Disclaimer: I do not own The 100 or the characters, just this story
Clarke Griffin looked hard to the right, opening her right rein and shifting her weight as her horse landed over the fence. He turned neatly to the right, his ears pricked towards the next fence. She felt his pace quicken and she sat deeper in the saddle, taking back the reins a fraction of an inch to slow him.
"Easy."
She murmured; the vertical was easily the tallest fence on the course and it was the last fence of the course headed towards the barn. It had been making everyone knock the top rail and she was determined to go clean.
Her gelding tossed his head but obediently slowed down. She held him until the last possible second, then rose out of the saddle and moved her hands forward next to his neck, giving him freedom to do his thing. She could tell by the screams from the stands that he'd cleared the jump and she pushed him faster for the few strides before the timer, then she circled him to slow him down.
"Our first clear round, Clarke Griffin riding Solar Eclipse."
"Good boy Helios." Clarke cooed as she patted the geldings neck before pumping one first in the air and waving at the crowd, which prompted another round of screams as she rode out of the arena.
"You killed it Griffin!"
Her best friend and groom for the past three years of showing called as she met her outside of the arena. She took ahold of Helios's rein and started walking next to him as Clarke loosened her helmet strap.
"Another win." She beamed up at Clarke.
"Not yet, Ontari still rides. She could go clean. Don't jinx it Reyes."
"I've got him, go watch her ride. I know you want to."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, go."
Clarke swung out of the saddle and patted Helios on the shoulder before walking back to the arena.
Her and Ontari had been showing against one another for years. Ontari used to ride at the stables that the Griffin family owned, but she couldn't stand Clarke's success so she'd gone to a rival barn and they'd been enemies ever since; always close to each other in the rankings. It had gotten even worse after her mother had purchased her own stables.
Clarke leaned on the rail as Ontari piloted her mare over the first jump. The mare cleared it with ease and Ontari set her sights on the next fence.
The way the girl rode always made Clarke cringe; it wasn't that she was a bad rider, she was just so much more heavy handed and aggressive than Clarke had ever been taught to be. The chestnut mare Ontari was riding didn't always tolerate her riding style well, and today was one of those days. She kicked out as Ontari pulled the reins, asking for a sharp turn to the next fence. Ontari corrected her with a sharp tap from her crop, which made the mare pin her ears and flip her head.
"Ugh, no."
Someone muttered as they slid up to the rail next to Clarke, so close that their elbow brushed hers. Clarke turned to see who it was and found herself looking at one of the prettiest girls she'd ever seen.
She was a brunette with a profile that could have landed her a modeling gig with any modeling agency in the country and green eyes; not the green that made you think of spring, grass, or even emeralds but the green that the ocean sometimes turned in a storm. She bit her bottom lip as she watched Ontari ride. Clarke knew she should be watching Ontari but she found it hard to look away from the girl.
She forced her attention back to the arena as Ontari argued with her mare through the triple combination and somehow made it through clean. The mare was clearly irritated, her tail swishing violently and her head held high in the air.
"Come on, lay off of her for a second."
The brunette mumbled; she clearly knew Ontari, the horse, or both which made Clarke wonder who the hell she was and why she'd never seen her before. The world of horse showing wasn't super small, but Clarke had been in it long enough to know pretty much everyone.
She shook her head to clear her thoughts as Ontari and her mare cleared the second to the last jump. All that was left was the last vertical and if she cleared it there would be a jump off between herself and Clarke.
Ontari's mare bucked as she landed after the fence and Ontari spurred her forward, causing the mare to kick out. Clarke held her breathe; if Ontari didn't get the horse collected they'd never make the jump. She straightened the mare but she wouldn't settle and Ontari used her crop on the stride before the jump. Instead of jumping the mare decided she'd had enough and slid to a stop in front of the fence.
"Dammit!" The brunette cursed as she hit the rail with her fist.
"Rough break. Your horse?" Clarke asked.
"You mean rough ride? And no, I'm just her groom." The girl answered without looking at Clarke.
Clarke smirked at the girls comment about Ontari's riding. Ontari had a reputation for being pretty ruthless and not many people spoke badly about her for fear of retaliation. It also made sense why Clarke had never seen the brunette before; Ontari's help didn't tend to stay long.
Clarke turned her attention back to the arena where Ontari had corrected the mare and got her over the fence but the damage was done; Clarke's ride was the only clear round so she was the winner.
Ontari's anger was etched on every line of her face as she rode out of the arena. She dismounted as soon as she was outside of the gate and stormed over to the brunette.
"This is your fault. Had you warmed her up correctly none of that would have happened. You can fix it now. Ride her until she understands that she is to listen, not argue. Do not bring her back to the barn until she is compliant. Is that clear?"
She raged as she practically threw the reins at the girl before storming off.
"Wow. That was uncalled for."
The brunette finally looked up at Clarke and her eyes grew wide with recognition.
"Hey, I'm Clarke."
"Griffin. I know who you are...everyone knows who you are."
"Oh? My reputation precedes me?"
"In more ways than one."
Clarke smiled slowly; she knew she had a reputation on the circuit for being a player, or easy, or both. Neither were true, but she let them circulate anyways.
"Well, you know what they say about rumors."
"That they're carried by haters, spread by fools and accepted by idiots?"
"I usually go with always be careful of what rumors you hear about a woman. Rumors either come from a man that can't have her or a woman that can't compete with her. But I like yours too. I'll have to add it to the rotation."
The corners of the brunette's mouth curled up slightly as she almost smiled.
"And what about the women that can't have you?"
"Oh, I'm sure they have plenty to say too. I gotta go, victory lap and all that, but I'm sure I'll see you around. I didn't catch your name though, I'm sorry."
"That's because I didn't tell you what it was."
The girl winked and turned towards the warm up arena with Ontari's mare. Clarke watched her go, admiring the gentle sway of her hips as she walked.
"Who the hell is she?" Raven asked as she walked up with Helios.
"I don't know. She works for Ontari."
Clarke said as she put her foot in the stirrup and swung back into the saddle.
"Well that's a damn shame, she's hot as hell."
"Yea, tell me about it."
"Ohh, does the impossible to date Clarke Griffin have a crush?"
"Shut it Raven. I only talked to her for like five minutes. She didn't even tell me her name."
"Hard to get. I like her already."
"Oh geez. I'm going to go ride my horse now."
"Yes, you do that. You two deserve that victory lap. Go, I'll stand here and watch your adoring fans cheer for you."
"If I didn't love you so much, I'd kill you."
"I know. Now go on."
Clarke smiled as she gathered the reins and headed back into the arena for the awards presentation and the victory lap. She laughed as Helios arched his neck and snorted loudly, his steps becoming higher and more animated. She swore he knew when they had won. After the ribbons were presented she led the other riders in a few laps around the arena; Helios was so full of himself she could barely hold him to a canter. At the end, she pulled the ribbon from his bridle and tossed it to one of the little girls in the audience. She had been riding and competing for so long she didn't need the ribbons anymore and the look on the kids faces made her smile.
Typically she hated being the center of attention, though she'd gotten used to it. She'd been competing, and winning, internationally since she was sixteen and had become the blonde haired, blue eyed darling of the show jumping world. She was thankful that her fame (if you wanted to call it that) didn't extend beyond the world of horse showing; she didn't understand how actual celebrities did it.
She rode out of the arena and Raven joined her, walking next to Helios as they headed back towards their barn. Raven reaches out and scratched the big geldings shoulder as they walked.
"You guys kicked ass today. That course was tough."
"He's amazing. And so are you. I don't know what we're going to do without you after the Vegas show."
Raven had been her groom and right hand for the past three years of her show career. She'd been at every show, always keeping Clarke and her horses on schedule, warming them up when Clarke couldn't, keeping them on their game between classes, anything Clarke needed Raven was there. She was leaving the show circuit to go back to school.
"You'll do just fine without me. You'll find a replacement."
"No, you're not replaceable Raven. I'll find someone, but not another you. You sure I can't convince you to start showing yourself? You're a damn good rider."
"Nah, not my thing. You're the superstar. I'm just background noise."
"Clarke! Clarke Griffin!"
Clarke groaned as someone called her name. She was so close to being back at the barn where the public wasn't allowed, but she stopped Helios and turned to see who was calling her. It was the father of the little girl she'd tossed her ribbon to.
"Hi, I'm so sorry to bother you but...would you sign this for her? You're her hero, but she's too shy to ask."
Clarke smiled as the little girl hid behind her dad as they walked up. She dismounted and crouched down next to the girl, who looked like she was about eight years old.
"Hey, what's your name?"
"Alycia, but everyone calls me Aly." She answered softly.
"Do you ride Aly?"
"Uh-huh. I take lessons on a pony named Apollo. He's bay, like Helios, but not as red."
"That's awesome. My first pony was bay too. It's probably my favorite color. Do you jump?"
"Yea...kind of...just cross rails."
"Hey, that's how everyone starts. Even me."
"Really?"
"Yep. You keep practicing and I bet someday you'll be beating me out there."
"No way, you're amazing."
"You can be too, just keep at it. So, I hear you have something you wanted me to sign?"
The little girl nodded and handed Clarke the ribbon she'd been clutching behind her back.
Clarke took it and wrote on the back:
Aly, keep chasing your dreams. Clarke Griffin
Before handing it back. The girl smiled shyly.
"Thank you. Can I pet Helios? He's my favorite of your horses."
"Sure you can. He loves attention."
Clarke took the little girls hand and walked up to Helios. Raven smiled and loosened the geldings reins so he could say hello.
He lowered his head and sniffed Aly's outstretched hand before gently bumping her in the stomach with his nose and standing there patiently while she scratched the white stripe that ran up the middle of his face.
"You were such a good boy today. I bet you're going to get lots of carrots and cookies when you get back to your stall."
Clarke smiled at the way the little girl talked to the horse. It reminded her of herself at that age. She looked back at Aly's father who looked a little teary eyed as he snapped pictures.
"Thank you so much for taking your time to do this. I know you're busy and you don't have to, but really...it means so much."
"It's not a problem. She's super sweet, she seems like a good kid."
"She is. Since she lost her mom last year to breast cancer riding has been the only thing that makes her smile. She's been begging to come watch you ride. She came to a show once with her mom and waited in line for almost an hour for you to sign one of those posters they give out sometimes. It's still hanging on her wall."
Clarke's eyes filled with tears and she had to swallow hard to keep them from falling. She couldn't imagine losing her mom now, let alone when she was so young. It had been hard enough losing her dad at 18.
"I'm so sorry..." she whispered and turned to look at Aly who was still happily stroking Helios's face while laughing at something Raven was telling her.
Clarke had an idea and unstrapped her helmet from her head as she crouched down next to Aly.
"You want to ride him?" She offered, holding out her helmet to the little girl.
"Me? Really?"
"You, really."
"Yes! Daddy...can I?"
"If Clarke is sure it's okay."
"She'll be fine. I'll let her sit on him for some pictures and then walk around with her."
Aly already had the helmet on her head and could hardly contain her excitement as Clarke gave her a leg up into the saddle.
"Wow! He's huge!"
Clarke laughed and put the ribbon back on his bridle and stood next to him while Aly's dad took pictures.
"It looks like I won the Grand Prix!" Aly exclaimed.
"It sure does, and I'm sure some day you will. Let's go walk around a little bit, Okay?"
Clarke swung up into the saddle behind Aly and wrapped one arm around the girl. She cued Helios to walk.
"You're steering Aly, so shorten your reins."
The little girl did as instructed and they rode a few figure eights around the arena. Helios was the perfect gentleman Clarke knew he would be and Aly was all smiles when Clarke lifted her off the horse and set her down. She immediately wrapped her arms around Clarke's waist in a tight hug.
"Thank you so much! This has been the best day ever."
Clarke smiled and hugged Aly's dad as they said goodbye.
"You can be such a softy Clarke." Raven teased as they continued back to the barn. Clarke was about to reply when she noticed the brunette from earlier riding Ontari's chestnut mare in one of the jump arenas.
"I'll take Helios. Go see if you can at least get her name."
"Am I that obvious?"
"Yea, pretty much."
"Thanks Raven."
Clarke handed over Helios's reins and headed towards the arena the brunette was riding in. She opted to sit in the grass outside of the ring rather than in the bleachers so she didn't interrupt the girl.
The first thing she noticed was that the girl was a good rider. Her equitation was solid, even more so than Clarke's. Her hands were quiet, her touch light but firm. Ontari's mare was jittery and nervous but the girl remained secure and calm in the saddle, riding through the bucks and kicks without ever harshly correcting the mare, just simply encouraging her to keep moving forward.
After about ten minutes, she had the horse working quietly at the walk, trot and canter. Only then did she point her at a jump. The mare immediately picked up her pace and tried to rush the fence. Again, the brunette brought her back quietly. Clarke was absolutely mesmerized watching her ride; which wasn't easy to do since Clarke had seen so many of the top riders she was hard to impress.
Once the mare had taken a few lower jumps quietly, the girl turned her towards some of the bigger fences. Clarke noticed she had set up the same line as the last two fences in Ontari's class; the vertical the mare had refused.
She pointed the mare at the first part of the line and she took the fence easily, but then started acting up just like she had with Ontari on her way to the vertical. The brunette was unphased and simply encouraged the mare forward. They cleared the fence easily and the girl stopped the horse and patted her neck vigorously in praise.
They did the line three more times and the last two were flawless. The brunette lengthened the reins to the buckle and let the mare walk around with her neck stretched out to cool down.
"Well, I'm glad you weren't riding her today, because I would have lost." Clarke called as the girl rode past her.
"Oh…hey…I didn't know you were watching."
Clarke stood up and moved to the rail, leaning against it and smiling up at the girl.
"I didn't want to disturb you. That was pretty impressive."
"I guess so."
"It was. Seriously. You are a talented rider. She goes for you way better than she does for Ontari. Do you show?"
"Thanks, and no, I don't."
"Why not? With talent like that it's a shame."
"Not all of us have unlimited funding for horses and showing." The girl sounded a combination of hurt and irritated as she circled the mare near the rail, letting her walk to keep cooling her off.
"I'm sorry…you're just really good. Much better than a lot of the riders that are winning. You'd probably be able to find a sponsor pretty easily."
"Says the princess of the show jumping circuit. It's not always that easy."
"I don't mean to offend you, but it seems like that's all I'm doing so maybe I'll just leave you alone. It was a nice ride though, really."
Clarke turned to walk away because clearly she was getting no where with the girl other than upsetting her.
"Wait…I'm sorry. You didn't do anything wrong. It's just a touchy subject I guess."
Clarke stopped and turned to face the girl as she continued.
"Thank you for the compliment. Really. It means a lot coming from you. And I'm sorry I called you princess…I know you hate it."
"The only person who refers to me as that is Ontari."
"I know, like I said, I'm sorry. And my name is Lexa by the way, nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you Lexa, but I really should get going. Last day of the show is tomorrow and its always an early day. See you around."
"Yea, see you."
Lexa watched the blonde as she walked back to her barn. She had seen her interaction with the little girl earlier and wondered if all of the things her cousin had been telling her about the girl were lies. She certainly seemed different than the picture Ontari had painted of her, and she was a damn good rider. Lexa found herself looking forward to the next day already, just in hopes that she'd get to maybe find out a little bit more about the Clarke Griffin that everyone seemed to have an opinion about.
The next morning Clarke shuffled out of her motor home and towards the snack bar at the horse show grounds. She had black fuzzy pajama pants on over her breeches and tall boots and a navy blue hoodie. Her blonde hair was perched on top of her head in a messy bun. She'd meant to get up earlier and go get real food at a restaurant, but sleep had ended up winning out over food, as it usually did.
As it was, she was one of the first few people in the snack bar area. She got her typical coffee and breakfast burrito and turned towards a table when she almost ran face first into Lexa.
"Shit! I'm sorry. I really should look up while walking." She apologized as some of her coffee splashed on to Lexa's arm.
"It's okay. Their coffee isn't ever hot enough to cause injury anyways." Lexa laughed as she brushed it off her arm.
"Tell me about it, but, caffeine is caffeine. You're here early."
"Yea…Ontari says I need to make sure the mare knows her job today."
"Translation; ride the shit out of her so she's too tired to misbehave?"
"Basically, which also means too tired to win."
"Right." Clarke looked around and realized they were standing in the middle of the snack area and people were having to move around them.
"So…I'm going to go sit and choke this down before I have to get up on my horse. You're welcome to join me if you'd like."
"Uh…sure…just let me order mine." Lexa stammered. She ordered coffee and a bagel and then joined Clarke at her table.
Clarke smiled, surprised that Lexa had taken her up on the offer.
"Good Morning, I typically don't spill coffee on people as a form of greeting, sorry again."
"Good Morning, and it's really no big deal. I've had worse things first thing in the morning."
"Oh?"
"You try waking up to Ontari."
"Ugh, yea, that would be tough. How did you end up working for her anyhow?"
"She's my cousin."
"Oh, I'm sorry."
Lexa's laugh was short but loud; loud enough that several other people turned to look and she covered her mouth with her hand.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to say that outloud….I mean I shouldn't have said it out loud."
"It's fine. She's not my favorite person either."
"So why stay?"
"It's…complicated."
"I can understand that."
Lexa smiled at her and looked almost shy for a second before the look passed, making Clarke wonder if it had been there at all.
"We should probably get going, you especially. You have a mare to ride the shit out of and I should go get on my horse too."
Clarke announced as she stood up from the table and threw her trash away. Lexa followed and they walked towards the door together.
"Agreed. I wish I didn't have to do that to her, you know? If Ontari would just be a little softer with her…"
"Hey, all you can do is what she asks you to do. That's your job, as much as it has to suck to know that different riding would make her go so much better."
"It really does suck, she's such an amazing mare. Ontari is ruining her."
"Well, at least she has one person who rides her the way she deserves to be ridden."
Lexa blushed at the compliment as she followed Clarke out of the door and towards the warm up arena. She could see Ontari walking from the barn towards the arena with the mare, which meant she was late.
"Thanks. I have to run, Ontari is bringing the mare out which means I'm late. Have a good ride today, good luck, and do me a favor?"
"What?"
"Beat Ontari again?" She winked before turning and jogging towards the warmup arena where Ontari was waiting, already irritated. Clarke watched her go with a smile; she hoped the girl stuck around with Ontari for a while because she had the strange desire to want to get to know her better.
Clarke couldn't stop smiling as they called her and Helios as first place winners in their last class of the day. They had been on fire all day long, easily winning all of their classes. It had been one of Clarke's favorite kind of days; where she felt like the bond between her and her horse was unstoppable. They had been so in sync in the arena it felt like he could read her mind. His performance had been flawless in every round and Clarke was on cloud nine.
She let the group of riders in the victory lap; Ontari was in third place and was only in the victory gallop at all because her mother made her. She typically only rode in it if she won, even though it was considered poor sportsmanship.
Since it was the last night of an eight week long show series, the last class had been the big Grand Prix; the money class. The class everyone talked about. Clarke had won a car and $10,000. A class that big always drew attention, and interviews.
"You two were on fire today. That was amazing" Raven beamed at Clarke as she took Helios's reins.
"He was phenomenal. I still can't believe how good we did today. Can you cool him out? I have to go do some stupid press thing."
"Of course. Go. You deserve it."
"You know how much I hate it."
"I know, but go anyways. I'll see you at the barn."
Clarke planted a kiss on the geldings nose before walking over to the press table. She spent about an hour talking to various reporters for different magazines and horse publications.
A lot of them asked the same questions; how long had she been riding, what got her interested in the sport? How did it feel to be one of the youngest international competitors? Was she aiming towards the next Olympics?
Clarke was exhausted by the time they were done and she walked out of the arena dragging her feet a little. She was almost to the exit gate when she heard slow clapping from the seating section above her. She looked up to see Lexa sitting in the first row smiling.
It was an indoor arena, so all of the seating was situated higher than the arena itself so the spectators were looking down at the horses. Clarke walked over to where Lexa was sitting and looked up at her.
"How long have you been here?"
"The whole time."
"Why?"
"To watch you."
"Ontari was okay with that?" Shouldn't you have to school her mare or something?"
"Her mother was here today; she makes Ontari do those things herself so I found myself with nothing to do. So, I figured why not come watch the enigmatic Clarke Griffin. The girl everyone talks about but no one seems to really know."
Clarke laughed and grabbed ahold of the railing, she used it to pull herself up, then swung her leg over it and joined Lexa in the seats.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Exactly what I said. Everyone seems to have something to say about you, but none of them really seem to know you. At least, not from what I've seen, not that I know you…"
Lexa looked down and fidgeted with her fingers. She wasn't sure what made her stay to watch Clarke's interviews or what made her want to get to know the other girl better, but there was something about her that did.
"Do you want to?" Clarke asked, breaking her train of thought.
"What?"
"You said you don't know me, do you want to?"
"Maybe." Lexa shrugged.
"Give me your phone."
"Why?"
"Just do it."
Lexa handed Clarke her phone and Clarke entered her number and took a selfie which she then set as her contact picture before handing the phone back to Lexa.
"There, now you have my number, just in case you want to get to know me."
"Thanks. You had amazing rides today. Helios was a superstar. You guys were unstoppable."
"Helios is always a superstar, I just manage to stay on, but thank you."
"That's not true and you know it. If that were the case, Ontari's mare would do better than she does."
"Touché. I'm just not very good at accepting compliments so I default to humor."
"I can understand that. I don't accept them well either, but instead of humor I think I default to awkward."
"Whatever works for you I guess. Are you guys going to be at the Las Vegas show next week?."
"I believe so, yes."
"Awesome. Are you coming to the awards banquet celebration thing tonight?"
"You have to be invited to those."
"Yea, I'm sure Ontari is."
"Oh, she is, but she won't go. And even if she did, I'm sure she wouldn't take me."
"Well, consider yourself invited. You can come with me….if you want to…"
"Thanks…maybe I will."
"Just text me and let me know. I have to get back to the barn, then to a shower so I don't look like this at the awards dinner. See you around?"
"Yea…see ya."
Lexa watched Clarke as she walked back towards her barn. She looked down at her phone and laughed at the picture Clarke had taken for her contact information. She had her mouth open, her tongue stuck out and she was making a piece sign with her fingers. She had saved her number as "girl who spills coffee." Lexa changed her name to Clarke and took a deep breath before typing a text and hitting send before she could change her mind.
Author's Note:
Thanks for reading. Comments = Love. Hopefully you guys like it. I'm having fun writing it and actually have quite a bit written, so if there is interest, I can update pretty quickly