"I'm sorry, Clarke, I tried, but these people," in light of his own history, Kane's quiet smile had become just a touch ironic, "they have their own way of doing things."
She sighed, knowing he probably had done his best, and that somehow she'd just have to get through it.
"So I suppose they're going to mention how it is this miracle came to pass?"
Clarke figured she could be ironic, too.
Kane gave his head a small shake. "No. They think it'll be accepted as more... providential if it appears you fulfilled the prophecy without even knowing about it. In fact," he sighed unhappily, "they'd rather no one knew about their... involvement."
She frowned. "Are you sure they really even believe this stuff, Marcus? Because only David looked like he was undergoing some kind of religious experience when we told them. Oriana just looked smug. As for Gabriel," Clarke shook her head, "who the hell knows what he thinks?"
"I know it might seem that way, but I think they really do believe it. And more importantly, their people do."
Clarke shrugged. Life had taught her that people believed what they wanted and sometimes there was no point in trying to make sense of it. As long as the Triumvirate kept their word, she'd be satisfied.
"So when is the big announcement taking place?"
"Tonight, right after the second sunset. In the main hall. And... everyone's invited."
"Including... our people?"
Kane nodded, his look sympathetic. "It'll be fine, Clarke. Everyone will understand, you'll see."
Clarke stared at him for a moment, then shook her head. "No one will understand, but I'll deal with it. We... both will."
"Yes. At least you and Bellamy have each other to lean on."
"Right," she nodded, her lips twisting up in a wry smile. "At least there's that."
XXXXXXXXXX
She'd told Bellamy first, of course, as soon as her mother confirmed it.
Things weren't exactly... optimum... between them. Hadn't been since that picnic in the meadow. The day that had started out so joyful, morphed unexpectedly into utter bliss, and then ended with them more disconnected than they'd been at any time since they landed on the planet.
And with Clarke being very, very pregnant.
In her heart of hearts, Clarke had hoped that when Bellamy heard the news it might be enough to mend the rift that had grown between them. That it might jolt them past the awful hollow politeness that seemed to have replaced their former intimate bond.
And just at first Bellamy had looked happy. For one tiny moment, as they'd gazed at each other in wonder, mutually acknowledging the magnitude of their situation, a genuine smile had appeared on his face. One that made it all the way to his warm brown eyes.
But almost immediately his expression had reverted to pleasantly impassive.
"Abby's absolutely sure?"
"She is." Clarke had already been pretty sure herself. Somehow her body just hadn't felt the same. "Why?"
He shrugged. "I wonder if maybe we should wait a little while before we tell the Eligians. Be certain... everything's going okay."
"We could wait a couple weeks, I guess. But Mom's done a bunch of tests and says there's no reason this baby shouldn't be healthy."
She noted Bellamy's quick intake of breath when she said the word baby, and understood exactly how he felt. They'd planned it, known what they were doing, and been very deliberate about the desired outcome. But that didn't mean it still wasn't going to take a hell of a lot of getting used to.
"Two weeks from today, then, just to be sure," he said. "I'll get Kane to set up an appointment."
Clarke nodded, her eyes shifting towards the outer door, but then she'd hesitated. She'd delivered her news and knew it was probably time to let Bellamy get back to work, but found she couldn't quite leave. Not just yet. Not without making something perfectly clear.
"Besides mom and Kane, I'm only planning to tell Madi right now. But you should tell... anyone you like, Bellamy. If you want to." She shrugged. "It's your baby — and your news — as much as it is mine."
Bellamy nodded slowly. "Okay," he said.
Which wasn't any answer at all.
Fourteen days later, with Clarke already battling nausea on a daily basis, they'd passed on their news to an elated Triumvirate.
As she'd later told Kane, Oriana had merely nodded complacently, almost like she'd finally managed to check an important task off some mental to-do list. But David had beamed at them, practically swooning. Clarke had been more than a little startled when he pulled them each in for a grateful hug.
And when he'd declared, "What you have done will change this world, you'll see," she'd been totally creeped out.
She already had to deal with being fucking Wanheda, an unasked-for, unwanted moniker that many of the former grounders simply wouldn't let go of. So the last thing Clarke wanted now was to end up as some revered icon in a religion she didn't even believe in.
She made a quick mental note to avoid David, as well as all his religious cohorts, whenever possible.
And Gabriel? He'd done no more than give her a salacious wink, and cock his brow at Bellamy. As if to congratulate him on finally getting the job done.
As the younger men continued to eye one another, Clarke could feel repressed hostility rolling off Bellamy in waves. When he began to bounce on the balls of his feet, she knew it was time to get them the hell out of there.
She interrupted David right smack in the middle of one of his bombastic bouts of effusive bullshit.
"Uh, sorry," she said quickly. "Been feeling like crap. Gotta go."
And with that, she pulled Bellamy from the room.
Their leaving had been so abrupt, in fact, that she'd never even heard about the plan for the mass announcement until Kane brought her the news the following day. And try as he might, he had not been able to dissuade the Triumvirate from going forward with that plan.
"Do you want me to have Abby say you're too ill to attend?" Kane asked now with a worried frown.
And tempting as it was to hide behind her condition, she knew she couldn't let Bellamy take all the heat.
Clarke gave her head a quick shake, and smiled wryly.
"I've lived through a lot of crap in the last few years, Marcus, so I'm pretty sure there's no chance I'm actually gonna die of embarrassment."
XXXXXXXXXX
Clarke had never been in this part of the Eligian government building before. Hadn't, in fact, known they had the capacity to house such a huge gathering. But like everything else she'd seen in the city since their arrival, the room was impressive.
Built auditorium-style, it had to hold upwards of a couple of thousand people.
Of course, even that wouldn't have accommodated all the Eligians, especially since their own complement of more than four hundred had arrived to swell the city's population. But there were always those who found such occasions tedious. Who chose instead to stay home and get the news later from their neighbors.
From her seat on the stage next to Bellamy and the Triumvirate - a position of prominence she had neither expected nor desired - Clarke saw quite a few in the audience that she recognized, especially amongst her own people. As with the Eligians, not everyone had come, but their little band of leaders had show up in full force.
Just like she'd expected.
Clarke's musings were cut short when Oriana rose suddenly, the hall quieting as people waited curiously to learn what important news had prompted their leaders to call them together like this.
As Oriana swung her head from side to side, capturing the attention of her audience, Clarke admired the woman's seemingly effortless ability to take charge.
She smiled and began to speak.
"My fellow Eligians - and our visitors from across the galaxy. We - David, Gabriel, and I - have called you together this evening because we have some important and exciting news to share with you. News that I know many of you have been waiting a lifetime to hear."
There was a sudden stirring in the audience.
"It concerns the prophecy you've all heard since you were little children, that A Child will be born and will save us all. The words were said so long ago that no one now living even remembers where or by whom. There was only the words and a diagram, which we later realized was a DNA schematic. One that would point us to the right child, when the time came. Well... I'm thrilled to be able to tell you that time has come."
When startled gasps were heard here and there in the crowd, Oriana nodded her head.
"Yes. I don't blame you for being surprised. Shocked even. I, too, have sometimes despaired that it would ever happen. But after all these decades, the waiting is finally over."
She paused again, and Clarke was sure it was for effect. But she needn't have bothered. Oriana already had them all in the palm of her hands.
"Now I know a few of you weren't happy when we three voted to allow the refugees from a destroyed planet to take shelter with us, to become part of our community. There was some disgruntled talk about scarce resources and the diluting of our culture. But as it turns out, it was the right decision. Because it is two of those refugees who will make it possible for the prophecy to finally be fulfilled."
There was a shifting in the audience as Oriana turned slightly, nodding at Clarke and Bellamy, seated there on stage.
"When we learned that two of our visitors had conceived a child, we routinely tested it, just as we would with our own people. Imagine our surprise and delight when we found that this child - their child - is the one we've been waiting for all this tine."
Yeah, just imagine. Clarke barely restrained herself from rolling her eyes.
"But here they are, the two young people who have been destined by the fates to become the parents of the child of the prophecy: Clarke Griffin and Bellamy Blake."
As the Eligians began to talk excitedly among themselves, Clarke found herself searching the audience for her own people.
Madi, sitting near the front with Indra and Gaia, had known for weeks, of course. When she caught Clarke's eye she gave her an encouraging smile. Gaia simply looked blank, and Clarke was sure it was probably the last thing she'd expected. As for Indra? She was staring at Bellamy thoughtfully, like she was finally putting together the pieces of a puzzle that had before seemed incomprehensible.
Still, it wasn't the reactions of the two former Trikru that Clarke was concerned about, but the very few Arkers who were left, as well as those who'd shared Bellamy's fate on the Ring.
His family.
She scanned the audience carefully, and was startled when she suddenly found herself staring straight into John Murphy's amused eyes. He was smiling that cynical half-smile she knew so well. The one that said, "You can try to hide from me, but I know exactly what's going on inside your head."
When he saw he'd caught her eye, the smile twisted into a smirk. He nodded at her and shrugged, and his expression said I knew it all along.
Beside him, Emori simply looked... confused. Clarke watched her tug at his arm, and while she wasn't close enough to hear their words, and had no idea how to read lips, she was still certain she knew the contents of that conversation.
What the hell? Bellamy and Clarke?
No surprise there, babe. I'll explain it to you later.
Clarke's eyes moved further along the row then, and her stomach churned when she saw Echo there, staring straight ahead. Despite Echo's blank face, Clarke was somehow certain that Bellamy would have told her. Warned her.
He was too kind not to have done so.
And finally she came to Raven, who was glaring at her with look of such hostility that Clarke was momentarily taken aback. But then she shrugged inwardly. What had she expected? That Raven would understand? Be on her side? Be the friend Clarke so desperately needed?
Fat chance, she told herself, tasting the bile of bitter regret in the back of her throat.
She only hoped they'd still be able to work together.
Clarke's focus shifted away when Oriana began to speak again.
"I'm going to ask that you not approach Clarke and Bellamy, that you allow them their privacy. After all, they're expecting a baby and we all know how difficult a time that can be."
Titters from the audience.
"But we are planning a gala soon, so that you can meet them both. Except for the investiture of members of the Triumvirate, we rarely find a use for our magnificent Great Hall. But I certainly think this event qualifies. Food and drink will be provided and everyone will be welcome."
There was a smattering of applause and a few more laughs.
"Let's all return to our homes now and celebrate privately. We'll let you know when the gala is planned so that we may celebrate together. Goodnight, and may our prophecies all be fulfilled."
And suddenly, mercifully, it was over.
Clarke leaped from her chair and was off the stage before the first row of the audience had cleared. Behind her, she heard Bellamy calling, asking her to wait, but just at that moment she didn't think she could deal with him. She needed to get home, to find a way to absorb the hate she'd seen in Raven's eyes.
She was hurrying through the quiet streets of the darkened city, guided only by the light from the three moons, when she heard her name again. Another familiar voice. Another person she didn't want to deal with. Clarke ducked her head and increased her pace, certain she could outrun her stalker.
So she was startled when she felt a strong hand suddenly grab onto her arm with enough force to stop her in her tracks. She was jerked around roughly to find herself looking straight into the furious face of Raven Reyes.
"What the hell, Clarke? You think after that news you can just take off? Like it's nothing?"
"Raven, please..."
She tried to pull away, but anger had given Raven strength, and she held on fast.
"Please, my ass! What the hell did you think you were doing? Did you think it was okay to crawl into bed with Bellamy even though he was with someone else? You're the reason they broke up, right?"
"Is that what Echo told you?" Clarke had had enough of accusations.
"Echo told me nothing! Not even that they broke up. I finally figured it out for myself. I always knew there was... something between you and Bellamy, but I never thought you'd stoop that low."
"You would think that, I suppose." Clarke couldn't seem to help her bitter words. "I know you've never forgiven me for Finn."
Raven's eyes widened in surprise and she finally dropped her hold on Clarke.
"That's not it at all! I know Finn never told you about me. But you knew Bellamy was with Echo."
Clarke sighed, suddenly feeling unbearably tired. Not to mention that she had to pee so bad she wasn't sure she could make it home in time even if Raven let her go.
"Why don't you ask Bellamy what happened, Raven?" she said wearily.
"I could," Raven agreed, her voice quieter now. "But right now I'm asking you."
Clarke shook her head. "It's... a lot more complicated than you think. We - neither of us - really had a choice. And besides... Echo knew."
Raven gaped at her. "She knew? I don't understand."
"I know you don't. But if you come home with me now, I'll explain. Because I really don't feel like peeing in my pants right here in the middle of the street."
Raven stared at her for a moment, and then gave a sudden bark of laughter.
"Goddammit!" she said, shaking her head. "I just know you're gonna talk me out of being pissed at you, Clarke." Raven grabbed onto her again and began to pull her along. "Come on, then. I always heard pregnant ladies had to pee all the time. Never thought I'd get the chance to find out if it was true."
