So. Hi. This is a special little project of mine, and my special, I mean the words just kept coming at me until I wrote them all down. There isn't an updating schedule because I'm posting it as I go, but I guess we'll see how it goes?
As far as the timelines, it's all pretty much a mess. There are elements of Season 1, 2 and 3 all mixed up together. It's bound to be a little confusing at first, but if you stick by me, all the questions will be answered in due time. Bella is, at the moment, the only Twilight character that's gonna be in the story, and she's pretty out of character too.
That's pretty much it, kiddies. Oh, there's some phrases that are translated to Trigedasleng, the grounder language, and all of the translations will be at the end, alright? See ya down there, babies! Don't forget to leave me your thoughts, yeah?
"Say it again." Lincoln ordered as they neared the camp. Octavia, stumbling behind him, was breathless and tired, and she was pretty sure she couldn't breathe, much less talk, but agreed with an eye roll.
"Ai laik Octavia kom Skaikru en oso gaf yu sisau." She gasped out as they climbed a particularly nasty rock.
"Gaf yun sis au, Octavia. Two separate words, remember." Lincoln corrected, and she rolled her eyes once again. It was a nasty habit she'd picked from her brother, and
"I don't understand why I need to be able to speak this. I won't even understand their answer, anyway." She complained, taking the had he'd offered as leverage. She could see the grounder camp, and it look much more intimidating than it Lincoln had made it out to be.
"Because your people captured and tortured the Commander's brother, and now you want to ask for her help. So you do it in her language. In a respectful manner." He replied evenly, before looking around in alarm. "Octavia, don't move." Lincoln finally mumbled, taking careful steps forward.
"What's happening?" She widened her eyes, trying to look around discretely. There was nothing seemingly out of ordinary, but she knew better. "Lincoln?"
"The scouts are here. Put your weapons on the ground." The grounder replied quietly, slowly removing his knifes from the hiding places in his body and throwing them in the ground. "Ai laik Lincoln kom Trikru. Oso nou na bash op. Ai jos gaf chich ai sis op." He spoke slow and loudly, raising his hands in the air.
It was quiet for a few moments, until Octavia saw a head pop out of the trees, said head followed by four other grounders. They approached carefully, bows and swords pointed in their direction. Their eyes seemed to analyze both of them for a few seconds, and she had to hold back the shudder. Grounders looked way more intimidating up close than she gave them credit for.
"It's Lincoln!" One of them finally shouted, and they lowered their weapons. Octavia let out a sigh of relief, but didn't miss the glares she was receiving by the scouts.
"Take us to my sister." Lincoln repeated. This time, it wasn't as much of a question as it was a request, and Octavia was surprised to see them lowering their eyes and stepping aside, making space so they could step through.
The remaining minutes of the walk were even more tiring and tense than the rest. With the grounders walking behind them, Lincoln was stiff and Octavia was worried, and, if she was being completely honest, more than a little scared. She kept looking over her shoulder to make sure there was nobody trying to kill her, even though she knew there wouldn't be much she could do if that was their plan. They didn't talk until they entered the camp, and the brunette was surprised by how many grounders there were. Lincoln whispered in her ear to keep her eyes down, and with the glares and hostile they seemed to be spitting at her direction. Octavia decided to just do as he said.
They stopped right outside of a spacious tent, and one of the grounders who had accompanied them said something in their mother tongue at Lincoln before walking in.
"He's gonna let her know we're here." Lincoln informed her lowly, and Octavia nodded. They were silent for a while, standing hand-in-hand, until a dark skinned grounder came out of the tent. She had short hair and scars all over her face, a tattoo marking above her eyebrow and all the way down to her cheek. She was intimidating as hell, but the Blake girl refused to let herself get scared. She needed to do this. For Bellamy and Jasper and Raven and Clarke and everyone else. They needed the grounders, and the Commander would never accept to helping them if she acted like a scared little girl afraid of her own shadow.
"Lincoln." The grounder nodded impassively. Lincoln returned the nod, taking a step closer to her and offering his hand.
"Indra." She looked down at his hand for a second before looking up at him and finally allowing a small smile to break out of her face, engulfing his hand in hers.
"You've had us all worried." Indra stated, letting go of his hand and taking a step back. She barely spared a glance and a disgusted nose twitch in Octavia's direction before focusing her eyes back at Lincoln. "Heda is waiting for you."
"Indra has been my mentor ever since I was a boy. She's the chief of Tondc and my sister's most trusted warrior." Lincoln informed Octavia lowly, as said grounder walked back into the tent, and she nodded in acknowledgement. After taking a deep breath, she retook his hand, and they walked into the tent together.
The space was filled with at least a dozen people, all of them standing next to the throne that stood slightly above everyone else in the middle of the tent. Sitting there, there was a girl with long brown hair and dark clothes, an impassive look on her face as she stared down at the couple standing in front of her.
"Heda." Lincoln kneeled in submission, tugging Octavia's hand to bring her down with him. She allowed herself to be knelt down, and looked down.
"Leave us." The brunette ordered, her voice as strong and commanding as the glimpse Octavia had gotten from her before kneeling. There were no words spoken as the guards and advisors left the tent, only the noise of shuffling fabric and footsteps, and by each passing second, Octavia felt more and more nervous. "Stand." She spoke again once they were alone, and the couple quickly scrambled up. Please, don't kill us. We need your help. Please, don't kill us.
The Commander, who now stood in front of her brother and his lover, stared blankly at them, and Octavia felt like she could pass out from being so nervous. She was small. About Octavia's height and weight, and unlike most of the warriors she had encountered so far, there was no war paint covering her eyes. Her hair was long and intricately braided to keep away from her face, her skin was tanned and her eyes were dark green. She also had pouty lips and high, defined cheekbones. She was beautiful. And looked like a normal girl, like any other teenager she could have met in the Ark.
Except she wasn't. She was actually the Commander of an entire nation, and right now, she held Octavia and every single one of her friend's fates in her tiny hands.
Lincoln had mentioned her name to be Isabella, and said that while she was a reasonable leader, capable of forgiving certain mishaps, treason was something she did not condone, and that his relationship with the younger Blake could be seen as that.
Needless to say, Octavia was terrified.
She stared them down for what if felt like forever, blank eyes seemingly analyzing their very souls. "Brother." She finally spoke, and a split second afterwards, a smile broke out of her face as she leaned up to hug Lincoln, who took a deep breath of relief himself as he squeezed her back.
They held each other for a few seconds, before she turned around to look back at the girl from the Ark. "You are Octavia of the Sky People. I've heard about you." She stated. Her face was blank, not quite welcoming, but not hostile either. "I've heard about your people torturing my brother." Octavia and Lincoln share a bewildered look. How the hell did she know about that? "And I've heard you were the one who set him free. For that, I am in your debt. Thank you." She nodded in appreciation, a small smile gracing her lips as she touched the girl's shoulder before walking back to stand in front of her seat.
"You kept me waiting a long time, brother. I was starting to worry." Isabella stated with a soft smile, but it quickly faded when she saw Lincoln and Octavia's exchanged look. "You're keeping something from me. What is it?"
"Something's happening, Isabella. Azgeda has declared war on Skaikru, and if they come, Octavia's people won't stand a chance in survival. Unless they have Trikru support." Lincoln said after a few seconds of deliberation. Isabella took a few moments herself to analyze his words and what they actually meant.
"So, the reason you've come back is because you want my help?" She finally asked, an eyebrow raised as she sat back against her seat and stared them down.
"No, Commander. We came because we need your help. I wouldn't be here if we didn't. There's ninety of us in the dropship. If the Ice Nation comes, we have no chance of surviving. You said earlier you owed me. Help us and we're even. Please." The younger Blake took a step towards the Commander. And while begging wasn't in her nature, Octavia thought about her brother and her people, and the words just tumbled out of her mouth.
The tent was silent for a while, after that. Seconds. Minutes, maybe. Isabella's face regained the impassive look she was wearing when Octavia first saw her, Lincoln closed his eyes with a sigh, and Octavia was sure that she'd get killed for speaking out of turn.
"It is my territory." The Commander mused after the pregnant pause, Octavia looked back at Lincoln, who seemed just as confused as she was feeling. "This 'dropship' you fell from the Sky in. It's in Trigedakru territory. I can't have Azgeda invading my lands and attacking the people inside it. Even if they are not technically my people." There was a little mirth in her eyes at the end of her sentence, and she raised her eyebrows at her brother.
"Very well. I'd like to speak to your leaders, Octavia." Isabella spoke again, leaning back against the seat. It was an intimidating image, but the Sky girl was just so relieved, she was about two seconds away from hugging the Commander and kissing her cheek. "Lincoln's treatment by your people will not be forgotten, but I'm sure we can work out a way to settle our differences and make sure Nia is not a threat to any of us."
"Thank you, Commander." Octavia breathed out, and the Commander nodded once, a half smile on her face.
"Heda." She corrected, and the Blake girl furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.
"I'm sorry?"
"Not Commander, Heda. That's how grounders address me. And it looks like you're a grounder now, Octavia." Isabella smirked, an unknown joke making her forest green eyes shine with amusement. She waved her hand in dismissal after a second, and Lincoln nodded at his sister, grabbing his lover's hand and leaning his head down in respect.
"I trust once you've taken Octavia back to her lands safely, you'll return to me, brother. We have much to talk about, it seems." Her voice held as much humor as her eyes, and Lincoln groaned out a 'yes, Heda', before dragging her out of the tent.
"What was that?" Octavia furrowed her eyebrows, looking up at Lincoln. He groaned.
"Just because she's the Commander of the Twelve Clans, it doesn't mean she can't be my annoying little sister too. And she is. Annoying, I mean." He replied, sourly. Octavia still didn't understand what was going on, but decided to just drop it. Grounders sure did know how to be secretive when they wanted to.
If Octavia felt tense during the first time entering grounder camp, the second time was surely stressful enough to send her into mental collapse.
Grounders stopped whatever they were doing to stare as Lincoln and his Skaikru friends made their way into the Commander's tent. They whispered and glared and shouted in their mother tongue while Bellamy glared at whoever got too close and Clarke drank in all the information she could. Octavia just wanted to sleep. For three days straight. All the back and forth from the camp and dropship had tired her, and the tension in their destination wasn't making her feel any better. As soon as she could find a place to sit down were she wouldn't get spat on or stabbed, she planned on crashing, hard.
"I'm feeling very welcomed here." Bellamy grumbled, as they looked around. Clarke elbowed his ribs and mumbled about grounders speaking English. Octavia looked up at Lincoln in a silent question.
"Most of us don't. Only the warriors speak it, but this is a war camp, so I'd say most of the people around here know exactly what you're saying." He informed the small group, who exchanged worried looks.
"So, any tips for dealing with the Chancellor of Grounderville?" Bellamy mumbled towards his little sister, who cracked a smile and snorted out a laugh.
"Don't call her the Chancellor of Grounderville, basically." She retorted, and it was Bellamy's turn to huff out a half amused half annoyed laugh.
"This is it." Lincoln announced as they stopped in front of the bigger tent. It wasn't very different from the other tents, Clarke noticed, just a little bigger in size. And there were definitely more grounder guards around it than the usual. "Heda wants you to introduce them, Octavia."
"What?" The brunette frowned, but Lincoln replied with an uncharacteristic shrug.
"I introduced you to my leader, she wants you to introduce her to yours." He replied, opening the flapping fabric and giving the youngest Blake sibling a soft smile. "It'll be alright, I'm right outside."
Octavia nodded, called for Clarke and her brother, and the three of them walked into the tent. This time, it was empty, sans the girl sitting on the throne in the middle of the room.
"Heda. These are Bellamy and Clarke. The leaders of Skaikru." Octavia introduced her brother and friend, eyes down in submission. The Commander looked even more threatening than she had when they'd first met, war paint smeared down her face and a knife being twisted and played with by her quick hands.
"Very well. Mochof, Octavia. Gonot nau." Bellamy frowned when he realized his sister actually understood what the Commander was saying, wondering why he couldn't have asked her to teach them some words before walking into a grounder camp and meeting their commander without knowing a single word of their language.
Octavia nodded, and with a look at her brother and friend, left the tent. They all stood in silence for a while, the two Sky people watching as the Commander played with her knife and Isabella herself watched them squirm from underneath her eyelashes.
"Bellamy en Clarke, kom Skaikru. I've heard you need my help." She stated, finally looking at the people standing in front of her. Bellamy and Clarke exchanged a look, before the girl cleared her throat and took a step forward.
"Yes, we do. Commander, we don't want and we can't afford a war. We haven't done anything to cross the Ice Nation, and we have no means of defending ourselves from the kind of attack they seem to be planning." Clarke stated. The Commander's gaze was intense, and Clarke felt stripped down to her very core as she felt the grounder girl's eyes burning holes through her skin.
"Which one of you had the idea to torture my brother?" She spoke after another long, tense pause, and both Bellamy and Clarke had to resist the urge to groan.
The blonde girl almost wanted to slap Bellamy and give him the old, but good 'I told you so' speech, but decided against it, since it didn't seem like a good idea at the specific moment. Instead, she took a step forward. "I did, Commander."
There was silence again. Bellamy's eyes widened as he looked over at Clarke, wondering why the hell would she lie to the only person who could help them. Isabella was also staring at the blonde girl, and held her gaze until the she had to look away. Once Clarke had averted her eyes, the Commander stood up from her seat, coming down to stand in front of the Skaikru leaders.
Up closer, both Bellamy and Clarke could see she was beautiful, with her long dark hair and green eyes and full lips. She was a little shorter than Clarke, and a lot shorter than Bellamy, but as they stood, alone in the tent, staring at each other, there was no one taller than her.
"You're lying." She stated, eyes flickering towards Bellamy for the first time. Clarke opened her mouth to protest, but the Commander raised a hand, interrupting her. "Very well." She took a few steps back, turning her back towards them. "This is Lexa, my second. If I were to die, she would be the one to take my place." Bella pointed to the girl standing at the back of the tent. Neither one of the Skaikru had noticed her until the Commander pointed her out. She took a step forward, raising her head in acknowledgement at the two people in the room.
"Lexa, take Clarke back to Octavia and Lincoln. It is the Commander's order that every single Sky person out of this tent is not to come to any harm, do you understand? Any attempts on their lives will be perceived as personal attempts against me, and punished as such." The silent girl nodded, walking up to the blonde girl and placing her hand on her lower back, trying to guide her out of the tent. Clarke looked back at the Commander, ready to protest. "It's okay, Clarke. Bellamy and I simply have some unfinished business to deal with."
"So, Bellamy Blake. The man who chained up and tortured my brother. I've wanted to meet you for quite some time, now." The Commander spoke slowly as she walked back to the middle of the room, sitting back on the rustic throne and picking the knife she'd stuck on the arm of her seat. There was a little small smile in her face while she twirled it around her fingers, and Bellamy shifted his footing in discomfort.
"Can't say I feel the same, with all due respect, Commander." He snarked, and she raised her eyebrows in amusement. Even though she knew he was scared out of his mind, he had guts, and Isabella had to admit it.
"When I first heard about what you did to Lincoln, I had my mind made up on calling the Twelve Clans and slaughtering every single one of your people. It would have been easy, you know."
He couldn't deny that, so Bellamy raised his chin in acknowledgement, before raising his eyes to stare at hers. There was a challenge sparkling in the dark green irises, and while he didn't know what exactly it was, he refused to back down. You're strong, Commander, I'll give you that. But so am I.
Whatever the challenge was, he seemed to have passed it, the Commander finally averting her eyes with a smile and a nod.
"Allying with your people against Azgeda is not a politically smart move. The Ice Nation is a part of our coalition, it could cause a war between the clans." She started, and Bellamy frowned, his mind quickly coming up with reasons as to why they needed the Commander's support, but she raised her hand stopping him before he could get started. "But, your sister has apparently made her way into my brother's heart, and into my family. Ai shil ai seingeda op. I protect my family. So, okay. You and your people will join my coalition, become the Thirteenth Clan, and be under my protection. If Azgeda comes for you, they will come for us all, and they won't stand a chance." She declared, and Bellamy let out a breath of relief, finally allowing himself to smile. The Commander reciprocated, standing up tall to nod at him.
"Thank you, Commander." He breathed out. The corners of her lips twitched, and she nodded once again, stepping down from the elevated seat so she'd stand in front of him. Bellamy was much taller, and now that he could see her without the anxiety of his people's imminent death, he had to admit Commander Isabella was one of the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.
"Walk with me, Bellamy." She requested, and they turned around to walk out of the tent.
"I know you think of us as savages, animals with no humanity. And I know that it will be a long time before our people can be considered friends – we both have too much prejudice and anger on us for that to work – but we can be allies. We're not the bad guys here, Bellamy. There's a real enemy out there, and we must work together if we really want to survive." Isabella explained, linking her hands behind her back as they stood next to each other in front of her spacious quarters.
"Another enemy?" Bellamy fake groaned, taking a smile out of the younger girl, but he was suddenly alert. He hadn't heard about this 'til now, and it got the hairs in the back of his neck standing right up once again. It seemed like the ground had a lot more threats than he previously imagined, and it was making him feel anxious again.
"They've been taking our warriors and scouts as prisoners for years. Once they are gone, we never see them again. Nobody knows what happens to them." She replied quietly, raising her chin in acknowledgement of the people whispering and bowing down to her. "Maunkru, we call them."
"Maunkru?" Bellamy stuttered, uncomfortable with the unknown language, and the Commander nodded in encouragement.
"Mountain people, they're called in your language." She translated, and then shook her head. "Either way, Ice Nation must be dealt with before we start thinking about the Mountain, so don't worry about that, now. We know how to stay safe, and as long as we are loyal to each other, your people will be protected. Now, come. We must fetch Clarke so we can discuss the terms to our new alliance. Can you keep a secret, Bellamy? I think Lexa is rather taken to your friend. Who would have thought she prefered blondes."
Ai laik Octavia kom Skaikru en oso gaf yun sis au. - I am Octavia of the Sky People and we need your help.
Ai laik Lincoln kom Trikru. Oso nou na bash op. Ai jos gaf chich ai sis op. - I am Lincoln of the Tree People. We mean no harm. I just need to speak with my sister.
Mochof, Octavia. Gonot nau. - Thank you, Octavia. Go now.
Bellamy en Clarke, kom Skaikru. - Bellamy and Clarke or the Sky People.
Ai shil ai seingeda op. - I protect my family.