Lillian was determined to learn how to make flower crowns. She had seen it in movies and there was a bunch of flowers sitting around in the fields, Daryl called them weeds which didn't make any sense to Lillian cause those are the things you smoke. You don't smoke flowers.
Daryl told her that she should go back to the main camp, hangout with a Carl while he went to talk to the new kid Randall. They were meant to take him and drop him off someone yesterday but they came back with him instead.
So on the way to the main camp, Lillian picked up as many flowers as she could. She sat in a chair with the flowers all in her lap. She tried to tie them stem to stem, but then didn't have another stem to tie another one to. She got frustrated and swept all of the flowers onto the ground. Everyone began to gather around the fire, wanting to know a plan.
"So what you gonna do? We'd all feel better if we knew the plan." Lori asked Shane and Rick. She was kneeling in front of the fire, pouring something into a cup for Carl.
"Is there a plan?" Andrea asked as well.
"We gonna keep him here?" This question came from Glenn. Lillian sighed, so many questions. Just let them answer one at a time.
"We'll know soon enough." Rick told the group. Lillian heard footsteps coming from behind her, so she turned around to see if it was Daryl finally coming back. Which it was but something was different, blood stained his hands. Lillian turned back, sitting correctly in her seat and tried to pretend like she didn't know he hit the new kid.
"Boy there's got a gang, 30 men." Daryl announced as he walked up. "They have heavy artillery and they ain't looking to make friends. They roll through here, our boys are dead. And our women- they're gonna— they're gonna wish they were." Daryl explained. Lillian swallowed thick, she didn't like that thought.
"What'd you do to him?" Carol asked. She didn't seem to approve.
"Had a little chat." Daryl stated, nonchalantly. Lillian rolled her eyes, looking down at her lap which still had some dirt on it, sweeping the rest of the dirt off.
"Nobody go near this guy." Rick told the group.
"Rick, what are you gonna do?" Lori asked her husband quietly.
"We have no choice. He's a threat. We have to eliminate the threat." Lillian thought about what Rick said. She also thought about what Daryl had told her yesterday. How it's not right to be hit for doing something bad. Why doesn't this apply to this situation? What did the kid do to their group.
"You're just gonna kill him?" Dale asked.
"It's settled. I'll do it today." Rick announced before he turned to walk away, Dale followed closely after him. When Carl got up, walking away, Lillian followed closely after him.
"Hey, where are you going?" She asked him as she walked next to him.
"Gonna ask Shane about the new kid." Carl told her. "You can come with, if you want." Lillian accepted his offer and kept up with him as they approached Shane who was walking near the shed.
"So he's a kid?" Carl asked Shane.
"He ain't a kid. Just— that's a figure of speech."
"Can we see him?" Carl looked back at Lillian then to Shane again as he asked.
"No." Shane was quick to shoot him down. "Look, man, this is— this is grown-up stuff, all right?" Shane explained as he stopped walking to look at Carl. "You just— you just let us handle this." Then he walked away.
"We are grown-ups, right Lilli?" Carl grinned at Lillian.
"Yeah. We can handle this stuff too." Lillian agreed.
"Let's go see him." Carl whispered to her.
"Are you sure? I don't want to get in trouble." Lillian hesitated, she wanted to see the kid, definitely. She wanted to prove she was a grown-up and that she could handle the adult stuff but she also didn't want to get introuble.
"Yeah. C'mon. There's a ladder in the back, leading to the top of it." Carl began to jog closer to the shed, little hops in his run. Lillian snickered at it as she followed behind him. She thought he looked like a bunny rabbit. Once they had gotten up the ladder, in the shed, Carl turned around and put a finger up to his mouth which indicated that they needed to be quiet. Lillian nodded as they sat down on a little wooden part of the shed, looking down at the kid.
"Hey! That's a sweet hat. I'm Randall. What's your guys name?" Randall whispered up to them. Lillian looked at the kid, he was beaten up pretty badly. She knew it was probably by Daryl given his knuckles. Lillian almost wanted to tell him her name but didn't. She heard faint talking outside the shed, meaning that there were people keeping watch. She didn't want to get introuble.
"The sheriff guy— that's your guy's dad? I like him." Randall smiled, nodding. "Yeah, he's a hood guy. I can tell. Your guy's mom out here too? Y'all lucky you've still got your family. I lost mine. Hey, I— i don't know what people been saying about me, but i didn't do nothing. I swear."
Carl silently got up, climbing down the ladder.
"Carl!" Lillian whisper yelled. That didn't stop him as he continued down. Lillian didn't want to be up there alone, so she followed behind him.
"Ohh Carl. Carl, listen, your dad was gonna let me go till his friend started fighting with him." Randall explained. Lillian mentally face planted as they continued down the ladder.
"It got pretty bad. I— i was kinda worried. My camp, we got lots of supplies." Randall continued. Lillian stepped on the ground, standing some what behind Carl as he slowly approached Randall. "You help me, I'll take you and your folks back to my people. We'll take good care of you. Keep you safe. Just gotta— just gotta help me get out of here, okay? Just help me pick the lock or find the key, okay?" Lillian thought Randall sounded crazy, she felt uneasy being this close to him.
"Come on, please? Please?" He begged, lunging at the kids making both of them flinch. That's when the shed door flung open and Shane walked in.
"What the hell are y'all doing in here?" Shane stepped in front of the two kids, pushing them back. "What did you say to them? What did you say to them, huh?" Shane began to scream. Lillian put her hands over her ears as she made a break for the door. She didn't make it very far when Andrea grabbed ahold of her arm, keeping her next to herself. Lillian looked back at Shane to see him holding a gun up to Randall as he screamed, Andrea screaming at Shane to knock it off.
"Get your ass out this door. Let's go." Shane turned to Carl, grabbing ahold of him and pushing him out of the door. Lillian let her arms drop to her sides as Andrea dropped her arm and Shane shoved her ahead near Carl.
"The hell were y'all doing?" Shane scolded the kids.
"Please don't tell my parents." Carl begged as he regained his balance. Lillian had made her way to stand behind Carl, being more intimidated by Shane than the actual "threat" at hand.
"Carl, that ain't cool, man. Y'all could've gotten hurt in there. "
"I can handle myself. So can Lillian." Carl defended them.
"Let me tell you something—" Shane leaned down, getting in Carl's face. "You do not go near him again. Do you hear me? That goes for you too." He pointed at Lillian who stood anxiously, pulling at the ends of her shirt. "Damn it." He stood back up as he sighed, taking a couple of steps away.
"You won't tell my parents, will you?" Carl more demanded then asked.
"Carl man, this—" Shane stepped back in front of him and began again, but in a whisper, "This isn't about getting in trouble, okay? A guy like that, he will say anything to you. He'll try to make you feel sorry for him. He'll try and make you let your guard down. You let your guard down out here, people die. Now just— do me a favor, man— go find your ma. Go on." Shane turned away from the kids. "Carl, quit trying to get yourself killed, man."
Lillian turned around to leave too but didn't get very far as Shane grabbed onto her arm.
Lillian's eye widened as she tried to pull her arm away. "Let go of me." Lillian tried but he basically ignored her and began walking, tugging her along.
"So much for not being stupid little kid." Shane muttered, angrily.
"I am not stupid!" Lillian yelled at him only causing him to hold onto her arm tighter. Lillian recognized the path they were taking, Shane was walking her over to Daryl. When they got up to the camp, Daryl had just been walking back with sticks and different woods in his arms.
"Daryl." Shane grabbed his attention. Daryl furrowed his eyebrows at them. Lillian's eyes pleading for help.
"The hell you holding onto her like that for?" Daryl threw down the logs as he asked. Shane let go of her arm, shoving her forwards. "Watch it." Daryl scolded Shane, giving him an angry look.
"Your girls been places she was told not to go. Sneaking around. Disobeying." Shane told him.
"The hell does that mean?"
"She went to see Randall. Was in there with him, talking to him." Shane explained. Lillian furrowed her eyebrows, she hadn't been talking to him. Daryl now gave her the angry look.
"Are ya deaf? Did ya not hear anythin' i said about him earlier?"
"He's lying, Daryl! I wasn't talking to him!" Lillian tried to make her situation better as she balled her fists in the bottom of her shirt.
"Now why would i lie about that?" Shane replied angrily, but Lillian could almost hear humor in his voice as he spoke.
"Ya still went in there to see him! Are ya tryin' to die? He will feed ya lies and not feel bad for it, he will hurt ya and not feel bad for it. Ya can't just involve yourself in shit that ya don't belong in!" Lillian looked to the ground as Daryl yelled at her. She flinched as he swung his arms. She knew he just talked with his arms a lot, but she kept repeating that he wasn't gonna hit her in her head.
Daryl let out a frustrated breath before walking over to Shane, "Don't touch her. I don't wanna see that shit again." he spoke lowly. Lillian looked up to see Daryl in Shane's face, Shane didn't look at him though.
"You got it, man." Shane said in a sarcastic tone, before he turned and walked away. Daryl turned back to Lillian, unsure of what to do.
"I'm real sorry." Lillian mumbled, only looking up at him slightly.
"Go find me more sticks." Daryl grumbled at her. Lillian quickly obeyed, walking quickly away from the camp. She didn't really want to stay at the camp while he was made anyways.
Lillian picked up every stick she found until a cold breeze blew past her, the sun wasn't shining anymore so it had gotten cold. That's when she decided she had enough and wanted to go back. She didn't have any long sleeves or jackets which definitely didn't help her. When she had gotten back to the camp, Daryl was walking away with his crossbow over his shoulder.
"Daryl!" She called out as she ran towards the camp, throwing down the sticks, then over to Daryl. "I don't have any long sleeves." Lillian told him as she walked quickly beside him.
"Whatcha want me to do about it?"
"I don't know." Lillian mumbled.
"Okay." Daryl walked faster away from her, Lillian took the hint that he didn't care and stopped. She sighed and turned around, deciding that maybe she could go up to the house and ask Maggie if she maybe had something for her.
When Lillian got up to the house, she called out for Maggie but ended up finding Colton.
"What do you need Maggie for?" Colton ask her, almost startling her.
"Uh— I just wanted to see if I could get a jacket or something. Maggie got me some clothes the other day, told me they were Beth's old clothes. Was wondering if there was any more" Lillian explained.
"Oh yeah! Maggie picked out some stuff that seemed like it would fit you and left it in a plastic bag in my room. I forgot to tell you. Sorry." Colton told her, wincing at the fact that he forgot. He led them upstairs and into his room where he grabbed a gray plastic bag that sat on the floor near his bed and handed it to her.
Lillian sat the bag on the bed, opening it and dumping out the clothes. She looked through them to find a a couple of leggings and shirts, but also a gray zip up jacket and a dark purple sweater. Lillian immediately put on the purple sweater and smiled softly.
"Did you hear that Carl's mom is having another baby?" Colton asked as he sat on his bed.
"What?" Lillian looked up at him in disbelief.
"Yeah. Carl said he was gonna be a big brother." Colton smiled.
"That's crazy." Lillian mumbled.
"It's really cool. Imagine another little Carl running around. More people to pick on." Colton snickered with a wide grin as he explained. Lillian giggled at the thought. "I'm sorry for excluding you the other day, Lilli."
"It's okay." Lilli sighed as she climbed onto the bed. "Did you see the new kid?"
"Randall? No. Hershel won't let me leave the house basically, unless it's to feed the chickens. I've heard about him though. He scary?"
"Kind of. He was being creepy, begging to be let out earlier."
"You went to go see him?" Colton asked Lillian in disbelief. She nodded. "That's gnarly."
"Hey guys." Carl walked into the room, shutting the door behind him.
"Hey Carl." Colton greeted him. Carl quickly came over to sit on the bed.
"The adults are deciding what to do with Randall right now. Said they were gonna shoot him." Carl spoke lowly but with a small grin on his face. Lillian was almost disgusted by it.
"Really?" Colton asked.
"Yeah. I wanna go watch. You guys gonna come with?" Carl asked excitedly.
"No." Lillian said.
"Yes." Colton said at the same time as Lillian did.
"What?" Lillian looked to Colton, shocked.
"Why not?" Colton shrugged.
"Cause they're going to kill someone!" Lillian raised her voice but was quickly shooshed by Carl.
"You don't have to go, Lilli but we are." Carl told her, jumping up from the bed.
"No. No. No" Lillian spoke quickly. "No, you aren't." She also got up from the bed, standing in front of the door.
"Just move." Carl sighed.
"No."
"Lilli, you're basically holding us hostage right now." Colton got up and stood in front of her.
"Move."
"No."
"Move."
"No." That's when Carl grabbed a hold of her arm harshly, pushing her aside. The two boys went running out of the room as Lillian stumbled, trying to regain her balance. She noticed it was pretty dumb to stand in front of a door with two kids that were taller and now she knows, stronger than her.
Lillian was tired of being so little compared to everyone. They all thought she was small and couldn't handle herself. She couldn't wait until she was taller and stronger and people actually listened when she spoke. Lillian scoffed as she walked over to the clothes that were spread out on Colton's bed and shoved them back into the bag. She took the bag and headed downstairs, out of the house.
The sun had completely set and it was already dark as Lillian walked back to camp. Everyone had been sitting quietly around the fire, some of them standing. Lillian found an empty seat and sat in it, holding her bag of clothes in her lap.
"Here honey." Carol handed Lillian a plate of some meat and corn, taking the bag of clothes out of her lap to set on the ground.
"Thanks."
Not long after Lillian had sat down and ate, Rick walked back to the group with Carl right in front of him.
"We're keeping him in custody for now." Rick informed them.
"I'm gonna find Dale." Andrea got up with a smile on her face before walking away. Lillian was incredibly confused by the situation, she had no idea what side she should be on. Apparently the kid did nothing wrong, so why were they killing him? But also Daryl said he was very dangerous, so why weren't they killing him?
"Kids, go inside. Now, please." Lori urged. Lillian furrowed her eyebrows, she didn't want to leave. She technically didn't have to do anything Lori said, cause she was not her mom. So when Carl walked into his tent, Lillian just stayed in her seat, shrinking down to try and be more unknown. It didn't work though as Rick looked at her and waited.
With a sigh, Lillian stood up and walked into the tent. She saw Carl sitting on his cot, messing with his hat.
"You in trouble now?" Lillian asked him as she sat on the ground. She was jealous of his cot cause she didn't have one. She slept on the hard ground every night.
"Probably." Carl nodded. "Is your arm okay? I kinda squeezed you hard."
"Yeah. Thanks." Lillian mumbled. There were a few minutes of quiet before everyone heard screaming.
"Baby." Lori called out for Carl, he quickly left the tent and Lillian was quick to get up as well. "Come here. Come here. Come here." She spoke to Carl.
"T-Dog, i want you to get a shot gun. Now!" Rick yelled at T-Dog. Lillian felt her heart beat in her chest as she looked around. Daryl wasn't standing there with them. Daryl wasn't there. Lillian quickly ran to where the screaming was coming from.
"Lillian! Lillian, no!" She heard screaming from behind her but she continued forward.
"Help! Over here!" She heard another scream where she was running, it was Daryl. She ran even faster. "Help! Run!" She had gotten there along side of a few others. Panting, she realized that Daryl was fine. It was Dale who was on the ground. His stomach was completely torn open and he was moaning in pain. Lillian almost threw up at the sight of it.
"Hang on." Andrea told Dale as she leaned on him.
"Listen to me. Okay, listen to my voice. All right? Please." Rick, also leaning over Dale. Lillian held a hand over her mouth, tears streaming down her face. "Hershel! We need Hershel!" Rick screamed.
There was no way that they would be able to save him. The smell was just as disgusting as the sight, he was completely torn open. Lillian watched from behind everyone as everything went down. When Hershel told them that Dale wasn't going to make it, everyone cried harder. Dale was moaning and gargling in pain as everyone just watched him. Lillian felt her knees become weak as she continued to watch. She didn't know Dale very well, she didn't talk with him much but this was such a horrible thing. They all had become her family, she didn't want any of them to die, especially not like this.
"He's suffering." Andrea pointed out through cries. "Do something!" That's when Rick brought out his gun and Lillian's hands immediately flew up to her ears, letting out a sob. She watched as Daryl took the gun out of his hand and that's when shots rang. Lillian was quick to squeeze her eyes shut, quickly turning away from the scene.
it's like every chapter where Lillian and Daryl just cannot get along with each other
it's not completely on purpose 😭
happy easter!
also happy trans visibility day!!
i hope everyone is having an amazing day