Chapter 8:
"Commander!" The greeting came from behind the door of Lexa's bedroom. They'd shared that room instead of Clarke's since it was obviously nicer and on the second floor. Lexa had assured her that the view in the morning as the sun rose was worth seeing.
"Lexa, I think it's for you." Clarke told her and kind of moved her hand around on the other side of the bed for the girl who wasn't there. Clarke opened her eyes to see that Lexa was already getting dressed.
"Go back to sleep." Lexa told her and opened the door once she had on clothes.
Clarke could tell it was early and they'd been up very late so she'd only gotten a few hours of sleep. She heard the door close behind Lexa and it was then that she snapped too. She loved the commander of a huge army. Anytime someone shouted for Lexa, there was a chance they'd be going into battle. She climbed quickly out of bed and threw on her clothes. She opened the door and watched Lexa wait for one of her guards to open the front door.
"Wait!" Lexa turned to see her standing there and Clarke rushed down the stairs. "I want to come."
"I'll send for you later." Lexa promised as she walked briskly out the door.
Clarke was left standing there wondering what was going on that required Lexa to be woken early.
A few hours later, Indra walked into the kitchen where Clarke was sitting watching the cook prepare a meal.
"Where is she?" Clarke asked her.
"You have been summoned, Sky Girl. Come."
Clarke left the cook in the kitchen and followed Indra. They walked toward the command center, but Indra kept walking past it.
"Where are we going, Indra?"
"The Old Ones approached from the East. The Commander has asked you to meet her."
"Why didn't she come get me herself?" Clarke asked.
"She is already there." Indra insisted.
The two guards that walked with Clarke would obey Lexa's command to protect her, she hoped because she had no weapons and Indra was walking her into the woods.
After about a mile, Clarke was relieved to spot Lexa and other grounders standing on what looked to be a cliff. Lexa was staring across it to the other side where Clarke could barely make out a group of people.
"Clarke, hir." Lexa motioned for her to walk over. "They're on the other side of the ridge."
"Why?" Clarke asked as she arrived at Lexa's side. Indra stood on her other side.
"It doesn't matter. They are on our land." Indra proclaimed.
Clarke peered over the ridge and used her hand to block out the sun.
"What they want does matter, Indra. If they're here for a fight, so be it, but if they just want to talk, why not let them?" Clarke was being bold and she knew it. She avoided Lexa's glance because she was worried this might be construed as questioning her authority.
"Clarke's right." Lexa announced. "We won't know what they want unless we engage them. Send a messenger over the ridge. 2 of their people and 2 of our people. Tell them I wish to speak to their leader."
"As you wish, Commander." Indra obliged. She walked off to tell the grounder that would become the messenger what to relay and then returned. "He will set it for dusk at the mine." She explained.
"Good." Lexa replied. "For now, we wait. Indra, you will lead the back up team. Station yourself on the ridge above the mine. Bring 2 archers. Have them hide themselves well and have fire ready for their bows."
"I cannot do that, Commander. I am to be with you for the meeting."
"No, you will lead the back up team as I Command. Clarke will join me for the meeting." Lexa told her.
Clarke looked just as shocked as Indra.
"Commander, beja! She is not one of us. She should not negotiate on our behalf."
Lexa looked at her 2nd square in the eye.
"Chil daun! The decision has been made and is final." She paused. "Indra, I do not have to explain myself to you, but because I value you, I will tell you why I am choosing Clarke over you right now."
"Heda?"
Lexa took a few steps backwards, glanced at Clarke and then back at Indra to address her.
"You and I are too alike. We've lived the same way, had the same approach all this time." Lexa looked at Clarke. "Clarke sees things differently and I trust that she will help me see both sides of this situation. I need her to apply balance."
Clarke looked at the ground during this speech. She didn't want to catch Indra's fiery eyes.
"Understood, Commander. I will do as you wish." With that, she walked off to ready her team.
"Ha yu?" Lexa asked Clarke.
"I'm okay. A little surprised."
"I should have asked you first."
"It's okay. I'll go with you."
"You know I don't want to bring war into this." Lexa explained and reached for Clarke's hand.
"I know. Maybe it won't come to that." Clarke responded with hope.
"We should go. We're exposed here." Lexa and Clarke walked back in the direction of the capital with several grounders surrounding them.
When dusk arrived, the two of them watched from their side of the ridge as two people arrived outside an old coalmine. Indra and her team were ready. She'd protested once more about the Commander going in unprotected, but Lexa had once again convinced her to trust her.
The two of them walked slowly toward the mine using the trees and the near darkness for cover before finally revealing themselves at the last minute. The two Old Ones were dressed in clothing that looked familiar to Clarke. It was similar to what they wore on the ark, but it was also just like the clothes of pre-bomb America. "My name is York. This is Carolina." The tall, thin man introduced. He looked to be about 25. The woman at his side was much older. Probably around 50. Clarke suspected at first that they might be mother and son, but they didn't look anything alike so she doubted that now. The woman had grayish hair and was on the plump side.
"I am the Commander of the 12 clans."
"What's your name?" York asked her.
Lexa just glared.
"I'm Clarke." Clarke offered and held out her hand to see what they might do. York deferred to Carolina who shook it.
Lexa stood still looking suspicious. Her left hand was at her side and was painted almost entirely in black with some white highlights on it that would show in the darkness. The signal to Indra to fire would be a raised left hand.
"You don't look like them." York stated.
"I'm not." Clarke started. "I'm here as a consultant." She tried to offer in explanation. "Where did you guys come from?"
"We live in what was called Iowa before the bombings. My ancestors were originally from North Carolina. His were from New York. Over time, we've all ended up together. We have managed to maintain much of the old ways. We have electricity, running water, schools, and hospitals. We have government." Carolina explained and Clarke was dumbfounded.
"How?" Clarke asked.
"Some at the time knew that the bombs were coming. They set things in motion to be prepared. The war to end all wars worked at that, but it didn't end all of humanity as many thought it would when it started. Most of us were refugees who ended up there with our families or on our own."
"Where are you from?" York interrupted and looked at Clarke.
"Continue your story." Lexa insisted in Carolina's direction.
"We're not here to start a war. We've all had enough of that and we appreciate you being willing to speak with us today. We weren't even sure your people spoke our language." Carolina looked at Lexa and when she received nothing in response, she continued. "We just want to offer you a better place to live. We want to give you a chance at real survival beyond the primitive ways you're currently using." She looked over at Clarke for a second and then back to Lexa. "You would have a real life with us. A real chance."
"We need nothing from you." Lexa replied finally and started to turn to walk away. "You will leave our land and never return." She ordered almost dismissively.
"Aren't you tired?" York asked her with her back turned away from him.
"How far is this place from where we are?" Clarke asked. Lexa stalled her footsteps.
"It's about 1000 miles from here. Our ancestors mentioned survivors were in this area long ago. We've been trying to make it out here for a rescue for some time, but there were disappearances. Our people often never returned and if they did, they told stories of near capture from men who lived here. We used to think it was your people." She looked at Lexa. "But we believe it was another group now. There was an advance team sent to this area several days ago and they were able to walk right in where the people had reported the danger. What they found…" She faded out and Clarke gulped. "There were bodies."
Lexa looked over at Clarke.
"They were of the mountain and they are no more. They deserved what they got." Lexa offered.
"What did it look like?" Clarke asked hesitantly.
"I wasn't there myself, but I heard it was awful. Hundreds of people were exposed to radiation and burned. They had a whole world in that mountain. It was unfortunate they could not survive outside. They would have been a good addition to our group. We could have doubled our population overnight and really continued our expansion."
"You didn't want them to be a part of your group." Clarke opened. "They were dangerous."
"They were evil." Lexa expounded. Clarke lowered her head. She knew not all of them were evil and if circumstances were different, they probably wouldn't have gone to such lengths to get out of the mountain. "They were destroyed."
"We'd like to discuss things further. We think we can be of help to you and your people if you're willing to continue discussions."
"How did you get here?" Clarke thought to ask after Carolina's offering.
"We have vehicles." York added. "That's what she's talking about. We can give you a better quality of life."
"You have cars?" Clarke asked.
"Some. We use them sparingly. Fuel isn't always easy to come by. It takes a lot of work to produce. We also have aircraft. We use those even less."
Lexa looked at Clarke.
"We are finished here."
Lexa took Clarke's hand to pull her away.
"How is your government structured?" Clarke continued her questioning despite Lexa's push to leave.
"For another time." Carolina stated. "We just wanted to introduce ourselves. We were happy to hear from your messenger that you were finally willing to talk to us."
Clarke looked over at Lexa. She nodded.
"Thank you for the information." Clarke told them. "We've got some things to think about. For now though, you should consider returning home."
"It's quite a far way for us to travel only to return to speak again." Carolina expressed.
"At least get off clan land. Without an alliance, you are in danger without the Commander's protection."
"Which has not been extended." Lexa confirmed.
"Very well." Carolina understood. She reached her hand out and there was something in it. "This is a 2-way radio. It will work for up to 500 miles. We will leave your territory and wait one week. If we hear nothing from you, we will take that as you not wanting our help. When you want to talk, just press that button. We can set a new day and time to continue."
Clarke took the radio that looked like a completely new radio. It wasn't pieced together from scavenged parts.
"It was nice to meet you." Clarke wrapped up the conversation.
"You as well."
Carolina and York walked off in the direction of their own ridgeline. Lexa and Clarke waited until they were out of vision. Indra's team was tasked with following them until they were out of grounder territory.
"And?" Lexa started walking off and Clarke turned to join.
"Something's weird about them."
"I agree."
"I don't trust them, but I wouldn't rule anything out entirely."
"We do not need help, Clarke." Lexa replied confidently as they made their way back up the side of the hill back toward the capital.
"I'm not saying you do, but Lexa, they're saying they have hundreds and maybe even thousands of people. They have power and water and medicine."
"We have medicine." Lexa defended.
"I know." Clarke put her hand out and reached for Lexa. They stopped walking and Lexa faced her. "I'm not saying there's anything wrong with the way your people live, Lex. I'm just saying it would be nice to get some information from them. What if there are ways to improve the capital? Better medicine and treatment for your warriors, cleaner water, vehicles to get from place to place faster, better ways to communicate with one another." She held up the radio. "This is new, Lexa. They have the ability to make new technology like this without pulling pieces from things and trying to make it work like we were on the ark."
"You called me Lex."
"Sorry, it was easier."
"Only you."
"Understood." Clarke smiled at her.
"We must take this back and discuss with the others."
"Let's go then."
"This alliance between all clans will deteriorate unless we have a common enemy." Lexa told Clarke once they were alone in Lexa's room. Lexa had set a meeting for the following day to discuss what the Old Ones had revealed to her. Lexa removed her warrior wear including her paint as Clarke changed into something to sleep in. It amazed her how quickly one can get into a routine. She'd only been in the capital a few days, but this already felt normal to her. Undressing and getting ready for bed with Lexa at her side felt second nature.
"You don't need a common enemy, Lexa. You need a common cause."
"What's the difference, Clarke?" Lexa asked her as Clarke tossed her shirt over in the pile of clothes someone would take to clean tomorrow. She slid a clean one over her body and climbed into Lexa's bed. Lexa turned to look at her. Lexa, it turned out, slept in the nude when there was a warm house to sleep in.
"A cause is like… finding a different way to live that could involve less struggle for your people whereas an enemy is finding a new war for those people to fight for the sole purpose of not fighting each other." Clarke paused and watched Lexa walk toward her. She reached for her waist and pulled her into her. "You've somehow managed to keep the clans united even after our alliance broke. You have generals and commanders of different clans looking to you when they're used to making the decisions. You can keep this going without fighting if what Carolina and York said is true."
"That's a pretty big if, Sky Girl." Lexa's arms wrapped around Clarke's neck.
"Lexa?"
"Hmm…?"
"If you don't find a common cause or common enemy, what happens to your coalition of clans?" Clarke asked.
"All clans will return to their previous alliances, but the one uniting us will end. Then, there's always a chance of war."
"Why can't you just remain united as one people?"
Lexa straddled her.
"Because it's not that simple." Lexa leaned in and ran her hands through Clarke's long, blonde hair. "It's been done this way for generations, Clarke. No one can stop it."
"You can." Clarke's lips locked with Lexa's and she pulled her closer.
"I am unable to break with tradition." Lexa pulled back.
"You already have. Lexa, don't you get it? You're constantly breaking with your traditions. If anyone can stop clans from going to war again and again, it's you. These people have already shown they will follow you. What if you led them away from war instead of toward it?"
"And what of the Old Ones?"
"With them or without them, it doesn't matter." Clarke pressed her lips against the space between Lexa's breasts. "You can change the world, Lexa."
Dawn came and Clarke and Lexa woke and dressed together. Just as they were about to make their way into the command center, Indra approached from the woods.
"Commander, Sky People!" She yelled.
"What?" Clarke questioned.
"Your people… they're here." She stopped in front of Clarke. "They're on the edge of the clearing to the west. They know you're here, Sky Girl and they want to talk to you."
"Who is it?" Clarke asked. "Who's here?" She wasn't sure who she wanted it to be.
"See for yourself."
"Shish-" Lexa started to tell Indra to answer Clarke.
"It's okay. I'll just go."
"They can come here. I will grant them protection to deliver their message." There was concern in Lexa's voice.
"I'll be back." Clarke assured her.
"The meeting? We should postpone."
"No, just go ahead without me." Clarke told her. "Just tell them what they told us. I'll be back as soon as I can."
"Remember, nowe gyon au." Never go.
"I won't." Clarke started off toward the wood.
"Indra, see to her safety." Lexa ordered and nodded for Indra to follow Clarke who was already walking briskly.
"I should remain with you for the meeting."
"No one has served me better than you, Indra."
"Ai badan yu op en nou moun." Indra spoke. I serve you and no other.
"Badan Klark op en yu Badan em." Serve Clarke and you serve me. "Jomp em op en yu jomp ai op." Attack her and you attack me. "I cannot make it any clearer, Indra."
Indra nodded. She followed in Clarke's direction. Lexa watched for a long time until she saw Clarke disappear into the woods. She only hoped the Sky Girl would keep her word and return to her regardless of what her people had to say.
Clarke approached a clearing with Indra and another warrior close on her tail. When she arrived, she saw Bellamy and Octavia.
"Clarke!" Bellamy half-shouted. Octavia stood beside him without saying anything. She was more focused on Indra who now stood behind Clarke.
"How did you find me?"
"Lincoln talked about the capital." Octavia shared. "He figured you'd come here. Where else would you go?"
"Clarke, you need to come back to camp." Bellamy interjected.
"I told you when I left that I couldn't be there, Bell."
"It's your mom, Clarke." Octavia explained. "The mountain men… she got an infection. So did Raven. So did a few others, but your mom got it the worst."
"Infection from what?" It was Indra who spoke.
"I thought I was dead to you." Octavia seethed.
"You didn't follow command. You-"
"Saved my brother's life!"
"Enough. Both of you. This isn't helping anything." Clarke yelled. "Bellamy?"
"Your mom's not doing well, Clarke. The others will probably recover, but your mom is our doctor. If she doesn't make it, I'm not sure anyone else can do what she do and if she can't tell us how to make her better…"
"What can I do, Bell? I'm no doctor."
"What's wrong with you, Clarke?"
"Hod op!" Indra stepped beside Clarke as if to defend her. That was new.
"Your mother is dying, Clarke. We're not asking you to heal her. We're giving you the chance to say goodbye." Octavia explained. "Let's just go, Bell. She's clearly moved on from all of us."
"Octavia!" Bellamy scolded. "Just calm down." He looked at Clarke. "It like 3 days. 2 if we hurry."
"Okay. I've got to go back to the capital first."
"We've got supplies. We brought enough for you."
"It's not that." She paused and looked at Indra. Indra gave her a glance that said something like 'you're on your own.'
"I need to tell Lexa I'm leaving."
"And that you'll return?" Indra questioned with a suspicious glance in her direction.
"Clarke, why are you even here? They left us." Octavia asked and accused at the same time.
"We followed our Commander's orders! That was our duty!"
"Pleni!" Clarke hoped she got the word right. Indra and Octavia stopped yelling at each other so she guessed she was close enough. "You can come in with me if you want. I won't be long."
"We'll wait here." Octavia stated defiantly in reply.
"Fine." Clarke turned to walk back into town.
It all suddenly came rushing back to her. Her desire to leave Camp Jaha and the mountain behind. Her need to be elsewhere on her own at first, but really her need to be near Lexa. To be understood and accepted and treated as an equal. To be loved. She'd be leaving that even if it was only temporarily.
All of that rushed in and then back out of her brain as she continued to walk with Indra next to her. Her mother was dying. She'd gotten her out of the mountain, away from those men with the drills and blood on their hands only to lose her after. Clarke thought she was fine when she left. She remembered her being carried into camp on the stretcher, but she was sitting up. She looked ok. She'd recover.
Clarke started moving faster and Indra had to speed up as well.
"You will return, Sky Girl." Indra told her.
"Indra, I can't right now. I need to go. It's my mother."
"My mother died in battle as all warriors hope to do. It is honorable. You told Heda you would never leave. It is not honorable to not keep your word."
"This is different. She'll understand." She said to Indra. "She has too." She said to herself.