GRIM REAPER¹, bellamy blake

073 ━━ late to the party

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IONA HAS only made one wish within her entire lifetime. It was when she was younger, still caring for her sister as they ran rogue through the forest together in hopes of finding a better- or any, really- home for themselves.

At that time, she wished for safety. For God's blessing as she ventured forth through the darkness; she wanted to walk through it and see nothing but light. As it may be, that wish came true.

Now, as she makes her second wish, even willing to drop to her knees and pray, she has nothing but hope flowing through her as she realizes she needs this wish to come true.

May my cousin remain safe in this battle.

Iona, a woman of few words and even fewer wishes, now relied on her wishes, and prayed for nothing but her hope- her faith- to not be misplaced. Not now, not ever.

Ending her prayer session, she realized her time is slowly running out. She left camp a mere two hours ago, and the trek was still long and forthcoming. She wished Niko had told her when exactly this battle would be taking place, but the details were lost in translation.

For now, she had to hope she'd arrive in time.

What if she didn't, though?

Despite her confidence- the blinding, fake emotion she forced herself to feel as to remove any shred of sickening doubt from her system- there was a lingering sense of dread creeping up on her.

Lexa was a capable fighter, of course. She was the grand commander of all the tribes and should be respected as such. Still, Iona can't help her see her cousin as a damsel.

Perhaps it was her pretty looks or her sweet voice; even her innocent grin could pass as childlike and full of life.

Those things are rare within a commander.

To Iona, a commander is covered in scars. Their flesh is rugged and tough, and flaky from battle. The cuts from their enemies should litter their skin. When they look at their hands, they should see blood and heartache.

It should be mental torture being commander, and Iona knows this. It should weigh on you until you're ten times slower despite being the fastest person in the room. You should feel a hundred pounds heavier as you carry everyone else's burden.

Lexa's skin is smooth and silky. She's as skinny, as weightless as could be, and she's the fastest warrior Iona knows.

Has she simply not met such requirements, or is she just good at hiding it, Iona wonders.

Whatever it may be, Iona still struggles to see her cousin- her commander as threatening in any sense. Not to her, at least. To her, Lexa is a princess.

The real question is: can a princess fight a queen and win?

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Iona was late.

She made it to the arena in time to see the ending: Lexa throwing her weapon straight at the queen's chest and stealing the life from her eyes, and the essence from her soul. In that moment, it was like Iona could see the queen's spirit floating away from her body and disappearing into the sky.

Or, more realistically, being absorbed into the ground as she prepared to arrive in hell.

It was an ending that Iona was praying for- desperately hoping would happen- but didn't expect to come true.

It was true that Iona often underestimated her cousin's capabilities as commander. Sometimes she forgets that the woman is trained killer with a sweet smile, and her appearance is nearly as deceiving as she is deadly.

Suddenly, Iona wondered what exactly was happening.

First, she didn't hesitate to return home with Bellamy. She didn't even think about what that course of action entailed. She just went along with it because it felt right. She didn't want to stay with her cousin any longer, and she didn't to be viewed as a puppet on her strings.

Then, she got word of Lexa's situation and the danger she would possibly be putting herself in the way of, and she dropped everything to run back to her side and protect her. Well, try to, anyways.

Now, here she is, late to the party.

She didn't do anything. She merely showed up to the arena, watched it end, and now, she wants to go back home.

Even Iona was confused by her own actions.

Why did she want to give everything up so badly, and want it all back at the same time?

Huffing to herself, she left the arena, disappearing into the forest where she could find a comfortable spot against a tree.

Then, she put her face in her hands and heaved a long sigh.

What was wrong with her?

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i know nothing interesting happened but realistically, she wouldn't have made it in time to influence the fight in any way. the scenes were back to back on the same day and as such, i made the assumption that they were close time wise

still, iona needed this moment to have some self realization and question exactly why she was doing these things