"I'm with Lexa on this one. Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Octavia raised her eyebrows but her voice was gruff, and for the shortest moment Clarke was struck by an odd reminder of Indra. The friends walked the main street of Polis, passing the market stalls. A woman handed them a large loaf of bread, and when Clarke offered the bracelet on her wrist that she had gotten earlier from someone on the market as payment, the woman shook her head and motioned for her to keep it.
Raven huffed at Octavia's previous comment. "Are you kidding me? Heda and Wanheda; the almighty, unstoppable force. You telling me that doesn't send shivers of terror down your spine?" She casted a questioning gaze at Octavia before facing Clarke. "Seriously, Griffin. Like your titles weren't scaring off enough people yet. Together you guys sound ridiculously powerful."
"Right?" Clarke responded. "That's what I said. I think she might finally be reconsidering this whole 'love is weakness' thing."
"I don't know guys," Octavia mumbled. "I mean, what with all the clan leaders around… You know I always prefer the 'fuck what everyone thinks' approach, but this could have serious consequences."
"I know that," Clarke replied. "Lexa knows that too; but that's why I think we'll be able to handle whatever comes our way. And who knows, maybe no one will even care enough to make a big deal out of it."
Raven chewed on a large piece of bread that she had taken from Clarke's hands, lazily swiping away some crumbs from the corner of her mouth. "Mhm. Plus, it's not like they're not aware that Lexa is gay as fuck. And, well, then there's you with all your golden flash and falling out of the sky, so I think most won't be too surprised."
Clarke looked at her, not sure what to say or how to take that.
"What?" Raven continued, catching Clarke's uncertain look and hearing Octavia laugh. "Oh, come on. I saw this coming from the moment you met Commander Raccoon Face, and that was before she was giving you gooey eyes all the time. Trust me, people will have seen this coming."
"She's got a point, Clarke," Octavia remarked. "It's just a matter of officially confirming it or leaving it to be rumored about."
"So in that case," Clarke mused, "people will probably believe we're lovers anyway."
"Not necessarily," Octavia mumbled, kicking at a loose pebble on the ground before raising her chin again and keeping an eye on their surroundings.
Both Clarke and Raven glanced at her with looks that asked for further elaboration.
"I mean… there's a difference between your definition of being lovers and being fuckbuddies. Just because they see you go into the Commander's room every night, doesn't mean they consider you to be in a relationship with her. Don't get me wrong - being allowed in Heda's bed is a great honor and you'd still be seen as someone close to her; but people might consider you to simply be in a physical relationship."
Clarke frowned. "Really? Even when she goes out of her way for me and Skaikru?"
Octavia shrugged. "That 's where things get blurry. She's the Commander - most of what she does can be politically explained. Yet when people realize she's mostly doing these things for you, you're caught in a whole new web of rumors."
Rumors of weakness. That much Clarke understood. It didn't even have to do with what their titles were; if Lexa's decisions seemed compromised, people would rebel. Clans would rebel. She sighed, running a hand through her hair that was starting to tangle.
"So does it matter then? Whether we're obvious about it or not?"
Clarke moved her gaze to Raven, wanting to know if she had any input.
"Hey, don't look at me," she mumbled through a mouthful of the bread that was almost completely gone by now. "I'm trying to stay away from all your grounder politics. Besides, I already told you: I think you guys are badass together, screw what anyone else says."
Clarke smiled at Raven's conviction and faced Octavia again. "What about you, O? Any cultural advice as to whether I should make out with Lexa in public?"
Octavia grinned and thought it over once more. "Depends on what you want people to think. Apart from the occasional radical I don't think you have much to fear from Lexa's people. But the clan leaders are a completely different story, Clarke. And I'm not just talking about the Ice Queen. Either way, I guess there will always be people who figure out that there's something more between you guys."
"No," Raven suddenly said confidently and more to herself than as a response to Octavia's words. "You know what? I feel like we've been going at this completely the wrong way. It's simple, really. Clarke: on a scale of one to ten, how badly is the urge to dry hump Lexa in public?"
Clarke rolled her eyes and scoffed at her. "I don't really want to answer that." A blush ran through her body and eventually tainted her cheeks, and Clarke suddenly realized that she was pretty high on that scale.
"Fine - to kiss her, then?" Raven corrected.
Clarke sucked in a breath and nodded awkwardly, causing both girls beside her to chuckle loudly.
"See?" Raven concluded with a smirk. "Decision made. You're way too high on that scale to hide it for much longer, anyway."
The sun was blocked by a large building, causing a shadow to be thrown over the alleyway. A large dumpster where Polis' inhabitants dumped their scraps of junk stood near the entrance of the alley, causing the view of people passing by on the street to be limited.
The city buzzed and the people's loud talking filled the day. Queen Nia scoffed, her eyes falling on a large, dead rat in the alley, flies swarming around the carcass. This was not her preferred place for a rendezvous, but it would have to do for now.
"I assume your time in Polis has been useful?" Nia's smile was arrogant and she asked the question more as an order.
Echo nodded, shoulders squared and eyes betraying nothing but pride to be her queen's royal guard.
"Then speak true, Echo; and be swift."
Their bedroom - and Clarke was surprised at how easily she now thought of it as their bedroom, and no longer just Lexa's - was quiet.
Clarke's eyes fell upon the Commander sitting in front of a mirror, long, wavy hair falling over her shoulder. A young woman was positioned behind Lexa, weaving her fingers through her dark locks and forming the shapes of intricate braids. She was rather skillful and for a moment Clarke merely sat on a nearby chair and watched her work. Lexa stayed quiet, staring up ahead at her own reflection in the mirror and betraying not a single emotion on her face. Still, Clarke could see the silent storm behind her eyes.
When the young woman had finished with the most complex braids at the top of Lexa's head, Clarke stood up and took over. The woman didn't protest although she spared a glance at Lexa's reflection in the mirror, who gave her a slight nod, before bowing her head and leaving the room.
Clarke's hands tangled softly through Lexa's smooth locks, knowing how her hair had to be tied up at the lower ends. Lexa's exterior didn't change, apart from the slight slump of her shoulders as they relaxed.
Clarke finished tying up the last braids, eyes glued to Lexa's in the mirror, watching the proud young woman in her Commander form. The blonde leaned down slightly to place a kiss on an exposed side of Lexa's neck, impressed by the other girl's ability not to react. Still, she knew Lexa appreciated the short gesture of affection. As she straightened back up again, Lexa's eyes found hers in the mirror and the brunette reached out for Clarke's hand. The gentle squeeze was enough to make Clarke smile.
The air was tense as Clarke rode down the elevator with Lexa. Usually the Commander would be the last one to be seated at a formal dinner, but Lexa thought it would be better to arrive before the clan leaders had a chance to start arguing amongst each other.
Her presence wouldn't completely stop them from doing so, Lexa realized, but it would at least make them think twice before saying something that could anger their Heda.
She was quiet. It was not something that Clarke wasn't used to, yet somehow Lexa's silence was unsettling right now.
"Lex," Clarke said, almost a whisper in the confined space of the elevator. She didn't really have much else to say, yet still found it important to have a small moment of connection here.
Lexa turned to her, face set tightly in a terrific commander expression but eyes soft at the sound of Clarke's voice. She reached out and squeezed Clarke's hand gently.
"Remember," Lexa said, "seat yourself between Luna and me. And don't be afraid to speak, Clarke. These people know of your legend."
The elevator doors opened, Lexa letting go of her hand, and Clarke didn't need to ask what legends Lexa was speaking of. Destroyer of the Mountain, Commander of Death, Sky Princess; Clarke only hoped that she could live up to her name and at the same despised herself for those titles.
Six guards followed them down the hallway. Clarke would think it a little over the top if Octavia and Ryder weren't the ones guarding her; the other four belonging to Lexa's personal guard.
The dining hall was already buzzing with people even though most of the clan leaders hadn't arrived yet. A long table had been set in the middle of the room that actually consisted out of three tables pushed together. To avoid the leaders from separating into groups and encourage the Coalition's unity, Lexa had explained, they should dine at the same table. Tonight, all thirteen leaders would finally sit together.
Luna entered the dinner area only seconds after Clarke and Lexa did, and with a smile she took Clarke's hand and led her over to the table. They seated themselves somewhere near the middle of one side, leaving the decorated chair on Clarke's left for Lexa to be seated in the middle of the long table. Ryder placed himself behind Clarke, like Luna's guard did for her, and Octavia settled down at a nearby table with Indra, Lincoln and Bellamy.
The Commander, however, didn't take a seat yet. She stood near the dining hall's entrance, her guards still subtly flanking her. Clarke had just sat down but when she noticed that Lexa didn't follow, she got ready to stand back up again.
Luna laid a hand on her arm. "She will join. Her duty is to see the other leaders seated first."
As if on cue, the Lake council marched into the dining hall. Noticing Lexa, the leader nodded his head reverently in half a bow that he held for a few seconds before Lexa extended her arm for him grasp. The spoke a few words in Trigedasleng that Clarke could barely overhear, but the man's respectful attitude convinced her that he was still very glad to have Lexa as his Heda. Clarke took a breath and only hoped that the other leaders would prove the same.
The Lake council split up, the generals choosing a different table as their leader neared the large dinner table. He looked both Clarke and Luna over. A smile broke out over the man's face.
"Luna. How is the water over at your lands?"
"Darios. You know what they say; it's always bluer on the other side."
The man chuckled deeply and something about their interaction told Clarke the two leaders had met like this before. Darios' eyes fell on her. "You must be the one they say fell from the sky."
Clarke nodded. "I'm Clarke… kom Skaikru."
The man nodded, his eyebrows lifting slightly at her mixture of English and Trigedasleng. "Well then; welcome, Clarke kom Skaikru," he said as he seated himself across from them.
Another leader that had been lingering in the corner of the dining room, talking with her own council, seated herself at one of the corners of the table. She didn't speak a word to any of them and when she caught the fellow leaders' gaze, it was as if she looked right through them. Her face was stoic and Clarke realized that this was mostly how she expected the rest of dinner to go.
After all, they were here for the Coalition. Not for pleasantries.
"Why aren't the clan's ambassadors here as well?" Clarke asked Luna after a while, mulling over the fact that only the leaders were present at this dinner.
"The ambassadors' presence is often required instead of the main leaders. For them to be here both, would not make sense. Their clans are already being represented by their leaders," Luna answered her.
Clarke frowned. "Then why did the Ice Nation ambassador arrive here with his queen?"
Luna sent her an empty look. "Azgeda's reasons always differ from most, Clarke. I can only speculate why they have brought most of their powerful figures," she said, voice low.
The Delphi's leader grasp on her arm was strong, too strong for Lexa's liking. The man's arm was large and hairy, his grip painfully squeezing off the bloodstream to her hand. Still, she held her face stoic and his forearm tightly. His eyes held a challenge, as if he was waiting for her to say something, but Lexa merely smirked.
"You will find your place at the table, Keron," she told him as he released her arm but kept standing next to her, his face still annoyingly arrogant. "Not here by my side."
He grumbled something under his breath but moved towards the table. Lexa watched as he glanced over the leaders already seated, and she breathed a little easier when he chose his place several seats away from Clarke.
Abby and Kane arrived not much later, taking the seats across from Clarke and Luna, next to the Lake's leader. Both of the Sky people's council members took an immediate liking to Darios and Lexa was amused to find them caught in eager conversations.
When all remaining leaders had passed by the Commander and acknowledged her with a bow (or with a barely visible, gruff nod of the head, in the Ice Queen's case), Lexa took a seat at the table herself.
Clarke's hand immediately squeezed her thigh underneath the table in a reassuring and affectionate motion, and Lexa had to bite her own tongue to refrain from smiling at the blonde next to her.
As the warmer meals were brought out and placed on the tables next to the bowls of fruit and loafs of bread, Lexa rose from her chair again. She glanced around the table, where all present had their eyes on her.
"Tonight, we honor the Coalition's existence by sharing a meal with our allies," Lexa spoke, ignoring the burning in her stomach as she said the words while skimming over Nia's cold eyes. "We also celebrate the start of a new age. An age where we can live without the threat of the Mountain, and an age where we don't have to be afraid of having our brothers turned to Reapers."
As she spoke, wine cups were filled and placed in front of the leaders. Clarke's stomach suddenly lurched, remembering how poison was a well-used weapon at these occasions. She glanced behind her, where Ryder stood. As if understanding, he placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Now, let us drink to this evening." Lexa finished her speech and nodded over her shoulder to one of her guards. He stepped forward at the same time as the other guards did, all taking the cups of their respectable leaders in their hands. Ryder took Clarke's cup without hesitation. Clarke opened her mouth to protest but thought better of it in the presence of the other leaders.
At the other side of the table, Darios' guard excitedly clinked his cup with the guard standing in place for her mother. They mumbled something close to a 'cheers' and Clarke would chuckle at their carelessness if this was not an incredibly tense moment. After taking a sip, Ryder placed the cup back on the table, just as the other guards did.
A few tense, silent moments passed. Clarke was unsure which tester of the wine to focus her attention on. Knowing Lexa was always a target, she glanced nervously at the large man that had tasted her drink. Next, her eyes roamed to the woman standing behind Luna and to the guards behind her mother and Kane. The thought that someone might try to harm them gave her the most nauseating feelings.
And, well - then there was Ryder. If her were to show signs of poisoning, it would cause a complete different set of worries.
Just as the silence was starting to suffocate Clarke, Lexa spoke again. "Os souda (cheers)," she said, taking her cup and raising it. The leaders followed suit and after everyone took their first sip, they sat down and started on their meals.
The wine tasted bitter on Clarke's tongue and she wondered if the flavor would haunt her throughout the rest of the evening.
A/N: I don't know if there's an official Trigedasleng word used for 'cheers', so I used the translation of 'good drink'. Close enough, right?
