In Peace We Leave the Shore

Chapter 4

I push Clarke gently into the throne room where high ranking men and women stand. They all turn their attention to us. Lexa stands near the throne, she takes a few steps toward us. I take off the hood from Clarke's head. When her eyes adjust so she can see Lexa she scowls, her eyebrows turning downward.

"I said bring her to me unharmed," Lexa says, glaring at me.

"She didn't come easily," I say in an annoyed tone," you said you would lift his banishment if I brought her to you so do it," I say motioning toward Roan.

I can feel him glance at me before turning his gaze back to Lexa. She now looks at him studying him for a minute," I'll think about it but i must speak with Clarke so if you'd excuse us."

Her council members exit quickly. I take a step forward," spicha," I say angrily.

"Guards please escort Kara and prince Roan to their cells. And please, make sure you put skilled guards at their door," Lexa says, staring at me blankly though I can plainly see the mockery that shines in her eyes.

A few guards step forward and I quickly unsheath my sword, gripping the hilt tightly," the next person to take a step insures that I personally slit the throats of everyone that still lives in their bloodline," I threaten, the guards hesitate slightly, glancing at eachother.

"Just leave it for now Kara," Roan says, stepping infront of me and staring down at me with a serious face.

"Fine," I say, glaring once more at Lexa before turning on my heels out the door sheathingmy sword again but keeping my hand rested on the hilt, Roan and the guards follow close behind in silence. I feel Clarke's eyes follow both Roan and I until we are out of sight.

We walk through the tall building silently, I look around seeing tapestries with different clan symbols and different designs. There are even a few Azgeda tapestry. They drape across the  walls and ceilings, moving slightly from the cracked windows that let a soft breeze in the torn edges flutter a little more than the rest of the fabric.

Finally we reach a door that a guard opens, he waits for me and Roan to enter. Roan sighs and brushes past me putting his hand on my shoulder gently as he passes.

I move my head slightly to address the guard holding the door," don't fall asleep," I whisper bitterly to him. I don't wait for a response before walking through the door to join Roan, hearing the door loudly shut and the click of the lock sounding.

Roan stands by a small table and chair, taking off his weapon belt and laying it on the table. He removes his cloak flinging it over the backrest of the chair.

"Im taking a bath," he says softly taking off his vest, revealing the entire top half of his body. When he turns away from me I see the long bold scars on his back, rippling as his shoulders move. I force myself to look away from his back, instead I look at the bed that sits to my right. Furs are sewed together into blankets. I walk over to it, running my hand over the pelts. I climb onto the bed silently, I lay on my back, staring up at the ceiling.

I feel myself chew on my lip as I stare at the blank ceiling, its so silent that I can hear my soft long breaths. I close my eyes, shifting onto my side. I hear Roan walk to the other walled off part of the room where the bath is. I must fall asleep because the next thing I know Roan is shaking me awake gently. This startles me and my eyes fly open. I reach for my knife at my waist and bring it up to his throat. When my eyes adjust and I realize it's him I lower my arm.

"Sorry," he says gruffly," if you want I emptied the tub and theres clean water there."

I sit up and nod. Roan still hasn't put a shirt on. He walks over to the table and sits down and I stand up from the bed. My leg throbs in pain a few times, making me wince. I take off my vest and undershirt so I'm standing in my ripped up bloody pants and bra.

I walk to the closet and take out clean clothes. I walk past Roan and into the room, setting down the clothes. I notice a brush sitting on a counter and I run my fingers through my hair, it's hard to do since my hair is a rat's nest. I grab it and run it through the ends of my hair first and work my way up. It feels like someone is tearing my hair out slowly. The last part I have to do is the back of my hair on the inside right where my hair meets the top of my neck, its so knotted I can't get it out myself.

"Roan can you come here real quick please," I say louldy enough so he can hear me in the other room.

After a few seconds he is standing at the entrance," yeah?" He asks, making sure to keep his gaze at the floor.

"I can't get my hair untangled in the back, can you get it?" I ask.

"Yeah sure," he says quietly, walking over to me and taking the brush. He runs it through my hair gently to find the knot first and then starts to brush through it quicker trying to untangle it. He is surprisingly very gentle as he brushes even though he still has to brush roughly to get anything done. He moves some of my hair over my shoulder so he can get to the knot better. After a few minutes he finally has it completely untangled and he hands me the brush.

"Thank you," I say, turning my head to look at him. He gives me a soft smile, it seems almost a sad one but I brush it off and he walks back into the other room.

I set the brush down and strip the rest of my clothes off. The wound on my leg is healing somewhat and is a lot less red around the edges. I pour the water into the tub and climb in. It's a little cold but it instantly relieves some of the pain in my leg. I take a handful of water and wash my face with it. Then I wash the rest of my body and my hair in silence. When I step out of the tub theres a stack of towels on the counter. I take one and dry myself off then put on the clean clothes.

When I walk out Roan is laying on his stomach ontop of the bed on the left side, his eyes are closed and his breathing is slow. When I walk over I see his scars again. I reach down and trace one of them with my finger gently. He stirs a little so I take my hand away from his skin. The only time Roan ever seems truly at peace is when he is sleeping, though I suppose that is the only time anyone truly does. I take a blanket and pull it up over his shoulders gently, covering his torn back.

"Sleep well Roan," I whisper softly to him.

"Yu seintaim," his voice sounds back in a raspy, tired voice.

It startles me a bit and my eyes widen some as I stare down at him for a few seconds. A small, barely visible grin forms on his lips and I walk around to the other side of the bed and lay down on my side. I close my eyes and fall asleep quickly.

Bang. Bang. The sound came from my bedroom door. I stood and walked over to it opening the door to yell at whoever it was but when the door swung open I was met with Roan's face. He was much younger. A teenager. He walks past me into the room. I close the door and grab his arm to stop him, he turns to face me but stares down at the floor. His eye is turning a dark blue and black, his lip is split and is currently bleeding. When he lifts his head a little I see the skin on his throat is bruised and red from someone squeezing it roughly.

Roan is also sweating a lot his forehead is damp and hot as I put the back of my hand against it.

"Sit down," I say softly, walking over to a bucket with fresh water and dipping a clean cloth into it, then walking back over to where he is now seated in a chair.

I look down and see his knuckles bruised and torn up, so I take one of his hands and start wiping the blood from his knuckles as gently as I can. I feel him stare at me as I try to doctor his wounds as best I can.

"Kara," his voice echoes, it seems almost disoriented but it also has a hint of maybe adoration for some reason.

When I'm done with his knuckles he stands up," can I stay here?"

I stare at him with sad eyes before nodding. He walks over to my bed, slipping his shirt over his shoulders, exposing his back. This time the scars aren't faded into his skin. They still stick out. They're fresh ones that are still red from when they were given not so long ago.

He lays down on his stomach and closes his eyes, breathing softly. I walk over and pull the sheets over his shoulders gently. He cracks open his eyes to look at me and smiles gently at me, I return a small smile back to him and he closes his eyes completely again.

"Sleep well Roan," I whisper to him, resting my hand lightly on his shoulder blade.

"Yu seintaim," he whispers back in a half asleep tone.