Blake walked silently down the long hallway, with Negan close at her side.

Neither of them had said a word to the other since they had left her room several minutes ago, and the eerie quiet made her feel slightly uneasy.

Did Negan suspect David of giving her those bruises?

It frightened her, that the fiercest she'd seen this well-known monster to be, was when he had thought one of his men had hurt her.

She really could not understand why he had seemed to have taken such a shine to her. And so quickly too. It had only been a day since Blake had woken up here, disoriented and sore, after all.

Perhaps Negan thought that the information she held on Rick and his group, was just that juicy.

She gave a gulp, chancing a quick glance over at the tall man at her side, holding his baseball bat cockily across one shoulder.

But Negan was quicker and more aware than she thought. Obviously traits which had been valuable in making him a leader.

His dark brown eyes immediately caught hers, his face fixing itself into a wicked grin.

"You enjoying the view there, BabyDoll?" he murmured in his low drawl, raising an eyebrow at her fiendishly.

Blake rolled her eyes at his comment, tearing her gaze away from him as they turned the corner, Negan leading her down a large iron staircase.

"So are you going to be escorting me to every meal?" she asked in a mocking voice, feeling slightly defensive.

She knew teasing the leader of the Saviours probably would not end well for her, but she knew that here, death could come at any second, so it didn't really seem to matter anyway. She really didn't trust Negan as far as she could throw him right now.

Negan smirked.

"Well I guess I'll have to, if you insist on wandering the halls in nothing but a towel and a nice smile," he said, lifting his chin and turning away from her.

Blake pursed her lips, giving the smallest of huffs as Negan pushed open a large green door that loomed ahead of them, and strode into the room, holding it open for her to follow him.

Inside was an large, cavernous room, the same one, in fact, that Blake had been brought to the previous day…with a high ceiling, industrial lighting and several long tables that seated twenty or so people on each.

At the far end of the room was a sort of make-shift canteen, with several men and women serving food from multiple trays and pots.

For a split second the place was loud and the din of people talking, laughing and eating was almost immense in the echoey room.

But almost immediately, not even a second later, silence hurriedly fell over the crowd of sixty or so people, their heads turning towards Blake and more importantly Negan.

The tall, dark-haired man beside her, grinned to himself, bringing himself up to his full height.

"As you were," Negan said in a loud carrying voice, arching his back as he uttered the words. "Don't mind me."

A second seemed to pass before a low and uneasy murmur carried through the gigantic room once again, as Negan beckoned Blake forwards.

It was obvious from the nervous surreptitious glances that followed Negan as he walked, that the leader of the Saviours didn't frequent these dinnertime get-togethers very often.

Negan pulled Lucille from his shoulder as they strutted forwards, allowing the long baseball bat to swing from his side instead.

"So this is where your people come to eat the food you've taken from us?" Blake commented a little snappily, staring up at Negan almost defiantly.

But he merely shot her a bemused look. "Oh, don't think your people are the only ones we take from, sweet-cheeks," he uttered conversationally. "We take what we need. Hell, I gotta make sure my people get fed somehow."

But Blake gave a scowl. He made it sound so easy. So honest. But what he did was far from that.

"There are men and women back in Alexandria starving," she said scathingly, peering down to where one large man was polishing off two portions of what looked like some sort of broth. "And your people have much more than they need."

But Negan stopped in his tracks, turning suddenly to face her. He was just an inch or two taller than her, but right now that felt like a lot more.

The dark-haired man loomed over her, pressing the end of his baseball bat into her chest carefully, his face fixed and unreadable.

"For someone who hasn't yet given me a lick of information on Rick and your camp, as I was promised," he said giving her small shove with the end of Lucille. "You're getting' to be kinda' insolent, doll-face."

His tone was warning, and Blake couldn't help but give an uneasy gulp, as he leaned his long face suddenly into hers.

Her heart began to pound inside her ribcage, at his closeness….feeling his warm breath on her neck.

But Negan's lips suddenly curved up into a wide grin, and he reached up and stroked his thumb across her cheek softly.

"Like I said, it's a good job I've got one hell of a fucking soft spot for you, peaches," he finished, pulling himself and Lucille, swiftly away, allowing Blake the chance to breathe normally again.

He was clever, she could tell that, and his unpredictability made him a constant threat to everyone around him. That was obviously why his men were so scared of him. One moment they were probably treated like his best friend. And the next….he was, as he so delicately put it, 'crackin' skulls'.

Blake scowled up at him as he walked away, but she didn't make a move, instead she remained rooted to the spot.

It wasn't a second later that Negan turned back to her, giving her a small frown.

"You comin'?" he asked, poking his tongue into his cheek, looking slightly irritated. He gave a warning shake of his head. "Don't make me ask twice."

Right now Blake could feel the entire room's eyes on her. They obviously knew what Negan did to people who refused to obey him. And as far as he was concerned, stood here amongst a high proportion of his people, he had a reputation to uphold.

She stared him out for a long second, before finally giving in, bowing her head and following him.

"That's my girl," said the tall, leader of the Saviours, leaning back approvingly, as his chocolate eyes followed her.

But Blake didn't look at him, she kept her eyes on the floor, her head bowed low.

His tone with her right now was not dissimilar to how David would often speak to her. Like she was something he had brought in off his shoe. So it was nothing new to her to try and avoid eye contact and keep her head down….

That was just something she had become accustomed to over time.

Blake made to slip silently and obediently past Negan, heading over towards the line of people waiting with their empty trays at the pot of steaming broth. But before she could do so, he had grabbed at her bruised forearm lightly, causing her to wince, taking in a sharp intake of breath.

"You keep that chin of yours up, doll," he murmured into her ear suddenly. "You are a fucking queen here, and do not allow anyone to tell you otherwise. Even me."

Blake peered suddenly up at Negan, parting her lips slightly as she did so. And for the first time since she had met him he looked almost regretful for his actions, surveying her reaction carefully.

There it was again. That sense of threat….and then the charm….

She felt so confused right now….so uncertain of what it was that he wanted from her.

Why the hell would she ever be a queen? She was no one. Just a girl from the city…someone who used to just get by day to day…went to work…made dinner…came home to her fiancé….but never in her life had anyone called her a queen before.

Blake let out a shaky breath.

And for the briefest of moments there was something in Negan's eyes that Blake could not quite put her finger on. But in an instant it was gone….the tall Saviour bringing himself up to his full height again, smiling.

A second later, she felt the hand that had grasped her arm, slip down, Negan entwining his fingers neatly with hers.

He pulled her forwards, tugging her down towards the front of the line of people queuing for food.

The crowd instantly parted as he sloped on through with her tailing close behind.

"We'll have two of the lobster thermidore and a bottle of your finest champagne," he uttered to the nervous looking woman and man, stood behind the pots and pans, serving up dinner to people.

Negan looked back at Blake and shot her a wink, before turning away again to face the servers.

A woman, with long greying hair looked almost as though she was about to cry, and the man at her side, his hand holding a ladle, shaking, didn't look far from tears either.

But after a moment, Negan gave a loud chuckle. "I'm kidding!" he said lifting Lucille up onto his shoulder with his other, free, hand. "Don't look so worried!"

The man and woman forced an uneasy smile, but still looked as nervous as before.

"So what is on the menu?" Negan asked, arching his back as he spoke.

The man gave a visible gulp, his hands trembling. "Uh….a-a vegetable broth with white bread," he said in a quiet tone. "W-With a chocolate-chip shortbread cookie for dessert."

Negan turned back to Blake. "You hear that?" he said wrinkling his nose back at her, flashing her a wide grin as he did so. "Dessert!"

Blake shot him a look, pursing her lips slightly. Which only seemed to cause his grin to widen further.

He looked back at the man, letting go of Blake's hand, and giving his own an urging wave towards the servers.

"Well, plate it up then," he said with a faux-tone of encouragement.

A second later, a tray full of warm steaming broth, a spoon, a bread roll and a cookie were handed over to Negan, who promptly passed it back to Blake, giving it a dramatic sniff.

"Smells good don' it?" he said smiling.

But Blake just tutted, snatching the tray from his grasp and turning away from him, causing him to follow her delightedly, on bouncing heels.

"Yeah, thank you for finally feeding me," she murmured under her breath in a scathing tone, probably just loud enough for Negan to hear.

But Negan just chuckled, muttering something about how much he was enjoying her 'smart-mouth'.

He bumped her shoulder playfully as he strode ahead of her, over to an empty portion of one of the long tables and offered her a seat on the end of the long bench.

Blake placed her tray promptly down and took her seat, swinging her legs over the bench and gazing surreptitiously around the room.

It was full of faces that Blake had never seen before. Despite a lot of them looking like men and women who knew how to handle a gun, there were also several older people, as well as kids and a few weedy-looking teens.

Maybe this place really was the 'Sanctuary' it was named after.

It wasn't a moment later that Negan sat down next to her, dropping Lucille down onto the bench beside him . But rather than facing the scrubbed wooden table, the leader of the Saviours faced the other way, leaning back, stretching his arms out and resting his elbows back against the table-top easily, surveying the room.

But right now Blake did not want to make further small talk with him, instaed she took a grateful bite of bread, picking up her spoon and beginning to eat the warming broth. It was simple, but she was in fact so hungry, just the smell made her mouth water.

And for a minute or two Negan left her to it, sitting there, legs wide apart, grinning to himself, staring out at his empire.

Blake still did not know what to make of him. Everything he did made her feel uneasy…. on edge…and she knew that he wouldn't wait forever to hear what she knew about Rick and his group. She had to think of something. But what? What on earth could she tell Negan that he wouldn't see through in seconds?

Even if she did have something of value anyway, there was no way she was going to tell Negan what Rick had planned. He was a monster who had killed people…but actually….thinking about it, in a way, so was Rick….

Blake gave a gulp, pulling apart the bread roll wither hands and taking a small bite.

She internally cursed David for getting her into this situation. He had put her in this dangerous position while he swanned around with Negan's wives.

Although, Blake had to look at her own position right at that minute, sitting under the protective wing of Negan himself… There was worse places she could think of being…..like back in that cell for starters.

She chanced a glance up at Negan at her side, all cocky swagger and leather jacket, looking as smug as he always did.

He almost instantly bit his lip and looked her way.

"You enjoyin' that, peaches?" he asked, his dark eyes looking her up and down.

Blake gave a nod, a spoonful of broth hovering an inch or two from her lips.

Negan gave a wide smile, leaning in towards her slightly.

"No points needed for you here, we clear? And if any of my men try and tell you otherwise, you tell them to come and see me," he uttered staring deep into her eyes as he spoke.

"Points?" she murmured, lowing her cutlery and staring back at him.

"Yuh-huh," he nodded, his lips curving up into a grin, as he poked his tongue through his teeth. "You see around here, either you work for me….or you work for points…"

Blake looked out across the room, over to where an elderly woman was clutching half a piece of bread as though it was gold-dust, and a tiny-looking girl at her side, barely more than seven years old, had her arms clenched around herself, looking thin and starved.

Blake now understood why people came here. Even if they had to scrape by working for points to get a meal, it was still better than being out there….alone.

"But like I said….you don't need any points, beautiful," Negan uttered in a charming voice. "I got you."

But Blake looked up at him once again frowning, placing down her spoon with a clang and standing up suddenly.

After two long years of being out there alone…surviving….. this was the last thing she needed from anyone….especially him.

She shot Negan a furious look, before swinging her legs over the bench, picking up her cookie and getting to her feet.

Blake immediately marched across to where the little girl was stood and handed her the dessert.

"Here…you can have this," she said in just a whisper, as the little girl peered up at her through dirty blonde locks. Her tiny hazel eye shifted over to Negan for the briefest of moments before she clasped the cookie hungrily.

"'Fanks," she croaked, causing Blake to purse her lips and turn back around to face Negan, who she found, to her surprise, hadn't moved.

In fact, the only thing that had changed about him, was the bemused smirk now fixed onto his long, tanned face.

Blake strutted back over to him and resumed her position, picking up her spoon once again, like nothing had ever happened.

She had defied him. And she knew full well, that if he wanted to use Lucille on her right now, he could.

But instead she just felt him turn to her, eyebrows raised, leaning in once again…

….this time pushing back a strand of caramel blonde hair from her face…his lips brushing her ear as he spoke….

"And that is why..." Negan murmured, sending shivers right down Blake's spine. "...you. are. a. queen."

She turned to look at him, his face lingering a mere breath from her own. And right at that second she felt her heart pounding just that little bit faster at his proximity to her.

He tilted his head slightly, licking at his lips slowly….

But Blake suddenly turned away, back to her bowl of food hurriedly, avoiding his twinkling chocolate eyes…

Negan was certainly playing a dangerous game here…and Blake still wasn't sure whether she could survive it…

Thanks to JudithMosalii, FriendsWithTheMonster and Shan1994 for reviewing that last chapter.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend.

Please review if you'd like me to carry on :)