Shallow Valley

1.Small Town

1.

Well I was born in a small town
And I live in a small town
Prob'ly die in a small town           
Oh, those small communities
(John Mellencamp-Small Town)

Shallow Valley was a very small town not too far from Polis. It was set in a valley, surrounded by hills and a mountainous area and it was a very quiet place. Despite a sheriff station, Shallow Valley hadn't seen an efferate crime in ages, just some cheap crooks and a bunch of neighbourhood disputes. Sometimes the police had to stop kids' attempts of stealing cherries and apples from Mr. Wallace's plantations or some child happened to be lost in the woods around the town, but nothing more.

Even if it was pretty small, there was basically everything you need in Shallow Valley. There was a small hospital, a sheriff station, a firemen station, a kindergarten, a school, an old, but functional cinema, a gym, a church, two cafes, a pizzeria, two restaurants and some shops.

Shallow Valley hosted a pretty huge numbers of ancient legends, some of native origins. The town was said to be founded by an old gold miner and a young native warrior who saved him from a bear attack. They settled there with their families and friends, fed up of war between white people and natives and so the history of Shallow Valley began. Citizenry celebrated the so called Foundation on December 11, just two weeks before Christmas. Celebrations were all day long and included a Mayor's speech, competitions of all sorts, concerts, a lot of food and a kid's play. Committee for the Celebration used to start preparations two weeks before the date and this was the reason why Raven Reyes was trying to assemble the stage for the Mayor's speech. She was holding a drill in her right hand without understanding why she wasn't able to hammer the nails in the beams.

"Clarke, hand me that box, please!" she said to the blonde girl next to her. She was a little shorter than her, with blonde hair and really blue eyes. Clarke Griffin and Raven Reyes had been best friends since kindergarten and they were both in the Committee. They cared about the celebration and they wanted it to be perfect.

"Fuck, this stupid drill is broken. I need to go home and take a new one."

"How many drills do you have at home, Raven?" Clarke asked.

"Just three. This isn't mine, it's Bellamy's. And it doesn't work indeed.". Clarke giggled. Raven was a very smart girl who worked as a computer maintainer for Jacapo Sinclair, the man who fostered her. Raven's mother had died when she was only seven, while her dad had flew before she was born. He wasn't from Shallow Valley and nobody knew how to find him again. Jacapo Sinclair was Reyes' neighbour and it came natural for him to take her with him. He soon became a father for Raven and he taught everything he knew about computers, technology and manual labors. She then went to Polis to study computer engineering at college, but despite a really tempting work offering there, she decided to come back home. She missed her small quiet town, big cities weren't for her.

"So come on Clarke, let's go. We need to finish to build this stage today.". Clarke nodded and followed her friend to a red off-road. Raven used to call it Baby Red and it considered it her little dear son. She loved exaggerating, Clarke knew it. Raven started the car and drove towards home. It was eleven in the morning and the small town was lively and awaken. John Murphy was walking searching for something to do, Wells Jaha was baking fresh bread in its bakery and Dante Wallace was arguing with some kids, typical Shallow Valley morning routine. Raven and Clarke loved it. It felt so familiar. It felt like home. When they arrived at Raven's place, Clarke's attention was drawn by a little blonde child who was playing in the courtyard. He should have been four or five years old and the ball he was playing with was bigger than his face. When his gaze met Clarkes eyes, he smiled and ran to her.

"Hi!" he said.

"Hi. Who are you, little man?" Clarke asked.

"I am Aden. And you?". Clarke smiled back. She caresses his hair, sweetly.

"My name is Clarke and I am Raven's best friend." the blonde explained. The child nodded and returned to play with his ball. Clarke gazed at Raven.

"I didn't know you decided to adopt a kid. Why didn't you tell me?". Raven bursted in laugh. Clarke was confused.

"He's not my son. He is Anya's nephew.". Clarke's jaw dropped. She was in shock.

"Did Lincoln get someone pregnant? When? Who?"

"No one, Clarke. Lincoln has no kids.". Clarke couldn't understand at all.

"But you told me he is Anya's nephew, so who are his parents?"

"Well, I actually forgot to tell you that Anya's sist-...". Raven started to explain, when a sudden scream interrupted her. The two girls turned at the door and froze. Anya was walking to them, mad and exhausted. She reached them and looked at Clarke. She tapped Clarke's chest and stared her in her eyes.

"Never have a child. Promise me.". Clarke swallowed. She looked at Raven, begging for help, but her friend just shrugged.

"Promise me!" Anya insisted.

"O-okay." the blonde surrendered. She was more and more confused. Anya was Raven's girlfriend. They had known each other since elementary school and had grew closer and closer during the years. Raven confessed her feeling the last day of high school and Anya admitted that she was in love too. They became a stable couple, despite Raven leaving for Polis. She was a beautiful dark blonde girl, with a sharpened face and a really athletic body. She worked for the sheriff office as a detective, even if her job basically consisted in ending disputes and finding who stole neighbour's chickens. Anya was a quiet girl and rarely she felt so furious. This is why Clarke and Raven were surprised to find her like this. Suddenly, an angry teenager appeared from the house next door. She had brown hair and incredible blue eyes. She wore jeans and a Death t-shirt and Clarke questioned herself how she couldn't freeze. It was December and the weather was very cold.

"That fucking boiler doesn't fucking work!" the girl yelled. Anya growled.

"Stop cussing, Aden is here!" Anya roared.

"I don't fucking care!" the teenager replied, emphasising the curse word. Anya started laughing, nervously.

"But your mom does! Just wait 'til I tell her!" she retorts, angrier. The teenager disappeared behind the door, flipping on the detective. Raven stopped her girlfriend from running to the kid and hugged her. Clarke stood still, shocked.

"Forgive me for this pathetic show, honey." Anya started talking.

"What the hell is going on?" Clarke asked. Anya scratched the back of her head and sighed. She saw an old blue car parking. She sighed again.

"Let me introduce you someone, Clarke." she said, guiding the blonde and Raven to the blue car. Clarke froze for a while. A very beautiful woman got out of the car and greeted Anya. She was taller than her and she had dark hair and wonderful green eyes. Her gaze was indecipherable, a mix of sadness, concern and hope. She was fascinating in a totally own way. Clarke felt like she was in front of a really charismatic person.

"Clarke, this is Lexa. She is... She is my sister." Anya introduced the emerald eyes girl to her friend. Clarke shook her hand, trying to mask her shock.

"Oh, it's a pleasure. I didn't know Anya had a sister."

"Me neither." Anya admitted. Clarke couldn't understand. That situation was getting stranger minute after minute.

"It's a very long story. We had different mothers and when our parents died we followed different paths." Lexa answered. Her voice was so beautiful, Clarke thought. It was subtle, but at the same time so firm.

"I needed to move here from Polis. I have two kids and I can't raise them in such a city. I found out about Anya and asked her for help." she explained. Clarke listened closely. She wanted to ask more questions, but she thought that maybe she could have done them another time.

"Well, time to go! Clarke and I have to finish a stage. See you later, Lexa!" Raven cut it short. She took the blonde's hand and pulled her to the car. Clarke got in and waited for Raven to come back with the drill, lost in her thoughts. Lexa, she pondered, what a beautiful name.