Anastasia POV

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

The sound echoed in my ears like a broken record. I could not tell if the sound was coming from a set of drums or the sound of my blood pumping through my ears.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

I tried to open my eyes but it was like someone had stapled them shut together. My head was screaming at myself to open them, demanding my nerves to send a signal to my brain to move or just twitch the muscles around my eyes. But nothing. All I saw was pitch black.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

I felt my body swaying and moving but I knew that it was not from my control. I was being moved. But the question was, who and where are they taking me? Flashes of white bright light clashed against the darkness of my subconscious. It was like my brain is acting like a computer monitor who is receiving a bad signal. I didn't know if I wanted to stay awake or to submit to the darkness one more time.

Clip.

Clap.

Clip.

Hooves, the thought was sluggish in my mind as it took me a while what the sound was in the first place. The next word that popped into my head was horse. Like a puzzle missing the pieces, I tried to get a picture in my head of the last thing I remember. Yet, nothing was connecting through the raging and pounding headache hammering through my skull.

I could not keep up with time. With the way my body swayed through the motions of their actions, I could not tell if I was in the same position for seconds or hours. Time was irrelevant at the moment.

When I tried to open my eyes, they drifted on their own automatically when I felt my brain flipped for a quick second. All I could see is the dirt ground and the small patch of moss growing at the base of the trees. It would have been alright if the sensation of vertigo did not consume me and my stomach feeling like it made themselves inside out at the moment.

Grimacing, I slipped back towards unconsciousness.

When I was once again slowly getting my bearings together, I heard multiple whispers surrounding me. All sounding different. I quickly came to realize that I had stopped moving and that I was laying ontop of something as if I was a folded blanket on a chair.

" … take … tent … nobody … ," my head felt like it was underwater, my ears clogged with water to the point where I did not understand a single thing that was being said around me.

However, I did feel large and rough hands grabbing a hold of my body. For a second, I felt weightless until something hard slammed against my stomach. On pure reflex, I gasped for air as the air was knocked out of me as my head hung upside down once again.

The whisper sounded louder when they spoke again, sounding a bit angry but I still could not tell who was talking. Something held on to my legs as my arms swung around out of my control when I was being moved once again. I could feel my brain tilt to the side, making me even more dizzy with my eyes being closed.

The cold wind brushing against my skin all of a sudden stopped and I felt my body overheating as I was introduced to a very warm location. Still in motion, I thought I was falling when I felt my body slip. It soon took me a while to realize that I was being settled down. My head rolled to the side as something soft and comforting embraced my aching body like a hug.

Feeling my eyes moving beneath my eyelids, I fought through them before I could barely see through them being halfway open. Going a bit cross-eyed, my foggy brain tried to comprehend if I was seeing double or if there were actually two big, burly men with a shaggy beard and not understanding the word of a good wash.

" … Gustus … ," I heard the same voice speak again.

Being in the state I am, I could still detect the glare of hate and distaste coming from the stranger as he settled me down. I tried to form some words but it was like my mouth was not connected to my brain at the moment. Burning up like the sun itself, my eyes directed themselves to a fire from the side before my eyes rolled to the back of my head once again.

Next time I felt myself slipping back into consciousness, I knew that I had been knocked out for a good while. First being, I felt the usual sensation of my body aching but it was more of it being sore. As if my muscles have not been in use for a couple of days. Second, the pounding in my head that I felt earlier is now relieved to a dull throbbing. As my other senses started to slowly come to my body, the dryness of my throat and mouth became my first priority.

My tongue felt disgusted in my mouth, parched and dehydrated. Touching the roof of my mouth with my mouth, I winced when I swallowed dryly, feeling as if I was swallowing knives. Licking my dry and chapped lips, they parted as I drew in a rattling breath. Exhausted of being unconscious, it took a lot of energy to just pry open my eyes. Blinking multiple times to clear away the darkness surrounding my vision, my sight soon cleared the longer my brain registered that it was time to get my ass up.

However, it was taking a while for my brain to respond and react with the rest of my body, still trying to recover from whatever happened to me. It felt like my lungs were shriveled up balloons, stretching and extending when I took in a deep, rattling, and shaky breath. The air that I inhaled cut through my throat like sand rubbing on a raw wound. Clearing my throat, in hopes that would relieve the pain, a burning ache was left behind as I started to breathe for what felt like hours of not.

Woozy and dazed in the environment surrounding me, I slowly tried to sit up from whatever I was laying on top of. The tip of my fingers grazed the softest materials I have ever felt, a sense of deja vu hitting me from the texture. As I was lifting myself up, a groan escaped my lips. My face twisted in pain when a sharp sensation traveled from a specific spot in the back of my head and traveled all over my head like an infestation. I felt like my head was splitting open and doubling at the same time, so disorientated that I managed to miss my own temple when I was trying to touch the side of my head.

"Easy," a very familiar voice echoed and wavered, as if my ears were not turned on to their full extent at the moment.

"W …. Wh … ," my tongue rolled in my mouth like a slimy snake as I furrowed my eyebrows.

It hurt my head to even say a single word.

Apparently, the person that was with me, mistook my words for something else. Eyes shut tight to sooth my pulsating brain, I felt something solid and rugged pressing against the bottom of my lip. When I felt the object pressed against my mouth start to tilt, I started to choke a bit when cool water was shoved down my throat.

"Drink," the familiar voice told me, this time in a soothing and eligible tone to understand.

Sputtering a bit, water droplets ran down the corner of my mouth before I managed to remember how to drink water. I didn't realize how parched I really was until I was helping the stranger tilt the object even more until I inhaled the last water droplet.

Breathing a bit heavily, I slowly opened my eyes, feeling a bit better but not to the full extent that I want to be. However, when my brown eyes connected to those striking green eyes that raise my heart rate, a new sense of energy coursed through my body. A roar going behind my ear, in a blink of an eye, I smacked the cup out of her hand, my chest heaving up and down in rage. This fire sensation bloomed in my chest like an inferno as the sound of the wooden cup clattered and crashed against the ground. If my looks could kill, Lexa would have been buried six feet under ground.

"What, the hell did you do?" My voice rasped out, cracking in the end as I tried to find my voice.

Lexa composed her posture, clenching her jaw as she turned from the direction of where the cup now laid before looking back at me.

"Giving you some water," Lexa told me in a firm tone, making me even angrier than I was before. "You are dehydrated."

"I wonder why," I spat at her, slowly itching away from her. "What have you done?"

Lexa just stared at me, her face completely void of any emotion. If it was even possible, I became even more enraged. I quickly notice that instead of being outside, that we were in fact in some sort of sheltered place. It reminded me of the tents back where the dropship is at but obvious with more care and sturdier materials, instead of those scraps of fabric that the delinquent use.

I was once again laying in a pile of the finest fur I have ever touched, with a wooden table a couple feet away from me and a couple of chairs. Food and scatter of paper litter on top of it. Candles were specifically surrounding us, making sure that they were not too close to anything that can catch on fire. What was supposed to make me calm down actually made me feel like I was suffocating and burning up from the heat surrounding Lexa and I. The flicker of the flames illuminated Lexa's face and it made my stomach flip just looking at her.

"I did what needed to be done," Lexa told me with a firm tone, slowly getting up as she grabbed the cup that I smacked from her.

"No, you kidnapped me," I spat at her. "I was hoping you would respect my decision, as a friend, you should have understood."

"And I was hoping you will make the correct choice!" Lexa yelled at me, making me recoil a bit at the tone of her voice and when she slammed the cup down on the wooden table.

I watched as Lexa closed her eyes briefly, taking a calming, few deep breaths as if she was meditating.

"You belong with us," Lexa had her back turn to me. "This is not up for discussion so I suggest you make yourself comfortable."

I couldn't help the derange chuckle that escaped my mouth, trying to wrap my head around the situation I found myself in.

"I should have killed you when I had the chance," I told her darkly, making sure to look straight at her.

An emotion flashed behind those enchanting eyes before they harden like steel.

"Possibly," Lexa stood straight. "Do not even try and escape. Gustus would be watching you."

On cue, a very big and burly man came inside the giant tent. He was even bigger than the grounder that I killed, which mind you, was hunting me in the first place. He was wearing all black, with a couple of tears in his outfit but that just made him look even more threatening. The sides of his head were shaved, leaving a patch of long hair on the top of his scalp that is braided into a ponytail. Even his beard was long, reaching down to the middle of his throat and braided as well. His eyelids were covered in what appeared to black ink or charcoal, scars around his rough face. Weapons were strapped onto him like he was ready for war.

Great, now I have a babysitter, I think to myself in my head.

I was trying to think of a way to get out of this but even with my pounding headache, I knew that there was no way I would make it two steps before collapsing to the ground. Gustus would have me on my back before I could even think of a plan.

"We will leave right when the sun comes up so I suggest you get some rest for the long journey ahead," Lexa demanded me.

"Journey? Where are we going?" But I already knew the answer to that question.

"Polis," was her only response before she swiftly turned around and marched right out of the tent.

Staring at the spot she was standing not that long ago, my eyes drifted back to the giant that was glaring holes at me.

"What are you looking at?" I gruffed at him, my foul mood increasing by the second.

As expected, Gustus did not respond back to me. He just stood there, like a statue with that permanent scowl on his face. I rolled my eyes, laying back down. As hard as I try to resist to stay awake by staring at the fire in the candles, the flickering light lulled me to sleep in seconds. I was knocked out for what felt like the millionth time of today.

The first thing that I noticed when I came around the following day, is the mouthwatering smell of food being cooked. Before my brain could even register what food even is, my stomach was already grumbling and making all of these noises at the wonderful smell.

With a little less struggle than before, I managed to open my eyes. My body was still sore and aches as if I was an old lady. However, I finally felt a bit more rested than what I felt like weeks of earning a proper rest. The sun rays beamed down and cut through the fabric of the tent, the candles long been blown out. Feeling eyes on me, I turned my head from the blankets of fur and saw Gustus standing at the same spot from the other night.

"Float me," I cursed underneath my breath, trying to calm my slightly racing heart from the small fright Gustus gave me. "Were you there all night? Watching me sleep?"

Once again, Gustus did not say anything but instead toss a pile of clothes in my direction. I watched as the pile of clothes landed on top of my lap with a small thump.

"You've got to be kidding me," I muttered under my breath as I grabbed the jacket that looked like it had seen better days.

Gustus just narrowed his eyes deeper at me, making me roll mine back at him.

"Well, turn around," I scolded him as I fully sat up. "I'm still a lady."

Gustus just huffed at me, crossing his arms across his chest.

"I'm not changing unless you turn around," I told him bluntly, standing my ground.

Gustus still did not move.

"Turn around or I am gonna shoot an arrow in that neanderthal, pea-size- ," in an instant, Gustus took out a knife just in time for Lexa to walk in.

"Enough!" Lexa shouted at the both of us, her eyes turning dark as she stood between us.

"Gustus, leave," Lexa ordered him, an air of authority that seemed natural to her.

Gustus glanced at her before glancing at me. With a glare that can make a grown man crumple on their knees, Gustus slowly put away his knife before stiffly walking out of the tent.

"Already making enemies, I see," Lexa huffed at me.

"The only way I know how," I told her sarcastically as I placed the piece of clothing back on my lap.

Sighing, I took one last glance at the clothes before glancing right back at Lexa. I stared at her as she leveled me with an unamused look.

"Well," I drawled out slowly.

She raised a single, perfectly eyebrow at me.

With my index finger, I rotated it around in a 360 degree rotation, signalling for her to turn around as well.

"Just because we share the same anatomy, doesn't mean I want you to see mine," I smirked at her. "Unless you want to have a part two from what happened at the cave."

Lexa rolled her eyes, taking a deep breath as if to calm her nerves before she ever slowly turned around to give me my privacy.

"Thank you," I once again snarked at her as I made sure that she was fully turned around.

Waiting a couple more seconds, I gave out a huff in annoyance in the situation I found myself in. Taking my time, I uncovered myself from the comfort of the fur blankets, wincing on how my muscles strain and screamed at me for the way I have been abusing it for the past couple of days. Pushing it through, I placed the top of my elbows above my knees, giving myself a couple more seconds in preparation of the most exhausting thing that I am about to do.

Getting up.

Taking in a deep breath, I held my breath as I pushed myself up my feet. My lower back pinched in soreness to the point I was doubling over for a couple of seconds. Taking another deep breath, I forced myself to straighten up, biting my bottom lip to prevent from giving out a small groan. Leaning towards my uninjured leg, I began to take off my shirt.

Ignoring the burst of purple and green bruises splattered against my pale skin like war paint, I struggled to slide on the jacket, that was honestly more metal and threads than a piece of clothing. I kept the tank top that I was wearing and discarded the plaid shirt that I have barely just gotten. Leaning towards the wooden table for support, I gritted my teeth in frustration as it took me a while to take off my pants. Finally managing to slip on the black pair of jeans, with olive green patches of fabric covering my thighs and knees, did I start to braid my long hair to the side.

"Are you finished?" Lexa growled at me in impatience.

I did not respond back.

"Anastasia, if this is one of your games, we do not have time for this," Lexa seethed at me, tapping her feet in impatience.

Once again, Lexa is met with silence.

"Anastasia-,"

In a swift movement, I lunged at Lexa with her back turned towards me and wrapped my old shirt around her neck in a makeshift noose. Thrown off guard, Lexa was not ready for me. Tightening the fabric around her throat, I stumbled a bit when Lexa started to fight back. She clawed my arms and face but I was not letting up. A crazed look overtook my eyes and the only thing that was flashing through my mind is the need to survive.

Hearing her gasp and choke underneath my hold, left a guilty sensation in the back of my head but I knew that this is what needs to be done. Right when I was about to kick behind her knees, she surprised me by pushing me backwards and my already sore body crashed against the wooden table. My grip on her never waver though. However, there was another reason behind her actions.

In a blur, Gustus rushed in and with his hand at the back of my jacket, he managed to rip me off of Lexa in an instant. Lexa began to cough violently, tears burning at the corner of her eyes but she refused to shed any of them. She had a hand around her throat and looked at me, a hint of betrayal in those green eyes.

I would have felt guilty, if Gustus had not automatically had me on my knees, pulled my head back to expose my throat, and placed his knife against my neck. He applied enough pressure to nick me, a trail of black blood going down my throat. Breathing heavily through the adrenaline, I waited for a moment for Gustus to flick his wrist and to just end my life in his hands.

"Nou!" (Stop) Lexa shouted, her voice sounding very demanding yet hoarse.

I felt Gustus freeze on his hold against me. I could practically taste the need for him to slit my throat.

"C'mon big guy," I looked up at him since he still had not let go of my head. "Just do it and I'll be out of your hair for good."

"Pleni!" (Enough) Lexa growled at him, finally collecting herself as she marched in our direction. "Teik her go." (Let her go)

In displeasure, Gustus reluctantly let me go and shoved me to the ground.

"Kwelen," (Weak) I spat at him, my hand automatically going for the cut around my neck.

"Yu are nou Heda gon Ai," (You are no commander to me) Gustus growled down at me before he wrapped something around my free hand.

A familiar and cold feeling wrapped around my wrists. Glancing down, I couldn't help but notice another metal wristband, exactly where I had the original one before but now it wraps both of my wrists. However, this time, it had a chain linking towards it with Gustus firmly gripping it in his hands.

"Great, now I'm a prisoner," I rattled the chains to emphasize.

"You forced them into my own hands," Lexa finally got her voice back.

"Forced them into your hands?" I laughed hysterically, looking at her in disbelief. "You had a choice! I had a choice! And you took that away from me!"

"Enough!" Lexa roared at my face, leveling her glare down at me.

Rage flooded her face, making it turn red and for her pupils to blow out.

"This is your life now," Lexa told me, lowering her voice into a small growl. "So you better get used to it or face the punishment."

I huffed at her, matching her glare with one of my own. Taking in a deep breath, I spat down at Lexa's shoes in distaste. In a fluid motion, Gustus yanked the chain hard and my wrist ached as I was forced up on my feet. I felt his meaty hands gripping tightly to the back of my jacket.

"Trusting you is punishment enough," I told Lexa.

A dark look flash through her eyes before she straightened up, squaring her shoulders as she raised up her chin. Staring me in the eyes, silence enveloped us before she turned her attention back to Gustus.

"Take her away. She will be riding with you after everyone has gathered their belongings. The commander awaits her arrival," Lexa told him before she marched out of the tent.

My mouth twisted as I watched her leave, leaving me with my babysitter. Trying to wipe the small slip of blood trailing down my throat with my shoulder, I stumbled a bit on my feet as Gustus gave me a rough shove forward. Cursing him underneath my breath, he then proceeded to drag me out of the tent with the chain wrapped around my wrist.

Ducking around the flap, letting it pat me behind my back, I blinked multiple times as my sore eyes were being blinded by the sunlight. Seeing nothing but pure white light, it took me a while for my eyesight to adjust. Dragging my feet without choice, I was able to regain my sight as I took in my surroundings. Trees stretched around us for miles and miles to no end, which was not surprising at all.

There were a couple of tents spread around us, less than a dozen of them. Something I quickly noticed though was that the tent that I just left, was the biggest one out of all of them. A sudden movement caught my attention in the corner of my eye, watching as someone tossed a bucket of water towards a burning fire. White smoke soon rose from the burning wood, a hissing sound echoing the small campsite. What surprised me the most, was that it was a young boy that did the action. He could not have been older than ten, give or take. Holding the bucket with one hand, he stared right back at me as I saw the others glance in my direction as well.

Glancing around, I took more notice of grounders packing up their belongings and walking up towards a group of horses, all saddled up and carrying items. They were all wearing clothes that appeared to be transformed and fashioned to become some sort of armor. Mostly dark colors with more metal than fabric, and tears as if they are always wrestling around on the ground. There was not a single grounder that was not carrying a weapon, including the young boy.

The shocking thing though, they all appeared, normal. If you get past the gruff looking expressions and smudges of dirt and warpaint on their faces. The grounders were just people.

Just like us.

Before I could have the chance to glance around even more, Gustus gave me another harsh tug before he dragged me even more aggressively towards our ride. Stumbling a bit on my feet, a flutter of happiness bloomed in my chest as I spotted the familiar white mane in front of me.

"Apollo," I breathed out, taking a couple steps forward.

In an instant, Gustus halted me in my steps by a yank from the chain. Almost falling straight on my face, I caught myself just in time. Clenching my jaw, I glared at him before softening my gaze as I gazed back at my trusty steed. Apollo, ever the show off, gave out a powerful neigh before he leaned back on his hind legs and kicked his front legs forward. However, he could not move forward too much as he was strapped down by a wooden flatbed behind him to carry as well as three grounders struggling to calm him down.

Shouts of protests rang out as Apollo tried to break free once his eyes landed on me. The three grounders held him steady, but it was obvious that they were struggling. No one can compare to the strength of a wild spirit. My eyes widened a bit when I saw more grounders rushed towards Apollo and tried to contain him. It was a lost cause and if I don't do anything soon, either one of the grounders might get hurt or worse, Apollo.

"Stop! Stop! You are upsetting him!" I shouted over the yells of the grounders. "Hod op! Hod op!" (Stop! Stop!)

Like usual, my words fell upon deaf ears as no one paid attention to me.

Yanking on my restraints, I huffed as I whipped around to face Gustus. Said grounder held an emotionless expression as he just stared at the scene in front of him, unphased.

"You have to let me calm him down before someone gets hurt," I told Gustus as I took a couple steps forward.

Gustus just sneered down at me.

"And set you free? How foolish do you think I am?" Gustus cold eyes stared into my raging ones.

"I don't think you want me to answer that honestly," I quickly quipped at him, heart racing at hearing Apollo's frightened brey from my spot. "But you have to trust me that I won't do anything! He does not like to be restrained down!"

Gustus looked at me for a moment before jutting his beard at Apollo.

"That animal is the wildest horse we had ever dealt with. No one has been able to capture it due to its speed. It's lucky we haven't killed it for our feast last night for its uncontrollable behavior. How is a weak Skaikru girl able to tame the untamed?"

Clenching my fists, I bent my knees a bit before I reared my right leg back and delivered a very sharp and hard kick, right in between his legs. Like all men, Gustus crumpled straight to his knees as the air was knocked right off his lungs. Bending and bracing my elbow, I delivered a hard blow on the side of his jaw. Like a ship going down, Gustus crashed to the ground. Slamming the heel of my boot on the hand that was holding onto my chain, he reluctantly had to let go.

Seeing an open window, I wasted no time and sprinted towards my horse. Said horse has already managed to knock down two grounders to the ground while a huddle group around them were throwing rope around his body. Slowly but surely, they were managing to grasp a better restraint on the horse but I could tell by the way it was breathing heavily and bowing its head, that it was hurting him in the process. Right when Apollo reared up again on his hinds legs, kicking his front legs in the air and almost hitting the little boy earlier straight in the head, I jumped right in front of the grounder boy.

"Apollo!" I shouted urgently, making sure my voice sounded demanding and forceful.

I took a step back in order to prevent being kicked straight into a coma, I made sure the boy is being shielded by my own body.

Apollo, not wanting to hurt me, he stumbled a bit backwards before landing back on his feet. Seeing that the horse guard is down, the grounders were about to use that to their advantage. However, I was not about to let that happen.

"Hod op! Bilaik enough!" (Stop! That is enough!)

Astonishingly, the grounders actually stopped what they were doing and stayed in their spots. Apollo continued to struggle against the ropes tying him down but I could tell that he was slowly calming down. The chains around my wrist rattled as I raised them up in front of me, taking a couple steps forward.

"What are you doing big guy?" I softly scolded him as I continued to walk up to him.

The boy behind me was trying to stop me but with the palm of my hand, he quickly went silent and let me continue to walk up towards the gigantic animal.

"You know better to start a fight and that's saying something, coming from me," I slowly shook my head as the horse continued to breathe heavily and shake his head in anger.

Everyone around me quickly went quiet and stared at me as I approached the berserk creature. I completely ignored them and completely focused on Apollo. The closer I got to him, the tenser he got. However, when the tips of my fingers brushed between his eyes, did he finally seem to relax. Giving out another huff of air, he closed his eyes as he leaned to my touch.

"That's it," I quietly praised him as I gently pet him. "There you go."

His strong muscles finally relaxed until he finally calmed down as I began to brush his head with my restrained wrists. He nuzzled his gigantic head with my own, making me feel a bit of a weight chip off my shoulders.

"I am okay big guy," I whispered to him, his ears flickering from the sound of my voice. "We are going to get through this."

Without hesitation, I slowly began to take off the ropes that were wrapped around his body, ignoring the protests from the grounders in fright. They grasped their weapons but stilled when they realized that Apollo was not attacking me at the moment. In fact, Apollo complied with me as I free him minus the straps that tied with the wooden flatbed.

"Let em gyon au," (Let him go) I huffed at the ground as there were some restraints I could not take off due to my own wrapped around my wrists. "He ste nou going gon bash op anyone." (He is not going to hurt anyone.)

At first, nobody moved and I was ready to snap at all of them before a small hand from behind me reached for a piece of rope that was surrounding one of Apollo's legs. The young grounder boy, with dirty blonde hair and blue eyes, gave me a slight nod of his head before he began to untangle the rope from his leg. Soon, another grounder stepped up and started helping him. Then another, and another, until finally Apollo was set free.

Everybody took a step back in fright when Apollo gave out a neigh before he shook his entire body. Stomping the ground with one of his hoofs, he huffed before he stood tall and powerful in front of me.

"Show off," I told him but there was a hint of smile in the tone of my voice.

But it never reached my facial expression as a hard yank from my wrists had me reeling back. Thrown a bit off guard, I made sure to continue to stare at Apollo in order to reassure him that everything was okay. I ignored the way Gustus grabbed me by the back of my jacket as he leaned to the point where the wisps of his beard brushed against my ear.

"You are going to pay for that," Gustus growled at me.

"Am I though?" I gave him a slight, cocky smirk.

That just pissed him off even more before he shoved me roughly to the ground. A oof escaped my lips as I landed on my tailbone. I clenched my fingers so hard, that they cracked and popped underneath the pressure I was applying to them. I stared at the muddy ground, not wanting to give him the satisfaction that I was getting pissed off. Releasing a huff of air, I rolled over on my knees before I pushed myself up.

Once I was back on my feet though, Gustus gave my chain a hard yank before I was being face-to-face with said person.

"I don't know what Lexa sees in you and taking you to the commander would do for you but know this Skai girl," Gustus eyes were filled with nothing by hatred. "You bring any disrespect to the commander or threat to our people, I will cut off your own tongue, gouge out your own eyes, and have your own ears bleed by your screams as you die by a thousand cuts."

My nostrils flared as I swallowed dryly.

"Well, that sounds lovely," I shot him a sarcastic look. "Can't wait."

Gustus growled lowly underneath his breath as he swiftly turned around and started dragging me by the chain. With reluctance, I started to walk behind him without a choice, mind you. Glancing over my shoulder, I gave Apollo a look to behave before facing forward. If the looks were bad enough in the beginning, the whispers were horrid.

I quickly scolded myself for making such a scene in front of an audience but I had know choice. But for now on, the plan would be to keep my head low and just observe every little detail that goes around me. I cannot let myself fall for any distractions or failures.

Next thing I knew, we were standing in front of a chestnut colored horse, who held a white stripe across their snout. My eyes noticed that the horse, like the grounders, contained war paint all over their body. I wondered if this is some sort of branding mark to detect which horse is whose or just to symbolize their culture. Either way, the horse must have belonged to Gustus because he automatically began to untie the reigns that were connected to the trusted steed. Like it was muscle memory, Gustus was already mounted on top of the chestnut colored animal, adjusting and getting comfortable. I waited for him to provide me a hand to mount the horse too or even give me a yank by the chains to indicate to get on.

Instead, he gained this gleam in his eyes before he shot me a smirk. I raised an eyebrow up at him in impatience. I scoffed when it dawned to me what he was doing.

"You've got to be kidding me," I muttered to myself in disbelief. "You are going to make me walk all the way to your precious kingdom?"

He responded by giving me a gruff noise in confirmation before he faced forward. With a kick to the side of the horse, Gustus commanded the horse to walk forward. Still being chained, I gritted my teeth as I was forced to follow and walk beside Gustus as he rested comfortably on his ride. Doing a walk around the camp like some sort of damn animal, watching as everybody finished in gathering their items, Gustus dragged me towards Lexa who was ready in her assigned horse.

One glance at me, Lexa gave Gustus a raised eyebrow at him before pointing in my direction. Gustus did not show any emotion on his face but the gleam in his eyes indicated that he was enjoying my punishment. Taking another glance around the campsite, Lexa looked pleased that everybody was all set and ready for the trip.

"Kom polis!" (To polis) Lexa shouted to the small group that were either mounted on horses or walking just like me. "The heda awaits osir." (The commander awaits).

And just like that, everybody began to move and started heading to our destination. Being at the front with Gustus and Lexa, I narrowed my eyes behind Lexa's back as I took in her posture. For the period that I have known Lexa, I've always known that she followed the rules and was very passionate about her people. It was obvious that Lexa is a natural born leader and it just made me question how long has she been doing this for.

I guess I was staring a little bit too long because not only did Lexa turn around when she felt eyes on her but Gustus gave me a hard yank by the chains. By the force of it, I was not prepared and lurched forward by accident. I found myself once again, covered in mud as I fell straight down. A couple of chuckles rung around us, enough to make my blood boil. I gave Gustus my harshest glare but he did not falter. Taking a deep breath, I got back on my feet before Gustus gained the idea of just dragging my entire body to Polis, just for shits and giggles.

Scowling as I tried to wipe the mud off of my hands and face, I once again looked back at Lexa. She stared at me for a couple of seconds before turning her back to me, staring straight ahead. I slowly shook my head at her back, angry at myself for bringing my guard down for just a couple of seconds. I should have known better.

Shaking my head in order to get rid of my raging thoughts and my choice of not so nice words towards a certain green-eye grounder, I continued to walk, more like limp, to our destination. Despite the cool and chilly air surrounding us, I began to work up a sweat for being on my feet. While I did rest for a good amount of time, I knew my body was still humming in pain for more time to heal. Especially my leg.

Just got to suck it up for a bit longer, I mentally told myself as I pretended to glance down at my shuffling feet when I was in fact beginning to toy around with the chains around my wrists.

For a moment, it was complete silence besides the sounds of breathing and the horses hooves trotting down the path. Licking all of a sudden dry lips, my eyes narrowed a bit when I discreetly began to pat my body for anything when I felt someone walking in stride with me. Immediately straightening up my back, I slowly turned my head to the side.

I hid my slightly shocked face when I stared down at the young boy that was in the campsite early to burn out the fire and aiding me in calming down Apollo. His blue eyes shined with curiosity and caution but not in disgust like Gustus and some of the grounders have been giving me. I then noticed that he was holding out a small canteen in my direction. I gave him a narrowed look as he shook the canteen in his hands, the liquid sloshing back and forth by his action.

I looked at the canteen before looking back at the young boy before turning my head away from him.

"Yu beda drink," (You should drink) the young boy told me.

Words that should have been comforting only made me bristle. The sound of his voice made me realize how young he was. Looking him up and down, he looked about the same age as -

I quickly shook my head from those thoughts.

"Go away," I gruffed at him as I began to walk a little bit faster.

"It's a long journey," his English was a bit rough around the edges, indicating to me that he is still learning. "You should drink."

"No," I told him roughly. "Now, leave me alone."

An uncomfortable silence enveloped us for a bit, making me bite the inside of my cheek to prevent myself from screaming up to the skies in frustration.

Taking in a couple deep breaths to calm down my sizzling blood, I once again began to discreetly observe the group marching to Polis. My brain quickly counted around seven grounders, including Lexa, Gustus, and the little boy. The boy was the youngest of the group while the rest appeared to be between Lexa's and Gustus' age. No shock at all, everybody is equipped with some sort of weapon strapped to their body.

I pursed my lips when I realized that I was trapped from the spot I am in. Even if I did manage to escape from my chains, I had Lexa in front of me, the grounder kid on one side with Gustus at the other and let's not forget the small group of grounders walking behind me to stop any escape plan I have in motion. With a soundless huff, I realized that my plan of freedom would take longer with a lot of patience. But first thing first, is to figure a way out of these chains.

We walked for hours until finally, later in the midday, Gustus slowed down on his horse before lifting a hand up in the hour. My throbbing and aching feet almost gave out in relief when he announced that we were taking a small break. My guess is, that if it weren't for the grounder kid with us, we would have walked straight to Polis, with no stops at all. Stopping next to a stream, I continued a little bit longer until Gustus stopped the horse next to a tree. Wanting nothing more than to drop to the ground and rest, I stood straighter when Gustus got off from his horse. He then began to tie his horse around the trunk of the tree before proceeding to tie my restraints down and feeding the horse water and food.

He turned to me and handed me his canteen. Mouth dry in dehydration, I was about to grasp the container before Gustus tilted the canteen to one side. I watched in anger as he poured the water out and straight to the ground right in front of me. Shaking the now empty canteen, he tossed it ground before marching away. My face turned red when I heard a couple of chortles and snickers from the group of grounders that witnessed what happened.

To save myself from further embarrassment, I trudged to the roots of the tree before plopping myself to the ground. I embraced the nice shade that the trees provided me, giving me reddening skin a break after baking underneath the sun rays for such a long period of time. Pulling my knees to my chest, I was about to close my eyes for a bit while the others were taking a quick snack and water break until a shadow loomed over me.

Raising a dark eyebrow, I tilted my head up a bit and found myself once again next to the grounder kid. And like again, he was shoving the canteen in my face for me to take. Contemplating for a couple of seconds, my very dried and disgusted tongue won as I snatched the canteen from his hand. Taking a long sip, I savor the cooling water in my mouth, practically moaning in satisfaction in quenching my dying thirst. In seconds, I emptied the canteen, shaking it to get the very last drop.

The young boy smiled at my actions.

"Told you so," he told me with a smirk.

"Shut it," I growled at him, tossing the empty canteen at his feet.

It hit the sound with a clatter, making just enough noise to gain some of the grounders attention. Specifically a green-eyed one. She shot me a glare, her eyes darting from me and to the boy a couple of times. However, her stance seemed to relax as she watched the young boy harmlessly grab his canteen from his feet before tucking it underneath his belt. Giving her one last glance, I placed my attention back on the kid.

We stared at each other for a couple of seconds. I give him credit, this kid has guts. Usually, when I stare people down, they either grow uncomfortable and look away. Or they get a bit scared from the intense and harsh look I give them and walk off. He did neither of those.

Instead, he actually had the audacity to sit next to me.

"Leksa says bilaik yu come kom the skai," (Lexa says that you came from the sky) the young grounder stated to me in Trigedasleng. "Ste em true?" (Is it true?)

I pushed down the urge to glance in Lexa's direction, despite feeling her gaze burning on the side of my head.

"Sha," (Yes) I responded back in Trigedasleng.

He beamed at my words.

"Lexa also said you have learned to speak our language," the little boy smiled at me.

I narrowed my eyes at him.

"What else has Lexa told you about me?" I questioned him.

He just shrugged his shoulders.

"Nothing much," he said so nonchalantly. "She just told everybody here that you are someone important."

I hated the way my stomach flipped from his statement.

"Let me guess," I hummed as I fiddled with the chains around my wrists. "Did she also tell you that I am a nightblood?"

His silence answered my question.

"Well, good to know that not only is Lexa a backstabber but can't keep a secret that wasn't hers to tell."

"You shouldn't be ashamed of who you are."

"Great, now I'm being lectured by a four-year old about life," I groaned out. "As if my day could get any worse."

Before the boy could have the chance to respond back to my comment, a hard yank had me reeling and fortunately for me, straight to my feet. Stumbling a bit to gain my balance, I was pulled once again and this time, I slammed straight to a chest full of leather and muscles. Placing my hands on their chest, I gave them a harsh push as I placed distance between me and my attacker.

Said attacker is one of the grounders that has been giving me nasty glares and laughed in front of my face when Gustus is tormenting me. The grounder is a male, slightly tanned skin, with a buzz cut like hair. His dark-brown eyes were narrowed in anger, enhancing his threatening look with a face tattoo in the shape of a crescent on the left side. It is in black ink and covered from the top of cheek all the way to the barely visible hairline. His aftershadow blended in nicely with smudges of dirt and scars literally his face. Wearing a shirt that exposes his muscles the size of boulders, it didn't intimediate me too much when I realized that I was a couple inches taller than him.

Seeing his mouth twisted in a hated scowl, I had no problem in recuperating it right back at him.

"What the hell?" I seethed, my fingers barely being able to brush against my sore wrists that are starting to turn red from all the yanking around. "What's your problem?"

"Ai problem ste kom yu skai gada," (My problem is with you sky girl) the grounder spat at me, giving my chains another hard yank that forced me on my knees.

I gave out a small grunt from the impact, small dust surrounding me from landing on my knees. Tossing my hair to the side, I squinted my eyes at the grounder as he circled around me in a threatening way. The corner of my lips threatened to twitch upwards in a dark smile, a humorless chuckle rumbling my chest at the situation in hand. As he circled behind me, I glanced around and noticed that everybody had stopped what they were doing and watching the entertainment unfold right in front of their very eyes.

I saw Lexa stand up from her spot and was about to head in my direction before Gustus stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. With one look, Lexa stayed in her spot and turned in my direction. Guess I am on my own for this one, once again.

"Ai nou even know chon yu laik," (I don't even know who you are) I spat at him in growing rage.

"Yu laik nou won gon osir," (You are not one of us) the grounder marched in front of me before he leaned straight to my face to sneer the words down at me. "Yu nou belong hir." (You do not belong here)

"At least we can agree to one thing here," I shot him a mocking smile which just made that frown on his face deepen.

"Speaking our enemies tongue," the grounder spit in my face, making me recoil in disgust. "You are pathetic. A disgrace."

That word sent a trigger memory through my brain. Eyes darkening in fury, I reered my head back before I slammed my forehead straight in the grounder's nose. Despite the pounding headache resulting from the action to the point my ears started to ring, it was worth it when I heard a loud crunch followed by the sight of blood gushing from his nose. He gave out a pained noise as he stumbled backwards, his hands quickly going to his broken nose. I shot him a smile when he stared down at his blood covered hands.

He gave out a small war cry before he charged straight at me. Heart racing, I barely managed to avoid him as I rolled to the left in a tumble. Getting back on my feet, I stood up and was about to raise my hands up when the sound of chains rattling sent a sinking feeling to the pit of my stomach.

Before I could have the chance to come up with a quick plan, the grounder is once again coming right after me. Seeing his fist reeling back, I managed to duck underneath the punch and twirl away when he raised his knee up to strike me in the face. Breathing heavily, I quickly tried to place some distance between us. But he just kept coming back, vigorous and feracious than before.

I had no choice but to fall in defensive mode. Bouncing on the balls of my feet, I pivoted around the grounder when he swinged at me again. An error that I should have realized sooner to not make because the next thing I knew, I flew straight to my back when the chains restrained me to go any farther than I could possibly go. Wrists above my head, I didn't have the chance to react before the grounder delivered a harsh kick to my ribs to the point I rolled around from the force. Wheezing from having the air literally kicked out of my lungs, I looked up at the grounder in a dazed look.

He wasted no time in delivering a punch straight to my face. My head snapped to the side from the strength of the punch, that I will not be surprised if he knocked my teeth straight from my mouth. With my face going numb, I couldn't tell if that was possible or not. Seeing black for a couple of seconds, I blinked heavily on the ground when the scene around me started to shift. Hearing nothing but my own heavy breathing, I gave a hard blink and all of a sudden, the ground quickly shifted towards a hard and cool metal floor.

Panting, my eyes widened when I found myself surrounded by people in black guards uniform, just like the one from up at the Ark. Eyes darting from the piped, metal walls, I was thrown back to the illegal fighting that I had to face up in the Ark. The dull lights made me sick to my stomach. Despite not being able to hear anything, I could picture perfectly their cheers and jeers when I stared at their screaming faces and waving arms. But no sound came out of them but just the sound of my own breathing.

Man, can he pack a punch, I thought to myself in my head.

Already feeling my cheek swelling up, I barely had the energy to lift my head up. My eyes quickly found a pair of green-eyes from the crowd.

And just like that everything quickly dissolved like sand. The guards turned back into grounders. The metal walls turned into trees and the fluorescent lights went back into the rays of the sun. The white noise finally went away and everything went back, save to my pulsating, pained body. Looking away from Lexa, I turned back to my hands. Hearing more than seeing the grounder about to land another blow to my weakened body, my fingers curled around the dirt before scooping a handful of it in my hands.

Right when he was close enough, I turned around and threw the dirt straight into his face. Automatically, he halted in his feet as the majority got caught in his eyes. Seeing a window of opportunity in my opponent's guard being down, I threw my leg out and sweeped it underneath his feet. Not being able to see to block the attack, the grounder went down quickly, landing right on his back.

Staggering back on my feet, I did not hesitate as I launched a kick straight to his head. Stumbling a bit, I watched in heavy pants as the grounder quickly went slack and gone still. The rise of his chest reassured me that I just knocked him unconscious. The results of him waking up, well lets just say that he had it coming.

Bonded hands settled on my burning ribs, hunching a bit as I struggled to bring air back in my lungs. I looked from one face to another as I stood over the knocked out grounder that provoked the fight in the first place.

"Anyone else?!" I shouted in a hoarse voice, taking a couple steps as I turned around for any reaction at all.

I was met with silence.

Breathing deeply through my nose to calm down my heavy breathing, I forced myself to stand a bit straighter as I walked, more like limped, to my spot underneath the tree's shade. Reaching the trunk, I leaned the majority of my weight on the trunk, briefly clenching my eyes as my breath hitched when I breathed in too much. Giving myself a couple of seconds, I quickly recollected myself when the boy appeared to my side.

Slightly breathing in more control, I stared down at the kid who thrusted his hand in my direction. Giving him a weary look, I stared at the red object in his palm. It was a shiny, fresh looking apple. I was very tempted to smack the delicious fruit straight out of his hand but the sudden surge of hunger fought against my better judgment. Gingerly grabbing the apple from his hand, I leaned down a bit in order to take a bite of the apple from my tied together hands. I turned my back to him before I could see the small smile on his youthful face.

Right when I ate the apple straight to its core, Gustus started ordering everybody to leave one again. The grounder on the ground is slowly catching his bearings as he had help from his other friends. Despite the growing bump and swelling slowly appearing on my cheek, the smirk crawled on my face as I watched the grounder being dragged away.

After making sure that everybody is getting ready to move once again, Gustus walked back into my direction. Barely glancing over my shoulder, I managed to catch a glimpse of Gustus clasping a large hand over the boy's shoulder before ushering him away. I stiffened when he grabbed the end of the chain that he tied down.

Wiping the sweat from the top of my lip, I gave out a deep breath in through my nose before tossing the remains of the apple down on the flower. Chewing the last bits of the fruit, I limped towards the side of the horse to prevent it from being dragged one time. I swear, someone pulls on my restraints one more time like I'm an animal, someone is going to get a lot more than a kick to the face.

Grabbing the reins of the horse with one hand and the other with my shackles, he started to lead us in front of the forming group. I found myself once again behind Lexa. With practice ease, Gustus hoisted himself up on his horse and we began to depart for our departure. A small tug from my wrists had me moving on my feet.

Faster than I anticipated, the day quickly turned to light. My eyesight slowly started to adjust as darkness started to surround the woods but thankfully, the grounders were prepared for this. In an instant, a few of the grounders gathered thick enough sticks and engulfed the object in fire. The flickering heat brought us light but enhanced the shadows as well.

We have been walking for so long, the only good thing that came with it is that my feet have become numb to the point that I no longer feel the ground every time I take a step. I shivered slightly when the sweat I have been building up, ran cold when the temperature dropped at night. Giving out a deep breath, enough to see my breath in front of my face, I squinted my eyes a bit when the little boy popped by my side.

He was one of the few that is carrying a torch. Wrists uncomfortably placed in front of me, I stared down at him as he held a long piece of cloth in his hand. Looking closely, I noticed that it is a black cloak. Knowing what he was going to do before he could even offer, I slowly took the cloak from his hand. With a bit from his help, I had to squat a bit in order to wrap the piece of fabric around my shoulders.

Despite not being able to put my arms through the sleeves, the cloak still prevented the chilly breeze from going through my sweaty clothes. Holding onto it by clasping a handful of it in front of me, I gave the kid a curt nod.

"Chof," (Thanks) I forced myself to say to him.

He just nodded his head at me.

Walking past a couple of trees and bushes, I squinted my eyes a bit when I noticed something reflecting against the light of the torches. As we got closer, I noticed the reflection is a piece of metal shining back at us from a grounder's piece of clothing. There were two of them, both the size of trees and built like rocks. Masks and war paint covered their faces, their unknown identity making them even threatening.

Halting in front of them, Gustus pushed himself forward, with me following right next to him unfortunately. The young boy was stopped by Lexa by one look from her.

I know the feeling, I thought to myself before I placed my focus in front of me.

Gustus said something to them that I didn't quite catch but he must have said something right because next thing I knew, the two grounder guards moved out of our way and let us pass. Moving forward, Gustus is the one that started to lead us down the path.

Walking for a bit, I noticed more light in front of us. And this time, I heard noises as well. They sounded like more people.

I slowed down my steps a bit when I noticed that I was being taken towards a small village full of grounders. I swallowed the lump in my throat and my fingers began to twitch in uneasiness. One grounder had a problem with me in just being near him. What would a whole village do to me?

But something was different about these grounders. They dressed like grounders but these types of grounders look separate than the one I have been forced to walk with. These grounders are not warriors or fighters. These grounders are just average looking people. They were a mixture of both male and females. Ranging from little kids running around towards elderly people sitting around a bonfire.

Instead of tents for housing, scraps of metals and pieces of logs formed this huts that looked like they had seen better days. Getting closer to the bonfire that coincidentally resides in the middle of the village, Gustus stopped his horse and me along with it. Looking over my shoulder, I noticed that the groups of grounders that have been with us since this morning, began to disband and go their separate ways. My eyes furrowed when I noticed some of them embrace grounders from the village. The only people who stood with us were Lexa and the small boy. Turning my attention back to Gustus, I watched as he got off of his horse.

Immediately, some of the village grounders grabbed the horse and dragged it away towards the other horses that are resting. One of the grounders from the village walked up to us. I tensed up as I noticed that they were walking straight to Gustus and I.

Said grounder is a female, almost as tall as me, if not taller. She wore a dark cloak with dark pants. She has dirty-blonde hair. Her face is slim with black war paint covering her eyes. The way she walked, made me think that she was in charge or something around that level. She walked with her head held up high and no fear in her eyes. This is a woman that does not go down easy and that made me uneasy.

Stopping a couple of feet in front of us, she observed me for a couple of seconds before she glanced back at Gustus.

"Honon?" (Prisoner?) The female grounder asked Gustus, giving me another side eyed glance.

I bristled at her choice of words before I too glanced at Gustus. I waited with bated breath on what he is going to say next.

"No," (No) he gruffed out. "Gon nau." (For now)

I bit my tongue in order to prevent myself from saying something that I will regret later on. Something that would most likely receive another blow to my face.

"Disha ste anastasia frey kom the skai kru," (This is Anastasia Frey from the sky people) Gustus voiced out loud enough that made everybody go quiet.

My eyes widen a bit from his revelation. The whispers spread around the village like a wildfire and the curious looks turned into disgusted looks.

"En em ste natblida," (And she is a nightblood) Gustus added when he saw the looks everybody is giving me.

And just like that, those disgusted looks change into an astonished one.

"En the heda has demanded her presence," (And the commander has demanded her presence) Lexa finally spoke, stepping forward and stood next to Gustus. "Any threat kom her, will be a threat kom the heda himself." (Any threat to her, will be a threat to the commander himself.)

Judging by the looks on everybody's faces, that they were not on board with what Lexa just told them but they knew that they did not have much of a choice. That does not mean they have to agree.

"Everybody rest," the female grounder voice is smooth yet smoky. "I hope you show your worth in our hunt tomorrow, Anastasia of the sky people. We do not, coddle the weak."

I did not respond back to her.

And with that, Gustus dragged me with him as we followed behind the female grounder. The people in the village slowly went back to their normal routine but they still kept their distance from me like I was some sort of disease. Gustus exchanged a few words with some of the people before he finally stopped in front of a small, concrete building that looked like it was about to cave in with just the slightest touch. Still holding onto the cloak that is wrapped around my shoulders, we walked inside.

Just like the outside, the inside was not any better but it was doable. Walking down a couple sets of stairs, Gustus led me deeper inside the building before finally taking me to what appeared to be a room that was built below the building. Quickly spotting the rusted, iron bars in front of me, I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the familiar room.

As if sensing my annoyance and rising sarcastic comebacks, Gustus shot me a warning look before opening the cell. Also known as my new room for tonight. Taking me to the wall, Gustus chained my restraints on the wall before he started to search me for any objects or weapons.

"Keep it professional," I snarked at him as he patted my pants down.

"I'll settle in if I were you," Gustus loomed over me before finishing up and walking away.

I marched right behind him but was stopped as I could only walk so far due to my confinement. I witnessed him saying a couple of words to the guards standing out my cell door. Shooting me one last, disgusted look, Gustus stared straight ahead and walked off.

My shoulders moved up and down as I breathed heavily, wanting nothing more than to yell and shout at Gustus with words that would make them wash my mouth after my face had turned red and blue. Frustrated, I harshly tugged on the chains before I gave out a huff, settling down at the very back corner of the place. It was pitch black in here and the source of light is the torches that are in the hallway, away from this cell. Making it uncomfortably cold in here as well.

Knowing it would be smarter for me to rest up and save my energy, I was about to succumb to my exhaustion and finally sleep when I heard the faintest of footsteps. Head leaning on the wall, I didn't bother to lift up my head to see who it is until I heard the cell door open for some odd reason. However, when I saw those familiar braids belonging to a certain brunette, I laid my head rest back on the wall.

"You have some nerve showing your face to me," I rasped out to Lexa as she stopped a couple feet away from me.

"You need to let go of this anger Anastasia," Lexa lectured me. "It would do you no good."

I didn't have to turn around to already know the way she was standing, with her hands behind her back as she stared down at me intensely.

I chortle at her words.

"La, la, la, la," I sang quietly underneath my breath to ignore anything else she has to say to me.

"One way or another, you will know that this is the best thing for you," Lexa continued.

"La, la, la, la," I sang louder, wanting nothing more to drown her out.

"I will not apologize no more!" Lexa shouted over my mantra. "I would do it again!"

"La, la, la, la," I sang even louder, slowly losing my temper.

"Anything to protect not only the future of my people but for you as well!" Lexa took a step closer, sounding aggravated and fed up with constancy of me ignoring and hurting her.

I exploded.

Launching onto my feet, I was a blur as I charged straight for her. However, I knew I would not be able to do anything and the rattles of the iron restraints proved my point. Standing less than half a foot away from her, I stared down at her.

"Wh-Why?! Why?! Why do you care about my future so damn much to betray me like this, Lexa?!" I shouted in her face, my hands shaking in her face to express my turmoil emotions. "How could you do this to me?!"

"And stand there and watch as you destroy yourself?!" Lexa snapped right back at me, inching just a bit closer. "How dare you, ask me to just go along with that?! How dare you?!"

"How dare you Lexa?!" I jutted a finger in her face, face twisted in so much rage I would not be surprised if a vein would pop and burst from my head. "I'm tired of sounding like a broken record with you, Lexa. We are going in circles with this conversation and I don't see a way to end that cycle. I am exhausted, fighting this with you. You are killing me."

Lexa looked at me with wide eyes, her mouth slightly open in a bit of shock. Slowly shaking her head, she finally closed the gap between us and firmly gripped my hands. She ignored the way I flinched from the touch and how I was trying to fight her in letting me go. Instead, she wrapped her warm hands firmly around mine to the point they slowly started to go numb.

"I am trying to save you," her eyes dart around my face, her voice finally lowering but the tone is just as effective. "Stop fighting it and let me save you! Let me help you! Let me … ,"

I stopped struggling and stared at her as she trailed off. She didn't finish her sentence but the emotion in her eyes spoke enough. Green eyes surprisingly shining in the dark stared into my own, making me light-headed. I stopped breathing at the amount of feelings going through her face like a storm. Warning signs went off in my head and every inch of my body wanted to push her away, seclude myself from everybody and everything.

Yet, Lexa had me grounded on the spot.

I saw her eyes searching something on my face before they landed down, specifically my mouth. My breath hitched as her eyes darkened. She started to lean forward and I wanted to run away. The instincts in me wanted to turn away and sprint for the hills. But it was like I was paralyzed all of a sudden. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. I couldn't blink as I just stared at Lexa. Everything seemed irrelevant to me at the moment.

When she noticed I did not stop her, Lexa pursued and leaned even closer. Right when I felt her nose brush against my own, her breath fanning my cheeks that sent electricity down my spine was when something kick-started my brain.

In an instant, my mind cleared up and I quickly yanked my hands away from Lexa's hold. In a flash, I stepped away from her.

The look on her face had me wavering but I swallowed the heavy lump in my throat and turned my back to her. She looked like I struck her against the face by my actions.

"Leave," I whispered but loud enough for Lexa to hear.

She didn't move or say anything, making me close my eyes.

"Please," I pleaded. "Just leave me alone."

Lexa must have heard something in my voice because after a couple of seconds, I heard her turn around and slowly walk away. I stood rooted to my spot until I heard the cell door opening and closing. I did not move until I could no longer hear her departing footsteps.

Trying to calm down my racing heart, I slammed the palm of my hands against the side of my head to get rid of those thoughts floating through my brain. I was filled with confusion which just fueled my anger. Taking in a deep breath, I paced around for a bit before settling back down at the corner once again.

Closing my eyes, I could not get rid of the look on Lexa's face as she looked at me when I stepped away from her.

It left me breathless.

It left me confused.

It left me terrified.

But most of all, it left me with a heavy heart.