Chapter Seven
Clarke smiled as she ran her hand through Lexa's loose curly hair, Lexa was still sleeping soundly. She was still trying to get used to their unattached hands, even after a few days. Clarke caught a knot in Lexa's long brown mane, easily untangling it. Lexa slowly opened her eyes and smiled at Clarke softly.
"Good morning, beautiful." Lexa breathed into her ear, Clarke's smile getting even bigger at the sound of Lexa's slightly rough voice in the morning. Clarke leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on her wife's lips. Lexa let out a happy sigh as she tightened her arms around Clarke. Clarke nestled herself deeper into Lexa's arms in response. They laid together for a few more minutes until Lexa untangled herself from Clarke. Clarke whined slightly at the loss of Lexa's embrace. Lexa leaned down and placed a chaste kiss to Clarke's forehead. Lexa cut some bread and placed it with some berries from last night's dinner on two plates, placing them on the small table in the kitchen. Clarke groaned as she climbed out of bed, joining Lexa at the table.
"So what do you think about working with Saffron today?" Lexa asked her gently. Clarke mulled it over for a few seconds longer than normal.
"I don't have to ride her, right? Not till I'm ready?" Clarke asked Lexa tentatively. Lexa grabbed Clarke's hand, softly running her thumb over the back of Clarke's hand.
"Of course not," Lexa reassured Clarke not wanting the other girl to feel rushed, though Lexa knew that Clarke needed to learn to ride.
"Ok." Clarke agreed hesitantly.
"How about we just brush her today, so you two can get used to each other?" Lexa suggested knowing that Saffron was too gentle to harm Clarke. Clarke nodded as she finally started eating her breakfast. The two of them finished quickly, Clarke and Lexa quickly changed facing opposite directions as they had been doing since the wedding. Lexa went and sat on the bed. Clarke quickly sat behind she set about braiding Lexa's hair in her usual style. When Clarke finished with Lexa's hair, they traded places, with Lexa quickly brushing Clarke's hair out. Lexa twisted back the two front pieces of Clarke's hair and pinning them back together. Lexa grabbed Clarke's hand and pulled her up and out the door to Saffron. Lexa released Clarke's hand, grabbing Saffron's halter, slipping it over the horse's head and leading her from her stall. Lexa grabbed her comb and brushes. Lexa handed Clarke the comb.
"This is for her mane and tail, don't worry about her hurting her horses don't have nerve ending in their mane and tail. Just hold it like this and do this." Lexa told her as she demonstrated. Clarke nodded and took the comb from her quickly, bushing Saffron's mane. Lexa took the comb back from her doing Saffron's tail quickly.
"You move this one in a circular motion with her hair; I'll come behind you and flick the dirt off with this brush," Lexa explained to her as she handed Clarke the circular brush, taking the long one for herself. Lexa nodded in approval of Clarke's brushing, following behind her. When they finished the brushing, Lexa handed Clarke the rope attached to Saffron. "Here hold her really quick while I tack her up," Lexa explained, Clarke nodded taking the rope. Clarke watched as Lexa expertly saddled Saffron her hands flying over all the clasps and buckles without a thought.
"Are you going hunting?" Clarke asked Lexa as she came around to do the bridle. Lexa nodded as she slipped the bit into her horse's mouth. "I think I'll take a walk in the woods maybe do some more sketches," Clarke told Lexa. Lexa nodded, handing Clarke her favorite large hunting knife. Clarke nodded knowing their arrangement, that Lexa wouldn't let Clarke go out alone unarmed. Clarke took the knife putting it in the sheath at her hip.
Clarke sighed in frustration as she tried to catch just the right angle of the bird, perched above her in the tree. When a crash sounded through the woods, scaring off the bird. Clarke huffed and then looked for the source of the noise. She noticed a young man with familiar shaggy dark brown hair and even more familiar brown eyes, but Clarke couldn't quite place him. A second later a girl with olive skin and dark brown hair in a ponytail, both were holding long strange black objects in the hands. They both pointed them at her chest, and Clarke just froze. A second later Zo burst through on the trees hot on the heels of the boy and girl. Zo drew her sword.
"Get behind me, Clarke!" Zo yelled.
"Move and die." The boy said as she heard two clicks. Zo froze as well.
"What's going on?" Clarke asked.
"Princess, these Skaikru people have captured Lincoln kom Trikru! They are torturing him." Zo panted out in response. The girl turned the long black object towards Zo that Clarke realized the objects were weapons of some kind.
"Lier the man took his sister! He won't tell us where she is." The girl said.
"He didn't take anyone!" Zo roared back. Zo tried to move closer, and the girl clicked her weapon too, which froze Zo in her tracks.
"One of our scouts saw her in the forest with the two of them! She was there too." The boy said. Clarke moved to get closer to Zo, to try and explain, and the boy engaged his weapon, causing something to fly rapidly out of the end and explode into a tree. Guns. Clarke realized with a start the weapons were guns. Zo turned towards Clarke and started to take a step in her direction. The girl took advantage of Zo's distraction and hit her over the back of the head with the end of the gun. Zo hit the ground, and she didn't move. Clarke drew her knife and leveled her stance like Lexa had taught her she hoped it wouldn't be the last thing she ever did.
The boy pushed the gun behind him and took a step towards her. Clarke held her ground when he suddenly took a quick step towards her. He grabbed her wrist and flipped her onto her back, taking the knife. The boy hauled Clarke to her feet, pulling her against him; he held the knife to Clarke's throat.
"What do you know about my sister?" He growled in her ear.
"Bellamy-" The girl tried to interrupt him.
"Raven, stop! We said we'd do whatever was necessary to find them! You agreed to this!" Bellamy remembered the girl apparently called Raven. "Now where is my sister?" He growled again.
"Who is your sister?" Clarke countered.
"We're looking for my sister Octavia Blake and her boyfriend Finn Collins. Where are they?" He growled again.
"Octavia and Finn were allowed to stay with us, while we observed your people to decide what to do with them. Finn committed a crime against our people, and our Commander ordered that he be executed. Octavia was with Zo, the girl on the ground, our Commander might know where Octavia is. I can take you to her." Clarke said hoping Lexa would be back and would save her yet again. Raven let out a scream as she processes Clarke's information.
"Move," Bellamy growled in her ear.
Lexa carefully laid the meat down on the pan to cook for her and Clarke's lunch before heading outside the cabin to wait for Clarke. Lexa sat on a large rock next to the door; she withdrew her second favorite hunting knife and her sharping rock. She set in into sharpening her knife. A few minutes later she heard a rustling in the trees just before the clearing, Lexa stood up assuming it was Clarke. When the group burst through the trees, Lexa's blood froze. A tall skinny boy was marching her Clarke towards with a knife at her throat. Another girl trailed behind them with a gun in her hands pointed at Clarke's back. When the girl saw her, she leveled the gun at Lexa instead.
"Don't move!" The girl yelled at Lexa as the group moved closer. Lexa didn't move. Lexa met Clarke's eyes as they marched her forward. Lexa could read through Clarke's eyes how sorry she was, and Lexa tried to convey back that it was ok. Somehow she was going to get them out of this. That was Lexa last though as the gun went off and pain ripped through her.
