▪︎

▪︎

“Clarke!” Aurelia exclaimed as she ran into the hangar bay, followed by an unfamiliar grounder who was carrying an injured Octavia in his arms. Aura moved towards the closest workbench and shoved everything onto the floor in an attempt to clear the space, waving at the stranger to place the unconscious girl onto the metal bench. “Get her on the table.”

“Octavia?” Clarke questioned as the grounder placed Octavia down, her eyes moving over her torso and her hands working to assess the damage. 

“She just stopped breathing. And she has a stab wound in her belly.” Aurelia breathed out in fear, her heart hammering against her ribcage as she looked down at the younger Blake, her hand moving to brush the hair away from Octavia’s face.

“Okay, first things first..” Clarke trailed off, moving her hands to Octavia’s chest in an attempt to perform CPR.  “Who are you,” the blonde questioned as she spared a glance at the grounder. “How did this happen to her?”

“I’m Illian kom Trishanakru. I was on my way home from Polis when I found her.”

Aurelia looked away for a moment, noticing the number of people who were standing around with looks of concern on their faces. “Everyone get out!” she ordered, “this isn’t a theatre production!” They hesitated as their eyes moved to her. “I said out!” 

This time they didn’t hesitate, and everyone  instantly began to make their way out of the room, only leaving Clarke, Octavia, Illian and a handful of other concerned friends.

Aurelia let out a sigh of relief upon hearing Octavia taking a deep breath, watching as the injured girl’s eyes gradually fluttered open.

“You’re okay,” Clarke reassured as she softly grasped onto the girl’s face. “Octavia, you’ve lost a lot of blood, but you’re home now. I'm gonna help you.”

“Azgeda coming.” the girl mumbled, so quietly that Aurelia had almost missed it.

“What’s she talking about?” Monty questioned as he prepared to move Octavia to medbay.

“Azgeda is coming. Army… marching,” the girl continued, groaning as she attempted to move her body.

“Octavia, hey, hey, hey, stay with me.” 

“War... is here.” 

Clarke looked up frantically towards some waiting guards. “Take her to medical, go.”

“Okay, we got her.”
“Start an I.V., blood and fluids, and- and get a suture kit ready.” The blonde turned towards Monty. “Hey, I have to do this, but get Kane on the radio. Find out exactly what’s going on.”

“On it.” 

“Harper, Aurelia. Hey, Harper look at me.” Clarke called, trying to shake Harper from the state of shock that she was in. “Convene the guard. Miller’s dad is ranking officer. If Azgeda is coming, we need to plan our defense, okay? I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“Okay.” Aurelia responded with a nod as she began to rush away, Harper hot on her heels behind her.

☽︎☽︎☽︎

Aurelia fidgeted as she stood at the edge of the room, her fingers anxiously pulling at the rings laying across her chest. She watched as the rest of the guards gathered around the main table, their eyes focused on David Miller as he gave out the orders on how to approach the situation. 

“Okay, we station gunners along the wall.” Miller’s father stated as he ran his finger along the makeshift blueprint of the grounds of Arkadia. “That way, we can thin their numbers before they get a chance to close the distance.”

“And when they get close?” Harper questioned from beside Aurelia.

The man turned to look at the girl. “Hydrazine. We buried what was left in the engines when we landed, and it's being dug up right now. We're gonna pour it into the trenches.”

A movement from the corner of her eyes caused Aurelia to turn her head slightly, her eyes falling on Clarke as she walked through the doorway and into the room.

“Hey,” Aurelia greeted softly. “ How is she?”

The blonde nodded softly in response. “Strong.”

“Listen.” David spoke again, attracting their attention. “All we have to do is spread it in front of the outer wall. Then when the army gets close--”

“We light ‘em up.”

“That’s right.”

Monty scoffed slightly. “You want to light a fire outside the ship we just spent the last month getting ready?”

“That's not happening.” Clarke cut off as she moved closer to the table. “Any word from  Kane?”

“No, but Jaha found the cargo truck 12 hours out, no sign of Bellamy or Stephens.” Aurelia’s breath hitched slightly at the tiny sliver of news, her back straightening as she pushed herself off the wall behind her. 

“I have to speak to Roan.” Clarke continued, her brows threaded together in confusion. “Something happened, some sort of misunderstanding.”

“Clarke, if he wanted to talk, he wouldn't be coming with his army.”

“Do you think he knows about our plans with the ship?” Aurelia finally spoke as she addressed the blonde, her arms crossing in front of her.

“It’s possible,” she shrugged. “There’s only one way to get here from Polis. I’ll ride out and meet him.

David scoffed in disbelief from across the table. “Are you- No absolutely not.”

“Actually, that might work.”

“Monty, what are you talking about?” Harper questioned as she turned towards the boy, who had a thoughtful expression on his face.

“The Ice Nation thinks they have the element of surprise, but, thanks to Octavia, we do. Pike showed us how valuable that can be.”

“You’re citing Pike?”

If Aura wasn’t so worried about Bellamy, she would have snorted at the look of disgust on Harper’s face.

“As awful as it sounds, yes.”

☽︎☽︎☽︎

Octavia wasn’t lying when she said that a war was coming. Hundreds upon hundreds of Ice Nation warriors marched down the narrow valley, with Roan and Echo leading the charge. 

Aura crouched as low as she could, trying to remain out of sight of the warriors in order to retain the element of surprise. One hand held onto her bow, ready to fire at moments notice.

“We need to talk!” Clarke exclaimed from below as the warriors slowed to a stop.

“Little late for that,” Roan responded, his gaze firmly fixed on the blonde. “Archers! Target Wanheda.”

One by one, various lasers found themselves directed at Roan’s chest, all coming from different skaikru members who were scattered across the high vantage areas. Aurelia’s bow remained slightly lowered, knowing that the guns were merely being used for intimidation.

She smirked as the warriors’ heads snapped up towards them, their arrows now being directed towards the skies rather than at Clarke.

“Okay,” Monty spoke in a low voice. “We got their attention.”

“Remember,” a voice crackled through the radio. “No one fires unless fired upon. The radiation is our enemy, not Ice Nation.” 

“Speak for yourself,” Aura muttered to herself, her eyes firmly locked on the commander of the Ice Nation army. 

She furrowed her brows slightly as they brought forward two prisoners, both with large sacks over their heads which hid their identities. She watched as they were aggressively brought down to their knees, their hands remaining shackled in front of them. 

Aurelia gasped as they finally removed the sacks, her eyes falling on Bellamy first before moving to Kane. Monty must have sensed what she was feeling, as he quickly held out his hand in front of her to stop her from moving. 

“Don’t do anything stupid,” he muttered to her, and she simply nodded in response upon realising nothing good would coming from firing an arrow then and there.

Although she could feel the anger simmering in her veins, the relief she felt was far greater. After hearing that various members of patrols had been found dead, she had thought the worst regarding Bellamy.

“Ten minutes!” Clarke exclaimed. “That’s all I ask.”

After a few moments of contemplation, Roan finally got down from his horse. Aurelia watched as he conversed with Echo in what seemed like a heated discussion, before he began to stride after the blonde girl who was already out of Aurelia’s sight.

“Okay, shooters. They’re moving towards the cave, let the King go.”

“Hey, dummy,” Aurelia called out as she stood up, slinging her bow across her back. She could feel Bellamy’s gaze on her as she moved to stand closer to the edge of the small cliff, but her gaze was firmly zeroed in on Echo. “Just a tip. The next time you wanna kill someone, make sure they stay dead.” She smirked slightly as Echo’s face contorted into one of shock and annoyance. “Did you really think you could kill Octavia Blake?”

Aurelia’s eyes finally moved to Bellamy, who was still gazing up at her in shock. Aura let a small smile grow on her face as she nodded slightly at him. “She’s alive, and she’s gonna be okay.” 

“All units, radio check.” a voice crackled through the radio. “Unit One.”

“Unit One, check.”

“Unit Two.”

Aurelia raised her brow as she turned towards the radio, waiting to hear a response from the unit in question.

“Unit Two,” David called again. “Riley, where are you?”

Aurelia looked up and across the valley, her eyes scanning across all the guards who were stationed on the opposite side. 

“Damn it,” Monty hissed. “Riley is missing.” 

“Maybe he went home,” Harper tried to reassure, but Monty simply shook his head. 

“Or he’s headed to that cave to execute the king of the people that made him a slave.” He glanced between Aurelia and Harper, one brow raised. “Any other choices I’m missing?”

“Wait,” Harper softly exclaimed as Monty tried to move to his feet, one hand reaching to grasp onto his forearm. “You’ll never make it past that army. What are you doing?”

“Stopping a war.” he mumbled, pulling his arm away from the girl. 

“Aura,” Harper called out as she turned towards the raven-haired girl. “Tell him.”

Aurelia simply shrugged. “I’m sorry, H. It’s either this, or letting Riley cause a massacre.”

Monty nodded at the girl as he stood up, but was met with another concerned voice through the radio. 

“Monty, what are you doing?” David exclaimed. “Maintain your position. I repeat, maintain your position.” 

Aurelia turned to face the army below, still standing tall as she did so. She could only hope that Monty doesn’t face serious consequences for approaching Ice Nation. She knew Echo wouldn’t dare try anything with all the guns being directed from above, but it still made her nervous. 

☽︎☽︎☽︎

Monty was okay. Sure, he got a little man-handled, and Aurelia took a note of the warrior who had treated her friend so badly, but he was okay. 

Unfortunately, there was another problem. Echo had marched Bellamy away from the army, and towards where Riley had run off to. The girl knows Bellamy could handle Echo by himself, but a small part of her will always worry for the boy.

Aurelia nervously shifted on her feet, her eyes frequently darting in the direction that the two had walked off in. 

“I’ll cover for you.”

Aura’s eyes snapped towards Harper, her brows furrowed slightly. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Harper’s lips curled up slightly. “I know you’re worried about Bellamy. I’ll cover for you, don't worry. Just make sure he’s okay.”

“You’re the best, Harper,” Aura exclaimed, beginning to rush away as fast as she could without drawing attention from both Ice Nation and the guards. 

She ran through the trees in the direction of the cave, her bow back in her hands where it belonged. She slowed down as she began to hear voices, and quietly weaved through the trees as she tried to locate the source of sound. 

She came to a stop as she finally found Riley and Bellamy, and quickly raised her bow as she noticed that Echo was preparing to shoot Riley.

“Drop it,” Aurelia ordered, intensely staring at the side of the Ice Nation warrior’s face. “If you shoot Riley, he’ll shoot Roan, and I’ll shoot you. So drop it.”

“Come on, Riley,” Bellamy pleaded, briefly making eye contact with Aurelia. “It’ll be a bloodbath.”

“You’re a prisoner,” Riley scoffed, momentarily turning away from his target. “You’re just saying what they want you to say. I know all about that.”

Aurelia sighed. “I’m not a prisoner, so take it from me, Riley. If you shoot, you doom us all. So for the love of all things holy, put down your gun and step away.” 

“I’m done with this,” Echo muttered, pulling the string of her bow further back. 

“Riley, please. I am begging you.” Bellamy pleaded. I know how you feel about them, and I know what they did to you, but your life was saved for a reason and this isn’t it. Please!”

Aurelia briefly turned her head towards Riley, who began to tremble from where he was positioned against the floor. 

“If this turns into a massacre, it will never get out of your head. War made me a murderer. Don’t let it happen to you.”

Riley finally collapsed to the floor, his gun falling out of his grip. Aurelia waited until she was sure that Echo wouldn’t shoot, before finally lowering her bow. She quickly slung the bow across her back as she ran towards Bellamy, her arms instantly wrapping around his waist as she hugged him close. 

She felt the boy awkwardly lift his hands over her head due to his hands still being shackled, and let out a sigh of content as she felt him lay his head against the top of hers.

“You need to stop getting into dumb situations whenever I’m not there to help you” she muttered as she wrapped her arms tighter around him, her head tilting up slightly to look at the boy. 

“I’m never going anywhere without you again,” he responded with a large smile, leaning down slightly towards the girl. A small smile found itself on her face as she held onto his face with both hands, effectively pulling him further down in order to connect their lips. 

Her smile only grew as they kissed sweetly, with one hand moving to softly grip the back of his neck. 

“I was worried you know,” she spoke softly as she finally pulled away, her smile dropping slightly. “Some members of the unit were found dead and I-”

“I’m okay, Bambi,” Bellamy reassured as he pressed his forehead against hers. “Besides, you would kill me if I died.”

Aurelia let out a small chuckle.

“Damn right.”

▪︎☆▪︎

I love love.

This fic has been gaining a lot of new interactions in the past week or so which is exciting. Hello to all the new people, and hello to everyone who has been here for a while.

I hope everyone has been drinking enough water!!

A x

Word Count: 2400