AN OVERWHELMING SILENCE filled the prison as Rick had alerted the members of Ellie's disappearance shortly after she had left. Bradley had sighted her fleeing while on duty, and had instantly alerted Rick and Daryl, resulting in them preparing a search team. Bradley had offered his services to ensuring Coda and River had been safe, and had taken them far up to the watchtower as they allowed the group to search for the missing blonde.
Deep into the heart of the woods, Ellie found herself swaying against a damp tree, clutching its bark with her small hands as she released the sob she had been tying to her heart to keep it in. She had ultimately burst. Nothing made sense when all she could feel were her bones about to break deep within her, how everything else around her seemed to keep going when she couldn't. How could the world expect her to go on when there was simply no such thing as happiness? After several moments of intense sobbing, Ellie, finally, hauled her trembling body up from the ground at the crunching of leaves, instantly whizzing around on her heels with her empty gun at hand, simply utilised as a prop.
There were several ways the scene could play out. Ellie had been prepared to die in combat, deemed a sacrifice against a fellow survivor. Ellie could merely run away, skilfully weaving through the trees until she made it safely back to the prison. It had been the easiest of options. Yet, she had also been prepared to fight until her limbs simply couldn't take any more, despite her lack of bullets. It was an all or nothing world.
Ellie's heart skipped several beats as her eyes landed upon Andrea, whose shaky hands were held up in surrender. Ellie simply clenched her eyes shut as she dropped to her knees, and whispered, "It never stops."
"Ellie?" Andrea frantically called as she approached the woman, instantly sinking to her knees to check if she had been harmed. Ellie looked worse for wear, and it was evident the chaos was beginning to take a toll on her, "Let's get you back. Is the prison this way?"
Ellie shakily held out her index finger, and pointed in the direction of the prison as well as she possibly could. Once Andrea was certain of the direction, she hauled Ellie to her feet, and instantly linked their arms as tightly as she could on her end, despite Ellie's loose grip. Andrea continued in her path, and headed directly for the prison with her chest aching with fear for their response.
>>>
"You haven't found her yet?" River questioned after what felt like an eternity of being in the watchtower, safely awaiting Ellie's return in case the Governor had been responsible.
Daryl shook his head sadly, apologetic that despite his and Shane's best efforts, there was nothing to show for Ellie's absence. River awkwardly approached Daryl, and merely held out her fist as she awaited his to bump against hers. Daryl furrowed his brows in confusion as he hesitantly outstretched his own fist, and scoffed as she weaved it away jokingly, her face as still and emotionless as always.
"Do you know why she left?" River implored, breaking the painful silence between the two, "I need my sorella."
Daryl shrugged, lowering his head as he twiddled a crossbow bolt between his fingers, "She don't talk to nobody about her feelings except me. I ain't there to do that now... Maybe she just had enough."
Before River could respond, a flash of hope erupted deep in River's stomach as the door swung open, and in stormed Rick, with Andrea shockingly at his side. Ellie's small frame shortly followed after them, earning several sighs of relief surrounding them at her materialisation. Rick instantly flung Andrea's body inside the area, almost toppling over at her lack of balance.
"Tutto questo è così frustrante! This is so frustrating, Ellie! Where the hell did you go?" River hissed, evidently angry with her sister, but not enough to refuse an embrace. "I'm sorry, the Italian in me gets feisty, no?"
"How did you find her?" Rick interrogated Andrea with rage burning through each of his words, earning concerned glances from those around them.
"I was coming here to warn you, but I came across Ellie in the woods. She needed me," Andrea responded, glaring coldly at Rick as she glanced around the room at the individuals surrounding her.
Ellie didn't bother to raise her eyes from the ground, but managed to squeak out, "She helped me."
Their stares lingered over Andrea like the pain of all of her bad decisions, casting the same dark shadow over her as her mind always had. She scoffed as she spun around at their judgemental eyes and defensive auras. She simply wasn't a part of of their family anymore.
"I can't believe this," Andrea muttered, appalled by the behaviour displayed by the group, "Where's Shane?"
"Right here," Shane said as he entered the room, his voice low and gravelly. His arms had been folded across his broad chest as he entirely avoided Andrea's eye contact.
Andrea crossed the room quickly, and folded her arms around him, only to feel his body tense at her touch. Shane kept his arms folded across his chest, not bothering to reciprocate her compassion. She simply pulled away, and flashed a sad smile to someone she once considered a lover. The blonde's eyebrows furrowed as she glanced anxiously around the room, surveying for the members she had previously been involved with.
"Where's Lori?" she finally asked, saddened by the woman's absence. She approached Rick as she spoke, staring deep into his eyes as he simply raised his to gawk at Ellie.
Ellie cleared her throat as she finally raised her eye contact to Andrea, announcing softly, "She died during childbirth."
"She had a girl," Hershel informed her, gently rising the spirits of the room with the positive news.
"I'm so sorry, Rick," Andrea whispered softly to the grieving man, approaching him as she continued, "Rick, I—" Rick voluntarily shuffled away from Andrea's proximity, prompting her to change the subject as she inquired, "You all live here?"
"Right in there; the cellblock," Glenn replied as he gestured towards the cellblock with a short nod.
"Can I see it?" Andrea piped up, glancing towards the cell block.
"I can't allow that," Rick interjected, standing in front of her assertively to halt her progressing in into the cellblock.
With a gentle shake of her head, Andrea stated unhurriedly, "I'm not an enemy, Rick."
"You sure about that?" Ellie spat, glaring intensely at Andrea as the blonde turned to face her. "We had that field, the courtyard, until your little boyfriend rolled down our gates with a truck, and shot us up."
Andrea's heart paused, prompting her to reply, with her voice barely above a whisper to her old friend, "He told me you fired first."
"Rick and I were standing outside when it happened. They tried to shoot at us both, unprovoked entirely," Ellie hissed, shuffling across the room from where she had been standing as she inched closer to Andrea, "He killed an inmate that survived here!"
"We liked him. He was one of us," Daryl announced, prompting Ellie to simply raise her eyes to Daryl's, who had already been looking her way.
"I didn't know anything about that," Andrea replied, her voice filled with remorse, "As soon as I found out I came."
"Are you kidding me?" Ellie breathed out, stunned by Andrea's statement as the evening at Woodbury played out in her mind – how Andrea had done everything except help. Ellie raised her voice as she boomed, "Are you fucking kidding me? You saw me at Woodbury and you completely avoided me!"
Rick's arm instinctively fell in front of Ellie, pushing her back gently as he knew Ellie would get into her face. She turned her gaze to him, allowing their eyes to connect. Rick didn't need to utter a single word as Ellie slowly stepped back from Andrea, resulting in her releasing a breath of air she didn't know she was holding. It was almost as though Andrea had been replaced with a stranger.
Andrea instantly spun on her heels to face Michonne, animosity evident in her eyes as she spat, "What have you told them?"
"Nothing," Michonne replied, a certain nonchalance to her tone that Ellie admired.
"I left Atlanta with you people and now I'm the odd one out?" Andrea questioned, displaying a certain offence at their coldness.
"He almost killed Michonne! He would have killed us!" Glenn contended, offended with Andrea's dismissive attitude.
Andrea gestured towards Merle with a bitter glare, retorting, "With his finger on the trigger!"
Ellie broadcasted a wry chuckle, her dark eyes twinkling against the dim light of the prison as she stepped across Rick's imaginary line. She edged closer to Andrea, closing the gap between them as she hissed, "The Governor's fingers are lot dirtier than that, though, aren't they, Andrea?"
Andrea stood silent at Ellie's comment, allowing Ellie's dead eyes to burn into her own. She digested her words silently, until she turned back to the group to announce, "Look, I cannot excuse or explain what Philip has done, but I am here to try and bring us together."
"Oh, Philip, is it?" River cackled, her Italian accent thick as she shook her head dismissively of Andrea's causal attitude, "Per favore, you really do enjoy that fancy little life he gives you."
"He lost every right to do that the second he even thought about placing his fingers on my sister," Ellie gritted as she gripped at Andrea's arm, prompting many of the people surrounding her to tensely shuffle forward in concern for Ellie's next move, "You tell your boyfriend from me I hope he's ready to face death in the face."
With that, Ellie simply released her harsh grip on Andrea's bony arm, shoving her away, before she left the group in silence as stormed from the area. She instantly grabbed at her belongings, shifting them to a nearby cell where Coda had been staying as she had deemed the perch inhabitable since Daryl's return. It was as barely functional as their relationship. River instantly released a wry laugh as she turned back to Andrea, shaking her head repeatedly. She clapped her hands as her smile dripped with sarcasm, leaving Andrea to merely drop her gaze to the ground.
"This is perfect," River grinned, shaking her head as she attempted to block out every time the Governor's face had been close to her. She growled viciously, "Chi ti credi di essere? Who the hell do you think you are, blondie?"
"We need to work this out," Andrea declared to Rick, ignoring River's comments as she stepped away from the teenage girl.
Rick's eyes instantly squinted in bitterness as he spat at the traitor, "There's nothing to work out. We will kill him. I don't know how, or when, but we will."
"Ellie will make damn sure of it," River added, folding her arms across her chest as she dropped her brows.
Andrea's head shook gently, before she offered kindly, "We can settle this, there's room for everyone at Woodbury." It was those very words that immediately shone the light River needed. Those very words had been enough for River to identify how Andrea turned a blind eye to all the Governor had done; to all he had stolen with his bare hands. She simply didn't care.
"You let him..." River finally snapped, her head shaking repeatedly as she glared at Andrea through teary eyes, "Diavola. You devil! You knew."
Andrea's eyes welled with remorseful tears as her head shook in denial, "No, River—"
"She's not wrong, sugar," Merle added from afar, his voice low and remorseful for his previous support of the Governor, "You was both playing house up in that apartment of his... keeping you sweet. You know he did it."
River's dark eyes simply turned to face Rick, her face void of any expression as she monotonously stated, "I can tell you all about how his skin feels up against you; how his breath feels on your neck..." she backed up close to Andrea's face, and clenched her jaw as she created intense eye contact, "I suppose you do, too. Did it feel good when he—"
"Enough!" Maggie croaked, cupping her mouth as River's words sickened her to her core.
Bradley shook his head, and turned to face Rick with his chest rising and falling rapidly, "He is a fuckin' dead man, ya hear me?"
"Yeah, he knocked me around pretty good," River breathed out, lifting her shirt up to reveal her bruised and bloodied stomach, where the scars ran so wildly along her sides, and her back.
"What makes you think this man wants to negotiate?" Hershel challenged Andrea, changing the subject for the benefit of River.
"Did he say he wanted to?" River inquired, raising her eyebrows in suspicion.
Andrea released a shaky breath, before shortly replying, "No."
"Then why are you here?" Ellie's voice boomed from the doorway she had been leaning against, prompting the group to turn to face her, "Why did you ever bother coming here?"
"Because he's gearing up for war," Andrea replied, her voice low and sincere as she glanced at each individual, "The people are terrified, they see you as terrorists."
"Andrea, this man is completely unstable," Ellie scoffed, slowly approaching the group once again from the steps she had been standing on, "He made me watch... Daryl—" Ellie's eyes dropped to the ground as the memory swirled through her mind on repeat, until she managed to continue, "He's done so many things to destroy too many people. He isn't getting a war because we're going to kill him first. Don't doubt that."
"I'll tell you what, next time you see Philip, tell him I'll take his other eye," Daryl threatened, his voice slightly hoarse as his own memory tormented him daily.
"Enough standing by like cowards while he dominates people — scared people. We're done hidin' from a bully," Shane boomed, nodding at Andrea with assertiveness.
"We've taken too much shit for too long, if he wants a war, he's got one," Glenn announced proudly, crossing his arm over his chest. It was evident from his statement that Hershel had been correct in his theory of Glenn being in a warpath, which instantly fuelled Hershel's fear further.
"Rick, you don't sit down with him and try to work this out... I don't know what will happen," Andrea spoke across the room to the leader, ignoring the enthusiasm from the individuals surrounding her, "Look at you all! You've lost so much already."
Ellie cackled maliciously, "You're damn right we have, and over my dead body will he take any more from us."
"I let you down, I get it," Andrea whispered, her eyes pooling as she glanced away.
Ellie puffed, rolling her eyes as she curled her arm around River's shoulders, steering her in the direction of the cellblock as she spat, "Tell the Governor he's done."
Rick outstretched his hand to curl around Ellie's forearm, drawing Daryl's attention towards the two. Rick halted their exit as he turned back to Andrea to hiss, "You're not worth our time."
>>>
Ellie sang gentle lullabies to the baby as she rocked her back and forth in her crib as softly as she could. The baby rigged against her fingers as she gurgled excitedly, and gripped tightly onto her index finger. Ellie wiggled her finger gently as she giggled lightly, allowing the serenity to wash over her. Every moment she spent with the baby and her daughter reminded her that redemption of the world was possible.
The threat of war amongst the prison and Woodbury lingered heavily in the prison, though nobody had wanted to admit its fear. They remained vigilant in the possibility of ending the Governor's tyranny, striving entirely to end his life, and ending Woodbury. The children had remained ignorant to the topic, having been shielded for the majority of the chaos, excluding River, whose involvement remained heavy with the Governor.
River's trauma only fuelled her passion for their mission. If anyone had been strong enough to defeat the Governor, it had been River all along. The abuse he had subjected her to enabled her to be reborn as the fiercest warrior the prison could ever craft. She wasn't a perfectly sculpted soldier, but a naturally born one. The more she fought in the battlefield, the more her skills grew, despite nobody believing in her. But it all changed upon rescuing her from Woodbury.
"You're so strong, you know," Ellie whispered to her younger sister, who sat alone in the corner of the perch. Their eyes briefly connected, before River sheepishly averted her gaze, "I mean it, Riv. You're the strongest person here."
"Sí, I'm incredible," River breathed out playfully, her eyes glistening with gratitude at her sister's kindness. She cleared her throat, bowing her head low as she sincerely stated, "I... uh, wish I could stop speaking Italian. It just reminds me of Dad, and... I almost don't want to remember him. I definitely wouldn't be as strong as I am if I didn't have you and Luke to raise me."
Ellie nodded, her eyes fluttering shut briefly at the painful memory of their mother's absence. Lorna-Rose may have remarried, even had another baby, but the pain of losing her first husband would be the catalyst for her destruction. She had been entirely absent in her parenting, leaving Luke and Ellie to care for River often. Even Vincenzo, a once doting father, simply couldn't handle the burdensome role of a father. Who would have known his Italian heritage would be the part of him to fail him? When wine became a little more than the blood of Christ and more his holy water. His decisions soured Lorna-Rose. A once dedicated and loving mother had turned so sour, so cold to the world that she simply has lost all purpose.
"They loved you. She loved you. A lot more than she loved us, you know," Ellie noted, sighing shortly after as she felt the agonising fact of Luke's absence weighing heavily upon her chest, "I can still feel Luke. He has to be out there, mia cuore."
River couldn't help the brief smiled that dazzled at her lips at her old pet name from childhood. It had meant that River was simply her heart — her love. It might not have had the same ring to her accent-less voice, but the melodic pitch had been enough to bring love to River's otherwise empty chest. Ellie had simply tried. That would always be enough for River.
"I feel him, too, sorella," River whispered, sniffling as she attempted to shield her tearful eyes from her sister. She cleared her throat once again, before shakily stating, "When the Governor's dead, we will find him. Luke doesn't need to get involved in his merda."
Ellie broadcasted a deep sigh at her own failure of discovering Luke, but didn't hesitate to reach for her bag containing the family album. She shakily held out the album to her sister, flashing a saddened smile as her sister's eyes widened with bewilderment. River merely motioned toward the album, silently questioning whether it had been the real thing, or simply a replica.
"Luke told me the day the world went to shit that he bought a house for him and his new fiancée. Harvie, or something," Ellie explained, observing as River flipped through the countless pages of photographs through the generations, "Daryl took me there, we found this in the attic space."
River sighed heavily, clenching her eyes shut as she shakily rested her hand over a photograph of the entire family together, "A fiancée, hey? Good on him. Was it at least a big house? Luke, literally, has the taste of a millionaire."
Ellie snorted playfully, flashing her sister a toothy grin despite the tears that were spilling at her eyes as she replied, "It was the most pretentious house I've ever seen."
"Classic Luke," River noted, her voice wavering as she attempted to withhold her tears, the same very way Ellie had been.
"I mean it, River. You show me every single time you talk what it means to be a real warrior," Ellie whispered, concealing her face from the light to hide her trembling lip, "I'm so proud of you, mia cuore."
"Did you know Merle has been to jail?" Coda questioned, interrupting the sweet moment as she had instantly alerted Ellie to the child at her left.
Ellie ushered herself closer to her daughter, and lifted her face up as she inquired, "Who told you?"
"Carl did, silly," Coda chuckled, throwing her head back wildly as she laughed.
Ellie sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as she sunk down onto her back as she groaned, "Coda, never listen to Carl about serious matters."
"Can I hold her?" Ellie heard Andrea inquire from the doorway, alerting her from the floor.
Ellie's face remained void of emotion as she raised to her feet, and grabbed the baby from the crib. She smiled as she leaned her out towards Andrea's arms as she announced, "This is Little Ass Kicker."
Andrea chuckled as she graciously accepted the baby, and teased, "Did Daryl name her?" Ellie's face instantly dropped upon hearing his name. Andrea sighed as she asked, "What's happened?"
"He left," Ellie whispered, lowering her gaze to the ground out of embarrassment, "Rick didn't give him much of an option. But, he didn't want me with him. He didn't even mention Coda... He just left."
"That's low, even for a Dixon," Andrea sighed, shaking her head as she glanced down at the baby eagerly, "When did he come back?"
Ellie cleared her throat to rid it of the horrendous lump forming, and squeaked out, "He came back after the Governor attacked. He saved my life. I haven't been able to talk to him. I don't know how to look at him without feeling like I'll... fall to pieces."
"Sounds like he didn't realise how important everything he left behind was," Andrea mumbled, the wrinkles in her forehead proving as evidence for her sympathy, "But, he did come back. You've got to give him that."
"I'll give him that," Ellie breathed out with a fake smile, until to their left, Carol had approached the perch.
Ellie raised an eyebrow in suspicion as Carol and Andrea exchanged brief smiles, awaiting her explanation for her arrival. She announced, "I'm here to talk to Ellie, if that's alright with you, Andrea."
"Sure," Andrea smiled warmly as she handed the baby back to Ellie, leaving the two women alone in the perch.
Ellie leaned her chin against the palm of her hand carelessly as she gawked up at Carol, awaiting her response. When Carol remained silent, Ellie inquired, "Is there something you want to ask me?"
"How are you and Daryl?" she questioned suddenly, almost proving Ellie's theory within her first sentence.
Ellie's rosy lips twisted into a smirk as she eyed Carol up and down, before sighing, "Did him rejecting you not paint a clear message?"
"This is more important than that. These are his feelings. He loved you and you're being so cold to him. You're not right for him, Ellie, you know that," Carol retorted, prompting her to fold her arms across her chest dominantly, "You're too young for him."
Ellie cleared her throat as she stood to her feet, and simply released a wry chuckle, "If you have some sort of crush on Daryl, please, leave me out of it. It does not interest me in the slightest."
"Isn't that called jealousy?" Carol provoked, her tone gentle and breezy to disguise her poison.
"Did Daryl come back for you?" Ellie shot back, but remained dignified.
Carol snorted, but shook her head, "He might as well have. You haven't even spoken to him. You can't blame him for straying my way. I think we should handle this like the adults we are, Eleanor."
Ellie snapped. She lunged forward, instantly fastening her fingers around Carol's arm like a tight seatbelt, and threatened viciously, "You don't ever get to call me that. You have no right to ever let that name come from your mouth again. Understood?"
Carol simply gulped as she felt air struggling to reach her lungs, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she stared at Ellie's grip. She nodded, and breathed out, "I'm sorry," as Ellie released her grip.
"Get out of here," Ellie muttered, lowering herself back down to the mattress on the perch. She buried her head deep into her knees, attempting to block out the buzzing of life surrounding her, when a set of footsteps approached her. "I'm not in the mood to talk."
Daryl cleared his throat, which Ellie immediately recognised, before he declared, "Andrea's leavin' if ya wanted to say goodbye. Just thought I'd let you know."
Monotonously, Ellie thanked the man, before she scurried off down towards the exit of the prison. She sprinted down towards the gate, where Andrea had been surrounded by Rick and a select few. She had been standing next to a vehicle that Rick had provided, despite the angered glare that lingered on his face. Andrea halted upon seeing Ellie from afar, leaving Ellie to pause as she arrived at the scene in awkwardness. She didn't know how to respond to such an unfamiliar feeling. Ellie both despised and adored Andrea, and it was the most uncomfortable feeling she had ever experienced.
"Can you spare it?" Andrea asked of the vehicle as she gestured towards it.
"Yeah," was all Rick said.
Andrea dropped her gaze to the ground as she recognised it to be her cue to depart. She sadly stared at the ground, hoping just once they would beg her to stay, or to willingly join her at Woodbury. She wanted peace in an impossible world. As Andrea finally shuffled to get into the car, Ellie felt involuntary words flowing from her tongue.
"Andrea," she called out, her own voice startling her slightly, "we all make choices, but in the end, our choices make us. Don't do anything stupid."
Andrea nodded as she absorbed Ellie's comment, and smiled slightly, before speaking, "Take care, all of you."
Before she could enter the car, Rick suddenly called out by convulsion, "Andrea... Be careful," as he handed her a small hunting knife, along with a pistol.
"You, too," were Andrea's final words before she drove away.
>>>
Once the darkened night had finally rolled by, the group had retired to the common area of the cellblock, where they each sat scattered through the room. Ellie sat with a goblet of wine in hand, sporadically sipping the liquid as she weaved in and out of conversation. She had safely tucked Coda into bed, despite her influx of questions, as usual. She sat by her lonesome, emitting a certain reluctance to talk that seemed to keep the others away. Beth had been singing a gentle song to ease the tension, a song in particular that brought Ellie's mind to her father.
She glanced up at Daryl from the corner of the room, to observe him as he laughed occasionally with Glenn at the side of the room. Every moment she spent apart from Daryl tore her apart from the inside; yet every moment she spent near him simply reminded her of all the times he had abandoned her when she needed him the most. He appeared to make a habit of breaking his promises, and Ellie had no idea how to salvage that.
Ellie pushed herself to her feet, muttering meagre words of pleasantries as she exited for watch, prompting Daryl to follow after her eagerly. He followed her out to into the cold air of the courtyard, and strolled casually up to the guard tower, until Ellie halted on the spot. He gulped as she spun to face him, her eyes already dripping with hot tears.
"Tell me one good reason why you're back here when I specifically told you not to," Ellie questioned, her voice cracking as she allowed herself to erupt into a sob.
Daryl released a shaky breath as he dropped his gaze from Ellie, attempted to block the image of her crying out of his view as he stumbled over his words of, "I thought it's what you wanted."
"You weren't supposed to leave in the first place, jackass!" Ellie screeched, clenching her eyes shut as several tears projected down her cheeks, "Especially by not letting us come with you. Don't you see how fucked that is?"
"I'm sorry," he whimpered, his face dropping into a deep frown as he fought back the tears in his eyes.
"You left for the second time, knowing that Coda was here. I can't forgive that," Ellie cried while simultaneously wiping the tears from her cheeks. She sniffed, and continued, "I think we need some time apart."
Daryl shook his head as he attempted to reach out to Ellie. Despite his judgement, she didn't flinch away as he curled his hands around her waist. Instead, she simply shut her eyes against his touch. He shuffled closer, and bowed his head into her neck, where his hot breaths left her skin tingling. She whimpered against his touch, and sniffled as it had felt more right than ever before.
As Daryl attempted to plant his lips against her neck, Ellie ushered her body away, and sadly announced through a wobbly voice, "This is goodbye. At least for a while."
"What?" he questioned quietly, despite knowing the answer already. "Eleanor, come on..."
"I'll see you whenever Coda requires it," Ellie stated, ending the conversation with six words that had never pained Daryl's heart as much as they had. "So, for now, leave me alone. Go to Carol or something."
Daryl puffed as he bowed his head, shaking his head slightly, "What, so you can go runnin' off to Rick?"
"You're deflecting because you're mad," Ellie replied nonchalantly, holding her hands up in surrender. She then inched closer, a frown replacing the gentleness on her face, "Don't fuck with me. You stay away from me, I mean it. You don't want to know what I'll do."
A challenge to Daryl would simply never go ignored.