War of Hearts 》Bellamy Blake

VI

*****
if the hurt comes

so will the happiness

- be patient.
(Milk and Honey, Rupi Kaur.)

*****

Bellamy hadn't turned her in.

Or atleast, Brinley assumed he hadn't. She'd re-joined the general populace of Arkadia after Abby and Marcus had slid the panel shut behind Octavia and Clarke, falling into step with Miller, who welcomed her with a warm smile. Even though Miller was familiar and comforting, Brinley was tense, waiting for Bellamy, or another of Pike's lackeys, to come marching towards her and whisk her away to the holding cells.

But it never happened, and Brinley was left feeling both relieved and confused by Bellamy's actions, unsure of his motivation.

In hushed tones, Brinley explained all that had happened with Bellamy, Octavia and Clarke, to Miller, whose face clouded with anger and disappointment once Brinley finally stopped speaking.

Brinley knew she could trust Miller, and after a short talk with Abby, both women decided to assign Miller the task of delivering medicine to the holding cells – to Lincoln – on the sly.

Brinley wryly told him to throw out a few snarky comments at Lincoln and the other grounders so as not to raise suspicion with the other guards on duty. Miller had smirked and told her that wouldn't be a problem.

Miller could be a troublemaker when he wanted to.

Brinley had left him to his task, coming across her Father who had a determined look on his face that immediately set Brinley on edge even further.

'What happened?

Marcus looked at his daughter, worry lines seeming to deepen as he did so. 'Octavia radioed. Pike's up to something.'

Marcus and Brinley worked together to come up with a way to listen in on Pike, Brinley for the first time realising that she might have inherited her intelligence from her Father. If there was one thing Brinley was thankful for, it was her growing relationship with Marcus; it was easy to see how much the man had changed and grown as a person.

After all, the ground had changed everyone - for better or for worse.

By the time Brinley had sneakily secured what her Father needed from the growing tech supply with her quick fingers, Miller had found her and immediately wanted in on any sort of plans against Pike. It seemed that seeing the grounders caged like animals had made Miller angrier, more determined to make things right. Miller had a deep distrust of Pike and he hated the way Bryan seemed to worship the very ground he walked on.

The three hoped they didn't look suspicious as they walked towards the Chancellor's office. Brinley had toned down her entire getup, taking off the intense eye makeup she favoured and leaving her hair down in waves, hoping that in doing so she'd blend in with the rest of the Arkadians.

Because with Pike in charge no attention was good attention.

'You two step aside incase someone answers.' Marcus glanced at Miller and Brinley briefly from the corner of his eyes.

'I told you, no one's home.' Miller reminded him.

Marcus knocked on the door anyway, Miller and Brinley pressing themselves back and against the cool metal walls. Miller gave her a smug look and snickered as he glanced at Marcus, and Brinley couldn't help the smile that lit her face at Miller's childish action.

'What?' Marcus frowned in confusion.

'Bet you didn't think that we'd be breaking the law together when you arrested me on the Ark, huh?'