𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄─𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐤𝐞¹ (𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠)

73. final goodbye

Walking through the gates of the Grounder village brought no more comfort than standing outside them did. It was obvious we were unwanted here, judging by the loud yelling of the members of the village.

I couldn't understand exactly what they were saying, but I could tell it wasn't friendly.

My eyes wandered the groups of people, the gut wrenching realization that my brother had killed their friends, their parents, their children, came creeping into my mind. I felt like I was going to be sick as tears prickled at my eyes.

A hand was placed on my lower back as someone leaned into me, "You okay?" Bellamy whispered, his eyes searching mine.

I gave him a tight smile and a nod, "Yeah," I responded, "Just overwhelmed."

Bellamy was in the midst of responding when one of the villagers stepped forwards, stopping the group of us in our tracks. It was a man, and he was angry. He began speaking in Trigedasleng. The only word I could pick out was "Skai Kru", which I assuming was us.

The man finished speaking and Gustus quickly responded, again in Trigedasleng, his voice more demanding. The man, however, seemed to ignore whatever Gustus said as he continued.

It was at this point that Bellamy pulled me closer to him, clearly afraid of what this man, and possibly the others were going to do to us. With no weapons, we were basically defenceless.

Suddenly, Gustus took a large step forward, not wasting anytime in delivering a punch to the man's face, which sent him to the ground. I felt myself cringe as he continued hitting the man, quickly drawing blood.

I cast my eyes to the ground, growing uneasy as the scene continued to unfold. Clarke was clearly uncomfortable with it as well as she rushed towards the Commander, begging her to stop it so we would not be blamed.

It became evident that the Commander decided to listen to her as she gave Gustus an order which caused him to stop. She then turned to face us and the rest of the villagers, "The Sky People march with us now. Anyone who tries to stop that will pay with their life."

My eyes widened slightly at her threat, finding it somewhat severe. However, it seemed that no one was willing to challenge it, as when I looked around at the villagers, they all remained silent, watching their Commander with respect.

When Lexa was sure no one was going to argue with her proclamation, she turned and began advancing further into the village. Bellamy and I shared a look as the rest of us began to follow her.

He gave a slight shake of his head as we began to move, "Warm welcome." he muttered.

---

The time had come, it was time to say goodbye to my brother. The group of us, along with the villagers and the Commander and her people stood gather around. In front of us was my brother's wrapped body, along with those he had killed.