The One Who's Fallen

Chapter 85

Raven's POV

I can't remember the last time I've had so much fun and laughed so much. They find what I did to scare Tweedledee and Tweedledum just as hilarious as I did! I find myself actually wanting to open up to them, to tell Anya and Luna everything about me. It's simultaneously freeing and terrifying. I've never felt this way about anyone, let alone two people.

We eat (I'll never get used to how amazing the food down here is) until we're stuffed and talk for a while, avoiding the tough topics. For now, at least.

Anya reaches into the basket during a lull in conversation and pulls out a clear bottle with a dark liquid in it.

"Is that what I think it is?" I ask, squinting and trying to read the faded label.

"This is one of our people's best 'whiskey' drinks, as Clarke has told me it is called. It is strong but not too strong, as well as Luna and I's favorite." Anya explains.

"You had me at whiskey. Let's drink it while we're in the pool!"

I'm not an avid drinker, never have been. I don't want to become like my mother. But every once in a while after a particularly bad day, I indulge myself.

Luna pulls three glasses out of the basket and I grin. "You guys thought of everything."

"Except for anything to put on while we swim." Luna murmurs, running hand through her hair and smiling apologetically.

"That's fine, we can skinny dip." I wave my hand dismissively. I can tell they have no clue what that means. "Swimming naked."

Anya, who had just taken her first sip of whiskey from her glass, chokes on it. Luna pats her back, looking just as surprised as Anya.

"Unless you two aren't comfortable with that. Which is fine," I try to assure them. I don't want to do anything that would make them uncomfortable. "We could always just go in our underwear instead."

"That is better." Anya says, her voice rough.

Luna nods and I walk over to the water then unbuckle my brace first. I set it far enough away so it won't get wet. The water looks even more inviting in the dim light, the pale moon reflected on the water. The wisps of steam rising off the water surprises me, I didn't notice that when it was light out.

"You're sure about this?" I ask, turning to face Anya and Luna when I notice they're not beside me. "Because if you're not, I won't be mad or anything."

They exchange a look and nod to each other. I don't know what that means. I'm just about ready to put my brace back on when Luna slips out of her jacket-like armor thing.

My mouth drops open. Oh float me, I didn't think about how they would be nearly naked too. I ignore the nervous fluttering warmth in my stomach and take off my red leather jacket, setting it next to my brace. We all strip down silently. I keep my back to them to give my cheeks time to stop blushing, but every time I think I'm good I hear another bit of clothing drop onto the ground behind me and the process starts all over again.

Eventually, I'm down to my underwear and bra. I slowly make my way into the water at first. It's warm and inviting but it's hard to balance on one good leg. Luna and Anya come on either side of me and silently help me get further into the water.

There's a shelf in the perfect place for us to be able to sit, it feels like I'm in a hot tub in an old movie. I sigh happily, close my eyes, and let the water work its magic on my tired muscles.

We sit there quietly and I rub the muscles in my bad leg even though I can't feel anything in order to tell if it's helping.

"How did you end up here?" Luna asks.

I turn to the left to see that she and Anya are both looking at me and my breath catches in my throat. They look gorgeous like this, and holy crap they have abs. This shouldn't surprise me, they're obviously fit but it does.

"What do you mean?" I ask after a moment of gathering myself.

"Well you came down with the hundred, yes?" Luna questions, continuing after I nod. "You are the oldest among them. I know Bellamy is older as well, but he snuck into the ship. You do not have to tell us, but I am curious."

"This isn't going to be a short story." I warn.

"We have time," Anya says.

"Alright." I take a deep breath and let it out slowly, thinking about how to start this. "So you know how I helped Clarke get down here, right? I helped her mom rebuild a pod. Jaha always suspected me of helping her, but he and his lackeys could never get any proof. They couldn't float their brightest mechanic without any evidence, so they became increasingly desperate to find something, anything. But they couldn't. I knew about the hundred, both from Abby and from maintaining the dropship to make sure it was ready."

"The dropship is the metal box you came down in, right?" Luna questions.

I blink and then nod. They've moved a little closer to me since I began telling my story. I wonder whether they realize that or not.

"Yeah. So when the day came where they were going to take the hundred, they made sure I was helping fix something in the prison. By the time I realized it was a set up, there was nothing I could do to escape. There were armed guards on either side of me, presumably for my protection. The screams and cries of confusion from the kids were horrible. I tried to get away but couldn't. I was held in place my two guards, holding onto my arms so I couldn't move. But you know me, I'm stubborn."

That earns a soft chuckle from them. Luna, who's closest to me, places her hand on mine under the water like she can tell it's going to get rough. I take a shaky breath.

"I fought back. I elbowed and kicked and punched and tried to get away. They hit me so hard in the head that the world went dark for a few minutes. When I came to, I was lying on my back on the floor with a guard bending over me. When he saw I was awake, he smirked and said 'this is from Jaha.' They stood me up and he pressed a gun to my lower back. I've never been so terrified. I fought as best I could with swimming vision, and so he shot me in the back."

This is longer than usual because I got so into Raven's story! Next chapter, it continues... Thank you all for reading and for your amazing comments! Stay awesome!