"You give us your healer and we will have peace," Anya, the Grounder Princess growled.
Finn paused, panic flashing across his features. "No, there must be another way. You cannot take Clarke." His eyes drifted past the grounder to the woman in question. Her blond hair was a tangled mess and her blue eyes open wide in fear, small erratic puffs of breath left her pink lips. A terrifying male grounder had his arms wrapped around her body holding her flush against his chest.
"There is no other way, you give her to us or we take her but either way Clarke leaves with us. We will kill all of you if necessary." Anya's tone was low and cold, leaving no doubt that she meant to follow through with her threats.
Finn could feel the panic begin to rise in his stomach, she wasn't willing to negotiate. He glanced to his right trying to make eye contact with Bellamy. Two other grounders stood shoulder to shoulder in front of him, blocking Bellamy's path to where Anya and Clarke were standing. The older boys shaggy black hair hung in his dark eyes that were narrowed and focused on Clarke. He didn't even appear to see the fearsome men in front of him, his gaze never wavering from Clarke. Finn felt a new fear begin to unfurl in his stomach but he could not find a reason for the sudden burst. When he realized he wasn't going to get Bellamy's attention he dropped his gaze back a few feet to Raven who stood there with her gun dangling from fingers and a look of utter hopelessness on her face. Her chocolate eyes only held defeat.
They were only outside the gates for fifteen minutes before the grounders surprised them, falling out of the trees like shadows. The largest grounder had his meaty arms around Clarke before they even realized they were being attacked. Raven had raised her gun and Bellamy had charged towards the two grounders before him ax raised when Finn raised his hands and yelled stop. His fear at seeing Clarke held prisoner motivating his need to keep the peace. Bellamy paused he glanced to Finn who nodded in Clarke's direction. Bellamy's eyes followed the direction of Finn's landing on Clarke. The minute Bellamy's eyes met Clarke's he froze completely and that is where his eyes had stayed while Finn tried to negotiate some sort of peace. Finn turned to Raven yelling for her to put down her weapon but Raven ignored him and looked to Bellamy for direction. The bastard seemed to know without even looking at Raven that she would only lower her gun when he said so. Bellamy gave a sharp quick nod never once turning his gaze from Clarke and with the gesture from Bellamy she loosened her hold on the gun. Finn turned back to Anya a desperate pleading look on his handsome face.
"Please, we can work this out. Just tell me what to do, you can't take Clarke," Finn begged.
"I told you there are no other options, do not follow us there is no need for death this day." Anya then turned to the grounder holding Clarke, nodding, "Take her."
Finn felt the panic bubble up from his gut into his throat, they couldn't take her. He was finally free from his relationship with Raven and ready to move on with Clarke. They couldn't take her. Not now. Not ever. She was his. Blood was rushing in his ears, the world had gone silent. He watched the grounder pull Clarke off her feet and backwards, dragging her with him. He watched her beautiful blue eyes grow even wider with terror. He watched her mouth form words he couldn't hear. He watched her nails dig into the grounders forearm against her neck clawing wildly.
And suddenly the sound came rushing back and Clarke's panicked cries filled his ears, the pure terror and anguish jolting him forward not understanding the words pouring from her mouth. He only got a few steps when a noise unlike anything he had ever heard filled the clearing freezing him mid-step. It was a sound of such rage that he could feel it in his bones. Such heart wrenching fury that Finn felt pure fear, the kind that made you forget to breathe. It was coming from Bellamy, the goddamn sound was coming from Bellamy. It happened so quickly Finn's not even entirely sure how it happened. He saw Bellamy's arm swing up and then swing the axe back down with such force into the grounder in front of him that his head almost came completely off. He watched him lift his foot and kick the other grounder square in the chest sending him flying backwards hitting the ground with an audible thud. Not even sparing the fallen grounder a glance Bellamy stalked forward, the muscles in his arms and back were shaking with intensity. He dropped the axe he was stilling holding, pulling his hand back and drilling it into the grounders face holding Clarke as soon as he reached them. The grounder stumbled backwards pulling Clarke down with him in a swirl of blonde curls. As soon as they hit the ground his hold on Clarke loosened and the girl scrambled away on all fours. Bellamy wasted only a glance at Clarke to make sure she was ok before he threw himself onto the grounder lying before him. The sound of Bellamy's fist smashing into the grounders face echoed through the clearing over and over. Out of the corner of his eye Finn saw the grounder Bellamy had kicked up and moving towards the men now wrestling on the ground. Anya was also heading towards the men with her knife drawn and murder in her expression. Finn wasn't sure how to stop what would inevitably be the death of Bellamy Blake when a gun went off and he watched a flower of blood blossom on the back of the kicked grounder. He whipped his head around to see Raven with the rifle against her shoulder and her usual determined look back in place on her beautiful face.
Anya was now backing away, Bellamy had once again gained the upper hand and it appeared he would beat the grounder to death before he stopped. Seeing that she had lost Anya fled back into the woods when Raven trained the rifle on her. Finn returned his gaze to Bellamy. He still had a look of rage etched across his dark features, curses spilled from his lips as his fists pounded in the flesh of the bloody grounder beneath him. The grounders features were gone he was nothing but mashed flesh and blood. Finn yelled for Bellamy to stop, the asshole was out of control and ignored him. Fist slamming into flesh. Bellamy's muscled arm pulled back again to swing when a tiny hand wrapped around his bicep and he stilled, slowly turning his head to see the tiny blonde looking up at him. With a gentle look on her face, Clarke spoke softly, "It's ok Bellamy, I'm ok."
Bellamy's breathing slowed and he lowered his arm and while Finn assumed he would drop it to his side, Bellamy instead wrapped it around Clarke's shoulders. He pulled her into his chest and twisting his body reached out to stroke her sunny hair with his other hand. Finn expected Clarke to pull away from Bellamy's touch but he was wrong. She leaned into him letting him take all her weight, burying her face in his chest, fisting her hands in his bloody jacket. And thats when Finn heard her first sob, it broke free from her lips and Bellamy's chest caught it. He tilted his dark head onto the top of Clarke's light one, burying his nose and lips in her soft hair. Finn watched Bellamy parrot Clarke's words back into her hair. "It's ok princess, you're ok." His words soothing her some as her sobs lessened.
"Thank you Bellamy," she whispered into his chest and thats when Finn realized what Clark had been screaming earlier before Bellamy had gone all psychopathic killer. She had been screaming his name, she had been screaming for Bellamy over and over. He hadn't realized before that she had never once looked at him when the attack first happened her eyes had been locked on Bellamy the whole time. Her sky blue eyes should have looked to him for comfort, her cries for help should have been to him not Bellamy Blake. Clarke could barely stand Bellamy why would she look to him for rescue instead of Finn the man she was supposed to be with. When had Clarke Griffin placed all of her trust in Bellamy Blake? This was wrong, Finn was supposed to be the hero in Clarke's story and yet somewhere along the way Bellamy had slipped in unnoticed by Finn. Bellamy was an asshole, a selfish leader who only looked out for himself and his sister but in this clearing in the dwindling daylight hours Bellamy Blake was not Clarke's dark knight but her white knight. When had things changed so much? After Raven came down and brought nothing but confusion to Finn, he only needed a few days to realize he didn't want Raven he wanted Clarke in all her sunny optimism and fearsome determination for them all to survive. Finn swung his gaze away from Clarke, her face still buried in Bellamy's chest and her fingers fisting the material of his jacket pulling him as close to her as she possibly could while Bellamy whispered soothing nonsense into the top of her head. When had Bellamy Blake started to give a shit about Clarke Griffin? When had their angry tyrant of a leader began to count Clarke as someone on his very short list of people that he cared about? And clearly he cared for Clarke, the pain and anguish in his scream when they began to leave with the blonde girl made it clear. He took a step forward, this wasn't right, he should be comforting Clarke. He paused mid-stride when Bellamy leaned back from Clarke, sliding his hands up her shoulders and neck to gently cup her face. He tilted her head back, thumbs reaching out to wipe the few remaining tears from her cheeks and smiled softly at her. Finn had never seen anything more intimate than the two people before him wrapped only in each other. Clarke seemed to pull herself further together and reached her hands up to cover Bellamy's own. Finn had never witnessed a sweeter smile grace Clarke's face, she gazed at Bellamy with a look of adoration that she had never given to Finn.
"You saved my life, Bellamy," she said softly. This wasn't right, Finn was the one who was negotiating with Anya, the way Clarke wanted things done. No violence only words and yet it was Bellamy who was on the receiving end of her wide eyed wonder. Bellamy charged in the way he always did, with rage and bloody violence. Clarke should have scorned him and yet she looked more likely to kiss him, to wrap herself in the blanket of chaos that was Bellamy.
"Jesus, Bellamy we should just send you out alone to fight the grounders from now on," Raven laughed stepping forward. She broke the spell that had encompassed their leaders, they broke apart slowly, almost as if it pained them to part. Bellamy's large frame pushed itself to his feet, his hands slid off Clarke's face but one slid down her arm pulling her up with him.
"Yeah, well no one takes what's ours," Bellamy said, voice gruff, his eyes finally leaving Clarke's face to look directly at Finn. "Lets get back to camp before something else happens."
Finn knew what Bellamy really meant though, no one takes what's his. Finn tried to make eye contact with Clarke but her eyes only met with his for a second before she returned her gaze to the man beside her. The man still clutching her arm tightly as if afraid she would disappear if he let go. Finn felt himself deflate, when had this happened. Bellamy grabbed his axe off the ground and pulling Clarke with him began to disappear into the foliage.
Raven turned to Finn before following the other two into the woods, a satisfied smirk twisting her beautiful features for a second, " I don't think you can compete with whatever the hell that was," she laughed. Taking joy in her ex finally realizing Clarke did not want him anymore if she ever did.
Finn felt frozen as he watched the three fade into the forest. Clarke Griffin did not belong to him. She was not his.