Pike stares Clarke down. He can't believe that she'd be so foolish—so bold—as to challenge him here on his land. She must know what happens to the Grounders and the traitors who dare set foot on Arkadia's soil. If she wants humiliation, she will have it. He gives a shake of his head as a smile breaks past his lips.
"Alright then. Tell me, Clarke: What's got you so tense?" He watches as she arches an eyebrow while she processes the question. "You seem angry…self-righteous, even." He emphasizes his words carefully, making sure his tone reminds his people why this girl's anger is childish and misplaced.
"It's funny that you come here with your fury when, in fact, I'm simply doing what you started. You killed hundreds at the drop ship. You're the one the Grounders call the "commander of death", but you're nothing more than a weak little girl."
"Am I?" Clarke scoffs. Her confidence is so utterly unshaken by his assessments that it readily commands the attention of the crowd. "You're right. We killed hundreds of Grounders after we first came to Earth, but they drew first blood and the actions were justified at the time. The thing you're ignoring is that the Grounders forgave the burning. They only asked for one life in return and we worked with them against Mt. Weather-"
"And then they betrayed us." Bellamy speaks up from the crowd, stepping forward with a glare in his eyes. Pike smirks, having been handed the artillery he needs for his next argument. "You're right, Bellamy. They did…and condemned our people inside the mountain to death. They used us to get what they wanted."
"You mean like you're preying on the grief of these people to get what you want? We all come from a station where people were killed to preserve the group as a whole. That's no different from the choice that Lexa made on the mountain. She sacrificed our people for the majority. And since then you've done nothing but continue to slaughter even as she continues to try to make amends and bring peace."
She is on a roll now and the words come out of her like water down the river. She can sense that many in the crowd agree with her, but this isn't about swaying them. She needs to give them a voice; make them feel secure enough to stand up to Pike on their own.
Bellamy attempts to interrupt her once again. "Clarke, you don't know—"
"Shut up." She spits at him before turning her full attention back to Pike."
"Nobody has been directly killed by the Trikru clan since before Finn's execution. Azgeda was responsible for the deaths at Mt. Weather after Lexa withdrew her forces and still you slaughtered three hundred of Trikru's warriors and then attempted to take their land."
Pike tilts his head, intrigued by Clarke's argument. "How else are we supposed to acquire resources?"
Clarke breathes sharply, attempting to quell the frustration she feels mounting inside of her gut. There is something deeply wrong with this man that goes beyond ordering death to the grounders he feels are his enemies. When Clarke speaks again it is with a great deal of effort to restrain her seething temper.
"Those are resources you would have had open access to had you not rejected the brand."
"And I do I know that?" He asks incredulously with a shake of her head. "How am I supposed to take the girl who 'sacrificed' us at Mt. Weather at her word? Hmm?" He's slipping. Growing more frustrated the longer Clarke continues to argue and there is an uneasiness in the courtyard as the whole of Skaikru watches this verbal sparring match.
"The brand made us her people too. Even after you rejected it, she's been acting as such. Why do you think there was no retaliation for the massacre you committed? Why is there just now a blockade? You're alive because she refuses to idly wipe out an entire clan if there is a chance for peace."
Pike's pacing now as if he's a disgruntled tiger locked away in some circus cage. She's deep under his skin and she knows it. He rubs at his temples, wracking his brains for anything that can show this girl that she's wrong.
"What if she's just hiding. Has that occurred to you?" And Clarke lets a broad smile fall onto her lips, fully aware that Lexa is hearing every word of this. Nothing could be further from the truth and he'll find out soon enough that Heda hides from no one.
"I don't imagine why she would. She commands twelve armies and you have the full force of them right at your doorstep, Pike." She pauses, considering a long forgotten factoid from her history lessons on the Ark. "You know, I'm sure you thought you had better fire power when you planned a frontal assault on the blockade, but General Custer probably thought the same."
The next serious of events happens quickly. Pike and Clarke draw their weapons against each other just as Octavia and Lincoln enter the courtyard with a group of freed captives wielding newly acquired firearms. Bellamy hesitates but settles on drawing a weapon on Lincoln as the guards occupy themselves with the captives. The result is a massive stand-off.
"Look at where we are." Clarke states calmly, in spite of the situation. "Is this really what's best for your people?"
Pike listens to her, points his gun at her, but his eyes are focused at some point over her shoulder. He's looking at Octavia, who in turn has a gun drawn on him.
"Bellamy."
"Yes sir?"
"Kill the traitors." Clarke tenses for a moment and briefly considers stopping Bellamy, but some deep instinct compels her to wait. Her mind is drawn back to Nia's attempted coup and she can almost here Lexa's voice in her ear.
Let him make his move.
Bellamy's eyes immediately lock on to his sister and everyone in the crowd follows his gaze regardless of the weapons that some of them have pointed. Surely he's not actually going to force this man to kill his own sister. And, as much as Bellamy has butted heads with her recently, the thought has never crossed his mind. He finds himself filled with a terrible sense of dread and conflicted feelings; he's been handed yet another betrayal.
"Sir…?" He asks with a shaky timbre as the gun shakes in his hand. He's all too aware that he's become the center of attention.
"You heard me, Blake." Pike has gone strangely calm, though his order still carries an ominous bark about it. Kill her or I will.
Bellamy slowly shifts his weapon to point it at Octavia and their eyes lock with the same horrified expression. It's exactly the situation that Clarke was hoping to avoid in leaving her own mother in Polis. She watches the scene with a cold fury akin to the one she'd felt at first arriving to find Kane beaten and bloody at Pike's feet.
"Enough." She repeats, loud and strong, and it carries over the crowd. Lincoln looks just as furious standing protectively at Octavia's side and he knows if Bellamy dares to pull that trigger, then he might as well be pulling it for himself because Lincoln's bullet will find him.
There's a shift in the crowd in the wake of Clarke's repeated sentiment and Bellamy's hesitance. Everyone who had a hand in planning this coup knows that Pike has just lost with that last order; they feel it as surely as they feel the wind. Lincoln further riles up the rebellion as he starts to chant, eyes still burning holes into Bellamy and Pike.
"Nou Pike noumo."
The second time he speaks the chant, he's joined by Octavia, and then Clarke until almost everyone has joined and the words are thunderous inside the walls of Arkadia. For his part, Pike has the sense to realize that he is finally outmatched and virtually crumbles under the weight of his defeat. He stands flabbergasted in the midst of the din with his gun at his side until a group of guards relieve him of it.
Clarke knows it's better than he deserves, but she stops the crowd from their assaults on the deposed Chancellor before they can kill him. No, he would receive his judgement before Heda. The guards shove him off toward the cells with much the same treatment as he had them use with Kane earlier and Skaikru's raucousness continues well on into the day.
The scant remaining supporters are quickly discovered and thrown into the cells along with their leader. Bellamy is among them, though he managed to see Pike for the man he was at the end. Before he's taken amid the chaos, Clarke spots him tearfully hugging Octavia. She smiles at the sight of Octavia slapping him after pulling away and wonders how long the other woman has been thinking about that.
The day is wearing thin and Clarke is in the medbay watching Kane as he sleeps. She has seen to his injuries personally and they speak to his unfair treatment. There are several broken ribs, a broken nose, a fractured jaw, and his body is covered in a litany of purple bruises. She was even worried about internal bleeding at one point, but now, with the blood cleaned from his broken body, Kane rests. Despite his injuries, it looks to be the most peaceful sleep the man has had in a while.
Now, Clarke sits sketching on some random piece of paper. There is no direction to her drawing, she just finds herself drawing visions of the brighter future that seems less far away than it did yesterday. Maybe now her people can finally move on from the past. She hopes they will learn a lesson from Pike and let go of their hatred. She knows that given time, Lexa will show them how to trust again.
She looks up and the sound of the door to find Octavia standing with her mentor. Ever the stoic warrior, Indra actually looks like she may smile as she walks further into the room. She offers her hand and Clarke grasps her forearm, noting the pride that sparkles in those stern eyes.
"I was wrong about you, Klark kom Skaikru. Your people did the clans proud today. They do Heda proud."
Clarke gives a simple nod in thanks and acceptance of the compliments. Her eyes register surprise when Indra cracks an actual smile. It passes as quickly as it comes but it's a smile nonetheless and suddenly the warrior is back to business.
"I bring a message from the blockade. The summit was a success and Heda wishes for the presence of all thirteen clans in Polis for Pike's sentencing.
"All thirteen…" Clarke gasps "Has that even been done before?"
"Not since the first Heda many moons ago." Indra replies
"Mochoff, Indra." Clarke replies, still awestruck at the thought that only a few hours would see her traveling with the full might of the Grounder nations.
"Reshop, Wanheda en mochoff." Indra bows her head in respect before she turns on her heel to leave her protégé alone with Clarke.
The silence stretches peacefully between them; neither woman knowing what to say, or even if there is anything to say. Neither quite expected the day to go as well as it had but…there was a price.
Octavia's gaze drifts over to Kane's sleeping figure as she surveys his battered appearance.
"Will he be safe to move?" She wonders, suddenly realizing that Lexa had called for the entirety of the thirteen clans. Clarke is quick to diffuse her concern.
"He'll be fine…probably back on his feet once he wakes up." She meets Octavia's gaze with a small smile. "I imagine he was sleep deprived. I hardly had to give him any medicine."
"What an ass." Octavia huffs as she clenches her fists at her sides. "He couldn't even fight fair; had to have his opponent abused and kept awake before hand."
Clarke chuckles as she gives a nod. "ass isn't the word I'd use, but I guess it works. How's Bellamy?"
"Stupid." Octavia grunts. "A few hours in the cell will do him good. He'll be lucky if he has an ass left to kick by the time Lexa gets to him."
"Well, I guess it's lucky for him that Lexa's got her eyes set on Pike."
Octavia nods in agreement. "All that for a girl he barely knew, and we're the irrational, over emotional ones?"
Clarke chuckles, placing a calming hand on Octavia's shoulder. "Well, hopefully he's learned from this." A devious smile stretches across her face when she speaks again. "If not, we can both kick his ass."
Octavia lets out a snort at the comment and then they lapse into another silence with only the sound of Kane's breathing between them. Clarke thinks of her mother, Kane, of Wells…everyone she's been held responsible for since landing on Earth. This is a victory for them all, but she knows that there is still a battle left to fight for them.
Her mind wanders back to Lexa; to Polis and the mysterious chip. She thinks about her people's ominous connection to the City of Light. But those problems can wait…for now:
"So, Princess, we actually did it."
"Yeah, we did."
And it feels damn good to finally say those words.
That's it for this chapter. Once again, I really don't know how long the next update will take but I will get it up as soon as possible. Thanks for reading!