GRIM REAPER¹, bellamy blake

060 ━━ saving her

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WHEN IONA reached the bottom of the stairs, a fight had already begun. She could hear a muffled voice crying, followed by groans, and then the clashing of various weapons.

When she got sight of the scene, she felt conflicted. Bellamy was engaged in a brawl with some man she was unable to recognize in the dark, while Jakob fought off one of his assailants with ease.

Seeing how effortlessly Jakob fought, Iona decided to help the clearly struggling man instead, darting in his direction.

As the man crouched over Bellamy, ready to shove a sword into his neck, Iona felt her heart skip a few beats. Iona didn't have time to question why, merely doing the most reckless maneuver she'd done in months: getting rid of her weapon.

Her katana fell to the ground, a resounding clang echoing around the room as it hit stone, and as the man looked up to stare at the approaching figure, she was already sailing through the air, tackling him to the ground.

Considering Iona taught self defense with mere fists, this was easier than she'd intended.

Despite the man being bulkier than her, she remained on top, growling under her breath as she pummeled his face with harsh punches. He groaned, attempting to flip her over, only to be met with the feeling of a knife in his shoulder.

"No," Iona spoke lowly, and she felt the man beneath her freeze at the sound of her voice. Holding two hands to his neck, she applied pressure, threatening to choke him if he made any sudden moves, and looked at Bellamy, "Untie her."

He rushed to his feet, immediately loosening Clarke of her bonds.

It appeared as though Jakob had won his duel, grinning proudly to himself and blowing off the tip of his knife as if it was the barrel of a smoking gun.

He wandered over to Iona, crouching down and poking the mans cheeks, "Well, well, brother. Someone's on the wrong side of the border, hmm?"

A voice, one that Iona regrettably recognized, then spoke, "She's my payment."

Roan, son of the Ice Queen, was the man beneath Iona. How ironic.

It wasn't like she knew him in particular.

Roan was a name every Azgedan knew, and even then, his influence travelled farther than just his homelands. When the coalition was formed, he had been banished- he was a rebel, much like Iona, and his people were not fond of rebels.

The coalition has thus thrived (kind of) in his absence, but it was incredibly uncommon to ever see or hear of Roan on Ice Nation land since his forced departure.

Iona did, at one point, know him. It was a brief meeting when they were younger, nothing more, nothing less, but he had appeared to have changed greatly. His mother, a queen, and her father, a commander- it was only expected that they meet.

They had... not been on the best terms, then.

Their original meeting had been pure chaos, with her stumbling off of a stage and using him as the pillow that broke her fall. And now, it seemed as though history had repeated itself, with the pair ending up in oddly similar greetings.

Iona huffed, "Payment? You will not be freed from your bindings, Roan. I'd suggest you give up now before someone takes your head for trespassing."

Roan scoffed, "As if they could. Besides, couldn't I say the same to you, betrayer?"

Iona immediately lurched forward, eager to choke the man until the light left his eyes but was jerked back by Jakob's hand. "Now, now, Ona. Do remember your manners," He sent a devious wink at the woman, and she merely scowled.

There was far too much play occurring for the situation they currently found themselves in.

Bellamy and Clarke, clearly confused, quietly conversed in the corner. He was checking her for wounds and attempting to comfort each other- it was finally over. They'd retrieved Clarke and had saved her from the looming bounty.

What now? That was the question lingering in everyone's minds.

Despite what her personal feelings were telling her to do, Iona couldn't kill Roan. The Ice Queen still cared for her son (she thought so, at least) and would rage war if his dead body were to return to her.

So, what would they do? Would they simply march back to camp, holding him hostage within their prison cells for as long as need be?

No one appeared to have any answers.

Iona looked down at Roan, who merely eyed her with disdain, and she narrowed her eyes, "Do you want the fucking dagger out of your shoulder or not?" He rolled his eyes, and she begrudgingly twisted it slightly, making him cry out an apology, "That's what I thought."

Pulling the knife from his shoulder, she stood from her place on top of him, wandering over to grab her discarded katana.

"So, what do we do?" Iona questioned aloud, finally urging Clarke and Bellamy to join the group as they stared down at Roan.

"I say we give him to Jakob. He's one of them, isn't he?"

"Hardly."

Iona hummed in question, sharing a look with Jakob. He appeared hesitant at first but brushed it off with an air that reeked of confidence and beamed, "Yeah, sure, I can turn him into Azgeda. I'm sure the Queen will find something to do with him."

As they bound Roan's hands, Iona took her opportunity to approach Clarke, smiling slightly at the woman's eagerness to hug her.

"Thank you..." Clarke murmured, squeezing Iona tightly.

Iona was slightly uncomfortable to hug her, but set it aside, returning her hug with a far less excited one, but it was still a halfway decent hug.

"Anytime, Clarke."

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