ELEVEN

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"Your friend did a good job looking after your leg." praised Abby, finishing up her inspection of Aurelia's leg. "You probably only need one more checkup in a few days but generally you're good to go." The doctor stood up and started to pack up the bandages into the medkit. 

"It still hurts a little when I put weight on it though. Is that normal?" Aura questioned  as she flexed her ankle slightly. 

"Yeah, it's pretty much healed now. You just need to take small regular walks to get some strength back." 

Aurelia nodded in response as she continued to stare into her lap in silence, still fidgeting with her fingers. "Okay what's wrong Aura?" The girl looked up to find Abby staring at her with a soft look, the bandages now laying discarded on the side table. 

"It's nothing." Aura mumbled, looking back down at her lap. 

"Does this have anything to do with why you stayed here overnight instead of going back to your room?" The girl nodded again, not able to form words to give a verbal response. Abby gently sat down next to the girl on the bed and pulled her close, allowing Aurelia to lay her head on her shoulder. "You can talk to me about anything Aurelia."

"I just-" Aura took a small shaky breath. "What happened here Abby? What happened to Bellamy? I- I don't understand." Abby rubbed her back as all the questions on Aurelia's mind flowed out of her.

"He thought he lost you." Abby replied simply, still trying to comfort the girl. 

"I knew that would affect him but- but this is extreme. I mean slaughtering an entire army? People who were our allies?" 

"You have to remember he didn't do this on his accord. He was vulnerable after he thought he lost you, and Pike took that as a chance to manipulate him into going against Kane and I." Aurelia looked up as Abby pulled away from her slightly. "You're here now. And I have a feeling you can bring back the Bellamy you love." 

Aura scoffed slightly. "I tried, but Pike seems to have a firm grip on him. He won't listen to me." She sighed softly as she gripped her parent's rings around her neck. "I can't even bring myself to talk to him, that's why I stayed here. I don't think I can deal with another failed confrontation." 

"You're welcome to stay here as long as there's a bed free." Abby offered as she stood up from the bed. "Now, as your doctor, I'm ordering that you go for a walk. Go find Jasper, he's been a mess without you too." 

Aurelia stood up and fake saluted the doctor, before slowly making her way out of the medical room.

She strolled down several corridors attempting to find her best friend, and finally found him at his favourite place: the bar. 

"Jaybird!" She exclaimed, watching as the boy turned around in shock, his jaw dropping as he recognised the girl standing in front of him. 

"Lia!" The girl let out a small noise as the boy barreled into her arms and gripped her tight. "I knew you weren't dead. You promised you wouldn't leave me."

The girl let out a small laugh as she wrapped her arms around him. "I never break promises, Jasper Jordan. I'm alive and kicking, and you won't get rid of me that easily." She pulled away slightly and took notice of Sinclair clearing away the alcohol. "What's going on here anyway." 

"Sinclair is refusing to give me any alcohol."

"Don't give me that Mr Jordan." Sinclair warns with a laugh. "According to Pike’s order, all resources are to be rationed until the grounder blockade is lifted. That means food-”

“I’m not hungry.” Jasper cut off.

“..and water.” Sinclair finished off.

Jasper’s face morphed into a look of confusion. “We live next to a lake.”

“Which the grounders have poisoned,” SInclair cut off, moving around as he continued to take away glasses. “We’re filtering at the pump which can’t keep up with demand, so that means.. no alcohol.”  

"Come on Sinclair." Aurelia leaned both elbows against the counter and rested her hands under her chin, a pout forming on her face.. "How about just one shot for me and Jasper? It can be a "yay Aurelia didn't die" celebratory shot. What do you say." Sinclair stared at the two best friends with an unimpressed look before he sighed. 

"Fine. Just one shot each."

"Yesss." Jasper cheered as he high-fived Aurelia and proceeded to wrap an arm around her shoulders. The two eagerly watched as Sinclair filled two little shot glasses with alcohol, before lifting and knocking them together with a clink. They both threw their heads back and downed the drink.
Aura coughed slightly as she felt the burning sensation travel down her throat, and put down the glass on the counter with a small thump. "Thanks Sinclair." She said as she gave him a fist bump. "You're a real one." 

"You're welcome Aurelia." Sinclair said with a smile as he continued to stack the barrels away. "It's good to have you back."

“Yeah well, it doesn’t feel good to be back,” she muttered under her breath.

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“Let me out jackass,” Aurelia ordered, watching as the guard shrugged at her casually. 

“No one is to leave camp. Pike’s orders.” 

The raven-haired girl narrowed her eyes at him as she started to get more and more pissed off. “I just wanna use my damn arrows. Let me out.”

“You don’t have any authority here little girl,” the guard sneered. “Why don’t you play with your little arrows somewhere else.” 

Aurelia glared at him as she slung her bow over her head, and turned away from him. Within a split-second she whirled back around and landed a punch on his nose, watching as he clutched onto his nose in pain.

“Call me little girl again and it won’t be your nose next time.” the girl threatened, unphased by the voices calling her name from behind her.

“Miss McKinley, you can’t just punch a guard.” Pike warned as she turned to face him, her eyes temporarily moving towards Bellamy before she looked back at her former teacher. 

“Oh good. It’s his majesty himself. Let me out.” 

“No one is to leave camp. Plus, we have more important things than your little inconveniences.” He gestured for the guards to open the gate. As the metal doors opened, Aurelia’s eyes fell on the two grounders approaching their camp on their horses. Bellamy moved away from Pike and towards the grounders, a stern expression on his face.

“Talk.”

“We seek the one you call Pike.” The grounder revealed, his eyes narrowed slightly.

“Why.”

“An army has fallen, blood soaking the earth where he took their lives one by one.”

“Welcome to the war against Skaikru.” Aurelia stared at the boy’s back intensely, a mixture of confusion and disdain. A war against Skaikru? Seriously?

“Life was taken. We demand life in return.” 

“What are your terms, sir?” Pike questioned in a sarcastic manner.

“Come with us, and we walk away.”

“Sounds like a great deal! Off you go Pike.” Aurelia said with a mocking smile on her face, the expression not faltering even when both Bellamy and Hannah stared at her with a strange look.

“Walk away? From what?” Pike continued, ignoring the words of the McKinley girl.

“By the order of the commander, you have been surrounded by an army of the twelve clans.” The grounder revealed with a raised voice, addressing the entire camp. “In every direction, warriors wait to kill anyone who attempts to cross the blockade. To greet them as we greeted those we caught outside your walls today.” The other grounder threw a bundle of cloth to the floor, and everyone watched as it rolled across the earth and became undone. Two heads laid across the ground, their eyes staring up towards the sky. “We left the bodies for the animals.” The grounder snarled.

“That’s enough.” Bellamy ordered with a low voice.

“Let’s go.” Pike whispered under his breath to the boy. 

“They won’t leave.” He countered, still staring at the two warriors. “ I’ve seen this before.”

“The men who wore those uniforms took a long time to die,” the grounder continued, taunting the men standing before him. 

“Bellamy don’t you dare,” Aurelia warned as she watched him pull up his gun, aiming it threateningly towards the two warriors. His stance faltered slightly as he heard her warning, but the gun stayed up. “Bell please.” The girl pleaded, slowly inching forward. “You don’t have to be a killer. We’re better than this.”

“If you do not give up your leader, you will all take a long time to die. Choose the side that’s best for your people.” Two shots rang out which startled the girl, and her heart fell. But only a few moments later, she realised it wasn’t Bellamy who took the shot, but Pike himself. 

She let out a small sigh of relief before she turned around and walked away, her fingers curling around the string of her bow as a strange feeling bubbled inside of her. Choosing to not shoot the grounders was a small step in the right direction, but it would still take a while for her to feel okay talking to Bellamy again.

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I like this chapter. We got to see Jasper and Aura reunite but also sassy Aura came to play

Word Count: 1587