All is Fair in Love and War (Clexa Au)

Restless

Clarke awoke to someone's hand on her shoulder. She opened her eyes and recognized Finn hovering over her. She sat up quick and he removed his hand.

"What do you want?"

"Good morning to you too," Finn muttered. Clarke responded with a harsh glare. Finn dropped eye contact with the blonde. "I was sent to deliver rations for you and the prisoner."

Clarke almost cringed at the sentence. She didn't like hearing anyone referred to as a prisoner. But she couldn't correct him. They had taken her against her will and were holding her here for information. "Thank you. You may leave now."

"Wait, Clarke, I'm sorry."

"No need. I'm over it."

"I'm not with Raven anymore." Finn said softly.

"Good for her. She deserves better than your cheating ass. Next time you decide to cheat, don't come back begging for forgiveness. It's pathetic."

Finn was definitely hurt. He showed it very well, but Clarke didn't care. She opened the flap to the tent for him and he was on his way.

Clarke turned back to see that the Trikru girl was still asleep on the floor. Her position couldn't be very comfortable, but her features were softened with the relaxation of sleep.

Clarke couldn't help but notice how strikingly beautiful she was. She looked so peaceful. But it wasn't long until the same intensity that she held when conscious covered her face.

She didn't wake up, but her dreams were not treating her any better than reality it seemed. Her brows furrowed and she frowned in her sleep. She tried to kick her leg but was partially restrained by the cuff on her ankle that held her to the post. This only alarmed her further. Her kicks increased in pace and were now paired with rapid thrashing.

Clarke quickly jumped down to her side. She grabbed her shoulder and the girl awoke with a start.

"It's okay. It's okay," Clarke spoke with her hand still in the girl's shoulder. "You were dreaming. You're okay."

The girl ceased her struggling against Clarke and looked deeply into the blue eyes before her. Clarke started back into the emerald green eyes looking at her intensely. There was something other than hatred. Something in Clarke was screaming for her to keep looking into those beautiful eyes, and from the looks of it, this girl didn't want to look away either.

Clarke broke the eye contact first. She felt staticky where she had been touching the woman's shoulder. Not from actual electricity, but from something within her. "Sorry. I shouldn't have touched you."

"It's okay."

That was the first time Clarke had heard the girl speak to her with the intention of her hearing.

"Thank you for trusting me with your words."

Clarke watched the girl advert her gaze down to the floor and moved away. She still stayed sitting on the ground before the woman. She leaned back against the makeshift desk and felt it creak slightly before looking back and leaning forward again. Clarke looked up and caught a glimpse of a smile tugging at the brunettes lips. She smiled back, but the smile was already gone from the Trikru woman's face.

Clarke pulled her notebook from on top of the desk and began scribbling in it. Only this time, it was a sketch of the woman before her. She didn't know why but she felt compelled to draw her. She tried to draw the smile she had worn just a moment ago, but couldn't quite grasp the energy behind it.

She decided to flip the page and get on top of her daily routine of checking in with all of the stations within her camp. She left the tent and came back an hour later with rations for the Trikru girl and herself. For the first time since they had the girl in their camp, Clarke saw her eat. In any other situation Clarke wouldn't have thought twice about such actions. But this was different. The girl was begging to trust her. Clarke was watching the woman with a fascination that seemed to be reciprocated. They were similar in so many ways, even if their packs were night and day different in most other areas. Clarke wanted to cling to these similarities.

"Have you made any progress with the prisoner?" Bellamy asked as he stepped through the opening of the tent.

Clarke thought for a moment. Bellamy crossed his arms in front of him. The Trikru girl visibly tensed in his presence. He was her captor after all. She felt a pang of sympathy for the girl. What she did next, she questioned even after doing it. If this went wrong, then things would really go south.

"I don't think she even speaks English, Bellamy. I speak to her and all she does is look at me with that stoic expression of hers or look at me confused." Clarke sighed. "I don't know what to do with her."

"How do you know for sure she isn't just hiding? How do you know she isn't trying to trick us?"

"How do we know she is trying to trick us? How did you think this was going to go? You capture someone and pray that they speak more than just their native tongue. Seems a bit too optimistic for my taste."

"Someone's gotta do something, Princess."

"Well too bad we can't. She can't even talk to us. And if she goes away and is able to tell her people anything, that's on you."

Bellamy looked frustrated. He made a dumb pouty face before leaving the tent. Clarke has just lied for the well bring of a girl she barely knew.

"Hey," she whispered, looking into those beautiful green eyes, "They aren't going to torture you. It's not okay. We don't know who you are or what you know. Torturing you only makes it clear that we don't want peace. But there are more like me who do. I'm sorry you're here, but I hope I can at least make you a bit more comfortable while you're here."

The girl looked to Clarke and thought for a second. She quietly nodded to her in appreciation. Clarke nodded back to her and grabbed the block of wood from her desk and completed her daily chore of carving a bowl today. When it was finished, she set it aside and sat down on her cot. She excused herself before getting up and uttering a few words to the guards. She then left and came back with a fur pelt from the boar that her hunting circle had caught only a few days ago.

"Get comfortable." Clarke spoke before laying the fur over the woman's shoulders. She looked up at Clarke in confusion. "I helped because I was telling you the truth when you first came here. I don't want to hurt you."

And with that the blonde laid herself down on the cot and slept on her balled up jacket.

_________________________________________

Lexa now had more to think about than just her people. She had reasons to wonder about Clarke. Am she had to weigh the pros and cons of possibly trusting this woman. She wondered what had shaped this strong leader. It was almost as if she was born for it. But this woman was a strong leader which in Lexa's experience came from a lot of pain and personal sacrifice.

But one concern she had laced all thoughts of her people: Why hadn't they come for her yet? It had been four whole days. They wouldn't have just left their alpha to die. And this woman didn't seem like the kind to allow the use of rifles or explosives on the other side. But then again, some of her pack, such as Bellamy, didn't listen to her. That boy could spark a civil war if he didn't fall in line. Lexa didn't sleep much that night. The stress that was twisting in her gut kept her awake. She felt as if she was drowning in it. But as a leader, she always was.