Clarke stood in full regalia and war paint while Roan lowered the torch on the massive funeral pyre. He'd been crowned King of Azgeda that morning and now his mother burned. The fanatic they'd found ready to die in order to get a chance to kill Nia was being burned with her. The guards who had been derelict in their duty were still hanging on the wall and Ulfric was still being questioned in the dungeon. They of course had little to do with the affair and she felt slightly guilty for the severity of their punishment but it's not like they forced them to leave their posts. It had been easy enough to find someone with little to lose and a grudge against Nia. Nia just had that way about her that left a hoard of people behind her just begging to be the one who killed her. After having conducted the proper research, the vagabond had been approached by a masked presence in the shadows with an opportunity to get his revenge. It hadn't taken much to get a few guards distracted or steal a gas grenade from Ulfric's personal stores. The guards had been tempted by the opportunity of good food and the chance to have a bit of fun. They might have been helped out a bit by bribes left anonymously in their rooms but that was could just be the raving of those attempting to get out of their full punishment. Ulfric was arrogant about the secrecy of his store of mountain goods and hadn't even left a guard. Of course, distracted guards couldn't be counted on so the assassin had been told about secret unguarded entrances to the palace but no one thought about how he'd entered once and unguarded entrance was discovered.

It had been pulled off beautifully. Nia was dead, Ulfric a nationalistic general who would never rest easy while Azgeda remained in the coalition had taken the blame and would be executed once they had been assured that they had gotten all the information they could out of him. Roan's transition to power was uncontested and with her stamp of approval, none in the coalition would think to challenge it. Six years of plotting, five as Heda and finally she had this victory. She felt the weight of the death of the vagrant and the guards who might not have been the best guards but who didn't deserve such a tortuous fate. Even the death of Ulfric, who was being killed for his loyalty to a dead ruler, weighed on her. That didn't change the fact that it was a necessary sacrifice. One she did not make lightly, or without her due burden of guilt. It would have been worth it a hundred times over to dispose of Nia though.

Playing the role of her puppet for five years had been exhausting. She'd had to convince Nia she was a weak enough Heda that she was worth more to her alive than dead. At the same time, she'd had to make sure the other clans believed her to at the very least be Nia's partner if not the one playing the woman. It had been like balancing on a knife's edge and it was a risk that had nearly cost her life. Now on this late summer evening, she was victorious. Her greatest ally was King of the largest nation in the coalition. She had set the cogs in the work to further her goals and it was moving accordingly. Another year and her position would be secure. For now, all she needed to do was stand in mourning for the monster she had called friend.

The pyre had been built large and burned hotly. Within two hours, Roan was escorting her and her party to the gates. She was leading her steed as they walked through the streets full of people eager to see their new King and their Heda. As they reached the gate, Roan pulled her into a crushing hug. She hugged him back just as fiercely. He stepped back raising her hand to his lips and kissing it. "It has been an honor to host you Heda. I hope to return to your side soon."

She mounted her horse in an easy motion of long familiarity and replied to him, her voice pitched so that it would carry to those nearby. "I also look forward to that day as well. Lead well, and may your reign prosper King Roan."

With a sharp cluck of her tongue, she moved her horse out through the gates and onto the road back to Polis. Ontari's horse approached her as they rode at a brisk pace. "Do you think we'll arrive in Polis ahead of the news?"

"Roan sent out pigeons with the news before dawn. Unless our horses can outrun a bird in the air, we'll arrive on the heels of the news." She raised a brow at her second. "You could have guessed that, what is it you truly wish to know?"

Ontari flushed slightly at being caught. "You received a message from the south last night. What news did it bring?"

Clarke gave Ontari a nod of approval. After all, she was training the girl to notice things. She wasn't going to end up as a simple warrior. It was important that she be able to read the signs and signals present in everyday life that others missed. She was the one step closer to freeing her siblings of the blood from the conclave and hopefully they would all have long futures to take advantage of their teachings. "More news of the invaders near the mounmen. They have made no attempts to reach the mountain again. The reapers have been swarming them in greater numbers and they have so far survived. Another ship of metal and fire landed, this one containing only one of these Skai people."

"Will we kill them then, before they can draw more of the mounmen's attention?" Ontari asked curiously.

Clarke watched out of the corner of her eye how the guards and warriors in her party were pretending not to be listening intently. "We will take Tristan and his rangers and settle the issue. They have drawn the mounmen's eye and the reapers that have crossed the river will need to be exterminated before they dare to travel into our land and harm our people. However, I will listen to Anya's report on these invaders before I decide their fate. Slaughter should never be the first option. We will see first what kind of people these Skaikru are. We will find out whether they are strong or weak, determined or eager to surrender, kind or cruel. Adversity teaches us much about the spirit of a people. Once we know what kind of people they are we will know how to deal with them."

"You wish to know if they are useful?" Ontari queried consideringly. "There are only a few of them and thus they are not a threat. They could be easily captured and utilized if Anya believes them to be useful."

"Very good. That is indeed part of my reasoning." Clarke praised Ontari's conclusions. "With a war on the mounmen coming ever closer, we must not discount any options no matter how odd. If so small a number of near children have survived this long against the reapers, they may be worth keeping alive."

"Still, with Tristan's Rangers added to Anya's and Indra's forces in the region killing them all would be the work of a day if they are useless or a threat." Ontari concluded.

"Yes, but that is not all. We must remember also the value of compassion. Kindness makes better allies than fear, you have seen that. Though fear has its place. Another truth you should have learned by now is that even those who appear weak can topple giants. Do not so easily dismiss the potential of those who have fallen from the sky. They may surprise us yet. If we show them compassion and teach them the ways of the ground, they will likely make loyal allies if nothing else. Loyalty is a currency not easily traded and its fruits are many. We will know by how they treat each other if they can be trusted with mercy."

-TLGTLGLTLGLTLGTLGLTLGLTLGLTLGLTLG-

Lexa was pleased to see Raven sitting by the radio as they escorted Lincoln into the dropship. It helped keep her from paying attention because her focus was locked in on the grounder they were escorting into their stronghold. As they reached the bottom of the ladder though Raven spoke.

"Uh, so not asking why there is an unchained and not dead psycho grounder standing in our ship. The radio is up and the council has assembled to discuss the evacuation of the ark and they don't like waiting." She stood looking oddly at the grounder.

Scowling, Lexa considered her options, should she keep the council waiting while gathering information or give them incomplete information and let them keep the illusion of power… "Atom, Harper, Monroe head up the ladder and stand guard. Dax, Sterling stay behind our...guest. I don't want him out of your sight. Lincoln if you would follow them up the ladder and wait, I will join you shortly."

The grounder paused before speaking. "Then I shall wait."

Relieved, she stayed watching with her hand on the grip of the gun while three of the guard went up the ladder before Lincoln followed them. Finally, two more of the guard followed up behind him. Good, they could keep the man secured without harming him with those numbers. Turning her attention to Raven, she walked over settling down next to the radio. "Apparently not all the grounders are insane murderous savages."

Monty blinked from where he was sitting. "Right, well that's new."

Wells walked in with Miller and Octavia on his heels. Soon they were all settled around the radio. Taking a deep breath, she settled herself and reached out taking the transmitter and clicking it on so that they could talk with the ark. "Cadet Kane of the 100, come in ark station. Over."

"You've kept us waiting Cadet." The annoyed voice of Jaha came over the line. His voice had barely ceased when the familiar voice of her mother came through the radio.

"Lexa are you alright?" Abby's voice came through, full of love and hope and fear.

She choked back the emotion. "I'm in one piece, but that won't be true of any of us if reinforcements aren't sent down soon. Over."

"What is the situation on the ground. You said there were survivors Cadet? Over." Sydney's voice came through over the radio.

Lexa blinked in surprise, since when was that woman on the council? Ignoring the question, she continued her debriefing from before, hoping to convince them of the urgency of the situation. "Mount Weather is controlled by a savage group of grounders. They are sick, something is wrong with them in the head. They just attack like berserkers without any reason or cause. They've been attacking us since we arrived in greater and greater numbers. The injuries and dead on our side are starting to add up and we can't do the work needed to survive while we are constantly being attacked. We cannot hold the camp much longer." She cleared her throat. "We've encountered a second group of grounders as well. They call themselves the Trikru and do not appear to be insane like the ones from where we landed. Over."

"How many are dead? Over." Jaha's was speaking again.

"Two died in the drop ship when it crashed. We've lost four to attacks since then. Jasper Jordan took a spear to the chest and is alive but won't be capable of doing much for some time. Myles has lost a leg. Outside of that, almost everyone has minor injuries of some description ranging from broken bones to abrasions." Her hand clenched at her side. "With our losses and injuries we won't be able to hunt for enough food for much longer. Especially since we have to farther and farther out to find it."

"You'll have to hold. Sending a drop ship with reinforcements isn't feasible for two weeks." Jaha's voice crackled. "The Exodus Charter takes time to implement. Over."

Lexa grit her teeth. "We won't survive another two weeks. Even a small ship with a dozen well-armed guards and enough rations to last till more can be sent would be enough. Over."

"It can't be spared. We must place our effort and priorities with the citizens of the ark. Over." Jaha's voice was tired and condescending.

Sydney's voice cut in before Lexa could retort. "Surely a single drop ship could be sent down ahead of schedule. The prisoners have done as they were ordered. Abandoning them to follow policy so exactly is not necessary. Over"

"I second councilor Sydney's motion." Kane said quickly. "It would reduce the burden of keeping our population alive with our oxygen crisis while we enact the Exodus Charter. Over"

Octavia looked over at her. "Your dad is the least dickish one."

It took another two hours of discussion for the conversation to be put on hold temporarily. Bellamy had been pardoned, fortunately for his and his sisters continued cooperation. It had been a tough sell and Wells was the one who'd finally talked sense into his father. In seven days' time a dropship with reinforcements and rations would be launched. Till then, she was expected to get as much information as possible out of Lincoln, keep them all alive, and somehow prepare the camp for expansion. Just as a side note almost, they had been warned that a hurricane was due to hit their position by nightfall. Of course one was.

"Wells, I know I said it before but your dad is a dick." Octavia intoned in a sort of silenced horror as they turned the radio off after the long discussion.

Wells shook his head and pinched his nose. "I can't really refute that."

Lexa stood up. "Right, Wells keep things running here. Miller replace Murphy on the wall, he needs a break. In the meantime, Raven, Octavia, how do you two feel about talking to our...guest?"

"I'm down with it." Raven said standing up as well and glancing at the ceiling.

Octavia leapt to her feet with a grunt. "Friendly grounders, look a bit happier, god."

Lexa just shook her head and climbed up to the upper level where the Lincoln and his guard were waiting. Grabbing a crate, she sat down across from the grounder. "Lincoln of the Trikru, my name is Lexa Kane of the Ark. Why have you sought us out?"

He gave her a considering look before sitting down across from her. "You must leave this land or you will be killed."

"And you care about our fate why?" She asked.

"Because you are like children who do not understand how the world works, it would not be right to leave you to your fate." He said clearly.

"What is our fate then?" She questioned carefully, watching him for any sign of falsehood.

He shifted awkwardly. "The ripa do not travel in large numbers, but they have learned of your location. Soon they will congregate on your position in a large force in hopes of easy targets. The people the reapers capture are never seen again." He warned ominously. "You must leave before they can besiege your camp."

"And what would you have us do? Leave our defenses and hand ourselves over on a platter to your people?" She narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Once our guard arrives, even in large numbers the reapers will not be able to overrun our position."

"You draw the eye of the mountain. If the reapers do not kill you, the mountain will act and none can survive the mountain. It is why this land is forbidden. With the reapers gathering so close to our borders, Heda will be forced to take care of them soon." His voice was impassioned and he clearly believed what he was saying, or else was a very good liar. "My people do not need you to leave this camp to wipe you out if they decide to do so."

"Why have your people not attacked us then?" Lexa questioned. "Our presence is drawing your enemies close to your border."

"Heda ordered you be left alone so long as you remain outside of our borders." He met her gaze and held it challenging her to listen to him. "If you request an audience with Heda, she will allow you to make a case for your people's survival. She has proven to be a reasonable Heda that prefers negotiation over war."

"Heda, that is your leader?" Lexa checked.

Lincoln shook his head. "She is not just my leader. Heda is the commander. She is the head of the coalition, the twelve clans. All of the land is under her control. If your people wish to live here, gaining her permission is necessary."

Lexa stood and faced the wall thinking. If Lincoln was correct, when the ark came down they would be dealing with a war on two fronts. Even with their weapons, the lack of a defendable location for their population would lead to massive casualties even if victory was possible. She had a duty to protect her people. Bringing the ire of what sounded like a powerful warlord down on them was not protecting them. Turning, she came to a decision. "Very well. We cannot send an envoy to ask for permission to leave this land till after our next ship arrives. Will that work with this Heda?"

Lincoln stood and nodded. "If your ship arrives soon. I think I can convince Anya, the captain of this region, to allow you a truce till Heda can arrive for negotiations."

"So a diplomatic party will have to be sent to this Anya, to request a meeting with Heda from her. Then once Heda arrives we request land away from here?" She double checked everything.

"You must convince Heda that you are worth more alive to her than dead." He said eagerly.

She stared, "A trade, we must trade for our survival then."

He nodded. "Heda is fair."

"Very well. As a messenger of your people would you relay to this Anya that we request a meeting with Heda in eight days' time?" She stared at him seriously.

-TLGTLGTLGLTLGTLGTLGTLGTLGTLGTLG-

The storm had knocked out their communication as it raged around them. The tents had all been broken down and stored inside the ship. Otherwise everyone slept and spent their waking hours either on the wall, or in the drop ship trying to stay dry. The storm was good for one thing, no reaper sightings since the storm had arrived. It meant she had gotten six hours of uninterrupted sleep. So what if she'd had to use Octavia's stomach as a pillow and Charlotte's elbow had been digging into her side. Hell, even Murphy using her as a human pillow hadn't disturbed her. In fact, it was nice. With the endless torrents of rain and howling wind what fire they'd been able to build had long since been extinguished leaving them all damp and forced to huddle for warmth.

Waking without feeling like death for the first time in nearly thirteen days was so odd she'd nearly cried in relief. Instead, she'd untangled herself from the pile of limbs, damp hair, and boney elbows. Walking with care, she made it to the corner where Raven was working on several wires with one of their few lights. Slumping down beside the girl, she gave a nod of acknowledgement. "How's it going?"

"We don't have much that can be used for bombs." Raven scrubbed the exhaustion off of her face. "I mean I can make things go boom, but there isn't enough metal for casing, shrapnel, or even containers for the fuel we have."

"Once the first Exodus ship arrives and we can get you to the bunker my father mentioned. Would you be able to do it then?" Lexa asked, although she was impressed at what Raven had already accomplished in such a short period of time.

"Duh, you get me supplies and I can make it." She rolled her eyes. "In the meantime I can make as many bear traps as you want."

"Good, you're a godsend you know that right?" She smiled gratefully at their mechanic.

Raven smirked at her. "I'm awesome, of course I know."

Lexa snorted and headed up to check in on the others before she took her shift on the wall.

-TLGTLGTLGTLGTLGTLGTLGTLGTLGTLGTLG-

Day fifteen on the ground was a terrible awful no good day. They'd been attacked by twenty reapers just past dawn. Six of their own had been cut down before they'd marshaled themselves and killed them. With the rain burying anyone in the mud hadn't been an option. Their dead they'd been forced to bury in a single pit that the rain and mud seemed to constantly be filling. The reapers they'd dragged away from their walls and left to rot.

To make things worse Myles had clearly come down with an infection they couldn't handle, his temperature had rose and he was clearly in pain. His stump hot to the touch. Wells had cautioned that he would not last long if proper medical attention wasn't given soon. Then just because fate seemed to be messing with them the nuts they'd been depending on for food had turned out to be hallucinogens. Jasper had been crying out about reapers in the camp. Octavia had given him a 'magic anti-reaper stick' that had calmed him down while they'd been forced to dispose of nearly an eighth of their food stores.

Foot rot had also begun to set in with their stores. The wet and lack of dry footwear had led to several of the delinquents starting to show signs of foot rot. Now Wells had them on a system of drying their boots and socks by the fire when they weren't on guard. It wasn't much, but hopefully it would help reduce the issue.

-TLGTLGTLGTLGTLGTLGTLGTLGTLGLTLGTLG-

Day nineteen Lexa was roused by Murphy looking down at her and shaking her shoulder urgently. "Princess, your grounder friend is at the gate."

Sitting up, she rubbed at her eyes. "Is he alone?"

"Yeah, he brought a deer." Murphy looked wary. "I hope you know what you're doing befriending the guy."

"So do I." She said humorlessly. "At this point, we don't have much of a choice."

Standing, she and Murphy made it to the gate. With a gesture of her hand, it was opened and she saw Lincoln standing there with the carcass of a deer thrown over his shoulder. Stepping forward, she plastered on a smile. "Welcome back."

He stepped in and set the deer down by their fire. "A gift."

"Thank you for the gift. Has your captain given leave for a meeting with your Heda?" She asked, jumping straight to the point.

Lincoln seemed to hesitate before speaking. "She did not refuse."

"But she did not agree either." Lexa concluded, because of course she hadn't, the planet and its inhabitants seemed set on killing them all.

"Heda has sent word that she will be traveling through this territory. Anya will not instigate negotiations when Heda arrives shortly. This is good for you." He encouraged.

Lexa blinked, that actually did sound like a win, which was odd. "Then I thank you Lincoln. Will you return to your people when your Heda arrives with our request?"

"Of course." He said seriously. She noted his eyes flickered to where Octavia was sharpening her sword by the fire, which was...odd.

Clearing her throat, she brought his attention straight back to her. "Today is a celebration of my peoples. It is Unity Day, it seems fitting that you stay and celebrate it with us."

Lincoln smiled. "I would like that."

Monty and Jasper had apparently managed to brew moonshine despite them being at war. It was impressive and really shouldn't have surprised her as much as it did. Between the deer, their rationed plants and meat it was the most food they'd eaten since the first panther they'd caught. Not to mention the alcohol. She smiled from her seat on the log, eating her piece of meat. Fat was dribbling down her chin and she didn't even care. Lincoln was explaining how warriors in his clan were trained to a spellbound audience.

The younger kids were out of the drop ship for the first time since the last attack. It was good. Things might be looking up for the first time in days. Which is why it shouldn't have surprised her so much when Raven stuck her head out of the drop ship and yelled. "LEXA!"

Shoving her food into Digg's arms, she was on her feet and sprinting for the dropship. Skidding in, she saw the serious faces of Wells, Monty, and Raven. "What's happened?"

"The ark, there was an explosion." Monty said thickly. "We were listening to the unity speeches. Your mom agreed to help walk Wells through cleaning Myles's stump afterwards." He swallowed. "There was an explosion, we heard screams before the connection cut out and we couldn't get it back."

"Hail them again." She ordered instantly. The thought that the ark had been attacked was beyond frightening. The ark was supposed to be safe, it had always been safe.

Raven looked concerned and stepped into her space. "Lexa, no one is responding."

She shook her head. "It's just a system malfunction."

"Lexa."

Stepping back in denial, she grimaced. "Until we know anything else for sure, we assume it was a system malfunction.

"And if it wasn't?" Monty asked carefully.

She breathed through her nose, forcing herself to stay calm. "If something serious has happened on the ark, then we are all dead. Don't tell anyone about this. There was a development with your bombs, that's why you called me." She glanced at Raven to make sure she understood.

"Should we truly be emulating the council by hiding this from them?" Wells asked dubiously.

Lexa clamped her hands together behind her back automatically at the challenge. "What do you want me to tell them? This isn't something we can do anything to change. There's no fix to this. If the ship doesn't come down with reinforcements and supplies, then we will be forced to make a run for the Trikru territory. If you didn't notice Lincoln was clear that all we should send them was a diplomat, not a group of starving, injured teenagers."

Raven tilted her head in thought. "Why don't we tell everyone it's a contingency plan? The reason we're taking it so seriously doesn't matter as much."

"Okay," she turned to Monty. "Go get, Octavia, Miller, and Murphy. Bellamy and Jon can keep things under control for a while. Bring them up here. Tell them that there is new information from the ark and we need to address it." She clenched her fists behind her back. "Do not cause a panic, with the reapers attacking almost daily, we cannot afford to let people panic and lose control."

"Got it." Monty said before slipping past her and making for the crowded camp.

They sat in silence all clearly trying to make plans while they waited. Soon enough the others began to troop up the ladder and it didn't take long for them to be sated in a loose circle. Octavia broke the silence. "What's going on?"

"The ark's communications cut out and we can't get them back." Wells said, sparing Lexa from speaking. She felt a great well of gratitude for her friend. "We heard a boom before it went so we think something exploded on board the ark."

"This matters why exactly?" Octavia asked, clearly not getting it yet.

Monty gently added in their conclusions. "If the ark is damaged, they'll delay the Exodus ship, and that's if they are still able to launch it at all. Either way, it is possible that our reinforcements aren't coming."

"Fuck the ark." Murphy spat. He looked around at their mix of confused and horrified expressions. "No seriously, fuck the ark. What have they ever done for us? They locked us up, dropped us to nearly certain death, didn't want to send us back up in the first place, and now might not even do that. So fuck them all. I say we do what we need to do to survive."

Wells spoke up, interrupting the sound of approval coming from Octavia. "I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I agree with Murphy."

Lexa opened her mouth slightly in surprise. "What do you mean?"

Wells shifted uncomfortably before putting his hands on his knees and leaning forward in a show of sincerity. "Not necessarily his sentiment but with his plan. We need to be sure that we survive and stop worrying about the ark. They can take care of themselves."

"Okay, that sounds great but how?" Miller asked. "We need the ark. They don't need us."

"We ask for help from the Trikru." Octavia said firmly.

Lexa ran a hand through her hair. "First, the Trikru will demand payment, we have nothing we could trade to them for our safety. Second, if they see all of us heading for the border, they could easily think it's an attack and slaughter us all. Third, how would we even survive the trip? The woods have been crawling with reapers for days now."

"I could get us there." Raven said confidently. "If we can get the reapers to attack us in mass, I can rig the drop ship to launch. There's enough fuel in the engine it would eradicate any living thing inside of the camp."

"Crispy grounder, I like it." Murphy said with a smirk. "So what, we attack the reapers, get them all here at once. Let e'm in, then blow them to hell?"

"We'd need an escape route." Miller said ever practical.

"It's more Jon's area than mine," Octavia said carefully, "but can't we just enlarge one of the tunnels going to the pillbox we were making for when we got guns?"

"That could work…" Wells trailed off, musing on it. "We'd have to make a massive distraction and then move quickly but we could do it."

Monty chimed in with his own opinion, "I like it, but what can we trade to the Trikru in exchange for protection?"

"Guns." Miller said simply.

"I don't know if you've noticed but we don't have any guns." Raven said sarcastically, looking at him like he'd lost his mind. "Where are these magical things we're going to use to trade?"

Miller reached up, straightening his beanie. "The military depot Kane told us about over the radio. We can't get to it because of how many reapers are between us and it, but the Trikru have the manpower, or at the least the ability to move men about in this region. If we tell them where, and show them how to use them, maybe that could be our trade."

"So give guns to the less crazy savages." Murphy summed up his point. "That's insane, it might work."

Lexa bit her lip. "A lot of us would die in this plan." She knew they all were aware of this but she had to state it. The risks behind this sort of thing were astronomical. "However, if the reinforcements don't come does anyone else have any ideas?"

She was met by silence as everyone avoided looking up at her. Clearly this insanity was their best option. "Right then. Octavia get the younger kids moving, we need everything in this camp ready to move at a moment's notice. If and only IF the Exodus ship doesn't land, we'll need to do this. Murphy, talk to Jon and get the escape route ready for us to use. Raven, this ship needs to be ready to blow remotely, we can't afford to leave someone behind to do it manually. Miller, we need to get the guard ready to make multiple simultaneous actions to draw the reapers to us."

-TLGTLGLTLGLTLGLTLGLTLGLTLGLTLGLTLG-

The day passed in a blur of nerves. Their outer sweep had dealt with two reapers and everyone could feel the tension of something big coming. Lexa was sitting on the wall for her watch rotation. She snorted amused at the fact Lincoln was teaching some of the guard combat. She had not missed his focus on the younger Blake. It could be the indication of something good. The fact he was helping teach the guard to use their weapons better was already a good sign. He was winning friends amongst them quickly which concerned her, but well, she still had three bullets.

She smiled as Bellamy dropped down beside her. "Whatch'ya thinking about Princess?"

Lexa was not foolish enough to point out that another male had taken interest in his sister. "Hoping for a quiet night." She said instead.

He nodded before looking fairly awkward. "Look, I know it doesn't mean anything coming from me but I'm sure your parents are fine."

She looked at him in slight disbelief. "Thanks?"

"It's just the doc was always nice when I saw her, and your dad. He was harsh but he was fair." Bellamy was staring at the sky clearly caught up in his thoughts. "I didn't like either of them of course, but they're on the council. If anyone is safe, it's them."

She smiled before bumping Bellamy's shoulder. "Thanks."

They sat there, side by side in silence, enjoying the happy sounds that were for once coming from the camp behind them. "Think this grounder is being honest?"

Lexa shrugged. "I don't' know. It could be a trap. If it's not and we ignore him, we'll be starting a war with a warlord and I don't want to risk that."

"How do we keep ourselves from being ambushed when we meet with this Heda?" Bellamy asked seriously.

"The guard will be here, which means guns. They won't be expecting that." She said firmly. Already she'd run through various plans and so far, it was the best she had, which was depressing now that she thought about it. "Also, Raven can start producing bombs for us once she has the tools to do so." Wincing she added on after a moment. "If we have to go with plan B, we'll be almost completely at this Heda's mercy though."

Bellamy grabbed her arm suddenly. "Hey look!"

She followed his gaze and saw the first Exodus ship. "It's early." A wide smile spread across her face. Finally, something was going right. Yelling over her shoulder, she got everyone's attention. "The Exodus ship!"

A cheer rang out as everyone turned to watch their salvation coming down to the ground. Lexa frowned though, something wasn't right. "They're coming down too fast." Sure enough, the streaking ship was clear to see in the night sky. "Where are the parachutes?"

There was a scream from behind her as one of the kids realized what had just dawned on her. They were going to crash. The ship kept hurtling towards the ground before disappearing behind a nearby hill. She didn't even have a second to hope for it to have survived somehow. The explosion was bright and vivid against the dark backdrop of the night, a billowing mushroom cloud of smoke rising up from it.

Standing on the wall, she felt the cold certainty that no one could have survived that. Investigating the crash would be a pointless loss of life. Plan A was gone. The ark wouldn't be sending another ship after this till they were ready to all come down. Her nails cut into her palms as she realized what was about to happen. Plan B it was. Turning wide eyes towards Bellamy, she saw the same knowledge hitting him. Unclenching her fist, she reached out gripping his hand.

"Think we'll be ready by tomorrow?" He asked, squeezing her hand.

Lexa looked into the camp at the horrified but hardening in determination faces of her people. "We have to be, not being so isn't an option."

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Five years ago:

Luna stumbled over a root before collapsing and retching into the dirt. Her head was spinning and it had been getting steadily worse since she'd first stepped into the conclave. Was this some sort of punishment for what she'd done? Or for what she wasn't doing? She didn't know, just staying hunched as her stomach twisted, forcing the contents out of her stomach out in a painful heave. She felt like death warmed over physically while her heart was already dead in her chest from what she'd done. Crawling under a nearby bush, she curled in on herself, sobbing as the burning sensation of acid in her mouth lingered.

The morning came and the light and woke her up from her fitful sleep. Wincing, she pulled herself up and to her feet. She felt unsteady, and her head felt like it'd been bashed with a large rock. It was similar to the time Garik had smuggled a crate of Commander Erik's drink into their quarters. Repressing a groan, she hobbled along to the village she'd meant to arrive in the night before but had been unable to due to her weakness. Still, sick or not, she managed to jimmy the window on the back of the tanner's shop open and slip in quietly. From there, it was a matter of a few minutes to steal some of the man's nondescript clothing. Walking to the cracked mirror she knew was there, she took a look at herself. She looked awful, hungover as hell. Garik would send bounty hunters after her as soon as he took the flame though, meaning she had to become invisible fast. Taking her hair, she braided it tightly to her head. Twisting it, she formed it, wrapping about her head in an intricate helmet of braids.

Digging through the Tanner's chest of clothes, she found a wool hat. Pulling it down over her hair, she checked her appearance. Already she would be easy to miss at first glance. The brown and tan baggy clothing of a tradesmen and the lack of her distinctive hair meant only someone familiar with her face would spot her. It took some work involving cutting the hair from one of the Tanner's hides and some of his glue, but soon she was sporting a respectable beard and mustache. Like this she could travel easy enough. Taking her black clothing that had marked her as a nightblood for her entire life, she left them sitting on the man's bed. He'd understand and cover for her. After all, as her uncle he owed her this at least. As a last thought, she grabbed some of his bone carvings, meaning to trade them for supplies.

Climbing out the way she'd entered, she slipped around and entered the crowds of the village coming alive in the early morning. She needed news from Polis before she moved onwards. After all, on further thought, Garik wasn't cruel and would most likely announce her bounty after a few days to give her a chance to get as far as possible. If he did post her bounty though, she'd need to know of it before she headed out to her next destination. So, she wandered about waiting for the rider she knew would be coming to announce the new Heda. She wasn't disappointed. The rider came before midday, charging into the town center. He blew his horn summoning everyone to come hear the news. It was a matter of minutes before she was easily part of the crushing push and pull of the whispering crowd. They knew what this was about as well.

The man stood up in his stirrups before he spoke aloud. "Clarke kom Trikru has triumphed in the conclave and has received the Flame and been acknowledged by all of Polis. Long may she reign!" With that, he sat back down in his saddle and was off through the crowd heading for the next village where he would repeat the cry.

As the villagers moved about talking about their new Heda, Luna was frozen. Garik hadn't won. Clarke, the weak untalented Clarke, had won? There wasn't a single one of their number who she would never have imagined winning it less than Clarke. The girl had been distant and reserved from nearly the beginning. Titus had never been kind to any of them but he had been especially cruel to what he viewed as the weakest of their members. The girl had to have known almost immediately that she held no hope of winning. Titus wasn't a spirit and him being wrong wasn't impossible, but Clarke? She frowned. How could the girl have won? For the girl to win in a spar, one of them had to have made a mistake. It was bad news for her. Clarke had almost no reason to not listen to Titus and order her dead. She was shocked it wasn't in the crier's announcement.

She hadn't been cruel to the small blond like some of their members had been, but she hadn't been kind either. She had taken the route of least resistance, not letting herself get attached to the small girl with no hope of survival. How? How could the girl have won against even one of their members? She frowned, thinking back on the time before the conclave. Clarke had even thrown up from nerves in the antechamber. Her brain slowed as it took in that statement, Clarke had thrown up after drinking the spring water. Hadn't Luna herself just last night been sick, her head still ached like she'd drunk too much wine. Or like she'd been poisoned.

Luna turned and walked into an alley between two houses and leaned against the wall. She'd been poisoned. Clarke had always liked spending time with the healers. Chuckling softly, she realized Clarke had poisoned them using the spring. Suddenly, she was letting out great bellows of laughter. Titus, who had made all of their lives hell but especially Clarke's, was Flamekeeper to the nightblood he'd hated from the very beginning. Good, let the man reap what he'd sown.

A month later, Luna was surprised by her small sister of the blood when she personally visited the Floukru territory and pardoned her. When Clarke had requested a private audience with her after discussing and agreeing on the terms of her pardon with the chief, she'd been afraid of what was going to happen. Clarke had walked in and hugged her before whispering in her ear, "I'm glad you survived."

After that, Luna decided to just stop expecting things from her reserved sister of the blood. Which is why when the announcement of the new treaty between Azgeda and Trikru came, she just laughed. Her sister was going to leave her mark on the world before she was done, that was for sure.