Chapter 12: Consequence

They'd been walking for a while when Lincoln tells them the bridge is just ahead. Clarke had noticed the trees thinning out and mentally congratulated herself on her improving navigation skills. And on not being overly distracted by her soulbond.

Pausing in the shelter of the trees Clarke runs through some breathing exercises. She can feel her own worry mixing with that of her soulmate and compounding it. Staring at the bridge Clarke mentally runs begins to run though all the factors that she'd worked control so that this went well. The rest was out of her control and worrying wouldn't change that.

With a deep breath Clarke steps past the tree line. Immediately the faint undercurrent of worry fades from her soulbond to be replaced with relief. The annoyance and frustration remain strong.

Closing her eyes Clarke focuses. Moments later she snaps her eyes open, head tilting to the right even as her eyes shift to the left. Finally, they stilled on a clump of trees off-center from the bridge where the shadows are deep.

Amusement and what Clarke thinks is pride trickle through the bond.

A nudge and a smirk from Octavia has her walking towards the bridge, only just now noticing the group of three representing the grounders had emerged from the trees opposite them. Her soulmate isn't among them. Which explains the annoyance and frustration.

Continuing forward Octavia and Lincoln follow. Bellamy was convinced to stay with the logic that someone needed to stay back and protect the camp, make sure nothing went wrong there. If both Clarke and Bellamy went and it became a trap... he agreed, with two concessions. Lincoln swearing on his life that even if it was a trap Octavia would not be harmed due to being his soulmate.

Clarke had breathed easier at that, although when questioned she wasn't able to give the real answer as to why.

If afterwards she made sure those following were only the ones with confirmed soulmates among the grounders, well, no one knew to call her on it except Octavia. That being said, Clarke definitely felt better knowing that as long as their mates were nearby the four shadowing them would hopefully be protected should something go wrong.

Like one of them having a gun.

Lincoln had explained the grounder association of the weapon with the Mountain to Clarke and Octavia. Since then a bunker had been found containing supplies and weapons. Once learning of this Clarke had pulled Bellamy aside and verbally confirmed his support for peace with the grounders and his near fear of the Ark. Convincing him that the guns were to be used for defense and as a last resort was easy once she agreed he could keep his original pistol.

Of the group here, only Octavia was armed. Bellamy's second concession. As Octavia was the only one whose safety they could guarantee - armed with a Maunon weapon or not - Bellamy would only let her go without him so long as she had a weapon with which to defend herself.

A throat clearing broke Clarke out of her internal review of their precautions.

Wells was looking at her with a mix of fondness and relief. And maybe hope? Either way he certainly looked cleaner than most of the other delinquents. Where ever he had been held they had at least treated him right. It lent credit to the honesty of the image sent to her.

Looking over the two grounders Clarke was interested to see that the smaller of the two looked only a few years younger than her, perhaps Charlotte's age. Both girl and woman had numerous braids in their hair and a mix of fur and leather clothing. The swords and other visible weapons on their person gave credence to them being a warrior based culture.

The lead woman opened her mouth to speak at the same time Clarke felt a flare of worry and muffled panic shoot through her bond. In reply Clarke raised an eyebrow, fixing her gaze at the origin of the emotions. It wasn't until both Wells and Octavia had reacted - a coughed "Clarke" and an elbow in her side respectively that she realized what she'd done.

She was certain her embarrassment reached her mate.

Glancing at the lead woman Clarke was relieved to spot the hint of a smile under her stony expression. Although the hint faded the moment the woman saw Clarke looking. Seeing that she had their attention the woman began speaking as though uninterrupted.

"I am Onya kom Trikru. I see the prediction of your attendance was true Klark kom Skaikru."

Externally Clarke gave no reaction to the use of her name. Instead she filed away the other woman's name. Doing her best to remain calm, and thankful for the encouragement being sent over the bond, Clarke began her first ever political conversation.

"Greetings Anya of the Tree Clan. I am pleased you agreed to this trade. I wish for peace between our peoples and feared that would not be possible when I discovered what had happened in both cases."

Clarke didn't offer her hand to shake. Instead she followed the coaching Lincoln had given her. Address the situation upfront, make sure she didn't paint the other side as being completely to blame - even if they had been - and look the other person in the eyes while talking. Given the slight head nod she received at the end, Clarke feels rather hopeful they can pull this off.

"It is good to hear you wish for peace Klark kom Skaikru. Heda seems to have taken a liking to you, and also seeks peace between our peoples."

Was it just Clarke, or was there extra stress on the words 'Heda' and 'you'?

"Great. Shall we complete the exchange and begin discussing terms?"

Maybe she came off a little too hopeful. She just really wanted Wells back. In the back of her head she could tell her soulmate was doing some sort of breathing or meditation exercise to help reduce both their nerves.

Anya nodded and motioned for Wells to step forward. Lincoln did the same. Once clear both sides were ready the two walked across the short distance between them on the bridge. The males exchanged nods as they passed.

Once Wells was close enough Clarke abandon all decorum and drew him into a hug. Wells hugged back just as hard.

"I missed you."

"Me too. But we can talk after okay? Let's focus on making peace first."

Clarke nods against his shoulder before releasing him. Quickly he steps around her to stand where Lincoln had been. A brief flare of an unfamiliar emotion echoes through Clarke's bond and then fades. Dismissing it Clarke focuses on Anya again.

"Before we begin I would like to clarify something. Any terms we set will only be for m people that are here with me. I have no authority over the rest of our people and therefore cannot guarantee they will keep to any terms set. This is why I and my fellows have decided that should they come down they will need to negotiate their own terms with you."

Surprise radiates from everyone around her. Octavia and Lincoln had known she discussed the topic with Bellamy, but neither had heard of the decision. As much as it pained Clarke to be functionally leaving the rest of the Ark on their own... they had done the same to them. Clarke had to worry about the people here, with her now. If she tried to include the adults into the negotiation she knows it wont end well.

What happened with her father was proof enough of how the adults thought.

For once this had been something she and Bellamy agreed on.

The delinquent 100 would sent themselves apart from their parents now. This decision caused Clarke all kinds of worry, but it had gotten Bellamy and his militia in line and would ensure that and treaty they made now would hold even if the adults came down and followed Bellamy's initial thinking. It was the only way Clarke could see them surviving.

She just hoped it didn't backfire once the adults were on the ground.

Assuming they came down.

Subconsciously Clarke rubbed at her wrist.

Meanwhile everyone else finished recovering from their shock.

"That is an interesting decision Klark kom Skaikru. For now, let us discuss terms. This way I can present your decision to Heda along with the initial terms of agreement."

"Very well."

"The first term, which I believe you were already notified of, is that both our messengers be allowed to travel freely to and from our respective peoples."

Clarke nodded. "Yes. Currently we have Octavia, Lincoln, Mike, and Sevek as messengers. My people already know not to attack Lincoln. Once we are done here I will present Mike and Sev together so that my people know not to attack Sevek as well."

"Acceptable. The other term is significantly more complex. As you are on Trikru land you will need to provide some sort of compensation with our people until such a time as you have become a permanent settlement. Once established, the land inside and surrounding your settlement will be Skaikru, so long as you follow the rules which protect all Trikru villages."

Slowly Clarke nods. The deal was better than she expected but there were still so many unknowns. They had nothing with which to offer the Trikru as of now. Nothing of value anyways. If they were to become a settlement they'd need to know the rules so as to not inadvertently break them and start a war anyways.

Actually, they needed to know the rules now.

"I have a few concerns with this term. First, how are we to learn the rules of your people? I do not want us to start a war due to ignorance if it can be avoided."

Emotions flickered across Anya's face. For a moment Clarke thought she saw respect, but was uncertain.

"One does not kill a child for making a mistake. You teach a child so that they learn not to do so again. In this matter you are children." She paused, considering. "Wells kom Skaikru has already learned a portion of our customs. For now his knowledge will have to do. I will bring the need of further instruction to Heda."

Surprise made Clarke turn to look at Wells, how only shrugged and grinned at her. Considering who he is and who is father is, Clarke supposes she shouldn't be surprised. Still. She wonders if he met her soulmate.

"Thank you. Additionally," hesitation stilled Clarke's tongue and showed her nerves, "we do not have much to offer by way of trade. We are as you said - children. We- we don't know how to survive on these lands let alone produce something of value to offer. The best we have is our tech and medicine."

Anya nodded. "Then start with those. Once Heda is told of your other concerns we can address this issue as well. Most likely-"

Anya cuts herself off, immediately ducking to the side. A shout from behind her has Clarke turning to see Krissy unconscious with Benji wrestling her out of someone's hold. Mike and Sev were running towards them while Julian - a new addition - was no where to be seen. If the strange clothes worn by the person holding Krissy hadn't concerned Clarke, Sev's shout of rage certainly would have.

"Maunon!"

There was instant chaos. Lincoln, Anya and the third grounder pushed passed Clarke and the others to get to Sevek and Michael. Cries from the woods on the opposite bank rang out followed by arrows.

One sunk deep into the figure holding Krissy's unconscious body.

A cry of pain from further in the woods had Clarke moving.

Instantly she reached for the gun tucked into Octavia's belt. Never had she been so thankful for Lincoln before, as his pushing Octavia down as he ran pass was the only reason the girl hadn't already moved outside Clarke's reach.

Weapon in hand Clarke ran after the grounders ignoring everything but getting to the unconscious Krissy and finding Julian. She didn't notice the grounders streaming out of the trees and rushing across the bridge and the stream below. Didn't know the emotions storming across her bond. Didn't notice the commands being shouted in the grounder language, how they seemed to hitch slightly when Clarke began to move towards the danger.

She reached the end of the bridge only to watch in horror as figures emerged from the trees. They dressed similar to grounders, but their clothes were filthy and some had wounds leaking day old blood. All of them roared with an anger as they moved less coordinated than Clarke had come to expect from the grounders she had seen.

Arrows slammed into the ones closest to Krissy, Benji and the others. It was this that drew Clarke out of her stupor. Immediately she was moving again, raising her gun to shoot only for Anya to intercept the two between her and the others.

"Ripa." was spat with such hatred that Clarke knew it must be the name for these not-grounders.

Now having a name to match the figures attack them Clarke was even more determined to protect her people. Reaching Krissy and Benji she quickly scanned them for injuries even as she felt for Krissy's pulse.

It was stable. They were fine.

Neither appeared to have more than a few scratches. Looking around Clarke saw Octavia fighting her way towards a surrounded Lincoln, the other grounder from the negotiations fighting beside him. Clarke didn't even bother to wonder where Octavia found the blade, the girl had no training and was clearly only holding her own due to the arrows helping thin the numbers around her.

In the other direction and back towards the bridge Clarke saw grounders fighting viciously with the ripa.

Glinting of sunlight off metal drew her attention to the body next to them. It was a suit of some kind, similar to the containment suits on the Ark.

An idea clicked in Clarke's head.

Instantly she was leaving Krissy's side and dashing into the woods. Ignoring Anya's cursing as she followed and any other ripa, Clarke's eyes searched frantically for her target. They couldn't have gotten far. Especially not if they were caring Julian as Clarke suspected.

There.

Raising her gun Clarke took aim. She'd only worked with a pistol a handful of times in the past, but time was short and ammo limited. Taking a deep breath Clarke tuned out the sound of violence getting closer before letting the breath out.

*BANG*

Her target fell. Clarke had no idea where she'd hit them - or if she even had - but she'd listened to Bellamy's advice to Octavia. If you have to shoot at someone aim lower. The kickback will force the shot up. If you aim lower you have a higher chance of hitting the target, even if it won't be as fatal as something like a headshot.

That was fine with Clarke.

If the suit worked how she though - if the suit served a similar purpose to their spacesuits - it didn't matter where she hit. She just had to hit the target. Considering the figure in the distance had collapsed and hadn't gotten back up yet, Clarke really hoped she had.

She moved to start running again when a growl from nearby startled her. Turning she saw two of the ripa running straight at her from the side and no Anya nearby.

Clarke felt true panic for the first time since the fighting had started.

Turning she tried to run, her panic making her stumble. She only made it a few strides before she fell. The crunching of leaves and harsh panting told her they were closing in on her. Scrambling she hurried to turn over hoping to raise the gun in time to shoot them before they were close enough to use their swords.

A yell made her flinch even as she rolled.

What she saw when she stopped stole her breath away.

A grounder dressed in black had jumped in between her and the two ripa. Already the first one was swiftly losing even as the second joined the attack. In the time it took Clarke to process this the first ripa was collapsing as a sword was yanked from its throat. The grounder - a woman based on the slim figure - made fighting the ripa look easy. Clarke couldn't help but be impressed with the skill on display as the second ripa was taken down just as efficiently as the first. It was then the red sash trailing from the figure's shoulder registered to Clarke's mind.

Red sash.

Suddenly little clues became pieces to a puzzle as realization dawned on Clarke. The red at the bottom of the image of Wells. The way Anya had stressed the title Heda and the reference to Clarke. How after her little midnight talk every decision made by Heda sounded as though it had been premeditated. Lincoln addressing her as Heda Clarke instead of just Clarke that first time they met.

Lincoln causally mentioning that Heda wore a red sash to denote her station along with the symbol of Heda on her brow.

That a red sash would be worn around the waist of Heda's mate.

The other woman turned as the second ripa's body hit the forest floor. Clarke reeled as suddenly all the emotions pouring across the bond returned to the forefront of her mind rather than the corner she had shoved them to.

Worry and distress. Uncertainty and frustration. But most of all - fear. A burning fear so strong it made Clarke's own emotions spike now that she was aware of it. A fear that reduced in force the moment the other woman laid eyes on Clarke's frozen form.

The soulbond pulsed between them.

For a moment neither moved, then relief flooded through the bond strong enough to take Clarke's breath away. A relief that was followed by a single word, whispered as if a prayer.

"Klark."