Broken

The Fair

The Kingdom looks amazing with banners for all the communities and flags and a large paper meche statue of Shiva. Colored streamers made of fabric scraps hang from string hung between the buildings. 

Everyone begins to unload the wagons of the goods that we came here to trade. I help a woman with a massive amount of vegetables and food goods. 

I find the King and Carol talking, Carl and Tara fall into step with me. "Alexandria came?" Carol asks excitedly, walking toward us, "Not exactly, we're with Hilltop," I say. 

Carol smiles anyway, "It's good to have you," she says. I smile back at her but she's looking over the people we brought. 

I begin looking over the people that they have here, "Where's Henry," she asks. 

"He's not here?" Tara questions, Carol shakes her head, "Daryl and Henry didn't show up?" Carl asks.

"No, why?" Ezekiel questions, "We were meeting them here," Tara says. "Where exactly are they?" Carol asks. 

Kelly rushes this way, I grab her arm before she can cause a scene I pull her back toward the wagons. 

"Where's Connie?" she asks, "You need to take a deep breath, they might've gotten cut off by bad roads or a herd. We have to wait them out," I say. "I can't do that," Kelly mutters. I wrap my arms around her. 

"Come on let's go find Yumiko and the others," I tell her. "Why?" she asks, "We're gonna go find them," I say. Kelly nods before she runs off to find them. 

"Where's that girl going?" Carol asks she's picking at her nails. I grab her hand, "To get the group that they came here with. Connie, her sister is out there with Daryl and Henry," I say. "Why is she getting the group?" Carol asks. 

"Kelly and I are going out to look for them after the King's speech, he should stay but you should come with us," I tell her. "I'll get a wagon and supplies ready," she says.

I stand with Carl as the King starts his speech, Julia insisted that she be propped on his shoulders so she could see. 

"I stand before you today at the start of a new tomorrow. A tomorrow made possible by the sacrifices of many over the years. Among them was a man whose mission was to build community and strengthen the bonds between us. A man who had to destroy the very thing that connected us in order to save us. It took us far to long to fulfill the promise of what Rick Grimes envisioned. What his son, Carl has fought hard to achieve. The same promise that Paul Rovia, better known as Jesus believed in when he brought us all together those many years ago. We have always been bound to each other. We always will be, we fought our way back to each other." 

Everyone appludes the King, "I'm going out with the search team," I tell Carl, "I'll go too," Carl says. 

I shake my head, "You represent Rick's legacy, people knew him and they know you. They know that you kept us connected. You represent Alexandria." 

I nod to where Rosita and the twins, Frankie, Siddiq, Rosie, Alya, and Gabriel are all standing. Carl nods as he takes Julia down from his shoulders. 

"I love you," I say to her, "Love you too momma," she says with a smile. I kiss her nose before I press my lips to Carl's. 

"I won't even say it," he says, "Good, I'd just yell at you anyway," I say.

I walk to the gates where Luke and the others are waiting at the wagon. Carol is waiting there for the King, I grab her hand gently, she looks at me for a moment, "Where's Mika?" she asks. 

"Safe, she's at home," I tell her, "She's fifteen now?" Carol asks, "Sixteen, actually," I say. The King walks this way. I move so that her and the King can talk.