sub rosa (Bellamy Blake x reader)

xciv. a little sacrifice (7.10)

Everyone remains frozen in place, awaiting orders, until Cadogan looks at Anders with a smile. "Go, I'll be fine."

Anders backs away, worry written all over his face as he turns to face all of you, and you're shocked to see it, sure this is the first time he's lost his cool around all of you. He steps into the hall, motioning for all of you to follow, and you turn in unison to walk back towards your rooms, the door to the Stone Room, to Clarke, to your escape, closing as you pass. Anders leads all of you through the halls, stopping at the end of the hall to address you before you leave. "I want all of you to stay in your rooms. We can't do anything that will put the Shepherd at risk. Everyone is dismissed, except for Echo and Miss Griffin."

You freeze in place, sure that you already know why you've been singled out, but curious as to why Echo is. Everyone else files around you and heads towards their respective rooms, leaving you and Echo alone with Anders. Once it's just the three of you, he motions towards your helmets. "You can remove your helmets."

You reach up and remove your helmet, moving it to rest in your right arm as you look up at Anders expectantly. He turns his focus to Echo first. "Since you chose Hope's punishment, I want you to make sure she is on Penance before the others can get to her."

You freeze again, taking in his words. He wants Echo to send Hope to Skyring now, before any of you can save her. Even if she's only there for a few hours, it'll be years for her on Skyring because of the time dilation. You can't let them send her away. "Miss Griffin."

You are pulled out of your thoughts, your gaze lifting to meet his eyes, which are watching you closely. "Due to your twin's arrival and lack of cooperation, you will be staying with me at all times, where I can keep an eye on you."

You understand the implication of his words, what he really means but isn't saying: by his side, where he can use you as leverage. But you know you can't say anything, not in front of Echo, who has bought in, or in front of the groups of people that are still filing past, running to their rooms to abide by Anders command. He dismisses Echo, sending her off to banish Hope, and you watch her leave with wide eyes, fearful of what will happen if she's successful. Because no one knows that Hope is being sent away at this moment, not her mother or Octavia, not even Hope herself. And you stand there conflicted, wanting to run after Echo and stop her, unsure what to do as Anders hovers nearby, motioning for you to follow him.

Ultimately, you cave, deciding to follow Anders until you can get away and stop Echo, hoping that you can get there in time. Taking the First Disciple out in the middle of a crowded hallway is almost a guaranteed death sentence at this point, so the only thing you can do is hope that he takes you somewhere with less people, somewhere you can ditch him and get back to Echo. Anders leads you down the hall, turning to look back at you every few seconds, seemingly fearful that you're going to run off. But you don't, not yet, and you allow him to lead you away, towards some unknown destination. "Where are we going?"

"Somewhere you enjoy."

You pull a face as you stare at his back, wondering if you should be more worried than you are in this moment. For some reason, you are eerily calm, despite the challenges in front of you. You're stuck with Anders, Echo is going to get rid of Hope, and your twin is on this planet somewhere, probably looking for you. Despite it all, your anxiety is low, which you're thankful for, as your head is clear and a plan is forming. It doesn't take you long to realize that Anders is leading you to the oxygen farm, towards the empty halls on the other side of Bardo, making your escape plan much easier.

As he presses the button for the farm and steps inside, he turns to look at you with a small smile. "I thought we could practice controlling your emotions while we wait."