-Authors note

Hey your friendly neighborhood authors here. A guest reviewed under Klexaxxx that was confused about the story. Since they reviewed as a guest we could not reply to clarify anything for them. It appears like they put a lot of effort into understanding our fic so we would like to make ourselves available to answer any questions they may have in hopes of making things clearer for them. If they review from an account we can pm with them or if they would like to remain anonymous they can head over to archive of our own where we have cross posted this story and it is easier to respond to guest comments. They can also look up rhino on twitter under rhinonerd. We honestly love to answer questions so, Klexaxxx, if you are still reading and there is any way we can help you out please contact us. That goes for everyone else too. :) Thanks for your time. We now return you to your regularly scheduled story.

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Ephraim spotted Palleas standing beside Klark outside the healing tents. Picking up his pace, he and his two guards cut through the war camp. As he approached, he saw both of them look up at him. Both were in formal wear. He grinned at the sight of Klark in her decorated and formal coat with its truly alarming amount of pauna remains, and daggers strapped to every inch of herself. She even had war paint slathered on thickly. Palleas was in the soft greens and blues of his nation, also wearing formal clothing, although his clothing was more robe like than Klark's ever practical gear. Palleas was the oldest of the three of them, his face clean shaven though his dark black locks shone almost blue when the light hit it just right. "Generals," Ephriam greeted the other two.

"Ephraim," Palleas stepped forward and offered his arm to him. "It's good to see you again so soon."

He smiled while taking the offered arm and gripping it firmly. "And you. I see you arrived before me."

Klark laughed, "I believe he, unlike you, makes a habit of waking early."

Ephraim grinned. "Only because you northerners drink far too much. No one can keep up with you."

"Oh, I don't know, maybe you southerners are just weak when it comes to proper alcohol?" She said while taking his arm in greeting.

Palleas scoffed, "Your vodka is foul, how you drink it I will never know."

Ephraim let himself fall more serious, they didn't have much time before they would need to move inside for the meeting. "So, your last message was vague."

Klark sighed and nodded. "As it must be while we are in such close quarters with allies that are barely better than enemies. You received the message then?"

"Of course," Palleas looked smug.

Ephraim nodded, "You were surprisingly brief." He enjoyed the rather brilliant idea of using ink that only showed when held near a flame. The standard messages the pigeons had brought him were spaced in a specific manner indicating the true message underneath. The orders to bring his army to a defensive position around TonDC had hidden the note that he should treat the Trikru as a part of them. The message detailing the fall of the mountain had hidden the message that their position was secure. It was not much information, but enough to prepare him for where the lines were going to fall in the upcoming meeting.

"There is only so much weight the pigeons can carry. Ordering the rest of the army to gather

here took up quite a bit of their time and energy." Klark said with a shrug.

He noted that there were several people who could hear them besides their guards, who were grouped loosely talking amongst themselves. "Why do you have a captain with your guard?" He said, having noted the blond with the large ledger and dark circles under his eyes standing to the side, his jacket had a stiff collar and decorative trims that indicated he was a captain.

"Oh, Leo has been in charge of the itemizing all that can be taken from the mountain. He'll need to speak at the meeting." She spoke, sounding truly proud of this fact.

Palleas narrowed his eyes slightly. "What has happened with the commander? First we are working together, then she is entrapping your assassin, and now she is victorious and we are supporting her again. Can she truly be trusted?"

Klark shifted, matching his seriousness instantly. "Yes, the incident with my assassin was a subordinate of hers that has been punished for her offense. Lexa's goals are broad, so long as they align with ours, standing against her brings us nothing. At the moment her goal is for our clans to be appeased and returned to our homes."

"And once we return?" Ephraim asked calmly.

"Now that the mountain is vanquished, her goal is to find a way for this peace to hold. However, the state of the coalition is for our rulers to decide on not us." She replied.

Palleas snorted, "So, you support the coalition then."

Klark just smiled at him and didn't reply.

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Three months ago:

Clarke and a small party of her people were pulling a sleigh through the snow as they approached a small hunting village in the north west of her territory. A horn blew ahead of them and she smiled, it would seem they'd been spotted then. The crunch of snow under her horse's hooves and the sliding of the sleigh calmed her. This was where she belonged, it was her home more than the ark ever had been.

A small child completely swaddled in furs, only their eyes poking out from the many wraps, came sliding down a snow drift make excited cries of delight. A second, larger child, clearly an older sibling or playmate, tripped and rolled down the snow bank. Clarke barked out a laugh and dismounted. Crunching through the snow, she righted the older child that was partially buried in the snow bank. With a smile, she brushed some of the snow off of the kid that she could now tell

was a dark skinned girl. The girl's likely sibling was staring at her with that childlike curiosity that all children seemed to have at that age from his position next to the sled. A quick glance noting that they had the same skin tone and Clarke was almost positive they were siblings. "Careful there, wouldn't want to be swallowed by the snows."

The smallest kid looked up at her and his eyes spotted Clarke's pauldron. His eyes widened and he let out a squeak of surprise. The girl followed the other child's eyes. She stood up fast, "General!"

Clarke watched in amusement as the girl backed up, bowing lowly while reaching out and forcing the little child's head down as well.

"We're sorry general!" She exclaimed, clearly panicked.

Smiling, she stayed crouched down. "It's alright, you don't need to bow to me."

The two kids straightened slowly and looked at her with wonder in their eyes. Clarke sighed, it was still odd to her being looked at like that. "So what are you two doing outside of your village?" She asked, smiling fondly at them.

The oldest spoke, carefully enunciating her words. "We wanted to see the army ride in!"

Clarke smiled, "Well how would you like to ride the rest of the way in with us?"

The littlest child reached his arms up in the universal symbol meaning he wanted to be picked up. Clarke stood up and picked up the surprisingly heavy child shaped ball of furs. Lifting the kid onto her hip, she offered her other hand to the little girl. The mitten wrapped hand slid into hers cautiously. Together they walked back to where her party was waiting patiently.

"I see you got us some new recruits there." Keaton called from his place on the sleigh with a chuckle.

Clarke passed off the kid in her arms to him. He easily grabbed the child under the armpits and lifted till he was situated safely in his lap. "It seems we're getting the royal welcome today."

She easily lifted the girl up onto her saddle. Putting her foot in the stirrup, she swung herself up into the saddle behind her. "So what's your name little one?" She asked snapping her heels into Jake's sides and motioning for the party to resume movement.

The little girl was clearly vibrating with excitement at being on the general's horse. "Tasha! And that's my brother, Tuck." She said gleefully. While reaching out to gently pat at Jake's mane.

With one hand holding the child firmly against her and the other on the reins, she rode into the

small village. They quickly saw the fur wrapped forms of villagers standing out in the snow to greet them. Pulling her horse to a halt, she swung herself down so that she could greet them at a more equal level. "Ready to dismount there Tasha?" She asked

"Do I haff to?" She asked, clearly enjoying her perch.

"I'm afraid so." She ignored the shocked and aborted move by a woman to the side to move towards her, definitely the children's mother then. "I'll tell you what though, you can come on a proper ride with me some time while we're in the village."

"Really?" The little girl asked in awe as she allowed Clarke to grip her and lift her off the horse and down to the ground.

"Really," Clarke said, patting the girl on the back and pushing her in the general direction of her mother. Looking up, she spotted what was obviously the town leader. He was a tall man wearing slightly nicer furs than the other villagers. His beard was sprinkled with grey and he looked in awe of her as he approached.

Bowing, he spoke in a gruff voice. "You honor us with your presence general Klark."

Clarke sighed, she was going to have to get used to the bowing thing apparently. "You honor me with your service." She replied. "You sent a request for a healer three days ago. My apologies it has taken me so long to get here."

He stood his face clearly shocked. "I did not dream that you would come personally." Clearly pleased, he waved. "One of our hunters was gored by a moose. We saved him but I fear the fever will take him soon." His face turned serious as he reported his hunters condition.

Clarke nodded. "Show me where he is and my second and I will see to him." She waved Brady over from the sleigh. "If you could show my men where they may stay and where to leave the horses that would be a great service."

"Of course, though I don't know if we have room for your sleigh." He looked concerned and apologetic at that.

"The contents of the sleigh are what is important." She said easily. "We brought food, furs, and wine for your village."

The man bowed again even lower this time. "Thank you general." his voice was thick of emotion. "You are greater and kinder than the stories say you are."

She reached out pulling him out of his bow. "I am a servant of the people. You need not thank me for performing my duty."

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Present:

Lexa stood on the hill overlooking the camp of her combined army. They were waiting on her. She needed to speak to them before their various generals could spend hours arguing with her behind closed doors. This was an important moment and one that would be remembered. A flick of her wrist and the warrior to her side blew the war horn as loud as he could, bringing the focus unfalteringly to her. Staring down at her army, she projected her voice so that the whole army could hear her speech.

"Armies of the 12 Clans!" She felt power thrumming through her veins. "Today we gather because we have done what none of our ancestors could do. What no one even believed we could do. WE HAVE SLAIN THE MOUNTAIN!"

A roar went up from the army. She raised her arm, signaling the horn to be blown, silencing the army. The sound of the horn vibrated down to her bones. She needed to keep control of this. Clearing her throat again, she continued. "The siege that YOU HELD crippled the mountain, allowing a strike team of warriors to infiltrate and kill those inside. Now together we have done the impossible and defeated the mountain that has plagued us for generations! WE ARE VICTORIOUS!" This time she raised her arm and let the army roar.

She looked behind her at the captains near her. "Give the men ale and let fires be made for a feast to celebrate our victory as one army."

Cheers rose up from those that heard her. She smiled at the swell of noise. With the men pacified for now she need only worry about the generals.

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Lon'qu stood in the central building of TonDC with his arms crossed watching carefully the lines that were being drawn clear as day just by where the other generals were standing. As the temporary general of the Boudalan forces, he was aware that he was the lowest ranking member of this council. Not to mention that thanks to Bassilo's foolishness, he was being looked at with contempt. His one ally in this was Caineghis, the great red mained giant of a man. As the general of the Sankru, they were allied because of the long standing friendship between their clans, but he was wary of the man. Micah, of the Podakru, with her grey hair and wiry frame was another possible ally to him.

That said, the people of the lakes had been at war with his clan a generation ago. He just hoped that her people's hatred of Azgeda and loose ties with the Trikru would mean she would back him if there was a need. Truly, the one goal he held was to leave this mountain without ending up like Bassilo. He watched carefully as Klark kom Azgeda entered with Ephraim kom Ingranrona

and Palleas kom Trishana. The three were from allied clans but the united front was intimidating, they were from the block that avoided joining the coalition longest.

Tibarn kom Delphi, the hawkish weathered general, stepped forward greeting the new arrivals. Which was interesting, Delphi had survived being squished between Azgeda and Ingranrona by becoming a subjugated territory to them in all but name. Still, it was Azgeda and Ingranrona that assisted Delphi in protecting itself from his own clan that lay to the south. All of the clans assembled had been at war with each other for the sake of treaties or because of shared borders for their entire lives. The fact that General Klark had approached Heda and the two seemed to be speaking politely was disconcerting. Although, it explained Tibarn's behavior. He'd clearly seen which way the wind was blowing and made sure to group himself with the new power block.

Heda sat down in her throne and spoke, bringing the rooms attention to herself. "Greetings generals, we have much to discuss today."

Greil, general of the Ouskejon kru, an older and well respected warrior, spoke. "Heda, why were our forces not alerted that an attempt on the mountain was going to take place?"

She looked almost bored in her throne. Lon'qu felt like scoffing, it was a good front but he had no doubt it was a mask. He'd spent enough time as Bassilo's shadow to know that no leader was genuine, especially when surrounded by enemies. She spoke easily. "We captured a mountain man and learned our forces were being surveyed. He also bragged that soon they would take us out with their missiles to put us in our place."

He let out a hiss at the news and felt his hands clenching.

She continued. "The blockade was obviously no longer an option and we needed to prevent the use of such weapons if at all possible. It was decided to use their surveillance to our advantage to sneak in a small but carefully chosen force disguised as reapers while the blockade kept their interest. The threat of a missile forced us to act quickly and use what forces were immediately available to us."

Greil seemed to think over what had been said before speaking again. "And Azgeda's involvement out of all of our clans?"

Klark spoke from where she was positioned near the throne. "Who do you think got the information out of the mountain men? Also my forces had the most success in curing the reapers."

The man nodded thoughtfully before stepping back clearly accepting of the answer. Lon'qu himself could see what had happened wasn't meant as a slight. An opportunity had been seen and taken. The fact it left his men in the lurch was unfortunate, but not dire. He would need a

prize to bring back to his Khan however.

Haar of the Floukru spoke then. "What of the remains of the mountain Heda? Surely, you don't intend to keep it for Trikru."

Lon'qu looked at Haar in surprise, that was new. Floukru were normally quite closely tied to Trikru, so it was odd of him to be the one to bring that up instead of waiting for a more traditionally hostile clan to do so. Indra, unsurprisingly, was the one to respond harshly. "Trikru have no interest in keeping that cursed place." She practically spat the last part.

Caineghis spoke in his normal deep but carrying voice. "You think any of us will believe that the temptation of their weapons and the power it would bring will never cause you to change your minds?"

"Hardly," Klark said, cutting into the conversation. "Heda Lexa and I came to the agreement that all weapons inside the mountain would be locked inside of it and guarded by both of our people until its fate is decided. However, you can be sure Azgeda will not be leaving those weapons in anyone's hands, let alone Trikru."

"Azgeda and Trikru seem to almost be the same army these days." Caineghis scoffed. "I would want the weapons of the mountain in your hands even less."

Pelleas shifted slightly and spoke calmly with his typical easy manner. "The weapons of the mountain should be destroyed in view of all of us here so that we need not fear a single or even several clans gaining weapons as dangerous as them."

Tibarn added his thoughts. "How would we destroy these weapons though?"

"We have discovered how to use the missiles." Heda said. Lon'qu, along with everyone else in the room, stiffened almost violently. "We will let one destroy the mountain and all that is inside of it. Let the home of the Mountain Men be destroyed by their own weapons."

Lon'qu darted his eyes about and saw the other generals were still frozen from the surprise that the commander now controlled the missiles of the mountain even if for a short time. "If you plan to destroy the mountain that utterly, what of the treasure inside the mountain? Surely, we may be allowed to return with prizes for our clans."

Heda nodded. "Indeed," She waved for an Azgeda warrior, captain by his gear, to step forward. "Leo, with the aid of my warriors, has taken an account of all that is hidden underneath the mountain. The weapons have already been secured. From these lists we may divide what remains."

"Again, Azgeda trusted so close to the mountain weapons." Caineghis spat. "Why am I not

surprised."

Ephraim cut in with a hard glare. "What exactly are you implying Caineghis?"

"I'm implying nothing. I don't trust you or your frozen shit allies near weapons." He growled.

Lon'qu had the sudden urge to step away from the mass of anger that was his fool of an ally. Clearly, he hadn't realized that they had nothing to gain here by starting a fight. So long as no weapons left the mountain they would all be returning to their clans victorious, and with spoils of war. Sadly, moving would draw attention to himself and that was the last thing he wanted or needed. Instead, he waited to see who was going to cut Caineghis to size. It seemed Ephraim would be the one to do so.

"I'm surprised you speak that way when it is clear your clan had something to do with the nomads attacking Azgeda's border. They have not asked for reparations as they are entitled. Yet here you stand, asking for spoils when you had little to do with the victory and even disparaging those far more honorable than you" He snarled.

"Sankru had nothing to do with the nomads attacking Azgeda," Caineghis denied violently, which impressed Lon'qu to some degree. It was dangerous waters to test though. He had no doubt Nia's arrogance was the only reason his own clan as well as Sankru had not been held accountable for their actions.

"ENOUGH!" Heda ordered loudly. The room fell silent instantly as everyone turned to face her. "You are generals not bickering children. The Azgeda border dispute is not the topic of discussion here, nor is the standing of any of your clans." She leveled a glare at Caineghis. "If you distrust your allies so much, know that the weapons are being guarded by Trikru as well as Azgeda, and you wouldn't be so foolish as to accuse both clans of treachery would you?" Her eyes narrowed as she finished.

"No, Heda." He grit out, lowering his head slightly.

The Azgeda captain with the large armful of various ledgers and papers set them down on the central table while clearing his throat. "Here, this is the itemized lists of everything that can be removed from the mountain."

Lon'qu stepped forward and scanned the pages carefully. Interesting, there was a truly overwhelming amount of art inside the mountain apparently. It would be an impressive gift for his Khan and his people. Flipping through several pages, he noted the large number of statues as well. Truly, his men could return with a great deal of treasure for their clan. Nodding to himself, he noted the other generals following suit. Good, it would seem material gain was enough to keep them away from threats and distrust. Though, the seeming alliance between Azgeda and Trikru was interesting, he'd have to be sure to report on it in detail to the Khan.

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Charlotte managed to sit up for the first time properly and allowed herself to be helped to her feet. Aden helped her and she was mainly able to walk some with his support. It hurt, and she knew Clarke would be angry with her over it but she didn't care.

"Wha' are ya doing!?" Brady's voice cried as he suddenly rushed to her side. "Put her down, ya idiots!"

Aden quickly lowered her back to her cot while Tris hopped out of the way. "We're just helping her." Tris excused.

"She coulda really hurt herself!" He was red in the face as he quickly reached out and began to check her bandages. He made a huff of annoyance at the blood staining her bullet wound in the side. "Char, ya shoulda known better." He chastised. Turning to Aden, he glared. "Grab the bandages."

"I was fine." Charlotte snapped as he carefully pulled her shirt up and began to unwrap her side.

"Lay down an' don't start moving again." He said, ignoring her attitude handily.

Charlotte grunted but did as she was told. She was all too aware Brady was more than capable of tying her to the cot if she struggled, and Aden and Tris wouldn't help her now that they realized she'd been hurting herself.

She gritted her teeth as she saw Brady pulling out a needle and fresh gut string. "This is gonna hurt, but ya already know tha'." He said looking fairly disappointed in her as he began to clean her injury before fixing the stitch she'd torn.

Aden and Tris were standing nearby, looking fairly helpless and unsure of what to say. Tris spoke carefully. "Our apologies, we didn't mean to harm her." It pained Charlotte to see the guilt on Tris' face at that.

"Naught your fault." Brady replied without looking their way. "Char here shoulda known better."

"Traitor," She muttered under her breath at him. Stupid Clarke lackey.

"Charlotte," Miller's hoarse voice said softly from his cot where apparently their noise had woken him. "Hurting yourself to punish Clarke won't change your orders." He looked at her sympathetically.

"You don't know that!" She protested. "I'm not leaving my family. If I can prove I'm capable of traveling, she'll have to take me with you." She said, tears burnt at the edges of her vision.

Miller grunted as he sat himself up while attempting not to jostle his arm. "You know Clarke hates separating us as much we hate being separated."

"Then why?!" She asked feeling the first hot tears burning as they rolled down her cheeks. She raised her arm on her uninjured side and covered her eyes. "Why leave me?!"

Brady reached out gently holding her hand on her injured side. "Cause, protectin' us is wha' she does."

Charlotte heard the thump of Tris sitting down next to her and she felt the cot shift slightly as Tris settled into her position. "Aden and I will be by your side while you're with us." She said firmly.

"I know," She choked out. "But I can't..."

Miller sighed. "Char, you're the youngest of our family and have been offered a chance at safety for the rest of your life. Safety beside friends with whom you took the mark of brotherhood."

"I don't want to leave you! You need me!" She protested.

Brady grunted. "Sure, but we're an army, we can all cover for each other, and you give us ears in the capitol."

Aden snorted. "You'd think Tris and I were worth nothing to you, if you keep this up."

Charlotte moved her arm and her eyes flew to Aden's face where he was looking at her with affection and understanding. There was slight humor in his voice that was echoed in his face. "That's not it! I love you two, we're of one blood now, but I…."

"You'll be fine." Miller said calmly. "It's not like we're leaving you with no way to talk to us, and I'm sure you'll be recalled to Azgeda soon enough."

Charlotte fell silent as Brady finished wrapping her injury before giving her a soft squeeze and moving off to work with other patients. Aden eventually sat down on the floor between her and Miller's cots and pulled out the small chess board Monty had left. Miller remained sitting and with a smile began to continue teaching Aden how to play. She was relieved her friends and family knew to leave her to her thoughts after the earlier display of weakness. She felt shame crawling through her as she lay there. Tris' hand in hers was all that kept her grounded in this moment. She owed several people apologies.

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Octavia easily approached Lincoln with a skip in her step as she left the sparring area where she had just schooled a warrior from the Plains. Lincoln was collecting his winnings from betting on

her with the warriors from the Plains that were surrounding the pit. "Babe!" She greeted walking to him and kissing him firmly before pulling away.

"Well fought." He congratulated her with a proud look.

Before she could reply, a Sankru warrior stopped by with a couple of his friends at his back and glared at them. "Makes sense, the ice whore would take a weakling monster like that to her bed."

She felt rage as she spun on them only stopped from advancing on them by Lincoln grabbing her shoulder and halting the motion. "You cannot fight." He warned while looking at the approaching warriors. "Leave," He ordered them.

"Leave," The warrior chortled. "I don't know about that, you couldn't touch me, reaper scum."

It took everything inside of Octavia not to attack this loud mouthed arrogant fool. However, she knew she couldn't, discord would not be allowed by any of the officers. Out of her peripherals, she could see the Plains warriors falling into a defensive position behind her and Lincoln. Heading their way, clearly having noted the discord, was Burka. The small assassin almost materialized rather than stopped next to her. A couple of Trikru had stopped and were watching now as well.

"If you wish to keep your tongues where they are, I suggest you close your mouths." Burka said easily while her sharp eyes scanned her surroundings.

The Sankru warrior scanned Burka carelessly before dismissing her. Meeting Octavia's eyes, he sneered. "I heard you were some sort of warrior, but if you need help just to deal with some friendly conversation, maybe you'll be up for sleeping with a real man?" He shifted his waist pointedly.

Octavia felt and tasted blood in her mouth from where she was biting her cheek. "Oh, you think you're the real man? Which one of us truly fought against the mountain and which of us was a stinking coward who had to fight as a damned nomad."

Lincoln seemed to understand that she wished to hurt with more than words, clearly he could feel her tensed and ready to spring muscles under his hand. He spoke firmly and with a threat in his tone. "If you value your life and this peace, you should leave, now."

"Or what? Is your precious general or Heda going to come sweeping in and save you because you like fucking weaklings?"

Something happened then Octavia wouldn't have expected. Burka and Lincoln made eye contact for a split second before they moved. With her shoulder released, Octavia moved as well. To hell with the consequences. She drove her fist into the shocked warrior's face, the feeling of his nose

breaking beneath her fist was deeply satisfying. She heard a thump and sharp cry from one side and saw Lincoln out of the other side of her eye lifting one of the Sankru warriors up by the front of his jacket like a misbehaving child.

Grinning, she brought her leg up and kicked the fool in front of her in the gut, hard. Looking up from her fallen foe she noted that no one around them had moved. The warriors from the Plain and their fellow Azgeda and Trikru all had hands on the hilts of weapons and were clearly daring any of the warriors from the other clans that were nearby to attack. Burka was standing, straightening her right glove, the warrior beneath her groaning in pain. Lincoln had dropped his like rag doll and looked truly murderous.

Anya came running into the scene. Octavia cursed internally, she'd gone and done it hadn't she. The fool had deserved it and she was not going to regret this but a fight was exactly what they didn't need. Anya glared everyone down. "Release your weapons now." The captain waited till hands left weapon hilts before speaking. "What the hell is going on?" She demanded.

Burka spoke up emotionlessly and flatly from her side. "These men questioned Octavia and Lincoln's strength, propositioned Octavia, and then insulted not only general Klark, but Heda as well. We were just teaching them a lesson." Her eyes flashed dangerously.

Octavia blinked, looking at the assassin. She would never have expected to be defended by the woman.

Anya look positively dangerous as she took in the meaning of the words. "Is this true?"

"Yes," Octavia replied while Lincoln nodded beside her.

"Well then, grab those idiots. All six of you will be going in the stocks for fighting." She frowned. "However, the three of you will be going in the ones we haven't put against the latrine ditch yet. You were defending Heda."

"Yes ma'am." Octavia poked her downed foe with her foot. "Get up. You hear that, you get to keep your tongue this time fool."

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Three months ago:

Bellamy spotted Corrin laughing with some of the younger warriors over drinks. Making sure to catch the boy's attention, he gestured for him to follow him. Moving further into the tavern, he headed up the stairs in the back up to the room above it where he spent quite a lot of time. After all, the barracks were cold drafty places that gave him the creeps and as captain it was now his right to reserve alternate lodgings if he so desired. Once he had arrived at the door, he unlocked

it and waited for Corrin to enter before he followed.

Closing and locking the door, he waited till Corrin was looking around curiously before sitting down in one of the old chairs and staring at the boy with a measuring stare.

"Why am I here Captain?" Corrin asked curiously.

"Sit," He ordered and sighed. "Do you know why I was ordered to bring you with me to the capitol?" He asked finally.

"Because my aunt wished to see me." Corrin replied, tilting his head slightly.

Bellamy rolled his eyes. "You're worse than I used to be at not seeing the big picture. Think kid, why would your aunt want to see you now when she hasn't given a shit about you till now?"

Corrin's eyes widened in shock at how he'd referred to the queen. "Captain!"

"Relax," Bellamy waved off. "This room is secure. Nothing said in here can be heard from outside this room. The noise of the tavern makes listening at the door impossible and the roofs thatch is too thick to be listened through."

Corrin seemed to relax before looking confused again. "Nia wished to speak to me because I earned her recognition by attaining fifteen kill marks at the border."

Bellamy laughed, "Yeah no. Try again kid. Take your time, this politics shit can take a while."

The kids face scrunched up as he thought things through. His face paled some. "She or Garon want to use me for something don't they?"

This was going to take a while. Bellamy frowned as he thought about how to say this. Straight to the point it was, after all it was him. "They want you to be her heir."

"What?!" Corrin exclaimed. "But I've hardly earned my marks? I hold no rank! I'm a nobody!"

"You're the last blood relative Nia has now that Roan is dead. You secure her position as queen if you take the position of heir." He leaned forward, watching the kid carefully. "Garon would use you as a puppet ruler for him, Iago would like to do the same. Whether you're ready or hold enough rank or not, you've been thrown to the lions and you won't survive if you don't choose your alliances carefully."

Corrin looked at him sharply. "You want something from me." It wasn't a question.

"I do," Bellamy fiddled slightly. "Nia is a tyrant and will lead us all to our deaths. Right now, there

are three factions you could lend your support to, Garon, Iago, or Nia. If you choose Garon or Iago, you will be a puppet forced to bond into one of their families and killed as soon as you produce a child. If you support Nia, you will be rather painfully molded into her ideal heir and killed as soon as someone overthrows her rule. Don't be a fool and think she'll last much longer with how she antagonizes the coalition. Though, I suppose you could be lucky and get killed off early by one of the many assassins here in the capitol."

Corrin swallowed and looked at him nervously. "And you, what faction do you support?"

Bellamy grinned. "I support Clarke, and I want Iago, Garon, and Nia all dead."

Corrin blinked and frowned. "Why tell me this? What do you need from me?"

"Not much, just to keep you out of the clasp of any of the others. You, whether you wish it or not, have been born to hold power. The question is how you will use that power. So what are you going to do?" He asked, watching the kid carefully. He knew he'd been picked to do this because he was good at picking out liars, and Clarke knew he could kill Corrin if he doubted his choice or if he chose wrong. After all, she knew about what he'd done to Murphy.

"What is going on Captain?" Corrin demanded.

"If we kill Nia, Clarke is queen. If Clarke is queen, then we're safe and Azgeda will be safe. As it is, we're not far from a war with the coalition that will utterly destroy us." Bellamy spoke with passion. It was the truth, and he didn't want to kill the kid. "You can't tell me you think the way things are is alright."

"The way things are?" He asked carefully.

Bellamy ran a hand through his hair, how could explain there were other ways of doing things? "Do you think flaying those who speak out against Nia is just? Or that what we forced to do at the border was okay even though Nia could have prevented it by sending out a larger force and kept us from receiving further aid by angering the commander enough that she ignored our plight? Nia cares nothing for our people. Do you honestly think Garon or Iago would be any better on the throne?"

"No," Corrin shook his head. Looking at him, he spoke seriously. "Why tell me? Why not kill me? Klark would be a better queen, you're right, but my potential to inherit the throne would be a risk to her." His hands were shaking slightly.

"Because you're a good kid and don't deserve to die." Bellamy said honestly.

Corrin nodded. "I'd always be a threat."

"If we want a better future we have to create it ourselves, and that means not killing people just because they are a risk when they have done nothing wrong."