Rosie should have known that any feelings of happiness or hope would be fleeting. With all that she had gone through, that was always the case. The second the sun came out in her life, the clouds were soon coming her way, ready to restore the awful balance that was her life. Because of all of that, she shouldn't have trusted Emori. Not even for a second.

For about an hour, Rosie, Murphy, and Emori had all worked together to drag the cart. Although her feet ached and she kept getting splinters from the jagged wood handle, she pushed on, never even daring to complain. Murphy and the grounder woman joked and teased endlessly, while Rosie simply listened in, as she had been accustomed to. She found a small smile on her face at the thought of a perfect city, with these two. Perhaps things weren't so bad after all. Then, of course, that thought came crashing down.

"Chancellor look out!" A voice bellowed, causing Rosie to stop in her tracks.

Up ahead, on top of one of the sand dunes, was a masked man holding what looked to be a rocket launcher. A lump formed in her throat as she saw it pointed at their group, finger on the trigger, ready to fire at any time. One of those things alone could wipe out their entire group.

Almost instinctively, John's hand was trying to push his way in front of Rosie. They had been walking with Rosie and John on one handle, her in front, and Emori on the other. Rosie managed to block and stop him, knowing any quick movements were a bad idea. In no time, Jaha was slowly inching forward with his hands in the air, ready to play peacemaker as always.

"Hold your fire!" He commanded.

In what felt like half a second, Rosie was being jerked forward, away from the group, with a thin blade pressed to her neck. She hadn't even had time to process what was happening as her boots skid in the sand, trying to find their footing as she was dragged along. She knew she felt John's hand trying to stop it, but he must have backed off when he saw the blade as well as the intent in the assailant's eyes. She glanced up for the first time, already knowing who had grabbed her but not wanting to accept it. Emori avoided her gaze as she finally made it past the rest of the group.

"Everybody put your weapons and supplies in the cart, and nobody gets hurt." She demanded, shaking a pistol in her free hand.

Rosie wondered how she could always be so wrong, so clueless to how people really were. Whenever she let her guard down, she ended up with a knife in her back, or in this case, against her throat. Her mind immediately went to Bellamy, and how she knew he was the one person who would never hurt her. Then again, he left her, without even telling her, so perhaps she truly had no one.

"If we give you our supplies, we'll all die out here." Jaha seethed, hands falling to his sides.

"If you don't you'll die, right here." Emori taunted, pressing the blade deeper into Rosie's neck. She had finally begun to draw blood, and the sight seemed to shake Jaha to his senses.

"Do as she says, now!"

Emori loosened her grip, only slightly, as the group began to unload their weapons and supplies. Behind them, the grounder man called out something in a foreign language, and Emori responded. Rosie let her eyes rest on Murphy, who looked as though he was about to explode. A fear grew inside of her as she remembered how reckless he was, and she hoped he wouldn't try anything crazy to save her.

"How's your faith holding up now, chancellor?" Murphy asked through clenched teeth as he unloaded his backpack into the cart.

"Shut up!" Emori called out.

"Unwavering," Jaha replied firmly while looking Murphy in the eyes. Then, he turned his head back to the assailants and began to slowly make his way forward. "You don't want to do this."

"Stop walking," Emori demanded, regaining her grip on the blade. Rosie wished he wasn't using her life as a betting chip, seeing how far they would go, and would instead just listen.

"We all came out here searching for a better life, same as you. Maybe we can find it. If we work together." Jaha gave one of his signature speeches, and for a second Rosie was almost fooled into thinking Emori took it seriously.

"Thanks," Emori started, filling a hope in Jaha's eyes. "But no."

The man again screamed something in a foreign language, causing Emori to regain her position of power.

"Now, everyone back away from the cart and get on your knees." There was a pause as the people await their true leader's instructions. "Now!"

"Do what she says," Jaha ordered, sounding somewhat defeated.

"You too," She commanded Jaha when he still stood tall in front of them. He slowly went to his knees, never breaking eye contact with the grounder woman.

Emori spun Rosie quickly around to face her. The girl seemed almost apologetic, but she didn't buy it. Instead, she simply stared at the girl with the same disappointed look she had given so many before. She must have read the expression correctly, because for a second Emori avoided her gaze, before slowly bringing herself to her ear.

"Due north," She paused for a second, seeming to determine her next words. "I wish you and John good luck."

With that, the butt of her blade was being raised then brought down to connect with Rosie's skull, sending her back into the hot sand. She thought she heard a scream and shuffling, before everything simply went black.

❀❀❀

"Hey, wake up." A voice pleaded desperately. "Please, wake up."

Rosie blinked a few times, adjusting to the fact that it was now deep night time and the last thing she remembered was midday. She focused on the form hovering above her, taking in Murphy's worried expression.

"She's up, finally." A voice from the crowd said snidely, causing John to shoot his head up.

"Shut up," He seethed, before returning a more affectionate gaze back towards the girl. "You alright?"

"If she's not, we're leaving her here." This voice Rosie recognized almost immediately as her mother's. She slowly tried sitting up and resting her weight on her elbows, and John was worriedly trying to help her. "It's time to go home."

"And where exactly is that?" Jaha tested, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Sir," Rosie's mother started shakily. "Look around, this isn't the City of Light. This is Hell. We've got no food or water. We need to go back."

Rosie watched her father slowly cross to where his wife stood and place an arm around her, his sign of agreement. The people behind them seemed to nod their heads in the darkness, everyone ready to return to Arkadia.

"Due north," Rosie spoke hoarsely, just now realizing how dry her throat was and how chapped her lips were. "She said, 'due north.'"

"Who did?" Murphy questioned. He remained squatted beside Rosie, an arm snaked around her for support.

"What is due north, Roseanne?" Jaha focused his gaze on the girl, shifting so he was facing her.

"She was talking about the City of Light." Rosie only answered Jaha's question, unable to bring herself to speak Emori's name.

"Did she say that? Did she say how far?" Rosie's mom asked, snickering when Rosie shook her head 'no' to both. "So why would we listen to the liar and thief who got us into this mess?"

"If we listen to her and she's wrong, we all die. If we turn back now, we live." Jaha pointed out.

"So that's it, this is the point of no return. You want to give up?" John rose to his feet, suddenly seeming angrier than before.

"I didn't say that," Jaha responded.

"You didn't not say it either." John planted firmly.

"That, is the north star," Jaha pointed towards the sky, pausing to allow the group members to follow what he was pointing at. "After you."

A smile broke out on Murphy's face at the words, and he was soon by Rosie's side, helping her up. He had inexplicably assumed she would be on their side, ready to cross the desert in hopes of the city.

"Woah, woah, woah, she's not going anywhere." Rosie's father approached, a hand outstretched towards Murphy and Rosie.

"That, is up to her." Jaha corrected. "It is up to all of you. If you choose to go back, we will come back for you once we've found it."

"Rosie, sweetie, come on. You're too weak to push on. There's no food or water. I can't let you go on a suicide mission."

"Funny, what about when they sent her to Earth? Or the time where she jumped out of the dropship to save Bellamy from the grounders? Your daughter seems to know how to survive suicide missions." John responded angrily, an arm still wrapped around her.

Rosie placed a hand on his chest, signaling him to stop, then freed herself from his grasp. She slowly made her way towards her father, filling him with relief while simultaneously breaking John's heart. John had been so sure this was what she wanted, that there would be no doubt she would want to continue on. Maybe he was wrong.

"I have to do this," Rosie asserted quietly once she reached her father.

She took both his hand's in her own and he stared down at them. She saw the few tears escape from his eyes, but said nothing at all. This was hardly their first goodbye, she was unsure why this one felt so different, hurt so much more. Perhaps because along with the goodbye came the dissolution of their family.

"You know, you've been an adult since you were 12 years old. You've been on your own since then, at least." Her father started, finally looking her in the eyes. "I can't make this decision for you, I can't make any decisions for you anymore. I want you to come back with us, move in with your mother and I. I want to be a family."

"We both know our family isn't ready for that." By 'our family,' she simply meant her mother, but she didn't want to start a fight.

"I know. I also know, if this is something you feel you have to do, I can't stop you." Another tear fell and he glanced away. "The past 5 years have been hell without you. I lost the light of my life that day, and it's been nothing but darkness since. Please, at least promise me, you'll come back and you'll bring the sun with you."

Rosie felt the tears pooling in her eyes at the words, but she never let them spill. She simply nodded her head at his request. She was soon wrapped in his arms, enveloped in a hug that she knew he didn't want to end. Eventually, she pulled back, knowing it was time to go. He planted a kiss on her forehead before letting go of his little girl.

"I love you, find the City of Light and be happy."

Rosie nodded at her father, not saying the words back but nonetheless knowing she felt it too. Her nod and the look on her face said it all. Her father wiped his tears away and gave his daughter one last glance before turning and facing the waiting group. His wife stood behind him, stone cold. Her and Rosie made eye contact one final time before she broke it, turning away and leaving her daughter without a word.

"Bitch," Murphy muttered while looking on Rosie's mom's disappearing figure. Rosie granted him a small smile before rejoining the group that was now choosing to press on.

Murphy and her took up the front of the group for the first time ever, leading the others due north. Rosie's eyes stayed fixed ahead as she thought about her father and leaving him. She hoped Bellamy and him would both be safe in Arkadia, and hoped one day she would return to him. From beside her, Murphy studied the girl. He studied the purplish bruise forming on her forehead and the way her fixed gaze seemed softer than usual. Finally, he studied his feelings, and how he knew he never would have carried on with this trip, if she weren't here with him.