The Tribute (Clexa)

Chapter 5

For several minutes after the alpha left the room, shutting the door behind her, Clarke struggled to stay awake, fearing the alpha would return and break her promise.

It was what alphas did. They broke promises. If there was one thing she knew, it was that.

She eventually lost her battle and fell into a deep and, thankfully, dreamless sleep. When she woke, as she had been assured, she felt like a new person. She was still achy, but every move she made didn't send the lightning pain shooting down her body.

She was so thankful for this that she almost cried.

Looking at the window, she saw that it was dark outside. She thought it strange, the changing of day to night. On the Ark, it was always dark outside the windows.

She sat on the side of the bed, getting dizzy at first, but it quickly passed. Her lips ticked up into a small smile. The alpha had kept her promise. It appeared as if no one had come in. No one had disturbed her. She almost wished that they had. The little bit of food she had eaten had woken something up in her, and she was so hungry that she was almost nauseated. She guessed that if she were somehow going to get more food, she was going to have to get up and open the door.

The problem was, when she stood, her right leg gave out on her. There was no pain, but there was no strength either. She tried to grab the back of the chair, but it didn't hold her. It tipped over, and she and it went crashing to the floor with a loud bang.

She yelled out in surprise and immediately heard footsteps approach the door, but no one came in. Instead, she heard Lexa's voice calling to her.

"Klark, are you okay? Can I come in?" The alpha sounded alarmed.

"Lexa, I fell. I can't get up." She was surprised not only at the strength of her voice, but that she had responded to the scary alpha. She tried and failed to get herself up. Her right leg would move, but she didn't seem to be able to bear any weight through it.

"Please, Klark, can I come in?" Lexa sounded desperate.

Clarke squeezed her eyes shut. Her fear of the alpha remained, but she couldn't get up, and who else was there to help her? She still didn't understand most of what was happening to her, which meant she finally needed to admit to herself that she was going to have to start trusting these people if she was going to find out what was going on, and if she was somehow going to make a life for herself down here.

"You can come in," she finally said.

The door opened cautiously, but any caution the alpha was taking was thrown out the window when she saw Clarke on the ground.

Lexa moved in to swoop Clarke back onto the edge of the bed, but she hesitated. "Is it okay if I help you get up?"

The reappearance of the alpha in the room had Clarke's heart thundering in her chest. It thumped so hard it almost hurt, but she had no choice. She needed help. She was proud of herself when she nodded her head.

The alpha moved carefully. "I'm going to put one arm under your legs, and the other around your back. I am going to need you to put your arm around my neck, kei?"

Clarke nodded again.

The alpha moved slowly and made sure to ask several times if she was hurting Clarke, to which the omega shook her head "no", so Lexa lifted her and placed her on the edge of the bed again.

"What happened?" Lexa asked, eyebrows crinkled out of concern.

"M-my leg. It wouldn't hold me," Clarke confessed.

"Nyko is going to need to look at you again, but he and Indra aren't here right now. Will your leg move at all?" Lexa wondered.

Clarke was able to bend and straighten her knee, and she was able to move her foot up, down, and in circles, but she was barely able to move her hip.