Chapter 11
Lexa stood before them, watching them. She heard the blonde called Clarke say her name. It was quiet and barely there, but Lexa had heard it. There was an affection, almost like a prayer in it when she said it. She knew that the others around her hadn't heard Clarke say it. Had Gustus, the blonde would already have a knife at her throat, but she had and she didn't know why it affected her so much. She searched the girls eyes, but there was no recognition. Which is why she was just as surprised as the rest of her camp when the blonde hit her knees and bowed before her. The green-eyed one followed suit and drug the newcomer down. She didn't know the blonde, but she could tell that the blonde knew her.
As she watched her, she thought about what had transpired in the tent hours earlier. Clarke was trying to fight for peace with them before something happened between their two groups. She had heard the determination and the passion in the blonde's words and actions. She was pleased with her forthcomings, but she was also wary of her. She spoke the language of the Mountain. She knew tek, and she knew things that no one other than Anya should know. She also zeroed in on the the "servant girl." Even though she didn't know what the blonde had said, Lexa knew that she told her sekken to watch the girl. And, she knew the minute that the darker haired warrior realized that the "servant girl" had some power. Anya hadn't seen it, but she knew that both of them had. What was it about this girl that was drawing her in and keeping her there? Why were they so confident that Lexa would help them? And, what did they know about the Mountain that could help her as Heda when nothing had worked so far? She tried not to stare but failed as she locked eyes with the blue-eyed skaigada again.
She knew that it was only moments, but it seemed like hours before Anya, Tris, and the rest burst through behind the trio. When her eyes met those of her Fos, she knew that Anya had something to report. She could tell that Anya wasn't happy about something, but she was also guarded. It was something that Lexa hadn't seen since Anya had found her in her room after Costia's... She didn't want to think about that at the moment. She turned her eyes from the newcomers and back to Anya, locking eyes with her General. Even as Anya approached her alone, she didn't bid for them to rise. She left them on their knees. She knew it was petty, but it was also a power play. She was reminding them that she was one in charge. She held the power and they had to answer to her. They might have answers that she needed, but first she had to decide if they were worthy of being trusted. She would not be lured into a trap. She would destroy the skaigoufa before she allowed them to destroy the Kongeda.
Anya just walked past them and straight to Lexa's side. Tris stayed back, sword drawn, and waited to see what her Fos was going to order for her to do. For now, she was watching the three women that they followed back to Heda's camp. Nyko and Ryder were behind them and both immediately went towards Lexa. Still Lexa didn't bid the three to rise.
"Umm, Griffin, no offense, Princess, but who the Hell is that?" Raven asked.
Octavia reached over and smacked her in the back of the head and shushed her.
"Oh no, Pocahontas, you did not just shush me?" Raven started.
"Raven, if you want to keep your tongue, shut up," Clarke said as she kept her eyes down and waited for Lexa to say something.
"You both owe me," Raven hissed and went quiet.
Clarke saw the amused face Lexa was giving them. It was something that she had learned to see. Lexa didn't show a lot of emotion, but Clarke had learned to read it all, mostly from her eyes. She also knew that she couldn't give anymore away, at least not yet. So, she did what she had to do in order to get what she wanted from Lexa. She waited and she watched, just like Lexa was, just like Lexa taught her to do in situations like this. She was staring up at her through her lashes just enough to make out the expression on Lexa's face. It wasn't enough for her to get a full idea, but it was enough for her to know that Lexa was amused and intrigued by the trio.
But, then she saw the change. Lexa became hard and concerned. Her eyes never left Clarke as Anya gave her report. Anya was standing just to her left, head turned into Lexa's left ear as she spoke lowly to Lexa. She stood stoically and fixed, eyes on Clarke the most, as Anya stood ramrod straight, hand on her sword, whispering in Lexa's ear. When Lexa pulled the dagger from her side and started playing with it, Clarke wanted to laugh. Lexa was concerned by them and possibly a little intimidated. She didn't know that Clarke was willing to lay waste to hundreds to protect her people. At least, not yet, but she would learn that soon. Hopefully, Clarke wouldn't have have Raven make another ring of fire.
She dropped her eyes back to the ground as Lexa pushed away from Anya. She heard the disgruntled grunts from her guards, but Lexa just waved them off as she took another step closer to the three kneeling women. She cocked her head as she looked them over again. They didn't seem to be anything to worry about, but she could still tell that they had power. They had enough power in them that both Gustus and Anya were worried about them.
"You come from the sky?" Lexa questioned finally, pointing towards the sky with her right hand, index finger extended.
Clarke didn't immediately answer. She wasn't sure who Lexa was directing the question to, but finally she decided that she would speak for them. She had to show that she was the one that Lexa needed to speak with, and she needed to prove that she was the leader, their so-called Skaiprisa.
"We do," Clarke replied, still keeping her head down, trying to read Lexa's mood and the situation more.
"And, this bird with you? The latest to fall from the sky in fire. She is like you as well?"
"As she is from the sky, yes," Clarke said as she looked up to meet Lexa's eyes.
It was almost defiant, the way that Clarke was looking at her. She could tell that Lexa was taken with her eyes and hair. She knew that she thought she was a spy from Azgeda. She did have the coloring for it, but she was not from the North. Clarke knew that she would never claim to be from the North and Azgeda, but she understood Lexa's questioning. They were worried about who they were and what they could do. It was a natural reaction.
"Anya says you speak of things that you should not know. Are you a seer, Gada kom Skaifaya? Chit yu get klin? (Girl of the Stars, what do you know?)" Lexa asked her, but now she was watching them all.
"I know that you do not believe in seers. I know that you do not believe in that the stars can help man. I know for you the dead are gone and the living are hungry. I know that you lost someone very dear to you, not but two years, two summers ago. I know what she meant to you, what she still means to you, and what you do to honor her in the treachery that she was...returned to you. I also know more about your City, your capital, even though I have never been there. I know more about your friends, your teachers, your mentors, and your siblings of the blood. I know who you are and what you want for your people."
"You know of the blood, Skaigada?" Lexa questioned.
"Yes, I do."
"How?"
"Because I've spoken with Becca," Clarke told her and met her eyes again.
"And, why should I believe you?" Lexa inquired.
"You shouldn't until you have proof."
"And, what proof could you give me?"
"Without going to your City and showing you things?"
"Yes," Lexa answered.
Clarke nodded. She hadn't expected Lexa to allow her to go to Polis this early. She didn't have Lexa's trust. She hadn't earned it. She also hadn't killed three hundred men to be on her radar, but she already was. Clarke knew that she had to think quickly. She had to give her something, but she also had to keep Lexa interested. She had to find a way to make Lexa trust her just enough so that she could prove their worth and that they were needed to fell the Mountain.
"Fine, I will tell you that there is a massive storm coming. It should hit in roughly two days. Me and my people will go back to our camp and shelter there. I suggest you do the same. Find shelter that is, not come to my camp. In two days, send Anya and Tris for us, again. We will come willingly and talk, then."
"You want to give me truths but all you give me is a storm," Lexa stated as she looked at the horizon.
Clarke watched as she knew that Lexa was studying the clouds. She could tell that Lexa was looking for the tale-tell signs of an impending storm, but they wouldn't show for a day or two. The best anyone would hope for now was a little wind and rain. The bulk of the storm wouldn't hit for a few days.
"What more do you want from me, Heda kom Kongeda? Or, would you prefer that I call you by your given name, Lexa kom Trikru? Do you want me to tell you more of what is to come? We both know that you don't believe me, so why don't we just wait and see if this storm comes?" Clarke asked her.
It was a challenge, both subtle and not. Lexa rose her chin and cocked her eyebrow at the girl before her. Clarke was going to be a challenge like none other in her life, she could already tell. But, there was something about Clarke that was drawing her in, drawing her close, and making her want to believe the blonde. She had a fire in her and Lexa couldn't help but think that it was fitting she came from the heavens and the stars. She was also a leader, and just from the few interactions they'd shared, she could tell that she was fiercely loyal and determined. Oh, she was going to a definite challenge for Lexa, but oh, how she couldn't wait to see who would come out on top in it, herself or the skaigada.
"We will see about your storm, Skaigada. Go back to your camp. We will come to you, in a small number, in two days time. And, do not think that I don't know about you, Skaiprisa. I will send Lincoln kom Trikru with you back. He will report to me more about your people," Lexa told her.
"He hasn't told you enough already?" Clarke scoffed.
She couldn't help the words before she said then. She regretted it just a little and winced in response to her knee-jerk quip, but Clarke wasn't going to back down. She never had when it came to Lexa and she wasn't going to start now. If she wanted to send Lincoln to spy on them, she'd let her because she knew that he wouldn't report anything else back to him that she didn't already know.
"Clarke, play nice and don't piss of the Grounder Queen. I still love him and I would actually like to be with him without him having to betray his people for once. Also, what the Hell?" Octavia hissed at her. "I thought that you wanted to get into her good graces quicker. Pissing her off isn't the way to do it. She looks like she wants to kill you."
"Trust me. This works every time. Watch. She doesn't know what to do with me. I challenge her. I don't threaten her personally, her power, or the coalition. I've offered to help. Trust me on this. She's intrigued."
"If you say so," Octavia replied.
"Umm, someone what to share with the rest of the class?" Raven quipped.
"Not yet," Clarke answered quickly. "I find your terms agreeable. He can come back with us. He will stay with us, like an ambassador. We have nothing to hide. Like I told Anya, we need each other. But, first we need to trust each other. And, you don't trust us. I get it. I know more than you think. I will see you in two days time, Anya. Until then, Heda."
Clarke didn't wait for a response. She wanted to stand and thrust her arm out just for Lexa to take it in agreement, but she didn't. She didn't want to push her knowledge of things too far too fast. Instead she stood up, bowed, and turned towards the tree line without any fanfare or word. Octavia and Raven followed suit and then headed back for the tree line. She heard Lincoln moving to follow. She hadn't waited for him. On their way, they gathered their packs and started towards the dropship. She didn't need to hear more words or orders from Lexa to know that he was scrambling to keep up with them as Lexa stated he would. But, she heard both Anya and Gustus start to argue with Lexa for letting them go, especially since she still had the radio.
Lexa watched her go. She didn't even try to stop her. She knew that it rankled Anya to no end. Gustus didn't seem any happier about it, but she didn't care at the moment. She wanted to know more about this supposed "Skaiprisa." She stood there and stared after the small group that Lincoln was following. There was something about the blonde, the way she moved, and the way she addressed Lexa. It was like she knew her, but Lexa knew that she'd never met her before. She would've remembered the blonde's face. She didn't move like Azgeda. She didn't need a suit or carry a gun like the men of the Mountain. Instead, she moved like Trikru and so did her sekken. The one named for the bird was clumsy and rude, but Clarke seemed to enjoy it. She seemed to find it endearing. But, she also noticed how the newcomer defaulted to Clarke's orders. What was this blonde gada up to in her forests?
"Tris!" Lexa called.
"Sha, Heda?" the young sekkon questioned as she rushed forward.
"I want you to be a messenger between Lincoln and Anya. Go. Follow them and let him know what your orders are," Lexa commanded. "We will be heading back to Belle. If we aren't there, we will be back in TonDC with Indra."
"Sha, Heda!" Tris said, bowed and took off into the woods.
"Lexa!" Anya hissed as she stared at her former sekkon.
"Em plenti, Onya."
"Heda, we don't know anything about these invaders. Are you sure that we should allow them to just live? They don't understand who you are. It is obvious that they don't respect you," Gustus warned.
"They don't know us or our ways, Gustus. Lincoln seems to think that they are what they say they are. He has watched them the longest. He also warned me about the blonde they call Clarke, their Skaiprisa. She knows things about us that she shouldn't, but she doesn't know how to survive on the ground very well. I want to know more about these goufa. If they do honestly want peace, I will grant them peace," Lexa told them. "Pack the camp."
"As you wish, Heda," Gustus said and began to move about the camp with the rest of those there.
Anya stood by her side as they both just stared into the woods. She knew that Anya would chastise her for it later, but she was Heda and it was decision to let the skaigoufa live for now. She would wait out the storm in Belle. It was just a few hours ride from TonDC and their "dropship." It was a place that Tris could find easily enough and it was far enough away from the Mountain's fog. She hadn't been to see the people of Belle in many moons. It was time to pay them a visit. It was also time for Anya to pay a visit to them as well, since many of her troops, her rangers came from the small area that surround the town there. She was Lexa's General and the Trikru General when the kongeda went to war, but she also has responsibilities outside of Polis, responsibilities that she had been neglecting because she was caring for Lexa.
It was time that Anya went home and faced her demons as well. It would do them no good to keep avoiding the town just because Costia's parents still lived there. It would do them no good to avoid it because Costia's twin brothers had joined the army. Lexa had sent them to TonDC and to Indra for a reason. She wanted them to learn from the best, but she knew that Anya couldn't teach them. Indra had taught Anya and Anya had taught Lexa. Lexa couldn't take them, Anya wouldn't, but she knew that Indra wouldn't refuse them. She hadn't and they'd been released to the army and the rangers last year. They were some of the first to encounter the "sky children." They weren't impressed, either. But, they weren't the problem.
She needed intel to take back to the ambassadors. She needed proof and promises that these invaders weren't going take them like the Mountain had. If she couldn't convince the ambassadors, she knew that it would be a massacre. She didn't want to wipe them out without cause, and so far, just trying to find a home outside the stars wasn't cause enough for her. They hadn't killed anyone. They stuck the lands around their hunk of metal, and they've tried for peace. She could give them two more days before she made a decision on their well-being.
But, first she had her own demons to slaughter. So, they would go to Belle and camp for these two days before returning to TonDC. If the blonde proved true, they would talk more. If she proved false...she would have no choice but to wipe them from the face of the earth.