Heart Strings. [Bellamy Blake]

T W E N T Y - O N E.

Daylight finally broke across the sky, illuminating the bridge they arrived upon and the open scenery surrounding it. It was easy to fall in love with how bright the green trees and foliage were once the sun was beaming. Despite her growing nerves, the trickling sound of water flowing through the small creek beneath them was almost enough to soothe her. She just hoped this meeting would flow as nearly as smoothly as the water in the creek.

Octavia, who was previously pacing up and down the bridge, walked towards the three. She didn't bother cracking a smile with Clarke eyeing her. Her eyes turned on Finn, "So that's how you set this up," with her eyes quickly returning back to the girl in front of them, "You helped him escape, didn't you?"

Her eyes narrowed in defense, giving Clarke a sly look. "I trust him, Clarke."

Lyra and Finn both caught the glances they received from Clarke. With a sense of frustration behind her tone, the blonde retorted, "Yeah. There seems to be a lot of that going around."

She could sense the growing annoyance from her blonde friend, and she knew how it looked. Her two closest people meeting secretly in the woods with the rebellious Blake sibling and her Grounder boyfriend. It looked like an act of betrayal; they went behind her back to set this meeting up, probably only for it to go downhill.

"Wait, someone's coming!" Finn announced, eyeing the figure shifting through the bushes and trees of the opposing side of the bridge.

All eyes turned towards the shadow lurking between the trees, their bodies tensing in anticipation of the stranger. From the forest came a familiar figure - the man who was making this all possible. Lyra breathed out a sigh of relief as Lincoln came jogging towards them.

As he approached their group, Octavia immediately jumped into his arms. Her lover caught her gracefully, their bodies close together in a loving embrace. As the two placed distance between them, they acted like they were the only people on the bridge and only focused on one another. This act of endearment managed to put a smile on Lyra's face. Witnessing the two made it obvious that Lincoln was not using her friend to get information about them and that he wasn't just some crush to Octavia.

It was raw and real.

Thumping sounds began to cut through the trees from the direction Lincoln came from, making all eyes dart to the woods. Her heart raced and mimicked thumping with the sound getting louder and louder as they closed in. All the other Grounders she had seen were terrifying and barbarous; she couldn't imagine how fearful their ruler would be.

Three large animals with long faces appeared from the pines, two black ones and one brown one with a white strip down its face. Her jaw went slack as she stared at the magnificent creatures. In awe, she breathed out, "Horses..."

Two warriors cladded in metal armor sat on top of the two black horses, looking as terrifying as she imagined. Lyra could barely see it as it blended in with his armor, but there was a tip of an arrow carved from stone that stuck close to his body. The Grounder on top of the brown horse was far from what Lyra expected. Their leader was a tall woman with an oval-shaped face that was framed by her long hair, which faded from dark roots to dirty blonde strands. Black paint was decorated around her eyes, making them look sunken in like a skull. She was just as scary as her two warriors on either side of her, if not more.

"Hey! We said no weapons!" Finn bellowed, pushing past Lyra and Lincoln. Clarke was dragged along with him; Lyra immediately glanced down and noticed their hands were joined together. What the hell? echoed through her mind as her close friend couldn't stand to be near him just mere hours ago.

"I was told there wouldn't be." Lincoln retorted as his eyes narrowed across the bridge at his fellow warriors.

"It's too late now." Clarke reassured. Her eyes tore away from the Grounders to the man next to her.