The Queen

Summary: After the war, sixteen-year-old Danielle Hale left Britain, moving to live in the States with her Dad. She struggles to come to terms with what happened, what she had to do in the war, and hoped never to do again. But her hopes are shattered years later when the dead rises and society falls. On her own, Danielle searches for her Dad, not letting anything get in her way.

Disclaimer: I do not own Walking Dead or anything mentioned in this fic. None of it belongs to me besides my OC, Danielle. I'm back everyone :)

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Chapter 6: Enough is Enough

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Her prayers were granted. For the rest of the night, Danielle slept peacefully, unbothered by dreams. It was the early hours of morning, as the sky was gradually lightening, that she woke. Slowly, her body roused itself from sleep. Her body was sore but she didn't focus on getting up yet. Her eyes remained closed, enjoying the comfortable warmth that surrounded her. As much as she wanted to stay in the tent, chasing sleep's lingering embrace, she knew it was time to get up. There were things she had to do.

Dark brown eyes fluttered open lazily before traveling around. Instantly, her body froze as her mind took in her surroundings. Sometime during the night, she had moved closer to Merle. The older Dixon was still sound asleep, his loud snores filling the tent as he lay flat on his back. His left arm was wrapped around her securely. Her shirt had ridden up slightly, revealing a small strip of bare skin, and the rough but warm texture of his arm pressed against it.

His chest was firm under her head and her arm was slung loosely over his torso, like she had reached for him in her sleep. It was an unexpectedly intimate position that made Danielle freeze. She could feel her cheeks heating up in embarrassment as she carefully extracted herself from around the man. He didn't even stir as she slipped out of his grasp and exited the tent.

Once outside, she sighed heavily in relief, closing her eyes as she thanked God no one had seen that.

"Mornin'," a gruff voice had her eyes flying open as she spun around.

Daryl was sitting on a log, fiddling with a few of his arrows. His crossbow rested next to him as he looked up at her. His blue eyes roved over her calmly but he didn't show any signs he'd seen the compromising position Danielle and Merle had been in.

"Good morning, Daryl," Danielle replied, deciding to put it aside for now. Her cheeks were still warm but she ignored it as she strode over to sit down across from him. Seeing her spear propped up against the log she was sitting on, she grabbed it and checked the end, making sure it was still as sharp as it usually was.

"Sleep well?"

At the question, her body stiffened and she slowly shifted her eyes from the tip of the spear to Daryl. It was spoken innocently but it was clear there was implications behind it. His blue eyes were gleaming in amusement and his lips were stretched into a smirk as he watched her. Her embarrassment returned full force as she looked away from him, fiddling with her spear.

"Yeah, I did," she answered honestly, deciding to just be honest with him. Hopefully Daryl wouldn't hold it over her like Merle would if he heard about it. "Do you mind not telling your brother?"

"He's not gonna hear it from me," he snorted, seeing her look of surprise at his answer. "Merle's like a dog on a bone with stuff like that."

"Thank you," she smiled, thankful for the small gesture. "Saves me a lot of embarrassment."

Daryl just nodded, still messing with a few of his arrows. He paused and looked over at her, his amusement shifting into a serious expression. It took a moment for him to decide what to say. It was clear he had something he wanted to say but didn't know how to word it, so Danielle waited patiently, holding his gaze.

"Never got to say it before. Wanted to tell ya thanks, for savin' my brother," he murmured, his voice soft and raspy. He shifted his gaze back to his arrows, fiddling with one of them, but directed his words to her. "Ya didn't have to do that but ya did so… thanks."

"You're welcome," Danielle smiled warmly at him, her heart softening as he glanced over at her shyly. "It wasn't planned, meeting Merle like that, but I'm glad I did. It was him that convinced me to leave the city. We made a deal."

"What deal?"

"If I came with him to find you, he would help me find my Dad," Danielle shifted her attention to her spear, rubbing her thumb against the flat side of the spearhead. "He was in Washington DC before all this. I'm going to find him."

Daryl watched her, a thoughtful expression his face. "That's a long trip. Ya sure ya wanna risk that?"

Her hands stilled on the spearhead and she lifted her eyes to meet his, letting him see the determination there. "I would do anything for my Dad. He's done a lot for me. I'm gonna find him, no matter what."

Seeing her firm resolve, Daryl nodded, a small hint of what looked like respect in his eyes as he looked back down at his arrows. "I can see why Merle likes ya."

"What do you mean?" she asked, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"He's never met a woman like ya. Yer strong, stronger than most of the girls he spent time with before," he answered simply.

Danielle stared at him, her lips tugging upwards into a genuine smile. Daryl didn't know her. This was the first conversation between just the two of them. But he had pegged her as strong right off the bat, which she appreciated.

Before she could thank him, the tent flap was zipped open and Merle stepped out. He yawned loudly, his mouth gaping open, before rubbing at his short cropped blonde hair. Blinking blearily, he shuffled over to Danielle and plopped down next to her.

"Mornin' sugar," he rasped with a smirk. "How ya feelin'?"

"Pretty good," she answered, pushing herself to her feet with the intention of leaving to get some stuff done. Her side protested with a bolt of pain and she winced, pressing a hand to it gingerly. Seeing Merle's raised eyebrow, she amended her statement. "Okay, my side hurts a little."

"Where are ya headin' off to?" Merle asked, confused.

"I'm going to go talk to Rick, see if I can find a map around here. We need to plan which way we're going," she answered, starting off towards the farmhouse.

"Get yer side checked while yer at it!" Merle called after her.

"Got it!" she called back, throwing him a grin over her shoulder as she left. Her hand cradled her injured side gingerly, feeling every step send a bolt of pain through the wound. A few feet from the farmhouse, she paused, seeing Carol and Sophia.

"Dani!" Sophia beamed up at her, looking like she dearly wanted to hug her. Fortunately, the girl was smart enough to know the older woman was still injured.

"Hey sweetheart, how are you doing?"

"Much better," she answered, glancing up at her Mama.

Taking her cue, Carol smiled at her shyly, holding out the stack of folded, fresh clothes in her hands. "I thought you might want some clean clothes. That wound of yours might get infected."

Danielle raised her eyebrows as she reached out and took the clothes, oddly touched by the gesture.

"Thank you, Carol. That's very kind of you. Do you know where Rick is by any chance?"

"You're welcome, Dani. I think he's probably in the house talking to Hershel," Carol answered.

"Alright, thank you," Danielle nodded, flashing the mother and daughter another smile as she headed towards the house.

It was even prettier in the daylight. A chill crept down her spine as she noticed how big the land was, how difficult it would be to defend it. They were sitting ducks here.

Moving inside, she saw an older man with white hair tied back and Maggie sitting at the table.

"Good morning," Danielle greeted, lips curling up into a warm smile.

"Good morning," the older man replied, giving her a small smile. "My name is Hershel Greene, and this is my farm. How are you feeling?"

"Better than before, though I should probably get my side checked," Danielle answered, nodding politely. "My name's Danielle Hale, but you can call me Dani. Thank you for letting me stay the night and fixing my side, by the way."

"You're welcome," Hershel watched her thoughtfully. "Danielle Hale, that name sounds familiar. Did you go to Hogwarts, by any chance?"

Danielle stiffened, magic dancing under her skin, ready to be used in a moment's notice. "I did. What of it?"

"It's okay," Maggie jumped in, green eyes soft. "My sister, Rosalie, went there. That was during the war. We didn't know much, since she couldn't tell us what was goin' on and the world was claiming the attacks were terrorism. When she got home, when it was all over, she told us about a fifth-year girl who saved her from Bellatrix. We always wanted to meet you."

Her chest felt like it had been kicked by a Thestral. Danielle stared at the younger woman, her heart aching. "I always wondered what her name was. It's nice to know she got back home safe."

"She looked up to you, said you were a spitfire," Maggie smiled, amusement and sorrow flickering in her eyes. "Brave enough to draw the attention of a Death Eater."

"She was just a kid. It wasn't right," Danielle protested. Then the wording sunk in and her heart dropped to the pit of her stomach in dread. "Is she okay? What happened?"

Maggie looked away, clearly not wanting to answer, and that was answer enough for Danielle.

Hershel sighed heavily, weariness in every line of his face. "When this all happened, she was caught up in it. My wife, Annette, and our boy, Shawn, were with her."

"I'm sorry for your loss," she spoke genuinely, a queer sort of grief spreading through her. She hadn't known the girl, hadn't even known her name, but she'd never forgotten the little Ravenclaw she'd put herself in the sights of Bellatrix for.

"Thank you," Hershel nodded in acceptance. "You're welcome to stay however long you need to, Danielle. You and your partner."

"Thank you," she smiled gratefully, appreciating the offer. "We'll stay for a few days but not much longer. We're heading for DC to meet with my Dad. I need to make sure he's okay."

"Some of the girls are going with Shane to practice shooting later. Are you planning on coming?"

"Oh no, I'm not a gun person," Danielle chuckled. "I'm more of a blade or spear type of girl. I think I'm just gonna rest a bit for today, take it easy."

Resting was easier said than done. For the next three days, while patrolling and helping with the animals, Danielle watched in a mixture of amusement and disbelief as the Atlanta group bickered and fought amongst themselves, throwing secrets around like weapons. The group had more drama in it than a bunch of teenage girls. There was so much infighting she'd be surprised if they stayed together.

When Glenn made the announcement about the barn being full of walkers, Danielle and Merle decided to stay out of it as the rest of the group fought and argued over what to do about it. Danielle was of the opinion it was none of her business. The walkers were locked away in the barn. They weren't an active threat to her at the moment. It was Hershel's land anyhow. The respectful thing to do would be to abide by his rules until the walkers escaped. If they did, all bets were off, but for now, it was fine.

Then came the moment all Hell broke loose.

"Yeah, you're right man. That is enough," Shane shot the walker in the head, sending the woman crumpling to the ground followed by Hershel. The look of complete devastation on the older man's face made Danielle's heart ache as she stood back with Merle, spear held tight.

"Enough living next to a barn full of things that are trying to kill us. Enough! Rick, it ain't like it was before. Now if y'all want to live, if you want to survive, you got to fight for it. I'm talking about fighting right here right now."

With that, despite the protests, Shane broke the barn doors open and walkers came stumbling out, one by one.

At least a dozen walkers came out and they were shot down by the Atlanta group. Danielle and Merle stayed back from it, Sophia and Carol behind them.

When it was over, the Greene family was crying, breaking down over the deaths, and Beth was the one to move towards her mother's body.

She started screaming as her mother snarled, not quite gone for good, and reached for her.

Moving forward, slipping between the chaotic shouts and frantic forms of Rick and the others, Danielle simply slammed her spear down through the woman's head, making her fall still.

"Are you alright, Beth?" she asked, wrapping an arm around the girl as she handed her off to Hershel.

"Yeah," Beth breathed shakily, sniffling, tears still streaming down her face.

Danielle watched as Hershel cradled his daughters close, hurrying them up the hill towards their house. Shane and Rick charged after them, angry and upset.

Stabbing her spear into the dirt, she started for the nearest body, grabbing him by the legs to start dragging him towards the field.

She paused, seeing the rest of the Atlanta group just standing around, shell-shocked.

"What are you all doing just standing around? The respectful thing to do is bury the bodies," she barked, angry that they'd initiated this and they were still shell-shocked by it. "Glenn, go get some shovels. The rest of you, we need some help dragging."

Glenn obeyed, running off, as TJ and Dale started helping drag bodies over to the field. Merle, Daryl, and Carol followed suit, Sophia huddling close with Carl.