"Salute to me, I'm your American Queen."
King Of My Heart - Taylor Swift
By the time I made it out of camp, darkness had fallen over the forest. I clutched my knife close to my chest, taking no chances in the woods. Frankly, I had no clue where Finn and Clarke had taken Charlotte. My main focus was to follow Murphy and his pack to make sure they wouldn't figure it out either.
The darkness made the forest difficult to navigate so I carefully manoeuvred my way through the trees. I tried my best to listen out for the sounds of Murphy and his posse.
After a while of trekking through the forest to catch up with the group, I found them. From a distance, I spotted the glow of torches deep within the woods. They were too far to eavesdrop but I immediately recognised Murphy's voice booming through the forest.
I went to step forward before I felt a hand wrap around my mouth, pulling me back into a firm chest sharply. My eyes widened in panic before I was spun around to meet Bellamy's gaze.
"Don't do that again." I whispered quietly pushing his chest back he lowered his hand from my mouth, brushing against my lips. My heart continued to pound through my chest from the adrenaline.
"Why didn't you wait for me to-" Bellamy began in a low voice before I rolled my eyes in frustration.
"Wait and let them find Charlotte? You're probably concussed anyways, I don't need you slowing me down." I replied in a whisper before I continued walking to follow the boys. Bellamy scoffed at my comment before we continued in silence.
As we got closer to the group we stuck behind the tree line but remained close enough to listen in. Murphy and his crowd continued calling out for Charlotte.
"Come on out Charlotte, come on out!" Murphy and his followers bellowed.
"Murphy! I'm over here!" The sound of Charlotte's young voice cried out, echoing through the forest. Bellamy and I shared a glance before taking off in the direction of Charlotte's voice.
"Over here!" Charlotte cried as I ran with all my strength to get to her before Murphy could. Eventually, we reached an opening in the forest that led to a dead end. Charlotte stood in the opening before a steep cliff as she turned to face Bellamy and I. Bellamy quickly rushed to her side ushering her to be quiet. Before we could escape from the clearing and get the girl somewhere safe, Murphy made his way through the tree line.
"Bellamy! Lucinda! You can't take us all on! Give her up." Murphy announced emerging from the woods with his followers in tow.
"Is that a challenge?" I spoke up stepping forward in front of Bellamy and Charlotte. I stood strong in front of Murphy and his followers waiting for someone to make the first move. I wasn't going to back down from this one without a fight. I felt a protectiveness over Charlotte knowing she was just a young girl down here by herself. She just needed someone to look out for her.
"Lucinda! Stop!" Clarke's voice echoed before she emerged from the other side of the forest alongside Finn. "This has gone too far. Just calm down... we'll talk about this."
Murphy paused considering Clarke's words for a moment before turning away and pulling me towards him. I was taken too off guard to fight back when he grabbed me and spun me around to face the others before pulling me against his chest. His knife found its way to my neck resting against the skin teasingly.
I tried to control my racing heartbeat as my frantic eyes found Bellamy's furious eyes. Bellamy stepped forward pulling Charlotte behind him before his eyes moved from mine to Murphy's.
"Hurt her and I'll do worse than hang you." Bellamy spat at Murphy only causing Murphy to chuckle. Bellamy began to step forward before Murphy brought the knife closer to my neck making me gasp involuntarily.
"Back off! I will slit her throat!" Murphy called out before Bellamy hesitantly took a step back. I struggled slightly in Murphys firm grip before he brought his lips against my ear. My eyes met Bellamy's as Murphy whispered in against my ear quiet enough for only me to hear.
"Don't even think about it." Murphy spoke quietly as I tried to relax and stop struggling to get away from him. I felt sick to my stomach but keeping my eyes on Bellamy's distracted me slightly.
"No, please. Don't hurt her." Charlotte pleaded trying to step forward from behind Bellamy. I gave her a reassuring smile, which clearly didn't convince anyone.
"Okay, I'll make you a deal. Charlotte comes with me right and I'll let Cindy go." Murphy proposed as I tried my best to shake my head beneath Murphy's knife that rested against my neck. My eyes widened as Charlotte tried to step forward but luckily Bellamy pulled her back against him.
"No! No I have to!" Charlotte cried out, clearly torn up over this whole scenario. However, Bellamy was far too strong for Charlotte as she wriggled desperately in his grip.
"Murphy this is not happening. Let her go now, final warning." Bellamy announced as Charlotte relaxed in his grip before he pulled her behind him again.
"I can't let anyone get hurt anymore. Not because of me. Not after what I did." Charlotte's small voice spoke up before taking another step behind Bellamy. My eyes widened once I realised her intentions.
"Charlotte!" I screamed with every ounce of energy I had left before the young girl stepped back one last time. Her body immediately disappeared into the depths of the cliff.
Murphy's grip loosened under my desperate struggle as I ran to the edge of the cliff beside Bellamy. My hand covered my mouth as I looked down to see the darkness that had taken the young girl with it.
I was too distracted to notice Bellamy had left my side as my eyes fixated on the depths of the cliff. I heard a yell before I turned to see Bellamy charging for Murphy before taking Murphy to the ground with him.
"Bellamy." Murphy cried out as a final plead before Bellamy's fist connected with Murphy's jaw. Blow after blow Bellamy only got angrier and more violent. Immediately I was taken back to that night in the woods.
"Stop! You'll kill him!" Clarke cried out before Finn pulled her back.
"Do something, Cindy! Stop him!" Clarke turned to me to beg but I couldn't move my eyes from Murphy's beaten face. He deserved every bit of this I thought to myself. Finn rushed to pull Bellamy off Murphy and intervene.
"Get off me! He deserves to die!" Bellamy yelled back at Finn who lifted him off Murphy. Murphy looked up at us all with cold eyes.
"We don't decide who lives and dies. Not down here." Clarke announced as I stepped forward between her and Bellamy.
"So help me god, if you think you have the right to decide that." I interjected turning to Clarke as she shook her head.
"No, I don't. But if we're going to survive down here, we can't just live by whatever the hell we want. We need rules." Clarke announced as I nodded in agreement.
"And who makes those rules huh? You?" Bellamy replies bitterly turning to Clarke.
"For now the three of us. We make the rules." Clarke declares nodding her head towards Bellamy and I.
"Wow, the princess teams up with the King and the Queen." Finn replied with wide eyes in surprise over the newly formed alliance. Now, Queen was a title I could get used too.
"So what, now? We just take him back to camp and pretend like it never happened?" Bellamy asked as silence fell over the group while turning to Clarke and I for an answer.
"No, we banish him. So he can never return." I replied turning to face Murphy who lied weakly against the dirt. Bellamy wasted no time before grabbing Murphy and forcing him to stand upright. Bellamy gripped the collar of Murphy's jacket pulling him close.
"If I ever catch you near this camp, I'll kill you myself. Understood?" Bellamy spoke bitterly to Murphy as he nodded frantically. In response, Bellamy threw Murphy back against the ground before turning to Murphy's followers.
"As for the four of you, you can come back and follow us, or go off with him to die. Your choice." Bellamy announced as the boys sheepishly nodded in agreement.
While everyone left the clearing to head back to camp I turned back to face the clearing. I took a moment to look down over Murphy's beaten weak frame. Covered in dirt and blood he looked as weak as he made me feel that night. I know it's wrong, but some dark twisted part inside of me felt satisfied that he'd gotten justice for everything he's done.
My hands trembled against the night's cool breeze before I felt Bellamy's strong arm wrap around my waist before, turning me away from Murphy. Bellamy pulled me into his side as we made our way out of the clearing and into the forest, falling further behind the others.
"I promised her that we would look after her. Ever since the cave, she trusted us... I failed her." I spoke quietly as I heard Bellamy inhale sharply.
"No you didn't, I did. I never should have encouraged her." Bellamy spoke back as I frowned up at him, my brows drawing in confusion. He noticed my confused expression before sighing deeply and turning to face me.
"That night in the cave while you were asleep, she was having a nightmare. I told her to slay her demons... I made her think killing Wells was the right thing to do. I fucked up..." Bellamy explained as I priced everything together. We stood silent in the woods for a moment, hidden within a layer of darkness.
"Bells don't... it's not your fault." I replied gently before Bellamy nodded slightly with hurt still lingering on his expression. I surprised myself with the new nickname and the genuine sincerity of my voice, it wasn't like me. But in that moment we both needed as much comfort as we could get.
Bellamy's warm fingers found their way below the lower hem of my top, skimming against my cool skin. I felt my breath hitch in my throat before he pulled me closer to him and we continued walking through the night. My eyes fell heavy leading me to lean against his sturdy frame as he guided us back to camp.