❝ 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝗺 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀
𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝘆𝗲𝘀 ❞
- 𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘂𝘀

𝗔𝘃𝗮'𝘀 𝗣𝗢𝗩

Raven sits on the wagon holding Finn's body and I decide to walk behind it, not being able to bare the sight of his cold corpse anymore.

"How are you feeling?" I hear a masculine voice ask.

I turn my head slightly to see Bellamy and I paste on a small smile.

"I'll live" I answer him.

"Come on, sunshine. You can talk to me" He smiles warmly, bumping my shoulder with his as we walk.

"It's Clarke" I state and he sighs.

"Ava-" He starts but I cut him off.

"No, I know what you're going to say and I understand. Clarke did the right thing. If she hadn't killed him they would have tortured him and I understand that, damn i've been in her position when I killed Atom. But at the end of the day, Finn was my best friend and when I seen Clarke shove a knife in his chest it felt as though she shoved one in mine too. She promised me she'd help him and I guess in a way, she did. I just need some time to heal" I explain and Bellamy nods.

"I get it, and i'll be here for you every step of the way" He assures me.

"Thanks, Bell" I say, my lips tugging up in a smile.

"Always" He shrugs, falling back next to Clarke.

"Happy birthday to me" I mumble sarcastically as we continue our trek through the forest, Nova coming up to walk beside me.

Night falls and we set up camp, Raven and I sharing a tent with Nova who refuses to leave our side.

"How am I supposed to lash out and do something reckless with you stuck by me like a leech" I grumble to the grounder who is watching over a sleeping Raven and I.

"That's the point, Ava. I don't want you to lash out" She replies.

"What if I need to let my anger out?" I ask curiously.

"We'll go into the forest. You can train some more and practice your sword skills, because they are sloppy" She answers smoothly.

I let out a huff and lay down, staring at the roof of the tent.

"Can you at least lay down and get some sleep too? I can't sleep with you watching me and I don't like you when you're grumpy" I speak up, making Nova chuckle.

"Goodnight, Eiva" Nova says, laying down.

"Goodnight, Nova" I mumble back before drifting off to sleep.

╳°»。 ∾·⁙· ღ ➵ ⁘ ➵ ღ ·⁙·∾ 。«°╳

As we reach Tondc, the grounders stop and turn to us Skaikru.

"Weapons" Gustus orders as another grounder holds out a basket.

"We need to disarm before we enter" Lincoln elaborates as everyone starts putting their weapons in the basket.

Nova elbows me and I scowl, placing my quiver and bow in the basket. Gustus looks at me skeptically and approaches me. He takes my knife from the waistband of my jeans, the one that Finn gave me so long ago.

He then grabs my arm, unzipping the pocket and pulling out my switchblade. He pulls out my flash drive and I snatch it out his hand.

"That's not a weapon" I growl, slipping it back into my pocket.

Nova gives me a look that screams 'calm down' and I take in a deep breath as Gustus heads over to Raven, disarming the girl.

"Commander. All clear" I hear Gustus tell her in Trigedasleng.

As we enter the village, its residents show their clear hate for Skaikru and their confusion at why their Commander has brought us here.

The people begin yelling things like 'death to the sky people!' and 'murderers go home!'. A man blocks the Commander's way and begins speaking in Trigedasleng.

"Sky people took everything from me! My wife! My child!" The man says and I don't even feel sympathy for him.

"Move aside" Gustus demands.

"Murderers are not welcome here" The man states sternly.

The Commander nods at Gustus who steps forward, punching the man. He falls the ground and Gustus continues to beat him.

"Commander, stop him. Please. They'll blame us for this too" Clarke begs.

The Commander looks between Clarke and Gustus before sighing, giving into the blonde girl's pleading,

"Let him live" The Commander orders.

She then turns to face us and the villagers, the aura of authority she emits just captures the respect of everyone.

"The sky people march with us now! Anyone who tries to stop that will pay with their life!" She shouts loudly.

"Warm welcome" Bellamy mutters sarcastically.

We all gather in the middle of the village where the villagers have put their dead onto a pyre. Two grounders place Finn on top and I stand in between Raven and Nova.

The Commander gets up and starts to give a speech which Lincoln kindly translates for those of us who can't speak a word of Trigedasleng.

"People of Tondc. In fire, we cleanse the pain of the past" Lincoln says.

The Commander is handed a lit torch which she holds above the pyre, but she then turns and her eyes land on Clarke.

"Clarke" The girl says, holding out the torch to the blonde.

I can't even find it in myself to be angry when Clarke walks over to the Commander and steps up into the pedestal, taking the torch from her hands.

The blonde girl's eyes glance down next to her as if someone is there and for a moment I wonder what she is seeing before she distracts me by setting the pyre alight.

"Your fight is over" Clarke speaks up, the Commander looking at her with respect.

The fire soon becomes wild and I watch as the body of my childhood best friend disappears into the flames, the fire engulfing him in orange.

A sob wracks my body and strong arms are wrapped around me from behind, giving me comfort. I look up through my wet lashes to see Bellamy who holds me to his chest as I cry, a sympathetic frown on his lips.