I Know Places

VII

A harsh light shines on her face; a shadowed figure standing in the entrance. Her eyes not fully adjusted, Lia jumps up, ready to defend herself, whether she was able or not.
"You're right." Lia loosens as she realises that the voice belongs to Lexa. She avoids eye contact with her, feeling guilt for the harsh way she'd spoken to her the day before.
"There will be a truce," Lexa begins to approach the still slightly irritated girl, "But only when we have justice - the alliance starts with Finn's death."
She stares at Lexa, confused by the sudden change of heart. This was exactly what Lia had wanted to happen. She would finally have justice for those innocent lives. For Artigas. For herself.
Lexa shifts on her feet, a wave of awkwardness rushing over them.
"Lex-" Lia attempts, but is cut off.
"I know." The commander sighs, "You were right, Lia. What kind of leader would I be if I didn't seek justice for the innocent?"
Lia's heart sinks. How could she speak to her friend like that? Lexa had only done what she thought best. She wanted to avoid anymore bloodshed. The more of them there were, the better their chance of defeating Maunde. Lia sighs.
Though the guilt drowned her, she couldn't help but feel that she was right. The ticking time-bomb had exploded, and now her people were paying for it. They deserved justice. Finn deserved to be punished.
  But he's only a child.
Lia finds herself tracing the scars on her shoulder. Each one marking a kill. Each one gained as a child. She wasn't an adult when she was pushed into this life. Yet, she was pushed to deal with the consequences of her actions. She learnt at a young age that actions had consequences; good or bad.
Each scar was a consequence of killing during combat.
Lia didn't understand why this was praised, but it was her people's way.

***

Lia stands before their fence. Camp Jaha, she laughs at the name, once again. What a stupid name. Skaikru gather within its boundaries, shouting and screaming at their leader.
'The boy should die,' many of the sky people shout, 'Hand him over'.
Lia couldn't quite understand what all the fuss was about. The boy was a murderer; he deserved to be punished, no matter how precious he was to their little Sky Princess.

From what she had gathered, the Sky People were sentenced to death for much less than this. She sighs to herself, remembering what Murphy had told her. As a boy, he fell ill. A harsh wave of influenza had taken place within his station, causing many to become sick. Fearing for his sons life, but unable to afford the medicine, his father stole rations. The medicine didn't work, Murphy remained ill, and his father was arrested. He begged and pleaded for mercy, though the Chancellor remained callous and cruel. Murphy's mother blamed him for his fathers execution, she began drinking heavily and eventually took her own life. Lia shudders. His father was killed because Murphy got the Flu. She couldn't help but feel horrible for the boy.

Lia paces the perimeter. No Skaikru would leave until Finn was handed over. She keeps an eye on their guards as she patrols the east, not trusting them one bit.
She ducks behind a tree as Clarke and crew crouch in front of the fence. They had been smart to use a secluded area to escape. The odds of anyone noticing were minuscule. The brunette girl hands the others supplies before they slip out of a break in the fence.
    Lia had two options; alert the commander, or follow them.

***

Lia grabs the hopeless boy, pinning him against a tree. She stares at him, intensely. Searching for some shred of sanity. How could anyone be so stupid? She shakes her head at the boy.
"What the hell are you doing, John?" She's careful to keep her voice low, "You're going to get yourself killed, you imbecile."
He stares at her wide-eyed. Caught half in disbelief that someone would actually care about his safety. Unable to speak, the boy just shrugs.
"It isn't safe, Murphy." The irritated Grounder raises her voice slightly, still remaining careful not to alert the others.
It's almost as if the boy went looking for danger. She couldn't believe how stupid the boy was. How could anyone mindlessly follow another with such ease. Surely he should've questioned their reasons. Even a little.
They were in the middle of a war, and Sky Princess thought it would be a good idea to smuggle Finn out. That she could just run away and that would be it. Lia could hardly believe that no-one had questioned it.
If — and they had been — found out, their entire clan could be destroyed. They were only lucky that it was Naalia. Merciful as she is.