BELLAMY

As the Chancellor pardoned me from my attempt on his life, I never dreamed of feeling so relieved; the thoughts about all the horrible ways he was going to kill me dissipated. It was easier to breathe. And it was all because of the princess; the woman who drove me mad every single day I've been on this Earth, the woman who when we first came down I would've happily seen her in a grave; but now, I started to wonder if any of this would be possible without her. She may have said she needed me, but looking at her now, the way her golden hair spills over her shoulders, giving her the appearance of a halo, the way her blue eyes glistened with triumph along with a deep relief, and the way the corner of her gentle rosy lips curved skyward, I knew I needed her too. More than I would ever care to admit.

She turned and looked at me, the smile slowly fading. My first thought was that something happened: had I missed something the Chancellor had said? Then she cleared her throat, "Hey, uhm, Bellamy, can you give us a second?"

I could see the anger and despair filling her eyes, Damnit, this was all my fault, she was going to talk to her mother now…because of what I had said…

"Princess, you don't have to do this, not right now, it can wa-"

"No, you were right earlier, Bellamy, it needs to be done."

I had nothing left to say, she had made up her mind, damn what I think. But then again what else was I to expect from the stubborn little princess. I got up and made my way towards the drop ship door, slowly opening it I looked back one last time, her eyes met mine and I knew that this would be harder for her than anything we had faced thus far; she gave me a little nod and I stepped out into the brisk night. I thought about heading to my tent, but for some reason, despite the piercing tendrils of the cool air that bit through my jacket, I couldn't bring myself to leave the door and her behind…

CLARKE

Once Bellamy was pardoned, I knew it was my turn to face my fears; I couldn't outrun her forever. She was my mother for god's sake.

"Jaha, can you put my mother on…?"

I saw the shock register on his face, only to be replaced by an approving smile. I wanted to smack it off his face. I wasn't doing this for her, I was doing it for me.

"Sure thing Clarke," he was still smiling.

As soon as her face appeared on the pixelating screen I realized I had not thought about what I wanted to say. She looked like she had aged ten years in the last couple of days.

"Clarke, honey, I'm so sorry, I-

"Stop. You don't get to apologize, you don't get to tell me you are sorry. You made that choice a year ago when you let Wells, my best friend, take the fall for you."

"Honey, please understand!"

"Understand what? There is nothing to understand!"

"I had no choice! I'm on the council! It is my sworn duty to protect the remainder of the human race. What your father had planned was going to cause mass hysteria; he needed to be stopped!"

"It's your sworn duty to protect the human race…"

"Yes!"

"What about your family, huh? Did you ever for a single second stop to think what you were doing to your own family…" I couldn't help it, the bitterness, the anger, but most of all the hurt escaped with that last sentence.

"What? I was protecting you!"

"No. No," I refused to accept that explanation, "You were protecting yourself Abbey," I could see her recoil at me using her name. But she no longer deserved the title of mom, she made it clear where I stood with her.

"Clarke, I was protecting you from chaos and possible death," her voice was pleading with me to understand her, pleading for my forgiveness.

"So you turned in my father, for a crime you knew was punishable by death."

"He wasn't supposed to be floated….Jaha said he would reason with him, that he would give Jake a chance to see the wrong in what he was doing."

"And you believed him…"

"He is in charge Clarke, he needed to know."

"You know, it's funny, when I thought Wells had turned him in, I could almost understand it. It was my mistake in telling him. For years I blamed myself for my own father's death. But you knew that, you knew that and still, you let me believe that," my voice cracked, I could no longer see the screen, "You let me believe that I had killed my own father, just so you could hide behind my best friend. You're a coward. And I don't think that I can ever forgive you."

Abbey's face was streaked with tears, I could see she regretted everything, but I couldn't bring myself to forgive her. I knew it's not what dad would want, but nothing she said right now would make me forgive her for the utter despair that has consumed me for the past year. I was about to hit the power button on the transmitter, but paused mid-air, I looked straight at the screen and told her that if I had truly mattered to her, if she had loved me the way she was supposed to love her only daughter, she would've realized that what she chose to do was so entirely wrong. She was the one who ripped my life apart, she ripped my dad from my life, she made me hate my only friend, she let me believe that I had killed my father, she even let me go into isolation for it; and as far as I was concerned, she was no longer my mother.

As soon as the screen went dark, I gave in, I let the sadness, the pain, the regret, and the hurt consume me. I got off the chair and went to sit on the cold steel floor, but before I could fold into myself to shut out the world, another pair of arms wrapped around me.

I didn't need to look up to know who it was, nobody else in camp had the same toned arms, rich olive skin, or deep musky smell. I buried my face in his chest and cried. I cried for my father, for Wells, for the kids we've lost, for young Charlotte, I cried for everything. And he held me.

BELLAMY

The cold was getting worse with every passing second, it had to be nearly eleven at night. Judging by Clarke's yelling I could tell she had not yet forgiven her mother. I remember the pain that came with losing my father, I had hated the world for a long time. But I couldn't imagine the pain she had gone through thinking she was the cause of her father's death.

Suddenly everything fell silent, I knew she had ended their conversation. I carefully opened the door, no way in hell was I going to be target practice for the angry princess; who knew what she was capable of doing when she was furious. Actually, I felt like I had an idea, but still, it'd be nice for all that anger not to be coming at me in the form of a knife or any other object for that matter.

When I ducked my head in though, Clarke wasn't in the seat, and she wasn't angry. She was walking towards the far corner, shoulders shaking, and head on her chest. I caught up to her in a few long strides. I could feel her pain in a way that I've never imagined possible. Just before she sank to the floor I grabbed her in my arms and pulled her to my chest. She felt so tiny, so fragile, so unlike the brave princess I've come to know. She didn't push me away, or tell me to fuck off as I expected, instead she burrowed into my chest. I tightened my arms around; pulling her into me as close as possible. She felt right there, like her body was almost made for mine. And while the thought scared me, along with what it may mean. I realized none of that mattered right now. I was going to be there for her when she needed me, just like she was there for me in my darkness.

Sometime later her shaking subsided, but she kept her face buried. I rubbed her back and whispered, "It's going to be okay, princess. You're safe. You're alright."

At that she looked up at me, people talk about people who cry beautifully, definitely not Clarke; her eyes were red little puffballs, she had tear stains down her face, and she looked exhausted; yet something about her in that moment was still beautiful. It wasn't the way she looked, it was the feeling of her unwavering courage, and strength, even when she breaks, she somehow remains strong despite it all. She really was a princess. And looking at her made me want to be her prince, someone who would protect her, someone she could be proud of…

Without thinking, I slowly leaned down to her ear, and taking her hand in mine, whispered "Come with me?"