Her Loyalties

Chapter Forty-Five

Clarkes POV

Raven left then, rolling her eyes at us. I turned back to Lexa. She smiled at me, her emerald eyes glittering in the light coming in from the slit in the side of the tent.

"Can you teach me more?" I asked. "More of your language. I want to be able to speak fluently."

"Sure." Lexa said. "It would be helpful for you to know more. I can teach you while I'm here."

"Great." I said. "What first?" Lexa considered for a while before speaking again.

"So what did Anya teach you?"

"She taught me basics. Hello, goodbye, thank you, sorry. Obviously I know how to say I love you." I felt a slight red colour my cheeks and Lexa smiled. "I knew what you mean when you told the guards a few days ago, and the council. So really, not a lot."

Lexa nodded, and then she started talking. She gave me words for everything important, and she talked for a long time. It became a system, she would tell me a few words and the meaning, and I would repeat them. After a while we would go back and repeat words from a while ago.

We talked for hours, until my brain was tired but I knew a lot more of her language. I always had this thing that my brain did, where I could remember things pretty quickly. By the time the sun set, I could hold a reasonably long conversation with Lexa in her language, with only a few mistakes.

Throughout the day, people came in and out of the tent. Charlotte came twice because she was bored, and my mother came to bring us food. Octavia came to thank me again, and told me that Lincoln had also been teaching her some of his language too.

Mum came in again not long after the sun had disappeared. She picked up a bottle from a cupboard and then came over to us. I moved over to give her room.

"How are you feeling?" She asked Lexa, and I was surprised by the genuine concern in her voice. Lexa heard it too, and her eyes widened slightly. My mum hadn't been incredible accepting of Lexa, but it seemed she had gotten over it.

"I'm a lot better, thank you." Lexa said, smiling at her. "The cuts should clear up in a few weeks. You did good work in helping."

"Thank you Lexa." Mum said. "I also wanted to say that I am very sorry for how I've ever treated you. I can see that you make Clarke happy, and that's good enough for me."

Lexa smiled, a happy smile that I had only seen a few times before. She nodded at my mother, who reached across and squeezed her hand. I felt a tear slide down my cheeks, and I wiped it away.

"Are you crying?" Mum asked, sounding concerned.

"No." I tried to play it off but they both saw right through me. "Okay, yeah I am. I'm sorry, it's just that I'm so happy."

Lexas eyes lit up slightly, and she reached over and took my hand. I leaned forward and hugged her gently, trying not to touch any of her cuts. When I sat back up, mum gave me a hug, and I buried my face in her shoulder.

"Thank you." I murmured so only she could hear me. We pulled apart, and then mum stepped back.

"You should be okay to go back to your compartment now." She told Lexa. "Just don't do any physical activity for a few days, and be careful."

"Thanks." Lexa murmured as I helped her up. Mum nodded, and then left to go back to our compartment - that was just her compartment now. Lexa sat on the bed as I helped her put on some clothes that we had found. It was a light blue t-shirt and slightly loose black jeans with slip on shoes.

After a few wobbly steps, Lexa found her feet. I kept a hand ready as we walked towards the Ark, ready to catch her at any point. There was no need, and we found our way back to our compartment quickly.

Charlotte was sitting inside, playing some sort of game with Raven. They both looked up as we came in, and both smiled. Raven raised her eyebrows.

"So, you guys have stopped..."

"Enough, Raven." I sighed, cutting her off. "Thanks for being with Charlotte."

"No problem." Raven jumped up. "It was fun. See you tomorrow kiddo." She ruffled Charlottes hair before leaving, slamming the door behind her.

I helped Lexa to the room that was ours, and she stopped at the sight of the double bed. I stiffened too, a reaction that came from how tense Lexa was.

"Is that okay?" I asked. "I can..."

"It's fine Clarke." Lexa said. "I was just wondering if it was okay with you."

"It's great." I smiled lovingly at her, and saw her face mirror mine. She sat on the edge of the bed and took off her shoes. Charlotte tapped on my shoulder and I turned.

"Is she okay?" She whispered.

"She's fine." I smiled. "She will be. We're going to go to bed now, I'll see you in the morning?" Charlotte nodded happily and hobbled into her bedroom, shutting the door behind her. I took a step towards the bed, but hesitated.

"Are you okay Clarke?" Lexa asked.

"Fine." I said. "I just need to go and see my mother really quick. I forgot to ask her something. I'll be right back."

Lexa nodded, and watched as I left the compartment. I walked quickly through the Ark, and it only took me a few minutes to reach my old compartment. The door was open so I pulled it open and then stopped dead.

"What the..." I gasped.

My mum was sitting on the table in the middle of the room, her arms wrapped around someone. Not just someone, Marcus Kane.

And they were kissing.

They broke apart as soon as they saw me standing in the doorway. Mum looked horrified, Kane just looked embarrassed. I turned around, telling myself I would come back tomorrow.

"Clarke!" Mum called. "Wait!"

"I'll come back tomorrow." I said as I shut the door. Mum sighed as I closed the door, and I heard her mutter an apology.

I walked back through the Ark, shuddering at what I had just encountered.