Clarke Of The Grounders

Part 31 - Night Terrors

Octavia POV

Today, Clarke says that she is ready to take charge again. I respect that but she never really stepped down. She was always in charge; Everything was her decision. She just wasn't the one telling the group. I walk into the Commanders tent and look at Clarke. I could see burns along her face that still aren't healed as she turns her head and walks towards me. "I see your limp is gone." I say trying to lighten up the mood. She just looks at me with a sad smile. She looks like she hasn't slept in weeks.

"Clarke are you okay. You look,"

"Like shit, yeah I know." She says cutting me off.

"I was going to say like you haven't slept in forever." I tell her and she looks at the ground.

"Have you seen Lexa?" She asks changing the subject.

"Yes, she just got back from hunting." I say and let out a small sigh. She hears it and looks back up at me.

"O, I'm fine." She gives me an obviously fake smile. I nod before leaving the tent.

"Hey Octavia, is Clarke up?" Lexa asks walking up to me. I nod

"But I think she's hiding something. Try and tell her to get some rest." I tell her and Lexa expression changes.

"Alright." Is all she says walking past me into her tent.

Lexa POV

"Hey Clarke, it's dark out, you should get some rest." I say worried. She looks at me and shakes her head.

"I'm fine Lexa. How did the hunting trip go?"

"Fine, we got what we needed." I say but she knows I'm not telling her everything.

"Lexa, you know you can't lie to me." I sigh leading her to our bed.

"While we were hunting, we came across five mountain men." I say and Clarke starts breathing a little heavier. I place my hand on her back. She flinches a bit but then relaxes. "It's okay, they won't step foot in my village." I tell her and she rests her head on my shoulder.

"Clarke, please get some sleep." I plead her. She nods laying down and I plant a kiss on her forehead. She smiles and pulls me down to her lips. I smile back at her and lay next to her. She eventually falls asleep and I get up to do some planning.

About ten minutes pass when I hear moving behind me. I turn around to see Clarke tossing and turning in bed, breathing heavily and sweating. I move towards her and put a hand on her shoulder.

She tries to shake my hand off and mumbles, "No, Get off me." I try to wake her up without startling her.

"Clarke, Clarke you're okay. Your safe." I say and gently shake her. She wakes up with tears in her eyes. "Clarke, it's okay, your home." I tell her and her breathing steadies. She sits up and I can see her shaking. I lightly rub her back and tell her she is safe. "Do you want to talk about it?" I ask her but get an immediate response back.

"No, it was just a nightmare. I'm fine." She says and looks away.

Two more days have passed, and Clarke is back in charge of her people. Although, she is still with me in my village and is still having trouble sleeping. Every time I ask, she just changes the subject or denies anything is wrong. We are in my tent going over plans to attack the five mountain men before they attack us. Before we knew it, it was dark out and we were the only ones awake. "Clarke, it's already dark out." I say and she is just staring at the wall. "Clarke?" She turns her head.

"Sorry I just, tuned out." She says.

"I said it's already dark out. We should get some sleep." I repeat and she hesitantly nods.

We climb in bed and I watch as Clarke falls asleep, even though I could tell she was trying to stay awake. When I knew she was asleep I soon fell into the beautiful darkness as well. I was awakened by quiet screaming. I look over to see Clarke breathing deeply clenching her fists. I gently shake her.

"Clarke, come on you are okay. You're safe, You're with me, I'm right here." I say and she jolts up. She looks at me and closes her eyes to slow her breathing. "It's okay, it was just a dream." I say with my hand on her back. I look at her hands and see thick red blood. "Clarke your hands!" I say worried about her. She quickly moves her hand behind her back, but I already saw them.

"Clarke, you need to talk about it. Every night they get worse, and now you are harming yourself in your sleep." I tell her and see her eyes water. She looks away but It was too late. "Clarke, please talk to me. I can't stand to see you like this anymore." I tell her as she looks at me. Tears start to fall down her face and I pull her into a hug. "It's okay, I'm right here." I tell her and kiss her head.

After she calmed down, I wrapped her hands and she finally agreed to talk about it.

"I don't know how to explain it." She tells me.

"Just try your best." I tell her lightly moving my thumb over her hands.

"Every time I close my eyes, I see him. Standing over me, threatening you." She says looking me in the eyes.

"Clarke, they are gone. They will never harm you again." I tell her.

"You said your warriors found five left." She tells me.

"Yes, and I was planning on telling you tomorrow but, I am planning on getting my best warriors together and hunting every last one of them down."

This gets her attention and she perks up. "I want to come with." She says as confident as ever.

"Clarke Its,"

"Don't you dare say too dangerous. We have been training and you said yourself I am a great fighter. Plus, killing those bastards will give me peace of mind." She says looking at the ground. I nod with a smile on my face.

"Very well. Tomorrow, we hunt to kill." I tell her and for the first time in too long, we both got a good night's sleep without any nightmares.