WARNINGS: swearing.
John returns after a while. I don't spend my time counting the minutes but it doesn't seem long. He wraps his arms around me and I return the sentiment. Somehow I know that everything isn't back to normal yet. That is made clear when we walk outside and find the prisoners in their beige jumpsuits, the children of Gabriel, and the people of Sanctum all stuffed in the square.
Clarke and Madi are at the top of the wooden stairs we arrived on. I smile and walk down the palace steps. I ignore the people telling me that I'm infinite and go to my friends. In an attempt to keep my appearance of a Prime, I just smile softly at them.
Clarke smiles back. "We're okay?"
I nod. "Yeah. We're fine."
Madi smiles at me. "You look beautiful."
I laugh a bit. "That seems to be the general consensus."
Indra walks up the stairs behind them and I smile. "What happened on the mothership? Did you kill Russel? Please tell me you did," I say, frowning a bit.
"There's been a little setback," Clarke says.
Behind Indra, the Wonkru army that was asleep in cryo emerges. My eyes widen a bit as I realize this means we'll all be living down here together. My eyes widen even more as I notice a man holding Russel by the arms.
I grit my teeth. "Tell me you'll execute him."
Clarke grabs my arm and pulls me to stand by the gardens. "Do you really have to speak that way around Madi?"
"Please," I scoff, rolling my eyes. "She's been through more than all of us combined. She isn't a child anymore. I doubt she ever had the chance to be."
"And now I'm trying to give her that opportunity. With the Flame out of her, she can be a kid again. So, please just don't talk about anything questionable around her," she says, keeping her hold on my arm.
I nod. "Fine. She's your kid, you can figure out what to do with her."
"Thank you," she says, leaning a little closer to me.
Her breath smells strange. Like carrots or something. My stomach lurches and my hand flies up to my mouth. Without warning, I push her away and lean over a bush, throwing up. I wipe the corners of my mouth as I stand again, shaking the dizziness from my head.
"Cam, what happened?" John asks quickly, grabbing my arms.
I ignore his question, laughing quietly. "Still think I look beautiful?"
Jackson takes John's place as he grabs my biceps and examines my body. "What happened?"
"I just smelled carrots on her breath and threw up. I feel a little dizzy too," I say quietly, squeezing the blurriness from my eyes.
"Here," he says, lowering me to sit on a rock. "When was your last cycle?"
"You think she could be pregnant?" John asks, eyes wide.
"No, that's impossible," I say quietly, shaking my head.
"Denial is normal-"
"It's not denial, Jackson," I say firmly, clenching my jaw. "I can't have children. My mother didn't want what happened to her to happen to me so she took care of that."
Silence follows my words.
I laugh a bit. "Yeah. She wasn't the kindest woman, that's for sure."
"I should examine you then. You might have caught a virus," Jackson says, nodding.
"Not now. People were hurt worse than me in that riot. You should help them. I can wait," I say.
"You're sure?" he asks, eyebrows lifting.
I smile, nodding. "Yeah. Go be a doctor."
He nods too, standing and starting to do rounds around Sanctum. John takes his place by crouching in front of me. I frown, shaking my head and avoiding his eyes. I know what he's going to say and I don't want to hear it at the moment.
"Why did you never tell me?" he asks.
I continue shaking my head. "Can we not talk about this right now?"
"If we don't now, we won't ever," he says.
I meet his eyes, shrugging a bit. "It hurt to talk about."
"Why?" he asks, seeming confused.
"Because she just ripped out my organs without a second thought about what I wanted. She was too worried that I'd be a slut to give two shits about my opinion," I say, gritting my teeth. "Of course, I am a slut-"
"Don't say that," he says quickly, shaking his head.
I laugh quietly. "Why are you defending me? You know what I've done."
"And I don't care what anyone says," he replies, touching my cheek with one hand. "You're perfect."
I smile softly, looking at his chest and feeling my cheeks heat up. "That's sweet-"
"And true," he presses, leaning closer to me. "And of course it sucks that you can't have kids-"
"Why does it suck?" I ask quickly, eyebrows raising.
He takes his hand back, shaking his head. "No reason."
I grin wide. "John Murphy, do you want kids?"
"I've never thought about it," he lies, standing and running a hand through his hair.
I stand too, grabbing his hand and looking into his eyes. "I'm sorry that I can't give that to you-"
"Would you stop with that?" he says, moving his hands up my arms to his biceps. "You're all I need. I always thought it would be cool to have a kid or two but I'd rather have you. Clear?"
I nod, taking a step away from him. "Clear."
He frowns, stepping toward me. "Let me kiss you."
"We have an audience," I whisper, shaking my head. "You can't kiss me in public, I'm your sister."
He laughs. "Don't say that. It freaks me out."
"And I'm sure it'd freak our followers out too," I say, shaking my head. "So just...keep it in your pants."
He frowns again, nodding. "Fine. But I'm not dressing like this anymore and I'm not kissing that guy."
"He doesn't believe in us anymore anyway," I say, shrugging.
"I don't understand why people are still worshipping us," he says, leading me back to the palace. "We've shown many times that we're not the Primes."
"They want something to believe in after their world has ended," I say, shaking my head as we walk up the stairs.
After John and I have changed out of our royal clothes, we go to the tavern which has recently started up again. I'm not sure by who but John seems glad enough. He starts drinking and I just sit next to him at the bar. When his gaze starts to wander and his head starts to lull, I flinch a bit. It frustrates me to see him like this but I know he isn't happy. He's barely making it through life.
"Blessed is Kaylee," a girl says from the left of John, holding a pitcher of wine. "Blessed is Dan-"
As she tries to pour the beverage into his cup, John pulls it away. I grit my teeth, forcing pleasantness into my voice as I smile at the girl. "We're alright for now. He's had enough anyway."
She nods after a second, walking away.
"How do you deal with that?" John asks me, shaking his head.
"The question should be how do I deal with you," I mutter, frowning.
Before he can respond, Clarke walks in and tells us that we'll all be living together in some farmhouse a short walk from the palace. She says it's in some large field and we're gonna eat lunch together there. I don't give John time to decline her offer.
"Sounds good," I say quickly, nodding at her.
She nods too, walking off.
"You don't have to please everyone all the time," John says, frowning at me.
I smile a bit. "Are you saying you don't want me to please you?"
His eyebrows jolt upward as he meets my eyes. "Now when did I say that?"
_•_•_
Obviously, our first day has been less than perfect. I stayed in the farmhouse with John in our small room. The next day, Jackson got angry with him about Abby but Clarke seemed to be alright with him. Now we're back in the tavern but now it's crowded with prisoners and the Children of Gabriel. I'm reading Kaylee's diary, learning about her life. I watch as Raven approaches us and leans against the bar next to John.
"Act like you don't know me," she says, glancing at the wall.
My eyebrows raise as I shift in my seat. "What do you need?"
"This place is a powder keg," she whispers, eyes flashing at me.
John shifts, drinking and chuckling to himself. "You want us to pretend to be Primes."
"It's the only thing that can keep the fanatics at bay-"
"No," John says firmly, standing and walking away.
I sigh as Raven moves closer to me. "He blames himself for Abby."
I hear mutters and turn around to find Jordan talking to our followers. They rush out after him, dragging the Children of Gabriel from their places. Raven frowns, following them out as shouts rise from the doors. I grit my teeth, pulling myself from my seat and going to John. He frowns when he sees me, taking another long swig from his glass.
"We have to help them," I say, shaking my head.
"They're going to get Russel," he says, scowling at me. "You hate him."
"If they clash, our friends will be hurt in the crossfire," I say, narrowing my eyes at him.
He shifts, resting his glass on the bar. "Why am I always the hero?"
"Don't worry," I say, leaning closer to him. "You're not."
I take a deep breath, walking away from him and going to the exit of the tavern. I see people crowding around our people. Their guns are trained at the Faithful while they protect Russel. John moves to walk in front of me, eyes glued to the cluster of screaming protesters.
"Have we learned nothing!?" he shouts as we both walk toward them.
"Let them pass!!" I yell, going to one of the Faithful and grabbing his arm. My eyes move over them all. "We can trust Wonkru. After all, we are one."
They take my words and repeat them, glancing at each other. Then they break their chain, clearing a path for the soldiers. Indra nods at me before she leads Russel toward the palace. I'm barely able to look at him without thinking about snapping his neck.
"We are one?" John repeats, eyebrows furrowed.
"Kaylee's slogan for when she ended oblation," I say, nodding.
He smirks. "You're so hot right now."
I smirk back. "Am I?"
"Cool it," Raven says, stepping toward the pair of us. "You're siblings."
"Gross," I mutter, backing away from him.
"Maybe you should live in the palace," Clarke suggests, walking into our little conversation. "You know, to promote the idea of your royalty."
"No complaints here," I say, smiling a bit.
She nods. "Great. I guess you can go now then."
I nod too, feeling John's hand snaking into mine. I pull it from his grip and give him a look, walking toward the palace and our new "home." There isn't much for it to compete with so I'm guessing it'll be the best by a long shot. As long as I'm with John, I think I'm okay.
"Camari?"
WORD COUNT: 1895
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