To Elysia - The 100 season 5 - A bellarke story

Promethius - Part 1

Clarke began to instinctively edge back into the woods, the grasses beneath her brushing gently against her legs as she silently moved.
Who were these people?
She had heard of the lost mining colony on the Asteroid belt, however, this was a prisoner ship. She felt like she really shouldn't judge, after all, she had arrived with 99 prisoners on earth not too long ago.
However, something was niggling away in the back of her mind, something didn't sit right and she just couldn't shake it. Her gut told her that the ship was bad news.

Clarke and Maddie made about moving down the hillside, staying out of sight and working their way along the edge of the forest. Clarke gazed up at the beautiful green canopy above her, the gentle streams of light breaking their way through the dense vegetation. It wasn't long until nightfall, if they could get to a secure location to observe the ship, it may give them the advantage.

Clarke made her way briskly over the moss covered rocks, grabbing ahold of the nearby trees for support as she went. Her mind was racing with questions that she just didn't have answers for. Clarke shook her head a moment, channeling her anxiety. Her main focus needed to be their safety.........Maddies safety.
Maddie was everything to Clarke, her entire world. She had found the petrified 6 year old huddled in a cave a few months after Praimfaya, and although she portrayed herself as this strong independent girl to the rest of the world, it had became clear over the years that she was traumatised by Praimfaya.

Maddie had been the first nightblood that she had encountered since the death wave, and now there were 12 of them in total. Clarke had always hoped to find more, but knew deep down that "to survive Praimfaya was one thing, to stay alive in this abandoned wilderness was another"
Her and Maddie had spent the last 5 years together, and although not biologically connected to Clarke, Maddie was her family through and through, and she wasn't about to let this new threat hurt her or anyone else that she cared for.

Upon reaching the bottom of the hill, Clarke set about scouting a small area of about 50feet to find a hiding spot. As she did so Maddie shadowed her actions, looking through trees, behind rocks, all the while trying to get a glimpse of the ship.

"Psssst, Clarke!" Maddie whispered, pointing at a nearby boulder hidden beneath a fallen tree. "You can see them from there, look!" Maddie suddenly crawled into the space, disappearing into the brush as Clarke jogged over to assess.
As she edged forward on her elbows, Maddie could see the ship in the distance below her. Clarke soon followed, joining her in their makeshift observation den, she pushed her blonde hair behind her ears before placing the scope of her rifle to her eye.

About an hour had passed and both Clarke and Maddie had been watching the doors of the Prisoner ship obsessively.
"Who do you think they are?" Maddie asked, breaking the instinctive silence.
Clarke shifted her weight onto her other elbow to look at Maddie "I don't know, but I do know prisoners and I know how reckless they can be" Clarke sighed, looking back down the scope at the ship below.
"We need to keep our distance until we can ascertain whether they will harm us or help us"

"Why would they harm us?" Maddie prodded after a moment.
Clarke looked up, her expression softening upon hearing the fear in Maddie's voice.
"Years of living in space can change people Maddie, you remember what I told you about when we first landed? The grounders, about how we survived? They may have never set foot on earth before. They will be scared, hungry and desperate" Clarke paused seeing the uncertainty in Maddies face as her gaze became distant.

"No matter what happens, I won't let anyone hurt you. Do you understand?"
Maddie locked eyes with Clarke, before nodding slowly.
Clarke knew she wasn't being completely honest with Maddie, deep down she was scared. Protecting those that she cared about was something that came naturally to her, she was a fighter and would do what was necessary to keep them safe. But if it came to it, this would be the first time she would have to do it alone, without her mum, without Octavia, without Raven, without Bellamy.....
Clarke shook her head abruptly, forcing her thoughts elsewhere:

It wasn't until the dead of the night that Clarke heard the door to the ship opening. Gazing to her left, Maddie lay fast asleep beside her.
Clarke edged forward, using the scope on her rifle to get a closer look.
Out first came two men, both tall and well built. Clarke watched as one walked over to a nearby bush.
He grabbed a leaf and brought it up to his nose, before making an agitated face and tossing it to the ground.
The other male was instructing someone on the ship, and although Clarke couldn't see who it was, she could see him shouting and angrily pointing at the floor outside.
Within seconds, two officers in chains were escorted off of the ship and thrown to their knees beside the offending bush, followed by the first male swiftly kicking one of the officers to the ground violently.

The prisoners had commandeered the ship, and Clarke knew the officers would face certain death if she didn't do something. But what could she do? She looked over at Maddie, still sound asleep next to her.
Clarke swallowed as she looked back out at the ship below her, reminding herself that Maddie came first, regardless of the anxiety beginning to build in the pit of her stomach.