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25.
Three days passed. Today is the day…
The sunrise was peaking over the mountains and through the clouds, making it dimmer than usual. An eerie atmosphere was floating through the forest that morning. Clarke, Bellamy, Finn, Raven, Jasper, Miller, Lincoln, and Octavia were standing in a circle inside the drop ship.
"Be as passive as you can, but show no weakness," Lincoln told Clarke as he handed her an assault rifle. "The moment she sees weakness, she will destroy you."
"I know," Clarke said. She remembered something and lowered her voice, "Lincoln… Were you there when I was captured?"
His eyes darted to hers and even without any words, she knew his answer. "Yes."
Clarke nodded at the confirmation of her suspicions. Her hair was braided on both sides and tied in the back so it wouldn't fall in her face. A few smaller braids hung down around her shoulders She didn't realize it, but she was starting to look more and more like a Grounder everyday.
"Okay, are we really to roll out?" Bellamy's tense voice broke Clarke's train of thought.
"Hell yeah," Raven said. The others nodded in agreement, their faces attempting to hide the nerves that were bubbling up inside them all.
"Okay. Lincoln, Octavia, keep our people safe. No matter what happens. The rest of you… let's go." He gave Octavia a small hug and Lincoln an assuring nod. He seemed fearless to the others, but Clarke noticed the slight shakiness of his voice. She matched his step as they exited through the gate, and when she brushed his shoulder, he felt a cool sense of confidence rush through him. We can do this. Clarke can do this.
…
They could hear the sound of the river before they could see it. Apart from the sound of water running over rocks and the occasional snapping of a twig, there was a heavy silence that filled the air.
"We're here," Clarke whispered. "Hold up for a second. Let me go ahead." She quietly crept towards the forest's edge and the sight of the river came into view. She crouched behind a thick tree, scanning the opposite tree line. Although she saw nothing, she could feel multiple pairs of eyes staring back at her. She stood, suddenly and lowered her gun to her side. She took a few steps forward and she was in the open- exposed.
Bellamy, confused, started to move towards her and the rest began to follow, but they froze when Clarke shot a glare back at them. She walked almost all the way to the water's edge and she raised her empty arm for a few moments in a sign of surrender. A few seconds passed and she could feel her own heart pounding in her ears.
Suddenly, a head popped out from the tree line. The Grounder emerged slowly, with their bow drawn. Clarke gulped and her hand tightened around the cold metal of the gun.
"Are you Clarke of the Sky People?" she said.
"Yes," she called back loudly. "And I would like to speak with your Commander."
The Grounder said nothing, but more of them emerged. They crept out, one by one to the edge of the river, only about 15 feet from Clarke. She signaled back to Bellamy to join her, and he was almost instantly at her side along with the rest of their party. Raven eyed the Grounder across from her up and down. Finn and Jasper stood, their entire bodies rigid. Miller looked the most relaxed, but even he was finding it difficult to shut down his nerves.
"Where is your Commander?" She asked.
A woman with thick, light brown hair stepped forward. Her mouth was formed into permanent scowl and her eyes were almost hidden with war paint. She was slightly shorter than Clarke, but she made it known that she was in charge here. We'll see about that.
"You're not the Commander," Clarke said calmly.
"I am Anya. The Commander wishes me to speak with you on her behalf."
"What authority do you have with your people, Anya?"
"I'm a unit leader in the Trikru, the People of the Woods," her voice was suddenly defensive. "I was the Commander's mentor. What authority do you have, Clarke?"
"Well… my mom was a doctor, I guess. Listen, Anya. With all due respect, I requested to speak with the Commander herself. Not some Grounder Princess. I had hoped that you would be honorable enough to keep your word."
"I'm impressed," a familiar voice said from behind the line of Grounders, sending chills up Clarke's spine. She felt Bellamy tense up next to her. "I knew you would remember me."
Another figure emerged from the trees, her strides, long and confident. Her war paint was streaked down her surprisingly soft face. A circular embellishment was worn between her eyebrows, distinguishing her as the Commander. Bellamy was lost for a second and then he realized something. It was a test. Why? Maybe to see if Clarke wouldn't be flexible and ask them to keep their word? Well played, Princess.
Clarke couldn't speak. As the Commander came closer, the tallest, bearded Grounder with a face tattoo stepped closer to her side. Just by the look of him, he was the most terrifying of them all.
"Clarke, is it? My name is Lexa, the Commander. I believe you wanted to discuss peace terms with me. What is your offer?"
"My people are not here to harm yours," Clarke said. "We came to back to Earth, unaware that it was inhabited. The rest of our people have already landed south of here. If we could get to them-."
"There were no survivors of that crash," Lexa cut her off, coldly.
"Crash?"
"The space ship. It crashed. I sent units to go investigate it, just as I did with your ships when they landed. But they found no one alive."
"Why should we believe you?" Bellamy asked. Looks of horror filled the rest of their faces.
Lexa nodded at the bearded-tattooed one and he pulled out a shard of metal. Clarke gazed at it in a trance. That really is from the Ark… She felt the blood drain from her face. We really are alone now. Clarke shut the thought out of her mind. "Then our agreement will be easier to enforce."
"I'm still waiting for an offer, Clarke." A tall, dark-skinned female grounder said something to Lexa in a language Clarke didn't understand. Lexa responded, her voice sounding inpatient.
"My offer is that we live in peace. Harmony between us could save lives and then maybe we can focus on the true enemy."
"You started a war that you don't know how to end," the Anya said.
"Sorry, I believe I was speaking to Lexa. Not you."
The dark one drew her weapon. "You will call her 'Commander', you filthy-."
"Indra! Shof op." Indra backed away, her blade still drawn. "Your people blew almost a hundred of my people up at the bridge. You expect me to believe you are here in peace?"
"You were sending them to march on us," Bellamy spoke up suddenly. "We were defending our own."
"You are invaders. This is our land."
"Like Clarke said, we didn't know Earth was inhabited. We thought we were the only ones."
"Commander," Clarke said, hesitantly. "All I want is to keep my people alive. And I think you want the same for yours. So please, can we put the past behind us and live together as human beings? If that's all we have in common then so be it. We don't even have to interact at all with each other as allies, at least for now. But please, can we stop the violence?"
Lexa stared into Clarke's eyes for a moment. Clarke couldn't read her expression, but by the way she wasn't saying anything, Clarke knew that she was considering it.
"What about the bridge?" she finally said.
"What about the bridge?" Raven said.
"We need justice. Lexa pointed at Bellamy. "He is the one who was at the bridge with the bomb. We need him."
Bellamy's jaw tensed and his fists tightened around the rifle.
"No." Clarke said suddenly. "No, I set it off. Take me."
"Clarke, what are you doing?" Finn hissed at her.
"What? It's the truth. I took the shot. I did. Bellamy just planted it."
"Clarke, stop," Bellamy said.
"Bellamy… they'll kill you," she whispered.
"I know-."
"Then both of you," Lexa said. "Come with us, and your peacetime will commence."
"No, Clarke needs to stay behind to protect our people," Bellamy said. He turned his eyes to Clarke and gave her an encouraging look.
"Bellamy…" Jasper said.
"Don't do this," Miller stepped towards him.
"Enough!" Lexa shouted. "All of you, quiet. I will have both Clarke and Bellamy come with us. That is final."
"You bitch," Raven said.
"Justice is justice."
Bellamy suddenly pulled Clarke in for a hug, taking her by surprised. He buried his face in her hair, holding her tightly and passionately, as if he was saying… Oh no, Bellamy.
"Run," he whispered.
"No. Bellamy, I can't leave you." She started to tremble, a sudden adrenaline rush filling her veins. "Don't make me do this."
"They need you. Take care of Octavia. Go. Now," he shoved her away from him and she took off without hesitation, the others following. The Grounders drew their arrows, but Lexa shouted something that stopped them. Bellamy had dropped his weapon and began to swim across the river. He needed Clarke to do this, to go protect his people- his sister. He knew he was going to die. But this had to be done.
Clarke could hear nothing as she and the others crashed through the woods except Bellamy's soft voice in her ear: "Go. Now."