Captive | The Walking Dead |

99

When they got back to Hilltop, everyone was relieved to make it back safe and unharmed.

"Everyone's okay?" Maggie asked.

"It got close back there but yeah, we're all okay," Isabella nodded as they began to unload the supplies they found from the horses. "We could've got more but there were too many walkers."

"It's okay, we'll figure things out, we're just glad everyones okay," Maggie said as Glenn began to disperse the supplies to their designated places.

"Yeah me too," Isabella nodded as she continued to help disperse supplies.

Once they had unloaded the items they gathered, Isabella went to her room and rid herself of the walker blood that had now seeped into her shirt.

Isabella went upstairs to her room and showered, changing into an outfit that reminded her of Guillermo and smiled at her reflection as she adjusted the shirt to the style Guillermo wore his own.

"I hope I'm making you proud," she whispered to herself before heading out of her room to the courtyard.

She smiled at Maggie as she passed here climbing down the outside stairs to find something else to do.

"Alden told me what happened out there," Maggie said, stopping Isabella in her tracks. "How he saved you, how you saved him. I know you could've let him die, I get it; with everything Negan and the saviors did to you but you didn't. You didn't, you saved him Isabella, and that's- that's fucking amazing."

"I could've let them get him," Isabella softly said, sighing. "I could've just left, hell, I could've shot his leg but I don't know, it wouldn't have been the right thing to do. I'm trying to move on you know, and if he was able to save me, even after I did the things I did to the people he knew, then maybe- maybe I could get over my ego too you know? These saviors, I thought they were the embodiment of evil, like they didn't have an ounce of good in them but not everything is black and white like I thought."

And Isabella meant every word she said. Everyone did anything to protect their families, their homes, no matter the cost. The saviors did that, they made horrible choices but maybe deep down they weren't evil people, not all of them at least. They were just led down the wrong path, like her.

She killed so many people, more than she should have but it didn't make her a horrible person; just like these saviors.

Maybe like Negan.

"That's good, I'm proud of you, really," Maggie smiled and Isabella found herself to give a smile back.

"Me too," Isabella nodded.

She then excused herself as she searched for something to help with.

<>

After that day, Isabella found it to be much easier to tolerate being around the saviors than before. Before she'd tolerate them, but never converse with them but now she found herself to slowly warm up to them.

Days turned into weeks and Isabella had finally felt like she was slowly getting on the path of redemption. She knew she had a long way to go but she knew the next step would be one of the toughest ones.

She knew she had to finally get over her fears, get over her emotions and ego and finally consider moving back to Alexandria.

"I think it'll be good for you," Maggie told her in Gregory's old office after Isabela told both Maggie and Glenn. "I'll miss you around here, but I think it's what you need."

"And if things somehow don't work out over there with Alexandria, you know you'll always have a place here," Glenn added. "It's the least we could do."