𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐃𝐀𝐖𝐍 | the 100

45 | Never Again

"I guess we're not friends anymore."

‧ ✩ ｡ ✭ ° ☆ ･ _______ ･ ☆ ° ✭ ｡ ✩ ‧

Amber watches the death ritual unfold in silence. The bodies of those she saw killed at this same place only a week ago are covered, but she feels their accusatory glares in the eyes of the villagers around her. It's only when Clarke steps forward to join the Commander in the final part of the ritual that she's freed from being the focus, and she finds herself yet again grateful for Clarke.

At the end, when most of the crowd has moved away from the smoldering ashes of the pyre, Amber remains where she stands. She can't bear to walk through the village and revisit the path she took with Finn. Her hope to fade into the background is however shattered when a quiet voice calls for her attention.

"Amber."

She blinks in surprise when she sees the short figure in front of her.

"Ago," she breathes. He offers a faint smile, but she notices how he keeps his distance and shame cracks down on her shoulders. "I- I'm so sorry for what happened... I never meant to scare you."

He bites his lip and looks over his shoulder at a hovering group of children around his age that whisper and giggle as they watch from afar, then turns back to her. "Yu na plei gon osir raun?"

She shakes her head and glances around in search of someone to help her understand, but before she can ask him to repeat the words, he grabs onto her arm and begins to lead her toward the other children. Their whispers grow into chatter.

A sharp shout stops him. "Ago!"

Both he and Amber look to the left where Brina stands, a black cloud loaded with thunder. Still much more serious than a child her age should be, she barks a reprimand at her brother, who quickly releases Amber's arm and dashes off to his friends, throwing Brina a defiant complaint that ends with giggles.

Amber is left to stand in confusion, but when Brina meets her eyes, she quickly glances away. She's not sure what to make of the girl. She'll always feel the pain of the dagger tearing her skin, but she also knows that Brina will always feel the pain of losing her father. Nothing can ever be simple.

Someone else suddenly calls for her. The Arkers regroup and are guided into a dimly lit dining hall, where a feast of crops, bread, and a roasted hog's head awaits. Grounders stand in a line on one side of the table, with the Commander at the center and her guards fanned out on both sides. Lincoln and Octavia wait by two empty seats across the Grounders and Clarke leads the remaining Arkers to their side, stopping in front of the Commander. Amber chooses the seat beside Raven, even if the brunette hasn't spoken a word to her since they left Camp Jaha.

"Please accept this gift, Commander," Kane says, standing to the right of Clarke with a glass bottle in both hands. "We drink this at special occasions. I believe this qualifies."

"Thank you, Marcus of the Sky People," the Commander says while the guard to her left, the one who ripped the villager from Amber earlier, reaches for the bottle and hands it to her.

"You're welcome... Lexa kom Trikru," Kane says.

Amber's head jerks. Lexa? Her name isn't Heda?

"Just, uh, don't drink too much of it," he adds. If Lexa is amused by this, it doesn't show.

"Clarke," she says instead, turning to the girl in front of her with an expectantly raised eyebrow. "Let us drink together."