Better Than Him

Chapter IV

Clarke had left her room and was now exploring the castle. She was walking down a staircase. The staircases were made out of dark wood and had a light source at every corner of the rail. There wasn't a rug so she could hear the clack of her shoe hitting the wood.

She decided she was gonna go to the courtyard and explore that since it was beautiful weather out. She was gonna save the library for a rainy day. Clarke jumped off the bottom stair and onto the floor. She wasn't too sure how to get to the courtyard but she would figure it out. She thought she was going in the right way though.

She stepped into the hallway and looked around. Both the hallways looked the same. She decided to go to the right because that was leading away from her room. She got to the end of the hallway and there were more hallways.

Just as she turned the corner, she rammed right into a person. She felt arms go around her waist, catching her. She gasped as she was pulled forward. She grabbed onto the person for support. Everything happened so fast, she had no idea who she was holding onto.

"Hey, princess." The person said. She found the person's face and immediately let go. Alexandria stood in front of her, still with her arms around her waist. They were so close that their noses were almost touching and she could feel her breath on her lips. Her heartbeat started to speed up. She gulped. Clarke realized what was happening and pulled away from her and put some space between them. She started to walk away but her voice stopped her. "A thank you would be nice." Alexandria called after her. She turned around, looking at her. "After all, I did just save you from getting your pretty dress all dirty."

She fought the urge to say something smart back. She also fought the urge to roll her eyes. "Thanks." She said, bored.

Alexandria smiled and leaned against the wall, crossing her arms. "I would believe that you were actually thankful if you added a smile." Clarke pressed her lips together, annoyed.

"Thanks." She said with a little more excitement and a forced smile. Alexandria looked way too pleased for her own good.

"You are welcome, princess." She said, nodding towards her. Clarke spun around and turned down the hallway. "Courtyard is the other way!" She grumbled and turned around, walking in the other direction.

Her day was already ruined. Now she was pissed off. Out of all the people in the castle, of course she had to bump into Alexandria. She started to mock her under her breath. And, she gave her a nickname, 'princess'. She also somehow knew she was going to the courtyard. It was just a lucky guess. She let out an annoyed sigh as she heard footsteps coming from the other hallway. She prayed it was Alexandria again.

The footsteps seemed to quicken and to be coming closer. She looked over her shoulder and saw Finn, walking quickly to catch up with her. She stopped walking to let him catch up. "Good morning." He said, with a kind smile. "I hope you enjoyed your breakfast." She thought back to the strawberry and smiled, nodding. "We have breakfast in our rooms most days. We only eat breakfast in the dining room if there is a celebration or that is out of the normal day to day basis."

That's how it was back at home. Normally, breakfast would be brought to their rooms but sometimes Jake and Abby would call them down to have a family breakfast or if something special was happening. She actually preferred it like that.

They started to walk again. "Where are you going?" He asked.

"I'm just exploring." Clarke said. "I'm trying to make it to the courtyard, currently." Finn ran a hand through his hair, moving it out of his face. His hair seemed shorter and more manageable. It looked really good now.

He clasped his hands behind his back. "Well, you are going in the right direction so far." He told her.

"Well, I ran into Alexandria and she pointed me in the right direction." Finn looked confused at first but then realized what she was talking about. She was confused why he was confused.