Disclaimer: The usual. I don't own anything.

Clarke was invited to the commander's camp once again the next morning. She was having her breakfast with the rest of the delinquents who were getting comfortable and relaxed, now that they knew what was expected of them by the grounders. When a grounder came and told Clarke that she was invited by the commander, some tensed, wondering if the commander changed her mind. Clarke reassured them and left, with doubts in her mind that she didn't express, to the commander's tent. She didn't carry a weapon this time either, realizing it was pointless. She would have to hand it over anyway. The guard let her in and Clarke entered the tent.

Lexa was more relaxed this time around. She wasn't sitting in her throne with warpaint in her face, intimidating Clarke with her appearance. Instead, she was dressed casually waiting for Clarke's arrival. When Clarke entered, Lexa looked up at her from the chair she was sitting at the table and pointed to the other empty chair. Clarke accepted the invitation and sat down.

Lexa picked up an apple from the table basket and started cutting pieces of it using the small knife she pulled out from her wrists. She offered a piece to Clarke who accepted it politely.

"I wanted to talk to you about yesterday." Lexa said, starting the conversation. Clarke looked at her, wondering what she was referring to.

"I was wondering if you had changed your mind about showing Anya mercy." Lexa explained. Clarke realized what Lexa was talking about.

"I haven't." Clarke replied, confident.

"That's unfortunate. It shows you're weak as a leader. Showing mercy to an enemy will leave you vulnerable and for them to come back to attack you, stronger." Lexa stated from experience. She wanted to impart her wisdom to Clarke.

"I think, killing someone is easy. Showing them mercy when you don't have to, needs strength. The choice was mine to make. As a healer, I am taught to do no harm to any life. Taking her life when she is a prisoner has no purpose. It's a waste of life." Clarke argued.

"That weakness will lead to your downfall. Other clans will see Skaikru as a weak clan because of your mercy." Lexa pointed out. All the clans believed in strength of the leadership by the kills they had. Not from showing mercy.

"If they think we are weak, let them try attacking us. We are determined to fight for our survival, but we are not murderers." Clarke answered, determined.

Lexa looked at her with pity. She saw Clarke as a naïve leader who was out of her depth in battlegrounds.

"You are dishonouring the death of Bellamy Blake." Lexa said, trying another approach.

Clarke was visibly shaken at that statement. She didn't expect that.

"What?" She spluttered, unable to say anything more. Her anger rose at that accusation.

"Indra said that Bellamy was a capable warrior. He would want his death avenged. By showing mercy to the enemy that caused his death, you're dishonouring him." Lexa explained, hoping Clarke would see sense.

Clarke stayed fixed, thoughts running through her mind. Her subconscious mind questioned the decision she made. Was I making the wrong choice? Is Lexa correct? Would Bellamy want her to kill Anya to revenge him? Clarke wondered herself.

She thought back to Bellamy's actions. He was the first to attack Lincoln when they found him. Bellamy had been ready to go to war with the grounders. But then, another part of her reminded the rest. Bellamy felt guilt over his actions towards Lincoln. He made peace with the grounders. During the preparation of the battle, he wasn't trying to kill them unless it was necessary. The Bellamy that died would choose differently than revenge.

"You don't know what you are talking about." Clarke told Lexa, anger in her voice.

Lexa didn't look upset. "I know warriors. They will not want their deaths to be in vain. They will want someone to avenge them." She informed Clarke from her perceived notion of warriors.

"Maybe. But Bellamy is more than just a warrior. He cared about his people. He cared about others. He may have been angry and lashed out when we landed. But he felt immense guilt over his actions. He wanted to do better. And I know, given the choice, he would choose better. Succumbing to revenge and violence is easy to do. But a strong heart and a caring person will rise above that. And that is who Bellamy was." Clarke spoke with reverence.

Lexa paused her movements in cutting the apple, watching Clarke speak. Both were silent, staring at one another.

"You care about him." Lexa said, having figured it out.

Clarke didn't feel the need to hide it. "I do."

Lexa averted her eyes, staring back at the apple, cutting it quickly.

"I'm sorry for your loss." She replied with sympathy, surprising Clarke with the sudden change in tone.

"Thank you." Clarke replied back politely.

"I lost someone special to me too." Lexa told Clarke, raising her head and looking at her in the eyes once again.

Clarke was surprised by the sudden confession, but didn't react. She waited, realizing Lexa had more to say.

"Her name was Costia. She was captured by the Ice Nation whose Queen believed she knew my secrets because she was mine." Lexa told her. "They tortured her, killed her, cut off her head." She hissed at that, cutting the already cut apple pieces into smaller ones.

Clarke didn't know what to say to that. She looked young to have lived through such a tragedy. So have you. Her subconscious mind reminded her.

"I'm sorry." Clarke said, filled with sympathy that she felt for Lexa's loss.

Lexa looked back at Clarke and gave a sad smile.

"I thought I'd never get over the pain, but I did." She confessed. Clarke's eyes widened at that.

"How?" She asked. From what she was feeling, she didn't see how she could get over it. That's why she was holding onto the sliver of hope that Bellamy is still alive.

"By recognizing it for what it is. Weakness." Lexa told her as if it was a fact.

Clarke didn't understand. "What is? Love?" She asked incredulously.

Lexa nodded in response. Clarke was shocked at that.

"So, you just stopped caring about everyone?" She asked to confirm if she understood it correctly. Seeing Lexa nod once again, Clarke couldn't believe it.

"I could never do that." She stated, unable to imagine doing that.

"Then you put the people you care about in danger and the pain will never go away." Lexa told her as if it's a forgone conclusion.

Clarke tried to imagine if she could do what Lexa says she did. She knew she closed her heart to protect herself after Finn's betrayal. But, Bellamy somehow managed to penetrate it through and made her care for him. Or maybe he already had a place and made himself comfortable, as time went on. Clarke couldn't tell which was what. But she knew without a doubt that closing her heart like Lexa says she did would leave the Bellamy she had in her heart alone, abandoned. And she couldn't do that. She can endure the pain, if she can have the small piece of Bellamy with her.

With that realization, Clarke looked at Lexa who was staring at her, processing what she heard.

"Love can make you weak. But it can also make you strong as well." Clarke told her; confident she was right. Lexa looked at her, disbelieving.

"Love does make you vulnerable. But the right kind of love also give you strength. When you feel it, you won't feel alone even if you are physically alone. It's like an invisible force of the presence of the person you love. It will give you the confidence that you can do anything, impossible at it seems. Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage." Clarke will tell her.

When Lexa didn't believe it, Clarke elaborated. "When Bellamy left the camp, I felt alone at first. It was difficult to be the only leader in the camp after having shared it with Bellamy at ease. I missed his presence. Now I know what it was that I missed. But even when he was away, the thought of him gave me the strength I needed to lead my people. He was like an invisible force in my mind, guiding me and helping me and teasing me as we faced the problems. The moment I needed him; he was there to back us up. I never felt alone when I realized that."

"It left you vulnerable as well. If Anya had threatened Bellamy's life for your surrender, you may have surrendered." Lexa argued.

Clarke chuckled at that. "Anya actually had that plan. But Bellamy knew it wouldn't work. He knew I would not sacrifice the safety of the camp for his life. He knew me better than I knew myself." Lexa didn't look convinced. "He knew I would close the dropship and leave him to his death. And I did." Clarke pointed out, tears running through her eyes at the memory.

Lexa realized; Clarke had a point. She had let Bellamy to die for the safety of others. And from the way Clarke was speaking, Lexa could tell how much she loved Bellamy. Probably as much as she loved Costia. Maybe she misjudged Clarke's strength.

"What you both had must be special." Lexa said wistfully. Clarke nodded, unable to respond. "It's too bad that it ended so soon." She sympathised genuinely. "As they say, the flame that burns twice as bright, burns half as long." She quoted an old proverb. Clarke was surprised to hear that.

"I'm not sure if it has ended." She told Lexa. Lexa looked at her confused. "Even if all evidence tells differently, something in me says that Bellamy is still alive. And I'm holding onto that hope." Clarke explained.

"That's false hope. One that is hard to let go." Lexa told her. "I had the same one, even when I had Costia's head in my hands. Like it wasn't real. That she was alive somewhere. But I had to face the reality of it."

"Whether it's false or not, it's the hope I have and I will hold onto it." Clarke said determined. Lexa realized that it was pointless trying to argue against it. She let it go for now. Clarke will face the reality as time comes.

Before their conversation moved any further, a grounder interrupted their privacy by sticking their head into the tent. Lexa stood to attention, switching to her commander mode.

"What is the meaning of this?" She demanded in English.

The grounder looked at Clarke hesitantly and then looked at Lexa. He said something in Trigedasleng that Clarke didn't understand. Whatever he said, switched the mood in the tent immediately. Clarke could tell that Lexa is in her commander mode when she looked at Clarke.

"I need to discuss this matter privately. I will speak to you soon." She dismissed Clarke. The comradery that was there before, gone. Clarke realizing it was best she left, walked out of the tent with the grounder grunting behind her.

When she walked out, the entire camp was in disarray. People were running around yelling in Trigedasleng and many were packing up their things. Clarke moved quickly through the camp to the delinquents.

She found them in their corner of the camp, huddled together, weapons in hand staring at all the grounders. They were visibly relieved when Clarke came. Jasper jumped up and hugged her.

"Oh, thank god you're back." He exhaled loudly.

"What happened?" Clarke asked them, trying to find out if they knew anything. From the look in their faces, they didn't.

"We don't know. We were waiting for you and all of a sudden, there were yelling and all the grounders started to act like this. We thought they may have done something to you." Jasper told her. She could see Raven looking her over, trying to see anything wrong with her.

"I'm fine. I was in the tent with the commander and someone came in and told her something. I was dismissed and I came back." She told them.

She looked back at the grounders near them and saw most of them staring at the group with distrust and some with hatred. She couldn't tell what made them change that way, after having been friendly since they arrived. Something terrible must have happened.

"Did she tell you why she wanted to see you?" Monty asked her. They were curious why the commander wanted to see her.

"She wanted to know if I changed my mind about Anya. I told her I didn't." She informed them. There was no use hiding it from them.

"You were gone for an awfully long time." Octavia stated, suspicious of what she was telling. Clarke noted that Octavia has been hanging out with Jasper and Monty since the morning breakfast.

"Yes." Clarke answered. She didn't elaborate further, because she didn't feel it was right to tell everyone about her feelings for Bellamy. Not that she was ashamed of it, but she didn't want their sympathy. And telling them of her discussion with Lexa will only expose it further than the subtle gossips.

Before Octavia can prod her any further, Lincoln approached the group. He was in a hurry when he came and Octavia sprung up to run to him. He hugged her close and kissed her soundly, satisfied to see her safe before he looked at Clarke.

"You all need to be on your guard. Indra told me to tell you, don't react but don't get ambushed." Lincoln told Clarke.

"What happened Linc?" Octavia asked him. Lincoln looked at her confused and then at all the faces looking at him with same confusion.

"You don't know?" He asked Clarke who shook her head.

"One of our villages was attacked. They didn't leave any survivors. It's a peaceful village. No warriors. Only elderly, women and children. The warriors are here with us at this camp. They will want revenge." Lincoln told them.

Clarke looked horrified. It was awful. Innocent lives, massacred for no reason. But it didn't make sense. Why would the grounders want revenge from them? They didn't do anything, obviously.

"Why would they want to attack us? We have been here." Clarke asked confused.

Octavia looked at her incredulously, having already figured it out. Lincoln answered her with patience.

"They were killed by guns. Guns only your people and mountain men carry." He pointed out.

Clarke felt like she was going to be sick. She could see the bile rising in her throat at the thought that her people killed innocent children. But she couldn't let herself fall into despair. Maybe it was a misunderstanding.

"What about the mountain men? They could have done it." She argued weakly.

Lincoln looked at her solemn. "Mountain men don't stray to our area. They use reapers to do their bidding." He informed her.

The last possible reasoning went away. Clarke felt herself being overwhelmed by despair. She couldn't imagine it. This made everything worse. Whatever the Ark survivors did had put the delinquents at risk of danger again.

"What should we do?" Someone from the group asked Clarke. She didn't have an answer to them.

"For now, stay low. Don't respond if any grounder threatens you. Commander has ordered the grounders here, not to do anything to you and they are listening for now. We don't know how long it will last." Lincoln advised. Clarke nodded in understanding.

Lincoln left, leaving Clarke and Octavia sit with other delinquents, their internal quarrel forgotten to face the trouble up ahead. The delinquents had a hard grip on their weapons and shaking, being surrounded by anyone who could attack at any time.

- 100 -

The grounders had better control than Clarke expected them to have. Other than the occasional sneer or curse in Trigedasleng that Clarke could recognize, they behave generally in control. Some really wanted to act out but held themselves back or someone else held them back. Miller was on guard up front with Octavia sitting in the side.

It was after sun had set when Lexa sent a grounder to collect Clarke. The delinquents didn't want her to go alone. Octavia decided to accompany her and Clarke wasn't sure if that was for her protection or if it increased the risk. She didn't voice it, accepting it at face value for what it was.

The security at the commander's tent was tighter than usual. Instead of the single grounder, there were four on guard. Instead of the request to leave any weapon behind, Clarke and Octavia were patted down to verify they carried none. Octavia didn't like it, but Clarke told her not to fight and she listened for once.

They were pushed inside after the checks, a little bit forcefully. Clarke bit back the retort and looked at Lexa, once again sitting in her throne with the commander attire and war paint covering her face.

"Did you hear what happened?" Lexa asked, all business like. The earlier friendship was gone.

"I did. I promise you that we had nothing to do with it." Clarke assured her earnestly. She hoped that Lexa could recognize the truth when she spoke.

Lexa didn't say anything. She looked at the other grounders in the tent. Then she looked back at Clarke.

"Our scouts informed that the people who attacked the village were Skaikru. They were not wearing hazmat suits like the mountain men. But they were seen with the mountain men." Lexa told her. Clarke's eyes went wide at the new information.

"Anya said that you threatened her when she met you at the bridge. Your guards will have weapons that could destroy us. Is this true?" Lexa demanded to know.

"Yes. Ark station guards will have superior firepower. But they wouldn't use it unless it was necessary. There must be some mistake." Clarke pleaded. She hoped there was because the other reality is too much to face.

"You seem to be mistaken. There was no necessity to attack a village unprovoked. There were no warriors left in the village. Only the weakest remained. And your people killed them." Lexa accused her.

"I hope there's a mistake. If not, then they are not my people. My people have been those in here at the camp. We have not acted against your people unless it was necessary." Clarke replied back.

Lexa seemed to ponder at that. She spoke with the other grounders in Trigedasleng and seemed to come to a decision.

"Ok. I will accept what you say as the truth for now. What do you propose we do?" Lexa asked her. Clarke didn't have an answer. She has been wrecking her brain, trying to come up with a plan to keep her people safe.

"What if we go scout the mountain for you?" Octavia offered. Lexa turned her eyes to the younger Blake.

"What do you offer?" Lexa asked, curious.

"We go and check out the mountain and see if we can find any more information on what's happening there. We bring that information back to you and then you can decide what to do." Octavia suggested. Lexa seemed to be interested.

"Fine. But only a few of you can go. The rest will stay back as leverage. If you don't return back before sun goes down, the rest will be killed." Lexa threatened.

Clarke had no choice but to accept the conditions. She will get back, no matter how.

"Be careful Clarke." Lexa warned. Clarke looked at Lexa, wondering what she was talking about. "Do not betray my trust. I will show no mercy." With that, Lexa considered the matter closed and Clarke and Octavia were pushed out of the tent.

They both walked back to the delinquents in silence. Once they were there, they explained what they found out and the condition that was set.

Raven and Monty wanted to go with Clarke. They wanted to get their equipment from the dropship and search for any signals from the Ark stations that crash landed. Jasper joined them, because he and Monty don't like to split up. Octavia wanted to come along and Lincoln decided to join. Clarke was glad that Lincoln offered, because having a grounder along gave assurance to other grounders.

Miller and Murphy offered to tag along. But Clarke asked them to remain with the rest. They needed people guarding against any unforeseen attacks. The commander had guaranteed safety for her people. But the situation in the village can change at any moment. She needed people she can rely on and that was Miller and Murphy in charge.

With the plan set, they ate the dinner that was offered by the grounders and went to sleep early. As before, they had people taking turns, standing guard as the rest slept. It was Murphy's turn this time.

A/N: Don't worry. There's no CLEXA in this story. I found that relationship toxic and didn't want it to happen in my story. Sorry to disappoint any of the fans.