Episode Four, Part 6:
Hope

Elara sat on the edge of Quill's bed, staring straight ahead at Wynn as he helped her process the news of the flood. It was terrifying enough to know that it was coming to destroy everything after they had fought so hard to build a life for themselves on the ground; it was another thing entirely to know that if they ended up losing any of their friends, it would be in the same way their brother was killed. It was a horrible, soul-shaking reminder of that day on the cliffs when they saw Ares' body being pulled down by the waves; they didn't want to have to see that happen again or relieve those feelings that they had finally managed to overcome.

"And now Riders know that it's coming," she sought clarification, trying to understand everything from Wynn's perspective.

"Yeah," Wynn sighed. "Sort of, anyway... We have no clue why Chessca did it, but she told them it was coming. By the sounds of things, Sol and Dreea managed to alleviate most of the panic, but I reckon Diego won't be so quick to let his guard down... He'll look for any signs that what Chessca told him was the truth and once he realises that it is, I don't know what will happen about the Bunkers. We'll probably have to try and move everyone in early just because when the alliance breaks - which it will - Riders won't hesitate to kill any of us so they can be the ones to survive."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Elara asked. "I know the four of you are dealing with it, but if there's anything at all-"

"No, I don't want you worrying about anything," Wynn assured her, letting out a faint laugh, but he was already crushed under the idea of Elara thinking she had to take the burden of it. "As I said, our families get their place in the Bunker; Bas, Harlow and Azha included in that. Fenn, Chessca and Aeryn - they're all going to be there. It's just figuring out which of our people are endurable losses."
As he spoke, he recalled the time Sol has used that phrase with him - declaring that in her eyes, he wasn't an endurable loss. He didn't understand the weight of her words back then, but now he did and the realisation caused a gaping hole to tear through his heart, aching his chest with every breath he took. He missed her, despite her finally being home. He missed her.

"We have to prioritise those trained in medical, engineering and agriculture - to ensure we have enough to eat in the Bunkers. Guards have always been important, but seeing as when we return to the Ground there'll be no other survivors, we already know that a few of them are going to have to be..." He didn't know how to phrase it - especially not without feeling swarmed in guilt, but Elara understood.

"I can't imagine how horrible this is for you," she said. "And I know it must be a tough decision to have to let some of your people die, but you need to focus on us, okay?"

Wynn nodded, looking down at his hands, forcing himself to keep his emotion in so Elara didn't see him so afraid. "Our family's all going to be together in the Bunker, just like old times - only family is a little different than before. But that's okay. As long as we're all together."

///////

Elara knew that Wynn meant it when he told her not to worry, but she was Elara: there were certain things she couldn't avoid taking control over, and her family was one of them. She knew that Wynn was holding back the severity of the risks that came with Riders knowing about the flood. If they realised that it was real, then they would send their people to occupy the Bunkers and kill any Basilisk that even tried to get close to them. And if the alliance fell apart before the Sovereigns could secure their people inside, then everyone would end up being killed before the flood had its chance to wipe them out. That was inevitably why she ended up sneaking out of Basilisk through Sol's tunnel, leaving a note on top of her camper bed in her tent just in case she didn't return by the evening and her family began to worry about her.

She knew how Chessca meeting up with Diego had taken a turn for the worse, but without anyone being able to figure out what happened in their conversation - including Chessca herself - Elara knew it was worth her taking a shot at it.

When she reached the dams, just as the rain started to beat down on them, Diego was accompanied by five other people from Blood Riders - not having come alone like he said he would do. She noticed them before she even walked out into the clearing and she knew it should have been a warning sign for her to return back to Basilisk where she was safe, but she hadn't come this far to surrender. She hadn't put everything on the line again to secure the alliance with Blood Riders, only to give in.

"Elara," Diego said, meeting her halfway in between his people and where she appeared from.

"What the heck happened to coming alone?" Elara threw her hands up, more frustrated than afraid.

"We can't trust the people of Basilisk, and that includes you. You should have been smarter and brought someone along with you."

"Why?" Elara rolled her eyes, not taking his words seriously. "You're not going to kill me. I'm just here to make sure that the alliance I obtained is still standing. I was the one who got it for us, it's my responsibility to save it."

Diego let out a chuckle, somewhat impressed by her determination, but already overlooking her. "You're right. You were the one who got the alliance for your people; I'll give you that," he said. "But this isn't something you're capable of dealing with. This is a conversation for the Sovereigns-"

"Then why did you meet me here?" Elara asked.

Diego was caught off guard, almost a little embarrassed by her response, realising that he didn't have an answer for her.

"Exactly," Elara sighed, ready to continue, but Diego found his voice.

"I'm surprised the Sovereigns haven't made it clear to you yet, especially your brother, but the alliance isn't going to be fixed," he said. "I might as well just declare that it's over now and make it official but, as I said, I'll save that for the Sovereigns."

"The alliance doesn't need to end because there isn't a flood coming!" Elara yelled, raising her voice so she would be heard - it seeming as if none of her words were even lingering in his mind for longer than a few seconds.

"Riverly and Dreea already tried to tell me that," he said. "I let them think I was convinced, but I'm not an idiot, Elara. I know there's a flood coming and more importantly, so do my people. We're already making sure we can secure those Bunkers for ourselves... I probably shouldn't have told you that, but it's not like your people aren't already worried about that."

Elara bit down on her lip, fighting an inner war with herself. She came to the conclusion that Diego wasn't bluffing and that he really did know there was a flood coming because of what Chessca had said. Any attempts for her to keep up the act that everything was fine would just be a hopeless, tireless game.

"Fine," Elara sighed, throwing her hands up in surrender. "A flood is coming. But that doesn't mean that we can't keep the alliance between our clans." 

Diego tilted his head, having expected Elara to keep insisting that he was wrong and found that he was a little more willing to listen now that she wasn't keeping up the lie.

"You have a nice outlook on life," Diego said, smiling fondly at her. "Even after everything that's happened to your family, you still have hope; I like that. But this isn't the kind of problem that hope can fix."

"Yes, it can. Hope changes everything," Elara said. "Hope got my people the alliance; hope got River out of The City; hope got her memories back... Hope saved my life after my brother died..." The constant downpour of the rain made it impossible for Diego to figure out if she was crying or not.

"Don't tell me that doesn't matter. It matters more than anything else."

"Tell me how you think it can change this, then," he asked, not patronising, just intrigued. "If we have enough hope, you're telling me the flood won't come?"

"Of course not," Elara shook her head. "But it's strong enough for me to realise that this doesn't have to end how we think it does. Not everyone has to die. Not both clans."

"...I"m listening," Diego folded his arms, giving Elara her full attention, wanting to believe - because of her - that this didn't have to end in war.

"You and I got off to a rough start," she said, smiling a little. "And I'd hate to think that after everything you've done for us, after helping my brother in The City and moving your people into our clan, that we could go back to only seeing our differences. Neither Basilisk or Blood Riders have to die out completely-"

"Are you suggesting a Bunker for each clan?" Diego interrupted. "I know there's two; the one you came from, and the one that had the Nobel's sister inside."

"Not quite," Elara said. "But I'm saying that there can be a place for you in one of them."

"Just me? You really think I'd take your offer so that all of Basilisk can survive and the only person from Blood Riders with them, is me?"

"Yes," Elara said, confident with her answer. "Because you're not their king - even though you don't exactly have a good track record with your leaders from what I've experienced; Noah did set fire to your grounds and die as a Basilisk."

Diego huffed, still bitter at the reminder. "What's your point?"

"You don't owe them any more loyalty than any of the guards over there," Elara said, gesturing at the group of guards behind him - some of them sitting on the rocks, some of them lying on the ground. "Are you honestly telling me that you don't think one of them would jump at the chance to survive the flood, even if they knew no one else from your clan would?"

Diego looked behind him, frowning as he wrestled his decisions, knowing that Elara was right but not eager to admit it.

"You're not their king, you just took charge of your clan so that your people survived, but now you need to think about your own survival. Do you want to live? Because if you do, I can make sure that you have a place in the Bunker."

"...You want me to tell my people that I was wrong about the flood; let them all believe that they're safe, just so I can live?"

"If that's what it takes," Elara said.

"Give me one good reason why I should believe you. Why I should believe that you're not just saying this so I can make Riders back down from pursuing the Bunkers whilst your people trap yourselves inside and leave the rest of us to die?"

"I don't know," Elara shrugged. "But you're just one person and I'm assuming you won't make it too hard for us to have one extra mouth to feed." 

She tried to keep it lighthearted, feeling that it had worked in her favour so far, especially as she had a different approach than any of the Sovereigns would have done, more so given her history with him.

"And I think we've reached a point where I can call you my friend. I can't even remember the last time you tried to strangle me."

Diego laughed, smiling so hard that it creased the corners of his eyes. "You got me there," he said, adding on at the last second, "friend."

"Well then," Elara sighed, feeling a deep sense of fulfilment that resounded down to her bones. "What do you say? You'll make sure your people keep the alliance, and I'll make sure you have a place with mine?"

"I say, who the hell is out here with you!?"

"What?" Elara's heart sunk in her chest, immediately glancing around to figure out what had made him suddenly so alert.

"Did you bring your brother with you?" Diego asked, pulling out his gun and ordering the guards behind him to their feet. "You better tell me if it's him, or he will wound up dead."

"I came alone!" Elara snapped more angry at the fact that someone had immediately followed her out here after finding her note, even though she left strict instructions to not search for her unless she hadn't made it back after dark.

"It's probably one of your-"

Elara flinched at the sound of a gun tearing through the atmosphere, pulling out her sword from her waistband, even though she knew she stood very little chance at defending herself from so far away.

"Why would my people be shooting at us!? You set me up!" Diego exclaimed.

"I don't know! I didn't set you up! But you told me that you wouldn't have anyone else with you and I believed you! Now you need to believe me: I don't know who's out there!"

"Oh, yes you do..." Diego grumbled, catching a glimpse of the shooter as they drifted past the trees. He made sure to stay close to Elara as he could hear more bullets firing in the near distance, knowing that they would dare shoot at him if he was standing so close to the young girl.

To prove her honesty, Elara stood in front of Diego, holding her weapon up ready to defend him against whoever was shooting. She knew that it was someone from Basilisk; she didn't want it to be, but there was no reason for anyone from Riders to be shooting and killing their own people.

Her immediate thought was that it must have been Wynn who was out there - fuelled by a wave of anger that she hadn't listened to him when he told her not to take the situation into her own hands, but when she saw the shooter step into sight as they were the last two surviving, she couldn't help but choke on her own distress.

"Kodiak, it's okay," Elara said, beginning to take a step closer to him to show that she wasn't being held hostage by Riders like Chessca had been when they met. "I'm fine, just-"

Elara jumped as she saw Kodiak raise his gun in her direction, pulling the trigger without any hesitation. 

Four // Part Six
Hope saved my life.

I went out with the other au-pairs that I'm quarantining with in Serbia today, and Soph - the girl who organised our day trip to the markets, said it was only a 20-minute walk each way (bearing in mind it was like 32C)... It took us 3 and a half hours!!

I'm exhausted and can't remember the last time I did so much walking. Not to mention there was a giant hill we had to walk up, as well.

Anyway, it's storming here and I'm definitely not doing much this weekend, so hopefully I'll get a lot of chapters up for you guys!

Also, have I mentioned how much I love Elara? I know it sometimes gets her in trouble, but I love how she ignored Wynn's advice about not worrying about the alliance and made it her mission to make sure it was secure so he didn't have another thing he had to stress about.

14/08/20