Ai Hod Yu In
Chapter 8
A/N: Hey guys. Sorry it has taken me so long to post this. I just started back up in school, so it's been a hectic past few weeks. In any case, I've really appreciated all the reviews and follows and favorites. Now, for the most part I am trying to stick fairly close to canon. That being said, Madi being around is a huge change. I myself love Bellamy and Clarke together, and eventually I have every intention of them being together. That being said, there is a while to go before we get together. Have patience though because it will come eventually.
Clarke had never felt more exhausted in her life. She'd been heading back to Arkadia for the past few days, and it never stopped. The addition of a baby to the trip made things even worse for Clarke. She loved Madi more than anything of course, but the next time the little girl started to cry Clarke just might join her.
Clarke was hungry, too. She was not quite sure what the right way to hunt was with a child around. She did her best, but her latest kill had managed to scratch her back. She knew she needed some type of medical attention, but how could she possibly do that? She knew she needed help, and fast. Luckily, she'd been in this area once before. Back in the days before she'd gone to Shallow Valley, she'd hunted in these grounds often. Even better, she'd had a short flirtation with a grounder girl at a trading post not too far from here. It was not perfect, but undoubtedly Niylah would help her. She would not ask questions.
Madi fussed a bit more, and Clarke began to rethink her idea for a minute. How was she supposed to take care of this child? Madi was not an easy child, of that she knew. She constantly wanted to be held. She'd been a handful when there were no others, how could she alone take care of her? She supposed that with time Madi would grow out of the constant fussing, but there was still a long while before that would happen.
Before Clarke knew it, she was at the small trading post that Niylah's father owned. It could not have come soon enough, however. Along with a fussing baby, Clarke also was dragging a panther behind her. She was exhausted and bleeding. She just wanted to be at Arkadia already, but there was probably another three days of walking to go.
All she could do was slowly enter the trading post, hoping that it was only Niylah who was there at the moment.
Luck appeared to be on her side, as there was no sign of the older man anywhere around. Instead, Niylah stood behind a small counter, her dirty blonde hair in tiny braids going down her back.
"Good kill," Niylah commented, staring at the panther and then the baby strapped to her chest, "And that seems to be a new addition."
"Thanks. The usual supplies." Clarke responded, taking a moment to glance down at Madi's sleeping face. She was so glad that the baby had calmed down.
"You always seem to come when my father's just left," Niylah commented, "Good timing. Who is she?"
"My daughter," Clarke responded quickly. It was at that moment that three grounders entered the trading post. Clarke moved to the side, keeping her head down and hoping not to be noticed.
"You have something to trade?" Niylah was confident as ever, her eyes staying trained on the first man, "I asked you a question."
The man walked back to Niylah, taking a drawn portrait from his pockets. Clarke was sure that the portrait was of her, that she had been made. With three days of a walk til she reached Arkadia, she was screwed, "Have you seen this woman?"
"That's not a very good likeness," Niylah told him, only looking for a second before she returned her gaze to him. Clarke glanced over in alarm. She hadn't even had Madi a week and they were about to be killed.
"Then you have seen her?" the man asked again. Clarke knew what was coming next. Niylah would give her and Madi up. She'd never see Bellamy or her mother again. She'd never know what Madi's first words were, never see her first steps or watch her with her first crush. She was a horrible mother. No, she wasn't even a horrible mother. She was a horrible kidnapper. This child wasn't even hers to claim.
"She was here two days ago. That's how I got this," Niylah gestured to the familiar wristband Clarke had noticed she had. "Said she was going North, following Eden's pass."
"Azgeda," one of the other men insisted, "We have to hurry.
"Thank you. You have been more helpful than you realize." the first man said, and all three of them began to leave. Before he did, he looked over to the corner where Clarke stood once more, and she did her best to once again be unnoticeable.
Once they were gone, Clarke finally walked out and asked the question she was desperate to know the answer to, "How long have you known?"
"How long have you been coming here?" Clarke gave her a grateful look and glanced toward the door, "I would wait. Give them a chance to clear out. Have a drink."
"Why are you helping me?" That was the real question Clarke wanted to know the answer to.
"My mother was taken by the mountain. You ended the reaping." She gave a quick nod to her, "You're injured."
"Yeah. The cat got me." Clarke told her
"Come on. Let me clean that up for you."
