Rayne's Point of View
"She goes alone, or with her." Lincon told Finn as he nodded his head in my direction. I watched as Finn let go of Clarke's hand.
She looked quite terrified but turned around and looked at me holding her hand out to me. "We'll be fine." Clarke began to tell Finn as he again tried to stop her. "Hey. It's time to do better." She told him as I took her hand and followed her forwards towards the grounder leader.
Lincon told us earlier he had told the grounder leader about the entire camp, the leaders in it, and those whom they could trust. That list was incredibly short; it consisted of Octavia, Finn and myself. She told him she wanted to speak to their leader, whom apparently Finn told them was Clarke and that I could be there as the broker of peace just incase things went sour.
As we headed towards the grounders their leader dismounted her horse and made her way towards Clarke and I near the center of the bridge. We were not in hearing distance of either support groups one either side of the bridge. Which really wasn't a comforting thought to me.
Clarke looked back several times at Finn and Octavia, and gripped my hand tighter with each step closer to the woman walking towards us. The female grounder on the other hand was striding over to us with the upmost confidence in her stride. She was a true leader, you could tell with the way she moved, the way she stood, and the way she looked. She was beautiful; everything about her was stunning and threw me off guard that someone that stunning could be apart of a malicious group such as the ones who had killed Roma and Diggs.
We finally stopped walking once we had reached the leader of the grounders her looking at us sternly her face filled with anger, despair and rage. All feelings she had every right to bare.
"Your name is Clarke?" She asked her,
Clarke nodded, "Yes, and this is Rayne." Clarke said motioning towards me.
The grounder nodded turning to me, "We know all about Rayne, she is not the one we had ill feelings towards. She hasn't done harm to our people, she released one of our own." The grounder told Clarke causing me to smile awkwardly as I looked away from the intense gaze the woman was feeding me.
"I'm Anya." She said flatly as Clarke held out her hand for the grounder to shake it only for the grounder to look at me as I raised my hand to push Clarke's down.
"I think we got off to a rough start," Clarke began to inform the grounder. "But we want to find a way to live together in peace."
"I understand." Anya told us. "You started a war that you don't know how to end." She said her eyes bearing holes into Clarke causing her to shift in her place uncomfortably.
"What? No. We didn't start anything." Clarke told her.
"She means they didn't meant to torture Lincon." I piped up, Anya turned to me holding her head up high as she smiled on me. "No, you're people attacked us for no reason." Clarke continued.
"I'm sure they had reason Clarke. They aren't mindless killers." I scoffed looking at her causing Anya's smirk to grow, "Even your people don't trust you, No Reason?" She told Clarke the anger in her tone growing.
"The missiles you launched burned a village to the ground."
Clarke looked mildly shocked; "The flares?" She asked, "No. That was a signal meant to our families." Clarke continued.
"Yea a signal that killed they're families Clarke. This is what Octavia and I have been trying to tell you all. Or do you forget every time she and I tried stopping you and Bellamy from hurting them, or trying to go after them. They are people too just like us, with families, and children. We might just have to accept that we're all alone down here and our families might never come." I told her slapping her in the face with the cold hard reality of things.
"You've been waiting for a chance to say this to me haven't you, because you think I love Bellamy." She questioned me.
"No, Clarke. Not everything in this world is about you, or Bellamy. These people are human just like us. They have endured more than we could ever comprehend so excuse me while I actually feel for them over our pampered lives. They actually have to fight to survive."
Anya moved closer to us placing her hand on my shoulder; "I'm sure she understands." She told me. "She doesn't she never will." I spat out.
"Look we had no idea—" Clarke continued trying to explain the flares.
"You're invaders." Anya told her, "Your ship lander in our territory."
"We didn't know anyone was here." Clarke told her. "We thought the ground was uninhabited."
"You knew we were here when you sent an armed raiding party to capture one of us and torture him, and for what reason? Because he was protecting two of your own?" Anya asked her again.
"These are all acts of war." Anya told her before looking at me, "I see your point." Clarke told her capturing her attention once again.
Why did she keep staring at me like that, which made me curious as to what it was Lincon told her about me? Why was she ok with me coming over here with Clarke and no one else? I have high doubts I would ever get the answers to these questions.
"That's why we need to put and end to all of this." Clarke told her.
"You are supposed to be their leader and here one of your own people are questioning everything you say or do and challenging you… or is she actually the leader and you a pawn?" Anya asked Clarke.
"She's our doctor." Clarke said trying to bite back her words.
"Hmm, Lincon said there are more of you coming down, Warriors." Anya mentioned as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"The guard, yes, but also farmers, doctors, and engineers. We can help each other." Clarke continued I could see it in Anya's face that nothing Clarke was saying would make a difference to her opinions of her. She didn't trust Clarke and it was because of what they had done to Lincon. I told them it would bite them in the ass. "But not it we're at war."
"Can you promise me these new arrivals won't attack us, that they'll respect the terms you and I agree on?" Anya questioned.
"I promise I will do everything I can to convince them to honor the terms that we set." Clarke told her causing me to chuckle softly catching the attention of the grounder.
"Oh no, sorry… go on." I told Clarke once she'd looked at me too. "No tell me what's funny."
"It's funny that you think, after you told Jaha and the Guard that their people where set out to kill us, that you'd suddenly just get them to change their mind." I told her, Anya nodded agreeing with what I said.
"If they hear that we brokered peace with the grounders then they will accept it." Clarke told me causing Anya to arch her brow. "Grounders?" She said.
"Why would I agree to an alliance that your people could break the moment they get here?" She asked Clarke rephrasing my comment to Clarke.
"If you fired the first shot, those people coming down won't bother negotiating, our technology – they will wipe you out." Clarke told her confidently, what a selling point you found their Clarke.
"They wouldn't be the first to try." Anya said her voice giving me chills.
Bellamy's Point of View
Raven put down her gun after looking at Clarke, Rayne and the grounder woman for a short while. "Well Grounder Princess looks pissed." She said causing Murphy to chuckled.
"Yea, well our princess has that effect, how's Rayne looking?" I asked her.
"More pissed off than Grounder Princess." Murphy told us.
"Probably because she's a sitting duck out there, and trapped with Clarke." Raven said smirking as I shook my head, "Just make sure she's safe." I ordered her.
"What about Clarke?" Murphy asked.
"That's your problem. Clarke put Rayne in danger for no reason, so you want her safe, keep her safe." I told him as I noticed Jasper looking off and around. "What?" I asked.
"Oh, no. No. This is bad." He said.
"What the hell are you talking about?" I asked again.
"There are grounders in the trees." He told us.
"What?" Raven said as I looked over at her as the two of us held up our guns and started to scan the tree line, the tree tops. I wasn't finding anything, I had doubts that Raven was seeing anything either. "Are you sure your not hallucinating?" Murphy asked him. "Where?" I asked interrupting them.
"No, I see them." Jasper snapped at him. "Are you sure?" Raven asked.
"I don't see anything." I finally snapped.
"They're gonna shoot!" He said running out into the open. "Clarke! Rayne! Run!" He yelled to them causing all three women to spin around in his direction.
Rayne's Point of View
I looked over at Clarke as she turned hearing Jasper shout, only for me to look back to the grounder leader as I shook my head. Realizing Anya was pulling out a knife from her arm, Bellamy shot it out of her hand. Clarke looked like she was going to turn around and went to grab me, but instead nodded at Bellamy and was already making her way back to Octavia, Lincon and Finn. I could hear Jasper shouting for me to move too, I looked over at Anya.
"I'm sorry my people are so dead set on dying." She nodded her head, "You need not worry about your life down here ending Rayne. It won't be." She told me with that same dark eerie tone to it just like he had before.
"There's more you're not telling me isn't there?" I asked her as the gun shots began to ring through the air again. "They wont hit you, but go and keep safe, there will come a time Rayne when things will present themselves… there will be a time that you will know everything… the time we will come… be ready." She said before she turned and ran off in the opposite direction as Finn ran over to me grabbing me by the arm and dragging me off.
"Why would you just stand there as arrows and bullets are flying everywhere?" He asked me as we all ran into the forest.
Lincon had been hit, I couldn't tell what he was saying to Octavia but she looked completely scared. Once Finn and I reached the two of them and Clarke he told us to take Octavia away from him, "Run and don't stop till your behind your walls." He ordered us.
"Lincon, no!" Octavia pleaded as Clarke grabbed her and dragged her into the forest.
Once we reached the forest line I turned back and watched as Anya saluted to me before she and her people trotted off back into the woods on their horses soon followed by Lincon. Finn was now ahead of us once again with Clarke and Octavia walked closer to me. "What did she say?" She asked me.
"I have no idea, but the next time you see Lincon, if you do… find out what their leader wants from me… she knows something about my family linage or me. Or something I have no idea… Oh, she said she was coming for me… She said I was safe when all of you aren't." I told her as she swallowed hard.
"Not entirely sure, that sounds very good… maybe she just thinks your pretty and wants to mate you with her son?" She said as I rolled my eyes.
"You would say that." I told her, I realized Lincon had been hit and Octavia was dealing with it pretty calmly. Probably to avoid having to explain why she was so attached to the man. Chances are the arrow was laced with the same poison that their speaks and knives where laced with.
We met up with Raven, Murphy, Jasper and Bellamy and began to run once again heading towards the camp Octavia had been running by my side, tears flushing down her cheeks. I think a part of her was terrified that Lincon was going to die. That she would never see him again.
I think a part of her knew that even if he did die, she and I wouldn't stop at trying to reach out to their people. We knew they knew something about us that Lincon wasn't telling us. Something that was important. It had to be something that had made her and I valuable to the grounders. I just hoped it wasn't what she had joked about and wasn't for mating purposes. We hadn't stopped till we had reached the outskirt of the camp. I stopped and pulled Octavia into a tight hug. "He will be ok. He's stronger than he looks." I told her as she agreed with me.
She walked a little further away from me as Murphy went to stand in between her and Clarke just in case a fight would break out between the two of them. She and Clarke fought far more than Clarke and I ever fought.
Bellamy walked over to me pulling me closer to him after slinging his gun over his shoulder. With the grip he had on me it felt as if he had just found me after being lost for years. I returned the grip causing him to breath out and kiss the top of my head.
"Got something to say?" Bellamy asked causing me to move from his arms to see he was staring at Finn.
"Yeah. I told you no guns!" he yelled at him causing me to move out of Bellamy's arms and in between the two of them.
"I told you we couldn't trust the grounders." Clarke yelled.
"And Octavia and I told you, that you could. This isn't their fault, they are protecting themselves from us." I yelled at her, "Or do you all forget torturing a man who risked his life to help us broker peace between his people and us?" I snapped at her as Octavia grinned softly.
"I was right we couldn't trust them." Clarke said.
"No, you where an idiot. That's exactly what you where, she doesn't trust any of you." I snapped again.
"No but she clearly trusts you." Clarke snarled.
"What?" Bellamy asked.
"Why didn't you tell me what you were up to?" I heard Raven snap at Finn. "I tried, but you where too busy making bullets for your gun." He told her. "You're lucky she brought that! And what is this about the grounder princess trusting Rayne?" Bellamy yelled.
"Nothing." I said softly. "I just seemed to get more positivity out of her than Clarke." I explained, Bellamy moved closer to me pulling me closely against him again. "They went there to kill you all, Finn."
"You don't know that. Jasper fired the first shot!" Finn yelled back.
"You ruined everything." Octavia shot at Jasper before turning around and heading back towards the camp.
"I saved you!" Jasper yelled after her, "You're welcome." He scoffed as he too headed back off to the camp.
Murphy stood there his arm over Clarke's shoulder looking around the group. "He may have fired the first shot, but that's because he saw them getting ready to fire on us… should be thanking him." He said before turning to Clarke. "See you back in camp." He told her before walking off as well.
"Well, if we weren't at war already, we sure as hell are now." Finn said his voice hard and cold.
Both Clarke and Bellamy began to look around the woods exhausted from running before their eyes along with mine and Raven's landed back on Finn who was still talking.
"You didn't have to trust the grounders." He told Clarke. "You just had to trust me." He sighed before walking past her quickly Raven following him closely behind leaving the three of us standing there.
"You where right." Clarke finally breathed out after moments of us all standing there.
"What?" I said to her.
"Everything you told Anya… you where right, and now we're screwed." She told me.
"Clarke shut up don't be hard on yourself. We all see this entire thing differently. You're speaking from and Ark stand point, Bellamy from our one hundred stand point, her from there's." I told her as Clarke faced me.
"And you just say it how it really is." She said trying to smile at me, as I gave her a sideways hug.
"No, I just tried to be realistic Clarke. They see us as nothing but a threat, what we did to Lincon… only made that threat a reality to them. Yea we didn't know about their village, and yea we didn't know this was their lands… but with that in mind… they still see us as a threat, always will." I told her as she nodded.
"Like I said Best Unity Day ever," Bellamy said causing Clarke to laugh dryly.
We then heard an explosion causing the three of us to turn around and look up to the sky, was the exodus ship already on its way down? It was nearly two days early? Was my dad on the ship like he promised me he was? I looked over at Clarke who had a growing smile on her face as Bellamy wrapped his arms around my waist pulling me closer to him placing his chin on the top of my head.
"The Exodus ship?" He questioned. "Your parents are early." He told us as Clarke grinned reaching for my hand as I took hers, Bellamy letting me go and standing a little ways back from the two of us as Clarke and I stood there looking up at the sky.
My face suddenly dropped, the ship was going to fast. I looked over at Clarke hoping she'd say something, hoping she knew what was going on. "Wait." She said causing my heart to sink.
"Too fast." She said again, "Don't say that…" I mumbled. "No parachute?" She questioned.
"Maybe it was a launched by accident?" I told her as she looked over at me.
"Yea something's wrong." She said again gripping my hand tighter.
We stood there and watched as the ship landed way off in the distance, only for a huge cloud of fire to come up from it's landing spot. Along with a whole lot of black smoke, I felt my heart crack. We where told by both her mom, and my dad that they would be down on the first ship. That was the first ship.
Clarke fell to her knees as I moved down so that I was right next to her pulling her into my arms completely as I pushed my face into her hair feeling the hot tears rush down the sides of my face. I could feel Clarke's body physically shaking as she too had begun to sob uncontrollably. Did this mean both our only parents where dead? Why wouldn't they send the ship down with the proper landing gear?