SHIVER

SUMMARY:
Before there was a Sky Princess, there was the Ice Queen.
Kwin Astrid is a notorious leader; fearless, ruthless, and willing to do anything to protect her people. After the bombing of TonDC, many of the twelve Grounder clans were left without leadership and so joined the Ice Nation. With an army bigger than ever, Astrid kom Azgeda decides that it is now time to review her rocky allegiance with the Trikru, and to finally meet the Sky People.

Clarke / Bellamy / OCs

DISCLAIMER:
I do not own The 100, its characters or storylines.

Chapter Two

CLARKE:
In Clarke's opinion, she had been granted her freedom as soon as she'd been shipped down to Earth with the rest of the 100. She was no longer accustomed to being escorted places, especially not in shackles. She supposed that some of the Grounders and her people had received similar treatment at Mount Weather- though she didn't fail to notice an extra four guards who walked with her that morning.

A man who had introduced himself as Ress Kastur gripped her arm and led her to her destination. It was flattering, she supposed, even though she didn't know what was happening, or why he'd woken her up from the restless sleep she'd fallen into. After weeks of leaving her people at the Ark and walking North to find the infamous Ice Nation, finding him standing there with guards hadn't improved her mood. Her ears had pricked though, when she'd realised he worked directly for the Queen.
Up and down streets, around and around until she hadn't the slightest chance of finding her way out against least, that was her escort's intention, because she hadn't failed to notice when they went up and down the same street within a matter of minutes. Nor has she missed when they zigzagged between camps, as if she'd lose her bearings that easily. She might have been insulted if he wasn't trying so hard.

Finally they entered a large wooden structure, and walked down a hallway covered in thick curtains keeping the wind out, it was silent save for their footsteps. Though the man grasping her arm was tall and fit, she could see nothing of the features concealed beneath his hood. Another tactic meant to confuse and intimidate her.
"We're here," he finally spoke, in English.
How lovely it was to hear a voice like her own- cool and articulate, not native- even if he was a nasty brute!
She looked at him questioningly, glancing around once more. The only thing all the intended disorientation had accomplished was to familiarize her with the city layout. Idiots.

At last, they stopped before a set of red and gold curtains and Ress jerked his chin at the two guards standing on either side of the entrance, they stomped their spears in greeting.
"When you enter," he said, his grip tightening until it hurt "stop where I stop. Bow- low. When you raise your head, keep it high and look and stand straight."
Clarke gulped, she had requested to see the Ice Queen, but hadn't thought it would have been arranged so quickly. She had heard from Lexa of the Ice Queen's cruelty, was she to be killed? Sickness coiled in her stomach. She supposed she was important enough to warrant an execution from the Queen herself, but why drag her all this way first?
Suddenly, Clarke pulled against him.
"You'd rather go back to being a lone outcast in the woods?" he asked, sounding faintly amused.
"Perhaps if I were told what this was all about, I wouldn't feel so inclined to resist."
"You'll find out soon enough, Sky-girl."
Her palms became sweaty. He knew who she was. Yes, she was going to die. It had come at last.

The doors opened to reveal the equivalent of a throne room. A large series of candles shaped like a grape vine occupied most of the ceiling, dangerous considering the wooden roof, spitting seeds of diamond fire onto the draped walls.
"In here," Ress Kastur growled, and shoved her with his free hand, finally releasing her.
Clarke stumbled, her calloused feet slipping on the mud and straw as she straightened herself. She looked back to see another six guards appear.
Ten guards, plus Ress Kastur. These were members of the Ice Queen's personal guard: ruthless, lightning-swift soldiers trained from birth to protect and kill. She swallowed tightly and looked up, going cold and hot all at once.

Ress walked forward, halted, and bowed low, murmuring, "My Kwin."
He straightened from his bow and removed his hood, revealing a shaggy head of hair. The hood had definitely been to intimidate her into submission during their walk. Despite her irritation, she blinked at the sight of his face, and then at the Queen's. They were so young!
Ress was not excessively handsome, but she couldn't help but find the ruggedness of his face and the clarity of his golden-brown eyes rather appealing. She cocked her head, now keenly aware of how dirty she was.

"This is she?" a beautiful young woman on an ornate redwood throne asked, and Clarke's head whipped around.
Slowly, and not wishing to find herself swinging from a tree, Clarke bowed too. The Queen stared at her with eyes of steel and the hairs on Clarke's arms rose. She could feel her searching, looking for something inside of her. There was a cruelness in the Queen's eyes that felt cold and foreign, like the gaps between stars.
Could one woman destroy a world? Was her ambition so consuming? Clarke could almost hear the din of war just by looking at the way she held herself upright. Something dangerous lurked about her. It was an air of death that she'd felt before standing before the black void of Mount Weather- right after she'd shut off the filters. It was the stench of another world, a dead world.

Lightheaded and immensely heavy all at once, Clarke stood and faced the room.
Sprawled across the throne, chin propped up by her hand, the Ice Queen slowly smiled at Clarke. She indicated that a chair be brought forward so that Clarke could sit before her, and Kastur obliged with a growl of annoyance.
"I don't believe that we've ever had the pleasure of an introduction," the Queen spoke, her words were coated with glorious boredom, "I'm Astrid. And you're Clarke kom Skykru, the Sky-Princess, the murderer of the Mountain."

"I'm not-" she began with a frown, but was both cut off by her own thoughts of how hypocritical she would sound if she was protested, as well as by Ress.
"Mind your mouth," he warned, his hand drifting towards his sword, "and don't look at her like that."
Astrid smiled again, her golden crown glinting on her golden head in the soft light. At a passing glance, one might think her eyes blue or grey, perhaps even green depending on the colour of her clothes. At Clarke's distance though, these warring hues were offset by the brilliant ring of gold around her pupils. There was something about her face that made Clarke pause. She was achingly perfect, and couldn't have been older than twenty.

Astrid slowly stood up and approached Clarke.
"Please tell me exactly what you expected to find up here in my lands, Sky-girl," Astrid addressed before she clicked her tongue and circled her slowly.
Ress- and all the guards- watched them carefully with their hands on their swords, as they should. In less than a second, Clarke could get her arms over the Queen's head and have her shackles crushing her windpipe. It might be worth it- just to see the expression on Ress' face.
However, she hadn't come to kill any one, she had come to beg council with the Queen of the Ice Nation. She didn't belong with the Sky people any more than she belonged to any other clan, and she certainly wouldn't be taking a step anywhere near Lexa.

So Clarke told her about her solo defeat of Mount Weather, about how she felt the need to bear the murder of so many people and leave her people so they did not have to. She asked for the Ice Queen to allow her to stay in her Nation.

ASTRID:
As Clarke almost boasted about sacrificing her morals to save her people Astrid couldn't help but consider how nice it would be to see the girl's blood spill across the floor.

She'd lost her temper once before- once. When Costia had chosen the wrong day to insult her.
She remembered the feeling of embedding the sword into her neck, and the stickiness of her blood on her hands.
Would Clarke fare better than Costia?
Contemplating the potential outcomes, she grinned at Clarke again.

"I can see that you are physically and mentally sound. Well," she laughed, "I can see at least that you're sane, and not broken… despite the incident at the Mountain…"
Though her words were as not as clear as Ress', Astrid had a good grasp of the English language and was able to communicate to Clarke very well. Despite having taken lessons from Ress, she never had had to use their non-native language very much and never, not in her most fanciful dreams, had she imagined that the opportunity to speak with Clarke would arise.

Astrid could kill her so easily, tear the hopeful smile from her face. However, she had heard that Lexa had favoured her- before she betrayed her. Perhaps Lexa still had a soft spot for Clarke? Perhaps Clarke's plea could lead Astrid to finally claiming the clans for her own.

This Chapters POV was mostly Clarke, but as the story continues it will move much more towards Astrid's thoughts and feelings.
Please review! Good or bad, i'm keen to improve my writing as much as possible!

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