Chapter 3: The Saviors

At diner that evening, Gregory left his office to announce to everyone the details of his deal with the Saviors. Most people were shocked and a few of them even tried to object, but then he said that you would be joining Negan's group as an Ambassador. He proclaimed that you would ensure that everything would stay as peaceful and fair as possible between your two communities. The people of Hilltop trusted you, so his lie was enough to calm even the most stubborn. During his speech, you had tried to stay calm and to stop yourself from knocking over the table to strangle him. The only consolation you found in this awful evening was the sight of his bruised nose. Your smile was forced and you saw some of your friends look at you with frown eyebrows. But you kept your mouth shut, your uncle threat sill fresh in your brain. Jesus helped you through this by holding your hand under the table.

Everything would be alright… you hoped.

You barely touched your food and tried to sell Gregory's story by reassuring everyone who came to talk to you about your upcoming departure. It was hard to lie to your friends but they all seemed to believe it was your decision.

When Jesus and you entered your trailer that night, you burst into tears. You were heartbroken and all this mess had tired you out. You must really have looked awful because your friend had to put you to bed and he even tucked you in. But you couldn't sleep that night. Your dark thoughts kept you awake. You tried to guess what your new life would be like. Were the Saviors as bad as you supposed? What would this Negan do with you, his new gift? You only hoped he wouldn't try to harm you psychically because you first instinct would be to strike back and it wouldn't be good for you community. Jesus had tried to give you some advice about being a "spy" and you forced yourself to think about this instead of what could happen at the Sanctuary.

Keep a low profile but make yourself useful.

Make them trust you even if you have to lie and cheat to do so.

Don't be too friendly or too hostile and always keep en eye out for the vulnerable people who could help you obtain information.

Be ruthless and above all, don't get attached to anyone, because even if there were good people among them, they were your enemies.

Those were good advices and you spend the rest of the night repeating them until they were forged into your brain.

God… if only you had known how easy it would be for you to bend these unbreakable rules…

Just before sunrise, you dragged yourself out of bed to wake Jesus, but realized he was already up. Judging by the dark shadow under his eyes, you understood he had barely slept either. You looked at each other for a few seconds, both knowing it probably was the last time you would be together in this trailer. Suddenly, Jesus took a step towards you at the same time as you jumped into his arms and before you knew it, you were crying. Again.

God, you were such a mess! You always had been an emotional girl but this was getting ridiculous!

"I don't want to leave", you babbled against his neck.

"And I don't want you to leave, pumpkin", he answered with a quavering voice.

Was he crying as well?

If you had had anything to say in the matter, you would have stayed in Jesus arms for the rest of the day but you barely had two hours before your rendezvous with the Saviors. If you wanted to be on time, you had to leave as soon as possible.

When you tore yourself from Jesus embrace, you couldn't help but laugh when you saw that indeed, his eyes were wet.

"Look at us", you joked, wiping your tears with the back of your hand. "Fucking pussies!"

He replied with a kiss on your forehead then step away from you to put his scavenging clothes on. You decided to keep your black legging and opted for an oversized grey shirt. You wanted to appear as harmless as possible and just in case, not show too much cleavage. You hide your beloved knives inside your boots and took your kaki jacket. You were both ready and out of the door in just a few minutes. Jesus had your duffle bag over his shoulder, and you two slowly made your way to the front gate. But when the entrance came into view, you felt your heart swell. There were people standing next to the door, a lot of people… your people. They had come to say goodbye.

And here they were again, fucking tears. You really ought to toughen up if you wanted to survive among the Saviors. But for now, you just decided to enjoy the fact that most of Hilltop had risen early to see you leave. Gregory wasn't here, obviously, but it was for the best because with your current hyper-sensitivity, you didn't know what you would have done if he had dared to show his face.

The next minutes were full of hugs, kisses and "good luck" whispered into you ears. You had the feeling someone was squeezing your heart very hard, making it difficult for you to breath. God you loved them so much. You would miss Hilltop more than you ever thought. In just a few years, you had come to see this place as your home and these people as your family.

Damn Gregory for wrecking your life! You hated him so much you could have actually killed him and enjoyed every minute of it. But it was too late now. You had agreed to his deal and would go through with it. For your people. For Hilltop.

When you finally stepped out of the walls and heard the door close beside you, you had to bend over and try to get your breath back. Something very heavy was still sitting on your chest but at least, you didn't have to act confident anymore. Jesus put a hand on your back to show his support before you straighten up and softly murmured:

"Good bye Hilltop".

You knew that if you did give a last look at these walls, you would falter. So you started walking away from your home, Jesus grabbing your hand and holding it tight between his fingers.

On your way, you met a few wondering walkers but had no problem taking care of it. You and Jesus arrived at the rendezvous point just as the sun was piercing the horizon. Right on time. The Saviors weren't there yet so you sat on the old farmhouse front porch and started playing furiously with your fingers. You only realized you were doing it when Jesus put his hand of yours. He knew that meant you were really stressed. Once, when you had been lost in the wood after a pretty dangerous scavenger hunt, you had nearly sprained your middle finger doing so. But you barely had the time to thank him before a big truck came out of the wooded road to the west.

They were here.

Sharing a swift look with Jesus, you stood up, your heart beating so fast you felt dizzy. You took several deep breaths and waited for the truck to pull over. You could clearly see the driver from afar. He had dirty blond air, long enough to skim his shoulder and a pointy face with hollow cheeks. He looked like a weasel to you. They parked just before you and when the passenger door opened, you felt your whole body quiver. A tall, lean man with a salt and pepper beard, his dark hair slicked back from his face, came out of the truck. This was the kind of man who transpires trouble. He was too devilishly handsome for his own good. His hazel eyes shone with a diabolical gleam and a cheeky smile appeared on his lips when he saw you. And he had dimples… fucking dimples! He was wearing a black leather jacket over a light grey shirt and dark kaki pants. A red scarf was circling his neck and he was carrying a base ball bat trimmed with barbwire.

Cool choice of weapon, you thought.

Any other day, you would have kept your cool in front of this jaw-dropping man but with your emotions all over the place, you felt yourself profusely blush like a bloody teenager.

"Well, hello love", he said with a voice that was all gravel and honey.

Fuck, he was hot. That was fucking unfair!

You thankfully came back to earth when Jesus put a hand on your back and stood at your side, eyeing the man with a distrustful glare. But the stranger gaze never left yours and you had the uneasy feeling he was looking into your soul.

Someone cleared his throat and broke the deafening silence that had fallen on all of you. Breaking eye contact, Bat Man (you decided to call him that, it kind of suited him) looked at his blond haired driver (the one who had interrupted your gazing contest) before turning his attention back to Jesus and you. You only realized now that three more men had jumped off of the back of the truck and were now surrounding you.

"This Gregory fucker never told us his gift would be so fucking delicious. When he said an Ambassador, I was expecting an old bat, not a fucking princess", confided Bat Man, who seem to be the leader of this little group.

Okay, panty-dropping gorgeous, but a total ass.

Anger burning thought your veins, you put your hands on your hips and was about to give him a piece of your mind when Jesus beat you to the punch.

"Her name is Rose; she's not some gift or thing you can push around".

Whoa, easy tiger! Jesus usually was the calm one, always tactful and trying to prevent conflict. So, his immediate dislike of this guy was really unusual.

Bat Man seemed more amused that anything else by Jesus outburst. A little whistle escaped from his lips, as if he was impressed by him. But then, he pointed his bat at your friend head.

"You, my friend, have some fucking balls. I mean, you don't even fucking know us. We could be, I don't know, bad shit crazy and you still dare to anger us to protect you little lady. Fucking fuckidy cute! Stupid, but cute".

Seeing Jesus open his mouth, probably to retaliate, you put yourself between him and the Savior.

"Stop this you two. Let's get this fucking shit over with".

Again with the "fuck". But oh boy, you were angry! Jesus was a darling but you were perfectly able to defend yourself, thank you very much. And this guy… he was all swagger and danger. You really hoped all the Saviors weren't like him because you didn't know if you would survive it.

Your intervention seemed to have calmed Jesus and surprised his opponent. Anyhow, you fixed your angry eyes on Bat Man and offered:

"Just let me say goodbye to my friend and we will be on our way".

He seemed to consider your suggestion before shrugging.

"As you fucking wish, princess. But be quick. I'm a very busy man; I don't have all fucking day."

"You'll get back to Negan soon enough", you answered, rolling your eyes.

You turned your back to him and took Jesus hand to pull him a little further so you could speak privately.

You didn't see the way Bat Man looked at you or the mocking smiles on his men faces. You didn't know you had just made a huge mistake you would have to pay eventually. Because you never would have thought that Negan himself would take the time to come and fetch you. The fact that he and Bat Man could be one single person hadn't even crossed your mind. You heard them talking between themselves but didn't pay any attention to what they were saying. If you had had, everything would probably have been so different…

Unaware of the danger, you put your hands on Jesus shoulders and looked at him with a smile you hoped was reassuring.

"So, this is it", you started, a wave of sadness overwhelming your whole being. You wanted to scream and cry and run away from here but you did nothing. You stayed there, gazing into your best friend beautiful blue eyes and hoping that it wasn't the last time you would see him.

"I'll find a way to keep in touch", you promised.

Jesus smiled gloomily and coaxed you into a tight hug.

"Be careful", he whispered. "I don't like this guy at all."

"Yep, I figured".

He then took your face between his hands and dived his shining eyes into yours.

"I love you pumpkin, you know that, right?" He croaked.

A sobbing laugh escaping your lips, you couldn't help but beam at him.

"I love you too, Ninja Turtle"

Holding onto him a little bit longer, you felt his lips kiss your forehead before he let you go. Gripping his hand one last time, you then picked your duffle bag from the ground and walked back to the Saviors. Standing in front of the handsome but definitely dickish Bat Man, you held your hand and said with a strong dose of sarcasm:

"Hello, my name is Rose and it seems that I'm your prisoner."

And enters the Big Bad Wolf... What did you think guys? ^^