Chapter 2

Holly shifted uncomfortably in front of Milton as they sat drinking tea in the Governor's living room, waiting for his return. Her tea cup shook as she stared in fright at the bed she had been forced on a few hours ago and that she might find herself in some time later. There was no escape this time, the Governor had her. "I'm sure it's nothing, they'll be alright." Milton tried to comfort; of course that wasn't what she wanted to hear.

"You know that's not what I'm worried about." She sighed.

He cleared his throat as the air grew awkward around them. "I'm sure he has his reasons for-"

"Don't even try to defend him, Milton." Holly leaned back on her seat and rubbed her eyes. "I know the other girls that willingly go to him. They might not know me but I know them, and trust me, I don't act like that or give him reason to come after me."

Milton played with his hands as the conversation grew more personal. "I'm sorry you're in this situation but you have to look at the positives."

She laughed at his reasoning. "What positives? I'm kept in a room with a small amount of free time, I can't talk to anyone, and I have to live in fear of possibly being raped every time you come find me with a message from the Governor!" Holly cried as it all crashed at once. "There are no positives in my situation."

He opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted by the sound of the door opening and the Governor stepping in front of them. "Milton, why don't you go to the lab and continue with your notes. I need to speak to Holly for a bit." He suggested as he pulled a chair next to Holly's seat as she tried to hide her tears. The Governor looked at her in confusion. "Hey, now why are you crying? Did something happen while I was gone?" He asked as he took hold of her face and kissed her cheek.

She trembled at the feeling and shook her head away from his hand. "She was just worried, that's all." Milton cut in. Holly stared at him wondering why he would say that but he left the room making sure to not meet her eyes.

"Worried about me?" He chuckled as he brought Holly closer to himself. "You didn't have to worry yourself to tears, Holly." The Governor sighed as he breathed in her scent. "Do you need anything?"

She froze in his grip at the question. "Cou-could I, maybe, get some fresh air?" Her voice shook.

"You know I can't do that Holly."

"It would only be for a little while. I haven't walked on the streets in so long." She begged.

The Governor ran his fingers over her hands. "It's for your own good, Holly. It's bad enough I let you out on the roof."

"Please. I can't stand being trapped in rooms any longer! Let me out!" She yelled as she fought against his arms.

"Holly! Calm down!" He grunted as he tried to avoid her scratching nails.

"No! Let me go!" She cried as she finally scratched his arms. It proved to be a mistake as he finally gained the upper hand and slapped her to the ground. Tears streamed down her face as blood pooled in her mouth from where she had bitten her tongue. He looked at her with anger before he went to the kitchen to get her some ice.

Holly winced as pain flourished throughout her cheek but that didn't stop her. She could see the door, so near. Gaining all of the energy she had left, she stood and ran towards the door, towards her freedom. She smiled as she grew closer and closer to her target. Just a few more steps, she could be free this time. Her smile disappeared though as she soon felt herself get dragged by her wrist and forced to the ground by the man she hated the most.

"Now Holly, let's not be this way." He growled as he forced himself on top of her. He ignored her cries and didn't even try to stop her as he revealed a needle to her. The Governor smirked as her cries grew louder at the sight of the needle as he squeezed some of the substance out of it to further taunt her. Once he grew tired of her tears he thrust the needle into her arm, immediately quieting her. "Look what you made me do, Holly. You know I don't enjoy doing this…"

Her mind swirled not connecting the voice to the face above her. She hated when he would do this, but she couldn't give up; not yet. She felt herself get lifted into warm arms and couldn't help but bury herself into them, trying to get warmer. These drugs were a menace. Holly wasn't sure what they were but she was sure that Milton had to be the one who made them specifically for her, and yet she couldn't find it in her to be mad at him. "Cold" She muttered with a shiver, for some reason the drug always made her feel so cold.

"Don't worry about that Holly." A voice above her said. "We'll be nice and warm soon." She felt something soft beneath her and soon felt something being laid on top of her.

"..blanket…" She couldn't find it in herself to form enough words and she still felt so cold. Something was beside her as she felt the weight shift underneath her, it was warm and that was all she cared about as she neared it and tried to gain its warmth.

"Goodnight." Someone said above her. She felt fingers running through her hair but she couldn't be sure. "My little Holly from Hollywood…"

_._._._._._

The light shone through curtains hitting the bed inside the room. Holly stirred and shielded her eyes from the bright onslaught. "Wha-?" She sat up and found herself inside the infirmary with Milton looking over papers beside her bed.

"You're awake. I see the Governor used a bit more of your medicine than necessary again." He explained as he checked her arm where the needle had pierced. "He wouldn't do this if you would only just cooperate."

Holly scoffed at his words. "This wouldn't happen if he didn't keep me this way." She sat up on the bed and looked down at her clothing to find herself in a blue sundress. "What's this?" She asked as she picked at the skirt.

Milton looked at her and blushed as she exposed her legs. "T-the Governor thought you would be more comfortable in that, Dr. Stevens put it on you." He cleared his throat to regain his bearings. "You know he would treat you nicer if you put in a little effort." He said as he helped her off the bed as the drugs were still slightly in her system.

"Is that why you said I was worried about him?"

"I thought it would help, obviously it didn't."

A knock on the door interrupted their conversation. "Come in." Milton invited. The door opened to reveal to young woman that Holly had never seen before. Milton cringed at the sight of them and quickly and went to stand in front of Holly, failing to block her from sight. "Good morning, ladies."

"Morning, Milton. We have a couple of questions we wanted to ask." Said the blonde haired girl. Her dark skinned companion stayed silent as she tried to get a look behind Milton.

"Qu-question? What kind of questions, Andrea?" He asked as his anxiety mounted.

Andrea placed her hand on her hip as she gave him a smile. "More like two questions, actually. Where are our weapons? And when do we get them back?"

Milton played with his hands as he grew more serious, they were questions he could definitely answer. "I'm sure the Governor has told you that your weapons will be returned to you when you leave. If you plan on staying…" He said as he approached them. "Then I'm sure he will eventually return them to you along with his trust." He took off his glasses and examined the lenses before placing them on again. "Do you plan on staying?"

The dark skinned woman answered before Andrea had a chance. "No, we plan on moving on once we get better."

"Well that's unfortunate to hear, Michonne."

She stepped aside of him on looked at Holly with her arms crossed. "Who's this?" She asked with a nod of her head.

Milton opened and closed his mouth like a fish as he remembered her behind him. "Uh- this is, well she-"

"I'm Holly." She said as she raised her hand in greeting. Michonne gently shook it as she searched her face for something.

"You've been drugged." She stated bluntly.

Holly smirked at the accusation. "Yeah, it happens sometimes."

"Holly, has medicine given to her prescribed by the Governor himself so…" Milton tried to explain.

Michonne was unconvinced. "Governor's a doctor now, is he?"

"Well…"

Andrea scoffed at the tone in her friend's voice. "Leave it, Michonne. Obviously we don't know what's going on in this situation to even ask questions, and right now I think we need to have a little conversation."

They made their way towards the door, not exactly getting the answers they wanted to hear. "Wait!" They turned at the sound of Holly's voice. "Where are you guy's staying?" She asked shyly. "You know so I could maybe show you around or…"

Milton turned towards her with a nervous smile. "I-I don't think that would be best and they already have someone to show them arou-"

"They gave us a room the floor underneath the Governor's room. You're more than welcomed to come and talk." Michonne said as they left the room. Once the door shut behind them, Milton rounded on Holly with panicked eyes.

"Are you crazy!? The Governor specifically asked that I keep you away from Andrea and Michonne." He quietly yelled.

Holly merely shrugged as she went into the bathroom and washed her hands. "You didn't tell me, Milton. So really it's not my fault." She told him.

He sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose under his glasses. "Oh…this is not going to go over well when he finds out."

She breathed in a deep breath as she looked at herself in the mirror and smiled. "It's not going to matter anyway." He answered her with a confused stare as she laughed and twirled in the dress she previously disliked. "Don't you get it, Milton? Those two can be my ticket out of here." She explained.

"I still don't follow." He said as he crossed his arms.

Holly picked up the brush left beside her bed and started to brush her long red hair. "And to think that the Governor just handed it to me." She shook her head in excitement. "He left the opportunity to leave open to them, which means if I can convince them to leave maybe I can get a chance of leaving with them."

"And what makes you think he'll just let you go?" Milton asked.

Her smile fell into a smirk. "That's just the thing. He wouldn't risk his image by creating a scene in front of the whole town trying to get me stay. These people think they can leave whenever they want, the last thing he wants is questions being asked." She stated as she placed her hair into a ponytail.

Milton watched her move, it was surprising to him how someone so meek and withdrawn from the world could suddenly transform into a young woman filled with confidence and maybe even happiness at the chance of gaining freedom. "Why are you telling me this?"

Holly turned towards him with a serious face as she readied herself to go back to the Governor's apartment, but she wouldn't be going to his room, or her own, no, she would be going to the people that could possibly give her what she has truly wanted. "I know the Governor tells you his secrets, so I trust that you can keep one more for me."

_._._._._._

Holly paced outside of Andrea and Michonne's room, waiting for them to come back. Her eyes would dart back and forth hoping that her terrorizer wouldn't be back from his rally yet. Her head snapped towards the hallway as she heard approaching footsteps. She sighed in relief as she saw Michonne walk towards her. "Where's Andrea?" She asked.

"Governor asked her to walk with him, I obviously declined." She answered with distaste. "Guessing you wanted to talk with the both of us?" She continued as she opened the door and led her towards a couple of seats. "So go on, spit it out."

She played with her fingers as her shy disposition returned. "I-I need you to get me out of here." Holly only received a blank stare in return to her outburst. "Really! I know you want to leave and I want to leave too, so please we only have a little time left before…"

"Before what?" She asked Holly.

"Before he traps you in here." She said with a hard voice. "Those lies that he fed you at the rally were only the beginning. Before you know it, you'll be a little step-ford wife or hardened soldier, either way you'll be doing whatever he tells you."

"Which parts were the lies?"

She chuckled at the question. "Well first of all, it wasn't a little apartment that started this town; it was my little hotel room that kept the first few safe." She adjusted in her seat as emotions returned. "I just wanted to help people, one of those people just happened to be the Governor."

Michonne herself adjusted in her seat. "So he took over after that."

"In a way, I guess I was an easy target to overthrow. Unfortunately he had a bit more planned than just that." She sneered. "Once the town was big enough and he had enough followers, he took me and locked me in a room. He made sure that everyone forgot me and made sure that the only people to know about me were necessary."

Michonne stared at her face not wanting to believe what she was hearing. "You're a prisoner?"

She scoffed. "Yeah, but he tries to take care of me like a doll. Sometimes he visits or wants me to visit and he'll…" Holly breathed in as she readied herself. "He, well he gets close. Lately he's been trying to get even closer."

Michonne let out a breath as she figured out what she meant. "I have to tell Andrea, we have to get out of here."

"No!" Holly said as she stood along with her. "You can't tell her this." She begged as she grabbed Michonne's arm.

"And why not?"

"Because she won't believe you. Trust me when I say that I'm not the only girl the Governor keeps in this place. I just happen to be the only one who isn't willing, and that means that no one will take my word against his."

"Even more reason to tell her."

"You don't get it. Andrea has been brainwashed she doesn't want to leave this place, you can ask her to leave if you want and try to get her to come but she'll just think you're crazy if you tell her what I said, not only that; Governor will find out and it'll be me to suffer for it."

Michonne wasn't sure what to think. "How can I trust you?"

Holly hesitated before she finally lifted the sleeve from her arm and revealed an array of small puncture wounds and bruises from the Governor's "medicine". "He drugs me whenever I try to fight back." She said with tears in her eyes. "I guess you could say you're my only hope." She smiled as she thought she sounded like Princess Lea.

_._._._._._

Holly was a nervous mess. She was currently walking towards Woodbury's gates with a back pack filled with all she thought she would need. The Governor hadn't heard that she was leaving yet, and she hoped it would stay that way. With Michonne walking beside her with her sword back she knew that he would be very angry, but she didn't care, she could finally be free. Although she suspected Michonne was angry herself as her friend Andrea refused to leave what she thought was a safe haven.

Merle and Martinez stepped forward as they got closer. "Where do you think you're going with Miss. Holly?"

"We're leaving. Is that a problem?" Michonne asked.

Merle spit onto the sidewalk as he swung around the knife attached to his metal prosthetic. "No problem here except of course that the Governor only knows that you're leaving, Sugar Tits."

"Well we were under the impression that we could leave whenever we wanted."

"And you can you ju-"

"Then why are trying to stop us?" Michonne wouldn't be deterred; she was leaving and Holly would come with her.

Merle chuckled at her reasoning. "Well alright then. I guess you can go. Open the gates, Martinez."

"But the Governor said-"

"I know what the Governor said. He said we could come and go as we please, and that's just what these ladies are doing." Merle continued as he smirked at Holly.

Holly couldn't believe it, she was free. She never thought the sound of the gates closing could sound as beautiful as they did shutting behind her. "Keep up." She heard Michonne call to her. She laughed as she ran up next to her and started what she thought would be a better life surviving.

AN: Hello all. Is anyone else wiping tears away from this week's new episode of the Walking Dead? I know I am. Anyway here is a new chapter, with an added sprinkle of who Holly really is. She's not just going to give up her life story, it's most likely going to be pretty slow in terms of her development but I hope you enjoyed it. I think you can tell what, or more like who, is coming up next chapter so stay tuned for the emotions you have probably wanted to see.

-Michelle Rabbit