chapter one
the archer
𝒊 . 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒓
0:32 - 0:54
' Well , I guess you'd say
What can make me feel this way
. . .
My girl , my girl , my girl
Talkin' 'bout my girl '
Soft whispers brushed past her slightly parted lips, matching hums singing the lyrics quietly. The only sound in the air had been the quiet music playing from the small radio on the table and the gentle thumping of thick paper against the surface. Her fingers moved effortlessly as she shuffled the deck, mastering the small action she picked up from her father all those years ago. A low whistle erupted when she ran her thumb over the width of the deck before she sat it neatly in the middle of the table — between she and her younger sister who sat in the chair across from her. Prim used her knuckles to push it towards the blonde. Teddy, the girl sat on her knees in the chair to match her sister's height, leaned forward in her seat. Her smaller fingers wrapped around the deck and slid it off the table completely in her grasp.
She copied her sister's actions of running her thumb over the width. With squinted eyes and her lip between her teeth as she concentrated, Teddy slid one card from the deck and placed it faced down onto the table. She repeated this action for two different stacks until each held seven cards total. Finishing it off, she leaned forward and placed the drawing deck in the middle of the table once more. Readjusting in her seat, Teddy carefully picked up one stack — cautious not to peek at the cards — and handed them to the brunette. Prim gracefully slid them in her hand.
Teddy did the same. Once the two had been ready for their third match of the night with a nod, Prim's quite voice spoke out for the first time. ". . . You first," she directed and Teddy's blue eyes averted to her cards as she thought about her next move. Unfortunately, she had no matching cards to set down and both move a step closer to winning nor to give her a little more space in her hands so she suggested the first card she saw.
"Do you have a three?" She quirked her eyebrow up towards her sister. Prim pressed her lips together shortly with a shake of her head after her eyes quickly shot across her cards for a three. Teddy frowned.
"Go —" the brunette's shoulders tensed up at what she believed was a sound coming from somewhere other than the kitchen they had currently been resting in. Her eyes snapped towards Teddy who seemed to have no recognition of her sister's suspicious gaze. She had been too busy switching her cards between her hands one by one to put them in numerical order. Another sound made Prim's feet slide from her chair — her knees once to her chest — and she sat straight in her seat, hand instantly reaching and pressing the ' off ' button on the radio, ultimately sending silence through the old home. Teddy's eyes trained to her sister in mild concern, watching closely at the way Prim's head tilted as she listened for another sound.
She knew that look.
A soft rattling sound, followed by a muffled scream, quirked their attention instantly. In less than a second, Prim let the cards in her hand flutter off onto the table — some floating to the floor as she stood, chair being pushed backwards as she did so. Teddy copied her actions as Prim spun around and grabbed the strap that had been hanging on the hook of her chair all while her voice sent directions towards the young blonde. "Go around the back, only come out if I give you the signal," she instructed, not bothering to send a glance towards the little girl who's footsteps hurried after her. The two parted ways as they reached the hall, the nine year old quickly and quietly rushing past the staircase and towards the back of the house as Prim moved towards the bold front door.
They practiced this move at least a hundred times. In case anyone decided to adventure across their temporary home, unwanted. Teddy would go out back, instructed to run the opposite way if anything went south with Prim out front. A single signal communicated their next steps strategically, like telepathically shared brain cells.
Thankfully, the wooden door hadn't been old and creekity like the rest of the funeral home, giving Prim a silent way out towards the porch as she pulled it open and stepped onto the wood that aligned the house. She was careful to keep the door cracked behind her in order to have easy access back in if there had been signs of danger she couldn't control. She took slow and light steps towards the edge of the porch, her hand moving behind her and pulling out a single arrow from her quiver, bringing it to her front and sliding it in it's rightful place — successfully nocking it for use. In the corner of her eye, she caught onto the blonde who hid in her usual spot behind the large gravestone that had stood taller than the both of them all while she raised her arms and pulled the nock back, watching the strangers warily.
She watched as a blonde girl — anything about her hidden by the dead one that had been crawling on top of her — was completely unable to fight successfully as she had been tangled up on the trip wire the siblings placed days ago. Prim knew Teddy had a good point when she suggested it. Teddy 1, Prim 0. A few feet away, a struggling man attempted to reach the blonde, all while sending his crossbow into a dead one that had been clawing at his leathered shoulders. He repeatedly yelled, sending worried filled glances frantically towards the girl on the floor as he fought of the dead at his feet. After stomping his foot against ones soggy skull, he was able to bring his crossbow up and send a green arrow into the head of the dead, it slumping in a mess on top of the blonde's huffing body.
The archer hadn't noticed the dead one behind him, it's teeth already centimeters from his exposed neck as it's hands gripped painfully on his shoulders, sending the man to his knees as he tried to scramble away. The blonde watched in horror as she was sure it was the archer's last night out in the apocalypse.
That all switched up drastically when a low and quite whistle whizzed past his head and lodged itself into the skull of the dead one, it ultimately falling to the floor at his side. The man squirmed away in a bear crawl, eyes glued towards the wooden arrow into its right eye, his chest moved up and down as he breathed out tiredly.
"Leave." The archer immediately threw himself up, hands gripping his cross bow and spinning around pointing it towards the culprit. He had — not visibly — been taken back at the sight of a young girl standing on the surface of the porch that lead to the door of the funeral home. His eyes squinted through his hair that fell slightly over his eyebrows towards her. The brunette didn't falter in the slightest at the sight of an arrow pointed directly towards her skull, however, Daryl would be lying if he said the one she had pointing between his eyes didn't make his knees tense in result.
The girl had been short — not too short but around 5'2 or so, not much shorter than Beth had been if she were standing. Her dark hair had been tied into a messy braid that rested on her shoulder, the hair band literally tied together by its last string to keep her wavy mess in control. A light bandana had been wrapped around her face, hiding everything lower than the bridge of her nose and only showing her eyes that held none other than predator on prey as she stared at them. Daryl and Beth being the prey.
"I said. . . leave," she spoke again, shoulders high and mighty as her hand subconsciously tightened around the grip of the handle. Her thumb tapped around the base, giving her subtle signal. "I saved your life, in return, you leave here and don't think about coming back," her voice carried towards the two strangers and Daryl's shoulders tensed as he watched her closely.
"And if we don't?" He dared asked, watching her eyes narrow towards him dangerously. She didn't miss the way his shoulders straightened even more and his eyes falter as he witnessed the tip of her bow right where the arrow was held move so subtly no one but an archer would see — the head of the arrow now pointed at Beth. Bingo.
Primrose knew the moment her finger lifted from the bow that his would pull the trigger. On the other hand, Daryl knew that her own arrow would lodge itself into Beth before his even hit the air. They both were playing a dangerous game of Russian roulette, and they both were willing to take the bullet. His eyes narrowed in irritation. "Alright," his deep words agreed with a grunt. "Alright, alright. We're gon' need you to cut the wire wrapped at our feet," her eyes briefly shot down to the blonde on the floor who had been staring at her slightly guarded, her entire bottom half trapped in the trip rope. Prim didn't send any sort of agreement to his words.
"Drop the bow," she ordered. Daryl bit down on his bottom lip as he contemplated. He could do as told and drop the bow and leave this girl alone or he could make her drop the bow and take over her shelter for the night. Instinct told him to take the second option but his brain contemplated the situation over. If he were to take care of this young girl, he wasn't so sure there wasn't another tiny army of teenagers hidden in that house. She stood strong on the steps, like she had been guarding something. Daryl wasn't exactly sure he was ready to know what that something had been.
It didn't seem to matter much anyways. He took too long to think his actions over carefully.
Prim may agree if someone were to tell her that her own actions were stupid and too reckless. But she held very little patience for people in this world anymore and the archer before her had waisted too much of her time doubting her.
Without any notice, Prim swiftly pointed the bow back towards Daryl. The tips of her fingers separated from the string and an arrow was sent shooting towards him. It had skimmed past his bicep before Daryl could even think to move out of the way, slicing the first layer his skin. As anyone would have reacted, a low hiss left his lips at the wound the sharp arrow left. He dropped the bow on instinct with his calloused hand attaching to his wound instantly. He faltered to a kneel in shock.
He underestimated her, and she had to make sure it wouldn't happen again.
Daryl looked up at her incredulously.
He and Beth watched as the tip of the bow dropped to point towards the ground. Hand wrapping around the strap of the weapon, Prim hung it loosely over her shoulder. Her other hand had swiftly attached to her belt and she pulled out a small switch blade, flicking it open as she sent them a shrug regarding their guarded gazes.
"I told you to drop it. You didn't." She reminded, stepping off the porch and taking the risk to move towards them. She could see Teddy making her way up and behind the two strangers, weapon in hand and instructed to take the shot if either of them moved a muscle that could potentially end with her sister in harms way. Prim stopped directly in front of Beth, eyes switching between she and Daryl. "Don't think about trying any shit, because the moment you move a muscle, she sends a bullet in the back of her pretty little head, alright?" She quipped innocently, referring to Beth.
A heavy cock of a gun made Daryl flinch slightly, a million dangerous thoughts crossed his head as it twisted slowly towards the second culprit. He nearly scoffed at the sight of the barrel of a shotgun being pointed directly towards Beth's locks, by a child. This one couldn't have been older than ten with her tied back blonde hair and piercing blue eyes that burned holes into his dark ones. The shotgun in her hands had been bigger than she was but something behind the glisten in her eye told him he shouldn't underestimate her like he had her sister.
Daryl, now completely irritated for being taken control by a bunch of children, turned back towards the brunette who had effortlessly been cutting through the wire wrapped around Beth's torso. She was knelt down before the blonde, hands working at the wire quickly.
His eyes averted towards where his crossbow once was, a thought passing his mind yet as he realized she had moved it away from his reach, his dangerous gaze fell on her. Prim's eyes wandered between the wire and her switch blade and up towards the woods behind Teddy where she could see a few dead ones shuffling through the trees, towards them. "Teddy," she sighed softly, pausing her actions as she handed her sister the knife. Teddy's head tilted in hesitance and she rolled her eyes. "Just do it, they're not gon' hurt us," her eyes met Daryl's for a quick second and the man simply sent a curt nod as of clarifying that he nor Beth would hurt them. Daryl was many things but harming kids was something he wouldn't dream of doing.
Teddy nodded in obedience. She moved quick around the strangers and threw herself to her knees before Beth with the knife her sister had given her. She set the shotgun to her side as Prim shifted to crouch before Daryl. The brunette pulled out a second weapon, a butterfly knife she hid in the depth of her boot. Her gaze still switched between her work and towards the dead ones that had been moving in closer. This time held a couple more.
"Shit," Prim cursed. Deciding to risk every moral thought in her head, she paused and took ahold of Daryl's crossbow, handing it out to him quickly. The archer took it instantly. He readied it, pointing at a close by walker before he sent an arrow into its eye. Prim's blade successfully cut through the last wire holding him down and simultaneously they stood. Daryl pivoted and began his archery practice. As if he needed it.
In one swift motion, Prim shoved her butterfly knife into her boot with her other hand removing her bow from her shoulder. She swiftly nocked it with one of the arrows from her quiver, effortlessly sending an arrow towards another dead one. One by one the two worked in clearing out the walkers that narrowed towards them as Teddy cut the last of Beth's wire, helping her to a stand as she grabbed the shotgun.
"Teddy get inside," Prim ordered, shooting another arrow. There were too many. Teddy did as told, turning towards the house and sprinting towards the porch where she hurried inside and obeyed her sisters directions.
With a glance around her surroundings, Prim hurried to follow before she slid to a stop right before the steps, briefly glancing towards the strangers over her shoulder to see them facing away and protecting themselves. Daryl with his crossbow and Beth with the knife Teddy slipped into her grasp. Beth stepped towards a dead one and lodged it into his skull, yanking it out and doing it to another. Prim sighed. This may be the day she got herself and Teddy killed but she wasn't sure if she could allow the death of two strangers to sink into her conscious. "Are you coming or not?" She yelled out and Daryl sent her a look before grabbing Beth's elbow and pulling her towards where the girl disappeared inside the home.
After the two scurried in, Prim shut the door quickly. The girl pressed her back against it as she breathed in and out through exhausted breaths, the only sound between the halls being their huffing and puffing and loud thuds coming from the door behind her. The walkers had been slamming against it.
The group caught their breath. "What's er name kid?" Daryl grunted out and Prim's head tilted up towards him. The brunette squinted through the darkness to see him standing slightly turned towards her, his crossbow in his hand but at his side.
"Prim. . ." She answered with a breath. She sat her bow and quiver against the wall as she did so, her hand came up in gesture towards her sister. "And that's —"
"— Teddy," Beth finished for her, hearing Prim mention it earlier. But her words were worried filled, frantic even. Instantly Prim's head shot up towards her younger sister. Teddy was leant against the wall, hand grabbing her chest as she struggled to catch her breath. Prim knew the issue instantly and she straightened, quickly pushing past Beth who stepped out of the way. Prim met before Teddy and she pulled the inhaler from her pants pocket. Her hand came up to gently grip her sister's chin, raising her head up and she brought the inhaler to the base of her lips. Teddy took a deep inhale out of it before she let out a now much easier breath.
Teddy's fingers reached for the inhaler and she took over in breathing in a few more times. "Not too much, save it for later," Prim spoke, grabbing her wrist softly and pulling it away. God knows what would happen if they were in a worse situation and Teddy didn't have access to her literal lifeline. After a moment Daryl shifted quietly on his feet and Prim nearly flinched at the remembrance of strangers in the home. Her head turned towards their concerned glances, then focused on Teddy who pocketed her inhaler. "She's been asthmatic since she was a baby, kinda a shitty situation in the apocalypse," she shrugged. The corner of Beth's lips tilted upwards, then realizing that the brunette had a southern accent. It reminded her of her older sister Maggie. Prim's may have not been as strong, but it was there and prominent.
Prim's tooth bit down on her lip before she spoke once more. ". . . Are you guys hungry?" Beth's eyes widened slightly as she nodded quickly, eyes shooting towards Daryl who still looked somewhat hesitant.
Beth spoke up for the both of them. Trust was something rare in this world but so was a good meal and she hadn't had one in a while, neither had the man besides her. "We haven't had anything but berries for days," she replied. Prim nodded slowly, looking down at Teddy who caught on and began to walk down the halls. Prim turned towards her sister and began following. Daryl shared a glance with Beth only to see the blonde hurry up and follow the siblings wherever they were leading them towards. The archer sighed but he gave in when the hunger in his stomach churned into nausea.
"This all yours?" He spoke up after a moment, his deep voice bouncing off the walls and complimenting their footsteps and the creaks of the old floorboards.
Prim hummed as she turned towards a door and disappeared into a room, the two reluctant to follow but did so anyway when Beth grabbed Daryl's hand for support. "Sorta. We found this place weeks ago. It had already been stocked up on supplies and resources but it didn't look like anyone's been here for a while. So we cherished a can or two for a few days until no one showed up and we just took it as our own. . . have been here ever since with no problems." She stepped around Teddy who was crouched down, picking up the cards that had floated to the floor from earlier.
"No problems until you showed up," Teddy mumbled as she stood, sending a try hard glare towards the two, specifically Daryl. She liked Beth.
"Jesus, Teddy," Prim sighed with a shake of her head at her sisters comment. Teddy only shrugged and threw the cards on the table. She was right though. Prim reached up and pulled open two cabinets, the both of them revealing food stacked to the top with different nonperishable items. She fell back to the bottom of her feet, hands in her back pockets as she rocked on her heels, looking towards the strangers. "You can have whatever, just. . . make yourself at home. We won't do anything if you don't harm us," her eyes narrowed.
Daryl, who looked as if hundreds of pounds of weight had been lifted off his shoulders as he stood by the girl he's been trying to feed for the past few days, nodded gruffly. "You're good with us," Beth stated and Prim sent back a nod before her eyes moved from hers and towards the archer's bleeding arm, the brunette wincing at the remembrance from the yard. His eyes followed her line of sight.
"Uh — sorry about that," she awkwardly apologized, cheeks taunting red. Daryl shook his head like it was no big deal. She pressed her lips as she clapped her hands together. "Well then, I'm going to go reset the traps. Hopefully those bastards are far gone from here," she moved forward, moving between the two strangers as they let her through with a step back. She reached the kitchen door before she sent one last glance towards her sister, her eyes narrowing as warning. "Get him the first aid and be nice," she ordered and Teddy huffed dramatically but nonetheless obeyed. She moved towards the cabinets lining the floor, pulling one open and grabbing a small white box before she turned around and threw it at Daryl who scrambled to catch it.
Prim rolled her eyes but hid her smile as she heard Beth snicker into her hand, the brunette slipping from the kitchen and doing her usual chores to keep the house safe for the night.
authors note
this chapter was practically the same as the one before, i just simplified it a bit to make it flow more. hopefully i was able to fix what needed to be fixed but this chapter was one of the only ones that i didn't need to change much.
i haven't seen many twd fics that started off in more unimportant episodes or places i guess you could say. i wanted a somewhat more original introduction to prim and teddy's character and im hoping this chapter had given that justice. and idk if it's possible for a nine year old to be carrying around a shotgun but.
i wanted to start off by making it clear that prim is independent and always will be. she's grown up in the apocalypse and had gone through it alone with only her siblings there to keep her company. raising a literal child while being one isn't easy. she's still extremely vulnerable as we will see later on in the book and she will need plenty of character arks in order to get her where i want her to be. but remember, she's still a child and she will be acting like one in certain scenes. as for teddy, she's a baby, not even ten yet. she'll be annoying and clingy and whiny, just give her some time and i think you'll like her :)
also, i do not ship daryl and beth. i personally find that unsettling for obvious reasons.