(A/N – When it's just Daryl and the girl, I will refer to her as girl because that's what Daryl calls her, when other people are around, I will refer to her as Violet. So I'm already getting reviews and followers on this story and I hope that the number continues to grow. I am going to continue to work on this story and with any luck, and if I keep getting followers and reviews, I'll try to update either every Tuesday or Friday. Enjoy!)
Chapter 3:
Daryl had gone out to the forest where he had found her and had looked around to see if he could find the man that had done this to her. When he got there, he was shocked. Because of the rain most of the tracks had been washed away, but from what he found he could tell that it hadn't been just one man. There had been a group of them that did this to her. He knew that the cuts on her body where made by hunting knives, some of which he actually use to own, so he knew what the cuts looked like. He knew they had left her there for dead.
He walked around the forest attempting to follow the tracks and killed what prey he could find alone the way. He told himself that he was doing it because he wanted to make sure that everyone in the prison would be safe if they left the prison gates. The trail didn't go too far before he found the elements and washed it away, and he went back early. He hadn't realized how long he had been gone until he returned to find everyone eating dinner. He grabbed some food and talked to Rick and some of the people that they had taken in from Woodbury, for some reason they never left him alone.
He saw Maggie come down from the cell that they were keeping girl in, get some clothes, and then get them food before reentering the cell. He waited to see if Maggie would come back out, and when she didn't, Daryl finished eating, deposited his bowl, then headed back up to see her, just like he had promised her. He took his time climbing the stairs to the cell wondering if she had talked to Maggie after spending almost an entire day together, but he doubted it.
When he had entered the cell he saw girl's eyes light up a little. He nodded to her and when Maggie started to leave, she said, "Bye Violet." Daryl turned and looked at Maggie. "She told ya her name?" he asked.
"No," Maggie said shaking her head then looked back to the girl on the bed playing with the cards, "But I didn't want to just call her 'girl' or 'hey you', so I asked her if I could call her Violet. She nodded, so that's what I've been callin' her. At least she has a name though," Maggie said with a heavy sight. Daryl nodded and Maggie took that as a sign that he was done talking, and she left the two alone.
"Hey girl," he said walking over to the chair and sitting down like he had before. She looked up at him and gave him a small smile before looking back down to her game. He watched her play for a little while and wondered if she would be comfortable with Rick or Glenn in here with her. He didn't really understand why she felt, rather looked, comfortable around him and no one else. Usually people opened right up to Hershel Rick and Glenn, but she looked as if she wanted to run whenever they had come near her.
Just as he was thinking that he heard Rick call from the door and let her know that he was entering. Daryl hadn't taken his eyes off of her as she shot up straight on the bed as soon as she heard Rick. Rick walked in and was shocked when he saw Daryl still sitting in there. "Feelin' any better?" Rick asked and stopped when she started backing closer to the wall as he walked further into the room. Rick turned his attention on Daryl. "Has she said anything to you?" he asked Daryl. Daryl shook his head no then stood up to talk to Rick. Daryl nodded to the hallway then Rick followed him out. When they were out of earshot Daryl turned to Rick. "I followed the tracks," Daryl said having already talked to Rick that day about what he was planning on doing.
"Did you find anything?" Rick said walking to the railing and looking out of the people that were starting to clear out after dinner.
"Naw," Daryl said walking up and spotting Beth singing a song to Judith. Few people knew what had happened to the girl, other than she had been attacked, but the few who knew were worried. "Most a the tracks were washed away," Daryl continued then turned to look at Rick, "But it wasn't just one guy." This got Rick's attention and he turned quickly to look at Daryl. Rick ran a hand through his hair and paced for a moment before turning back to Daryl. "How many? Did the tracks show they were comin' this way?" Rick asked.
"Naw, they ain't comin' this way," Daryl said looking to the door of the cell the girl was still sitting in, "Looked like five, maybe more."
"We don't tell the women this," Rick said locking eyes with Daryl, "Not yet at least. We need to get the council together and talk this over. Until then, hell even after then, nobody goes out alone anymore." Daryl nodded and Rick placed a hand on his shoulder. "Good job," Rick said and Daryl nodded to him one more time before the officer turned and left.
Daryl watched the former sheriff walk away and felt relieved that Rick was starting to act more like himself, for a while, Daryl had been worried about the man. He waited until Rick was gone and then he walked into the cell. When he did the first thing that he saw was a set of violet eyes burning up at him. She wasn't crying, but he could see the emotions clearly on her face. "Ya heard me," Daryl said, not bothering to ask. She nodded once and then looked away and back down to her cards. He saw one tear fall down onto the bed and then watched as she used her sleeves to clean her face. "Shit girl," he said sitting down in the chair but not looking at her, "I'm sorry." She looked up at him and just looked at him for a long moment before nodding, then her facial features relaxed and she looked down to her cards.
He watched her for a long moment and when she hadn't moved a card he asked, "Stuck?" She glanced up at him and then nodded. He leaned forward and she stiffened, but she didn't move back as she had when Rick had come close to her. He moved one card to another and she sighed before continuing her game and shot a small smile to Daryl. He watched as she matched the rest of the cards up and wondered if she would ever leave this cell. "Did ya want me ta get Maggie so she can take ya to clean up?" he asked thinking that she would want to wash after sitting in a bed for three days. She looked up at him and he saw uncertainty in her eyes. "Ya don't have ta," he said but didn't look away from her. She didn't look back up at him but she shook her head no.
Daryl leaned back in the chair and watched her play another round before she shuffled the cards and then held them out to play. "What do ya want ta play?" he asked and watched her while she just looked at him with her head tilted to the side. He didn't blame her for not talking, but at that moment he realized that this wasn't always going to be so easy. "Alright," he said and started shuffling, "Black jack." She nodded and they started playing.
When the sun had set and they had to turn the small lantern on Daryl stood up. She looked up at him with her head tilted the side and a question in her eyes. "I gotta get ta bed," he said and stretched a little. She looked down at the cards and then back up at him and he knew she wanted him to stay, but he could also see that she knew he needed a bed. "I don't sleep in a cell," he said and she raised an eye brow, "Don't wanta sleep in a cage. If ya need me I'm out of here and ta the left, ya'll see me. I'd tell ya to go get Maggie bet her and Glenn have a cell…" he trailed off not sure why he was going into so much detail. She nodded and gave him another small smile which made him smirk back at her.
"Night," he said and turned to head out. He heard the bed move and then she was grabbing his arm. He looked at her, "What?" She crossed her legs a little and he thought she looked like a child but realized she had no clue where the bathroom was. When she was asleep Hershel and Maggie had taken care of that, but now he knew he'd have to take her. She pulled shoes out from under her bed, ones that Maggie had slipped under her bed before, and then followed Daryl out of her cell.
She was very cautious when she left the cell, pausing to make sure that there was no one else out there. Daryl didn't rush her, but he watched her, intrigued. She took small careful steps and when she was sure no one else was there she caught up to Daryl, almost bumping into him as he stopped at the top of the stairs. She noticed a bed and looked up at him. "Yeah that's me," he said then walked down the stairs and turned his flash light on. She followed him as he took different turns down the halls until they reached the bathroom.
"Here it is," Daryl said as they heard the water turn off from inside the bathroom. They waited and soon an older woman with shorter gray hair walked out and smiled at Daryl. Her smile faltered for a second when she saw girl, but she regained her composure. However, neither Daryl nor girl missed her reaction. "This is Carol," he said motioning to the lady.
"Hello," Carol said attempting to be friendly, "I didn't catch your name."
Girl opened her mouth as if she was going to answer, then closed her mouth and looked down at her feet. "Maggie calls her Violet," Daryl spoke up.
"For your eyes?" Carol chuckled and Daryl didn't understand why that upset him, "Well it's nice to meet you Violet." She nodded then rushed past Carol to the bathroom, careful not to come to close to her.
"She seems odd," Carol said after Violet had disappeared.
"She ain't," Daryl said shocking himself for defending the girl, "Been through hell."
"We all have," Carol said still looking at Daryl, "You sure it's safe for her to be out here?"
"She ain't gonna hurt nobody," Daryl said finally looking at this girl.
"We don't know anything about her," Carol said softly.
"She ain't gonna hurt nobody," Daryl said again more firmly, "She just ain't use ta this yet."
"I don't know Daryl," Carol said taking a step closer to him, "There's just something in her eyes that I don't trust. She looks… dangerous." Daryl looked away from the woman that he had grown fond of. He cared for her as a mother, he enjoyed being around her. The two joked and talked whenever they were together, and she seemed to understand him. They had grown close ever since she had lost her daughter, but at this moment she was starting to piss him off. Girl wasn't dangerous as long as no one cornered her or attacked her. He knew she wasn't going to hurt anyone unless she felt threatened.
"She's fine," he said in a tone that told Carol that this conversation was over.
"Alright," she said and started walking away before casually throwing over her shoulder, "Night…pookie." When she was out of sight he smirked at the nickname she used to ruffle his feathers. A few seconds later girl walked out with her head hung low. She didn't look at Daryl when she walked out, and he didn't push her. When he started walking she followed after, more slowly this time, and a few steps behind him instead of next to him. "What's goin' on?" he finally asked when they got to her cell. She didn't look up at him, and for some reason that upset him.
"Girl," he said and she slowly looked up at him, her black hair falling away from her face. He watched her as her eyes finally settled on his face. "What's goin' on?" he asked seeing the pain in her eyes. She quickly looked away again and he knew what was wrong. "Don't worry bout her," he said sighing when he realized how Carol looked through girl's eyes. Girl nodded and turned to enter her cell. "Hey," Daryl called to her not wanting to reach out and touch her, but when she looked at him he didn't know what he was going to say so he settled for, "Night." She gave him a slight smile, and he saw it didn't touch her eyes just as the other smiles she had given to people today hadn't, she nodded and headed into her cell letting the sheet fall down behind her.
Daryl knew that Rick wanted them to lock her in the room when no one was with her until they knew she was able to be trusted, but Daryl couldn't bring himself to do it. He knew that if she got up at night, he would hear her, but more then that, for some strange reason, he trusted her. He shrugged it off and climbed into his bed. Daryl folded his arms behind his head and looked up at the ceiling until he feel asleep. His dreams were filled with burning violet eyes that left him with an unsettling feeling.
Daryl woke suddenly and sat up in his bed rubbing one hand over his face roughly. He looked around and noticed that girl had woken up and was sitting at the railing looking out the windows at the night sky. He huffed as he got out of his bed and her head snapped over to him. He saw an apology in her eyes but he shook his head and she nodded knowing that he wasn't upset and it wasn't her fault that he woke up. He walked over and sat next to her, not really needing a light because the full moon let it enough light that even in the dark, he could see her.
As he got comfortable on the floor he looked out the window and after a moment he turned to see that she had been watching him. She was studying him as he sat there and he wondered what she could be thinking. Her eyes sparkled in the moon light and he swore he had never seen a woman with eyes like hers, and he wasn't just thinking about the color, her eyes said more then words ever could. Her face conveyed all the emotions that she felt and she didn't hide it. He knew that if, when, she talked she would be brutally honest. He wasn't sure how he knew that, but he did. She smiled at him and he swore it was the first real smile he had seen since he found her. He gave her a half smile back and she looked back out to the night sky.
It was his turn to study her and as his eyes skimmed her body he saw her shiver. Silently he stood and she watched him as he walked to his bed before walking back and placing his blanket around her shoulders. She smiled at him again and he swore at that moment he would do anything he could to keep that smile on her face. When she smiled her eyes lit up brighter then the full moon and the stars that lit up the night sky. He would never admit it to anyone, or really to himself, but he would rather look at her strange eyes than up at the night sky.
They sat there like that until the sun started to rise and she looked over to him and tried to cover her yawn. She made a small squeaking sound and Daryl almost laughed at it, she must have seen that he was fighting a laugh because she turned a bright pink. "Goin' to bed?" he asked and she nodded standing up and stretching out. She smiled at him one more time before turning to head back to bed. She froze when she heard footsteps and seconds later Hershel appeared. "Just goin' to bed?" he asked and she turned red again before nodding and hurrying into her cell.
"How's she doin'?" Hershel asked.
"Same," he said before walking over to his bed, "Gonna get some more sleep 'fore goin' out."
"Alright," Hershel smiled at the hunter before walking down the stairs and out to the field to start his work. Daryl fell asleep faster than he had in a long time.
(A/N- Special thanks tooooooo:
Tangy Orange for sticking with the story! Thank you for letting me know about the slip!
DanathaKettu for coming back for chapter 2!
Thank you for reading please let me know what you're thinking about the story!)