AN:Here's chapter 10! R&R!

She is briefed quickly on the matters at hand, and things go rapidly from there.
Clarke is so frustrated by the chancellor's decision to only focus on preparations for winter. She is tense beside me, frustration and anger radiating out from her. She feels as if she'll explode. I am angry too, now that I have come to my senses. My jaw clenches. I feel my blood pressure rise when Abby goes on and on about formidable structures this, and winter storms that.

"We won't survive if the grounders don't want us to! All of this will be for nothing if we don't reestablish our alliance!" She shouts, bringing her balled fist to the table, and silencing the room. I squeeze her hand, and smooth circles over it with my thumb.
" She's right. The grounders were willing to kill us from the very first day we arrived on earth. A treaty to work together to defeat the mountain was made, and now its been defeated, and we sit like an injured animal, waiting for them to kill us. I will not allow all of the sacrifices we've made go in vain. I won't let the sacrifices Clarke and I have made go to waste." I say calmly, bringing our entwined hands from under the table, into view for all to see. We are a force to be reckoned with.
"They have been quiet for a week. Why would they suddenly want to be our enemies again? We cannot spare the man power when we won't survive winter without shelter! I will not allow it." Abby bellows, causing everyone in the room to stare at her, eyes wide.
"And Clarke? We need to talk about this . As soon as this is over. Alone." She finishes, gesturing to our joined hands on the table.
"Alright. I'll talk to you. But this is not over. We have to go to the grounders. They know what winter on earth is like, and how to survive. They can help us." She adds to our case diplomatically.

The rest of the meeting is trivial things, Like guard shifts and organizing hunting parties. Someone mentioned their plans for spring planting. And others thought we should try using animal hides for clothing. It was unanimously agreed that we needed warmer clothes, at which point Clarke brought up the grounders' knowledge of how to make clothes from animal skin. Somebody actually agreed with her on that, and Kane seconded the opinion. I smile inwardly at this. We will slowly win over more people now that we have her. She is so charismatic and passionate that her views and agendas spread like wildfire. I constantly back her up, offering my insight to the picture. At the end of the meeting, someone I don't recognize slaps me on the back, and says he's glad I am finally partaking in the meetings. I give him a nod of thanks. Everyone walks from the hall, and it is only Abby, Clarke, and I.
"You are dismissed, Mr. Blake." Abby walks over to us. Clarke lets go of my hand, and pulls me into a quick hug. She tells me to go with her eyes, and I don't want to cause anymore trouble, so I leave.

I go to the others to tell them how things went, and they are as bummed as I knew they would be.
"Damn it this isn't fair! They treat us like we're not useful for anything but the chores they give us! UGH!" Raven grounds out, kicking over a nearby bucket with her bum leg in frustration.
"I know. I know. Things are better with Clarke around, but not miraculously better. They seemed to hear her. But only some of what she said was heard. They'll never fully respect us as one of their own. We need to accept that." I speak my mind with these people, because they are the people I fully respect. The crowd in front of me has grown, and there is tangible restlessness in the crowd.
"Why do we have to accept it?"
"Why don't we just leave?"
"Not like most of us would be missed."
"Can we leave, Bellamy?"
Are the various things being shouted at me, and I am nervous. I can't show that, though.
"I'd like to think we could just leave, but I don't know if we could be ready for winter on time. It's true. Most of us wouldn't be missed if we left. But those of you who have families and friends here, you need to think about the ramifications of leaving here, and possibly not being welcome back. We can leave, but I think we should do so on good terms. They need us more than they realize." I state as calmly and firmly as I can manage, and I feel her hand in mine.
"I have just proposed this to Chancellor Griffin! I know I only just got back, but in the short time I was here, I knew we will never be one of them. We our of our own. And it has been decided that our people are free to go, but must settle with us. You can visit as you like, but you cannot permanently return. On the subject of winter, if we leave today, we can take as much from our current camp to our original site at the Drop ship. From there we can begin fortifying. I need to know who is coming with us, so you need to sign this sheet clearly. I have other things to discuss, so I'll leave this here for signing. Please take your time in making this decision." Her frame stands tall , and her voice is strong. She goes in the direction of the cabin, and beckons me to come with her. We walk hand in hand.

"What happened in that meeting, Princess?" My tone is soft. I don't want to push for information.
"She forbade me to have a relationship with you. Because you're a criminal. In her eyes, you were barely pardoned, and only because of the work you did to keep all of us alive. I brought up my treason, and she brushed it off saying that I am only a child who didn't know the consequences of my actions. She even suggested that I could have a leadership position here if I would stop fraternizing with the ex-cons of camp. I insisted that they were regular citizens and should have the same rights and privileges as such. When will she understand that these people are my people? Where I belong now?" She is shaking from being overly furious. I gather her in my arms, and she puts her fist to my chest in frustration. I soothe her with gentle words of encouragement. She pulls back to look at me in the eyes.
"So I told her that you and I were something she'd have to live with. And the felons she doesn't want me to be involved with are my people. We are the same. So I told her if she couldn't deal with that then I would just have to gather my people and go. She said fine, but that she need to know who is leaving. And they would give us the corresponding amount of supplies and guns for protection. But we can leave Bellamy. We can have things the way we want them again." She says looking to me suddenly filled with hope. I smile genuinely, and pull her close again and place kisses in her golden mane.
"You always know what our people need, even if you don't think you do." I say, my pride showing in my voice. I pull her into a deep kiss . She kisses back with a firmness that sets my core on fire, and the need to have her close comes to me. She must sense the need. She pulls away, stepping back.
"We need to decide some important things right away. " she says in an all business tone. I give a quick smirk. There's the Co-Leader I know.

"Alright. Is there anyone the Chancellor won't let leave for their valuable skills?" I ask suddenly.
"That's what we need to decide. She says only a few from each sector that aren't our own can leave."
"Alright. We need to figure out who wants to come with us first. Jasper, Monty, and the others who our closer to us than the Arkers will definitely come, but those who now have family on the ground might be staying. Raven and Wick will probably come, but whether they can both go will be the deciding factor." She nods at my words, taking them in and considering what to say next.
"What if there are families that want to come with us? Like people who were oppressed by the council on the Arc. Our numbers could actually be quite overwhelming. What if we can't handle this?"
"I know we can. Let them come with us. We can lead the right way to success and survival."
"We barely kept a hundred teenagers alive for a couple of months! How can we even hope to-"
"We didn't kill them. Others, who are now our allies, did. And if it wasn't that, the deaths were out of our hands. And there will always be those deaths. No way around it. But you and I, Princess, we can keep more of them alive together." She smiles up at me, and I know her confidence is restored for now. she steels herself and she is all business again. She nods slowly.

"Okay. Let's go see who wants to join us."