Hello everyone !
A little clarification before we embark together on this new adventure. I'm french and it's my first attempt at writing a full multi-chapter fanfiction in english. So, I apologise beforehand for all my mistakes. I don't have a beta yet and I'm actually looking for one so if anyone is interessted, it would be the best thing in the world.

So, if you can overlook all my gramatical mistakes (especially the sequence of tenses) and bear with me, it would be awesome. ^^

Happy reading and don't forget to tell me what you think about this very first chapter.

ps: The title of this story is inspired by the song "Dancing with the Devil" by Marina Key. Check it out! It's a great song.

Chapter 1: The Gift

You had known, from the moment you had agreed to this, that this was final boss of bad ideas. You should have tried to object more, to find a way around it, but he had given you no choice really. You had known deep inside that you would regret it, but you had volunteered and obeyed. After all, who where you to doom another soul to this wretched situation? You would have never forgiven yourself for it. But, to be honest, even if you had known what would happen long before this all begun, you are not sure you would have done anything differently. Because, yes, you had suffered and cried and feared… but what you had experienced in return had turned out to be the greatest adventure of you life. Anyway, it was too late now. The past was the past and you had to deal with it.

All this mess started just after the first visit of the so-called Saviors at Hilltop. Your uncle, Gregory, asked you out of the blue to come to his office. Abandoning your work at the tomato garden, you cleaned your dirty hand on your even dirtier jeans before following Brian, the men who had been send to fetch you. As soon as you went trough the door, you immediately saw that something was wrong. Gregory was sitting at his desk, nursing a glass of whiskey and vaguely looking outside the window. You knew your uncle and seeing him drink was never a good sign, especially since hell broke loose and corpses started to walk and eat the living. Your alcohol reserve was quite sparse so, he risking opening one of his beloved bottles meant that he was really troubled.

"Uncle?" you ask, pulling him out of his thoughts.

He gave you a little smile before standing up and inviting you to sit with him on the couch. He even asked you if you wanted a drink, another proof that something was definitely not right. Gregory wasn't the most caring of uncle. To be honest, not a lot of people knew you were even related. He treated you the same as everyone else. Yes, you had diner with him once a week on Sundays but he never really seemed to enjoy the little time you spent together. He never listened to what you were saying and was quick to send you on your way. You didn't really know why he was acting so cold with his last remaining family member. Maybe because you looked too much like your mother and seeing traces of his dead sister in you was too difficult for him. Anyway, the fact that he took the time to invite you on the couch and most of all, offered you a drink was beyond alarming. Just when you were about to ask him what was wrong, the office door opened again. Jesus walked in. A soon as his eyes found yours, a broad smile bended his lips.

"Hey pumpkin", he said as a salute.

You hated when Jesus called you like that. Just because you had absolutely wanted to grow some pumpkins last fall and had managed to smash the only one that had grown by falling on it. The result had been you walking back to the trailer you shared with Jesus covered from head to toe with pumpkin flesh and juice. You even had found pips in your underwear. The hysterical laugh that had followed had stayed with you ever since. And now, Jesus just liked to tease you by calling you "pumpkin". The fact that you wore an orange top today wasn't helping either.

Rolling your eyes at the surname, you answered him by grabbing a pillow from the couch and throwing it at his face. Your friend caught it long before it hit him and without even flinching. He then winked at you.

Bloody ninja…

"Rose", called Gregory with the tone of an annoyed father.

Refraining yourself from rolling your eyes again, you waited until Jesus stood by your side before turning your attention back to your uncle.

"Why did you called us here?" inquired your friend.

Gregory laid his glass on the little table nearby before going straight to business.

"I guess you've heard about the unexpecting visit of a group that call themselves the Saviors yesterday?"

You knew about it of course. You and Jesus weren't there at the time; too busy scavenging a gas station not too far away, but everyone had told you about it the minute you had gotten back. Their leader, a man named Negan, had made some kind of proposal to Gregory and had given him a week to think about it.

"Yes, but nobody knows exactly what you two talked about", you answered.

"That's why I've ask you to come", announced your uncle.

You were surprised that of all people, he wanted to talk about it with you. It's not like you were one of his most trusted men. Even if, as the gardens supervisor, you always had had a certain influence over the way Hilltop was managed, he had never confided in you before. So, you saw this new development as an improvement. Maybe he had finally started to trust you and value your opinion. The fact that Jesus was here wasn't as surprising, because he was used to deal with people from the outside of Hilltop. Gregory obviously wanted this opinion on his encounter with the leader of the Saviors.

"Their offer was quite fair", he added. "They provide us with security and in exchange, we give them half of our crops."

Gregory affirmation was only received by silence. You shared a shocked look with Jesus.

Half of our crops?It was insane! It was true you had enough food to feed every member of your community but if you had to givehalf of it to those men, you would soon starve. And all of this just for security? Yes, Hilltop didn't own a lot of weapons but your walls were strong. You hadn't had a roamer entering Hilltop in weeks. Most of the people here barley even remembered what the corpses looked like. You couldn't share your farm with the Saviors. It would mean the end of Hilltop.

"And you're considering this deal? You've got to be joking!" you argued.

You felt Jesus tense at your side but he remained silent. He knew better than to put himself between you and Gregory when you were in disagreement, which happened a lot.

"Rose, I don't think you understand the situation here. Those Saviors, they have guns, lots of it. I wasn't born yesterday and even if he gave the impression he was letting us consider his offer, this Negan character was very clear. I can read between the line s. I will have to agree to his proposal, or he will make me. I don't have a choice."

So he was giving up so easily? And the fact that Gregory only used the pronoun "I" pissed you off even more. What about the rest of you? Hilltop was a community, not a monarchy. He couldn't make this kind of decisions on his own just because he was afraid to deal with the consequences. God, he was so selfish!

Standing up to face him properly, you fumed: "We could fight back!"

"With what? Forks and shovels?"

"Jesus and I…"

Gregory pointed his finger at the two of you.

"You and Jesus will do nothing to endanger my deal with them. That's actually why I've asked you to come here."

You were so angry your whole body trembled. You couldn't believe you uncle was such a coward. It was hard to think you were related when you had absolutely nothing in common. He would bow to this Negan and agree to starve his people just to make sure nothing happened to him. Gregory loved thinking he was the boss around here and power had gotten into his head. But he couldn't control people lives like this without even asking for their opinions. A matter as important as this one should be discussed with the rest of Hilltop in a town meeting of some sort. Gregory would not get away with this. Not this time. Even if you had to go against him in front of everyone, you would fight teeth and nails to prevent him from enslaving Hilltop to another group.

But your uncle knew that a lot of people would follow you if you did rebel. That's probably why he had decided to get you out of his way for good…

At last, Jesus spoke, his blue gaze darkened by rage fixed on Gregory.

"What have you done?"

Your eyes went from your friend to your uncle for a few seconds before an alarming feeling of dread swelled inside your chest.

"I knew you would never agree to this offer and I couldn't jeopardize our future relationship with the Saviors. So, I agreed to meet Negan's men earlier than expected to sweeten the deal and prevent any further issues", explained Gregory with as sickeningly false concerned face.

"What do you mean by 'sweeten the deal'? You uttered between clenched teeth.

Your heart was beating like a caged bird against your ribs. You knew your life was about to be shattered but you still kept the foolish hope that your uncle would never to something so horrid… not to his own niece!

"But I offered you to them, of course" came the dreaded answer from the lips of your only living relative.

Your thoughts ?