A/N: haha...so hi...*coughs* I'M BACK PLEASE DON'T SHOOT I've been crazy busy which is not an excuse but just so you guys know!

I also wanted to wish everyone a happy new year! which you probably don't care about and just want to read the chapter so:

Chapter Five:
Not Quite Sure

"you see, i am not quite sure when it began
this thrumming, humming in my chest
this mad craving, this exquisite ache-quiet yet persistent
all i know is that your absence leaves me bereft
and your closeness stops my breath"

Octavia glanced up in surprise from her brother's latest letter as she heard an odd pinging sound throughout the room.

Ping.

It was coming from the window. Her low heels clicked against the floor as she walked over and carefully looked outside, laughing when she saw who was throwing pebbles at her bedroom window.

"What are you doing?" she called down, smiling.

"Do you want to have some fun, or not?" An amused voice called from below.

She rolled her eyes at the response, but gathered her skirts and ran outside to the courtyard.

"Jasper what in god's name are you doing?" Technically, she was not supposed to refer to him as such, but Octavia had never been one to play by the rules. Besides, if her brother could use his given name, she could too.

Jasper looked exasperated before responding. "Come on, Monty's in the stables already! We're here to get you out of the castle." When Octavia cocked an eyebrow he added, "Prince's orders."

She scoffed. "Please, my brother doesn't need to tell his lackeys to take care of me." But she was smiling when she said it.

Jasper had a look of mock indignation on his face. "I'll have you know that we are not lackeys my dear Princess, no we are knights. Noble warriors who fight to protect your brother and yourself."

"Mhhmm...and when have you ever actually been in a battle?"

"That's not the point! The point is that I am here to entertain you this fine afternoon." He interrupted her before she could speak. "And not as a court jester!"

Octavia smiled at Monty as he walked toward them. He glanced at his friend and then back at the Princess. "Is he being an idiot again?"

"Yeah, but what else is new?"

Clarke's delicately bejeweled hand rapped smartly on Raven's door as she waited patiently for the girl to open it. Her friend was up to something, though in Raven's defense she was almost always up to something. She snapped out of her thoughts as the door opened.

"Clarke, hi!"

"Raven." She quickly hugged the girl before entering the beautiful, yet modest rooms.

"Not that you aren't welcome but...why are you here Clarke?"

Clarke turned to face her and smiled knowingly. "I know."

"...What?"

"Raven I'm not stupid I know what you're doing."

Raven shifted her eyes before responding primly. "I'm afraid I do not know to what you refer."

The blonde raised an eyebrow. "What did you say to him Raven?"

"To whom?"

Clarke laughed gently. "Do you really expect me to believe that Prince Bellamy just so happened to wander upon my secret training grounds at the exact moment that I would still be there but Finn would be gone?" She silently scolded herself for calling him Finn. Mr. Collins, she reminded herself, but did not correct her statement. Instead, she stared at Raven's bemused expression.

"Prince Bellamy, is it now?"

Clarke's eyes widened in surprise, her friend was unbelievable!

"That is not the point! The point is that you," she pointed her finger cheekily in Raven's direction, "are interfering in matters which do not concern you."

Raven shrugged her amber shoulders, causing her heavy dress to rustle softly. "You needed a push. And you're smiling so I know you aren't actually mad which means that it worked." She grinned in triumph.

Clarke sighed resignedly. "I could never be truly mad at you Raven, you know that."

"I know." Raven paused, still grinning. "But Bellamy though!"

"Raven!" Clarke groaned.

"Come on, Clarke. That means you're making progress, which is great! You cannot honestly tell me that you still hate him, can you?"

Raven smiled as she watched her pale friend dart her eyes about the room.

"I guess not...Yes, alright, we're making progress! We have had a few talks and I am getting more used to him being around I just...I don't want to marry the man! Raven, I barely know him and yes he's not that bad but he's still annoying and he smiles way too much I mean what is up with that it's weird!"

Raven's grin grew impossibly wider. "Clarke, if the worst thing you can say about him is that he smiles too much, I am pretty confident that things will turn out just fine."

Octavia laughed from her spot on the grass as she watched Jasper throw a red berry in a long arc, landing perfectly in Monty's waiting mouth. She missed Bellamy but she was glad to be spending time with her friends again. With the boys often busy on duties or training, she never got to spend a lot of time with them.

She watched again as Monty threw a berry to Jasper and laughed as it barely made it. She observed Jasper struggle to leap forward through the beams of sunlight filtering through the trees.

"There's no way you could do that from across the bank!" She said it of course, because she knew they would try it.

Octavia observed as Jasper stood by the edge of the small creek, amused by what was sure to come. And of course, as Octavia knew would happen, poor Jasper trying to catch the berry fell backwards straight into the water.

There was rather uneventful splash followed by gasps of laughter.

Octavia gazed through tear-filled eyes as Jasper struggled to remove himself from the creek. The rocks were slippery and he kept sliding back into the water, the majority of his body now soaking wet.

"Maybe if you two would stop guffawing and lend me a hand I could get out of here before getting Hypothermia!"

Monty and Octavia staggered over to the creek's edge through fits of laughter and each held a hand to their friend, but before she knew what was happening, there was a splash and she was in the creek too! She winced as she felt the cold water seep into her clothes and hastily sat up with as much dignity as she could muster. Monty was still on the shore (literally rolling on the ground with laughter) but Octavia had been too slight to bear the larger man's weight.

She looked down at herself, looked over at Jasper, and burst into laughter once more. "You're such an idiot! What are you going to say if my mother sees me?"

Jasper solemnly placed his hand over his heart -which looked infinitely more hilarious with his long hair dripping into his face- and uttered, "I will tell her of a daring chase of bandits and how I threw myself at you to block an arrow, narrowly avoiding death, yet unfortunately landing in a small creek in the process. Wet is better than dead, dear Princess."

Hearing this, Monty dissolved into silent laughter. Octavia looked at her friends and smiled, despite being wet and cold, she hadn't had this much fun in a very long time.

Bellamy's feet danced softly across the newly disturbed grass of the small grove of trees he had found the Princess in the previous day, watching his sword swing through the air. Seeing Clarke practicing earlier that day had stirred his need to hold his sword again. He hadn't taken it out since he'd arrived at the castle and he missed the feel of the blade in his hand.

Clarke. She was just one surprise after another. A sword-fighting Princess, who would have thought? Bellamy tried not to think about how her practice tunic and pants had revealed her figure. The delicate muscles in her arms...The shape of her legs...The curve of her hips-

The weapon dropped to the ground with a dull thud. Where had that come from? He shook himself before slowly picking up the sword and resuming a combative stance. Clarke was pretty, he admitted to himself -he wasn't quite sure when he'd realized it- but she was still Clarke...so soft and young and gentle. He barely knew her, Bellamy realized. He had spent over a week with her yet really didn't know anything at all.

She liked the greenhouses and she could use a sword, but other than that the only things he knew are what he had heard from his mother. Which, if he admitted to himself, were in all likelihood, very untrue.

If he was to marry this girl within the next few months, he noted, he needed to get to know her better. He smiled to himself as he resolved to do exactly that.

A/N: ONCE AGAIN OH MY GOSH I'M SO SO SORRY ABOUT NOT UPDATING I'm not even going to give you excuses they don't matter. Anyways the lovely poem at the beginning is by tumblr user ravenreyse (link in my bio)

Hopefully now that the holidays are over I should be back on more of a schedule. I will try REALLY HARD to not make you guys wait this long anymore, I know how frustrating it is to wait for fics to update!

Once again I'm going to reply to reviews I couldn't respond to privately :)

Anonymous: Yaaay! An update! This is fun, as always. Thanks for letting the story progress and not just throwing the characters at each other!
I'm so glad that you appreciate that! I've been trying really hard to not make it go too quickly so thank you :)

Anyways, thank you all for sticking with me, and I hope you have a wonderful year!

- Lauren