AN: Time for badass Lexa to make her appearance. Bring on the coup!
Clarke smiled brightly as she helped Octavia tie up her intricate dress. She was beautiful, a mix of ground and sky all in one. She held herself with nervous confidence, her excitement evident as the women finished dressing her. From a baby hidden from society under the floorboards of their Ark room, to the strong warrior before her, Clarke was in awe of Octavia and all that she had struggled through to reach this point today.
"Do you truly think this union will work? Will they even let it happen?" Octavia's words nearly fell on deaf ears they were so quiet.
"Hey now," Clarke responded, "where is the fearless warrior I know? We will see your marriage through. No one will be able to take this away from us, from you. I do not know if the people, especially Queen bitch Nia, will accept your union for the merger. However, you're getting married Octavia! That is cause for celebration and even if things blow up tonight, we will see your marriage through."
Octavia smiled, her shoulders resuming their upright and hardened position as her confidence returned. "You know Clarke, I've never been one for obeying leadership. First with Bellamy, the Ark, and you, and then with the grounders under Lexa; I can't stand it when people try to control me. I used to despise her, Lexa I mean. As I began to understand more about Grounder culture though, she became a figure of stoic grace to me. She is everything that the ground needs in a Commander, and everything the ground needs in a caretaker. I've never told you this before, hell I've never told anyone this before, but I respect her. Everything that has happened since we have gotten here has been strategic on her part in order to save her people. The only thing that has caught her off guard is you."
Clarke's eyes met Octavia's as she finished tying up Octavia's dress. There were many emotions tumbling through her blue depths, confusion and acknowledgment being the two most evident. Clarke shook her head softly, indicating that today was about Octavia and Lincoln, not about her and Lexa, but Octavia merely smirked and continued on.
"Lincoln loves me Clarke. He would die for me and I would die for him. But the way that Lexa feels about you puts every other love to shame. In all my time in the Ark, in every book I have read, I have never seen or imagined a love like what you have. Lexa would not just kill or die for you Clarke; she would literally do anything for you. No one has seen her as soft and vulnerable as when she is with you. I know that some in the grounder culture view it as weakness," Octavia nodded as Clarke opened her mouth to speak.
"Love is weakness," Clarke whispered.
"Exactly," Octavia continued, "even the Commander thought that. They are raised to believe that power is something marked by kills and war and brutality. Yet it's this same culture that believes in soul mates and leaders that are chosen by some higher power. If Nia believes that she can separate the two of you, or that she can successfully take over the coalition, she is a bigger fool than we thought. I would love to see her try to take you from Lexa. Lincoln and I would die for each other but Lexa would start a war for you. You are her chosen and she would rather see the world burn than let that be taken from her. And may I say that ice doesn't fare too well in fire." Octavia winked at Clarke before stepping off of the raised stand and heading toward the tent entrance.
Clarke's head was spinning after hearing everything that Octavia had told her. It was not that Clarke did not know the information she was just told, it was more that hearing it come from someone else simply meant more. When they first landed on the ground, everything was about survival. There was murder and brutality and betrayal. The people of the Ark did everything that Lexa did when they crash landed onto foreign territory. In fact, it was the sky people that were out of place, responsible for hurting land they did not own and people that have lived here for centuries.
Clarke had spent months wrapping her head around this new idea, moving on from the pain and scars of her past and Lexa's betrayal. Months spent behind "enemy lines" getting to know the people that she had spent months fighting and killing without the veil of fear shadowing her every perception.
These people are not barbaric people without hearts and souls. The warriors that Clarke had come to know first were simply embodiments of the strength and power it takes to keep a family, a society, alive and happy on the ground. Even the teenagers of the Ark had become brutal and violent to avoid the cold touch of death. After months living with Lexa, getting to know the people and most importantly the Commander herself without reservation, Clarke now understood the Trikru people better than any outsider ever had.
Trikru people looked up to Clarke at the villager level, though those on the Council and in power doubted her, and some even openly despised her and what she represented. She was their beloved Trikova Gona, their Heda's chosen one. Clarke was the bridge between earth and sky and that is what made her so dangerous to the ground. Her people would start wars to save her, and they knew how to operate the machines and weapons of the mountain men that had plagued the grounders for a century or more. Any attack on Clarke would start a war, but it would be a war on two fronts, for Lexa would obliterate any who thought to harm her Clarke.
Time of the Merger – Outside the Council Chambers
Bells were ringing around the town as villagers gathered around the large Council building. There were hundreds, perhaps thousands of people, grounders and sky people alike, gathered to witness the important merger about to take place. All of the sky people, save for Clarke and Octavia herself, were forced to wait outside with the rest of the villagers and warriors as the merger was to take place. Bellamy could be seen pacing the front steps of the building, his hair a tangled mess on his forehead and his lips pulled together in a thin line.
"Bellamy," Abby called out, placing her hand on the young man's shoulder. "We all wish we could be in there. But all of this is to avoid war and promote peace. To go inside would be treason and we would be killed before we could even reach her. Trust that Clarke will take care of your sister; trust that your sister can and will take care of herself."
As Abby finished her placation of the anxious man, a loud rumble could be heard as a deep chime sounded within the building.
"Let the fun begin," Kane spoke, his voice a strained attempt to keep the peace.
Meanwhile – Inside Council Chambers
There were twelve cloaked men and women sitting around in an incomplete circle, each chair facing the throne positioned at the front center of the large room. Lexa sat, her face stoic and her body rigid, as she surveyed the room before her. She was in her Commander gear, suited to assume a look of authority and ruthless strength. Nia was the last to arrive and take her place in the room, her chair directly across from Lexa's. Their eyes met and a taunting smirk played across the Queen's lips as she sank comfortably into her position. Lexa's eyes darkened in anger upon seeing this blasé show from one of her most hated enemies.
Lexa stood as everyone shifted to look at her, her brow furrowed and her eyes daring anyone to stand against her. "In a few moments Skaikru will become the 13th clan of the coalition. As the Council, you are all here to witness the merger and union. Now, sound the final bell Titus." Lexa nodded to the cloaked man at her side who in turn signaled for the bell to be rung.
As the final bell rang out for all to hear, Nia stood from her chair. Immediately murmurs began to break out in the Council chamber, and Lexa's eyes flashed dangerously. Lexa held up her hand and the room quieted instantly.
"What cause do you have to stand out of turn Nia?" Lexa's voice was cold, biting through the still air of the room as everyone held their breath, eyes darting between the two leaders. "I would be careful if I were you."
Nia smirked, before turning to the rest of the Council. "Our Heda has become weakened by the sky people. She has turned away from our customs and our beliefs to accommodate them. The Azgeda are prepared to move against this weakness and reestablish the power that the sky people once feared."
"Em pleni!" Lexa growled. "Your tongue is loose Nia and you are out of place. I hereby revoke your right to Council and sentence you to death for treason."
Clarke, who had stepped forward during Nia's speech, folded her arms across her chest and glared at the Ice Queen standing before them. As Lexa's guards moved forward to take hold of her, Nia winked at Clarke subtly before pressing against the men restraining her to move toward the Commander.
"I wish to evoke a vote of no confidence." Nia's voice rang out around the chamber, silencing everyone who was murmuring before.
"The vote is void!" Titus yelled, "the Commander has already stripped Nia of her position on the Council and sentenced her to death. Any who stand up now will be sentenced to the same fate."
"Unfortunately Titus, a vote of no confidence overrules Lexa if it succeeds," Nia drawled, a smirk playing at her lips once again. "Stand with me and take back the throne. Make the grounder nations strong again, and help to relieve the weakness that is the sky people from our midst."
In the seconds that followed, nine of the eleven necessary votes rose to their feet. Some refused to meet Lexa's eye, knowing the wrath of the Commander that awaited them if they were to look. Others met her black eyes with determination and contempt, a direct challenge to her authority and ability to lead. Without the last two council members standing, the vote would be overturned and all who stood would be met with the hot embrace of death by a thousand cuts and flames. But, as Titus stepped forward preparing to yell the results of a vote that was not unanimous, the final two members stood.
The room fell silent as the guards holding her released Nia. The council members resumed their seats and Lexa glared down at them all, murdering each and every traitor where they stood in her mind.
"Lexa what is going on?" Clarke yelled, gesturing toward the newly freed Nia and the obvious betrayal that had just taken place before her very eyes.
Lexa turned to Clarke, her inky black eyes filled with the dark flames of seething anger. The woman that Clarke had grown to love, the one that smiled and interacted with her people with grace and compassion was gone. Instead, the warrior, the hardened shell of a leader was what Clarke saw when their eyes met. This was not the woman she knew and loved; it was the woman her people feared, the one she feared. This was the Commander that legends told stories of, and it terrified Clarke to see that.
"This is a coup," Lexa ground out. Her jaw was locked as she drew her dagger from its place on her hip. Even Nia took a wary step back when the Commander advanced forward with weapons in hand. "What are your terms Nia?"
"Single combat. Choose a champion. It will be one fight, any weapons, no rules, to the death." Nia stepped forward, pressing herself against the blade that Lexa was clenching in her fist. "Better choose wisely Heda, you would not want to let your lover see you die in such a shameful way. You are weak. The combat will take place tomorrow morning, when the sun reaches its peak in the sky."
Lexa pressed the blade a little harder into Nia's stomach, blood staining the front of her shirt as the knife slipped through its layers and cut the surface of Nia's skin.
"I need no champion to fight my battles for me. I am Heda and I fight for myself. Choose your champion and hide behind their death, but know that when this is over, your death will be next. You will suffer for every treacherous act you have committed and Costia's spirit will smile upon me as I take your life. I will not burn your body Kwin Nia." Lexa spat, "your spirit will be forever trapped in the earth so that you can relive the torment eternally."