Chapter 2
As soon as they were back within the thin walls of the tent Clarke halted and crossed her arms with a sigh. "What's going on?" she asked. "How could you turn Raven away like that? I can only imagine how she must be feeling right now."
Her mother's eyebrows knit together in concern. "Oh, I'll tell you how she is feeling right now. Angry and desperate."
Clarke nodded in agreement, thinking for once that maybe they both were on the same page. "Exactly, she shouldn't be alone right now. She needs someone to be with her."
"Yes, we will be having a guard with her at all times," Abby responded thoughtfully.
"That's not what I meant," Clarke spat. "Like you said- she's desperate. What she needs isn't a guard. What she needs is a friend!"
Abby Griffin shook her head and simply said, "Desperate people do desperate things."
Clarke's looked incredulously at her mother. "What are you saying? Stop being cryptic and spit it out. Tell me what you are so worried about that you've kept me hidden since last night when…" Her voice wavered at the end as a lump formed in the back of her throat. She paused for a moment and took a deep breath. She wanted to say that her mother had been acting worried since last night when she killed Finn, but instead she continued, "… when we came back from the Grounders."
Her mother didn't respond to that so Clarke went on, turning so the woman couldn't see her face for what she said next. "With Finn dead and Lexa's promise for a truce, we won't have to worry as much about threats from the outside." At this statement Abby began to speak but Clarke turned back around and held up her hand. "No, you're right. I know that the truce doesn't mean absolute peace, and we still have to watch out for other groups. Still, at least it's a start."
"That's not what I was going to say," her mother replied. Even before she spoke the words though, Clarke knew where the elder Griffin was headed. "I know that you did what you felt you had to do, but not everyone may see it that way. We are worried how some of our people will react, especially those from the 100 who were closest to Finn."
Although it went unsaid, both women knew who she meant by "closest to Finn."
"She would never hurt me," Clarke said firmly, enunciating each word. She walked past her mother deeper in the tent to one of the tables scattered with maps, some sketched by Clarke herself. Lingering over one in particular, she traced the graphite lines that made up an outline of the village where they had found Finn. The smell of gun powder filled her nostrils as she remembered the sight of him holding that still-smoking gun in his hands.
When she realized what he had done, she knew that the Grounders wouldn't easily forgive so many lives lost, but nothing could have prepared her for this.
Abby Griffin was in the middle of a sentence when Clarke refocused on her present surroundings. "There will be guards stationed outside of the tent. Get some rest." Apparently they wouldn't be discussing Raven any further that day.
Clarke kept her back turned to her mother and leaned further down to the table, pretending to be inspecting one of the maps. She waited until she heard the whipping sound of the tent flap close to whisper, "I did what I had to do."
The only thing was though, it wasn't just the 100 that she was worried about convincing, but herself as well.
I want to thank everyone who has read my story so far. The reviews, favorites and follows are most welcomed!
In the next few chapters I will be bringing in some other main characters other than just Clarke and her mom. Prepare to see more of Raven as well as Bellamy, Lincoln, Octavia... basically the whole gang!
Currently I'm rewatching a few parts of the last episode for flashback ideas, and studying the trailer for episode 2x09 so I can incorporate some of the meeting with Lexa into the coming chapters. Also, a random question - do you think it's better to refer to Clarke's mom as Abby or Abigail? I've seen it both ways in stories and I'm torn.
As always, let me know what you think!