The Commander and The Girl

Chapter 24

I wake up in the back of a wagon my hands tied together.
I jostle around until finally gaining sight.
Kane sits in front of me situated with a frown on his face.
I look to the tarp covering us. There's a small opening that only gives me a small vantage of sight.
"Mom!" I cry out.
"Mom!" The wagon stops and she climbs in.

"I'm sorry honey, but we couldn't let them have leverage over us." She reaches to untie my hands.

"Mom what did you do?"
She actually kidnapped me.
Her face is oddly stoic as she places cool hands on my cheeks.
If she broke the terms we are riding into a war.

"Don't worry Clarke. We still want peace, we just also want you in return." She tries to calm me with a smile.

"That's not how the treaty works!" I shout.
With the tarp now open I can see a soldier tighten his grasp on a gun. I try to calm down and lower my voice.
"Once word leaves of my disappearance they will start a war." I assure her.

"Not if they believe you've been killed by grounders."
She looks at me so assure of herself. She looks like a robot in my mother's skin.

"How would they believe that when they don't have a body?"
I grit through my teeth.
She looks to my hair and I instinctively reach for it. A braid, once made by a warrior, has been cut off my head.

"You gave the grounders medicine to weaken Octavia and Lincoln. You said they forgot everything, but you drugged them just so you could get me back." I scoff.

"I have to go." I begin to stand before I'm held down by a familiar face. He reaches around the tarp and places a firm hand on my shoulder.

"Bellamy." He looks down at me.
His cuts have faded.

"This is for your own good Clarke."
His once warm voice is icy, smothered in hatred.

I look back to my mother.
"Please." Tears bite my eyes.
"I need to go back to Lexa."

"Do you know what Stockholm Syndrome is?"
Mom asks.
I shake my head trying to figure out where this is leading.

"It's a condition where a hostage may fall for their captor. Whether it's a romantic relationship or a friendly one."

I look at her in shock. I feel my chest collapsing at the thought.

"I read about it on the Ark." She leans down and only then do I notice she's crying.
"I'm sorry I let this happen to you." She whispers before leaving.

"No, no it's not like that! Let me go. Let me go!!" I shout as my hands are tied back together. I feel hot tears bleed through my shirt.
I slump in defeat staring at Kane.

"How long until war?" I ask him, knowing our future.

"They'll probably believe in your death, so without your persuasion I'd say maybe two months before Lexa is killed or pushed to revenge." He looks at me then to the open flaps of the wagon.

"They'll take a break in a few minutes for water. They all go to the front of the horses then to the back, us. Take that time to run out and find a way back."

"I can't do that." I don't know where I am, we could be right outside of Arkadia for all I know.

"You survived three months alone, you can survive this." He gives me a confident nod.
I focus on breaking my tethered hands. After a while I finally slip one hand through and reach for my blade. I quietly unsheathe it and cut my other hand free.
The wagon slows to a stop, my heart racing. Kane was right, footsteps travel in front of us and I stand up to leave.

"Punch me." Kane whispers.

"What?" I say in shock.

"Do it, they can't know I helped." He closes his eyes and faces me.

"Forgive me." I whisper then sock him in the jaw. He limps over to the ground and tilts his head slightly to the flaps.
I climb out clutching my blade and make a run for the woods.
All I hear is my heart pounding in my chest as I try so hard not to make noise. My feet pound in the woods, but with so much commotion already it's almost smothered.
Once happy with my distance I look back. There's only five people from Arkadia, probably exclusively loyal to Bellamy. No one's noticed my disappearance so I try to get a hold of my surroundings.
Judging by the barely used trail it looks like we've taken the back trails, probably to avoid the warriors coming into Polis. Thankfully for me that means we couldn't have gone far. The sun's just rising and since I have no inner compass it doesn't help me. I walk aimlessly away from my mother until I hear movement.
It's either intensional or a very bad warrior.
I turn to face the sound.
"The Skaikru isn't allowed on our land." I hear someone shout. I don't even have time to react when I'm shot in the leg. I scream in pain. Another warrior come up to me, blade in hand, until they see my face.

"Wanheda." She hisses like a curse.
I ignore her and clutch my calf. The arrow went straight through and I can barley stand up in the pain. I feel a sharp pain in my jaw as I fall, paralyzed to the ground.

I'm awakened by a someone rubbing ointment on my leg.
I look up to see Nyko trying to take the arrow out.
"Nyko where," I'm cut short by my gurgling scream. He's ripped the arrow out and is now pressing two clothes onto the wound. It looks like the arrow went right through my leg. I feel my eyes drop from pain only to be awoken, again, by talking near me.
I sit up and hiss in pain. Taking a shaky hand I peel up the bandages only to see they haven't been stitched closed yet. The bloods clotted so it isn't bleeding, but it will get infected if I don't close it soon.
"Nyko." I wane. I take a deep breathe.
"Get me a needle and some sort of thread or wire."
I've already broken a sweat trying to stay awake.
The other grounder that's here eyes me in a curious fashion. I immediately feel uncomfortable.
Nyko comes back and checks on my leg. He hands me a needle and some fishing wire.
I thread the wire through the needle and squeeze my eyes shut. I take a deep breathe then take off the clothe.
I start to stitch my wound, trying not to wince in pain. It begins to bleed every once in a while, but Nyko just puts a gauze on it when it does, giving me time to readjust.
When I finish I'm left panting.
I was able to stitch both holes shut, but now there's a constant hammering of pain in my leg. Nyko hands me a mug of water and I chug it down coughing a bit up. I refuse to fall asleep again and aim to head out of the tent.
I grab one of the staffs from the tent and use it as a crutch, hobbling to all the voices. Everyone's gathered near a fire talking and laughing as the children play.

"Have you ever wanted children?" I hear a woman ask me.
I almost jump from the voice. I look to my right and see it's the same woman from my tent.

"It's never really crossed my mind." I mumble.

"They're absolutely beautiful things. That brunette one is mine." She points her head in the direction on a girl twirling around. She seems so happy.

"I'm sorry who are you?" I ask.

"I'm surprised she never mentioned me." She spoke lowly.
"My name's Luna."