Bellamy

Nine weeks to the day after Clarke left, Lexa appeared outside the gates of Camp Jaha. Technically it wasn't her at the gate, but her new right-hand man, who introduced himself as Fayol. Bellamy figured that Lexa had finally gotten around to replacing Gustus, after the betrayal that had ended with Raven being tied to a stake and nearly knifed to death.

When Fayol and another man came up to the gates on horseback and asked to speak to Clarke, no one knew what to do at first. Lexa's tent was set up a safe distance away from the camp, close to where it had been placed in the days before Finn died. This parallel made many people nervous, but Bellamy didn't see why she would reveal herself like this if she were planning an attack.

Bellamy had to fight to be the one allowed to go to see Lexa. Kane wanted to, of course, and Abby also tried to assert that she was the best choice, but in the end Bellamy argued that he was the most logical person to speak with the Commander, as the Grounders were asking for Clarke, who they still saw as leader of the Sky People, and Bellamy was seen as her second-in-command.

Bellamy followed Fayol and the other man, who was big and silent, clearly there only to intimidate if needed. He had never been in Lexa's tent, and he looked around carefully as he was led inside, his eyes finally settling on the young woman sitting on the driftwood throne.

"I asked for Clarke," she said, not coldly but with no warmth either. "Not you."

"Clarke isn't here," he answered her. "She left."

Lexa looked down at the knife in her hands, twirling it from side to side. Bellamy couldn't help but admire the engraving along the blade as he waited. Finally she said, "I knew that."

"What?" Bellamy asked, confused. "Then why come here looking for her?"

"I… hoped she was here," Lexa admitted.

"But you knew she wasn't." He didn't claim to know Lexa well, but still, he couldn't even begin to figure out what she was talking about right now.

"Yes," Lexa replied. "I hoped I was wrong."

"Will you just spit out whatever it is you're trying to tell me?" he demanded. Lexa's eyes darkened as she looked at him, and Bellamy's jaw clenched. He knew she was dangerous, that his temper could lead to problems here. "I'm sorry, Commander," he managed.

"Clarke is in trouble," Lexa said, letting his rudeness pass unchecked.

Bellamy sighed. "Yeah, I know, it was stupid for her to go off on her own. I tried to stop her."

"No, you don't understand," she said, shaking her head. "She's in trouble now. She's been taken."

His back straightened. "What? Taken by who?" There was clear hesitation in Lexa's body language, like she knew more but didn't want to say. "Come on," he urged her. "You came here for a reason."

"I came to see if she was here, if our intelligence was wrong."

"You knew it was wrong," Bellamy answered, trying to make the words sound less confrontational than they were.

Lexa looked at him for a long moment. He forced himself to meet her gaze, not to look away. Finally she said, "Yes. We had good information that Clarke was taken by the Ice Nation."

"The Ice Nation?" Bellamy repeated. He had only heard those people described once, and he hardly remembered the context. Finally he retrieved it from deep in his memory and asked, "Aren't they part of your twelve clan alliance?"

Pressing her lips together, Lexa gave the slightest half-shake of her head. "It appears not," she said, clearly quite unhappy about it. "Not anymore."

"Okay but if they wanted to betray you, why would they take Clarke?" he pressed.

"I believe their spies relayed one piece of information to them but not another."

"Listen," Bellamy said, losing his temper a little. "I can't play twenty questions with you. Just tell me what you're talking about so I can figure out how to help Clarke. Okay?"

The energy in the room seemed to change as it became clear that Lexa's men were not happy with the way Bellamy was talking to her, but she put up a hand to stop them from doing anything about it.

Finally releasing whatever hesitation she seemed to have, Lexa explained. "Before the Ice Nation joined the alliance, they were an enemy of the Woods Clan. When I became Commander, they tried to undermine my power by taking someone that I loved- they tortured her for information, then killed her."

"I'm sorry," he said, mostly because she paused, but it was clear that this person was still a sore subject for her.

Lexa inclined her head a little, acknowledging his sympathy, and then continued, "I fear the Ice Nation may think they have a second chance to undermine me. By using Clarke."

"Why is that?" he asked, frowning. "Clarke isn't exactly someone you love." There was a drop of venom in his voice; he was still angry with her for her betrayal.

"As I said, I think the Ice Nation has spies within the Woods Clan. I think these spies informed their queen that Clarke and I had a… connection. And I think their plan to use her against me was set in motion before they ever received word that we had parted company. The Ice Nation is far away, even by horse."

"So you're saying they grabbed her because of you," Bellamy asked, trying not to sound as angry as he felt. "To use her against you."

"That is what I'm saying," she confirmed with a slight nod.

Bellamy said nothing for a long moment. He took a deep breath. "Okay," he said. "So what are we going to do about it?"

Lexa raised an eyebrow at him. "We?"

"You came here, you brought your tent and your men… you must plan to do something about it?"

"No," Lexa replied. "I don't. I wanted to see if it was true. Now I believe it is. I'm sorry, but Clarke is lost."

Bellamy let out a snort of indignation. "You're a real piece of work, aren't you?"

This time Lexa's men started to unsheathe their swords, but again Lexa put up a hand to stop them. She was glaring at Bellamy, but her voice was calm as she said, "You must do as you wish. I will not travel to the Ice Nation. I will not set foot in those lands."

"And how the hell am I supposed to go after her alone?" he growled. "That's a suicide mission and you know it."

"Yes, it is," she answered evenly. "More than you know. Which is why I won't be accompanying you."

Bellamy felt like picking something up and throwing it, but somehow he resisted the urge. "I wouldn't even be able to find the place," he finally said, trying to get through to her with logic instead of emotion.

Lexa considered this for a moment. "There is a woman, one of those we rescued from the cages in the mountain. Her name is Echo… she's from the Ice Nation. I believe she is keen to return to her homeland."

"You think she'll take me?" he asked hesitantly.

"I cannot speak for her," she replied with a slight shrug. "But you could ask. She has been staying with us. My men can take you to her."

He nodded. "Thank you."

Lexa nodded her head. "Go well, Bellamy of the Sky People," she said, clearly dismissing him. She spoke to her men briefly in Trigedasleng and then he was escorted from the tent. He was led past several other smaller, temporary tents before they finally stopped at one.

Fayol called out in Trigedasleng, saying a string of words, of which Bellamy could only understand his own name and the word for his people- Skaikru. A woman's voice answered before Fayol nodded to Bellamy, granting him access to the tent.

"Does she speak English?" he asked. Fayol nodded again, much to Bellamy's relief- all the better if they could talk privately. "Thanks, you can go," he said.

Fayol and Lexa's other man exchanged a glance, then nodded and left him. Bellamy stepped inside the tent. It was much less decorated than Lexa's, much smaller with only a pile of furs on one side as a bed and a small bag to carry her belongings piled neatly with her weapons near the door.

The young woman was standing in the centre of the tent, clearly waiting for him. Bellamy was taken aback as he realised she looked somehow familiar, and he frowned for a moment, trying to figure out how he could possibly know her. Then it all came rushing back-

Waking up in the cage next to hers in Mount Weather, her spitting on him when she found out he was a Sky Person, warning him not to make noise because it would only make the men harvest him next… her helping him kill Lovejoy, his promise to go back for her… the way his heart sank when he arrived in the empty harvest chamber and realised he couldn't fulfill that promise, would never know if she had made it out or if she'd been drained before she ever got her chance.

"You're Echo?" he asked her, shaking his head slightly in disbelief.

"You're Bellamy?" she said at almost the same moment, seeming just as shocked.

They both just stood there for a moment, and then Echo flung her arms around his shoulders and pulled him close. "Thank you," she said softly. "Thank you for helping me get out of the mountain."

Bellamy was momentarily surprised at the show of affection, but then he wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. "Thanks for helping me while I was in there," he said softly. "And thanks for not dying after I left."

Pulling back from the embrace, they looked at each other and just smiled.