A/N - Hey! :) So there were lot's of reviews on the last chapter which was awesome! So thanks :) This one caused me a fair bit of stress whilst I was writing it haha, so please let me know what you think! Also, just a quick warning, if your a Bellamy fan then I am very sorry because major character death in this chapter, didn't want to spoil it but also don't want to blindside anyone if their going to be affected badly. Love you all x
The party was in full swing by the time they came back from the building the competitors had been using the prepare in.
After the match she had dragged both Ontari and Lexa in and ordered them to sit down whilst she fetched Octavia. Once she had her three captives lined up she ordered them quiet as she painstakingly cleaned and bandaged the wounds they had acquired.
Octavia had tried to insist she was fine but when Clarke touched her arm she had cried out so she was forced to sit patiently as it was bound tightly and splinted. Clarke told her it was very badly sprained rather than broken, but she should avoid moving it as best as she could. Then Octavia bolted before Clarke could continue the lecture.
Ontari was next, being a much better patient than Octavia she sat calmly as Clarke cleaned the cut on her face and sewed it up with neat little stitches that would leave a minimal scar. With a nod of thanks she followed Octavia from the tent.
Then Clarke turned to Lexa, with hand on hip as she shook her head at the Commander, "Now why do I feel as though we've been here before?"
Lexa smirked as Clarke sighed despairingly and sat down next to her, pulling Lexa's arm onto her lap, "Ok I know it's incredibly badass to watch but you need to stop grabbing hold of swords in fights. One day you're going to cut off a finger and I won't be able to fix that."
Smiling contently, Lexa just patiently watched Clarke ramble as she cleaned and dressed the cut across her palm, when she was done she looked back up into Lexa's eyes, "Ok?"
Lexa leaned in and kissed her, "I'll do my very best not to cut off any fingers."
Clarke huffed, "That's not what I meant and you know it."
Then Lexa just pulled her close with a chuckle and planted a soft kiss on Clarke's forehead, "Thank you for worrying about me. Now come on, we have a party to enjoy."
Clarke had been right earlier, the opening celebration was nothing in comparison to this. It seemed as though every member of every clan was out in the streets, dancing and singing as they drank and partied.
Pulling Lexa through the crowd, Clarke ran from street to street, as they jumped in and out of conversations, games and dances around bonfires taller than Clarke herself.
After a while they started a game between the two of them of how many people could they mark with juice from berry's that grew on vines climbing the walls around the city. It was a childish game but in the alcohol induced buzz they were high off, they found it hilarious.
Colliding with Octavia and Indra who were acting a lot more mature than the two leaders, they moved as one, smearing the sticky liquid over the warriors faces and then cracking up with laughter at the confused faces they were making.
"Clarke run!" Lexa shouted, when she caught the look on Indra's face when she nodded at Octavia. Scrambling to follow Lexa, they bolted as the other two broke into a sprint themselves. Ducking through side street after side street, Lexa suddenly pulled Clarke sharply to the left into a doorway, listening carefully to hear the Trikru leader and her second dashing past.
Once they were gone, their eyes met, stood nose to nose as they were they could feel the pounding of the others heart and see the sparkling joy reflected in each others eyes. After a second they burst out laughing, gasping for air as Clarke leaned her head against Lexa's shoulder, clutching at her jacket for support.
"Did you see Indra's face?!" She choked out finally, "She's going to kill us if they ever manage to find us!"
Lexa smiled and wrapped her arms around Clarke's back, as she leaned to the side slightly to peer out, "You make everything brighter Clarke, before I met you I had not laughed in years. I feel like when I was small, the world was so big and everything was possible."
Clarke's laughter subsided at the serious tone that had just taken over the mood, "I know what you mean, after my Dad? I don't think I really had proper fun after that until I came to Polis, it's like suddenly there's hope that in the future there will be no fighting, just you and me being happy and annoying Indra and Octavia until they finally snap and really kill us."
Lexa chuckled, "I like the sound of that Clarke, you're my future."
Clarke was taken aback by the intensity and focus in her eyes, "And you're mine Lexa."
Their moment was beautiful and perfect, the noises of the celebration drowned out by the beating of their hearts.
It didn't last long, as one sound broke through the haze of everything else. Gunshots, ringing out from the edge of the city.
They snapped out of the remnants of their childish giddy mood instantly and started running again, spurred on when they heard a panicked scream from the same direction of the shots.
As they reached the place Clarke grabbed Lexa's arm and yanked her backwards as a hail of bullets hit the spot that Lexa was about to step into, "Don't leave me." She ordered the Commander, and they both knew she didn't just mean don't wander off.
They circled round and came up on the opposite side of the square the invaders were shooting from and that's when Clarke got a proper look at who it was.
Bellamy was stood arrogantly, surrounded by a rough looking gang of the Skaikru rebels that had managed to escape when Pike was given up for execution. He was holding a rifle to his shoulder and shooting at anything he spotted moving. Lexa growled with frustration when she saw no obvious was of getting close.
"Someone fetch me Lexa!" Bellamy roared, as he spotted a group of people scurrying away deeper into the city, "It's time she pays for everything she has done to my people!" Those following him cheered madly at that and Clarke saw first hand how bad things must have been in Arcadia, the instant she saw their faces she realized that there would be no reasoning with them.
"Stay here." She whispered quietly to the Commander, who clutched at her shirt, "Don't worry I'll be fine." Clarke murmured comfortingly as she detached Lexa's fingers gently.
Lexa's eyes widened as Clarke pulled out a gun that had been tucked into the waistband of her pants, having had no clue Clarke was carrying around the weapon, "Clarke you can't reason with these people, they will shoot you if they are given the chance."
"Then I won't give them the chance."
Raising the gun she stepped out, firing off three shots in quick succession, each bullet hit it's target and three of Bellamy's followers hit the ground.
"Killing your own people are you now Clarke?" He spat out spitefully after another four were felled by the Commander of Death.
"You are not my people." Wanheda growled, taking careful aim at Bellamy's firing hand and pulling the trigger.
Bellamy howled in pain as an explosion of red went off where his hand had been. He cradled the mangled limb and glared hatefully, "You're right, we're not your people because you're not part of us anymore. You betrayed us to this alliance with the Commander, you have killed so many people, should you even count as human anymore?"
A small smile flitted across Wanheda's face as the ex-Skaikru members realized what she had noticed long before she even considering stepping out, Bellamy had been the only one with ammunition left and no one could get to his gun without receiving a bullet from the Commander of Death herself. Not that it mattered, as Clarke methodically put a bullet in each of them anyway as they tried to turn and run. Despite what impression her calm expression may have given she hated it, but she had come to terms with it being necessary as they were too dangerous to leave running wild.
A wall of warriors, from each of the Thirteen Clans melted out of the shadows, creating a wall around the last rebel who had foolishly decided to attack Polis on the one day that warriors would fill the street in enough force to fight off a thousand invaders.
At the front of them was Lexa herself, who strode over to Clarke and took a place on equal level with her, "You called for me?" She said to Bellamy, resentment evident in her voice.
"You betrayed us, I'm going to-" Bellamy started shouting, before being cut off by a swift punch to his jaw from Octavia, who had arrived from nowhere to deliver the crushing blow, bending down she scooped up the gun that Clarke had forced away from us.
"Who's us Bellamy?!" She shouted angrily, hitting him again with the butt of the rifle which drove him to his knees, "All of our people have been right here all week, enjoying the tournament and meeting amazing people from all different clans. The Commander is the one who made this all possible, you're the one who tried to tear it apart!" Angry unshed tears glimmered in her eyes as he hit him again and again and then stepped back, "You're dead to me!" Octavia kicked his side brutally and then turned and walked way, not looking back, knowing that she might no be strong enough to take the next step if she saw his face.
Clarke's heart broke for the other girl as she walked away but she kept her face impassive, glancing at Lexa who tilted her head gently. Clarke saw it for what it was, an offer. An offer to shoulder the burden of this death so Clarke didn't have to. But she did, she owed it to him after everything they had been through. Bellamy couldn't be allowed to live, if she protected him now it would just bring every thing back to the vicious cycle of war and death, but at the very least she could look into his eyes and hear his final words before he was gone forever.
With what felt like the entire city watching she crossed to the center of the courtyard where Bellamy was lying on the ground where Octavia had left him.
"I'm sorry," She whispered, "But you haven't left me any choice."
Octavia's anger had dissipated his and he just looked at her tiredly, "I'm sorry as well, look after O for me?"
Clarke nodded tearfully as she raised the gun, as she pulled the trigger she hid her face, unable to look at the man who had been one of her closest, trusted friends before everything fell apart.
It was fitting, that the bullet that took Bellamy's life was the last in the gun, she thought as she let it drop from her fingers. It would be the last bullet she ever fired, she made the promise silently as she walked past Lexa, past her mother who was staring at her with tears running down her face. Past everyone who moved aside as Wanheda drifted through the city like a ghost to the bed she shared with their Commander.
And that was where Lexa found her an hour later, after she had organized her people to build a funeral pyre for those they had lost and also a smaller separate one for the rebels that had attacked.
As she walked through the doors, she saw Clarke lying facing the opposite wall. Without a word she just climbed into the bed beside her and wrapped her arms round Clarke's waist, holding her close and wishing Clarke had accepted her offer to do it for her, even if she understood why she hadn't been able to.