Chapter 17
Luck was not on their side, however. Nia had finally had enough of Troi and was getting ready to head for Polis. Echo and Clarke knew that they were going with her. They couldn't. Clarke knew that if she stepped outside of Azgeda she would be free. That was the one thing that Nia couldn't allow to happen.
Nia would be be leaving in three days, but before she went, she wanted one more fight for Clarke. This time the fight was going to be one-on-one. Clarke knew that she should be worried, but she didn't know who she was drawing for her fight. Ontari was missing as well. Nia kept telling them both that she had other things that she needed to work on. It made Clarke wonder if Ontari had said something to set Nia off. The younger woman was starting to question things about what she knew, but it still wasn't out in the open. But, Clarke knew that she was cracking.
Three days after their impromptu hike/run through the wilderness outside the village, Ontari had changed their moments together. She no longer beat on Clarke. At first, Clarke could only wonder if she was going to start using a weapon instead. She didn't though. Ontari actually gave her a stool to sit on. She wanted to talk. She wanted to have a discussion. There were things that she wanted to know about Skaikru and Wanheda. Clarke wasn't sure what it meant, but looking back on it now, she knew that Ontari was fishing for information on what to do with those in Skaikru should Lexa succeeded in getting them to join the Kongeda even thought Clarke wasn't there to make sure it happened.
Clarke knew that if they were the newest and thirteenth clan, Kane and her mother would have been playing nice with the other eleven clans. They would have stayed away from Azgeda, probably at Lexa's urging. The more that they talked, the more she realized that Ontari was worried how they would react to Clarke being Wanheda and not being found.
She remembered that Nia had issued a ransom. Winter had passed and no one had seen her. Nia had kept her in Azgeda and only a select few from other clans had been there to see her fight. Nia was trying to be strategic with her knowledge and the news of Wanheda. She was going to use against Lexa. She would tell all the clans that she did what Heda could not. She'd conquered Wanheda and now, she was a member of Azgeda. Clarke knew that without proof no one from Skaikru would believe Nia's words. Ontari was going to be her proof. She was getting closer to Clarke so that she could pretend to have Clarke's knowledge. So, Clarke knew that she couldn't give Ontari any information to use against them. She would have to give her enough for Ontari to let Kane or her mother know that she was alive and that Nia couldn't be trusted.
So, Clarke was now spending her time trying to figure out how to give her mother a message without cluing Nia or Ontari into her ploy. She knew, thanks to Echo, that Ontari knew about Jake and how he died. Clarke decided that it was how she would tell her mother and get her message out to the rest of Skaikru. The only problem was that she wouldn't be able to control how they reacted to the message.
This is how Clarke found herself alone with Ontari. They weren't in a training area of the barracks. They weren't in a prison cell. They weren't even in Clarke's "guest" room. They were in a lavishly decorated room with two fireplaces. There were antlers all over one of the walls; there were various furs on another. It would have been a huntsman's paradise. All it did was make Clarke uncomfortable.
She was sitting at a table. The table had a small feast set upon it. She recognized the meat as some sort of elk or high country type of deer. There were some preserved winter vegetables along with some early spring roots and edible plants. SHe was trying to idenitfy them all when she saw Ontari coming back to the table with a huge tankard of drink and two cups. Clarke's plate was empty, so she was wondering what game Ontari was going to play. Would she withhold food until she got an answer she liked? Or, was she going to try to get Clarke drunk off her ass on some Azgeda mulled wine?
Ontari poured them both big mugs of wine from the tankard. Clarke just watched amazed as Ontari placed all her favorites on a plate before bringing it her. It made her realize how much Ontari had been watching her even when Clarke might not have clocked it. She knew that she had to be extra careful. Ontari didn't miss anything, and while she'd been lying to Echo about certain things, she wondered how many of her lies that Ontari believed.
"I wish to speak with you. I want to know more about your people. I am afraid of how they will react when we get to Polis."
"Why are you worried about them so much?" Clarke countered.
"I have thought about what you said to me," Ontari started and then paused. It was like she was trying to gather her thoughts fully before speaking again. When she found the words, she looked up from her plate and into Clarke's questioning blue eyes. "You said that Lexa couldn't have killed my family."
"I did."
"I believe you," Ontari stated.
"Why?"
"It is like you said. She was too young to be there. I might not be the smartest because of how Nia raised me, but I can do simple things like that. She would have been barely six winters or so when the attack happened. I snuck into the palace archives while Nia was with the leader of Blue Cliff."
"And?"
"It was as you said. It had to have been Nia's forces. I was just a boon from the raid. They razed the entire village and only left me alive. There has been no one to tell me otherwise. And, those that could have would have lied for Nia to keep up the ruse."
"It was self-preservation," Clarke added.
"Yes," Ontari said. "Nia is in the habit of destroying those that oppose her. You are a rare exception."
"Why me?" Clarke inquired.
"You are the back up plan," Ontari told her truthfully.
Clarke looked around the room. She wondered why the guards were going to come in and take her away. What Ontari said, if Clarke continued, was treason. Ontari was Nia's pet. So, that's the game, then, Clarke thought as she reached for her wine. She took a small sip. She'd learned her lesson in the deepest parts of winter when she didn't heed Echo's words. She cast another glance to the door as she sat her mug down on the table. She didn't dare touch her food, yet. She wasn't sure if it was poisoned or just a ploy to get her to open up more. She would wait for Ontari.
"You do not have to worry about the guard. They are not outside my door listening. I have been at Nia's side for so long that she does not question me. I have never really been outside of Troi since I was taken either. She has kept me in the palace. It has only been in the last few seasons that she has even let me travel. Having you here has afforded me more freedoms that I did not know I was even missing," Ontari explained as she picked up her fork. "Eat."
Clarke was still hesitant, but she picked up her fork. Memories of the food in Mount Weather came back. She closed her eyes and will the memories away. When she opened them, she saw Ontari studying her hard. She had her fork to her mouth, but she wasn't looking at her plate as her eyes locked with Clarke's. She slowly took the bite, still watching, and chewed it slowly. Clarke couldn't tell if it was because she was exaggerating the action or that was just how she ate. It did little to calm Clarke, but she knew better than to refuse food. The blonde look back down at her plate and picked some root vegetable.
"Like I was saying, you were right."
"Okay, so what does that prove?" Clarke asked. "And, why are you speaking to me in English? Why aren't you using Trigedasleng?"
"Would you rather I use that? I just figured that this would be easier for you. It is your natural language."
"Native language or mother tongue," Clarke corrected.
"Why would it be your mother's tongue?"
"It isn't. It's just a saying. But, you are correct. It is my first language, but it isn't the only one I speak."
"You know many languages?" Ontari questioned.
"In space, like on the Ground, we were made of twelve nations. I guess you could call them clans. Each of those clans had their own language, but when the stations all came together to become one, the people came together and decided that English would be the language that we all used."
"English is what you call Gonasleng?"
"Sha," Clarke answered.
"Will you tell me more about the stars?"
"What is there to tell you, Ontari? It is cold. There is no air up there. We lived in a tin can that recycled it just so we could breathe," Clarke started. "And, while you can see the stars from the ground, it was very similar in the sky. We were just floating among them. We still couldn't touch them. They are still too far away, but it was like living in the night all the time."
"It is like that further north. Past the ice breaks and the mountains, there is a place where the sun does not sink past the horizon in the summers and it barely rises in the winter. We have gona that speak of it. They come the harshest lands of Azgeda, so they fight harder to stay closer to Troi and the southern villages. Only a few go back, and they are very hearty. They make those that you have met look weak. They are also very pale and very hairy."
"I would imagine so. They would need it to survive. Are there any in the guard that I would know?" Clarke decided to ask her.
"A few, I believe, but they usually stay to the outer parts of the palace."
"Ah," Clarke said as she finally took a bite of her food.
She'd been waiting. If Ontari understood why, she didn't let on. But, Clarke had surmised that if the food was posioned that Ontari would already be showing symptoms. She wasn't, so Clarke began to eat in earnest. As she ate though, she wondered if being immune to certain poisons was part of being a natblida. Clarke knew that Lexa healed faster than normal, but did that mean that they burned off the poisons faster? Would she have lighter symptoms and that was the only way that she knew she'd been poisoned? Clarke looked back down at her plate and then up at Ontari again. Waiting had been a good idea, but the food was delicious. She wasn't going to waste it if she wasn't going to die from eating it. A stomach ache she'd handle.
"You told me once that your father was dead."
"He is."
"And, your mother?"
"I believe she is still alive, but I don't know for sure."
"You left them all behind?"
"I did," Clarke stated and put her fork down.
"You are worried for them?"
"Of course, I am. I worry about them all the time, but there is nothing that I can do for them here. It was selfish of me, I know that, but I left because I needed to. I wasn't expecting to end up as a guest of Azgeda," Clarke answered.
"No, I suspect you did not. If you had, you would have gone to greater links to have stayed hidden. But, you are here now, and Nia is ready to make her moves against Lexa. Do you think that your people will side against us or with us?" Ontari questioned.
"I don't know. I'm not there. It will depend on what deals and treaties that Lexa and the Trikru have formed with Skaikru," Clarke told her. "I for one wouldn't have minded joining a clan."
"But, you have," Ontari countered.
"I didn't join Azgeda. I was forced to Azgeda. I fight to survive, to live, to eat, to breathe, to stay clothed. None of that is at my own leisure. I'm still here only because Nia thinks she has use for me. Like you? You are still alive and doing her bidding because she commands it. With both know what would happen if you didn't," Clarke stated. "It would be more than your head, but then again, she's already taken your family. She has nothing to hold over you any more. Why do you stay?"
"Not all of us have somewhere to go," Ontari lamented.
"No, but you do have options. You are still a Night Blood. I am sure that Lexa would make exception for you in Polis if you wished. But, you don't. You like staying in Azgeda," Clarke guessed at the truth and saw Ontari's face change. "You like what you have here. You don't want to be Head."
Ontari scoffed. Clarke picked up her mug again and took another drink. She reminded herself no more than two mugs. She wasn't going to let Ontari get her drunk and ask her questions. She had a very bad habit of telling the truth, painful and not, while drunk. She would say too much.
"You know that you won't be Heda long. Well, you will, but you'll be a puppet. She'll kill Titus for just being there. She isn't going to let him influence you in any way. She needs you to stay the good little pet that you are. Don't you see that? She isn't going to let you just rule and still usurp her power. She'll let you sit on the throne, but she'll be the one calling the shots. You'd might as well move the throne to Troi for all she'll let you sit on it. You'll be the mouthpiece and the leader of her armies as she takes what she wants in the Kongeda. But, what she fails to realize is that the people will stand up to you and to her. Most of those alive today may not remember the Heda kom Sangeda, Sheidheda, but there are still a few around that remember his reign. They will end you and go for her and her line next to make sure that no one from Azgeda could rule again. And, when Nia and you both fall, Azgeda will be at the mercy of Blue Cliff, Rock Line, and Sangeda. Do you think that they are going to treat the people fairly?"
"No."
"So the biggest thing that you must do is make sure that you have great relations with those clans, Ontari. Because I have no doubt that Nia will make sure that you take the throne when you get to Polis. It may be by dubious means, but she will make sure it happens."
"Do you think that they would side with me?" Ontari inquired.
"It depends on how you are going to rule. If you rule like Nia, probably not. If you rule in your own way and try to help the people, then they might see something in you to follow," Clarke explained. "But, the first thing you have to do is overthrow Lexa and earn her throne and the Flame. Titus isn't just going to hand it over. And, even though the law is written for you to be able to challenge Lexa, I don't think that it will be a good idea. She is Heda for a reason."
"I know that," Ontari quipped.
"Have you ever thought to talk to her? Maybe write her a letter and explain who you are? She let Luna live. She might let you as well," Clarke mused. "The only problem with that is that you'd be trading one prison for another. Titus would demand your head because he is fool and doesn't understand that change is needed. Lexa won't let you leave Polis once you're there. And, it would upset her that you were given the same opportunity as the rest of the Night Bloods. She would demand that you be given your birthright. Only problem is that you should have been in her conclave and you weren't. Those children would be at your mercy. And, as much as they all spout off that 'Love is Weakness,' everyone of them, every joken single one of them loves the others."
"What does that mean?"
"All those children, those Night Bloods, are Lexa's legacy. They are her family. She would die for them just like she would die for you. She would die for any of her people if she knew that it meant they were safe and cared for, that it would mean their continued survival. Would Nia do that for you? Would you do that Nia? Or, better yet, Strikheda, would you do that for the kongeda?"
Ontari was quiet. She didn't know what to say. And, Clarke realized that she was ranting. She had cause to, but she wasn't sure that it was the right way for her to try to sway Ontari to betray Nia at the Council or with Lexa.
Clarke scoffed at her own thoughts. She picked up a piece of meat with her fingers and ate it. She licked the juices off her fingers and raised her emotional blue eyes to meet the contemplating brown of Ontari's. She knew then that the girl was scared. Of what, she wasn't even sure that Ontari knew that answer to that question. But, she could see the resolve in her eyes. She had no choice but to follow Nia to Polis and be part of this coup against Lexa. She just didn't see anyway out that didn't cause her death. And, unfortunately, that wasn't going to matter.
"It doesn't matter anyway."
"Why is that?"
"Can you read and write?" Clarke asked quizzically as she thought more on how she was going to tell Ontari about Praimfaya.
"No, I was never taught. It wasn't needed. I am warrior, not a scribe."
"Ah, well, how do you read a map then?"
"It is all pictures and I memorize what is where so I don't get lost," Ontari quipped back in her own defense.
"That's fair. I made a crude map while I was in the woods. Don't know how accurate it was, but it helped me to stir clear of some areas that I knew I needed to avoid," Clarke said, then realized that she'd digressed from her point. "The reason I'm asking that is because Night Bloods are taught to read both in Gonasleng and in Trig. This is because as the leader, as Heda, they will need to understand the reports that are sent to them. Especially those that aren't meant for other eyes. Nia didn't teach you this for a reason. If she had, you would have already known about your family."
"It matters not now," Ontari replied.
"No, I guess not, but she has put you at a disadvantage. You will now be beholden to her or to someone that she deems worthy enough to read your correspondences, dispatches, and letters. You will have absolutely no privacy in that regard. And, we both know that whomever she leaves with you will report it all back to her."
Ontari stopped eating. She realized how much of a pawn she was now in Nia's scheming. She was raised to hate Lexa and to want a throne that she would never have power over. She wasn't going to be anything more than Nia's plaything, and it was all because of her blood. She'd been robbed not only of her family but her only real true chance at her actual birthright as a Night Blood.
"Write your mother a letter. Explain what happened to you and that you are safe. I will carry it to her, and make sure that she gets it privately."
"And, why should I trust you?" Clarke demanded.
"Because you are Wanheda and you would call for my death."
"I could do that anyway," Clarke quipped back at her.
"Then, fight me. In the Pits, fight me. Prove to me that you are the better fighter and I will find a way once in Polis to save both our peoples."
Clarke cocked an eyebrow at her. Ontari wanted to fight her. She wasn't sure that it was a good idea, but she'd put herself in this corner. And, like a tiger, she'd fight her way out. She just hoped that it didn't cause her death.
"I've called for everyone's death in a few months, Ontari. By the summer's end, the Earth will be no more and there is nothing that anyone can do. We will all die. Nia can't command this. Not even I can. Maybe that is why I am here. I have to find a way to actually stop this from happening," Clarke stated, not realizing that she was thinking out loud. "Maybe that is the issue. I have to find a way to stop Praimfaya."
Ontari looked on as Clarke got lost in her thoughts. She knew what Praimfaya was. All Grounders did. It was the fire that raged after the bombs fell that ended the Old World. It ravaged the lands. It took years before things were able to grow in some areas. That is why the clans were where they were. And, Wanheda herself said that it was coming back, there was no stopping it, that by summer's end all would be lost.
"Let me tell your mother you are alive, so that when your Praimfaya rains down upon the ground, she will know and can go into her death knowing."
Clarke nodded. She looked at Ontari and understood her pain. She couldn't take it from her. She couldn't take it from herself.
"Fight me. Write the letters to your mother and whomever else you wish. I will deliver them."
"Why do you want to fight me?"
"To prove my loyalty to Nia," Ontari stated as she stood. "As long as I keep doing things as I have always, she will have no idea what I am doing while in Polis. I will make these alliances. I will try to stop the coup. I will speak to Lexa, but I am only one person."
"So was Lexa," Clarke replied and stood up as well. She grabbed her mug and held it up, "To unlikely friendships at the end of the world."
"To unlikely friendships at the end of the world," Ontari toasted back. "I will take you back to your rooms, now. Tell no one about our discussion. Not even Echo. She cannot know what we have somewhat planned."
"I won't," Clarke agreed.
"I will do what I can to make sure that it is not Ledo that stays behind, but I am afraid that Nia has already selected him."
"Either way, I will deal with him," Clarke assured her.
"I am sure that you will, Wanheda. For now, go. We will talk again after our fight," Ontari told her as she walked Clarke to the door of the room to escort her back through the palace to the "guest" room that Clarke was staying in.
