Promise

Chapter 24

They rode non-stop for hours and Clarke felt herself getting really light headed due to the  constant juggling of her body as the horse galloped along. She wasn't sure if Lincoln had noticed that she seemed a bit gloomy, but she wasn't about to stop the trip unless she desperately needed to.

They were about seven hours in, only a few more to go until they reached the gates to Polis. Knowing that she was only a few hours away from Bellamy was the thing that was keeping her going. She wasn't complaining to Lincoln about the ride because she knew that he would make her stop and take a break, she wanted to, but she wanted to get to Bellamy more.

The small rays of sun that flickered through the trees felt warm against her skin. The dense canopy made the surroundings almost as dark as night, only a few cracks of sun to light the way.

She had never been this far north, the furthest she'd ever been was when she and Wells went on an adventure. He was sure that he knew where he was going, but they couldn't have been further away from their destination— which was a lake that Wells swore was the most beautiful place he had ever been. They hadn't told their parents that they had left, but when no one heard from them and noticed that their horses were gone, it didn't take them long to figure out that their children had snuck away.

Trikru scouts had found them in the dense forest and kindly took them home. Clarke was forever grateful and she had held Wells's minimal geography knowledge against him ever since.

Clarke smiled at the memory, remembering Wells's face when the Trikru scouts appeared, he thought that they were under attack, his reaction priceless; he kneeled on the ground without hesitation and raised his hands.

"You okay Clarke?" Lincoln asked curiously, pulling her from her thoughts.

Just then, her stomach churned and she immediately stopped her horse before jumping off and kneeling to the side of the eroded track.
She vomited, it had happened a few times in the past month. She was done with having morning sickness and she could only hope that that specific side effect of being pregnant subsided soon.

She felt Lincoln pull her hair out of her face, frantically asking if she was okay. All she could do was nod her head as she wiped her mouth.

"You don't seem okay, you should have told me that you were feeling sick. I would have let you rest."

Clarke smiled as she looked into the distance, the warriors they were riding with were no longer in sight, they mustn't have seen the scene play out.

"I'm not sick I'm—" she stopped herself, not knowing whether or not she should tell Lincoln or just get back on her horse and keep riding towards her husband. Lincoln raised his eyebrows, waiting for her to continue. "Look if i tell you, you can't tell anyone, not yet."

Lincoln nodded. "You have my word, I won't tell anyone unless you want me to."

Clarke took a deep breath before she stood up, removing the bulky jacket that she was wearing. "I'm pregnant," she stated simply and she saw Lincoln's eyes settle on her swollen stomach.

"That's why you were so excited to come with me, Bellamy doesn't know, does he?"

Clarke shook her head. "No, he doesn't, and i would rather tell him face to face than have a Raven fly a note from Arkadia to Polis."

"Clarke. I'm happy for you, but now that i know, I'm going to be more annoying with my questions on whether or not you feel okay."