Ai Hod Yu In
Chapter 1
Though it had been a little over a month, Clarke still felt broken. She supposed she didn't actually think that going off into the woods would magically heal all her inner wounds, but she'd had hope. Her life was a constant cycle of hunting, eating, sleeping, trading, and hoping to keep herself from dying. After her actions at the mountain, the grounders had made her into a legend. Wanheda, the commander of death, great slayer of the mountain. Kill her and you will gain her powers. That is what they said about her, at least.
She'd dyed her hair red with the juice from some berries she'd found in the hopes of disguising herself. The color didn't really suit her, but it kept her alive all the same. She'd ventured far from home, too. As she got farther from where those she had met were, she got more and more peace. The bounty hunters had, for the most part, died off. Her wish for peace was close to fruition.
She could not stop her worry for her people, though. The alliance with the grounders had been left behind when Lexa left them behind at the mountain. Though they had survived relatively well thus far, she knew that things would only get more difficult as winter drew closer. Had they figured out that the berries so close to camp were edible yet? She certainly hadn't until two weeks ago, when she accidentally ate a few that got mixed in with the known, safe berries. She still didn't know how that had happened either, but she supposed anything was possible these days.
She'd gotten pretty decent at hunting lately, too. She could now kill an entire panther with minimal injuries, which was helpful when it came to trade. She wore outfits much like the grounders had, and it helped her to blend in.
She was tired of running, though. How could she not be? It drained her of all that made her her. She didn't take time to look at the beautiful new plants in wonder anymore. They had lost their edge, she supposed. She woke up screaming, night after night. Faces haunted her dreams. Whispers of "Thanks, princess," and Raven's screams, barely discernable from this far away. Wells lying there on the ground, fingers missing. Charlotte jumping off a cliff, a girl with some odd weapon sticking out of her face, and dead bodies all around. Her people screaming as the mountain men drilled into their bones. Grounders hung upside down, slowly being drained of blood. Radiation burns and burnt bodies. Gunshots and levers and Jasper crying over Maya all haunted her, and she wondered if they would ever stop.
Lexa haunted her, too. The way that it felt to have her lips against hers. The way that they'd fought together. The way she'd told her "Love is weakness." The betrayal she felt at the mountain. Her parting "I did what you would have done. Saved my people."
Clarke had begun to trust Lexa, in the days before she had left her behind. She hadn't believed anything serious would come out of it, but Clarke had been looking forward to spending time without Finn on her mind. There was another person she'd been trying to get her mind off of, but she dared not even think his name. Even that would be too much for her to take.
Now she was alone, though. Alone with her thoughts. Alone with her twisted feelings Well and truly alone. She didn't much like being alone, either. That was why she was approaching the small village she'd heard of in Shallow Valley. She had heard that they were very accepting of new residents. Louwada Kliron Kru fought when they had to, but for the most part they were a peaceful people. She was ready for peace, real peace.
There were little cabins all around the valley. Children ran around, and their parents softly scolded them when they got in anyone's way. A young couple sat on a porch with a baby, rocking it. These people had a society here. All she could do was hope they would let her in.
There weren't many people here. There couldn't be more than 100. She felt a flash of pain at that. There weren't even 50 left of the 100 now. That was on her. She didn't protect her people well enough.
"Chon yu bilaik?" a woman approached her. Clarke did her best to remember what that meant. She thought it meant who are you, but she supposed she could be wrong. She didn't know enough Trig to have a fluent conversation, so hopefully this woman spoke English.
"I am Clarke," she answered. It occurred to her after a moment that she probably should have come up with a fake name, but it was too late now. Perhaps Clarke was a more common name around the grounders as she thought.
"And why are you here, Clarke?" the woman asked her suspiciously. Some of the adults shooed the children into their homes, while others came to stand by the woman. She noticed that the young couple she had noticed had separated. The man stood before her now, his dark hair quite familiar to her. His wife had brought the child inside, much as the other villagers had.
"I was hoping to stay here, just for a short while. I can help around your village, however most benefits you. Beja." The woman thought for a moment, debating whether it was too dangerous to allow a complete and total stranger stay in their village where their children slept.
"You may stay, Clarke. Help us around here, and you may stay as long as you need."
Clarke felt a flash of relief. This was her newest chance. She could get better here, and then perhaps she would feel more ready to return to Arkadia. She already missed her people terribly, and she'd quickly realized that she would have to go back eventually. After a bit of time here, perhaps she'd be ready. One could only hope, she supposed.
