#elara come get your wolf!

[thespiritualfives]

🐺IM FERAL ABOUT THIS MOMENT WITH HUNTER AND ELARA @cloned-eyes 🐺

[redrydersrequiem]

The raven and the vampire

Ch6

A jasper x oc story that is a marvel and twilight crossover.

Everything was set. All of Bella's family had been convinced to go elsewhere. While she lied about staying with Alice and I for a girls weekend. I in turn lied to Jasper that my “aunt and uncle” and I were meeting up in New York with my father, mother and siblings since I hadn’t seen them in forever. The guilt of what I'm about to do eats away inside me. The plan had been made by Bella, Edward and jacob. Bella would be carried up the mountain by jacob to disguise her scent while alice rue and Rosalie spread her scent around the woods to attract the newborn army to the preordained field for the battle. Jacob and another wolf would protect Bella while the others all fought the army. In fact I was leaving now for the imaginary airport I was going to. Jasper bella and the others seeing me and my family off. Jasper has barely left my side sense he came to get me this morning for breakfast. The others just smile solemnly at me, more focused about what is to come.

“Jasper please, please be safe. “

“I will darling, I promise you, I will always come back to you”.

He leans down connecting our foreheads as he breathes me in. The words that I'm staying to help are on the tip of my tongue but after speaking with grandmother frigga about how fickle the future can be I keep them clamped down in hopes to not change the fates.

“Jasper, I want you to hear me when I say this. Everything is going to be fine. And anything that happens now is meant to I just pray that at the end of it we all come out unscathed.”

He looks at me puzzled but accepts my words with a nod. I hear Luke say it's time to go, and turn my head briefly but Jasper's cold hand on my cheek turns me back. He looks through me with his topaz eyes and gently brings me to him for a kiss. His lips are so soft on mine. As I take him in his strong grip on my waist and tender touch on my check. All I can do is pray to all the gods above that after tomorrow he still kisses me this way, or at all.

I pulled away tears burning behind my eyes, his thumb gently wiping them as he ushered me to the car.

“I love you elara.” He says in a gently soft voice for my ears only.

“I love you to jasper. I love you so much. Please please be safe. All of you be safe,” I shout out to the others behind him. I enter the car behind Mila as Lucas goes to drive off to our imaginary destination.

“All will be well my princess, they will understand in time.” Mila tries to reassure me

“From your lips to Odin's ears”

A ways away from the cullens estate I finally step out of the car.

“Are you sure about this my lady?”

“Yes Lucas, I want to make sure that anyone amongst the new borns knows there’s another way, i have to see if I can stop some unnecessary bloodshed.”

I send out my power a purple butterfly leaving my palm and darting up into the sky to find victoria and deliver my message to her.

Victorias pov

“Riley, is everyone ready?”

“Yes Victoria, they are all ready to attack.”

“Good we need to start a move on if we are to make it there on time.”

Victoria is ready to finish out her revenge. Already smiling at the thought of Edward's troubled face as she kills Bella in front of him when a purple butterfly flies into the camp. Its glowing attracts everyone as they all clamor for it. It lands on one of the metal canister scattered around the dump their using for hiding

“Victoria what the hell is that”

“I don't know”. She walks towards it slowly, just as she gets in range to grab it it explodes leaving a piece of paper in its wake.

“Riley grab it, tell me what it says” The young male walks up quickly slipping the paper away,

“It says if any of you value your life then turn back now and forget about this battle. Wait could this be from the Cullens, How?”

“I don't know but it doesn’t matter even if they added a new member to their stupid family we'll kill them all just the same.” Victoria screeches, grabbing the note and ripping it to shreds.

Jaspers pov

Sending off my mate killed me but her getting hurt would completely destroy me. Edward at least was able to watch over his mate himself but i had t trust that the newborns wouldn’t find her. Alice consoles me as we all decided to go hunting wanting to be in peak conditon before the battle now all I can do is wait. The sun slowly starts to appear over the horizon as the newborns and Victoria finally arrive.

Mid morning, a quick chat with Edward lets us know that even though the night was long everything and everyone is in place. We march along the trees to the destined location however arriving at the destination a disntinct purple gleam is seen on the horizon, we approach the shield slowly the purple magic shimmering in front of us.

“What is going on? What is this?” Rue asks

“Could this be a power one of the newborns possesses or something. Emmet chimes in.

“I don't know EM but if it is this will change everything. we need to regroup with the wolves and try something else,” carlisle always the leader he is states

“Then let’s get back to edward and bella and see what we can do and do it quickly.” Im about to turn when elaras voice comes from behind me

“It’s alright everyone”

All Heads turn to see elara standing there behind them

“elara how the hell,what are you doing here? Come on, I have to get you somewhere safe.” Right as I go to embrace my mate and hopefully whisk her away my hand goes right through her.

“What the hell.”

The illusion sadly smiles. “It’s ok Jasper, everything is going to work out. The barrier you're seeing is of my own creation. I wanted to make sure you all were in the correct area before I brought you any closer.”

The copy vanishes as the magical barrier slowly withdraws further from the woods. The cullens and the pack slowly being brought into the clearing foretold for the battle to come. A figure of a lone girl sits in the middle of the clearing a silver dog sitting next to her.

I rushes the Barrier to then be bounced off like a rubber band, quickly recovering, “elara elara,!” I yell fists banging on the barrier

“It’s ok jasper im right here”

Again we all spin around as the illusion of elara appears once more

“What is happening, how are you doing this?”

“Jasper, I'm so sorry. There’s so much I need to tell you, to tell all of you but after seeing that possible future that Alice saw I could no longer sit back. Even with the packs help none of you deserve to have this happen, Not when I can end this here and now.”

“elara what are you talking about.”

“Jasper, my love, my stars…….I'm not human, I never have been. I'm something else entirely……. To put simply, I come from a very powerful family and I have more experience in battle then I probably need and I was raised to protect the people I love and that is exactly what I'm doing.”

An orange spark is seen from the left and a very confused Edward, Jacob, Seth and Bella appearing seemingly out of thin air.

“What the hell.” Edward asks confusingly.

“Sorry I didn’t want to leave all of you up there in the cold. Victoria and her army will be here soon.”

“elara I don't know what’s going on dear but please let us help.” Esme chimes from beside her husband. All the current party now staring at the illusion.

“I'm sorry esme, I can’t do that right now.“

“Elara!”

With a sad smile i watch as the double disappears into purple shimmers, The sound of footsteps replacing it as Luke and Mila step out of the woods wearing armor of some kind

“Lucas?”

“Hello Carlisle, hello everyone.”

“What’s going on? What is elara doing? You have to help me get to her.” I plead desperately.

“I'm sorry but I am not the one to explain, that is something milady must do. For now I must do my duty and protect her highness. Please excuse me. Luke bows and steps through the barrier, Mila just smiling next to him Just as the others and I are about to run after them we hear the sound of many footsteps now approaching the other side of the clearing.

Elaras pov

Aurelius' head sits in my lap still in his husky form, his fur soothing as I hear the new vampires march into the clearing, the bright red hair sticking out at the front of the group. A low growl sounds from my lap Aurelius sensing the evil coming on the air. I can still sense everyone at the barrier. I know I should let them in but I can’t shake that horrible sight of Jasper getting hurt from my mind. I have to try my way first before anything happens to him. Standing Aurelius takes guard next to me,

“Glad to see you all could make it.”

“Who the hell are you” the sound spews from victoria's mouth

“My name is elara”

“She’s the one that has been around Bella lately, I've also seen her with the blonde Cullen.” Riley states from next to victoria

“Ahhh a new Cullen pet, i must say im impressed especially at whatever this is around us. But this has nothing to do with you.”

“I'm afraid it does, you’ve become a threat to people I love. So I will give you a chance. You and anyone in your group hear me now. There are other options. You don't need to be like her, there is a better way of life for you.”

“Ok stop.! Victoria all but yells. “What makes you think you can come in here and change anything? All I see is one tiny human. And over 35 of us. What will you do?”

“Human? When did I say I was human.”

For the first time in front of everyone I let the midgardian glamor fade. My true self being revealed in my armor, the light reflecting off the gold accents as my jacket flows in the light wind,ready to leave these cretins in the dust.

The breeze howls through the trees and I can tell the simple show of magic has confused everyone around.

“What’s wrong Victoria, did that simple display shock you? Wait for this one.” I turn to Aurelius and pet him and with a flip of my wrist I break the magic on Aurelius, Gone is the small husky and in his place stands the 10 ft tall wolf. Growling in agitation.

“This is my last warning to all of you. None of you need to fight this battle, it was not your choice to become hat she has made you, but it is your choice how you choose to go about your new existents”

I see many of the new vampires stare and turn to each other Victoria and Riley telling them to shut up and stay silent. They all seem to comply except for a young girl in the back. Her long brown hair flows in the breeze as er big red doe eyes fill with terror. I can tell she’s different than the others as she quickly runs over to me before either Riley or Victoria can catch her.

“Please please dont hurt me i didnt do anything”

“Hush now im not going to hurt you. I can tell your different from them, do you want a different path” I ask the trimblin girl she simply nods. Putting my hand on her shoulder i turn her towards esme instructing Aurelius to look after her and make sure she mad it to the Cullen matriarch’s side.

“Aurelius here will protect you, I promise once this is all over you’ll be well taken care of.” The young girl turns back frightened to look at Victoria one last time

“She can’t do anything to you anymore. I swear on my name if you choose the Cullens you will have a good life.”

“I, I, want to b happy”

“Good” i push her towards Aurelius the beast quickly crouching down as i urge her onto his back, before they take off back towards the Cullens home.

TRAITOR!!!!! Riley yells after her

“Now tell me, how is that young girl a traitor when she has done nothing other than being one of your many victims” Murmers go through their numbers

“Whether she stays with us or you it doesn’t matter all of you will be dead by the end of the day especially you.” I simply smile at her shaking my head at her poor attempts of self control, summoning my golde staff i draw Aline in the dirt infront of me.

“If. You choose not to take my offer as the girl has I will cut you down were you stand a burn the pieces.’ Adding to my threat i materialize and wooden pier quickly setting it on fire.”

“You’re going to cut us. Into pieces with what the stick in your hand. Please all of these little illusions of yours are impressive I’ll give you that but you wont stop us. You two kill her.” Victoria shouts ordering two newborns that were at the front of the group forward.” They were both tall burly males slightly bigger than Emmet. I guess she thought to intimidate me,which is laughable.The two advance quickly, i hear yelling off to my side where jasper is banging on the barrier. Fear evident in his eyes. I just smile at him as the new borns finally come not range. With a quick turn of my hand the blade of my scythe comes into existents. My blade comes up to bock their punches the strength sending me back slightly, but i recover quickly.

Spinning the staff around to bring it across the one on my left torso i go to lock another punch from the other before bring my scythe across his neck. The air is still as the two newborns fall to pieces, their bodies slumping hardly to the ground before I throw the pieces. Into the raging fire.

I see victoria is shaken as many of the others are but she refuses to back down. I see her whisper to Riley as a look of determination comes across his face the battle call of kill her being yelled out.

I take out a few at a time dodging and weaving through the bodies, i know im out numbered and that i should drop the field but I can’t.

“Princess drop the field, you may be strong but it is only right to let the others join you in this battle.” Lucas states over our telepathic link

“I can’t yet i need t thin them out a little more.

“Elara let me in.” I hear jasper pounding away on the barrier

My distraction costs me as on of the newborns lands a hit to my side winding me, crashing sideways into the dirt

“PRINCESS! Lucas yells once more

“Fine” I jump out of the pack quickly. Advancing on me to the the other side of the field and withdraw my magic.i watch then as the cullens and the pac rush in to the fray. Taking down newborns as they went. I see emmetswinging bodies around, Paul and him working together to dispatch bodies as quickly as possible, Alice and ruework in tandem as where rose and esme each taking on a hand full of newborns. I try to quickly set all the bodies ablaze as they go.

As the newborn army puts up a fight I see Riley and victoria running around not really helping their army simply trying to find openings to do damage to the cullens or the pack.

“VICTORIA”

Her head whips towards me a snarl filling her face and she rushes towards me.

“YOU. You ruined EVERYTHING.”

“You did this to yourself Victoria,”

“I will get my revenge even if it’s not today i swear to you the cullens will get whats coming to them.”

All i see is her red hair filling me vision as the thoughts of how she could have cost me everyone I had come to love, and the want to simply cut her down and be done with this mess is not enough anymore. Dropping my scythe i reach for my powers the purple glow of the enveloping my hands and rushing towards victorias form like a bolt of lightning. The had sharp edges of ice leaving a path in their wake before crashing into her freezing her in her stride

The chaos around me is now silent, the battle finally ending. I look up and everyone is staring at me, different looks and emotions crossing each of their faces. But all i feel is indifference enveloping me. Piking up my scythe i slowly stride towards Victoria’s frozen form. Raising my arms and with one final swing i shatter Victoria into a million pieces .

“Elara?” i her jasper gently callout as im about to walk towards him till i hear Alice gasp out. All heads turning towards her

The volutori is all she says. All the Cullens immediately stiffening back up

Who?”

Theres no time carlisle explains “we need to get this fixed quickly Sam the pack needs to go now the volturi will not respect our treaty. Elara i dont know if you can but can you make the are look as though we where the. Only ones fighting, the volturi dont need to know about the pack or you.”

Everyone stares at me waiting for my answer, i simply look at Carlisle wanting to know what has him so frazzled. But all i see in his eyes is darkness and death, so i simply nod summoning my aesre it sweeps over the scene cleaning up the mess or the battle.

“Elara?” esme ask her face motherly as everything that needs to be said sits silently in the air.

I simply nod and set to work erasing all signs of me and Aurelius. The former coming up to me shrinking back into his husky form.

“I agree but not without her” i point over to the newborn girl from earlier

“If these people are as dangerous as you say i doubt they’d spare anyone they do not currently recognize”

“You would be correct” carlisle states next to his wife

“Come.” I stick my hand out for the young one. She timidly takes it

“I will take her back to your home and make sure she’s ok.”

“Rue go with her just in case you’ll be able to look after the girl well” esme adds quickly

“Ok” rue runs over and just kinda stands next to me intimidation rolling off her in waves. I put my hand on each off their shoulders preparing to teleport.

elara wait is all jasper can get out before i strike him with my stare. And vanish.



[cinlat]

Blood in the Breeze: Ch 17 (Choices)

Parts one and two of this series linked.

Read every chapter on FFN or Ao3.

Summary: LOTS of hard choices to make, some tangible wisdom, a little bit of fun on the firing range, and one pissed off dead emperor...

Chapter Word Count: 7,200 Chapter Rating: M Characters in Chapter: Fynta Wolfe, Aric Jorgan, Theron Shan, Zolah Holran, Lana Beniko, Shillet Jorgan, Keshal Vaak, Balic Cormac...

Author’s Note: Whole chapter under the cut. Better formatting on Ao3.

Odessen Private Quarters

Jorgan tossed the empty bottles into the bin while Cormac and Fynta hazed each other about who drank more. Tayl yawned as Elara said her farewells to Shillet. The girl promised to come stay with them soon, then hugged the only mother she'd ever known before bidding him and Fynta good night. All things considered, the night had gone perfectly. Yet, Aric felt more restless than ever.

The skirmishes on Nathema sat clearly in Jorgan's mind. Force-mad guardian and the way his blades sparked off Fynta's armor. Jorgan had taken the shot. He'd missed. If not for Fynta's beskar, that bastard would have cut her in two. Because Aric had missed.

Jorgan pulled the patch off his eye and rubbed it. Fynta had given him his sight back, but when it mattered, he hadn't been good enough. The world still looked like a white haze when Jorgan closed his good eye. Tech might have been able to get Fynta back on her feet, but it couldn't make him a sniper again.

Sighing, Jorgan swept crumbs from the counter into the tash. He'd find some other way to be useful, even if it meant hanging up his scopes. The pain of that thought stole his breath.

Strong arms snaked around Jorgan's waist from behind, and the familiar weight of Fynta's head resting against his back brought a sense of peace. For her, he'd give it all up. Maybe they should. Turning, Jorgan wrapped his wife in a hug. "We should retire."

Fynta chuckled and let Jorgan pull her closer. "You keep saying that."

Jorgan tightened his hold until Fynta looked him in the eye. "I'm serious. What if we just…stopped."

The smile that a pleasant evening had put on Fynta's face slipped. "Are you serious?" Jorgan held her gaze, and familiar frustration replaced it. She pushed away and flailed her hands. "I can't just stop, Aric. I have to get him out." The last line was delivered with a sharp slap to her forehead.

"Why?" Aric crossed the room and gripped Fynta's shoulders. Every time his panic felt under control, something sparked an attack that made him feel like it was all slipping through his fingers. It didn't matter that it wouldn't work, Jorgan argued. "What power does he have if you keep him bottled up? Some bad dreams and whiplash when he stops time? We can handle that."

Fynta tried to turn away, but Jorgan held her fast. "Damn it, woman." Every fear from the last six years crashed over Jorgan all at once. His fingers tightened, desperate to hold onto a past that he saw fading with each day. They were growing apart, him settling into life as a husband and father first, her always the reckless soldier.

Unbidden, anger replaced his fear and Jorgan snarled. "What more do you have to lose to see that this war will never end. Your other leg? The rest of my sight?" Fynta glared at him, but Jorgan couldn't stop the torrent of accusations even though he knew they weren't her fault. "For fuck's sake, Cormac's still walking with a limp. Havoc squad is gone. Vik is dead. When will it be enough?"

Jorgan regretted those last words even as they left his lips. Fynta's eyes widened, and for the first time he saw true, unadulterated emotion on her face. He'd crashed through her shields while she was vulnerable and left her exposed. That had never been his intention.

Slowly, Jorgan lifted his hands. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately. This was the second time in as many days that he'd fucked up what could have been a civil discussion. "That didn't come out the way I meant."

Watching Fynta's mask slide back into place left Jorgan cold. "I know." Her whispered words hurt more than any slap could have.

Jorgan took one of his wife's hands and studied it against his. It was smaller, the fingers more delicate despite the years of calluses and scars. Fynta projected herself as a giant, and sometimes even he forgot that she was only human. Without looking up, Jorgan blew out a breath. "Will you at least hear me out?" Now that the heat of the moment had faded, Jorgan felt like shit. "Please."

"Of course." Jorgan winced at the distance in Fynta's voice, but it was no less than he deserved.

"I need to show you something." Jorgan pulled Fynta to their room. She sat on the end of the bed while he dug out the ruck sack that he had neglected to unpack earlier. He'd warred with himself all night about when to bring up the black box from Nathema. Now seemed as good a time as any.

Sighing, Jorgan turned. "I found this in the vault."

It happened too fast for Jorgan to react. Fynta had been sitting on the bed, then he was tripping over the desk chair, landing on his ass with her on top of him. The face hovering above Aric didn't belong to his wife. It twisted in rage, fingers clawing for his throat.

"Fynta." The knee she drove into Jorgan's gut drove a grunt out of him. He growled and squeezed her wrists so tight that he felt the bones grinding under his fingers. "Stop."

With a shout, Fynta threw herself backwards. The nails that had clawed for his throat were now tangled in her hair. She cried out, more of a belligerent curse than tortured scream. Jorgan scrambled to her and wrapped himself around her. He muttered nonsense, holding her stiff body until it began to relax. By the time Shillet appeared at the top of the stairs, Fynta was sweaty and panting.

"It's alright," Jorgan assured the girl, though he didn't loosen his hold. He couldn't imagine what they must look like, sitting on the floor with Fynta curled into his body. "Nightmare."

"You're sure?" Shillet didn't sound convinced, but she wanted to be. Jorgan nodded, and the girl half turned. "I'll go get her some water."

Fynta shivered, then lifted her head. "Fierfek." Jorgan let out a relieved breath, that word becoming one of relief instead of the curse it was meant to be. It meant his wife was back.

At the sound of returning footsteps, Fynta pushed away from Jorgan. She managed a weak smile at Shillet. "Thanks, Shil'ika. Sorry to wake you."

The girl wore her favorite pajamas, consisting of an old SpecForce shirt that Jorgan had given her years prior and a pair of shorts that she'd proudly lifted from under the quartermaster's nose. She'd been supposed to return those. "You good?" Shillet asked, keeping her distance with thin arms wrapped around her middle.

Fynta drank deep, then let out a shuddery breath. "I'm good. Thanks."

Though Shillet didn't look convinced, she turned and went back to her room. Jorgan waited until she was gone to open his mouth, but Fynta beat him to it. "What the hell?" She pressed the heel of her hand to her eye as she gestured at the box he'd dropped. "Why did you bring him with us?"

"He gave me an idea." The ghost living in Jorgan's box claimed to be Valkorion's father. Trapped for an eternity in a lonely vault by his petty son.

Fynta winced. "The old shabuir doesn't like that."

"Good." Jorgan took Fynta's face into his hands. They'd need to discuss what had just happened and why she had reacted so violently, but first— "Ever wonder why he didn't want you in that vault?"

Eyes widening, Fynta's lips parted. "You want to trap him." She hissed and squeezed her eyes shut, nails digging into Jorgan's forearms. No doubt that old Sith was raging inside her head.

Jorgan brushed loose strands of hair from Fynta's face. "It won't be easy." Hell, he didn't even know if it would be possible. What Jorgan did know was that their current life would lead Fynta to the grave. That wasn't something he'd survive a second time.

"We'll need help," Fynta rasped. Her spine straightened, life entering her eyes once more. "And a galaxy's worth of luck."

War Room Emergency Council Meeting 02:14 Hours

"You're mad." Lana waved a hand at Fynta while speaking to Zolah. "Tell the woman she's gone absolutely insane."

The Chiss shrugged narrow shoulders. "Since when has she ever listened to me?"

Arguments erupted, all the while Fynta watched the hope drain from Aric's eyes. She couldn't say that she disagreed with Lana's assessment. This was one of those grasping at straws plans. The sort that only the truly desperate made up. Fynta hadn't realized that they'd reached that point until Valkorion's rage over the holocron took over.

Fynta knew what, more specifically, who was in that box. She had ordered it to be left behind, to let the old bastard who sired the dead bastard in her head rot for all of eternity. Apparently, her husband had other plans.

A shiver traveled up Fynta's spine at the memory. It hazed, becoming more cloudy as the moments passed, but the rage lingered. Valkorion had roared in her mind, awakening some deep part of her that needed to kill. That old blood lust from childhood that Fynta had buried so long ago. Valkorion hadn't so much taken control of her body, but he'd unleashed the beast within, and she'd gone after the nearest target. That couldn't be allowed to happen again.

"We could use the same technique on Fynta that was used on me," Zolah suggested. Fynta's attention snapped back to the conversation. Zolah rarely spoke about her conditioning, only that it had been unpleasant, but she wouldn't hesitate to use that knowledge to better their position in the war effort.

Vector shook his head, his jaw taut with what Fynta assumed was disapproval. "We will not be a part of such tactics again." Zolah's eyes rolled towards the ceiling, evidence of a years-long argument between the couple. Vector continued without acknowledging his wife's chagrin. "Furthermore, that was an absolute loss of autonomy. Fynta would become a powerful weapon in the wrong hands."

Voices clambered for attention, and Fynta lost interest again. A yawn built in the back of her throat, and she clamped her teeth together to keep it caged. Finally, Notiac interjected with a calm that silenced the room. "I would like to speak with Felix about this."

Only the uncomfortable shuffle of feet answered. Felix Iresso had been a prisoner of war more than a decade ago, the only surviving member of his squad. Only later did the Republic learn that he'd been implanted with experimental holocron tech. No one knew how it worked or what knowledge lay dormant in his mind. Not even the Imperials. And, not for lack of trying. By the time he joined the Alliance, Felix had as many or more scars than Fynta.

"Is that a good idea?" Theron asked. He cleared his throat, and Fynta noted the intentional way he didn't look at their Imperial allies, specifically his girlfriend, the former Cipher Nine. "We promised that he wouldn't be prodded here."

Somehow, Notiac projected peace. Her lips tipped up, a matriarch indulging a child's concern. "No prodding. I simply wish to hear his thoughts on the matter. Fynta, Jorgan, I believe you should accompany me."

"Do you see a way for this plan to work," Lana hedged, eyes narrowed at her Jedi lover. Fynta didn't bother pointing out that Notiac didn't have eyes, though her fatigued thoughts snagged on that bit and refused to let it go.

As Fynta looked around the room, she realized how odd they were. Discounting her, a born Mandalorian, marrying a Cathar. That left the two pairs of Sith/Jedi couples, and a handful of intelligence agents from opposing sides settling into a foursome of domestic bliss. Technically, Theron had surrounded himself with Imperials, but he was stubborn enough to keep whatever loose morals guided him. What had started as a paltry group of radicals had merged into a single force, with no room for Imps and Pubs. They were simply the Alliance now.

Notiac dipped her head. "Possibly. I understand the idea behind Major Jorgan's proposal. Vitiate's father has been trapped for eons, unable to do harm. They want to do the same with Valkorion, trap him in Fynta's mind where he can no longer sway the growth of our galaxy. If done correctly, when she dies, he will simply cease to exist."

Fynta noted that the emperor in question had been silent since his outburst in their quarters. She didn't know what to make of it, but assumed there would be dreams and visits in the coming days to talk her out of this plan.

"I would also like to include Kaeto and Kozen. His skillset could prove useful," Notiac continued. Then, she looked at Fynta. "On second thought, I believe perhaps you should not be there. Major Jorgan can relay any pertinent instructions to you, and I have little doubt that he will base every decision on your wellbeing."

"Sure." Fynta didn't doubt it either, but she made a mental note to remind Aric that they were doing this for the sake of the galaxy too. That there would always be risk.

Zolah nodded, then added her concerns. "Say that we cage the mad emperor. What then? He will always be privy to our plans, even if he's rendered impoten—"

"I retire." Fynta saw Aric straighten, and Zolah let her sentence go unfinished. "We lock him in, then throw away the key. Take me off the board. Without access to fancy weapons and galactic armies, I'm just a Force blind human with a short temper and good aim. He can't do too much with that. Aric and I leave the Alliance and find somewhere remote to live out the rest of our lives." Now that she'd said it out loud, it didn't seem as terrible a plan.

"And what of the Alliance?" Zolah asked, her tone more clipped that Fynta expected. The Chiss had never sung Fynta's praises; she assumed Zolah would be pleased to have her out of the way.

Fynta gestured at the gathering. "It's yours. I was a figurehead, a way to draw people in. You've outgrown me." It was true, she realized. The Alliance was bigger than Fynta Wolfe, in truth it always had been.

Lana sighed and rubbed her temples. "That is—a lot to process." She dropped her arms and addressed the room. "It's late, and we all need rest. Before making any decisions, we must figure out if this plan is feasible. Once that question is answered, we can deal with what comes after. All in favor of dismissal?"

Three hands raised at once, Fynta's being among them. Aric and Vector seconding. It was no surprise that Theron, Quinn, and Zolah wanted more time to argue. "Motion carried." Fynta clapped her hands, then rubbed them together. "Good night, everyone. I'll see you at lunch."

Fynta angled for the door, speeding up when Aric joined her. They turned the corner before he leaned close to her ear. "Thank you."

Somehow, Fynta found a weak smile in her exhaustion, even though she felt hollow. Retirement had never been a concern for Fynta. She'd never expected to live long enough to see it. Now that it loomed on the horizon, Fynta didn't know what to think.

Odessen Officer's Quarters 10:00 Hours

Even as large as the Odessen was, it was hard to find privacy. Jorgan was used to the constant press of bodies and movement after years in the military. Still, there were moments when he felt the invasion more keenly. Jorgan hadn't meant to eavesdrop on Fynta's conversation, but Keshal's voice snagged his attention when he stepped into their quarters after a training session with Bey'wan.

"I hear that you've been questioning the Resol'nare." The woman hefted her daughter, who'd reached the age of non stop wiggling. She sighed and shifted Jodi to the other hip. "Care to hash it out?"

Jorgan pressed himself to the wall and ignored the guilt that gnawed at his gut. He knew that Fynta had been struggling with her identity lately. So many things had changed for all of them, but time had been compressed for Fynta, and she felt the ripples of his more keenly. It was part of why Jorgan had pushed for retirement. They needed to separate themselves from the constant battle that had become their lives.

"What makes you think that?" Fynta's tone sounded guarded. Then, she signed. "Verin's got a big mouth."

"Only when it comes to those he loves." Keshal blew air through her lips, and baby Jobi giggled.

"I'm not questioning the Resol'nare," Fynta admitted after a moment of silence. Jorgan's brows lifted. He'd never seen anyone bully Fynta into sharing her feelings as fast as Keshal did. Then again, few people said no to the matronly Mandalorian. "Just my place in it."

"Explain what—shab, let go you greedy little strill." Jorgan heard a scuffle and fought the urge to look around the corner. He assumed it involved one of Keshal's many braids and Jodi's tiny fingers. With a huff, Keshal continued. "You've got Cinlat's armor. You speak the language and put clan above all else, and—"

Fynta growled, and Jorgan heard the heavy clatter of her metal foot as she paced. "And no colors for that armor. A child that I can't raise in our culture because her father is Cathar, a Mand'alor that I'll never answer the call of…" She trailed off, footsteps falling quiet. "I'm dar'manda now." The horror in Fynta's voice twisted Aric's stomach. He knew what the term meant, but had never expected to hear it from his wife's lips.

Keshal hissed. "Hold your tongue, girl." Jodi's cooing paused while the girl puzzled out her mother's shift in temperament. "You take these things too literally. Colors will come. The Mand'alor is your alley, who you will aid if she calls. And as for Aric, well, he married a Mandalorian. That's on him."

Fynta didn't answer, but Aric heard the mattress squeak as she settled on it. Keshal's words echoed through his mind. He had chosen Fynta, knowing how integral her culture was to her. Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to let her instill some of the better aspects of Mandalorian culture in their daughter. Thirteen wasn't an adult, though, Jorgan wouldn't budge on that.

"When my husband died," Keshal continued, her voice softer than before. "I felt lost. Do you remember that feeling? When you learned that you were married?"

Fynta must have nodded because Keshal only paused briefly. "That feeling of spiraling out of control. Of the universe plotting a course that you can barely hang onto. I felt that. I had a young son, my clan had scattered, and there was no way out."

"What did you do?" Fynta asked. Jodi squealed, and Keshal swore again. Fynta chuckled in reply. It reminded Jorgan of the way Cormac used to laugh when Shillet flung her food everywhere. Stars, Aric missed those days. "Assuming there's a moral to this story," Fynta continued, but there was a note of laughter in the biting words.

"I shaved my head," Keshal growled. "Something I'm considering doing again before this child rips my hair out by the root."

There was a scuffle, then Keshal sighed. "It was a small change, but something I could control. I felt empowered, and that stupid haircut breathed enough life into my sorry shebs that we survived."

"Not sure Aric would approve of me shaving my head, but I get the point." Fynta chuckled again. "Thanks."

"Now, about your brother." Keshal launched into a tirade about how long Verin had been gone and the trouble he could get into. Aric excused himself, giving Fynta the privacy that he should have from the beginning. He needed to find a way to approach the subject of Shillet and apologize for being an ass about it. If he wanted Fynta to be a part of his daughter's life, then he needed to give her that freedom.

Two days later, Jorgan poked the fire he'd built at their mountainside retreat and sighed. Fynta had run late in meetings and commed to say that she would meet him at their campsite. It had been his idea, a way to get Fynta alone so that they could work out some of the tension building between them.

The weather was forecast to be warm but comfortable. Jorgan had planned a mountain climb and maybe a late-night swim in the spring. That was hours ago.

Fynta arrived well after sunset, making enough noise to announce her presence. Jorgan poked the fire again, letting the knot that had squeezed his chest burn off. He'd begun to wonder if she wouldn't come at all. "Thought you'd forgotten."

"Never." Fynta's tone perked Jorgan's ears. He turned with dread to see what fresh hell the War Council meetings had heaped onto them this time. Jorgan paused half standing when Fynta stepped into the light.

Jorgan didn't remember crossing the campsite. Fynta kept her eyes low in an uncharacteristic scowl. Aric reached for a dark strand of hair that had worked its way free of its binding, then paused. "This is…different."

"I needed a change." Fynta tugged at a lock of hair, then squared her shoulders and looked Jorgan in the eye. "I needed to take control of something."

The defiance in Fynta's eyes barely hid the fear behind them. Jorgan remembered her conversation with Keshal, how one small detail could mean the difference between confidence, and the breakdown that Fynta had been creeping towards for weeks. At least she hadn't shaved it.

Taking Fynta's hand, Aric pulled her into the firelight where he could see her better. Fynta didn't fight or speak as he tugged the tie free so that he could run his fingers through the now black strands. He'd only known Fynta as the feisty blonde, with hair caught between pale highlights and brown undertones with no direction as to where it would end up.

The black complimented her skin, bringing out the bronze hues, and making her eyes blaze brighter. Jorgan had always known his wife was beautiful, and had spent many a grumpy meeting glaring at the men who threw themselves at her. The new color amplified that, contrasting where the blonde had blended.

Jorgan smiled and tucked the strand behind Fynta's ear. "It suits you."

Odessen Training Room

"You sure about this, boss?" Cormac blocked two high strikes and a dirty kick. His hips almost had full range of motion, and his left knee didn't give out anymore. Which was good since Fynta wasn't holding back.

"Of course not." Fynta ducked beneath Cormac's jab, then stabbed two fingers into his ribs. He grunted, and she danced away. "But, Aric has a point."

Rubbing his abused torso, Cormac put some distance between him and the agile not-blonde. He liked the new hair color and thought it brought out the light in her eyes. He hated seeing how dull they had become lately. "That means you'll be stuck with him for the rest of your life. Is that what you want?" If Cormac had his way, they'd fight to the throne room of Zakuul and find a way to be rid of the old emperor once and for all.

Fynta blew out a breath, and Cormac used that opportunity to box her ears. He managed to get one before she stomped his foot. With a curse, Cormed limped back to his side of the mat. Fynta waved at the ceiling, and damn it, Cormac looked up even though he knew she was being rhetorical. "I don't know. You weren't there. You didn't see him."

"Pretty sure I was," Cormac responded, dragging his gaze down from the nothing above them. Fynta's features clouded, and he shrugged. The poor woman had gotten a healthy dose of reality from a lot of people lately, and it looked like it was his turn.

Cormac started unwrapping his gloves and jerked his head towards the bench where their bags were stored. He flopped onto the metal seat, pleased that it didn't hurt. Fynta joined him, focusing too hard on her gear. She sighed. "Tell me."

They'd never spoken about the time when Fynta was away, not at length. He'd been so damn grateful when her memory returned that rehashing those emotions didn't seem worth it. But, Cormac was good at reading people, and right now it seemed that the bosses were out of sync. That was bad for everyone.

Leaning back, Cormac took a deep breath. "It was hell." Fynta winced, and he patted her leg. He didn't want to hurt her or betray Jorgan's worst moments, but she needed to know in order to make the best decision for everyone. "He stopped eating, dropped maybe ten kilo. He's never been a jolly bloke but all the life was gone from him. Jorgan woke up, did his duty, then went to bed. Shillet was the only thing keeping him going after they declared you dead."

"Yeah." Fynta breathed the word and leaned against the walll. Her shoulder pressed against Cormac's, but she still didn't look at him. "I've never seen him like this."

"He's scared." Cormac knew the feeling. It was worse with Elara and Tayl on Odessen than it had ever been while they were apart. "I don't think he'd survive losing you again." Cormac stopped short of voicing his opinions on how that end would come, only that he had doubted the Cathar would outlive his mate a second time.

They sat in silence for a moment, then Fynta dropped her face into her hands. "I need to figure him out again." Her voice was muffled, but Cormac understood. "We are so different now. I don't know how to get us back on the same page."

Plastering on a grin, Cormac nudged his best friend's shoulder until she looked at him. "Go back to the basics. Find something that you can connect with and build from there." He wiggled his eyebrows for added effect.

Fynta chuckled and shoved Cormac away. Then, she straightened. "Actually, that gives me an idea." She reached beneath the bench and snatched her gear. Fynta took two steps, then came back and planted a kiss on the top of Cormac's bald head. "You're a genius. Give Elara and Tayl my love."

Cormac lifted a hand to wave his friend off, then set about gathering the rest of his gear. Maybe he should take his own advice and treat Elara to a nice night at the cantina. Shillet probably owed him a favor, and she wouldn't turn down time with her little cousin anyway. By the time Cormac stood, he had an entire evening of dancing and relaxation planned. Now, all he had to do was pry his wife away from the medical bay long enough to enjoy it.

Odessen Alliance Base Indoor Rifle Range 0023 Hours

Jorgan followed Fynta into the rifle range and flipped on the external light to warn others that it was occupied. It was late, after midnight, and he felt the weight of the day wearing on him. They'd enjoyed a day in the mountains, but had been recalled early to deal with a new development in Vaylin's plans. Since then, Jorgan had barely seen his wife.

Stifling a yawn, Jorgan set his kit down and flipped through the target options. Fynta had refused to leave until Shillet was asleep, which the girl seemed to recognize and found every reason to stay awake. That was after a run with Iresso, a fresh batch of recruit testing, and general fretting over things he couldn't change. Jorgan had dozed once or twice on the couch while the girls had their battle of wills.

"What are you up to?" Jorgan didn't want to be on the firing range, but could tell Fynta had planned a special evening for them. He just hoped they could get through it without another argument.

A hand settled over Jorgan's, jerking him out of his glum thoughts. Fynta nodded to the far lane. "Come on, I've already got it set up."

"Been planning this?" Jorgan aimed for flirtatiousness and was rewarded with Fynta's signature grin. Her gaze traced along the blacks he wore, stirring a twinge of excitement in his gut. A quick glance towards the door revealed that she'd unplugged the security camera. Her grin widened when his lifted brows found her again.

Instead of the blankets he'd hoped to find behind the dividing wall, Jorgan's sniper rifle perched on the flat countertop and a target blinked at the hundred yard mark. He shifted a wary glare towards his wife. "I could probably hit that without the fancy new eye patch."

"Gotta start somewhere," Fynta answered with a wave for Aric to step up. "We need to calibrate it better so that there are fewer unknowns in the field." She didn't say it, but Jorgan knew that she'd seen his mistake. He was a liability now.

Sighing, Jorgan pressed his shoulder into the rifle butt and propped his elbows on the table. The patchwork of lines flickered to life the moment his eyepiece touched the scope. Shapes formed, creating the other half of what his good eye saw in a precise, green grid. The target appeared last, though the entire process took less than fifteen seconds. Even though he didn't need it for such a short distance, Aric ran through the routine of relaxing his muscles and counting heart beats. He squeezed the trigger on an exhale and the target flashed a sequence of colors to mark a bullseye.

Straightening, Jorgan smirked at his wife. "Satisfied?"

Fynta bent forward and unlaced her right boot. "Eventually." Jorgan watched the woman gracelessly relieve herself of the shoe, tipping so far to the side that he reached out to steady her on instinct. Fynta batted his hand away. "No touching."

Jorgan withdrew and gestured at the firing lane. "What's this all about?"

Fynta kicked the offending boot to the side, then nodded towards the target. It had moved out to one hundred and fifty yards. Jorgan attempted one of her brow raises in response. "For every hit," she continued, leaning against the wall and crossing her arms in a way that lifted her breasts for his appreciation. "I'll drop an article of clothing."

"Now the security camera makes sense," Jorgan replied, hoping that his voice didn't give away the speed of his racing heart. Fynta didn't respond, which set his nerves on edge.

Carefully, Jorgan set his rifle on the table and folded his arms to match Fynta's stance. "What happens if I miss?"

Fynta's shoulders lifted. "Nothing, but I'll pull the target in closer." Pushing off the wall, she slinked closer, hips rolling and eyes dancing with challenge. "You either get me naked, or prove that you can't hack it as a sniper anymore." Her voice dropped an octave, and she stopped short of touching him. "The choice is yours, Major Jorgan."

"Damn you, woman." Aric spun around and snatched his rifle from the stand. Echoes of a similar conversation a lifetime ago rolled through his thoughts. A time when Fynta entertained the prospect of giving up the life she loved instead of trusting in technology. Fynta was making her point in the same way he had after losing her leg. Accept the hard truth that his fighting style had to change, or retire. There was no room for half measures on the battlefield.

This time, Fynta rested her hand on Jorgan's arm, but he couldn't make himself look at her. "There is no one I would rather have at my back. We do this together, or what's the point?"

Swallowing his pride, Jorgan nodded and sighted on the next target. Fynta had agreed not to bench him again. Now, he needed to prove that he could still be counted on. When Jorgan executed another perfect shot, Fynta removed her sock, then her jacket, leaving her in just the casual blacks she wore around the base. When the target hit three hundred yards, Jorgan felt the warm press of breasts against his back. "Don't miss," Fynta whispered against the shell of his ear. A shiver ran the length of his spine, but Aric pushed it down.

The kaleidoscope of color announced another perfect shot, and Jorgan looked over his shoulder in time to see Fynta pull her belt free. He let his eyes trail over her before finding her face. "You're running out of clothing." Glancing back at the target, Jorgan estimated how far he could make it out before she was out of bargaining chips. "You've only got until five hundred yards before I win."

Fynta shook her head. "Don't worry about me." Something in her tone made Aric hesitate. He stared at his wife, trying to peer past the smug exterior to work out her plan. Eventually, he gave up and found the target again.

Three-fifty wasn't a difficult shot, but he'd never taken it with the eye piece. An uneasiness settled in Jorgan's stomach, and he flexed his hands to work out the stiffness. Insecurities that he hadn't felt since his rookie days creeped into the back of his mind until warmth slid around his ribs.

Jorgan looked down to find Fynta's hands splayed across his stomach. "What are you doing?"

"Distracting you." Fynta nipped his ear, making Jorgan start. He heard her laughter when she spoke again. "Is it working?"

"No." Jorgan didn't believe his gruff answer any more than Fynta would, but her touch gave him something to focus on more than his fear. Something to conquer.

The rifle kicked, and Jorgan let out a relieved breath when the target signaled a hit. Fynta's hands unwound from his body, but Aric felt movement as his back. When the target positioned itself at four hundred yards, he leaned forward to let the instruments read the field.

Tan skin slid into Jorgan's peripheral, a naked leg that rubbed suggestively alongside his. Aric cleared his throat and squinted down the line. His best shot was more than twice this, but the range only went to one thousand yards. He could do this, and prove to himself that his career hadn't ended.

Fynta's hands returned to their positions on Aric's stomach, the warmth of her exposed skin seeping through his pant leg made for a better distraction than enemy fire. He huffed a breath and focused on his heart beat, listening to a rhythm that was faster than he'd have liked. Another shot sparked cheerful colors from the target.

Straightening, Aric turned to his wife. "Fynta, this isn't going to—" His words dried on his tongue. After so many years together, the sight of her wiggling out of a shirt still brought him up short. He was mesmerized by the seductive way her hips twisted while she worked the fabric over her head and the flex of abdominals when the shirt finally cleared.

Fynta dropped the cloth on top of her pants and boot, then stretched. "Sorry, riduur, you were saying?"

Jorgan growled low in his throat, a primal sound that he'd hidden from other women. Fynta loved it, often coaxing more from him. She stepped back and held up one finger when Aric started towards her. "Remember? No touching."

With narrowed eyes, Jorgan returned to his perch and leaned forward to peer down his scope. Before he could find the target, Fynta's body pressed against his back, her hands toying with the hem of his shirt. Aric's body was more than aware of the change in her scent and how little separated their skin.

Target acquired, Jorgan's finger tightened on the trigger until the drawstring in his pants loosened. "That's. Cheating." He bit the words out through gritted teeth while Fynta wound her fingers in the flimsy ties.

Fynta's hand slid into the loosened waistband of his pants and offered a tantalizing massage through his underwear. "I never specified my rules," Fynta husked, fingers squeezing and flexing around his clothed shaft. The combination of heat and coarse material made for a dizzying sensation. "Think you can make the shot under—" her fist tightened, stopping short of pain. "Duress?"

Air wheezed between Jorgan's lips. Fynta's heady scent filled his nostrils, clouding out everything except removing that final barrier between his erection and her heat. Teeth bared, Aric met those deep, blue eyes over his shoulder. "Watch me."

The target flashed a hit, and Fynta rewarded Aric with several, quick strokes. He yelped in surprise, gripping the table with one hand while trying not to send his rifle clattering to the floor. When she released him, Jorgan felt like he could breathe for the first time. Until he saw that she'd removed her bra. His mouth went dry, attention drawn to the two perfect peaks that he wasn't allowed to caress.

Fynta pretended not to notice, nodding down the line. "Five hundred yards, Major. Make this shot, and…" Her thumbs slipped into the elastic of her underwear, dragging one side low enough to expose her hip bone.

Snapping his attention back to that infuriating smirk, Jorgan's eyes narrowed. "I'll have you when this is over, woman."

The impish grin widened. "I'm counting on it."

With rolled eyes, Jorgan forced himself to bend forward and press the high tech eye patch to the scope again. Visions of what he planned to do to Fynta after this shot played out in distracting clarity. He'd bend her over the stall and take her from behind until she was panting in Mando'a, then—

The brush of fabric caught his attention a second before Aric's thoughts splintered into a hundred shards of light. Wet heat enveloped him, wrapping his mind in cotton while his body hummed to life. Even when he looked down to find Fynta on her knees, head bobbing while her mouth made delicious sucking noises, his mind couldn't make sense of it. He'd had a fantasy like this a long time ago and was almost certain that he'd never mentioned it to Fynta.

Fynta took Aric into the back of her throat, gripping his hips when he tried to push for more and glanced upward. The damn woman smiled, and somehow it was all the more radiant with his cock in her mouth. "What—" her throat flexed and his words scattered.

Pulling back, Fynta smiled with an innocence she'd never possessed. "Take the shot, riduur." Her tongue flicked out to tease him, and Aric shivered. "If you can."

The defiant note in Fynta's voice battered against the haze of pleasure she'd lured Jorgan into. It reminded him of his purpose. With one hand, Jorgan cupped Fynta's chin, his thumb brushing across her bottom lip. "You're on."

Odessen Alliance Base Command Quarters 03:47 Hours

Fynta should be asleep. Her body ached in that delicious way it always did when Aric let loose in bed. She'd never been more grateful that Shillet chose to stay over with Elara and Cormac. There were some sounds that a girl should never hear her father make.

The man in question sprawled on his stomach, one arm draped over Fynta's torso. He'd meant to cuddle, no doubt, but had succumbed to exhaustion before completing the act. Smiling, Fynta scraped her nails over Aric's scalp. It had been a good night, a way to reconnect over what they did best. Probably not what Cormac had meant with his pep talk. But, Fynta felt more in sync with her husband than she had in months. She hoped that their unorthodox exercise had bolstered his confidence behind the scope too.

Fynta stretched, then settled closer to her husband. Aric pulled her against his body without opening his eyes, sliding one hand under her shirt while burying his face in her hair. It reminded Fynta of those stolen moments back on the Thunderclap in between missions. Their romance had been fresh and forbidden back then. They'd risked their careers to be together. Now, Fynta worried that they risked more.

You can't do this without me.

Valkorion had been sedate since Aric's reveal of the mad Sith's long trapped father. He muttered ominous warnings in the back of Fynta's mind, but had yet to approach her outright. Fynta didn't think he was scared. More like the chakaar was plotting, biding his time until an opportunity presented itself; a way to take away her choice.

Fynta's comm buzzed across the room. A second later, Aric's joined it. Muttering a curse, Fynta wiggled out from under her husband's arm. Aric grumbled and rolled onto his back. "Thought we'd banned those things from the bedroom."

In the second it took Fynta to open her mouth for a snarky retort, the floor lifted her into the air. There was the feeling of weightlessness, a moment to think of some choice words, then her weight drove the air from Aric's lungs. Their eyes met, and Fynta's comm flickered to life at the end of the bed where it had landed. Theron appeared in muted blues, shirtless and typing furiously.

Fynta scrambled off her husband while he rolled to his feet to find his gear. "Theron, what the hell was that?"

Fynta had known Theron for a long time. She'd seen him in all manner of circumstances from exasperated friend to cold blooded murderer, even a desperate lover once or twice. She'd never seen fear on his face, not until his hazel eyes met hers through the holo. "It's Vaylin. She found us."

[lyra-brie]

tell them about Remmy-

introduce them to froggie wolf

Ksdhwjdje of course.

So Remmy is an oc Etty let me have. I forgot to save your art of her so feel free to reblog with it.

Someday, I will make official character intros for everybody, as well as an official wip intro, but for now yall just get these rambling responses to asks lol. And Cynthia's intro post.

Remmy is a werewolf girl that Elara and Jeldon meet when they accidentally stumble upon a werewolf pack. She wears this crocheted frog hat, and Elara immeadiately notices it's handmade. They bond very fast over being naturally craftsy.

I'm pretty sure she has adhd because my characters refuse to be neurotypical, and she has 20 different crafty hobbies, and the main one is formal dress making. She lives in the middle of the woods. With werewolves. But she makes a ridiculous amount of formal dresses that no one in a 5mi radius has any use for.

Then Elara comes along and she has no sense of formal wear, so she sees pretty dress and Remmy goes out of her way to accommodate Elara's sensory needs, so Elara will wear this thing anywhere, including the middle of the woods. (The drawing of Elara I'm doing has her in a dress Remmy made her and she painted the bottom of it.)

And that's actually all I really know about her at the moment. Feel free to send more of your random headcannons with her, Etty.

[lilyharvord]

The Chain (Part 11)

Hello Darlings, it’s been a long time coming, but here is the next part of The Chain. (: Please know that there is a little bit of forcing in this chapter to make things work, but its called a plot hole, not a plot no (((: Also, she is nice and long for you guys since it has been sometime since she got some TLC. 

I’ve got two words for you all: Time Travel.

Main concept: Two love struck idiots get sent back to a pretty UGH time period in their lives (that required me to reread all the books again) and have to hide the fact that they know everything. Stupidity ensues.

Enjoy

Find the rest of the fic here: Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9 / Part 10

tag list:  @delilahlbard, @king-maven-calore, @thatoddgirl777, @elliekratzzz, @evangelineartemiasamos, @evangeline-of-montfort, @scxrletguardsdawn, @freaky-freiday, @petergrantkavinsky, @kuwei, @whatsup-gorls, @katiemoore,  @redqueenetwork, @tranquil-dusk (I’m trying to add you but for some reason it wont @... the same problem happens with @thatoddgirl777 and I have no idea how to fix it)

(/Mare/)

The barge glides through the murky water of the river and beyond the polished silver railing I rest my hand on, the shore of the Stilts rolls by like a faded oil painting. Ahead of me, hanging over the water, is an old tree Bree once dared me to crawl out on. The branches skim the water like skeletal fingers. I curl my own fingers around the railing in response to the memory of Bree’s laugh. I hope I get to hear it again, echoing in my parent’s town home. 

           The footsteps behind me are too light to be Cal. Even with all the work he has done to learn subterfuge, he is still a large human being. He’ll never be very good at sneaking up on anyone. I force an inhale when warm air washes over my side though. 

           Maven rests his forearms on the railing to watch the Stilts with me, his jaw tight and his eyes dark. I didn’t see him earlier today before we cast off, and I made sure he had no reason to speak with me now. I left nothing in those cells when I rescued Farley, not even a dusting of blood for Elara to use against me. Whatever he has come to discuss, it will define every point from now until the end.

           “Have you heard of the chess move known as the King’s Snare?” His voice is softer than I thought it would be, given how hard the planes of his face are.

           I glance at him warily, chewing on a response. I don’t want to talk to him about chess. I know he’s a master of it, that in all the years they played, Cal never beat him. Cal, the future general and war strategist who could throw together a plan in minutes with nothing but a handful of Reds, Ardents, and Silvers, never beat the boy before me. I don’t know why I think I have a hope of beat him or Elara.

           “No. I don’t play chess.” I murmur letting the wind shift the loose hairs hanging by my cheeks. It plays in his curls too, tussling them like a loving hand.

           The corner of his lips quirk up in a ghost of a smile before he turns to face me. He doesn’t flinch from my gaze, but that smile does fall. Pressing off the railing to stand at his full height, he tilts his head to the side as if in thought. “It’s a complex maneuver, and requires turns upon turns of preparation. It is the only strategy you can play once you initiate it. In each step, you make it appear as if you are losing. You let your opponent think they have won, and in the final step of preparation, you let your queen be taken and your king be cornered in a check mate.”

He shrugs before looking back onto the bank. His eyes sweep along the shacks on their tottering stilts. “Then, you take the opposing king with the only piece you have left. A pawn.”

           I raise a brow at it before saying, “sounds complicated. I don’t have the patience for playing the long game, and I especially don’t like playing with people’s lives like they are pieces in my game.”

           A fire lights in his eyes as he drags them over me, his expression hardening again. “I’m not so sure that’s the truth.”

           His words are a warning in and of themselves. Squaring my shoulders to him and stabbing my nails into my palms, I purse my lips in a line to swallow my retort. We stand in a stalemate for a moment before he reaches a finger out to let a strand of my hair curl around it. His expression crumbles for just a moment before that mask slides up and hides the wounded boy underneath.

           “Let’s not play this game Mare.” He bows his head and his lips almost ghost over my brow. I turn my head to the side to avoid the touch.

           “I just told you I’m not playing games.”

           His chuckle is humorless. With a quick step he closes the space between us completely and I have to crane my neck to meet his eye. 

           “You’re still useful to me and mother, but Cal has overstayed his welcome by a few years. His whole life actually, if I’m being perfectly honest.”

           No more dancing around it then, we are going full in with the truth. I twist my lips to the side, letting my sneer finally grace my features. “If you think for one second I’m going to let you two get away with what you did a second time, you’re wrong.”

           “Even if it means you lose everything you have coming?” He asks me that as if he actually cares. It makes me reel back while he smiles like a wolf. “We know Mare, and while it’s adorable watching you attempt to play against us, you played your final card last night.”

           My lightning dances on my fingertips. What I wouldn’t give for Tyton’s brain lightning, so that I could turn Maven’s insides into jelly and leave him on this deck before going after Elara. I should have ended all of this weeks ago. I could have, I know that for a fact. 

           “I haven’t played any of my cards yet.” I warm Maven with a raised chin. I let the mask of Mareena disappear and I let him see Mare Barrow, the girl who bested two kings, the woman who has seen more than enough front lines, and who was born in a storm on top of a mountain. She has been broken and put back together so many times that she knows every piece of herself better than she ever did before. She thrives in storms and turns them to her will like this boy turns words to his.

           “You haven’t seen anything Maven. Don’t for one second think you have cornered me.” My lips curl into a small smile as I look him over with a critical eye. “Besides, while you’re playing chess, I am playing another game entirely.”

           A muscle in his jaw flutters when I speak, and his eyes darken further.

           Pressing to my toes, I let my next words caress his lips like a kiss. “And if you two do know everything, I’m surprised you haven’t removed any and all letter openers from my reach while we’ve been together.”

           His face pales in a flush, and the air around us climbs in temperature so quickly beads of sweat begin to prickle on my brow. Ignoring the monster I’ve obviously poked awake, I set my hand on his chest right above his pounding heart and drop my eyes to his lips before looking back up to meet those icy blue eyes.

           “And as for your mother, I think I killed her too quickly the first time.”

           His tongue darts across his teeth for a second before disappearing as his lips pull back in a sneer. There is a flash of something akin to uncertainty in his eyes though. A thrill rushes through me. She didn’t tell him that part, and she might have even kept his own death from him. Interesting.

           Sliding back away from him and dropping my hand, I take in his flittering emotions he desperately tries to keep under control. I can’t image what is passing through his mind. If Elara didn’t tell him about their deaths, what else has she kept from him? It might be worth it to poke a little more and find out.

           Even as the thought of prying him open and exposing his hollow insides thrills me, I can’t help thinking of how he spent hours near my bedside after Samson had turned me inside out and left me a bleeding corpse. Nor can I ignore that once upon a time, a part of him had loved me.

           “Oh Maven,” I breathe, my chest aching once more as I look him over. “You could have been something wonderful if you had been anyone else’s.”

           His inhale is sharp, and the heat around us vanishes as he sucks it in to fuel the furnace of his emotions. The next words that leave me are as much a truth as they are a weapon that I use against him.

           “I might have loved you too, you know. I might have been happy with you.”

           His entire body goes taut like a rubber band pulled too tight. I can’t imagine what those words have done to him, I know what they do to me. They relive the ache and chase away the cold bite from the autumn breeze that cuts through my loose shirt. I have known for years that he would never truly leave me, that I will always love him in a strange way. But seeing all of this, and discovering that even when I might have had a chance to save him, there was no chance so long as Elara loved him too.

           “The game is beginning. Line up your pieces if you want to play chess.” I murmur to him before stepping around him and heading for the viewing deck. I pause long enough to glance at him over my shoulder though and say, “but just know, it’s hard to beat an opponent that knows every move you will make.”

(/Cal/)

           Mare finds me between meetings. Her dark hair is swept up in an elaborate hairstyle she picks at nervously, drawing strands out to frame her face. Glancing over my shoulder at the remainder of the council as they pass, I pause before her long enough to say colorlessly, “Is something wrong Lady Titanos?”

           The few sets of eyes that watch us look away with shrugs. Their ears are probably still tuned in, but as far as they are concerned, she is probably looking for Maven and happened to find me first.

           “Farley made contact. The Hexaprin Theater just like before.”

           She’s been gone most of the day with Maven, making appearances and smiling like the dutiful princess she is. I’m not sure how Farley could have possibly made contact with her during all of that, but it’s a relief she didn’t contact Maven first. Meanwhile, I’ve been locked up in Whitefire. My father has hardly let me out of his sight, which I suppose should be understandable. The attempt on my life shook him to his core. Even though I push back, insisting they wouldn’t try again, he refuses to let me leave the castle walls. I don’t know how I will get out to join Mare in this endeavor like she wants with the Sentinels that trail me almost everywhere I go. I guess it now truly understand how Mare felt during her time with us. I don’t blame her for constantly being irritable now. 

Still, my brow rises as the name of the theater. I know it well. When I was younger Julian used to take me to plays and tried to pique my interest in the art form. I had squirmed in my seat the whole time, eager to get out of the dark space and run outside. He gave up once I turned ten, realizing I didn’t have much love for the arts. I knew it saddened him, that he had hoped I shared the same soft spot for them that my mother did. 

My chest tightens at the thought of my uncle. I got him out of Archeon earlier than before, helping him and Sara smuggle away in the dead of night after he got Farley and Kilorn out of the cells. I sent him to Montfort with instructions to speak with Dane Davidson as soon as possible. To try and get him in contact with Guard. There’s no telling if they made it. I can only hope they managed to cross the border.

“It’ll be tough for me to get out.”

“This will only work if you come with me.” Mare insists, her eyes darting past my elbow to the doors of the council chamber. I know who she’s looking for, but she won’t find him.

“He’s seeing to something with his mother.” I instruct, even as I glance around just to be certain. Only a servant passes in a flutter of skirts. She curtsies to me and Mare before hurrying along, obviously loath to be around us any longer than necessary.

“The bloodbase.” Mare’s voice drops to a worried waver as she sets her hand on her pocket. I know she has the book hidden in the pocket of her jacket, the one Julian gifted her with the name of every Ardent he found within Norta’s borders. She sleeps with it under her pillow, her fingers curled around the faded cover as if Maven will creep into her room at night and steal it away.

Shaking my head, I grab her elbow and pull her into an alcove when I hear the sound of more steps approaching. I squeeze into the space between the pillars with her until our bodies almost have to become one to fit. Her hands rest on my chest as she evens out her breathing, recognizing a hiding place when she sees it.

A group of nobles pass us, Osanos and Iral judging by the colors of their clothes. I purse my lips and wait until they leave the hall to look back down at her and whisper. “I took care of it. I printed out all their names and wiped them from the database. They’re safe.”

“Unless Maven is already going after them.” Mare mutters bitterly.

“He hasn’t. I checked last known whereabouts too. Everyone is accounted for.”

“People lie on those stupid records Cal.”

“Not when you’re the first person in years to click on the page.” I let my lips curl into a knowing smile. She can think I’m stupid and hardheaded all she wants, but I do know my way around my own world. “There is a clicker at the bottom of each record to indicate the last time it was opened. I am the first one to look at them in years. You can’t lie to that program.”

           She expels a breath, before look up at me through her lashes. “You’re too stubborn for your own good. We’re meddling too much now.”

           “At this point, does it really matter?” I ask, repeating words I spoke to Julian in the dead of night when he questioned my decision to send him to Ascendent.

           Her lips draw into a tight line that pales her already painted lips. “No.” She agrees before sliding out of the alcove so I can follow her.

           When we step into the light, I watch the shifting sunbeams as they cut across her face. She crosses her arms before looking down the hallway and saying, “We need to get into the afternoon showing. Can you do that?”

           I grimace thinking about my father and the hawk like eyes he has kept on me recently. “It’ll be difficult, but nothing I can’t handle.”

           “Do you want to rehearse with me?” She teases, eyes lighting with laughter when she notices how I chew on my lower lip.

           “I think I’ll tell my father that I’ve decided Evangeline can take a long walk off a short pier and that I much prefer you and I plan to make heirs with you as soon as we enter than theater box.”

           Her eye widen and a blush paints her cheeks. It’s so ferocious the makeup almost can’t hide it. It makes me chuckle before reaching a hand out to cup her jaw and stroke a thumb along that warm puddle of red staining her skin. “Kidding love. Although I think that he’ll be so surprised and horrified that he lets me go just to see if I’m serious.”

           “Mess up my nice skirts Tiberias and I will take your hands for it.” She snorts before pulling away and throwing a smirk over her shoulder. “Get us tickets to the show and be there with me. Also, it might be a good idea to assign Walsh to a... different part of Whitefire.”

           I grimace, remembering the last time I saw her foaming at the mouth while I tried to close her throat to keep the poison from spreading. I sent her for Mare, trusted her with the secret that I met a Red girl in the Stilts and cared. Regardless of what Mare might have thought of me before when that moment passed, I did care. A part of me had been horrified to watch the light leave Walsh’s eyes.

           “I’ll make sure of it.” I whisper.

(/Mare/)

           The theater darkens, and I sink back into my chair, keeping an eye on the Sentinels standing in the doorway. They are here to protect Cal. Allowances had to be made so that he could leave Whitefire, but its an allowance that may cost us our meeting with Farley. There are more of them than before, but they’re simply a hinderance, one that will have to be dealt with at some point very soon.

           Honestly, Maven and Elara trying to kill him has simply become an annoyance now. If they hadn’t, it would be so much easier to sneak around with Cal.

           “They have to go.” I murmur, letting my eyes flint to them as I edge a little closer to the railing of the box and glance over it into the crowd below.

           With a quick nod, Cal leans back in his seat. Before Maven gave the secretary that came with us a mischievous smile and quick order to get rid of our tail. Cal can do no such thing without raising suspicion. It’s already gotten out that I am the one that shouted his name and stopped the bleeding during the Sun Shooting long enough for Sara Skonos to get to him and save him. But Cal spread a faster rumor behind it, his words burning like wildfire through the High Houses, erasing the rumor I know Elara started about us. My shout hadn’t been in fear according to his account, it had sounded like nerves. Maybe I’d lost Maven in the crowd and gotten overwhelmed by the proceedings, and when I had seen Cal I called to him for help. Because of that, I had been close enough to stop the bleeding when the gun went off.

           I had been shocked at the lie he told with an abandon to his father and the court, and how well he crafted it on a moment’s notice. Perhaps he needed to stop spending so much time around Dane. I had noticed that crafty man spending a suspicious amount of time trying to craft Cal into a better Statesman in the recent years.

           “Sentinel Osanos, if you could take the others into the antechamber.” He nods over his shoulder to the small sitting room attached to the box. “I doubt you and the others have any interest in this show and your presence is unfortunately ruining Lady Mareena’s first impressions of it too.”

           “I have my orders, sir.” The Sentinel warns, his eyes darting between the two of us.

           “I can handle anything that comes.” Cal lets his lips quirk into an arrogant smile. I haven’t seen it in a long time, but it’s one of the few soldiers masks in his arsenal. It still makes my stomach flutter. “Besides, Lady Mareena has proven herself quite capable of saving my life if need be.”

           Osanos debates it for a very long second as the murmurs below us quiet and the curtain rustles with the start of the performance. During that second, my heart pounds. I don’t dare look up at the grating above out heads where I know Will Whistle will appear.

           “Of course, Your Highness.” The Sentinel bows his head and then nods to bring the others with him into the room. The door clicks shut, and the lock engages. I grab Cal’s hand and squeeze it in silent praise, before glancing at him side on.

           “Impressive.”

           His smile falls as he looks away from the door and forward again. “We’ll have to be silent. We’re lucky my father didn’t send an Eagrie with us.”

           Unfolding from his position in the chair to relax further, he turns his hand over to lace his fingers with mine. The touch sends waves of reassurance through me. Now we just have to keep him hidden long enough that Will doesn’t recognize him and gets us to Farley. After that, I’m not quite sure what we will do.

           “Farley won’t let you on the Undertrain without a fight.” I murmur, glancing at our joined hands. He sweeps his thumb along my skin in a soothing motion even as his eyes stay forward on the stage as it comes to life.

Gentle touches in the dark, so very like how our relationship started. It almost makes me snicker. I suppose things never really did change between us.

He doesn’t reply to my comment, but I know he’s thinking about it all the same. His palm heats with his frustration, but he doesn’t show it on his face.

I let my eyes wander to the stage where I finally get a look at the play I never watched before. Brightly colored costumes dance across the stage and I tilt my head to look at them, trying to understand the story. “We never went to any of the plays in Ascendent.” I murmur to him.

There were plenty of playhouses, and I know for a fact Julian got us tickets to one he loved. We never got the chance to go, but now I wish we had.

“I’ve never been a fan of theater.” He chuckles and finally turns to look at me. He traded his finer regalia for a more toned down jacket and black shirt today. With the aid of the darkness, I can almost imagine we are in Ascendent, that it’s just another weekend and we decided to do something we’ve never done.

“Then when you annoy me, I am going to drag you to shows when we get back and tie you to a chair so you can’t leave.” I say with a smirk.

The ceiling panel above our heads slides away, and his eyes dart up at the same time as mine. We’re both accustomed to how the Guard functions. The sudden disappearance of the tile doesn’t surprise him like it did Maven.

“Show time.” I whisper to him before dropping his hand and stepping on the seat of my chair. Grasping the edge of the hole I haul myself up into the darkness. When I glance down to help him though, he is already half-way into the crawl space with me. The panel slides into place as soon as Cal vanishes in the shadows. I wait half a second for Will to sound an alarm to notice that I don’t have the right prince with me.

He does no such thing, simply speaks into the darkness the same words he did before. “Be quick and quiet. I’ll take you from here.”

I reach for Cal’s wrist in the dark and grip it tightly with a reassuring squeeze. Will turns and begins to climb through the space, not waiting for us to follow.

“Watch your head,” I instruct as I skirt the edge of the ceiling panel. “It gets low in a few places.”

Cal grunts in understanding but follows at a pace that surprises me. It was a tight squeeze for Maven, so I don’t really know how Cal manages but he does. I’m sure he has Farley’s work with him to thank for that. He crawled through enough sewer tunnels and drains with us while we were at the Notch after all. I’m sure while I was locked away with Maven he was doing the same thing too.

The sounds of the play overhead mask our movements as we drop down ladders and steps and through little trapdoors. Cal only smacks his head once, and I flip around to grab his head to check for blood when he curses soundly in the dark. I grimace when I feel the nasty knot already taking shape on his forehead near his hairline. That will have to be explained away when we get back, but we really truly don’t have time to assess it too much. Will sets grueling pace, and Cal practically shoves me forward when the Whistle almost disappears around a turn.  

It takes only minutes for us to drop into the access tunnels that connect to the Undertrain platform. The damp chill of the space presses through my thin jacket and pants, reminding me of the march we did into Archeon to save Cal and everyone from the Lakelander invasion. Cal drops lightly down behind me though, and instantly the space warms and the memory fades. It’s still too dark to see his features clearly which is only to our advantage. I can’t have Will trying to stop us now.

That cover does not last long though. The platform is haunted by a lone torch, and when Will turns around with a sharp smile, ready to bask in our surprise, his eyes widen as he takes in Cal behind me. I set my hand on Cal’s chest in response, trying to push him back into the shadows while I light my hand with lightning.

Will never gets a chance to act though, the furious screech of the Undertrain as it rushes into the station shakes the walls and announces Farley’s arrival. As it coasts to a stop in front of us, Will spins to the doors and waves his arms while trying to shout over the screeching of the brakes to give a signal to not stop. The train grinds to a halt though, and the doors still open to spill more light onto the platform.

Farley unfolds from the chair like a spring let loose. Her hand flies to the gun at her hip, and I spin to face her with my lightning at the same time. Even with my ears ringing from the sound of the brakes engaging, I can hear the click of her turning the safety off as she draws the gun.

“Farley—” I try to shout, but Cal beats me to speaking, his voice a dangerous warning echoing in the tunnel as he glares Farley down.

“Diana, stop.”

He would have gotten the same reaction if he burned her alive. Farley’s eyes widen at the usage of her birthname, and her fingers wavers on the trigger long enough for me to speak.

“He’s with us.” I urge as I drop my hand, but I don’t dismiss the lightning bouncing between my fingers like webbing. It’s my own warning to her. She knows what I can do, and like her, I don’t miss anymore.

Her laugh is unexpected, and I almost jump at the sharp bite of it. She keeps the gun raised, but her fingers slides from the trigger to rest alongside the barrel. It’s the only sign she is still listening to us. “The little prince was right. He’s whispered his way into your head.”

“The only ones whispering into anyone’s heads is Maven and Elara .” Cal speaks quietly, his eyes scanning the track and the platform for any more Scarlet Guard operatives. There are none to be seen though.

Farley tilts her head to the side, her eyes narrowing to diamond colored slits. Her jaw tightens, but she doesn’t pull the trigger or even move her finger in the direction of it.

I expel a slow sigh of relief and take a step forward. I can feel the burn of electricity in the train, screaming like an upset toddler to be released. Gritting my teeth against the heachache forming because of it, I murmur, “you trusted me to get you out of that cell, trust me in this Farley. Hear us out.”

Her eyes moves past my shoulder to Cal who staggers his stance to move in either direction if he has to avoid her bullet. Her jaw ticks, and the electricity reaches an all time high pitch that stands my hairs on end. I haven’t felt anything like it weeks, not since the shield during Queenstrial exploded around me and tried to contain me.

“Make your decision, the Undertrain won’t wait.” I grimace as I reach up to press my fingers to my temple where the ache is strongest. If she notices my use of the train’s name, she doesn’t say anything.

Cal takes a step forward, stealing ground, only for Farley train that gun on him again and rest her finger on the trigger. 

“Not another step, Your Highness.” She squeezes gently, putting enough pressure on that trigger that even the slightest movment on her part will fire the gun. I side step to put myself in front of Cal should she overestimate her abilities, but Cal simply pushes me to the side again.

With quick movements he unclasps the bracelets around his wrists and holds them up to the light for Farley to see. “Incentive,” he murmurs before tossing them in her direction. She lowers the gun to catch them one handed, almost dropping them due to their weight. I inch forward, my hand extended for them in surprise. I trust Cal to make a tactical decision, but he just threw his own tactical advantage five feet away from him.

The metal bands glint dully in the odd florescent lights of the Undertrain, but Farley glances down at them, unimpressed. With a quirked brow she raises the gun again, although its much more hesitant this time.

“I’m nothing without them.” Cal instructs while he sweeps his arms out from his sides as if to accentuate his point. “Keep them until we finish talking if it pleases you. But we do have to talk.”

“I know.” Farley reasons, her eyes narrowing before darting between the two of us. Even if I didn’t know her as well as I do, I could see the distrust and unease in her eyes. I can’t imagine what Maven has told her, but I know that he hasn’t spoken to her since before the Sun Shooting. It is our only advantage right now, that and the fact that Julian and I were the ones to get her and Kilorn out of the cells below the palace. It doesn’t hurt either that by the time we got down to the cells, the king was more concerned with his son almost dying than the rebels trapped in the cell before him. There had been no time for the interrogation that I know almost cost Farley her arm. She got off easy, too easy, because of us.

Whatever battle she is fighting with herself ends, and she steps to the side to let us pass.

(////)

Narcery is more disheveled than I remember. Perhaps it’s because I’ve already seen most of it repaired and turned into a decent city again years from now. Or maybe it’s because I’ve truly forgotten how downtrodden the world was before we began to right it. Either way, it’s hard not to grimace as we slink through the streets toward the café Farley stomps toward.

The Reds in the doorwards gasp and whisper as Cal passes, and I reach down to grip his hand. None of them are New Blood that I know of, but if someone gets it in their head to finish was Farley started, they won’t make it more than two steps.

He gives me a reassuring squeeze as we pass through the crumbling doorway of the café and into the dimly lit space. In his little booth, Kilorn practically almost leaps to his feet, his eyes wide while his hand flies to the gun on his belt.

“Stand down.” Farley orders smoothly, earning a frown from my friend. He doesn’t immediately listen, but his fingers eventually relax and drop back to his side. I release the tension in my shoulders in response. The air in the room shifts with the change in heat and static that Cal and I bring, but the ice in Kilorn’s gaze might as well be tangible too.

“And why haven’t we shot him?” He asks Farley as she drops into the booth.

With a wave of her hand, she dismisses him and glares in our direction. Cal’s bracelets clink against the dusty table as she sets them out in the open. With a tilt of her head, her expression relaxes and the nasty scar cutting through her lip softens. It never ceases to amaze me how young she really was when this all started. We were all still just children, playing games we never should have.

“They want to speak,” she says, her eyes dropping to our entwined hands. “And I have to admit I am curious what excuse Mare will give to explain blowing our entire operation to pieces.”

“We hardly blew it to pieces, you were almost completely successful.” Cal huffs behind me, and I dig my elbow into his side in response. No use pissing off Farley, or enticing her to pull that gun out again. We both know she will too.

Glaring at Cal for his comment, I address the other two sitting in the booth. “Maven gave you Cal’s name, but he was not the original target.”

“No,” Farley agrees, “he wasn’t.”

“It was Ptolemus Samos.” I turn my eyes back to her, and am rewards with a quirked brow, the only sign she is surprised by my knowledge. Kilorn is not as good at hiding his emotions. His brows dart up towards his hair line as he shakes his head in disbelief.

“You missed that meeting, the one where he gave us the original names! He told us that he never told you them... you can’t possibly have known—”

“I know because I’ve already been through that shooting before. You don’t get Ptolemus that time either.” I step forward and leave Cal behind me, safely in the line of my body. If Farley wants to shoot him at any point in time, she’ll have to shoot me first. “The Sun Shooting was a disaster that time, and it was a disaster this time.”

Kilorn blinks at me, confusion sweeping over his face now. Farley is simply more skeptical, and rightfully so. I didn’t exactly explain anything, just created more questions and puzzling conclusions for her.

“What are you getting at Barrow?” She murmurs as her eyes dart to the broken window behind me. I don’t dare look at who might be there. If its Shade, I will never be able to leave these ruins.

“You have to promise to listen to us, to let us explain as quickly as possible.” Cal speaks for me and the heat that rolls off of him washes over me as he steps closer, soothing tense muscles I bunch in preparation to run. His hand presses into my lower back only a second later. “We don’t have much time.”

Farley’s eyes narrow even further as she takes in how we stand next to each other, and how we remain close enough to protect the other at all times. Even if Maven told her that I was slowly teetering toward Cal, our body language suggests a deeper relationship and understanding of each other than could ever be established in a few weeks. Not to mention Cal knew her name, her real name. There’s no way in hell he could have found that out on his own.

“Who are you?” She asks quietly after a moment, earning a worried glance from Kilorn.

My lips curl into a slow smile as I take in her uncertainty. I can’t remember the last time Farley was on the backfoot. She has always been so headstrong and driven, but she reels back now, like a horse seeing a snake under its hooves. “We’ve all met before, and known each other for years.”

“Bullshit.” She says, pushing to her feet and advancing on me. Cal’s fingers curl around my arm to pull me behind him. I stand my ground though and raise my chin as she stand over me.

“How’s your dad? The Colonel? Has that eye healed up yet?” I ask with a quirked brow. Her breathing fluctuates at the mention of him while she stops dead in her tracks. Her eyes dart to Cal as if to assess how much he reacts to my words. He does nothing but glance down at me and drop my arm, catching on to what I’m doing. Farley won’t be bought over with a cute story like what we told Julian and Sara. She will need cold hard evidence, painful evidence if need be.

“It’s kind of cute that you decided your code name would be lamb, since his is ram.” I tilt my head to the side, earning an strangled inhale as she backpaddles. “Even more so given how infuriating he can be for you.”

Her whole face goes red, and tips of her ears tinge pink immediately. Kilorn opens his mouth to say something, thinks better of it, and closes it again. I don’t blame him, the fury in Farley’s eyes is enough to burn me to the ground.

With her lips pressed into a firm line, she presses her shoulders back to stand to her full height. “Are you Command?” She asks stiffly, her eyes roaming over me and settling on Cal when he barks out a dry laugh.

I elbow him again and shoot a glare, but he laughs at my expression. Turning his amusement on Farley, he says, “no. I’m not even on the list of people they would open a position for.”

“We know those in Command though.” I shoot a single spark into Cal’s arm to shut him up, making him snap back and rub the spot.

“I don’t believe you. Its not possible.” Farley growls setting her hand on her gun.

“I would appreciate you not drawing that gun Diana.” Cal warns his amusement dying as fast as my comfort with the situation.

“Who told you my name.”

“I know it from previous experience.”

“Don’t see how that’s possible.” Kilorn grumbles before rising from the booth as well. His eyes dart between the two of us, and as he starts to form his own opinon the curiosity in his eyes bleeds away into brittle resentment.

“Like I said, we’ve known each other for years.” I push past my locked jaw. This is starting to look next to impossible but if we have any hope of saving ourselves from the disaster to come, then we have to get them to listen to us.

“To be more clear, we will know each other for years someday.” I correct my previous statement quietly, letting the words hang in the too heavy air for a few seconds. Farley quirks a brow, realization crossing her features as she starts to put things together. She’s always been quick as a whip, and that works to our advantage.

Right when I think she’s about to say something though, she laughs. Kilorn blinks at her, taking a hesitant step away. I doubt he’s ever heard the sound, but I know it well. It still cracks on the edges the same way it does in the future. Honestly, it always sounds like she never laughs, even though I know for a fact she does that more than anything someday.

“Barrow, I have seen what you can do. And while it turned everything I knew about the world upside down… you cannot expect me to also factor some form of time travel into this whole mess.” She shakes her head, and dismisses me with a wave. Still laughing to herself she sinks down into the booth, and takes to fiddling with Cal’s bracelets. There is a hint of uncertainty behind her eyes though, and I know exactly who and what she is thinking about.

“There are hundreds—thousands like me Farley. You haven’t met all of them yet, but there are abilities far stranger than mine. My brother’s for instance.”

Her expression pulls tight for a heartbeat before she smoothers the emotion. I pull on that line though, and step forward, pointedly ignoring Kilorn who is still gapping like a fish and trying to come to the same conclusion as Farley. “I know he’s alive, and that he’s here with you. He jumps, appearing in different places in seconds. I make lightning. There will be a New Town girl who becomes our friend that can kill you with a thought and silence Silvers in the same way. There are three other Reds just like me in Montfort. There is a girl who can bathe everyone in a bubble of silence so no one outside of it can hear you. Another woman can remember every single thing she reads or that is said to her. Another older woman can change her face to be whoever you need her to be.” My heart squeezes at the memory of all the Ardents I rescued and then sent to their deaths. I promised them safety, security, and then pulled all of that away from them. All because one man told me I had to do it. “Is it so hard to believe then that there is someone years from now who can send people back in time?”

Those diamond eyes snap to me and look me over before Farley’s lips twist into a half sneer. “Your brother is dead Barrow, he was executed for—”

“Farley, please.” I whisper, coming to stand over her. Even sitting she is almost as tall as me, but I channel every ounce of military prowess she tried to teach me as I glare down at her. “If I walk out of this room, I will find him in less than an hour, and you will feel incredibly stupid when I do.”

Her lips pale as she pushes them together, tighter than ever before. Her eyes dance to Cal beyond me again, who has thankfully kept his mouth shut this whole time and has decided to simply sit on the edge of a table to watch us.

“He came with me.” I soften my tone and slowly sink down into the seat opposite her. Her eyes follow me like a rabbit would a wolf. Her fingers are cold when I take them, even with how warm it is in the room. She doesn’t pull away though, and I wonder if somewhere, her future self recognizes my touch. “I need you to trust us. I know how hard that is with everything that has happened, but Farley you have to.”

“Do we win?” She asks the question so quietly, I almost miss it while I’m speaking. Every muscle in body tenses against the truth that wants to escape though. I glance at Cal, wondering if he heard the same thing as me. He simply looks down at his boots, unable to offer any aid.

Swallowing past the rock in my throat, I look down at the table top. It’s dusty and cracked in some places. But it has no answers either. We have already done so much to destroy the path we were supposed to be on, what was one more change? “Yes,” I whisper and her eyes flash bright and wide.

“But we pay may terrible prices for it.” The last part almost doesn’t make it out. Shade’s death tries to claw that statement to ribbons, Archeon burning, and all the people we lost in the Harbor Bay siege and the final Archeon siege weigh heavy against my chest. The silence stretches to the breaking point around us as those memories consume me. I wish I could take back those words, swallow them and refrain from admitting to what I’m sure she suspects. She must read the memories as they pass across my face because her expression softens a hint.

“Its war Barrow,” the Farley I know so well comes to the surface when she switches her grip to grab my hands instead. “I never expected to win for free.”

She narrows her eyes at Cal then, who simply gives her a tight nod she doesn’t return. “I still don’t like you.” She announces a second later. “And I hope I never do.”

“You give me a hard time for years, I promise you that much.” He teases, some of the light returning to his eyes. I crack a weak smile at their banter, even though I ache at the reminder of the future relationship they share. Farley never does let him off the hook, and every chance she has to remind him of his past, she does. I don’t blame her though, she never lets herself get too congenial with anyone.

“We trust him… just like that?” Kilorn tries to burn a hole between Cal’s eyes with his glare. He doesn’t succeed, especially when Cal smirks at him and leans forward to rest his elbows on his knees. He’s the picture of ease, and I know that drives Kilorn insane.

“Relax Kilorn,” I tease, and then beckon Cal over to me. “He knows that if he steps out of line I won’t hesitate to put him back in his place.”

Farley glances between the two of us before saying, “So the second prince wasn’t lying. You two are…”

“In this together.” Cal finishes for her. His eyes narrow at what Maven might have inferred even as he looks down at me for confirmation.

“We don’t have time to get into details,” I add, making room for him in the booth as I lean forward to start drawing a map of Archeon in the dust on the table. “Maven and his mother know what we know. Which means they have been pulling the strings and trying to sabotage any advantage we have. They will not hesitate to wipe the Scarlet Guard off the map this time around.”

“I don’t understand.” Kilorn grumbles and crosses his arms tightly across his chest. “I thought we trusted that prince?”

“Maven is the one we have to worry about.” I finish drawing the bridge and narrow my eyes at the crude drawing. “He was always going to betray us.”

“How?” Farley sneers, obviously not happy with me inferring that she made a mistake in judgement. Maven was her recruit after all. “He’s given us names, information.”

“All fed to him by his mother, who is counting on us tomorrow night staging a coup and failing so that she can murder the king and remove you and any true Scarlet Guard opposition.” I murmur and watch as Farley’s fury melts into horrible understanding. My stomach drops but Cal speaks before I can.

“He’s already spoken with you and made the plan.” His voice is cold, even while the space around us starts to burn with the heat he releases. My own lightning wants to be unleashed as well. It takes more effort than I like to reign it in. I was wrong. He did speak with her, about more than just me and Cal. 

“He said Barrow would try to come to me and change my mind, that I had to know she was in collusion with you and planned to stand by your side when the time came. That she would ultimately betray me.” Farley breathes, her eyes widening. “He said that the coup was the only way we would win, remove you two in one swoop.”

“He and Elara were counting you believing him wholly and me not bringing Cal.” I growl, and swipe my hand through the map on the table to erase it. The plan is useless at this point. Maven already took it and molded it to his needs. I should have never spoken to him on the barge, maybe I should have just continued to pretend I was some stupid girl that didn’t know how to play the game. I may have destroyed any hope we had of beating him and Elara now.

“They also aren’t counting on us having any other plan. Or my support.” Cal murmurs before drawing his own map in the dirt. The angle is far different from what I drew. “They don’t know that I know the future or that I am with you all. They think Mare is the only one.” His finger moves through the dust and Kilorn finally edges closer to see what he draws.

“So we play into their hands.” He murmurs as he glances at me for my support.

“What?” I wheeze as I watch him draw the same offensive we instigated last time. “Cal, if we do that—”

“Then it all goes the way it did before, with the added benefit that when you get captured this time, we can stop Elara. We know what’s coming and we can plan for it.” Cal finishes drawing his map before drawing a second more detailed map of the Whitefire next to it. “This time, we won’t be alone in that room.”

I struggle to keep up with his thought process, trying to determine exactly how he plans to make this work. The only way Farley and the other Scarlet Guard members will make it into that room is in shackles like me. Elara will slaughter us all like pigs then. 

“The tunnels run under Whitefire right?” He asks Farley who hesitates for a second before nodding tersely. He etches a few makeshifts ones into the picture and then sits back to say, “when I take Mare captive for treason, you and a small unit will move through the tunnels and get to the throne room. From there, you wait for a signal Mare and I will give. When that happens, we take Elara and Maven.”

“Bold.” Farley murmurs as she glances over the plan. “And suicidal. We’ll never make it in.”

“You will if I don’t station anyone at a specific entrance. Name it, and I will keep the regiments away from it.” Cal waves his hand over the picture and glances forlornly in my direction. “If it fails, we still go to the Bowl of Bones, but this time we’ll know what to expect.”

My heart pounds in my chest as the memory of the too thin sand shifting beneath my feet almost overtakes me. Even though it is years behind me and days ahead of me, the heat of Cal’s fire trying to catch on the sand still burns my cheeks and my stomach twists at the echoing sound of the bar punching through Arven’s chest.

“In the meantime, you need to evacuate Tuck.” I whisper forcing the bile down as I look up at Farley. She blanches at the command, but I narrow my eyes to silence her. “Elara has seen in my mind. She knows about Tuck, she knows about a number of other Scarlet Guard strongholds like Narcery too. Did you not find it strange that Maven was not afraid to travel to a supposed heavily radiated place?”

She opens her mouth to argue with me, only to shut it like a trap and narrow her eyes. The thought never occurred to her, and I understand why. He probably got on the Undertrain and immediately started spilling honey and poison in her ear until she couldn’t even hear herself think. I can’t blame her for anything, he did the same to me, and I lapped at it like a starving child.

“Where will we go?” Kilorn whispers anxiously, his eyes darting to the street outside, as if a regiment might come marching down it right now. I don’t blame him. My friend is brave, always has been and always will be, but a Silver regiment is no laughing matter to him yet.

Cal stiffens next to me and says, “Irabella is the only safe haven. Mare was never there, but I was.”

“Why—”

“I doesn’t matter.” I interrupt Kilorn, and lean forward to speak again. “You just have to trust us. Tell the Colonel you have reason to believe Tuck and a number of other bases have been compromised. That an informate you have high up in the palace you trust explicitly told you that. The Notch is not safe either.”

Farley’s eyes widen, and it is then I realize that the mention of that safe haven is what finally secures her trust. The Notch was her hiding hole. Not one her father came up with. Command might not have even known about it. If what Cal and I said was true, and we were her allies in the future, she may have taken us there at some point. I wish I would have been smart enough to start with the mention of it. We could have saved time.

“And you need to start finding the others like me.” I whisper, as I pull the book out of my jacket pocket and set it on the table. The cover gleams against the dusty surface of the table, and I almost can’t pull my fingers off of it. The fates of so many reside inside of it. Cameron’s furious expression flashes through my mind as I ordered her taken onto the Blackrun. I will not force her into anything this time though. I only hope I don’t have to rescue her from a prison though.

I slide the book to Farley and trail my fingers off the cover as I whisper, “Maven and Elara might already be on the hunt for the Ardents in here, but I circled the names of the people that we rescued together. He will target them first if he is going after them, so you have to beat him to it.”

She picks up the book gingerly before looking between us and saying, “you mentioned the Bowl of Bones.”

Cal smiles wearily but leans back with the poise of a general to say, “we won’t have to worry about it. We’re going to avoid that point all together.”

Farley’s fears are not soothed by Cal’s confidence, and I can almost see the spikes she wants to drive through his eyes. At least she nods though, agreeing with him for the time being. I can’t even begin to express the relief that courses through me as she puts the book in her own pocket and nods once more.

“Then we will go with your signal.”

[fandomrewrites]

Chasing Butterflies: The Calm

Hello friends! I am so sorry for the long hiatus I just took but my motivation is back and I have more free time to write so I will be posting more regularly. I’m going to finish these last few chapters of Season 1 asap then I’ll be back to a weekly schedule (which I will also be updating my teen wolf story)! Thank you guys so much for your patience and as always constructive criticism is welcomed. Make sure to let me know if you want to be added to the taglist.

Season 1; Episode 11: The Calm Pairings: OC x OC Best Friends, no love interests yet Warnings: Mentions of death Word  Count: 2,215

Elara and Nova sat in silence at the West wall, watching for grounders. After about ten minutes, Elara decides to speak to her friend. "Are you sure you're ok? With your dad dying?"

Nova sighs, "Lara, I'm fine. He sent me down here to die anyway. Why should I be upset that he's gone? My concern is not my father's death. It's making sure the rest of us survive and the Grounders are taken care of."

"Taken care of? You mean killed."

"Well yeah, if that's what it comes to. I'd rather have them die then us."

Elara shakes her head, "We're not warriors, Nov."

"And we're not negotiators either, yet we were just trying that the other day."

"There is absolutely no arguing with you, is there?" 

"I'm not trying to argue, I'm stating the truth."

"You say that you're stating facts and you're not a negotiator but you don't know all of the sides, and you literally studied to become leader on the Ark. I'm pretty sure that takes some negotiating and learning both sides."

Nova glances at Elara, "Do you mean to talk with the Grounders again to try and see their side of things? Because I don't think that will work considering they kept trying to put all the blame on us last time."

Nova pauses as she looks out to the forest before her. "Look," She continues, "I get that we're not perfect either and we made mistakes that if we didn't we may have been better off now. But we can't change what we did in the past. The Grounders killed our friends. And they weren't taking any of the blame. We need to do whatever it takes to survive. Warriors or not."

Before either of them can say more, one of the guys in camp calls out, "Woah! Guys, fire!"

"Go see what it is. I'll stay on post." Elara says.

Nova gives a quick nod before taking off to the commotion. "This is all your fault! We told you it was too much wood." Murphy yells, running towards Del and throwing a punch.

"Woah, woah, woah! Back up both of you!" Nova screams, running in between the two delinquents. 

"Seriously, save it for the Grounders." Bellamy says, stepping up beside Nova.

"Well, now what the hell are we gonna do? That was all the food." Octavia announces.

*_*_*_*_*_*

Clarke, Bellamy, and Nova step into the charred remains of the smokehouse. "Any idea what happened?" Clarke asks.

"Murphy says that Del kept feeding the fire, mostly because Octavia told him it was a bad idea." Bellamy answers.

"And we believe Murphy?"

"I do."

"The only reason I believe him is because Octavia said the same thing." Nova replies. 

"We have some wild onions and nuts in the dropship." Clarke begins, "It's only enough to last us maybe one or two weeks. What's left here?"

"Nothing. It all burned." Bellamy states.

"We're going to have to hunt. We won't be able to defend ourselves if we're starving." Nova immediately says.

"Anyone we can spare goes out." Clarke continues, agreeing with Nova.

Once the three step out they call for the attention of their fellow delinquents. "Each group takes someone with a gun, and they're for killing Grounders, not food. We don't have the ammo. Use the spears for hunting. Get what you can. Be back by nightfall. No one stays out after dark." Bellamy announces to the group.

"Miller, want to go out with Lara and I?" Nova asks the boy.

"Are you the one carrying a gun?" Miller asks. 

"If you want me to, I can, but I figured you could use the gun and Lara and I could use our bows for hunting."

Miller nods, "Give me a minute to get my pack."

*_*_*_*_*_*

Once outside the walls the group of three stayed quiet as they tried to track some animals, any animal.

"I always hated learning tracking in Earth Skills. Now I wish I paid more attention." Nova mumbled quietly, squatting down to look in the dirt.

"Let me. I was actually pretty decent at Earth Skills. I mean, I'm no Finn, but I can track an animal or two." Miller says as he squats beside Nova.

After a brief moment Miller nods his head to the left, "That way." The three delinquents keep an eye out for Grounders and animals as they follow the tracks down to a river.

"Looks like we're getting two headed deer. I really hope this is safe to eat." Elara says as she raises her bow and shoots.

The deer falls with a quiet thud. "Good tracking, Miller. That will feed us for a bit. Especially if the other groups come back with good finds." Nova nods to the boy.

"Let's see if we can find any fish while we're by the river. Maybe we can bring back some more food." Miller replies.

"Good thinking." The group, plus the dead deer, move to a slightly deeper part of the river.

Miller keeps his eyes and ears peeled for Grounders while Nova and Elara stand still in the water, waiting for fish to swim closely by. After about 25 minutes the girls have collected about five fish each.

"This should be good for today. It will be dark soon, let's head back." Nova says.

The other two nod in agreement as they collect their kills and start their journey back to camp.

*_*_*_*_*_*

Walking back into camp and placing their kills in the new smokehouse, Elara walks out to check around camp for any possible injuries that occurred while she was away.

While Elara makes her rounds, Miller and Nova move to find Bellamy. "Bell! We just got back, and found a deer and ten fish." Miller informs. 

"Ok, good. You guys were cutting it close to curfew. Had me a bit worried." Bellamy replies.

"Please, I think we were the most capable group out there. It was the others you should have worried about. Everyone's back, right?" Nova asks the older boy.

"We're still waiting for Clarke, Finn, and Myles." Bellamy answers.

"The sun just went down. They're not back yet?"

"No. Miller, go take over watch on the South wall." Miller nods and walks away. "I think I'm going to get a small group together to look for them."

Nova bites her lip, "You sure you want to risk it in the dark?"

"We don't have much of a choice. Clarke isn't just one of our medics, she's taken over a bit of a leadership role too. And Finn is our best tracker, we need him."

"Plus Myles is one of the few guys with decent aim. Yeah, I get it, I just don't like it."

"Me either. But we need to look out for ourselves."

"Take Elara, they may need medical attention." Nova says.

"You're not coming?" Bellamy asks, shocked that the girl is offering to stay behind.

"I promised I would continue some combat and weapons training. With the Grounders possibly striking any day now I need everyone to be at the top of their game. "

"You want to do that at night?" Bellamy raises an eyebrow.

"We don't know when they are planning on attacking, it could benefit us to train with low light."

"Makes sense. I'll let you get to it then."

Nova nods, "And Bellamy? If anything happens to Elara, I'm killing you."

*_*_*_*_*_*

"Hey, I feel like we haven't gotten the chance to talk recently." Atlas calls out to Elara. 

"Sorry, with everything going on..." She trails off.

"Nah, I get it. Are you busy now?" 

"Um, no. Everything seems to be alright around here."

"Great, could we talk then?"

Elara gives him a weird look, "Yeah, sure. What did you want to talk about?"

"Well, I don't remember much, but I vaguely remember asking about us when I was high on those Jobi nuts. I guess I just wanted to talk to you about it." Atlas rubs the back of his neck, clearly unsure of how to start this conversation.

"Oh, well. I didn't realize there was more that we had to talk about. I mean, I didn't really think much of it. You were high after all."

"Yeah, but after being down here with you I realized how much I miss you. I know we broke up because I got arrested, it was definitely the right thing to do considering I thought I was going to die but..."

Atlas sighs before he continues, "I kinda regret breaking up with you. You're an amazing person Elara. I was so lucky to be able to call you mine and I never stopped loving you. I guess I'm just wondering if I'll ever have a chance with you again?"

Elara bites her lip, looking up to the stars as she thinks. "Everything feels so different down here. I honestly don't know what's going to happen tomorrow or hell even within the next hour."

She takes a breath and turns to look Atlas in the eye, "What I do know is that I never stopped loving you either. You always meant so much to me, but you also hurt me when you broke up with me. I understand why you did it, but that doesn't mean I had an easy time with the break up."

"I can see us possibly working out in the future, but for now I think it's best that we stay friends. 

Atlas nods and opens his mouth to respond, but before any words come out, a new voice is heard. "Elara! We need your help."

"Be right there!" Elara calls then turns back to Atlas, "I gotta go, we can talk more later." She smiles before standing up and making her way to the group gathered by the gates.

"What did you need?" Elara asks Bellamy, taking note of her bow and arrows in his hand.

Bellamy hands her the weapon, "Clarke, Finn, and Myles still aren’t back yet. We're going out to look for them and Nova said to bring you incase they need a medic."

"Alright, then let's go."

*_*_*_*_*_*

Nova stood to the side, watching as three delinquents practiced knife throwing. Whenever she felt like someone needed help, she went over and gave them tips on adjusting their throw and balance.

She was happy with the improvements the group has made with the thought that maybe we will survive running through her head. 

After watching them practice for a while and slowly not being able to find any more mistakes, she moved on to the next group. This group, one of which was Harper, were practicing with spears. 

"Good shot Harper, just watch your balance. You want to make sure your footing is even so you don't tip over with the power of the throw." Nova says as she walks over to adjust the girl's footing.

"Thanks, I felt like something was off." Harper replies, smiling at Nova.

Nova nods, "How are you feeling about a possible war?"

"Nervous, I know a war means we'll lose more people. I don't want to lose anyone. I don't want to die."

Nova gives her a sad smile, "We're just going to have to come up with a plan so we keep as many of our people alive as possible." Harper smiles then turns back to practicing with the spear.

*_*_*_*_*_*

"Where are they?" Raven asks Octavia and Elara.

"We'll find them." Octavia replies without hesitation.

Through the radio, Monty's voice can be heard, "I thought you said you were heading west. Where are you?"

"Just keep the moon to your left, and you'll find us." Bellamy answers.

"This morning, all I could think about was how much easier this would all be if Finn was just gone." Raven sighs.

"Don't blame yourself, Raven. It isn't your fault." Elara says, resting a comforting hand on the older girl's shoulder.

Monty's voice is heard once more, "Is anyone else hearing this signal? I think it's the same thing we heard in the black box."

"Damn it, Monty, pay attention." Bellamy scolds, "Do you see anything? Report."

Monty doesn't answer, instead Raven does, "Oh my God. There's someone in the bushes."

"Myles?" Octavia and Elara say when they see the boy on the ground.

"Hey, what happened? Where's Clarke and Finn?" Elara asks the injured boy. She's more focused on his wounds then his answer though.

"Grounders took them." Myles replies.

"Take it easy." Bellamy tells Myles, "We have to get him back to camp."

"Bell, what about Clarke and Finn?" Raven asks.

"Raven, I'm sorry."

"We need to make a stretcher, we can't carry him back with his injuries." Elara says.

The girls nod as they start gathering supplies for a stretcher. Elara stays behind to make sure Myles isn't bleeding too bad. She listens in as Bellamy radios Monty, "Monty, we're heading home. You copy?" 

There's a brief pause before he continues, "Monty, can you hear me?" Again, no answer. "Monty, where the hell are you?"

The group looks at each other in shock, concerned that the Grounders may have captured another one of their group.

[themadauthorshatter]

RED SCHOOL UNIVERSE ALTERATION HEADCANONS/STORY!!!!!! Mainly based on that series titles and plots post I did a little while back.

This story happensthe same as before, but there are three arcs, not two parts; Arc 1 is the two worlds dicscovering each other and each wondering who the other is. Arc 2 is the worlds meeting each other and making introductions and first impressions. Arc 3 is the "Peace and Cooperation" between the two, which includes the Unity Ball.

The Endless Woods were still discovered by Silvers, but it was completely on accident. They were trying to go to Piedmont or any other Nortan ally because the Scarlet Guard situation is getting a little crazy and Tiberias needs needs reinforcements who are not having the same problem as him.

In their defense, it was really dark and they couldn't see a damn thing. And they thought the trees and grass being blue were because of Greenies.

One of them, a Swift, ran away when his travel partner, an Eye, got shot by a stray arrow and when a wolf jumped out of the trees. Like, a BIG ASS WOLF.

Little did the Swift know, a ferret snuck onto the boat while getting chased by an evil mist possessed hawk.

So the Eye gets patched up by Professor Espada, who scolded Chaddick, he is interviewed by Espada and Dovey, though they all talk in the School Master's office.

THE REVEAL OF RHIAN WILL COME, JUST WAIT BECAUSE IT WILL BE AWESOME!!!

The Eye explains as much of Norta as he can, mistakenly talking about the King and his two sons to a certain blonde girl who keeps thinking she's in the wrong school and her more realist, down to Earth friend that is intrigued, but just wants to go home.

SPEAKING OF NORTA!!!!

With the Swift, he arrives back at Norta and claimed he'd been chased away by soldiers.

The ferret slips away from the boat and finds its way into the garage, where Cal happens to be working, because he overworked himself in training.

It gets his attention and he very stupidly asks it how it got in.

It starts chattering and then claws at the door. Ever the compassionate, Cal lets it on his shoulder and he meets an Animos who takes notice of the rather articulate rodent on the prince's shoulder.

She does her own interviewing of the creature and is curious when it talks about a school meant for teaching children how to be heroes and villains for fairytales.

She infirms Cal, but tells him to not tell his father because it'd sound stupid and like bullshit.

He tells him anyway because Cal cannot keep a secret.

Tibe tells him that maybe he's been training too hard or in the garage to much; oil or gasoline on the brain.

Good thing the Eye comes back and tells Tibe EVERYTHING about what is called the School for Good and Evil. It is across the sea and has no Reds or Silvers to speak of, though they do have magic.

Tibe tries brushing it off, even when Elara asks him about it, but starts getting frustrated when letters start coming in, all sent by ravens.

These address Maven, Cal, Tibe, Elara, Evangeline, Ptolemus, and Volo Samos, and just about anyone and everyone else the Eye talked about, Even Mare, who is Mareena Titanos at this moment.

This was not only an assignment from the School Master directly, but a test to see if the Eye was BS-ing.

Maven rolls his eyes when he reads his.

Mare, at first, got really excited because she thought it was her family or Shade, but was really sad to learn it was just a bunch of kids in school.

Cal just laughs because he gets a lot of questions about what Norta is like and how he lives life, especially how HE goes to school.

He writes back, after realizing that the letters are being sent by literal 16 year olds.

Here is a letter sent by Tedros:

"Dear Tiberias Calore VII, We found one of your people in our school when my friend accidentally shot him.(sorry about that, by the way!) He talked a lot about you and a thing called "Queenstrial" and said that every King had to choose his Queen like that, even though your father didn't. His blood was silver, too. LIKE A MIRROR! Is that how all of you are? As in, does everyone have silver blood? And does everyone still have powers? Write back when you get a chance. I hope to here from you soon, Tedros Pendragon of Camelot."

Here is Cal's reply:

"Dear Tedros, Call me Cal, just about everyone else does. And don't worry about our comrade, he's doing okay. And I hope he didn't say anything confidential. To answer your questions: Yes, Queenstrial is somewhat a competition to marry the next King. My father didn't really partake in one until after I was born, then he married the current Queen and had my brother Maven. Kings rarely marry without one, though my father was the third to do so. Assuming what he said to us was true, that being you and your classmates all have red blood, then no. Not all us have silver blood. I and my family are all Silvers, meaning we have silver blood. We have powers because of it, but it's not as vast as yours, what you call magic. I'm a Burner, meaning I can control fire and not get burned by it, just like my father and brother. My mother, the queen, is a Whisper, meaning she can read minds. And no, not everyone has powers or silver blood. Reds, people with red blood, don't have powers at all, so they work. Granted, Silvers work, too, but Reds have more labor intensive jobs like lumbering and even fighting in an army. It's to make them feel more useful next to us. I hope this answered ypu questions. Tiberias Calore VII"

Here are letters Sophie sent to Maven:

"Dear Maven Calore, It's very nice to meet you! My name is Sophie. I'm from a village called Gavaldon, though you might not have heard of it because it's really deep in the woods and, let's be honest, if you live in a place like Gavaldon, you can probably live and die without anyone knowing who or where you are. Anyway, I tried writing to your brother, but I guess he gets THAT many letters. That guy they found didn't talk about you as much as your brother. And he said he'll be best king yet. I know how frustrating that is, I got put in the wrong school when I helped so many people and even became best friends with a witch. AND SOMEHOW I'M IN EVIL!? I'M THE PICTURE PERFECT DEFINITION OF A PRINCESS!!! Did that ever happen to you on school? Were ypu ever in the wrong place and your brother was where you were supposed to be? Anyway, write back when you get a chance! Love, Sophie P.S. Is it true you and your brother are ALREADY engaged to someone?"

Here is Maven's reply:

"Dear Sophie, Yes. My brother and I are already betrothed, him to Evangeline of House Samos and I to Mareena of the lost House Titanos. I'm not surprised that he didn't; the nobles usually pay more attention to my brother anyway, kind of like you. I remember once I'd wanted to join my father on a meeting concerning one of our legions. He chose Cal to join him instead and left me to train, even though I'm better at talking in council meetings. I was fairly upset, as I'm sure you are, but all I can say is to grin and bear it. As far as I know, most schools last four years. It may seem like a long time, but it will go by very quickly. Aside from that, I wouldn't know because I wasn't taught in a school like you. I was taught in the palace with my brother. I hope things get better for you, at least. Cordially, Maven Calore"

If this was a legit book or movie, we'd get back and forth POVs between the Red Queen cast and the SGE cast.

With the RQ cast, we'd see Mare and Maven talk the letters they'd each gotten and talk about the existence of magic, and the last letter sent to all three of them. FROM AGATHA. Cal joins them and they get to speculating what it could mean for their future.

"Dear Tiberias Calore VII, Maven Calore, and Mareena Titanos, This is the last letter we're allowed to send. The students, at least. Mareena, or Mare, or whatever your name is, I wish I had a chance to meet you at least once. I don't know, I just have a feeling you're lying and I want to know why. Tiberia Cal, I hope you someday become a good king, and that you're happy with Evangeline. If not, just get along and be freinds. Maven, I'm glad you and Mare met. She sounds like she's a good part of your life, and it sounds like your doing everything you can to help her adapt. I hope you two become your own little weird, married family. If I never meet you, best of wishes to you all. Agatha of Woods Beyond"

All three are bummed out by this and Mare cries into Maven's shoulder as he hugs her out of genuineness, not his mother's plan.

Maven later admits to Cal that it would be interesting to meet the students, but is glad he isn't, because they already have enough problems.

Cal agrees, but solely on the front that they wouldn't really know how to get there and back to Norta, and who qould have to stay behind to hold down the fort, as Tibe doesn't trust Elara or any other high house leader and doesn't talk to Julian.

The two simply imagine what such a meeting would be like as they part ways.

With Tibe, a letter from the School Master himself has just arrived and details a safe route from Norta to the School and back.

SWITCH AND BACK TRACK TO THE SGE CAST!!!!!

Sophie hugs the return letters from Cal and Maven, squealing about how gentlemanly they are and that she can't wait to meet them. Agatha gently breaks it to her that that might not happen because of how they don't know where this Norta place is and the last letter was sent last night, HER LETTER. Sophie waves her off and calls her gloomy for not having any hope. Agatha tries talking Sophie into trying to find a way back to Gavaldon instead, but Sophie shuts her down by gasping that she'd never meet her princes, then.

Norta is a hot topic for the students as they all compare letters, Evers and Nevers.

Tedros wonders to Agatha how long it would take for them to arrive, and Agatha admits she doesn't know because she doesn't know how they get from place to place without horses or carriages.

Dovey and Lesso are about to pull their hair out from the nonstop chitchat of Norta, Reds, and Silvers, and the School Master has just the solution:

After enough ravens left and returned safely, he determined a route on water that would help the Silvers arrive safely and get back home. Considering the advances in technology Norta has, it should take them about a day or two to arrive and another day or two to sail home, regardless of the weather conditions.

With that all thought out, he puts it in the form of him own letter, sends it by eagle, and waits.

After A MONTH of waiting, he gets a letter back that Tiberias will be happy to meet the School Master at the rendezvous point.

AND THUS CONCLUDES ARC 1

BE ON THE LOOK OUT FOR ARC 2!!!!

[shimmersing]

Best Intentions Masterpost | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Bonus! Soundtrack @ Spotify

Chapter Four: In My Arms 

“I feel like we keep arriving late to the party,” Erithon said dryly to Jorgan and Dorne as they entered the Thul warehouse uncontested.

A young man dressed in Organa colors ordered a group of beaten, grumbling Thul guards into a makeshift holding cell at the back of the building. The same guards that Erithon and the rest of Havoc Squad had expected to be battling themselves, but apparently someone had beaten them to the punch… literally.

The man tapped a code into the keypad with relish, and the forcefield lit up the doorway, sealing the indignant guards inside. He grinned and turned to Erithon, rushing over with a look of awe. “You’re with the Republic?”

“Havoc Squad. You’re with House Organa?”

“Brant Sonn, sir,” he replied with a bow.

Definitely from here, Erithon thought. “Wait…” Erithon frowned at the young man, recalling the briefing. “Brant Sonn? One of the hostages?”

“Yes!” He answered with a shade too much enthusiasm, pausing to compose the rest of his answer thoughtfully. “The Wolf Baron freed us when the diplomat turned herself in. We came for her as soon as we’d heard what happened. We couldn’t allow a friend of our house to remain under Thul’s hold, not after she sacrificed herself for us.”

“Was anyone hurt? I mean, besides…” Erithon nodded toward the bruised Thul guards, ensconced safely behind the forcefield.

Brant grinned. “No, sir, but the diplomat was sedated, we think. She’s a Jedi, so we-”

Erithon grasped the other man’s shoulder. “The Jedi. Where is she?”

“There, with the Duke, still in the other cell.” Brant pointed toward the other storage area where Charle Organa paced restlessly behind a slicer working at unlocking the forcefield. Beyond the crackling barrier, Erithon could just make out a human form.

“Thanks. Jorgan, see if there’s anything else we can do for Brant here. Dorne, with me.” He clapped Brant gratefully on the shoulder before turning toward the duke.

Organa looked up as they approached, his surprise lasting only a moment before being replaced by relief and gratitude. “Lieutenant! Please, tell me you’ve brought medical supplies.”

“Yes, sir,” Erithon answered, just as the slicer made one final adjustment. The glowing shield dropped, allowing Erithon, Elara, and Duke Organa to finally reach the unconscious occupant.

The prone figure was swathed in neutral shades, and a glimpse of dusky blonde hair peeked out from under the familiar hood. No, no, this isn’t what I meant when I-

The sickening lurch in his stomach almost sent Erithon to the dusty floor of the warehouse.

Aitahea.

“What in blazes happened?” Erithon demanded as he rushed to her side and yanked off his gloves. Elara dropped to the floor beside them, digging through her kit.

Duke Organa scowled furiously while he hovered. “They drugged her. Some kind of gas. Barbarians. Can you wake her?”

It looked like she’d been tossed unceremoniously over a shipping container after the drug had taken effect; the very thought set Erithon’s teeth grinding. He scooped the unconscious Jedi into a sitting position, pushing her hood back and shifting gently to let her head rest on his armored shoulder. She was white as the snow outside, lashes stark black against hollow cheeks. Biting back a particularly vicious curse, he pressed his fingers to her neck and exhaled sharply when he found a steady pulse. Elara Dorne finished her search and pulled out a handful of stims, efficiently scanning the labels before passing one to the waiting lieutenant.

“Antidote for general sedatives, sir.”

Erithon wasted no time in pressing the stim to Aitahea’s throat, watching anxiously as the medication worked its way into her system. He let the empty cartridge fall away, cradling her cheek in one hand as he waited for a response. “Come on, Jedi.”

The trooper held his breath while she stirred. Her eyelids fluttered, then opened, green eyes clouded as she focused on his face.

“Oh. Lieutenant.” A slow blink drew her eyes closed for a long moment before opening again to reveal a dreamy smile. “I was just thinking of you.”

He broke into a wide grin, elated and undeniably pleased. “If we keep meeting like this, Master Jedi, I might start getting ideas.” He closed his arms around her, unable to hide the deep sigh of relief that rushed out. “How is it you end up in my arms every time we meet?”

She gave a soft laugh, for a fleeting moment nothing more than a pretty girl amused by his witty banter. She lifted a hand and tapped gently on his chest plate. “I received your message, but I haven’t had a chance to watch it.”

Now it was his turn to laugh, only to be interrupted by the understated sound of Elara clearing her throat. Erithon started, realizing he still had Aitahea cradled close, his thumb idly brushing the curve of her cheek. Erithon spared a glance toward Duke Organa, who had watched their reunion unfold with a charmed expression. Erithon self-consciously dropped his hand from Aitahea’s face and hastened to help her sit upright while Elara thoughtfully offered the Jedi water. Aitahea gave the other woman a grateful smile, then looked toward Duke Organa.

“Your Grace. Are the hostages safe?”

“Indeed, and once free they immediately came to your aid.”

Aitahea blinked, brow knitting. “They came… for me?”

“Without hesitation.”

Aitahea nodded solemnly, thoughts elsewhere for a beat before finally lifting the container of water to her lips with trembling hands. Erithon hovered protectively at her side, frowning when he realized her already-slight form was thinner than on Taris. It had been months, of course, but… what had happened since then?

Elara leaned closer, peering carefully at Aitahea. “Master Jedi, I’m Sergeant Elara Dorne.” The sergeant glanced briefly at Erithon before continuing her queries. “How do you feel? Any pain or discomfort?”

“Woozy, Sergeant, but I expect that’s normal, thank you. A vast improvement from a few minutes ago. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Likewise.”

“Lieutenant,” Aitahea turned back to Erithon, eyes clearer than they’d been moments ago, color returning to her cheeks. “What are you doing here?”

“We’re the cavalry, of course.” Erithon jerked a thumb back over one shoulder. “Been helping the Duke out with his troublesome neighbors. We were supposed to rescue some diplomat,” he intoned, playing at charming nonchalance. Aitahea’s lips curled in a smile again. “But it seems the folks you helped felt they needed to return the favor first. We just brought the medkit.”

“Oh!” Aitahea marveled, eyes aglow, as she pieced together the last few hours. “It was you who took back the Spears!”

“Guilty as charged, Master Jedi,” Erithon replied, basking in her attention. She’d been in his thoughts so often. He’d found himself scanning through his messages for her name every time he’d had a reasonable signal. There’d been no more dreams of her since Taris – at least not of them as children again, anyway – and this wasn’t the exact reunion he’d hoped for, but having her whole and close was better than he could have asked, even under these unusual circumstances.

Then again, this was starting to look more like the norm for them.

“It seems you two know each other.” Organa’s eyes danced, amusement lightening his knowing tone.

Aitahea’s eyes flickered from the duke to Erithon and back, her smile shy but bright. “On Taris, Your Grace, we retrieved impossibly valuable data from the wreck of an old starship. The mission was a great success.”

“I beg your pardon, Master Jedi, but I think it’s advisable that you see a medic once we’ve returned to Organa Castle,” Elara said, gathering up the few items she’d removed from her pack. “Otherwise your condition seems to be improving rapidly.”

Aitahea nodded, her attention shifting past the sergeant to where Qyzen Fess and Aric Jorgan approached, led by Brant Sonn. “Good. Because I don’t think we’re finished here.”

Erithon observed the scowl on Jorgan’s face before turning back to Aitahea, rising slowly but steadily. “Are you sure you’re up for that? You were out cold just a few minutes ago.”

“Whatever your companion administered is working quickly, and I have the Force with me, as always. All will be well.” Aitahea studied him, and he couldn’t help shuffling sheepishly under her reserved scrutiny. “I am… so pleased to see you, Lieutenant.”

He shrugged casually, but a gratifying warmth had settled quite firmly in his chest. “Erithon is fine, you know, if it’s okay with you.”

Her lips parted, the shade of a smile appearing before she looked toward their waiting allies.

“We have a problem,” Jorgan said. “The Thul army is on the march again. General?” He lifted a holocomm, the bluish projection brightening the dark corner of the warehouse as General Kashim appeared.

“It is good to see you alive. Matters are moving quickly, and House Organa is in dire need of reinforcement.”

“What can we do to help?” Aitahea asked, steadying herself with a hand on Erithon’s arm. He found himself biting his lip to avoid interrupting the Jedi with an admonishment for offering her assistance, knowing full well – after a moment of careful consideration – that she knew her boundaries better than he would. As much as he wanted her out of harm’s way, that wasn’t in the cards for either of them.

“The Empire has sent several Sith apprentices to support the Thul army. Organa soldiers are proving no match.”

Those gathered murmured their concern, but Aitahea looked positively alarmed. “Sith, even apprentices, are not to be trifled with.”

“We’re used to fighting blasters,” Brant Sonn added with a deep frown. “Not the Force.”

Kashim continued over the holo. “So long as the Sith are in place, we cannot win this battle. You must make a full assault on their war camps immediately.”

Aitahea dropped her head, resignation darkening her words. “It seems peace must wait.”

“This is the greatest challenge House Organa has faced. If we win, Thul will be repelled, and we can go on the offensive.”

“Aitahea, I can hardly ask you to risk yourself once again, but it seems I have no choice,” Charle Organa added, shaking his head in disbelief. “If we lose, House Organa will be forced into exile.”

Aitahea drew a sharp breath at his admission, fingers tightening on Erithon’s armored wrist. “Your Grace, I will not allow that to happen.”

Organa smiled tightly. “I expected nothing less from a paladin of my house. And you have strong, courageous allies.” The duke nodded at Erithon, who returned a practiced salute.

“May the Force be with you,” General Kashim added as his final word, and the comm went dark.

The Jedi lifted her eyes to Erithon’s again, clear and determined. “We have work to do.”

Best Intentions Masterpost | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Bonus! Soundtrack @ Spotify

[geekofmanyforms]

New Beginning:Chapter Seventeen

A/N: Please review and let me know what you think, whether it's good or bad. I hope you guys enjoy it. REVIEW, YOU BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE! :) This chapter has been edited by my Beta Casey.

Elena stood in the bathroom, her back to me, staring into Jeremy's room. I leaned my chin on her shoulder and looked in on him. He was sitting at his desk looking through his old sketch pad, a reminiscent grin on his face. His eyes held so many memories; happy ones.

He took a pencil from his supplies and found an empty page. He tilted the yellowing pages toward him and began to sketch, his face focused and at ease. I could feel Elena take a deep calming breath beneath me, and I smiled. Watching Jeremy sketch again made us feel at home like things were normal and happy. I reached for Jeremy's door and quietly closed it. He didn't need to see us peeping on him. I wrapped my arms around Elena and hugged her briefly, before pulling away and flouncing out of the bathroom, my mood greatly improved. I bounded down the stairs, flinging my hair into a messy bun as Jenna was pulling her bag over her shoulder in a hurry, her hair getting caught in the straps.

"Jeremy has his sketch pad out," I whispered excitedly as I hopped over the last step.

Jenna looked up from rescuing her hair and smiled brightly, her eyes shining. "You're kidding?" she said, beaming.

I shook my head and grabbed my bag from behind the door.

"Nope, she's not," Elena said quietly, coming down the stairs. "But don't say a word. The moment we encourage him, he'll put it away."

I looked over my shoulder and pointed at her. "Yep," I nodded in agreement. "For once, I agree with her," I said, gasping in fake shock and holding my heart.

Elena rolled her eyes and ignored Jenna's laughter.

"Psychology major. Check that!" Jenna said, check-marking the air with her finger, laughter still in her voice.

I grabbed my new jacket from the rack and slipped it on, smiling at the way it fit my shape perfectly. The silver studs on the shoulders and wrists stood out beautifully against the black. After I finished zipping it up, I looked up to find Jenna smiling at me. "What?" I asked, raising my hands in the air.

Jenna shrugged, the corners of her mouth pulling down. "Nothing. You've just developed a taste for leather jackets recently," she said, smiling.

I narrowed my eyes at her and hoped she didn't notice the way they darted to the thankfully oblivious Elena and back. All I needed was her getting the wrong idea.

I lifted two fingers and pointed to my eyes and back to Jenna. She huffed dramatically and turned to Elena, who had her phone out, staring at it pitifully, her brows furrowed. She walked up beside her and looked down at her phone, questioningly.

"You and Stefan? Update?" she asked.

Elena looked at me over Jenna's shoulder, and I gave her a sad sorta smile. She started buttoning up her jacket and looked at Jenna with an air of indifference. "He knows how I feel and where I stand, and I know where he stands, but it doesn't matter. He's leaving, moving away," she said, finishing the last button and grabbing her bag.

I stepped up onto the last step and looked up the stairs. "We are leaving, Jer!" I hollered.

I didn't wait for an answer before hopping off the step and following Jenna and Elena outside.

I walked a few feet behind them, allowing Elena her space. This was harder for her than it was for me. I could depend on myself, and I had Rebekah. Elena had lost our mother, the only woman she had ever depended on for relationship advice. Not that she could have discussed this relationship with our mother, but I understood that she felt like she had nowhere to turn and vent her feelings.

Elena and Jenna parted ways at her car, and I slipped into the passenger seat.

"Not taking yours today?" she asked, leaning down and looking at me with a quirked brow.

"Nah, don't feel like it. I'm leaving the driving to you today, sis," I said, laying my head back with a smile.

Elena swiftly slid into the car and sighed. "You barely talk to me, and now I've been reduced to chauffer. Great sister, you are," she snipped.

I rolled my eyes and slipped in my headphones, slapping my hands together, and snapping my fingers. "Onwards!" I obnoxiously shouted over my music.

Elena leaned over and took my phone, glancing at the title of the song that was playing before putting my volume on full blast with a mischevious smile. I yanked my headphones from my ears with a yelp of startled pain, and jumped, hitting my head on the top of the car.

"Now we can go," she said smugly, pulling out of the driveway.

I rubbed my ears and squinted my eyes at her in surprise. That was sneaky.

"Five points to Elena," I said wryly.

Elena turned her head and looked at me in confusion, her eyes scanning my face. She turned her gaze back to the road, her knuckles white as she gripped the steering wheel with force.

"Are you sure, Ellie?" she whispered.

I watched the side of her face, the tension in her forehead, causing wrinkles. I laid my cheek against the seat and sighed. "Expect a war, Lena. I won't go easy on you, my dear twin,"

Her face smoothed a bit, and she inhaled, holding it in for a brief moment. "I am sorry," she whispered, almost to low for me to hear.

When I chose to ignore her nearly silent apology, she smiled and fisted the air in triumph. "Team Elena for the win!" she shouted.

I giggled and rolled my eyes in exasperation. It had been years since we had played our little game. It wasn't something our parents had ever approved of, but it had always helped us solve even our worst fights. Our childhood therapist had called it a very unhealthy form of sibling rivalry. We chose to put pins in her seat as retribution. Well...that had been my idea; mine and my imaginary friend Rebekah.

We had been about six years old, shortly after the whole fixing Elena's broken arm with magic and then breaking her nose incident. Even though Elena and I were not very close, we still fought and had the little sibling games we shared together. Ours were just a little rougher than your average family. We would torture each other, the only rules being, it had to be a surprise attack, and there could be no bodily harm nor anything cruel. So it would end up being things like nightly haircuts, hair dye in the conditioner, white-out on our less important homework, salt in the sugar container.

Little things, and in the end, whoever had the most points won. The person who was hit with the attack, awards the points, based on the level of cleverness used. If the attacker thinks the points aren't fair, they can go to a third party who is chosen at the time the game is started. Once the game is over, the fight that had started it all was never allowed to be mentioned again. The battle was supposed to be punishment enough.

It was a silly childish game, but to be honest, I missed my sister. I hoped that what Jeremy would do to her when he found out the truth, would be enough to help her learn her lesson, not to mention, everything that was to come. Plus, I really didn't have much time to waste on fighting.

"Don't get too excited Lena, you're only five points ahead, and we both know who the real master of this game is," I said with a cruel smile.

Elena pulled into the school and grinned madly. "Not this time. We're older now." she took the keys from the ignition as I hopped out of the car. "Who is the third party? Same as always?" she asked as she exited the car.

I walked up beside her and placed my hands in my jacket pockets. "If he'll do it. He is the best," I said with a nod.

Elena and I started inside side by side. "Always fair," she agreed.

"Ok, we will ask him then. Truce until then?" I asked, facing her as if we were about to duel.

She eyed me warily, scanning me quickly before slowly reaching out her hand. Bonnie and Caroline joined us but stood quietly when they noticed our position. "Truce until our third is called," Elena said seriously, eyes on my hand.

We joined hands, and immediately Elena's shoulders loosened, and she breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Truce," I giggled, pulling away.

"Oh...God, no!" Caroline called out her hands on her mouth.

Bonnie rubbed her face and rolled her eyes. "Seriously, guys? The Gilbert Twin Wars? I thought those days were behind us?" she said in exasperation.

I put my arms around Elena and smiled brightly, my eyes shining with evil. "It's time. War has returned my fellow friends. Prepare yourselves," I said in my best movie trailer voice.

Tyler came up behind me and pulled me against his chest with a feral grin. "Did I just hear what I think I did?" His eyes lit up as he placed his chin on my shoulder.

Elena's nose twitched as she took in our position with distaste.

"Did Bon just say The Gilbert Twin Wars was back?" he asked.

I pulled away from him and matched his feral grin. "Yeah. You're team Elara, right?" I asked with a wink.

He clapped me on the back, and I winced, only slightly.

Damn wolf strength.

"Aren't I always? Have been since we were six," he said with a grin.

I clapped my hands together and laughed, sticking my tongue out at Elena.

"Remember the rules, Ellie. Moral support, ideas, and supplies. That's all they can help with," she said, shaking her finger.

I sighed, my shoulders slumping. "I know that, Lena. I don't cheat. Set up and execution is Gilbert only ground," I said, my voice sing-song towards the end.

Bonnie laid an arm on Elena's shoulder and winked at me. "Team Elena, as always. Sorry, El," she said.

I shook my head and grabbed Caroline. "That's ok. Sounds fair, to which I think you'll agree. It'll give everyone exactly the same advantages to use. If you catch my drift," I said with a wink.

Bonnie shook her head with a laugh. "Yep, my thoughts exactly," she said.

I turned to Caroline and narrowed my eyes. "Caroline?" I asked.

Caroline backed away slowly. "Last time I lost an inch of hair. I think I'll steer clear this time. I love you, though," she said, walking swiftly into class with Matt.

Tyler sighed and chuckled maniacally. "That was her fault. I tried to tell her that the conditioner was contaminated," he said.

I bit my lip when everyone started laughing around me, Bonnie covering her bright face with her hand.

"She always did leave her conditioner on too long," I said with a giggle.

Tyler pushed me, and I gave him a quick wave as we all went our separate ways.

—-

Elena and I walked outside after our classes ended. I was happy to see her look so much brighter than she had the last few days. This whole ordeal with Stefan was really hurting her. That's why when I saw him sitting on the table outside waiting for her, I was more than a little irritated. I pushed past her, pulling away when she tried to take my arm and stepped right in from of him, my eyes hard.

"Stefan Salvatore, you seriously better have a perfect excuse for being here. You're breaking my sister's heart, pulling away from her like this. And to just show up again, that's cruel," I whispered harshly.

Stefan looked down at me, his eyes soft, and smiled gently. "I see someone has forgiven her," he said.

I elbowed him in the stomach as I turned around, enjoying his light groan. "You've chosen for that to be none of your business, Stef, because, ya see, you're not just leaving her...brother," I said as I walked away.

I could hear his soft intake of breath but kept walking. I didn't need to turn around to know I had gotten my point across. Elena was waiting for me a few feet away, I took her hand in mine and gave her a hug.

"Call me if you need me," I whispered in her ear.

She pulled away with a nod, and I watched her join a newly darkened Stefan. I walked home quickly, using my magic to give myself a natural boost, using the woods as cover. By the time I had hit the front porch, my hair was windswept and clothes ruffled. I looked like I had stood in the back of a truck while it went 90 down an old country road. I pulled a few leaves from my hair and clothes before I slipped inside. Jeremy was lying on the couch, his sketchbook in his lap.

"Hey, Ellie. What do you think?" he asked, lifting the pad into the air.

I stepped beside him and took the sketch from his hands. On the page, he had drawn an image of a vampire, mouth opened wide, fangs bared. I could even see the hunger in his black eyes.

"Nice. Really creepy. What made you choose a vampire?" I asked nonchalantly, handing him the pad.

He looked back down at the drawing, a smile on his face. "I found this old journal in dad's stuff, Jonathan Gilbert from the 1800s. He's kinda a freak show." I sat down on the edge of the couch beside him and placed my elbow on my knee, resting my chin on my open palm.

"Yeah, I remember reading that. He wrote about demons, right?" I asked, edging him on.

Jeremy nodded quickly, sitting up, his eyes wide with excitement.

"He was a writer...short stories fiction stuff," Jenna said, coming in from the kitchen with a smile.

She sat down on the back of the couch and leaned over to glance at Jeremy's drawing. "Wow, definitely creepy," she said.

"Oh. He writes fiction? I figured he was just a lunatic or drunk," Jeremy said, leaning back against the couch pillow with a grin.

Jenna stood and took a book from the shelf behind her. "Well, he was a Gilbert, probably a little bit of both," she said, handing him the book with a smile.

Jeremy laughed, his eyes lightly sparkling with mischief. I shook my head at them both. If they only knew. My phone rang, startling all three of us, and I jumped, falling off the edge of the couch. Jeremy tried to reach out and stop me, but he was too late. I landed with a huff on the floor, my ass stinging.

"Ow, my ass," I whined, my red hair falling out of its elastic prison.

I ran my hand through it, ruffling it a bit, and pulled the elastic band back around my wrist. Jeremy laughed loudly, and Jenna helped me to my feet. I pulled my phone from my pocket, rubbing my stinging backside. I answered without even glancing at the name.

"Whoever this is better to be dying. My ass really hurts now, and it's all your fault," I said in greeting.

Jeremy laid his head back, still laughing, and Jenna swatted me on the arm, her eyes wide.

"Well, your ass hasn't been my problem in a very long time, Elandra. But I'm sure I could find some way to help you out," Damon said, his voice doing little to hide the smirk I could practically see through the phone.

I smiled and took my bag from the floor, winking at Jeremy with a wave. As I stepped onto the porch, I sighed. "What do you need, Damon?" I asked, getting straight to the point.

"You can take this," he said, the voice coming from beside me.

I jumped, spinning around and pushing him against the house, my hands fisted in his dark blue shirt. I chuckled in anger. "Don't. Do. That," I enunciated.

Damon pulled himself away from the house and dusted off his button-up shirt. He noticed me looking him over and smirked; I looked away quickly and shrugged. "What? You know blue is one of my favorite colors on you, Damon," I said nonplussed.

He approached me slowly and looked down at my jacket and skinny black jeans. "Loving your new look. Especially the messy hair," he said, running his fingers through my tangled mane.

I pulled away and took the golden compass from his hand. "This is the one I found in the woods, right? It's a Gilbert family heirloom. I was too distracted that night to recognize it, I just felt its power," I said, flipping it over in my hand and opening it.

Damon eyed me warily, and I frowned up at him. "I'm assuming you know what it does, and you're not here to return it to its rightful owners," I said, closing it with a snap.

Damon looked away, his eyes focusing on everything around us. "There's another vampire in town. Sheriff Forbes showed up asking for my help finding it earlier today. Of course, my ever heroic brother wants to make sure everyone we leave behind is safe. So I need your help finding it," he looked back down at me and opened the compass that was still resting in my palm. "Using this. Figured it was the quickest way," he said.

I looked down at the compass, its needle focusing solely on Damon. "I can see your problem," I smirked. "Sure, I'll help. You run along. I'll wander through town until I get a hit, then I'll call you," I said, closing the compass and pulling my bag over my shoulder.

I reached inside it and pulled out the little black pouch I kept the Blackwood bark in, sliding it out and placing it in between my lips like a toothpick. I might just need the boost.

Damon took my wrist roughly. "You will not approach it," he firmly said, eyes hard.

I took my wrist, pulling away from his grasp, and narrowing my eyes. "And you won't treat me like an idiot. I'm not going to just jump into anything, but I will prepare for the worst," I said.

He leaned in and lifted my chin, looking into my eyes. "Be careful, Elandra," he said.

I brushed his cheek with my fingers and smiled. "I will be. Witches honor," I said, lifting two fingers and placing them on either side of my nose with a giggle. "I've always wanted to do that," I said with a gleeful grin.

Damon's confused and exasperated expression made me smile as I hopped down the porch steps, opening the compass as I did. I stood at the end of the corner and shooed him away. When he finally left, the needle on the compass faced north and stayed there as I walked towards the center of town.

—-

I stood in front of the warehouse, the cold screen of my phone pressed against my ear. "Just wait. I'll be there in a minute," Damon said.

I tapped the toe of my boot on the concrete as I waited. Damon popped up behind me, and I huffed in irritation, at least this time, I had prepared my senses for his sudden appearance.

"You sure?" he asked.

I handed him the compass and tilted my head. "Of course I am, Damon. When am I ever not?" I said.

Damon rolled his eyes and stepped into my personal space. I took a deliberate step back and twirled around him towards the door. "Let's go, Mr. Vampire. There's another one of you inside, and we gotta kill him," I said with a giddy voice.

Damon vamp sped in front of me with a snarl. This would be so much easier if I could just compel you," he groaned. "You can't come inside. I don't know who is in there. It's dangerous," he said.

I crossed my arms and, without even the tiniest movement, forced him to the ground, pinning him in the sprawled eagle position. "I think I can handle myself," I said.

I kept my body still and lifted Damon with my magic, enjoying the way his arms and legs flailed out around him like a rag doll. I gently lowered him to his feet with a smile.

Palms out, I pushed my hands in front of me. "After you, dearie," I said.

Damon yanked his shirt down and took the stairs leading to the door two at a time. He looked around us and quietly broke the handle, opening the door. I entered directly behind him, and he held his hand out, motioning for me to stay at a reasonable distance. I rolled my eyes and kept them on him as we went deeper into the dark warehouse. A squeak of someone's shoe was the first thing I heard before the sound of a gunshot. Damon fell to his knees in front of me as he was shot multiple times by someone in the shadows.

"I have a ton of these wooden bullets, so nothing funky," Logan Fell said.

Damon sat up and tried to remove the bullet from his arm. "You don't want to do this. Trust me," he said.

Logan shot him in the chest with a smile. That's what ya get," he said.

I stepped out of the shadows with an angry growl, red framing my vision, and flung him into the wall as hard as I could.

"Told ya," Damon gasped.

Logan groaned, standing and pointing the gun in my direction.

I lifted my fingers and smiled. "Go ahead. Try me," I said, beckoning him.

Damon cursed, but I ignored him. Red and anger was the only thing I could see. Logan took the shot, and I lifted my palm out in front of me, stopping the bullet in its tracks. It shook in the air between Logan and myself, shaking to move towards its target. He took a shocked breath, and I saw a fear flash in his eyes as he watched the wood start to disintegrate in midair as I slowly closed my hand.

"Just think of what I could do to a vampire, especially one who has shot someone I care about," I lowered my hand and stepped away from him, standing beside Damon, who was removing a bullet from his leg.

Logan followed me, and I narrowed my eyes. "Don't look at me like that, you witchy bitch. He did this to me," he said.

Damon growled, but I laughed and sat down, avoiding the blood.

"I killed you, I didn't make you," Damon said.

I reached over and tried to help remove the bullets, but Damon caught my gaze and shook his head. I blinked a few times but moved away, crossing my arms. Dropping the round he had removed from his chest with a groan, Damon leaned against his knee, and I watched, my teeth clenched. I would enjoy killing Logan.

"See, I know what you and your brother are. I've been watching the two of you, I knew you'd show up here, and I'm glad you did because I have some questions," he said, bending down next to Damon and patting him on the shoulder.

I sat straight and tapped my fingers on my knee with a firm warning in the way I narrowed my eyes in his direction. Logan stood, stepping away from us, his hands in the air.

"Whoa, you might want to watch yourself, little witch. You forget, I know your weaknesses and where to find them," he said with a smirk.

I stood in a rush of rustling fabric and flung him as hard as I could against the metal door behind him. The loud crunch of his bones meeting the hard surface a welcoming sound.

"And you forget who your threatening, vampire," I snarled.

The witch in me called for his swift demise. I felt Damon's hand on my leg and looked down.

"We need to know who created him, El," he said.

I yanked my leg away and looked down at his bloodied shirt. "I swear to the Gods, Damon…"I trailed off, pointing at his shirt.

He smiled briefly as Logan pulled himself from the floor and hobbled his way towards us. I kept my back to him, my shoulders stiff. I could feel him staring at me, but I knew if I looked at him, if I saw the way he kept staring at Damon like he was some superior God just because he had gotten the drop on him, then I would kill him where he stood. I focused instead on the feel of my nails digging into the palms of my hands, as I clenched them tightly. Logan began to speak about the night Damon had killed him, and my ears perked up in concentration. I had an inkling of who had turned him, but I couldn't be sure, not yet.

"I'll answer your questions when you answer mine. Who turned you?" Damon asked.

I could hear Logan lower himself next to Damon, his shoes scuffing the floor as he shifted his weight from foot to foot. "How should I know? The last thing I remember is, I had just shot my ex's pretty little niece, and I am about to stake your brother when you grabbed me,"

I turned slowly and sneered when Logan jumped slightly at the growl that emanated from deep within Damon's chest.

"That's it! Until I wake up in the ground behind a used car dealership on Highway 4. Somebody buried me," Logan snarled.

Damon pulled another bullet from his leg and leaned his head back, eyes scrunched up in pain. "Ow, it happens," he said, breathing heavily and wobbling slightly, blinking a few times.

Logan bent down and leaned into Damon's face. I took a step closer and dug my nails deeper into my flesh to control myself.

"You bit me," Logan spat.

Damon looked at the wooden bullet in his hand, his teeth bared. "Damn it," he angrily said, tossing it to me.

I opened my bloodied palm and ignored the different expressions on each vampire. I looked at the bullet and held it tightly in my palm. It was dipped in vervain, which made this whole situation worse.

"It had to be you," Logan said eyes hard.

Logan leaned closer, and Damon, who I could see, was losing his patience, narrowed his eyes to slits, and sneered. "You have to have vampire blood in your system when you die. I didn't do that. Some other vampire found you, gave you their blood," he spat.

Damon groaned heavily and fell back onto the ground. I lowered myself to my knees and sat behind him, pulling him against me.

"We're not going to be able to play this game much longer, Day," I faintly whispered in his ear.

I could feel him chuckle and see the small smile they briefly crossed his face. It had been a very long time since I had used that nickname. It was something my brothers had called him often, much to his displeasure.

"Who?" Logan growled.

Damon sat up further, wobbling from side to side, and looked at Logan in annoyance. "That's what I wanna know," he said.

Logan waved the gun around in front of him as he bounced lightly on his heels.

"Dude, it's not like the welcome wagon was waiting with a bundt cake and a handbook. It was a learn as you go process. You know, one minute, I'm a small town on the rise news guy, and the next thing I know, I can't get into my own house, because my foot won't go through the door," Logan said.

I snickered lightly, and Logan swung the gun in my direction. Damon's eyes flickered black, and I covered my face and frowned. "That's terrible, Logan. You have to be invited in, ya know," I said matter of factly.

I patted Damon's arm as he continued to pry the rest of the bullets from the various parts of his chest and legs.

"I know. I live alone," Logan said.

Damon chuckled weakly and leaned onto my arm. "That sucks," he said.

I bit my lip as a small giggle escaped me again, and I could feel Damon's chest shaking against my legs. Logan pointed the gun at us, and Damon sat up quickly, his body shaking with the effort.

"So now, I'm at the Ramada, watching Pay-Per-View all day, and eating everything in sight, including housekeeping," he said. I held onto Damon's shoulder and smiled at Logan with ease.

"It could be worse," I said, shrugging.

"All I can think about is blood and killing people. I can't stop killing people,"

Logan moved closer to us and smelled the air, smiling at me. Damon shifted his weight and moved closer to me, his body pressing against mine, the blood from his shirt sticking to my skin.

Logan laughed menacingly. "And I like it. I'm conflicted," he said.

"Welcome to the club," Damon sarcastically said, shaking his head in annoyance.

I snorted lightly, and Damon slapped my leg. I inhaled sharply and rubbed the stinging skin with a wince. Logan stood and looked down at us with amusement.

I tilted my head and looked up at him in confusion. "Wait a minute," I said.

Damon frowned and looked away from me and up towards Logan. "Cops only found one body," Damon finished.

Logan shrugged and sighed in exasperation. "I left one. I was tired. But I've been hiding the rest of the bodies. They're right back there," he said, using the gun to point towards an area behind his left shoulder with a grin.

I stood to my feet and walked behind Logan to find a small caged area, you could see the bloodied legs and arms of several bodies piled on top of each other. I covered my mouth and turned away, my eyes closed. I swallowed hard and recollected myself, trying to keep my emotions in check, this isn't over yet, and if I lashed out now, I wouldn't be able to stop, not this time.

"You're kidding," Damon said, looking over Logan's shoulder.

I could hear the laugh in Logan's voice and slowly walked next to Damon, reminding myself of the reason we were here.

"They're just piling up!" he said.

I looked down at Damon and sighed, sitting down next to him, and leaning my head on his shoulder. My phone buzzed lightly, and everything happened so fast I barely had time to blink. Logan had jumped, his attention turning on me, and vamp sped in my direction. Before he could reach me though, Damon reached up and grabbed his shoulders, pinning him to the ground, teeth bared and growling deeply, his vampire features masking his face.

"Don't!" he warned.

I pushed myself away from them and stood to my feet. "Hey, it's ok. It's just Elena. She's wondering where I am. I can just tell her I'm running late," I said, my hands raised.

Logan pulled away from Damon and ripped the phone from my hand, looking down at the screen. I sat down on my knees and took Damon's chin in my hand. "I can handle myself, Day. You have got to remember that," I said firmly.

He pulled away from me and kept his eyes on Logan, following his every move.

"Why aren't you at the school, Elara? Do you not plan on being human for college? You and Damon seem close," Logan smirked.

I plopped down next to Damon and laughed loudly. "I have no plans on becoming a vampire, Logan. Though, If I could, I would take it, believe me," I sighed, leaning my head towards the ceiling. I heard the shuffling of his feet as he lowered himself in front of me, and slowly let my head slump towards him, my eyes narrowed.

"Can witches not become vampires?" he asked in confusion, eyes curious. The corners of my mouth twitched, and I suddenly felt terrible for the guy. This wasn't his fault, and he was dealing with it the only way he knew how. I lowered my face into my hands with a groan and felt Damon moving closer to me.

"No, it's not that I can't become a vampire. I'm cursed," When he opened his mouth I held up my hand and placed one finger to my mouth mockingly. "Long story. So, when I said it could be worse, believe me, it could be," I leaned forward and got as close to him as I dared, one arm on my knee. "At least you get to live," I said.

Logan sat back and looked thoughtful. "Why am I so overly emotionally? All I can think about is my ex-girlfriend. I wanna be with her, and bite her, and stuff," he said, face full of childish confusion.

"The girl talk is all yours, Darling," I told Damon mockingly, patting his knee.

Damon sighed deeply and smirked. "Well, you probably love her. Anything you felt before will be magnified now. You're gonna have to learn to control that,"

I nodded in agreement. If Logan thought he was going to get within an inch of my Aunt Jenna, he was sorely mistaken.

"What about walking in the sun? I'm a morning person." he cocked his head, and I could feel Damon move his hand across his Daylight ring. "You can walk in the sun, which, by the way, is pretty cool. The council will never suspect you. That's not in the journals," Logan said with a smirk.

"The journals?" Damon asked.

I tilted my head and looked at Damon. "The founding fathers, they passed down journals to their children," I said with a crooked smile.

Damon narrowed his eyes and smirked. "Did they now?" he asked.

I bit my lip and looked away.

"Come on, man. Ya gotta tell me. How can you walk around in the sun?" Logan asked.

I could feel the tension in the room rising and stood to my feet.

"Who turned you?" Damon asked with a smirk. I paced in a small circle as they argued back and forth for a few minutes before Logan finally stood, his gun pointing at Damon again. "You know, I've been really nice so far, but I will kill you," he said.

I stepped beside Damon as he stood, taking my arm and pulling me behind him. "Then, you'll never know. You're not answering my question," he said.

I tried to pull my arm from his grasp but winced when my effort was matched with pain. He jerked my arm, and I stilled.

"You first!" Logan shouted, pointing the gun in my direction.

Damon's posture stiffened, and he backed me further behind him.

"Damon. I'm ok…" I whispered.

"It seems we're at a bit of an impasse then, doesn't it," Damon said, ignoring me.

Logan shifted and ground his teeth together. "I have things to do, people to kill. Guess I'll be needing a little head start," he said, firing the gun.

Damon let go of my arm as he groaned in pain and fell to the floor, several new wounds littering his chest and side. I looked up, glancing around for Logan, my breathing heavy. When I knew he was no longer here, I dropped to the floor next to Damon and slapped him on his uninjured shoulder.

"You stupid vampire!" I shouted.

His head fell back, and he groaned again, breathing heavily. "I could have killed him, Day. Then you wouldn't be lying here in pain and covered in bullet holes," I said, lifting my hand above him and slowly closing my palm.

The wooden bullets began pulling themselves from his wounds, he yelled in pain as the extraction blazed through him. Still, I continued on, sniffling past the tears that were trying to escape. Once the last bullet flew into the air, I flung them across the room and yanked my sleeve up.

"Here. Drink," I said, lying my wrist on his mouth.

He sat up and pushed me away, his eyes dark. "No. Don't you think I've ripped into you enough," he spat, standing up.

I shook my head and helped him steady himself. "And now you're going to start acting self-righteous about it? Ok, Stefan. I think the blood loss has gone to your head," I said, bending over and pulling my pocket knife from my boot.

I stood and quickly slid open the blade, slicing my wrist in one swift motion. Damon's eyes zeroed in on the blade and pushed me away. "What the hell, Elandra?" he yelled.

I raised my wrist and walked over to him, offering it up to him with a shrug. "You lost too much blood, Damon. Just take some, heal me, and let's go," I said.

I pressed my wrist against his lips, and he took hold of me, drinking deeply. I held myself still until he pulled away, lifting his own wrist to his lips and biting down. I pulled my arm back and cradled it against me as I drank from his wrist until the long red slash I had made was gone. I stepped away from him and wiped my mouth. "Now, let's go kill that bastard," I said.

Damon smirked mischievously and took me in his arms, ready to speed away. "Agreed."

"What were you thinking, Elara?! He could have gotten you killed!" Elena hollered from the other end of the phone.

I squinted and pulled the phone away from my ear, rolling my eyes in Damon's direction. He stood in front of his bedroom mirror, pulling his blood-covered shirt from his chest. He hollered into his own cell phone, where Stefan spoke calmly on the other end. Much calmer than my sister who was still yelling at me. Something about my untimely death? As if that wasn't imminent anyway.

I flicked my wrist with a heavy sigh and laid back on Damon's bed, my cell phone floating in the air near my ear.

"Listen, Elena. I can handle myself, really I can. If I want to help Damon, I am going to, and there really isn't a thing you can say that will change my mind. Yelling at me only makes me enjoy helping him," I said truthfully.

She scoffed on the other end, and I winced.

"That sounded childish, but it's true. I've never liked being told what I can and cannot do. Goes back to the days when I had no rights as a woman,"

I smiled when no sound came from Elena, and I looked up to find Damon standing over me.

"Listen, Lena. I'll see ya in a few. Bye," I said, reaching for my floating phone and hanging up.

"No rights, huh?" he asked, leaning down, one arm on each side of me.

"Yep. I hated it. So I don't really like reminders,"

He smiled down at me, and I opened his unbuttoned shirt, running my hands over his healed chest.

"Are you feeling ok?" I asked in concern, my brows furrowed.

He watched my hands move across his chest, and his eyes fluttered closed when my hands slid across his stomach.

"Much better," he said.

I leaned forward and rolled him over, sitting astride up. I slowly buttoned his shirt, keeping my gaze on his. His blue eyes glimmered in the firelight.

"Good. Next time, don't try and protect me. I don't need you too," I said, fastening the last button with a wink and a small flourish.

I tried to move away from him, but he held my hips tightly, a strange glow in his eyes. "You could come with me," he whispered.

I held my breath, unsure I had heard him right. "What?" I asked.

He sat up and held me close to his chest. "I'm leaving after this. I came here, for one thing, Katherine. Now that I can't get her, I'm leaving,"

He ran his hands through my hair, and I stayed still, shell-shocked.

"You could come with me, we could find a way to break your curse together, just us."

He watched me closely, and I felt tears run down my cheeks. "So, what you're telling me is, now that you can't have Katherine, you want me to run away with you, knowing full well that I am going to die?"

Tears fell onto my shirt. I slid off of him, and, thankfully, he didn't fight me. I wiped the tears from my face and chuckled.

"Damon, I told you I would not play second fiddle,"

I turned around and faced him. He had stood and started towards me, his face ashen.

"I also will not run away from my family. I will spend my last days here, Damon. Not playing Katherine's understudy,"

I wrapped my arms around myself, my heart dropping to my feet. Damon stopped his journey towards me and ran his hands over his exhausted face, his eyes hardened as he shook his head.

"That's not what I want…" he started.

I raised my hands and stepped past him.

"You don't even know what you want, Day. So please, spare me."

I stopped in my tracks and turned on my heel, meeting his oceanic gaze with a dry laugh.

"God, ya know, I'm being completely hypocritical. I don't really know what I want either,"

I ran my fingers through my hair in frustration, another pair of blue eyes flashing in my mind's eye. I squashed the thought before it could fully form.

"All I know is, every time I'm around you, I get lost. After all this time...and even after everything you have done...I still love you." I gasped out, shocked by my own words.

I grasped my hair in my hands and closed my eyes for a moment taking in the words and the meaning behind them. When I had finally opened my eyes again, it was only after coming to terms with the truth. I did still love him, as bad an idea as that was, it wasn't something I could help. I looked at the man I loved, his dark hair disheveled, face pale as he stood as still as a statue, expressionless. His eyes never left my face, but I wasn't sure if he was seeing me. There was so much fear there, so much anger. His eyes were the only thing not blank. So many different things swimming through them and then just as quickly sinking back towards the bottom. I shook my head and brushed my hair away from my wet face.

"I should be over you, but I'm not, and it's killing me," I said, my hands fisted in front of me.

I closed my eyes tightly and enjoyed the way they burned. When I finally opened them again, Damon stood in front of me, his eyes cold.

"You can't love me," he said.

I stepped closer to him and shook my head. "Fine. I don't love you, then. Let's say I never did, does that make you feel better," I said flatly.

He took my wrists in his hands, and I looked away from him. "Don't say that. Never say that," he said.

I yanked my hands from him and walked swiftly towards his door. "That's what you want, isn't it? My hate?" I asked over my shoulder.

I didn't wait for a response; I just kept walking. I stood by the door and waved my hands over my feet before speeding away into the night.

—-

The intersection was clear as I stood in the middle, waiting. I felt a slight breeze and smiled. "Hello, Stefan," I said.

"What are you doing here, and how did you figure out where to be?" he asked, taking my hand and pulling me to the side of the road.

I inhaled deeply and sighed. "Well, I watched him kidnap my best friend and sped off ahead of him." I looked at Stefan in anger. "I'm going to fucking kill him, Stef," I said, my eyes blazing.

"I think we should let her have her fun, brother," Damon said.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Stefan narrowed his eyes at me, but I just shook my head. "Not now." I mouthed.

He nodded, and I smiled thankfully. Damon tilted his head and smiled.

"Here he comes," he said.

I stepped closer to the road and looked at the bright headlights that we're barreling towards us with an evil sneer. Stefan took my hand and pulled me back. "Let's allow the indestructible ones to go first, shall we?" he asked.

I bowed lowly and motioned for him to go ahead. "After you then," I said.

He grinned broadly, and I shook my head in amusement, clapping my hands. "This is going to be so much fun!" I giggled loudly.

Damon and Stefan watched me with odd expressions as the car slowed to a stop at the intersection. Stefan sent me a wink, and vamp sped to the driver's side, pulling Logan from the car and slamming him into the pavement as hard as he could. I stepped in front of the car and looked down at the startled Logan.

"Eh, 7 points, Stef," I said.

Logan stood and inched towards me, Damon came out of the woods, gun in hand and shot him in the chest. I smiled as Logan fell to the ground in a groan of pain.

"As much as I hate saying this; 10 points to Damon for flair," I sighed.

"Paybacks a bitch isn't it," Damon said, bending next to Logan.

I ran around the car and pulled open the passenger side, taking an unconscious Caroline into my arms. "Oh, Care Bear," I said, checking her pulse.

Stefan joined me, and I slipped her into his arms. "She's ok. Get her outta here," I said, brushing her hair from her eyes.

Stefan kissed my forehead and sped her away. I walked back around the car and found Damon talking to the Sheriff. "She's ok. I'm on Elm Street," he said, hanging up.

He tossed the phone into the car and walked to the back, opening the truck and removing the tire iron. I smiled brightly down at Logan and lowered myself to my knees. "We're gonna try this one more time. Who turned you?" I asked.

Logan looked at me and then back to Damon, who swung the tire iron like a baseball bat. "You better answer her. We've had an awful day, and I'm pretty sure taking some of our frustration out on you would make us feel a whole lot better," he said with a smirk.

I swung my hair over my shoulder and looked down at my nails. "I have to agree. I could definitely use a mood booster," I chirped.

"I told you I don't know," Logan panted.

Damon swung the tire iron again, and I applauded, running my eyes up and down his body. "Good form, dear," I said cheekily.

Damon smiled and looked down at the tool thoughtfully. "This tire iron here could take your head clean off." Damon held the iron over his shoulder, ready to swing, and looked down at Logan. "Is that your final answer?" he asked.

Logan looked between us, propping himself up on his elbows and shook his head at Damon in disgust. "How can you side with them?" he asked.

Damon arched his shoulders, preparing himself for an excellent swing, and sneered down at him. "I don't side with anyone. You pissed us off. We want you dead. Who turned you?" he asked.

"I don't know!" Logan yelled.

I stood and walked behind Damon, smiling at Logan over his shoulder. "Oh well. You're screwed," I said.

Damon winked at me and lifted the tire iron over his head and swung it towards Logan, who immediately raised his hands in surrender. "Wait, wait! I do know!" he pled.

Damon lowered the iron and rolled his eyes. "Your lying," he said.

Logan stood slowly, his hands raised. "Do you think your the only one who wants to get in the tomb underneath the old church?" Logan said quickly.

My eyes darted between the two. "Damon...don't…" I said.

He looked at me and shook his head. "If you're lying to me, I will end you," Damon said roughly.

Logan looked at him in fear. "I'm not lying. There's another way to break the spell. We can help you. Meet me at the old church," Logan said, breathing heavily.

Blue and red lights flashed in the distance, and I covered myself with a thick cloaking spell, my heart as dense as the cloud of magic that had begun to cover my body. I had known this was coming, but it still didn't make it any easier. Damons heartbreak was inching closer and closer.

Damon stepped next to Logan, the tire iron raised above his head. "Take me down. Make it look real. Make it look real!" he snapped.

Logan pushed Damon as hard as he could, lifting him into the air and tossing him into the car before speeding off. Despite knowing he was perfectly ok, I lowered myself next to Damon and looked him over. His blue eyes were bright and excited, even hidden under the fake mask of exhaustion and sadness he had placed there specifically for Liz. The Sheriff's car stopped, and Liz stepped out, rushing towards Damon.

"Where is she?" she asked.

Damon sat up with a groan. "She is ok. My brother has taken her home. I'm sorry, Sheriff. I just wasn't strong enough," Damon said, his voice raw with sadness.

I felt something soft brush my hand as I stood, but I ignored it, instead, heading exactly where I shouldn't.

I sat on one of the stones at the old Fell church, my eyes closed, the souls of the vampires beneath me calling out. I could feel them seeping through the dirt and stone.

"I thought I would find you here. You just can't seem to stay out of the thick of things, can you?" Damon asked.

I raised a finger to my lips and shook my head, eyes squeezed tight. He sat down next to me as I rubbed my temples gently. "There's so many of them down there. Sometimes it gets a little overwhelming. That's why I always avoided this place," I said, opening my eyes.

I placed my hands flat on the cold stone below me and took a deep breath. "I promise I will reunite you with her one day, Damon," I said, my eyes staring at the treeline straight ahead of me. "You deserve to find peace," I whispered.

Damon's phone buzzed, interrupting the silence that followed my statement. I listened to Damon's end of the conversation and understood more and more the bleaker his expression became. When he finally hung up, he looked at me in shock. "Someone killed Logan. Liz found his body," he said, standing.

He reached down and took my arm, pulling me away from the church. "Come on. We're going to figure out exactly how to get into this church," he said.

I lowered my eyes to my feet. "I'll help you in any way I can, Day," I said.

He stopped walking, and I bumped into his back, stumbling over a few rocks that had found their way in my path. He pulled my face up, brushing the hair out of my eyes, and smiled at me weakly. Moving his hand down my arm and into my own, he clasped his fingers around mine.

"Thank you, El," he whispered.

I returned his smile and gripped his hand tightly. "Let's go," I said with a firm nod.

He looked behind us at the church he so believed held the woman he loved, and gently pulled me forward. He sped us towards the Boarding House, the roads empty and quiet until we stopped suddenly. A few feet away, a car was lying upside down, and a man was inching towards it.

A Vampire.

I looked down at the car, and recognition spilled within me.

"NO!" I yelled, running forwards.

I moved my hand back and allowed it to fill with bright blue magic before flinging it at the Vampire. He stood still in shock, his eyes zeroing in on me, as the ball of blue hit him in the chest, flinging him backward. Damon sped past me after him. I flew to the driver's side of the car and slid onto my knees, the glass digging into my jeans. Elena was hanging upside down, unconscious. I tried to unfasten her seatbelt, but my hands wouldn't stop shaking.

"Lena?" I cried, feeling for a pulse.

I breathed a sigh of relief when I found one. I shook my hands profoundly, squeezing some life back into them before laying them on her belt and whispering a spell to release her. The belt clicked loudly, echoing through the car, as she slumped to the hood, her body limp. I took her by her shoulders and pulled her from the car, laying her on the concrete outside. I ran my fingers through long matted hair and checked the small head wound, relieved to find it didn't appear to be anything serious. I laid her head in my lap and cradled her as if she were a child.

"It's ok. You're ok," I said, running my fingers through her hair.

Damon came from the woods at vamp speed and lowered himself beside us. He leaned over Elena and checked her pulse before biting into his wrist and lowering it into onto her lips. She shook her head, trying to pull away, but I held her head still, forcing her to ingest some of the blood.

"Just drink," I whispered.

Once she had ingested enough to heal any internal injuries she might have had, he lifted her into his arms, maneuvering her over his shoulder. He then took my hand and helped me to my feet.

"Let's go. We gotta get on the road. I have no clue who that was," Damon said.

I looked around us and frowned. "I think he knew me, Damon. He had recognition in his eyes, but I can't seem to place him," I said, closing my eyes with a grimace.

Damon lowered Elena into his arms and nudged me. "Let's leave the strolls down memory lane for later, El,"

I rolled my eyes at him and winced as we moved forward. I looked down at my knees and noticed the blood seeping through my jeans. Nice. I ignored the pain and pushed forward.

"Can you get back yourself?" he asked.

I nodded and watched as he flashed out of sight. I looked down at my knees again and wrapped myself in magic.

This was going to hurt.

[thisiskaylin]

Sooooooo...

This my "Names I like" update.

I know I've made one before, but I've changed phones and battery/probably memory since then so it never hurts to update.

SOO! Names I love! (I just hope tumblr gives me a better way to search them lol 4 real tho LUVUTUMBLUH::::

------

~NAMES:~ Adaeryn Adornia Aerglo - play on the word ‘airglow’, a   natural glow of the night sky from the   reactions that take place in the upper   atmosphere of the Earth. Alaric Alula - one of first twin stars discovered. Amoni Andromeda - is a galaxy named after a    Greek mythology princess. Thej7st name    means ‘ruler of man’. Being named after    an entire galaxy, you can be assured    that your little one will be at the center    of the world. Apollo - Greek God of fun and light Aries or Arese Aruuna Atlas Auralia Azaedra Bari (Bar-ee) Bexley Birkita or Brikit Brayliene Brietta Bright - or variations, Brighten, Brightly etc Bryony - (a fruit?) Callisto - is the name of the third-largest    moon in the universe. The name is    inspired from a nymph who fell in love    with Zeus in the Greek mythology. You    can shorten it to Callis or Calli to make a    cute nickname. Calypso Castor - is the name of the brightest star    in the Gemini constellation. Together    with its brother Pollux, they are called    “The Great Twins” in the Greek    mythology. So if you are blessed with a    twin, Pollux and Castor could make    excellent starry choices. Ciaran Cordana Corvy Devnet Elara - one of the moons of Jupiter Ephryne Erina Evne Evony Freerk Fritz Zwicky - Swiss astronomer Galexia Genovefa - Grandpa Leonard's sister Glodela Haven Hazen Ihlen Ihranidae (ih-rahn-uh-day) or (Ihranidice)    first one is better Illyria - il-lyre-ee-uh - from ancient aliens Inaaya Isani Iselin Jinalli Jupiter or Jupe Kaedrick Kaelynara Kairk Kalaena Brightstar Katorah Keeda Keelina Keyna Keziah (kuh-zy-uh) - grandma day's great    grandmother Khylen Kiride Kwesi (guy who voiced Darwin on    gumball) Kyron (Noryk, backwards is kinda cool    too) Laesa Laoghaire - f - (Lee-ree) or (Leer-ee) Lorna Loxley Lyra: Lyra - harp-like constellation in the   northern hemisphere. Named after lyre   in ancient Green mythology of Orpheus Mars Memmrich - Moms Dutch research   -(mem-rick) Menanin - guy in the corners of canals in    suramar, always lookin' for handouts ;D Moira Monks - (monkey on lilpetshop lol)idk Morgance Morgandy Nia Nova -  the nuclear explosion of a white   dwarf, which causes sudden brightening   of the star. Means ‘new star' Novia - variations on Nova Nyah Oberon - largest moon of Uranus. The    name sounds twice nice when you    pronounce it as Auberon. Ombra - Italian for 'Shadow' falcon on    expedition unknown Orbulax - Spongebob name 4 a snail Orian - (m) oh-Ryan or Orr-Ee-an Patou - (m) pah-too - great Pyrenees    doggo on Nat geo Wild France Pixie Pomi, Pommi, Poms Prianna Rascal Rhondallon Rhydian Rigel - is the super-giant star in the Orion    constellation. It’s the most important    star when traveling the ocean. So you    can hope that your little one will not get    lost with this name. Saffie Rose (lil girl from Manchester    attack) Saros - comes from 'Saros Cycle' which is    a period in which eclipses repeat   themselves Silsila - in egypt Sorrell (also from manchester) Takaani - Inuit for warm winter winds, or    wolf Taraid Theryn Thisalee Tinoviel Treva Twila Estella - found at Black Hills Natl.  Cemetary Tylie Tyly Uniwen Venus Zaevion Zatise

[fireandgloryrpg]

Congratulations Courtney and welcome back! We’re so happy to accept your application to play Elara Bloom with the faceclaim of Chloe Bennet in Fire & Glory RPG! We can’t wait to begin roleplaying with you so please remember to look over our checklist!

Name: Courtney

Pronouns: she/her

Age: I’m 21 and my birthday is July 9th

Timezone: CST / GMT -6

Activity: (6-7/10) I go to school full time, work part time, and volunteer part time so I am pretty busy. That being said I can usually get on once a day or every second day to get replies done. This will most likely be either in the morning before classes or in the evening after work. When I work weekends I only do one day so my weekend activity will definitely be much higher.

Original Character Application:

Name: Elara Bloom

Age and Birthday: 23 years old, October 14th.

Faceclaim: First choice; Chloe Bennet. Second choice; Shay Mitchell.

Heritage: Trivia

ABILITIES: Aside from the typical additional strength and such of demigods;

-mystiokinesis (control over natural energies); Elara is particularly talented with this type of magic

-mist control; she can manipulate the mist and is currently working towards being able to summon objects using the mist

-ability to cast various spells using Latin incantations

Affiliation: Third Cohort Centurion

Headcanons:

-Elara’s magic, much like that of her mother’s, is at its most powerful at night. Because of this Elara has a tendency to practice any spells that she is just learning during the night when she has the most control over her magic. It’s only once she is sure she has mastered it that she is willing to use it during the day.

-It was Elara’s inherited abilities from her mother that had originally gotten her placed in the Third Cohort despite mediocre letters of recommendation, but she has since come to prove her physical power as well. She is exceptionally skilled with a gladius as well as throwing knives.

-Before Camp Jupiter, Elara had been a gymnast and she brought that skill with her when she came to camp. Since becoming Centurion she has been incorporating some basic gymnastics training into her Cohort sessions as she sees the flexibility and agility honed in gymnastics to be useful skills for combat.  

Biography:

- Elara Bloom was not born with the name Elara Bloom. In fact, for the first two weeks of her life she had no name at all. She had been born at a very inopportune moment of her birth father’s life. Her father, much too busy with studying a law degree, didn’t think he could handle the responsibilities of raising the young baby girl. So he instead decided to drop her off at an orphanage without so much as a note to give the girl a name. It wasn’t until she was adopted two weeks later by a family from Los Banos, California, the Bloom’s, that she would be named Elara after her adoptive mother’s love of astronomy and particular fascination with the planet Jupiter.

-Though appearance wise it was obvious that Elara did not belong with the Bloom’s, them being blonde hair and blue eyed, they treated her as their own. The Bloom’s had two children before they had adopted Elara, a son Troy and daughter Karis, who welcomed Elara as their little sister with open arms. She grew up loved and cared for, and never once questioned why her real father hadn’t wanted her. She was a firm believer that everything happened for a reason and the Bloom’s must have been meant to be her family all along. So when her birth father reached out to her when she was 8 years old expressing regret for giving the girl up, Elara responded politely to his letter but declined the offer to meet him. He had made his decision years ago and she had no desire to be part of his life when he was the one who initially hadn’t wanted to be part of hers.

-Growing up, it didn’t take long for the Bloom’s to discover they had a particularly gifted young girl on their hands. From a young age she was displaying odd abilities like things hovering around her whenever she was upset and glasses going flying during arguments with her siblings. They couldn’t explain it and didn’t attempt to, but they knew something about her was special. It was no surprise to them when she was discovered to be a demigod at age 11. Her magic had began to become too powerful and her outbursts more frequent and she was found by one of Lupa’s wolf companions. After only a few minutes given to say goodbye to her family she was brought to the Wolf House to train. During her time with Lupa she learned to get general control over her magic so she no longer had outbursts during times of heightened emotions. Once she was deemed ready, she headed to Camp Jupiter and settled easily into her new life in the Third Cohort.

-Elara proved her worth while defending Camp Jupiter against any threats and continued to climb the ranks of the Third. And when the position became available two years ago, she eagerly applied to be Centurion of her Cohort and was pleasantly surprised when it was accepted. She takes being Centurion very seriously and though her 10 years of service to the Legion are up she is hesitant to leave. She loves the Third with all her heart and wants to continue to guide the legionnaires to prosper, but she knows that one day it must end and she will have to move on with her life. She just doesn’t know how to move on when her entire identity in Camp Jupiter has been rooted in being a legionnaire.

[kristyreadsbooks]

Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard (2)

Summary, Part 2: While in the town square, they are ambushed by Maven. He uses a clicking (”sounder”) device that cause Mare unbearable pain and she blacks out.

“Kill me. The words repeat, over and over. It’s the only thing I can say, the only thing I want now. All thoughts of new bloods and Maven, my brother and Cal and Kilorn are gone entirely. Even the faces that haunt me, the faces of the dead, have disappeared. Funny, now that I’m dying, my ghosts decide to leave. I wish they would come back. I wish I didn’t have to die alone.” (page 237)

When Mare wakes up, she is with Cal and Kilorn and she is covered in scars. Maven branded her with an “M” on her chest. They got the other Newblood, her name is Ada and she can remember and memorize everything and anything. When Kilorn leaves, Cal hugs Mare and promises to never let Maven hurt her again and then he kisses her. He tells her he thinks Maven is killing Newbloods because he hopes it will make Mare trade herself for their safety - because Cal says Maven loves her and wants her more than anything.

“As his hands run over my skin, I feel a different sort of pain. Worse than Maven’s machine, deeper than my nerves. It aches like a hollow, like an empty weight. I am a sword, born of lightning, of this fire - and of Maven’s. One already betrayed me, and the other might leave at any moment. But I do not fear a broken heart. I do not fear pain. I cling to Cal, Kilorn, Shade, to saving all the new bloods I can, because I am afraid of waking up to emptiness, to a place where my friends and family are gone and I am nothing but a single bolt of lightning in the blackness of a lonely storm. If I am a sword, I am a sword made of glass, and I feel myself beginning to shatter.” (page 250)

When Mare runs into Kilorn he is upset. He saw the kiss. He tells hers the he knows she will never love him the way he loves her. He warns her not to let Cal manipulate and use her.

”’One day soon you're going to get lost,’ he [Kilorn] breathes. ‘ And I won’t be there to lead you back.’” (page 257)

They continue finding Newbloods including Luther who can kill with his touch, Nanny who can change her appearance, Ketha who can make things and people explode with her mind, Harrick who can make people see things by creating mirages and Gareth who can manipulate gravity.

”I turn my back on my oldest friend...I fear being alone more than anything else. So why do I do this? Why do I push away the people I love? What is so very wrong with me? I don’t know. And I don’t know how to make it stop.” (page 257)

They travel to another city, taking Harrick so he can get them passed the Silvers. When they get to the Newblood’s house they find it empty. But Mare discovers a dead baby and a note from Maven. When they return to camp, Mare feels cold so she spends the night in Cal’s room.

”October 22

A crude envelope, I know. But necessary. You must know what you are doing, what you are forcing me to do to these people.Every body is a message to you, and to my brother. Surrender to me, and it will stop. Surrender, and they will live. I am a man of my word.

Until we meet again, Maven” (page 276)

Mare starts spending all nights sleeping with Cal, and Kilorn starts avoiding her completely. When they go to another town, they encounter a man. His name Jon and he tells them he can see the future and they are walking into a trap.

Jon tells them that Julian Jacos is alive and imprisoned along with Sara Skonos and some Newbloods Mare thought Maven had killed. If they don’t save them, Elara will use them as weapons. Before they go, he tells them to stop somewhere else first. They leave immediately and Jon tells Mare to tell Farley that the answer to her question is Yes.

“’Attend to your own fate, Mare Barrow.’

‘And that is?’

‘To rise. And rise alone.’ It echoes like the howl of a wolf. ‘I see you as you could become, no longer the lightning, but the storm. The storm that will swallow the world entire.’” (page 306)

When they arrive at the first place, they find a girl, Cameron Cole. She is a Newblood who can silence abilities and senses (causing someone to go completely blind/deaf/etc.). She refuses to help the Guard because she says she has to save her brother from The Choke. Mare tells Shade to grab her and he jumps Cameron onto the jet. 

They return to camp and ask for volunteers for the mission to save Julian and the others from the Silver prison. Kilorn volunteers and starts talking to Mare again.

“He [Kilorn] knows Mare as no one else does, as I know the Fisher boy Kilorn. But those people are gone. Those people must be gone. They cannot survive in a world like this. I need to be someone else, someone who doesn’t rely on anything but her own strength. He makes it too easy to slip back into Mare, and forget the person I need to be.” (page 336)

Cal gets upset because he thinks the mission is impossible. He worries Maven will be there and Mare says she will kill him if Cal can’t do it. They both miss him but agree that he’s not who they thought. Cal kisses Mare again.

“But I am only one person, one little girl who can no longer smile. I hide her from the rest, behind my mask of lightning. But she remains, frantic, wide-eyed, afraid. I push her away in every waking moment, but still she haunts me. She never leaves.” (page 337)

They arrive at the prison with Nanny disguised as Maven. They get in the front doors but then the Silvers get suspicious and they have to fight. When they get inside where the cells are, Mare tells everyone in the cells to fight and follow them as best they can.

Elara is at the prison and is fighting Mare. Shade jumps everyone one by one onto the jet but when he comes back for Mare he accidentally jumps right into a spear just thrown by Ptolemus Samos. Shade dies. Mare black out and wakes up on the plane.

Mare finds two bodies on the plane: Shade and Elara. Mare must have killed her with uncontrollable emotional lightning after Shade died. Cal pulls Mare aside and talks to her.

“’She [Elara] wanted to turn you into a monster.’ He [Cal] nods toward the door, and the twisted body behind it. ‘I’m just trying to make sure that doesn't happen.’ (page 394) 

‘Every single thing I did, you stood behind me,’ I say. ‘If I’m turning into a monster, then so are you.’

He drops his gaze. ‘Love blinds.’

‘If this is your idea of love - ‘

‘I don’t know if you love anyone at all,’ he snaps, ‘if you see anything out there but tools and weapons. People to manipulate and control, to sacrifice.’” (page 395)

Mare demands that Cal flies them back to the Scarlet Guard base to the Colonel. At Tuck Mare broadcasts an announcement that Elara is dead and that they destroyed a secret prison where Silvers and Reds were being held. She asks everyone to join the fight against Maven.

The Colonel takes Mare to meet two men from another country, Montfort, who offer the Newbloods (they call them Ardents) a safe place to live if Mare agrees to fight and lead their army. Mare declines. After Julian gives Mare a pep talk he encourages her to go see her family. She tells them that she is going to the Choke to save the young soldiers. 

“’No one is born evil, just like no one is born alone. They become that way, through choice and circumstance. The latter you cannot control, but the former...Mare, I am very afraid for you. Things have been done to you, things no person should suffer. You’ve seen horrible things, done horrible things, and they will change you. I’m so afraid for what you could be, if given the wrong chance.’” (Julian, page 412)

Mare gathers a team to go to the Choke including Cal, Kilorn and her brothers. They take off on the jet but then it starts falling and transforms into a cage. She realizes it’s Maven (and Magnetrons transforming the jet). Mare surrenders herself in exchange for the others’ safety and freedom. 

Maven keeps Mare prisoner - using chains and the sounder to keep her unconscious and in pain. When he wakes her up, he puts her in front of a crowd and puts a leash around her neck and forces her to kneel before him.

“I have been running for so long. Since before all this even started. Even back in the Stilts, I was a runner. Avoiding my family, my fate, anything I didn’t want to feel. And I am still racing now. From those who would kill me - and those who would love me. I want so badly to stop. I want to stand still without killing myself or someone else. But that is not possible. I must keep going, I must hurt myself to save myself, hurt other to save others. Hurt Kilorn, hurt Cal, hurt Shade and Farley and Nix and everyone stupid enough to follow me. I’m making them runners too.” (page 249)

Overall opinion: - Fave - Like it - Okay - Not for Me -

[lilyharvord]

The Chain (Part 9)

Thank you to everyone for being so patient with my update for this fic. I’m officially done with my first semester of graduate school and since I’m on break, I want to try and post as many chapters as possible to get as close to finishing this as possible. We’re time jumping after this by the way everyone. It’s about time we kicked it up a few notches and got to the meat and bones of this fic. 

Tag list: @delilahlbard, @king-maven-calore, @thatoddgirl777, @elliekratzzz, @evangelineartemiasamos, @evangeline-of-montfort, @scxrletguardsdawn, @freaky-freiday, @petergrantkavinsky, @kuwei, @whatsup-gorls, @katiemoore,  @redqueenetwork, @tranquil-dusk (I’m trying to add you but for some reason it wont @... the same problem happens with @thatoddgirl777 and I have no idea how to fix it)

Find the rest of the fic here: part 1 / part 2 / part 3 / part 4 / part 5 / part 6 / part 7 / part 8 

Enjoy everyone (: 

(/Mare/)

When I run from my lesson with Julian, it feels fake and I wonder if he even buys into it. I have far too much control over my ability now, and it is hard to fake going out of control. Still, the rain feels good on my face when I finally find a balcony. I couldn’t care less about the paint that is most likely being washed away. I tilt my head back and inhale, letting the rain drench my hair. Today is just a bad day, and it is only set to get worse. 

The rain is warm as if washes over my face. I wish it were cold. I’ve felt too much lately. I want to be numb for a few minutes. 

Thunder rumbles in the distance. A moment later, the air changes as another bolt of lightning prepares to races across the sky. The storm is right overhead. I miss the electricons more than anything as the pressure escalates around me. 

We’d go storm chasing on a day like today to hunt down the elusive bolts of lightning so that we could harness them ourselves. Harnessing natural storms is like wrestling with my brothers when I was little. It’s pulling against an impossible force, but the power that roars through my veins when I manage to get what I want out of it is exhilarating. 

Gripping the banister, I inhale the smell of ozone and open my eyes to watch the flash of white as it shoots across the sky. Change, lightning is change. Storms come and wash away the old to bring new, brighter things behind it. Tyton had taught me that. Ella taught me it could be elegant. Rafe taught me it was beauty. I taught them it could bend but never break.

A hand closes around my arm and I almost yelp at the freezing touch. Two Sentinels stand over me. They must have followed me out here and given me a careful berth until they were certain I wouldn’t electrocute them. 

“My lady,” One of them growls, his grey eyes like dirty snow. Probably a Gillican judging by his touch. He’s twice my size, but nowhere near as powerful. I still hate the sight of them. 

“Let go.” I insist as I tug my arm. But he grips me tighter and steel panic laces through my bones. They had found me before, but who knows why they have come looking for me now. Has Elara decided to make a move? Has she found something out? 

Tugging against him, I bring my other hand up to grab his wrist and shock him into letting me go. I never get the chance though. 

“You heard my bride.” Maven. My blood runs cold as he steps onto the balcony, looking over the two guards like they are common dirt. “Let her go.”

The relief I should feel is replaced by cold fear. I’ll take the Sentinels over him any day. I’m not in the mood to play games with him. 

“Apologies your Highness, but we must keep Lady Titanos to her schedule.” The one holding me speaks in a baritone that makes Maven’s lips pull down in a frown. His grip is already loosening though. I can’t believe I never realized how in pocket Maven and Elara had the Sentinels. These soldiers stopped serving the king a long time ago. “It’s orders, sir.” 

“Then you have new orders,” Maven’s voice is colder than ice. It reminds me of the freezing nights in Paradise Valley when the wolves would howl at the moon and the wind would answer back. “I will accompany Mareena back to her lessons.” 

I’d sooner let him walk me off a cliff. But the Sentinels drop my arm none the less and leave us on the balcony. The buffer they put between me and Maven leaves with them, and then I am alone with the man who destroyed me. 

“We have working showers inside, you know.” 

I push my wet hair out of my face before turning away from him. Jokes aside, I don’t want to see him. My nightmares have returned in all their supernatural fury. Every night I dream of chasing him down a hallway, the burn of the knife as it cuts my side, and feeling of dying in a Silent Stone room. I wake gasping and on the verge of screaming, but no sound comes out. I’m grateful for that at least. Still, I miss Cal’s warmth, and being able to curl against him to tether myself to reality when the dreams refuse to leave. 

“I want to be alone.” I murmur, setting my head in my hand. My patience is holding, but not for long. 

“I understand that.” 

Oh, I know you do. I keep my lips from curling into a sneer by sheer will alone. Lightning flares across the sky again. The storm is creeping beyond us, but I could still pull a bolt down and hit him if I wanted. My aim is perfect. I could cook him to a crisp like I did Elara. 

I grip the banister again to settle my thoughts. I can almost feel the char of her hair between my fingers and the weight of her head if I close my eyes. I can hear the hum of the cameras as I hold up the head of a she-wolf and promise to come for the pup. 

“I understand how difficult it is.” He continues as he steps up next to me, bolder than he ever was. My eyes snap to him, but I’m more curious now than wary. What has made him so certain? Before, he had still been wary around me. It wasn’t until we joined the Guard together that he truly pretended to open up to me.  

His eyes are cold as he stares out over the palace grounds. “These people. They make it impossible. I can’t say what I want, do what I want—with my mother around I can barely even think what I want. And my brother—!” 

“What about him?” My blood runs cold. What has Cal done now? He promised he would stop prying—

The words stick in his mouth, and he pales with a blush. He’s not the perfect statesman that locked me in a cage yet. He’s not the boy listening to a ghost in his head yet. There is still a part of him that is Maven, and not the thing his mother created. “He’s strong, he’s talented, he’s powerful—and I’m his shadow. The shadow of the flame.” 

The part of me that always understood that part of him, and even loved it quakes. I step out of Gisa’s shadow because of him, but he never does leave Cal’s. He never gives himself the chance. He keeps chasing the edge of Cal’s shadow like there is one. Maven casts his own shadows though. They haunts me and they haunts Cal in the future. If only he knew that. 

When the words come to me, they are true and that is what makes me feel sick. “Then maybe you should try to be more than that.” 

His eyes widen at my words, and I find myself unable to stop. “You could be more. I think you could. Stop chasing the edges of shadows, you’ll never find them. Find a way to be alone with your own heart, and be happy with it.” 

His entire face folds in on itself, pinching in places I never saw before. I’ve never seen this emotion from him, and I have no idea what to call it. For a moment I wonder if I’ve said the wrong things, and done exactly what I told Cal not to do. But a part of me still wants to save the boy that I thought was trying to save me. Even if its hopeless, and he is too far gone to save. Monsters aren’t born, they’re made. Julian told me that once. Well if monsters can be made, they can be unmade too.  

“That’s something you should know about us Silvers. We’re always alone. In here, and here.” He gives me a tired smile as he touches his head and then his heart. The line sends a shiver down my spine though. He’d said the same thing last time too. It only reminds me that perhaps we’re on a track, and there is no getting off. There are no other exits, only the ones that I know are coming. 

“I don’t believe you.” 

“You better learn to hide that heart of yours, Lady Titanos. It won’t lead you anywhere you want to go.” 

My heart aches more than he could ever know. This is the boy, this is the truth. There is nothing to save. I am trying to fix a shattered mirror and cutting my hands on the pieces to spill my blood for nothing. I turn my eyes back to the sky, closing them as lightning strikes again, and thunder roars above us. Battle lines were drawn before; I have to redraw them now. 

“I think I can help with your problem.” 

I turn my eyes back down to him, and instantly he is the Maven I dreamed about. The mask is so perfect. I forget there are cracks that the darkness slips through. 

“What problem?”

“You’re homesick.” Holding out his hand to me, he nods down to it when I don’t take it. His skin is like ice when I slide my palm into his. I thought I remember him being warm by this point. Instead, he’s a corpse before I make him one. “I can fix that.” (/////)

The wind cuts through my hair, ripping it from its braid as Cal and I race toward the Stilts. I’ve ridden a cycle with him numerous times since this night. Nothing takes away the rush or competes with the feeling of flying that this generates though. Usually we tear down mountains roads and I close my eyes, trusting him to keep me safe as he cuts around turns. He’s taken Gisa once too. I had to peel her off of him when they returned because she was gripping his body so tightly. 

Right now, his body is warm in my arms, warm and real. It reminds me that I’m safe with him. Even if I’m terrified of the situation we’re in. 

When we finally reach the branch in the road that will bring us into the Stilts he brings the cycle to a stop, and cuts the engine. I’m the first off, and I peel away from him like a second skin. He pushes it into the trees, his eyes dancing to me every so often as he does so. I know that look he is throwing over his shoulder. I’ve seen the worry that creases his brows and the concern that flares like a light show in his eyes many times when he’s uncertain what’s going through my mind.

“Do you want to talk?” He eventually asks after throwing a few leafy branches over the cycle to hide it. I tuck my hands into the pocket of my coat to hide the shake in them. 

“There really was nothing to save.” It’s a thought that’s been going through my mind since Maven confronted me on the balcony. 

His expression melts into true concern faster than I can swallow my words. But he swaps that for a different mask of emotion. There’s no jealousy in his eyes, but I can see the beginning flares of his panic. His one true fear before we started this was that I would choose Maven this time around; that maybe he really was the consolation prize all along and I only chose to try again because I lost my chance to be with Maven. 

“He’s still a ghost.” I whisper to him before reaching out for his hand. He lets my fingers interlace with his. I squeeze them tightly, trying to get him to understand. “That doesn’t mean I won’t mourn a chance lost.” 

He nods tightly, his jaw squeezing until a muscle in it feathers. I cup the spot with my other hand, caressing it to soothe him. “I love you, you know that. Even if you drive me up a wall sometimes.” 

With a light laugh, his worry melts away, and I’m glad for it. We can’t be questioning each other right now. There’s too much at stake. There can be no edges. We filed them down after the war so we could fit together after all. That is where the real truth lies though. 

Maven carved himself to fit with me. But Cal and I smoothed down together, cutting off the edges that mattered so we could fit. I didn’t need to change for Maven because he melted what he needed to make the perfect mask. It had been a lie from the beginning. A beautiful, wonderful lie. Cal had been real though, had never bothered to hide what he was, even when those parts hurt. He made me better, and I made him better. Nothing about Maven had made me better. He made me strong sure, but a brittle kind of strong that hurt anyone that got too close. 

Reaching out, he pushes my hair away from my face, his smile falling fast. “I wish you didn’t have to go through this.” 

He could be talking about anything. Shade. Maven. All the New Bloods. Losing myself. Losing people I love. Even losing him for a bit. 

“I don’t.” I insist, even though the words cut up my insides like glass as I speak them. The truth cuts sometimes. I’m used to the sting. (////////)

The meeting with my family still stabs like a knife. Kilorn’s rage burns like a brand. Gisa’s wish rings in my ears.  I feel like I’m drowning, being swallowed up by the old emotions. It’s like reading a book where I know the ending and hesitate to turn every page. I hate every second. Even as I make my way straight of Will’s wagon. 

Cal trails me, making sure to stay hidden in the shadows so Kilorn doesn’t see him, and so Will’s spies don’t notice him ether. Kilorn knows who Cal is, I know he does. He had known from the moment he first saw him. I couldn’t be more grateful for my friend keeping his fat mouth shut around my family though. I think my dad would have found a way to stand and kill Cal where he stood if he knew he was the Crown Prince. 

I hold my hand out, telling him to stay back silently, while I take the final ten meters to the wagon on my own. He melts into the shadows, playing the part of a shadow so expertly I have to do a double take. But even his eyes are gone. Maybe he turned and went back to the cycle. I hope he did. When I step into the wagon, it’s to see Will smiling, already waiting for what I have to say. I tell him everything. And just like he did last time, he admits to knowing everything.

Tristan waits behind the curtain, ready to pounce. I can see the toes of his boots before he announces his presence. He’s more arrogant than I remember. I still see the pole Ptolemus shoots through him though, and the mental image makes me shudder. 

“The royal monkeys have chosen a queen this past week.” Tristan’s smile is cold as he looks me over. “You’ve been all over the screens Lady Titanos.” 

I hate that name, and all the implications of it. “They aren’t all monkeys.” I insist, and the fire that lights in his eyes makes me wish I hadn’t said anything. 

“Are you talking about the prince you’re engaged to or the one waiting outside in the shadows?” Will asks as he leans back and rests his hands on his stomach. 

My heart does a jump and a skip, and I’m sure all the blood drains from my face. I thought we’d been careful and I had been incredibly impressed with how Cal disappeared. Still, I should have known, Will is a spy in the Guard for a reason. 

Tristan erupts though, and takes two quick steps for the door, his hand flying to his pistol. I leap and grab his wrist though, twisting it expertly and spinning to put myself between him and the door. And ultimately between him and Cal. 

“You brought a Silver here?” he hisses down at me, even though my hands are already lighting with sparks. “The Crown Prince? Do you know what we could do if we took him in? What we could bargain for?”

Relax, I want sneer, you get him eventually. And he will do far more this time than he did last time. My words when I do speak are low, like thunder in the distance as I glare him down. “You leave him alone.” 

Tristan’s lip curls in disgust. “A few weeks in the lap of luxury and your blood is as silver as theirs,” he spits, looking like he wants to curl his fingers around my throat and throttle me. “Do they take turns?”

“What?” I gasp in surprise. That’s not in the script. 

“Do they take turns rolling in the sheets with you?” His lips curl at the surprise on my face. “Or do you pick one over the other? I’m going to guess the one hiding out there gets the most time.” 

Fury like nothing before sears through me. I bring a hand up that sparks as I sneer. “You idiot. I’m protecting you from him. He’s a trained soldier that would turn you inside out like a shirt if he wanted. And he’d burn this place down if you so much as tried to go after him.” 

You’re only alive because I haven’t burned the oxygen from this room. A real threat, one I believed when Cal said it the first time, and one I believe now. I have to keep Tristan away from Cal. I can’t have a stray bullet finding its way into his chest or his head. 

Tristan deflates, his anger melting away as I slowly lower my hand and disburse the sparks. Will lays a hand on Tristan’s shoulder, calming him further. “That’s enough,” he whispers. “What did you come here for, Mare? Kilron is safe and so are you siblings.” 

This is what I came here for. To put the pieces in motion finally. To start the game for my side. “Shade was a member of the Guard, and they killed him for it.” The only fact I can trace. “I have to pretend it doesn’t bother me.” 

“You’re dead if you don’t.” Will reasons. 

“I know. I’ll say what they want. But I’m in the palace, the center of the royal family. I’m quick, and quiet. And I will help the cause.”  

Tristan sucks in a ragged breath. His eyes light with a new fire, this one vastly different from his anger. He rises to his full height, beaming at my words. “You want to join up.” 

“I do.” My words are final, and I don’t bother to look at Will, only Tristan. 

“I hope you know what you’re committing to. This isn’t just my war, or Farley’s or the Scarlet Guards—it’s yours. Until the very end. And not to avenge your brother but to avenge us all. To fight for the ones before and the ones to come.”  

The ones to come. My chest squeezes as I picture Clare’s toothless grin at the same time that her laugh rings through my ears. My own hand curls into a fist on my stomach. There are plenty to come. I swore myself to the Guard to protect them before I even knew about them, and now more than ever my heart pounds for that future. I will fight tooth and nail for it. I will spill my blood and others so that someday, someday I can sit on my porch and watch a little dark haired boy run rampant in the backyard. So my brother’s name can live on in his daughter. So that someday my family never has to be hungry. So that someday, I never have to be afraid. 

I slip my hand into Will’s gnarled one. Cal warned me of war once, of what it brings. We both know the cost now, but I know what waits for us on the other side. There is a light, there is hope, there is good. I will do whatever it takes to get back there. Even if it means mucking my way through blood and mud once again. 

“I am with you.” 

“We will rise,” Will breathes in unison with Tristan. The words are like hope burning in my chest, lighting up the room around us as I speak them too. “Red as the dawn.”

(////////)

Cal is quiet as we walk through the halls of the palace. And I am too. My silence is contemplative though, his is patient while he waits for what I have to say. He’s always waiting, waiting for me to cross the bridge. He waited for me to say yes too. He asked seven times before I said yes to him in the dead of night wrapped up in cool sheets and half delirious with sleep. I’d pressed a kiss to the space between his brows and said yes without him asking. He waited almost two years for me to say that word after he asked the first time. Now he waits without asking. He knows I will talk eventually. 

“I have to tell you something.” I eventually whisper, and grab his wrist. The cameras whisper around us, and I turn my eyes in their direction before saying, “Your rooms are safe.” 

When Maven brought me there, I made sure to do a sweep. There are no cameras in Cal’s room. I wonder why, but I don’t bother to question it too much. It’s a silent blessing, the perfect meeting place. I don’t have to wait until the guards change to speak with him. 

He nods and takes me a back way. For a moment, I fear we’re lost, until we turn a corner and he brings us to his door. He glances over his shoulder at the same time that I swipe my hand to surge electricity through the camera’s wires, shorting it long enough for me to slide in the room and him to follow me without us being seen. 

In the dark of his rooms, I feel like a ghost. He goes to turn the lights on but I catch his hand. And for the first time in a long time, almost shock him. The hairs on his arms rise as my sparks threaten to explode out from under my skin. I haven’t been this nervous in so long. It makes him jumpy. 

“What happened?” He asks quickly, spinning to face me and grabbing my shoulders. His shadow looks different in the dark, smaller and less imposing. Strange how that is what made him most human to me the first time as well. 

I slip out of his grip only to dive into his chest, wrapping my arms around his middle and burying my nose in his shirt. He smells just a hint like the river as spending a couple of hours in the Stilts, but underneath it, that scent of burning wood clings to him. It relaxes every muscle in my body as I inhale. 

He wraps is arms around my shoulders in response. For a moment, I think he’ll repeat his question. Instead he just reaches up to threads his fingers through my hair that I pulled out of the braid long ago, tangling them in the slightly wavy locks. I can’t hold the secret in any longer, not now that I’ve signed up for this, and he will someday too. I should have told him the moment I found out, but I wanted it be a surprise, a little secret that I could tell him with a laugh. Instead, I feel like I’m telling him before we walk to the gallows. It taints the joy, the happiness of what is to come. 

“I wasn’t completely honest with you before all this.” 

His shoulders stiffen as I bring my hands up to close them in fists on his back. I’m never good at starting conversations like this and I immediately regret the words I spoke. He’s already on edge, and I made I worse. Squeezing the fabric of his shirt softly, I murmur, “before we got here.” 

He relaxes again, and disengages from our embrace to lift my chin. He needs to know, deserves to know. 

“I didn’t want to go after Giselle that night. I told you I was tired, but there was another reason.” It has never been so hard to put something into words. I wish I had just told him in the first place, maybe this whole mess could have been avoided if I had. 

His brows furrow and his face twists as he tries to think back to that strange night and morning. I grab his hands and squeeze tight, willing him to pay attention to my words, more than the memory of what I said. 

“I was going to tell you we had to call off the wedding—”

His eyes widen in surprise, and he opens his mouth to speak. I press my finger to his lips to keep him from doing just that. “For just a little while. Something came up.”

He sits with baited breath, his expression confused and fearful. A mix that’s dangerous for a soldier, especially one like Cal that is used to knowing everything. My lips curl into a weak smile as I say, “We have to get back because something’s waiting for us. Or it may have come with us. I’m not sure. If it did, I have to be more careful than I thought.” 

His eyes dart around the room like someone might be listening, and he slowly takes my hand to pull me into his closet where our voices will be furthered muffled. Has he grasped what I’m about tell him? Cal’s observant, even with all his bullheaded tendencies, and he’s not stupid. He knows me well enough to notice when my habits change. And they had been changing, little by little. I’m a subtle creature, but he’s very good at reading me now. 

In the safety of his closet, I can smile bright. I can let the warmth of my news pulse out of me like sunlight. It had terrified me the moment I knew what was happening, but slowly that panic had been replaced by a strange joy, a strange curiosity. And now, it was longing. 

“You can talk freely now.” He whispers. 

The words die. They won’t come. Like stones, they sit in my throat and choke me. Maybe I shouldn’t tell him. Is it cruel to get his hopes up about something we may never be able to return to? And yet, this is not just my burden to bear. This is our future. I am in this to get back to my family. He is in this to get back to what we had in Montfort. He may need something else, something to fight for that isn’t just me. Even if it’s not as tangible as it is for me. 

I’ll just have to say it, push the words out one by one. “I was pregnant.” 

They come easier than I thought, and honestly come out more like a garbled rush than the wonderful phrase they should be. As soon as I speak those words into existence though, the joy leaves, only to be replaced by trepidation and the air around us is leeched of its warmth. 

“What?” Cal’s question is a wheeze, a word not quite formed. 

“Three or four months, I wasn’t sure.” I grab his hand and squeeze as his eyes widen in the dark to the side of moons. “I told you we had so much waiting for us. That’s what is waiting for us. We have to follow everything to the line because of that future.” 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He whispers, his eyes darting as he thinks back over everything, every action I committed before that night, every word I spoke. 

“I was going to tell you that night, but then we got called to deal with Giselle.” I shake my head, laughing quietly. It feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I am not the only one privy to this secret knowledge. 

His eyes darken though. Storm clouds gather in his irises as he leans down to whisper.  “You said you didn’t know if it came with us.” 

“All my knowledge and memories came with me… and I’m in the same body theoretically just--just five or six years younger. It might have come with me.” It’s a long shot, but if I’m right, we have far bigger problems than we originally thought. 

“You don’t look like—”

“I didn’t look like it in Montfort either.” I reason dryly. He would have noticed if I did. His lips twist and he nods. 

“What do you want to do?”

“I’m going to wait and see if anything happens.”  

He pales at the prospect, but I grip his fingers tightly again, forcing his gaze back down to me. “This is what we are fighting to get back to. Why we have to be so careful.”  

“I wish you’d told me sooner.” He murmurs before reaching down to circle one of his arms around my waist. In the dark I’m not quite sure if he’s smiling or grimacing. Not until he cups my jaw and presses his lips to mine. He pours every ounce of the joy that is about to explode out of him into that kiss. It mixes with mine until I’m certain we are glowing like a small sun. 

And in that closet, nestled in a nest of snakes and wolves, I finally let myself breathe.

[fandomrewrites]

Chasing Butterflies: Unity Day

Hello all! Again, sorry I missed last week, but I am back! There is only four more chapters after this one and then I will switch back to my Teen Wolf fanfic. I’m going to alternate between these two stories after each season. As always constructive criticism is welcomed and let me know if you want to get added to any of my taglists. I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

Season 1; Episode 9: Unity Day Pairings: OC x OC Best Friends, no love interests chosen yet Warnings: Swearing, guns, alcohol  Word Count: 2,332

Season 1 Masterlist

Elara and Nova stand beside each other as they listen to Jaha's speech. "My friends, this is a historic Unity Day. Every year, we mark the moment our ancestors of the twelve stations joined to form the Ark, but this is the last time we do so while aboard her. Next year, on the ground."

"Right. After we did all the work. Someone shut him up." Miller states, watching the Chancellor with an annoyed look on his face.

"You shut up, Miller. No one's forcing you to watch." Raven scolds.

"But Miller has a point." Nova speaks up, agreeing with her fellow delinquent. "They weren't even expecting us to live." 

Elara elbows Nova in the ribs causing the girl to roll her eyes. "For ninety-seven years, we have eked out existence, hoping that someday our descendents would return to Earth." The Chancellor continues.

"Whoo! Yeah! Monty strikes again!" The two girls turn to Jasper's excited yells, "Hey! Call this batch Unity Juice! Who's thirsty?" 

Jasper starts handing out the moonshine as Monty calls out, "Save me some!"

"Let's get a drink." Nova hooks her arm through Elara's. 

"You go. Someone needs to stay sober." Elara replies.

"One drink, Lara. That's it. Trust me, I'm not planning to get anymore after that either. The Grounder's don't know it's Unity Day; I don't want to let my guard down. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't loosen up a little."

Elara sighs but let's Nova pull her to Jasper so they can both grab a cup. Chancellor Jaha's voice can still be heard from the screen, "To our sons and daughters on Earth listening to this message, we will see you soon. The first Exodus ship will launch in under sixty hours, carrying the reinforcements that you need, so stay strong. Help is on the way."

Nova scoffs, "Like those words are supposed to be comforting."

Hearing her Miller replies, "Seriously, he's a joke. Though I'm surprised you're so against the privileged."

"Being privileged just means I see how corrupt the Ark is from a different angle."

Miller raises his cup, "I'll drink to that."

Nova raises her glass back in a mock toast, "To the Chancellor and the council. For so kindly pardoning us of our crimes only after they sent us to our deaths."

Miller smiles, "Hear hear."

 *_*_*_*_*_*

 A few minutes after Miller and Nova's interaction the camp's communication system went dead. "Hey. The comms are still dead. They cut out during the pageant." Clarke says.

"Best Unity Day ever." Bellamy mutters, causing Nova to snort.

"Do you really think now is a good time to be having a party? I mean, the Grounder is out there."

"Grounders." Bellamy corrects. "By now he's made it home. He's probably putting together a lynch mob." Seeing the look on Clarke and Elara's faces he continues, "Relax. I got security covered. Why don't you go get a drink? You look like you could use one."

"I could use more than one." Clarke says.

"Then have more than one. It''s Unity Day, Clarke. Lighten up a little." Nova replies, bringing her own cup to her lips.

Bellamy nods, "The Exodus ship carrying both of your parents comes down in two days. After that, the party's over. Have some fun while you still can. You deserve it."

At the mention of her father Nova scrunched her face up in disgust, "God, I'm going to need more to drink after that reminder."

"I thought you said you would only have one." Elara states, looking at her friend in concern.

Nova shrugs then chugs the rest of her moonshine. The drink burned her throat on the way down. "You're only having one and Blake already said security is covered. I need something to stop me thinking about the fact that I'm going to be seeing my father in a few days."

 *_*_*_*_*_*

 On one of the tables the delinquents have begun a game of moonshine pong. Nova and Miller are on a team against Sterling and Monroe. "We are so beating you." Nova says, a rare smile lighting up her face.

"Bring it on, Kane." Sterling replies.

Nova throws first, easily making the manmade ball into one of the cups. Miller then throws his ball, sinking it into another cup. Nova and Miller both let out a cheer, high fiving as Monroe and Sterling drink.

The game continues back and forth until Nova throws the ball landing it in the last cup. Miller lets out a loud yell and picks Nova up in a celebratory hug. "That's what I'm talking about!"

"Called it from the beginning." Nova says smugly. Just as the words leave her mouth, Clarke taps her on the shoulder. She turns to look at the blonde, "What is it?"

"Come here." Clarke leads her away from the group and towards Bellamy.

When he sees the two girls approaching, he addresses the blonde, "Having fun yet, princess."

Ignoring him she instead starts explaining why she dragged Nova towards the older boy, "Finn set up a meeting with the Grounders. Nova and I are supposed to talk with them."

"I'm too drunk for this shit." Nova says, running a hand through her hair.

"Listen, I think it might be worth a shot. I mean, we do have to live with these people." 

"They'll probably gut you, string you up as a warning." Bellamy states.

"Well, that's why I'm here. I need you to follow us, be our backup."

"Does Finn know this?"

"Finn doesn't need to know, and, Bellamy, bring guns."

 *_*_*_*_*_*

 Walking through the woods, Clarke decides to break the silence. "I'd love it if you were right about this, but did you ever consider it might be a trap?"

"Yep, but since it's Unity Day, I decided to have hope instead." Finn replies.

"The Grounder's don't know it's Unity Day." Nova says, "And if this happens to be a trap and they kill me. I'll make sure to stay alive long enough just so I can kill you."

"Seriously, Finn, you're putting a lot of faith in a guy who stuck a knife in you." Clarke states.

"And you are sounding more and more like Nova and Bellamy." Finn shakes his head at the blonde.

"There is nothing wrong with sounding like me. I was born a leader and a warrior. I'm keeping us alive." Nova glares at Finn.

"You want to start a war." He tries to continue but Nova cuts him off.

"Bullshit. The Grounder's have been picking us off one by one since we got here. If it wasn't for me, Bellamy, and Clarke reacting in the ways that we have a lot more of us would be dead. I don't want a war, Finn. But if they think they can get away with killing one of our own, they are in for a rude awakening."

 *_*_*_*_*_*

 As the trio arrives at the meeting place Clarke and Nova's eyes fall on Octavia. "So that's how you set this up. You helped him escape, didn't you?" Clarke asks the younger Blake.

"I trust him." Octavia says.

Nova rolls her eyes as Clarke mutters, "There's a lot of that going around."

The group turns their heads to the sound of someone arriving. The Grounder that escaped, Lincoln, runs up to Octavia. They hug and pull away when Clarke exclaims, "Look, horses!"

Nova raises an eyebrow, impressed at the sight of the beautiful creatures. "Hey. We said no weapons." Finn says, looking at Lincoln.

"I was told there wouldn't be." The Grounder replies.

"It's too late now." Clarke says, shaking her head.

Nova casually places her hands in her pockets, making sure her knife is still there. As the three delinquents move forward, Lincoln holds out a hand, "They go alone."

"We'll be fine." Clarke says, reassuring the teen.

Nova and Clarke reach the middle of the bridge at the same time the Grounder leader does. "Your name is Clarke?" The leader asks, looking at the blonde.

"Yes."

"And you are Nova?"

"Yeah." Nova states, the glare never leaving her face.

"I'm Anya."

"I think we got off to a rough start, but we want to find a way to live together in peace." Clarke starts.

"I understand. You started a war that you don't know how to end."

Nova scoffs, "Trust us. We know how to end it. We would just prefer to do this peacefully rather than having more bloodshed."

Clarke holds up a hand telling Nova to stop, "We didn't start anything. You attacked us for no reason."

"No reason? The missiles you launched burned a village to the ground." Anya argues.

"The flares? No. That was a signal meant for our families. We had no idea-"

"You're invaders. Your ship landed in our territory." Anya cuts Clarke off.

"We didn't know anyone was here when we got sent down. Add to the fact that all of us here didn't have a choice to come down but were forced to by our people." Nova states.

"You knew we were here when you sent an armed raiding party to capture one of us and torture him."

"Only after he captured one of our own." Nova says, taking a step closer to the Grounder.

The Grounder takes a step forward, now chest to chest with the petite brunette, "You were the one who killed one of my warriors when you came into our territory."

"In retaliation for your warriors leading my people into traps to kill them. You were plucking us off one by one and I wasn't going to just sit by and let it happen."

 *_*_*_*_*_*

 Somewhere behind them, hiding in the woods, Jasper, Bellamy, Raven, and Elara sit watching the interaction. “Grounder Princess looks pissed.” Raven states.

“Yeah well, our Angel has that effect.” Bellamy replies.

“I really hope she backs off. This isn’t going to end well.” Elara whispers, clearly nervous for her friend.

“I always thought Nova was lying when she said she wasn’t afraid of anything. I think this proves that she was telling the truth.” Jasper says.

 *_*_*_*_*_*

 "Nova." Clarke scolds. The blonde tugs on her friend's arm, willing her to step back but Nova refuses to be the first to back away. So instead Clarke starts speaking, "Even though Nova wants to continue to argue, I see your point." Anya steps back to get a better look at Clarke as she speaks, "That's why we need to put an end to all of this."

"Lincoln said there are more of you coming down, warriors."

"The guard, yes, but also farmers, doctors, engineers. We can help each other but not if we're at war."

"Can you promise that these new arrivals won't attack us, that they'll respect the terms we agree on?"

Clarke hesitates, "I promise I will do everything I can to convince them to honor the terms that we set."

"Why would I agree to an alliance that your people can break the moment they get here?"

"How about we set terms for a temporary agreement and then when the rest of our people come down we can set up another meeting and our leaders and you can set up a more permanent agreement?"

Before Anya has the chance to reply a voice from behind the two delinquents yells out, "Clarke, Nova, run! They're gonna shoot!" Nova recognizes the voice as Jasper.

Nova and Clarke react immediately. They turn around and start running away from the Grounders and towards Finn who is rushing towards them.

"Finn, go back! Go, go!" Clarke yells at the boy.

Nova watches as Lincoln jumps in front of Octavia, saving her from an arrow. 

Once the group of delinquents are back together in the woods, Bellamy starts arguing with Finn. "You got anything to say?"

"Yeah. I told you no guns!" Finn argues.

"I told you we couldn't trust the Grounders. I was right." Clarke defends her actions.

"Why didn't you tell me what you were up to?" Raven asks Finn, hurt that he didn't talk to her.

"I tried but you were too busy making bullets for your gun." Finn replies.

"You're lucky she brought that! They came there to kill you, Finn!" Bellamy says.

"You don't know that! Japer fired the first shot!" Finn yells.

"You ruined everything!" Octavia agrees with Finn. 

She storms off in the direction of camp as Jasper yells after her, "I saved you! You're welcome!"

"Will all of you shut up. We can't change anything that happened so stop arguing about it." Nova says.

There is a brief moment of silence that Finn breaks, "Well, if we weren't at war already, we sure as hell are now." He then turns to Clarke, "You didn't have to trust the Grounders. You just had to trust me."

Finn runs off after Octavia just as Bellamy mutters, "Like I said, best Unity Day ever."

“Nov, you should have told me what was happening.” Elara says, looking at the petite girl, who just shrugs in response. “You could have been killed. I swear you are way too impulsive and hot headed.”

“I don’t need you to lecture me, Lara.” Nova snaps. “I’m not going to be afraid of some Grounders, I’ve been trained since I could walk. Out of all of us in our camp I have the best chance at survival when it comes to going up against them.”

Right after the words leave her mouth an explosion in the sky causes the remaining delinquents to stop and look up. "The Exodus ship? Your parents are early." Bellamy says.

"Wait. It's going too fast. Something's wrong." Clarke replies as she watches the ship fall to Earth.

Not even a minute later it crashes, creating a mushroom cloud. Clarke sinks to her knees as Nova's eyes widen and her mouth drops open in shock.

[cinlat]

First Line Tag Game

Tagged by @tishinada Ohhh, this is interesting.

Rules: post the first spoken lines of the main characters (however you define that) of your WIP with no context whatsoever.

Blood in the Breeze is my main WIP right now, so let’s go find some lines.

Fynta Wolfe:  "You're her father,"

Aric Jorgan:  "Still can't decide?"

Balic Cormac: "How long until my grieving widow comes to claim my remains?"

Elara Dorne:  "Of course."

Theron Shan: “What the—”

Zolah Holran:  "What advice would that be, darling?"

Vector Hyllus:  "Hello, Mrs. Cormac,"

Kaeto Vaa:  "Commander?"

Darth Kozen: "You would really give them up?"

Lana Beniko: “Pack a raincoat.”

Shillet Jorgan:  "Go away."

Verin Ejnar:  "Everything's still standing, alor,"

I think that covers all the main characters, but there are probably a trillion more minor ones who get regular screen time too. *has a problem of constantly building giant casts*

I’ll tag @dimigex @kunoichi-ume @nusaran 

[fandomrewrites]

Chasing Butterflies: I Am Become Death

I once again apologize for being inconsistent with posting. I’m a horrible person. On another note, there is three more chapters after this and then I’ll be back to posting my Teen Wolf fanfic. So remember to let me know if you want to get added to any of my taglists or if you have any imagine requests.

Season 1; Episode 10: I Am Become Death Pairings: OC x OC best friends, no love interests yet Warnings: Swearing, death, violence Word Count: 2,816

Elara and Nova searched the Exodus ship crash site near one another. Though Elara's attention was more focused on her friend than the search. "Stay sharp. Grounder retaliation for what happened on the bridge is coming, just a matter of when." Bellamy calls out to the group.

Feeling Elara's eyes on her Nova sighs, "What?"

"Nothing." Elara quickly replies.

Nova rolls her eyes, "Lara, just tell me."

"Are you alright? Should you be out here right now?"

"What because my father just died in a fiery explosion? I'm fine. It's not like we were on the best of terms anyway."

Before Elara gets the chance to reply they hear Raven yell, "Fire in the hole!" She then throws a rock which causes an explosion. The two girls watch as she says something to Bellamy.

"We move in formation, no straggling, weapons hot. We gotta get back before dark." Bellamy calls for the group to head out.

Once in formation Elara begins talking to Nova once more. "You may not have been on speaking terms but he's still your dad. And honestly not being on speaking terms might even be worse. Now you don't have the chance to make up with him."

Nova spares a glance at her slightly taller friend, "I promise I'm fine. I'm more concerned about the fact that we are now officially at war with the Grounders. But I'll make sure to come to you if I'm not okay."

Elara nods, happy with her friend's answer. The two girls stay quiet for the rest of the trip back to camp.

 *_*_*_*_*_*

 Once they made it back to camp, Miller informed Bellamy, Clarke and Nova that Murphy was back. In an instant all three plus Finn were rushing towards the dropship where said delinquent was being kept. 

"Where is he?" Bellamy yells. The minute his eyes fall on a bloodied and bruised Murphy he speaks once more, "Everyone but Connor and Derek out. Now."

Everyone but Nova, Clarke, and Finn listen to him, though Bellamy doesn't try to argue, knowing they won't listen. "We caught him trying to sneak back into camp." Connor says.

"He claims he was with the Grounders." Derek adds.

"I wasn't sneaking. I was running from the Grounders." Murphy speaks up.

"Anyone see Grounders?" Bellamy asks.

Connor and Derek both shake their heads. "Well, in that case-" Bellamy raises his gun.

"Hey, what the hell is wrong with you?" Finn snaps, stepping in front of the gun.

"We were clear what would happen if he came back."

"All he's going to do is cause more trouble. We should have killed him when we had the chance." Nova adds.

"No. If he was with the Grounders, then he knows things that can help us." Finn says.

Nova scoffs as Bellamy answers, "Help us? We hanged him. We banished him, and now we're gonna kill him. Get the hell out of my way."

"No. Finn is right." Clarke starts.

"Like hell he is. Clarke, think about Charlotte."

"I am thinking about her, but what happened to Charlotte was as much our fault as his. He's not lying. His fingernails were torn off. They tortured him."

"You and the Grounders should compare notes." Finn says to Bellamy.

"The Grounders know we're at war. What did you tell them about us?" Bellamy asks.

"Everything." Murphy states.

Nova shakes her head, "You should have kept your pathetic mouth shut."

"Yeah like you would have if you were the one being tortured."

"I would have because my life is not worth risking the life of my people. I would have kept my mouth shut and I would have let them kill me. They wouldn't have gotten shit from me."

Clarke speaks up to stop the argument from continuing, "Once he's better, we find out what he knows, and then he's out of here, okay?"

"What if he refuses to leave? What do we do with him then?" Bellamy asks the blonde.

"Then we kill him."

 *_*_*_*_*_*

 Nova was carving more arrows and watching Elara practice with her weapon when she heard one of the delinquents scream. "Where's Clarke and Elara?"

Both girls exchanged a worried look and ran to where the delinquents were panicking. Around them a handful of delinquents were coughing as blood dripped from their eyes.

"What's happening?" Nova asked, watching as Elara ran towards one of the sick boys.

She turned to Clarke as the blonde yelled, "Raven, Elara, get away from us."

"What?" Raven asked.

"Why?" Elara added, eyebrows knitting together.

"They're the ones who brought Murphy in." Clarke answered.

Nova took the chance to help the sick into the dropship, knowing that she already came in contact with Murphy earlier. "I'll help Lara, just make sure you stay away. We don't need you getting sick too."

Elara hesitantly nodded but both girls knew that she wouldn't be able to stay away for long.

Nova joined Clarke beside Murphy just as Bellamy stepped through the dropship entrance. "Bellamy, stay back." Clarke says, noticing that the boy isn't sick. "Nova you shouldn't be in here either."

"Bellamy and I have both already been exposed, we either aren't going to get sick or it's already too late." Nova replies, staying beside the blonde.

"What the hell is it?" Bellamy asks, also coming closer.

"Biological warfare. You were waiting for the Grounders to retaliate for the bridge? This is it. Murphy is the weapon." Clarke explains.

"Is this your revenge, helping the Grounders kill us?" Bellamy angrily asks.

"I didn't know about this, okay, I swear." Murphy replies, hunching over to cough up some blood.

"Stop lying. When are they coming?" Bellamy questions, not believing the younger boy.

"Murphy, come on. You got to know something. Anything about them. Think." Nova says.

"They are vicious, cruel." Murphy says, shaking his head. "They really make you look like an angel, Angel."

Nova instantly rolls her eyes. She watches as Bellamy takes a step closer, "Hey back up. Whatever this is spreads through contact." Clarke scolds.

Finn chooses that moment to walk in. "Clarke?" He asks, looking towards the blonde.

"Finn, you shouldn't be in here. No one should."

"I heard you were sick. Clarke, what is this?"

"I don't know. Some kind of hemorrhagic fever. We just need to contain it before-" She's cut off as Derek retches.

"What the hell is happening to him?" Finn asks, watching their fellow delinquent.

"I don't know."

Derek coughs one last time then falls over. "Is he-"

Bellamy gets cut off with Clarke confirming their suspicions, "He's dead."

"What do we do?" Finn asks.

"Quarantine. Round up everyone who had contact with Murphy. Bring them here." Clarke replies. The group watches as Finn leaves.

"What about everyone they had contact with? Everyone in this camp could have a chance of getting it already." Nova states.

"Well, we have to start somewhere. Connor, who was with you when you found him? Who carried him in?" Clarke asks the sick teenager.

"The first one there was Octavia." He answers.

 *_*_*_*_*_*

 After Clarke checked Nova she sent her up to the third floor since she wasn't showing any symptoms yet. In the meantime Elara kept her gaze locked on the dropship entrance. She knew that she had to do something to help.

So collecting some water and rags she finally made her way inside. "You shouldn't be in here, Elara." Clarke called out.

"I need to help. Plus I was technically in contact with whatever this is anyways."

Clarke raised an eyebrow in question, "I've been with Nova, who has been in contact with Murphy." Clarke nods at the girl's answer. "Plus you are sick. You need to worry about yourself and let me deal with this."

Clarke gives another nod but doesn't sit down and relax. Instead she makes her way to the dropship entrance to talk with Bellamy. Elara makes her way outside when she starts hearing the delinquents freak out.

In the blink of an eye, Nova is beside her and lets out an ear piercing whistle. "Everyone calm the fuck down!" The petite girl yells. The camp is silent, clearly afraid of her despite getting to know her better since they came down.

Clarke takes the silence as her chance to speak, "This is exactly what the Grounders want. Don't you see that? They don't have to kill us if we kill each other first."

"They won't have to kill us if we all catch the virus. Get back in the damn dropship!" A delinquent yells.

"Why don't you shut the fuck up." Nova spits out. "If you haven't noticed not everyone who has come in contact has gotten sick. And most who have gotten sick are still alive."

Right after the words leave Nova's mouth Clarke falls forward. Elara and Finn both rush towards her, trying to break her fall. "Finn, don't touch her!" Raven yells at the boy.

The two have a whispered conversation once Elara backs away. A little louder Clarke says, "Octavia will come back with a cure."

"There is no cure." Octavia says, stepping back into the camp. "But the Grounders don't use the sickness to kill."

"Really? Tell that to them. I warned you about seeing that Grounder again." Bellamy scolds his sister.

"Yeah? Well, I have a warning for you, too. The Grounders are coming. And they're attacking at first light."

The girls and Finn walk into the dropship to talk, "What do I have to do to stop you from coming in here?" Clarke asks Finn.

"Get better." He replies.

"If he's not sick by now, then he's probably immune like me." Octavia says. 

At this, Nova nods, "Great. Then I probably am too. I need to talk with Raven and Bellamy to see what our plan is for the attack." 

The brunette stands up and walks out of the dropship. Elara watches her go, "Rest, Clarke. We'll make sure everyone stays hydrated. But you need to take care of yourself."

 *_*_*_*_*_*

 As Elara gets to work helping the sick delinquents, Nova finds the group talking about the attack. "Oh we're so dead." She hears Harper say.

"What's wrong?" Nova asks.

"We're running out of gunpowder." Raven answers the girl.

"Could we build a bomb?" Nova suggests.

"Depends on what you're trying to blow up.

"How about a bridge?" Finn asks, stepping up to the group.

"What are you talking about?" Bellamy asks.

"Murphy said he crossed a bridge on his way back from the Grounders' camp. Sound familiar?"

"Yeah. So what?"

"So the virus is fast. He's already getting better. Blowing the bridge won't stop the attack, but the longer we can delay it, the more of us will be able to fight."

"Even if Murphy is telling the truth, that bridge has survived a nuclear war and ninety-seven years of weather."

Raven confidently speaks up, "It won't survive me."

A few hours later Raven has collected rocket fuel from the Exodus crash site and has made the bomb. "Okay. You can come in now." She calls for Finn, Bellamy, and Nova to enter. "Boom." 

"That's cute." Bellamy says as he looks at the bomb.

"Relax. It needs an accelerant-gunpowder. Container of hydrazine. Put the gunpowder around the hydrazine. Hit the bull's eye. Win a prize."

"It's the rest of our gunpowder. Won't be able to make any more bullets."

"Well we need this bomb. Plus I've still been training everyone with the other weapons. We'll be okay." Nova states, crossing her arms.

"To be safe, you need to be at least two hundred feet away to make the shot."

"No problem. Which one of you plants the bomb?" Bellamy asks.

"I will." Finn quickly answers.

"You won't pick up a gun, but blowing people up, that you're okay with?"

"We're blowing up a bridge. There's not gonna be any people on it."

"There might be. It depends on how quick we get there and when they arrive." Nova says.

"Plus we have one bomb. We need to use it to kill as many of those bastards as possible." Bellamy adds, Nova nodding in agreement.

"But they don't know we only have one bomb. If we did, why would we waste it on the bridge? I'm talking about deterrents, peace through strength." Finn replies.

"The appearance of strength, you mean." Raven says.

Bellamy's nose starts bleeding just as Finn nods at Raven's words. "Don't touch anything." Raven says to the older boy.

"Doesn't look like you'll be able to come after all. Get to the dropship." Nova says.

"Like hell." Bellamy replies, "Make sure the bomb is packed and ready to go in ten minutes."

 *_*_*_*_*_*

 Elara watches as Bellamy walks inside the dropship coughing up blood. She moves to go help but Octavia beats her to it. She leaves the siblings alone and turns back to help the other delinquents.

Outside, Raven and Nova left with the bomb. Deciding to do it themselves rather than wait for the boys. Halfway to their destination Raven's eyes started to drip blood. 

"Shit Raven." Nova says noticing the blood. 

Raven immediately holds up a hand to touch her face. "I'm fine." She says.

"For now. We still have a while to walk. And Clarke nearly passed out because she wasn't resting. Head back, I'll do it myself."

"No. I am not letting you do this by yourself. Plus you should stay off the bridge and in position to shoot."

"If someone finds out that I let you do this when you were sick." Nova trails off as she shakes her head. She decides against arguing anymore though as the two girls continue their journey. 

Not too long later they make it to the bridge and Raven lets out a quiet, "Oh, thank God."

"Are you sure you can do it yourself? I can place the bomb and you can stay with the gun instead."

Raven determinedly shakes her head and starts walking towards the bridge by herself. "God, she's more stubborn than me." Nova says under her breath.

 *_*_*_*_*_*

 "Get the hell away from me." Bellamy hisses at Murphy who tries to help him.

"I got this Murphy." Elara says walking up to the two boys. He nods and hands her the water.

Elara sits crossed legged beside the older boy. "Here." She says as she helps him drink. 

"How's Clarke?" Bellamy questions.

"Doing better. She's starting to help everyone again." Bellamy nods as he watches Elara rings out the rag that she brought over. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay. The sleep helped." There's a brief moment of silence as Elara focuses on cleaning the blood off of Bellamy's face. "Have you seen Octavia?"

"She was up all night helping people. Murphy and I gave her a break."

"Don't tell me you trust him now."

Elara shakes her head, "No. But I do believe people deserve second chances."

Bellamy studies the girl carefully as she turns back to cleaning his face. "You know you're really beautiful."

Elara's face flushes and she avoids eye contact. She mumbles out a quiet, "Thanks," never stopping her cleaning.

"It's almost dawn. Better get everyone inside. If we lock the doors, maybe the Grounders will think we're not home."

"You don't think Finn and Nova are gonna pull it off?" Elara asks, finally putting the rag down.

"Do you?"

"I always have confidence in Nova. She's brilliant. But if it will make you feel better, I'll get everyone inside."

 *_*_*_*_*_*

 Nova watches Raven build the bomb on the bridge. The older girl is taking longer than Nova would like, though she doesn't start panicking until the sound of war drums fills her ears. "Fuck."

The petite brunette starts to walk forward to help Raven but stops when she hears people yelling behind her, "Raven! Nova!"

Nova turns at the sound of Finn's voice, "Quick! Help her! And get out of there!" Nova yells at Finn. She pulls Jasper with her so that she can line up her shot for when Raven and Finn are out of the way.

Nova carefully watches as Finn helps Raven up. The boy then yells, "Shoot, Nova! Shoot! Shoot!"

"What the hell does he mean shoot!? They're too close!" Nova rushes out quickly looking at Jasper.

"You got this." She hears from behind her.

She jumps and looks over her shoulder, "God, don't do that Monty!"

Jasper looks at his friend in shock, "Why did-"

"Shut up. I need to concentrate." Nova scolds the boy. Both immediately fall silent and once Nova deems Finn and Raven to be far enough away, she takes a deep breath and pulls the trigger.

The bridge explodes and the group - plus everyone back at camp - cheers.