It's sunset by the time everything is ready for the summit. Lexa's throne room has been set up to host the ceremony with a long red carpet the goes from the doors to the steps at the feet of her throne. It fits quite perfectly, Clarke thinks, that the Commander of Death has to walk her way towards the Commander of Blood on a crimson rug.
Everyone else is already inside, standing by one side of the red carpet and waiting for Clarke to make her entrance. Or better, they're all waiting for Wanheda. That's who she'll have to be, at least for tonight. The broken former Sky leader will have to wait outside those doors. Thankfully, the handmaids Lexa sent to help her get ready did an amazing job in making her look like the powerful woman everybody is expecting to see. She is dressed in a gown with a high side vent that leaves her legs visible, the top is covered by a golden leather corset which all but sets off her cleavage. Then there's her hair, held away from her face and arranged in a series of intricate braids, reflecting the grounders' traditional hairstyle. Two stripes of war paint go from each one of her eyes to her hairline. Everything about her makes her appear like a powerful grounder commander.
"Yumi na teik won sonraun au?" And will you take a life with me?
"Medo ste thonken, medo drein au." A body's hollow, a body bleeds.
Clarke hears the beautiful voice of the singer starting to sing as the guards open the doors to let her into the room. She takes a moment to look at the people in the room, everyone's staring at her expectantly. Taking a deep breath, Clarke holds her head up high, as she's seen Lexa do many times before, and she walks in.
"Oso kik raun ogeda, soulou." We live as one, we live alone.
"Ai laik yu gona." I am your soldier.
"Ai na get raun, you." I will atone.
Clarke's breath gets caught as soon as her eyes land on Lexa's form, standing tall in front of her. They didn't have the chance to see each other before the beginning of the summit, so they're both mesmerized by sight of the other. They don't let it show, of course. Nonetheless, if you paid close attention, you could totally tell they are staring languidly at one another as their eyes study single detail of the other's dress, hair and make-up. Lexa looks as ruthless as she does while wearing her armor, but all Clarke can think of is that this is the first time she's ever seen her in a gown, and she is stunning. Lexa is wearing a long black and crimson dress that leaves her arms and her cleavage on display. Her hair is held back in her usual braids, but her war paint is simpler than the one she wears for battle. Like Clarke's, it shapes into two stripes that go from her eyes to her hairline. As she walks, Clarke can't help but notice Lexa has a tattoo on her upper right arm. She wonders what's the story behind it, but that of course is something that will have to wait for later. Right now, she needs to focus on keeping her back straight, and on walking without tripping on her own feet, so that the mighty Wanheda won't make a complete fool of herself in front of all these people.
"Yumi na teik won sonraun au?" And will you take a life with me?
"Ai keryon gyon op, ai keryon g' breik au." My soul moves on, my soul is freed.
Clarke comes to a stop in front of Lexa, as the voice in the background sings these words. They stare deeply in each other's eyes, and for a moment it feels like it's just the two of them in the room. Their eyes shine with a newfound resolution, and it seems like they're saying that yes, they will take a life with the other. The words of the song reflect perfectly what Clarke feels right now. Thanks to Lexa her soul is able to move on from all the horror and loss she's experienced in her life, and now it's finally free. Free to love the woman standing in front of her with all of her heart, and free to take a life with her.
"Pas skaikrasha, klin tristraka," After the storm, a lightning flash,
"En houd don gon hosh trashsaka." With all the world reduced to ash.
Clarke is lost in her thoughts, until the singer moves on to the next verse of the song. Brought out of her reverie, she remembers that it's now time for her to bow to Lexa. Before anyone can notice the way the two commanders are staring at each other, she bows her head, and very slowly, she moves to kneel down on one knee. Staring at the floor as sign of respect and submission, Clarke cannot see the look on Lexa's face. She doesn't notice the way her eyes sparkle with unshed tears, or the way her mouth opens slightly in awe. Thankfully, years of training in hiding her emotions help Lexa keep it together in front of her warriors. No one notices the way her eyes water up as Lexa's mind darts off to that damned day when she had to leave Clarke behind in order to save her people. She remembers how bad she felt when she set foot back into camp that night, praying to whatever god that's up there that Clarke was still alive. She wouldn't dare to hope that Clarke might forgive her after her betrayal, but as long as she was okay, it didn't matter if the woman hated her for the rest of her life. Thank God, Clarke did make it out of it alive. But only for the Ice Queen to go and threaten her life to win over Wanheda's power. Lexa can't believe she's almost lost yet another person she loves at the hands of Queen Nia. But Clarke is here now. She's safe here in Polis by her side. Not only did she manage to protect her from Azgeda, but she also got Clarke to forgive her, and even more, to love her.
"Yumi na teik won sonraun au?" And will you take a life with me?
"Houd na fleim daun, bed' ge jok au." This world will burn, save what you need.
Lexa keeps her eyes fixed on Clarke's figure until everyone else in the room falls on their knees before her. The first one to follow in on Clarke's action is Prince Roan of Azgeda, to Lexa's great surprise. The last ones, instead, are Marcus and Abby, which doesn't surprise her at all. With that, Lexa takes a deep breath to regain her composure. She cannot let her voice waver as she addresses the people bowing to her. She's their leader, and leaders cannot be weak. Emotion is weakness. She can hear Titus's voice reaping it to her over and over again. Lexa moves her eyes quickly around the room, before tilting her head to her right to look at the singer, waiting for her to finish the song.
"Ai nou fir raun," I am fearless,
"Ai mana jomp in," I am to fight,
"Ai mana wan open," I am to die,
"Ai don sin y'in." You're in my sight.
"Yumi na teik won sonraun au?" And will you take a life with me?
"Jus drein jus draun," Blood must have blood,
"Ai medo drein au." My body bleeds.
When the song is over, Lexa brings her gaze back on the people knelt in front of her. And with her head held high, she finally greets them: "Hail, warriors of the 12 clans."
"Hail, Commander of Blood." The assembly replies in chorus.
"Rise." Lexa waits for everyone to be back on their feet, and for Clarke to walk to her mother's side before continuing. "We welcome Skaikru to our halls, in spirit of friendship and harmony. And we welcome Klark kom Skaikru, legendary Wanheda, Mountain Slayer. The reason for the summit has changed. We are not here to negotiate a treaty with the Skaikru, but rather to initiate them into the Coalition."
Loud murmurs fill the room as soon as the warriors assimilate what she just said. But their voices are soon cut off by Lexa's clear voice.
"To symbolize this union the leader of Skaikru must bear our mark." She looks down at Kane and Abby, expecting the choice to rest on either one of them, as Clarke had told her. She stares at them attentively, as they look at each other. Finally, Abby leans in to say something to Marcus. Lexa can't quite make out what is said from where she's standing, but their gestures are enough to let her know ù he is going to be the one to bear the coalition mark.
"Present your arm." She orders after nodding to him.
Right as the white-hot metal mark is pressed on his forearm, the doors burst open, and three people break into the room. Lexa recognizes two of them as Octavia kom Skaikru and her brother Bellamy, who is holding one of her guards at gun point. She has no idea who the other man is, but she reasons he must be one of Clarke's people as well. Having no clue of what's happening, Lexa looks at Clarke worriedly. But her worry only increases since Clarke looks just as surprised as her to see her friends standing there by the doors. The first one to recover from the shock of the irruption is Titus. The bald man gives them looks at them threateningly as he demands an explanation as to what is going on. Bellamy's voice is just as harsh as he answers, claiming the summit to be a trap.
"We have to get you out here." He says, motioning for Clarke to follow them out.
The summit's a trap? No, it can't be right. Lexa promised. She… she promised she wouldn't betray her again. There's no way this is a trap. Right? Clarke is more confused than ever as she turns to look at Lexa. She wants to trust her with all her heart, and she does. But there's still a part of her that wonders if she really can trust her. So she asks, just to be sure.
"What the hell is going on?!"
"I don't know."
Lexa doesn't know? Oh, thank God! She has nothing to do with this. Clarke lets out a breath of relief, although she's not sure whether that should make her feel better or worse. Considering no one knows what's going on, and she's never seen Lexa being so alarmed before.
"It's the Ice Nation." Bellamy explains. As if that meant anything at all.
"They're only trying to deceive you, Heda. Azgeda has nothing to do with what's happening. Skaikru is clearly the one behind all of this." An Ice warrior attempts a lame defense, but he's soon silenced by the rise of Lexa's hand. Her gaze is penetrating Bellamy's skull as she asks where they've come by that information. The three companions start looking around the room as if searching for the person who has all the answers.
"Where the hell is Echo?" Octavia hisses towards her brother.
"What's going on?" Kane interjects, but the only answer he gets is another question from Bellamy.
"Where the hell is she?"
"Bellamy, we were wrong about this."
"I don't understand..."
Seeing as the situation is only getting more and more confusing by the second, Kane orders his people to lower their weapons, in the hope of finding a solution which doesn't include the use of violence.
"Bellamy? Bellamy, come in." A voice cracks from the radio attached to his belt. It's Raven. "The grounders attacked Mount Weather." Her broken words leave everyone in shock.
Bellamy takes the radio in his hand quickly, before asking for a further explanation. "What are you talking about?"
"It's gone. They're all gone. Sinclair and I are the only ones left." Raven takes a moment before starting to whisper broken apologies into the radio. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry."
"You should've never moved your people back into Mount Weather." Everyone's startled by the voice of the Ice warrior who had just spoken moments before. "The Ice Nation did what Lexa was too weak to do!"
"This is an act of war!" Lexa hisses towards the man, and her voice is so cold and threatening that it terrifies even Clarke. "Sentries, arrest the Ice Nation delegation! Including the prince." She shouts at the two guards standing at her side, and they immediately execute their orders.
"We need to go home. If they attacked Mount Weather, Arkadia could be next." Abby says, to which Kane agrees immediately.
"Go. I'll raise an army from the Coalition to help you defend Arkadia. Your enemy is our enemy now. We'll face this threat together."
"Mochof, Heda." A small smile appears on Lexa's face when she hears Marcus thanking her in Trigedasleng.
"Are you coming?" Abby asks Clarke, to which she answers without hesitation.
"They need an ambassador from our clan to stay here in Polis."
"Clarke, it's not safe for you here?" Funny how it took Bellamy three months to fight for her to come back home. The problem is, Arkadia's not her home anymore. She belongs here with Lexa.
"I'll be safe here under Lexa's protection."
"Please tell me you didn't forgive her. She left us to die at Mount Weather not more than three months ago! Or did you forget?!"
"I'm sorry, Bellamy. But my home's here now." Clarke says the last part looking straight at Lexa.
With that, Bellamy gives up and turns around to make his way out, with the others following right after. All but Abby, who goes to hug Clarke goodbye before leaving.
"Be safe."
"You too."