The Girl from the Ground - Season 1

Episode Three, Part 3:

Episode Three, Part 3: 
Way Down We Go  

By the next night, Izzy was still struggling to adjust to her thrown-off sleep schedule and found herself wide awake when everyone else had long fallen asleep. With her back against the wall and her legs dangling over the edge of her bed, Izzy glanced down to her side where Harlow laid, sound asleep. She smiled to herself as his face was pushed up against the mattress and his hair was all messed up, envying how easily he had managed to fall asleep.

Carefully, she pulled herself up from her bed, having to move Harlow's legs that had been over hers, but he didn't wake. She pulled his shoes off and set them on the ground, relying on the fact that he was a heavy sleeper to ensure that she wouldn't disturb him, before turning to the girls on the floor.

Eden and Veer were laid next to each other and lost in sleep themselves, made comfortable by the collection of pillows and cushions they had stolen from Izzy's bed. She smiled fondly at them before moving over to the trunk in the corner of her room and pulled out an extra quilt, softly draping it over the both of them. Once she was sure they were all warm and comfortable, Izzy moved towards her door and quietly slipped out, finding that she was leaving the Quarters without even realising what she was doing. Before she knew it, Izzy had reached the shed in the far corner of camp and after turning on one of the lanterns that was always kept at the ready, Izzy perched herself on the edge, her legs dangling over the flat roof.

The air felt clearer somehow. She knew there was no logic behind it, but at least it was nice to believe in it, even if she couldn't explain it. She took in a deep breath until she felt the oxygen expand into every inch of her lungs, then let it all go as if she had never been one to hold onto things.

"Sweet girl."

Izzy turned around at the familiar voice, somewhat startled, but it was smoothed over by a warm blanket being wrapped around her shoulders. She smiled tiredly as her mother covered her bare arms and made sure she was warm, then took a seat beside Izzy.

"Thank you, Momma... How did you know I was here?"

Elara smiled, reached out, and ran a hand through her daughter's hair. "I've been listening out for years for the squeak of your doorframe and your tiptoeing down the old, wooden floorboards of the Quarters," she said. "You used to end up snuggled between your Dad and I when you were little, then, when you got a little older, we'd find you and Harlow fast asleep and late for classes in the morning after a secret slumber party. You ending up here is new territory for me, but a mother can always tell when her baby needs her."

Izzy leaned her head on Elara's shoulder.

"Sometimes I miss being a kid."

"Why? So you could sneak in to see me in the middle of the night? Have a bedtime story?"

Izzy chuckled, but the joy didn't last long. "No," she said. "Because I didn't worry about anything. Not after I found you."

"What are you worrying about?"

"Everything. Everyone. Every move I make."

"I know you're convinced you have to do this whole Sovereign thing on your own, but you don't. You have three others at your side. And your dad, Uncle Wynn, and Aunt River and Aunt Dreea. You're not alone in the slightest."

"I know. But no matter what happens, every outcome is down to me."

"It's not," Elara insisted, sitting up straighter and tucking Izzy's hair out of her face. "It's not at all."