Her Loyalties

Chapter Thirty-Six

Lexas POV

We emerged out of the tunnel and came face to face with a big crowd of people. 

"Hey, princess!" Somone called, and Clarke let go of my hand to hug the boy that had called her princess. I didn't like that he called her that, and the way he hugged her. But I stayed where I was. When they pulled away I saw that it was Finn.

Until she kissed me, I had thought that she was with Finn. Maybe she had liked him once, but if there ever was anything it was over now.

The dark skinned boy that was with Clarke before stepped up next to me.

"I'm Wells." He introduced himself to me.

"Lexa." I held out my arm and was surprised again when he took my hand instead of my arm. He shook my hand once and then dropped his to his side.

We said nothing, and I watched Clarke as she embraced three others, ones that I vaguely recognised as being with Clarke before they left. Clarke came back to me once she had talked to more people.

"We're going back to the Ark." She told me. "Do you, umm..."

"Your mother hates me doesn't she?" I asked. I remember Abby in her compartment, threatening me if I ever hurt Clarke. "I don't think it would be wise if I came with you." Clarke bit her lip.

"I know but, I don't want you to go."

I sighed, thankful that she felt the same way I did. Even though I knew Abby hated me, I wanted to make things better between us. Maybe if I went with them, I could fix it.

"I'll come." I said, and Clarkes eyes lit up slightly. "But I think we should properly talk to your mother." I saw how much this annoyed Clarke, but we both knew that itw as worse to not talk to Abby.

"Fine." She sighed. "Let's go." She motioned to the group of people and they fell into step behind us as we walked into the forest. It would take us a while to get back to the Ark, so long that we would probably have to sleep in the forest overnight.

There were two clear groups among Clarkes friends. One was big, the majority of the people here. The other was smaller, only Clarke, Wells, Finn and four others that walked together. They were obviously the leaders of the group.

I hesitated, unsure where to walk. Clarke smiled and took my hand, leading me over to walk with her and her smaller group. I relaxed slightly, I hadn't been sure if Clarke was okay with this public display, but apparently she was.

Anya and Delphi fell into step at the very back of the group, trying to guard us. I thought about calling them off, but they probably wouldn't want too. They were born gaurds.

"So, what are we supposed to call you?" A girls voice asked louldy from behind me. I turned slightly as I walked to see the girl that I was pretty sure was called Olivia? Or was it Ophelia?

"Octavia..." Another boy sighed. So that was her name.

"What?" She asked. "I just want to know. If I call her the wrong name her guards might chop my head off." I remembered her now, the girl who Anya almost killed because she said something out of place.

"You can call me Lexa." I said. "But if you're at a meeting or something more formal, it's customary to call me Heda." Octavia nudged the boy.

"See Bellamy?" She sounded smug. "You only have to ask."

Bellamy rolled his eyes and muttered something about 'little sisters right?'.

"Yeah, dude." The boy who used to have goggles said. "Can't relate to having a sister." His tone was sarcastic. I frowned.

"You're not allowed to have more than one child on the Ark." Clarke explained, whispering in my ear. I was about to ask why Bellamy and Octavia were siblings then, but she beat me too it. "Some people like to break the rules."

I sneaked a look at Octavias face and saw that she looked very mad. This was probably a touchy subject, since she was both a mistake and forbidden.

"I set a record though." She said after a minute. "Sixteen years of hiding, under the floor for half of it."

"No need to brag O." Bellamy nudged her, and they started a sort of play fight.

I turned my attention away from them and looked at Clarke. She was smiling, chatting to Finn. I tilted my head on one side and then almost tripped over a root because I wasn't watching where I was going.

Clarke threw out her other hand to stop me from falling over and made sure I was okay before giggling.

"What?" I asked, not finding it very funny.

"Lexa." She said. "You just fell for me."

Everyone who heard this burst out laughing, but I didn't get it. I looked around confused, but no one was going to explain it to me.

*

That night, I helped Clarke make a big fire for everyone to sleep around, for warmth. There wasn't much to work with in the way of beds, so most people just lay on the ground. A couple of people, that I thought were probably together, lay down together and curled up in each others arms.

I didn't quite trust sleeping in a group of people I didn't, but I trusted Clarke that none of them meant me any harm. We were one of the last people to go to bed, and we stayed sitting by the fire for a while.

Eventually, Clarke let out a small yawn and I looked over to see her blinking tiredly. I smiled.

"Do you want to go to bed?" I asked. Clarke nodded, but didn't let go of my hand.

"You come too." She said, tugging gently. I complied, laying down next to her and wrapping my arms around her shoulders from behind. She snuggled into my chest, and closed her eyes with one of her hands still holding mine.

"Goodnight hodnes. (love)" I whispered. Clarke smiled and squeezed my hand.

And we fell asleep by the dying light of the flickering fire.