Over the next two days Lexa spent her time in the healers hut with Clarke. Clarke kept sneaking out of the tent to walk around and Lexa was concerned she was making her injuries worse, so she had told Clarke that she wasn't allowed to leave the tent until Nyko cleared her. Clarke wasn't thrilled with that, she liked to keep moving. She snuck out whenever she could, but she was mostly stuck on bed rest. Clarke had spent most of her time sleeping, talking with Lexa or some of her friends, or staring at the wall of the tent. In some ways, Clarke appreciated the fact that she didn't have to do anything, but she had grown so used to being up and moving around, she craved activity. She couldn't sit still and being trapped in the tent was starting to drive her crazy.
She enjoyed it when there was someone to talk to. Octavia and Raven always provided a good form of entertainment, and she could never get enough of Lexa, but Lexa wasn't acting like herself. Clarke understood why. She wanted to be with Lexa more than anything and did not want this bonding ceremony to go through, but everytime she closed her eyes, every time she had a moment with nothing to think about, her mind would conjure up the images from her previous dream. The screaming of her friends still echoed in her mind, the stench of blood and death burned her nose, and the images were too gruesome. She couldn't let them come to pass, and if she needed to bond with Roan to prevent it, then she would.
Queen Nia had come to check up on her and Roan once. It was clear she didn't care much about their health, only the fact that they were alive and she could still use them. It was also clear that she was growing impatient for her son to wake up and for Clarke to be cleared to leave the tent, but she had no control over that.
Clarke's injuries were healing well. She still walked with a limp and it still hurt some when she moved, but the pain was manageable and she wasn't concerned much with it. Nyko and Abby didn't seem to be too worried about it either. Lexa was a different story. You would think that with all the injuries that girl had sustained in her lifetime, she wouldn't be too worried about the injuries that Clarke had, but she was. Clarke couldn't help but smile at the concerned and caring looks and actions the Commander made to try and help comfort Clarke. It was unnecessary, but it was also adorable and Clarke loved it.
Her mind drifted off to Lexa as she laid alone in her tent, but she was quickly cut off when she heard groaning from farther inside the tent. She rolled off the bed and moved over to Roan's bed. He was shifting and groaning and Clarke could see his eyelashes start to flutter. She hobbled to the entrance of the tent and poked her head outside. There was no sign of Nyko or her mother, but there was an Azgeda warrior walking by. She called his attention. "Go find Queen Nia and tell her that her son is awake," Clarke ordered. The man nodded his head and didn't argue, and he left to find his Queen.
Clarke made her way back inside and pulled up a seat by Roan's bed. She reached out and grabbed his hand and he slowly started to wake up. His eyelids opened and he took in Clarke standing over him. "Welcome back," she said with a relieved smile.
"Are we both dead?" Roan croaked.
Clarke laughed and went to grab him some water. "No we're not dead," she replied, returning to his side and handing him a cup which he drank from eagerly.
"Thanks," he said.
"How are you feeling?" She asked and she took the now empty cup from his hands and set it aside.
Roan winced as he moved so he was sitting up straighter, leaning up against his pillows at the edge of the bed. "Like I was stabbed in the chest."
Clarke rolled her eyes, "Yes well, being stabbed in the chest does have that effect."
Roan tried to smile, but it came out as more of a grimace as he laid back a little and closed his eyes, "How long have I been out?"
"This is day six. I was out for two and I've been waiting for you to wake up since then."
"The bonding ceremony?"
Clarke swallowed. "It's in 11 days from now."
"Have you spoken to anyone? Do you have a plan to stop it from happening?" Roan asked. He wasn't specifically hoping that she could get them out of this. Sure, he had Nadia, but she would never be accepted as the heir to the throne so he had known for awhile he would never be with her. He had resigned himself to being bonded with someone his mother would force him to be with or not bonding at all. At least Clarke wasn't the worst person to be bonded with. He did know how Clarke felt about the Commander though, and he knew that she had been working on finding some way to get herself free from Nia's control. He wanted her to be happy and be free and he would help her in any way that he could.
"No, it's too much of a risk," Clarke replied, fighting her own mind from showing her the images of her dream again. "This has clearly been your mother's plan from the start and I have no way of stopping it. I won't put more people at risk. Us being bonded isn't the worst thing that could ever happen. You and I will continue to serve your mother until we take control of Azgeda. Then I can kill Emerson and we can bring the people of Azgeda some peace. Skaikru and everyone I care about will be alive and safe, and that is the most important thing. I will do whatever it takes to protect them."
"You would sacrifice your own happiness?" he asked even though he already knew that she would.
"A million times if I had to," Clarke answered honestly. She wanted happiness for herself that was true, but the lives of her old people, her friends, Lexa, all of them were more important to her than her own happiness. She had already sacrificed so much of herself, what was a little more? Besides, she had done some horrible things. Maybe she didn't deserve happiness anyway.
"If it makes you feel any better," Roan started, "It will be my honor to be bonded to you and rule beside you, and I believe the people of Azgeda will greatly benefit."
Clarke looked into his eyes and smiled. It wasn't the most comforting thing in the world, but it did feel pretty good. "Thanks. Now stop getting sappy on me. You need to rest."
Roan grinned. "If I've been out for almost six days, my mother is going to want me up."
"Don't worry about it. The Commander has ordered that the two of us aren't allowed to leave here without being cleared by a healer first. Your mother isn't happy about it, but she doesn't have a say. Now get some rest," Clarke told him. Roan nodded and laid flat in his bed, careful not to pull at his injuries, and he fell into unconsciousness.
/
Clarke was sitting in the healers tent bored out of her mind. Roan was asleep, Lexa was in a Summit meeting, and Clarke was alone. She was spared of her boredom when Raven entered, "Hey Clarke."
"Thank god, someone to talk to," Clarke exclaimed, sitting up in her bed.
"Always ready to entertain," Raven replied with a smile.
"Raven, I'm so bored. You have to help me get out of here," Clarke basically begged.
Raven eyed her wearily. She knew the Commander had ordered that Clarke stay in her tent, and her reaction the last time Clarke snuck out was not something she wanted to be on the receiving end of. "I don't know Clarke. You aren't healed yet and you aren't supposed to leave the tent without being cleared."
Clarke rolled her eyes, "Come on. Since when have you been a rule follower?"
"Touche," Raven replied as she helped Clarke roll out of the bed. Clarke brushed her off saying she could walk on her own, but Raven was right by her side just in case. Raven made her way to the tent flaps and peered outside. There was one guard that had been assigned to guard the tent outside, "Hey big guy, Wanheda is really hungry and is starting to get agitated. Would you mind going to get her something?" The guard eyed her wearily, not wanting to leave his post. Raven rolled her eyes, "I'll be here the whole time. Trust me, you do not want to piss her off, it's not fun." The guard hesitated for another moment before nodding and walking off to do as Raven asked. Raven walked back into the tent with a proud smirk, earning an eye roll and a playful shove from the blonde before they made their getaway.
They started walking through the streets of Polis, but it didn't take long for Clarke to start sweating and panting heavily. "I think we should stop here and rest," Raven said after seeing Clarke's condition. Clarke didn't argue and they found bench in a secluded area of Polis that they could sit on together.
They talked for a little while while Clarke caught her breath and allowed her body to rest some. After some talking, Raven turned more serious, "Clarke look, I want to talk about Nia."
Clarke sighed, "Raven, there's nothing to talk about."
"Clarke you aren't fighting, you are letting her win, and you aren't even trying to get yourself out of this," Raven argued.
"Raven she has been in control of me for two years. I wanted to fight back, I tried, but people ended up dead because of me. I can't do that again. I have tried to come up with a way to free myself, but so far I don't have any answers and there isn't much I can do here in Polis. I can't leave, and if I don't go through with this a lot of people are going to get hurt," Clarke replied. Her voice was growing in anger. It wasn't really towards Raven, it was more towards her entire situation, but she was a little frustrated that Raven wouldn't give it up. She had already told everyone that there was nothing to be done and she asked them to leave it alone. There were lives at stake here and no one seemed to recognize that.
"You may not be able to leave Polis, but maybe someone else can. Let us know what is going on, we can help you. I can help you. I get not wanting to tell an entire group of people what's going on, but Clarke you can trust me. I won't tell anyone anything and I'm a genius. I can come up with a plan to help you."
"It's not that simple," Clarke argued. "Nia doesn't trust me. She has at least one spy watching me and I don't know who it is, I don't know where they are, I don't even know if they're listening to me right now or not. If anything happens and Nia catches wind that I spoke up, it's game over. I won't let anyone else die for me, and I won't risk anyone dying on a mission to try and save me. So what, I have to marry Roan. At least I'll live, and maybe I can make a difference in Azgeda." Clarke took a deep breath and calmed herself down some. Raven was only trying to help and Clarke truly appreciated that, but she had already accepted her future and she needed everyone else to accept it as well. "Look, Raven. I know you only want to help me. Thank you for caring, but I need you to drop it. I'm going to do what needs to be done here in Polis. I'm going to return to Azgeda and I'm going to try and find a way to get myself out of Nia's grasp, and then it'll be over."
"But you'll be married Clarke," Raven shot back. "These marriage bonds in grounder culture, they don't break until one of you dies. Clarke you'll be with someone you don't love and you'll be trapped in Azgeda, still under Nia's control. Even if you free yourself from Nia you will forever be tied into Azgeda. You won't be able to get away from that. That's not a life that you deserve, and it's not one Lexa deserves either." It was a little bit of a low blow, but Raven needed Clarke to understand what was happening. She needed to convince Clarke to talk, and if she had to bring up Lexa to do it, she would.
"You don't think I know that!" Clarke yelled. "This is so much more than just me or Lexa. Lives are at stake here Raven. Lives. Don't you get that? The lives of a whole lot of people are in my hands. I have been responsible for a lot of death on the ground already. It's changed me, but I am trying to be a good guy here. I don't want to be responsible for anymore death, and if I have to sacrifice my dating life to do that, then I will."
The two fell into a heavy silence after that until Raven finally spoke. "I'm sorry," she whispered. It wasn't for arguing, it wasn't for trying to help, it was for everything that Clarke was sacrificing.
Clarke understood and she gave a sad, half smile. "Me too, but I can bare this. I just need you to let me and be by my side. Please."
Raven felt a couple of tears escape her eyes. How anyone could ever be as strong as Clarke she would never know. She put an arm around the blonde and nodded, "Whatever you need Clarke."
They stayed together for a while, not speaking, just holding each other, before they decided Clarke should get back in the healers tent before anyone noticed, specifically Lexa. They stood up and made their way to the more busy streets of Polis, when Clarke caught site of a pretty pissed looking Lexa who was searching for something. Or someone. Probably someone who was supposed to be in Nyko's tent right now. "Raven, you should run," Clarke warned. Lexa hadn't noticed them yet, but once she did, Clarke knew she was in for it and didn't want Raven getting caught up in it.
Raven's eyes widened when she saw the look on the Commander's face. "Yep, I'm gonna go. Stay strong," Raven whispered and then she took off in the opposite direction as fast as she could with her bad leg.
Clarke took a deep breath preparing to defend herself and she took a step in Lexa's direction. Their eyes met and Clarke winced at the dangerous look on the brunette's face. She stormed up to Clarke, everyone on the streets clearing a path for the obviously angry leader. "What are you doing out of the tent?" She asked irritatedly.
"Lexa I-" Clarke tried to defend herself.
"Let's go," Lexa said before Clarke could finish. She started leading Clarke back to Nyko's tent. Her pace wasn't fast, but she was walking with a purpose. Everyone on the streets knew not to disturb her and they stepped aside quickly to avoid her rage.
"Lexa wait," Clarke called and she grabbed the brunette's arm, stopping her from moving forward. "I'm sorry I left the tent, but it's so boring in there. Besides I'm fine."
Lexa looked up and down Clarke's form. She was breathing heavier than normal and her pale skin was covered in a light sheen of sweat. Lexa narrowed her eyes, "You are not fine. You need to rest."
Clarke held up both hands placatingly, "Okay fine, I'll rest, but please don't make me go back to that tent. Let's go to one of our rooms. We'll walk slow, take the elevator up, and then I will get all the rest I need in a real, comfortable bed."
Lexa knew Clarke was too stubborn to argue with, and at least her request was reasonable. "Fine," Lexa huffed.
Clarke smiled and the two of them walked slowly back to Polis tower and then rode the elevator up to the top floor. The two of them got off and they passed Lexa's two guards before entering her room. Clarke immediately walked over to the couch and she plopped down onto it, relieved to take the strain off her body. Lexa rolled her eyes at Clarke's unwillingness to admit that she was actually in a little bit of pain, and she went to her table to get a glass of water. She brought it back to the couch and handed it to Clarke before taking a seat beside her. "Thanks," Clarke said and she drank the water quickly. When she finished, she put the cup on a small table beside the bed and she laid back against the couch. She noticed that Lexa was about to say something, likely about her injuries, so to avoid the topic, she spoke, "How was the Summit meeting?"
Lexa narrowed her eyes, knowing that Clarke was deflecting, but she answered anyway. "It did not go as well as I had hoped," Lexa admitted. "Nia is trying to make me look weak. She is trying to promote her own strength and speaking out against me. I fear that she is starting to gain some support."
"What are you going to do?" Clarke asked.
Lexa shook her head. "I do not know. I am not sure how much support she has and there is not much I can do. I need to prove to my people that I can protect them, but with two assassins finding their way into Polis who attempted a hit on a Queen and an ambassador, I have not done a good job."
Clarke inwardly cringed. The assassins were all Azgeda's doing. There was nothing that could be done about the first assassin, and the more pressing assassin, was herself and she couldn't do anything about that. "You'll figure it out," Clarke offered.
Lexa nodded and watched as Clarke let out a small yawn. "You should rest Clarke." Clarke nodded her head in agreement, but she needed something first. She leaned in and placed a soft kiss to Lexa's lips. Lexa returned it eagerly and then started to comb through Clarke's hair as the blonde curled up into her side. It didn't take long for Lexa to hear her soft snoring and she wrapped her arms around the sleeping girl, content to stay there until Clarke awoke later.
/
Clarke had been asleep for a few hours and Lexa was close to dozing off herself when there was a soft knock on the door. She carefully extracted herself from Clarke's grasp, without waking her, and she opened her door to see Flax on the other side. He had been fast, just like she had ordered and was eager to hear what he had to say. She stepped out of her room and into the hall and led Flax to a different room on the top floor so they could speak privately. She let him enter before her and then she closed the door behind herself, "Well?" She asked. She needed information now. This could be her last shot at helping Clarke, especially if the blonde wasn't willing to talk.
"I tried to find any information that I could Heda, but I did not get much. The people of Azgeda don't have anything to say since they didn't know they had been training with Wanheda. I tried to spy on some of her higher up advisors, but still got nothing."
"Do you have anything for me?" Lexa asked. She needed him to stop saying what he didn't know and give her some good news.
"I looked into the man you asked me to. I could not get much but I did get a name. Emerson," he revealed.
Lexa felt like time had stopped, her body tensing and her mind trying to process. She recognized that name. He was the bastard who had offered her the deal back at Mount Weather. He was the one who had led her to abandon Clarke and because of that, she had left her people and got captured by Azgeda. This had to be it. This had to be what Clarke had been hiding. "Tell me about him," Lexa ordered when she finally forced her mind to calm itself.
"He is very well guarded. They are some of Queen Nia's best warriors and they do not let anyone get close to him. I am sorry Heda, but a name is really all the information that I could get," he answered.
"Do not be sorry. You have done me a great service. Thank you Flax."
"Of course Heda. I would do anything for you and for Wanheda as well. I lost my brother to the mountain and she destroyed it. I owe her," he explained.
"Well you have done us both a service. You have our thanks. Go and rest. I will likely call for your help again soon." Lexa held out her arm and Flax gripped it tightly before leaving the room. Lexa paced the floor for a few moments as her mind spun. This had to be it. With this knowledge, she could finally get Clarke to talk to her and then she could help her. Lexa wasn't helpless anymore, and soon, Nia would pay.
Lexa returned to her room and sat down in her chair opposite the couch. Clarke was still asleep, and Lexa didn't want to wake her up, so she waited. She thought through the many possibilities that could involve Emerson and she waited for Clarke to wake up.
It didn't take long for Clarke to start to stir. She opened her eyes slowly, which was new. She hadn't escaped her nightmares, but her body didn't seem to be reacting as harshly to them anymore. Clarke shifted on the couch and recognized that the warm body that was pressed against her earlier was no longer there. She slowly sat up and looked straight ahead to where Lexa was staring at her, seated in a chair. "What are you doing over there?" Clarke sleepily mumbled.
"Emerson?" Lexa went directly into the issue.
Clarke froze. The word was as effective as a bucket of ice water in waking her up from her exhaustion. How could Lexa possibly know? What the hell was she supposed to do? Clarke wasn't supposed to talk about this, what if Nia's spy was listening. She needed to play it off, "What?"
"Emerson, the last mountain man," Lexa said again.
"What about him?" Clarke continued to play dumb.
"Don't pretend you don't know Clarke. He is in Azgeda. He is what Nia is holding over you, isn't he?"
Clarke's eyes travelled to the door of Lexa's room. She didn't know who the spy was, but if she had to guess, it was someone who had access to this floor, someone who could be outside right now. She did not want to risk talking about Emeron if they could hear. Lexa seemed to understand though, "Do not worry Clarke. You and I are alone in here, and no one can hear through that door. You are safe. You can tell me."
Clarke swallowed thickly and ran a hand through her hair. She had been trapped in Azgeda for two years, and now Lexa was going to find out why. "Yes, he is what Nia is using over me."
"How?"
Clarke sighed. This was it. "There is a missile that is still active in Mount Weather. He has the code to launch it. Nia said that if I disobey her, she will launch it at Arkadia," Clarke informed. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest, but she actually felt a little relieved to put it out there. There were only a few people out there who knew of Emerson and none of them were going to do anything about it. Now Lexa knew, and she sure as hell wasn't going to ignore the problem he posed.
Lexa felt a deep pain in her chest. Clarke was too good for this world. She had sacrificed herself for her people again. She knew she was right about Clarke being a strong leader. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"You know why Lexa. I can't risk Skaikru. I won't let any more die because of me," Clarke whispered, a single tear sliding down her cheek.
Lexa jumped up from her seat and moved to sit beside Clarke. She wrapped the blonde in a tight embrace and began to rock back and forth. "You are the strongest person I have ever met," Lexa whispered into her ear. "You're not alone anymore. We are going to stop him. Eliminate the threat, eliminate the hold over you, and end this bonding ceremony and Nia with it."
"There is nothing that can be done Lexa. He is too heavily guarded and neither you nor I would be able to leave Polis during the Summit. Even if we did come up with some plan, if Nia finds out, or it fails, Arkadia will be destroyed and everyone will die," Clarke replied.
Lexa let go of Clarke and cupped her cheeks, "I will not let this stand Clarke. We will get help. We will come up with a solid plan. I cannot ignore this."
Clarke was terrified, but now Lexa knew. There was no way she would be able to stop her from going after Emerson, so she nodded her head. Lexa kissed Clarke on the top of the head and stood from the couch. She walked to her guards outside and told them to gather those that she trusted and have them meet in her throne room, and she told him to make sure it was done as secretive as possible. When the guard left, she returned to the couch. Clarke was staring at the ground and she seemed unfocused, lost in her own mind, which she was. Clarke couldn't get the images of her nightmare out of her head. If this failed, those images would become a reality and Clarke was terrified.
Lexa sensed her fear and wrapped the blonde in a protective hold. She knew the dangers of the information she now held and knew that there was no room for mistakes. This had to be done carefully or it would literally blow up in their face. Lexa gave Clarke some time to calm down before they made their way to her throne room. She spoke with Argus and Rosco and they informed her that everyone was gathered. Luckily for her, it was late out, so there weren't many people who could have seen the group gather.
Lexa and Clarke entered the throne room to see Titus, Indra, Luna, Lincoln, Bellamy, Abby, Octavia, Kane, and Raven. They were all wearing dark colored cloaks which would have helped them enter the tower secretly. "Thank you all for coming," Lexa said. They all nodded, but it was clear they were all desperate to know why they had been summoned. "It is time we wake the fight to Nia, and we start by helping Clarke."
Clarke looked into the questioning eyes of all of her friends and told them what they needed to know. Emerson was alive and he had the codes for the missile that he was threatening to launch at Arkadia. "That's why you wanted me to work on disabling it," Raven realized.
"Yeah. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you, but I couldn't take that risk. Have you gotten anywhere with it?" Clarke asked.
"Not really. Monty and I have been working on it, in fact he is working on it right now, but the Mountain Men did a good job with it. We haven't been able to crack into its system yet. I did learn something else that could help though. I didn't think it was necessary, but now it could be a good back-up plan. The mountain has a self destruct system. I don't have the codes to start that up either, but honestly, it might be easier to crack," Raven said.
"Can you look into it?" Clarke requested.
"Of course," Raven agreed.
"Why don't we just clear out Arkadia?" Abby suggested.
"That wouldn't work," Clarke was quick to shut down. "If we do that, Nia will know something is up, plus they'll just change the target. She could threaten Polis and end even more lives. I can't let that happen."
"So what do you suggest?"
"Well I don't have much of a plan. I was hoping that while I was here. Raven could disable the missile and I wouldn't have to worry about it. If she couldn't, I was going to wait to return to Azgeda and find a way to take Emerson out myself. I wasn't really expecting the bonding," Clarke replied.
"Why didn't you try to take him out before?" Luna asked.
"I did, but he is too heavily guarded for me to get to him. Plus at the time, I wasn't as skilled as I am now. After Dax was killed, I stopped fighting Nia, stopped trying to escape, and just did what I had to. I was hoping when I returned it would be different."
"Well we need to get you out of this situation before your bonding. It sounds like we have two options. Disable the missile completely, or take out the only guy who knows how to launch it. It sounds like we aren't really getting anywhere with disabling it, so I vote we go after Emerson," Octavia spoke up.
"We would need Emerson to be brought here alive," Lexa informed.
The group looked at her confused. "Why?" Octavia asked.
"No one will believe that Queen Nia is working with someone from the mountain. I would need him here as proof so I could go after her and end her foul reign once and for all," Lexa explained.
"Wouldn't it be dangerous to bring him here alive?" Raven asked.
"Yes, but we will keep him a secret for as long as possible and I will keep him isolated. He won't be able to tell anyone what he knows about the missile that way," Lexa said.
"How will you be able to prove to the coalition that he was working for Nia?" Kane asked.
"I will make him talk," Lexa growled. "His confession does not need to be heard by the entire coalition, just a few people that everyone will trust. They can spread the word that Emerson and Nia were working together and I can kill him before he gives her or anyone else the codes to launch the missile."
"Okay, so we capture him, bring him here, keep him isolated, make him confess about working with Nia in front of a group of trustworthy people, kill him, and then kill the Queen for treason?" Raven summed up. Lexa nodded and Raven huffed out a sarcastic laugh, "Sounds easy enough."
"I don't know guys," Clarke spoke for the first time while making the plan. "Capturing him would be really difficult. Most of us here can't leave Polis during the Summit, and if anyone important goes missing, Nia will likely question it. We need a solid plan, where none of us could get caught or create suspicion and we don't have a lot of time before my bonding. I just don't know if it's possible."
"Well we are not giving up," Lexa was quick to jump in. "Tell me everything you know about Emerson and his guards." Clarke told the group everything she could. She told them how many guards he had on him, how they rotated out, what kind of schedule Emerson usually kept, everything she could think of. The group was quick to give their own input and they actually seemed to come up with a pretty strong plan. Once they had their ideas, it came down to who was going.
Octavia was quick to volunteer and Bellamy and Lincoln weren't far behind her. The problem with that was, all three of them were involved in the Summit meetings. "What if we use the old family emergency excuse?" Raven piped up. Everyone turned to her waiting for her to elaborate. "On the Ark, I was such a genius, school was too easy and super boring. With my mom being a drunk, I used to use the family emergency excuse to get out of having to go. Bellamy and Octavia are a family and Lincoln is pretty much a part of their family. Why not use that excuse?"
The group seemed to consider it and Lincoln couldn't help but beam at being called a part of Octavia's family. "The only problem with that, is O and I don't have any more family."
"Yeah, but the only people who know that are in this room right now," Raven answered.
Bellamy nodded his head at her logic and turned to the Commander. "Would it work?"
Lexa considered. "Yes, in major circumstances I would be able to allow it." Lexa finally answered.
"I would like to go as well Heda," Indra added. "I could lead the team."
"Your presence would surely be missed," Lexa added.
"Yes, but Octavia is my second. I would be allowed to accompany her during this emergency," Indra said.
Lexa agreed. "I will supply you with ten of my most trusted men, but I still want you to keep an eye on them just in case. There is a spy in Polis and I do not know who it is, but I fear they are close to me. I have no reason to suspect anyone at this time, but this mission is too important to not consider spys."
"I will see to it Heda," Indra replied.
"Ok so this is our plan, but if you guys aren't back here in 10 days, the bonding ceremony is happening. Remember none of you can say a word outside of this room. Travel fast and be safe," Clarke said. With that, the group dispersed to prepare themselves or gather the small group of warriors that would be leaving. Clarke could feel her own nerves radiating through her body. They had a decent plan, but it was risky still and if anything went wrong a lot of people would die. She needed this to work.
Indra kept her team together throughout most of the night going over their plan, while everyone else made their way to their beds to rest. Tomorrow morning, the group would leave.
/
Clarke and Lexa awoke before dawn, after only a few hours of rest, wrapped around each other and spent a few minutes together before they made their way downstairs to the gates of Polis. Indra, Octavia, Lincoln, Bellamy, and the ten men that Lexa had selected, a group of her most trusted guards, including the ones that usually guarded her, were all there. Clarke hugged them all goodbye, thanked them for helping and wished them luck. Lexa and Clarke stood side by side and watched as the group rode out. Clarke was nervous and Lexa could tell. "Everything will be alright," she tried to comfort.
"If this doesn't work-" Clarke started.
"It will. Indra has never failed me and she has ten of Polis' finest warriors and your friends with her. This will work Clarke," Lexa said. She knew there was a lot to this plan, and she didn't like the fact that she couldn't carry it out herself, but she trusted Indra. They had a plan and Lexa felt good about it, and no matter what she wouldn't let anything happen to Clarke. Once Emerson was brought back here, she would free Clarke and then she would make the Queen pay.
"It better. I need to go train," Clarke said.
Lexa turned and gave the blonde a stern look, "You are not healed yet."
"I'm fine," Clarke brushed off her concern. She needed to do something, she was tired of sitting still. The look never left Lexa's face and Clarke sighed, "Look, I won't fight anyone. I'll grab a bow and take some target practice. I haven't done it in a while and I could the practice."
Lexa raised an eyebrow, "I didn't know you were good with a bow."
"I'm good with just about every weapon," Clarke said. She wasn't bragging, it was true. She had learned how to use each and every weapon that Nia had handed her. Her best weapons were the sword and throwing knives, but she was efficient with just about everything.
Lexa nodded and followed behind Clarke as they made their way to the training ground. It was still early out, and no one was up training. Lexa watched as Clarke walked into the designated archery area and she selected a bow. She watched, mesmerized, as Clarke hit each and every target with deadly accuracy. Clarke just kept on impressing her.
They had been out there for a while when Clarke's energy started to drain. She was sweating, her movements were slower, and she was starting to read the pain on Clarke's face. Lexa was just about to approach her and tell her to rest, when Queen Nia appeared. She walked over to Clarke, ignoring everyone and everything along her path. She watched as Nia stopped the blonde and pulled her away to have a conversation, but she was too far away to hear.
"Clarke," Nia called as she approached.
Clarke immediately froze and turned to face the Queen. "My Queen," she said.
"It is good to see you have returned to training," Nia said.
"Yes, but I was told to go slow and avoid contact for a while still."
Nia nodded. "And my son?"
"He is still resting. His injuries were much more severe than mine."
"You stayed in the Commander's bed last night?" Nia asked, changing subjects.
Clarke nodded, "I did, my Queen."
Nia smirked. "You have done well. You have her trust, likely her heart. I didn't think she would ever give it out again, but you seem to be her weakness. I do not want you to speak with her anymore. I do not want you to see her anymore. You are to be bonded to my son and you need to look the part. I want you with him at all times, and the only time you are to see the Commander is during Summit meetings."
Clarke swallowed, "Of course my Queen. Whatever you wish."
Nia's smirk was still firmly in place. "Good, now go and find him." Clarke nodded and left the training grounds to head to Nyko's tent. She was not pleased with her new orders, but she was used to that. Indra and her team had already left, and based off that conversation, Nia didn't seem to know anything about their departure. Clarke took a calming breath. Now it was a waiting game. She held onto Lexa's words. Indra and everyone would be successful and she would be free. A little more than a week. She could do that. Without Lexa, it would be tough, but when they were successful she would be back by Lexa's side. Just a few days. Clarke could handle that.