A/N: Thank you to all those who read the first chapter of Thaw! I hope you enjoyed meeting Beck and Liz and I am looking forward to continuing their story as we trek right along into a time jump! Also, thank you Maddie for your kind words! You are an inspiration. - Cass
THAW
by: cassandraxstardust
Chapter Two: Practice Makes Perfect
FOUR MONTHS LATER
BELLAMY
He's not sure what they're going to find out here. He doesn't like this feeling in his chest and he's not sure if it's dread or if it's hope, but either way it's weighing down on him in a way he can't ignore.
The mixture of hope and dread stems from the small device in Monty's hands. A beacon. A trip into Ice Nation territory and a few dead scouts later and the beacon belongs to them now. Four months of radio silence and suddenly there is something in the back of their minds that that they all assumed was a lost cause. Perhaps, he thinks, but doesn't finish the thought. He won't allow himself the luxury of hope.
He's been down this road before. Not this literal, road he thinks as Monty speeds over bumps and branches, but this road where hope leads and he doesn't like it. Factory Station had one survivor, out of hundreds. If anyone has survived the crash, he's not sure how they could have survived four months in Ice Nation territory.
They're in Sector Four now, a tunnel in the dark somewhere deep in the woods and he has a bad feeling as the rover rolls into park. Branches hang from the arch, long vines dripping down the sides and grazing his head as he steps into the darkness. He grips his gun close to his chest, his finger hovering over the trigger as Monty speaks.
"You were right about Jasper, okay? Is that what you want me to say?"
"Quiet. And keep your eyes peeled," he says because he doesn't have time for I-told-you-so's. But he knows Monty is kicking himself for pushing Jasper on the trip despite the chaos that ensued on his behalf, so Bellamy attempts to address it. "I could have said no," he tells him.
Monty doesn't miss a beat.
"He's getting worse isn't he? I mean, getting drunk every night is one thing...but the smiling with a knife to your throat? That's next level damaged." Bellamy is glad it's dark so Monty can't see the way his eyes fall to the ground slightly because despite all that's happened, he feels partially to blame for Jasper's behavior.
He's glad for the rustling through the thick bushes ahead because he's not sure how to respond to the fear that Jasper has lost all control.
"Who's he with?" Monty asks as they see two bodies moving out into view. The figure is that of a woman.
"Indra," he murmurs.
"That's Indra?" Monty asks. Bellamy feels panic rising in his chest.
"He must have told them we broke the truce," he whispers before rushing forward. "Sir! Before you say anything, there was a good reason we…" He's cut off as Kane approaches, his brow furrowed in the way that makes him look older than the man he once knew on the Ark.
"We'll deal with that later," he interrupts and his eyes meet Bellamy's. "This is about Clarke."
He doesn't hear the name much any more but he thinks of it enough that he feels a slight twitch in his gut when her name is said out loud. No one has heard from Clarke in months since she left Arkadia. The guilt of Mount Weather had broken her and her only out was to run. He'd been desperate to keep her from going but he knew better than to try and convince Clarke of anything she had her mind set against.
"What about her?" he asks, his eyes search both Kane and Indra's facial expressions for an answer before the woman speaks.
"She's being hunted," she replies for Kane who might have put it a little more delicately but Bellamy is thankful he hasn't.
"By who?" Monty asks before Bellamy can.
"By everyone," says Indra, her eyes tired.
The four of them exchange looks in the silence that follows and he knows there is more to the story than they are telling him but he's not sure how he should ask. But Kane looks around him anxiously and places a hand on his shoulder.
"Come, there's not time to waste, we'll explain on the way."
"On the way where?" he asks, allowing Kane to lead him towards the vehicle on the edge of the tunnel. Kane's eyes narrow, as if Bellamy's missed something obvious.
"To find Clarke."
There are no more words as they load up, Indra and Kane in the back as Monty takes the wheel. Monty's the most efficient, the best at getting used to the machine under his feet. Bellamy is still learning. It's all so fast, bumpy as it rips over bumps and branches like nothing. It's as if Kane is reading his mind as he speaks to Indra who is tense as ever, eyes searching over the metal contraption that is so foreign to her.
"I'm still getting used to it myself," he says and Bellamy can see the comforting smile on his lips that follows.
"Sir," Monty says, his voice anxious as they hit another bump. "We're almost out of range. Are you sure you don't want to tell the chancellor?"
"I'm sure," Kane says with less certainty than his words imply. "I don't want to worry Abby until we know something."
"We know there's a kill order," Bellamy grumbles, his fingers fiddling with the holster at his side. "You people are big on those." No one has to wonder at who his words are directed at.
"It's not a kill order," says Indra, biting back with an aggression that mirrors Bellamy's. "It's a bounty. Clarke's a symbol. She's known as Wanheda. The Commander of Death."
The words nearly pull the breath from his lungs as he looks at Monty. It's the word they heard the Ice Nation scouts use. They'd asked for Wanheda but even Octavia didn't know who they meant. The hope turns to dread now as he realizes they were referring to Clarke.
"The Ice Nation guys we killed asked about Wanheda. They were looking for Clarke. Why?" he asks, swallowing hard.
Indra's hesitation is only for a moment but Bellamy can hear the reluctance in her tone as she answers. "My people believe that when you kill someone, you get their power." Bellamy shakes his head at what sounds like nonsense to him. "Kill Wanheda, and you command Death."
"She's just one girl." Kane argues and while Bellamy thinks the idea is foolish as well, he knows the dangers of underestimating Clarke's power.
"So was the Commander," Indra snaps. "What Clarke did at Mount Weather weakened her. The Ice Nation is emboldened. Their queen wants Clarke's power. If her people believe she has it," she pauses. "She'll break the Coalition and cause a war. I can't let that happen."
For once he can understand Indra's perspective even though they have different reasons for wanting to save Clarke. Bellamy doesn't want war either, but he's more concerned about what it means if someone finds Clarke. If they kill her believing some theory that they will consume Clarke's power. He won't let that happen.
There is a beep as Monty tells them they have once again entered Sector Seven, back in Ice Nation territory where they most recently broke the truce by killing Azgeda scouts on Jasper's behalf.
"Where to now?" Monty asks.
"If she's here, she'll need supplies. We'll start at the trading posts," Indra says.
And so they drive and she directs them the best that she knows because Sector Seven is largely unmapped by Skaikru because of the threat Ice Nation still poses. He's only come across them a few times, Echo being the first when he was still caged in Mount Weather. But she's the exception, he realizes, or at least she seems to be. The rumors make him thankful that they landed in Trikru territory. And Indra's comments about the queen make him realize that if Farm Station did survive, maybe they weren't as lucky as the rest of them had been.
Darkness surrounds them like a shroud, the only light is from the headlights of the rover as they plow through the rough terrain of the narrow forest path and no one talks much as they make their way into the blackness. No one wants to talk about Clarke, about the truce that was broken, or about what dangers await them ahead.
He's not paying attention when Monty slams on the breaks and he is jerked roughly forward and then back with such force that he feels the pain in the back of his neck and hisses. He glances forward at what caused the abrupt stop and sees a large tree trunk fallen in front of the rover, illuminated by the rover's lights and groans.
"We have to move it," Monty explains and Bellamy nods, pulling his gun out as he reaches for the door.
"Wait," Indra's voice interrupts and Bellamy's hand pauses over the handle. "It's been cut down."
"We don't know that."
They look out front again and Bellamy shakes his head, climbing over the seat and over towards the hatch in the roof of the rover where he is able to climb out partially, his gun at the read as he glances out into the wilderness but sees nothing. A creaking sound behind him causes him to spin around suddenly and he looks up just in time to see an even larger tree descending down towards the ground with such force that Bellamy rushes back into the rover for fear it might fall on him.
It doesn't. But dust fills the air from the impact of the massive tree trunk and each of them looks up from their braced positions in confusion. Except Indra. Her look and narrowed eyes say everything though she doesn't hold back from speaking what her gaze already says.
"We do now."
BECK
Despite the months she's spent using the Azgeda garb she still doesn't feel comfortable as she nearly drowns in the oversized frayed material that engulfs her. It itches and smells and she'd rather wash it but isn't sure the cloth would uphold and she's not terribly interested in trying to acquire another.
She's been sitting for hours in said material, lazily scratching as she attempts to ignore the smell that she's sure is coming from the material bundled around her neck and she sighs.
She wants to get down.
And she wants to pee, she thinks, but she has been up one of these much longer before but it's a memory she doesn't care to relive. She looks out into the distance where she knows Bryan is somewhere in the darkness as well, buried up in one of the trees about two miles out.
The light comes slowly that morning and she waits as the sun rises. Some distance away, she can start to make out the form of the metal vehicle they've been tracking since the previous evening. Pike waits somewhere down below and she can see him if she squints but she doesn't move for fear of giving her position away and so she waits for his signal.
It's been hours since they saw the figure emerge from the roof of the rover but as soon as the second tree had fallen, trapping the rover in place, they had seen no one. It doesn't take long for several of her people to surround the vehicle, covered on various sides as they await the inhabitants to emerge but no one does. No one comes out, and no one comes to rescue the lone rover. And so they wait.
She wonders, almost amused, how Pike managed to climb atop the Rover so quietly. Or perhaps he wasn't, she's too far to know for sure but it's possible that is why no one emerges because they realize it would be stupid but her people can wait longer. The advantage belongs to her people and they could use the tech, wherever it's come from.
She can picture herself back at camp, where she was supposed to be working on the new makeshift system for the indoor greenhouse she and her mother are building. But she knows it won't last long. It's temporary because that's how they live now. Everything is temporary, day to day. She wonders if there will ever be a time where she can actually exist. Live.
But she thinks of Wyatt and her heart breaks a little, knowing even if their incessant war with the grounders came to an end, she still would not be at peace.
The sound of the hatch opening in the distance distracts her thoughts and when she looks back towards the vehicle she can see a figure rise slowly through the roof. She barely has time to breath before she sees the gun, and then Pikes knife against the man's neck. She's too far to see for sure but he doesn't look like any grounder she's come across before.
There are muffled voices and everything happens quickly as Pike pulls the man out of the sunroof and whistles a low bird cry that serves as his signal. Beck turns towards the direction where she knows Bryan is hiding and let's out a high pitched whistle as well and then descends from the tree as swiftly as possible. It will be ten minutes before she sees Bryan but she doesn't wait as she rushes through the cover of the woods to stand as backup as she approaches the chaos that is the scene about a hundred yards in front of her.
As she gets closer she can see the figures being thrown to the ground and she pauses just inside the treeline. One man, or boy, she isn't sure, is picked up roughly by two of her own and against his neck is the tracking beacon they'd been looking for. When they rip it from his neck the boy fights back and the one on the ground yells out to him.
"Monty, let it go!" he shouts and Beck feels something in her chest trip as the words come out of his mouth. Not only does she recognize the voice, but she knows it can't be a coincidence that he's said the name 'Monty' and her weapon slowly falls at her side.
"Monty?" she hears Hannah say, in disbelief, and Beck knows now she's not the only one with a hopefulness filling her heart.
Then she hears it, the words that launch her from her place in the treeline, despite Pike's orders, and she rushes forward.
"Mom?" he replies.
Hannah pulls off her mask, that's against protocol too, but she doesn't care as she walks slowly towards her son and wraps her arms around him desperately. She's whispering but Beck can't hear as she walks over towards the others and she recognizes the figures on the ground as Pike orders them to stand down.
"Pike," one says and she can't believe she's looking down at the face of Marcus Kane who looks so much older than the last time she saw him on the Ark.
"You have no idea how good it is to see you!" Pike says, more joy in his features than Beck has seen in months and even she can't help but let a relieved grin pull at the side of her cheeks. The two men embrace like long lost friends and she doesn't stop to analyze the fact that the shared excitement has nothing to do with friendship but relief that they aren't alone.
For now, it's just good to see familiar faces.
"We didn't think you made it," Kane says, stepping back from Pike who shouts out to LaCroix and Smith to stand guard as they continue to revel in the reunion.
"Everyone else," Pike announces. "I said stand down."
Beck walks over, not bothering with tentativeness, as she moves to greet their company as well. She hasn't seen Bellamy since the Ark and even then they hadn't itnerracted much since their time in school together. Once graduated their paths diverged and both were delegated to their own versions of survival upon the Ark.
Now doesn't seem so different, she thinks.
"Bellamy Blake, as I live and breath!," she says with a grin and the man who has always towered over her spins and she can see the recognition in his eyes.
"Beck?" he says with a grin.
"In the flesh."
"I can't believe this. We thought…" he starts but trails off as he looks over her, noting her choice of dress.
"We thought too," she replies and he nods and his smile is short lived as he starts looking around at where Kane and Pike are chatting. She only hears the end of Pike's words as he praises their grounder-killing skills and the crowd shouts out in unison. As usual, Beck does not partake in the merriment. Bellamy pushes forward, interrupting the awkward silence that settles amongst the new arrives.
"Hate to cut this short, but we need to find Clarke."
"Clarke Griffin?" Beck says, joining them and Bellamy nods.
"If only all of my Earth Skills students were as good as her," he jokes and winks when he catches Beck's eye who suddenly feels the urge to protest though the jab was meant for Bellamy. They both shake hands in laughter and Beck opts not to state that she passed Earth Skills without flaw.
There is bustling as several disperse to help move the tree blocking the rover. She stands by Kane who doesn't seem to notice her at first as he glances around her and then suddenly his eyes lock with hers and he shifts. It's then that she notices it's not only his beard that seems to have aged him.
"Rebecca," he whispers like a sigh and she isn't prepared when he reaches out to her, hand on her arm, his hand grasping her gently. "It's really you."
"Yes, sir," she says, her voice slow. "Though, I'm not sure I would have recognized you with all that hair," she tells him, grabbing the edge of his beard and pulling just slightly enough to make his lips turn up at the edges.
"Your mother?" he asks, and Beck nods.
"She's with the others in the mountains, regulating as she does best," she jokes. He doesn't ask about Wyatt and she knows why because down here many things have changed, most things even, but that is the one thing she still has not. But he gets the hint when she looks away and turns his attention to Pike, his hand slowly falling back to his side in strange reluctance.
"63?" Kane says. "Farm Station left with nearly three times that number."
"We landed with that number too," Pike says and even she can't help but glance at woman to their left with the tattooed face and the scars across her cheeks. She is dressed in grounder gear. Only she's not pretending.
"The Ice Nation can be ruthless," she says and there is pity in her eyes. "Take pride in the number you saved."
The tension is thick and Beck feels discomfort as she shifts from one foot to the other. She can't deny the apprehension running through her at the grounder's presence. She doesn't feel the same disdain for all grounders as her fellow farm station family, but she sure as hell wants to keep an eye on the one standing in their midst.
"Indra," Kane says to the woman. "This is Charles Pike. He was a teacher on the Ark." He gestures next to Beck. "And this...this is Rebecca, one of Charles' most promising proteges."
"Not for much longer," Pike laughs. "Beck has nearly surpassed my knowledge. Who knew she'd be so in her element down here."
"Who knew," Beck says, her voice mocking him and she turns to the woman Kane has named, Indra. "And who is this?" she asks when Pike doesn't and she knows he won't because he doesn't want to know, or care, who the woman is before them. All he sees is grounder now.
"This is Indra. She's the leader of the Trikru...and a trusted ally," replies Kane. Beck does her best to smile.
Pike does his best to remain stoic, as usual and when he says, "I'll have to take your word for it," it doesn't help to ease any of the tension, only perhaps increase it.
"Kane!" shouts Bellamy when the tree is now cleared. "It's time to go."
It's enough to pull Pikes attention away from Indra and Kane instructs Monty to give out the coordinates to the settlement called Arkadia. Beck nearly laughs thinking it's fitting though not highly original. Kane then becomes more solemn, his voice low. Beck catches the last half of it.
"We have reports that put Clarke north of here," he says and Pike's head rises, his eyes dance towards Beck.
North of here is out of bounds. They don't go North of here because that's where this all started in the first place.
"We could certainly use your expertise," Kane continues and Beck gives a slight raise of her shoulder to tell Pike it's up to him. They both know the area well, better than most and while he doesn't like it, Beck knows a little bit of the grounder language, enough to help them if needed.
"If she's in the Ice Nation, you're going to need a little more than that," Hannah says and Beck doesn't meet the woman's eyes, knowing what exactly she means. No one wants to go north. But it's one of them. One of their people.
"We leave no one behind," Pike says, reading Beck's expression and it's the same words that he's been echoing since they've landed.
And they aren't completely true.
"I can go get the others," she says but Pike shakes his head.
"No, I'll send LaCroix. I'll need you by my side."
"I'm a lousy shot," she reminds him and he smiles, placing his hand on her shoulder.
"Practice makes perfect," he says and she attempts a laugh though she hopes Kane and Bellamy don't notice the lie in her eyes as Pike turns to instruct LaCroix about the rendezvous.
She doesn't want them to see that she doesn't want to practice. Because she doesn't want to kill.
"Mount up," is Pikes final order. "We're going back into Hell."
Hell. Appropriately named for the vast territory of demons they are about to face. She only hopes this time she can keep her wits.
She's volunteers to keep watch, scouting the perimeter as the others enter the trading post. She's been here before, more times than she should admit because should would never hear the end of it from Pike if she did. Winter is closing in and though the ice isn't this far south yet, it won't be long before they'll be seeing snow. She isn't in a hurry to see snow ever again.
She's been alone for only a few moments when she hears a gunshot. She waits for more but there is nothing, only the sound of muffled voices inside the hut and Beck thinks they've got things under control. While they ask about Clarke, Beck investigates the perimeter. No one is here but the trace of someone is, two someones. Footprints are heavy in the mud and they lead off into the thicker part of the forest.
"See anything?" she hears and she glances over her shoulder to see Pike, followed by Hannah and Monty.
"Tracks here, see how they lead off into the woods?"
"One by force."
"Someone didn't go quietly," she tells him and he nods. "Monty, can you tell Kane we've found something?"
"Sure thing," he says, jogging back towards the hut and she sees Pike studying the hut rather than the tracks.
"What's going on?" she asks, looking between Hannah and Pike who share a look.
"I don't like this," he says quietly. "They have a grounder alliance."
"With the Woods Clan," she reminds him. "It's not the same."
"It is the same," Hannah says, her tone curt. "They're all the same. I can't believe Marcus would be so foolish as to trust them."
"He said they have an alliance," Beck tries to reason. "Maybe there is finally hope for peace if they've lasted this long. Isn't that what we want?"
"Peace can't last forever and we need to be ready when that peace ends."
There's no opportunity to ask what he means by that when the others rush out, heading Monty's call and Beck grabs her pack from the ground and walks in the opposite direction.
"Beck," Pike calls after her. The group turns.
"I'll catch up. Don't wait for me," she calls over her shoulder.
She will catch up easily, she knows that, so she's not concerned if they go on without her. Bellamy and Monty don't need telling twice as they head off towards the tracks, the woman called Indra is leading them. Hannah follows too, eyeing her for only a moment before following her son. Pike and Kane both share the same look, one she's grown to expect from the former. But Kane's look of concern is unsettling and she turns before he can see how much it bothers her.
Once inside the trading post she sees Niylah, face battered and bloody and she immediately thinks maybe her people did this until she nearly trips over a dead corpse on the floor.
"Laik yu klir?" she asks, her accent rusty and Niylah wipes blood from her lips.
"I see your trigedasleng is still as terrible as usual," she responds and though her frown deepens there is humor in her words.
"Not much time for practice," she replies, grabbing a cloth from her hip and placing it to Niylah's cheek. She flinches as Beck's touch.
She's met Niylah more times than she can count at this trading post. Here she barters for supplies despite Pikes distaste for interacting with grounders. But they can use the supplies and while Beck is a sufficient hunter, it is difficult to compete with Azgeda hunters who hunt the same lands. But more often than not Beck hunts for something else.
Information.
"I haven't seen him," Niylah says before Beck can ask. "Not in weeks."
"But they talk, I know they talk," she whispers, pulling a herbal cream out of her pack and Niylah stares at it curiously. "It's ok, it will help clean the wound," she explains and Niylah visibly relaxes.
"I heard word from a traveler a few days ago," she answers and Beck's hand stops at the words. "They've moved them from their camp in the east. One of them was bragging about bringing in young Skaikru prisoners to labor in their new camp."
"And they didn't say where?" she asks, breathless as her heart begins to pound. Niylah shakes her head.
"But they were trading for furs, thicker lined boots."
"You think they went north?"
"Maybe," she says. "They'll have stopped somewhere closer to the snow, maybe near Max's post?"
Beck considers this for only a moment before sighing.
"I haven't been back there since we left. Max isn't helpful. He won't help anyone from Skaikru."
She's not wrong and Niylah doesn't try to argue this as Beck places the cloth in her hand and hands her the small vial.
"Use this again after you bath, and after that twice a day. It will help keep the swelling down."
"What about a scar?" she asks. Beck can't help but smirk.
"Don't worry. I'm sure your mystery girl won't even notice."
Niylah rolls her eyes because it's a joke they constantly share. She knows Niylah cares for the girl but she's not exactly sure how much. But it's none of her business and so she just gives the girl a nod of thanks before heading out on her own, off towards the tracks that may or may not belong to Clarke Griffin.
She catches up much quicker than she anticipated, though she sees from a distance the group pauses in the meadow that stretches across for a half mile or more. She's still in the treeline, too far to call to them, when she hears the war drums and everything inside of her sinks.
Azgeda.
She grabs her gun, the scope pointed towards Pike and the others and she can see them arguing as Bellamy tries desperately to run across the field and she wonders how big of an idiot he is to put himself at risk in the face of the Ice Nation's army. She slides her scope to the left, towards the direction in which Pike is currently keeping Bellamy from running when she sees two figures rustling through the high grass and her heart sinks even further.
It's not Clarke, the blond who she hardly knew on the Ark that catches her attention. It's the other one. The large figure with his hair plaited slightly and his heavy fur-lined jacket similar to her own and she feels the same urge as Bellamy to charge as well.
Roan, Prince of Azgeda.
ROAN
He hears the boy near the mouth of the cave before he sees him and so he lets himself linger in the darkness a little longer. He's been there, waiting for the Azgeda war drums to fade out of earshot, for what seems like an eternity. But Roan is patient. He has waited this long for his freedom. He'll can wait a few more minutes.
He's not sure who the boy is, his raven hair in a disheveled mess around his ears and dressed in garb that clearly doesn't belong to him. He doesn't wear war paint and his steps are so clumsy he can only assume this is not an Azgeda warrior at all.
He's Skaikru.
He decides, more out of curiosity than anything, to let the scene play out as the boy approaches and kneels next to Wanheda with a look that Roan can only describe as relief as he places his fingers against her face lightly and then tugs down at the gag. Roan raises his eyebrow. He knows of the Commander's interest in the sky girl, but he knows nothing of the girl herself except for the rumors. Nowhere has he heard any rumors of a boy who hold Wanheda's heart. No boy alive, that is.
"I'll get you out of here," says the boy, his voice an affectionate whisper and it's then Roan decides to move forward.
She warns him but it's too late and whatever fight the boy has is weakened by Roan's ambush as he easily disarms him to the ground, his sword to his throat and he thinks the kill is just another in a long list of unnecessary kills thanks to Wanheda.
"No! Please don't!" she begs and when the boy reaches for his leg, Roan is quicker and pulls the knife from his holster. "I'll do anything! I'll stop fighting, just please don't kill him."
There is something in her voice and the way her eyes dart between him and the boy, desperation as she struggles against her ties. Roan isn't usually one to stop at the behest of some girl, but he knows from his struggles with her that she is no ordinary girl and if she is willing to make his journey to Polis easier than he might just oblige her this once.
Roan pulls his sword away from his throat and when she thanks him, he smirks and raises the knife but pauses at the feeling of steel under his chin.
His breath halts. He's sure he would have heard another person enter the cave but Wanheda's pleading has temporarily hindered his senses. If it weren't for the distraction he might have disarmed this person quickly.
"Drop the knife, majesty," the voice grumbles and the voice sends pulses of recognition through his veins.
"Rebecca," he says, his voice steady and his hand still grips the knife in his right hand. "It's been a while."
"I said, drop the knife, Roan."
He humors her, lowering his arm until he can drop the knife out to the side and the boy who was previously pinned beneath his own blade begins to wiggle out of reach. He doesn't fight when she pulls his sword from his left hand and shoves him onto his back.
"You said you would find him."
"I didn't lie," he says and her plaited hair nearly touches his face as she leans over him, pressing her knife harder to his throat. He doesn't flinch though he can tell she's drawn blood.
"You said they were moving south, that it would be easier to find him. But they're moving North, further into your people's territory and further out of my reach."
He frowns slightly. He hasn't heard of these reports but he's not sure how he would have. He's been isolated from Azgeda for so long that he knows very little of what his mother or his people are planning. Finding Wanheda will change, that he thinks.
"Even if those reports are accurate, what makes you think I can get any closer than you?"
"You promised my mother. You said you'd do everything you could."
"I am," he says, eyeing the girl currently tied to the post and Beck gives him a look of confusion. "She's the key to my freedom."
Beck considers this, long enough that Roan thinks perhaps she understand the conundrum, but she shakes her head.
"This isn't the way," she hisses.
"This is the only way."
"I won't let you."
"Well then I hope you've been practicing," he says quietly and before she is able to defend herself Roan grasps onto her and flips her so now she is the one pinned beneath him and she shoves back, using her knee against his stomach which causes him momentary discomfort as she worms her way out from under him. Her first punch lands but her second is stopped by his arm against her wrist.
"You're leaving yourself undefended, Rebecca," he says, tapping the area of her stomach instead of using his fist despite how easy it would be.
She retaliates with a kick to his chest, which sends him back only slightly as he feels the wall behind him and uses it to gain leverage as he propels forward, grabbing her leg and twisting her so she nearly falls. Her attempt to escape this hold is futile and he's bored of this game so instead of playing her game any longer he releases her so she is forced to stagger slightly and he pushes her up against the wall.
"Not so fast, boy," he says lazily when he senses movement and he tosses his knife to where said boy is now standing, attempting to make his way to help Clarke and it buries itself in his leg. Clarke and Beck both flinch as he cries out.
"You didn't have to do that," Beck says through her teeth, glancing up at him with venom in her eyes and he thinks for a moment that she actually reminds him of Elizabeth.
"Unfortunately, I did," he says. "And I'm sorry, but I have to do this as well."
"Do wh…" she starts but doesn't get a chance to finish when presses his forearm against her throat and she begins to struggle against him, realizing what he means and it's only a few moments before she succumbs to the pressure.
He lays her down gently, careful with her unconscious body as it lies limp in his arms and deep down he knows Elizabeth would not agree with his methods of keeping is promise. But he's promised he'd find her son.
It's a promise he intends to keep.
He walks over towards the boy, holding his leg in agony.
"Don't follow us," he says before making sure he is left unconscious as well.
BELLAMY
When he wakes, he immediately feels the coldness rushing through his body. He starts, but immediately hisses, his hand flying to his leg. There is blood, more blood than perhaps there should be, but all he feels right now is pain and he desperately wants it to stop. When he remembers how he got the wound, however, he realizes there isn't time for wanting anything but to find Clarke.
In the corner he sees Beck, so still he is not entirely sure she's still alive and he pulls himself, bloodied and aching, across the floor until he's at her side. Her breathing is slow, so steady that she might as well have just stopped to take a nap there in the damp cave-like structure they've found themselves in.
He's not sure how long they've been out, or what's more, how long Beck will be out still. He should wait, ensure she's ok, but as her chest rises and falls in a slow rhythm he knows his mind is already made up. He can't risk losing Clarke for this girl he hardly knows, for this girl who is probably fine.
And so he leaves her.
He leaves her behind as he hobbles up the steps, and he doesn't look back.