I literally had this chapter written for months, but was worried it wasn't good enough. I've been busy with school, so please forgive me. I hope you enjoy!

Chapter X: Ears

The Kingdom looked much different after the war. It was clear that supplies had also been low in this community as everyone was fighting. Some women were towing fields to grow new crops while the men cut fresh pieces of deer meat to feed the city. The children were out of school and helping out with the yard work. The once beautiful Kingdom was in just a bad shape as everyone else. He followed closely behind the men, passing by an erect statue of a tiger with Rest in Peace Queen Shiva engraved in a wooden plaque. The boy nodded at the piece of memory, she would be missed by everyone. He wondered if the King had healed from his loss yet. He suspected by the flowers laid out that at least someone was paying tribute. She was loved by everyone.

They passed a group of women who were taking care of the horses. Stitches had been sewed into their fragile skin, a clear result of the war. One of the women was brushing a small horse who had lost an eye. The hole had been stitched up, but the horse was still having trouble navigating. The horse stepped back from the woman, knocking over a bucket of water on his bad side. Carl knew it would take the little guy time to adjust.

Once they reached the doors, Ezekiel announced to his men to find room and board for Negan's men while the two had a one to one discussion. Carl decided this was the best time to speak to Michonne, but he was stopped when he went to follow the others.

"No, you don't." Negan deadpanned, grabbing the boy by the shoulder and directing him towards Ezekiel's office. Shit, Carl thought, how am I going to tell Michonne?

He decided to use this opportunity to see exactly how Negan planned on negotiating and what it really entailed. The office was just a renovated principal's office. Thin fabric draped over the cabinets. A small bowl of fruit sat on the large wooden desk, as well as a book Ezekiel had been reading. The king sat back in his chair, stretching his arms over his back. "Please," the King jestered towards a wooden chair that was placed close to the desk. It was so small that Carl was sure Negan would break it.

The lug sighed, slowly sitting on the too-small chair. It looked as if he was siting on a child's picnic bench. Negan's large, muscular legs were pressed up against his chest and he was clearly struggling to keep on the chair. He sat up, trying to spread his body out as much as he could. It was useless, pathetic. Carl had to hold in a snicker, watching that dick struggle on the children's chair. The boy decided to stay by the doorway -he didn't want to get into this anymore than he should have. He watched as the two men conversed, nodding or shaking his head whenever Negan looked back for his input. The monster wanted half of the Kingdom's supply, which Ezekiel quickly turned down. He didn't blame the old man; they had fought and lost so many people to get a fair deal. It was about time Ezekiel stood up for himself.

"The most I can do for you is a trade agreement. You don't scare me, Negan."

"Fair enough," Negan responded, rolling his shoulders back. "So you need more than protection?"

"Precisely," the old man responded. Negan looked back at the boy for validation. Carl quickly nodded.

"Go on…" Negan seemed displeased that his rules were not being followed. Carl was surprised he even stayed this long.

"We usually keep to ourselves, as you know, so many of my subjects stay inside the walls and produce inside the walls. This makes obtaining meat very difficult. I'm a big man, you're a big man. You understand how important this is to us." Negan nodded in response. Carl tapped his foot lightly, waiting for what the leader would say. "I'm giving you and I the night to think this over, but I am willing to give you produce if you give us meat. I am giving you another chance, Negan. You're lucky my Michonne is so close to your friend Carl." Since when was he Negan's friend? Ew.

"Fair. I'll think about it." Carl was shocked he was actually taking his advice. Maybe Negan was changing.

"Your room," one of Ezekiel's subjects, Charles, led Carl to the room he'd be lodging in for the night. Charles was a young man, not tall in stature, definitely not small. His face stood serious, his lips a line across his caramel skin, his small eyes focused. His long hair was held back by a ponytail. "You have a tenant due to lack of room. I hope this is suitable." Tenant? Carl didn't even get the door half-way opened before it was pushed back closed. The subject knocked on the door calmly. "Miss, I hope it is okay that you will be having a roommate."

"With men? No thank you!" Rosalie yelled through the door.

"There are no more places, miss. Please-"

"What is this? The motherfucking inn? Tell Mary we all know she ain't no virgin!"

"Miss, please open the door or I will open it for you. I trust it will be easier to communicate face to face."

Carl heard a loud, exaggerated sigh before the girl opened the door. "Oh, Eyehole, it's you."

"Miss, I want you to be comfortable." He lowered his voice, breaking character, "just do me a solid here. I'll sneak you some snacks. I'm banging the rations girl."

A grin formed across the girl's face. "Only if there's Pringles. Fuckers are hard to come across nowadays."

"It's a deal, then." The man turned around and walked in the opposite direction, mumbling something inaudible.

"Okay, Grimes. Looks like we're roommates. Don't you dare try anything."

"Is that a threat?" Carl smirked.

"Yes. The snacks are mine, too. You sleep over there," she pointed to a mat in the corner. The room was very small and cramped, but more comfortable than sleeping on the floor in the Hilltop. He hoped she would be willing to spare a pillow or two.

Carl made his way towards the mat, sitting down with a sigh. He was happy to not be dealing with the tyrant anymore. Things were starting to shape up and he really believed Negan was changing. Carl still didn't trust him completely, however; Michonne needed to be in on the plan. Carl knew how manipulative Negan was and he wasn't going to let it phase him.

The room wasn't as bad as Carl thought it would be. Of course the Kingdom didn't have the same luxuries as Alexandria as many of the supplies were from the school, but it was still comfortable. Ezekiel had taken the time to preserve the paint on the walls, preventing rot and mold. Unlike home, Carl found the small room comforting. A tiny wooden bookcase stood on the far wall, adjacent to the mats. It was filled with mostly textbooks and spare blankets, but Carl didn't care- new books! He probably had read all the books in Alexandria and the Hilltop twenty times. There wasn't much else to do during his downtime considering video games took up too much energy and movie night had to be reduced to once a month. He made a mental note to ask to borrow some. He eyed them from his mat, deciding the best one to begin. A familiar book caught his eye, so he went to grab it. King Lear, the book Rosalie lent him. He picked it up and smirked goofily. "Good book."

"Yeah. You probably relate to it, Eyehole. You blind fuck," she giggled at her insult. Carl couldn't help but laugh along. Maybe she wouldn't be so annoying after all.

"Hey, I only have one of my eyes gone, Tree Stump."

Her laughing seized and her face turned serious once more. "Come up with better nicknames."

Carl was left speechless from her sudden change of emotions. He rolled his eyes and laid back on the hard mat. He needed to figure out a way to sneak out and meet Michonne. He decided that it would be best to sneak out of his room when everyone was asleep and hopefully get her alone.

He had closed his eye and had been pretending to sleep for a good two hours. He lazily opened his eye, craving the sleep he deprived himself of. He rolled over to his side, making sure Rosalie was asleep. He watched as her chest moved up and down with each breath. Again, he questioned how someone so disruptive could be so peaceful. He watched as her lips moved, mouthing words that wouldn't come out- a silent sleep talker.

The boy brushed himself out of the room, gently easing the door closed behind him. Carl carefully tip-toed past the rooms, the halls filled with the Saviors' snoring. He could swear he was in a cave of hibernating bears. He hid in the shadows when he heard someone passing by. It was Ezekiel and what sounded like one of his men.

"I have little trust for Negan, my boy."

"Yes, sir. He is a really sketchy person."

"Had he not been so diligent in his actions, my Shiva would still be alive, not torn apart but the wretched undead."

"I'm sorry, sir."

"Worry not, my boy, for it is not your fault. I, King Ezekiel, should have been better prepared."

"Yes, sir."

"Relying on Jesus may have not been my best move. I allowed this evil inside my walls and I must rid it."

"So we're breaking the pact?"

"Not necessarily. He shall learn to earn my trust!"

Their voices muffled off into the distance as Carl crept slowly past more of the doors. He reached the balcony and slowly stepped outside. To his surprise, Michonne was outside. Her long dreadlocks blew in the wind and she stared emotionless into the night. Her eyes shone against the stars, but there was no knowing what was on her mind.

"How's it going?" Carl asked, joining her.

"Oh, Carl. I didn't realise you'd come here." Not a hint of surprise was in her voice, though.

"I figured we'd need to meet somewhere. I just wandered here while looking for you."

"Coincidence, eh?" They shared a smirk. "Guess spending all those years surviving together connected us. I saw that look you gave me and you are with Negan. What do you need?"

Carl lowered his voice into a whisper. "So I was talking to my dad in the hospital-"

"Oh my gosh, how is Rick doing?" she interrupted quickly.

"He's fine. Just a bad leg," and some lost dignity. "He has a plan to stop Negan and take our community back."

She raised her eyebrows in interest. "Uh huh, go on."

"I'm acting as a double agent. Negan seems to trust me for whatever reason, so I'm getting some intel on him."

"Have you found anything?"

"Not anything particular…" Carl lied. Why couldn't he tell her the truth? "My dad just wanted to make sure you're in on the plan, we can send people over on supply runs once Negan trusts all of us. From there, we can exchange information."

"I like what I'm hearing."

Carl smiled in response, watching the hope move through the woman's eyes, a grin flashing against her chocolate skin.

The boy snuck back into his room a lot easier than he had snuck out. The guards on duty were throwing a hacky sack back and forth and drinking enough beer for the Kingdom itself and then some. Clearly, they were bored, yet occupied. Carl slowly closed the door behind him, letting out a sigh.

"I know what you were doing out there. I heard everything," a voice deadpanned. He looked up, watching the girl sit up on her mattress, wide awake, not blinking, less emotions than a rock.

Carl sighed. "No you don't. I'm going to bed. Night."

He went to sit on his mat, but was stopped.

"I hope you sleep well tonight, knowing what I know."

Carl clenched his face in annoyance. "Stop fucking with me, Rose." He finally fell asleep to Rosalie's soft giggles. As he closed his eye he couldn't help from thinking, Is she really just fucking with me?

Negan seemed jollier than usual when Carl and his men met him in the courtyard. This couldn't be good. "What a beautiful motherfucking day!" Negan announced, obnoxiously inhaling the air. "A little birdy told me there's been some lying and you know what happens when you lie – you're fucked. You're more fucked than a nymphomaniac in the red light district on a fucking Saturday! And to my motherfucking surprise it was one of my own men who fucked me, so it's time for me to fuck one of these deceptive fuckers before they jump up and fuck me so hard, I'll bleed outta my ass for a week."

Fuck, Carl thought. This would not turn out well. The boy sunk his head as low as he could, hoping Negan found someone else. He could take the monster one-on-one, but definitely not all of his men.

"Carl. Look me in the eye- because you only have one you hollow headed little shit. I want you to watch what I am about to do now. Be happy this ain't you." Before Carl could do anything else, he had stepped to the side, revealing Michonne, tied up to a chair. That motherfucker. The boy kept his cool- Negan was bluffing. He took a breath and focused directly on the chair. Michonne was eyeing Carl to help her and he badly wanted to. He clenched his teeth and gave the woman a sorrow look. "I was thinking we could get an ear of corn tonight, guys!" Negan chuckled. "Are you hearing me right now?" he cackled, pulling out a pocket knife. No. The maniac's grin tore through Carl's skeptical façade. Negan wasn't messing around. "If you like to hear so much, I hope this helps you out. Don't get me wrong, the only proof I have is that you were talking behind my back. For all I know, you could have been throwing me a fucking birthday party. That would be fucking awesome, but I'm not stupid. Hear me out. I. Don't. Trust. You." He pressed his knife towards the woman's ear. "I'll make this quick for you, sweetie." He quickly sliced the knife through her lobe, leaving nothing but a hole on the right side of her head. Negan's monstrous laughter filled the Kingdom as he lifted up the ear to show everyone. "Look, Carl, you guys match! Holy hole asshole buddies!"

Michonne managed to untie herself and held her hand up to the wound, attempting to stop the bleeding. She wasn't doing a good job as think red blood poured from the wound. She was in both pain and shock. She stood behind the monster, shaking, clearly contemplating her next move. She didn't have her katana, so someone else needed to defend her.

Carl squinted his eye, glaring at the monster who had just hurt his friend. "You have no proof, yet you still attacked her? You haven't changed, Negan. You're a bag of shit."

Negan was still grinning largely, but his attention was drawn to the boy. He burst into sarcastic laughter. "Where's the 'oh, Negan, you jolly son of a bitch. You fucking saint, Mother Theresa the second, making sure I'm getting fed and not being fed to the undead!'?" His expression narrowed, his eyes reading the boy's soul. "You know what, you little fucking shit? I'm gonna treat you like a fucking piece of shit." He stormed over to the van, dragging Carl by his arm. He propped open the trunk and pointed to it, aggressively pulling the boy in the direction. "In there. I can't even fucking look at you right now." He turned to the side, squeezing his nose.

"You're not stupid, Negan!" Carl retorted. "You're the one who trusted me!" He wished that he had ate his words.

"You fucking fucker!" was all he heard before his vision went blank.

He sat in the dark box, unsure if it was night or day, how many hours had past since he woke up. The truck wasn't in motion, so it had to be at least the evening unless they were rummaging for goods. He cringed when he felt the blow he received to his good eye. He squinted his eye, rubbing his head. Carl needed to focus!

"The saddest thing about betrayal is that it never comes from your enemies," he heard from the other side of the door.

"Rosalie-what?" he continued rubbing his head. He could feel dried blood crack against his knuckles. This was the last thing he needed.

"It's from the book I leant you. I know you don't hate Negan, Carl, and I'm sure Negan knows this. I thought the quote was appropriate… maybe make you feel better," he heard her whisper through the door.

He released an annoyed sigh. "Since when do you care about my feelings?"

"You need to stop pushing away people, Carl."

"But that's all you ever do," he groaned.

They sat in silence, back to back against the door of the truck.

"Do you still want to know why I trust Negan?"