That's Why I Love You

Chapter 13

Lexa

She hadn't spoken to me as if I were a monster. She smiled when I smiled. Sometimes I couldn't understand that girl.

"Heda, what is to be done with the boy?" Indra asked from the entrance of my tent.

The boy? Oh. Bellamy.

I had my men restrain him and bring him here a few minutes prior to the rest of us leaving Arkadia. I didn't want him talking to Clarke on the way back. And I didn't want him telling me other hurtful things that Clarke had said about me.

"I want to talk to him." I said.

Indra hesitated. "Heda..."

"Get my horse, Indra." I heard Indra walk off and come back a few moments later.

I had my men take Bellamy into the forest and tie him to a tree. Bellamy would eat the food my men ate and drank the water they collected. For now, I don't think Clarke had even realized Bellamy was with us and not back in Arkadia. I didn't want her to know until I had a chance to speak with him.

Gentle padding came up to my tent, alerting me that my horse, Astraeus, was here. I walked outside and took the reins from Indra.

I had gotten Astraeus as a gift from Anya. She had given him to me once I became Commander. Astraeus was the product of her two best horses--he was well-built, like his father and fast, like his mother.

"Heda, be careful of what you say to the boy." Indra warned from beside me as I stroked Astraeus. I wasn't worried of what I would say to him. I was worried of what he would say to me.

"Do not worry, Indra." I said, mounting Astraeus. "I can keep my composure."

"If it involves a certain someone, I don't know if you can." Indra said, glancing over at where Clarke sat by the fire, chatting with Octavia and Lincoln.

I glared at Indra, although I knew she was right. Clarke was not good for me as the Commander, but she was all I needed as Lexa.

"Watch over everything." I said. I hoped she understood I meant Clarke without having to spell it out. She gave me a sly grin and nodded. I pulled up on Astraeus's reins and galloped off into the forest.

When I arrived, I found my warriors sitting against a tree, sharpening their knives. Bellamy was standing and leaning against a tree, his hands tied behind the tree. He seemed generally annoyed before he had seen me, but once he had he rolled his eyes and sighed loudly.

"Good to see you, as well, Bellamy." I said, standing in front of him. I stood far back, so I wouldn't be afflicted with saliva as I had been with Clarke.

"What do you want?" Bellamy asked.

"To see if you're going to beg for your life." I said simply. His expression remained unchanged at the mention of his death.

He looked up at me and smiled.
"You wouldn't waste a trip for that. You're not that evil. No--you, the soft Commander, wants to know what else Clarke said about you."

I lifted my head and swallowed. He was not trained in the art of war, but he could read people well.

"She said that she shouldn't have started anything with you in the first place." He said. I waited. That was nothing compared to being thought of as a monster. "And she wanted to be with me."