Now for the real story to begins

On the Ark, each window Clarke passed held a glimpse of the planet she should have been born on. Everyone had talked about Earth like it was a deity. Something to hope for while they stayed in their ship in the sky.

Now, Clarke looked at a grounded Ark, and felt she had seen few things more beautiful.

"Look at that," she whispered, loosely holding Anya's binds behind her.

"How many are there?" The Grounder leader asked in apprehension.

"I don't know, a lot, I hope."

Even covered in dirt, ash, and blood, Clarke felt better now than she had the entire time she had been under Mount Weather. Bellamy had been right, they were Grounders now, and she belonged on the ground. Not below it or above it.

The memory of him looking at her from across camp, knowing he wasn't going to make it pushed her to keep looking. The acceptance in his nod, the encouragement to save their people, that brought her back above ground. She had to save their people, for Bellamy.

"I'm letting you go," Clarke told Anya. "I'm not weak, but I'm not like you. Our only chance against Mount Weather is if we fight together. To beat them, we'll need our technology and your knowledge of this world. I know my people will help. The question is, will yours?"

Clarke respected the woman and begrudgingly liked her. Rescuing her had been about more than making an ally. Anya did everything for her people, just like Clarke, and they both had people left under that mountain.

"The commander was my second. I can get an audience."

Clarke held out her hand to confirm the deal. Anya let go of her injured arm and extend her own, clasping Clarke's forearm.

"Please hurry." Anya nodded, and turned away, slowly but steadily walking away. Clarke wasn't worried about the woman's injuries. She was strong.

Bellamy had said leading the 100 felt like drowning until she'd pulled him out of the water and led with him. Now, she'd lost him; Octavia, Raven, and Finn as well. Clarke was on her own, but with a plan. Anya would go to the commander and together with the Grounders, they could take Mount Weather and save their people.

A gunshot pierced through that plan.

"Anya!" cried Clarke, running to the woman. Another shot hit Clarke in the arm, throwing her to the ground next to the dying Grounder. "Hey, hey, you're ok."

When had blood become a common liquid to feel between her fingers?

Anya looked at Clarke and whispered, "Ai gonplei ste odon."

"No, no, no," cried Clarke. Behind her, people from the Ark were approaching. Clarke kept trying to save Anya up until someone hit her in the head with the butt of a gun.

She came too as she was dragged through the makeshift gates of the Ark camp. After numerous injuries, days of running from the Mountain Men, and then getting knocked out by the Ark guard, Clarke didn't gather her senses quickly. A woman in a guard uniform was asking questions, but Clarke couldn't speak. Her eyes kept wandering to the people around her, running from the sight of her.

A scuffle drew her attention. "She's not a prisoner. She's my daughter."

A hazy form of another woman approached Clarke and cupped her face. "Clarke."

The most familiar face in Clarke's life came into focus before everything went black again. "Mom?"

"I need saline and pressure dressing." Clarke jerked awake, colliding with a body that she immediately tried to shove away.

"Hey, hey. You're ok." Her mom. Her mom was alive. Clarke was in the Ark Camp and her mom was alive.

Clarke choked out her thoughts. "I saw your ship crash."

She'd had the moment of Bellamy holding her to process her mother's death, then the bridge had happened, and Murphy's sickness, and the kidnapping, and the battle, and Mount Weather. Had Clarke been able to cry since leaving Bellamy's arms?

"I wasn't on it. I'm right here." Her mom's arms wrapped around Clarke and a few tears escaped, but they were wiped away as the guard from before entered.

"Is she alright?"

Clarke pulled away from her mom. She could still feel the dirt and blood plastered on her face, and she took a sick sort of enjoyment seeing the guard uneasy.

"She will be," replied her mother.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. We had no idea who she was." The guard stepped forward and Clarke narrowed her eyes.

"Shoot first and ask questions later isn't the wisest tactic down here. You killed my friend."

"We killed a Grounder. Where have you been?" The question was demeaning and accusatory.

"I'm sorry, who are you?"

"Clarke," rebuked Abby

"Major Bryne," Bryne stood up straighter. Clarke was unimpressed.

"I was in Mount Weather with the rest of the 100. The Mountain Men knocked us out and took us there after our battle with the Grounders. I escaped but we have to get the others out."

Abby stopped Clarke from trying to get off the stretcher, dismissing Bryne, but Clarke called for the woman to stop, and she did. "There was writing back at the Dropship. Did any of my people make it here?"

Bryne nodded and Abby smiled as she confirmed, "yes."

Clarke sat back down, the choking feeling was back, accompanied with a tightening of her chest. Her best friend's smirk flashed in her mind.

"Bellamy?" asked Clarke, rushing her words. "Black, curly hair? He's tall. Please, he would have been leading the others.

"Bellamy Blake was in charge?" huffed Bryne.

"Oh," Clarke gasped, covering her mouth than her face as relieved shakes shook her body. "Oh, thank, God," she whimpered. "I thought he was dead." Clarke looked up at her mom, who leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I thought you were dead."

"Not me. I'm right here."

Every step Bellamy took toward camp was like a stomp on his heart. Each increased distance between him and Finn, the Spacewalker off to avenge the Princess, reminded Bellamy of his failure.

They'd won the battle. The only Grounder left alive had been the one chasing Murphy, him, and Finn. Except, after being rescued by the Ark guard and leading them to the Dropship, Bellamy had found they'd lost.

Having to deal with pompous council members, the jumpy Ark guard, and being treated like children was the least of their problems. His people had to be found.

"What were you all doing out here?" asked Octavia. Between them, the girl, Mel, was silently crying. Monroe stepped up to let the girl lean on her while Bellamy and O talked. "And why are we walking in this direction, camp is that way."

Octavia pointed in the direction of the dropship. Bellamy swallowed, stuffing his hand in his jacket pocket and pinching Clarke's piece of cloth. "The Ark came down, O. Camp's there now."

Octavia scoffed. "We win a battle, and they come in and take control like we've just been laying around here, didn't they?"

"We didn't win, O. Finn, Murphy and I returned to the dropship. The thrusters worked, but the Grounders took the rest of the 100. Everybody was gone."

Octavia frowned. Bellamy let her digest the information. He'd been in shock for days, and it'd only gotten worse since spotting the Grounder with Clarke's watch hung around his neck.

The way she cried his name that night, Bellamy didn't want to think about it. Not now that she was gone. Any feelings he felt about Clarke's probable death were pushed so far away, they belonged to a different person.

"That doesn't make sense," O finally mumbled. "Lincoln was taken by Reapers and I was with Trikru when they went on a rescue mission."

"Trikru?"

"The tribe we'd been fighting. Our people weren't with them. They were actually really mad about having lost to us."

"They couldn't have just vanished, O. Clarke saw the Ark come down, we all did, and it isn't hard to miss once you go looking for it. If our people were out there, they'd have found us by now."

"I'm just saying, Trikru doesn't have them."

"Then we have another problem. Finn is on a rampage to find Clarke. He killed a Grounder after they gave us a map to a nearby village."

"Finn did?" asked O in disbelief. "He thinks they killed Clarke?"

"We found her watch with another Grounder, and there are no signs of her or anyone else."

"Clarke isn't dead. She's Clarke." He didn't respond, just kept moving towards the Ark. When it's massive structure came into view, O didn't pause to take it in.

"Open the gate!" a voice called.

Bellamy helped Mel through the gate. The gun that was tucked in his belt buckle was roughly torn away. Bellamy didn't even acknowledge the guard that took it, taking a deep breath and turning to Abby.

"I know you. Factory station." Abby muttered to Mel. She handed her off to a medical bay helper then looked up at Bellamy. "Where are the others?"

"There are no others," replied Monroe.

"Found her a day from here. No survivors." Bellamy swallowed, pushing down the emotions again.

He opened his mouth to explain the site and the amount of supplies, but the words were stolen when he heard his name being called. Not in agony, as he'd heard it echoing in his ears since the Dropship door closed, but in pure joy.

"BELLAMY!"

He whipped around, searching then spotting that blonde head running for him. His heart had to keep up with the speed he took off to reach her.

Clarke threw her arms around his neck and Bellamy picked her up and spun her around. "Hey, Princess," he whispered, securing his arms around her torso and burying his face in her dirty hair. Bellamy inhaled and finally breathed; his emotions rung out by Clarke's embrace. "I thought you were dead."

"I'm here."

Clarke released him, so he did as well. He remembered drinking in the sight of her during the battle, sure he wasn't going to ever see her again. And now, she was in front of him and he still couldn't stop staring.

She was alive.

"I told him!" Octavia knocked into Clarke, both girls grabbing the other. Her serious face finally lit up as Clarke smiled at Bellamy from behind O's shoulder. "I told him you weren't dead. Not Clarke Griffin."

Clarke huffed an embarrassed laugh and pulled away, taking in Octavia's health just as she had Bellamy's. "I'm glad you're both ok."

"Me too." O turned and grinned at Bellamy. The joy of seeing Clarke still had him lightheaded, but he focused enough to notice it was only Raven approaching their group.

"How many are with you?"

"None," answered Clarke.

"Where's Finn?" asked Raven.

"Looking for Clarke." Bellamy looked at Clarke, saw what he was feeling displayed on her face. Their reunion didn't mean their problems had been fixed.

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