As you can tell by the gif, Clarke will finally be in the story after all this time. Also, all my Blane shippers, just a reminder, Bellamy and Lane's relationship is a slow burn. This chapter may make you angry, but just remember it's only chapter fifteen :) We're not even halfway yet. I hope you enjoy!
WAKING UP IN POLIS during the early hours of the morning, a light fog covering the green expanse of land outside the capitol city, was different. Lane sat up, rubbing her tired eyes as she walked through the guest-chamber, pulling on a thin sweater and a pair of pants. She tied back her hair into a comfortable ponytail as she looked into the ornate mirror by the bed. It was hard for her to control her thoughts as she wondered if Bellamy and the others had found Clarke. Her mind lingered on Bellamy, his freckled face and deep eyes that always saw right through the masks she put on in front of people.
This was Lane's third day in Polis. Yesterday, she was in an hour-long meeting with Lexa and Hagen as they discussed the rumors that the Ice Nation was slowly building an army, trying to get other clans to join in on their coo. Lexa asked Lane about her time in Arkadia, and she had to tell her about the run-in with the Ice Nation scouts, mainly because Hagen already knew about it and probably wouldn't defend the sky people as Lane would.
The Commander understood, not seeming too worried about what happened. She said the Ice Nation would be getting more violent, no matter what anyone did. Lane wanted to ask about Clarke, about the bounty on her head, but Lexa was called out of the meeting to deal with another matter before she could.
On a more positive side, Lane was getting better with her Trigedasleng. The three-hour lessons with Otis and the extra practice with Hagen every night after dinner were paying off. She wasn't an expert or anything, but Lane felt more confident in her conversation skills. She could understand more and more each day as she walked through the halls, catching words from passing conversations.
A soft knock on the door of her room caught Lane's attention. She walked to the door, pulling it open and finding Hagen standing before her. Lane raised her eyebrows, glancing at his casual attire. She hardly ever saw him without his armor on. His clothing was a sign of great respect he had earned from the Commander and the other grounders in Polis.
"What are you doing here?"
Hagen shrugged, "Heda has meetings with the Ambassadors all day. It's sunny outside, and I figured that you would want to get out of here for a while."
Lane crossed her arms over her chest, "You know, for someone who apparently so many important jobs here, you sure have a lot of free time."
Hagen leaned against the doorpost, "Maybe one of my jobs is keeping an eye on you."
Lane put her hand on the door, ready to close it, "Well, in that case, I'd rather stay in here all day. I don't need you up my ass twenty-four-seven, Hagen, so you can just relax and find something better to do."
She tried to close the door, but he held out his arm and stopped it halfway, with annoyance on his face, "Okay, fine. Stay up here in this room all day. I don't care, but just remember I offered to take you with me."
Lane hated how her curiosity spiked, "Where are you going?"
Hagen gave her a smirk, "Tell me, Lane Sawyer, do you know how to swim?"
After a few moments of debating Hagen's words in her head, Lane let out a long sigh before giving in. If she was being honest, a break from the capitol building would be nice. She had been cooped up in Polis for three days.
Right outside, Hagen had two horses saddled and waiting for them. Lane mounted her horse, gripping the smooth reins as Hagen glanced back at her with a smug look plastered on his tan face. He kicked the sides of his horse, and soon, the two of them were riding towards the forest together. Lane was expecting them to head towards the nearest lake, which was about a half-mile ride, but they went in the opposite direction of the lake.
They rode for at least two miles, going deep into the woods with birds singing happily in the overhanging trees. Lane heard a woodpecker in the distance as a light breeze whispered through the bushes. They went over a small bridge with overgrown vines hanging from the rails, and then they were met with an amazing sight.
A large natural spring flowed from a graceful waterfall. The water was crystal clear with smooth pebbles in the brown sand of the shore. Lane and Hagen dismounted their horses, walking upstream to where the water was deepest. Lane was distracted by the scenery, taking in the fresh air and happy sounds of life in the forest, and when she finally looked at Hagen again, her eyes widened. He had discarded his shirt, and Lane had never seen such toned abs in her entire life. His chest had a thin layer of sweat, which only made him look even better in the sunlight. After his shirt came his pants, and only a pair of thin shorts were left to cover him.
"What? Did you think we were going to swim fully clothed?" he asked, knowing very well that Lane was flustered by his impressive body. Before she could answer, he dived into the water, making a big splash. His head popped up from the water. "Are you going to come in anytime soon?" Lane crossed her arms over her chest, "Come on, science girl, the water feels nice."
"Okay, okay, just... turn around," Lane said in a bossy tone.
"If you think I don't know what a naked woman looks like-"
Lane stopped him, "I don't care. Just turn around and be a gentleman for once in your life, Hagen. I know that may be a weird concept for you."
He put his hands up in surrender, turning around slowly. Lane made sure he wasn't peeking as she pulled her shirt over her head, revealing her black sports bra. She quickly took off her pants and stepped to the edge of the rock above the water. Suddenly, Hagen turned around, catching Lane off guard as he grabbed her arm and pulled her headfirst into the water. She heard him laughing as she gasped, coming above the water and hitting him right on the chest.
"You're such an asshole!"
Lane noticed him struggling to keep his eyes on her face as he said, "You know I was right. The water feels amazing today."
He was right about that. It wasn't too warm or too cold, "So, you come here a lot? I bet you bring all the girls here, don't you?" Lane teased.
Hagen shook his head, "No, I usually come here alone. It's a good place to think." He leaned his head back into the water. "And contrary to your beliefs, I haven't been with many women."
That surprised Lane, "I don't know if I believe that."
"It's true," he looked at her again with transparency. "I've been with three, and one was my wife."
A wife? Hagen caught her completely off guard. She noticed how he talked about her in the past tense, "What happened to her?"
"She was murdered," Hagen didn't seem like he wanted to expand on the topic. "We were only married for a year."
"Is that why you left Azgeda?"
He shrugged, "Partly."
Lane began to see a different side of Hagen; a human side filled with aching loss and loneliness, "What was her name?"
"Toria," he answered, trying to hide his sadness. "Everyone called her Tori, though."
Neither one of them noticed how they had casually floated closer, "That's a beautiful name." She sensed him wanting to change the subject, so she decided to ask something else. "Everyone else from Azgeda has markings on their face. Why don't you?"
"You sure have a lot of questions, don't you?" he asked playfully. "I think it's because you like me."
Lane rolled her eyes, not moving back when he came even closer, "Yeah, you wish."
"You're not as good at lying as you think, science girl."
Looking into his blue eyes, Lane saw a thousand different hidden stories that made Hagen who he was. She wanted to ask more and more, but she knew he didn't like being vulnerable. The look he was giving her, as his gaze darted between her eyes and lips, almost like he was daring her to come closer; an unspoken challenge Lane was tempted to take.
Bellamy threatened to come to her mind; all the times the past few weeks Lane had to watch him with Gina. She wondered if her feelings for Hagen were genuine or if she was simply trying to shove Bellamy away from her thoughts by replacing him with someone else. She wasn't sure. She knew Hagen excited her; made her feel strong, but how deep did those feelings really go?
Their faces were barely inches apart, "You drive me crazy, Lane Sawyer."
And then, ever so delicately, Hagen pressed his lips against hers in a light kiss that made Lane's head swirl with all kinds of emotions. Something about this kiss lit a fire in Lane's heart, but in the back of her mind, Bellamy's face appeared. She felt so confused in that moment, as her lips parted slightly, letting her lips move slowly against Hagen's. She knew she wanted to kiss him, and kissing him felt nice, but she couldn't decipher the intricate code that described her feelings for the grounder.
Here she was, half-naked in a natural spring kissing a man she honestly didn't know very well. This was not like her at all, but she shoved away her naturally-logical brain for once, and just enjoyed the moment. After all, Hagen was extremely attractive, and he wanted to kiss her too. So why shouldn't she be making out with the hot grounder in the middle of the forest?
The sound of hooves pounded the forest floor caused the two to jump away from each other. Lane turned her head, watching as Lexa's closest advisor, Titus, appeared from the bushes on horseback with an urgent look on his face. Hagen immediately went back into serious mode as Titus spoke.
"You're both needed back in Polis. Now."
"What's going on?" Hagen asked.
Titus had a sober expression on his face, "Wanheda is here."
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A group gathered in the Throne Room as Lane waited beside Hagen. They stood beside the Throne with Indra and Titus, and Lane glanced around wondering what would happen next. Bellamy and the others hadn't been able to find Clarke, and now she was in Polis. Lane wondered if she was a prisoner, and if she was, Lane planned on talking to Lexa for a long time until Clarke was free to leave. She had no idea how these next few minutes were going to go.
Hagen had changed into his armor, staring forward as Lane glanced at him. She couldn't help but wonder what was going through his head. They had kissed, and Lane had no clue what it meant to her, or to him. Lane shook her head. That wasn't important at the moment. She needed to have Clarke's back for her friends in Arkadia.
The door of the Throne Room was pulled open with immediate force as a ragged man pulled in a girl with a bag over her head. Whispers went throughout the people gathered in the room. Lane observed the grounder dragging Clarke with him; the side of his face covered with markings that yelled Ice Nation. Lane could see Hagen tense out of the corner of her eyes. The man was obviously known by everyone except her.
"Wanheda, as promised," the man said in Trig as he pulled Clarke to a stop in front of where Lexa sat on her throne. As he yanked the bag off her head, Lexa stood.
Lane noticed the gag over her mouth; her choppy, long hair that had red streaks within it. her face was covered in dirt and scratches.
"Hello, Clarke," Lexa said calmly as she walked closer to the blonde. She glanced over her with a small hint of disdain etching on her face as she looked at Clarke's captor. "The deal was for you to bring her to me unharmed."
Unharmed? Maybe Lane wouldn't have to argue with the Commander about Clarke's safety after all, "She didn't come easy," the man responded.
Lexa moved her eyes back to Clarke. lane couldn't help but notice some hidden fondness in Lexa's gaze, "I'd expect not."
"I've done my part," the man said in an impatient voice. "Now do yours. Lift my banishment."
Lexa looked the man, "I'm told your mother's army marches on Polis," His mother's army? Lane suddenly realized who this man was. He was the Prince of Azgeda; Queen Nia's son, who had been banished from his home. Roan was his name. Lane had heard of him several times while staying in Polis.
"That has nothing to do with me," Roan told her. "Honor our deal."
"I'll honor our deal when your queen honors my coalition," Lexa's voice was laced with power. "Lock Prince Roan of Azgeda away," she said to her guards.
Indra stepped forward with the other guards, and Lane saw Roan's eyes lock with Hagen's. She sensed an intense mood between the two, as Roan gave him a sarcastic grin, "Long time no see, brother."
Okay, why was Lane the only one in the room who had no idea what was going on? Hagen was also an Azgeda Prince? Lane looked over at him with confusion as he didn't say a word to Roan. He simply watched him being taken away from the Throne Room, definitely headed towards the dungeon.
"What of Wanheda?" Titus asked.
"Leave us," Lexa ordered without hesitation. With her gaze flickering between Lexa and Clarke, hoping her intuition was right about the Commander having no intention of hurting her, Lane began walking towards the door. She heard Titus try to protest, but Lexa stayed strong. "You heard me."
Lane halted in the hallway once the doors closed behind Titus. She waited for him to walk around the corner, and then, she turned to Hagen with an expectant look.
"Roan, the Prince of Azgeda, is your brother?"
"Half-brother," Hagen corrected. "Queen Nia isn't my mother. She's always hated me," he shook his head. "It doesn't matter. I have to go."
"Wait, Hagen-" he walked away before Lane could say anything else. She let out an internal scream of frustration as she made her way back to her room.
He acted like they hadn't just kissed less than two hours ago, but what could Lane expect? She would be lying if she said there wasn't a tiny part of her that regretting letting herself go there. She shut the door of her room loudly, anxious to talk to Clarke. She owed it to everyone in Arkadia to let Clarke know she had a friend in Polis.
It took longer than Lane would like for the guards to let her into the guest-chamber across the hall; the room Clarke would be staying in while she was in Polis. About an hour ago, she heard screaming in the hallway as Clarke yelled at Lexa, calling her names and saying she was going to kill her. Lane guessed their conversation did not go all that great.
When she stepped into Clarke's room, finding the blonde standing by her bed with fresh clothes on and a clean face. Clarke's blue eyes were filled with questions and caution as Lane closed the door behind her. Lane wasn't sure how to begin, or what she should say.
"Can I help you?" Clarke finally asked.
"I just wanted to talk," Lane said as she walked further into the room. "I'm Lane. I...well, honestly I don't have time to tell you my life story and how I get here. The point is, I'm a friend Abby, and Kane, and Bellamy, and the others in Arkadia."
She perked up at the mention of her people, "I don't recognize you. Were you on the Ark?"
"No, I was in a bunker, asleep for ninety-seven years," Lane saw confusion fill Clarke's face. "Yeah, I'll explain that later. I just want you to know that you have a friend here."
Clarke managed a small smile, "I appreciate that," Lane noticed a look of debate in Clarke's eyes. "How is everyone. I mean... my mom and Bellamy and the others?"
"Mostly, good," Lane answered. "Jasper seems to be the only one struggling still."
Clarke looked down, and Lane could see guilt on her face, "I miss them."
"Well, I know Abby and Kane are coming in a week to negotiate a treaty," Lane answered. "Maybe Lexa will let you go home with them."
Lexa's name seemed like a trigger for Clarke, "Who knows what she'll do. I don't want to talk to her or see her. You can tell her to stop trying."
"Not to pry or anything," Lane began, "but there seems to be some tension there."
Clarke let out a sarcastic laugh, "Yeah, well she left my people in Mount Weather to die and we were forced to kill everyone in the Mountain to escape, so you could say I'm kind of bitter."
"Okay, well I will deliver your message to Lexa," Lane said, "and i'll keep you updated on everything going on."
After Clarke gave her a nod of thanks, Lane left her room. She knew that she needed to talk to Lexa, and she hoped that even though Clarke was resistant towards the Commander, in the next few days some of the hatred would subside. The Commander had big plans next week for the sky people, and Lane knew she had to do everything she could to see those plans through.
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