Clarke felt as if she had barely even closed her eyes when a hand jabbed at her side. She groaned, wincing as the curtains were pulled back, revealing the bright and blinding morning sun. She coiled like a nocturnal animal in response to the sunlight and tucked her face further into her feathered pillows.
"Wake up." A voice called and not surprisingly, it was Bellamy. Clarke shimmied beneath her cozy warm blankets and sought for sleep once again. When Bellamy addressed her one more time that it was time to get up and train, she pulled the pillows over her head and let her head sink back into the covers. The Captain of the Guard scratched his head before pulling the covers from her, revealing her night gown and cold legs. "Its cold." Clarke moaned, holding her knees close to her body.
"Get up. We've already wasted precious daylight." He spoke.
Clarke then slithered to the edge of her bed and sat up, reaching her arms up into a graceful and cat-like yawn. Then she slowly let one foot down to touch the marbled stone floor, she shivered at the touch and instantly retracted her foot back under the covers. "Could you fetch my slippers? The floor is like ice."
He grumbled under his breath but obliged to her commands. He had better things to do than teach this princess to learn how to fight. He had things to worry about, things to plan in case the guards decided to do a house check this morning. A servant boy suddenly made his way into the chamber and set the Princess's breakfast out before her. Clarke leaned over the bowl and sniffed the meal.
"I wouldn't eat before we train." The Captain warned, while Clarke narrowed her eyes at him. "What will this porridge beat me up before I even start?" She said sarcastically, lifting the silver spoon full of oats into her mouth. She pushed away her bowl of porridge once feeling satisfied and turned her attention to Bellamy. "I should get dressed then," she turned her head to call for one of her handmaidens, but paused. "Just what sort of training activities might I expect at training today, so I can dress accordingly of course."
"You'll have to wait and see." Bellamy spoke, "anything without a corset would be a good start."
Clarke got out of bed, putting on the slippers Bellamy had fetched for her, and reached for her hairbrush on the nightstand. The Captain rose and drummed the pommel of his sword before calling to a servant as Clarke walked into her bedroom. Behind her, Bellamy said to the servant girl, "dress her in pants and a shirt- something loose, nothing frilly or revealing, and bring a cloak." The servant girl disappeared into the room to start sorting out the different options of outfits and Clarke followed after her.
A few minutes later, Clarke frowned at herself as she hurried after the Captain into the Main Hall. "I look absolutely ridiculous. These pants are absurd and this shirt is awful." She complained, tracing her fingers down the rough material of her tunic, wondering where in the hell Bellamy Blake had received such garments from.
"No one is going to give a damn about your clothes." Bellamy growled. He flung open the door into the courtyard, the guards outside instantly at attention and giving a short bow of respect to both the Captain and the Princess. He lead her through the barracks. Guards in various states of armor saluted them. An open doorway revealed a large rectangular room, lined with thick cement pillars. The room was at least as large as the Grand Ballroom if not bigger.
"This is the training arena." He said proudly, introducing her to this whole other part of the castle she hadn't seen since she was a small child. There were many weapons on racks along the sides of the huge chamber. Weapons both big and small, thick and thin were arranged according by size and were placed together alongside the walls. Clarke stared in awe. This was where her father had come to train. In a way she felt as if she could sense his presence somehow.
Clarke remembered how her father used to take her down here on occasion and would show her all the different training arenas that he had constructed after her birth. Suddenly, she was startled by the loud sound of wood against the stone floor. The Captain had once again given her nothing but a tree branch to defend herself with. Regardless, she picked up the stick and gripped it firmly in her hands.
Bellamy had his own weapon in his hands now, preparing a battle stance to begin the training duel. He was well positioned, his knees were slightly bent, and Clarke took note of the small strategic things his position had to offer so she might be able to use his stance to her own advantage.
"Don't slouch." He scolded her, Obviously he had been watching her stance as well, just waiting for the opportunity to pounce and correct her. "It looks like you've never held anything heavy before in your entire life." He pointed out, which made her grunt.
"You better watch your tongue, Captain, or else you will have to answer to the wrath of my stick." She tried to emphasis the last two words of her sentence with a deadly undertone, trying not to smile as she did so.
Then, with a low warrior-like growl, the Captain of the Guard lunged at her. She had seen warriors fight in tournaments and did her best to imitate the stance and deflection of a sword. With the turn of her arm she held the oaken stick into a blocking position, her legs bracing for the impact as his blunt sword struck the wood. The noise was strange, somehow more painful than receiving the blow, but Clarke thought little of it as she once again gripped the stick hard and forced it up to meet his sword once more.
Bellamy was slightly taken back by the first block she had made. "Good." Bellamy gritted through his teeth, "not too bad for a princess," he then blocked another one of her girlish thrusts with the oak which she blocked again, "very good, actually."
Her thighs burned with pain as her muscles held their stance. Clarke never looked away as she stared into Bellamy's big brown eyes, trying to focus as best she could without getting distracted.
"I thought that you had never trained before." He said, still unable to believe that the Princess had actually made a few impressive blocks against him.
"My father would talk about swordplay with some of the other men at court- plus I've been making it a habit to watch the border patrol warriors train against one another. I've been studying- observing them, surely that will give me an advantage in battle if I study their training habits." She said.
"Everybody fights differently in combat, you will learn that in time. But first, we need to build up your stamina."
"My stamina?" The Princess questioned, skeptically. "And how do you propose we do that?" She asked, setting down the heavy piece of oak on the ground as a slight smile came across the Captain's face.
"By running six miles."
Clarke had started the run fine, or so she thought. She was never really given the opportunity to run and sprint freely since she was just a child, and now, her lungs were screaming at her for it. Despite her attempt to keep her breath steady, the Princess gasped for air as she ran beside Bellamy in the large courtyard. If he was winded he certainly was not showing it, there was not a gleam of sweat on his face and the dampness of his white shirt.
The cold wind kissed her cheeks as it entered her burning throat, making it harder to breathe. Birds flocked away as they ran towards them and in the distance Clarke could see the thick forest. They ran towards a hill, its top still shrouded in morning mist. She felt her legs buckle at the sight of the incline, and her stomach rose in her throat. She let out a sound to get Bellamy's attention before she slowed her pace to a stop, bracing her hands against the nearest tree trunk. Her stomach made a harsh and demanded noise as she bent her head in attempt to soothe her intolerable headache.
Then, without much notice, Clarke took a quick shuddering breath and vomited. She hated the warmth of the tears that leaked from her eyes, but couldn't wipe them away as she bent over and heaved, letting out another harsh gag. Bellamy stood there and simply watched as she brought her arm and rested it against her brow. Clarke tried to slow down her breathing and hoping her body would ease.
"Done?" Bellamy asked. She lifted her head to give him a withering glare, but everything spun, making it more difficult to stand up straight anymore. She tried to focus solely on the tree, a non spinning object, that somehow made the world a real life version of a carousel.
"I told you not to eat before we left." Bellamy stopped along with her, his hands at his sides, his cheeks slightly flushed from the cold winter air. "Are you done being smug?" Clarke asked, lifting her head for a moment before resting it pal ong side the top of her arm.
"Are you done puking your guts up?"
"For the time being," the Princess breathed heavily, "but perhaps next time I won't be so courteous and I will just vomit all over you." She hissed.
"If you can catch me." He let out his boyish grin which made Clarke even angrier than before. They at least had another mile to run and Clarke felt her knees shake. She knew one thing for certain, she would finish this mile, she would build of the stamina she needed to start training with something other than a pathetic stick. She would become a true warrior if it was the last thing she ever did.
Clarke returned into the castle feeling sore and incredibly exhausted. Was this what the Knights and the guards had to do every single day? She certainly understood now why most of them seemed grumpy or angry most of the time. Her knees began to return to their normal state, but Clarke knew that she would feel sore in the morning.
"Is everything alright, Princess? You don't look well." Clarke immediately came to a halt while her skin chilled. Cage. She felt her insides turn at even the mere sight of him. He had jet black hair and unusually pale skin to match. His snake-like green eyes were fixed upon her like a predator cornering its prey after a long hunt.
She was reluctant to answer right away. Cage was one of the dew people she couldn't bring herself to trust. He hailed from a royal family but there was something in his eyes that just didn't seemed right. "I'm fine." She replied quickly, ignoring the icy shiver that ran down her spine.
"I'm sure your escorts are not far behind?" He questioned. "Its not safe for a princess to be roaming the castle alone." Cage raised a brow at her.
Then with a unbelievable coincidence, Clarke saw Philippa, her handmaiden and one of her many escorts. It was impeccable timing that she had been walking by in that moment, perfect for rescuing her from this dreadful conversation. "Here my escort comes now." Clarke breathed out, rushing over to link arms with the older woman. To her delight, Cage gave her a scowl he thought she didn't see and wandered off without another word.
"What was that about?" Philippa questioned, watching Cage as he disappeared down the hall.
"I'm not sure. I didn't even realize he was behind me until he started talking." Clarke felt her body tingle with eeriness and disturbance. She could not thank Philippa enough for showing up when she did, or else she would of been trapped in conversation with that untrustworthy snake.
"You look exhausted, I assume training has something to do with it." The escort said.
"It has everything to do with it," the Princess explained, "but I will not back down or be shaken by a session of exercise. This is what I want." Even if it means running six miles every morning with Bellamy, Clarke thought.
Their paced quickened at the rumblings of male voices arguing that echoed off the stones as she neared the bend of the hall. One of her escorts cured furiously under her breath and did her best to stop Clarke before she saw it. None of the gathered men looked at her as she passed, including Bellamy and Kane, who were skirting the edge of the scene, getting a better look at the body that lay broken in the middle of the floor.
The chest cavity had been split open and its vital organs had been removed. Unless someone had moved them upon discovering the body, there was no sign of them. The man's long and gaunt face was bloody and contorted in a silent scream. Suddenly the feeling of nausea came back as Clarke clutched her stomach. This was no accidental killing. The smears of blood on the wall looked like someone had been trying to write something, but it was scrubbed off.
"Holy Gods." One of her guards muttered as they left behind the crime scene. Philippa placed a secure hand on Clarke's back and hurried her away and back to her chambers for some ginger tea.
Once the Princess was gone, the crowd remained around the body, whispers of worry and concern sounded in the hall. Bellamy was glad that Clarke had left as soon as she had seen it. Her face looked just as pale as it did this morning, as if all the blood had been completely drained from her face. This was a member of the court that had been murdered like this. Clarke was probably familiar with them, perhaps even had royal council meetings with the deceased. He had known this man, Darius Blackthorn had been is name, he was only beginning his work as a guard. He had only been twenty four when he had met his horrific end. Bellamy shook the thoughts from his head, he couldn't think of it anymore.
"Do you think there was anyway this could of been a Grounder?" Markus Kane asked the Captain.
"It would be unlikely considering no Grounder has been able to penetrate the castle walls this far without being undetected." He reasoned, but then took a couple steps towards the body and pointed at the wound going across the chest. "However, the wounds made upon him are messy and animalistic, much like the Grounder slashes. So I wouldn't rule out Grounders just yet."
Kane took a breath in, averting his eyes from the crime scene, no longer baring to look at it. "Whoever did this may still be in the castle. We must send out a patrol to search every inch of this palace, or else it might kill another innocent person."
Bellamy's blood turned cold. "Do you think whatever did this will go after Clarke or the Queen?"
Kane shook his head with uncertainty. "I am going to add a few extra guards around their chambers just in case." Kane answered, gravely.
Bellamy turned his head to face the splattered blood on the walls. His face hardened with intensity. Something was lurking in the depths of this castle, dwelling and lingering somewhere within its walls, and it was there to kill.
Hey everyone! Thank you so much for the favourites/follows and reviews on this story. It truly does mean a lot. I still cannot get over that finale! I was a sobbing mess all over the place thanks to those Bellarke moments. Leave another review and let me know your thoughts on the finale or predictions/thoughts for this story. Thanks for reading!