ꜰᴏᴏʟ'ꜱ ᴍᴀᴛᴇ || ᴛᴡᴅ

077: ᴅᴀɴɴʏ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ꜰʟɪᴇꜱ

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The farmland around Hilltop was empty when Sami reached it, making it look as if no one even lived there. But he knew they did. He'd just bumped into them.

"Sami, slow down!" Michonne appeared at his side, and Poseidon, his horse slowed down. Sami never made him go fast, he was probably annoyed. "She's fine. Slowdown."

Sami glared at her, but bit his tongue, as he let Poseidon slow down. 

They stopped outside the gate, the carriage pulling up soon after. But the gates were shut.

Dianne appeared at the look out, bow and arrow in hand. "State your business."

"Rosita." Sami took a deep breath. He'd seen Jesus almost every week since Michonne cut them off, couldn't he just get in and the formalities are left to the others? "I heard she's hurt."

"And the others?"

"Good people, looking for a home." Michonne said. "I told them Hilltop would consider taking them in."

Dianne looked at them.

"Weapons, Sami." Michonne said, and he quickly undid his belt, ditching his knives, gun and machete on the ground below, the others doing the same. He was getting impatient. How injured was she, that they couldn't send her home?

The gates opened a moment later.

Sami climbed off Posidon, leading him inside, and looking around. Hilltop had changed. The gardens and blacksmiths were bigger, the road, too. 

Tara stood in the center of it, looking at them.

"Where's Rosita?" Sami asked. "And was Eugene with her?"

"No." Tara said, tone flat. "Jesus and a few others are looking for him now."

"Eugene was with her?" Michonne looked at Sami. "And you knew?"

Enid walked over, who was the trained doctor here, and Sami ignored Michonne. "Is she okay?'

"She was unconscious when she got here, but she'll be fine. It's dehydration and heat exhaustion, mainly." She smiled slightly. "I'll show you where she is."

"wait, Sami." Tara took his belt from the guards collecting the weapons, passing it to him. "The rest of you will get your weapons back when you leave in the morning."

As Danny stood back and they all spoke, he watched Sami walk off with Enid and Alden. He looked worried. Really really worried. Honestly frightened, which Danny hadn't seen on his brother's face much. But Danny thought Rosita would be okay. She was here, and Sami was with her. That's all those two needed, really.

The group broke off, walking towards a barn, talking, and Danny saw Carol by a cart, pulling the two horses over to him so she could leave.

"Danny-oh!" She grunted, as he threw his arms around her, and laughed. "Awe, good to see you, too, buddy."

He smiled, pulling away, taking his sunglasses out of his hair and putting them in his pocket. "I didn't know you were here. Is the king here, too?"

She took a minute to translate, since she probably hadn't used sign language in years. "No. Just me, dropping off Henry. God, Danny, look at you. Taller than Henry."

He shrugged. "Where is Henry?"

"Around. Not sure where. He's apprenticing in blacksmithing. With the Kingdom the way it is . . . he wants to help out."

Danny remembered Sami telling him about that. That the Kingdom was falling apart. That they asked for help with a fair. That Michonne said no and that was that.