"What did they say, Clarke?" Abby asked, "will they accept the truce?"
"I'm not sure yet," I responded, calmly as I could, "they want to speak to you, to our chancellor and advisors, tomorrow at first light".
It was a lie, and a lie that would put us all in danger, but I couldn't bear the alternative. The thought of Finn being a pariah, torn between judicial execution and torture by Grounders... I just couldn't. What Finn had done disgusted me, but I understood. Those that had just arrived didn't know what we had been through, didn't understand the torments that had corrupted our desperate minds. Finn was a good man, and I couldn't let him down after everything he had done for me and after all we had been through together.
I walked away slowly, trying to make casual excuses to move away from the crowd and find Finn. I found him, as expected, sitting behind the shard of twisted metal, his head resting in his hands.
"Finn", I said, sitting next to him, taking one of his hands from his face and holding it in my own, "Finn, you need to listen carefully, ok?"
"Go on, princess", he murmured, holding my hand tightly.
"The commander wants you to secure the truce. They need your blood, your suffering to appease their dead before there can be peace between us".
Finn groaned.
"No, wait", I said, "I won't let that happen".
He looked at me with his soft brown eyes, confused, afraid, yet full of love.
"I lied to the others to buy us time", I explained, "we just have to be seen at dinner, then we can slip away".
"Why are you doing this for me, Clarke?"
"Because you're worth it", I said, bringing his hand to my cheek.
He stroked my face and wrapped his fingers into my hair, tugging just a little, just enough for me to feel his fear, his gratitude, his love.
"We will be ok", I said with false confidence, "we're always ok".
...
After dinner I met Finn in the same spot. The sky was dark with the shadows of heavy cloud bearing down over weak moonlight. Finn was pacing, his face contorted and hesitant.
"We can't do this, Clarke", he said firmly, his words rolling over my interjections, "this will just put a target on your back as well as mine, and it probably won't even prevent open warfare".
"Keep your voice down!" I whispered forcefully, "I know all of that".
"So why are we doing this?"
"For two reasons", I replied, "one, I have faith in our leaders to make the truce hold, and two, I'm not letting you die a horrible death".
Finn looked down and scuffed his feet. "Have you not considered that I deserve to pay for what I did?" He asked forlornly.
"Yes," I said frankly, "I've considered it and I'm not buying it. These people don't know what we have been through. They have been attacking us, a bunch of kids, relentlessly since we arrived. We have seen our people murdered in more ways than I care to remember. This is war, Finn".
"I killed so many people..."
"You were afraid for your life, for our lives!" I whispered emphatically, "you had good reason to believe they had abducted us. Don't get me wrong, I don't love what you did, but I know why you did it. You're young, scared and traumatised, and you don't deserve to die for that".
"I can't forgive myself, Clarke." he said softly, "I don't know how you can".
"Because I love you, you idiot! Now let's go!"
Finn looked at me, stunned. A flicker of a smile passed his drawn face and he swung his backpack over one shoulder.
"Ok, princess, lead the way".