Lexa
When I returned from my meeting, Clarke was sitting on the floor on a blanket, with Seren sitting on her back in front of Clarke. I smiled. I had had a long day, and I had been looking forward to seeing my girls.
Clarke looked up when she saw me.
"Hey." She smiled.
I closed the door behind me and sat next to Clarke.
"How was your day?" She asked, gripping onto Seren's hands.
I shrugged. "Fine. It's taking longer than expected to plan out this irrigation system, even with Bellamy and Raven's help."
Clarke's smile fell. "Is that going to be a problem?"
"No, not for now."
Clarke turned away for a moment, lost in thought.
"What if you had some extra help?"
I looked at her in confusion. Wasn't Raven the best person we could possibly have on this?
"I suppose that would speed up the process, but...who?"
"Monty and Jasper. They were from Farm Station." Clarke said with a cheeky smile. "Some of our engineers maybe, other's from Farm Station."
I paused. Help would be greatly appreciated, but I couldn't forget about my time in Arkadia. Arkadians didn't like me or my people, so how could they possibly want to help my people survive? Less of my people meant more land, food and just about everything for Arkadians.
"Why would your people want to help mine?" I asked.
Clarke hesitated, staring down at Seren to keep her eyes off of me.
"Because why wouldn't they? It wasn't your people's fault that we were betrayed at the mountain." She responded.
I felt a jab in my heart at the comment, as unintentional as it was.
Clarke sighed. "I'm sorry. But you know what I mean."
I nodded. I knew all too well.
"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to ask." I said. "But we don't have much to give you—nothing you couldn't easily get yourself."
Clarke shrugged. "I think we could trade for clothes and meat. My people are lousy at sewing and almost as bad at hunting."
I smiled. She was right. Arkadians were loud—they were used to straight metal paths with nothing blocking their way. They were used to not having to be quiet.
I nodded. "Thank you." I bowed my head to stare at the baby.
Clarke's eyes came to me. She gripped onto my hand, keeping one on Seren.
"Of course." She murmured. "Your people are mine and mine are yours."
No matter how many times she said it, it wouldn't feel right.
We both looked back down at Seren. She was staring up at us, watching her mothers. I smiled, thinking of how one day that unfocused gaze would become sharp and determined. The hands that gripped onto Clarke's with tender weakness would be strong and capable of fighting and conquering a man twice her size. The small squeaks that she uttered would be powerful enough to echo across valleys and command armies. My heart swelled with pride and love as I thought of her creating a legacy to rival my own, while leading her people with compassion and honesty.
Clarke stood, grabbing a bottle of goat's milk off the table. She handed it to me and I took it from her cautiously. I wasn't sure how exactly to do this. I lifted Seren off the blanket gently holding her against my chest. I offered her the bottle and she latched onto it gratefully, placing her hand on the side. A small laugh escaped my lips as she closed her eyes.
Clarke smiled.
"So....," she started. "I think we should get some things sorted out."
I swallowed. Where was this leading?
"When should she be allowed to date?" Clarke asked.
"Date?"
"Like you and I." Clarke explained. "Have a boyfriend or girlfriend."
I glanced down at Seren. I couldn't imagine her giving her heart to anybody but Clarke and I.
"I'm not sure." I murmured. "I suppose your age."
Clarke nodded. "I can live with that, although I can guarantee you that she'll want to date before then."
I laughed. "We can cross that bridge we can come to it."
"What about things like her first hunt? When will she start training?"
"Children start to learn how to hunt when they are five or six." I said. "She won't ever need to worry about catching her own food, so we can wait a year or two for that." I saw Clarke's shoulders drop with relief. "Of course if she ever finds herself lost or separated it's important that she knows how to fend for herself."
Clarke took a breath but nodded. "I know."
"We can train her mentally as early as three winters," I said. "Just as soon as she's able to start retaining information."
"Okay."
I glanced up from Seren to Clarke. "She'll be alright." I murmured. "She's our daughter, after all."
Clarke smiled and nodded.
"I'm so excited for this."
"For what?"
"For her life." Clarke said, reaching forward and grabbing onto Seren's little feet. "For the moments that we'll get to share with her. For the moments that I get to share with you."
I smiled softly and looped my arm around Clarke, pulling her closer to me. I placed my lips on top of Clarke's head.I could already feel that the rest of my life was going to be beautiful because of these two girls in my arms.
Abby came a few days later, along with Marcus, Monty, Jasper and a few engineers from Arkadia. Clarke said they were the best of the best. I didn't even know what an engineer was.
Monty was excited about Seren, but didn't try to interact with her. Jasper didn't even spare her a glance. I could see the disappointment roll across Clarke's face when he simply walked off after she brought Seren out.
Marcus held Seren for a while, but just until Abby demanded Seren back. Abby had fallen in love with Seren in a matter of minutes. Even as all the engineers, Arkadians, ambassadors and generals and I gathered around, Abby held onto Seren.
Clarke was ecstatic that her mother was so endearing toward the little girl. I could tell that the worry of her mother not accepting her had been swirling around in her head the days prior to Abby's arrival.
And when I'd come back from a long day, I would always see Clarke and Abby curled up on the couch with cups of tea, sometimes with Seren, sometimes not. Clarke smiled just a little bit more every day that Abby was here. They were rebuilding the walls of their relationship. It made me happy, but I knew the walls of my relationship with Abby were permanently damaged. Abby was ready to sacrifice me for her people—that of which I could understand. I had forgiven her a long time ago, sooner than Clarke had, but I would never feel the same about Abby.
The Arkadians left after a few days. The plans for the irrigation system were complete and would go into effect as soon as possible. Clarke was temporarily sad, but permanently content. Abby made sure to give Seren one last kiss before she left.
Three months rolled by. The building of the irrigation systems had been underway for a month. A couple of engineers from Arkadia went to the clans to assist. Raven had them take radios in case she needed to be contacted.
Seren was growing quickly—too quickly for my liking. She seemed to recognize Clarke and I now, smiling when we came to get her from her aunts or uncles. She laughed a lot, but mostly with Raven and Bellamy. I could see the annoyance on Luna's face when she heard Seren's laugh fill the room because of something funny that her aunt Raven did.
Seren loved Bellamy and Raven, sometimes more than Clarke and I, it seemed. Bellamy, despite my nerves, was amazing with her. He was a natural with kids. Based on the way Raven's eyes sparkled when she saw him making funny faces with Seren or playing with her, I could tell his love for Seren made her love him even more.
Octavia and Lincoln were slowly getting used to Seren. Lincoln and Octavia were both a little uncertain about babies.
While Seren adored her aunt Raven and uncle Bellamy, she was always content with Luna. When she was with Luna, she fell asleep easily and quietly, resting her head on Luna's shoulder. Luna read to Seren and told her stories, even though she was too young to understand. Seren was mesmerized by Luna. Raven was her fun aunt, but Luna treated the little one like her sun and stars.
The natblidas didn't spend a lot of time with Seren, but when they did, they were all over her. Sometimes they expected too much of her, and she got tired out easily. Talie, with her angelic voice, sang to her when she was fussy and wouldn't go to sleep.
Deacon loved Seren, too, but every once in a while I caught him looking at her suspiciously. It was like Seren did something to him. Like she hurt him in the very short span of her life. Luna didn't seem to notice, but I did. Every time.