I Won't Stop Protecting You

Chapter 16

Clarke hummed as she walked through the woods, Cora's hand gripped tightly in her own.

"Mom, where are we going?" Cora groaned, trailing behind her mother, arm hanging loosely between them "Mom you don't need to hold my hand anymore. I'm almost 15 years old!"

"And I don't care. You're my daughter. Any child can hold their mothers hand no matter what age"

Cora scoffed "Whatever. What are you doing, anyway?"

"I want to show you something, Cora."

She reached for a vine, tugging it away. There, she found the hidden remnants of the metal behind it. It was painted black with the flames that it was once engulfed in. Cora crossed her arms behind her, her teenage moodiness acting as a major distraction from what was directly in front of her.

"Can we go home now? I'm bored"

"Cora, do you know what this is?" Clarke questioned her gently

She scoffed, rolling her eyes "It's a rock mom. Big deal."

"It's not a rock. Here, help me get this stuff off" The mother spoke, ripping off more of the vines and moss that hung loosely on the aged, rusting metal.

It took Cora a while before she actually started helping her mom, spending most of the job standing back and watching her. It took them at least an hour to clear the front wall, swear beginning to drop from their foreheads. Cora whined about the soot that was covering her hands.

"Here" Clarke said softly, taking her daughters hands and wiping them from the dark substance with her own and kissing her temple. They stood back, admiring their handiwork "Now. Do you know where we are yet?"

"I'm not too sure, mom" Cora frowned.

"This" The taller woman motioned to the structure before them "Is the drop ship"

"The drop ship?"

Clarke placed her hands on Cora's shoulders from behind "The drop ship. This is where i first stepped foot on this planet"

"I thought you came down on the ark?" She tilted her head

"Oh no, no. You remember when I told you? They sent us down first to make sure it was safe. All one hundred of us"

"How old were you?"

"I was your brothers age. Seventeen." She shook her head "We had spent all this time in space, surrounded by metal walls. I dreamed of coming here some day. My cell was covered in drawings, sketches of trees and rivers."

"I bet they were great" Cora smiled

"Not nearly as great as the real thing." She shook her head

"So... why here?"

"This is where it started, Cora" Clarke informed her child "My life changed right here the moment I stepped out. I had no idea what would have happened. I didn't know that some day, I would be happy. That I would have you. And have Amell."

"And Nomon"

"I definitely didn't know I'd have her" She chuckled "Especially when she was trying to kill me"

Cora tilted her head, leaning back for the embrace of her mother who reciprocated it immediately "Do you think she ever really wanted to kill you?"

She shook her head, a small smile tugging on her lips "I doubt it. If she was, I would have died long ago. She was afraid"

"What of?"

"Being somebody she wasn't expected to be, I suppose"

"What? Who did they expect her to be?"