I do not own The Walking Dead.
Previously:
"Anyway," Faye continued as Daryl opened the door, crossbow raised. Having him there made her feel more confident.
"How many walkers have you killed?"
"Figured I'd save ya from a lecture." Beth said, Judith in her arms as she and Faye made their way back into the cell block.
Faye frowned. "A lecture from who?"
"Carl." The blonde replied easily. At the younger girl's raised eyebrows, she continued. "You bring back another boy, for starters, and shake his hand with a grin on ya face – looks to me like you've found yourself a new friend. Pretty sure it looks that way to Carl, too."
"Oh." When you put it that way, it sounded as if Faye was cheating on him. Which she was not. They weren't even in a relationship, it wasn't possible to cheat. Carl was still her best friend; someone new turning up wouldn't change that. "Patrick isn't a replacement for Carl. He's really nerdy anyway, he was dragging around this backpack full of comic books-"
"Which you would love to get your hands on."
"-and although I may 'love' to get my hands on said comics, once I showed an interest in them, he went into nerd overdrive. I don't think he's been around other kids for a while." The child said. Before Beth could say anything more, she cut in, the words coming out quicker than she expected them to. "Please don't give me a lecture about being friends with other people 'cause I already know that and my life doesn't revolve around Carl and I'm kind of friends with Lizzie and Mika even though they are kind of really weird but everyone says that to me."
Beth shook her head as the two entered the cell. "Wasn't gonna say that, but thanks for the note. 'Sides, not everyone says that."
"Do." Faye said stubbornly.
"Name three."
"Erm, Carol," Beth had a point. Carol was it. "Carol, and Carol. See? Three names."
Beth laughed. "I see. Well, I wasn't gonna say that anyway. It's nice that you two are loyal to each other. Don't know why you think Lizzie 'n Mika are weird, though. They're sweet girls, you should get to know them more."
That was the whole problem, they were sweet. Sweet wasn't something you needed to be in this world. Beth continued.
"I was teachin' them how to put plaits in their hair the other day, it was nice. We've got the water comin' in, showers are working. Kind of. Point is, everythin's more relaxed now. Wouldn't hurt ya to just go with it for a while, you might enjoy yourself."
The girl shrugged. "Who says I'm not?"
"Well, then go to Story Time."
"Story Time is lame."
"You haven't even been to Story Time!"
"That's because anything lame enough to be called Story Time does not deserve my presence."
Beth chuckled. "I was wrong, you are enjoying yourself. Anyone with an ego that big has to be enjoying themselves."
Faye grinned. She liked making other people laugh, making them happy, even if it was just for a little while. Making them smile made her smile.
She didn't go to Story Time because, yes, it did sound stupid, but there was also the fact that Carl didn't like the idea of it either. Most of the children were younger than the two – apart from Patrick, now, and if he had any sense in him he would stick with them and not go – and they didn't want to hear children's stories. Of course, it never occurred to the two that they were in fact children themselves. "I'm gonna take that as a compliment."
The child held her arms out as Beth handed Judith over to her, freeing her arms to make the baby food. Faye liked looking after the baby. Usually, she have done so with Carl – who really did adore his little sister – which was always fun, because he acted like his old self whenever he was around the toddler. Well, pretty much. Pre-Woodbury-newcomers-joining-the-prison old self, which was close enough for Faye.
"Hey," Beth said, but didn't turn her head around. "I've had an idea."
Lightly bouncing Judith up and down on her knee, the girl giggling in response, Faye replied. "What's that?"
"Well, like I said, things are calmin' down now, we've got a routine, so maybe this is a good time to have Maggie 'n Glenn's wedding?"
The girl couldn't see Beth's face, but the excitement was clear in her voice. The idea interested Faye, too; she'd never been to a wedding before. Would she have to wear a dress? Or have her hair fancy? That may take some convincing on Beth's part.
"Well?" The blonde prompted.
But didn't they need loads of… just… stuff for a wedding? Rings, for a start, a dress for Maggie – which, although Faye didn't doubt she would look amazing in, the girl couldn't imagine the woman agreeing to wearing – loads of food which they couldn't spare, probably even for a special occasion.
Also… "Shouldn't we ask Glenn and Maggie before we start planning things?"
The reply made Faye think their consent wasn't particularly high on her list. "Well, I guess, but we can do a little." It was nice to see the older girl so happy with herself, and to give her credit, the idea wasn't a bad one. It was a great one, just complicated too. "We could go on a run to get Maggie somethin' nice to wear, and some other things too. This'll be great, give people somethin' to look forward to!"
"A run?" Faye wasn't trying to be the pessimist here. Someone had to, though. "Us two, and who?"
"Maggie, obviously." Beth answered. It seemed the child's point was sinking in, the three of them alone probably wasn't the safest party to send out. Faye knew Daryl wouldn't be satisfied to let her go outside the prison with only the Greene sister's protection, whether Faye herself thought she was capable enough of not. Glenn probably wouldn't like the idea and neither would Hershel, the girl guessed. "Erm… and…"
A deeper voice sounded from the cell door. Neither girls had been paying enough attention to notice. "I could join you, if you'd like."
A smile spread across Faye's face as she stood, Beth taking Judith back so the child could greet her friend. "Michonne!"
"Hey, girl." The woman greeted softly, still unsure how to respond when the girl wrapped her arms around her waist. Faye already considered Daryl and Carl to be accomplishments when it came to hugging – Daryl taking a lot more work than the boy – and Michonne was next on her list.
"You're back!" She grinned. Michonne had been coming and going ever since the final battle they had with The Governor. Only, as far as the woman was concerned, it wasn't the final fight. She understood why, Faye herself wasn't entirely convinced he was gone forever. However, that wasn't enough to want to go out searching for him, to want to hunt him down. He was tough, but he wasn't invincible. Maybe he finally was dead? Maybe he had been swarmed or randomly attacked or something?
(Who was she kidding? The Governor was not dead.)
"Yeah, I am." Michonne said. "Gonna stay a little while."
Faye frowned. "A few days?"
"We'll see."
Beth finally spoke up. "We'd love it if you stayed long enough for Maggie and Glenn's wedding."
"When's that?" She asked. That was a very good question.
"Well, technically, they don't know they are having an actual wedding, yet, but we'll get to it!" At the woman's sceptical look, Beth continued. "Even if you can't stay that long-"
Which she could, as far as Faye was concerned.
"-you're more than welcome to join us on a run to get things."
The woman nodded, but not without speaking any further. "Alright then. But, seriously, go ask Maggie about this."
Judith now back in Faye's arms, the girl motioned for Michonne to sit on the bed with her, who did so. "You didn't find him?"
There was no doubt who 'he' was.
"No." The answer wasn't a surprise. "But I will. He's out there, I know it."
Faye quickly decided to change the topic, she'd seen what Michonne get worked up about finding The Governor before, she didn't feel like having a repeat. "Did you ever get married?"
The question came out quickly, and only after the words were spoken did Faye realise that was probably a personal question, especially when it came to Michonne. The previous time she had tried to delve into the past she had been met with silence, the older woman clearly not ready to divulge that kind of information. How long would it take to be ready? Faye herself still strongly disliked anyone bringing up her losses, and even before that there were things conversations left untouched.
Bringing Faye out of her thoughts, surprisingly, the woman replied. "No. I didn't."
Well, there went her 'weekly' question.
"Oh." She blinked, but recovered quickly. "Have you ever been to a wedding, though?"
"Yes. Have you?" At the shake of the girls head, she continued. "Why not?"
Faye shrugged. "The opportunity never came up." The girl paused for a moment before deciding to continue. If Michonne had shared something, so would she. "My Dad never re-married, Andy wasn't old enough and most of my family… didn't want me to exist?"
Michonne scowled. "Why?"
"Well, you know, I kind of killed my Mom and all." Faye trailed off, focusing her gaze down, which happened to lead to Judith.
"That was cruel of them." The woman said quietly, but, didn't apologise for it. It was an appreciated change, not that Michonne would realise that. Most people said 'sorry' whenever they heard the news, which Faye would never understand. Why were they apologising? They didn't have anything to do with it, it was her fault. "I think you'll enjoy a wedding."
"What's it like?"
She thought about it for a few moments, and the sincerity of her reply surprised Faye. "A happy place filled with… just… lots of love."
"Sounds nice." Faye smiled, joining in with the small one on Michonne's face.
Their conversation continued a few more minutes – not without Judith finally making a plea for attention - before Maggie appeared at the door with a mischievous grin, Beth behind her.
"What's this I hear about a wedding?"
"Alright, I have some rules."
The four girls were currently in the car with Michonne driving, Maggie beside her, with Beth and Faye in the back – Judith was spending the day with Carl since her usual carer was with them – the trip having been agreed to by the other members of the council. It was the next morning, and Maggie was now briefing them.
"No pink, for a start. And I'm not wearing a big fancy white dress."
That didn't surprise Faye, and Michonne, to Maggie's pleasure, confirmed that there were no wedding shops in the town. Apparently, she knew this from a run she had made with Daryl, which didn't surprise Faye either because the two had been on runs together in the past. Now Michonne moved around a lot more? It wasn't as frequent.
"Would you have worn one of the proper white dresses, you know, before?" Faye asked.
Maggie cocked her head to the side. "Maybe." The small word seemed to have an edge of sadness to it. "But that would be a bad idea back at the prison."
The child continued. "What would it have looked like?"
This, the woman was sure of. It made Faye guess most girls her age were supposed to dream of their big wedding day. "Something simple, nothing sparkly, and it would be sleek - not one of those big poofy princess dresses."
"Hey!" Beth chuckled a little. "Nothing wrong with a princess dress!"
The conversation carried on like this until they reached the town, stopping at the first house with a garage to hide their vehicle.
While the Greene sister's took to searching the bottom floor, Michonne and Faye headed up the small flight of stairs, the child gripping her gun while the woman held her katana at the ready.
After a nod of approval, Faye entered what appeared to be a young child's bedroom, gun quickly lowered when no walker revealed itself as she moved into the centre of the room. The walls were a bright shade of pink, of side having drawings pinned all around it, most of which were drenched in glitter. Various soft toys were littered around the room, and a small TV with DVDs underneath opposite the lavender bed.
It would have been the perfect room for a little girl, if it weren't for the layer of dust that coated everything. No one had been here in a long time.
The door opened, revealing Michonne.
Faye pulled a face. "It looks like a herd of unicorns exploded into fairy dust in here."
"Nice description."
Slowly, Faye wandered around the room, stopping in front of the TV. She hadn't had a TV in her room. Running her hand along the DVDs, the girl stopped and pulled one out. A familiar looking mammal with a red mane stared back at her.
Heh. "It's the fucked up square of life!" The girl sang the tune to herself.
"Faye!" Michonne scolded.
"What?" She grinned. "Sure ain't a circle of life anymore."
The woman shook her head, but the child didn't miss the small smirk on her lips. "Don't ruin The Lion King for me."
Putting down the film, Faye pulled out another one. "Is that 'cause it's your favourite?"
"Nah, it's good, great even – but Mulan's where it's at." She gave a little point to emphasize her words. "Girl power, isn't that your kind of thing?"
"It is," Faye grinned again, waving the case in her hand. "But does it have a monkey? No."
"Aha, Aladdin. I didn't think you'd be a Cinderella fan."
As Michonne finally began picking through the wardrobe, Faye picked up one of the soft toys. It might have been a good idea to pick up something for Judith, the baby deserved to have more nice things, and this kid seemed to have been spoiled rotten. Putting down the squishy mouse that's tail was falling off, Faye eventually settled on a bunny with particularly large ears. Hopefully Judy would choose to tug on those instead of her hair!
"Hey, Faye," The amusement in Michonne's voice did not sound good to the child. "Fancy wearing this?"
The woman held a magenta dress in the air, probably several sizes too small for Faye, with layered frills and sequins covering the top half of the garment. Faye's immediate reaction required no thought.
"Burn it."
Michonne laughed.
"Burn it now."
"Alright, alright, no to the dress then." Once it was hidden from Faye's sight, she continued her search of the room. This was a girly room, there had to be something they could use for the wedding!
Sifting through the draws, Faye finally found something that may be of use. "What about this?"
After throwing the packet to Michonne, she nodded. "Confetti?"
The girl shrugged. "Close enough."
They were actually sequin-type hearts in silver and gold, not proper confetti, but it would be close enough.
"I don't think there's much else we'll find up here, let's go check on the others."
Since there was a downstairs bedroom, Maggie had been able to find a smart shirt that would fit Glenn, and Beth had found some canned fruit, which would go down a treat. It was uncommon enough to make the food at the wedding special if they could find more.
If the exterior of the houses didn't give it away, the insides of the next houses certainly did – they had picked a high class area to search in, no wonder the little girl had so much stuff.
Now paired with Beth, with Michonne and Maggie down the hall as they had all chosen to head upstairs, Faye pushed open the door, looking round the room with her Glock in hand. When nothing appeared, the girl put it back in it's place.
The room was a girl's, again, but was more tasteful than the previous one. The walls were a pale lavender. Like before, Faye searched the room while the wardrobe was looked through. Photos by the bed showed it was a teenager's room, the pretty brunette girl smiling out at her. She looked around the same age as Faye; maybe there were some things that could fit her in here.
"Ooh, this might fit you, Faye!"
Her suspicions were proved true when she turned around to see Beth holding up a pale green dress vaguely in her size. "This would so suit you, you have to try it on!"
"Why do I have to wear a dress?" She moaned, but did as she was told and dropped her backpack onto the bed.
"'Cause it's a wedding and it's pretty! C'mon, ya gotta give it a try, at least." The blonde smiled.
Faye realised only then that Beth was probably so excited because this was all so new to her, going on a run, being outside the prison. The only job she'd really had so far was taking care of the kids, no wonder she had jumped at the chance to get in on planning the wedding. Deciding to give into her, Faye took hold of the dress and awkwardly stood, looking from the material to Beth.
The girl seemed to get the idea, turning around dramatically to make appoint of it. So what if she wanted Beth to turn around? It was embarrassing!
After carefully pulling up the zip, not wanting to damage the fabric Faye stood in front of the mirror that was mounted onto the back of the wardrobe doors. "Okay, you can look."
Grinning as she turned to look at the girl, Beth clasped her hands together. "Yes. That one. You are wearing it!"
The pale green fabric was light and stopped just above her knees, and had straps over her shoulders. It felt strange after so long with hoodies and jumpers, but it was her favourite colour, at least. There was a belt around her waist that was a slightly darker shade, and Faye wasn't sure whether the material was supposed to hang over it a little or whether she wasn't tall enough to wear it, but overall Faye liked it.
It was far better than the pink dress she had been more than willing to set on fire, too, which was always a plus point.
"You look great!" Beth continued.
Faye pulled a face. "I look like a girl."
"… You are a girl."
"You don't know that!"
Faye giggled as Beth held her forehead in her hand with a sigh. "Maggie! Come tell Faye she has to wear this dress!"
Taking the moment as the two sisters called to each other from the separate rooms, Faye looked through the rest of the drawers, finding a few tops and jackets she approved of, and an extra pair of jeans never hurt anybody. The main things that took her attention were a dark grey t-shirt with a darker star in the middle and yet another green hoodie, but this time with a darker shade. Quickly, she shoved the items into her backpack, having heard complaints from Beth about wearing jumpers all the time.
"Alright, then come here and show me!" Faye finally tuned in to what Beth was saying as she heard footsteps coming towards the room with a squeal of excitement from the older teenager. "Faye, Faye, look!"
Maggie walked in wearing a knee length dress with thin straps, the main body of the dress being made up of white and grey pieces of fabric that fluttered when she walked – in short, she looked stunning. Faye wasn't an expert, but she would say it suited her figure. It wasn't a white wedding dress, but it was simple, not sparkly and sleek – just like Maggie had previously described.
"You look really pretty!" Faye said with a smile as the woman stood in front of the mirror with her. "That should be your dress."
"Do you think I should?"
The three looks from the girls in the room were enough for her answer.
Michonne did, however, add a little extra note. "Bet Glenn will like it, too."
Maggie blushed a little.
This only seemed to encourage Beth. "Hey, if we're on the subject of boys, I betcha Carl's gonna love you in that too, Faye."
"Shut up!" She protested, crossing her arms, but the three only chuckled more.
Faye had never gone so red in her life.
Maggie and Beth had taken charge of putting away the dresses so they would stay neat, so Michonne and Faye headed downstairs to see if there was anything else useful.
Walking into the kitchen, though, the child forgot that they hadn't actually checked the downstairs area for walkers.
Michonne was in the hallway checking a cupboard when the walker caught Faye by surprise, her reflex sending her to reach for her knife.
That was wrong, she should probably have gone for the gun, that was the safer option. Going for the knife was a dumb-
Having no time more time to regret the action, the girl ran forward - the noise probably attracting Michonne – and slammed her foot into it's knee.
Blood splattered onto the floor as she heard the crack of what was probably its nose. Not flinching, Faye quickly sat on the walker's back, knife plunging into the back of its skull. Twisting the blade with both hands when the body didn't stop flailing under her grasp, it finally still and Faye stood, yanking out the knife as she rubbed the blood on the walkers shirt.
It had probably wandered its way into the house, the clothes didn't match the standard of the ones in the drawers from the rooms.
From the corner of her eye, Faye finally turned to see Michonne watching her silently. The girl shrugged. "What? Took me by surprise is all. I dealt with it."
She didn't wait to see the woman's reaction as she turned to examine the walker. Daryl had advised her to check the bodies to see if they had anything useful. He had only said this after he'd found a pack of cigarettes, though. Pulling over the body, the girl grinned as she pulled the weapon out of the walker's belt.
"Neat, it's a little axe!" Faye turned the weapon over in her hands. It wasn't light, but it didn't weigh a tonne, either.
"You find clothes, toys, and out of all of that, the thing you get excited over is an axe?" Michonne questioned, tone low. The child didn't like the sound of that, it had an edge of almost accusation.
Was that strange? Should Faye have been concerned about this? Because it was true, she couldn't deny that.
Maybe it was also the fact that killing the walker had been so routine, so normal that Faye could now carry it out without flinching when a bone cracked or when the blood found its way onto her fingers.
That was life, wasn't it? This was normal, Faye had to get used to this, or she would die, and that would not happen. She refused to perish. If this was how she got stronger, then so be it. The dress wasn't practical, the axe was and that was just the way things had to be.
But, that was making Michonne unhappy, and Faye didn't want that. However, she couldn't change the facts – because that's what they were. Facts.
She could lie, though. She could make her loved ones happy if it meant she had to lie.
Giving a small smile, Faye put the axe into her belt. "I'd choose the dress if I were a choice, Michonne. It's just, I dunno, weird getting happy over pretty things. I never normally have them."
A small chuckle left the woman's lips, apparently going along with her answer. "That's okay. Getting girly isn't my thing either."
Faye smiled too.
After all, she liked making people laugh, making them happy, even if it was just for a little while.
Author's Note:
Thank you for understanding why there was the delay, and I'm back to full health now! Also, I received many responses for whether Faye should get sick or not and, currently, the majority say yes, that she will get the illness. That can still change however, so let me know your thoughts! The author's note chapter will be removed tomorrow, by the way.
As for the end of this chapter, I think this will give an idea that Faye is being effected by everything around her, just like Carl did. She is going to change and evolve through it, and some of those things will be bad and some will be good. But, she won't always be this happy-go-lucky kid. Don't worry, though, Faye won't be like a whole new person. At heart, she's still the same girl.
Also, can I just say, that I am so excited for the next few chapters! Faye and Carl are going to be going through a lot, they still have some hurdles to cross. In the end though, they will come out stronger. Don't worry... What was it... I'm trying to remember what one of the reviewers called it... Aha!
'Caye' is coming soon! Let me know your predictions and what you think/want to happen between the two!
Check out a drawing I did for a scene from this chapter on deviantART! A link is on my profile.
Please review, I love to hear your thoughts and advice.
Thanks.
Cobalt Flame.