Daryl's mouth fell open. When he realized who the man in front of him was, he could not disguise his shock. There was no doubt in his mind that the man was telling the truth. The familial resemblance between him and Rowan was plain as day. Especially his hair. This man had a few strands of silver running through his head, but Daryl had never seen hair that thick and shiny except on Rowan's head.
Daryl wasn't sure what to say to the man about Rowan. He had a strong urge to tell this man the truth. The whole truth in full detail. He also could not think of a reason to lie.
"She's alive," Daryl told the man. That seemed like a good place to start. But maybe the man didn't think so, since he pulled a sharp knife from the sheath on his waist and leaned towards Daryl with it. For a moment, Daryl was sure the man meant to stab him, but instead he cut the ropes that were holding Daryl's hands together. Daryl rubbed at his wrists, feeling the warmth returning to his hands. His eyes drifted towards his crossbow, just for a moment, then went back to the man in front of him.
"Try anything and I will gut you like a fish," the man told him. There is was again. A thicker version of the same accent Rowan had. Daryl nodded. He wanted to get back and make sure Rowan was alright, but he wasn't going to do anything stupid. "The dogs?," the man asked. If his daughter managed to make it this long with both her dogs alive, she must have figured out that she was as resourceful and strong as he always knew in his heart that she was. She would return to him like a phoenix from the ashes. Reborn. Stronger than she was before and ready to do the things she had not been ready to do before.
"Tank and Lily," Daryl said, "they are alright too." The man smiled slightly when he heard that. Since Daryl used the dogs names, the man knew he was telling the truth. He stared at Daryl for a little longer than Daryl felt comfortable with, then he got up and walked over by the fire, where he pulled a few pictures from a familiar looking back pack. He came back and handed the pictures to Daryl. They were the ones that Aaron liked to take on his recruiting missions.
"She has been living in this place?," the man asked Daryl. Once again, Daryl saw no reason to lie. These people had been outside their walls for some time now. Maybe even climbed over and snuck around inside.
"Yeah, she has been there for a while," Daryl said, "my group just came in a few weeks ago." The man nodded. He pulled the braid of Rowan's hair back out of his pocket and ran his fingers over it. Rowan would have only given a charm like this one to someone that she cared for deeply. He had a similar one once, but his had been copper colored, given to him by Rowan's mother. It had been lost somewhere, he didn't know where. Probably left behind at his home when he went for Rowan and her mother back at the beginning of the turn. He had been in a race with death, determined to get there in time to save them. Charms and keepsakes had not seemed important at the time.
"You sleeping with my daughter?," the man asked suddenly, his tone getting just a little more hostile. Daryl nodded. From the way the man was looking at the lock of hair in his hands, Daryl guessed he already knew the answer to his question anyway. He was starting to feel uncomfortable with the man's line of questioning, like the man was looking for a reason to kill him. And if he did, Daryl guessed he wasn't planning to be quick about it.
"She tell you she was married?," the man asked. He watched Daryl's face as he said the words. From the way the man's eyes widened, Rowan's father knew his daughter had not been forthcoming with that lovely bit of information. He had also gained another piece of information from Daryl. This man was in love with his daughter. That did not come as a surprise. Rowan, like her mother before her, was easy to love. Almost every man she ever met had been dying of love for her after the first kiss, and some had been smitten before she even touched them. Rowan loved them all, but not the same way they loved her. If she had given this man her charm, that meant he was not just another dalliance to her. She must love him in return. Real love, not just a passing infatuation. And that could be useful to her father. He just wasn't sure how yet.
"Married?," Daryl repeated. Rowan was not married. And if these assholes had forced her into some sort of arranged marriage, that didn't count for shit as far as he was concerned.
"Married," the man repeated. Then he gestured for the pregnant woman to come closer. She moved quickly to comply. "Watch him," Rowan's father told her, handing her his knife. As the man was getting up, Daryl heard the crunch of the leaves that meant people were approaching. Rowan's father must have heard them before he did, or maybe seen them approaching behind Daryl's back.
Daryl looked around the camp again. He knew he could overpower the woman easily, and probably get away. But the problem was, he had no idea of where he was or which way would lead him back to Alexandria. Since these people did not seem like they planned to kill him immediately, he decided to stay put and wait this out. He didn't really want to admit it, but he was also curious about Rowan's father. The love for his daughter was plain as the nose on his face. Daryl was careful to remind himself that this same man had most likely taken part in tying a woman to a tree and torturing her to death less than two days ago.
There was a flurry of intense conversation. Daryl couldn't understand most of it, since they were speaking in broken english mixed in with words he knew now were sioux. Or at least some bastard version of that language. Some of it even sounded like it might be spanish. These guys had the indian act down pat, but Daryl was willing to bet that the closest any of them had come to a buffalo was on the games at the casino. As hungry as the women looked, these men were not very good hunters, that much was certain.
The pregnant woman sitting near him was looking more and more afraid, so Daryl guessed that whatever news the men had brought was not good. Rowan's father sounded angry. Angry and maybe a little scared. But he was hiding his fear well. Once he got done talking to the men, he walked over towards another very pregnant looking girl that was sitting near the fire. The one that was wrapped up in Daryl's leather jacket. The man knelt down and put his hand on the girl's shoulder, saying a few quiet words to her. The girl looked young, too young to be knocked up, in Daryl's opinion.
Whatever Rowan's father said to her, it made the girl break down completely. She was sobbing into his shoulder, really letting go. Young or not, Daryl guessed she had just found out that the father of her baby was dead. And she must have loved him, because words could not describe how sad and heartsick she looked. A man with a mohawk knelt down next to them, taking the girl from Rowan's father's arms and holding her in his lap. It was hard to tell, since the entire group had similar coloring and facial features. But from the way the man with the mohawk was holding the crying girl, Daryl guessed the man was her brother or some other close family member.
Once the girl was a little more calm, the man with the mohawk pulled out a small jar of baby food and handed it to her. He had another one for the pregnant woman who was babysitting Daryl. The jar was full of baby carrots, not the most appetizing lunch. Daryl had been around people when they were feeding Judith enough times to know that baby food was nasty, and usually smelled as bad as it tasted. This did not deter the woman, she cranked the jar open and started spooning the nasty gunk into her mouth with her fingers. She did not stop until every last smear of the stuff was gone.
"Got a deer yesterday," Daryl told the woman. He saw her head pop up, one finger still in her mouth. Several of the other people sitting near the fire looked his way as well, more than mild interest on their faces.
"You are going to give it to us?," the woman asked. She had been warned not to converse with this man, but a whole deer sounded too good to pass up.
"I will trade it to you," Daryl offered.
"What do you want?," the man with the mohawk piped up.
"He wants to be let go," Rowan's father announced like the rest of them were idiots. For Daryl's benefit, he spoke to them in english.
"I would like my bow back too," Daryl said, hoping that he wasn't pushing his luck. "I could trade you some eggs for it, and maybe a chicken..." He tried to think of what else Rowan had out in her area. She had tons of garden vegetables. "Or maybe some food from the garden," he said hopefully. These people looked hungry as hell. Just the promise of food might be enough to get him out of here.
Rowan's father came over and crouched in front of Daryl again, looking at him in the strange way Rowan sometimes did. Daryl felt like the man could see right through him. But Daryl was not afraid. Because he was not lying. He would be more than happy to give these people all the food they wanted, if they would go away and leave him and Rowan in peace. Seeing those hungry pregnant girls was sickening. Daryl felt bad for them, he wanted to help them. If he didn't already know that these people were bloodthristy lunatics that had attacked Noah's home and killed everyone there, plus just probably just got done attacking Alexandria, he would have taken them back with him as new recruits. As it was, he would still give them some food in exchange for his freedom.
"I will take your food," the man told Daryl, "and I will give you your freedom." There was a long pause, and Daryl could tell that was not all the man had to say. "But there's something else I want."
"What?," Daryl asked. He had a sinking feeling in his stomach. What would any man in his situation want?
"I want my daughter back."
