Chapter Text
When Daryl grumbled up out of his bed, the sun hadn’t come up yet and Laurent and Isabelle were still sleeping soundly. Their group had been at the Nest for a few weeks now and they had all settled into a nice routine, but today, Daryl felt like breaking that routine. He quickly got out of the room so as to not disturb the others, and took a walk around the castle grounds.
Walks like this were a sort of nostalgia for Daryl. They reminded him of patrolling the commonwealth. Well, they would if he imagined the gigantic castle was a bunch of apartment buildings and the grazing cows, goats, and sheep were a part of Ezekiel's petting zoo. The sight of a small patch of flowers made him stop. Laurent’s bedside table was looking a bit empty, that's all. It wasn’t like he wanted to pick flowers, he just knew Laurent had an appreciation for purple flowers, which happen to be growing right in front of Daryl. He knelt down and tried not to think about how hard it would be for him to get up, or what his brother would say if he saw him now.
By the time he had arranged the flowers into a bouquet like Judith had taught him, the sun was rising, and so was everyone else. After a few tries, Daryl was off the ground and on his way to breakfast, where he knew the others would be waiting for him. On his way back, Daryl passed several people talking about a new arrival. Apparently, some refugee was on the run from some people who killed their family. He decided breakfast could wait. The people that lived in the Nest weren’t soft by any means, but not all of them can judge a character as well as Daryl. Perhaps he should find a vase before that though?
-
Isabelle woke up with tears stained on her cheeks. She had gotten used to the pain in her shoulder, but sometimes she would wake up in terrible pain, unable to soothe it. Other times, her entire arm would be numb and paralyzed, as she would cry anyway. Daryl always helped her through the worst days, and Laurent never left her side, unless he was by Daryl’s. She was happy Daryl came into her life, not just because he saved her and Laurent’s life and brought them to the Nest, but because she didn’t think anyone cared as much as him. When she first met him, Daryl was just a way to get Laurent to the Nest, but they grew closer, and, however horrible it may seem for her to say it, she’s glad he chose to stay in France.
“Are you alright, Issa?” Her thoughts came crashing down and she was met with the sight of a worried Laurent standing over her.
“You’ve been crying. Is it your shoulder? Is there anything I can do to help?” His words brought a smile to her face as her hand rose to her face to wipe away the tears on her cheeks.
“No. It was hurting, but it is all better now.” When Laurnet’s worried look didn’t drop she sat up. “I promise.” Despite her words, he still held out his hand for her to grab onto as she climbed out of bed.
She snorted, “You’re just as bad as Daryl.” At this, Laurent’s face lit up at being positively compared to Daryl.
“Come on, Laurent. Let’s head to breakfast.” Laurent skipped ahead of her and held the door of their bedroom open for her.
“I wonder what Daryl’s been doing.” Laurent grabbed Isabelle’s hand and let her guide him to breakfast, imagining what huge monsters Daryl could be out fighting. Halfway through Daryl’s fight with a fire breathing dragon, he heard a yell and Issa pulled him towards the front gate. When they finally made their way there, the giant doors opened for the first time since he and Daryl came back. Since the sun had just come up, not many people were out and about, so they were the only people not on duty to welcome the newcomer in.
On the other side of the gate stood a woman. Her clothes were old and dirty and she was covered head to toe in water. One of her hands was covered in bright red blood, clutching a red rosary like it was her lifeline.
“Please! Please help me. Please!” She didn’t move at all, just stood on the other side of the gate, shaking, and clasped the rosary with both hands now. “I don’t have a lot. Please, I’m all alone.”
Isabelle let go of Laurent’s hand and rushed forward towards the woman. She flinched back but took Isabelle’s hand when she offered it.
“My name is Isabelle. That is Laurent. Up there is Louis and Alexandre,” she nodded to the two men on the watchtower who had opened the gate. “Please, come inside.”
“Oh, God bless you. Thank you so much. I’m in your debt. I can pull my own weight, I promise. I know how to cook, and sew, and-”
“Thank you, but all I ask right now is that we get you some clean clothes and a nice warm meal, how does that sound?”
The woman cried out again and continued thanking Isabelle and Laurent all the way to the castle.
They found out sometime later that the woman’s name was Carol, and that she had run from a group in England that had killed her husband and son.
“But you don’t sound English,” Laurent chimed into her story. Isabelle was horrified and was about to tell Laurent how rude he was being when Carol spoke up again.
“No. I guess I don’t. I’m not actually from England. My husband and I were on our honeymoon trip when this all went down. I’m originally from America, but we got stuck over here and have been here ever since.” She looked sadly down at the rosary in her hand. Isabelle followed her gaze to the blood stained rosary. When they finally made their way to the kitchen, Isabelle grabbed a clean cloth and dipped it in a bucket of cleaning water. She gestured to the beads in the other woman’s hand before handing the cloth to her.
“Catholic?”
“No, Christian. These are just something I found that I felt connected me better to God. I like to think he’s watching and hearing my prayers with the help of the rosary. I know it may be silly, b-” She began pulling apart the beads and cleaning in between them, scrubbing faster and faster until Laurent cut her off.
“It’s not silly. God hears you.” The woman turned in surprise at the boy.
“I don’t think it’s silly, either. I’m a nun, actually, and Laurent here was raised in my church. He feels a certain connection towards God because of that.” Carol looked intrigued at that.
“I don’t mean to offend, but you don’t look like a nun.” Isabelle smiled as she pulled out a plate and knife and started cutting up some bread for Carol to eat.
“I’ll take that as a compliment, then.”
A plate of bread and goat cheese was placed in front of Carol, as well as a glass of water, and she thanked them again for their kindness.
“Please, eat all you want. Laurent will fix you some more if you wish. I’ll be back shortly with a change of clothes.” But, just as she was about to turn around, the door to the kitchen swung open and she recognized the fall of Daryl’s boots.
Carol didn’t pay any mind to the newcomer and started eating immediately, and Isabelle turned to face him.
“Early breakfast?”
“Just lookin’ for a vase.” At the sound of his voice, Carol stopped eating. Actually, she stopped moving entirely. If it weren’t for the rise and fall of her chest, Isabelle would have been worried she’d stopped breathing.
“Are you okay, Carol?” After she finished her sentence, Daryl’s head whipped up from looking through a pile of pots and he met eyes with Carol. For a second, there was no movement, then, all of a sudden, Carol’s chair was pushed back and the flowers in Daryl’s hand were tossed onto a nearby tabletop. Isabelle pulled Laurent back just in time for the two of them to meet in what seemed to be a bone crushing hug.
“Daryl. You’re here.” Carol’s voice carried out from inside Daryl’s shirt.
“Yeah, I’m here.”
When they finally separated Isabelle could see the tears they were both fighting.
“Daryl, you know Carol?” Laurent’s voice broke through the emotional scene in front of her.
“Daryl knows me better than anybody I’ve ever known.”
“But what about your husband?” At that question, Daryl huffed and grabbed Carol’s hand, pulling her closer to him.
“I’m so sorry, guys. I might have lied to you a bit back there. I’m not actually from England. I’m from America and I came looking for Daryl. I didn’t lose my husband and son to a large group that I’m running from. I made that all up so you might let me in and give me information on Daryl’s whereabouts. Please, don’t take my actions to heart.”
“Damn, girl. I missed you so much.”
Suddenly, Issa took in the hug and the smiles on their faces and their intertwined hands, not to mention lack of space between them, and realized Daryl had been in a relationship with this woman the entire time she’s known him. But why would he choose to stay? Why not go back home to his girlfriend? Before she could ask, Carol pointed her chin over Daryl’s shoulder.
“Got a sweetheart here?” The tone of her voice was teasing, which contradicts everything about their relationship. Maybe she didn’t believe he could find another girl. That made Issa mad, because of course Daryl was capable of-
“Those are so pretty!” Laurent rushed to the flowers and picked them up. “Where did you find them?”
“There’s a patch by the pond. I’ll take you sometime.”
“Thank you so much, Daryl”
“Ah, you’re welcome. And be careful! Those things are covered in thorns.” Laurent nodded happily while Carol gazed at the two with an unknown expression on her face.
“Now I see.”
“See what?” Issa piped in, begging for just a drop of the other woman’s thoughts.
“Why he didn’t come home,” Carol said. However, the smile never left her face.