Chapter 28
One thousand three hundred nineteen days after Praimfaya
She sat in the back of the room. She knew the exact moment that Kane and Gaia knew that she'd entered, but she shook her head at them. She wasn't there to disturb the class. She wanted to talk to Gaia some more about the legends. She knew that they were learning them and blending them into one finally that Gaia and Kane had come to an agreement on how to blend the stories into one. Kane wanted hope to be the main message, but he knew that Octavia wanted it to be harmony and togetherness. Gaia was just trying preserve the old ways, but she kept looking at Octavia. Normally it would have bothered the warrior queen, but she found it odd that Gaia had taken to studying her more and more each day.
Today, she was actually waiting for Gaia. She wanted her to go with her down to the mushroom farm. She wanted her to see what they were doing.
She'd been studying the Heda tome again. The more she read, the more she thought that Becca had been trying to tell them that they would rise again. Yes, one of their mottos was "From the ashes, we rise." But, it wasn't Becca's; it was Conagan's mind and the New Dawn's cult. The banners still hung around the bunker and she was surprised how quickly everyone forgot how to read. She realized as she walked to Gaia's classrooms that reading wasn't necessary to survive and that the leaders were taught to read and write. It was something that Kane and Octavia wanted to rectify, but they had started with teaching everyone how to speak English first.
"Osleya," Gaia greeted her.
"Gaia," Octavia replied.
"What brings you down to the school room today?"
"I was hoping that we could talk about the legends some more," Octavia told her.
"As you wish, Osleya. Shall we go back to your quarters? Or, would you like to do it here?"
"Whichever you think is better," Octavia said.
"I believe that we should go back to your quarters, Blodreina. As you've asked, I've started teaching the legends. I am not sure what the children would think about us discussing it here."
"Are you afraid of them?"
"No, I am afraid of what conclusions they will come to, Osleya," Gaia replied.
Octavia wasn't sure that understood why Gaia was afraid of what they would think. Teaching them the legends were supposed to help Octavia maintain control. She watched Indra's daughter as they made their way back up to her quarters. She didn't completely trust Gaia, but she knew that Gaia wanted them to survive. She also supported some of Octavia's more harsher rules and stances on things, well more so than her mother, Indra. Octavia had learned to use Gaia as a gauge of the populace. She couldn't trust Indra on that, because as much as she loved Indra, Indra would tell her what she wanted to hear.
She nodded to Miller as they entered. She looked up at the clock. It was near time for Clarke's daily broadcast. She huffed as she crossed the room. She turned down the radio volume, but set it up to record anyway. She would listen to it after she was done with Gaia. She needed to take care of her people first.
"So, what is it that worries you about the legends, Gaia?" Octavia asked as she took her seat behind her desk.
"It isn't so much the legends, Osleya. It is how the older believers will react to them. The children are easier to mold until their mentors get a hold of them. The younger children that haven't been given as a sekkon are the easiest. They are eager to please and learn. They love the stories," Gaia told her.
"All children love stories. I know I did when I was living beneath the floor. Stories keep us going when things look bad and bleak. Why do you think that I asked that you started teaching in the school?"
"I didn't know, Osleya. I was just following orders. Legends help us learn from the past. They teach us how and why our society works. It gives us things to aspire to, heroes to praise and the hope to emulate them."
"And, that is why I want the legends taught, Gaia. I need the people to know that I am going to get us out of this bunker. I don't know how yet, but I've not given up. They can't either. But, on the other hand, we have to be prepared for anything once we get out of here. That is why everyone must train in the farm and to be part of the warrior forces."
"And, Niylah?"
"She is fisa, like Abby. Fisas are just as important as warriors, Gaia. Without fisas, the gona wouldn't have anyone to put them back together for another fight," Octavia told. "Look, I know that they are all taught basic and sometimes advanced battlefield medicine. If you want to go down that line of thinking, what are you, Gaia? You're a ticha, and a good one, but you are also the last Flaimkepa. Is that not still an important role for the people? Your like a priestess to them. Are you a warrior?"
"I was trained to be one when I was young," Gaia countered.
"But are you gona now?"
"No," Gaia stated.
"Then don't worry about Niylah. I have people where they need to be. There will always be roles that don't fight. Would you expect Jackson to pick up a sword and fight?"
"No, he is weak, but he is strong as a fisa."
"So, even you can tell the difference," Octavia said.
"Yes, Osleya, I can. I'm sorry if I offended you. I meant no disrespect."
"I didn't take it as disrespect, Gaia. I was merely stating a fact, a fact that I am sure your own mother taught you young. Everyone has a role to fulfill in a village, do they not? Think of this a giant village. Would it be good for all to be warriors? No, it wouldn't, because then no one would maintain the village. What is good is that everyone is taught to fight. That means that if the warriors, the gona, are out fighting, then the villagers that stay behind can put up a decent defense and keep the village. That is what I am striving for. I know that I will have to send the gona out to explore and remap the world, but I want to make sure that everyone still in the bunker is safe. I can't do that if they don't all know how to fight. I hope that they don't have to fight, but I still want them to be able to. I should have to leave the bunker in hands of babes."
"Goddess bless us so you don't either," Gaia quickly stated.
"Yes, Goddess bless us all," Octavia replied with no real conviction.
Gaia nodded. She'd taken the chastising well. Octavia was impressed, but she was also concerned.
"We're over halfway through our intended stay."
"And, we are still prosperous, Osleya," Gaia replied.
"Are we?"
"Yes."
"Are we really?"
"Sha, Osleya, osir laik," Gaia stated.
"Look around us, Gaia. The people are still in fear. They obey because I tell them too and they are still afraid of the pits. The mini-rebellion months back is still haunting them. Some of them look at me as if I am god and others think that I will command their death at the next second for looking at me wrong."
"They look at you as if you were the Heda, Osleya. For all they know, you are the new Heda, without the Flame. You won the Conclave. You've saved us all. You've battled and fought to keep us alive, shedding your own blood to do so. They see you for what you are, Osleya, our Champion and our leader. Their fear is good thing, though," Gaia told her. "If they fear you, they will obey you. If they obey you, they will survive."
"I want obedience without fear. I know what kind of obedience that leads to, and we are better than that. It is why I have my council. It is why I let the people come to me with grievances. Gaia, I am not a tyrant on all matters because tyranny breeds contempt. Contempt breeds rebellion. Rebellion breeds our deaths and the end of Man."
"Osleya is well versed," Gaia replied.
"When I lived beneath the floor, reading was the only thing that kept me sane."
"And, your brother?"
"He did his best, but he could only do so much. That is why he taught me what he could and got me every book that he could. He gave most of my education until I met Lincoln and Indra. They were the ones that taught me what it was really like to live on the ground. Your mother still is my mentor, my Fis, even though she won't claim the title anymore."
"She can't."
"I know, because technically I outrank her as the Osleya. It doesn't mean that I don't still seek guidance. We all need it. No one knows everything Gaia. I'll be the first to admit that. There were things in the beginning that I thought I understood, but the longer we're down here, the more I know what Jaha told me and did was right. That is a very bitter pill to swallow."
"Bitter pill?"
"It is an old Earth expression. It means I had to learn it the hard way and I found out that I was thought I could and what could be done are two different things. I was wrong and I admit that, but that doesn't mean that I can quit or slack off. We are the last of Man and I will be damned if I let us die out here. We will be better. We will survive. And, we will work the Earth again."
"You are the Osleya. The more time I spend with you, the more I realize that you are closer to the 'Reborn' than I want to admit. I will follow you, Osleya. I will support you, because I know that you are the best thing for us. You've kept us together. You've helped us through every crisis that has arising down here. And, you are helping us get better and prepare for the unknown on the surface. You will help the rebirth of Man and you will lead us into our new future on earth. I have faith in you," Gaia told her.
"But you still worry about the people?"
"Yes, Osleya, I do. They worshiped the Heda like a god. I am not sure that they wouldn't do the same for you. It is a lot of pressure to fall on someone and you have enough to deal with as it is."
"So what are you saying?"
"We need to be careful in how we push this. I am not saying that I don't agree with you about the legend. I do, now. I've done a lot of reading of the old Flaimkepas journals, the Heda journals and the legends that aren't in all combined in Heda Leska's tome. I am just not sure who you think is going to be the 'Starborne'."
"I have an idea, but I just wanted to lay the ground work for it now."
"You think it was Wanheda, don't you?" Gaia asked as she watched Octavia cocked her head in question.
"She would be a good candidate, but I don't know," Octavia lied.
"Lexa thought she was. She fit the description and she supported Lexa. They would have been the two of the legend, I think had Titus not killed Lexa. But, he was too blinded by what it might mean for him and the rest of us."
"Which is?"
"That a new world would form again. We were already the new world from the old. We were what rose from the ashes. He couldn't see how someone from the stars could make us better. He saw Wanheda as the old world and what it represented," Gaia told her.
"Which was?"
"War and death," Gaia replied.
"And, how is that so different from what you had?"
"Lexa was different. She thought in the long term as well as the immediate. She had plans for us to band together to be stronger. She started that with the Kongeda."
"And, I will finish it, Gaia. With your help, we will continue Lexa's legacy and make it better. I don't want the Hedas forgotten. I never did. But, the people need to know that the time of the Hedas has passed and it is now the time for the 'Starborne and the Earthborne' to lead them into the future of Man," Octavia explained.
"Then, Osleya, osir Graunnomfa."
"Ground Son?"
"The 'Earthborne'," Gaia replied.
"Sha, Graunnomfa, laik ai."
"Sha, ai Osleya," Gaia told her. "I need to get back to study more. I have idea, but I'll come run it by you first."
"Go, Gaia, and be well."
"Thank you, Osleya, ai Graunnomfa," Gaia stated, saluted and left the office.
Octavia let out a breath she didn't realize that she was holding. She didn't realize how much she was going to need Gaia on her side and the longer they were in the bunker, the more she would need her. It was a necessary evil, but to know that she was finally coming around to Octavia's way of thinking was helpful. It took a load off of her. Gaia could help sway the masses and make things easier.
Abby and Kane were another story, but she had Indra to help with that. She didn't know how to approach Abby some days, so she used Niylah and Indra. Indra was key in dealing with Kane, who had suddenly decided to grow a conscience. Octavia didn't hate him for it, but his timing wasn't ideal. He didn't openly defy her, but it was getting worse. He thought that they could do better than they had in space on the Ark, but he was failing to see that the bunker was the new Ark for Man.
She shook her head. That was something that she would deal with later. Now, she wanted to hear what Clarke had to say. She got up from her desk and went to the radio. She pulled up the recording for the day and moved to the couch across from it. She stopped by her desk and grabbed a glass of water to drink while she listened. She sat down and waited for the recording to begin.
"Hey, Bell, it's day...oh, it doesn't matter right now. I wish that you could see how big Madi is getting. She's about ten, now, I think. She doesn't know when her birthday is because grounders don't really celebrate them. When they big enough, they went to work or became a second. She wasn't old enough yet, but she wasn't far off before Praimfaya, or so she tells me," Clarke stated.
Octavia smiled and then stated into the break, "Leave it Clarke to find last Natblida."
"I've gotten better at sowing, so my stitches should be better if needed. We've managed to make all weather gear and enough clothes to last us each a week. Well, for now, she is growing so fast that I have mend or get new clothes for her every couple weeks. But, at least, she's keeping me sane. I don't know that I would have been able to survive all this time alone.
"There are so many things that I miss, you know? They taught us in school that there are three things that we need to survive. They lied. There are four. Shelter is a given. Food and water are as well. But, as humans we need some sort of social interaction. I wish I read more back on the Ark. I am sure that you got Robinson Crusoe and other stories about lone adventures. It isn't for the faint of heart. Madi keeps things interesting and it is nice to have such peace with it just being her and I, but her world is colored by her grounder upbringing until me. And, mine...mine is colored by everything that we've been through. I don't want to taint her world, but I still tell her our stories.
"Almost two years to go and you'll be back. I'm still counting the days. I hope that before you come down that the radiation or whatever that is keeping you from answering me has dwindled enough for us to talk. I miss your voice.
"I miss a lot of voices, especially Lexa's. There are nights that I still dream of her and I wake. I step the door of our house and look out into the village and I expect to see her riding in on a horse or in the Rover, back from fishing or hunting. I can see the look in her eyes and I just know that she's back and she's mine. I miss...
"It sounds so simple, but touch. I miss the touch of someone who loves me. I miss being able to hold someone. I miss being the reason that someone smiles at me for me and as their caretaker. I need y'all to come back. I need my family back, all of you. Everyone. I don't care where you are, space or in the bunker. I need you all back," Clark said and then the transmission ended.
"Soon, Clarke. Soon and we'll all be back together. But, I know what you mean. I miss Lincoln...everyday."
