The One Who's Fallen

Chapter 74

The next day is the foggiest I've ever seen, but it's luckily just natural fog not Maunon fog. It's like the earth knows how important today is and has set the mood as ominous.

The morning goes by quick with us trying to wake up and eat, as well as grab everything we need for the bridge meeting. We leave probably sooner than we need to, but I guess it's better to be early than late.

We ride to the edge of the bridge before dismounting. With this dense fog, we couldn't see if there was anyone on the bridge until we walk forward. We agreed to the center of the bridge, and it looks like we're the first to arrive. I take Lexa's hand and run my thumb over the back of it in an attempt to calm both myself and her.

"It's a good thing we didn't bring any archers, I can't even see the edges of the bridge from here." I say just loudly enough for the others to hear me.

"Why would the fog come today?" Anya grumbles.

We stand in silence for a moment, the tension as thick as the fog surrounding us. If we keep this up, we're going to stab the first person that comes across this bridge out of paranoia or something. How can I defuse this? What would Raven do? Wait, Raven! That's it!

"So are you two excited to see Raven again?" I ask Luna and Anya, nudging Anya since she's closest to me to the left.

Anya's scowling while Luna looks intently across the bridge, but they're both blushing. Lexa chuckles from beside me, squeezing my hand and whispering a thank you. She insisted on being on my right so we can hold hands while keeping our dominant hands free.

The moment is broken by the sound of snapping twigs and the crackling of fallen leaves being stepped on.

"What is that?" I ask quietly. "It sounds like a baby Pauna."

No one answers, so I'm guessing they don't know either. We all put our hands on our weapons, ready to attack if we must. The sound of feet against the bridge come next and in a moment, people become visible. I relax and so do the others.

"No wonder they scared away the animals." I murmur, making Anya smirk and Luna chuckle. Lexa's got her game face on, but I can see the amusement dancing in her eyes.

I loosen my grip on Lexa's hand so she can let go if she doesn't want them to see us holding hands, but she tightens her grip slightly instead. I smile softly but quickly make my expression blank because the hundred are approaching.

"Hey, Griffin." Raven says, giving me a quick hug before going back and standing with the hundred. They all look nervous and I notice that they have a few pistols.

"Hey Raven." I respond.

Other than Octavia, Raven, and Bellamy there are a few other faces. There's two nervous looking girls who are staying close to each other, and one of them has a gun. There's Finn, with floppier hair than I remember and he's looking wistfully at the back of Raven's head. Then there's two more boys, one anxious looking one with goggles on his head and the other with a calm expression. They also stay close together and the one that doesn't look like he's about to crap his pants has another one of the guns.

"I don't know if you know everyone, so I'm just going to introduce everyone. Shaggy right there is my ex boyfriend, Finn. Or as I like to call him, Finnboy. Get it? Like fuckboy. The girls are Harper and Monroe but don't ask me which is which because I don't know. Goggles there is Jasper and the other guy is Monty. He's the only one on the drop ship that knows anything about mechanics."

"Jeez Bellamy, stop glaring like a sorry excuse for a guard dog and talk!" Octavia chides him after a moment of quiet.

"We've decided to accept your offer to become allies." Bellamy says, sounding like he's not exactly thrilled about it.

I look at him closer and try not to look pleased when I see that he has a black eye and a few cuts and bruises on his face. He doesn't have any visible bruises on his fists, so he didn't fight back. Out of curiosity, I look at Octavia's knuckles and sure enough, they're bruised. I guess she literally knocked some sense into him.

"Good." Lexa says, pleased. "You can keep the land you have for hunting and to grow food."

"We barely have enough food as it is!" Bellamy cries.

"Then perhaps you should learn to move quieter so you don't frighten all the prey away." Luna suggests, making Bellamy glare at her.

"We can teach you how to move quieter, and we will provide you with food." Lexa says.

Bellamy looks surprised, but skeptical. "What do you want in return?"

"Your allegiance." At Bellamy's outraged noise, she draws herself up to seem more intimidating. "This is not an option, but an inevitability. My people will not want to assist you in any way if you do not submit to my rule."

Bellamy doesn't look convinced in the least so I start talking. "Would you prefer to starve? I don't know what winters are like, but I'm pretty sure hiding out in little cloth tents and a cold metal drop ship won't help you any. If you do this, you not only will be provided with food and shelter, but you will also be under Lexa's protection. An attack on you would be an attack on her."

Bellamy's quiet for a moment, thinking. He sighs, then nods. "Alright. But this doesn't mean we're another clan or something, right?"

"No it means you would be an ally." Lexa explains. "To become a clan, you must bear the mark of the Commander through branding and bow to me in Polis during a ceremony. Perhaps eventually, but not so soon. My people must warm up to you first."

"This also means you can move freely through the clans." I say. "But I would suggest sticking to going to towns in Trikru and Floukru until the other clans, as Lexa said, warm up to you."

"Awesome. Can I come to your town with you guys?" Octavia asks excitedly.

"Octavia!" Bellamy says.

"What? Chill. Fine, I'll stay here with you. But I'm going to go see how the Grounders live eventually."

I had to force myself to stop writing, this chapter was so much fun! I love Raven, can you tell? Next chapter, more talking! Just so you know, Bellamy isn't going to be an idiot forever. And tomorrow is voting day in the US so this is your reminder to help take down that hateful soggy cheeto! Vote for Hillary, third parties never work! Sorry for the political crap, but I would rather gouge out my own eyes than have that assface be president. Thank you all for reading and for your lovely comments! Stay awesome!