Lunacy Fringe [COMPLETE]

Part 1

Edited Author note; I wrote the bit below when I started this. This fic was actually the first Daryl multi chap fic I started to write, but by chapter 10 I got new ideas and bounced around. I figured I'd come back to it now and try to finish it off. So this one was started way before Flames.

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So this started as a one shot Daryl x reader I wrote years ago. I posted it on my tumblr where I took Daryl requests and on Ao3.

If you're new around here, hi! :') This will be canon divergent, those of you who have read my other things before know that I haaaaate to just rewrite series or films, it bores me to read and to write. So yes, as usual this will be canon divergent. It's set before the whole Negan thing. It's edited so if any of you have me on tumblr or Ao3, this first chapter which is the one shot is a little different, please don't skip it, even if you've read the original. I altered quite a bit to fit the story and my new OC.

This is a dark story, mainly at the start, and it will have various triggers; Rape, abuse, self harm, suicidal thoughts.

Disclaimer; I own nothing but my OC's and original ideas. This isn't a Walking dead fanfic, it's a Daryl fanfic, and as I said, canon divergent. So some things might happen from the show in different orders etc just to fit whatever I'm doing, but the story is mainly about Daryl and my OC.

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Communicating and trading with other groups was vital now for survival. The different groups didn't always see eye to eye, but it was business and it was just the way the world was now. Rick had been introduced to a new group via Hilltop and the leader Frank had asked them to come for an 'introductory dinner' to get to know them. They couldn't all leave Alexandria for safety reasons so Rick decided he was taking Daryl. His brother in arms, his right hand and the one he knew without a shadow of a doubt he could trust. Daryl was just as perceptive as he was, he could read people well and Rick wanted to get a feel of this new group. To see if they would be trouble or not.

When they arrived, it shocked them to find the camp seemed to be all men. They were loud and obnoxious and the Alexandrians instantly didn't like them, but business was business so they'd suck it up to help their group. The two men studied each person they met carefully. Despite the fact this was for trading, they never knew what would happen and they always wanted to be prepared. Daryl was pretty astute at reading people, and these people seemed off to him. There was something he didn't like, like his sixth sense was tingling and telling him something wasn't quite right. It put him on edge, something Rick picked up on.

They were gathered at a large table in the dining hall when they first saw her. She stuck out like a sore thumb. Not just because she was the only woman in the entire group, but she was covered in bruises. Clearly visible in the tattered short dress she was wearing. The marks stood out in stark contrast to her pale skin, the skin mottled and bruised in blooms of purple and yellow. Some were old but some were very very new. She was bringing the food in and one of the other men smacked her ass so hard she dropped the tray of food. The clattering as it hit the floor seemed to bring a silence over the group as it echoed. Rick and Daryl didn't like it one bit. Tensing and sitting up a little straighter. They watched the scene unfold, but they had no idea it was about to get worse. Frank jumped up from his seat and stomped towards her terrified small frame. It was clear she rarely got to eat.

"Are you fucking stupid bitch?! Clean that shit up now!" he yelled as he grabbed her roughly and pushed her to the floor to clean up the food.

"I-I'm sorry," she choked out as her knees painfully hit the hard floor. She knew what was coming.