Chapter 16
Weeks went by much like the rest. She would train for the most part with Echo. Ontari would visit and beat her. They would talk during the beatings, too. It was a strange arrangement. She knew that it was meant to be torture and for a way for Ontari to try to get something to hold over Clarke. Unfortunately, Clarke had a tendency to zone out. She'd already suffered so much through out her lifetimes that Ontari's torture meant nothing to her. But, Ontari seemed to be getting something out of it, so Clarke let it go. She knew better than to push the smaller, darker warrior. Ontari was about as stable as liquid nitroglycerin. Clarke never knew who she was going to get, but it seemed that the more they talked, the more Ontari began to question her life, upbringing and Nia's teachings. She didn't want to say it was a full win, but she marked it in her imaginary win column. She knew that she needed all the help that she could get. And, while Ontari wasn't on her list of people to try and save, she did want to understand her better.
And, that was a problem for Echo. Clarke had a list of people that she wanted to save. The spy knew that she felt for the losses of Farm Station, but honestly there was nothing that she could have done to save them. She knew that they fell into Azgeda, but it wasn't like she could have hiked into the snowy mountains and escorted them back to Trikru en Arkadia. She would have to find a way to make sure that they were welcomed in later lives, or find a way for Raven and Sinclair to change their trajectory. She knew it wasn't going to be easy, but Clarke had to let it go. She couldn't focus on what she couldn't change. Echo had to make sure that she stayed focused on surviving the Pits.
Echo wasn't stupid though. She knew that with each win Nia was getting more and more antsy about Clarke's growing legend. The blonde was getting so good at it that most of the gladiators didn't want to fight her. Instead, Nia kept pushing people that she deemed criminals into the Pits. She wasn't willing to let Clarke go. She was still trying to break Clarke, but Clarke just wasn't going to break.
Echo had been to meetings with both Nia and Ontari. Nia would ask how Clarke was doing. Echo would tell her about the training that they were doing and how she was progressing. Nia always smiled at these, unnerving Echo, but she never showed any discomfort. Ontari spoke of how she spoke in different languages. She spoke that she found out her father's name was Jeik kom Skaikru. He was smart and dead. Ontari had pushed but she couldn't find out more about Clarke's family. Not knowing any other way to push her, Ontari asked about lovers and found out that she hadn't been with anyone. Echo wasn't sure that she liked where this was going, but knowing that Nia hadn't broken her, she feared what was going to happen to Clarke. The longer that they would meet, the more that Echo knew they had to plan a way to get Clarke out of Azgeda.
Spring was now upon them. They could actually go outside and spar for longer periods. Clarke was actually not cold. It was an odd sensation for her, but she welcome seeing the sun more often. She also liked being outside and seeing trees and other forms of life in nature. If she could spend more time outdoors, she would. Clarke loved everything that Earth had to offer, and she was upset that she wasn't going to get that much time in it all before Praimfaya hit. It made her miss the home that she'd built with Madi in Eden.
"Nia is going to try something soon," Echo told her as she watched her on bow range field.
"When isn't she?" Clarke countered.
"No, I mean I think that she is going to try something against Lexa."
"Again, when isn't she?"
"That is true, Klark, but she's been seeing the leaders from other clans."
"She's a leader, Ekou. She's allowed to see them. Any good leader would," Clarke told her.
"But, we know what type of leader that Nia is. Do you think that she is bringing them here for something good? We both know that she isn't."
"She's bringing them here to talk to them. She's trying to find out who she can align with and expect to back her when she makes her play, Ekou. She is smart, but she has something that Lexa doesn't," Clarke stated.
"And, what's that?"
"Me."
"You think that she is going to finally use you against Lexa?" Echo questioned.
"I do. She's been make the fights more concentrated against me. More than two fighters against me. She was showing me off to people from other clans. Jok, I wouldn't doubt if she didn't have Titus here, too. She needs to make Leksa look like a fool and I'm the biggest way to do that. I brought down the Maun. I am the one that end the ripas and all their reaping. Leksa might have been there, but she left with all those from inside. She struck a deal with the Maumon and left Skaikru to die. Instead of us dying, I destroyed the Mountain. I did what Leksa couldn't do and Nia is going to exploit that."
"She's going to challenge Leksa for the Throne of Heda," Echo concluded.
"She is. She will take Ontari with her. She'll want her 'contender' to be there for her. She'll also find a way to get to Roan."
"Why Roan?"
"He is still her heir. And, since blood is still a big thing to most of the clans, she can't just dismiss him completely without reason. If he loses to Leksa, she still has Ontari. She believes that Ontari is capable of killing Leksa," Clarke answered.
"And, if Roan wins?"
"Then, she'll push him on Ontari to link them together. Or, she'll do the unthinkable since Leksa would be dead. Titus and all the Fleimkepas will demand a conclave. The clans will back it. But, Nia can't leave it to chance. She'll have to make sure that Ontari becomes the next Heda or she could be punished. She will need to make sure that there aren't anymore natblidas."
"She'll blame Roan for the natblidas deaths and have him executed to take the blame for something that she or Ontari would do?"
"Yeah, she would. She doesn't care for Roan. He is like you. He loves Azgeda and will do everything that he can for it. He doesn't support his mother's tyranny. If he defeated Leksa, he would have power. If Ontari sided with him over Nia, she would be in trouble to hold the crown of Azgeda. She's been playing the long game and now, she has the upper hand. But, she needs something to push Leksa over the edge."
"And, that is where you come in?" Echo inquired.
"Exactly. She's going to hold me over Leksa's head. She won't reveal that I'm a natblida, too. If she does, it will make Ontari's rise harder. So, she can't take me with her. She has to do something that she knows that Ontari will go along with."
"Meaning?"
"She's had Ontari asking me questions about my family. I've given her some things, but not enough to convince anyone in Skaikru that she's truly taken the power of Wanheda. Nia is going to present Ontari as the person who took my power. Leaving me behind, and probably you, I can't be seen. I can't be there or I might bring more people over to following Wanheda. She needs Ontari to not have any competition. She needs the clans to see her as the new Heda and there can't be anything, including me, that stands in that way," Clarke explained.
"But, what about your people?"
"What about them, Ekou? We both know that Nia wants them dead. Again, that is something that I can't change. Nia will find a way to to do it," Clarke told her. "If Leksa hasn't already added them somehow to the Kongeda over the Winter, she'll try to because of me. She will do this as an apology for leaving, even when I told her to go to save her people. Three people know that information, and forgive me, I will tell no one in Azgeda who those people are."
Echo nodded. It all made sense. Nia had played them both. She was using them both to get what she wanted. Echo was just a means to her wanted end. The spy understood that. She knew that she was always someone that Nia used to advance her power. She'd never denied that. But, to see that Nia was actually holding her against her beliefs in Wanheda to further Ontari, Echo was livid. She'd fight for Azgeda. She'd do most of what Nia asked of her. Sometimes it wasn't how Nia wanted her to do, but she still got the job done and kept herself in Nia's good graces.
"Ekou?"
"Chit?" (What?)
"You okay?"
"I'm fine, but we should be working on your spear combat training now. We both know that Nia isn't going to stop the fights even if she heads to Polis and leaves you here. She'll want you to keep fighting and on edge. She'll leave someone she trusts above me to make sure that it happens."
"Who do you think that is?" Clarke questioned.
"It would have to be one of her top generals. It would have to be someone that she trusts completely, and it would have to be one of them that she knows wouldn't betray her. It can only be one of three men and it has to be one that she can be without in Polis. So, that rules out her personal guards and the generals of the Royal Guard. I can say that she will want Ivor to go with her to help temper Ontari. So, that leaves two."
"Who?" Clarke asked.
"Either Igen or Lidou."
"And, should I be worried about them?"
"Sha."
Clarke nodded. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to say to that. If Echo was worried about them being under the rule of General Igan or Ledo, then Clarke was worried, too. She knew that they would have to do things like they had always. They would have to be careful. She knew that whichever general was staying behind would be reporting everything that happened back to Nia when she returned.
"Which one would you want to be the one that Nia leaves behind?" Clarke probed, hoping that she could somehow be as prepared as she could be for what was coming. "You have to prefer one over the other, right? You've dealt with them both before?"
"I have."
"So?" Clarke pushed.
"Either would be bad, but if I have to chose, I would go with Igen. Lidou is just as bad as Nia can be. He's sadistic on and off the battlefield. And, he isn't known to be kind to women. There are rumors that he has children through out Azgeda, but no women would come forward against him. He is one of the few that I make myself scare around," Echo told her. "To be honest, if he is in Court with Nia, I find reasons to not be in Troi."
Clarke understood what she was saying, but they both knew that they had no control over who Nia would pick. They could only hope. Clarke moved closer to Echo and looked into her eyes. Clarke could tell that Echo had had some sort of bad interaction with the General Ledo. This only made Clarke more resolute to make sure that this man didn't hurt either of them.
While Clarke was starting to trust Echo more and see more of the woman behind the mask of being a spy, she wasn't willing to let Echo get hurt. If this man was a known problem, Clarke was going to devise a way to deal with him should he be left in charge. The more she thought about it, the more ugly her thoughts turned. It was a problem for her. There were people in every lifetime that she wanted to kill personally. There were people that she knew no matter how many chances they were given would fuck up. And, people that were like this General Ledo weren't on any list of hers to protect and make sure made it into a bunker and into the valley of Eden after Praimfaya. Again, her mind accepted her fate as Wanheda as she planned to "deal" with Ledo. Echo might be her fos, her capture, and her keeper, but she was becoming a friend.
Echo looked at her. She saw the resolve in Clarke's eyes. She knew that the blonde was planning something. She knew that it was probably something stupid and that would get them killed, but depending on what it was, Echo was planning on going along with it anyway. She wasn't willing to let Clarke die in Azgeda if she could help it. It was one of the reasons that she pushed Clarke so hard while they were training. She wanted her prepared.
"Take up a spear," Echo told her.
Clarke selected one of them. She knew that they were going to continue training. She still didn't favor a spear when she went into the Pits. She that Echo was right though. She had to prepared to use whatever weapons were at her disposal. She had mastered the bow. She was good enough with a sword and a long dagger to make most warriors think twice before coming for her. Axes and spears were heavy and cumbersome to her. So, now, Echo pushed those the most. She reminded Clarke that shield were good if you could find one, but most Grounders only carried one when they were sieging. And even then, it was only to protect the main part of the sieging army. Shields, while useful, were made for a wall.
"I could just use a fayagon," Clarke quipped as she spun the spear in her hands and turned to face Echo more fully.
"You could, but I doubt that you would find one."
"I know where to get one if I need it."
"Well, don't let Ontari or Nia know that. They will expect you to get them and then train the army on how to use them. It would just give Nia a bigger advantage against the other clans. But, it wouldn't be honorable either. We don't use fayagons," Echo told her.
Clarke took the chiding words for what they were. She knew that Echo wasn't going to let her fight without honor. She was always pushing the honorable side of being Wanheda and fighting. Sometimes Clarke would be so sick of it that she would strike at Echo. She'd end up on her butt and made to run in the morning, but it was just how they worked. Echo dealt with Clarke's attitude and words like one would a child. If Clarke was being too unrulely, she'd take away the one thing that Clarke loved the most: bow target training. So after a few months in each other's company and as fos en sekken, Clarke knew when to actually hold her tongue and when to quip back at the slightly older woman and spy. Today was no different.
Echo spun the spear she'd taken from the rack and lunged at Clarke. The blonde dodged the strike and turned. She used the butt of the spear to hit Echo on the butt. When Echo turned around again to make another offensive strike, Clarke was smiling. Echo just shook her head. She knew that the blonde enjoyed their time outside while they sparring.
"This isn't supposed to be fun, Klark," Echo admonished her.
"I can't help that I like moving outside in the sunshine."
Echo stopped at that. She actually stood up and leaned on the spear she was holding. Clarke just smiled harder. They were always both surprised when Clarke managed to catch Echo off guard, be it with words or weapons. Echo wasn't really worried about Clarke in the Pits anymore. She was worried about her after. The fact that Clarke could still play with Echo, even during sparring and training, meant that she was dealing with the fights. Clarke hadn't become callous. She was still effected, but she'd gotten better at hiding it.
Echo kept tabs on her with the guards that watched her room at night. They'd told her that the nightmares weren't so often now. She didn't call out any names in the night that they recognized. (Not that they would.) On nights that there were no screams, Echo would find Clarke near the hearth, wrapped into furs, curled into a ball with a big bottle of alcohol. She could tell that those nights Clarke had been hurting. She knew that she could talk until she couldn't with Clarke, but it would only do so much. So, as things started to ease, Echo made sure to show up earlier in the mornings to check on her well-being. It didn't hurt that Clarke was starting to detach from it all. For Echo, it was to be expected.
"Missed it in the snows, did you?"
"Seeing it in the winter isn't the same. It reminds me of space. We could see the sun, but it wasn't warm. Imagine being surrounded by black with pin pricks of stars as you are constantly staring down at the planet that your people came from just before the bombs. The air is cold and dry. It is recycled and has a smell that I can't describe. The temperature is regulated, the water rationed, and everything is repurposed. Food is a paste that is made from plant based items and synthesized proteins, again, plant based, and if it isn't a paste or porridge consistency, it was a bar made of the same things. It was tasteless but it fueled our bodies and kept us running. Clothes were 97 years old. They were sewn up and patched from other clothes. When you died, your clothes and boots were taken to help someone that was still living. So forgive me, if I still find the warmth of the sun and the refreshment of the rain fascinating."
Echo nodded. She put the spear up on the rack. She reached out for Clarke's. The blonde cocked her eyebrow at her, but after a few seconds, Clarke handed over the spear that she'd been using. Echo then looked her up and down. Clarke assumed that Echo was cataloging what Clarke was wearing.
"You still have your vambraces?" Echo questioned as she smiled.
"Nia didn't think that I could hurt anyone with them. Little does she know," Clarke replied. "I've also been good and not used them against Ontari."
"Well, keep doing that. The more armor that you can keep, the easier it will be for us to get you out when the time comes. For now, though, go grab two skins of water and meet me over there by the gate," Echo commanded.
"We going somewhere?"
"For a run outside the city," Echo replied and watched Clarke smile larger.
