Ai Hod Yu In

Chapter 10

AN: So to make up for the insanely short one last time and the fact that it's been so long since I updated, I've got another one for you guys already. Enjoy!

Clarke did her best to shield Madi as they walked. Her hands were bound and she had a cloth gag in her mouth, but her daughter came first. She did her best to keep up with the fast pace the man before her kept. All she wanted was to collapse on the ground and be done with it, but this man was a threat to her. Even worse, this man was a threat to her child.

Clarke had thought she was done with being Wanheda, done with the fighting and death, but the threat to her child had changed things. She would protect her child at any cost, of course. This man was a threat, and she would take care of him accordingly.

Carefully, she collapsed to the ground on her back. A plan had come to mind, and she hoped it would work. The man tried his best to drag her, but as she suspected, she was too heavy with all their things.

"On your feet," the man's voice said. She stayed as she was, doing her best to appear to be passed out. The man came closer, and she stayed still as best she could, "Look like the great Wanheda is human after all."

She heard footsteps heading toward the water a few feet away, and she did her best to keep quiet as she attacked the man. She was doing her best to not injure Madi in the process, but unfortunately she had no way to take the baby out of the sling with her hands bound as they were. She jumped on the man's back, using the bond for her hands to choke him. He stumbled forward a few steps, then fell face first into the water. She held his face in as best she could, being careful not to let Madi into the water as well. Finally, the stranger stopped struggling, and Clarke moved the rope from his throat. She took the gag off as well, staring at the newest body she had left behind. Should she feel bad for the relief she felt now that he was dead? Probably not. He had kidnapped her, threatened her life and her child. She was allowed to feel relieved he was gone.

The man surged up with a shout, elbowing back at her. Apparently he was not as gone as she had thought. It hit her in the gut, and she doubled over in pain. He flipped her over himself and forced her onto her back in the water. Her face was left under the water, and Clarke was very grateful that at the very least this water was shallow enough that Madi would not drown with her. It was a small mercy, as her daughter would undoubtedly be killed right after her, but it was a comfort at the least. He kept her underneath for a bit, then allowed her to come back up with a gasp.

This threat had proven that he could best her, and so as she looked at him, she felt something akin to terror. After all, he could kill her and her child without a second thought.

"That's better," he murmured. The two of them simply spent a minute staring at each other, each sizing their enemy up. Clarke finally got a good look at the man who held her life in his hands, and her terror only grew. She recognized the mark on his face. It was one of her biggest fears after all.

"You're ice nation," she finally said, perhaps for the first time understanding how screwed she was. He only smirked and once again forced her up on her feet and to begin walking again.