I Can't Stop Loving You

Chapter 2

After hiding the rover amongst trees and bushes, the women had lead themselves towards the towering gates of Polis. She could still remember the first time she turned up at the gates, angry and broken, and was taken to Lexa by Jayden and Gustus. Then, couldn't tear her eyes away from the commander's tower, where a flame flew bright and powerful at the very top of the building. Her heart sank at the sight of Lexa's home now. The tower was extinguished, and the light that once lit up the city of Polis with its flames, was reduced to darkness.

Lexa's absence could be felt so much more with each step they took.

Luna moved around the walls until she found a small trapdoor. She leant down and locked her hands around the handle tightly. With a violent tug, the metal only twitched below her. She gritted her teeth, and with Raven's aid, she lifted the door open. Loud creaks caused Clarke to look around in the fear of being caught.

"Easy" she gasped, straightening her back and correcting her posture.

"Sure" Raven rolled her eyes and stared down into the hole in the ground.  Clarke peered over her shoulder.

"Remind me why this is the best way in again?" She asked Luna, watching the moisture of the walls drip down into the mud which lined the floors of the passage way.

"If you want to walk through the front gates, be my guest. I'm sure Pike would love to welcome you into his home." Luna lowered herself onto the first rung of the rusted ladder.

"This is not his home." Clarke snapped, crossing her arms "it doesn't belong to him"

"Yeah, I know" Luna called as she disappeared into the shadows of the tunnel "It's Lexa's. I'd say it's mine too but, I didn't particularly enjoy my stay here as a child."

"Clearly" She rolled her eyes and followed Luna into the dark pit. She glanced at the small but intricate drawings of animals and flowers. There were large scratch marks littered between the artworks. Clearly the passage had been used often. "how did you know about this place anyway?"

Luna shrugged as she held out her hand to help Raven down the ladder. In the end, after seeing the mechanic struggle to get down with her leg brace, she pulled her down into her arms and straightened her up on the ground, earning a small 'thanks'

"Costia found it when we were younger. Costia, Lexa and I would sneak out when Anya fell asleep, or when her back was turned. Once Lexa had the preposterous idea to spike her drink with some sleeping berries that Costia had found. Anya... Anya was not happy with the poor girl."

"How did Costia know they were sleeping berries?" Clarke raised an eyebrow, interested in the story that Luna was sharing openly.

"Ah. Well, she didn't. She ate them one day thinking they were just normal edible berries" Luna chuckled "Lexa almost had a fit when she fell asleep. She thought she had died or something."

Clarke laughed as they made their way through the sodden and damn tunnel "What did Anya do when she found out that Lexa had drugged her?"

"Well, Lexa being Lexa, she owned up to her actions straight away. Not that it made any difference though. Anya cared for her the most, she she punished her the most. She believed that if she could put Lexa on the right track, she'd be the greatest commander to have lived. She was right." Luna shrugged her shoulders and continued walking "She locked Lexa up in a bunker near ton DC for a week with no light at all. She ate in the dark, slept in the dark, drank in the dark and waited in the dark. When she came back out, she was terrified of it."

Clarke nodded "that explains all of the candles then"

"It does. Costia sat and made candles for her for that exact reason. Some smelled beautiful after she included scents of wildflowers in the wax."