Thanks a lot to strangeJenny for Beta reading .
Clarke's mother and Amyla came with her to see the person that needed healing. The chancellor asked Bellamy what was going on and Bellamy had no other choice than to answer. It was their chance, if they were able to cure Lincoln who became a reaper; they would have something to offer in exchange of peace. Amyla agreed that it could work, but she let everyone know that the peace would be fragile and as long as Finn was alive it could not happen, he would have to be judged by her people.
Abby made a speech, telling the sky peoples they were leaving for a few hours to try to find a way to make peace with the Grounders, but Jaha seemed opposed to the idea. Nevertheless, they had the support of the parents whose children were in Mount Weather, the guards and some parents of friends Clarke's little girls had made.
Clarke and Amyla had charged Tia with a mission, watching Jaha discreetly, if he was becoming a threat, Amyla told her to put a knife in his leg when no one was around, the little girl gave a nod with a serious face. Abby was smiling warmly while watching the scene, the little girl was sweet trying to act like a grown up, like a warrior! Abby assumed it was a joke. Raven was staying to watch the girls, Clarke and Amyla had trusted her to protect them, and she will not betray their trust! What's more she was beginning to become close to them, especially Mia who was often with her during the day, watching her work, asking her questions after questions, " What is it Rav?" (nickname officially adopted by everyone thanks to a little girl with big innocent and hopeful brown eyes and a scowling Raven) "What does it do?", "Can I play with it?"
The answers were varied, when Clarke was passing beside the tent one day, what she heard gave her a big scare, "It's call a bomb", "it's uh for doing a beautiful fire", NO! Put that down! You can't play with it!" Clarke, after hearing that established some rules, a sheepish Raven accepted that some things had to be kept away from children, especially when a really upset Clarke promised her if that it was to happen again she would make sure that she will be the new training partner of Amyla. Raven had seen the bruises on Clarke and Murphy after the 'training' sessions, and she wasn't suicidal thank you very much!
They took some medicine and were on their way. With a look from Clarke, Bellamy, Murphy and her mother, escorted by two guards moved away, leaving Amyla and Clarke free to talk without being heard. Amyla was wearing a hood, hiding her face and she seemed more tense than usual, almost afraid which was making Clarke more and more worried.
"I don't understand Amyla, you should be happy that your people are coming and not hiding!" said Clarke.
With a big sigh Amyla looked at Clarke saying, "You still don't understand our way of thinking, of living. What do you think will happen if I was to be seen by my people?"
"Well, they will welcome you. You have done your duty in protecting the children!" answered Clarke.
Amyla answered with a deadpan expression "Of course, they will welcome me with big smiles, and we will sing and dance around the fire! Think Clarke! What have I told you about Anya?" Amyla was becoming good at sarcasm thought Clarke, it was Murphy's fault she was sure of it!
"That she will be punished and demoted as a leader for being weak …oh! But you weren't weak! You have done what you were supposed to do!" exclaimed Clarke.
"Yes I haven't lost my honour; I have respected the traditions of the Woods Clan, always protecting the children. But when Heda comes for war, it will not just be the Woods Clan; it will be the twelve clans! Even If you obtain a truce, the other clans will think that I'm weak and once the war with the mountain men is over, they will attack my village!"
"So that's why you haven't tried to meet your people and didn't go back to your village? And how can you be so sure that the Heda will be here?" asked Clarke.
"Yes, there are always spies. As long as everyone focuses on the war and nobody knows what happened to my village, to me, it would stay safe, and yes our Heda is coming, she will never leave a treat alone on her territory. Once both our people are free, we will be strong enough to protect ourselves and I will show myself to the others leaders."
"But my people know you; they know that you are my wife! And if we cure Lincoln he will tell them!" said Clarke, beginning to panic!
"Lincoln is loyal to the Woods Clan and a friend, if I tell him not to tell anyone that I'm alive he will not, and your people know that I'm your wife and a Grounder but how many know my name, or that I'm a leader of a village?"
That made Clarke stop and really think about it, "Well my mom, and my friends."
"Exactly, only people you trust. Do you think they will betray you, or me, knowing that I'm your wife?"
"Of course not!" exclaimed Clarke in indignation, "Okay, okay I see what you mean; I will pass the word around to keep your identity a secret."
"Good. I will keep the hood up at camp, with the army coming we have to assume that they will watch our every moves. Now I'm going to make you ready for your meeting with Heda, if you cure Lincoln she will accept a treaty, we all have lost family members to the reapers! You will act as the leader of the Sky People, you will need to be strong, and you also will also have to give up Finn. For the meeting they will have Indra, who is the most trusted general of Heda, she is hard but fair, Gustus who protects Heda, he will surely try to intimidate you, and Anya. Even if Anya has lost a lot of respect, Heda will still trust her, and she is the only one who had already met you. You will… "
"Wait, wait, wait, go back!" interrupted Clarke, incredulous "Leader? Meeting with Heda? It's my Mom that's the leader! Giving up Finn? I will never do that!"
"Yes," answered patiently Amyla "you will have to, and you're right you are not a leader you are still in training. Why do you think am I making you learn our way, training you every day? And you are the only one of the sky people who can obtain a meeting, they know your name, your strength, that you have killed three hundred of our people and thanks to Anya, Heda will accept to meet you. "
"I thought the training was for surviving and to help you to lead your village! I'm not a leader to my people!"
Amyla was becoming exceedingly vexed with her Sky Girl, "Who is the leader of the Sky People? Your mother! To whom is she listening? To you! Whom the 'hundred', as you call them, follow? You! Who is the one who can obtain a meeting and maybe a treaty with Heda; who will have to do everything she can to keep peace between both our people if she doesn't want to lose her family? What's more, you already have three generals!"
Wait, what? She would know it if she had three generals, "What are you talking about?"
"Bellamy, Murphy and Raven are your generals!" seriously? "They follow your orders, you trust them and they trust you. They know how to fight; they just need a little more training!" Amyla told her wife with a serious expression.
Okay that was a lot to take in, but Amyla was right, she would do everything she could to protect her family, even become the best leader she could. About the generals, well yes Bellamy, the big brother and protector, he is always ready to do everything he could to protect the people he cares about, he proved it when he infiltrated the ship to save his sister, she could still see it. Raven, she trusted with her life, General of Mechanics and Stuff-that-goes-boom, she could almost see it. But Murphy, General of Sarcasm? Ass Kicking? It's true he respected her more since she beat him up, and when he had learnt she had pleaded his case with her mother (murderers were not seen well, the laws were harsh), which was strange since she only told it to Amyla who had smirked, when she wondered how he could have known, he had become very protective, helping to watch the girls, helping her wife when the Sky People became suspicious and sometimes cruel verbally, damn it! She was trusting him more and more, even his sarcasm was becoming funny!
"Okay, alright, Amyla you win, I'll put everything I have into your training if you answer honestly to a few questions." Amyla hesitated, but finally she gave her a nod. "Swear to me!" asked Clarke, "On my honour." She paused, "Why do you never want to be intimate with me outside of the tent? You never kiss me or let me kiss you in the camp, never let me hold your hand or show you that I care about you. Is it because you think it's a weakness to show our feelings?"
Amyla didn't want to answer, but when she saw the hurt look on Clarke face she knew she had to, what's more she had swear, "Clarke you have to understand that every weakness can be taken advantage of. Me, or you, showing that we care for each over could be dangerous, maybe not in the camp since Sky Peoples seemed different but I'm training you to live with my people. Right now my people don't know that I'm alive, but when they do know, only the people of my village and Heda will know about my union with you. It's me protecting you! Everyone will know eventually, we will not be able to keep it hidden, but the more time they don't, the more we can make our village strong and make alliances that will protect us and our people!"
It couldn't be right thought Clarke, Octavia and Lincoln were not hiding! She was ready to tell Amyla what she was thinking about that… "And Octavia and Lincoln are not the same! Don't look surprised you told me about them! They are not leaders, which is what I am and what you will be, they don't have to be careful of every potential enemy clan! For now every clan is united with Heda but it will not last, if we are successful in the war against the Mountain men and take care of our common treat, the clans will split again and be at war and any weakness shown by a leader could mean the end of a village, the end of the people under our protection!"
Which was only half the truth, Amyla was afraid she had caught the same illness that had made her sister weak. Her sister had told her the symptoms, being afraid for the other, wanting to protect them, sometimes Clarke had a look in her eyes which was making her heart beat stronger, which was making her feel weak. She will not be weak! She will stay strong! She will beat this weakness like her sister had done. She had had lovers before; she was always able to keep them at a distance, putting her people first. Nothing was different! If only Clarke could stop to looking at her like this, her illness will go away!
Here, that damn look was back! The illness was back, sweating palms, fast heart, feeling weak, she will have to go to see a healer, and maybe he will know how to cure her!
Clarke was thinking about what she had been told, if it was just waiting a little she could do that, but once she had the go ahead, Amyla better be ready!
"Okay, I understand," said Clarke and Amyla sighed with relief, "Who is Lexa?" asked Clarke
Amyla gulped, "Who?" she asked trying to sound nonchalant.