Brave Princess - A Bellarke Story

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen

Clarke:

I wake the next morning to the sound of Bellamy's voice. I don't know whether to yell at him and push him away or kiss him. So I choose to do nothing but speak.

"Of course I can hear you, dimwit."

My words provoke a strange noise from him, the combination of a laugh and a sob.

"How are you feeling?" He asks me gently, holding my hand in his.

I'm tempted to pull it away and curl into a ball, ignoring him, but I don't. It feels good to be loved, and I relish in the feeling. "Okay," I say finally. "How long was I out? Where's Octavia? Is she okay?"

Bellamy holds up his hand to stop me. "One at a time, princess. You've been in a coma for three days."

"Only three?" I am surprised. It feels like more time has past. Maybe that's because there's a different feeling to the air.

I can sense a change between Bellamy and I. He touches me so gently, as if he's afraid that I'll break. I sigh. I don't like being thought of as weak.

"It feels like more, doesn't it?" He asks.

I just smile at him in response.

"Octavia's getting you a new bandage," he tells me.

That's right. I recognized the pain in my side when I woke up, but I forgot what had caused it.

We sit in silence until Octavia walks up to me, holding a fresh bandage and supplies to clean my wound.

"Hey, Clarke," she says, dipping a rag in a bowl of water. "How are you doing?"

I raise my eyebrows at her, and she smirks.

"I've had worse," I say.

She doesn't respond to my comment, but instead asks me to lift my shirt. There's a long gash in my shirt that's surrounded with dried blood. I wrinkle my nose at the sight. It makes me feel dirty.

Bellamy watched intently as Octavia begins to clean my wound. Someone has stitched the skin together, and I find myself wondering who it was. I inhale sharply when the wet cloth touches my skin, and Octavia gives me an apologetic look. I purse my lips and force myself to hold still.

The water stings, but it almost feels good. It makes me feel clean. After a while, Octavia starts to talk.

She puts down the rag, and begins to dress my wound. "Clarke," she starts, her voice low and hoarse, "why did you jump in front of me? I killed. . .I killed Asher." Her hands shake and her eyes start to water.

I reach out a hand to grab hers. I notice Bellamy in the corner of my eye, watching this exchange closely. He wants to know too.

"Stop," I tell her, and she does. Once she has put down the bandage, I speak. "I'm not going to lie, Octavia. For a while I held you responsible." She closes her eyes at my words, but I continue. "But then I realized that you did what you could to get him out of there. And for that I'm grateful."

She smiles slightly at my words. "He told me," she starts hesitantly, "that he wanted to go there again with you. He found this spot where a rock extended over the water. He wanted to show you it."

Tears start to form in my eyes. "Will you show me?"

She nods, and I reach out my arms to her. She leans down to hug me, and we stay there.

I release her after a while, patting her back. "Now fix me up."

She smiles and starts to work on my bandage again.

-

A few hours later, Bellamy and I are left alone. Many of the hundred have come to see me, and I'm exhausted by the time I am finally given peace.

"I'm so sorry, Clarke," he says, clasping his hands in front of him.

I swallow, and turn my head to face him.

"I never should have said that to you. I was just so scared." He pauses and looks up, meeting my eyes. "And then you jumped in front of my sister. Clarke. . . I thought you were dead. For a while, I thought there was no hope." He sighs, struggling to find the right words to say. "I thought I would never get to apologize, that we could never . . ." His voice trails off, and he looks away.

"Bellamy," I say gently, knowing it's all I have to say.

He immediately looks at me, and I'm reminded of the way his name was all it took that first night when Anya came. I take his hand in mine and hold it. I don't say out loud that I forgive him, but my actions show that I will try.

We all deserve second chances, right? There was a decision that had to be made, and I made one. I just hope I chose the right one.

AN Hello! I hope you all liked that chapter. What did you think about Clarke's thoughts on Bellamy? I was trying to make them realistic. She wants to give him a second chance because she loves him, but is still hesitant. That's what was in my mind, anyway, as I was working on this.

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