This is my first story and I will happy accept feedback and constructive criticism.
Summary: Everyone on the Ark has wings that portray the type of person they are but Clarke is different which comes in handy on the ground.
This is a Belkarke story and I'll be focusing on what happened in the TV series compared to the books.
I own nothing.
Bellamy POV
I hurried as quickly as I could without drawing attention to myself more than necessary as hope filled me with nervous energy. Hope that I'd see my sister again after a year of lockup. Hope that I wouldn't miss the short window of opportunity to get on the dropship.
When Shumway had given me a chance at saving my sister, I'd taken it without hesitation, willing to do anything, even shot the Chancellor to be with my sister on the ground. The gun was heavy on my hip as I paused at the prison door to look up at the camera. Shumway had said he would be in the control room now to open the door for me but if I missed the window I would be on my own. I let out the breath I'd been holding as the doors whoosh open and I take a step through, jumping slightly when the doors whoosh closed behind me. The sound jump starts me into action, pressing me to continue along the hallway towards the sound of footsteps. I see the end of the long line of prisoners and adjust my speed to make sure that I don't any attention to myself, I open my wings to fit in with the rest of the guards. I start scanning the backs of the prisoners head, looking for Octavia's medium length brown hair, my heart is racing and it jolts as I notice two Councillors just around the corner.
I swallow and continue, my face pointing away from them as I stride purposely past them, noticing someone who doesn't continue walking. I past by without being stopped and grab onto the girls arm, leading her forward as an excuse. I help the prisoners get the harnesses on right, making sure that I'm hiding on the far side of the top level with my wings in as they call for the rest of the guards and close the door of the dropship.
I drop my head and release the breath I've been holding for a while and start searching the sleeping faces of the prisoners for my sister, my wings aching to be let out to speed up the process but I hold them in. It would do no good to let them out in this cramp space.
I become a little anxious when I don't see her on the third floor, taking note of the empty seat in case they launch before I found her. I climb down the ladder to the second level and for some reason find myself checking the far side first, though I don't find Octavia there. As I'm checking the next Isle, one of the girls catches my attention even though she's blonde and Octavia's brunette. My wings still as I reach out a hand to lift her chin towards me, a glow seeming to pulsate around her like the warmth from a flame. I struggle to pull my eyes away from her as I notice that the boy next to her is the Prince of the Ark, Wells Jaha. I shake my head, wondering what he could've done to get himself shipped to the ground before continuing to search the faces and heading down the ladder to the first level. The sound of the doors pressurising interrupts me and I glance around, quickly finding a free seat.
Just as I finish buckling up, I feel a jolt as we push off from the Ark, waking some of the people up. A few of the people give me confused glances before calling out to their mates, telling them to wake up, otherwise ignoring my unfamiliar face. Soon after everyone wakes up, a bang sounds as we enter the atmosohere and a screen lights up showing the Chancellor as he explains what's happening to the clueless prisoners.
I look down at my shoes as he talks, feeling a little guilty at having shot him, but I get rid of the feeling, trying to pay attention to what he's saying. Then I wonder if there's any point in listening to the peraon I'd shot to get on the dropship when it was likely that the next time he saw me, he'd order my execution.
A few voices in the next level tell me that everyone else is awake, already ridiculing Wells about his dad, Chancellor Jaha.
The video is interrupted as we deploy the parachutes, but something obviously goes wrong as we start spinning and swinging. We hear a few bangs from the level above us, causing screams to erupt from all over the ship then we hit the ground, the lights flickering off. The hum of the engine fades until only silence is left and the lights fade back on again. A few voices comment on the lack of sound, the sound of my seat belt is loud in the silence, signalling everyone else to do the same. As everyone rushes to follow me to the door, I raise my voice to calm them down, "Hey, just back it up guys."
Surprisingly they listen to me, though as I turn to open the doors I hear a smooth voice tell me not to because 'the air could be toxic'. I don't have to turn around for my wings to feel the glow that surrounds her, but I do anyway, wanting to see the beauty from the next level, remembering where I'd seen her from; she was the Councillor, Doctor Griffin's daughter, the Princess of the Ark. I pull myself back together knowing that nothing good will come from her, "If the air's toxic we're dead anyway." She doesn't have a reply to that, but another voice, this time familiar, sounds from the other ladder, "Bellamy?"
The corners of my mouth lift as Octavia jumps down from the ladder, pushing her way through the crowd and jumping up to hug me. I soak it in before pulling back to look at her, noticing how much she's grown before she notices that I'm wearing a guard uniform. "I borrowed it to get on the Dropship. Someone has got to keep an eye on you." I answer her question with a laugh, but the other people are getting restless while the Princess notices that I'm not wearing a wristband, "Where's your wristband." her voice holds an acusation in it that I can't help but notice as she weaves slyly through the crowd, careful not to touch anyone and I almost bow to her question.
Octavia gets annoyed at her tone, replying with an acusation of her own that surprises everyone on the ship, "Do you mind? I haven't seen my brother in a year." She still hasn't figured out the nuances of society so when that gets a reaction I have to hold her back to stop her from hurting someone, probably herself. "Octavia, Octavia, no. Let's give them something else to remember you by." Octavia brings her eyes to me and I can see the question and disbelief in them, "Yeah? Like what?" She doesn't believe they could remember her by anything else, so I tell her. "Like being the first person on the ground in a hundred years."
This catches her attention, she turns away from the troublemakers, towards the doors in anticipation. My eyes roam quickly over Princess, taking note of her perfectly formed body that shows even through the unflattering skybox uniform, coming to the conclusion that she must've had a job that kept her moving and lifting things, but by the way she holds herself, I can tell she wasn't trained in the armed forces. I quickly turn to the lever which will open the door to outside, reaching out with a steady hand to hold the door lever. I look over at Octavia one last time to make sure she's ready before I pull it down. The door opens in a rush of air and light blinding us all.
I almost forget there are other people there, the thick brown trunks are covered in vibrant lime-green moss and leaves, topped with a bright blue sky that stretched on. The greys and dull reds of Octavia's skirt seem so dull in comparison to the array of different colours as she steps up to the edge of the door in shocked silence. The sound of birds chirping and leaves rustling almost drown out the gasps of amazement, the crunch of branches as Octavia's takes that final step onto the Earth. But the next sentence followed by the shouts of excitement from the others are almost deafening in the wake of it. "We're back, bitches!"
Everyone whips out their wings, jumping from the dropship to the ground, rushing out in a mass of shouts and laughter and cries of freedom. Only a few take to the sky though only for a moment as they still don't really know how to use them properly. There was never any space to really spread your wings so only the youngsters were seen flying, it didn't take long for them to outgrow the fun.
I smile and step down next to Octavia, hugging her with my wings before continuing past her. I look back at her, happy to see her smiling and laughing, seeing the Princess jump off the side of the ramp, looking at all the flowers in full bloom, the colours so pure and textured like nothing I've ever seen. She walks over to the edge of a slope that overlooks some of the forest that we landed in, opening the maps in her hands and looking to the mountains and hills in the distance.
Just as I try to pull my attention from her, I see the Spacewalker go up to her, asking why she's so serious which I can understand, but when he uses my nickname, I'm tempted to go over there for some reason. He brushes his dark, almost black wings against her back making me feel the need to do the same, to challenge him. I shake my head, realising that her wings are the only ones that aren't out yet, usually people brush wingtips, not just one person brushing against the other. For some reason that makes my chest feel lighter, that she isn't returning his affection.
I turn around when someone pulls lightly on my jacket sleeve to see Octavia staring distracted in the direction of the forest. I can tell she's asking for my permission in her own special way to explore but she doesn't want to go alone, I take one last glance at the Princess before following after the girl I came down to protect. There is no way I'd been able to tell her 'no' right now so I just take in the sights with her, her wings bounce as she leaps over branches, hair flying as she glides between the trees
We walk around the dropship, among the people who'd spent the last few months or years locked up in the skybox wondering if they feel as free as Octavia. They're all revelling in the freedom of no rules and clean air, dancing around, laughing and playing, running between the trees, gliding over tree stumps and hollows.
It only takes a half hour or so before I see Wells come down from the roof of the dropship, landing next to the Princess who's bent over the map with ruler and charcoal in hand. I can't hear what their saying as Octavia pulls me in another direction, but I'm reluctant for them to be out of my sight when the soft glow around the Princess turns harsh. This instinct pay off when Wells pushes one of the more carefree guys away with words that I can hear.
"You mind?" His voice is full of challenge that isn't returned as the boy, Jasper I think, raises his hands and backs away, but someone else has taken a claim on him, wanting to pick a fight with the son of the man who'd floated a lot of our parents or friends and locked us up.
"Hey, hey, hey, hands off of him. He's with us."
This was Murphy and he'd obviously been recruiting, he had a few followers behind him as he strode confidently up to Wells, who knows when he's overpowered.
"Relax, we're just trying to figure out where we are."
I can see the tension rising and figure that it's probably best if I step in now if I want any say in what happens in the long run. I need to assert my dominance soon or I'll lose any possibility of them even listening to me. I turn to face them, raising my voice so they can all hear the amusement in my voice, "We're on the ground. That not good enough for you?"
Wells steps forward, obviously seeing someone that he can coerce into following him, but he only comes off as condescending and strangely desperate as he tells us what we have to do. Yeah right.
"We need to find Mount Weather. You heard my father's message. That has to be our first priority."
I can't help but scoff as he brings up his father, he's not winning any points with that, and unsurprisingly Octavia buts in with her own commonly thought idea, "Screw your father. What, you think you're in charge here, you and your little Princess?"
That gets a rise from Clarke, she obviously doesn't like the nickname, I find myself hoping that that's because of the Spacewalker. She steps forward, addressing all of us as she berates them for doing what they've only taught themselves to do, survive.
"Do you think we care who's in charge? We need to get to Mount Weather not because the Chancellor said so, but because the longer we wait, the hungrier we'll get and the harder this'll be. How long do you think we'll last without those supplies? We're looking at a twenty-mile trek, okay? So if we want to get there before dark, we need to leave now."
As she speaks, I can see wings rustling awkwardly and people looking at each other knowing its a good idea but not wanting to follow the Prince and Princess of the Ark when the Chancellor threw them out. I know that we'll need some of those supplies, but I need to distance myself from Princess if I want to gain the favor of the people.
"I got a better idea. You two go, find it for us. Let the privileged do the hard work for a change."
A chorus of "yeah," comes up from the crowd that's has been attracted by the Wells pushing Jasper and some of the stiffness evaporates as they see another option that gets the supplies but doesn't require them to follow the Prince. I look around to see that it's gotten much bigger while we've been talking, Murphy catches my attention, he has a look on his face that I've seen before. So Wells provides the perfect opportunity by demanding in his own special way that we all need to go to Mount Weather, not just them.
"Well look at this everybody. It's the Chancellor of Earth." Murphy comes up behind Wells, surprising him with a shove, coaxing him into the fight that he wants.
His feet are way to close together for a fight but he still eggs Murphy on, "Think that's funny?"
Murphy hooks his foot around Wells' ankle, shoving him hard to the ground. "No, but that was."
He gets back up but stumbles when he tries to put weight back on the foot that Murphy hooked, his wings open slightly to help him balance. I notice that Clarke tries oto help Wells, even though she seems to hate him, but Mbege holds her back and I don't know if I like that. They both square up and their eyes are only on their opppnent, so they don't notice the Spacewalker hovering over the dropship as he pulls his wings in, dropping like a rock to stand between the pair.
"Kids got one leg. How about you wait until its a fair fight."
It's not a request and the people realized that as the excitement falls from their shoulders. I don't realized Octavia has moved until she walks up to the Spacewalker, who I suppose is ballsy enough to have earned my respect.
"Hey Spacewalker, rescue me next." Finn chuckles with the crowd as they disperse.
I frown, walking up to Octavia, looking at her with disapproval in my eyes.
"What? He's cute."
That's obviously all the answer I'm going to get. "He's a criminal."
"They're all criminals." She looks at me with a slight smile on her face, leaning in close like it was a secret.
"Look O, I came down here to protect you." I'm starting to get a little annoyed and protective, Octavia can see that, I hope that I won't have to go further to get her to see what I'm trying to say. Her temper rises with mine but she's more amused than serious.
"I don't need protecting. I have been locked up one way or another all my life. I am done following orders. I need to have fun, Bell. I need to just do something crazy just because I can, and no one, including you, is gonna stop me." She sees that I'm being protective alright, she just doesn't know why and therefore doesn't care, like usual. I need to make sure she sees my point of view so I try to hint at why I'm so protective without actually giving anything away.
"I can't stay with them, O." I'm resigned to the fact that I'm going to have to leave but I don't know how I'm going to break it to her.
"Now what are you talking about?" She knows I'm hiding something but she thinks it'll just be something small or insubesquential, something that doesn't matter to her. I look around me, noticing how close one group of people are, I move us away as I try to think of the best way to break the news to her that I shot and killed the Chancellor to get down here on the shuttle. I guess there's no easy way to do it, though.
"I did something, okay, to get on the drop ship, something that they will kill me for when they come down. I can't say what it is just yet, but you have to trust me. You do still trust me, don't you?" I'm getting desperate now and she can see that.
"Yeah."
She looks down at her shoes in a way that tells me she won't push it any further, but I feel a twinge of suspition when she skips off in the direction that Clarke and Wells just went. I follow slowly behind her wary of where she might be going but wanting to know. It doesn't take long before she pips up again, this time to say that she wants to join the group going to Mount Weather.
"Sounds like a party, make it five." She claps her hands together in front of her excitedly, bouncing on her heels with pent up energy. I put my hand on her shoulder, trying to get her not to go on the trip that I just said that the privigled should go on.
"O, what the hell are you doing?"
"Going for a walk." She shrugges the hand off her shoulder and doesn't look at me, trying to tell me that I shouldn't hide things from her, that she hasn't forgotten what she just said about having fun. Just as I'm about to tell her exactly how much fun it could be in a land that we don't know is even safe when I'm interrupted my the Princess as she notices something. She goes up to Finn grabbing his wrist causing my my wings tense up a little as she touches him, but I force them to relax, least someone notices it.
"Hey, were you trying to take this off?"
She holding his wristband which is covered in scratches and dents at the seams and none of us seem to get what she's so angry about.
"Yeah. So?" Finn answers, nonchalant.
"So this wristband transmits your vital signs to the Ark. Take it off, and they'll think you're dead." She look at us expecting us to look, I don't know, apologetic, but all she gets are blank stares.
"Should I care?" Finn answers again when it's clear no one else will.
"Well, I don't know. Do you want to people you love to think you're dead?" She says, a little pissed off that we don't share her views, whatever they may be, before continuing, "Do you want to them to follow you down here in two months? Because they won't if they think we're dying."
The rest of the conversation fades away as I realize that might the way to make sure that they don't come down and kill me. What better way for them to not kill me than to think I'm probably already dead, just like everyone else. Now how to convince everyone to follow me and take the wristbands off...
Everyone starts walking away and when Octavia turns to me, I tell her she can go, knowing that she'll just find another way to go. She grins at me, giving me a peck on the cheek, skipping off after the others. They all wait for Clarke to finish telling Wells that he shouldn't have come here, he must've done something terrible if she isn't forgiving him when he came down here with no guarantee of survival, just for her.
As they disappear off into the depths of the forest, Octavia and Clarke seem to exchange a full conversation within a few sentences, leaving Octavia with a slight swagger in her step as Clarke forges on ahead. I wait until they're swallowed by the dark shadows of the trees, hidden by the thick trunks before heading back to the center of the crowds.
I watch all the people as they mill about, ignoring the people purely having fun, the ones ignoring the sounds coming from the forest, also ruling out the ones that jumped at every laugh and snapped twig. I focus instead on the ones that watch the forest but continue talking with their friends, watching people as they go through the ship, taking seat belts and insulation for bags and sorting the medicine and clothing onto piles. Some of them catch my attention just by how they walk, like they own the place, like they control all that happens but severely lacking in terms of actual leadershipand decisions. They could be useful as second in commands, they could hold a front when they know what their doing, I just have to make sure they don't try to overthrow me.
I watch as Murphy and Mbege scratch a message on the wall over where Wells is collecting firewood then retreat to where they can see the pile. This should be interesting, I think as Wells comes back with arm load of wood. My thoughts are confirmed when they confront Wells, standing proud and arrogant in the face of his unimpressed stare. He replies to their taunts simply but it packs a punch, is recruit him if he wasn't the Chancellor's son.
He glances back at the message, 'first son, first to dye' and shoves past them, not intimidated by their immature tactics, "You spelt die wrong, geniuses."
I think I've seen enough to make my decision, they'd be better off with someone who knows what their doing. I walk up to them, my wings puffed out to make them look bigger, excluding confidence, "If you're gonna kill someone, it's probably best not to announce it." I don't startle them, but they are surprised that someone saw that and aren't berating them.
I'm not exactly trying to hide who I am, which their so called leader, Murphy, picks up on pretty quickly, "You're not really a member of the guard, are you?"
I smirk, "No, the real guard will be here soon unless we stop it. You don't actually think they're gonna forgive your crimes. Even if they do, then what? Guys like us, we're gonna become model citizens now, get jobs, if we're lucky, maybe pick up their trash?" I'm mocking them know, knowing I've caught their attention but they seem confused about where it's heading, I was right in picking these guys, smart enough but dumb when it comes to planning ahead.
Murphy's sidekick, Mbege, questions my statement this time, "You got a point?"
"No. I got a question. They locked you up, dumped you down here like lab rats to die." I say, my voice rising to get they're blood up, "So why are you helping them?"
They answer like I expect, with uncontrolled anger, "The hell we are."
I calm my voice a knotch, knowing the perfect level of anger I need for this situation, "You're wearing those bracelets, aren't you? Right now, those things are telling them whether or not it's safe to follow us down."
They're starting to see my point here, they're just not sure what they can do about it yet, "Okay. You said we could stop it. How?" Murphy answers for both of them now, taking the lead like I knew he would.
I dumb it down, putting the right amount of impact to my answer, "Take them off. The Ark will think you're dead, that it's not safe to follow. You follow?"
Murphy can see exactly where this is heading now, a smirk starting to form on his face but he's smart enough to ask why he should do this for me, "Right, and if we do, I mean, what's in it for us?"
I end the conversation snapily, "Someone has got to help me run things." I wait just long enough to know that I've said enough, then walk away, giving them time to think on my offer but I know they're take it.
As I walk back to the tree I was leaning on, I notice that Miller had heard most of our conversation, and I remember how he had been one of the ones organising some of the supplies. I nod my head and acknowledge what'd done, "Nice job at packing the medical gear away." I continue walking, knowing that he was now thinking about what else I might've seen that could be useful.
I keep walking until I find a clearing that I can practice flying in, if I want to lead, I need to know how to use my own limbs to my advantage. I have Harris Hawk wings, the down is red while the feathers are brown fading to black on my flight feathers, they are wings that true leaders have but I'd never had the chance to do anything on the Ark, expect for being a guard cadet. I spend a few minutes working on fine motor control like take offs and landings, the biggest things that effect an audience, before heading back to camp to find Murphy. He heads toward me as soon as he sees me and I know that he's on my side, he'll ask another question or two, but ultimately, he's gotten no other proper offers, so he'll take it, he wants to be in charge.
As I expect the first thing that comes out of his mouth is, "I'll follow you, but I want my own tent and no hard labour." The corners of mouth turn up, "I expect nothing less, but you'll have to do your share of work, such as hunting or scouting." I mention things that should be exciting enough for them, knowing that if they did nothing, then nothing would work. They know this too, so soon enough, I'm standing by the fire, with Murphy and Mbege at my back, convincing a small group to take off their wristbands.
It's not to hard to get a few more off after the first few when the crowd is cheering them on, but Wells hears the commotion as predicted just as the first group is finished. I raise my voice, knowing that he can hear me and wanting it to seem like there was a line. "Who's next?"
Wells pushes through the crowd to the center by the fire, wondering what the fuss is about, "What the hell are you doing?"
"We're liberating ourselves. What does it look like?" I raise my voice so everyone can hear why we're doing this.
He looks around, trying to find some people that would be willing to stand up to this, "It looks like you're trying to get us all killed. The communication system is dead. These wristbands are all we got. Take them off, and the Ark will think we're dying, that it's not safe for them to follow."
He's obviously not as smart as I thought if he thinks we don't know that. "That's the point, Chancellor. We can take care of ourselves, can't we?" I mock him then aim the question at the people that I'm starting to think of as my own, knowing that they'll answer, and they do.
Wells is starting to get angry at the response he's getting, "You think this is a game? Those aren't just our friends and our parents up there. They're our farmers, our doctors, our engineers." He's trying his best to get people to realise what they'll doing but they know exactly what they're doing, I told them. "I don't care what he tells you. We won't survive here on our own, and besides, if it really is safe, how could you not want the rest of our people to come down?"
I can see some of the more reserved people backing away, they want to see their families again but won't go against the bulk of my people, "My people already are down." I point up at the sky, to where I know the Ark will be, "Those people locked my people up. Those people killed my mother for the crime of having a second child. Your father did that." Now I'm pointing at Wells, stepping towards him, replying to the challenge of authority, my wings rustling menacingly.
Wells tries to pacify the crowd, trying to distance himself from his father's decisions, "My father didn't write the laws."
"No. He enforced them, but not anymore, not here. Here, there are no laws." I answer for my people, making them a promise that they readily accept, "Here, we do whatever the hell we want whenever the hell we want. Now, you don't have to like it, Wells. You can even try to stop it or change it, kill me. You know why? Whatever the hell we want."
I open my wings as wide as they'll go in this space and take off smoothly, hovering just above the head of my people, they cheer and start up a chant of "Whatever the hell we want!" Some other people take to the sky as well, although not as effortlessly as me and I watch Wells disappear back to the dropship in the corner of my eye, knowing that my people have just elected me as the new leader.
The crowd quiets down soon enough, and as I leave to get some rest, Murphy and Mbege follow me, "What are you going to do about Wells, we can't just let him speak like that!"
I have to think for a moment, I won't punish anyone, so I can't hurt him, but he won't know that and I have a gun. I answer with a sly smile, knowing that Murphy wants a chance to fight Wells, but physically holding him down will have to do, "If he won't let us take off his wristband, we take it off by force."
Murphy smiles that grim smirk of his as he listens my plan before heading off to an area just out of the way but still close enough as I notice Miller lerking around in the shadows. "You want to help out?" I aim the question at Miller but only look at him when I've finished, he's surprised but happy to help out and heads out after Murphy and Mbege.
I go up to Wells, pulling my wings around me more to hide the shape of my shadow as I wake Wells up by putting my hand over his mouth, keeping him quiet. When I see that he won't make another noise, I slowly pull my hand away and tell him to follow me to the burnt out area where Murphy is waiting. "I don't want to shoot you, Wells, hell, I like you, but I do need them to think that you're dead." I point my gun at the sky to make my point.
He doesn't know what to do against me, "Why? Why are you doing this, for real, not some crap about getting to do what you want to do?"
I think back to how I shot his father, "I have my reasons." I bring myself back to the present, "I also have the gun. So I ask the questions, and the question is, why aren't you helping me? You dad banished you, Wells, and yet here you are, still doing his bidding, following his rules. Aren't you tired of always doing what's expected of you? Stand up to him. Take off that wristband, and you'll be amazed at how good it feels."
I wait to see if he takes the offer, it's his last chance, but he doesn't take it, "No. Never. Not gonna happen. Is that clear enough for you?"
I sigh, so much for second chances, "Yeah. It is. I'm sorry it had to be this way." I cock my gun but put it away, watching as Murphy comes up behind him with a knife.
He runs up the hill but I expected that so Mbege and Miller are behind that ridge ready to pull him back. Wells struggles against the two guys as they drag him to a rock and start prying off his wristband. I turn around and fly back to camp, saddened by having to force him, but relieved that it was over and down with.
Thanks for sticking with me!
Please tell me what you think and I'll probably continue within a few weeks.