Chapter 6 - What Did She Do to You?
Chapter Summary: Clarke and Lexa discuss Costia not being a Nightblood. Lexa visits Ontari. Luna and her Bond visit from the Boat People. A new Flamekeeper is appointed.
Hello readers! I know it's been a while, but here is the new chapter. As I previously said, this will be the last chapter before I put it in hiatus. I just don't have the motivation to continue this story anymore. For this chapter, nomi is the shortened version of nomon. That was actually confirmed by the creator of trigedasleng so it's accurate. Also, Luna shows up in this chapter and she's a very different person than she was on the show. I pictured Luna as kind of wild and fun, so that's how she's depicted here. Trigedasleng is all in italics. And, by the end of the day today the first chapter of my new A/B/O story will be posted. It's call Love Runs Through Your Veins. Sorry for the hiatus on this story, but hopefully the new one makes up for it. Thanks for reading! - Sam
Trigger Warning
"So… she's not a Nightblood…" Clarke finally gets out. It had been two days since everything happened with Titus. Lexa and she had not yet spoken about their daughter's status. Now, waking in their chambers alone, Clarke thought it would be a good time to bring it up.
Lexa sighs deeply, turning to face her Bond as they lay in bed. Their warm furs make the situation seem less intimidating. Eventually, she nods, "No, she is not."
Clarke frowns at the vague answer, "Lex, come on. Talk to me. You haven't said a word about any of this since we found out. Just tell me what you're thinking."
In a moment of vulnerability, Lexa buries her face in Clarke's chest, letting a few tears out. Clarke is once again surprised by her Bond's tears. The woman does not cry often, so she knows something is wrong.
"It's supposed to be an honor…. Being a Nightblood, I mean…" Lexa whispers, words muffled by Clarke's shirt. She shifts forward again, holding on to Clarke tightly. She lets out a sob as she continues explaining, "But it's not. It's horrible. You are taken away from your family and moved to a place you've never known. And someone you've never met tells you that you need to train so that you can become the leader of everyone. But you're alone, so you make your own family, with the other kids just like you. And suddenly you have a whole group of brothers and sisters. And then one day, the woman who has been training you dies. And then all of the other adults around you put you in the same place you've been training and tell you to kill all of your new brothers and sisters. Everyone around you says that it's an honor. That you did good by killing them all, but it's the worst thing that I've ever had to go through… and I'm so happy that my little one won't ever have to go through it as well."
Her sobs begin to take over. Clarke rocks the woman back and forth, whispering soft words in her ear. Clarke had seen her Bond cry before, but never like this. It scares Clarke, but it also makes her happy. Happy that the woman trusts her enough to let go. And happy that the woman can finally release all of this pain she's been holding inside.
Eventually, Lexa starts to calm down. Clarke continues to hold her close as she makes a suggestion, "My love, if you disagree so much with the way that it is, why don't you change it?"
Lexa's head rises to look at her Bond. She furrows her eyebrows a little before nodding, "You're right, I should change it. I need to begin working on it now."
Clarke laughs as Lexa jumps out of bed to start right away.
"Back up!" a guard yells into the cell. Ontari quickly follows the order, shuffling to the back corner of the tiny cell she had been put in two days ago.
Lexa watches from the shadows as the younger girls cowers into the corner of her cell. Lexa hadn't meant to leave the girl in the dungeons for this long, but with everything going on, she had been distracted by other things. Neutro had been attached to her Heda ever since the incident, worried that Lexa actually was angry with her.
Lexa had never put much thought into Ontari's life. When Nia had revealed that she had her own Nightblood, Lexa assumed that the child would follow in Nia's footsteps. Cold and ruthless, just like Nia was. But the girl Lexa is watching now doesn't remind her of Nia at all.
Deciding that she needs to know the truth, Lexa shouts, "Out! All guards out!"
The guards look at her strangely for a second before following the order. Lexa slowly steps toward the cell. Unlocking the chain, Lexa enters the little cell. She can see the shocked look on Ontari's face.
"P-Please… I didn't m-mean to offend you H-Heda… P-Please…" Ontari stutters out, pushing herself back into the wall as far as possible. Lexa ignores the girl's pleas, walking straight up to the girl, kneeling down to come eye to eye with her. Ontari lowers her eyes as a sign of submission.
Lexa reaches out, tilting the girl's head up so she can see her face. Lexa takes in the sight of intense fear on the girl's face before muttering, "What did she do to you?"
Ontari furrows her eyebrows, confused, "Who, Heda?"
Lexa moves her hand away from the girl, leaning back against the wall next to her. She makes herself as comfortable as possible, trying to appear as least threatening as she can. Eventually she can feel Ontari's body relax a bit, leaning on the wall with Lexa. She speaks to the girl softly, "Ontari, I want you to tell me what it was like for you in Azgeda."
The order shocks Ontari. She doesn't want to talk about what it was like growing up under the Ice Queen's hand. She shakes her head, turning away from her Heda, expecting retribution for disobedience.
"Ontari, I am not trying to punish you," Lexa assures her. "I just want to know about you. I want to know what it was like for you before… I want to know what she did to you."
Ontari rests her head on her curled up legs. Tears gather in her eyes, but not one falls, "Crying is weakness. Weakness means death."
Lexa hears the quiet whispers coming from the distressed girl. The words sound rehearsed, as though someone had repeated them to her over and over. Lexa's mind flashes back to Titus, the man who taught her that love was weakness.
"Crying is weakness. Weakness means death."
"Ontari, stop," Lexa interjects, shaking the girl from her memories. She pulls the young girl up against her, trying to calm her down, "Ontari, tell me about your life."
"Hey, Lex," Clarke kisses her cheek as she walks into the throne room. "The guards returned from delivering Titus. They said he was left about a mile outside of our borders and they sent him the other way."
"Good," she nods resolutely. "If I ever see him again I will slice his extremities off one by one."
Clarke shakes her head, but her silence shows her agreement. She hands Lexa a piece of paper as she sits at the table, "A messenger brought that. It's from Luna. She said that they were able to finally recover from the storms and now she wants to see Costia. She and Sef will be here by tomorrow evening."
"I'm glad Sef is coming as well," Lexa adds. "She is the only one able to calm Luna when she gets angry, and when Luna hears about Titus, she will be angry like never before."
"I wish I didn't have to be present for that," Clarke chuckles, hopping up to sit on the table. "So, I've never heard the name Sef before. Is it common with Floudonkru?"
"Sef is not from the Boat People," Lexa informs her Bond. "Sef came from the Blue Cliff Clan. Luna was traveling through one night and met her there. Sef isn't a common name there either, though. When Sef was born, her mother passed away. Before she died, she named Sef after the Greek God Persephone."
"I thought no one believes in Gods…"
"We don't believe in them," Lexa smiles, happy to share her culture with Clarke. "But, some of us are fascinated by the tales of the Old World told. Sef's mother obviously liked them."
"Lexa, my sister!" Luna's powerful voice shouts over the chatter of Polis.
Lexa turns towards the voice, spotting Luna in the crowd. The woman plows through people to get to Lexa, but ignores her when she sees Costia in her arms.
"Hi Luna," Lexa begins, stopping when her daughter is taken from her arms.
"Hello little baby!" Luna holds the baby roughly, "I'm Luna. I am the one who will teach you to swim and to fish and to board the waters and-"
"Luna, dear, you have to be gentle with her," a blonde haired woman takes the baby in her arms, softly stroking the child's forehead, "Hello, little one… You have your mama's eyes, don't you? And nomi's hair?"
Clarke and Lexa smile at Sef's words. Luna crosses her arms, pouting at the fact that the baby was taken from her. Clarke steps up to wrap an arm around Sef, "Hi, Sef. How was your trip?"
The two walk off towards the market, leaving their respective partners behind. Lexa laughs, pulling on Luna's arm to get her to loosen up, "My friend, our loves are always much more concerned with each other than us. Stop pouting like a child."
"I don't understand them," Luna relents, letting the younger woman guide the way. "The two of them get along better with each other than with us!"
Lexa smiles, "They can relate to each other better. They are both gentle spirits. And Sef is the youngest of us all. You are the oldest. I'm sure that speaking to Clarke seems easier because of that for her."
"Still wish she would've let me hold the baby," Luna frowns, "She's perfect, by the way. I'm sure you are proud."
Lexa just grins.
"So are you and Sef planning on having children?" Lexa inquires as Luna takes a seat in her throne.
The woman sighs, "I think Sef would like to. And I would have very much fun teaching a little one all of the things they can do…"
"But?"
Luna frowns, moving to sit on the table in front of her friend instead, "I would like to take in one of the children from the orphanage, but I am worried that Sef would rather have a child like Clarke did."
Lexa nods understandingly, "Before Clarke and I decided to have Costia, we spoke about taking in one of the orphans. I did not know of the Skaikru technology that would allow us to have a child. Even after, we still considered taking in one of the children. In the end I decided that whatever Clarke wanted to do, we would do. She explained to me that she wanted to have a child herself. But, she also told me that if we ever want another child, she would want to take a child in. Costia is only a month and a half old though, so it will be a little while. But, we probably will eventually."
"So, what should I do?" Luna asks.
Lexa lays a hand on her friend's knee, "Sef and Clarke are different people, no matter how similar they are. You need to talk to your Bond, Luna. Ask her what she wants."
"Luna, Sef… I have a proposition for you both and I would like to have a decision pretty quickly because it's very important," Lexa tells the two women. Sef leans into Luna's side as they give her a confused look.
"What is it, friend?" Luna inquires.
Clarke and Lexa glance at each other before Clarke takes the lead, "A few days ago, it was discovered that Titus has been abusing the Nightbloods."
"Where is that fucking son of a bitch?" Luna shouts, shooting up from her seat.
"Luna, please calm yourself," Lexa furrows her eyebrows. "I beat him pretty badly and then banished him. He's already gone."
"Dear, please sit back down," Sef pleads to her Bond.
Letting out a huff of frustration, Luna takes her seat again, "Who will be the new Flamekeeper? Someone gentle, I hope. Those kids are probably terrified."
"That is why I was so glad when you announced you both were coming," Lexa replies. "I would like to appoint you, Sef. I think you would be a wonderful Flamekeeper."
Sef's jaw drops open from surprise.
"Hello, little one," Lexa grins, bringing the baby into her arms. It had been a long day since her friends had arrived. She gently rocks Costia back and forth, going to stand on the balcony, "Mama will be her soon; she just went to get us some extra blankets. It's getting colder outside and winter will be here soon. You will love the snow, but it will cover up the ground that makes up your soul. The trees will look even more spectacular, though… Nomi loves you so much, little one. I will never let anyone hurt you. And now I'm going to try and make it so none of your Natblida friends will be hurt either. No more Conclaves to the death. It might take a while, though."
"Well, if anyone can do it, it's you."
Lexa turns around, her smile growing, "Look who's here, little one. Mama brought some warm blankets for us."
Clarke puts them on their bed, moving to kiss her Bond. Stroking the baby's hair, she reiterates, "I'm serious, my love. I believe you can change things."
"I will try, my love… I will try."
By the end of the day my new story, Love Runs Through Your Veins, will be posted! Check it out, it's an A/B/O story with soulmarks as well.
