Solitary {2} : The Walking Dead

Chapter Fourteen.

I trust her.

Iris looks up at the large gates of the Kingdom, "open the gate!" the guard shouts, she walks next to the horses as they walk into the community, a small smile forms across her lips as she watches everyone hug their loved ones. Iris watches Ezekiel pull away from Henry, the man's gaze falls upon her, "iris" he says, walking over to her and wrapping his arms around her "it's good to see you old friend" he says, Iris hugs the man back, a small smile on her face.

"It's good to see you too" Iris says, "Michonne..." Ezekiel says, pulling away from Iris and walking over to the other woman, Carol suddenly hugs Iris, holding her tight, Iris hugs her friend back, closing her eyes and enjoying the hug, Iris slowly pulls away and looks to Michonne and Ezekiel "I was in the neighbourhood, so..." Michonne says, "Judith?" Carol asks, looking down at the little girl

"Do you remember us?" Carol asks "I've been drawing pictures of you since I was little. You're Carol, and you're the King. Your hair got really long." Judith says, "It did." Carol says laughing slightly. "The plan was to bring Henry. Just Henry." Iris looks over to Tara "Gather up all the leaders. We have a lot to talk about." Michonne says.

Iris follows as they walk to the hall, "Iris!" the woman stops and watches Jerry as he rushes over to her, "hey" she smiles, the man pulls her into a hug, Iris hugs him back "it's good to have you back" the man smiles, pulling away from the hug, Iris can't find any words as she looks up at the man so she gives a small smile and a nod before she walks away.

Iris sits in one of the chairs in the middle of the hall, kicking her feet up on the chair in front of her and crossing her arms in front of her chest, "I know I haven't always seen eye-to-eye with everyone in this room. But I never stopped caring about any of you. I was just trying to protect my family and do right by my people. Alexandria's future is here. Together, with you. And we lost sight of that for a while. But... I'm here now. We're here now." Michonne explains.

"I've taken an informal vote with the other council members at the fair, and we all agree. Alexandria is willing to grant asylum to Lydia. She's one of us now. We hope the rest of you can join us in doing the same." Gabriel says "Thank you. I'll do whatever I can to earn my keep - and pay you back." Lydia says

"If her mother retaliates, it's gonna be against Hilltop, not Alexandria. I have to do right by my people. I thought we were on the same page." Tara says "We were. And, look, when she came to my gates, I asked her to run away. And when she didn't, I was angry." Michonne explains "Then you know why I'm not okay with this." Tara says.

"I do. I also know why Rick didn't trust me when I showed up at the gates of the prison. And how people didn't trust you after seeing you on the other side of the Governor's firing line." Michonne explains "I was gonna kill you on sight when you washed up on our shore." Rachel says.

"I didn't trust you at first" Iris speaks up, everyone looks over at the woman, but she keeps her eyes on Tara, "but i gave you a chance and you became part of our family. You were just scared when you were with the governor, that's no different to her right now. I trust her" Iris says.

"Okay, okay. Fair." "Lydia didn't choose where she came from, but she chose where she wanted to be. Just like everybody in this room." Michonne says "I left some of my best fighters at Hilltop, but if Daryl's right about these skin job numbers, it's not enough people." Tara says "We should take a group to Hilltop to protect 'em, just in case." Daryl says.

"It's a good idea. I'll take some from the Kingdom." Carol says "Oceanside can spare some fighters." Rachel says "Alexandria can, too." Gabriel says "So we head out in the morning?" Rachel asks "No, they can take advantage if we wait. We should go today." Carol says

"Agreed. But sending more people is only a short-term solution." Gabriel adds "In order to face this threat, the four communities have to present a united front. Which is why I'm proposing a mutual protection pact. An attack against one community is an attack against all of us." Michonne says

"Together, we can make these people think twice before moving against the Hilltop." Gabriel adds "The leadership of the Kingdom is very amenable to this idea." Ezekiel says "Oceanside's down." "Okay. So, how do we seal it? Spit and shake, blood oath? What?" Tara Jokes "I have just the thing." the king says before walking away and pulling out a large poster.

"What? How did you..." Michonne says in disbelief "Well, he's magic. Obviously. I may have taken a few things with me when I left. I did what I thought was right. I'm sorry for the way it went down." Tara explains to Michonne "Me too. And thank you. You were right." Michonne says.

"You were, too." Tara smiles, the two women hold onto each other's hand "I knew this day would come. Never doubted it for a moment." the king says, Iris watches them all sign the paper, she slowly stands and walks out of the building, leaving the others on the stage.