Beauty and Her Beast (Daryl Dixon Fanfic)

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We walked up the road, coming up on the gate. "Stop right there." We all aimed or guns at the men standing at the top of the walls. Were they holding spears?

"Whoa!"

"You gonna make us?"

"Jesus, what the hell is this?"

Jesus looked back at us. "Open the gates, Cal. Freddie's hurt. Look, sorry about these guys. They get antsy standing up there all day doing nothing."

"They give up the weapons. Then we'll open the gates."

"Why don't you come down here and get 'em?" Daryl challenged.

The doctor stepped forward. "Gentlemen, look, we vouch for these people, all right? They saved us out there!"

"Lower the spears." They didn't move.

"Look, I'm not taking any chances. Tell your guy Gregory to come out here."

"No. Don't you see what just happened? I'm letting you keep your guns. Look, we ran out of ammo months ago. I like you people. I trust you. Trust us."

Rick waved a hand, signaling the others to lower the guns. Jesus turned back around. "Open the gates, Cal."

I sighed when they finally opened the gates and we walked in. I have to say, it was pretty impressive. They had chickens, cattle, they were growing food. There was even a blacksmith and a sawmill. "There was a materials yard for a power company nearby." Jesus explained. "That's how we put up the walls. A lot of people came from a FEMA camp. Trailers came with them."

"How did people find out about this place?" Michonne asked.

Jesus pointed to a big mansion. "That's called Barrington house. The family that owned it gave it to the state in the '30s. The state turned it into a living history museum. Every elementary school for 50 miles used to come here for field trips. The place was running a long time before the modern world built up around it. I think people came here because they figured it'd keep running after the modern world broke down."

He pointed to the very top of the building. "Those windows up there let us see for miles in every direction. It's perfect for security. Come on. I'll show you inside."

Jesus led us into the mansion. And boy was it big. There were old paintings all over and it was filled with furniture from the 1900s. Honestly, it was beautiful. "Most of the rooms have been converted to living spaces. Even the ones that weren't bedrooms."

"People live here and the trailers?" Rick asked, looking up the stairs.

"We plan to build. There's babies being born."

We all turned when a pair of doors opened and a man emerged. I raised my brow as I looked him up and down. This guy's wearing a suit? Just one look and I could tell he's never had his hands dirtied a day in his life. "Jesus. You're back." He looked around at us. "With guests."

"Everyone, this is Gregory. He keeps the trains running on time around here."

"I'm the boss." He smiled.

Rick nodded. "Well, I'm Rick. We have a community-"

"Why don't you all go get cleaned up, hmm?" I rolled my eyes.

"We're fine." Rick declined.

"Jesus will show you where you can get washed up. Then you come back down here when you're ready." Gregory walked up to Rick, getting in his face. "It's hard to keep this place clean."

"Yeah. Sure." Rick nodded, obviously irritated.

Jesus rolled his eyes as well. "Follow me."

~*~

Maggie spoke to Gregory about trading. It didn't go well. They, apparently, don't want ammunition. Even though they need it. "We want to generate trade. Gregory does." Jesus explained. "But ammo isn't something we urgently need."

"Well, hows that?" Rick asked.

"The walls hold. We just brought in more medicine. Gregory wants the best deal possible."

"Yeah, well, we want things too." Daryl said.

"We need food. We came all this way, we're gonna get it." Rick shrugged.

"I will talk to him and we will work this out. Circumstances change. We're doing well now, and you will next. I will make him understand that. Can you give me a few days?"

Rick didn't answer. "We can." Michonne nodded.

Rick looked at Michonne, then back at Jesus. "Yeah."

We stood when we heard a sudden commotion outside. A man walked in. "What's wrong?" Gregory asked, emerging from his office.

"They're back."

Gregory nodded and him and Jesus left the mansion. We followed. Two men and a woman were walking up to us, one of them looking rather angry. "Ethan, what happened to everybody else? Where's Tim and Marsha?"

"They're dead." He nodded.

"Negan?" Who's that?

"Yeah."

"We had a deal."

"He said it wasn't enough." The other man spoke. "Was the drop light?"

"No."

"They still have Craig."

The other man took a few steps closer to Gregory. "They said they'd keep him alive, return him to us, if I deliver a message to you."

"So, tell me."

He put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry." He stabbed Gregory and Michonne and Rick pulled him off, Jesus and Maggie lowering Gregory to the ground. "Get off of me! I have to!"

He hit Michonne, them tried to hit Rick. Rick grabbed his arm and kneed him in the gut, knocking him on his back. Rick started punching him and the other man tried to stop him. Abraham pulling him off, but ended up on his back. The man started choking him. His face was turning purple.

Daryl grabbed his arm and snapped it, shoving him away. Ethan suddenly had Rick on his back with a knife to his throat. Glenn and I both grabbed our guns, about to unholster them. "Stay back! Anyone who tries to stop me is killing my brother!"

Michonne was behind him. "Drop it."

Ethan turned to look at her and Rick stabbed him in the neck, blood spilling all over his face. He pushed his body off and stood up, looking around at all the people staring. His face and neck were drenched. "What?"

"Ethan! You killed him!"

"He tried to kill Gregory, then me!"

The woman walked up and punched Rick in the jaw. Michonne knocked her to the ground like it was nothing. "Drop it now!" Two men with spears walked to Rick.

"I don't think I will." Rick had his gun aimed at one of them.

"Everyone, this is over!" Jesus rushed to get in between Rick and the spearmen. "It's over. Ethan was our friend, but let's not pretend he was anything more than a coward who attacked us. He did this. And these people stopped him."

"What can I do?" Rick asked after a minute.

"Put the gun away. You've done enough." Rick lowered his gun. "You need to know that things aren't as simple as they might seem. Just give me some time."