Lexa sat upright in the caravan, staring out the window at the passing forest. Clarke and Bellamy have a bond. But what kind of bond could it be? She had been mulling over their interaction for the first three hours of their journey to Polis, eyeing Clarke but remaining silent.
Clarke was annoyed with the silence. She seemed normal when she offered to take me to the Capital. Does she already regret that decision? I guess she's stuck with me now. I better make the most of this trip, she thought. She was mindlessly fondling the radio as she watched the forest pass outside the window. There was one on either side of the caravan, placed on either side of Lexa and Clarke's head. She could see Lexa staring at her from the corner of her eye, and it bothered her how many times she was tempted to look.
"You and Bellamy are close. Are you two...together?" Lexa finally broke the ice. Clarke stared at her in disbelief. Is this what she was thinking about the whole time? "How do you mean 'together'?"
"Do you take pleasure in each other? Do you two go to bed together?" Clarke could almost make out a blush on Lexa's usually stern face.
"No, no. We are just friends. I never thought I would warm up to him. But being on the ground really changed that."
Lexa looked at Clarke. She wanted to turn away, but she couldn't. She wanted to ask her question after question - about her life on the arc, about her family, about her customs. But she knew that Clarke had not yet forgiven her. That was very far away indeed. She gave her a nod, and resumed her gaze out the window.
The rest of the day passed in silence. Both women were busy thinking about the other, though oblivious that was the case. Clarke would often catch Lexa staring at her, and vice versa. But their conversation didn't resume until they had reached the next village at dusk.
"Bandok," Clarke was informed as Lexa lept out of the caravan. "A small village, even smaller than Tondc. These people are the gatekeepers for the larger Rhea. Suppliers of grain and meat for the larger city. We will stay here overnight."
Clarke nodded at Lexa to let her know she was listening, but not in the mood for a discussion. Lexa led the way through the procession with Clarke not far behind. It seemed as if the entire small town had come out to see the Commander returned from battle. Lexa scanned the crowd, nodding her head to those eyes that met her. But Clarke noticed a number of people who purposely looked down when Lexa approached them, defying her gaze. She began to wonder just how powerful this Grounder alliance was, if some questioned the rule of Lexa.
The procession ended with the tallest building in the village. As she reached the entrance of the building, Lexa turned on her heel and spoke to the people of Bandok, who had followed the procession to this location.
"People of Bandok. I thank you for your hospitality this evening. Not only for me and my council, but also for Clarke of the Sky-People."
All eyes turned to Clarke. She expected hateful or angry expressions, but found those of wonder. I can work with this, she thought.
Clarke stepped forward. "People of Bandok, I echo the Commander's words of thanks. I know you may have many questions, doubts, or fears about me and my people. I am here to answer to any of these questions on behalf of the Sky-People. But I can assure you, we have come in peace. We do not want to cause any trouble. We just ask for a chance to live peacefully on this planet with the Grounders. And I have also come here to figure out just how we can do that."
Clarke turned to Lexa to find her already staring at her in wonder. Lexa wanted to smile, but in front of a crowd she had to keep her diplomatic air. "Thank you, Clarke," she said. "And thank you, Bandok. We must retire, but we look forward to speaking with you in the morning."
The small crowd nodded in Lexa's direction, turned to get one last glimpse of the Sky-Person, and then turned to talk to each other as they walked to their own homes. Lexa and Clarke watched for a moment, but then turned into the building.
It was large, but not as large as Lexa's battle tent at the Mountain. They faced a large table, already set with bowls of fruits and nuts. Clarke noticed fresh, ripe strawberries in a small bowl on the table. There were six chairs surrounding the table, and Lexa took the one at the head. Her bodyguards quickly moved past Clarke to sit on either side of Lexa, turning to see Clarkes reaction.
Did they think I would be upset by that? Clarke wondered. She took the chair at the opposite end of Lexa, so they were facing each other. The other two spots were filled by two elders of Bandok, Chandri and Washington. Plates of warm bread were put on the table, the smell intoxicating to Clarke. It reminded her of the bread from the Arc. But this was more earthy tasting, heavier, and full of seeds. She looked around the table for butter to put on her bread, but only found bowls of a strange salsa-like topping. She was going to ask what it was when a bowl of soup was placed before her and everyone else at the table.
"Bandok special," Washington noted to Clarke. "Its a wheat-based soup, as is most of what we have here. But we flavour it with whatever is in season. Its the cold season, so we flavour it with chicken and mushroom."
Clarke's eyes broadened. "Chicken? Real chicken?"
Washington and Chandri exchanged nervous glances. "Yes, is that to your satisfaction?"
"Oh, no, I'm not offended by the chicken or anything. I'm not a vegetarian. It's just that, well on the Arc, we had chicken, but it was heavily genetically altered so that it wouldn't waste space or other resources. I've never seen a real chicken." Clarke spoke quickly, beginning to feel embarrassed by her reaction.
But Washington only chuckled lightly, asking "What is a vegetarian?" with a sly smile.
"Someone who does not eat animals. There are also people who don't eat anything produced with animal products, like milk or eggs, called vegans. There were a couple groups of them on the Arc, though it wasn't fashionable. Only the poorer districts had them." Clarke noticed as she was speaking that all eyes, even the bodyguards were on her.
"Animals are essential to our survival especially in the winter months, Clarke. Though Polis and other large cities like Rhea have better stores for crops as the farming season ends. But especially for the outlying villages, like Bandok, chicken and other animal meat is a necessity."
Clarke quickly interjected, "I didn't mean anything by it. I wasn't insulting your diet. I was just explaining something from my world."
Washington placed his hand gently on top of Clarkes to soothe her. "And we were not offended by it. It is just very...interesting and different. Something not expected."
Clarke looked at Washington and nodded to thank him. She looked up and saw Lexa with her eyes fixed on Washington's hand, which was still on top of Clarke's. She pulled her hand out from under his, with a small smile in his direction. The rest of the meal passed by in silence.