The 100: 6 Years Twist

Clarke Pt. 2

The moonlight shone on the sketch that the girl, Clarke, had drawn of me. It had been forever since I had seen myself but I knew it was me. My hair was unruly but wavy, reaching a couple inches past my shoulders and my features reminded me of my sister. I miss her. Where her hair was brown, mine was light blonde, much like Clarke, and where her eyes were brown, mine were a bright blue, but our features were identical. The sketch showed my face, skin, and clothes caked in mud, I realized just how dirty I was. I hadn't seen myself in at least five years, besides looking at my reflection on the surface of the river. Once I began training at five years old, Nia had told me that a warrior cannot indulge in any self care and therefore I would not know what I look like. I was a warrior and that's it, my blood made me surrender myself, leaving me a soldier to Azgeda and nothing more.

I was nine now and looking at the sketch of myself captivated my interest. I knew it was me but I hardly recognized myself. What I did see was my mother's stance and my sister's face. A tear dropped on the page in front of me, startling me with this random display of emotion.

Quickly, I inhaled to collect myself and snapped the notebook shut, looking up at the sky and admiring the stars and constellations my mother had taught me before I was taken for training. In an attempt to rid my mind of these painful memories, I decided to take a swim in the river, the sketch proved to me just how much I needed it. I didn't even bother taking off my clothes, they needed a cleaning just as badly as I did.

The water engulfed me as I dipped my head under, allowing my body to rest and float in the crisp, clear stream. My thoughts subsided as the peaceful quiet of underwater surrounded me. I brought my hands to my face below the surface, rubbing the dirt that had clung to my skin off and into the river. I broke the surface of the water, inhaling deeply, feeling refreshed and clean for the first time in a long time.

I pulled myself back onto the rock and brought my knees to my chest, hugging them with my arms and resting my head on my knees. The night was cool, but I wasn't cold, I felt a sense of warmth wash over me as I thought back to the sketch. Clarke. Something inside of me recognized her, but for now I didn't worry about it, maybe she wasn't as dangerous as I thought.

--

I woke up on the rock as the sun began to shine down on me. I noticed I felt oddly calm and well rested, a feeling that had escaped me for nearly five years. Picking up my sketchbook, I began to trek to my tree to get a nice view of the rising sun. On my way, I undid the second bear trap I had set up the previous day; I didn't want to hurt Clarke anymore. I also went to the berry bush and picked two handfuls; one for breakfast and one to smash and draw with. Tucking the berries into my jacket pocket, I climbed up my tree and settled in my nook. I picked a leaf off of a branch above me and emptied some berries onto it before starting to smush them with a rock I had picked up on my walk. Once I had ground them into a paste, I dipped my fingers into it and began to make bold swipes across my notebook page, recreating the beautiful sunset I saw from my nook.

I quietly sketched and snacked on some berries for a while before convincing myself to go hunting. It had been too many days since I had had any substantial meal or any protein. I packed up my things and fastened them to a branch, as it seemed my tree would be my home now that Clarke had taken the trailer. Jumping down from a branch, I headed to a small cave I housed a lot of my supplies and weapons in. Grabbing my spear and another sack, I headed to the river to hunt for some fish. Once I got to the river I climbed along the rocks until I reached the highest one, giving me the best chance of spotting any fish to come by.

Holding the spear by my side, I trained my eyes on the water, looking for any sign of a ripple from a fish. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a fish flipper in the water. I tossed my spear up, catching it right above my shoulder, arm cocked and ready to throw. Launching the spear through the air, I aimed it at the fish. It soared through the air and landed right in the belly of my newest victim. I began to walk along the rocks to go and collect my dinner, leaving my spear on the high rock. As I grabbed the fish and put it in my bag, a voice startled me.

"Could you teach me how to do that?" Clarke appeared on the other side of the river.

I stumbled at the sound of her voice, falling back into the water before grabbing my bag and darting away.

"Hey, wait!" She called after me, but I was too far gone to answer.

My chest heaved as I regained my breath against the trunk of a tree. It had been so long since I had seen or been in the presence of anyone and it still freaked me out that someone was down here with me. Shoot, my spear. I thought as I realized I had left it on the high rock.

Queen Nia's words suddenly echoed through my head. Kill to live and live to kill! Be ruthless! Love is weakness! I stumbled back, taken by surprise by these intrusive and unwelcome thoughts. My breathing quickened as darkness threatened my vision. What was happening? I couldn't catch my breath and a thin layer of sweat began to coat my body. My hands were shaking as I brought them to my head, trying to push my thoughts back into the depths of my mind as they threatened me and came to life before me. Out of nowhere, Queen Nia appeared before me. Or at least, I thought she was. No, this isn't real, I tried to convince myself as Nia approached me menacingly. She tossed a knife between her hands before putting it on the skin of my palm. Just as she was about to pierce my skin, I broke out of my trance-

"No" I screamed out as I jumped out from the ground and ran as fast as I could to the trailer.

I didn't think about anything as I ran, the only thing on my mind was escaping my mind. My feet hit the ground hard and my heart pounded in my chest. My vision was blurred from tears that escaped my eyes as I ran. I didn't stop until I reached the trailer, throwing myself into the bed, into the only home and comfort I had known. Once in the bed, I turned onto my back and looked at my palm, the symbol of Azgeda forever carved into my skin. I rubbed my fingers over my scar, wishing it would go away. I knew it wouldn't. Nia had cornered me on the day before I was taken for training:

"Now, young one," she said, "you no longer belong to your family or yourself, you belong to Azgeda, you belong to me, and this will forever remind you of that."

She drove the tip of her knife into my palm, causing me to cry out in pain. As she carved the symbol into my palm she stared into my eyes with hers.

"You will be a warrior and nothing more. This will serve to remind you of your place in my kingdom."

Now, I balled my hand into a fist, my fingers covering the scar. In a fit of rage I jolted out of the bed and punched the wall, trying to rid myself of the symbol.

"Leave! Me! Alone!" I yelled out as I punched the wall, my hand not even registering the pain.

After a few minutes, I collapsed, exhausted from this swarm of emotions. I knew I couldn't stay here for Clarke would surely be back soon. Calming my breath, I wiped the tears from my face and found a cloth to wrap around my hand. I walked out of the trailer and headed towards my tree, not knowing that Clarke had caught the last bit of my outburst. 

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I love slowly introducing you guys to different parts of Jamie's past. I promise you will know who her sister is soon if you haven't guessed it already!

Do you think Jamie will trust Clarke?