd heard as a child about a rock and some gold. I'm not sure just what that was about - to be truthful, I zoned out on that one. We stayed the night there afterward and I bunked with Sasha due to a shortage of guest rooms. As we got ready for bed that night, I crawled into my own by the window before letting out a long sigh.

"Do you think he'll say yes?" Sasha asked me suddenly from her side of the room, breaking the silence that had stretched between us.

I shrugged before remembering she couldn't see me, "I don't know. Maybe...I hope so..."

The bedside lamp was cut off then and I heard her roll over before mumbling a quiet 'night' to me. I bid her the same and snuggled down into my covers, the moonlight from the window overheard making speckles of light on pillows. Gosh, I hoped he said yes. This was my last chance to get my little girl back. And I didn't think I had the strength to live without her for much longer...