.・゜-: ✧☾　☽✧ :-゜・.

𝐌𝐔𝐂𝐇 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐃 when Stella and Levi were gone. Carl had found a group of survivors in the tombs but Stella hadn't gotten the chance to meet them before Rick sent them off. She didn't watch it happen since she was in Levi's cell when he did, but she heard him. He sounded like a lunatic when he screamed at them to get out. He was losing his grip. Stella could see that and so could the rest of the group. She had been too but something pulled her up again. She couldn't hide away in her cell. She knew that she had to be there for her siblings, for her family. She had left Carl once and promised herself that she wouldn't do it again. She had a responsibility. Not just for Carl but for her baby sister who she had found out had been named Judith. Baby Judy.

Stella thought it sounded like an old person's name so she and Carl called her "Jedi Jude" or "little asskicker." Their father was more fond of "Jedi Jude."

Stella had informed the Greene family about Ellie's current position at Woodbury. They got upset of course but also relieved to know that she was alive, or so they all hoped. As Stella tried to convince them that Ellie was okay, she tried to convince herself at the same time. She wasn't sure about what they were doing to Ellie and she wasn't sure if she wanted to find out. Merle had told her that Ellie stood side by side with the governor's son which made her hope that she had been unharmed, but she couldn't know for sure. Not until she had seen her.

Now, Stella stood leaned against the wall, listening as the arguing played out in front of her. Apparently, the new group that they found in the tombs had found a way in through a breach in the prison which meant that walkers or the governor's men could easily attack from the inside.

"If walkers just strolled in, it's gonna be cake for a group of armed men," Levi said. The boy was still wounded to the limit where standing up was a struggle but nothing would stop him from doing everything he could to make sure the governor and his men were dead.

"Why are we even so sure he's gonna attack?" Beth asked. "Maybe you scared him off."

"He had fish tanks full of heads. Walkers and humans. Trophies." Michonne spoke. "He's coming."

"We should hit him now," Levi suggested making everyone instantly turn their attention to him.

"What?" Beth questioned.

"He won't be expecting it." The boy said. "We'll sneak back in and put a bullet in his head."

"We're not assassins," Carol said.

"But he is. It's him or us." Levi said. He shot up and stepped toward Michonne. "You know where his apartment is. You and I could end this tonight. I'll do it myself."

The woman frowned as she stared at him like she was pondering his suggestion before nodding.

"I'll go with you," Stella said stubbornly.

"He didn't know you were coming last time and look what happened. '' Stella heard Hershel say. "You were almost killed. Daryl was captured.

"You can't stop us," Levi muttered. The boy's eyes were flaming with hatred as his jaw tightened. Stella could see that the need for revenge had consumed him leaving him in pure fury.

"Your father would never allow this." Herschel ignored the boy and turned to Stella instead.

"Dad's not in any position to make that decision." The girl said. Rick was deeply hurt and Stella could see that. He blamed himself for not being there to protect Lori and Stella. He was clearly losing his grip and she wanted to help him but she waived knowing that there was nothing for her to do. She had been in the same situation and she pulled herself up which meant that Rick had to do the same. He was the only one who could help himself.

"Think this through clearly." Herschel pleaded. "T-dog lost his life here. Lori, too. The men that were here. It isn't worth any more killing. What are we waiting for? If he's really on his way, we should be out of here by now."

"Hershel, you're not listening. We have nowhere to go. Plus, Ellie's there. We have to get her back."

"Maybe we can reason with him." The older man suggested making Levi scoff. "We can't stay here."

"We can't run." The boy said. "We're gonna defend this place. We're making a stand."

_________________

Stella walked alongside Beth. They had taken Judith away from all the commotion inside. Rick was losing his grip and Levi continued to make hopeless attempts to convince everyone to attack the governor. Stella wasn't sure where she stood in that argument. If they would attack the governor they would be taking a huge risk. A matter of life and death. Stella wasn't prepared to risk her family's lives, or anyone else from their group. No one. Plus they were vulnerable. Their group had lost too many people and were outnumbered and outgunned by the people in Woodbury.

"Are you alright?" Beth asked, making Stella look at her.

The girl nodded and gave her a faint smile as they walked over the courtyard. "Are you?"

"A bit shaken up. I'm just worried about Ellie." Beth replied.

"We'll get her out. I promise. I'd never let us leave this place without her.." The Grimes girl reassured Beth. "How's little ass-kicker been?" Stella smiled as she stared at the girl in her arms. The baby was resting her head against her older sister's shoulder as she held a firm grip on a piece of Stella's hair. She had only been gone for two days but that was enough for her to miss her little sister.

"You've been good, haven't you?" Beth put on a baby voice as she spoke to Judith. "She eats like a horse, sleeps like a rock. She's missed you, though."

The two girls had traveled over to the lawn in front of the prison. Flowers stretched over the open surfaces as they walked over it. The sun warmed their skin, a feeling that Stella had missed. She loved moments like this. She realized that most of these peaceful moments that she had was with Beth. Stella would definitely consider her her best friend and one of the few people she could actually talk to after her mother's death. Carl was just a child and Stella didn't feel like she could put anything on him. She was supposed to be a role model and he was supposed to come to her when he was sad. Not the other way around.

She couldn't talk to her father in the current state he was in and with Levi... She didn't know. Just a few days ago she hated him for what he told her in the boiler room but what she hated more was the fact that he was right. Stella had her whole family with her while everyone around her lost theirs. However, she'd never expected Levi to be the one to say that to her.
Maybe he didn't mean it and just said it in the heat of the moment. Stella had taken notice that he tends to do that a lot like when he told Rick what happened yesterday. He let his anger get in control of his words, making him say and do stupid things.

She wasn't sure how to feel about him. After what he told her in Woodbury, she got confused. He told her that he loved her. But what confused her more was that she said it back, so easily. And she meant it. She wasn't sure how though. It didn't mean that she was in love with him but she couldn't deny that she felt something for him. The mere thought of loving someone in an apocalypse felt like a distant hope. Just like she told Lori before she died: "She can't love anyone with this fear of losing them. She couldn't fall for anyone before life was about something other than just surviving and more about living."

"This reminds me of the day at the farm," Beth said as she picked up a flower making Stella snap out of her thoughts.

"Yeah," The blonde smiled.

"Everything was so different back then." The Greene girl said, making Stella stop and look at her.

"I know." She said. She felt a wave of suppressed sadness and grief wash over her. "Well, back then we didn't have this ball of happiness." The older sister tried to lighten the mood, noticing that Beth was deeply hurt and worried about the uncertainty that Ellie was safe. Stella placed a small daisy behind Judith's ear.

"Pretty." Beth smiled and Stella smiled back.

"I don't want her to grow up in a world like this," Stella said. Every word ached in her body since she hated to say it out loud. Beth stopped and looked at her. "Mom's gone. Everyone around us dies. And like the walkers weren't enough. Now there are people who are ready to murder us for what we have. And even if we kill this governor, there's gonna be another one. And another one and another one." Stella let her hand travel over the little hair on Judith's head. "I just want her to grow up in peace."

"She will." Beth send her a reassuring smile." Look around, she will grow up surrounded by survivors, people who love her. She's only a like a week old and everyone already has so much love for her. She's lucky. She'll grow old here. So will we and the others. So will Ellie."

Stella smiled, endlessly grateful to have Beth with her. She never failed to make her feel better about these situations.

Soon after, Judith shoved the daisy off her ear making the two girls laugh. But their happiness was brought short at the sound of a gunshot. Stella immediately spun around, crouching as she used her body to shield the baby in her arms. Her gaze searched through the forest that surrounded them but she already knew who was causing the gunfire. The governor. She couldn't see him from where she was hiding but she knew that he wasn't alone. She managed to catch a glimpse of multiple heads peeking up from behind the bushes around them.

"Beth, take Judith inside," Stella demanded as she handed the crying child to her.

"But-"

"Go!" She shouted as she pulled out her gun. Beth took off, heading for the prison, ducking behind cars as she fled from the gunfire. Stella examined her gun to check the amount of bullets in it. Not enough.

Stella sat hidden behind one of the guard towers. She peaked out her head to shoot at the men that were taking cover in the forest. The last time she was shooting at the governor's men, she was shaken up and only managed to take down two of them which had resulted in Oscar getting killed. This time she held a firm grip on her weapon, determined to take them all out. She watched as her bullets took down several men but they just seemed to keep coming.

For a moment the gunshots ceased. Stella saw the opportunity and rushed behind one of the cars, pressing her body against it. From her new position, she could see the governor clearly. He raised his weapon in the air, letting his bullets spew out almost as if it were amusing for him.

Stella peaked up from the car and fired her bullets in the governor's direction but she was too far away to have a chance to hit him. Instead, she was forced to dive back behind the car when at least five men noticed her and started firing her way. She was stuck. Walkers started to press themselves against the fence in front of her. The gunfire must have drawn them here. She was surrounded, unsure where to go.

Suddenly, the gunfire died again. After several moments of silence, Stella peaked out from behind the car to the sound of a distant engine roaring. The girl's eyes widened while she watched in horror as a van came speeding toward the prison gates without slowing down. Instead it busted it down before stopping in the middle of the field.

Quiet. Everything was silent. Multiple moments of stillness passed as everyone held their breath. The sudden sound of the van door crashing down made Stella flinch. Another silence fell upon the prison before the first walker stumbled out followed by a herd of dead. The limping creatures began to spread over the field leaving Stella with no option but to run.

She crouched as she rushed for the gate to the courtyard. But she didn't make it a single foot before she was getting shot at. She looked up and saw a dozen walkers coming at her. In a moment of desperation, she used her last bullet to take down the closest walker. Grabbing it before it fell to the ground, she held its body close to hers a way to shield herself from the gunshot before she took off again. The girl used the end of her gun to take down the walkers that came at her but most of all she skillfully dodged them.

This time she saw that the whole group had gathered on the field, shooting the walkers. Without Stella even noticing, the governor's men had left, giving the group a chance to fight back the dead.

"Stella!" The girl heard Levi shout. He stood with a machine gun in his hands a few yards away. The Grimes girl let go of the walker as she no longer needed to shield herself from the gunshots before she hurried over into the boy's embrace. Most of the group was with him but upon searching through the faces she realized that her father wasn't.

"Dad's still out there?" The girl began to panic. Her eyes fixated on her father who was struggling to fight back the walkers that surrounded him. "I have to go get him." She took off, heading for the crashed-down part of the fence but quickly felt Levi's hand around her wrist.

"No, Stella. Get inside!" The boy basically forced her inside the gates, grabbing her by the arm tightly before rushing her inside just as Maggie closed it.

"Get off me!" She shouted.

"Wait." He shouted as he swayed his weapon toward Stella's father. The girl turned to see him pushing the walkers off him with ease. But he wasn't alone. Daryl and Merle stood by him, taking down the dead that approached them.

They were back.

The girl looked over the crowded field. The attack on the prison was the start of something. Something big. The governor might have made the first move but Stella was determined to make the last.

This was war.

_____ ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ _____
𝟐𝟓𝟏𝟖 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬
_____ ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ _____

𝐀/𝐍

Stella and Beth are everything.

this chapter was kinda boring but important for the story so i might post two chapter today or one tomorrow!