The orange hue of the twilight sky reflected off the trees surrounding Clarke as she tugged the reins of her horse. The animal came to a halt happily after several hours of riding. She had taken a couple of stops to not only rest the horse, but herself as well. Each time she dismounted the horse got a little more difficult. Her thighs, unused to the abuse of riding a horse, were chaffed and sore. The familiar sound of roaring water filled the air around her, bringing back a sense of nostalgia for her. The road away from home brought her here. She thought it only fitting that she at least stop there on her return.
Clarke stretched her stiff legs as gingerly as she could. The movement was painful, but also brought a bit of relief after she released the tension. Somewhat relieved, Clarke gripped the reins and walked toward the shoreline. This place reminded her so much of all the pain she endured when she first found it. Only looking at it with healed eyes could she appreciate the beauty before her. Densely packed tree filled the area. Their leaves bristled in the wind, adding to the gentle roar of the waterfall to provide a blissful song of nature. It truly is wonderful here, she admired.
She found a tree close enough to the water and tied the rope to some low hanging branches. The horse happily drank from the river and Clarke joined soon after. Her eyes glanced in the direction of the waterfall. Behind the rushing water had been her temporary home, her safety. Clarke took a glance at the dimming sky and sighed. It would have to house her for one more night still, at least until it was light enough for her to travel again.
Clarke rose from her knees and gently trekked her way over to the waterfall. As she got closer the outlines of the hidden alcove behind it became slightly clearer. She paused for a single moment at the bank of the stream, readying herself for the cold, then plunged in. A small gasp escaped her lips at the bite of the cold water. The feeling only lasted for a second and soon a wave of relief passed over her. The frigidness of the water soothed her aching thighs. Clarke waded over to the edge of the waterfall, holding her hands up to protect her eyes from the plummeting water next to her. She reached her left hand out and felt the edge of the hideout and grasped it tightly. She pulled herself towards the ledge, and once flush up against it, hoisted herself up onto the flat slab above.
Water dripped off of her and fell to the cold, hard surface below. I was such a fool, she thought. Rumbles emerged from her stomach just from the memory of the hunger she experienced while here. Leaving camp on her own hadn't been her smartest move. Her gaze fell to the floor as a sad smile crept onto her face. For the first time she thought of all the others back home and how the had it hard too. Monte and Bellamy had helped her destroy the Mountain Men, yet she left them in the dust out of selfishness. Bellamy didn't even seem angry when we saw each other. She knew that there would be much to make up for when she returned.
Clarke gazed through the water falling before her and could barely make out the dying rays of daytime. Going on further wouldn't be the smartest move at the moment. The ride from Polis had also drained her of energy, and even now Clarke felt herself easing into a resting position. She briefly entertained the idea of pulling out the radio in her pack to test it out. It only took a second of contemplation to talk herself out of it. Trying to contact anyone on it was too dangerous. She didn't know the frequencies that were being used. If someone wanted to try and contact her, they would. For now, she needed to get some sleep.
Clarke slung her pack off her shoulders and dropped it to the floor. Not the comfiest, but it will have to do. She eased herself gently down and lay her head on the makeshift pillow. As she got comfortable, her eyes fell on a small pile of twigs and ashes that had once been her fire. The spot where the boar had sliced her leg open itched slightly at the thought. She gently rubbed the area and closed her eyes. One last night on her own. Tomorrow, she would finally be home, in whatever state it was in.
The rushing sound of water stirred Clarke awake. Rays of sunshine broke through the various gaps in the falling mists in front of her. Clarke sat up gently, stretching her stiff back. What her hideout provided in safety it lacked in comfort. A few twists from side to side produced some satisfying pops from her joints and she felt some measure of relief. From the small amount of sun she could see, Clarke guessed it was early morning. A slight chill was in the air and Clarke tossed up her hood to keep warm.
Ready to move, Clarke slid off the ledge and into the water below. Instantly any last remnants of sleep were thrust out of her by the rushing cold water. I'll never get used to that, she thought as she made her way towards the embankment. She was relieved to find her horse still tied to the tree, patiently waiting. The animal seemed to perk up a bit at the sight of her. She hoped everyone else would be as happy to see her. A short walk had her at the horse and Clarke ran her fingers over its soft hide. "I'm sorry I had to leave you tied up all night, buddy," she whispered, patting the horse gently. "We'll find you a nice stable when we get back to camp."
It only then hit her that she didn't know what to expect when she returned. When Clarke had left Camp Jaha, Arkadia now, it was still a camp just getting its footing. Who knows what changes her long absence had brought about. Clarke reached for the reigns and started to untie her knot. "Ok, let's be on our way." The horse jumped back when she reached for the ropes and Clarke backed away slowly. "Shhhh, it's okay. I'm just going to untie you. You're okay."
Crack! Branches behind her snapped. Shit! Clarke screamed internally. She reached for her sword until she heard a loud thud to her right. Glancing over, an arrow sat lodged into the tree right next to her. She eased away her hand from the sword hilt, raising both above her head. Careless, too worried about getting home. She had forgotten that she still held the title of Wanheda, and people would want her.
"Do not move," a male voice boomed behind her.
Clarke stood frozen where she stood. Acting rashly would not help her in this situation. She had the best chance to survive if she just played it cool. If the man behind her wanted her dead, he would have done it already. At least, until he found out who she was. Then she would have to act quickly. Leaves rustled and Clarke could hear the man circling around her. She lowered her head slightly, using the hood to mask her face. With any luck she wouldn't be recognized and the man just wanted the horse. Better to walk home than ride on its back, dead.
The man was at her side now, and she could see the tip of his spear. His hands were strong and tightly wrapped around it. She dare not look any more. Every instinct in her body told her to run. After all of that time in hiding and captivity, she did not want it to all end on a chance encounter in the woods. Luckily for her, the Grounder didn't circle around to see her face.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
Even with the hostility in the man's voice, Clarke felt something... familiar. She couldn't place it. Perhaps she had finally gotten used to someone threatening her, sad as it may be. Clarke pursed her lips and dipped her head down further. She honestly didn't know if she should answer. Any Grounder being this close to Mount Weather didn't make sense to her. Not unless they were hunting something. Or someone.
"Answer me, now," the man seethed. Out of the corner of her eye, Clarke could see the spear raise slightly. "Who are you and why are you here?" He inched a few steps closer and Clarke tensed up even more. "That horse looks like it is from Polis. Fine enough to be one of the Heda's. This is the last time I ask. Who are you?"
Clarke's eyes widened. That voice... She paused for a heartbeat, scared that she might be wrong. No, it has to be him. Clarke raised her head and turned to the man before her, confirming her suspicions. "Lincoln," she sighed as she let her hood fall from her head.
Lincoln stood there with his mouth slightly agape. "Clarke... how... what are you doing here?"
She watched Lincoln lower the spear and she stepped forward. Even though she had seen him somewhat recently, it still felt good to see a familiar face. Her arms raised and drew him into a tight hug. "It's so good to see you," she sighed. After a second, she stepped back and looked at the man she had quickly developed history with. "As for what I'm doing here, well, it's a long story," she began. "Lexa is furious. Pike shouldn't have taken that village."
Lincoln's face instantly drop and Clarke knew he understood. "How long do we have?" he asked gingerly, as if already bracing for the answer.
"That's why I'm here," she replied. Just thinking about everything she needed to explain made her head hurt. So much had changed and yet here she was, still trying to save everyone. "Nia sent an assassin, a nightblood named Ontari, into Polis. All of the nightbloods are dead."
"All... of them?" Lincoln's mouth dropped. "B.. how? How did this happen? Why..." Lincoln stopped for a second. Clarke could see the realization come to his eyes as they widened. His hand loosened and the spear he had been grasping fell to the ground. "She means to take over. Take away all the nightbloods before killing Lexa, and tradition would force the only nightblood left to be Heda." Lincoln bent down and snatched up his spear, sending leaves flying with his swift motion. "Slaying children for selfish ambition. I knew Nia was cruel, but this is low. Even for her. Where is the Commander?"
"You know where," Clarke stated. "She summoned all the armies and marched yesterday." She could only wonder how far Lexa had made it since then. Grounders had proven to move extremely fast, but marching an entire army was another deal entirely. "I'm going to guess you know what Pike did at Polis."
"Yes," Lincoln replied. His face weighed heavily and Clarke felt for him. "We've been monitoring Pike for the past few weeks. Where's the radio that Kane gave Indra?"
Clarke reached behind her and pulled it out of her pack. "She gave it to me before she marched with Lexa," she replied, handing it over to Lincoln. "I was going to use it when I got closer to camp. I didn't know who was listening."
Lincoln took the walkie and gave a small smile. "It's good I found you, then. We think something big is about to happen, but haven't been able to pinpoint what exactly. Pike has been more on edge recently."
Clarke couldn't help but agree. Nia's plan was in full motion. Ontari dying had to be a huge dent to the Ice Queen's plans, however she would be a fool to believe that there weren't contingencies. "Who all is working with you? What leads do you have?" Whatever was about to happen, Clarke knew she couldn't let it happen. Nia wasn't playing games and people were going to get hurt.
"We'll talk more when we get back," Lincoln offered. He brought the walkie up to his face and clicked the button. "Hey guys, found some great food. Looks like we'll be eating well today. Bringing it back now."
"Roger that. See you soon, Lincoln. We're starving."
"Kane?" Clarke guessed. She figured it would be him since he was the one who gave the walkie out.
Lincoln nodded his head as he clipped the walkie onto his waistband. "He's the one organizing everything. Pike never should have been made leader." He motioned to the horse and started walking. "We should get going. Don't want to hang around in the open for too long."
"Where are we going?" Clarke asked, following Lincoln's lead.
Lincoln smiled. "Pike's been using Mount Weather and getting it back up to shape. He views it as some sort of safe place. Where better to plot against him?" He reached up and untied the horses reins and leapt up onto the animal. Once he got a good position, he reached out his hand for Clarke. "Let's get moving."
Clarke took his hand and almost yelped with how swiftly Lincoln pulled her up. While going back into the Mountain was something she didn't look forward to, it made perfect sense. She wrapped her hands around Lincoln's waist and waited to be reunited with her people once again.
Clarke timidly walked through the halls of the Mountain. The last time she had been here, she was on the run from Grounders and tumbled into a pile of all the innocent lives she had extinguished. The place looked cleaner, but she could still feel the death filling up the air. She needed to be brave in this moment, however, for her people and for Lexa. Beneath all those feelings she felt some excitement. Outside of a brief rescue attempt that had been cut short, Clarke had not seen many of her friends and family for months. She just hoped that they would forgive her for running out on them.
"We're almost there," Lincoln said, laying a hand on her shoulder. "Is this your first time being back here?"
Clarke shook her head. "No," she stated. Shivers ran throughout her spine as she recalled feeling the dead bodies all around her. "Before I went to the refugee camp, I was being chased by some Grounders. I escaped through the tunnels and stumbled down into here. The bodies... weren't..." A few tears escaped from her eyes and she quickly wiped them away.
"I understand," Lincoln said, interrupting her. "You don't need to say any more." Besides, we're here." Lincoln stopped outside of a door and knocked a couple of times. A few seconds passed, then Clarke heard a latch unlocking and the door swung open.
Clarke's mouth dropped. Standing before her was her mother. She couldn't muster any words, so she just rushed forward and threw her arms around her mom. Sobs began escaping as she collapsed into the embrace. Droplets of water were hitting her hair and Clarke knew that her mom was crying as well.
Abby was the first to speak. "Clarke..." she muttered, pecking kisses onto her head. "I'm so glad you're safe." A few more kisses were given then her mom cupped her face. "Come here, let me look at you. I'm so sorry, baby. I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you."
"It's okay, mom," Clarke replied back, holding her hands over her mother's. "I needed to leave. It was something I had to go through on my own." She thought back to everything that had happened since she left and couldn't help but laugh. "I could have used without some of the detours. And I was crazy for a little while. I'm still not sure I'm not crazy, but I feel better."
"You're here now, and that's all that matters to me." Her mom brought her in for another tight hug before she stood up straight. "Come inside. I'm sure the others will be happy to see you."
Clarke nodded, and together they both stepped into the room. Sitting there, waiting, were all of her friends. Bellamy, Raven, Octavia, Monte, and Kane. All of them stood up when she entered the room.
Raven was the first to react. "Clarke!" she exclaimed, shoving her seat out of the way and shimmying over. Raven wrapped her arms around her and squeezed tight. "I've missed you."
"We all have," Bellamy chimed in. All of them were gathered around her now, in one group hug.
Clarke's cheeks blushed a little bit. It all felt so cheesy to her. Still, it did feel nice to be back. She felt happier than she had in weeks. "I've missed you all too," she said as everyone backed up to give her space. "I'm sorry that I left. I just... had some things I needed to work out."
"We're still a bit pissed at you, but we understand," Octavia said, moving to Lincoln's side. "Where'd you find her?"
"Underneath a waterfall not far from here," Lincoln replied as he wrapped an arm around Octavia's shoulders.
"Is that where you were hiding?" Kane asked. "We looked everywhere for you. We couldn't find a trace."
"For a while," Clarke replied. She felt a pang of guilt, knowing that everyone had been out looking for her for a long time. "It's not any of your fault you didn't find me. I didn't want to be found." That whole first day had been terror for her. Getting caught would have been crushing for her. "You almost did find me. On the first day, right when you decided to call off the search."
"In the woods?" her mother replied. "Where? I swore I could feel you close by. I just... Kane was right. If we couldn't have found you soon, we would have been out way past dark."
"I was actually right underneath you," Clarke replied, hanging her head. "There was a small gap in the root system that I fit into. I was so scared you would walk another couple feet and see me." Clarke could see her mother's face drop and her heart sank slightly. "Please, don't beat yourself up. Like I said, I needed to not be found." Her mother paused for a bit, but finally nodded. Clarke knew she would need to talk to her mother more later, but for now she needed to get caught up on everything. "So, what do we have on Pike?"
"Not much," Monte replied. He started walking over to a computer bank and everyone followed him. "There are some radios missing, other than the ones we've taken, that aren't accounted for." Monte pulled up some logs from the system and displayed them on the screen. "He's definitely been in the systems here. Checking the status of the life support systems, floorplan, missile systems, radio communications, and pretty much everything else."
"Wait, he's been accessing the missile system?" Clarke asked. If that was true, it spelled bad news for everyone. The last time one of those had been used, it leveled TonDC and nearly killed several of her friends.
"Yes," Monte said uneasily. "We can't tell for what. All I can say is he's been checking on the system's capabilities."
"I've been working on finding a way to shut it down, but found nothing yet," Raven replied. "I tried to tamper with the guidance systems but I can't say for sure if it did anything."
"Whatever Pike is planning, we need to stop it," Clarke stated firmly. "That is why I'm here. Taking that village was a very stupid move by Pike." Several heads in the room nodded and Octavia kicked a nearby locker. "If Lexa wasn't marching on the Azgeda right now, we would have a war on our hands. I convinced her that Pike does not represent all of our people and we can cast him out." She moved next to Monte to face everyone. "She gave me the chance to put a stop to him. Let me be clear, though. If we do not stop whatever it is that he's planning, Lexa is marching straight here after she's done with Nia."
"Then we'll keep working," Bellamy said. He walked up to Clarke's side and rested his hand on her shoulder. "We're all with you on this. Pike has to go." The rest of the group nodded, voicing similar opinions.
Clarke nodded back to all of them. "How are all of you even gathering here?" she wondered. She had to figure if Pike was on edge, he'd want everyone where he could keep an eye on them. And away from Mount Weather, she thought.
"A few of us volunteered to maintain and clean up the place," Kane chimed in. "Specifically Bellamy and Monte. Pike assigned me to oversee them, seeing as I have history and 'rapport' with them." That drew a few laughs from Bellamy and Monte. "Thankfully Pike isn't an all knowing mastermind. Octavia and Lincoln generally come and go as they please. I think Pike likes not having them in camp. Lucky us."
Clarke couldn't help but shake her head. "What about Raven and my mom?"
"That's the easy one," her mother replied. "This place has some of the best medical equipment I've seen. I'm also a doctor and Raven happens to be my patient. Free visits for us anytime I deem it necessary to have a 'checkup' on Raven's spine."
"Which is fine by the way," Raven mumbled with a smirk.
"At least Pike isn't as cunning as Nia," Clarke remarked. It really was fortunate. With this much freedom, they could really put a dent in Pike's plans. She just hoped it would stay that way. "Whatever is about to happen, it's going to happen soon. Let's get to work and make sure there isn't any more tragedy in our lives." The whole group solemnly nodded and gave Clarke a quick shake before wandering off to do their work. Despite the seriousness of their situation, Clarke couldn't stop smiling. She was finally home, and it felt right. Now all she had to do was keep it safe, hopefully for the last time.