Disclaimer: I do not own The 100 or its characters. I wrote this piece for fun. I don't gain monetary value.
Clarke ran into the forest. She didn't look back. She didn't know where she was going, she only knew that she had to get far, far away from camp Jaha. A twig snapped. She spun around with her bow outstretched. It was only a rabbit. Sighing, she let the arrow fly. She would need meat to maintain her strength.
She continued walking in no particular direction, but she knew where her feet were leading her. She was heading towards Lexa. She didn't know what she'd do when she found her. Kill her? She couldn't, she still needed a truce between the grounders and her people. But she should know what happened, what she had to do because of her. She should feel the same pain. She needs to suffer too.
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It was getting dark so Clarke set up her tent. She didn't light a fire, despite the cold. She couldn't let anyone know where she was. She needed to be alone. How could she ever face her people again? She couldn't even face herself. The faces of the dead visited her that night. Dad, Finn, Anya, Mia. The people of Tondc. The children of Mt Weather. She'd let so many die to save her people. Sacrifice a few for the many. Lexa was right. Love is weakness. You make bad decisions, you become vulnerable and losing love hurts so much more. You're strongest on your own.
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Months had passed since she'd left camp Jaha. She was near the edge of Lexa's camp. She'd stayed there for five days, watching them. She wasn't ready to face her. Would they kill her on the spot? She knew she had to make a decision soon. Turn back now or go forward. Winter was approaching, so she had to be quick. Go back to camp or face Lexa. One more day, she thought. I don't want to do either.
It was starting to freeze at nights. No fire, no warmth. She put away her sleeping bag and stared at the tent ceiling. She saw her Dad again. 'Hey kiddo'.
'I don't know what to do, Dad. I just want to see you again'.
'It's not your time yet'.
'I don't want to fight anymore. Please don't make me fight.' She drifted into a dreamless sleep.
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Bellamy woke and, like every morning, he watched Clarkes tent, waiting for her to come out. He'd been tracking her for days now. He knew if she was ever in trouble, he'd be there ready to protect her. Camp Jaha was not the same without her. People were drinking, smiling, happy. It was the first time they'd known peace. But Bellamy felt empty inside. It didn't feel right. The fight was never over for him. He had to be doing something. It was past midday now. Strange, he thought. She's usually up by now. He knew he shouldn't let her see him. She'd hate him if she knew. But he had to find out if she was okay.
He slowly made his way towards the tent. He could see the shadow of her body was still inside. 'Clarke' he whispered, with no answer. He rushed in and saw her lying there. Her face was pale and frost had formed on her body. 'No!' He grabbed her and started to brush away the ice from her face. He rubbed her arms to warm her. She was so cold. Her felt for her pulse. It was faint, but she was still alive. He dragged her body towards his tent and wrapped a sleeping bag around her. He held her near the fire. Rocking back and forth, 'Come on Clarke. Wake up'.
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Her eyelashes fluttered. 'Clarke?' She opened her eyes and saw Bellamy's concerned face. 'What?' She crawled away, confused. 'You scared me there, princess'. She turned around to face him.
'Bellamy, what are you doing here?' she said, frowning.
'Saving your ass, it seems'. He smiled, 'it's good to see you're still alive'.
'I wanted to be alone' she looked away.
'Well, alone, means dead. You'll die from the cold out here. It's time to go back to camp'.
'No, I can't go back'. She got up and started walking away.
'Hey' he ran after her, 'you can't just walk away like that. I saved your life out here!'
'I didn't ask for your help! I didn't want you here!' she spat. He grabbed her arm, 'Hey…Clarke'. She turned to him with tears in her eyes, 'I didn't want to wake up, Bellamy'. Tears spilled down her face. 'I'm not going back to camp'.
'Then I'll stay with you'.
'No, you'll be safer at camp'.
'And you'll be safer with me'. They stared at each other, defiantly. 'I'm not leaving' he said.
'Fine, but only for a few days. Then you need to leave'.
'Okay' he said with a one-sided-grin. He picked up his pack. 'So where are you going?'
'Nowhere'.
'You were going to see Lexa'.
'How about no talking while you're here'. He smiled again as they packed up their tents.
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With Bellamy in the lead, they started towards Lexa's camp. 'So, what are you going to say to her? Do you have a plan?'
'Not exactly'.
'So, you were just going to live in the woods by yourself…for how long exactly?'
'Don't make me regret keeping you around'. He smiled. One foot forward and suddenly, he started falling. 'Bellamy!' Clarke looked down. He'd fallen into a grounders trap. 'Are you alright?' she screamed below. 'My leg's busted'. She searched through her pack. 'I got some rope, wait one second'. A horn sounded in the distance. 'Oh no, they've heard us'. She ran to the edge of the hole and threw the rope down. 'Quickly!' Bellamy tied himself around the rope. 'It's ready!'
Clarke heaved at the rope. She was moving too slowly, she wasn't strong enough. Rustling sounds were approaching fast. She pulled and pulled with all her strength until finally, Bellamy was at the edge. She grabbed his hand and pulled him up. She looked at his leg. A spear had gone all the way through, he was bleeding heavily. 'Come on'. She wrapped his arm around her shoulder and they limped away towards cover.
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She opened up her tent and rested him inside. 'This is gonna hurt' she said. He nodded and she pulled out the spear. 'Ahhhh' he looked towards tent ceiling. She quickly bandaged the wound. 'You have to go back to camp now. You've been here one day and already you're hurt'. She frowned and packed the wound.
'It could've been you that fell, with no one here to help you'.
'That doesn't matter.'
'It matters to me.' They stared at each other.
'Anyway, you know I can't make it back on one leg. You have to come with me'. She looked away.
'I'll get you to the gate. That's all.'
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They reached the forest just before the gate. 'I have to go now Bellamy.' He looked at the ground. 'Please be safe'. 'I'm sorry Clarke'. Bellamy hoppled forward and yelled 'Hey! Guards! Clarke's here'.'No!' yelled Clarke and she raced into the forest. The guards found her and took her inside.
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Bellamy lay asleep on the stretcher, inside medical. Clarke walked in and sat on a nearby chair, frowning at him. How could he do this to her? Her mother had put her under constant surveillance. She wasn't allowed to leave the camp and no one was willing to help her escape. Not even Raven or Octavia. Pathetic. They said that things were better here now, she needed to learn to relax. She couldn't relax. She needed the pain to go away. Bellamy started to move. He opened his eyes. 'Hey, princess'. She walked over and slapped him across the face. 'Owww. Way to beat a man when he's down'. He rubbed his cheek. 'Believe me, if you weren't already injured I'd do a lot more than that!' She sighed, 'how could you do this to me'.
'Easy, you'd the same for me'. She got up and paced the room.
'This isn't a joke Bellamy. I'm under constant surveillance, they won't let me leave'. He got up and walked towards her. She backed away, grabbed a knife from her pants, and pointed it towards him. Bellamy stopped moving and stared at her. 'Clarke, you need to stop fighting.'
'I don't know how'. Her voice wavered, her hands were shaking 'I can't be weak.' The knife was still pointing towards him. He walked closer, she lifted the knife higher. 'I'm not weak!' He grabbed her hand and threw the knife away. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. 'Stop fighting me' He lent down and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and held his hair. He lifted her onto his waist. Still kissing, he carried her towards his room. 'I'm sorry, I'm so sorry' she whispered into his ear. 'It's okay.' he smiled 'I'm used to taking a beating from you'. She smiled and began to kiss his neck. He groaned and quickened his steps.
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He pushed open the door with his spare hand, the other around her back. He placed her down on the bed and lay on top of her, kissing her slowly. After a moment she pushed him up, 'Bell, I…'
'No talking, no more thinking' he said, moving down to kiss her again. She rolled on top of him. 'I love you' she said, a smile in her eyes. Tears wet his eyes and he gave a breathless laugh, 'I love you too'.