CHAPTER TWELVE
Song: Mind Over Matter by Young the Giant
A grave silence fell over the group, all of them held utter terror in their eyes. Had they just heard Clarke correctly?
"What the hell are you talking about?" Raven asked, being the first to break the silence.
"That's their offer," Clarke responded, her blue eyes wide and her breathing heavy.
"That's not an offer," Raven argued.
"It's punishment, for what happened at the village," Finn explained, his gaze vacant. At the mention of the massacre, Mira's eyes flicked to Naira, and the bandage on her bicep, which the brunette was rubbing tenderly with a frown, remembering the pain Finn had caused her.
"Blood for blood..." Naira mumbled, going unnoticed by everyone but Mira.
"That's insane," Bellamy piped up from beside Mira, his jaw tight and eyes hardened.
"And if we refuse?" Mira asked Clarke, who turned to her with a shaking jaw.
"They attack," she delivered gravely, just loud enough for surrounding citizens of Camp Jaha to overhear.
"I say we give him up!" a man behind Mira shouted. "Get rid of him!"
Mira spun around with a glare aimed at the middle-aged man, their entire group was sending irritated and offended glares at the stranger, except for Finn. The increasing crowd began to grow restless, and many people loudly voiced their agreements with the man. Major Byrne was doing her best to maintain order.
"Give him to the grounders!" another man shouted, followed by a chorus of agreements. Raven stepped forward furiously, her cold glare aimed at the man.
"Back off!" she shouted, advancing on the man with her fists clenched at her sides. Clarke and Mira noticed and hurried to step in front of the enraged brunette. Mira gripped Raven's shoulders and guided her backwards.
"Raven, listen to me," Clarke said lowly. "Nothing is going to happen to him. I promise okay?"
Raven's wide, brown eyes flickered between her two friends worried expressions before she nodded slowly. Mira released Raven from her grip. Raven's willingness to stay calm didn't last long when another man voiced his thoughts.
"I'm not dying for him! Spacewalker burned three months of oxygen from the Ark. We should have floated him a long time ago. Throw him out!"
Mira and Clarke were too slow to stop Raven storming forward this time, her fists once again clenched at her sides. She was merely a metre away from the man when Byrne stepped in, pushing Raven back and shouting. Mira rushed forward and pulled at Raven's sleeve, but she simply shrugged her off before punching Byrne in the face. Hard.
Mira was separated from Raven by a sea of guards, all rushing forward to pull Raven away from Byrne, who was really over-dramatizing Raven's punch. Raven struggled against the guard's harsh grips and shouted at them. Surrounding her small group was a crowd of angry, scared and restless citizens, all of them shouting and cursing. Mira took a tentative step away from the chaos, stiffening when she collided with a hard chest. She quickly relaxed, however, when she looked up and met Bellamy's brown eyes, which softened when they met hers, but she could clearly see the worry in them.
"What the hell are we going to do?" Mira mumbled.
***
Mira walked between Bellamy and Clarke, her sword bumping against her leg as it dangled from her hip. She'd also strapped a handgun into her belt, just for good measure. The cold air nipped at Mira's cheeks, though she wasn't sure that it was the cause of her uncontrollable trembling. The trio rounded the corner to see Finn and Murphy sitting on the ground, leaning against the drop ship. Finn didn't seem too thrilled by Murphy's company, then again neither did the latter. Mira frowned when she noticed the rifle resting in Murphy's hands.
"Hey," Bellamy called as they approached, catching Finn and Murphy's attention. "We're reinforcing all defenses. Doubles on the perimeter. No one's getting past that wire."
Mira tried not to focus on Bellamy's deep, leader-voice that was still driving her nuts. They clearly had bigger issues. Finn stood and brushed the dirt off his legs, Murphy following suit.
"I'll see where they're thin," Finn said hoarsely.
Bellamy shook his head. "No, you should head inside. B Corridor will be easier to defend if it comes to that."
"I'm not going to hide," Finn argued.
"Right now, we have to think about keeping you safe," Clarke told him. "Mira and I are going to talk to Lincoln."
Bellamy ushered Finn to follow him inside, and he reluctantly followed. Bellamy flashed Mira a quick reassuring smile over his shoulder before he disappeared from sight.
"Any orders for me Princess?" Murphy asked Clarke snidely. Anger pulsed through Mira at the sound of his voice, followed by a sadness that she couldn't explain. She reminded herself that she felt nothing but hatred for her brother, and stared at him with a cold, blank stare.
"Stay away from me," Clarke responded.
"Just trying to be helpful..." Murphy mumbled.
"You were with him at the village," Clarke told him, her tone nothing but accusatory.
"I tried to stop him," Murphy said defensively. An image flashed before Mira of Murphy shouting at Finn desperately to stop, and pulling at his shoulder. Mira knew he had tried, but didn't make any effort to defend him. He didn't deserve it.
"Not hard enough," Clarke snapped and spun on her heel, beginning to leave. She didn't make it very far before Murphy spoke up again.
"You want to start blaming people Clarke? He was out there looking for you," he called to her, not even thinking about the weight of his words before they were out of his mouth. Clarke stopped in her tracks for a moment, before she continued walking to the medical bay without a word. Mira didn't follow her, instead she watched as Murphy cursed under his breath and kicked the metal side of the Ark in frustration. He looked genuinely disappointed in himself, as though before then he'd actually been trying to change.
Mira sighed, not believing what she was about to do.
"It wasn't your fault," she told him quietly and reluctantly. "I saw what happened, you tried to stop it."
Murphy was shocked by her words. After all the pain he'd caused her, was she really going to believe in him again? He blinked his eyes twice, trying to process her words before he smiled softly.
"Thanks Bella," he said, the old nickname slipping out before he could even think about it.
Mira almost winced at the old nickname and resisted the urge to actually hug him. She wasn't sure if it was the sadness in his puppy dog eyes or the reminder that he was her brother, but she desperately wanted to forgive him. But it wouldn't be genuine, because she still remembered the unbearable pain that had spread across her body when he had shot her, and the even worse pain when she thought Bellamy was dead because of him.
"This doesn't mean I forgive you for everything you've done, it doesn't mean I like you and it certainly doesn't mean I consider you my brother," she reminded him coldly, not waiting for Murphy's reaction or a response before she turned away from him and hurried to the medical bay.
She heard the low voices of Clarke, Octavia, Abby and Lincoln and pushed back a curtain to join them. Lincoln was sitting up in bed, his wrists shackled to the metal sides of the bed. Mira frowned, but had the feeling that was upon Lincoln's request and not anyone else's. He looked exhausted, and his beard was scruffy. Octavia stood beside him, not taking her worried eyes off him.
"Just tell us, is there a way to make peace?" Abby asked Lincoln.
"Did she leave riders behind?" Lincoln asked.
"Two just outside the gate."
"They're waiting for Finn," he announced. "You don't have much time to decide."
"She can't just expect us to hand over one of our own people, would she do that?" Octavia piped up, outraged.
"She wouldn't let the rest of her people die to protect a murder. If you don't do this, she will kill everyone in the camp," Lincoln explained.
"There has to be something else we can offer," Abby said, her mind reeling and Mira noticed she looked just like Clarke when she was thinking quickly.
"Finn took eighteen lives, the Commander's offering to take just one in return. Take the deal," Lincoln advised. Mira's mind was reeling too, she understood Lincoln's view, the Commander was being merciful, in her own way. Still, she knew they couldn't give Finn up just like that.
"How can you say that?" Clarke snapped. "Finn was the first person to come to offer you peace, he's your friend."
"He massacred my village, some of the dead were my friends too," he retorted, his voice steady and calm.
"But that wasn't Finn, you know that's not who he is," Clarke argued.
"It is now. We've all got a monster inside of us Clarke, and we're all responsible for what it does when we let it out," Lincoln said, his gaze growing distant. His heavy words echoed through the space for a moment before Mira spoke up.
"What will they do to him?" she asked, dreading the answer.
"Fire. It starts with fire."
"Starts?" Octavia asked. Mira braced herself for a gruesome description of the grounders methods of punishment.
"They'll take his hands, his tongue, his eyes. And anyone who grieves will have a turn with the knife. At sunrise the Commander will end it with her sword. But I've never known anyone to survive until the sword. He killed eighteen, so he will suffer the pain of eighteen deaths. Then we can have peace."
Mira's stomach churned at the brutal description.
How could anyone be so cruel?
***
The riders had stayed by the gate for hours, even as the sun rose, casting long shadows across the camp. Mira stood beside Naira at the entrance of the Ark, in front of her stood the Griffin's. Everyone stilled as a heavy chant met their ears. Mira recognised it as Trigedasleng, but from the little she knew of the language, she was unable to translate it. She looked to Naira to see her face pale.
"Blood must have blood," she translated, loud enough for everyone nearby to hear, including Bellamy and the guards a few metres away.
Clarke turned to Finn behind her. "This is it, we have to get you inside," she told him urgently. Finn didn't move.
"They're trying to scare us," Bellamy announced, holding his head high.
"I think we should pull back and go inside the station," Abby suggested, tugging on her daughter's sleeve.
"No," Clarke protested. "We need to prove we're not afraid."
Mira tuned out the rest of their conversation and turned to Naira. "I don't think you should be out here," she told her.
Naira frowned. "Why not?"
"You've said so yourself, the grounders would happily have your head, even after all these years."
Naira smirked and shook her head. "I won't be afraid of them, not anymore," she said with finality, before returning her gaze forward, her chin raised high too.
Abby marched to the gate, ordering for the guards to open the gate.
"Where's the boy?" one of the riders asked, his voice muffled by the mask he was wearing.
"We're not giving him up," the Chancellor announced confidently. "We're ready to fight if that's what it comes to."
A horn sounded through the forest, and the riders turned, hurrying back to their camp not far away. Mira followed as Bellamy and Clarke advanced on the gate, her sword in her hand now. Bellamy raised his gun onto his shoulders, aiming it at the open gate.
"Watch the woods! Watch for movement!" he shouted.
"Movement on the tree line!" one of the guards announced. Everyone's attention moved to the tree line. Mira could very vaguely make out a male figure making it's way over, just one person. Mira recognised the Ark's clothing, but couldn't tell who it was.
"Don't shoot!" the figure shouted, their arms raised in surrender. As he got closer, Mira realised who it was, Marcus Kane. Mira didn't miss the relieved and surprised smile that flashed across Abby Griffin's face.
Mira lowered her sword as Bellamy, Clarke and herself watched them converse from a few metres away. The two of them turned on their heel, making their way to the Ark, Bellamy, Mira, Naira, and Raven were right behind them. They all grew impatient and angry when they were told to wait outside the Council meeting room.
Mira's eyes landed on Bellamy leaning against a wall, sliding onto the floor and running a hand over his face in exhaustion. Mira made her way over to him and sat beside him. She sighed.
"It feels like we're never going to get our friends back," she said sadly. Bellamy turned his head to the side to face her and offered her a small, comforting smile.
"This will be over soon," he told her, "and then we can take a really long nap."
Mira laughed through her nose, letting her hand drop onto Bellamy's shoulder.
"A nap sounds amazing," she mumbled, yawning quietly. Bellamy smiled down at her fondly before he wrapped his arm over her shoulders, pulling her into his chest and placing a kiss on the top of her head. She smiled peacefully.
"You guys are disgustingly cute," Raven commented from across the hallway they were waiting in. The comment drew out a brief moment of laughter from the group, which ended shortly and everyone returned to a solemn silence.
It was nearly an hour before Abby finally left the meeting room. Everyone jumped to their feet, surrounding the Chancellor in an instant.
"What's happening?" Raven pressed urgently.
"You were in there a long time," Bellamy said.
"There was a lot to discuss," Abby responded vaguely, not meeting anyone's eyes.
"Well what's going on?" Raven asked again.
"There was a lot to talk about," Abby repeated, taking a step forward. Bellamy stepped in front of her.
"We are not giving him over to the grounders," he told her with determination.
"Step aside now," Abby hissed. "We're all trying to find a way out of this."
Without waiting for a response, Abby pushed past Bellamy, hurrying down the cold, echoing halls of the Ark. Mira watched her walk away until she rounded the corner swiftly, the she turned to her friends with a clenched jaw.
"They're going to give him up."
***
Bellamy, Naira and Mira found Clarke and Finn speaking lowly in a corner of a corridor. Finn didn't seem to be listening to anything Clarke was saying, and instead he stared blankly through her, as if reliving a memory.
"Finn, you need to get out of here," Bellamy told him, gripping Finn's elbow and beginning to pull him along back the way they came. Clarke hurried beside them.
"Where would he go?" Clarke asked anxiously.
"The drop ship," Mira answered for Bellamy.
Clarke was quick to protest. "No! You know this is the safest place for him right now."
"It isn't if they're turning on him," Bellamy said. "We can protect him at the drop ship until we figure this thing out. Grab your gear and meet at Raven's gate in five She's already working on cutting the power to the fence."
As the five of them hurried down the halls, forming a sort of barrier around Finn, Mira couldn't help but notice the way that everyone stepped closer to the walls at the sight of them, more specifically Finn, and Naira. She noticed a mother pull her child behind her back, hiding her from sight, but she didn't miss the terror on the child's face at the sight of them. Mira didn't like it at all.
"Okay," Finn agreed, stopping in his tracks "but no one's coming with me."
The four of them all turned to him with their eyebrows raised.
"As if," Mira scoffed, turning and continuing to lead the group through the halls, trying to seem as non-threatening as possible so she wouldn't have to see everyone stepping away from her in fear.
"We are surrounded by grounders," Clarke reminded them, still not confident in Bellamy's plan.
"If we split up, we take the low ground, we'll make it through. We'll meet at the drop ship," Bellamy explained.
The group rounded a corner, and Mira halted abruptly when she saw the man who had challenged Raven earlier glaring at Finn. Another man stood beside him, glaring at Naira, who looked away, clearly intimidated by the man.
"There they are! They're going to get us killed!" the first man shouted, pointing a fat finger at Finn and Naira, before nodding at the man beside him.
It all happened very quickly. The strangers advanced forward, one at Finn and the other at Naira. Bellamy and Mira shot into action instantly, both stepping in front of a man each. In one swift motion, Mira had unsheathed her sword and had it at the second man's throat, he halted with his wide, brown eyes watching the sword carefully. The other man was already on the ground, courtesy of Bellamy knocking him out with the butt of his gun.
"Back off or I'll end you," she hissed. The man didn't back down, but Mira didn't miss the way his raised hands quivered or the flash of fear in his eyes.
"Her kind is going to kill us all," the man muttered, only loud enough for Mira to hear.
Mira had no interest in trying to negotiate further. It only took her a second to raise her foot to the sensitive spot between the man's legs, causing him to fall to his knees with a groan before her. It took only another second to swing the hilt of her sword into the side of his head, sending him crumbling to the floor beside his friend, unconscious. Mira looked up at rest of the now silent citizens with rage in her eyes.
"Anyone else wanna go?" she challenged. Everyone remained silent. The members of the crowd was either gawking at her, surprised at the abilities of this small, timid girl, or looking anywhere but her. "Good," she said, before stepping over the unconscious bodies and continuing to lead her friends out of the Ark and into the warm sunlight.
Mira didn't stop to get anything from her room, and instead slipped out of camp at the nearest opportunity with Naira beside her. She could feel Bellamy and Raven's eyes on her back, watching carefully as they hurried to the safety of the trees shadows, keeping low so as not to be seen. Bellamy and Raven were to leave five minutes behind them, then Clarke and Finn another five after that. The group had originally told Raven she couldn't come due to her leg, that they didn't want her to hurt it more, but the mechanic had been stubborn. Mira hadn't exactly been pleased with separating from Bellamy, but she knew that he was the best to stay with Raven if she did get hurt, and after the scene that had just taken place in the Ark, Mira wouldn't let Naira out of her sight.
The duo walked in silence, only speaking to occasionally warn the other of a log they could trip over, or to ask "did you hear that?", which is when they would quicken their pace. As Mira's eyes flickered to the treetops, being wary of them, she suddenly regretted not bringing a pack with her. Her stomach was rumbling.
They were the first to arrive at the eerily quiet drop ship, and once again Mira found herself longing to be back here with her friends, even if they had been in the midst of a war. Their footsteps on the metal floor of the drop ship resonated through the three levels. Mira passed time pacing, whereas Naira sat and attempted trying to master twirling her shock baton, which she had insisted on carrying with her everywhere now, when she could. She also had a sword strapped to her hip. As Mira paced, she nervously played with the rings on the cord around her neck, finding comfort in them.
They snapped to attention when they heard footsteps approaching, and they both held their weapons up, though they lowered them when Bellamy and Raven pushed back the curtain of the drop ship, stepping inside. Mira visibly relaxed at the sight of her boyfriend, and walked to him for a quick hug in relief. He rubbed her bicep before he pulled away.
"I hate separating from you," she admitted quietly. Bellamy smiled softly and squeezed her shoulder.
"Me too," he told her, placing a chaste kiss on her forehead before they separated, all of them waiting nervously in their own ways. Mira continued pacing, and was joined by Raven, despite Mira telling her she should sit down. Bellamy sat beside Naira, his elbows on his knees and rubbing his palms together. After nearly half an hour of waiting, Bellamy stood abruptly.
"Where are they?" he asked, as if one of them knew the answer. Mira was starting to panic, they should definitely be here by now. They should have only been a few minutes behind Bellamy and Raven.
"We shouldn't have split up..." Raven murmured, readjusting her gun in her arms.
"Someone's coming," Bellamy announced just as Mira heard the sound of approaching footsteps. Only one set. The four of them all raised their weapons, aiming them at the entrance to the drop ship. A hand reached around the curtain and pulled it back only to reveal Murphy, whose eyes widened at the sight of all the weapons aimed at him. Mira lowered hers slowly, though she was very confused. Murphy raised his hands, one of which held a gun.
"What are you doing here?" Mira asked.
"I believe I was invited?" Murphy responded, his eyes resting on Raven behind Mira. Everyone looked at Raven.
"I thought we could use an extra gun," she explained. Bellamy and Naira finally lowered their weapons, followed by Murphy's hands.
"Might be a good idea," Bellamy admitted.
"Finn should have been right behind you," Raven told Murphy. Mira stared at him blankly with a clenched jaw for a moment before she rolled her eyes and walked away from him, annoyed at just the sight of him.
When Finn and Clarke finally arrived, the group heard Finn before they even saw him. They could hear him breathing heavily and speaking to Clarke worriedly. Mira rushed forward to pull back the curtain and her eyes widened at the sight of Clarke unconscious in Finn's arms, blood drying on her temple.
"What the hell happened to her?" Mira asked as Finn entered the drop ship, Mira followed, letting the curtain fall back in place.
"A grounder hit her on the head," Finn responded bluntly, searching for a place to put her down. Mira shrugged off her jacket and laid it on the floor, instructing Finn to place her there, with her head on the jacket. Bellamy and Murphy knelt at her head, fussing over getting a bandage on her. Mira rolled her eyes.
"Oh, move over," she told them, kneeling at Clarke's head and nudging them over. Neither of them protested and instead let Mira deal with it. She'd been secretly lingering around the medical bay as often as she could, just to see what Abby did, but she never worked up the courage to ask her to show her. Mira pressed the rag to Clarke's head and applied a little pressure. It wasn't bleeding much anymore, it was mostly dry blood. Mira gently cradled Clarke's head in her lap and stroked back her blonde tresses. "Clarke, can you hear me?" she asked softly, she felt Clarke stir slightly in response and smiled. "You're going to be okay, you just need to rest," she told her unconscious friend.
It was a while before Clarke finally awoke with a groan. Mira spent the entire time stroking Clarke's hair and whispering to her occasionally. As soon as Clarke's eyelids parted to reveal her blue eyes, Finn was at her side.
"See? I told you she was going to be fine," Mira teased.
"How's your head?" Finn asked Clarke, who rolled onto her back, her head still in Mira's lap. She touched her wound and hissed.
"Awesome," she lied.
Mira smiled down at her friend, as she stared at Finn with a lopsided smile, which he was returning adoringly. It took Mira a while to understand she was not wanted in that moment.
"Oh, I'll um- leave you two alone," she said awkwardly as she stood. "Drink some water Clarke!" she called over her shoulder before she grabbed her sword and left the drop ship to find Bellamy.
He was crouched behind a stack of crates that they had set up as a weak excuse of defense. He was peering through the lens on his gun, searching the trees for any sight of a grounder. Mira joined him, crouching beside him.
"Seen anything?" she asked. Bellamy sighed and shook his head, moving his eyes away from the lens. They sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments before Mira spoke. "Bellamy what are we going to do? We can't stay here forever, they'll figure out where we are sooner or later."
Bellamy sighed again and ran a hand over his face. "I don't know," he admitted. Mira pursed her lips in worry and took a deep breath. Mira turned her attention to the forest, despite not having a lens to make it easier to survey the forest, she spotted them instantly, as did Bellamy. There had to be more than ten grounders, fully armed and waiting.
"We've got company! Get out here!" Bellamy shouted, causing Finn and Clarke to hurry outside, crawling behind the crates on the other side of the entrance. Mira reluctantly swapped her sword for her handgun, hoping she hadn't gotten too out of practice. Mira could see the grounders dark armor and intimidating masks through the gaps of what remained of their gate. They weren't moving, they were waiting, all around them.
"We're surrounded," Mira breathed out.
***
The tensions were high once they all retreated back into the drop ship. Bellamy, Murphy and Naira were poking their heads around the curtain anxiously.
"They're not moving any closer," Murphy said lowly.
"They're staying out of range, they're probably waiting until it gets dark," Naira voiced her thoughts. Bellamy walked away from the curtain, followed by Naira and Murphy.
"If we hit them now at least we take them by surprise," Murphy suggested.
"We don't even know how many of them are out there," Clarke said in response to Murphy, who looked agitated.
"I'm not hearing any better ideas Clarke," Murphy said.
"We'll give them something," Raven said from the other side of the room.
"All they want it Finn," Bellamy reminded her.
Raven's next words made Mira's blood run cold with fear and fury. "Finn wasn't the only one at the village," she said. Murphy and Mira both got defensive instantly, understanding what Raven was suggesting. Murphy's eyes widened in panic and Mira subconsciously took a step closer and in front of him.
"What are you talking about?" Clarke asked.
Naira's eyes fell on Murphy too, and she quickly caught on. She saw Mira's clenched and furious jaw and how she was standing in front of him almost protectively. Naira followed suit, though she only took a small step closer to Murphy. If Mira was going to protect him, so would she.
"Raven, hold on," Bellamy spoke up, catching on and glancing nervously between Murphy, Mira and Raven.
"Raven I came here to protect Finn," Murphy said defensively. "You were the one who wanted me to come. You... that's why you asked me to come along." Murphy smiled bitterly, taking a step forward. Mira almost grabbed his hand to pull him away, she was eyeing off the gun in Raven's hand, her heart pounding in fear. She couldn't believe how afraid she was that Murphy would die.
"Enough grounders saw him at the village they would believe he was the shooter," Raven said, glaring at Murphy.
"Sick bitch," Murphy hissed.
"Raven you don't mean this," Clarke tried to reason.
"You know what they do to people," Bellamy added.
"They want a murderer, we'll give them one," Raven said before she raised her gun at Murphy. No sooner had the gun been raised than Mira had stepped in front of it. She was standing between Murphy and the gun.
"Move, Mira," Raven snarled, her aim at Mira not wavering. Mira took a step forward.
"Lower your gun Raven," she said lowly, her voice laced with venom but also very steady.
Neither of them budged, instead they glared at each other.
"Put it down Raven, like it or not he's one of us," Clarke pleaded desperately.
"Raven you are not shooting either of them," Bellamy spoke up, his gaze unwavering from his girlfriend, his heart pounding.
"I said move Mirabella," Raven repeated. Mira took another step forward, the cool barrel of the gun pressing against her collarbone now.
"No," Mira said firmly.
"Mira I will shoot you if I have to," Raven threatened.
"Go ahead."
Everyone remained silent for a breath, waiting for someone to do something. Raven didn't lower the gun and Mira wouldn't move.
"Drop the damn gun Raven!" Mira shouted. Raven was about to shout something back when Finn stepped in, shoving the barrel of the gun away from Mira's chest and pushing it down.
"Stop!" he interrupted. Raven sighed and closed her eyes in exasperation. "We are not doing this."
There was a breath before both Mira and Raven took a step away from each other, Mira heading to stand beside her brother with her arms crossed. Murphy looked at her with a mix of gratitude and shock, he wanted to say something, to thank her, but he couldn't find the words.
"They've got us surrounded," Finn said, looking at each member of the group in turn. "The only thing we can do is stay and defend this place."
"I'm with you," Naira agreed, pulling out her shock baton. Bellamy nodded in agreement, as did the rest of the group, though some reluctantly.
"Murphy," Finn started.
"Yeah?" Murphy asked, not meeting anyone's eyes, though Mira could see the tiniest trace of tears forming. Mira fought every urge in her to grab his hand, hug him or do something to provide some comfort.
"Go upstairs, watch the rear," Finn ordered. "I'll take the lower level. You five," he said, addressing Mira, Naira, Bellamy, Clarke and Raven, "take the front gate. That's the plan, okay?"
Everyone nodded and moved to take their positions, all except Mira, who followed Murphy to the ladder.
"Mira? You're supposed to be taking the gate with us," Clarke reminded her. Mira shook her head, her eyes flickering to Raven warily for a moment.
"I'm staying with Murphy," she said determinedly before following him up the ladder without waiting for any protests or responses. She closed the hatch behind her and sat beside Murphy at the hole he had blown all that time ago, they sat in silence for a few minutes.
"Thank you," Murphy said hoarsely.
"Don't mention it," she responded, still not looking at him. Another awkward silence followed before Mira sighed, mentally punching herself in the face for what she was about to say. "I still don't forgive you... But, I don't want you dead. So... what I'm trying to say is, maybe I could try to start forgiving you." She still didn't look at him.
Murphy was at a loss for words. "Thank you," he repeated pathetically. He couldn't find the words to express how much her forgiveness would mean to him.
"Can you do something for me?" she asked nervously, once again playing with the rings on her necklace. "It would totally help with the whole redemption thing."
"What is it?" he inquired.
Mira took a deep, nervous breath. "Can you tell me about my -our- dad? I've been wanting to know I just..."
"Didn't want to know?" he supplied for her. Mira stifled a small laugh and nodded.
"Yeah," she admitted.
Murphy sighed, he hadn't spoken about his dad for a long time. It had been years since he'd seen his face, even in a photo, but he couldn't forget it, not when he could just look at Mira.
"You look a lot like him," Murphy started. "You have his eyes, and we both his dark hair, and you have his nose, sort of..." he tilted his head and narrowed his eyes at her nose, inspecting it closely.
"Okay you can stop doing that now," Mira said quickly. Murphy almost laughed and he apologised.
"He was selfless, and an amazing dad," he continued. "He was floated for stealing medicine to try and save my life, but they didn't help anyway..." he trailed off.
"You're not sugar-coating him for me are you?" Mira asked. Alex Murphy sounded too good to be true, and admittedly, Mira didn't understand how such a great guy could raise such a troubled kid. She drew it down to having something to do with his mother, and his father's death.
Murphy shook his head. "He really was amazing. Kind, selfless, brave, loyal, curious, annoyingly optimistic... Sound familiar?" he teased, raising an eyebrow at Mira, who was finally looking at him. Mira smiled brightly and the whisper of a laugh escaped her lips.
"He sounds great," Mira said, a soft smile on her face. "Thank you."
Murphy nodded shyly and fiddled with the gun in his lap to hide his blush. The reluctant siblings sat in silence and watched the surrounding grounders closely. Mira was holding her gun, as that would be more effective from this position. Occasionally her eyes would flicker to where she hoped Bellamy was, she couldn't see him from this angle and it was worrying her.
Murphy spotted Finn first, and his eyes widened as he shouted his name. Mira followed his eye line and her eyes widened also as she spotted him walking towards the grounders, weaponless and his arms raised. Below them, she could hear Clarke and Raven shouting desperately as Finn was ambushed by a group of grounders, tying him and dragging him away.
He didn't even put up a fight.
***
The sun had long disappeared over the horizon by the time they arrived back at Camp Jaha in silece. The stars were shining high above them, normally Mira would have stopped and admired them, but instead she sort of wanted to scream at them. She could still pick out which one was really the Ark, no longer a refuge for the last of humanity but a ghost ship floating through space as a reminder of all they had lost.
The sky people stood together at their buzzing gate, watching as the grounders carried out a long post. They were cheering and many were holding fire-lit torches. Mira was about to wonder aloud what the post was for when Clarke answered for her.
"It's for Finn, they want us to watch," Clarke said, her gaze distant.
Beside her, Naira began trembling. Mira reached out and gripped her hand.
"You okay?" Mira whispered. Her friend seemed to be reliving some old, traumatic memory. Mira had a feeling it had something to do with her family, and the punishment she was supposed to receive when she was accused of their murders.
Naira clenched her jaw and nodded unconvincingly, squeezing Mira's hand.
"We're going to get him," Bellamy said defiantly from her other side. "We'll get in close and we'll hit them hard."
"Son, there's thousands of them. Even if we could kill hundreds, they'd still wipe out this camp and your friend would still die," Kane reprimanded, his arms crossed across his chest.
"We can't just do nothing, we have to try!" Mira insisted, though she went ignored.
Raven turned to Abby, her desperation clear. "Abby, we have to do something," she pleaded.
Abby squared her jaw and looked the Latina in the eye. "No, Raven," she said bluntly. Mira saw the tear trail down Raven's cheek and she instantly felt bad for their argument earlier. Finn was her family, Raven had to do anything to save him. Mira would do the same for Bellamy, or Naira, Asteria, Octavia, Clarke, even Murphy...
Mira panicked when she felt Bellamy's presence disappear from beside her. She followed him out of the lingering crowd, pulling Naira with her. Mira, Raven, Naira, Bellamy and Clarke met at the edge of the crowd. Clarke began walking to the gate anxiously, her mind reeling. Mira could see that Clarke would do anything to save him too.
"I'm going to talk to the Commander," Clarke told them.
"What else do you have to say?" Bellamy asked, the group was walking right behind her.
"I don't know!" Clarke admitted, running a hand through her hand. Her breathing was heavy. Mira didn't know how she was still holding it together.
"Clarke..." Mira started to comfort her, but trailed off when she realised she had no idea what to say.
"Give me your hand," Raven told her. Confused, Clarke held out a hand, palm up. Raven pulled a small pocket knife out of her pocket. "If she won't let him go, kill her. Things will go crazy, and we'll grab you and Finn. Clarke, you have to help him. I owe him my life."
Raven slipped the knife underneath Clarke's sleeve and the blonde nodded, though something in her eyes didn't seem to agree with Raven. Mira didn't get the sense that Clarke was definitely going to use the knife for Raven's intended purpose. Without so much as a glance at anyone else, Clarke turned on her heel and left the camp. Mira, Naira, Raven and Bellamy all returned to the front of the crowd, standing side by side. Mira stood between Raven and Naira, Bellamy stood on the other side of Raven. None of them took their eyes off the blonde tuft of hair making it's way towards the grounders. Their breathing was heavy and staggered.
"What is she doing?" Abby asked worriedly when she noticed her daughter approaching the grounders. She moved to do something, go fetch her and bring her back perhaps, but Kane held out his arm to stop her.
"We have to let her try Abby," he said. Abby stepped back, but didn't relax and didn't dare tear her eyes from her daughter's figure, which seemed small next to the giant grounders.
As they watched Clarke converse with the Commander, Mira reached over and threaded her fingers with Raven's, squeezing them. Raven glanced at her in surprise.
"I get why you did it," Mira whispered.
Raven squeezed her fingers back and smiled meekly. "I get why you did it too."
Their attention returned to Clarke, who was still pleading with the Commander. They were far away, but from what Mira could make out it didn't look good.
"Come on Clarke, do it," Raven muttered.
Just as it seemed as though Clarke was about to do it, Finn was pulled out by a group of grounders, and harshly tied to the long pole they had set up. Clarke and Finn exchanged a long glance and Clarke turned to the Commander, asking something to which she nodded. Clarke started walking towards Finn, which soon turned into a jog. She collided with Finn in a desperate and solemn kiss, gripping either side of her face. Mira brought her other hand to her mouth, fighting back a sob. Tears were silently streaming down Raven's face.
"What is she doing?" Raven mumbled as Clarke embraced Finn. Mira only saw the quickest flash of the silver blade, so quick that she wasn't even sure it was there. She stepped closer to Raven, who was squeezing her hand very tightly.
Mira could see Finn and Clarke exchange a few words before Finn's head fell onto Clarke's shoulder. Mira gasped. Clarke pulled back with tears streaming down her face. The tiny blade was in her hands, which were covered in blood. Finn's blood.
Beside her, Raven took two shuddering breaths before she screamed and her knees gave way before her. Mira caught her before she hit the ground.
"No! No! No!" Raven sobbed into Mira's side, her eyes closed tight as if to block out the pain. Mira selfishly let a tear escape her eye, and she gripped onto Raven tighter, hushing her soothingly.
Mira looked back at the scene beyond the wire fence. Finn's head hung limply from his neck, and a pool of blood was spilling from his stomach. The Spacewalker was still.
And the Princess had her first love's blood on her hands.
WORD COUNT: 6842
alright my dot points let's go:
1. I tried to hard to make Mira hate Murphy for a little while longer but I couldn't bc I'm a sucker for sibling relationships but dw they've still got heaps of development to come
2. Naira and Mira (miraria??) are my brotp but so is clira but so is miraven but so is mirtavia but so is mirsteria but that's also my otp but so is Miramy and Naira+Asteria you see my struggle
3. if you fuck with Mira's friends she will fuck you up
4. I have so many book three ideas and I'm sort of sorry sort of not sorry to say that I'm going to make you cry
5. Okay I realise this chapter wasn't very emotional but like it was sort of hard for me to do so bc Finn and Mira were never really close but hey I tried
6. Fun fact: once upon a time I did consider killing off Naira alongside Finn in this chapter but I love her too much so she is safe... for now
7. I just realised that episode wise I'm halfway through season two wtf it's gone so quickly
8. I promise that next chapter will definitely make up for the lack of Miramy in this chapter ya'll aren't even ready
okay this was long if you read it all comment your fav friendship in this series ;)