Chapter 21

They were leaning against the railing of the training yards. Echo hadn't made her run that morning. It was nearing noon. Clarke knew that they would be heading either to the palace, the barracks, or possibly Huron's smithy to eat lunch soon. She looked up at the sky and itched for some pencils and parchment to draw on. She knew that she could go to the market and find some, but her parchments were for missives and messages to Ontari, Raven, and Octavia.

In the last batch, Echo had even sent one. Clarke hadn't read it, but added it to the one that she'd written for Ontari. What little she did know about it was that Echo had taken to learning "English" slang and the "Ark Code" to write it. She knew, just as well as Clarke, that Ontari read them with Raven and Octavia. Clarke wanted to save the three of them, but they would have to get to Becca's for her to do it.

Clarke had an idea. It wasn't great, but she knew it worked on her. She wanted to give them Night Blood. She knew that Octavia and Raven would take it. Echo might balk about it. And, if she gave it to the three of them, she'd have to give it to Lincoln and others, too. It was risky and they didn't have a lot of time. Plus there was the fact that she had to get into Becca's lab and the manor house. She needed Octavia and Raven to do that. For now, she'd have to settle for just Echo and while the woman was an excellent shot, she didn't know how to use a gun.

Echo was working on crude maps, too. She was drawing them on pieces of fur. Clarke thought it strange until she realized that she was using those furs to make a coat, and not just any coat, but a Clarke sized coat. She was making maps of places to help Clarke escape if they got separated. Echo knew the lay of the land, but Clarke didn't really. She could use these maps as a guide.

"You're not wearing the coat," Echo chastised.

"It's not cold today, Fos," Clarke replied.

"You know the way, then?"

"To where?"

"Our cave?" Echo asked.

Clarke nodded. So, they were going to have a lesson before lunch. Fine by Clarke, she was getting bored. She knew that if Echo was asking, there was reason.

"Lead the way, Sekken," Echo told her.

Clarke nodded and headed away from the training yards. To Echo's surprise, she didn't go straight out of the village to do so. Clarke headed towards the market first. Echo simply cocked her eyebrow at this, but then she realized that Clarke was heading for a trail north of the village. It was a way that they had taken once in their walks, but she hadn't expected Clarke to remember it. It was actually out of the way and most of the warriors didn't know about it. She wondered if Clarke had figured that out. This trail was used by hunter's in the winter and by some fishermen in the spring and summer. Warriors didn't really have a reason to use it because they would head out the main gates of the village, following a general to wherever they were going.

Clarke navigated this trail like she'd been born in Troi. Echo was proud of how quiet she was moving and efficiently, too. After a good while, Echo wasn't surprised when Clarke went off trail and through what little bit of wood line there was. As they moved, Echo pulled her bow off her back and kept an arrow notched. Clarke had pulled her Wanheda dagger. It wasn't that they expecting anything to happen. They were just being prepared.

Within the hour, Clarke was climbing the rock face to get into the cave. Echo followed her up, guarding her flank. When Clarke was inside, she drew her own bow and scouted for Echo.

Echo was proud of her. Clarke was moving more like her. They were acting as a team more than a mentor and trainee. She knew that Clarke didn't want to be a warrior, but she was taking to it wonderfully. She knew that it was mostly for the survival skills, but her ability to act quickly also was helping her learn how to protect her friends and family. She knew that was what Clarke was. She was a protector. Her fighting was precise and deadly, but it was also merciful. She didn't want her foe to suffer. When she made a death blow, she made sure it was quick. So, Echo had come to appreciate her efficiency and her mores.

Once Echo was in the cave, Clarke stayed near the mouth, still on guard while Echo built a small fire. It was just big enough to cook something very small. It wasn't for warmth. Clarke immediately recognized that it was so they wouldn't be giving away their position. It would have little smoke and it was far enough away from the mouth that it wouldn't be seen. There might be a faint smell of burning, but most travelers of the area would just think that it was coming from the village or a nearby farm in the area.

"Ekou?"

"Sha, Klark?"

"Why are we here?"

"I fear what is to come. The letters you've been getting are troubling. I know that we are hoping that Ontari might be able to stop Nia, but we can't count on it to happen. You need to be prepared to run."

"Will you come with me?" Clarke asked.

"Hiding two is harder than one," Echo replied.

"You are my Fos. Where you go, I go. I haven't been released from your tutelage."

"You would be able to survive. That is why I made you that coat. Keep it near you. The maps inside will help you find your way out of Azgeda," Echo told her.

"I know that, seda, but they will punish you for helping me. You have to know that. Nia will ask for your head. She believe that either you helped me or you have lost your way in not seeing that I was going to flee. I don't want your life to be forfeit for mine. I will not stand for that."

"You are more important than I am. You are Wanheda and the world needs you. You command Death," Echo replied.

"Then, I command you to come with me," Clarke demanded staring her down.

"Klark, you can't command me like that. It isn't right and we both know it. If things go the way I think that they might, you have to flee to save your people. You have to get to Reivon and Okteivia. You will have to go north from here and then east. I know that you have spoke about Beka's palace. You should meet them there. From there, do what you must, but do not let Nia win," Echo begged of her.

"I will not go unless you come with me."

"Klark, you will do as I say as your fos," Echo tried.

"You will do as I ask because I am Wanheda."

"You will go without me because you need to save yourself," Echo countered.

"I will not go without you. Regardless of what you say or do, I will not leave your side, Ekou. You would have to kill me first," Clarke told her.

"Klark," Echo tried to argue.

"Do you honestly think that I care what you are about to say, Ekou? Do you? We both know that Nia is a monster. We both know that we have to stop her from actually getting what she wants?"

"Why do you care so much about it when you know that the world is going to end?" Echo asked her.

Clarke stopped. She honestly didn't have an answer for that besides the fact that it was the right thing for the people. She already knew with how things were going in this life that she wasn't going to be able to save Lexa. She'd resigned herself to that fact. No matter how much she'd gotten through to Ontari, Lexa was still going to be challenged and punished by Nia. She would just continued until either she or Lexa died. Clarke always hoped that it was Nia, but she knew that it wasn't going to be. At least not this time. She also knew that the world was literally ending in a few months, so no matter what she did people were going to die. Her answer didn't matter though.

"I am Wanheda. I care about the people. I want them all to live past what is coming. I want them to have better lives. I want survival to not be such a fight for us all, but I know that Praimfaya is still coming. I cannot save anyone. I can't even save you, and after all this time, I know that you are worthy of saving, Ekou. You should have the right to live, but I can't stop this 'Death Wave.' No matter how much you believe that I can stop Death, I can't. I can't do anything..." Clarke started to tell her before falling down.

She broke down. She hadn't really thought about it. Not honestly, and she didn't want to. She'd lived through a few lives by that time, and she knew that when she died this time, it wouldn't be the last. It would be just like she went to sleep and woke up back in solitary on the Ark awaiting to be floated. Somehow her brain went to wondering how she never aged out, she always, in every life, made it down to Earth. She didn't have to worry about that, but she had to worry how she would die on the ground. Now, in this life, she was going to meet Praimfaya head on and let herself burn. She wasn't going to pursue life past it. She had no reason. Everyone else would be dead. She would have no one.

She wouldn't seek out Madi. She wasn't going to be in the right mindset to be the person that Madi needed. She knew that Madi wouldn't understand. She'd become a warrior in this life. She hadn't done much healing or even much politicking. She had been too focused on dealing with the Mountain and Lexa that she'd forgotten everything else. She realized that before now, she hadn't had the time to focus on it. She was too busy trying to survive. And, now, Madi would be alone. She was leaving Madi to survive on her own, and her heart was breaking.

Echo moved closer to her again. She pulled Clarke up into her arms. She held her. She knew that they couldn't do this back at the palace. There were too many people and too many eyes. In their cave, together alone, Clarke could break down and be safe with Echo. Even if the spy didn't know why or understand. This was their safe space. This was a place where they could talk freely and not be judged.

But, Echo knew that Clarke couldn't stay in Azgeda anymore. The latest news from Polis, from Echo's own spies, differed slightly from Nia's missives and Clarke's friends' letters. Nia had sewn the seeds of doubt. Her initial trial against Lexa had failed because she hadn't counted on Skaikru becoming a clan over the winter. Her intelligence had been bad, and Clarke had given them nothing to work with in any manner. (Echo was secretly very proud of her for this in beginning but couldn't show it or tell Clark.) Roan wasn't even taking his mother's side. Nia was losing ground, so she'd started pushing Ontari to challenge Lexa as her right as a Night Blood. So far things were quiet and Ontari wasn't pushing it as much as Nia was. Luna had even taken up for the other girl and offered her to come to Floukru, but Nia made sure that Ontari and Luna were never alone after that. Raven was doing her best, with Octavia of course, to try and smooth things out with all parties, but Nia was making this very difficult for everyone in the Capitol. Echo was afraid that she was going to summon Clarke to Polis to demand Lexa's death. Echo couldn't let that happen, for many, many reasons. (Some she didn't even want to think about.)

So, Echo was trying to find a way to get Clarke out of Azgeda without even Ledo knowing. It was going to be hard, and she knew that she was certainly going to be punished for it. She was after all Clarke's fos. She should know what the blonde was doing or where she was going at all times, especially if she wasn't with her. And, that is when Echo figured it out. She would have to release Clarke from her bonds as Echo's sekken.

"Sekken?"

"Moba, Fos." (Sorry, First.)

"Can you tell me why you are crying?"

"Sha."

"Will you tell me why you are crying, Klark?"

"You will think less of me," Clarke answered.

"That is not possible, Lukot," Echo replied. (Friend)

Clarke didn't break away from Echo, but she did pull back. It was just far enough for her to look up into Echo's worried, hazel brown eyes. Clarke had told her things, but not all of it. She wasn't sure how much that she could. She might have mentioned Madi to her once or twice, but it seemed like something from a dream or nightmare. It hadn't been the whole truth. She had no reason to trust Echo, but the longer that they were together, the more she saw that Echo wasn't the cold-hearted bitch that she'd thought she was when they first met, lifetimes ago. Echo had depth and character, but until this lifetime, Clarke had never really had a reason to explore it or get to know her completely. Now being with her in Azgeda, she knew that Echo was loyal to a fault, a great friend, and a good teacher. She had been what Clarke needed to survive her time there at Nia's "favored guest."

"You still think that I am your great Wanheda, but I can't stop it. I know people who will die because of it. I know of a girl, that remains hidden, in Shallow Valley. She will lose everything and everyone, but she'll survive Praimfaya. She is barely six summers old, Ekou," Clarke said and pause as she tried to word what she was about to say next. "I have dreams...nightmares sometimes..."

"I know of what you've done. All warriors have those, Klark. In time, they will pass and come less frequently. If they ever completely stop, well then..."

"I should be worried for everyone else around me because I would be deadly and full of melonhakness." (literally "head sickness")

"That is true," Echo replied.

"I don't have melonhakness, Ekou. But, I must tell you something. It is a secret, but it is the truth. I don't think that you will believe me, and that is okay. I wouldn't believe me either. But, I'm not sure what you stories tell you about Wanheda. I don't want to offend you," Clarke explained.

"Just tell me, Clarke," Echo told her, switching to Gonasleng to make it easier for Clarke to just tell her.

"I am the Wanheda. I have seen Keyron. In my dreams, I see things happen. I don't command Death, Echo. I cause it. I know that we will have a difference of opinion when it comes that, but it is true. I kill people in order to save others. I fight in battles that I have no business being in, but I do it for the survival of those that I love. I want to tell you that you are now one of those people, but I can't save this Earth."

"This Earth?"

"My dreams...they are lives of other Wanhedas. We all live the same life, but each one is different. In each life, we know that Praimfaya is coming. We defeat the Mountain and become the 'mystic Wanheda' for all the clans, except Skaikru."

"Because your people don't believe?" Echo questioned, as they pushed back further from one another, again.

"Yes, they don't believe. In fact, in some of those lives, they target me because of what I've done at the Mountain. They fear me. They think me a monster. Which is true because I am, but that doesn't matter. In my dreams, I see these lives. It is like we are all trying to learn what to do different from each other."

"And, now?"

"I know that my life is coming to an end and there is nothing that I can do to stop. Praimfaya is the end of this world...for all but one little girl. And, I'm abandoning her because I don't have the will to live alone for months before I find her," Clarke told her.

"If you could take me with you, would I survive?"

"No."

"Does this girl need you?"

"Not really, but she'd be all alone with no other person until she died."

"Then, Keyron has blessed her as well?"

"She is another hidden Natblida."

Echo's head snapped back in knowledge. She was hidden away for a reason. No matter the reason, Clarke felt close to this girl.

"You fell wrong for facing Death and not going to her?"

"I do."

"Is she your kin or blood?"

"Not directly, no,"Clarke answered.

"Is she one your clan?"

"No, she isn't from the stars."

"Then, why are you so worried about her?"

"Because she is my daughter."

Echo was about to say something more when they heard a commotion. She ran to the edge of the cave and looked out. Troops were moving, lots of troops. There were also messengers running towards the palace. The horns of the palace were blowing in triumph. Echo didn't know what it meant, but she knew that it wasn't good. She looked at Clarke.

"We have to go. Something has happened. We will go to the palace and see. We will talk more about this later," Echo stated, giving Clarke no room to say otherwise.

Echo reached over and grabbed her bow. She knocked an arrow and looked down. She gestured with her head for Clarke to go first.

The entire time that she watched Clarke descend from the cave, she thought about what she said. Clarke had a daughter, a Night Blood, among the clans. She wasn't blood, but for Clarke, she knew that it didn't matter. What mattered now was how they were going to rescue the child, keep Clarke alive, and find a way to get her out of Azgeda. Echo was going to find a way to get them both out now. She needed to get Clarke to her daughter, and she was willing to die to do it. But, first they needed to find out why the war horns were sounding triumph at the palace. The more she thought about it, the more her heart sank.