79

                                    

                                          
We looked around the Kingdom, all the food, all the people. They were happy. They looked strong. They clearly weren't starving. "Morgan?" 
                          
We turned around and Morgan smiled. "Hey." We greeted him and as we did, I realized what we would have to tell him.
                          
"How do you know each other?" Richard asked.
                          
"We go back to the start." Rick answered.
                          
"Well, the King is ready to see you."
                          
When we entered the building, we all froze right at the theatre entrance. Jesus walked farther than us, not realizing that we had stopped. "Jesus! It pleases me to see you, old friend."
                          
"It pleases him indeed!"
                          
"Jerry." Ezekiel scolded. "Tell me, what news do you bring good King Ezekiel? Are these new allies you've brought me?"
                          
"Indeed they are, your Majesty. This is..." He turned to introduce us, trailing off when he saw how far we were. He glanced back at Ezekiel for a moment. "Oh, right. I forgot to mention that-"
                          
"Yeah, a tiger." Rick nodded.
                          
We followed him back down the aisle and I latched onto Daryl's arm. "This is Rick Grimes, the leader of Alexandria, and these are some of his people."
                          
"I welcome you all to the Kingdom, good travelers. Now, what brings you to our fair land? Why do you seek an audience with the King?"
                          
"Ezekiel-King...Ezekiel, Alexandria, the Hilltop, and the Kingdom, all three of our communities have something in common. We all serve the Saviors. Alexandria already fought them once, and we won. We thought we took out the threat, but we didn't know then what we know now. We only beat one outpost. We've been told you have a deal with them, that you know them. Then you know they rule through violence and fear."
                          
Ezekiel glared at Jesus. "Your Majesty, I only told them of the-"
                          
"Our deal with the Saviors is not known among my people, for good cause." Jesus nodded. "We made you a party to that secret when you told us of Hilltops own travails, but we did not expect you to share-"
                          
"We can help each other."
                          
"Don't interrupt the King." Jerry stopped Jesus.
                          
"We brought you into our confidence. Why did you break it?"
                          
"Because I want you to hear Ricks plan."
                          
Ezekiel looked back to Rick. "And what plans have you, Rick Grimes of Alexandria?"
                          
"We came to ask the Kingdom, to ask you, to join us in fighting the Saviors, fighting for freedom for all of us."
                          
"What you are asking is very serious."
                          
Michonne walked up to stand by Rick. "Several of our people, good people were killed by the Saviors, brutally."
                          
"Who?" Morgan asked.
                          
Michonne looked away and Rick didn't answer. "Abraham," Rosita started. "Glenn, Spencer, Olivia, Eugene was taken. They took Daryl. He escaped. Every second he's out here, he's a target." Morgan nodded. "You gonna say you were right?"
                          
"No. I'm...I'm just really sorry they're gone."
                          
"Negan murdered Glenn and Abraham, beat them to death."
                          
"Terrorized the Hilltop. Set loose walkers just to make a point."
                          
"I used to think the deal was something we could live with. A lot of us did. But that's changing. So let's change the world, Your Majesty." 
                          
"I want to be honest about what we're asking. My people are strong, but there's not enough of us. We don't have guns, not enough, at least. Not a lot of weapons, period."
                          
The King didn't answer, Richard did. "We have people, and weapons. If we strike first, together, we can beat them." He looked at Ezekiel. "Your Majesty, no more waiting for things to get worse beyond what we can handle. We set things right. The time is now."
                          
Ezekiel looked at Morgan. "Morgan, what say you?"
                          
"Me?" Morgan seemed shocked he asked him.
                          
"Speak."
                          
"People will die. A lot of people and not just the Saviors. If we can find another way, we have to. Maybe it's just about Negan, just capturing him, holding him. Maybe..." he looked down, shaking his head.
                          
"The hour grows late." Ezekiel stood and the tiger growled. "Rick Grimes of Alexandria...you have given the King much to ponder."
                          
Rick sighed, shifting on his feet. "When I was a kid, my mother told me a story. There was a road to a kingdom, and there was a rock in the road. And people would just avoid it, but horses would break their legs on it and die, wagon wheels would come off. People would lose the goods they'd be coming to sell. That's what happened to a little girl. The cask of beer her family brewed fell right off. It broke. Dirt soaked it all up and it was gone. That was her family's last chance. They were hungry. They didn't have any money. She just...sat there and cried, but...she wondered why it was still there...for it to hurt someone else. So she dug at that rock in the road with her hands till they bled, used everything she had to pull it out. It took hours. And then...when she was gonna fill it up, she saw something in it. It was a bag of gold."
                          
"All right." Jerry has a smile on his face, enjoying the story.
                          
"The king put that rock in the road because he knew the person who dug it out, who did something, they deserved a reward. They deserved to have their life change for the good...forever."
                          
Ezekiel looked around the room. "I invite you all to sup with us and stay till the morrow."
                          
"We need to get back home." Rick said.
                          
"I shall deliver my decree in the morning."