AN: Apologies for the long wait, and also thank you to swtid77 for reviewing every chapter, I love it :)

Chapter 13

Lexa thought that she knew fear.

After all, she was raised in fear. She was living in fear before she even knew what it was. The fear she felt when she was ripped away from her mother, and sold to her first master. The fear she felt when she was hit for the first time, the fear she felt when she was constantly abused, the fear she felt at night. The fear she had for her mother when she was little, when her mother would disappear for extended periods of time and come back wearing thick clothing, which Lexa later realised hid all the bruises.

But none of that fear compares to the fear she felt right now.

It was a strange feeling. It was like all of her body decided to shut down, leaving her brain to deal with all the consequences. Lexa could not move, she could not breathe, she could not blink.

She just stayed fixed exactly where she was, still on top of Clarke, seemingly frozen in time. She still had her bra on, and so did Clarke, but both of their tops were off. It was clear what they were doing.

Lexa did not dare to turn her head to see who was at the door, because she already knew who it was, and she could already see the disbelief, shock, and anger that would cloud his features. So instead, she tried to find solace by staring into Clarke's eyes, which read pure anxiety, fear, and dread. Lexa guessed that her own green eyes said the same thing.

But… she was a sex slave, right? They were meant to have sex with their masters, no?

"You are hers, remember. Never the other way round."

She was topping Clarke, where it should be the other way round for it to be acceptable.

They were so screwed.

Clarke opened her mouth to speak, moving Lexa to the far side of the bed so that she could at least protect the brunette with her acting as a barrier, but before she was able to move an inch, Mr Griffin was upon them.

Lexa felt her body being lifted and soon enough she was tossed aside like a rag doll.

She should be used to this pain, after all this was nothing compared to the things that she had been through. But after so long at the Griffin Estate and so much "therapy" from Clarke, she had nearly forgotten the life she had before Clarke appeared. But as soon as her body hit the wall, long-lost, familiar pain seared through her system. She was pretty sure that it was going to bruise.

That wasn't enough. Mr Griffin was soon gaining on her, marching over to where she was sprawled against the wall, and leaning down. Lexa braced herself, but then she was hearing two voices.

Two screams. Clarke, and her dad.

Clarke was screaming at the top of her lungs for Mr Griffin to stop, to leave them alone. Mr Griffin, on the other hand, was screaming into Lexa's ear.

"WHAT THE FUCK? YOU FUCKING WORTHLESS WHORE!" Mr Griffin continued to yell profanities, but soon Lexa tuned him out because she couldn't take it anymore. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly as Mr Griffin continued to yell into her ear.

She refused to pick up a single word of what he said. There was no point: she had enough verbal abuse already from her past masters to last a lifetime. Besides, Clarke had told her again and again to not listen to whatever he had to say, because those harsh words were not true.

Before long, Mr Griffin seemed to realise that Lexa wasn't listening so he slapped her harshly across her face.

It hurt a lot. But Lexa kept her eyes shut, defiantly trying her best to keep her breathing steady. It helped a little with the pain, but when there were still two voices shouting and screaming in one small room, it gets kind of unbearable.

Her head was hurting, it was pounding, it was throbbing. Fear was still in her system, but right now adrenaline was clouding it, so she didn't feel as scared as she did when she got caught. Nevertheless, she still wanted to crawl into a hole and hide there forever. Anywhere but under the direct wrath of Mr Griffin. She had a feeling that she was going to get worse than what Echo got in a lifetime.

Her emerald eyes were forced to open when she felt a boot plant deeply into her gut. Bile surged up her throat and she doubled over on the floor, her entire front on fire and throbbing rhythmically with waves of agony.

She couldn't really register anything anymore, her vision was red. She felt like throwing up, but she had a feeling that that would just make everything worse, so she did her best to refrain from doing so.

She was able to recover after a minute, and that was when she realised that she was no longer being assaulted.

She sat up with a groan, and when she saw why, her heart stopped.

Mr Griffin wasn't hitting her, because he had turned his attention on Clarke. The blonde, by now, had put on a black shirt which read "FRIENDS". Lexa found herself smiling despite all the pain. There was a bit of irony in that too: they weren't really friends anymore, they were so much more than that. Yet, it warmed her heart to see Clarke standing up so defiantly for her. It made her feel special, and more importantly, it made her feel loved.

Mr Griffin wasn't hitting Clarke, he probably couldn't bring it upon himself to hit her anyway. Clarke was screaming words that were too foul and filled to the brim with rage that Lexa found it hard to keep up, but she got the general gist: Clarke was incredibly angry at her dad for hitting her. And there were things about how there he had no right, that it was her choice, and that it was legal, and all the other shenanigans that Lexa couldn't comprehend fast enough.

It was all a haze. Lexa found her vision going a little blurry, and her breathing starting to get shallower. She hoped that she wasn't bleeding internally, because if she was she was going to be in huge trouble and she doubted that she would get the medical attention that she needed if that was the case.

She was managing the pain well, though. Mr Griffin had only slapped her and kicked her, nothing new.

But then something happened that made her forget her pain and made her pupils dilate with adrenaline.

Mr Griffin was holding the taser in his hand. Did he carry that with him everywhere?

He was trying to drag a screaming Clarke away from the scene with force, but Clarke was fighting back. And seeing that he was struggling, he decided to take things into another, much more dangerous, level.

"Clarke!" Lexa's voice broke a bit with the exertion of her raising her voice. It wasn't nearly loud enough to be heard over all the ruckus and screams that were taking place in the house right now, but miraculously Clarke stopped and turned her head to face Lexa.

Her expression held so much panic, despair, and apology that it broke Lexa's heart.

"Please," Lexa whispered. "Just let him, I don't want you to get hurt."

"But Lex," a tear trailed out from Clarke's eye. "He's going to hurt you. I don't – I'm not going to let that happen."

"It's okay, Clarke," Lexa mumbled, wincing a little bit. "I'll be fine."

"You won't!" Clarke insisted, seemingly forgetting that Mr Griffin still had a grip on her. "You –"

"Please, Clarke," Lexa whispered, and the contrast of the noise level compared to a minute ago was so great that it was fascinating. Right now, it was calm and quiet. "Please just let him. If not for you, do it for me?"

Clarke let out a choked sob. "Lexa…"

"Please," Lexa tried to convey as much as she could with her eyes, trying to tell her things that just couldn't be said with words. The eye contact that they held at this present moment was so significant, so meaningful, that Lexa had to fight hard to not let a tear escape her eye. It was almost like a goodbye.

It probably will be. In what universe will Mr Griffin let her see his daughter again, after seeing her fucking his daughter?

Their moment was cut short with Mr Griffin taking advantage of Clarke letting her guard down and dragging her away. To Lexa's relief, Clarke did not resist. She did not want to get the woman she loved into any more trouble.

"Stay here," Mr Griffin growled as they reached the door.

It's not like I'll be going anywhere, Lexa thought wistfully as another wave of pain and nausea intruded her system. She really needed to throw up.

They shared one last meaningful look before Clarke disappeared around the corner, probably to be taken to another room and locked inside.

Lexa stared ahead of her, at the wall at the other side of the room when the door slammed shut. She was so doomed. Clarke wasn't going to be there to protect her anymore, and when Mr Griffin comes back, she will have to face his wrath again.

She got this weird feeling, the feeling like when you're caught red-handed, your brain runs around in maximum capacity and it starts to burn. Lexa didn't really know how to describe it. On top of that, she regretted having had made a mess downstairs in the first place and not bothering to clean it up, as it was because of the mess that Mr Griffin even burst into the room in the first place. She also regretted being so careless, and now she was going to pay for the consequences. She was also incredibly anxious, and scared. It was like all the fear that she had put to the side a few minutes ago when it was overridden by adrenaline had come back in full force.

She was done for. There was no escape, he had seen it with his own eyes.

It wasn't until Lexa bowed her head just wanting to crawl into a hole that she realised that her top was still not on. Hastily, she got up, but her legs started to burn with the effort. Nevertheless, she persevered and reached for the bedside drawer and fetched the shirt that was on top of the pile. It was Clarke's, even better. It fit her perfectly, because they were about the same height and had similar builds, and it also had Clarke's scent. Even if the blonde was not by her side physically, Clarke will always be with her, because all Lexa needed to do was hold the shirt up to her nose and take a deep inhale. It smelled like heaven.

The sound of the door opening harshly broke Lexa out of her thoughts. She didn't dare turn her head, so she just stared onwards, trying to look as stoic as possible. But the truth was, she was scared out of her mind.

She felt her shoulders getting gripped harshly, and that was when she felt something click around her neck.

That was when Lexa instinctively looked to her right, and Mr Griffin's blank expression was all she could see. He may not look angry from the outside, but Lexa knew a lot better than that. He was irate, if his trembling hands were any indication.

She realised that the thing that clicked on her neck was a collar. Most likely one that was able to electrocute her with the press of a button.

Lexa felt her breathing grow short and erratic with fear as different scenarios of why she would be collared rushed through her head, almost in slideshow fashion. Was she going to be tortured? She had not met anyone so evil as to torture a slave before, but experience taught her to not underestimate Mr Griffin.

Lexa prayed that that was not going to happen. The prospect of being electrocuted made her shudder.

Mr Griffin yanked her away by the collar on her neck and since Lexa did not want to choke or be strangled, she had no choice but to get up rapidly and start walking in the direction that Mr Griffin was leading her in. Her feet and legs hurt, but she forced them to keep moving, much to their protest. She didn't know what was going to happen, but she didn't question it because she didn't want to be punished for speaking out of line.

Being led around the house made her feel like a dog. She had nearly forgotten that she was a slave by law; Clarke had done a good job convincing her otherwise.

Clarke. Was she alright? Lexa prayed that Mr Griffin did not do anything to her. She would do anything to make sure that Clarke was safe, but she couldn't do anything right now that would work, so all she could do was pray. Hope that Clarke would be alright, whatever happens next.

It wasn't until a gush of cold air whipping Lexa across the face that she realised the front door was open and she was now facing the outside world. And soon, Mr Griffin was dragging her across the front lawn through the gravel and towards the car.

Was he going to dump her a few blocks down, like he did with Echo? If that was the case, maybe that wouldn't be so bad. Of course, she would be starving, she would have nowhere to stay, but that was a problem for another time. Right now, she just wanted to get away from Mr Griffin, as far away as possible. If she gets dumped she'll probably sleep on the streets, it shouldn't be that cold at night. Maybe she could go into a shop and hide there, riding out the nights, she didn't know. She'll figure it out, just like she was sure Echo did.

Mr Griffin opened the door to his car. "In," he commanded, voice unwavering and harsh.

Lexa wasn't restrained anywhere, so technically she could run, but then she remembered she still had the collar around her neck. Maybe that was why Mr Griffin didn't need to restrain her under fear of her escaping, because if she set one foot in the wrong direction she would get fried. The neck is where there are sensitive nerves and arteries that Lexa knew better than to risk damaging. If she got electrocuted once, she could also damage her spine which would paralyse everywhere but her head. No, thank you.

Therefore, as soon as the door was open and the command word was uttered, Lexa walked straight into the car obediently. Even Mr Griffin seemed surprised by how eager the brunette seemed, but he didn't comment on it and instead he slammed the door shut.

It was a little bit like slamming the door shut to all of Lexa's hopes and dreams.

The car soon started, and the sound of gravel under the tyres could be heard as it was set in motion.

As they made it out of the gates, Lexa cast one last look back at the Griffin Estate. She had a feeling that she will never set foot in that place again, after what had happened earlier, so she allowed herself to lose herself in the blissful memories that this place had brought her over the last couple of months. The place reminded her of nothing but Clarke, who seemed to be an angel sent down from above. The most significant place in the Estate was of course Clarke's bedroom, where so many memorable things happened. It was where Lexa first met Clarke. It was where she learned how to read and write, it was where she danced in the moonlight with Clarke. It was where Lexa had her first real kiss, the first time she found anything but resentment for the world. She found love. It was the place where she first made love with someone special.

Lexa felt her back stick tighter to the seat as the car started to speed up. Mr Griffin was completely silent, probably driving faster than the speed limit. She had no idea where they were going, but with every mile that the car went, the less likely it seemed that she was going to set foot in the Griffin Estate ever again.

Did he really take Echo this far? What if she got dropped outside the city, in a field in the middle of nowhere? Lexa had no idea if she would be able to survive that.

The sky was grey. It was still mid-morning, not quite yet lunchtime, but the sky was darker than usual. Maybe it was because of the slightly tinted windows of the car, but the sky was still riddled with rainclouds. Talk about pathetic fallacy. The weather could not reflect Lexa's mood more: sombre, anxious. Not quite yet hopeless, but it was getting close.

Lexa did not know how much time had passed when suddenly she spotted something familiar. It was a really tall tree off the side of the road that had a truncated branch. It probably got cut off because it was going into the road, and even though there were quite a few trees that looked similar to that one, Lexa was sure that this tree was the one. It made her confused, why did she recognise that tree? She couldn't seem to connect the dots.

After about 15 minutes, Lexa spotted more familiar things, and it wasn't until the car took a left turn into the car park of a place that Lexa realised where she was. This is the 7th time that she had been here.

She was at the market.

The process was arduous and long, just like before. All the ratings, the descriptions, reasons, all those documents and contracts that Mr Griffin couldn't seem to be bothered to sign.

When he was enquired about the rating, he just gave Lexa a long hard look, eventually settling with "60".

Initially, this confused Lexa: normally masters gave high ratings to the slaves that they wanted to sell so that they were worth more. But then it occurred to Lexa that Mr Griffin just wanted to get her sold, he didn't care how much. After all, he just dumps slaves, money was clearly not a problem for him. Why she was getting sold instead of getting dumped however, Lexa had no idea.

Mr Griffin signed the paper and then took the collar off Lexa's neck. As soon as it was off, Lexa instantly sighed in relief. She did not get electrocuted, she was going to keep the mobility of her arms and legs.

"You be good now," Mr Griffin growled. "You do what they say, you hear me?"

Lexa nodded; she did not want to get into any trouble.

Mr Griffin looked at Lexa one last time, before he shook his head and turned around, stalking towards the exit. Normally masters stayed to find out how much they sold their slave for, but Lexa guessed that he either didn't care or couldn't bear to look at Lexa a second longer. It was probably the latter. It wasn't like he's not going to get his money anyway, he filled in his bank details in the forms so he'll just get a bank transfer.

And then a dark-skinned lady grabbed Lexa's arm and started to lead her down the familiar corridor to the room where all the slaves would be kept until the daily auction started, which would be at 1 in the afternoon. If Lexa had to guess, it was currently 11:30, meaning that there was still about another hour or so for her to wallow in her misery before she got sold.

Things were just going to be the same again. Her next master will not be like Clarke, he or she will just be like the old ones, abusing her to no end. Maybe she'll get lucky and get a master like her second one and she'll not get raped, but luck was not normally on her side. But then she did manage to come across Clarke, so maybe she did have a little bit of luck after all. It was fun while it lasted.

Lexa tried her best to not cry as she was led through the labyrinth of the place. People were already starting to gather in the audience early so that they could get a look at the slaves and decide who they want before the actual auction started. The lady who was leading her seemed to be nice enough, at least she wasn't being hit to keep up with her or anything. Lexa had never seen her before: she must be new.

And soon, she was thrown into the familiar room where all the slaves were kept before they were sold. It looked just the same, it smelled the same, it brought back so many horrible memories that had been buried by Clarke that Lexa just couldn't help but let a tear trail down her cheek. She won't be allowed to cry when she was sold to her new master if she doesn't want to be beaten anyway, so she might as well do it now.

But then a curtain of brown hair caught her eyes. It was at the corner of the room, and the person had her back facing Lexa.

No way.

Curiously, Lexa stepped forward and tapped the girl's shoulders.

"What do you want?" the girl snapped, turning around, but her mocha eyes widened with shock and disbelief when they saw who was standing in front of them.

"Echo?" Lexa gasped.