Chapter Text
Chapter 1 – Clarke Arrives
Anya - 11yrs old - Birthday 31st Dec 1989
Lexa - 9 yrs old - Birthday 20th Oct 1991
Clarke - 6 yrs old - Birthday 29th July 1994
June 2001
Lexa and Anya had first meet when Lexa was brought to the orphanage at 4 years-old. Anya was 6 at the time and took the younger, small, malnourished, girl under her wing. The orphanage split children up by age and sex, which meant that Anya and Lexa ended being put into the same sleeping room with 15 other girls, all under the age of 10 and quickly forming a bond over their shared love of roughhousing, sports and being tough in general. It was quickly learned by all the children in their age group that the two were not to be messed with unless you wanted to walk away with a black eye and bruised ego.
Clarke showed up to the orphanage 5 years later, Anya had been moved up into the room with children ages 10-14 and so she and Lexa would spend as much time outdoors on the group homes play area as possible. While Clarke and Lexa shared a room with the other girls under the age of 10, Lexa didn’t really notice the small girl who, like so many others in that age group, would cry herself to sleep at night.
One afternoon Clarke was getting bullied outside on the playground, four boys were trying to snatch her notebook she had been carrying around since arriving earlier that week. When one of the boys ripped it out of her hands Clarke started to yell at them, making a lot of noise and reaching to get the book back. She had started to cry when one of the boys tried to shut her up by pushing her. Because of Clarkes small frame and these boys not knowing their own strength he accidently pushed Clarke into a glass door which shattered upon Clarke hitting it.
Now attempting to get away from the boys Clarke started to move backward through the broken glass which only ended up scraping her hands and wrists even more along the glass. Soon blood started to flow out of her cuts. Lexa and Anya, having heard the glass shatter, ran over and noticed a little blonde girl fallen on the ground. The two older girls started to yell at the boys, Lexa tackled one, hitting the boy and then jumped up to see if any of the others were still around her. Anya had punched one in the face giving him a bloody nose and then started to move over to another boy who raised his hands up and ran away.
Clarke had multiple cuts all around her hands and some up her wrist, which were heavily bleeding, so much so that Lexa and Anya weren’t sure what to do upon reaching her. The older girls were scared of getting in trouble as they had been told by the headmistress that they wouldn’t be allowed to spend time outside if they were caught fighting again.
Lexa remembered her mother used to stop bleeding by wrapping up the area and applying pressure. Thinking this was the best option Lexa ripped off a piece of her own shirt and started to wrap it around Clarke’s wrist. Anya then picked up the tiny girl while Lexa kept pressure on the wound. Due to the fact that Clarke lost a lot of blood she started to pass out. Terrified for this girl Lexa and Anya tried to find a quiet place.
Anya having been at the group home for the longest figured that the janitor’s closet would be the best place to hide. No one liked the old janitor, and the old man was practically blind, so Lexa and Anya thought that the closest hidden away at the end of a corridor to nowhere, which had water and cloths to wrap the wound, would be an effective room to take care of the new girl.
That is how they discovered the secret room. An old storage crawlspace that had been forgotten by the people who run the institution years ago. It was located behind a false wall underneath the janitor’s sink. Full of old blankets, empty boxes, and what Anya hoped were Halloween decorations and not the actual of orphan skeletons. The space reeked of moth balls and Anya thought she saw a mouse scurry out of the room when they walked in. They also found that it had power, working lights and a water spout in it. Lexa found the cleanest blankets and they laid the small blonde down who was still unconscious.
Clarke didn’t wake up for over 30 hours, they tried to give her sleeping body food and water but she wouldn’t wake up. Finally she did start to stir and stating she was both hungry and thirsty, Lexa and Anya were more than ready to meet who this mystery girl was that seemed to have fallen from the sky into their lives. While Clarke was out, they had taken to calling her their princess as they had rescued her.
After she finished eating and drinking, Clarke became acquainted with her saviors. Her mood was brightening up and she laughed at their stories, however Clarke started to cry when she unwrapped the bandages and saw her wrist still bleeding and deeply cut. The wrist having not been properly taken care of taking started to bleed again when Clarke had taken away the clothe to examine it, they decided not to touch the rags again. Unfortunately, Clarke’s hands and wrist would never properly heal and the nasty cuts all along it stayed. Trying to make their new friend feel better Lexa and Anya pointed out their own scars so that Clarke wouldn’t feel as alone.
Lexa showed Clarke her back and chest wear her father had put out cigarettes on her. Lexa’s father was a mean man and only became more pissed that Lexa’s mother had only given him females instead of a son, and so had continued his abuse not only on his omega partner but also on their oldest daughter, little Lexa. One day when Lexa was 4 after a rather brutal beating of both Lexa and her mother, her father started going for the new baby daughter until finally her mother stepped in. Lexa saw it from the ground where she was laying, her mother walked up behind her father like a zombie, stood there, lifted a gun and shot the alpha in the head. She then pointed the gun at the baby that was in her father’s lap and pulled the trigger, the babies cries suddenly stopped. Focusing the gun on Lexa she pulled the trigger yet again before turning it on herself and shooting one more time. When the cops and paramedics finally arrived they were shocked to discover the bullet had gone straight through the only survivor, four year old Lexa, and not made any permanent damage. She was still alive but the bullet hole on her left side and the hundreds of cigarette marks and belt scars would never leave her.
Anya had been a trash baby, found by a garbage man emptying a dumpster after she was left in during the winter. She suffered from frostbite all over her body but luckily, she lived, left behind were red blotches all along her arms, legs and neck. She told Clarke the scars aren’t what make them weak it showed that they were stronger than everyone else.
Clarke became inseparable from the two older girls who took it upon themselves to teach Clarke everything they knew. Even though Lexa was smart Clarke seemed to pick up on everything they taught her faster than they could teach it to her, by the next year Clarke was already as book smart as both of them.
April 2002
Anya wasn’t the smartest, but she had incredible work ethic. Over the past year she realized that if she and Lexa were going to be able to protect Clarke once they were both moved out of the orphanage, she was going to need money. Understanding that she was the oldest and would be separated first she started to find ways to make money. Some of the older kids who had already left would hire her for little jobs, she didn’t ask many questions, but she knew what she was delivering in these packages probably wasn’t legal. Cops weren't stopping 12 year old girls on bikes though so the work was simple, and she started to make a name for herself within certain groups. She became really good and riding her bike was making her stronger.
Lexa had just moved into the same age group again and noticed that Anya would go missing after classes. Until the children turned 15 the orphanage had its own teachers that home schooled the kids. There were only 4 teachers however, so the bigger kids were taught in the morning and the younger kids in the afternoon. Anya and Lexa were in different classes but both in the morning while Clarke spent her mornings drawing or reading in the library before going to class later in the day. All three would make sure to spend all three meals together though. This wasn’t always enough time for Clarke who was very attached to the older girls so now that Lexa and Anya were sleeping in the same room again each night after the adults finished head count Clarke would sneak her way into one of the two girls’ beds for cuddles.
Lexa was naturally gifted in all things athletic, so she had been recruited to play on an elite soccer team full of rich kids after some parents saw her playing in the park. She was excited and had started making friends with the rich kids noticing how easy it was to get what she wanted from them. She also started to pick up on their mannerisms and how their parents acted. One of her new friends’ parents the Blake's even offered to adopt her so that she could go to better schools and live a better life however Lexa refused as she knew she couldn’t leave Clarke and Anya. Normally her afternoons were taken up by practicing for the team which she actually couldn’t officially play for until the following year.
The brunette had noticed how much stronger Anya seemed to be and that she had been taking one of the community bikes out almost every afternoon, wanting to know what Anya was up to she first asked only to be rebuffed with Anya stated she just like riding the bike around town.
Not believing her one afternoon Lexa skipped her afternoon practice and followed Anya, watching her pick up a big envelope from some shady looking people on a corner. The older girl then traveling across the city giving out smaller envelopes that came from the big one and got what looked like money in return. Finally, Lexa followed her all the way back to the first corner, where she watched the dirty blonde give the big envelope that was now full of money back to the older boys and turn to head back to the group home.
As Anya locked up her bike, Lexa came in right behind her.
“Are you selling drugs” Lexa demanded to know as she got off her bike
Caught off guard Anya just froze. Over the past few years and even though Anya was taller, older and stronger than Lexa, it was clear who was really in charge out of the two.
“It’s not what you think…?” tried Anya, hoping that Lexa wouldn’t be too mad at her but also knowing that if she had been seen there wasn’t much she could lie about. Not that she would really be able to lie to Lexa for long.
“Anya, if you get caught you will get sent to jail and then you can’t be there for Clarke. Have you thought about Clarke? She would be so angry with you if she found out you were dealing.” Stated Lexa firmly and with angry sitting at the back of her throat.
“I am thinking about Clarke, I am thinking about how in three years I won’t be here as often, and then two years later you will leave!” Anya started to raise her voice “What will happen then? Clarke will be 12 sure but we both know she starts way too many fights she won’t be able to stop without us.”
Anya then sighed “And then what will happen when she turns 15 Lexa? Huh? I need to start raising money so I can get her out of here once I turn 18. You know what happens to kids who can’t take care of themselves here. She needs us and I know I can’t leave her. No real business is going to hire a 12 year-old kid. Plus I’m making good money and I trust these guys”
“THEY ARE DRUG DEALERS” Lexa whisper yelled “You can’t trust them”
“It’s Sara, Lexa…” Anya said getting quieter “Well at first it was Monty and Jasper, but it turns out that they are working under Sara, and I meet up with her. I haven’t seen her in so long, she… she… is different… harder than I remember but she was so kind and at first said she wouldn’t let me work for her, but I begged. She still said no Lex, but I explained about Clarke, she still didn’t like the idea but when I showed her all the cash, I already had made she was surprised and agreed. She is creating a bank account for me so that way it will gain more money and it is safer she said. Sara showed me how to look at the balance and make sure that it was all there.”
Anya finished; she was staring at Lexa’s shoes hoping that the younger girl would understand and let her keep working she had already made a good amount of money and even being bad at math knew that she would be able to have plenty of money to get Clarke out of the orphanage once Anya turned 18 at this rate.
Lexa was mad, this was all clearly illegal, but she also understood why Anya was doing it, especially since she mentioned Sara. Lexa didn’t remember Sara but Anya had told her many stories about the older girl who had basically raised Anya at the orphanage until she left she never came back from school at 16. Anya never could get answers on what happened to her, the group home workers simply said she ran away.
“How much have you made?” Asked Lexa still not showing approval with her harsh tone
“in the past 4 months… I’ve almost made $1000, I think I should make at least $3000 before the end of the year, and I am getting better and faster so they are giving me more places to go” Anya said hoping these high numbers would help her case.
“Let me think about this… come on Clarke is probably wondering where we are.” Lexa said
The two older girls found Clarke sitting in the library full of random books donated throughout the years. She seemed to be reading a rather large textbook. Lexa didn’t know how such a young girl could even understand what was in the textbooks she liked to read, Lexa sure didn’t know, and Anya had given up trying to teach Clarke within the first few months as the girl, 5 years her younger, was already much smarter than the street taught pre-teen.
Later that night while getting ready for bed Lexa turned to Anya.
“You can keep working this job on three conditions. The first is you have to tell me all the jobs and I get to approve or deny which ones you go on.” Anya nodded slowly waiting to hear the other condition. “Secondly, Clarke is never to know. If she ever catches on about this job say you deliver newspapers, or groceries but no matter what Clarke can’t find out.” Anya nodded again completely agreeing to this one
“Lastly, you quit this and never go back to anything illegal once you turn 16 and can start working.”
“Lexa, if I am an alpha or omega, I won’t be able to get a job besides this. You know we need the money…” Anya said knowing that Lexa had probably already thought about this.
“I know that Anya and if either of those are true, we will be in bigger trouble especially if you are an omega. Let’s just hope the teachers are right about you.” Lexa said as she finished brushing her teeth.
“We can review the final condition when the time comes but as of now do you accept?” Lexa asked standing at the doorway waiting for Anya to finish washing her face
“Of course, Lexa, you have final approval over my jobs, Clarke will never know, and I will never do anything illegal after I turn 16” Anya held up her hand as she recited the conditions as if swearing into court
Both girls headed back to their sleeping room only to find a tiny Clarke already hiding under Lexa’s sheets.
The rest of the year went smoothly, Anya continued her after school routes with Lexa saying which places, she was allowed to go and which she wasn’t. Lexa was getting better at soccer under her near-professional level coaches tutoring her, making the upper-class parents excited for the team to have a ringer the following year. Clarke continued to make her teachers frustrated by demanding to be in the higher level classes and starting fights when she would stick up for the smaller kids in class. Anya and Lexa always found the last bit funny considering Clarke was the smallest out of all the kids her age, but the girl had spunk.