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For a little girl, Charlotte was surprisingly brave whilst I tended to the cut on her forehead. I supposed it was an unavoidable side effect of growing up within the extreme lifestyles of the Ark. In one way or another, we'd all been bred to be survivors and we each carried our scars from those experiences. My view of her in particular was that she had responded in a similar manner to me, keeping her inner strength quietly hidden.
"How did this happen?" I asked gently as I worked, keen to ease her discomfort.
"I had a nightmare. I think I must have hit myself in my sleep. It's happened before." She explained in a small voice.
There was a similarity between us in the way that she avoided my eyes as she spoke, clenching her hands together in a form of self-soothing. It was easy to recognise the distrust that she held for people and I couldn't blame her when she'd been left alone at such a young age. I still remembered how frightened I was after my mother was floated, clinging onto my father for comfort. Without him, I wasn't sure how I would have survived. I wondered if she had the luxury of having anyone to rely on in the Skybox.
"You know, if you hit yourself that means you were fighting." I pointed out, carefully placing a small dressing over the area to keep it protected. "Maybe you are braver than you think." I suggested, flashing her a warm smile when she finally dared to glance up at me.
"I don't feel brave." She pouted, the vulnerability in her eyes breaking my heart as I strained to think of a way to empower her.
"Honestly, neither do I most of the time." I confessed as I finished working and placed my supplies aside to grant her my full attention. "Everything down here feels scary. What's most important is that you don't give up. Keep nurturing that bravery and it will get bigger, just like you. It's easy to feel alone with it all, but you're not. We're all scared. Nobody wants to show it." I explained, noticing that she raised a brow at me sceptically.
"Even Bellamy and Murphy and all the tough boys?" She queried, studying me as if I was talking complete nonsense and I leaned in closer.
"I'll let you in on a little secret. Especially Bellamy and Murphy." I whispered, watching as her brows raised in surprise. "If you ever need help, feel free to find me. I was training to be a doctor. No problem is too small, okay?" I asserted, feeling relieved when the tension finally dropped from her shoulders.
Heavy footsteps drew my attention as I glanced up to find Clarke, Finn and Wells marching through camp as if they were on a mission. With a deep sigh, I gathered my things and allowed Charlotte to go as I made my way over to investigate.
