Healing Hearts Chapter 11

Clarke didn't know how long she was in the small room. The guards came and removed the dirty bath water a few hours after she had dressed; they brought her an elaborate dinner of seasoned fowl, potatoes and bread. She had never eaten bread, she felt guilty enjoying it.

Days went by, until finally the guards came and escorted Clarke out of her room. She made mental notes on how many guards she saw, and where they were posted. As she was taken from the room, she looked for windows and doors. She was trying to see were any escape routes were if she got the chance.

She was taken to a large sitting room. The walls were grey with white pillars and large wood beams across the ceiling. The room had large overstuffed chairs covered in rich furs, and smooth wood tables, she noticed fur was the popular décor of the Ice Nation.

Guards stood on either side of the door, inside the room and two guards outside the door as well. When Clarke came into the room, she stopped a few feet in, and stood looking around. Shane sat in a large chair at the head of the room.

"Clarke, how are you finding your stay with us?" she asked.

"You mean my captivity?" asked Clarke, clearly upset. "You've held me prisoner here, locked in a room for days!"

"Clarke, when you came here, you were clearly in need of rest. Don't you feel better, rested, fed, we have done nothing but given you the relaxation you needed, you just were not aware at how exhausted you were when you got here," Shane said with a calm demeanor that had a hint of intimidation to her tone.

"I didn't ask to be made a prisoner, to be locked away," said Clarke.

"Do not think that you are in any position to lecture to me," said Shane in a cold menacing tone.

"Then let me leave," shouted Clarke. "You don't have any reason to keep me here." Her frustration was clear.

"Clarke, you're our guest," said Shane. She was cool, and calm. "You have not had the chance to learn who we are, nor us you."

"What is it you want from me," asked Clarke, clearly frustrated.

"We want to learn about your people," said Shane. "Do you not realize we are curious? You came here from the sky, yet you are the same. We want to learn who you are."

Clarke thought about what she said. She realized this may be an opportunity to make these people know, they wanted to live in peace, to coexist.

"Holding me captive is not the right way to do that," said Clarke.

"Clarke, you need to understand, we don't know you. Your people killed and entire population. We can't be too careful. Don't you realize, you have to earn our trust," said Shane.

"Those people were killing our people, we didn't have a choice," Clarke said.

"Tell us about the mountain men. You were inside the mountain, were you not?" Shane asked.

"What is it you want to know?" asked Clarke. "They were people, just like us. They couldn't be outside and breathe our air, it was toxic to them. Only our bone marrow would cure them."

"What kinds of weapons did the mountain men have?' asked Shane

"They had guards with guns." said Clarke.

"The acid fog," asked Shane. "How did you get past the acid fog?"

"Bellamy disabled the acid fog from inside the mountain," said Clarke and she immediately regretted saying it.

"You keep asking me questions," said Clarke. "When will I be able to ask you questions?"

"Ask me anything Clarke," said Shane.

"Can your people live in peace with our people?" asked Clarke. "That is all we want, just peace."

"I hope we can," said Shane. "You have to prove to us that you really want peace. You have to realize, you brought death to the mountain men, what makes us believe you don't want that for us as well?"

"You need to prove to us what kind of people you are," said Shane.

"Why won't you let me go outside, I don't want to be locked up like a common criminal," said Clarke.

"We will let you see more of the city in time," said Shane. "You may enjoy the games. Maybe we will let you experience them. For now rest, you're going to need strength when we journey to the Ice Nation. But of that for now, rest, we will talk again tomorrow."

Clarke was frustrated. There was no way she was going to be forced to go to the ice Nation. For now she would play along, hopefully she would convince Shane that she meant no harm and the sky people were peaceful. But something made her uneasy, the spokeswoman for Ice Nation seemed shrewd to her and she knew she was being manipulated. She needed to play it easy and be patient. She wanted to try and work with them.

Clarke was tired. The stress of the day and the interrogation had worn her weary. The soft bed was welcoming but a part of her couldn't enjoy it. She needed to get away, but another part of her felt like staying and letting the Ice Nation get to know her and her people would be a good thing. If she didn't feel like a prisoner, she would feel better about staying, but the fact that she was forced to be here, was the biggest reason she wanted to leave.