Thank you Thank you to everyone who reviewed, added, and favorited this story Ya all are the best. Sorry it took a while for this one I rewrote it a few times.


I was balanced on a particularly mossy rock in the middle of the stream that ran though the Maze. Something shiny caught my attention during my walk and I had to see what it was. It was gold and reflected the sun and called to me like a moth to a flame. I slowly reached down, my fingers dancing across the surface of the water, when a voice broke my concentration.

"Don't Fall!" I had only a split second to whip around and face the culprit before I was submerged in the icy water. When I resurfaced Minho was in tears on the floor.

"You dirty shank! Look what you did!"

"I told you not to fall!"

"Min, I'm soaked, get your ass over here and help me out!" I tried fruitlessly to climb the small embankment that separated the stream from the Glade but I only covered myself in mud.

"Hold on I'm laughing, give me a minute." Minho was practically snorting he was laughing so hard.

"Min, I swear if you don't help me right this second!" I reached down and dragged my hand through the water in an effort to splash him only soaking myself further, making Minho laugh more. "You know what forget it, I'll walk till the embankment is lower." I waved him away and walked down stream towards the homestead.

"Oh come on Ades, don't pout." Minho was quickly at my side, walking along the high part of the stream.

"I'm not pouting, just walking."

"You are too pouting."

"Nope."

"Okay fine you're not pouting, your sulking, throwing a tantrum, moping."

"OKAY Webster, that's enough!" I stopped walking and smiled at Minho.

"Let's get you out of the stream." He grabbed my arms and effortlessly pulled me up and out of the stream bed. "Now what on earth were you doing back there."

"There was something shiny in the water and I wanted to see what it was."

"Something shiny?"

"Yes!" I looked over at Minho who was holding back laughter going red in the face. "Min, don't do it! Don't you laugh."

He took a deep breath to compose himself his face returning to a normal color. "I'm not laughing. Now what was the shiny thing?"

"I'll never know now! I lost it when I fell into the water. I blame you!"

Minho Rolled his eyes and lead me out of the deadheads. In the week and a half since my freak-out Minho and I had become quite close. He spent much of his off time with me. Usually he would watch me in the garden or help me bring baskets of vegetables to frypan for dinner. When I wasn't with Minho I was trying to decode the journal with Newts help. We usually sat in a hammock, trying to put sentences together, or counting how many times a word appeared. Gally had promised that his big build would be done three days ago but of course someone had gotten hurt setting them back a few days which meant him and I couldn't spend as much time together so it was just Min and I.

Minho swung his arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his side. Minho was a touchy person, which was not a trait I assumed he would possess. Whenever we were alone he put his arm around me or was touching my arms or sides. It was nice, human touch was a feeling I didn't know I had been missing until Minho showed me. "You make any progress on the journal?"

"Not much, but I did perfect a calming mixture for Clint!" A few days ago while in the herb garden I had the sudden memory that Lavender and Mint made a particularly calming oil. Minho and Newt were the only ones that knew about it. I had spent a few mornings during my breaks mashing together mint leaves and lavender stems until I got the right combination. "I found it today during lunch!" I patted the small glass vial in my pocket that I swiped from the kitchen. "I'm going to give it to Clint and Jeff today, maybe they can use it in the medical room when they have Gladers who are stressed."

"Or maybe you can give it to Gally."

"Come on you know he's not that bad."

"Yea he's just 'passionate'."

"Its true!"

"Why are you always protecting him Ada?"

"Why are you always picking on him Minho?"

Minho scoffed and dropped his arm from my shoulders, we had made it to the center of the homestead where Gally and the other builders were standing around looking up at their newest build, the watch tower. Gally had his chest out and his hands on his hips looking proud as ever. According to him and Alby this project had been going on for about a year, seeing as it was constantly interrupted by smaller more important projects or the lack of supplies.

"Gally you finished!" I smiled walking up to Gally and the others.

"Yeah we finally…" He looked me up and down eyebrows raised, "Ades, why are you soaked and covered in mud?"

"Blame Minho."

"You're going to get sick if you stay wet."

"Gally. What did I tell you about mothering me?"

"Don't?"

"Exactly." I shielded my eyes from the sun to examine the tower. It was tall and looked almost precarious but I trusted the builders. They had built nearly everything else so it seemed like a good bet that it would stand strong. "Now, can I go up?"

"Of course, after you." Gally motioned for the ladder and we climbed up the few landings all the way to the top. Once at the edge I took a few steps back into Gallys chest. "Woah…this is…high"

"You afraid of heights?"

"Apparently"

"You won't like this then." Gally laughed maniacally, grabbed me by the shoulders and ran towards the railing. I screamed bloody murder and it echoed through the Glade.

"Nice one Gally!" Minho shot Gally a thumbs up from his place on the ground. I sent him a scowl although I knew he wouldn't be able to see my aggravated expression.

"GALLY!" I turned my back to the railing and him Gally on the chest, his hands coming to rest on my hips.

"What!" He smirked, pleased with his little joke.

"You SHANK! What is today scare Ada day?"

"You're, fine."

"Yes but what happed to Momma bear Gally just trying to protect everyone in the Glade?"

"I thought you didn't like him?"

"I don't, but I also don't like being scared."

"Whatever Ades. So tell me, what do you think?" Gally spun me around keeping one hand on my waist and the other on the railing. When he touched me it was different then Minho, it was rare and felt more meaningful. When Minho did it, it was human contact but when Gally did it, it was safe. I looked out at the view, I could see the entire Glade from the top and it was beautiful. We stood in silence for a few moments as I rested against Gally's chest taking in the Glade and bits of the Maze. The Glade was stunning from up at the top, the river I had been thrust into only a bit ago glittered in the setting sunlight and the Gardens looked to be overflowing with produce. Even the barn and the animals looked nice from the top.

"It really is amazing Gally but it's missing one thing."

"What?"

"A swing."

"A swing?"

"You heard me!"

"Ades, what am I going to make a swing out of?"

"You know how to make it, Gally you're the keeper of the builders. Plus, that branch right there…" I leaned forward, over the railing to point at a particularly nice branch. "That branch is just begging for a swing."

"Begging huh?" Gally shook his head a smile playing on his lips. "You're a maniac"

"I requested a swing not a guillotine" I shrugged pushing away from him as the dinner bell rang in the distance. "It looks good Gal." I smiled at him before descending down the stairs to head to the kitchens. For the most part I ate dinner with Newt so we could work on the journal when we were done eating, and I typically wasn't one to break my routine. But, as soon as I got to the kitchen I grabbed a plate of food and took a seat with Clint and Jeff. The pair of them looked up at me surprised.

"Don't look so surprised. I just want to give you something."

"What?"

"So I kind of had this memory that lavender and mint are really calming when put together. For the past few days I've been mashing some up and I think I have a decent salve that you can use on Gladers. It should reduce stress. It's better than nothing. I know it sounds a little wild but it seems so right in my head, just rub some behind the ears and temples and it should help calm people." I pulled out the small vile from my pocket and handed it to Clint who opened it, smelled it, and smiled.

"It smells nice." He shrugged holding it up to Jeff's nose. "We can try it and see what happens, we have a Glader who has been picking at his skin nervously well have him apply it and if it works we can go from there."

"Yeah that's cool, thanks Ada." Jeff shook his head in approval and got back to his food.

"How's your abdomen?"

"Its good Clint thanks, so good in fact I'm going to start sparring with Gally today." I smiled digging into my veggies.

"Sparring? Why?"

"For some reason Gally thinks I'll be attacked in the Glade by someone, he says I'm not strong enough to defend myself."

"Please Ada, none of the Gladers are going to attack you, not with your pack of protectors."

"My protectors?"

"Yeah, Alby, Newt, Minho, and Gally." Clint used his fork to point at the guys a few tables away. They seemed to be having a lively discussion with a few other Gladers ignoring the fact that I was absent.

"They're not my protectors."

"Sure they are Greenie." I frowned at Jeff's name for me earning an eye roll in return. "If any of us looked at you the wrong way they would throw us into the slammer."

"Well I still think it would be fun to learn to fight, regardless of my 'protectors or not.'. Plus who knows, what if one day the grievers decided to come into the Glade, at least I would be protected."

"Ada, that would never happen."

"Never say never Jeff." I don't know what possessed me to say what I did but It came out of my mouth and I didn't want to take it back it felt true. With that I stood taking my plate with me and joining the keepers at the head table.

"So what did you find?" Eva Paige stood in the middle of Ada and Flints old room. Their things had been scattered about, beds overturned, desks emptied, everything destroyed.

"So far nothing, they've hidden their trail well, Chancellor. We've only found contraband books about the old world, old medicine, history and languages. Nothing about their own personal underground railroad."

"You've found nothing?" Eva Paige turned on her counterpart causing Prism to take a few steps back in fear. "Nothing? Somehow they were taking children from testing and smuggling them to the Right Arm and you have fond not a single piece of evidence to support that fact."

"No Chancellor."

"What about her testing records, her interactions with the Groups beforehand, what have you found?"

Prism lit up at that, "We do have something there." She said pulling a tablet from her coat and turning it on. "During testing she was close to Thomas of course, but also Galileo."

"The aggressive one?"

"Yes, I found this to be interesting, I originally figured they would bump heads, so I looked into it further. Her father and his were partners before Galileo's dad died of the Flare. Ada and Galileo grew up together, before their memories were wiped for testing. During testing they became friends of sorts."

"So they have history?"

"Yes"

"How can we use it?"

"That depends on how we use her skills." Prism tapped the tablet and pulled up an infographic of Ada. "Her strengths during testing were bravery, memory, and loyalty, and we know she knows how to get what she wants. Her father taught her old medicine and IPA, we can use these things against her, to help us."

"How?"

"Her and Galileo have to fall in love. She has to remember the Right Arm and her involvement. When she does, if her and Galileo are in love she will tell him, she will trust him, she will want to save him. When the time comes and they escape the Maze she will take them to the Right Arm, but Gally will be afraid. He will know what we are and he will not trust anyone. We can use him. We can't use her, she can't be tortured, he can, in her name. He will betray her to save her, he will tell us what she knows of the right arm to keep her alive, and we will have what we've been keeping her for."

Ava Paige smiled, "You impress me Prism, shall we talk? We only have week until Thomas and Teresa are sent up and everything changes, so we must act quickly."

"That's the third time I've got you Greenie."

"Don't call me that Gally." I spat a mixture of blood and saliva on to the dirt, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.

"It's motivation for you to beat me." He smirked, "Win and I'll call you by your name again."

I growled at him, rolling my shoulders back and cracking my neck. This was mine and Gally's fourth day of fighting practice. The first three days he spent teaching me technique occasionally pressing his body into mine to show me how to hold my fists, stand, and kick. This had made the Gladers wild, hooting and hollering each time we touched, more and more of them came out to watch us spar after dinner. But today was different today was the first day I got to put what I learned to practice. I told him not to go easy on me and he wasn't, although making me bleed was an accident. I had tucked my head at the wrong time, ramming into his shoulder and causing a nose bleed. He had begged for me to stop but I refused.

"You're going down you shank." I grinned, lunging forward, throwing my arms around his waist using my weight to bring him to the floor. This caused an uproar from the Gladers, a chorus of 'Get him Ada!' erupted from their circle around the fighting ring. I brought my fist down on his stomach earning a groan before swinging my leg over his waist and straddling him. Gally was nearly a foot taller than me and much stronger, the only way for me to win was to use my weight and simple fighting knowledge to my advantage. I grabbed his neck with a smirk gently pressing down on his airway.

"Give up."

The Gladers were all screaming now celebrating my apparent victory.

"Come on Gal I win, give up." I wasn't really choking him in fact he could breathe just fine, but I was proving a point. A drop of blood fell down my face and splashed onto his neck. At that moment Gally turned his hips violently, throwing me to my back, pinning my arms to my side, and sitting on my hips. He leaned forward close to my ear.

"I let you win."

"Did not!"

"Of course I did Ada."

The sun was setting causing Gally to practically glow. It would be a lie to say that I didn't enjoy the way we interacted, the way he touched me, the way he looked. I loved his passion, his desire for dominance in the Glade was a turn on, but the way he loved all the Gladers is what made me like him the most. Yet there was no way I could or would act on these feelings. A relationship with a Glader made no sense. I didn't want anything until I knew who I was, and what the journal meant. Sparring had brought us closer and it was dangerous.

"Why did you let me win?"

"To boost your confidence."

"Well don't. I want to beat you fair and square Gally."

"You can't Ada, I'm a good fighter, it's one of my skills."

"Oh…I can't?" I smirked rolling my hips under his leaning up towards his face. "I could win, if I played with my own… skills." I kissed his earlobe rolling my hips again. He gulped his grip on my hands loosening enough for me to break free. I pushed him off me, his ass landing in the dirt.

"Give me three days Gally. When that next Greenie comes up, I'll beat you fair and square." I stood dusting myself off.

"Where you going?"

"To take a nice cold shower Gally." I pushed past the Gladers who had fallen silent around the ring. "Thanks for the confidence boos Gal."

Newt reached down offering a hand to pull me up. But I didn't move watching as Ada strutted towards the showers.

"Who does she think she is?" I grumbled, slowly getting up.

"You started it." Alby smirked.

"You're one lucky Shank Gally, I'd love to have her under me like that. Bet I could make her…" I spun around quickly grabbing Minho by the front of his shirt pulling him close to me.

"You better slim it, before I beat you like I could have beat her."

Minho smiled slyly at Alby and Newt. "Told you he did. Pay up." Causing Newt and Alby to groan.

"I did what?"

"You like her." Newt laughed.

"I don't shucking like her." I yelled shoving Minho down.

"Whatever you say Gally, whatever you say."


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