Warmth again filled the air as Clarke woke from her sleep. Breathing in deeply, she swept her arm across the floor, expecting to find Niylah laying there. Her hand found nothing but the wooden floors. Clarke forced her eyes open. With heavy eyelids, she scanned the room and found no sign of the woman she searched for, only a bowl of food and clothes to change into. A groan escaped her lips as Clarke sat up, rubbing the weariness from her eyes. She let the blanket slip down her bare body, shifting to grab her breakfast. I can't believe I did that, Clarke thought, remembering the events of the previous night.
A sigh escaped her lips and Clarke began to eat her meal. Regret replaced the sleepiness the longer she was awake, wishing the previous night hadn't happened. Niylah had earned her trust over the weeks she spent in the refugee camp, and now she couldn't stop thinking about how unfair she had been to Niylah. I was lonely and hurting, and I used her. She deserves better.
Clarke finished the remnants of her meal and inspected the clothes set out for her. The pants looked thick and warming, as did the socks on top of them. A modest, plain shirt that had some cuts and stitches in it laid next to a wrap and a fur coat. Clarke moved to throw on the cloths, but had to stop when she tried to raise her arms to get into the shirt. Pain in her shoulder reminded her of the blow she had received from the Pauna the previous night. She hissed and looked at her wounded shoulder, seeing a carefully placed bandage over the affected area. Niylah must have done this while I was asleep, Clarke thought.
Forcing herself to put the shirt and coat on with minimal movement from her shoulder proved to be a tougher task than she thought. By the time she was fully dressed her wound throbbed and felt a persistent pulsing around her shoulder blade, rebelling against her activities. Damnit, this hurts. Clarke grabbed her own sword along with the Commander's, strapping the latter to her back. She flexed her hand around the grip of the Commander's sword to take the focus off the pain. Deeming herself presentable, Clarke opened the door with her good hand and stepped out to the camp.
From the looks of things most of the remaining survivors had taken off already, leaving the camp to look like a ghost town. Pointing the tip of the sword to the ground, Clarke scanned the area for Janos or Niylah. She spotted them not too far off from her shack packing up belongings onto horses and talking to some other Grounders. Niylah's face was anything but kind and she guessed their conversation was not going so hot. Clarke made her way over despite pangs of awkwardness and regret that came with seeing Niylah, but she suppressed those feelings as she neared the pair.
Niylah saw her before Clarke could say anything and she had a look on her face that Clarke couldn't quite place. She quietly sent the Grounder that had been talking to them away as Clarke approached. Does she feel the same? Was last night a mistake for her too? She sighed as she finally reached Niylah and put a smile on. "Leaving already?" she asked, trying her best to ignore the awkwardness she felt towards Niylah.
"Yes," Niylah replied in a brisk tone. "And so should you." Clarke noticed something was deeply troubling Niylah and couldn't quite place it. "You are still free to join me, but whatever you decide it needs to be quick."
That's not good. "Niylah, what's going on?" Clarke asked, her heart starting to beat faster. Niylah was definitely worrying Clarke. She had never seen the woman this unsettled before. Is she this upset about last night? she thought, confusion swirling around inside her head. Better to just rip off the bandage than to slowly drag it out. "Is this about last night? Do you regret what we did?"
"No," Niylah said, shaking her head. "There's been word from Polis. Skaikru has moved into the Mountain against the wishes of the Heda." Niylah fastened the rest of the supplies laying around to her horse as she talked. "They also have a new leader. Someone named Pike."
Pike? He was on Farm Station, she remembered. "He survived?" Clarke muttered to herself. "I didn't think any of the other stations made it. How did they survive? Where did they land?" Clarke felt relieved that more people from the Ark had survived. Enough of her people had died already, hearing that some were still alive was a good change.
"From what I heard they landed in our territory. Beyond that, I do not know. I have been away for some time now." Niylah grabbed the reins and stood in front of Clarke, a concerned expression on her face. "Heda is not pleased with his actions. Pressure is mounting from the other Clans for her to act, and that is why you need to leave now. Someone told the Commander that you were here. She's placed a bounty on you, with the order to bring you alive to Polis."
"She did what?!" Clarke screeched. Heat coursed through her veins and she clenched her fist around the hilt of the Commander's knife at her waist. Leaving me for dead wasn't enough. Now she wants me brought to her like a criminal. Someone to be hunted down, Clarke thought in her rage. I'll be damned if she gets her hands on me. I'd let them take me if I could kill her, but I still need more time. She looked at Niylah with questioning eyes. "How do I know you or your Queen won't just turn me over to the Commander?"
"Because my Queen is no friend of the Heda," Niylah replied hotly, her hands tightening around the reins of her horse. "For too long our people have suffered under her rule. She showed that she was becoming weak at the Mountain. We will do her no favors." Clarke could see the veins in Niylah's neck bulging slightly and she could feel the anger radiating off the woman. She knew that Niylah meant every word she spoke. "If you're coming, we must go now. It won't be long before bounty hunters show up here." Niylah hopped up onto her horse and offered out a hand to Clarke.
Clarke looked around the camp and was grateful that most of the people had cleared out. The idea briefly popped into her mind to stay at the camp for as long as she could, but could only seeing that end in people dying. She didn't want people being collateral damage in the search. Considering the alternatives, the decision came easy for Clarke. "I'll go with you. Just know that if you betray me, I'll kill you." Taking Niylah's hand, she swung herself up onto the horse behind the woman. She settled the Commander's sword across her lap and grabbed around Niylah's waist.
"I wouldn't expect anything less," Niylah replied. She gave the reins a swift whip and they were speeding off in the next moment. Clarke didn't know what to expect from the next part in her journey, but the farther away she could get from the Commander was a sound plan to her. Janos formed up behind them, and the small group raced away into the wilderness, hoping to not encounter any trouble on their way to the Azgeda.
Clarke shivered and pressed up against Niylah's back. The journey north to Azgeda territory hadn't been too difficult, save for the ever dropping temperatures. She quickly figured out halfway into the journey that she was not properly clothed for the cold, though Niylah had packed a spare coat for her to wear. This kind of cold was something she had never experienced before and for the last several hours she hadn't been able to stop shaking.
"It will get better," Niylah said, glancing over her shoulder. Her face seemed relaxed and her body didn't shake violently like Clarke's, almost as if the cold didn't bother her at all. Janos rode to their left and he looked even more comfortable than Niylah. Clarke glared at them both petulantly, pouting behind Niylah's back.
"D-d-doesn't f-feel like it," Clarke chattered, squeezing Niylah even tighter than before, trying to grasp at every bit of warmth she could. I could never live here, I would freeze to death. How do they do it? The cold made her shoulder sting slightly and Clarke shifted uncomfortably in a futile effort to ease the discomfort.
"We are almost there," Niylah placated, pointing to a large hilltop far out in front of them. "Just over that ridge is the edge of our city. You will be warm soon enough."
"I'd r-rather be w-w-warm now." The promise of warmth did nothing to calm Clarke's current situation and the misery she felt. Perhaps coming here was a bad idea, she thought. The woods, the dropship, and even Camp Jaha sounded much better than her current predicament. Her hatred for the Commander grew with every step the horse took and each time her body shook from the cold. She forced me into this. Why? Why did she have to place a bounty on me? Hasn't she caused me enough pain? For some reason, Clarke thought the answer to the last question was no, and it infuriated her further.
As if to further inflame her mood, the world decided to make the horse carrying her and Niylah stop. Clarke nearly groaned when trying to figure out why until she raised her gaze from behind Niylah's back. Giant bonfires and huts littered the area with people walking all about, going through their day. She had never seen such pure snow and ice in her lifetime, it all looked as if it were glowing in the daylight. Looking farther ahead Clarke's jaw dropped and she felt breathless. A giant waterfall completely frozen over dominated the view. The white and blue of the ice to create an entrancing color that she couldn't bring herself to look away from. She could barely make out small amounts of water still flowing over the ice and it provided a shine to the whole structure that it seemed to light up the whole area. It was truly beautiful.
"Welcome to Azgeda," Niylah said, smiling back at her. She raised her hand and pointed to a spot just above the frozen falls. "That is our destination." Their horse spurred back into action as Clarke looked on in awe.
A large structure, almost like a castle in its look, stood tall over the area. Clarke could only imagine that is where the Ice Queen dwelled. Glows from the fires burning within gave the castle a sort of life to it that Clarke couldn't quite describe. Sculptures carved out of ice adorned the top of the structure and looked down over all those below. The place looked eerily beautiful. "It's... I don't have words for this. I wish I had a sketch pad to draw it," she thought, her hand twitching almost subconsciously. It had been so long since she last created art. This would be a beautiful way to jump back in.
"Perhaps we can find you one when we get to the castle," Niylah replied.
They descended into the masses as they made their way to the castle. Clarke couldn't stop herself from looking in every direction, filled with wonder. Closer inspection of the faces around her showed they all sported a rugged, hardened look about them. Without knowing any of those who passed her by, she could tell they were also a proud people by the way they carried themselves. She saw a group of elderly men and women with spears gathering up near the edge of the city and they looked to be heading out. I guess everyone has to contribute if they are going to survive in this environment. The more she saw, the more questions she had bubbling at the tip of her tongue.
"I told you it would get better," Niylah teased as they began to climb up the path to the castle.
Clarke felt her face flush a little, but she couldn't contain the wonder she felt. All of this was so new and different to her. I wish Wells was here, he would have loved this. Memories of her childhood best friend tugged at her heart yet she didn't shut down the feelings. I spent too long shoving him away, I can allow memories of him to share this experience. The beauty of it all was breathtaking. "I've just... never seen anything like this. All I've heard about the Ice Nation was they were brutal. None of them talked about this."
"We are a brutal people, and we make no apologies for it," Niylah replied bluntly. "You must be strong to survive the cold. You contribute or you die. That is our way." Clarke didn't have time to reply as Niylah dismounted from the horse and motioned for her to do the same. Clarke noticed the nearby stable as she dismounted and saw they were now very close to the castle. Niylah passed the reins to a Grounder who emerged from the wooden building. The two exchanged words that she didn't catch, but from what Clarke could tell the discussion was not pleasant at all. Niylah sounded particularly irate and stormed off after Janos handed over the reins to his horse.
Clarke chased after Niylah and managed to catch up to her, despite the stiffness in her legs. "Is everything alright?" Clarke asked. In the time that she had known Niylah, Clarke had never seen her like this.
"He was upset I left our people," Niylah replied. "He thinks I no longer belong after all the time I spent away. That was his way of letting me know that." She didn't break her pace and Clarke decided to just let it be for now. Asking more questions wouldn't help the situation.
The three of them reached the castle's entrance and Niylah paused at the door, laying a hand on the hard wooden door. "You may have heard things about my Queen from the Heda and others." Niylah lowered her head for a moment and then turned to face Clarke. "I ask that you leave those behind and see with your own eyes who she is. Even the kindest of people can be painted as a monster."
Clarke had only heard negative and horrible things about the Ice Nation every time they had been brought up. How brutal they were, how they were only interested in war, that the Ice Queen had killed Costia after torturing her for the Commander's secrets. Despite all that, everything around her gave no hint of that. There might certainly be truth in what was told to her, but Clarke refused to believe every bit of it. I'm capable of forming my own opinions. Let's see who this Ice Queen is. "This place has already proven them wrong to me. I'm sure your Queen will as well."
Niylah opened the door and the three of them stepped inside. Immediately Clarke felt the warmth and her body relaxed. A long corridor stretched out in front of them, several doors leading off to various parts of the castle. At the end of the hall was a giant wooden door with several ornate carvings, twisting and winding their way around the door. It almost looked like the patterns on cracked ice if she looked at it enough.
"This way," Niylah said, pointing to the door Clarke had been inspecting. "I sent word the night before we left that I would be coming. While she is not expecting you, she will be most pleased to meet you."
Clarke nodded and fell in behind Niylah as the giant door was opened before them. Stepping inside, Clarke saw a vibrant great hall before her. Statues carved out of stone guarded the walls on either side of the room, facing inwards towards the large table at the center of the room. Tapestries hung above the statues, each differing in shades of blue and white. At the far end of the room sat whom Clarke assumed was the Ice Queen. Her throne was carved out of wood much like the one that had been in the Commander's tent the first timer Clarke met her.
"Niylah, it is good to see you," the Queen called out, rising from her throne and walking towards them. The woman was older than Clarke thought, but still had a powerful beauty about her. Scars adorned the Queen's face, though it only worked to heighten the powerful vibe the woman gave off. Clarke could tell she was a very proud woman and wasn't afraid to stand tall and show it.
Niylah knelt to the ground and Clarke mirrored the motion. "It is good to be back in your presence again, my Queen." Once the Queen was in front of them, Niylah rose back up, Clarke following once again. "Dison laik Klark kom Skaikru."
Clarke watched as the Queen looked her over. She felt miniscule and small beneath the gaze of the Queen. Not knowing what else to do, she stuck out her hand. "Nice to meet you," she said awkwardly, hoping she wasn't breaking some grave cultural norm that would result in losing her hand. Instead, the Queen smiled and grasped her hand with a firm grip.
"Likewise, Clarke. I have heard much about yourself and the Skaikru." The Queen motioned for two nearby Grounders to come to her. "You look like death, so I won't keep you for another moment. The road here can be hard for those who have never taken it before. These two will have you taken to a room and prepare it for you. Rest, and we will talk again when you've regained your color."
Clarke was caught off-guard by the care and gentleness in the woman's voice. For all her strong looks and intimidating demeanor, the Queen was almost comforting when she talked. Clarke looked over to Niylah for confirmation and the woman nodded in approval.
"You do look pretty bad, Clarke. Get some rest and we'll see each other early tomorrow," Niylah reassured her. She walked up and gave Clarke a hug. "Sleep well."
"What about you?" Clarke asked. While she regretted the intimacy the two had shared before they left camp, Clarke still didn't like being separated from Niylah. She had come to trust the woman.
"I have much catching up to do with the Queen," Niylah said, looking over her shoulder.
Clarke had a moment of pause, but seeing the reassurance from Niylah allowed her to accept it. She turned and began following the guards. Just as her back faced the Queen, the woman called out.
"Is that... the Heda's sword?" The Queen asked, curiosity drenched in her tone. "How did you come by it?"
Clarke paused and her hand twitched with the urge to touch the handle. It had become a habit ever since she picked up the sword. "Yes, it is. I saved her life with it." And I plan to kill her with it too. She had enough sense to leave that part out of it, not knowing how forgiving the Queen would be of her bluntness. "I grabbed it after the Pauna had been killed."
"I see," the Queen replied. She bowed her head slightly and the guards resumed walking towards the exit. "Sleep well, Clarke. I look forward to talking to you in the morning."
Clarke nodded in return and followed the Grounders out of the great hall. Exhaustion began to take hold the second she walked out the door. It wasn't long until the men she was following stopped outside of a door in the main hallway and opened it for her. Inside was a simple bed with a few shelves for storage space. Clarke didn't pay them any attention and slung hers and the Commander's sword off her back. The door closed behind her and Clarke dropped the weapons to the ground and shed her boots.
She crawled in under the multitude of blankets on the bed and shivered slightly, realizing how cold she had been. Curling up into a small ball managed to bring some manner of comfort, and Clarke began to feel herself fading fast. The beauty of all the scenery she had seen around came to her mind as she closed her eyes. Soon she drifted off to sleep, dreams of beautiful snow and ice painting beautiful pictures for her to marvel at.
The jeep pulled in and parked near the garage, engine winding down as they killed the engine. Arkadia was a full of life and people were stopping to chat amongst themselves about recent news and happenings as they went about their day. A resounding metal clang signified the gates had been sealed and the guards were back at their posts.
Bellamy watched as Raven, Miller, Monty, Octavia, and Jasper exited the jeep and walked away to do whatever they were tasked to do next. He couldn't bring himself to leave the car, however. His hands shook whenever he loosed his grip on the wheel.
They had just came back from another scouting trip, surveying the land and looking for any scattered supplies from the Ark. For him, the trips had only been about finding Clarke. For the past couple of months he had taken every single mission he could, hoping he would run into her. This time they had gone a bit too far and found themselves on the border to Ice Nation territory.
Raven had warned him not to go any further, but he ignored it. His friend was out there, alone, and he knew how much she was suffering. He felt the same way. Bellamy slammed his hand onto the steering wheel of the car, shaking the vehicle slightly. I had been so stupid, he thought. If only I listened to Raven.
The door to the jeep swung open and familiar curly brown hair came into view. "Gina what are you doing here?" Bellamy snapped. He knew that she would come looking for him, he only wished he had time to compose himself.
"I should ask you the same," Gina replied, a smirk on her face and eyebrows raised. "Did you find her?"
Bellamy shook his head. "No. Nothing, like always," he sighed. Stepping out of the jeep he closed the door and gave Gina a hug, planting a gentle kiss on her head. "I'm beginning to wonder if I'll ever see her again."
Gina grabbed his face and forced him to look in her eyes. "Don't give up hope. She's out there and you'll find her." She returned the kiss with a slight peck on his lips. Gina looked down and saw blood on his shirt and gasped. "Are you hurt?!" she exclaimed.
Bellamy looked down and shook his head, buttoning up his guard's uniform to cover the stains. "It's not mine," he said. "We ran into some trouble with the Ice Nation. Things got out of hand... we did what we had to do." Truthfully he had made a bad call to bring a drunk Jasper with him on the run, figuring it would do him some good. Instead he gets out, pisses at the Ice Nation warriors and nearly gets himself killed in the process.
"Do you wanna talk about it?" Gina asked.
She's too good for me. Bellamy shook his head. "Not right now. Later? I want to walk around and clear my head."
Gina nodded and planted another kiss on his lips. "Okay. I'm here if you need me," Gina replied. He could hear the concern in her voice. "Just don't do anything stupid while you're walking. Oh, and get a new shirt. You stink," she joked as she slid a hand across his face when she passed him on her way to leave.
Bellamy couldn't help but laugh as he watched her walk away. He still didn't know what he did to get so lucky with her. All she wanted was to know how to help him. Some things are better off done alone. Sighing, he walked out into the main yard of Arkadia, looking all around him.
There was a much stricter code of action ever since Pike had been elected Chancellor. Grounders were no longer freely welcome inside the walls. If allowed in, they always had to have an escort with them, watching over every move. Against Abby's wishes, Arkadia was no longer providing medical assistance to Grounders too sick for their own healers to deal with. Lincoln stood the only exception to that rule, as he had been living with them before Pike had been elected.
Bellamy headed for the outer walls as he usually did when he wanted to clear his head. How am I going to explain this to Pike? Oh, who am I kidding. He'll probably applaud me for it. Tensions with the Grounders had already been on thin ice after the betrayal at Mount Weather. The two sides had been passively nipping at each other's throats for several weeks. The tipping point had been discovering Pike and the rest of Farm Station. They had survived brutal and savage attacks to their people by the Azgeda.
Hearing the stories of how the children had been killed infuriated many of the citizens. A few had even tried to attack Lincoln to take out their anger on him, though they had been subdued quickly and sustained more damage than his sister's lover. When word got out that Abby no longer wanted to be Chancellor the idea started to take root for Pike to be elected. He had been anti-Grounder from the start, taking a hard stance against them. He cleaned out and burned the bodies of the Mountain Men and started to get the Mountain up and running again.
Bellamy had been against that from the start. He had nightmares about the decision he, Clarke, and Monty made that day. It was an evil place better left to be opened again, though Pike disagreed. He knew that some form of retaliation was going to come from moving into Mount Weather, he just didn't know when.
Shouting filled the air and Bellamy ran towards it to see what the cause of it was.
"Grounder outside the gate!" One of the guards called out.
Bellamy climbed up a nearby ladder to get a vantage point. At first he couldn't believe it, but standing right outside was Echo. What's she doing here?
One of the guards near Bellamy raised his gun and Bellamy's hand shot out to grip the barrel and forced it to lower. "Lower your weapons!" Bellamy called out. "I know her." He saw nobody making a move to holster their guns and let out a groan. "Open the gate, I'm going out!"
"No way, man. They'll kill you," one of the guards said, gun still raised towards Echo.
"If they try to kill me, shoot them. She's unarmed," he said, annoyance in his voice. "Now open the damn gate." He slid down the ladder and made his way over to the gate. It took another glare in the direction of the guards for the gate to finally start to crack open. Scared of an unarmed Grounder that's surrounded by people with guns; Pike's definitely got them worked up.
Stepping out, Bellamy walked up to Echo. "Glad to see you're doing well," he said. "What are you doing here Echo?" The girl looked winded, like she had been running for a while, but otherwise looked much healthier than the last time he had seen her.
"I bring news," Echo replied, trying to catch her breath. "The Azgeda, my people. They have her."
"Have who?" Bellamy asked. "Who do they have?"
"Clarke," Echo panted. "They have Clarke."