Persphyni: I am Determined

40

"Madi. Do you want to hear a story?"

I heard Clarke ask as I checked up on the Rover. I was ensuring that the long drive back didn't damage anything and that the tires were still good among other things.

The soft excited voice of Madi chirped back, causing Clarke and I to both chuckle.

"Once upon a time, there was a castle in the sky." Clarke began.

"A castle?" I smiled as I tightened the extra screws I just put on the panels while I listened to Clarke explaining what a castle was.

"Oh. Okay. Continue, please." Cute kid. Just less than a few hours of actually knowing her and I've come to confirm my previous conclusion, she's a curious one.

"The people who lived there were terrified of the ground below. But the castle was dying. So they decided to send the bad children down to the earth." I scoffed at Clarke's terminology. It was true but very gentle in the phrasing.

"Down to the scary place, to see if they could survive. In the beginning, there were 100 of them."

"Actually 101, then two died before impact!" I shouted over my shoulder as I lifted the hood of the Rover.

"You were passed out! How do you know that?" I rolled my eyes as I made sure nothing was steaming from the engine and that there wasn't any sand left in the hood.

"Just continue the story!"

"So there was 100 children. Or so we thought. There was one extra stowaway on board. Making the beginning count 101. They were alone with no parents." I gently slammed the hood closed before walking over to the water jug on the table.

"So they did, whatever the hell they wanted." I smiled as I poured water into the metal cup. That was so long ago.

"Then the monsters came out." I laughed. Clarke was certainly playing to the young girl's interest. The funny thing was, the monsters were always there- every step of the way.

"Some of them killed the children. Some took the children away to steal their bones. One even stole their minds. But the bad children, fought back." I tossed back the cup of water before making my way over to the fire where Clarke made eye contact with me.

"One more ferociously than the others. Her name is Songbird. She wouldn't go down without a fight. And that ignited a hope and a fire inside the other children. They realized together, even bad children can do good things."

"Ogeda." I whispered at Clarke's words. Flashes of the past sweeping through as she continued her story. Our story.

"They even began to see that some of the monsters were just like them. When the parents came down to find their children, they did not understand. They just made things worse."

I thought of Pike and Jaha, all the shit they put us through. Turning us against one another. Blood began to rise from the half crescent cuts in my palm I had just given myself. My clenched fingers uncurling as I breathed out.

"The 100 fought for their land, they fought for their friends. Sometimes they even fought against their own blood. They tried to be the good guys. But then they realized, there are no good guys." Clarke glanced back over at me from over the flames. "And that they weren't children anymore."

"But it didn't matter. After all they did to survive, it turned out that the scary place was haunted by a monster they couldn't stop. Not even Songbird, their bravest and fiercest warrior whom had won them many battles before. So they ran. Until they found a place they could hide in. Except they weren't sure how to share it." I dug a stick into the dirt as I watched Madi stare at Clarke intently. A smile on my face at the sight.

"They weren't sure how to share it until two heroes rose up. One was Songbird the eldest of the two. Songbird, the 100's most fearsome warrior who had rallied the children together to stand and fight, the other her undeclared apprentice and sister. The two were sisters in battle. And sisters in life. Songbird had seen many wars, many battles and knew that when the time came, she would happily sacrifice herself for her people. For her family. For her love." I stared into the fire at Clarke's words. My eyes burning as I listened to her describing me. To know I had that effect meant a great deal. To know that she understood why I would risk my life meant a great deal more.

"The fearsome warrior would do anything for her people, even if it meant dying. Which is what she almost did. But together, the two warriors conquered all and united the dividing factions. In the end, when the invincible monster finally came, not everyone made it inside."

"Eight warriors were forced to face the monster alone. However, a ninth stepped into the battle."

"Was it Songbird?" Madi shouted excitedly as her eyes lit up. A chuckle left Clarke's lips as I looked up to the sky.

"Yes. Songbird had joined the fight to make sure the other eight warriors survived. Because this monster would be no easy feat. They fought. The nine warriors slowly losing as the monster drained them from their energy. And when the war seemed to be over. One of the nine, the fairest and most beautiful of them all," I rolled my eyes at Clarke, "climbed the highest tower to cast a spell. One that immobilized the monster for a minute. Just long enough for the ninth fearsome warrior to send the rest of the seven away to safety. Leaving the two warriors as sacrifice to the monster."

"What happened next?" I glanced over to see Clarke yawn.

"I think she'll have to tell you another night, little one. But for now it is best if you two both head to bed." Madi looked at me wearily as she still wasn't familiar with me yet. I could see she was debating but eventually she decided to listen to what I said when Clarke stood up and held out a hand to the girl.

"I promise I'll finish the story another night." Clarke whispered as they snuck off towards their house they had bunked in.

I slowly leaned back until I was sprawled into the grass. My eyes on the stars above.

"If only you were here to see them with me."

________•*•*•*•_______

That was so long ago. We had been so young. So frail. And now here we are. In the midst of tragedy.

"What a cruel world." I whispered to the endless quiet that deafened the night. By morning, we could all be dead.

Unless I stopped them now.