Author's Note:

Thank you everyone for the reviews! While we hope you enjoy the story, Wanheda and I feel it's necessary to again point out that the story we're writing follows a bit of an alternate universe route in which we play around with certain events and come up with complete others to suit the story we wish to tell. 'To Slay a Mountain' will continue on until the formulation of plans to attack Mount Weather. Part two of what we hope to become a trilogy will be written during the summer and posted here after each chapter is finished.

As for your questions: Clarke has not told anyone about what happened to her because she does not wish to destabilize the fragile peace built between the Grounders and the Sky People. After all, much blood has been shed to obtain it. To make the aftermath of those events more managable, she will only tell a select number of people. That is, until the truth comes out in a warped form. Prepare thyself for drama ahead, Clexakru!

For now, enjoy this short intermezzo chapter while we write the drama, angst and developing romance.

Chapter 7 - "An Intermezzo of Baths and Plots"

Lexa had made certain to choose her words carefully, instilling the handmaid with the instruction to provide an ambassador of the Skaikru with the care she needed. The girl, Rhiannon, had only nodded and thanked her Heda for the chance to serve. Lexa had always had a fondness for her. The girl's mother was Lexa's head of household in Polis and thus Rhiannon was threading into her mother's footsteps as handmaid.

While Lexa spent the morning convening with Kane to hammer out the formal details of the treaty and bring them to paper, Rhiannon had servants drag a large copper tub into Clarke's tent and fill it with steaming, scented water. It was not as grand a bath as the Heda's bathing chambers in the tower of Polis, but it would have to do. The hazel-eyed girl then made certain that she would have access to plush towels, clean robes and a healthy meal. She offered Clarke no judgement, simply content to serve her Heda by extending hospitality to the blonde.

In Lexa's tent, the brunette was seated upon her throne, Kane sitting opposite of her as he watched the Heda's expression carefully. Standing in between them, at the center of the room, was the warrior that had found Clarke and brought her to the camp. His recollection of the events leading up to her safe return sparked surprise and disbelief with Kane, while it made the forest-green eyes of the Heda narrow and her slender fingers tightly clench the wood of her armrests. She was furious, utterly furious. To be betrayed by those children, to have the ambassador she had brokered a treaty with attacked and kidnapped, such things would not and could not stand. Lexa told Kane as much.

"But Heda, respectfully, we have only the testimony of a single man to these events. It is not that I do not trust his report or credibility, but rather that we must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that those claimed responsible are indeed so." The dark-haired chancellor implored, his stormy eyes noticing all too well Lexa's mood. "Let us say that we decide to place the three children on trial, what then? Will we try them according to Grounder law, or that of our own? To make this into a trial would only destabilize the hard-fought peace we have secured."

Lexa had stood then, pacing the length of her tent with her hands folded behind her at the small of her back. To any onlooker she appeared a combination of two extremes; the perfectly calm and uninterested Heda, as well as a mighty feline prowling in the brush, ready to sink its teeth into the neck of its prey at any sign of weakness. It would do no good to destabilize the peace, she concluded. While she would demand revenge, the greater good demanded she would do nothing. Better yet, let the Skaikru handle the issue themselves. She could wash her hands of any incident that may arise and the perpetrators would be punished.

"We cannot let this go unpunished. I will forgo a trial, if you vow to deal with the matter yourself, Kane. If we show weakness here, they will tear out our throats when they are given a new opportunity." The forest-green orbs of the Heda were hard and commanding, leaving the Sky people chancellor no option but to swallow his words and give a slight incline of his head. It would be a compromise then, but one that would be the lesser of two evils.

When Lexa had taken her leave to attend to other matters, Kane had simply wandered the army's encampment. While the Grounders had first eyed him with mistrust or open hostility, he had proved to be a man to understand their principles, offering his own blood to stop spilling that of others. It was clear that the Grounders were masters of warfare, that much was obvious by the sheer size of tents and warriors. And yet, there was more to it than that. Children ran around, some dressed in armour as 'second' to a warrior, others busying themselves with chores such as cooking above the fires, mending clothes and securing the herrings of the tent ropes. Their society was built upon working towards common goals, the coalition a prime example. While not immediately alike, he had come to understand that the treaty they worked so hard towards was the best chance of the Skaikru's survival.

In Clarke's tent, Rhiannon added rich oils to the steaming water until a rich floral scent filled the space. Pine and lavender wafted from the copper tub and the handmaid smiled warmly at the Skaikru prissa. "Would you like to take your bath now? The water is excellent. Heda herself has given you permission to use her collection of oils. We must try them while we have the chance, mustn't we?" Rhiannon's cheerful attitude was infectious to be sure, always a presence of warmth within the Heda's clan.

Clarke didn't know what was going on in Lexa's tent. The blonde was fast asleep most of the time, until the tub was brought to her tent. If she had any idea what they were arguing about, Clarke would most likely have tried to get there somehow to reconcile. So it was good for her to be asleep while Lexa and Kane had their discussion. It was not going to take long for Clarke to be part of such conversations and discussions again. The young blonde still felt it was her task to make sure that treaty was going to work out. Of course, Kane was doing his job very well and most likely better than any other Skaikru member. But still, they couldn't tell who exactly was responsible for what had happened to Clarke. There were just too many of them who'd have a reason to turn their back on Clarke like that. So they still had to narrow it down.

When Clarke opened up her eyes, she seemed a bit disappointed that Lexa was not there. But of course, she understood that Lexa had other duties to attend. The last thing Clarke wanted was the Heda to get into trouble with her very own people.. because of her. For now, Clarke had to focus on other things, on that handmaid and the tub filled with hot water to be more precise. She wanted to ask about Lexa, but then decided to rather let it go. She smiled at Rhiannon who seemed to be a very sweet person. She could tell why their Heda had chosen her to visit Clarke's tent.

The blonde blinked some as she looked at the tub, before her blue eyes wandered back to Rhiannon. She had never seen that girl before, but now she was supposed to undress and show her naked form to her? Clarke couldn't say that she was a hundred percent comfortable with that, but on the other hand, she could definitely use a bath and some clean clothes. And besides, it seemed wrong to decline such an offer since they had already brought her that tub and prepared everything. "Um.. sure. Uh.. I just could.. use a hand...with my clothes?" It was so weird to ask someone to help her undress. It was rather embarrassing, but she knew she couldn't do this all by herself.

Rhiannon nodded at the blonde, smiling at the Skaikru girl's sense of what could only be embarrassment at undressing before another. The Trikru, the clan both Lexa and herself belonged to, did not have such views on embarrassment and apparent modesty. When one shared a small camp with a large amount of people, privacy was not always a guarantee. However, Rhiannon politely averted her gaze while she helped the blonde shed the shirt and pants, leaving the girl's underwear to her own undressing. Instead, she produced a finely crafted bone comb from her satchel. While Clarke had clambered into the copper tub, the hazel-eyed handmaid assisted her with rinsing out the dirt from her blonde locks before lavishing it with a fragrant floral oil that cleaned the very pores of the girl's scalp. "You may relax, Chancellor Clarke. Heda has instructed me to take care of your every need. And if I may be so bold? A good bath is definitely what you need." The girl gave a careful and mischievous smile, nimble fingers working the oil into the roots of the Skaikru prissa's hair before beginning to rinse it out until it shone with its usual brilliant glaze.

Outside, Kane walked along the soft grass that lined the Grounder encampment until he was joined by Lexa outside her tent. The two of them walked side by side at what appeared a leisurely pace and, while the Heda was shorter than the Chancellor, she commanded no less respect and even surpassed the man in radiant authority. They shook hands at the outskirts of the camp, in plain view of Camp Jaha before each returned to their own people. Lexa was still taken aback by the strange ritual of greeting and saying goodbye with this Sky people handshake. It was amusing, really. The perfect opportunity to break the fingers of one's opponent if need be. While the thought allowed a slight smile to form at the corner of her full lips, she knew that it was a childish one at that.

Returning to her tent brought with it a fuming Indra pacing back and forth before Lexa's throne. Apparently the dark-skinned warrior had not taken kindly to Abby's demand to see her daughter, only to be told she had to wait while Clarke bathed, which had subsequently brought her to Indra for answers. Outsiders were such trouble, really. Lexa had not had this trouble with uniting the twelve clans under her banner, but then again, Clarke was anything but regular. Thinking about the deep pools of azure caused a flutter within her chest and a tingling racing down her spine. It became more and more pleasant as of late to think of the blonde. Was that truly something Lexa should be glad with? She did not know. For now, she would allow herself the small joy of spending time with the Sky prissa, as long as she did not forsake her duties to her people.

The situation with Indra was swiftly resolved, both her and a fuming Abby forced to endure the noon meal at the Heda's table while they spoke of the bounty that the surrounding forest might bring and of the healing knowledge Abby might offer to teach Lexa's people. While the two women were most uncomfortable sitting in front of one another, they could also clearly tell that it had been the Heda's way to break up their argument. The brunette herself offering just enough input to keep the two talking while she herself enjoyed her meal. And thoughts of blonde locks. Of azure depths. She caught herself thinking of Clarke again and could not help but wonder how the Sky girl was handling her undoubtedly free-spirited handmaid.

Clarke did her best to cover her most private parts from the handmaid, but after a little while, it just seemed silly. The Grounders obviously didn't know the meaning of shame in this regard, which was actually rather cute. So the blonde decided to save her energy for climbing into that tub without really trying to hide her breasts or even her most intimate region. While having no idea that her mother was there to see her, Clarke started to relax immediately. That hot bath felt incredible. So she closed her eyes while taking some deep and slow breaths. She didn't mind the handmaid working on her blonde hair at all, since it needed some attention just like the rest of her body. "That feels pretty nice. Thank you. Oh, sorry, I think I didn't get your name? And just call me Clarke, okay? Kane is the Chancellor, not me." Clarke said with a smile while slowly rubbing her hands over her body to wash off the sweat and dirt. The bath really helped her to forget about everything else, everything that usually troubled her mind. Everything except for Lexa, of course. The Heda was always on her mind and Clarke couldn't help but to believe they already had some kind of bonding.

Abigail had finally calmed down by now, knowing that someone was taking good care of her daughter really helped. And besides, Lexa turned out to be quite the generous host. "Of course, I will teach your healers everything I know, but I'm sure that Clarke could do the same. I have already told her everything I know and she's doing a great job, believe me." Abby told Lexa with a smile, which faded only a few seconds later. "Has she told you? I mean about what exactly happened to her? Did she tell you who did this? I'm going to ask her again myself, but you should know that she can be very stubborn. I think she is trying to.. protect those kids, still.. after what.. huh.. After what they had done to my child. I was just hoping that, maybe, she'd tell you more? We really need to sort this out, Heda. I know that Kane wants to take care of it himself, but to be honest, I can't see how we're supposed to solve this. I'm just afraid that, whoever did this, will try it again."

Lexa had simply raised her hand to stop Abby's string of words. While the blonde's mother was certainly a talented physician, or so she had been told, the woman had a knack for long conversations in which she said the same things in different forms until the one listening acknowledged to having heard it all. The Heda found the woman's love for her daughter endearing, but in this matter she had already chosen to follow the route that would benefit not only her own people, but Abby and Clarke's as well. "Chancellor Kane and I have already discussed this matter at length. We have agreed that the Sky people will hold their own investigation, but that the matters must be kept silent. It will not take much to destabilize the fragile peace we have managed to forge with the blood of innocents and warriors alike. This option is best for not only my people, but yours as well."

While the Heda had said those words, Indra could see those forest-green depths harden as they explored every possible scenario in the brunette's mind. It betrayed to her the fact that Lexa was already working on a plan to even the scales herself, regardless of what the Skaikru would decide. She just hadn't found a way that would allow her to feign innocence yet. This was the true strength of her Heda, Indra thought. The passive and solemn expression hiding the true depths of the young woman's cunning soul. She had been chosen by the spirits of the past Commanders for a reason, after all.

In Clarke's tent, Rhiannon gave a startled bow at the words, hastily tumbling her own words past her lips in an effort to rectify the situation. "I am Rhiannon, personal handmaid to Heda Leksa kom Trigadekru—", at this hazel eyes peeked up from underneath a veil of dark hair before she straightened her back and gave a tentative smile "—Heda commanded me to treat you with the respect entitled your position, chancellor. To call you Clarke would be.." When she did not finish her sentence, Rhiannon was trapped by azure orbs until she relented, gazing conspiratorially at the blonde. "I shall call you Clarke." She giggled then, betraying her youth as nimble fingers began to add a salt to the water from a clay jar. "This will help clear the dirt of your skin, Clarke. It is expensive and rare. Heda receives it from the ambassador of the Boudalankru. Oh, sorry. The Rock Clan. They mine it from deep within the earth and it is worth its weight in gold!" The girl explained excitedly, handing the blonde a plush sponge from beside the tub while she herself began to rummage through the clothing in the chest at the foot of the furs. "We must find you a suitable outfit. I do not know if any of these will fit, they are from Heda's wardrobe. She gave me free reign, so I decided to make the most of this rare chance!"

Abby just shook her head, clearly disappointed that Lexa didn't seem interested in helping them solve that case. Of course, the woman understood the reasons, but this was about her child. Abigail thought for a moment before she stood up. "I'm sorry you see things this way, Heda. I thank you for this meal, but I think I should go. I sincerely hope that one day, you will get to understand how a mother feels about her child. I do not mean to disrespect you, because I see you as a valuable ally and I can tell why my daughter trusts you. But in this case, I'm afraid that I have to disagree with you. Clarke will not be safe until we know who did this to her. Just do me one little favor, Heda, tell my daughter that I was here to see her. If she wishes to speak to me, she shall let me know." With that, Abby stormed out of the tent and back to their camp.

Meanwhile, Clarke was still enjoying the bath and Rhiannon's company. It was nice not to be alone, even though taking a bath usually was a private matter. But in this case, she felt comfortable. Rhiannon was a sweet girl and Clarke seemed to learn a bit more about Lexa from this person. Clarke smiled at her as she took the sponge and started rubbing it over her skin, as much as she could. "Lexa is a great person, isn't she? I still barely know her, but she does a lot to help me recover." Of course, Clarke didn't expect Rhiannon to tell her anything about their Heda, so it was more of a monologue. "I really.. hope she knows how much I appreciate her support. She always seems to distant. I mean, I know why she acts that way. She's Heda, responsible for you people." Clarke sighed and shook her head. "Sorry.. I know I talk too much sometimes. Just like my mother. I just want you all to know that I appreciate your hospitality. Oh and I'm sure that I'll like whatever outfit you might choose. " She added with a smile.

While Rhiannon could only nod and smile, she knew that there were lines she should not cross. She had already spoken enough about the things that Heda had allowed for the Sky girl's wellbeing, the compromises that had been made. She would not violate Lexa's trust by giving what she thought to be the insight behind the brunette's motivation for her support of Clarke. "Sha, Clarke, Heda knows. While she may not be able to say all that fills her heart, she always knows."