Chapter 3

This story is based off a RP between my friend _Cherokee_Rose_ and I and our OC's. We're such fangirls and getting back into RPing has really helped me with my depression! I've been transcribing it into a fanfiction so both of us can enjoy reading it again.

Also, I will be continuing my other Bleach fanfics at some point so don't worry. I just needed to work on something fun so I don't stress myself to death with the fanfiction commissions I write on a daily basis. Sometimes it's okay to write for yourself and not always for others, ya know?


To think that Dwight was actually letting him walk off into the woods by himself was beyond him. Daryl could have easily broken the metal cuffs around his wrists—well, maybe not easily—and found his way back to Alexandria. The consequences, however, outweighed the risk. He knew these woods were full of Saviors on patrol and he had a feeling he wouldn't make it very far without either Dwight or someone else finding him first.

But searching for a child in the forest was like looking for a needle in a haystack. They could easily hide behind trees without being seen or even crawl into some bushes. Daryl had to rely on his ears to help him find Negan's missing daughter, hoping that maybe she would give away her position by stepping on twigs or rusting some bushes.

That's when he heard the voices.

Daryl heard two women speaking before he could even see them and he quickly ran towards the direction of the noise until he came across a small creek.

This whole time he had been looking for a child through the woods due to the way Dwight had mentioned Negan's overprotective habits over his kid. Plus, it would have been easier for a small child to break out of the sanctuary than a full grown adult. Either way, to say he was surprised to see a grown woman with hair the color of the sun was an understatement. She couldn't have been much older than her early twenties, and the two made direct eye contact as Daryl stepped out into the clearing.

The moment he saw the blonde, a familiar name rolled off his tongue before he could stop it. "...Beth?" He wished he could have stopped it before it came out but the sight of a blonde in the woods had been so startling.

It wasn't Beth. He knew it wasn't Beth. But this girl couldn't have possibly been the infamous daughter of Negan. No, this girl had to be someone else.

Lily and Aria had no time to hide before he appeared from the woods. He was looking right at Lily but she was certain she had never seen him before. He was tall, scraggly, and dirty looking but he had this aura to him that she wanted to discover for herself as to what it was. She'd heard him say, "Beth" and she shook her head slowly, giving him a wary eye. "N-no...I'm Lily. Sorry. Who are you?" Lily asked, keeping her distance.

The illusion was over before it started. The more he looked at her, the more Beth's image faded around her. They may have had similar hair but that was it. This girl was a bit older and had more of a mature aura to her despite the twinkle of curiosity that flickered in her vibrant eyes.

Lily saw the handcuffs around his wrist and the thick sweater he was wearing with the letter A on it. She knew that symbol all too well—her daddy always made his prisoners wear it.

Reacting fast, Lily knew she needed to warn the brunette behind her. Having someone from the Sanctuary out here, whether he was a prisoner or not, was bad news.

"Shit! Aria listen, you need to run. If they get you and take you back it won't be good for you." She said, low enough for her new friend to hear.

But, what she didn't know was that Aria knew this guy from Alexandria. Daryl Dixon, the loner country-boy who mostly kept to himself, hadn't really interacted much with the surgeon who spent most of her time in the small doctor's office of Alexandria. Poor Aria couldn't even tell who it was that Lily was talking to. From where she stood, he looked like nothing more than a blurry potato, let alone Daryl Dixon.

Daryl looked past Lily to see a familiar face standing on guard behind the girl named Lily. He had been too stunned by the presence of the blonde to even notice the other girl at first but once he saw her face, he realized he definitely knew her. Wasn't she that airheaded nurse in Alexandria? He had never really talked to her much himself but that was definitely her. He was about to ask what the hell she was doing all the way out here and so far from Alexandria but didn't get the chance to.

Before anything else could be said, here came Dwight from the depths of the woods. He whistled at this sight of Aria. "Well, well, well. Two babes in the woods. Must be my lucky day!"

Aria froze as another man came bouncing up behind them with no warning. Was that Negan? She had only cause glimpses of the leader of the Saviors from afar, always choosing to hide in the infirmary every time he came to pick up stuff Rick and the others had gathered from him. Shit, Aria really should have known this was a trap. A poor girl lost in the woods with a bloody knee...Yeah, the perfect bait to rally up some stupid, caring individual. She cursed herself for being so naïve as she squinted her eyes, trying to make out the details of the mysterious man in front of her. He was inching a little too close to her for comfort and she could make out his gross, sweaty, lizard-looking features—definitely not Negan.

"Damn. With a body like that, Negan'll want to meet you," Dwight said, shooting a wink at the brunette and eyeing her up and down like a lecherous creep.

"Don't fucking touch her," Lily sneered at Dwight. "Leave her alone. She has nothing to do with this situation. It's me you were looking for right?" Lily frowned, stepping in front of Aria protectively. "So leave her out of this and just take me home," she pursed her lips tightly and glared at Dwight.

"You know this guy, Lily?" Aria asked quietly, taking a step behind the blonde. Judging by the other girl's reaction, she highly doubted that Lily had anticipated these two men showing up.

Daryl grinded his teeth tightly together in agitation. Why did Dwight have to show up now of all times? If this girl really was Negan's daughter, then she had to have left for a reason. And hell, could anyone blame her after having that beast of a man as a parent? Had he not been cuffed up like the pathetic prisoner that he was, he would have beaten Dwight to a bloody pulp to make sure both girls could escape. Surely the nurse knew her way back to Alexandria but she was looking right at Daryl and acting like she didn't know who he was. Did she have amnesia or something? She normally wore glasses so maybe she just couldn't see him very well. It wasn't as if he had really announced himself, either.

None of that mattered though. The only thing that was important was getting those girls away from Dwight.

Thinking fast on his feet, Daryl charged at the lanky man like a raging bull, knocking him off balance. With a fearsome roar, he turned to look at both women. "Hurry! Get out of here! I'll hold him off!"

Lily grabbed Aria's hand, pulling her along behind her. She looked at the man who'd given them time to flee with an empathetic look before she sprinted through the forest.

Daryl had managed to knock Dwight onto the ground but he didn't stay down for long. Fighting with his hands bound by handcuffs was just asking to be punched in the gut which Dwight had swiftly done the moment he regained his balance and crawled to his feet. He then slammed his fist right into Daryl's cheek with all the strength he could muster, knocking the young man out cold. His body slumped to the ground and Daryl's last thought before slipping out of consciousness was wondering just how far the girls would manage to get.

The two women weaved through the trees, jumping over fallen tree branches and various bushes until the treehouse came into view. Thankfully, all the walkers from earlier were gone. Lily ushered Aria up the wooden steps of the ladder first before following after her.

Both girls struggled to catch their breaths for a moment. Aria was stunned by how determined Lily was to get her to safety. She was clearly connected to the Saviors in some bizarre way but she was different from the others; she was actually trying to get away from them. Perhaps she was from another community much like Alexandria's and was being held there against her will, or maybe she hated what the whole group stood for and just wanted to get away. Either way, she must have been pretty damn important for someone to go and hunt her down to bring her back without shooting her on the spot for turning her back on the Saviors

"Who were those guys?" The brunette asked as she wiped a bit of sweat from her forehead onto the back of her hand. "Do they know about your treehouse? Do you think they'll find us here?"

Lily was shuffling through some boxes inside of her treehouse. "It's long a story, but I don't think anybody knows about this place. At least, I've never told anyone about it," she replied, handing Aria a spare shirt and some shorts. "Here, these are mine but they should fit you fine."

Aria nodded her head in thanks. She had been too busy fretting over the whole situation and following Lily's lead that she forgot about her clothes that were drenched in mud and filth. After she stripped off her clothes, she slipped the denim shorts over her waist—they were a little tight, but not too bad—before throwing the black t-shirt over her head.

Once she was dressed in a clean pair of clothes, she began to fish through her own brown leather satchel that she had been carrying that only held the most basic of essentials—bandages, a water bottle, a compass, a flashlight, and a knife. "All that running must have hurt your knee worse," Aria said, pulling out her bandages. "We should clean the wound and bandage it up before it gets infected—"

Lily interrupted her as she held up a hand. "Look, we both know I have to go back. But as long as you stay here you should be safe. There are water bottles hidden under the latch over there underneath the floorboards along with some food. Take what you need. If you can make it out of here, please...try. Get as far away from here as possible, Aria." The blonde placed a hand on her shoulder, a strained smile forming on her face.

"You've got to be kidding me! I thought you were trying to run away from those guys but now you're going back?!"

"I promise I'll be fine," Lily reassured her. "If I don't go back, someone might get hurt."

Aria couldn't understand why Lily was insisting she had to go back even though she had gone through the trouble to leave in the first place, but the blonde was already climbing back down the ladder before she could even stop her. "Wait! What about your leg?!"

Her words fell on deaf ears as Lily reached the bottom of the ladder and began darting off in the direction that they had come from. There was a good chance the girl was only going back to prevent the guy, Dwight, from chasing after them. But who was the other man that had tackled him? Damn, if only she had her glasses.

Chewing on her thumb nail, she struggled to decide what to do. On one hand, she could slip out of the treehouse and try to find her way back home while Lily held off Dwight. But on the other hand, wouldn't that be really shitty to do considering all the trouble she had gone through to get them both to safety?

Lily was running back in the direction of where Dwight found her, ignoring the searing pain in her leg. She didn't see anyone. But then, she felt two hands grab her and pull her into them. A high pitched scream erupted from the back of her throat as she turned to see who had wrapped their sweaty hands around her. She then felt them put their hands over her mouth.

"Hush up darlin' or do you want the whole god damn horde to hear you?" Came Dwight's raspy voice into her ear. "Where's your friend, huh? You can't keep a hottie like that from us."

Lily bit down on his fingers hard to get him to release her.

"Ahhhhh! Bitch!" Dwight retaliated as he struck her across the face. Lily fell on the dirt below him as he towered above her.

Her cheek stung painfully from the impact of his hand, but she still sneered up at him nonetheless. "What? You're gonna' tell Daddy what I did?"

Dwight just scoffed. "I may get into some trouble but if he finds out we were both gone then I'll let Negan know you aren't the little virgin he thinks you are."

Lily really didn't like the way his lips curved up into a sinister smirk. He then leaned over her as he licked his lips at the way her shorts rode up a bit too high. "As long as you cooperate there shouldn't be any mishaps, now should there?"

"Fuck you, Dwight." Lily glared and gritted her teeth at him, her hand balling up into a fist as she saw where he was going with this. "I may look like a naive little princess but if you touch me and my daddy will kill you."