The Conclave

Clarke stood close to the exit of the darkened room, both curious and anxious on which one of the Nightbloods would become her next Heda. In the center of the room commander Annika lay on the Alter covered by cloth and surrounded by candles.

The Eight Nightbloods knelt around her, all aged between ten and twenty and all wore different emotions. Four of the youngest boys were either noticeably upset at the loss of their teacher or anxious at what was to come.

Close to the Alter sat two girls around 15 winters holding hands, both with short black hair and dark skin. Curious she pulled up her dark hooded clothing and slowly moved around a pillar to find the two girls were actually twins, it only served to make her heart ache for them.

One or both of them would be dead within the next few days and she could only hope that both of them would not be the reason for the others demise.

Taking a step back within the shadows a girl 18 or 19 with long black hair and deep scars framing both her eyes caught her eye and instantly she knew she was Azgeda.

Clarke watched the girl casually lay back onto a nearby pillar assessing each of the nightbloods like a young warrior would when considering the best way at gutting a boar. The look made her skin crawl and in a way made her feel terrible that she was relived that she was not one of them.

Frowning she realized she saw only seven Nightbloods. She was sure the Flame keeper announced there were to be eight of them.

Just as she was about to leave the ceremony Clarke heard the sound of metal scrapping against the hard floor coming from behind her. Slowly turning to the sound she found another girl sitting down and carving the sacred symbol into the floor with a dagger. Her dark braided hair curtained her face blocking her view and making it impossible to guess the girls age.

As if feeling my stare the girl snapped her head up at me, the Nightbloods dark waves parted and intense green eyes looked up to meet her own. Suddenly feeling embarrassed that she was just caught staring she looked away for a minute or so before feeling safe enough that something else had by now caught the other girls interest.

Unfortunately she wasn't so lucky, the Nightblood was now staring back at her with confusion or curiosity as her head tilted to the side.

Somehow even with the position the girl sat in she still radiated a confidence that made it difficult to pick her age. Judging by the curve and softness of her cheeks she assumed she was 17 but the haunted look in her green eyes said something else.

Confused by my stare she raised one eyebrow in challenge, thinking I must have had a problem that she was not with the other Nightbloods.

Amused at the girls response Clarke grinned which only enraged her, jumping to her feet before a female warrior with dark blonde hair and war paint was blocking her path and pointing to the center of the room.

Clarke guessed she was most likely trying to have her join the other Nightbloods, the enraged look suddenly turning to a look of boredom and she simply went back to carving the sacred symbol, raising one hand that effectively shut the other warrior up.

Distantly she could hear the warrior's teeth grind before storming out the room. Smiling to herself she stepped back where the Flame keeper stood and came to the decision on which Nightblood she hoped would become the next Heda.

The four young boys were too young, one of the twins might be reasonable, the psychotic girl with the facial scars was a definite no and the green eyes with dark braids wasn't exactly a friendly girl, but how friendly a Nightblood is won't determine their fate as the new Heda.

Clarke hoped whomever the Heda spirit choose would be just as determined as she was to keep the fragile peace Commander Annika and her father had created since her people landed on Earth. It had been a dark time and many lives were lost in order to get where we were now and she refused to let her father down.

Feeling a sharp tug on her arm she turned to find her friend and personal Skaikru guard Bellamy Blake "Clarke you're leaving with me now, what were you thinking?" he hissed dragging her towards the doors. "You shouldn't be out without a guard. If you're trying to get yourself killed you're doing a great job" Clarke could feel the anger radiating from him. "I didn't promise your Dad to keep you safe only to lose you a week from his…"

Realizing what he was about to say a guilty looked crossed his face, making him shake his head and continue to guide or rather drag her out of the room.

One last look over her shoulder and into the ceremonial room she caught those curious green eyes that widened when Bellamy all but dragged her from the room. The girl frowned and quickly looked in the opposite direction where a tall and well-built warrior stood, his long dark beard only making him seem more imposing.

Back in her room Clarke headed straight to her balcony that was not safe in the slightest but had one of the best veiw's of Polis. When she first moved here she was only five and clung to her fathers hand the entire way though the city, never seeing so many people before. They wore strange clothes and crowded the markets, the traders mostly speaking Trigedasleng.

Had her father not insisted she learn the language growing up she imagined the transition to this place would have been much more daunting. Her mom would roll her eyes every time her father began his teachings and say it was unnecessary to speak their language. She was to be a healer like her mum and that entailed staying in Camp Jaha.

Wanting to make him proud though she learned the language loving the time they spent together. Then her mom died from a virus a Nomad grounder brought into our camp and things changed.

She was broken away from her thoughts when someone cleared their throat and she realized Bellamy was still in her room. Taking a deep breath Clarke turned around and found him standing their looking uncomfortable.

"What is it Bellamy?" she asked softly.

He straightened his shoulders before averting his eyes to the view behind her, "Octavia is visiting tomorrow, she wants to be here when the Commander is chosen, I think it would be safest for her if she stays on the floor below yours…your fathers room, the decision is yours of course" he quickly added.

It was obvious he felt uncomfortable and Clarke doubted he would of considered it if it was anyone other then his sister. Looking up at him she gave him a sad smile before walking up and resting her hand on his shoulder. "Keeping his room unoccupied won't bring back my father Bellamy, if Octavia staying in his old room keeps her safe then I'm sure he would want her there."

Giving her a grateful smile and a slight nod he turned and left her room, leaving Clarke once again to her thoughts of keeping the Skaikru safe and what it will take to make that happen.

Honestly I had no idea I'd post this to begin with, it was a scene I couldn't get out of my head so I wrote it down and thought what the hell there's no point in leaving it on my laptop. I'm kind of rusty at the moment, since I haven't written anything in like forever and I'm not sure if I'll leave this as a oneshot or continue it into a Clexa story.