I changed the rating of this story for the more mature themes in this chapter. It made me pretty uncomfortable to write, so it may have transferred the same when reading it. That being said, please do take care when reading.
"We've been waiting so long for you, Beth."
The Governor smiles down at her. It makes her stomach roll and all she wants to do is punch him in his teeth.
"Get away." Beth's head is still pounding and the words come out slurred and jumbled. Her cheek throbs with pain, she's guessing the man who hit her did some damage. She tries to calm herself, she notes that there's nothing tying her down, keeping her to this steel bed that she has been left on.
"Now, now, now... Don't be like that. From what I can tell you're the Sweet one." He takes his hand and rubs it down the side of her face, Beth tries to pull away but the dizziness and nausea makes it hard to move. "You don't want to go ruining your perfect reputation, do you?" He smiles down at her once more before moving to the other side of the room, sitting on a chair near the door. It's the only other piece of furniture in this room besides the metal cot she's laying on.
"Now, you, and your people of course, have put my community in quite a predicament. And... I'm not happy about it." His face is dark and serious. Beth wonders what they could have possibly done to him and his community, but she doesn't care. Only one person is on her mind.
"Where-Where is he? Gl-...The man I was with?" He tilts his head at the question, a small smirk playing on his lips.
"Ahh, yes. The 'Man' you were with is in very capable hands. Believe me."
"If you hurt him-"
"You'll what?" He holds his hands out expectantly, waiting for an answer. "It looks like I hold all the cards here, Beth." He gets up, taking a turn about the room. Beth's scared and disoriented but she needs to do something to get herself out of here and help Glenn.
"How do you know my name?" Beth tries to discreetly feel her pockets for anything that could remotely be classified as a weapon, but they have changed her clothes. She's in nothing but a hospital gown.
"Well, Beth, I have had some lovely chats with your friend, Andrea, and she has told me some wonderful things about you." Beth tries to keep her composure but the mention of Andrea makes her heart start racing. She forgot Andrea was here, with this man. Who knows what Andrea told him. He walks over to her, lightly touches her wrist. He traces the scar covering it, looking at her with a gleam in his eyes. "Sorry about your Mother by the way, obviously her death was hard on you."
Beth lunges at him, but she misses and falls to the floor instead. Her legs are unsteady and her head sparks with pain. The Governor grips her arms tight and hoists her up. He bends her over and pushes her face into the steel, cold, metal of the bed. "You ever try anything again, Glenn's dead." He pushes her to the floor and she hears the door open. "Lawrence, just in time. Please escort Beth to her permanent courters. Careful, she's a slippery one."
She looks one last time at the Governor's face, an evil smirk coating his features. Lawrence drags her from the room, pulling Beth to her feet. She's stumbling and tripping over, but he just pulls her along with him, anger covering his posture every time her steps are unsteady.
"I wont hesitate to tase you, Bitch. Now move faster." Beth's mind was racing, she tried to count the number of doors they walked past, the marks on the wall, the lines on the ceiling. But there was no defining features and everything started to blur together. She hoped Glenn was alright. They turned down a corridor and went down some stairs. The floor was dirt and the place smelled of death. She started dry heaving at the over powering smell. Then Beth heard screaming, screaming she was more than familiar with.
"Glenn! Glenn! I'm here! Glenn!" Beth screams, hoping that wherever Glenn is, he would hear her. Lawrence pushes her through a door and she loses her footing and falls to the floor. Beth feels the skin on her hands and knees scrap at the contact but she doesn't care. Glenn is in trouble.
She bangs on the closed door, tries to rip the handle off, kicks at it, punches it. She tries everything in her power and it's still not enough. Beth's hands are bloody and her voice hoarse with screaming, but she would get out of here no matter what it took.
ooOoo
She doesn't know how long she's been in this room.
It's constantly dark, no windows lines the walls. She's traced every wall, looking for an escape route of some kind but nothing turned up. All that keeps her company is the sound of people screaming. She wonders how long it's been.
She's counted six meals in total, but Beth knew she wasn't fed on her first day of being here. Nor the second. At best guess, Beth would average at least one meal a day, two if she was lucky. Although, she could never truly be sure. The days in this room blurred together making it seem like she had been here for months. On the first night being here she would hear Glenn scream, whether that was in pain or otherwise, Beth had no clue.
She hadn't showered, barely had any water and, from the lack of light, Beth had started to loose track of the days as they passed. She had no knowledge of when it could be night or day, and even if it was late, she had tried to keep herself awake. Exhaustion had fully set in.
All she's left with is her thoughts and the screams of other prisoners here. It's not surprising sleep had easily evaded her. She touches her necklace, Beth wishes she could be back at the farm in her Mama's warm embrace. That wish could never happen, no matter how much she wants it to come true. Beth thinks of the people she's missing. The group at the prison would be okay, they would know that both Glenn and Beth were missing by now; its been days or more than a week since the capture. The group would have a plan, an idea, something. They would come for them.
But they can't. Where is Woodbury even located? How would they find it? From what Beth could gather, Glenn and herself were underground. How could they be found? Would they even make it passed the gates? Would they be killed on arrival? There were insurmountable outcomes to think about. Things could go drastically wrong for them if they attempted anything, but Beth and Glenn could die if they don't.
She hears the Governor's voice from outside the room. He's screaming, something's wrong.
The door opens, light streaming into the room for the first time in a days. Beth's eyes burn, but she can finally see her surroundings... even if it is through squinted eyes. She looks up, her image distorted by blurriness. The Governor's face looks off, an almost wild look on his face. Something has happened to his eye. It's been covered with a patch and blood has soaked through to the other side. Beth notices he has something in his hand. A bag? Beth's eyes still try to adjust to the slew of light that burns her corneas, everything is an unfocused blur.
Blood covers him, some of it still drips from his hand. He reaches into the bag and pull the object out of it. It's thrown across the room to land just beside her. She didn't register at first what it was, her mind still trying to catch up. But when all the pieces start falling in place, she screams.
Axel's head lays before her, eyes still wide open, yet to turn into a walker. It's Axel, they took him. Beth's so dehydrated, yet she's crying, and it starts burning her eyes. They killed Axel.
She has a million questions racing through her mind, but it was doubtful that the Governor would give her satisfactory answers. He bends down before her, he's oddly calm but his eyes don't match his expression. Beth thinks she might just die at his hands. "Your people were here. Rick. Daryl... Maggie." He's punctuating every name, and that must mean they are all dead. He killed her family. "They came looking for you. Glenn. Yet here you still are."
"What did you do to them?" Beth asks, a heavy weight setting in her stomach.
"What did I do?" He asks incredulous. "What did I do? Nothing. Your group were too stupid to even find you. They escaped without their people. I did nothing... But-" He stops trying to pull his features back into focus. She hears a groaning sound behind her. Axel's has been reanimated.
"They killed her. My baby girl. The one last thing-" He cuts himself off, looking over to Axel. A smile forms on his face. "But then I remembered. I have you. You look so much like... You will come with me. Be my little pet. I wonder how they will like that? They failed to save you now, you are mine" He reaches up and puts a hand to her cheek. Beth is horrified. She pulls away from his touch, trying to put as much distance between them as possible. She can't escape him. Before she's even touched the wall behind her, he' stalking towards her.
"Your people!" He says, spitting the words right in her face. He grabs her face, squeezing it in his hand. She grabs his wrist, yanking it from her face, pushing him away from her, but she stumbles and falls to the floor in the process. After days of being in here Beth's weak, too weak to fight. He retaliates by grabbing a handful of her hair and pulling her to her feet with it.
"You are mine now." He says, almost with a gleam in his eyes.
"I will never come with you." Beth says, her tone full of determination. All he does in smile in return, a wicked smile that seems to suck all the air from the room. He pull her along with him, a hold still on her hair, from the room and down the hall to stop at a door on the right. He pushes her into the door, holding her from behind and angling her face to a peep hole in the front.
"Look. Look what will happen if you don't." It's Glenn. She wants to move, squirm out of his hold, but her pushes her firmly in place, face stark against the wooden door. Glenn's is covered in blood, and strapped into a chair. A walker is in the room with him. The fear on his face sets her blood to ice. He's trying to get out, fight back against the walker. Beth thinks he will be able to do it, protect himself.
Beth wants to submit, tell the Governor to take her. But Glenn's got this, she knows he has, and he does. Sticking the walkers own bone in it's brain, successfully killing it. Beth smiles. That's her brother-in-law, as strong as she's ever seen. Stronger than she could ever hope to be. They have both been in the same circumstances, yet Glenn still seems to have fire blazing inside of him.
"Release the others. Ready to see what he's really up against?" The Governors breath is flush against her ear, her arms ache with his grip and she thinks her face might be bleeding from the splintered wood and her previous injuries.
There's a buzz, Beth thinks she might be thrown in with Glenn, yet she remains in the Governors clutches. A herd of walkers start pooling into the room, too much for Glenn to handle. He starts to fight them off best he can, using the objects in the room to his advantage, he's got the wood of the chair firmly in his grip, taking the walkers out as the come. But there's too much. Glenn trips and his weapon flies from his hands.
"Say you'll come with me and it all ends. You are the only one who can save Glenn, Beth." He on the floor, searching frantically for the piece of wood, for anything that can be used to stop the oncoming flow. One lunges for him and it sets a lump in Beth's throat. He kicks it away, standing his ground, but there's another one coming from behind, Glenn misses being attacked by a second of luck.
"Stop. Help him!" Beth cries out, she can't watch this any longer. Glenn wont make it.
"Tell me you will come with me, do what ever I say."
"Yes! Please, just help him!" As Beth says the words, she is pulled away from the door. The Governor motions to two of the men behind him and they surge inside and dispose of the walkers. He turns to face her, a dark look on his face.
"You ever try leaving, Glenn will die. Do you understand." Beth hurts, hurts everywhere. Her head, eyes, arms, face. Her heart. She can't even begin to imagine the torture that he will inflict upon her.
"Yes." It's a whisper, yet he hears it none the less. The door of Glenn's room is slammed close one more. She walks over, wondering if she will be stoped, and takes a look inside. Glenn's sitting on the floor, head in his hands, sobbing. It's the best she can do to make sure he's safe.
"I will come with you, but you can't hurt him. You can't torture him. If you let anything happen to him... I wont care what you do to me." The Governor nods and smiles in reply.
"As long as you do whatever I say, we're not going to have a problem, Beth."
ooOoo
He made her have dinner with him. She's not sure what games he was playing but Beth wouldn't eat a single bite, no matter what her stomach was screaming at her. She had to sit there and watch as he ate a hot meal, while she was covered in sweat, grime and blood. The image of Axel's head staring back at her covers all her thoughts. He knew she wouldn't eat anything he put in front of her. She's too terrified to do anything, but Beth is determined not to let it show. She wants him to think she's strong.
He's leading her through his house, men stand guard at the entrance so she can't escape his clutches. She wouldn't anyway, not with Glenn's life hanging in the balance. Beth would never admit it, but the Governor had a stronger hold on her than he realised. They come to a stop at door down the hall. He opens the door to reveal a bathroom, Beth finally might be able to wash the grime off herself.
"Get undressed." She freezes. He still in the room with her.
"Now, Beth." His voice has a dangerous edge to it and Beth doesn't want to argue but she's frozen in place, fear creeping up her spine. What is he going to do with her? "One word from me, my Men will make sure Glenn will be in the worst pain imaginable and it will be your fault. Undress now, Beth."
The mention of Glenn's name kicks her into speed, she undresses, slowly, making sure to take the necklace off and put it gently on top of the hospital gown. She wont look at him. She wouldn't dare glance at him. He makes her stand naked in the room before telling her to get in the bath. Beth feels embarrassed and ashamed.
There is steam slowly rising from the water, a laying of soap coating the top. It is big and deep and she sinks into it. It's so warm. She feels terrible for enjoying the sensation. But she hasn't been clean for weeks now and it feels so good to finally rid herself of the dirt and grime of the room.
He's still there, watching her. Beth knows she needs to conceal her emotions better, to hide whatever she feels deep inside of her. Her head is filled with memories, of her and Daryl cleaning the dishes together, getting to soak her hands in the warm water. Of the prison shower when the generator finally worked. Of when she would wash laundry by hand with Lori. The bath back at the farm, a deep, clawed tub, that she would loved to play with the bubbles when she was younger. Before she can stop herself tears are slowly caressing down her face and falling into the soapy water below, making ripples in the layer of soap that has formed around her. Beth hopes the group is safe.
She notices his hand caress her head, moving her hair to one side, trailing the scar that weaves itself along her body. He follows its path twice over, sending shivers down her spine. She realises that he is going to bathe her. She's never felt more violated in her life.
He lifts a jug and places it into the water along side her legs, filling it will the soapy bath water. Her neck is manoeuvred into his position of choice, exposing the skin of her neck further and making the scar more prominent. The water flows over her body, heating her skin ever so slightly from the coldness that has overcome her while in his presence. He tilts her head forward, sending the next jug of water over her hair and down her back. It takes everything in her power not to move, to fight back. Protect herself from the feeling of his hands over her body. Glenn is her only anchor to placidity.
The feeling of a wash cloth moving over her back startles her ever so briefly, but she tries not to let it show. The less he knows how much terror he places in her heart, the better. It traces the length of her spine multiple times, washes all over her back and shoulders. He keeps a steady hand on her arm, his fingers inches from touching her breast. Every movement that is made etches itself into her memory, tracing outlines of his actions over every good feeling that she has ever experienced. She's pessimistic about ever being free of his clutches.
He moves her hair gently behind her back as if she were delicate and would break with a mere touch. He pushes her slowly down into the water until she is completely submerged. She can see his smudged outline through the water. The first time she's looked at him since she agreed to follow him. She never wants to see his face again. It wouldn't be a bad thing if he drowned her, or if she reached up and pulled him down with her, holding his head under until he finally died. He couldn't do anything further to her.
He lifts her up, water dripping down her face and off the ends of her hair. She thinks she may be crying again. The wash cloth is back, slowly and gently going over her body. It makes Beth sick with every touch. He's not careful about the placement of his hands anymore, growing bolder with ever act of obedience from Beth.
When his hands trail lower down her body, that's when she knows she will never come back from this.
ooOoo
She's seen Glenn twice.
He hasn't seen her of course, but he's as safe as she can make him and well fed. Beth has been in the Governor's quarters for more than a week now, only to be let out to check on Glenn's wellbeing. He's covered in dirt, grime and walker blood but he's safe; and that's the best that Beth can do for him.
She wonders if the others will come again. Maybe they will save them this time. Or at least Glenn. Beth's not sure if she deserves to be saved anymore. Going along with the Governors every whim and demand has taken everything out of her. Beth hasn't spoken aloud since being here. She's sung, forced to sing to him at his very wish, but other than that, she wont say another word.
He loves to brush her hair, almost obsessively. It's the worst part of all. He makes her sit on the floor between his legs while he's on a chair. He makes sure her body is pressed close to his, reciting everything he has done to her, everything he has made her do, through the day. She notes the force of the brush hardens on her scalp as he recalls the moments after her bath when she has to stand fully naked until she is completely dry, his eyes never leaving her body. She's had more baths than she has had meals.
He makes her sleep in the bed next to him, reminding her exactly what will happen if she leaves. She knows it could be worse but he's taken every possible identifying aspect of who she is as a person. He even makes her sing for him. What once was her greatest aspect of enjoyment he's stripped away any meaning of.
The door creaks opens around midday, or what she supposes is midday, he's still hasn't allowed her to know the day or time. He steps into the room, placing another body part in front of her. He likes to do this sometimes. To make sure she knows her place. Today, it's Axel's arm.
"Look at it until I tell you to stop, Beth." He uses her name as a weapon against her. Every time it exits his lips, she hates herself just that much more. She glances down at it. Beth has learnt by now to not really look at the body pieces anymore, but around it. At the piece of lint on the table next to it, at the scratches in the wood, or simply just zoning out of the entire experience. She's glad he will never have this true hold on her. Axel didn't deserve this, all he was trying to do was save her, now this is what he gets. She has to look at the person that died for her. Beth thinks it's an appropriate punishment.
"Look at me." She does. The hand still a heavy weight on her mind. How many more pieces of Axel's body will be placed before her until it stops.
He enjoys telling her stories; of her life, the prison, Maggie, Daryl, of her interactions with the people of the prison. Beth thought he received joy by ruining her memories with his interpretation of them. Sometimes he would tell her of what he witnessed himself, instead of events of the day told to him by his men. He had really watched the prison intently. Andrea had also told him personal stuff about the group, but Andrea was fond of Beth, so it would make sense she told the Governor quite a few details about her. Some of the most meaningful and personal moments in her life and he could recite them to her. The Governor told her that he would watch her the most; Beth survived his bullet after all. He knew her deepest secrets and, of her feelings for Daryl. He watched them long enough to know what was going on between the two. He told her that one day he would kill her family in front of her, Daryl first. What Beth didn't say back was that she would kill him before he got the chance.
Today, he's telling her about the self defence lesson at the prison he watched take place. It was one of the first clam moments at the prison after the first incident with the Governor. Beth tunes him out. She didn't want to hear things from his perspective. He wouldn't ruin another good memory.
Beth thinks of Daryl and that night he told her about the stars. The sound of his voice and the comforting weight of his hand on hers. How she had kissed him, heart racing as equally fast as his. She imagines herself back under those stars with him, trying to distance herself from this moment. She does this when he tells her stories, thinking of some of the best memories he couldn't ruin, trying to relive the memory. Sometimes it works.
Most of the time it doesn't.
A knock on the door signals the daily meal interruption, Beth receives at least two 'meals' a day, if they could even be called that. The Governor removes Axel's arm from the table, giving her a smirk, as Lawrence walks through the door, meals in hand. A table cloth is placed over the table by the Governor, he probably wouldn't want to eat where a decapitated arm had laid moments before. Lawrence places the Governor's meal before him, along with a knife and fork. Beth never gets one, it's not like she needs one anyway.
Ever since that first night when she refused to eat her meal in stubbornness, the Governor prepared all her meals as a blended, chunky, mush poured into a mug. What the contents were exactly, Beth had no idea. It always had a sort of rotten smell, like fish, or one time she was certain it contained dirt. Lawrence places the mug before her, a smile plastered on his face, just like every other time, before walking out the door and leaving the two to their respective meals. Beth didn't let Lawrence get under her skin anymore; his actions towards her had become utterly predictable.
"Drink up, Beth." The Governor says, looking briefly up from his meal, with just enough time to gage the expression on her face as he says the words. The same words he has said every night since she has been here. Predictable. She steels her expression, just as she does every other time, not giving him anything from her. Beth wonders when he will become disinterested in the games he is playing with her.
Tonight the 'food' smells especially horrible and retched. It looks like blood and smells like dog food. She knows she has to have it. Beth has been torn down at every turn and at this point she doesn't think he could do anything that would destroy her even more. So she drinks it just like he tells her to. It's disgusting in her mouth and she wants to spit it in his face. But she doesn't.
She swallows it like it's a thing she deserves.
ooOoo
Beth is in bed for the night- his bed- she never really sleeps unless it's from pure exhaustion. Staring at the wall, trying to rid her mind of all thoughts of the day, wondering just how long she will be able to keep this up. The last time she felt like this she did something she came back from. Beth doesn't think she would come back from it this time.
The door creaks open, sometimes sleep is easy to pretend, but he always knows. Always knowing how to ruin her one last time for the day, before it starts all over again the next.
The bed dips as he sits down, taking his boots off, before sliding in bed next to her. Sometimes she thinks he wont ask, sometimes she still has hope. But he always does. She shouldn't be surprised, like she realised before, it had become predictable.
The Governor is there beside her, lying down next to her in bed. He moves himself behind her, pressing his body flush against hers. His hand wraps around her, same routine every night. Beth wished she could fight back. She feels his breath hot at her neck, mouth trailing its way up to her ear, speaking the same words she has heard every night since she has been here. "Andrea was right about how well you sing. Sing for me, Sweet Songbird." Always using names as weapons against her. His grip tightens on her hand, "I want you to sing."
Her breath catches in her throat. He knows so much about her, from watching her at the prison, to what he's been told by Andrea. She has no secrets to keep from him, no private thoughts or moments are hers alone. He knows everything. Beth is nothing anymore.
So she sings.
It is never like the times at the prison singing for entertainment or with her sister. It's nothing like singing Judith to sleep. It is not the songs that Daryl gets to hear.
Her voice is scratchy and she can't stop herself from crying during it. It's hard to find the right lyrics, the right lyrics to send you off to die.
Beth know she will. Die that is. Right here. In this Bed. With him.
So she sings a song to her death.
I had a general idea of how this chapter would go but it really got out of hand. I just started writing and this flowed out of me. I wasn't sure if I was going to post it because the tone is much darker than anything I have every written and anything that has been in this story so far. But I hope it wasn't too bad. As I said before, some elements did make me really uncomfortable when writing (Bath scene), and I hope it wasn't too bad to read. I made myself really sad with this chapter. Sorry, Beth! Thank you for reading and thank you for the wonderful reviews!