❝I don't do regrets. Regrets are pointless. It's too late for regrets. You've already done it, haven't you? No point wishing you could change it.❞
Elissa Bardot-Gray was never the one to be classified as a "rule breaker". She had a high-rankin...
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THE FIRST HALF HOUR of their journey to Mount Weather was silent, and it gave Elissa the opportunity to soak it all in. She found that it was so peaceful and colorful on Earth; without the dark cell walls constantly enclosing around her, she felt so free. She walked a few paces behind Clarke with Finn beside her. They all knew that there was a significant chance that the radiation was slowly killing them, but in that short moment, Elissa couldn't bring herself to worry because she knew what it was like to live in the Sky Box.
The trail became slimmer and slimmer as time flew and they moved right through a beautiful patch of purple flowers. Elissa subconsciously slowed down to admire them; Octavia following suit. Finn picked a flower and tucked it behind Elissa's ear, causing her to hum in appreciation. She allowed a small smile as he brushed the hair out of her face.
"Here you go, Queen Elissa." Finn said, smiling.
The smile dropped from Elissa's face, rolling her eyes at the name he gave her. "Queen? Where'd you get that from, Spacewalker, pull it out of your book of pick-up lines?"
Finn quirked up an eyebrow at her. "Did you not pay attention in school? In Greek and Roman mythology, Elissa is the first queen of Carthage. So, enjoy the flower, Queen Elissa."
"Now that, my friend, is game." Jasper noted, pointing at Finn with obvious respect. Elissa rolled her eyes.
"Also," Month chirped up, "that, my friend, is poison sumac." He plucked another flower from the bunch as they continued to walk. Octavia exclaimed childishly, jumping away from the flowers as if they were a bunch of cobras rearing back ready to strike her. Monty was quick to reassure her by popping one of the flowers into his mouth. "The flowers aren't poisonous. They're medicinal, calming actually." He threw another one in his mouth, making Elissa snort.
"How does that flower taste, Monty?" Elissa teased.
Monty swallowed, shrugging his shoulders. "Mmm, like a flower."
"His family grows all the pharmaceuticals on the Ark," Jasper explained to them.
"Hey, doesn't that hurt?" Finn asked, nodding toward the gnarly burns on Elissa's left forearm. Frowning, she looked down at wound and shook her head. She had completely forgotten that they were even there. "Did you actually forget that you were hurt?"
She nodded, which seemed to only baffle Finn more. She quickly pulled her jacket sleeve down to avoid another situation like this.
"Hey, guys, would you try to keep up?" Clarke called from ahead. Elissa could hear the clear urgency in her friend's voice, so she quickened her pace.
"Come on, Clarke," Finn groaned, an annoyed edge in his voice. "How do you block all of this out?"
"Well, it's simple," Clarke began, waiting for the rest of the group to catch up to her. "I wonder, why haven't we seen any animals?" Elissa frowned. Finally glancing around, and for the first time, she realized that the peacefulness she was feeling was quite unnatural. There were, in fact, in the middle of a forest. There should have been animals everywhere. Maybe not in plain sight, but from how quick they dart away, they should've been able to hear them scattering across the ground. "Maybe we've already been exposed to enough radiation to kill us. Sure is pretty, though. Come on."
