I wake up blessedly warm, despite the chill, with Bellamy's body solidly behind me.

Wait. No, Bellamy shouldn't be that warm. I turn over and put my hand on his forehead. He's burning with fever. I gently take turn him over to check his wound. I was sure I had wrapped and treated it properly; there shouldn't be an infection.

I shine a torch on it and gasp at what I see. That isn't infection; that's poison.

Why hadn't I thought of it? The grounders use poison arrows – I should have checked! My mind spins as I try to think what to do, but panic clouds my thoughts. All I can think of is Bellamy in danger, Bellamy in pain.

Bellamy groans and turns over in his sleep while I frantically try to think. I'll have to find the grounders that shot him… and somehow get them to give me the cure. I can't think past that, but at least I have an immediate plan of action. I jump up and start pushing things into my pack. I briefly consider leaving Bellamy and coming back once I have the cure, but decide it's too risky – what if he chokes on his own vomit or something while I'm gone?

I shake him roughly. "Bellamy, we need to go."

"Mph… it's still dark, Clarke," he mumbles.

"The arrow they shot you with was poisoned," I say.

That wakes him up. His eyes are still bleary from the fever, but he staggers upright. I shoulder his pack as well as mine, grab his hand, and start walking. I inwardly curse myself for how far we managed to get from the grounders. I have no idea where their camp is, so sneaking in and stealing the cure is out. My only hope is that if we wander around in the same direction they'll find us – and that they'll be curious enough about why we came back not to shoot us straight off.

Bellamy stumbles and I grab his arm. "I'm tired, Clarke," he says, his voice strained. "I just want to rest for a few minutes…"

"No, we have to keep going," I say, helping him as he stumbles again. I don't know how long we blunder around for. It gets harder and harder to keep Bellamy going. He falls down a couple of times, and each time it takes longer for him to get moving again.

Finally, I hear the sound I would have never expected I was hoping to hear: a grounder hunting horn. By now I'm supporting most of Bellamy's weight, basically dragging him along. I let my knees collapse; they'll find us soon enough.

I may drift out of consciousness for a bit, worn down by fear and exhaustion, because the next thing I know, I am being jerked roughly to my feet. I see that Bellamy is likewise being pulled up beside me.

I focus my eyes on the grounder in front of me. "Save him," I say. "Please, I'll do anything."

Then I feel a sharp blow to my head, and everything goes black.

xxx

I wake up suddenly in the dark. Sitting bolt upright, my hand finds warm flesh next to me; too warm. Bellamy. I check and find he is breathing, but it's laboured. "Hello!" I shout. I stumble around until I find what feels like a door and start banging on it. "Hello, I need help!" I yell. "He's sick, please, you have to help him!"

The door opens so suddenly that I almost fall into the grounder. He pushes me back roughly. "Quiet," he says.

"NO, you have to help him!" I shout, my voice getting more frantic by the second. "Please, I'll do anything – anything…"

The grounder looks at me speculatively before withdrawing, locking the door behind him. I crumple to the floor and crawl over to Bellamy, pulling his head onto my lap. Surely it can't end like this…

My head snaps up as I see another grounder walk in, one with an air of authority about her.

"Please," I gasp, my hand on Bellamy's burning forehead. "Save him, I'll do whatever you want me to…"

"You care enough about this man to commit to doing anything we ask for him?" she asks.

"Yes, yes, please…"

She smiles, a cruel, amused smile. "Fine. We'll give him the antidote to the poison and let him go… You, however, will stay with us. As our servant. You'll carry our weapons, cook our food, and do anything else we may desire of you."

"How long?" I whisper.

"As long as you live."

It feels like my world is crashing down on me. I don't know what to say. I'll never see Bellamy again… but I'll know he's alive, and he'll be with Octavia and the others… The grounder gives me an amused look and starts to turn towards the door. If I let her leave, I may never get another chance to save Bellamy.

"Ok, yes, I agree, now help him!"

They are quick, I'll give them that. A healer is summoned at once and the antidote is dripped carefully into Bellamy's mouth. I watch as his breathing gets slightly easier and breathe a sigh of relief. Before I can say anything, the grounders are picking him up and carrying him out.

"Wait – where are you taking him?" I try to hold onto him, but my hands are pried off.

"He'll stay with the healers until he is well enough to travel," the leader says. "You begin your service now."

"But I need to say goodbye," I whisper. "When he wakes up, I need to be there, to explain."

"Your deal was that he lives. Now unless you intend to go back on your word and force us to kill you both, you will come with us now."

Their hands are already pulling at me and I know resistance is pointless. I lean back to press a kiss on Bellamy's lips before allowing myself to be pulled away, leaving my heart behind.

To be continued