Commander's Redemption | Clexa

Chapter 29

Clarke spent her first week eating breakfast before being dragged to the garden by Luna. In the garden, she would help plant new vegetables and fruits, pull weeds, water the plants, fertilize the soil, and make sure all the plants were growing and staying healthy.

Steadily, this was becoming somewhat enjoyable for the blonde. She enjoyed the calmness of it all and she enjoyed making sure everyone had fresh, healthy, and tasty things to eat.

After a few hours of gardening, Luna would drag her to lunch, before leaving Clarke be so Luna herself could attend to her duties as the leader of Floukru.

And Clarke would spend the afternoon lying on her bed or sitting in it with her back against the headboard.

Then, Luna would come pick her up for dinner, where she would listen to the conversations around her, but nobody was able to engage Clarke in them, yet none of them had stopped trying.

But during dinner on day eight, Clarke saw someone she recognized.

The girl with the piercing brown eyes walked towards her, placing her tray of food next to Clarke's before sitting down and wrapping her small arms around Clarke's waist.

Adria looked skinnier and paler than Clarke remembered, but she had definitely grown some as well.

"Hi, Clarke! I have missed you! They told me you were back, but I have been sick with some sort of bug for a week, so I wasn't allowed to leave my bed to come see you!" the young girl says excitedly, immediately explaining away Clarke's worries about the kid's health.

Clarke sends a small smile the young girl's way. A smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes or her heart, but a smile, nonetheless.

Taking no notice of Clarke's hesitant silence, the girl continues, "Are you going to join us in our classes again? And will you teach us art again?"

Clarke feels her heart clench with sorrow.

"Maybe, and I don't really do art anymore." Clarke tries to explain, hoping that Adria wouldn't ask her anything more about it.

"What do you mean? You are so good at it! And you are a great teacher! And doing art is good for the brain and the heart!" The young girl goes on.

"I'll think about it," Clarke responds after a moment, hoping that the topic just wouldn't come up again.

But knowing Adria, she would never give up so easily, so now every evening after that first, she asks Clarke if she has changed her mind yet. And after five days, she has convinced several of the other kids to try and persuade Clarke to restart their art lessons.

--

During week two on the rig, Adria has convinced Clarke to attend one of the classes every few days.

And afterwards, Clarke is always exhausted. Being around energetic children is something Clarke used to find joy in and now she could feel the semblance of something warm, maybe a small spark of joy inside of her every time one of the kids squealed in excitement after having learned a new skill or after successfully and proudly completing a task in class. But it was also exhausting for her to be around all this energy.

By week four, Clarke is still gardening as well as attending nearly one class every day.

She has also started spending more time outside on the platform.

The sound of seagulls and the waves lapping at the pillars holding up the platform had become somewhat therapeutic to Clarke, so if the weather allowed it and if she wasn't feeling too tired from gardening and hanging out with the youth, she would spend some time listening to the sounds of nature while she sat on the edge of the platform, legs dangling off the edge, eyes closed.