"That chick terrifies me," Daphne admitted to Gavin as Letty sped off to take a post near the designated meeting place with Ezekiel.

"She's intense," he agreed. "Very good at what she does." He paused, raising an eyebrow. "Are we going to talk about what you're wearing?"

"Oh, this old thing?" The blonde took her skirts in hand and curtsied. "I'm dressed to meet a King."

"You think this is going to work?" he asked as he led her towards the waiting truck.

Daphne grinned as she jumped up into the passenger seat. "I played Lady Macbeth in high school. I got this."

Gavin rolled his eyes. "You're as nuts as the big boss," he muttered as he shut the door for her.

The two Saviors in the backseat were intently staring down at a game they were playing, and Daphne peeked over them.

"Fucker!" the guy directly behind her barked, scrubbing his face with his hands.

"Why do you play that game if it pisses you off so much?" Gavin inquired, sounding amused, as he took his place behind the wheel.

"Maybe he's a masochist," the other guy said with a grin.

"If you stopped bouncing my shit I'd be able to play!" the first guy said and Daphne reached down to pluck a card from the seat.

"Oh jeez, Magic cards huh?" She laughed as she read the flavour text. "My roommate in college used to play this all the time. She had some really angry matches."

"When all your opponent plays is blue/black zombie decks it gets fucking frustrating," the guy behind her muttered.

"Zombie deck?" Daphne handed the card back with a raised eyebrow. "How fitting." She turned completely sideways in her seat and patted him on the shoulder. "Well let's see if I can remember the rules. I feel like a couple of Saviors should be able to take out a zombie horde."

By the time the convoy reached its destination, Daphne and her new friend Derrick had lost a grand total of three times.

"This game is balls!" she cried.

Their opponent, whose name had turned out to be Ross, leaned back with a grin of satisfaction. "It's not my fault I'm a better deck builder than you," he teased.

"Why don't you have any of those counterspells in this deck?" Daphne asked Derrick, picking it up to flip through it.

Ross smirked. "Because he refuses to play blue." 

"Only assholes play blue," his seatmate shot back, and Daphne shook her head.

She shrugged. "I don't know man, blue sounds like a pretty good strategy."

Derrick sighed. "I'm surrounded by assholes," he moaned.

"Enough, kids. Suit up," Gavin spoke up as he pulled the truck into park. The other two trucks had already stopped and Saviors jumped out, fully decked out with guns.

"Ugh, Jared?" Daphne scoffed as she noticed the long-haired dickbag in the rear view mirror, and both Ross and Derrick snickered.

She hopped down from the truck and slung her bag over one shoulder, keeping a handful of skirt in her hand to avoid the dusty road.

Jared smirked when he spotted her. "What are you supposed to be?"

"Your worst fucking nightmare if you don't keep your mouth shut," Daphne growled, and her truck mates looked amused and shell-shocked at her tone.

The sound of tires crunching gravel interrupted their standoff, and she turned to see a truck with a large wooden cab backing up the road. 

She turned to Derrick. "May I take your arm, gentle sir?" she asked in a faux English accent, and he chuckled, offering his elbow. She slipped her hand delicately through it and he led her towards the group emerging from the opposite truck.

An incredibly tall man with silver dreadlocks and a walking stick walked ahead of the men regally. Daphne could only assume this was Ezekiel, with his confident gait and imposing eyes. He looked battle-hardened and strong, and she couldn't help but size him up.

His crew of five was decked out in full SWAT armor, save for a man in casual summer garb on the far left. He had dark skin and sad eyes, and held only a stick. This was clearly no walking stick, however. He held it with two hands, like a weapon.

Daphne kept an eye on him—he matched the description of Carol's companion.

"Quite the guard with you this fine day, Gavin," the King said, his voice a booming baritone that seemed to shake the earth.

"Yeah, we've run into some trouble this past week," the lieutenant admitted. "Somebody took out an entire outpost, killed all of our soldiers in their sleep."

Ezekiel's eyes hardened. "Dishonorable swine," he said, and Daphne noticed a tiny wince on the walking stick man's face. "I am saddened to hear of your plight," the king continued. "If there is anything you need, you have but to ask."

"If I may, my lord," Daphne spoke up, letting go of Derrick's arm to step forward.

"Greetings, sweet lady." Ezekiel took her hand and brought it to his lips, smiling warmly as he lowered it. "I have not yet had the pleasure. I am King Ezekiel of the Kingdom."

She curtsied, returning his smile. "Daphne, of the Sanctuary. In light of recent events, Negan has sent me to strengthen our relationship and humbly offer our support. Our most favoured scouts reside in the forests to help secure defense, and I would be honoured to accompany you this week for added protection while our troops secure the enemy."

The King thoughtfully stroked his dark beard for a moment, dark eyes calculating. "Forgive me, my lady," he said gently, "I have but a difficult time understanding how you might be of protection to my men." He spread his arms to acknowledge his crew and they stood tall.

Jared snickered from behind her, and Daphne reeled back with her elbow, connecting with his nose. There was a slick crunch and he shrieked, falling to his knees.

"Forgiven, my lord," she said, bowing slightly at the waist. "I do not look like much, but that is part of my image, and that you truly understand, do you not?"

"That I do, my lady," Ezekiel said quietly, and inclined his head. "I will allow your visit. It will be refreshing to share our trust in such a way with the Saviors."

Daphne bowed again. "Many thanks," she said. "It is a boon for us to share our trust as well. Your Kingdom is important to us. We should like to be as important to you." This medieval politics game seemed ridiculous from an outside perspective, but in the moment she was having a blast. Playing Lady Envoy for a week was going to be spectacularly fun.

"Gavin!" Jared whined as he got back to his feet, pointing a finger at the woman in the red dress. "She broke by fuckib' bose!" He drew his gun and there was a chorus of quick clicks as barrels were raised on both sides.

Daphne was halfway between Gavin and Ezekiel, and held up a hand to each side of her. This moron could ruin everything.

"Give me your gun, idiot," Gavin demanded, and snatched the bleeding man's pistol from his shaking hand. "You seriously going to draw a gun on this woman? Go sit over there while we finish our meeting. You're walking home."

Jared's mouth dropped open and he looked as if he were about to protest when Ross grabbed his collar and dragged him over to the bench in question.

"My deepest apologies, my lord," Daphne looked up at Ezekiel with soft eyes. "Judge the rest of us not for this bad apple's behaviour."

"No apologies," the King assured her. "Shall we assess this week's offering? Our finest melons, sweet as ambrosia!" 

She took his arm graciously and let him lead her to the back of the truck.

Derrick picked up the crate of fruit and hauled it back to Gavin's truck. He returned with a paper sack, and handed it to Daphne. She opened it to show Ezekiel the contents with a sly smile on her face, and he chuckled.

"Many of our residents will be overjoyed to partake in this wonderful gift," he handed the bag off to one of his men, and then turned to Gavin. "As always, good sir, many thanks for your discretion and respecting our boundaries. I shall inform my own scouts of your plight in hopes we can assist further in this matter."

"Thank you," the grey-haired lieutenant bowed his head slightly, and then inclined his head to Daphne. "Have fun milady, see you in a week."

She curtsied with a delicate giggle, and batted her eyelashes at him. "Oh I will, gentle sir!"

"Come, you will ride with me, we have much to discuss!" Ezekiel bellowed jovially, and she took his arm again to skirt the truck.

It was going to be a very interesting week.