Into The Woods- Bellamy Blake

Chapter 26

Ember had lied. She didn't feel guilty about lying to Clarke, she believed that to win the war, Clarke and Ember both needed to be free of distractions. Ember claiming to be mad at another person would just distract the both of them.

Ember also knew she was biased in the situation, not being mad at Lexa. She respected Lexa's choice, as it was a smart move. Lexa avoided getting close to people so in moments like the missile, they can think clearly and do what's best. What Ember was mad about was Clarke had come back for her mom and left Ember to die. That's what she was angry about.

She ignored that feeling, pushing it away like every other sense of betrayal she had. She stood with Clarke and Lexa in the ladder's tent, going over the plan. "What if we're wrong and cutting the power doesn't disengage the locks?"

Clarke and Ember stood near the plans, while Lexa laid in her bed. "Your people said it will." Lexa was ignored by the girls. "You guys should rest."

"We could blow the doors manually." Ember suggested, glancing up from the plans and at Clarke.

Clarke nodded slightly, thinking it over. "Plans don't last very long in battle." Lexa told them. "Tiring yourself with questions already asked and answered is a waste of energy."

"People died for this, Lexa." Clarke said, turning her head to look at her. They held eye contact for a few seconds before Clarke looked away. "It has to work."

"You two are doing what I did when I first took command." She left the two at the table, going back to by her bed, pouring some water. "We can't move forward, and it's giving you too much time to think. Once Bellamy shuts down the acid fog and the battle begins, everything will be clear."

"What if he can't?" Clarke asked after a moment. Ember looked up at her, trying to act disinterested but failing. "What if it was too dangerous and I sent him in there anyway?"

"You care about him." Lexa stated.

"I care about all of them." Clarke replied.

"You both worry about him more." Lexa said, Ember looking towards the ground.

"We couldn't have kept us alive all this time without him." Clarke said, signalling between Ember and her. "We need him. And now I might be the one who gets him killed."

"That's what it means to be a leader, Clarke." Looking to Ember to see if she felt the same way Clarke did. "The truth is, we must look into the eyes of our warriors and say, "Go die for me.""

Ember met Clarke's eyes, and knew that Clarke knew that Ember had the power to do that, but Clarke didn't. "If only it were that easy." Clarke said. "Can we please just get back to the plan?"

"No." Lexa said. "You could be a leader your people look up to. Pour their hopes and dreams into. Someone they would fight and die for."

"I never asked for that." Clarke replied. "I'm just trying to keep us alive."

Ember grabbed her sword that she had left by the entrance. "I'm going to go meet with Indra and Octavia." She muttered, leaving the two leaders alone.

~~~

Clarke followed her our a few moments later, joining her as she sat next to Octavia by a fire. Clarke sat across from them, and Ember put pressure on her gunshot wound, wincing at the pain. "Everything okay?" Clarke asked Octavia, who looked up from the fire and focused on Clarke.

"I've been going over it and over it in my head just trying to figure out how," She paused, looking down at the fire. "You're still alive."

Ember's body tensed, and she glanced over at Octavia. Clarke shook her head slightly. "What are you talking about?"