Octavia

She sat in front of the campfire, watching the way the soft light cast shadows that seemed to dance and change against the trees. It made her think of the shadow child that Echo had mentioned, but there was still no sign of one. Lincoln still seemed doubtful about it, as though he didn't really believe they could be real, despite Echo's assurances that they were.

Lincoln and Bellamy had gone to sleep, but she and Echo were still awake, sitting side by side across from the men. Octavia hadn't had much chance to sit with Echo alone, but this was her chance- Lincoln was accustomed with sleeping and rising with the sun, and Bellamy had been unusually tired tonight.

Echo seemed lost in her own thoughts as she repaired a hole in one of the seams of her jacket. Octavia took the opportunity to watch the older woman carefully. She had never known someone from the Ice Nation before, not really. There had been a few of its citizens in tonDC for the summit, before Mount Weather had bombed the village, but she hadn't had a chance to talk to any of them. Rumours had spread fast that Indra's second was a Sky Person, and most had given her a wide berth during that time.

There was a sudden hiss of pain as Echo poked herself in the finger with her needle, and she threw down the jacket in frustration. Octavia smiled a little and reached her hand out. Echo was momentarily surprised, but she handed it over to her and watched as Octavia started laying down careful stitches, bringing the seam back together.

"My fingers are not so nimble," Echo complained. "I can wield a sword and a knife with ease, but skill with a sewing needle has always escaped me."

"Back on the Ark, my mother made clothes," Octavia explained. "She taught me as soon as I could sit still long enough. I helped her all the time."

"What was that place like?" Echo asked curiously. "The debris at Camp Jaha is so large, but I'm told the whole Ark was far bigger. Is it true you could see the whole world from your windows?"

Octavia shook her head. "Not for me," she said. "Bellamy and I lived on Factory Station… that's where most of the labourers lived. Our quarters were cramped- just one room… no windows. I did see the Earth once, though- when I was fifteen." She still remembered that day so vividly, not just because it was the day she was hauled off to the Skybox, but even before that it had been so significant. For so much of her life, she had dreamt about seeing the Ark, begging over and over to be allowed out of that room, and then finally, suddenly, Bellamy had taken her outside.

She could still remember how the Earth had looked out the window, the beautiful blue and green, the moon hovering just above the surface of the planet, a slight glow to both orbs. "It was really beautiful," she said. "Breathtaking."

Her hand went to her throat as she thought of a necklace Bellamy had given to her when she'd turned thirteen and that was lost now, crashed to the ground with the Ark and surely destroyed. It had been a surprisingly realistic rendition of the globe, the blue and green sand encased in a sphere of glass. She had treasured that necklace, treasured what it stood for, but she also knew that she was not that same person anymore. She was no longer the scared little girl hiding under the floor, just wishing she could see a moonrise. She was now a woman grown, a warrior, and every day her feet were planted firmly on the Earth of her dreams.

Echo listened to her story, nodding thoughtfully. "The Ark is a strange place," she remarked. "Your laws and customs are confusing to me."

Octavia laughed a little. "You and me both," she said, putting the final stitch into the jacket and tying off the thread.

She handed it back and watched as Echo tested the seam with an approving nod. "Thank you."

A comfortable silence passed between them before Octavia asked, "So Bellamy didn't really tell me the full story of how you two know each other so well."

"We don't," Echo answered, shaking her head a little. "But extreme times will bond people in short order."

Octavia nodded, her eyes drifting over to Lincoln's sleeping form across from them. "Yeah. I get that."

"He and I were caged next to each other inside the mountain," Echo told her. "I wasn't happy to be sharing my space with a Sky Person, but your brother soon proved himself to me. It did not feel right to leave him behind."

"That was Lexa's doing," Octavia said, her voice bitter. "She betrayed us."

Echo seemed to hesitate. Finally she said, "I understand why you would feel that way about it."

"But you and Bellamy are good?" Octavia asked, not really wanting to talk about Lexa. "There's no hard feelings between you?"

"I don't believe so."

Octavia cracked a smile. "I thought maybe he annoyed you."

"Oh, he does," Echo agreed. "He can be quite infuriating."

With a small laugh, Octavia nodded her head. "Trust me," she said. "I get that."

"You are his sister… that's different," Echo pointed out.

"Do you have a brother?"

"I have three," she answered with a nod. "And four sisters."

Octavia's eyes widened. "Wow… eight kids? My mom was killed for having two."

"Yes, I'm sorry," Echo said delicately, pausing briefly out of respect. "We come from very different worlds."

"So what number were you?" she asked, not really wanting to think about her mother any more than she wanted to think about Lexa.

"I was third," Echo answered. "And the second girl."

"Are they all back in the Ice Nation?"

"No," she replied with a shake of her head and a soft sigh. "My oldest brother and sister both died in battle- one in the field, one afterward from a festered wound. The sister born after me was killed in a fire, my youngest brother died of plague, and my youngest sister died in childbirth. I have two siblings left… male and female twins, born four summers after I was. They both live in the capital."

"I'm so sorry," Octavia said, totally horrified. She imagined losing Bellamy five times over, and she couldn't even fathom the grief.

"Life is harsh," Echo said gently. "It is common to have many children in the hopes that one or two might live long enough to bury you."

It was hard to know how to respond to that, so Octavia didn't, and both women slipped into another comfortable silence, watching the flickering of the firelight. Finally Octavia asked gently, "Will you see your brother and sister when we get to the capital?"

"Perhaps," Echo answered with some hesitation. "If things go well with the queen, and if my seeing them will not bring trouble down on them, then yes- I would like that."

"This queen sounds pretty scary," Octavia remarked nervously.

Again, Echo hesitated. "She is powerful," she said finally, carefully. "She does what is best for the nation… for our people… as any leader should."

Octavia scowled into the fire. "Yeah, I've heard that before," she said dryly. "It's what made Lexa betray us. There's a difference between doing what's best for your own and screwing other people over in the process."

"I am grateful that I have never been called to lead," Echo said simply. Internally, Octavia agreed whole-heartedly. She had watched her brother and Clarke struggle with the burdens of leadership, and it didn't look fun at all.

The moon was now bright in the sky, the sun long since set, and Octavia knew they would be moving again at first light. She was now long since used to sleeping on the ground, and the furs made a cosy bed even as they got further and further north. Once or twice there had been frost on the ground in the morning, but Octavia knew there would be much colder temperatures to come. She was looking forward to seeing snow.

Letting out a yawn, Octavia pulled to her feet and bid Echo goodnight, heading over to hers and Lincoln's bed. She lay down next to him and tucked herself into the furs. Still mostly asleep, Lincoln rolled over and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her into his chest. Octavia closed her eyes and breathed in his familiar scent, letting his warmth cocoon her into sleep.

Some time later, she woke with a jolt. Lincoln was sleeping next to her, his breath soft and warm against her face, and didn't seem to be disturbed. At first she thought she might have had a nightmare, but she couldn't remember.

Then she heard a soft sound, somewhere between a groan and a cry, and belatedly she realised it sounded like Bellamy's voice. Carefully she untangled herself from Lincoln and got out of the bed, hurrying to her brother's side.

Bellamy's hair was plastered to his face with sweat, his breath was coming in quick and shallow gasps, and when she touched his chest she could feel his heart pounding beneath her palm. She grabbed his cheeks in her hand and shook him lightly, trying to wake him up, thinking maybe he was just having a terrible dream, but his skin felt as hot as fire.

"Bell?" she whispered anxiously when he didn't wake up, her heart starting to pound as well. "Bellamy?"

When his eyelids finally fluttered open she let out a breath of relief, but just as quickly that relief turned again to fear as she saw how cloudy his eyes were, his pupils dilated. She laid her hand on his cheek and tried to get him to look at her but he seemed disoriented, unable to focus.

"Bell, can you hear me?" she demanded, tapping his face with her hand. She no longer cared about being quiet, and she heard Lincoln and Echo both stirring at the volume of her voice.

"O," he whispered, and seemed to have as much trouble getting his words out as he did focusing on her face. "Something's wrong."

She grabbed his hand and squeezed. "I know, but I'm right here," she said, and added their childhood mantra, "I won't let anything happen to you."

Lincoln and Echo had now gotten up and they were at Octavia's side, looking at Bellamy with deep, concerned lines etched into both their foreheads.

"Has he been injured?" Echo asked.

"No, he was just sleeping," Octavia answered quickly. "He was just laying here."

Lincoln touched Bellamy's forehead and when he felt the extent of his fever he hurried to his bag, pulling out pouches and vials of medicine and starting to mix things together in a wooden cup.

Echo ripped Bellamy's shirt open and laid her ear on his chest, frowning as she listened to his heart and lungs. She pulled the furs off him and carefully examined his chest, which looked normal other than the beads of sweat that covered him from head to toe. Without ceremony Echo pulled down Bellamy's pants and examined each bare leg carefully, turning them from side to side.

Octavia watched Echo's every move closely, noticing how her frown just seemed to get deeper and deeper. "What's wrong with him?" she demanded when she couldn't stand the silence anymore.

"Help me roll him," Echo ordered curtly, not answering the question. Octavia did as she asked and Echo pushed the back of Bellamy's shirt up, running her hands over his back carefully. Still she seemed dissatisfied with her findings.

Only when she pulled off his boots did she freeze, obviously having located what she was searching for. There on his right lower calf, just above the bump of his ankle, was a small but angry-looking mark, a dark bluish-red like the start of an abscess, surrounded on all sides by pink, inflamed skin.

"So what is it?" Octavia demanded. It was such a little thing.

Lincoln returned to Bellamy's side and tilted his head up, helping him to drink the bitter liquid he had prepared. "To bring down his fever," he explained to Octavia as Bellamy coughed and sputtered but managed to swallow most of it.

"Bellamy," Echo called sharply to him. "When were you bitten?"

Lincoln looked down and saw the wound, and Octavia watched his face change as the gravity of the situation hit him. "It was a spider," he told her grimly. "A very dangerous spider."

"I wasn't bitten… by anything," Bellamy said with what seemed like great effort.

"Yes you were, Bell," Octavia answered, tears welling up in her eyes. "It's bad, right?" she asked the two Grounders, her attention settling on Lincoln because she knew he would tell her the truth. "How bad?"

Lincoln swallowed and shook his head at her. "He may die."

A cry caught in her throat but she forced down her panic. "So what do we do?"

"Medicine," Echo said to Lincoln urgently. "Do you carry any leechdom?"

"No," he replied, shaking his head with obvious dismay. "But I do have many of the ingredients, and the rest we should be able to gather nearby."

Echo shook her head. "That won't matter. It must stand for nine days before use and he won't last that long."

Octavia was torn between wanting to listen to the conversation and not wanting to hear any of it because it was so clear how dangerous this was for her brother. Her only comfort was the fact that Bellamy seemed too out of it to understand what was going on. She covered him back up with the furs and kept hold of his hand. Every time his eyes started to close she squeezed it tightly, afraid that he might slip away if she let him sleep.

Lincoln was frowning thoughtfully at Bellamy as though trying to decide how close to death he really was. It reminded Octavia of the time he'd been desperate to save her from her poisoned arrow wound, and she worried about what he might be thinking. "Perhaps one of the villages…" he suggested uncertainly.

"We are not on Trikru land anymore," Echo warned. "This is Plains Clan territory, and we are all outsiders to them."

"We have no choice," Lincoln said firmly. "They may be willing to trade with us."

Echo looked at Bellamy doubtfully. "He cannot ride."

"Octavia, we'll go," Lincoln said to her. "Echo can stay with Bellamy."

"No," she answered immediately, shaking her head and tightening her hand around Bellamy's like a vice. "I'm not leaving him."

"He needs medicine," Echo said impatiently. "You can do nothing else for him. I will keep him safe until you return."

"And alive?" Octavia snapped. "Will you keep him alive?"

Echo seemed to soften as she heard the obvious fear in her voice, underneath her anger. "I will do all that I can," she promised gently. "You have my word."

Octavia knew she had no choice. She leaned down and hugged her brother tightly, telling him he wasn't allowed to die, and then she went with Lincoln.

Her last impression of Bellamy was how small he looked, like a frightened little boy, his eyes full of a dread that mirrored her own as he watched her ride away.