Been having a bit of writer's block, so I quickly hashed this out. Sorry it;s short- there's not much I can really do with Jamie here on the Hilltop, since she doesn't play a pivotal role as negotiator or anything, but here it is. Please review!
The group of men were staring them down, spears and knives held at the ready.
Jamie gently let the woman, who was still leaning on her heavily, onto the ground and stoop, hand grasping at her pistol warily...
"STOP!" Jesus threw himself between the brewing conflict, arms out. "It's over. There's no need to fight..."
"He killed Nathan." the rag-tag farmers eyed them warily. everyone fingered their weapons, and Rick- covered in blood- help his revolver, pointed at the ground.
"Nathan did that himself when he stabbed Gregory. This is over- it doesn't have to go any farther."
Rick nodded to Jesus, eyes serious. "What can I do?"
"Put your guns away. You've done enough." Jesus said firmly.
Rick nodded, holstering his pistol and turning on heel, heading back towards the house.
Jesus sighed, running a hand through his hair. "He's conscious. He'll live."
Jamie stared at the floor, slightly disappointed. While it was an awful thin g to do, she'd been hoping Gregory would die so they'd only have to deal with Jesus. The man was much more reasonable.
"What was that all about?" Rick asked, inclining his chin slightly.
Jesus sighed. "Negan. We pay him off- half our supplies. In exchange- he lets this place keep standing."
Daryl scoffed slightly. "Shitty deal, if you ask me."
"You don't understand." Jesus looked up, eyes glimmering with emotion. "They're insane- when we tried to fight back, they invaded- beat a kid to dead in front of us. We've been paying off ever since."
Rick nodded, looking interested. "And if I told you we had the firepower to take them out?"
Jesus's eyes widened. "I'd say you were insane."
Rick jerked his head towards the window. "The fighting that you saw out there- that's not even a fraction of what we can do. Our manpower- our rifles- can do a lot more damage than that."
"I'm interested. But it's not me you have to convince- it's Gregory."
Maggie nodded, heading for the stairs. "I'm on it."
"Just- stay in the house, alright? I know it's not your fault but I'd prefer it if we didn't have anymore trouble here today. And people might get upset if they see you walking around alone..."
"Fine by us." Rick said, nodding.
She found herself upstairs in the library, thumbing over the spines of dusty books. The manor was huge and quiet, but she enjoyed the solitude, the peace. IT gave her time to sort out her feelings. She crossed the room, boots heavy on the wood flooring, to look out the window, setting her hand on the back of a wooden chair.
"I thought I'd find you here." Jesus gave her a falsely cheery smile that didn't reach his eyes. "You up for that rematch?"
"Sure." she pulled out the chair and sat down, scrutinizing the chess-board half-halfheartedly. She made her first move without much gusto, looking outside. The sunshine was still beaming down.
Jesus made his first move, pale blue eyes scrutinizing her calmly. "So- are you alright?"
She looked up at him, cocking her head, as she nudged her knight into position. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"That was a pretty intense situation down there. I just wanted to make sure you were okay..." he trailed off when he found she was glancing out the window, not really looking at him.
She was silent for one minute, two...
"I've killed people." she looked up at him, green eyes cautious, gauging his reaction. "I've been much more intense situations than the little fistfight downstairs."
Jesus's expression went from one of shock to sadness. "I'm sorry you had to do that."
"I did what I had to."
Jesus nodded seriously, sliding his bishop across the board to take her pawn. "I get the feeling you've seen a lot more than any kid should."
"I'm not a kid anymore. All the kids died years ago- I forgot how to play, how to cry. I just survived."
Jesus stared at her for a long moment, expression conflicted. Looking defeated, he finally spoke. "It's your move."
"Oh- right." she urged her rook forward before turning back to stare out the window, chin resting in her hand, elbow propped up on the table.
"So... what happened outside doesn't bother you?" Jesus asked tentatively.
She looked over at him seriously. "Two men died. I'm sorry it happened- wish it hadn't- but death is just a part of life now. You get used to it."
Jesus's knight crept out from behind the line of pawn, alighting on a square. "And you're okay with that?"
She shrugged, moving to take an unguarded pawn. "It doesn't matter what I'm okay with anymore. Death happens, and we see it. There's no more nursing homes, no more places we can just send people off to so we don't have to watch it. I don't like it- but I understand it happens."
"And you just... don't let it effect you?" Jesus asked hesitantly. "Do you care?"
Her eyes faltered for a brief moment. "No." she admitted quietly, looking incredibly uncomfortable before turning to look out the window again.
Jesus nodded slowly, sliding his bishop across the board. "Checkmate." he said softly.
Jamie looked over, surprised, to see he was right- she'd lost. Even if she moved her queen in front of the king, it would only buy her a move- any possible avenue still led to checkmate.
Jesus stood. "Nice game." he admitted, before his eyes were flickering to look out the window at what;d been distracting her.
"I think you care a lot more than you say you do, you know." Jesus admitted quietly, before he was turning and leaving her alone in the silent library, alone with her thoughts.
She blinked down at the chessboard, not really surprised. She hadn't been paying attention. She'd been far to busy watching the sun reflect off the shovel as a fresh grave was being dug and a devastated woman crying over a stained sheet through the window.
Just a list of Jamie's kills. She said she killed nine people- she killed 2 before she met Daryl, she talks about it at the fire on the farm one night- one who tried to rape her and an unconscious bite victim. She kills the three men trying to rape the woman at the prison, in addition to a bite victim she finds in the woods. She also disembowels the man from Joe's group, causes a man to bleed out from slashing the back of his knees at Terminus, and shoots a man in the neck at Terminus, as well as shooting the wolf that Carl shot in the leg, effectively killing him. So that's ten so far, over the course of 2-3 years following the apocalypse.
I hope you enjoyed the subtle elements of this chapter- the way she says it doesn't effect her anymore but keeps looking outside, and looses the chess game, is sort of a give-away that she;s lying. Death does bother her, though she typically doesn't let it show, and she feels bad that people die and even guilty that the dead man's wife is in so much pain. Jesus is realizing that she'd incredibly resilient, but also human- and that her feelings make her different from on of Negan's group.
Please review! Also- the title of this chapter has more than one meaning- review your theory on it and I'll see if you're correct.