— CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO,
remembrance.

AS SOON AS THEY RETURN TO ARKADIA, RUBY IS INFORMED BY RAVEN THAT HER BROTHER IS HERE.

Now, as she enters her apartment, her eyes lock onto her brother. He's made himself at home by sitting comfortably on her couch.

"John," she says in greeting.

For a moment, Murphy freezes. She called him John, not Murphy. She hasn't called him John since they had a decent relationship. A small smile forms on his lips as he stands to his feet.

"What're you doing here?" She questions him as she shrugs off her leather jacket. She tosses it on her dining table.

"I originally came to steal your rations but then I found out the world is ending again." He informs his younger sister. "And then," he draws out the word, "I was told you don't remember Bellamy."

"Yeah." She mumbles in response. She turns to face him, placing her hand on her hip. "You gonna stay?"

"Gonna go tell Emori about Praimfaya. You think they'll let us stay here?" He questions. Death Wave.

"You're a cockroach, John. And a snake, you always end up slithering your way back into our little home somehow." The siblings both smirk at each other. "Will you stay?"

His brows furrow. "You want me to?"

"Of course I do. You're my big brother. I don't want you to die." The siblings locks eyes. One pair of ocean blue eyes and the other a flawed pair of brown eyes with red specks. "And if they say you can't stay, I won't be inside this ship when Praimfaya does come." Death Wave.

"I won't let you die for me." He shakes his head.

"I've almost died for you many times, John. I've fought for you since day one. And even if you have shot me, and broke my nose, and tried to hang Belllamy, and—"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it!" Murphy laughs softly at his sisters choice of words, "I've done a lot of shit."

"You'll be here when the world ends." She approaches her brother. He glances down at her as she grabs hold of his arm. "I won't let you die. I haven't let you die, yet, big brother. Not even when I was the one trying to kill you."

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Ruby practically collapses onto her mattress. She presses her face deep into the soft pillow. A groan escapes through her lips. 

"You okay?" A voice asks.

Immediately, Ruby sits up. Her shoulder go rigid as she stares at the man in her doorway. Bellamy stares back at her.

"How'd you get in?" She asks him.

"Murphy let me in," he tells her.

"Bastard," Ruby mutters under her breath.

"I have something for you," Bellamy starts. Ruby's brows furrow as he reveals a small book. Then her eyes widen. Her memory book.

"How did you get that?" She gasps. He walks forward and hands her to book. She quickly takes it from him and holds it close to her chest. As if she's protecting the memories it contains from him. . . and perhaps herself.

"It fell out of your pocket in Polis when. . . when you got stabbed. You told Ryland you drew a bunch of things in there. Memories from the Ark, from here. I was hoping if you looked at the memories you drew of us, you would remember."

Bellamy is left shocked as the corners of her lips lift slightly in a grateful smile. "Thank you, Bellamy," she tells him, "truly."

"You don't have to thank me." He shakes his head softly.

Then he stops. His brown eyes scan her face. He takes in her own brow eyes that has those beautiful, terrifying red specks. He admires her lips that he used to kiss. He soaks in every bit of her. Bellamy misses her. He misses her so much that it physically hurts.

"Do you want to remember?" He questions quietly as he sits down beside her. She scoots over to he has room and crosses her legs over each other.

"Of course I do." Ruby responds, her brows creasing. "Why wouldn't I?"

"I did horrible things, Ruby. Terrible things." He informs her.

"Like what?" She whispers, heart pounding in her chest.

She watches as Bellamy closes his eyes and sucks in a deep breath. When he reopens his eyes, they lock with hers.

"Like killing a three hundred head Grounder army that was sent to protect us from Azgeda." He eyes her carefully as her nostrils flare. A flash of anger flashes across her face. He continues, "like siding with Pike during that part of the fight. I— I shot you, Ruby." Ice Nation.

Slowly, she slides her hand up to her shoulder. It doesn't hurt as bad as it did but there's still a dull ache from the bullet that hit her in the shoulder.

"That was you?" She mumbles.

He nods. "You—"

"Killed Hale." She whispers. "For what he did to River. So, you shot me in the shoulder before someone else could shoot me in the head. I— I remember that! Bellamy, I remember that!"

She smiles so brightly that a sparkle forms in her flawed eyes. Bellamy watches with a small smile of his own as Ruby gets out of her criss-cross position and pushes herself onto her knees. She grabs Bellamy's arm and shake it as she laughs.

"I remember that!"

Bellamy is taken aback as Ruby grabs his face between her shaking hands. She doesn't hesitate to draw him in and press her lips firmly against his.

Bellamy's eyes widen in shock. Then slowly, he melts against her. Their lips intertwine. His hands find home on her hips.

When they pull apart, they press their forehead together. Ruby breath fans over his cheeks as she whispers, "help me remember."

And so the two of them stay up all night. They laugh and they cry. They even kiss a few times as Bellamy helps the love of his life remember him.

He shows her the pictures she drew of when she punched him the first time. . . and then the second time. Bellamy also tells her the stories of why she punched him. She laughs at this.

He tells her about when Clarke made them go on a run together just after Ruby found out that Rowan was dead and wasn't truly her father, and that John Murphy is her brother. He reminds her of how Ruby discovered he was planning on skipping out on them and she didn't hesitate to confront him about it.

He shows her the picture in her memory book of the two figures in a water pool with their bodies pressed against each other and their lips connected. He tells her that this was their very first kiss.

He tells her about how he sang You are my Sunshine to her right before he left to infiltrate Mount Weather.

He tells her about their beautiful reunion at Mount Weather.

Bellamy helps her remember the good and the bad memories. He hides nothing from her.

Deep in the night, they finally fall asleep.

Bellamy's arm rests under her head. He lays on his back, eyes shut peacefully. Ruby lays on her stomach, one arm draped over Bellamy's stomach. His free hand grips hers.

And in the end, Bellamy Blake helps her remember. Just like he promised.

Everyone had hoped Ruby would remember Bellamy and their history together in the end. They wanted her to remember Bellamy and their memories together. The good ones and the bad.

In the morning, they'll all be surprised when they find out Ruby remembers Bellamy and has forgiven him.

But she's thankful she has.

Because for a long time, they won't have another happy moment like this.

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When Ruby wakes, she doesn't force herself to get up as soon as her eyes flutter open. She rests in her comfortable bed for five minutes, then she makes herself get up. Some would think that getting up at the brink of dawn some mornings would you prepare yourself for waking up earlier than usual. It doesn't. Besides, Ruby and Bellamy spent most of the night laughing and crying.

She sits up, and stretches her arms. Only then does she spot the small purge piece of paper that lays on the pillow Bellamy used the night before.

Going on a hunting trip with Stephens. Be back in a couple hours.

— Bell.

She gently sets the note back down on the pillow and rubs her sleepy eyes with the heels of her hands. She bites back a yawn as she throws her legs over the side of her bed.

She pulls on a pair of dark gray jeans and a black shirt. Her long leather jacket follows, then her boots. Her rings remain heavy on her fingers, never being taken off.

She leaves her apartment and walks through the halls of Arkadia. As soon as she's outside, she has no time to relish in the feel of sunlight because Monty approaches her swiftly with a piece of paper in his hands.

"What is that?" She asks as her brows furrow.

"A list of a hundred names. The people Clarke will have inside Arkadia when Praimfaya comes." He gives her the list of names. "Ryland isn't on it." Death Wave.

Her eyes widen. "What?"

Her eyes dart down to the list. She recognizes names: Abby, Raven, Octavia, Marcus, Jackson, Jaha.

The last three are Bellamy, Clarke. . . and herself.

She doesn't find Ryland's name. Not Monty's or Harper's. Jasper, Luca, and Amara's names don't reside on the list.

And the most horrifying of all.

Ryland.

How could Clarke even think that Ruby would be okay with this? Ryland is her other half, her soulmate.

Without thinking, Ruby sets off to find Clarke Griffin. She ignores Monty as he calls after her.

She finds Clarke in no time. As soon as the Griffin girl spots the fuming Ruby, she immediately starts to defend herself, "Ruby—"

"Are you serious?" Ruby shoves the list against Clarke's chest. "Ryland is my best friend, Clarke! I love him more than anyone else ini this entire world! You really think I'm gonna go inside that ship if Ryland isn't in there with me? How could you not put him on there?"

Clarke says nothing.

"And Jasper, Monty, Miller, Harper?" Ruby's voice shakes, "Ryland? Take my name off and put his in my place before I do it myself."

"No," Clarke shakes her head. "Jaha came up with an alternative. A lottery. People will work for a their names to go in a lottery and when the time comes, we'll pull a hundred names."

Ruby rolls her eyes.

"Whatever," she mumbles. "Is Bellamy back?"

Clarke's brow furrow in confusion, wondering why Ruby wants to know where Bellamy is.

At her reaction, Ruby assumes Bellamy hasn't told everyone that she remembers and had forgiven him.

"No. He and Stephens should've been back by now." Clarke says.

Ruby glances towards the woods. "Yeah, they should've been."

─────────

Ruby's eyes widen as a boy she doesn't know, but recognizes slightly, rushes into the hanger bay.

The boy holds a limp girl in his arms.

The girl is Octavia.

"Octavia?" Ruby gasps from where she and Ryland stand together. The duo doesn't hesitate to run over to where Clarke and Harper push everything off of a metal table. The boy quickly places Octavia on top of it.

"She has a stab wound in her belly. She's soaked in blood." Harper rushes out.

While Clarke starts to do chest compressions on their friend, Ruby barely has any time to think about her actions before she's pulling her dagger from it sheath.

She is fast to grab the boy's shirt and shove him against the wall. He gasps lightly as he knocks against the wall. His eyes widen as they land on the face in front of him. He knows those red speckled eyes. All of the Grounders do. She's a legend now. Kiswamplei, the kiss of Death.

"What the fuck did you do to her!?" She snarls. "Who are you!?"

"Kiswamplei." He says in acknowledgment. The boy doesn't miss the way her eyes harden at the name. "Ilian kom Trishanakru. I was on my way home from Polis when I found her." Kiss of Death. Of the Glowing Forest.

"Can we trust you?" She hisses.

The boy says nothing.

"Huh!?" Ruby screams.

"Ruby!" A voice shouts.

Ruby whips around to see Octavia gasping for air. Ruby releases Ilian, sheathing her dagger. She is by Octavia's side before anyone can blink.

Ruby smiles, a small laugh escaping her lips at the sight of Octavia breathing. She smooths Octavia's hair away from her face . "Hey, hey. You're okay, O. You're okay." Ruby breaths out.

"Azegeda... coming." Octavia grits. Ice Nation.

"What?" Ryland asks with furrowed brows from where he stands beside the table, Octavia's hand gripping his tightly.

"Azgeda is coming. Army. . . marching. War is here." She whispers just before her head rolls to the side as she slips unconscious. Ice Nation.

Ryland, Ruby, and Clarke share a horrified look.

War is here.

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word count: 2,182
episodes: a lie guarded & the tinder box

i am so sorry for the ten day wait for this rewritten chapter!!! i've been busy lately with school and softball and working on my other books. so, again, i'm sorry.

but now let's have a chat about this chapter.

RUBY REMEMBERS!!!!! i'm so, so happy that she does. when i first came up with this plot, i was so freaking proud of myself. i knew it was the perfect opportunity to put bellamy and ruby back in a relationship.

and yes, they are back together. even if they haven't made it official to everyone yet. DO NOT say shit about it. bellamy fic, remember? but, ruby does still care very deeply for luna and luna still has feelings for ruby, that isn't going away.

ruby defending octavia and begging clarke to put ryland on the list instead of herself >>>. i love how much she cares for her friends. they're literally all she has. she would die for any one of them, even the one's she isn't that close with. i think the way she cares so much about them kinda stems from her trauma, too.

ruby and murphy 🥹🥹. my loves. my favorite siblings ever (after odessa and carl ofc). they are so hateful to each other but literally have killed and will kill for each other. but what other sibling hasn't shot the other? many. but hey!! it's ruby and murphy, who would expect anything less?? ruby is not letting her brother die.

anyway, i am so fucking excited to rewrite the next chapter. it's the start to my second favorite friendship in this entire trilogy. y'all are going to get the rewritten and more amazing version of ruby and roan <3 (aka my favorite platonic twin flames).