XX

[PREVIOUSLY: Octavia wakes up to find herself surrounded by grounders. After confronting Indra and Gustus, Octavia comes face-to-face with Lexa, the stand-in leader of Trikru; only to learn that she bears bad news].

The rough leather bridle, polished with an oily rag, slipped niftily through my gloved fingers as I passed it over the top of the horse's head. The creature tossed its head from side-to-side and snorted in annoyance as it got used to the solid, silver bit.

A hint of a smile played around my lips as I stroked the bright white diamond cresting the steed's forehead. My hand trailed along his soft, silky neck as I admired every curve rippling along the animal's broad back and muscular legs.

"He's beautiful, isn't he?"

My body jolted in surprise as I spun around to face the speaker. "Artigas!" I groaned as I swatted at his arm. "Don't do that."

"Do what?" he queried innocently.

I rolled my eyes as I turned back to the horse. "You know what." After a moment of silence, I tilted my head to the side as I stepped back and examined the creature once more. "Yes. This one will do. I will take him. What's his name?"

"Erasmus," Artigas chuckled.

"Wow, that's an unusual name for a horse," I commented. "What does it mean?"

"Worthy of love," the cheeky, round-faced youth returned with a smile as he slapped the horse's beefy rump. "Aw. You two suit each other perfectly."

I gave Artigas a playful shove as I brushed past him. "Whatever. I still prefer Zenia."

"Ohh ouch!" Artigas wailed. "I'm sorry, Erasmus. She didn't mean that."

I raised my eyebrows in mock disbelief as I walked over to a bench lined with wicker baskets, packed and ready to go. "Uh, yes I did." I flicked back one of the cloths covering the baskets and peered inside. "So, what's on the menu?"

"Some apples, oranges, dried figs, salted meat and bread rolls," Artigas replied as he joined me.

"Mm. That's not bad," I licked my lips in anticipation.

"Octavia! Artigas!"

The two of us looked up to see Lexa, her face partially hidden by a deep, red hood, coming towards us; ever accompanied by a continent of armed grounders.

"It's time to go," she stated as she neared us. "Gustus, take the baskets. Indra, get your men in order. We leave in five minutes. Artigas, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at the stables?"

"Y-yes, Your Highness, y-yes. I - I apologise," Artigas stuttered as he gave her a quick bow and withdrew.

I glanced after his slim, nimble figure before turning to Lexa. "He was just saying goodbye," I tried to protest but she silenced me with one wave of her hand.

"We don't have time for this. Did you get a horse?"

I nodded at Erasmus. "Yes."

"Good, then let's go," Lexa spun around on her heel and headed towards her steed, the colour of it being an inky midnight black.

I only had a moment to admire the grand steed before a sudden thought struck me. "W-wait! Your Highness!"

Lexa turned to me, her face tightened in confusion and annoyance. "What is it, Peace Keeper?"

Upon hearing her aggravated tone, a few of her bodyguards stepped forward, eyeing me warily.

"I didn't come alone," I explained. "I need to return and tell the others what is going on."

Lexa narrowed her eyes down at me as she contemplated my request.

"Your Highness," Indra stepped forward as she addressed her in a low tone. "We must be in Polis before nightfall in order to avoid vagabonds and thieves. We cannot waste time by going back for her friends. It might be a trap."

Lexa let out a small sigh. "You're right."

My heart sank. No. No. I couldn't leave Aidan without saying goodbye; who knew what might be in store for me in Polis? "Your Highness," I pleaded. "I'm not the only one who wants Bellamy back. Aidan is among my companions. You must let me go. Lexa, please ..."

"What did you say?" Gustus growled as he started to withdraw his sword.

"Halt!" Lexa shouted, glaring down at Gustus. "You move against her and you move against me."

Gustus paused as he stared back at Lexa in surprise.

"You say Aidan is with you?" Lexa repeated as she glanced over at me. "Very well. Gustus, take a continent of guards and escort the Peace Keeper back to her destination. You can join Indra and the rest of us in Polis. But remember this one thing: you kill her and you pay with your life. Jus drein jus draun (blood must have blood)."

Gustus reluctantly consented before following Lexa's orders.

I sent Lexa a small nod of appreciation before stepping over towards Erasmus. With a slight huff, I heaved my body up onto the smooth leather saddle strapped to his back. "Okay, Gustus, let's go."

It was nearly an hour later when I stumbled across the remains of my camp. The fire was nothing but a heap of ashes, the sleeping bags had been rolled back up and all the packs had been loaded and zipped shut.

But there was no one there.

As a worried frown creased my forehead, I dismounted Erasmus, keeping a firm hold on the hilt of my sword. "W-where did everyone go?" I wondered aloud, confused.

"What did I tell you?" Gustus snarled. "This is a trap."

"No, no, it's not," I shook my head, holding up my hand as my gaze fell to the floor. Almost instantly, I noticed a trail of footprints leading from the flat grassy plain to a line of thick bushes nearby. "Raven? Bryce? Aidan? Where are you?" I called out as I started following the prints.

"Put your sword down, Octavia and back away from the others!" a sharp, crisp voice cut through the air. "Now!"

My eyes widened in shock. "R-Raven? Is that you?"

"I said put your sword down! Do it or I'll shoot!"

"Okay, okay, I understand," I slowly lowered my weapon to the floor. "Just listen to me and I'll explain everything."

"There's no need," Raven suddenly emerged from amidst the bushes, her eyes blazing with anger and her features bristled with determination. "You leave us here, worried and panicked, to go running off with the enemy without telling us, huh? How dare you! Finn, Murphy and Aidan have risked their lives to go out and look for you. They should've been back by now but they're not! I swear to god, if anything happens to them ..."

"Raven, stop! I didn't have a choice," I cried out. "I was drugged and taken to TonDC. Lexa's willing to make a temporary alliance with Skikru and she needs to discuss treaty terms with Kane and Abby. Raven, please, you have to believe me."

"Why should I?" Raven scoffed. "You said you were a grounder, remember? Are you working for them? Oh god, they attacked us!"

"Yes and we killed them all!" I exclaimed desperately. "Listen, Anya's in Mount Weather, as are most of our people. They willing to cooperate with us so just put down the gun, please."

Raven glanced over my shoulder towards Gustus and the other guards. "Who are they?" she demanded as she jerked her head towards them.

"My escorts," I returned quickly. "They're going to help us get to Polis unscathed. Lexa promised! We can trust her!"

"That's one thing I hate about you, Octavia," Raven snapped. "You're too trusting. What did they do to Jasper, huh? Oh yeah, that's right, they speared him in the chest, stripped him naked and hung him up in a tree, barely alive! And what about Murphy? They infected him with a virus that wiped out dozens of delinquents! Those grounders are only using us to get Anya out of Mount Weather! They couldn't care less if our people are in there or not. Trust me, Octavia, you don't wanna do this."

I tried to calm my rapid breathing as I fired off another retort, "Raven, you're primarily responsible for everything bad that has happened to Trikru. The bomb on the bridge? All those bullets you made? The ring of fire? That was all you! The least you can do is put down the bloody gun and think straight, for just five seconds, okay? Bellamy is out there somewhere, alone and isolated. He could be in trouble, heck, he could even be dead! I don't care what you do, I don't even care if you fire that gun, but I'm gonna find him, with or without your help."

By the end of it, I had to duck my head to hide my emotions. My jaw was trembling and my eyes were beginning to tear up. Stay strong, Octavia, stay strong. You can't break-down. Not now.

"Fine."

Surprised, I glanced up, just in time to see Raven lowering the rifle. She did a waving motion with her hand and Zoe, Peter, Bryce and Tim stumbled out of the undergrowth behind her.

Slinging her gun over one shoulder, Raven sent me a firm nod as she stated, "I might not trust the grounders but like hell am I gonna let you die on your own. Let's do this. Let's find Bellamy."

I smirked. "You're on. Now, let's move out. We need to be in Polis before dark."

Gif: Octavia as she faces Raven.

XX