Author's Note:
Take a moment to make fun of my desperate attempt at writing Trigedasleng (Grounder language) in this chapter.
I know I did.
Happy Reading.
Veda, Octavia and Lincoln travel for hours. Their horses maintain a casual trotting through the dense forest. Sound is stifled by the dense foliage, but Veda can still pick up a few songbirds. As the sun lowers in the sky, the air becomes heavy with a humid cold.
The horses pick their footing carefully as Lincoln leads them onto a clearer path. It was wide and flat, which meant it was a popular road.
"Lincoln," the brunette speaks up, "shouldn't we stay off the road?"
"This path is faster," Lincoln says quietly. "We only need it for a short time. We'll leave it soon."
Octavia smirks, choosing to put her faith in the grounder's knowledge, but still feeling uncomfortable with the eerie silence.
Veda had tried to ignore it during their travels but being so close to a pretty girl for so long was making her stiff. After hours of holding a tight posture, she was looking forward to pause. Not from an aching or pain but from a constant psychological awkwardness. She'd had enough and decided to do something about it, especially since the silence between them was finally broken.
"Your name is Octavia?" Veda tries.
"Yes," she hushes.
"Is that Greek?"
"Roman," Octavia sighs. "Look, try and stay quiet, ok? We don't want any attention."
Veda shrinks a little, deciding to listen in on the birds instead. After waiting for a moment, Veda found that she couldn't find a single peep!
It was dead silent until she heard laughing. She perked up to peek at the path ahead.
Octavia gave her a weird look and after a moment, a handful of grounders came into sight.
Lincoln slowed his horse and told them to put their hoods on as he fixed his. They did and Veda made a point to hide behind Octavia and stay out of sight.
When the grounders were close, it seemed like they were going to continue about their business but one of them caught sight of Octavia and made his friends notice.
"Hei lukot," the grounder grumble. "Wer yu travlin'?"
"Gon to sea," Lincoln answers from underneath his hood, hoping the shadows cover his face.
The grounder nods with a smirk before slivering over to Octavia.
"Gada, gaf bida stik round?" He grins lasciviously.
He reaches up to lay his dirty fingers on her thigh. Veda immediately wants to reach out and break his hand, feeling warmth rush to her face. Lincoln spurs his horse to approach but neither of them have time to do anything as Octavia swiftly kicks him in the face with no forewarning.
"Nou kom yu," she hisses.
The other grounders have their hands on their swords as their friends rolls in the dirt.
Veda looks at the scene and, despite herself, a small smile forms on her face. Lincoln grabs his blade's handle, ready for retaliation.
All eyes are on the fallen grounder. Gripping his face with bloody fingers, he gets to his feet. He removes his hand to look at the blood in his palm. He eyes the sticky red drops darkly, but Veda watches as his expression shifts instantly.
He laughs loudly, and everyone relaxes slightly.
"Er has faya raun em," he grins, spitting a glob of red onto the road. He is still laughing as he leaves them to join his group. Giving them scowls over their shoulders, they slowly slink away down the path.
Lincoln and the girls watch them go for a moment before spurring on their own horses, now choosing a faster pace. After a time, they deviate from the road, diving back into the thick foliage.
It is dusk when they hop off their horses. Octavia offers Veda a hand down, and though she doesn't need it, she accepts the gesture with a small "thank you".
It doesn't take them long to make a fire and cook their food. Luckily, they had brought provisions from Arkadia so they had variety. An assortment of nuts and dried berries, dehydrated corn and potatoes, dried roots and a handful of herbs.
They all ate in silence, but Veda still saw the way they looked at her. Octavia wasn't as subtle as Lincoln, keeping eye contact even when Veda stared back at her.
Veda and the couple sat on opposite sides of the fire, having the flames paint dancing shadows on their faces. Through the sparks, Veda caught sight of Octavia staring at her again.
"What'd you do?" Octavia asks bluntly.
Veda drops her eyes to the glowing embers, holding her silence.
"Oh, you won't tell us?" Octavia scoffs.
"Octavia..." Lincoln says gently.
"No, Lincoln," she brushes it off. "If we are out here risking our lives, then we should know."
Veda frowns. "I thought you were fighters."
This seems to upset the brunette further. "Lincoln has had a kill order for months and I don't know if you've noticed, but grounders aren't very friendly to Skaikru. I'd rather not go looking for trouble."
"I'm sorry," Veda shrugs, knowing the other girl is right.
Octavia shakes her head, her irritation clearly drawn on her face. Veda was getting the sense that this girl was very upfront; she appreciated that.
Lincoln put a hand on the girl's shoulder.
"We're okay," Lincoln whispers.
"We don't even know why we're here," Octavia snaps.
"Yes, we do," Lincoln smiles gently. "She needs our help."
Octavia glares at Veda over the fire.
"Whatever," Octavia sighs as she gets to her feet, "I'll be first watch."
She leaves the two of them in the wavering firelight as she walks out into the still darkness.
"Don't worry about her," Lincoln chuckles. "Try to get some sleep."
Lincoln lays on the ground, staring into the fire.
Veda does the same but turns around to face the darkness, picturing Octavia's face. She knows she isn't going to sleep, but instead pretends as she deliberates telling them.
Octavia had a point. They were out here risking their necks to protect her and they didn't even know why. Veda admired their loyalty and courage. They seemed like good people. They shouldn't have to do this.
Another option was to leave. Veda could wait until they were asleep and slip into the night. That way, they could return to Arkadia and Veda could lead the Demonkai away. At least they'd be away from Octavia, and Clarke.
Still, that would mean that she could never return to Arkadia. Unexpectedly, the thought of it made her sad but it had to be done. These people didn't deserve the Demonkai's wrath.
She waited until she was sure Lincoln was asleep. She opened her eyes to peak at their camp. The fire was smaller now, the flames hardly reaching over an inch in height. She stared at Lincoln, watching his chest rise and fall, as she got to her feet. Looking at their small bag of supplies, Veda decides to leave it. They'll need it more than she will.
She slowly creeps out into the darkness. The cool air seeps into her clothes and she shivers as she makes her way through the undergrowth, a pale body moving in the moonlight.
Her time was just about done but she wasn't sure she'd be able to sleep. What if someone came for Lincoln? She knew she had to stay awake. She had to make sure.
She looked up at the moon, nodding. Rising to her feet, she gripped her blade tightly as she made her way back to camp. As she approached the small aura of the fire, she immediately found Lincoln. Her smile faded when she couldn't find the other girl.
She raced over to Lincoln to shake him.
"Lincoln," Octavia says, "the girl is gone."
The grounder opens his eyes quickly and tries to think through his daze. He sees Octavia and knows she had said something important.
"What?" He asks again, looking around the camp.
Suddenly, something small flies through the night air. Lincoln feels a stinging sensation on the back of his neck. Reaching back, his fingers brush against something stuck in his head. He pulls it out to look at it. He immediately recognizes it and looks to Octavia before it's too late.
"Run," he says to her as he feels his faculties leaving him already.
Octavia sees the dart in Lincoln's hand and her stomach sinks. She grabs him as he falls, doing her best to keep him upright.
"Lincoln," she shouts. "Lincoln, Lincoln, Lincoln!"
But it's no use. He falls to the floor, completely unconscious. Octavia tries to help him, but jumps to her feet, sword flashing when she hears a rustle nearby.
Grinning faces emerge from the dark. One, two, three... More than 5 of them appear around their small camp. Standing her ground, Octavia points her sword at them, ready to fight.
Then, the last one comes forth and she recognizes him from the road. He is the one she had kicked. His face is swollen and red. He wore the biggest smile of them all.
"Gada," he growls, "gon yu on goo' time."
Octavia bites her tongue as she takes in her attackers. There were a lot; it wouldn't be easy.
Just as she predicted, the two behind her try jump her.
One of them grabs her, but she manages to sidestep the other and give him a big gash across his chest. She turns her sword to stab it in the other's leg, but misses.
The one she'd cut brings his sword down on her, but she deflects his attacks, even getting another lick in with her sword. Angry now, he charges her and, after elbowing the one holding her, she sinks her blade into his stomach. Bloods gushes from his mouth as he falls, but by then, two more grounders had fallen on her.
In the commotion, she'd lost the grip on her sword. She feels numerous punches to the gut until her arms are held tightly by two of them. At this, the leader approaches. Octavia wishes she could kick him in the face again.
He walks close to her, still grinning.
"Jus drien jus daun," he says before slamming his fist into her face.
Octavia takes it full force. Her vision blurs and even though she is disoriented, she peers back at him. She doesn't like the way he is looking at her and takes her opportunity to spit in his face. The guards pull her back tightly, but it was too late; she hits her target.
The grounder wipes his face, shaking his head. A sinister smile spreading across his lips as he pulls out his sword.
He says something to her, but she doesn't catch it. She watches as he prepares to sink his blade into her belly. She chooses to look at Lincoln, laying there unharmed. She prays that it stays that way as she prepares for the pain.
Suddenly, a dark shape falls from the sky. Landing directing on the lead grounder's head, it crushes his skull with a loud crack. Everybody freezes as the figure rises, a pool of blood forming at its feet.
Octavia is stunned by the familiar purple eyes staring back at her.
They don't even blink as Veda attacks again, this time at the ones holding Octavia.
She charges the first one so hard, they all tumble over. Octavia falls to the ground but manages to see the other girl twist the man's neck before peering over her shoulder with eyes devoid of mercy.
Octavia feels the man that was holding her try to rise to his feet, but it's too late. Veda has him pinned to a tree in the blink of an eye. Choking, he fumbles for his sword. Seeing this, Veda yanks it from its sheath and sinks it into his chest. He shrieks into the night as Veda releases his weight.
The other three grounders hold their swords up with terrified faces. Two of them muster up their courage and attack Veda.
Octavia senses what's about to happen.
"Stop!" She calls out, but it falls on deaf ears.
Veda moves fluidly, easily dodging their attacks. Their fear makes them stupid and predictable. When she sees her opportunity, Veda flings her leg from under one of them. He tumbles to the floor as she grabs the other's arm. In one quick motion, she bends it backwards, making him wail.
The man on the floor stumbles to get his footing but Veda brings her foot down hard, making his knee shatter under her weight. His voice is added to the night's orchestra as the men holler in agony.
Finding it annoying, Veda unsheathes the dagger on his hip to slit his throat in one smooth motion. She jumps to her feet to do the same to the grounder holding his deformed arm. They are both silenced almost immediately.
Octavia, frozen in horror at the scene in front of her, doesn't' know what to do.
The last grounder is frozen too. Standing in place, trembling from head to toe, he looks younger than the others. A lot younger, Octavia realized.
Veda hears his drumming heartbeat and looks at him. Inside herself, Veda desperately tries to swim through the thick wall this feeling creates. She screams at the developing scene, unable to control her movements. With all her might she tries to cling to something that will bring her back to reality, but the deep primal aggression that had been amplified and honed in the lab was set lose. There was almost nothing she could do.
Octavia watches the girl slowly creep towards the young grounder and realizes she needs to do something. She quickly gets to her feet before it's too late.
"Hey," she shouts, making Veda stop in her tracks.
"Stop." Octavia's voice echoes loudly.
Veda hears a voice. It sounds far away, but she remembers it.
"Let him go," Octavia orders, slowly grabbing her sword from where she'd lost it.
She knows this voice. The words are coming from a girl; a girl with a Roman name.
Octavia watches the other girl turn to her. When their eyes meet, Octavia isn't sure this is a good idea. The girl's eyes are focused and clear, yet they were flat, unfeeling.
Veda recognizes those eyes: Octavia.
Out of the blue, Octavia watches those purple eyes change from blank to confused and panicked.
She is back, Veda realizes. Gasping for breath, she falls to her knees. She does her best to grounder herself, feeling the wet moss under her fingers, the cool air entering her nose, the metallic smell of blood...
Veda shoots her eyes open to look around. Taking in the scene, she slowly starts to see the bodies.
"No..." She gasps.
Octavia and the petrified grounder watch her like hawks as terror grips the girl.
"No!" Veda shouts, closing her eyes, immediately feeling the tears well up. She can't stop them as the smell of blood clings in her nose.
Octavia sees this as an opportunity. She gets the last grounder's attention by waving then gestures at him to leave.
He looks between her and Veda and eventually finds his courage as he runs off into the night.
Now alone with her, Octavia slowly approaches the hunched girl. As she gets closer, she realizes the girl is sobbing. Sill holding her sword tightly, Octavia walks around the girl to place herself near Lincoln and decides to wait it out. As she listens to her cries, she looks at the fallen grounders then something hits her: this girl hadn't attack her. If this girl had wanted to, she could have killed Octavia in an instant but she hadn't.
After a long time, Veda stops crying, picking up on Octavia's quick heartbeat. She slowly looks up and finds the girl. Veda notices the sword in her hand but sees that it isn't raised. Not to alarm Octavia, Veda gently rises to her feet, truly uncertain about what to do or say.
Octavia looks at her intently, now wondering if she had anything to fear from this girl at all.
"What are you?" Octavia's voice is barely a whisper.
Veda can't get past the bitter taste in her mouth as only one word comes to mind.
"A monster."
Translations
"Hei lukot, wer yu travlin'?" == "Hello friend, where are you headed?"
"Gon to sea," == "To the sea."
"Gada, gafbidastik round?" == "Girl, you want some company?"
"Noukomyu," == "Not with you."
"Er has fayaraunem," == "She has fire in her."
"Gada, gonyu on goo' time." == "Girl, let's have fun."
"Jus drien jus daun," == "Blood must have blood."
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