A/N: Please read the end author note!
"H-How…mu-much…further?" Clarke barely managed to spit the words out of her dry throat. She wheezed as she clutched at her side, the cramp burrowing deep into the muscles. Her blood was pounding in her ears, and she could barely even hear herself wheeze. The sweat was dripping down her forehead and stinging her eyes, and she barely registered the person running next to her, other than to notice that Monroe didn't seem ready to expire on the spot, much like Clarke currently felt.
"I think only two more miles," Monroe panted as she shortened her stride slightly again to match Clarke's. She had been surprised when Clarke had eagerly signed up for the stamina training being led by Lincoln and Lexa. Monroe smirked to herself. She supposed that had been the real reason. Lexa had been personally involved in designing the training that would help the Skaikru build and use their muscles.
Spending so many years in space had resulted in small and weak muscles. There were few chances for core and stamina training for the average citizen on the Ark. Such training wasted precious oxygen, and only the Ark Guard was encouraged to train and build muscle mass.
Clarke didn't even have the strength to groan. It was week three of the training, and so far she hadn't done too badly with some of the basic drills, including the lifting and core exercises, but the running… She hadn't realized just how much she hated running. They'd been running every day for eight days now, with the runs getting a little longer every day; and while others seemed to be getting better at it, she seemed to be getting worse.
Harper, and surprisingly Jasper, seemed to especially excel at running. And Jasper kept talking about the high he got from the rush of endorphins brought on by running. Clarke figured he was full of shit, since the only high she'd gotten was the height of the hill they ran up every morning. High…her ass! She was going to die.
She finally stumbled into the clearing that marked the end of the run, at least until they had to run back. She bent over grasping her knees, wheezing as she tried desperately to pull air into her lungs. She could see the sweat dripping off her face and onto the ground, and she winced at the thought of how red her face must be.
She licked her dry lips, still not standing as she waited for the cramp in her side to ease, but she still couldn't pull enough air into her lungs, and she could feel the first bubble of panic swell in her chest. Just as she was about to sink to her knees, no longer caring, if she looked like a dead fish flopping on the ground, she saw a pair of boots enter into her line of sight. Boots she would recognize anywhere.
She glanced up, through her matted strings of hair to meet Lexa's impassive face. She tried not to wince, knowing she was probably going to get another lecture from Lexa. She grit her teeth when she saw the flicker of…of…something cross Lexa's face. She wasn't sure if it was annoyance or even disappointment, but every time she saw it, something inside her chest shriveled up a little.
"You need to stand up, Clarke. Walk the perimeter with the rest." Lexa's voice was soft, but Clarke didn't miss the thread of steel lacing her words. She slowly stood up, her hand digging into the muscle at her side as she felt the cramp clutch even harder at her flesh. She saw Lexa's eyes flicker down to her hand, and her mouth tighten.
Clarke searched green eyes, and was momentarily relieved to see concern flickering in their depths. She nodded, biting back her sigh as she shambled off to join Monroe in walking the perimeter. It took a few moments, but slowly her breathing started to steady, and her head didn't feel like it was going to explode anymore.
"You ok?"
Clarke glanced at Monroe and gave her a small shrug. Truth was, she hadn't excelled at any of the stamina and fitness training, and she knew it reflected badly on her position as Wanheda, but also on Lexa.
"I think she thinks I'm weak," she whispered to Monroe, as she kept her head down as she walked the perimeter.
"She doesn't think you are weak, Clarke. She's worried." Monroe stressed the last word in a hiss of breath as she glanced up noting that Lexa was at the far corner of the perimeter talking to Lincoln. She shrugged her shoulders a little, trying to relieve the tension in them.
"She's trying to give you your best shot, Clarke. Well all of us, really. But you especially." Monroe shrugged again. "She wants you to be as strong as possible, so you have a better chance of surviving."
Clarke snorted, gritting her teeth in an effort to push back the sudden rising anger. "I survived just fine for three months," she hissed back at Monroe.
Monroe's steps faltered briefly, and she looked away, suddenly unsure of what she should say to that. She rubbed at the back of her neck, wondering if her words would do more harm than good. She glanced at Clarke out of the corner of her eye, noting the flushed cheeks and tight line of her shoulders. She sighed.
"You survived on sheer, dumb luck; stubbornness; and the care of a trading post worker." Monroe broke into a jog, heading towards Harper. She knew she was probably a bit of a coward for leaving Clarke like that, but she didn't really want to face the blonde's wrath; not to mention she figured she could use some time to think about what she'd said.
A/N: Ok...so...get ready to hate me. This is all I have. I have no clue where I was going with this story. I don't know ow if it was meant to be funny and fluffy. Or angsty and smutty or what the rest of the story was about...I know. You hate me now. *sigh. And I can't find any notes on this fic, which is weird for me since I have notes for about 50 fics.
So...guess what! This is where you come in. What would you like to see happen next in this story? Please let me know ow in the comments. Thank you!