The Remains of Tomorrow #wattys2019

Chapter 13

As the sun shone through my windows I stretched to get rid of the kinks caused by sleeping in one position for too long. As Bandit snored from the end of my bed so I prodded him with my toes,

"Get up lazy bones." He looked at me and turned away, huffing as he goes back to sleep. Knowing that I won't get Bandit to move without a little encouragement I got out of bed to open the trailer door. As I'm pulling on clothes I heard a soft knock at my door. Startled I looked up and saw Daryl standing there with his legs and arms crossed,

"bout time you got up." He said entering my trailer as I put the kettle on for a brew. He walked over to the bed where he also prodded Bandit to move. "Looks like he is becoming lazy." He said as I passed him a cup of coffee.

"Yeah he isn't the only one. I should've been up hours ago." I said as I sat next to him sipping my cuppa. "What time is it anyway?" I asked lighting up a cigarette to hand it to Daryl before lighting up my own, putting the ashtray between us.

"About noon." Shocked I realized that I had slept close to 14 hours.

"Damn, I must've been more tired than I thought." Rubbing the sleep from my eyes I leaned back against the wall and yawned

"Well, you have had a bad month," Daryl said as he sat closer to me, nudging me with his shoulder. "Plus since you asked for aspirin, a hot water bottle and Percy I assumed you were suffering from your monthly." Grimacing I looked at him,

"Yep, it sucks." As my stomach grumbled, I pulled out the box of cookies that Carol had dropped by last night before the party. Offering Daryl one I took one out of the box and felt a cold nose against my back. "Ok Bandit." Breaking off a piece I handed it to him before he settled back down and laid across our laps. "So what is the agenda for today?" I asked him as I put my cigarette out in the tray.

"We found some radio parts so I think Eugene is going to work on that, while Sasha and Rosita take a trip to the hilltop to pick up Maggie. Also, Jesus turned up and told us he is going to the Kingdom not far from here; do you want to go with Rick and me?" I smiled up at him,

"Yeah give me a chance to have a shower at Aarons and I'll meet you out front." Smiling he tapped me on the leg before getting up, "I'll take Bandit over to Carols to give you a chance to get ready." Smiling I gave Bandit a fuss as he begrudgingly got up from the bed when Daryl called him to heel.

**

Walking into Aarons house I noticed how quiet it is, this morning Aaron and Eric were taking their turn to milk and feed the cows so I had the house to myself. Walking up to the bathroom I turned the water on to heat as I stripped out of my clothes. Jumping in the shower I started singing to myself as the water helped ease the tension in my shoulders.

Feel her breath on my face

Her body close to me

Can't look in her eyes

She's out of my league.

Just a fool to believe

I have anything she needs

She's like the wind.

As the water started to cool I stepped out of the shower and dried myself off with the scented towel before putting my clothes back on. Pulling my hair into a pair of doggy ears I quickly outlined my eyes with eyeliner and mascara before pulling out the dark scarlet lipstick to finish off the effect. Once I am ready I walk down stairs to meet Daryl.

"Ready?" He asked as I stepped out into the sunshine,

"Ready as I'll ever be." Smiling he took my hand and pulled me towards the truck where Rick, Michonne, and Jesus were waiting for us.

**

The drive to the kingdom is uneventful and pretty soon we pull up to some high metal gates. All through the journey, Rick had put on some country music so I had been singing at the top of my voice with not a care in the world, enjoying the breeze that came through the back window.

"Wow, this looks impressive?" I said from the back as we pulled to a stop in front of the gates. As they open we slowly drove through and put the truck into park. Getting out of the truck a big Asian man greets Jesus before turning to all of us.

"Welcome I'm Gerry; please follow me, the king has been expecting you." Looking at Daryl I mouth the word king before they lead us to what appeared to be a town hall in the middle of all the allotments of vegetables. Walking through the doors we found ourselves in a huge auditorium where a man with grey dreadlocks was sitting on the throne. My eyes widen as I see the gigantic beast next to him.

"Daryl, is that a tiger?" I whispered to him, my hand tightening on his arms,

"Yes that is Shiva. I came here when I escaped the Sanctuary, she is quite friendly. I shared my rabbit with her."

"Daryl, Rick, Michonne, Jesus. I'm so happy to see you. But who is this young lady with you?" Looking at me I felt the blush rise on my cheeks as he was scrutinizing me.

"Your majesty, this is McKenzie; she is Aarons sister," Jesus said as pulled me forward out of Daryl's arms. I tried to fight him as he brought me closer to the king and his pet tiger. But he whispered in my ear, "Don't show fear," Glaring at him I put my other hand on my hip and whispered to him,

"It's a fucking Tiger Jesus, I've only ever seen them in zoos and on TV. I've never been up close and personal with one before." Pleading with my eyes I begged him not to take me any closer.

"Sorry, your Majesty she won't come any closer as she is scared of Shiva." The King smiled before he got up from the throne to walk down the steps to meet me half way.

"Don't worry Jesus, she is quite a sight is she not?" He remarked taking one of my hands in both of his, "Aaron told me about you, however, he didn't tell me how beautiful you were." Smiling he indicated for Gerry to take Shiva out before he put my arm in the crook of his and led me outside while the rest of the group fell in behind us.

"You have a beautiful place here," I remarked as he started to show me around the compound.

"Thank you it has taken hard work but we are thriving." He said as he led me to a communal area for food. "Please join us for food and tell me all about you." As he sat next to me Daryl took the seat on the other side of me while the other people in our group settled around the table.

**

I and the king talked for hours. I've only ever spoken to the people in Alexandria and a select few from the Hilltop, but I've never spoken to someone who was so charismatic and at ease with what life had thrown at him. Before I knew it the skies had darkened and we are still talking even as the cool night air caused goosebumps to appear on my skin. Suddenly a denim jacket smelling of Daryl is placed over my shoulders. Smiling up at him I put my arms in the sleeves and pulled it around me to chase away the chills of the night. Feeling a yawn make its way up my throat I pulled the jacket up around me to hide the fact that I'm getting tired however, King Ezekiel noticed and rubbed his hands together.

"While this has been a good chat, I think we all need to sleep. Why don't you all stay here and rest, we can discuss trading options in the morning." He said as Gerry came up behind us to show us where we could lay our heads tonight. Happily, I found myself in a room with Daryl. The room was quite extravagant with a four-poster bed surrounded by velvet curtains; laying on the bed I sighed as I realized it was a feather mattress.

"Oh my god, Daryl you need to lay in this bed," I said as he jumped next to me causing me to laugh and roll into his waiting arms. "Daryl!" I screeched as he started tickling me without mercy,

"What woman, you said to join you in bed." He pulled me so I was laid across his chest,

"Join me in bed, not jump in and make me practically fall off this luxuriant mattress." Smiling he pulled me tighter into him as his breath started deepening into sleep. "Thank you for bringing me here Daryl," I said before letting my eyes close while sleep pulled at me,

"Your welcome darling." He said as his voice deepens even more with sleep. As Daryl fell into a deep sleep I suddenly found myself jolted awake by the sound of Shiva roaring in the distance.

"Fucking tiger." I snorted before trying to settle back into sleep once more.