virago|c.g.|

xli

Glenn waited patiently as the girl took a deep breath, noticing the grief in her eyes. "After my sister died, Leon turned cold. He told me I couldn't love anyone because love was weakness. That love is what got my sister killed, her love for him that caused her to sacrifice herself." Clary clenched her jaw. "Micson used that against me, saying her love for Leon and I is what got her killed. I believed him. And then Millie's love for me got her killed, I know that much." The image of her past friend flashed for a moment before she stopped herself from delving into the thoughts of her. "I can't allow anyone to die for me because they care about me. Not anymore." The girl shook her head. "And love made me react in a way that a Commander shouldn't. I put too many lives on the line to save two because they mattered too much to me to let them go."

Looking down at her hands, she didn't meet his gaze. "I'm scared because I was taught that love is weakness, and what if that's true?" Glenn sighed, seeing the girl picking at the skin around her nails, a nervous habit he had noticed she had. He knew becoming the Angel of Death, killing the men that recognized her, had taken a toll on her and he only wished he could've been there for her to save her from it.

"Where you came from, you had to fight. You were a community of soldiers, of warriors. You had to be strong, but here?" Glenn smiled softly. "Love isn't weakness, it's strength. It's my love for Maggie, the baby, you, that keep me going. And I'm not scared to love you, so does that make me weak?" Clary looked to him with soft eyes. "Glenn—" she began, only for him to cut her off. "Don't worry about us, Clary. What happened with the Saviors happened and we're okay now. So be cautious, but don't be afraid, because you're hurting a lot more people than yourself."

Pushing back hair that had fallen in her face, she nodded her head softly before he pulled her in. Placing his chin on top of her head, he held her for a few moments before pulling away. "I think you should go check on a certain teenage boy, who just so happens to be training in your usual spot. I'm sure he'd like a sparring partner." Clary laughed softly as he smirked, rolling her eyes playfully before she stepped away. Grabbing the sword she had left on the table, she gave Glenn a quick goodbye before clipping on her sheath and heading out.

Clary traveled along the roads of Alexandria for a while before coming upon the open area of land Clary and Carl used to train. She saw him training just as Glenn said he would be, her eyes watching as his body moved fluently. He had become stronger than the boy he was back then, back when they had first started growing closer and training together. As she approached, she watched as he was unbalanced, something she had noticed was a reoccurring problem when having to change dominant hands to accommodate his wound. "You're putting too much weight on the left leg, even it out." Carl turned, surprised to see the girl approaching him with a soft smile.

Bringing up his sword, he got into stance, realizing his body was more towards his left than right as she had said, causing him to be off balanced. He felt her hand ease him back, bringing him to be set on both feet evenly. Carl was surprised as she kept her hand on his side, her touch gentle before she spoke softly. "I'm sorry for pushing you away."

Carl allowed the sword in his hand to fall to his side before reaching out his hand to clasp over hers. As he turned, he kept hold of her smaller hand and looked to her. "What can I do?" Carl asked sincerely, causing the girl to shake her head. "Nothing, it's just me." Carl looked at her for any signs of a lie but saw none, yet he didn't feel any better. "If it's because I tried kissing you, I— I shouldn't have. I'm sorry and I should have seen if you were even okay with it. I'm such an ass—" Carl was cut off as she heard her laugh. Looking to her in surprise, he felt peace seeing a kind smile on her face. "It wasn't because of that, promise. I've just been afraid of being forced out so I tried to make it easier by distancing myself from you."

Clary felt at peace standing with the boy and felt no fear as she looked down at their intertwined hands. "But I'm staying, so the distancing ends. But with the Saviors out there, you need to realize that I can't just be the Clary you know. This war that we might have begun? I have to be the Angel of Death and I don't want to get you or Glenn, Maggie and Enid in between that." Carl brought up his hand to force her gently to look at him. "You can't decide that for us, Clary. We choose to stand by you, we all do, whether it's as Clary or the Angel of Death. I— I care about both sides of you, doesn't matter what one or the other has done because in the end, it's just you." Carl cupped her cheek, smiling at her and taking a moment just to look at the girl.

However, in the trance like state she brought him to, she allowed a smirk to paint her face before quickly stepping away and using his imbalance to sweep him off of his feet. As he fell to the floor, he laughed as she looked down at him with a smile. "Come on, you've been on break for long enough. Let's see if you've gotten any better." Carl allowed a smirk to set on his face before the girl helped him up. The two got into fighting stances, their blades raised at each other.

As Clary was about to initiate an attack, she heard their names being called. Both Carl and her turned towards the streets, seeing Glenn running towards them. Giving Carl a quick look, the two sheathed their swords before meeting with Glenn halfway. "Glenn, what's going on?" Clary questioned, her eyes wide in worry. "Daryl, Denise, Rosita, Eugene and Abraham all got jumped by Saviors. They killed Denise and a bullet grazed Eugene. Rick's headed that way but he wanted to speak to you." Clary nodded, looking back to Carl for a moment before he nodded his head, taking a step closer before placing a hand gently on her arm. "Go. I'll see you when you're done." Placing her hand over his in a brief goodbye, she gave one last look to Glenn before running towards the infirmary.

With her fast pace, she quickly made it to building before entering. Looking around, she saw Daryl and Rick standing by the window, Abraham and Rosita surrounding Eugene as he laid in the bed. Making her way to the two men by the window, their eyes met hers before they brought their bodies around to face her. "What happened out there?" Clary questioned, Daryl clenching his jaw. "You know any Saviors by name?" Daryl questioned, causing the girl to nod. "A select few, why?" Daryl and Rick's eyes met each other for a moment before looking back to the girl, who felt confused by their looks. "You know a Dwight?"

Everyone grew surprised when they noticed Clary's eyes darken, her hand gripping the handle of her sword tightly. "He's one of Negan's lieutenants. He led maybe one or two pickups so I saw him just enough to recognize him. Did— did that bastard do this?"

Seeing the controlled anger upon her face, both men wondered if they shouldn't have told her about the man's hand in the events. Either way, Daryl nodded his head. "Yeah, with a couple men. He's the one that shot Denise." Clary clenched her jaw, her eyes moving from being placed upon the two of them to looking out of the window. "We need to make sure everyone is armed within the gates. No outer perimeter patrols, we need to keep everyone locked down in here. We need guards on the towers at all times, and we need weapons at those posts in case they attack. If they do then those on watch are our first line of defense."

Letting out a soft breath, she clenched her jaw before heading towards the door. "We have to be ready." She heard Rick's voice sound behind her. "What are you thinking?" Rick questioned, the girl not even turning. "I'm thinking we just found out what comes after."

And with those last words, Clary stepped out onto the streets she wondered would be bathed in blood, whether Savior or Alexandrian or her own.

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Thank you guys so much for 6k reads! I feel like I'm thanking you guys every chapter but honestly the love and support I have been getting from you all deserves everything and more!
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