First they took their imagined thrones- they did not say anything, yet they longed for the feeling of being respected again. Then, they took their privacy- a guard sent to tail each important member of the former delinquent rule that wasn't stuck in the mountain. Next, they took their freedom- no one could step out the gate or they would be sentenced to death under the Ark's old laws. Finally, they came for them. And that's where reality set in and everything changed.
Two guards stormed into the medical bay to arrest Clarke Griffin. Their tattered uniforms used to be feared but Clarke was not scared of them. She was scared of the order that made them do this. An order from the council to arrest the prominent members of the rag-tag society before the 47 could be saved. Clarke wished she could say she was shocked… at this point, nothing could shock her.
"Prisoner 3-1-9." The guard said, "Put your hands behind your back and surrender all weapons on your person." It annoyed her to be called by her prison name. It was a punch to her ego- a stab to her pride. It was only sensible for her to take out her anger on the guards. She throat punched one guard- not really strong and mighty warrior blow but it knocked him to the ground long enough for her knee to connect with his head. The next guard, gun drawn, thought he had the upper hand but Clarke turned around as if she was going to surrender, grabbed the end of the gun and slammed it as hard as she could into him.
Then there was nothing but the sound of her feet hitting the dirt as she ran in the background of Camp Jaha. She wouldn't think about it until much later but the person she ran for wasn't Finn- it wasn't Raven- it wasn't her mother (who'd probably voted on arresting her). It was her partner-Bellamy Blake. Clarke had the jump on the conscious guard trying desperately to arrest Bellamy. The other one was bloody and either dead or knocked out. At that moment, she didn't even care. She lunged, wrapping her arms around his neck and keeping a steady hold until he dropped to his knees and then to the floor. "You have to go." Her voice was low and adrenaline packed as she tried to make an emergency plan in her head. Who did she have to save? Where were they? How was she going to get out? Were they going to kill her? What about Bellamy- if he can't get out, would they kill him? Bellamy grabbed a bag and started throwing things in it. Clarke rushed him, "Bellamy we don't have time for you to choose your favorite shirt. Let's go. Now!"
Bellamy could hear the fear radiating from her voice as she looked around. She was continuously moving without leaving the spot she was standing in. Her hands twitched, her legs tightened and then released and repeated the process. "Where's Octavia?" Clarke asked him, "You can't leave her."
Who did she think she was telling him that they couldn't leave his sister?
She was his fucking sister.
Clarke peeked from the entrance of Bellamy's quarters. There wasn't a soul in sight- probably because they were trying to escort the two leaders out without informing the citizens. Typical, Clarke thought. Her eyes widened when she saw the guards man-handling the brunette. She was thrashing and screaming profanities. Clarke grabbed Bellamy's knife and just ran- ran faster than she'd ever ran before because it dawned on her that the leaders of this camp weren't above killing Octavia to set an example- they weren't above killing any and every one of them to set an example. She stabbed the guard in the back, ripping the knife out and doing it to the other guard. "Run O." Clarke screamed, "The gates down so just run and don't look back!" Octavia nodded in understanding. Clarke was convinced she looked like a warrior princess, her hair braided- her face a mess but also just as lovely. She wasn't a scared little girl anymore- they'd seen too much to be that way. She was strong and ready to fight to the death. Maybe Octavia recognized something in Clarke's eyes that caused her to hug her tightly.
"You're going to make it." Octavia said, tears in her eyes as her arm met Clarke's shoulder in the embrace. She patted it hard, "You're going to make it." Clarke nodded and Octavia started to run. She knew without a doubt that Octavia would fight until the death- she'd been through too much to give up now.
No one was willing to die—no one. They were warriors, fighter- survivors.
And maybe that's why they were getting rounded up and arrested.
Bellamy grabbed Clarke's wrist, "We don't have time to save everyone, Princess. We have to run."
"No, Bellamy- you have to run." Tear pricked her eyes, "You have to save our people, and you have to run. I'll hold them off. I lead them away from you and Octavia but you have to leave now!"
"I can't do this without you." Bellamy said, "I need you- We. Need. You." He threw her words back into her face, "Come on."
She shook her head, seeing the guards appearing behind her. "I have to get Raven, Murphy and Finn out of this mess. I'm sorry." She was turning numb under his stare. His eyes were begging her to fight like she'd done minutes before but it just wasn't there anymore. She handed him his bloody knife. "Go."
Bellamy didn't protest any longer. He just turned around and ran because he knew that Octavia couldn't be alone in the forest. He knew that his people needed him. And god, he hoped he was right when he said he knew that Clarke would survive this.
She had to.
When the guards surrounded her with their rifles, she didn't stand down and get on her knees. She just stood there and waited for them to make their move. Her breath ragged, her hands stained… she wasn't ready to give up. The calculating look in her eyes relayed that message perfectly. "Citizens of the Ark!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, "Sky people! The Fallen! Look now as your government dismisses your children! Look now as they gun down your tracker, look now as they gun down your engineer, look now as they gun down your diplomat for the grounders!" She was highly upset but she was not crying. People started to gather around the guards. "Look now as they destroy your chance of survival." She said harshly. Her eyes pinned on her mother and Jaha who lingered at the doorway. Those were her final words before they handcuffed her and threw her in the makeshift prison with Raven, Finn, and a badly bruised Murphy.
"Where's Bellamy and Octavia?" Raven asked.
"They got out." Clarke said, leaving out the part that she immediately helped them while leaving her other people stranded. "Like we'll get out." She nodded around the group. "I'm not about to let my people die or let my partner die in the process of saving our friends. They will come for us one day, and when they do- we strike."
"We're handcuffed." Murphy groaned, "I'm confident they have the upper hand."
"For now." Clarke said, "Concerned and desperate parents will want their children safely returned. They'll break us out."
"You sound so sure." Finn said, "What if your plan doesn't work?"
"Then I'll make another plan and another plan until I get us the hell out of here." Clarke growled, "Bellamy and Octavia are out there alone. They don't have supplies. There are reapers and mountain men and tons of dangers with this mission. The only reason they aren't here is because they would kill Bellamy and most likely Octavia- pardon or not because Bellamy's a leader and Octavia couldn't deal with the death of her brother. She would be a problem to them."
"Clarke…" Raven said, "You're a leader too… are they going to execute you?"
"I don't know."
XXX
Octavia breathed deeply after three hours of walking. "They were going to kill us…and she stayed." Octavia said, "She stayed, Bell. Why would she do that? Finn, John, and Raven wouldn't have been killed- well, maybe John but he's a total jackass and rebellious but she has no personal connection with him. She stayed to distract them from running after us immediately."
"I know." Bellamy said.
"She stabbed two people in the back for me." Octavia said, "Plus she had to escape somehow so there's probably more injuries to the guards than just that…"
"I know." Bellamy repeated.
"They're going to beat the hell out of her for insulting their manly hood. They're going to kill her." Octavia sounded like she was losing an internal battle.
"I know." Bellamy yelled, "Dammit, O, I know what she did for us. I get it- no, actually I don't get it. I don't understand how she think we're supposed to save our friends by ourselves. I don't get how she thinks she's going to break Raven, Finn, and Murphy out of prison. I don't get how she thinks she's going to save her life."
"She's sacrificing herself." Octavia said, a tear running down her cheek.
"I know."
