I am so sorry this took so long, but I've just been ridiculously busy. Hopefully the next chapter doesn't take nearly this long, but I hope this is worth the wait!
Chapter Three - And So It Begins
The camp was more than Clarke had expected. A tall wooden fence surrounded it, and the beginnings of a few cabins were littered throughout the gathering of cloth tents. There were even medical supplies and homemade weapons along with a few that Clarke suspected had been stolen from the palace guard.
Clarke walked towards the middle of the camp where a large group of people were gathered around the blazing fire pit. The heat from the flames warmed her to her core as she drew closer, and glowing sparks flew into the air, floating away with the breeze. Her stomach growled at the smell of meat cooking over the fire, the tantalizing scent making her mouth water.
She sat down on one of the logs positioned around the fire pit, gladly accepting when someone offered her a stick of meat. She bit into it, and despite it being slightly tough, it was juicy and it had a small amount of salt sprinkled over it. It was pretty good. "So is the food good enough for the princess?" a deep, masculine voice asked from beside her, making her jump in surprise. Clarke turned to see Bellamy sitting beside her, his dark curls sticking every which way, his forearms resting on his knees, making his broad shoulders slump forward a bit.
"It's fine, thank you." she responded, her blue eyes icy, her tone clipped.
"I take it," Bellamy responded instantly, like he'd been expecting her to reply as she had, "that you don't like people to call you 'princess',". He turned his head to look at her for the first time the entire conversation, his dark brown eyes glittering with amusement and something else that wasn't as easily identified. Clarke couldn't help but think that he was very similar to his sister.
"I'm not particularly fond of the nickname. I'd tell you to stop but I get the feeling you'd only use it more." she settled, answering his underlying question. A low chuckle shook Bellamy's chest, a smirk gracing his features. Clarke scowled, rolling her eyes at his expression.
"Do you take me to be a bully, princess?" he asked, his tone serious despite his previous manner. Clarke thought about his question for a moment, contemplating her answer.
"I don't know you well enough to take you to be anything, best that we wait and see what I think of you once we do know one another." she finally replied before taking another bite of her meat.
"I suppose," Bellamy said quietly, "besides, we still don't know whether we're friends or foes.".
Clarke's lips twitched, threatening to turn up in a smile. "I suppose," she agreed, mimicking his words.
Bellamy snorted, and then he got to his feet. "Well I wish you good luck, it's your first day in camp tomorrow," he commented as he stepped over the log.
"What would I need luck for?" she asked, twisting slightly to look at him.
He smirked again, "I guess you'll just have to wait and see.". With that, he turned away from her and walked off, heading towards a tent a few feet away. Clarke returned her gaze to the fire, finishing off her meat and remaining seated. As the flames danced around before her, she let out a soft, breathy laugh, beginning to mentally prepare herself for the following day.
When Clarke woke up, her neck was impossibly sore. When she'd gone to bed the previous night, joining Octavia in her tent when the brunette had offered, she hadn't slept very well, tossing and turning rather than sleeping soundly. Now, she was deeply regretting her near sleepless night as she got up and put her jacket and her shoes back on, quickly running a wooden comb through her knotted hair. She set the comb down when she finished a few moments later and started for the tent entrance, pushing the flap aside and walking out.
To her surprise, the camp was alive with activity; people were walking back through the gate with deer and other smaller game, other people were returning with baskets and buckets, possibly filled with water and plants and nuts. A fire was already going as well, and people were skinning and cooking the game. Clarke recognized a few of the ex-prisoners helping around the camp, the gangly boy with the brown hair and the black haired boy who'd smiled at her, the darker skinned girl with the long brown hair. She couldn't help but be impressed by how smoothly everything seemed to be running, even with new arrivals.
"Big day, princess, think you can handle it?" a voice that was slowly becoming very familiar asked, and Clarke wrinkled her nose, sending a glare towards Bellamy.
"Don't call me that, of course I can handle it." she replied. A smirk spread across his face, and the glint in his eyes was almost condescending.
"I guess we'll see," he concluded before turning around and walking off. Clarke rolled her eyes, a bit disgruntled, he'd seemed nice enough the night before, just a bit distant. Then again, it wasn't like she knew him, for all she knew he could be a complete dick.
Bellamy Blake was a complete dick. Clarke had slowly been learning this throughout the day as she worked. "Nice to see the privileged doing the work for once," he'd said when she ran into him getting some water, sneering. "What's wrong? Not used to doing your own chores, princess," he'd commented when she started tiring out after the first hour or so of work. He wasn't the only one either, she caught more than one person sending her dirty looks throughout the day, overheard their comments when she walked by them, their snickers. The only person she'd talked to who seemed friendly enough was Octavia.
Now, it was about midday, and Clarke was dripping with sweat. She paused for a moment, down on her knees in the dirt with a small bucket of seeds and a makeshift wooden shovel that was beginning to splinter. She panted, wiping a bit off sweat off her brow, and then Octavia was kneeling next to her, and her appearance was so sudden that Clarke jumped, dropping the shovel.
"Didn't mean to startle you," the other girl chirped, and how she managed to stay so upbeat was beyond Clarke.
"It's fine," Clarke said, and she hesitated before she continued, "what's your brother's problem?". Octavia snorted and Clarke glanced over at her to see her rolling her blue eyes.
"He's an ass," she replied.
"I gathered," Clarke muttered, and Octavia laughed at that.
"Don't let him get to you. He's an idiot and an ass, and his ego is bigger than his dick, at least I assume it is." the younger girl went on, and Clarke couldn't have stopped the chuckle that escaped her even if she wanted to. It felt good to laugh again, to smile again.
