Feral : Bellamy Blake

The Grounder : The Desolation Of Plans

Coming out of the door was shivering grounders wrapped in orange blankets and some without.

The look of grief washed over Cora and she suddenly flushed a pale tone. Her weapon fell from her hands and she brushed past me, running up to a girl and embracing her.

"Lexa, what have you done?" I mumbled. "Are you surrendering?"

"Not quite." A snark voice captured my attention.

Emerson.

I looked at Lexa expectantly. The knot now multiplying with every silent second.

"I'm so sorry Clarke." She whispered, her eyes only showing sincerity but I couldn't process it with the hundreds of thoughts blasting through my mind.

"What did you do?" I growled.

"What you would have done, save my people." She answered.

"Where are my people..." I demanded through gritted teeth.

She blinked quickly and pursed her lips. "They weren't part of the deal." She breathed, her voice wavering with guilt.

She grabbed Emerson's hands forcefully and cut him loose.

He smiled grimly and rubbed his wrists. "You made the right choice, Commander." He sneered before departing back into the mountain.

My teeth clenched hard together. My neck heated to boiling point. My heart thumped out of my chest and into my throat.

Lincoln approached and looked from his sister figure who was engaging in a deep conversation with the same girl, to me. "What is this?" He said more as a statement that a question.

"Your commander's made a deal." I answered, my eyes never leaving Lexa's.

"What about the prisoners from the Ark?"

"They're going to be killed." My words directed at the commander that I could only feel hatred towards in that moment. "But you don't care about that, do you?"

"I do care!" She snapped back. "But this time I was thinking with my head and not my heart. My duty is to put my people first and that is exactly what I did. Don't deny that you would do the same."

I was taken a back by her words. Never had something like this cross my mind. But why would it? No deal could ever come about between mount weather and the Arkers.

"Please don't do this." I begged.

"I'm sorry Clarke."

"Commander, don't do this, let us fight." Lincoln pleaded, earning Cora's attention as she heard his voice.

"No." She growled, now more firm that before. "The deal is done."

The door behind her slid to a close and the locks clamped shut from the inside.

Panic washed over my body and if I wasn't mistaken, I saw the same in Cora too.

I helplessly looked from one person to the next, not knowing what to do.

Lexa muttered something I didn't understand and a horn was blown.

The retreat horn.

No body questioned it and turned away from the door robotically, moving back to where they came from.

"Commander, let me stay behind, let me fight for them." Lincoln not minding the desperation in his own voice.

"Everyone of my people is extracted, that was the deal." She made a jerk of the head and said something else, causing the two warriors to be grab a hold of Lincoln's arms.

Cora frowned and pushed one of the large men away, throwing a hard punch into his face.

"Cora! Stand down!" Lexa commanded, as if Cora was some pet.

But it seemed everything that would have gone wrong, did.

She stood down obediently, ducking her head with her hands behind her back and her stance guard-like.

This wasn't her.

Lincoln tried fighting away the warriors only to be knocked to the ground semi-unconscious.

Lexa barked out some more orders and left me to stand at the door with only my thoughts.

Cora sent me a fraction of a glimpse before trailing after her commander like a lost puppy.

•Lincoln•

They threw me by a tree and tied my hands around it behind me.

I sat there helpless, not knowing if Octavia was safe or not.

Wether or not she heard the signal of retreat, she would never leave her brother behind. She was still at the mountain and I was sat here defenceless and useless.

I caught sight of Indra across the ways, no sign of Octavia. Definitely still at the mountain.

Then there was Cora, seemingly attached to her old flame - Echo since the moment she saw her exit the mountain.

She hugged her one last time before strolling casually around some carts, peering into them with the look of mischief I hadn't noticed how much I missed.

She glanced around before shoving a hand in, pulling something out before tucking it under her arm, concealing it within her coat.

Her steps were light and bouncy.

Something was up with her, I just couldn't pin point what since she made it so hard to read her these past few days.

She was a damn good liar but there were always the minor signs she couldn't suppress when she felt she was being clever or sneaky.

She looked at me and her eyes said the words loud and clear, 'Target acquired'.

She trotted over with a smile on her face and a spring in her step.

"Why do you look so pleased, Cora?" I wondered, curious as to what might be next with this unpredictable girl though my tone was flat.

Her smug grin widened and she sat beside me, a hand resting behind the tree I was strapped to.

She looked over at me with rosy cheeks and a cheeky glint in her eyes.

A dagger's shiny blade reflected the light from the fire meters away as she revealed it from her under coat and spun it playfully in her fingers. "Did somebody say adventure?"