"Dwight, you're dismissed," Negan ordered, his harsh leader mask back on. "Simon go see if you can find this girl some clothes that won't fuckin' fall off her." Both men nodded and headed from the room at the same time, leaving a nervous Nicole on her own with Negan.
"Eat," Negan commanded, motioning with one hand to the food that was now starting to get cold. Guilt started to eat away at Nicole as she picked up the plate and settled it back on her lap. She didn't want to waste food. After eating a few forkfuls, she put the plate back on the table. She hadn't even dented the mountain that Dwight had loaded her up with.
"Fuckin shit," Negan sighed as he looked at Nicole then at the food. "What the hell did they do to you?" She didn't answer, assuming it was a rhetorical question. Ezekiel taught her very quickly that it was wrong to speak out of turn with lessons she wouldn't soon forget. A shudder ran down her spine at the memories and Negan caught sight of it. He rubbed his scruffy chin for a moment, studying Nicole intensely before speaking again.
"How did you end up on the kings bad side?" It was a simple question he hoped she'd answer. She didn't appear very talkative, for reasons Negan fully understood, but regardless, he was trying to pry into her and see what he could get out.
"It's a," Nicole sighed as she thought about it. "It's a long story."
"I got time," Negan leaned back in his seat, picking up a bottle of rum that was sitting on the end table and tacking a swig directly from the bottle before smirking at Nicole. "I just wanna know all about little miss fuckin' mute." When his words didn't coax her into talking, he pressed again.
"Anything you say, stays just between us. Don't worry, I won't run off and tell the king what his little fuckin servant had to say," he leaned forward in his seat, swirling the bottle of alcohol in one hand as he met her eyes with a serious look, his playful smile fading. "You can trust me."
"My whole life," Nicole swallowed hard, staring down at her hands as she tried to find the nerve to keep speaking. "I've been told I can't."
"By who? The man who beat you everyday? The people who turned their fuckin backs on you? I don't know if you noticed but those aren't exactly the kind of people you should fuckin trust," Negan reasoned and Nicole simply nodded, trying not to wind up on his bad side too.
"My dad," Nicole took a deep breath, trying to steady her breathing and hoping that Negan wouldn't kill her once she told him. "My dad is King Ezekiel." She stopped speaking, raising her eyes and searching for some sort of negative reaction on Negan's face. Instead, he simply looked curious and motioned for her to continue explaining.
"Not my real dad. My mom was married to him before all this," Nicole sighed, picking at her nails as she thought about what to say next. "She cheated on him and got pregnant with me and then ran off with my biological dad left me with Ezekiel."
"So he hated you cause you weren't his kid?" Negan inferred and Nicole simply nodded. "He hated you so much that he would beat you? And have his fuckin community beat you?" Again, Nicole nodded as her response. "Jesus." He whispered, rubbing his hand over his beard as he thought. Nicole reached forward and grabbed the cup of water that was on the table, taking a small sip as she let Negan think. She didn't want to speak out of line.
"How long?" Negan asked, peering at her curiously.
"How long what?" She asked, genuinely confused as to what he was referring to.
"How long has he treated you like shit?" Negan clarified. Nicole thought for a moment, staring at her hands as she tried to work through the numbers in her head.
"Since I was old enough to walk," she got a distant look in her eyes as she responded, clearly remembering something that had happened to her. Negan stayed quiet as she went through whatever had happened to her and when he saw her eyes start to well with tears, he sighed.
"Got those clothes, boss," Simons voice rang from the doorway as he came back in, but he froze when he saw the state of the poor girl. He looked at Negan, then back at Nicole but didn't say anything as he handed Negan the clothes. Nicole looked up at Simon, looking nervous as usual, as though she thought showing her emotion had made them mad at her.
"Why don't you take these and go get dressed?" Negan asked gently, handing her the clothes Simon had brought. "Warm your damn bones up." He gave her a lopsided smile and she nodded, taking the clothes. She stood and looked around for a moment before turning her gaze back to Negan. He pointed to a door off to the left and Nicole nodded, heading into the bathroom to get dressed.
"What did you say to her?" Simon asked softly, trying to be quiet but Nicole could hear them anyway.
"I just asked why the fuck they did that shit to her," Negan grumbled, swirling the rum around the bottle. "Bunch of fuckin' psychopaths to do that to a girl."
"So what did she tell you?" Simon asked curiously, sitting on the armrest of the couch.
"Just that she's the fuckin' princess of the Kingdom," Negan let out a tense laugh. He didn't find anything about the situation funny but it wasn't like him to be serious about any issue and he wasn't about to let his men think differently. Though Simon would never admit it to the boss himself, he saw through his act easily.
"Shit," Simon sighed, running a hand over his face. "Why the hell did they give her to us then?"
"Cause her pops isn't exactly her biggest fuckin fan," Negan huffed dramatically. "Maybe he thought we'd kill her or torture her worse than he did or some shit." He set the bottle of rum down on the table but both men silenced themselves as Nicole walked out of the bathroom sporting a long sleeve shirt and sweats. Both, of course, were nearly falling off her thin body, but at least she would be warmer. Without a word, she walked over and sat back on the couch, one hand holding the throw blanket from earlier, but she didn't move it.
Negan noticed but didn't comment on it, assuming that she was using it as sort of a security blanket. Simon looked between the two before clearing his throat.
"Want me to get her set up in her own room boss?" He asked, getting back to his feet.
"No," Negan waved his hand dismissively, standing up as well and grabbing Lucille. "I don't want any of the fuckers in this compound thinkin they can lay a single damn finger on her." Nicole watched Negan anxiously as he swung Lucille freely in his hand and moved towards the door.
"So what do you want me to do?" Simon inquired.
"Take her on a tour of the fuckin palace, help her get acquainted with our point system and then have her right the fuck back here before dinner time, you understand?" Negan instructed and Simon simply nodded before looking at Nicole and expecting her to follow him. She stood warily and looked back at Negan, her sleeves pulled over her hands before following Simon out of the room.
He lead her down a series of corridors. The pair travelled in relative silence, the only words shared between them came from Simon as he explained the points system and what each part of the compound were. Nicole nodded along, following behind him and trying to avoid the gazes of anyone they passed by.
"Of course, there's also the option of becoming one of Negan's wives," Simon suggested as they made their way back to his office. Nicole's eyes widened slightly and she looked up at Simon. He didn't turn to look at her as he kept moving forward.
"His wives?" Nicole asked, swallowing hard as the thought behind that. Just how many wives did he have?
"Yeah," Simon confirmed, stopped in front of Negan's door but not entering. "The wives don't have to worry about the point system. They get food and water, a place to sleep, comfort and they don't have to go out on runs. The only draw back is, uh, well... they're his wives. So they do as wives do." Simon didn't look back at Nicole. He was sure her reaction was one of disgust.
And he wasn't wrong. Nicole's lip twitched up into a sneer at the idea. On one hand, she understood the desire for safety. She had never felt any security like what it seemed these women had and part of her yearned for that. But on the other hand, the idea of not earning her keep made her nauseous. She had worth beyond her body, she could run missions and help people on the outside. There was no reason for her to allow herself to be used just for the sake of safety. If she did that, she was living a life no different than she did at the Kingdom.
"But Negan would never force you to be a wife," Simon continued, reaching out and slowly turning the handle on the door. "Everyone has a choice." He pushed the door open and the two reentered Negan's room. Negan was sitting in the same seat they had left him in.
"Love it or what?" Negan asked with his signature grin. Nicole nodded, standing beside Simon as she waited to be told what to do. Negan's eyes were scanning over her, inspecting her. The clothes they had given her did well to hide all of the bruises that she'd garnered from the Kingdom. Her bottom lip was busted, dried blood around it, and there were layers of dirt on her face and neck. Her hair was slicked back with grease, taking an unnatural shine under the fluorescents.
"Why don't you take a shower?" Negans voice took on that gentle tone again from earlier. "I've got my own personal bathroom and I'm sure I can get some fruity smellin' shit from my ladies." And immediately, back into that cocky attitude he normally wore. Once again, instead of using her words, Nicole just nodded. His grin faltered for a second but just barely. He recovered quickly and got to his feet, Lucille in his hand once again.
He gave a quick word about being right back and then headed out from the room, leaving Nicole and Simon alone. Simon motioned to the couch, inviting Nicole to sit, but she just shook her head and stayed standing behind the couch.
"They really did a number on you, huh?" Simon asked. It was more to himself than anything, seeing as he knew Nicole most likely wouldn't answer. "Did they even give you a fighting chance?"
"No," Nicole spoke aloud, the solemnity in her voice speaking volumes on its own. Simon sighed with a slight shake of his head.
"Negan told me you were Ezekiel's daughter. Is that true?" Simon looked back up at her from where he was seated on the couch. She nodded, a sliver of panic flashing through her features as she did. "Holy shit. What the fuck is wrong with them?" He turned his gaze to the rest of the room, not focusing on anything in particular but not wanting Nicole to feel uncomfortable under his gaze.
The door opened and shut as Negan reentered the room, handing what he had gathered off to Nicole.
"You already know where the bathroom is," he pointed down the hallway, vaguely gesturing to the room she had been in before. "Take your time in the shower, we got plenty of hot water. And just so you know, you can fuckin' relax now princess. No one here is gonna lay a finger on you." The intensity in his eyes told Nicole all she needed to know.
He meant what he said for damn sure.