ғᴏᴜʀᴛᴇᴇɴ : ɢʀᴏᴜɴᴅᴇʀ ᴘʀɪɴᴄᴇss
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Clara wakes up the next morning to the birds chirping and the voices of the early risers getting a head start to the day. She inhales the fresh air she will never get tired of and sits up. As she looks around, she realizes she doesn't remember going to bed.

"Hey, sleepyhead."

Clara jumps, her eyes darting to Octavia sitting on her cot a few feet away. The younger Blake is lacing up her boots with a playful smirk on her lips.

"Good morning," Clara replies with a yawn. "Hey, did you happen to see how I got to bed last night?"

Octavia bites back a grin. Clara watches her suspiciously.

"What?"

"Nothing," Octavia says, obviously not letting her in on something. "Bellamy carried you in here last night."

Clara nods, trying to hide the blush dusting her cheeks. "Oh. That was nice of him."

She pushes herself off her cot and stretches. After her back pops, Clara turns around and makes her bed.

Octavia finishes tying her laces and stands. She folds her blanket and makes her bed like Clara. "So, do you have a thing for my brother?"

Her question catches Clara completely off guard. She whips her head around and watches as Octavia stifles her laughter.

"No?"

"You don't sound so sure," Octavia teases.

Clara groans and abandons her task of making her bed. Marching to the entrance of their tent, she calls over her shoulder, "I'm going to go wash up, if you need me I'll be down by the waterfall."

★

The camp is bustling when Clara returns from the waterfall. Left to right are people working and training. Bellamy has a group of kids outside the camp walls training to use the guns, Miller is ordering around the kids building the wall, and Raven is working hard on setting up the radio and screen outside on a tall post.

Curious, Clara makes her way over to Raven. "Hey, what's going on?"

The girl doesn't take her eyes off her radio. "I'm wiring this up so we can all watch the Unity Day program."

"It's Unity Day already?" Clara mutters under her breath, turning away from Raven and walking over to her tent. Unity Day is the Ark's way of celebrating the twelve different stations coming together to unite as one. It's celebrated by a program that consists of the chancellor making a speech, a few kids saying poems and singing old songs, and a large gathering. Clara never really cared for Unity Day on the Ark, and she figures her feelings towards it won't be much different on earth.

Clara helps the others build up the wall until evening hits, which is when Raven calls everyone over to the screen. Clara's at the back, not as excited as some others to watch the man that sentenced them to death make a speech about unity and peace.

The crowd of delinquents is rowdy until the screen shows Jaha's face and Raven shouts for everyone to quiet down. She stands at the front with Finn by her side as they watch the program.

"My friends, this is a historic Unity Day," Jaha starts. "Every year, we mark the moment our ancestors of the twelve stations joined to form the Ark, but this is the last time we do so while aboard her. Next year, on the ground."

In front of Clara, Miller scoffs. "Right, after we did all the work. Someone shut him up!"

"You shut up, Miller," Raven calls out with venom. "No one's forcing you to watch."

Miller raises his brow but doesn't argue. He steps away from the crowd and retreats to his tent. Clara glances back at Jaha on the screen once before turning and walking away from the crowd as well. She's on the way back to build up the walls some more when Jasper's voice overshadows Jaha's.

"Whoo! Yeah! Monty strikes again!"

People's heads turn. Clara peers around some to see Jasper, Monty, and Rez lugging a large metal tin to the center of the crowd.

"I call this batch Unity Juice! Who's thirsty?" Jasper calls out. The delinquents cheer. Clara is not one of the ones who cheer.

She watches from afar as the teens take the alcoholic beverages from Monty and down them with glee and disgust. Rez gulps down some of the moonshine as well, and although Clara does not agree, she knows she would be out of line to tell him to drink responsibly, especially after their last conversation.

Clara turns and watches Jaha on the screen again to distract herself from Rez. "To our sons and daughters on Earth listening to this message, we will see you soon. The first Exodus ship will launch in under sixty hours, carrying you the reinforcements that you need, so stay strong. Help is on the way."

"You're not going to try some of Monty's moonshine?"

Clara turns. Bellamy stands a few feet away, playfulness in his gaze. He isn't holding a cup like the others, so she assumes he isn't planning on getting any to drink.

She gives him a thin smile. "I don't drink."

"For some reason, that doesn't surprise me," Bellamy replies and steps over to stand at her side. He crosses his arms as he surveys the underage kids having the time of their lives with the alcohol in their hands.

Clara glances at him from the corner of her eye. "What about you?"

Bellamy shrugs. "Not a fan of liquor."

Clara nods. She catches the sight of Clarke downing a glass of the moonshine and smirks. "Looks like Clarke is having fun."

Bellamy follows her line of sight and lets out a short chuckle. "I told her to have a drink or two, she deserves it, you know."

"So do you," Clara replies.

Bellamy gives her a lopsided smile. "Thanks, but I'll stick to water."

"I don't blame you." Clara looks up at the darkening sky. It's a light navy blue with orange and purples mixing towards the western horizon. The stars aren't quiet visible yet, but she notices a bright one and smiles, pointing at it. "Is that Polaris?"

Bellamy looks up and squints. He laughs lightly and says, "Clara, that's the Ark."

Clara's hand drops to her side. "Oh."

Bellamy takes her hand and lifts her arm, making her point to a different bright light in the sky. It's dimmer than the Ark, but still visible in the dark blue sky. Clara ignores the butterflies she gets when Bellamy touches her hand.

"That's Polaris," Bellamy says, still holding onto her hand as it points to the sky.

"Hey, Bellamy, I need to talk to you."

Bellamy immediately lets go of Clara's hand. Both turn, their eyes falling on Clarke with a distressed look. She's drunk, that much Clara can tell, but she seems to be sobering up with every passing moment.

Bellamy shifts his weight to his left leg. "Having fun yet, princess?"

"I'm serious," Clarke deadpans.

"You always are, so talk," Bellamy replies smoothly.

Clarke's eyes slide to Clara pointedly. Clara frowns. What is so secretive that she can't say in front of her?

Bellamy sighs and looks down at Clara. "I'll see you later."

"Yeah," Clara murmurs, watching as Bellamy follows Clarke behind the tents. She wonders what they're even talking about of course, but she's more hung up about the fact that Clarke doesn't trust her.

Clara waits in her spot for a while, patiently waiting for Bellamy to return from his conversation with Clarke. After about five minutes pass and he still doesn't return, she sighs and realizes it's going to take a while. She ventures out in the crowd of drunk teenagers to find someone to talk to, but Octavia is nowhere to be found. Clara would look for Raven, but the girl is probably way too busy to talk to her. Jasper isn't out with the others either, and Rez is off the table. That leaves Monty.

Clara finds Monty standing by a camp fire with a cup in his hands. He gives her a friendly smile when she walks over.

"Hey, Clara," Monty greets, taking a sip. "Did you try some of my moonshine?"

"I didn't, but it smells rancid, so it must be good," Clara jokes.

Monty, a bit tipsy, laughs loudly. "You're right, it does smell terrible. It tastes terrible, too, but it's actually really good."

"Nice," Clara chuckles. She glances over Monty's shoulder and spots Bellamy ducking into his large tent. "Hey, it was nice talking to you. Don't get too drunk."

"I don't get drunk," Monty replies with a dimply smile.

Clara rolls her eyes amusedly and takes off towards Bellamy. When she opens his tent, she spots him shrugging on his jacket. There's three guns on his cot with a package of rations.

Bellamy looks over at the sound of someone entering his tent. Before he can say anything, Clara asks, "Where are you going this time?"

Bellamy licks his chapped lips and looks down as he zips his jacket up. "Don't worry about it."

Clara lets his tent flap close behind her as she steps in. She studies him, hard. He glances up at her at her silence.

"The last time you said that, you trashed a radio that resulted in the deaths of 300 people." When Bellamy looks away, ashamed, Clara quickly adds, "Sorry. I didn't mean to—"

"Finn arranged a meeting with the grounders," Bellamy cuts her off.

Clara's eyes widen. What?

As Bellamy picks up the gun on the cot and stuffs the nuts, which aren't the ones that give you hallucinations, into his pocket, he explains, "Finn and Clarke are going to go meet with their leader, and since they're unpredictable, Clarke asked me to be backup. Finn doesn't know, and neither do the grounders."

"How did he even manage to set up a meeting with the grounders?" Clara wonders aloud.

Bellamy shrugs. "Beats me, all I know is that Jasper, Raven, and I are going to be there in case things turn south, which they probably will."

Bellamy walks past Clara, but before he can exit the tent, she takes his arm to stop him. He looks down at her with a questioning gaze.

"I'm coming."

"What?" Bellamy turns towards her fully with his brow furrowed. "What do you mean you're coming?"

"I mean that I'm coming along with you, Raven, and Jasper," Clara clarifies.

Bellamy shakes his head incredulously. "I know what that means, I just—Why?"

Clara shrugs. "I'd rather not spend all night surrounded by drunk teenagers. Besides, I want to be useful for once."

"Clara, do you even know how to hold a gun?" Bellamy asks with a raised brow.

"Well, no," Clara replies, "but I'm a fast learner."

"We don't have time for you to learn, we're leaving now before Finn and Clarke get too far," Bellamy gruffly replies.

Clara throws her hands up. "Fine, so how about I come for company? Moral support?"

"Moral sup—?"

"Bellamy, c'mon!" Raven's voice calls out from outside the tent.

Clara gives Bellamy puppy eyes. He stares at her for a solid five seconds before letting out a sigh. "Fine. Come on."

He picks up a gun from his cot and hands it to Clara. She gladly takes it.

Clara follows Bellamy out of his tent. Raven and Jasper are waiting by the gates of camp, and when Bellamy and Clara near the two, Raven sizes Clara up. "Why is she coming?"

Bellamy glances at Clara before returning his gaze to Raven. "She's a sharp-shooter."

"Really?"

"Yes, really," Bellamy assures the girl. "Now, come on, we don't have any time to waste."

Bellamy starts forward, Jasper hot on his tail. Clara gives Raven a friendly smile, but the latter gives Clara a glare and quickly follows the others.

★

The group nears a break in the trees when the sun is high in the sky. Bellamy stays at the front and holds out an arm to keep the others back, but Raven ignores him and struts past him. He sighs and follows.

The four stay just behind the tree line and peer up at a large concrete bridge with vines and greenery growing over it. Despite the wear and tear of the nuclear war, the bridge miraculously still stands strong. Clara lifts her rifle up and uses the scope to locate Clarke and Finn. What surprises her, and evidentially the others, is the presence of Octavia as well. She throws herself into the arms of the grounder they had captured and tortured.

Raven smirks. "I guess we know how he got away."

Bellamy sends her a glare.

"Hey," Clara says, capturing the other three's attention, "someone's coming."

They all bring their rifles up to their shoulders and watch the other side of the bridge through their scopes. Breaking past the tree line is something Clara never would have thought she would ever see in her life.

A black, muscular horse trots onto the bridge. Its mane flows in the breeze and its fur shines in the sunlight. Clara's jaw drops at its presence.

"I always read about horses," Clara murmurs as she drops the rifle to her side. "The books never said anything about them looking absolutely terrifying."

"I think it looks majestic," Jasper comments.

Bellamy frowns as he scans the grounders breaking back the tree line on the other side of the bridge. The others on horses hold long swords in their belts. "Finn said there'd be no weapons." He lowers his gun. "Good thing we brought some."

The woman riding the black horse directs it to continue walking down the bridge while the others stop at the trees. On the other side, Clarke begins to walk forward alone. The grounder woman slips off the horse but keeps it by her side as the two meet in the middle.

The two talk, and it doesn't seem to be going well by the expressions Clara picks up in the scope.

Raven mutters, "Grounder Princess looks pissed."

"Our princess has that effect," Bellamy replies lowly.

Clara frowns and prays everything will turn out okay after this. If they can all go back to camp safely with an agreement of some sorts, she'll be more than happy. 

"Oh, no, no," Jasper whispers, slowly getting louder with each word. Clara glances over and spots Jasper aiming at the trees. "This is bad."

Raven gives him a look. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"There's Grounders in the trees," Jasper says, his voice raspy with fear. "They're in the trees!"

Raven, Bellamy, and Clara all turn their aim from the grounder woman with Clarke to the trees on the other side of the bridge. Clara doesn't see anything at first.

"Where?" Bellamy asks, almost unable to find any.

Raven switches from tree to tree. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Clara agrees, "I don't see anything."

Jasper gasps. "They're gonna shoot!"

Raven already knows what Jasper's doing before he does it. She reaches out to grab him, to keep him from blowing their cover, but Jasper is too quick.

Just as Jasper breaks out of the trees and into the open, Clara spots an archer in the trees. He's pulling back to release an arrow aimed at Clarke. Before she can even comprehend what she's doing, she steps forward, her eyes close, and she shoots the first shot.

"Clarke, run! Run!" Jasper shouts.

Clara opens her eyes. The archer falls from the tree and lands on the bridge with an audible thump.

As soon as that grounder hits the concrete, all hell breaks loose.

"Clarke, get down!" Finn yells as arrows go flying through the air and the grounder leader whips out a hidden blade. Jasper shoots her arm before she can stab Clarke.

Clarke stumbles back and sprints away. "Finn, get back! Go, go!"

A hand grabs Clara and pulls her back into the trees. She whips around and watches as Bellamy takes her spot, shooting rapidly at the archers with Raven and Jasper. Clara lets out a huff of frustration and joins the three. Her other shots aren't as lucky, and she figures she's just wasting bullets, so she gives up and falls back and runs after Finn, Clarke, and Octavia to make sure they're all okay.

Clara's lungs burn as she sprints through the trees. The rifle slung around her shoulder bounces against her hip.

Screams and shouts in the distance make Clara run faster. Her gun falls, and she slides to a stop to grab it, but she catches a dark figure chasing after her. She immediately picks up her pace again and ditches the gun.

To throw the grounder off her trail, Clara zig-zags through the dense woods. She takes sharp turns and leaps down hills. She never looks back.

Eventually, Clara's side cramps in pain from all the running. She ducks inside a shallow cave to catch her breath. Her hands go to her knees as her chest heaves for the air her lungs have been deprived of.

Crossing her fingers, Clara sticks her head out of the cave and scans the woods. Thankfully, there are no grounders.

Clara cautiously steps out into the woods again. At first she smiles in relief, but then she freezes when she realizes she has no idea where she is.

"How many times am I going to get lost in this stupid woods?" She exclaims under her breath, face-palming her sweaty forehead.

With the crickets chirping and the sun setting in the West, Clara sets towards the north where she believes camp is. Her feet ache and her legs burn after hours of hiking the uneven terrain of the woods.

When the sky is completely dark, Clara is ready to give up. She sighs and crashes against a tree to rest. Craning her neck, she looks up at the sky and tries to locate the constellations Bellamy pointed out the other night.

A booming sound echoes from above. A bright light from the little light where the Ark is explodes and comes crashing towards the earth. Clara's heart is in her throat as she remembers the Exodus Ship. It's early, she realizes, and frowns when no parachutes deploy as it grows.

The ship crashes somewhere miles away in the trees. Clara gasps as the ground shakes and a mushroom cloud explodes in the distance.

Maybe it accidentally deployed and no one was on it, she tells herself. It's plausible, but unlikely. She tries not to think about the people on it, like Clarke's mother and Wells's father. She never liked the man, but Wells deserved to have his father say goodbye to him at his grave.

As Clara prays no lives were lost, the sound of rustling nearby breaks her concentration. Her eyes dart to the source. She has to squint to see a moving figure in the distance moving in the dark.

Clara's first instincts are to run the other way, but then she notices he's walking in the direction the crash is. He could be on his way to kill any survivors, Clara realizes.

Disobeying every sensible thought that crosses her mind, Clara follows the grounder.