Wanton Thoughts of Yearning Hearts I: 2x07
Heda Lexa, Commander of the Twelve Clans
The Commander of the Twelve Clans sat on her throne, keeping her eyes away from the entrance of her tent, ready to make an impression. These Sky People seemed to be an even bigger threat than the Mountain Men, since her Grounder brethren were being slaughtered in the hundreds in a matter of seconds- not to mention they were claiming her land for their own. At least the Mountain Men stayed to their mountainside fortress that receded underground, and rather kidnapped lone Grounders. The loss of her people was troublesome enough, massacre or abduction. Their safety was her top priority. And now with this most recent incident, of a young Sky boy gunning down unarmed villagers- she had to come to her people's aid and show them her unwavering power, sheltering them with her protective wing like a god of the old world.
She heard the footsteps hesitantly approach her tent, but kept her eyes diverted. She had been notified that the young Skaikru girl coming to negotiate was not the actual appointed leader of the Skaikru, but one who had taken the responsibility of leadership before their true leader arrived- the one responsible for the inferno massacre at the Sky People's landing site. Not only was she technically self-appointed, this girl was younger than her! This would definitely not require much energy to intimidate the Sky girl into cowering to Lexa's will.
The flap opened and Lexa felt the room rapidly boil with tension. The only reason why this girl hadn't been killed already was because Lexa's people knew their place, and would obey until given the order they were ready to follow.
"You're the one who burnt three hundred of my warriors alive," The Commander stated coolly.
"You're the one who sent them there to kill us." The Sky girl was quick with the comment and Lexa felt a chuckle tickle her throat at the boldness. Perhaps the girl forgot that she was here to beg, not to make smart remarks. Lexa looked up from the blade she was twirling in her hand, and lightly stabbed the arm rest of her wooden throne with the tip of the blade as she took in the Skaikru girl's image. It was a miracle that she remained so composed, because on the inside Lexa felt her heart jump to from her chest into the back of her mouth. No one had told her that the girl was beyond captivating. She had dirty blonde hair frayed by anxiety and ocean blue eyes that weakly conveyed exhaustion and hopelessness. Her clothes were just as unkempt, and her face was healing from multiple bruises and lacerations, which was the ultimate sign of the wounds of an unexperienced fighter. Lexa almost pitied the girl, and wondered if she had actually tried to make herself presentable, but due to nerves, this was the best she could attempt. She wondered where exactly she had earned those wounds, and if the rest of her body was staggering to heal as well.
"Do you have an answer for me, Clarke of the Sky People?" Lexa continued, acting like her composure wasn't shook by the refreshing woman in front of her.
"I've come to make you an offer," Clarke responded, who seemed to be struggling with controlling her own composure as well.
This time Lexa didn't let the humorous comment slip, "This is not a negotiation," the Commander lightly scoffed. One of her lieutenants, Indra, seethed in their native tongue for the permission to murder the girl at her feet, but Lexa didn't desire to silence the girl just yet. It was a shame this Clarke was so naïve, but Lexa would let the girl learn just exactly what she and her fellow Skaikru were going to deal with. As if she would let a murderer go free. The only reason why Lexa hadn't ordered Clarke as retribution for her warriors was simply because of the rules of engagement. No one likes to lose a battle, but that's what it was. The Skaikru camp of the Drop Ship was fortified and its inhabitants were armed- with better weapons, one might add. Clarke and her allies had won that battle fair, despite the weapons advantage, due to their cleverness and usage of the environment. Her Grounders were trained warriors in melee and horseback combat, Clarke's camp militia was composed of young novices, but heavily armed ones. This incident in the village on the other hand was a massacre, as it involved one party using weapons over a party without weapons, and that was dishonorable.
Almost as if she had sensed the Commander's patience deteriorating, Clarke quickly proclaimed: "I can help you beat the Mountain Men."
All enamored amusement of Clarke's supposed naivety dissipated, as this was an unexpected turn. The Commander placed her dagger casually in her lap, a sign which she hoped Clarke to interpret as a temporary retreatment of arms. "Go on…"
"Hundreds of your people are trapped inside Mount Weather," Clarke continued breathlessly, anxious to interest the Commander before her patience ran out once more. "Kept in cages. Their blood is used as medicine."
"How do you know this?"
"Because I saw them. My people are prisoners there too. I was one of them."
"Lies," interrupted Indra, this time using English, no doubt to unnerve the young Sky girl. "No one escapes the Mountain."
"I did," Clarke retorted, regaining the collected composure she had entered the tent with. "With Anya." This Clarke had purposefully directed to Lexa. The Commander studied Clarke's face, as if attempting to detect known ticks in her profile to indicate lying. "We fought together."
"Another lie, Anya died in the fire. You killed her." Indra continued. Lexa watched in silence for a moment. The heart of the Commander may have been known for its stoic and rigid behavior, but internally, the human inside Lexa was stirring. Her mentor had been missing since that fateful day of the Drop Ship battle, and the Commander had to swallow the guilt of sending her to her death.
Clarke's face scrunched as she looked away from the verbally bludgeoning Indra, and reached into her jacket pocket. Lexa felt no fear, but her heart jumped with the excitement of curiosity. She knew the girl wouldn't be able to kill her, if she was planning on retrieving a weapon, there were too many guards around. Yet she was excited by the fact that just maybe this girl was dangerous, or maybe she had yet another tactic up her sleeve. Hesitantly, she removed a braid of hair from her jacket slowly, intimidated by the room preparing to unsheathe weapons. Lexa's excitement died, as her mind returned to Anya, and something in her brain was telling her that the lock of hair did indeed belong to her mentor.
"She told me you were her Second," Clarke started, after licking her lips nervously. "I'm sure she'd want you to have this." Continuing her streak of boldness, the Sky girl took gentle steps forward towards Lexa, tentatively watching the guards survey her. The Commander took the braid from Clarke's hand gently, and felt the familiar hair underneath her fingertips. Her heart sank.
"We don't know it's hers," Indra offered in an attempt to quickly comfort her Commander.
"Quiet, Indra," Lexa warned, blinking instinctively as she continued looking at the braid, perhaps afraid that her eyes were going to start brimming with tears. She had to remain reserved in the presence of this Clarke kom Skaikru, it was obvious that she was going to use every card in her deck to throw her off the war path.
"Anya was my mentor," Lexa began to inform, addressing Clarke, "before I was called to lead my people." The Sky girl offered a delicate nod of understanding at this, as Lexa softly placed the braid aside. "Did she die well?" Lexa swallowed at this, keeping her throat from drying and cracking. She must not show emotion. She must remain unmovable.
"Yes, by my side," Clarke answered eagerly, "trying to get a message to you."
Lexa resorted to aggression quickly to mask her emotion, and impatiently inquired: "What message?"
"The only way to save both our people is if we join together," Clarke played the card as fast as she could, sensing Indra already on the verge of rebuttal.
"Those who are about to die will say anything," Indra muttered, as if on cue.
"I'm still waiting for an offer, Clarke," Lexa stated cockily, using her regal prowess to gain Clarke's full attention once more.
"The Mountain Men are turning your people into reapers. I can turn them back."
Lexa could tell that this was the last card in Clarke's hand. In fact, it may have been the only one she ever had, and just knew how to drag it out.
"Impossible!" Indra spat. Resorting back to Trigedasleng, she implored her Commander, "Commander, I beg you, let me kill her."
"I've done it, with Lincoln," Clarke attempted to convince, trying to raise her voice over Indra without stealing the authoritative power from the Commander that she was in the mercy of.
Indra began to seethe once more, as Lexa watched her begin to draw her weapon, "That traitor is the reason-"
"Indra…" Lexa warned, her eyes following Indra's every move, yet her Lieutenant kept moving. "Enough!" The Commander stood from her throne, her projected voice freezing Indra on the spot, yet her menacing face did not change. Lexa could hear Clarke's breathing shake. The girl was terrified, but was doing everything she could to stay collected and professional. Violently trembling in front of the Commander would not sell her offer with conviction at all. Indra took the liberty of walking to the other side of the tent without the order, and Lexa moved in closer to the Sky girl. Lexa had an overwhelming desire to clear the tension in the tent for the sake of Clarke, to give her some comfort, but knew every drop of it that filled the air was needed in order to keep control of the situation.
"You say you can turn reapers back into men?" she asked gently, everyone in the tent watching how she handled the young girl. Clarke's eyes locked on hers, still struggling to control the fear in them, and nodded stiffly and affirmed the question. "Then prove it," the Commander lightly growled, "Show me Lincoln." The Sky girl was silent, and Lexa knew that she had done what was needed to call the girl out on her bold statement. If this girl could not play by the rules of combat, then Lexa would maintain her people's honor by beating Clarke at her own game of witty words and tempting claims. Lexa accepted Clarke's plea for her audience, thinking they were going to discuss the village murderer, but this Sky girl was only trying to stall her, and Lexa knew this. But she would let Clarke play her game; she would let Clarke entertain her, just to witness this woman's beauty before seizing justice. What harm would it cause?
Clarke Griffin, Inmate of the Ark's 100
Clarke Griffin felt her heart beat sickly as she traversed through the familiar woods to the scorched graveyard of the Drop Ship. The tension of the journey was so dense, Clarke wanted to scream in hopes of shattering the pressure it placed against her mind. This was a make or break moment. Secure this, and she could be one step closer to saving Finn. The Grounder party followed behind her, and the anxiety shaking her spirits kept urging her to steal reassuring glances back towards the one person that needed to be impressed: the Grounder leader Heda Lexa. But the glances the older woman returned did nothing to still her heartbeat. Clarke decided to keep her vision on the drop ship in front of her, praying to any existing higher being that her mother had succeeding in reviving Lincoln.
She tried to not focus on the charred corpses around them, knowing awfully well that this could only make things worse. Sure, in some respects it showed the power of her people, but she did not want to irritate the Grounders. Intimidation would not ensure the peace she was seeking, it would only make things worse. Clarke also knew that looking back at this moment would be risky, as eye-contact with their leader might cause the guards to flinch, or even- dare Clarke entertain the thought? Reveal fear in all of them including their almighty Heda? They had to be looking at the dead, they had to be.
Clarke came to a stop right before the flaps of the drop ship, and sensed the stillness behind her. Turning around, she saw the Grounders spread out besides their commander, who meet Clarke's gaze as stoic as ever. Either she hadn't been moved by the sight of her dead warriors, or she had one hell of a poker face. She needed to establish a connection with this woman, but the longer Clarke surveyed her face, the more it seemed to slowly evolve into … hate? Clarke couldn't tell, but she knew it wasn't good.
Swallowing hard, she gestured with her head towards the entrance. "This way," she addressed, trying to only focus on their Commander. Clarke knew it was important to pay attention to the powerful woman most, as she was the one who would be the savior of her people, not herself. Negotiating is one thing, but the threat- these numerous, restless, and vengeful Grounders- their Heda held the final say, and Clarke was grateful that she had given her this chance to stall.
As they made their way inside, Clarke began to climb the hatch up to the higher level of the drop ship, and her heart stopped when she heard the sound of dreadful sobbing. Her body kept moving, pushing her up the stairs, but she knew with each passing millisecond that the worst had happened.
Octavia was weeping, kneeling by Lincoln's body, which was chained and strapped down like a beast. Clarke couldn't feel her own heart. Perhaps the anxiety had finally caught up with her and finally killed her. Her mind was instinctually trying to fabricate another plan to stall Lexa's wrath. She searched immediately for the eyes of her mother, which failed to offer the comfort she once found as a child when things went wrong, and read the message of dread failure stamped across Abby's face.
The Commander made her way up next, swiftly assessing the area, and it only took one second to look at Lincoln's unconscious body, restrained in the degrading animalistic manner, for Lexa's expression to shift, making eye contact with Clarke immediately. Finally, a glimpse at this leader's true emotion… but under the wrong circumstances. She wanted to see Lexa's jaw drop as she witnessed her mother's medical talents, not to see the eyes of her killer. Clarke couldn't look away as their eyes locked. Lexa had to have read the spiking fear in her eyes, undoubtedly. God, Clarke was about to throw herself down on her knees and beg for mercy if she had to, but that was not the way of these people, pleading would go nowhere. Bellamy and Abby were already thinking of the violent alternative the Grounders were going to act on at any second, eyeing weapons in their arm's reach. Looking back up at Lexa, she felt as if Lexa had read her mind. As if they could communicate telepathically. She knew Clarke was waiting for her people to reach for weapons, so without wasting another second, the Commander turned and nodded to her own party.
Relishing in the permission to finally kill, Indra unsheathed her sword. "I'll kill them all," she muttered. Unanimously everyone in the room who could reach a weapon had drawn. Clarke's heart was beating so rapidly she felt she would experience cardiac arrest before a Grounder's blade ripped into her flesh. Her mother stood in front of her, as if fueled by maternal instinct, willing to fight not for her own life, but for Clarke. Touched in a different way, Clarke fed off of her mother's boldness, and stood still, not breaking her eye contact with Lexa, who just couldn't seem to look away either.
"Please, you don't have to do this," Clarke pleaded, hoping that this window of human connection was enough to subdue Lexa. She couldn't explain it, but she felt like a connection had finally been made between them. Perhaps she sensed that Lexa had faith in her proposal, but now it had died with Lincoln.
"You lied," Lexa replied, "and you're out of time." Her suspicions were confirmed: Lexa had only come down here because of hope, and this aggression she was going to face now would be the product of that. Clarke had never felt so desperate in her entire life. Not since she saw her father get floated. Her eyes brimmed with tears, and Clarke was ready to beg. Throw yourself at her feet. Save your people. Do something.
Abby on the other hand had one last trick up her sleeve, as if a light-bulb went off in her mind, and she jabbed her electrified baton against Lincoln's chest. Great minds thinking alike, like mother like daughter, Clarke jolted with hope as powerfully as Lincoln's limp body had jumped up with the power of the pulse.
"Hit him again," Clarke said eagerly, understanding the defibrillator method her mother was going for. The idea tranquilized her fear and replaced her mind with attentive hope. She could see Lexa in the corner of her mind, lost in what was happening. This is what she wanted. She wanted Lexa and the Grounders to see her people as valuable and just as powerful. Abby pressed the baton once more, sending Lincoln into a brief convulsion again, and back to life.
The room was full of the breaths of disbelief. The Grounders were at a loss for words, probably trying to comprehend this act as some sort of necromancy. Clarke's heart began to beat triumphantly, but reminded herself to stay culturally competent of the Grounders. Besides, these are the people who survived a nuclear world. Their knowledge and skills were just as valuable as what her Sky People had to offer, if not more. Clarke met the gaze of Indra, and all the other warriors, proud of proving herself, and proud of saving her people. And then she met Lexa's. The Commander had regained her composure, and was once again seeking this odd connection that was forming between them. Clarke still felt the tears in her eyes, but kept her chin up. She had won, and if she was going to be in the game of diplomats with these Grounders, she had to control her emotions just like them. Lexa's eye contact radiated a different message this time.
Nobly accepting defeat, the Commander replaced her sword in her sheathe, yet didn't say a word. There was something about her that Clarke couldn't pinpoint, but she felt her gazes were an obvious message of something more besides sizing up an opponent. Whatever it was, Clarke felt like it was something she should be happy to receive. This Commander seemed to be the type of leader who was always disciplined in giving out orders and following protocols, but when it came to actual human communication, she was mute. Maybe that was the distinction between the persona of Heda and the actual human Lexa. If her intuition was right, Clarke now had a hint on how to appeal to the mysterious Commander: intrigue Lexa, and you'll influence the Commander.
Heda Lexa, Commander of the Twelve Clans
"Lincoln's recovery was… impressive," Lexa confessed, standing by her war table as Clarke stood cautiously opposite her. The Commander felt that there was no harm in winding down just for a bit in front of the young Sky girl. Perhaps she had intimidated the girl a little too much earlier. A part of her heart faltered at the sight of Clarke on the verge of tears, and found herself wanting to soothe her. Wanting didn't translate into her actual actions, though. Clarke remained silent, still guarded, so Lexa continued speaking.
"No one's ever survived such a fate before," she said with a laugh. She wanted the girl to warm up, to feel safe- to feel protected by her. But not even the Commander could let herself drop her guard completely. As she attempted to lure the Sky girl into being comfortable, she still found herself instinctually reaching for the pommel of her sword, no doubt an attempt to subconsciously still feel in power. However, her warm tone didn't go unnoticed, as Clarke finally spoke up.
"It's not complicated really," she said. Her voice was soft, unlike the projection she used when they first met in the tent. It was not used to try to impress anyone on behalf of her people anymore, it was simply benevolent and it sent pleasurable shivers down the Commander's spine. "We just have to keep them alive long enough for the drug to leave their system. I know we can do the same for others."
Pausing at this, the Commander realized that it wasn't benevolence speaking, it was expertise. Lexa's smile dropped and her façade returned. This was Clarke playing another round of cards, and she had a confident hand. Lexa understood now- medicine must be Clarke's field, and her practiced knowledge of the science was far superior than the Commander's, and this gave Clarke the upper hand. Lexa didn't know what to make of it as she had never been in a position where someone had something more than her. She let her guard down to comfort a pretty girl, who had snatched it right up for herself the second she could. But it ended up enticing her. What was it about this girl that Lexa just couldn't help but have her get away with things no one else would?
"You may have your truce," Lexa offered, not even having to struggle with making her tone warm, despite the memories of her training warning her of being too soft. Clarke's face lightened with relief, as she attempted a nod, but the Commander could see that she was holding in her overwhelmed emotion.
"Thank you," Clarke said thankfully.
Underneath her Commander's persona, the sight of Clarke's gratefulness had brought Lexa delight. But her people came first, and indulging in this girl's presence shouldn't waste time anymore. It was time to get back to the main reason of all this conflict. She had given enough attention to Clarke for her own amusement, and had elongated justice enough.
"I only need one thing in return," Lexa began.
"Tell me," Clarke offered eagerly, willing to return any action to make up for the Commander's patience in her.
"Deliver me the one you call Finn. Our truce begins with his death."