The Kingdom
The gates creaked as they opened when the King with Shiva at his side, and Carol, the leader of Alexandria on the other, walked in first. Then Rick, Daryl, followed up with Michonne and her Vanguard covering the rear. After the battle the previous night, they were all able to get some rest before traveling the rest of the way to the Kingdom.
When the wall guard saw that the king returned safely, he informed the gatekeeper to prepare to open the gates and the welcome committee to be ready to greet them.
Nabila, Dominic, and several other Kingdomers came quickly to stand in line in front of 12ft doors that welcomed home friends and family, yet also, kept the enemy at bay.
"So, they found him. Doesn't matter. He's not here to make me complete the mission."
As Rick and Daryl came through, they were halted in their tracks by a surprised call from one of the greeters, "You!" He was staring directly at Rick, who turned around to make sure the dark-haired male with the tight ponytail wasn't talking about someone else.
"You know me?" He asked as Michonne and Shane walked up to his side.
"Yeah, I do… god of war." Dominic's normally arrogant face took on a hostile smirk.
Michonne gave the man a puzzled look. She didn't understand why the man she'd known for centuries would be so hostile. "Dominic, how? You've never talked about knowing the Olympians."
In a not so pleasant voice, the man snarled, "You don't know everything about me, Michonne."
Rick stepped in front of Michonne, while Shane walked up and got in Dominic's face, "You better watch how you talk to my sister."
That's when Daryl leaned over and whispered, "You sure do have an effect on these Kingdomers. Hope he doesn't end up hitting you too."
Rick spoke loudly so that Dominic could hear, "I'd like to see him try."
While those two held a staring contest, King Ezekiel did what he did best to ease the tension. He raised his hands and waved them about to get everyone's attention. He held his arms open wide, "Welcome to the Kingdom. We shall have rooms made ready for you and then we will present you with a tour of our community."
Rick held up a hand, "Thank you, Kang. If you don't mind, I'd like to finally meet my son." He looked to Michonne, "If that's alright with you?"
Michonne walked around Rick to face Dominic herself. She answered Rick while keeping her eyes on her old friend, "That's fine, Rick. We can go in just a sec." She stared at Dominic calmly with an air of menace that everyone felt, "What I said still stands. If you endanger anyone here and that includes the people from Alexandria, you will answer to me. Whatever beef you have with Rick, drop it. We are here on this plain now and it's us against them. Your reunion, or whatever you call it, can wait. Rick belongs to me, right now."
She walked past him with her head held high, she stopped, turned back with a tilt of her head to Rick, "Coming?"
Rick was busy staring at her ass when she sashayed away and took a second to realize she was talking to him, "Uh, yeah." He hurried and went to stand by her side.
Feeling almost giddy that Michonne basically claimed him, Rick had a small smile on his face as he observed why the Kingdom seemed so prosperous. Three and four-story buildings were located in different areas within the protective, brick walls. Over to the left was a large farmer's market with fresh fruits and vegetables, grains and other goods.
Beyond the farmer's market was the animal pens with cows, chickens, and pigs. Next to those were the horse's stables.
The Kingdom was a small city within these walls and it was flourishing.
Back with the group, Ezekiel nodded and waved a finger to a young woman, her head covered with a hijab. "Nabila, could you please set up three rooms for our guests in the administration building?"
A smile brightened the woman's already cheery face, "Sure thing, your majesty. I'll also let Jerry know you're here on my way over. Is there anything special you'd like for me to do for our new visitors?"
"They're not just visitors, Nabila. They are family." He introduced Nabila as Jerry's mortal, significant other.
Now that their sleeping arrangements were taken care of, Michonne licked her lips nervously, then bit the bottom before telling Rick, "This news is gonna hit him hard. If everything goes well, you're more than welcome to stay with us in our quarters. I have a spare bedroom you can stay in and that way you can spend as much time with him without you having to leave to sleep somewhere else."
Rick eyed Dominic once again who still stood there scowling at him, "As much as I'd like to know more of how you know me like she said, I belong to her now. Don't cause me any problems and I'll do the same," to Michonne, "Michonne, thank you. I appreciate that. I'm ready whenever you are."
They took their leave of the king, Shane stopped them before they could go, "You guys gonna be okay? I could come with you if you want."
Michonne reassured her brother with a light squeeze on his arm, "It's okay. I trust Rick not to do anything crazy." Her words again made Rick's heart do a happy dance. She trusted him.
While the Carol and Daryl followed Nabilla and the king, the vanguard went about their business. Rick followed Michonne to a two-story brick building located further back. As they stood outside the front door, Michonne gave some more information on Carl, "Because he'd been alone for so long, he needs to get outside the walls every now and then. Hopefully, he's home now." She touched his arm and nodded, "Let's go meet your son."
When Rick walked inside, he saw to his right, steps leading upstairs. In front of him was a long hallway filled with doors. "This used to be a dorm. Shane has the upper floor and Carl and I, took over the bottom."
He continued to follow her into what looked like a living room. They renovated it so that all the rooms were connected by crude looking doors to cover the holes in the walls. "Have a seat. Let me find him. I'll be right back."
To Rick, the whole setup looked like a maze. He sat on the comfy couch but could only sit a few minutes before his patience ran out. "I can't just sit here." He got up and went in the direction she left, calling out her name, "Michonne." He went to the first door, opened it, "Michonne, where are y- "
There she was, sitting down handling her business. She wasn't startled, and she didn't scream. Her eyes only widened in surprise.
"Oh, shit! I'm so sorry. I was just trying to find you so that I could meet him with you." His hands were still on the doorknob when he saw her sword leaning against the sink, "Do you take that thing everywhere with you?"
Michonne was about to open her mouth and automatically answer his question when she realized… "Uhm, Rick. Do you mind?"
It finally dawned on him that he was trying to have a conversation with a woman sitting on the toilet. Flushing bright red with embarrassment, Rick quickly backed up and slammed the door shut. He leaned his head forward and was about to start smacking his forehead against it, "What is wrong with me?"
He was interrupted from beating himself up when an amused Shane broke in, "I'd say standing in front of a closed door talking to yourself looks plenty wrong to me."
Rick looked up to see Shane standing there with a crooked grin on his face. He sighed and turned away from the bathroom door. "I accidentally walked in on your sister. I'm embarrassed as shit." Though, he in no way was going to apologize to her brother.
"Why? It's a natural thang to take a piss. Ain't nothing to be embarrassed about."
"Yeah, it is when you try to hold a conversation with that person."
Instead of looking at Rick sideways, Shane began banging on the door and yelled, "Open up Michonne and hurry the fuck up. People need to use the bathroom today!"
Michonne just yelled back, "Go use your own, asshole!"
Rick just shook his head at the siblings yelling at each other through the door.
Shane followed him back into the living room, Rick asked, "You guys always do that?"
"Do what?"
"Prank each other?"
"Oh, yea. Always. I'm usually the one that has to retaliate cause she the one who usually starts it."
After he sat back down on the couch, Rick turned to him, curious, "Really? Like, what does she do?"
Shane leaned against the island counter that separated the kitchen from the living room, "Hmm… last time, she snuck up to my place and turned off all the lights when I was taking my midnight dump."
"Wait… midnight dump?"
"Yeah, it's my routine. It's the only time I can just totally sit and relax without having to worry about whisperers or walkers trying to eat my face off. Anyway, the light switch was too far for me to reach. The dark don't scare me, so I just kept on taking my shit, except crazy ass decided to make moaning and growling noises… bangin' an shit. Carl's ass was right there helpin' her, too. I ended up havin' to rush off the john, barely wiped my ass to come running out the bathroom, to find them two yahoos up in my living room laughing it up. She lucky I just banged on the door. I was plannin' to throw water on her, but you were standin' there, so I held back."
Rick couldn't help but laugh as Shane moved around the island to go into the kitchen. "Well, sis is gonna be in there awhile washing her hands and brushing her teeth. I found out Carl's not here, so you'll have to go to his hiding spot. Might as well chill while we wait for Michonne. You hungry?" He started puttering around in the kitchen.
"Sure. How do you know she'll be in there a while?"
Shane put something in the toaster oven then turned back to Rick, "Well, after being around her for centuries, you tend to know these things."
Feeling disappointed without knowing why, Rick changed the subject, "Where do you get your power from? In Alexandria, we use solar panels. I see you're using a toaster oven and you have quite a few items that use electricity, that tells me you guys got a lot of power."
"When you have the lord of the sea as king, you strive for the best. We use wind power. At the very back of the compound, we have three windmills and we're making a fourth because we're gonna to make the place bigger.
"That is a good idea. I can see the benefits of trading between our communities already."
Shane scratched the back of his head, "Well, that ain't my forte. I'll let the kang and your Carol handle that stuff."
"Fair enough."
Shane came and sat next to Rick and plopped a plate of fries on the coffee table in front of him.
Surprised, Rick asked, "You guys have potatoes?"
"Yup got a big plot out there." He pointed with his thumb in the direction behind him, then grabbed one from his own plate and dunked it in some red paste Rick assumed was ketchup of some sort. It didn't look as smooth as what he was used to eating. "Here, try some. Michonne's good at cooking. Even adds spices to make it taste better." He pushed the plate closer to Rick.
Rick picked up one of the thick fries and bit into it without trying the condiment. The potato was flavorful without the added taste of the ketchup. "This is good," he said between chews.
Shane picked up several more and stuffed them in his mouth, "When we were home in Africa, she used to travel all over the place and picked up all kinds of skills and whatnot."
Michonne came in rubbing cream into her hands. She then wiped the excess off on a kitchen towel, "Thanks for the compliment, bro." She reached and grabbed a fry off his plate, "I heard say Carl's not here." She pulled the strap of her katana around her shoulders and adjusted it comfortably, moving her head to get her hair out of the way, "Rick, we'll have to go to him. It's only a couple of miles from here if you don't mind?"
While Shane was finishing his food, he said with a mouth full, "Dude, I'd hit the toilet before you leave if I were you."
"Yeah, that's a good idea,' to Michonne, "Mind if I clean up a little while I'm in there?"
"Go ahead. There's liquid soap in the blue bottle…"
"I saw that, and the washcloths and towels are on the side of the bathtub. Do you have an extra toothbrush?"
"In the medicine cabinet. I'll put some food together to take with us. We might be out there for a while."
"Meet you back out here in ten?"
"Gotcha." She set about gathering a few things while Rick went to the bathroom.
Shane stood in the middle of the room, his head turning back and forth between the two. He stared at his sister for a few seconds, "Why do I get the feeling I just witnessed an old married couple getting ready to go out on a picnic? Hell, you even claimed the man."
She laughed and smacked his arm as she went past him, "Hardly Shane, we just met. And, I didn't claim him. It's just he had more important things to deal with other than whatever bullshit Dominic was giving out."
Shane shook his head, "You claimed that man as your own, stop lying. Anyway, it's 10 a.m. I'm giving you 'til four to come back with Carl. If you don't show, I'm coming after you."
"I would expect nothing less, dear brother." She stood on her tiptoes and gave him a peck on the cheek then pinched his arm.
"Ow! What's that for?"
"Banging on my door like you were the police." She laughed again and picked up her bag of provisions, adjusting her sword again. "Alright, wish me luck this goes well." Her smile went to a frown, "I really don't know how Carl's gonna take this."
"Just explain it like it was explained to you, then step back and let them handle it." He spoke to both of them as Rick came back into the room. "Y'all be fine." Be careful out there. You always gotta be prepared for any surprises."
Michonne turned to Rick, "You ready to go? Shane, we'll be careful. Go visit the new people and make sure Dominic doesn't say anything stupid or embarrassing and keep him away from Daryl. I'm sure he would appreciate it."
Rick agreed, "He would."
Shane walked out the door and grumbled in a low voice, "Rather talk to Sasha and Tyrese than them folks."
As they started off on their journey to find Carl, Rick grabbed the bag from her.
Michonne easily handed it to him, "Thanks, I could have carried it."
"It's no problem," he smiled down at her, not paying attention to where he was stepping.
Michonne smiled back and it lasted longer than it should, she caught herself and cleared her throat, "We don't usually have to worry about the dead near here. We have traps set around the parameter that keeps them back."
"Good to know. Do you ever worry about Carl being out here by himself?"
"He's a very capable fighter. Even though I do worry, he needs this time to be alone. We give him his space. That's something you'll need to learn when it comes to him. Carl is over a hundred year's old, yet, in some ways, he's still a child and because of his upbringing and the way our maturity rate works, he pretty much looks, sounds and sometimes acts like your typical teenager."
Shuffling slowly, he put his hands in his front pockets, "Got it. Don't treat him like a kid. You think he'll accept me? After all this time?"
The sun was shining brightly through the forest leaves and only the sound of birds singing and their quiet steps on the dirt path could be heard. Resting her hands on the straps of her katana's sheath, Michonne took some time to think about it, "It'll take some adjusting, but I think we can work through it."
Neither of them felt the need to speak as they walked in companionable silence. Michonne's thoughts were on her brother's words. She was lying to herself. She did claim that man, only she didn't realize she did it until Shane said it out loud. What was it about Rick that makes her want to be near him all the time? Is it because he's Carl's biological father?
Confused, she decided to shut down her brain and just bask in the moment of walking next to him. She could hear every breath he took. Every movement of his arms swinging in sync with his bowlegged gait. Speaking of which, with her eyes concentrated on the ground, she used her hair to hide sneaking a peek at his moving thighs. They roamed from his hips down to his worn and dusty boots.
Rick being taller than her, clearly saw Michonne checking him out. Her hair hid nothing and a slight blush formed on his cheeks from her scrutiny. He'd had plenty of women looking at his body before and they never made him blush.
Michonne made the mistake of looking up and saw that she was busted ogling practically a stranger. Staring into his eyes, she misstepped and tripped over a giant stick that was in her path.
She tripped.
With a startled cry, she almost fell to the ground if Rick hadn't caught her. Instead of setting her upright on her feet, he swung her up into her arms and carried her.
"Thanks for saving me from busting my knees. I'm okay to walk, you know."
Rick didn't budge or even show a hint of putting her down. "I know, but I like this. It feels nice." He continued walking.
Michonne wrapped her arm around his shoulders to settle more comfortably in his arms. "Do you even know which way we're going?"
He lifted her a little and with the hand that was under her thigh, he pointed directly in front of him, "I figured we're going this way."
She threw her head back and laughed, giving Rick access to watch the lining of her throat on down to the deep V of her top emphasized by the creamy globes of her small, yet full breasts.
He shuddered as he took in a deep breath, "Oh, boy."
He couldn't understand why they hadn't met until now. The Alkebulan mountains were not that far away from Olympus. He'd traveled all over this planet. How could he have missed this Titan family? He knew that if they'd met before, he would have never left her side. That is for sure. Once he meets his son and starts a relationship with him, Michonne will be next. He just had a gut feeling, they were meant to be.
Even if they only met yesterday.
Thanks for reading! :)
Key:
Michonne-Nike-Goddess of Victory.
Rick-Ares-God of War.
Daryl-Atlas-Titan god that led the war against the Olympians. God of Endurance.
Carol-Theia-Titanide goddess and Mother of the Sun, Moon and the dawn.
Maggie-Tethys-Titanide goddess of nursing of all life and Oceanus' wife.
Glenn-Oceanus-Titan of the sea.
Tyrese-Helios-Titan god of the sun and light.
Sasha-Selene-Titanide goddess of the moon.
Jesus-Hermes-God of athletes, thieves, and adventures. Messenger and trickster of the gods.
Abraham-Hercules-world's greatest hero
Rosita-Athena-Goddess of War and Wisdom
Tara-Artemis-Goddess of the Moon and the hunt
Noah-Apollo-God of the Music and healing
Shane-Kratos-God of strength and power
Eugene-Hephaestus- God of blacksmiths and metallurgy.
Negan-Zeus-Lord of the Sky.
Mary/Terminus-Hera-Wife of Zeus.
Jadis-Aphrodite-Goddess of Love.
Jerry-Dionysius-God of Wine and Theatre.
King Ezekiel-Poseidon-Olympian God of the Sea.
