Chapter 50

Palla and Clarke were sitting atop their caballos looking down into the valley they would be settling in soon. Clarke couldn't help but smile. She could see the progress that the woodsmen had done in clearing some fields. All the timber was back at the barracks being processed. Some of it went to fires. Some to the makeshift saw mill to be turned into lumber and dried. Some was taken by the artisans to make weapons, crafts, and gifts. The rest was cut up into timber for the smoke house or to house for winter if it was needed.

She couldn't help the smile that crossed her lips. She was happy. Things weren't looking so bleak. She had even amazed Palla with how efficient they were, considering they still trained for war at odd hours of the day. But, their little civilization was starting to carve out its new home there. It wasn't going to be complete until Winter broke, but they were making headway. And, that was all Clarke wanted for now.

"You seem happy today," Palla noted.

"I am."

"Can I ask why?"

"Just look at it, Palla. We are starting to make a home, our home, here. There is a relative peace. I know that it isn't perfect, but right now, we are just...living, waiting for winter to come and break. I know that things are going to be harsh during the winter, but I think that we are prepared," Clarke told her.

"I'm actually impressed with how well they are moving. I thought that you might have more of an issue with it because of the clan differences, but you really don't. Everyone seems to be working together."

"Five years in a bunker with Octavia as your leader will do that to you. The only wild cards are the prisoners, but Diyoza seems to be working will with Indra and the other leaders. Now, it is also true that we don't have everyone down here. I think that they all learned that we have to work together if we are going to survive."

"Have you decided on a name for the settlement?"

"What is Village taken or something?" Clarke quipped.

"Well, yes it is."

"I've been calling it New Polis, but I am not sure that will stick. It will honestly be up to Madi. She is our leader."

Palla cocked an eyebrow at her phrasing. As much as she'd been talking to Clarke, she was surprised that Clarke was allowing Madi to have more control. They had been both working with the younger girl on her leadership, but it hadn't been that hard. Madi did have the memories of the former Commanders and she'd been watching Clarke for years. She lead from her heart. Something that Clarke did and Lexa was trying to do in the end. Out of all the people that could have trained Madi, Palla thought that Clarke, Lexa and Octavia were the best. Especially considering who they were and what they had to live through on Earth, Palla wished that she'd had someone like them before everything happened.

"You think that she'll name it something else?" Palla asked.

"I don't know. Echo and Octavia keep saying something about us becoming Gryfonkru. I've even heard some of the kru calling it Gryfondor."

"Really?"

"Yes, and don't get me started on that. I know. I read all the books while we were on the Ark. I am sure that everyone who read the series will find it interesting, but I'm not sure that my family is worthy of naming the settlement after," Clarke told her.

Palla laughed. She'd read the series. She liked it and should thought it would be a good name, but she could see why Clarke didn't.

"Clarke?"

"Yes?" she replied as she turned in her saddle.

"Are you ashamed of your name?"

"No."

"You know that a Griffin was a member of our colony in the beginning, right?"

"You mentioned it. His name was Jacob, right? I don't think that he was related to us, but it was an interesting coincidence."

"But, I think that naming the settlement after you would not only honor you but our history, too. I am not saying that you should. Just that you could. Something like that could bring our people together, but I don't want that to be your reasoning for it. I know that you want to bring something from your shared history on Earth. Just thought that I would give you something else to think about. But, I must admit that I love the name Grygondor for it," Palla explained with a large smile on her face.

"You just want some sort of literary connection to it," Clarke accused her.

"You have to admit, though. It would be awesome. You would bring a whole new meaning to the word 'Griffin'," Palla said.

"I am more than a name."

"But, you thought enough of it to give it to Madi, didn't you?"

Clarke had nothing to say to that. It was true, she had. She'd given Madi her last name. She'd named the Commander in a way, laying claim to her as her daughter, even though she was her fosterling. On the Ark, fosterlings still bore their biological parents names so that the lines didn't die out. Names meant something as did station. Names got you better jobs and better quarters. Names got you into programs that you wanted. She was the daughter of Jake Griffin, head engineer and Abigail "Abby" Clarke Griffin, head doctor and surgical resident.

"It was another way for me to protect her," Clarke told her.

"Protect her from what? Her own people? She is the Heda. From what I've seen, anyone that wants to hurt needs to be protected from you...the Jusgona...and most of Wonkru turned Gryfonkru. Madi will be fine. She'll be so protected that no one would dare to do anything against her. Hell, she's more worried about you, Raven, Echo and Octavia than she is herself."

"I know that."

"But, yet, you still named her after yourself. You gave her your name. Why?"

"Because she is my daughter."

"You claimed her, then, like I claimed Lex as mine."

"She's a Bradbury, too?"

"Of course, we've kept family names as tradition. But, I find that I am rather fond of the kru names. It tells you more about where you are from and who your people are more than who are related to. It doesn't let you get caught up in who someone is because of their lineage, but it does help maintain some racial issues. That it seems is the only drawback that I can think of. Is there some issue with her clan?"

"No, not that I know of. I wasn't very familiar with her clan. I'd only met a few and it was in Polis. They were all politicians or their aids and guards. I never saw anyone in the Valley. I never interacted with anyone directly in their own lands. Polis wasn't the same as the clans in their areas. It was a busy metropolis," Clarke told her.

"But, you'd lived with other clans?"

"Briefly yes, both Trikru and Floukru. They were radically different, but amazingly the same. Survival was still at the heart of their laws and day to life, but Trikru were warriors first and foremost. Floukru were fishermen and peaceful. Don't get me wrong they could both be deadly in a fight, but Floukru wouldn't seek you out or move towards revenge. Trikru would strike you down where you stood if you wronged them."

"Octavia was trained by Indra, right?"

"Yes," Clarke answered.

"And, Indra was...is a Trikru general?"

"Yes."

"No wonder Octavia is as deadly as she is," Palla stated.

"That is part of the reason."

"And, the rest of it?"

"She is a product of her upbringing. She's been a fighter since birth. Indra just took her anger and turned into something fierce. I am sure that if Lincoln hadn't sacrificed himself and been executed, she wouldn't be as hard. Her revenge against Pike drove her for a long time. When she finally killed him, she didn't know what to do. She tried to settle down. She tried to actually farm and just be a 'Grounder,' but Fate had other plans."

"Fate is a very cruel mistress," Palla muttered.

"She is indeed."

"What happened?" Palla asked.

"She became the Skairipa and as such, a very gifted assassin. She took some marks based upon Lexa's wishes, but it was known that the targets were never sanctioned. Lexa couldn't outright have anyone killed against the law, but that never stopped Indra from casually letting it be known that someone was being too difficult in their talks and needed to be removed. Octavia would do it and make it look like..."

"A heart attack or something like that?"

"Yes, she always cleaned up behind herself. Her favorite was to puncture through the ear. It was quick and easy to clean up. But, that isn't what made her who she is now. That was all the bunker."

"After she became the Osleya?" Palla asked to confirm.

"Yes, she did. She won the conclave and won the rights to the bunker. But, much like she would do, she gave each clan equal shares. One hundred from each clan, except that she overrode one for us. She added Niylah to our hundred. It was a point of contention with some of our people. They didn't want her to lead, but by Grounder law, she won. She was the only leader they could have, unless a Night Blood was made Heda or someone killed her."

"And, Indra wasn't going to let that happen," Palla stated.

"No, she wasn't. Octavia had become like a daughter to her. She was the first one to ever call Octavia, Okteivia kom Trikru. She adopted her in that moment and the rest of the clan did as well. She was happy, but it came time to fight for the bunker, she stepped up for us, for Skaikru. When she got in the bunker however, she realized that she was in over her head. She didn't have us to help her. She was content to be a fighter, a warrior, defend us. She'd always let Bellamy and me lead. She knew that we would figure it out. We would keep as many of us alive as possible. She was brute strength and steel. She didn't have the finesse or political savvy to lead twelve hundred people through nuclear winter and out the otherside."

"But, she did it."

"Because she adopted some less than pleasant ways to maintain order. She adopted the tactics of the Ancient Romans and Greeks. Gladiator fights and capital punishments for hurting anyone in the bunker, or for doing something that would hurt someone in the bunker. She had to be strict. They were all from warrior clans. Floukru was gone. Luna died in the conclave. There was no one there to really temper her anger and it raged."

"And, she became the Blood Queen?"

"Yes, she did. I wasn't proud of what she did, but after talking with my mother and hearing about the Dark Year, I was. I realized that she did the only thing that she knew how to do, fight death. She declared war on death. Death was the enemy and the enemy of Wonkru had to be destroyed. So, she had one true law that she interpreted as needed."

"Which was?"

"'You are Wonkru or you are the enemy of Wonkru, choose'," Clarke told her.

"And, you submitted to her once the bunker was open?"

"I did. Madi and I both did. We hid her status as a Night Blood, because I wasn't sure that Octavia wouldn't try to kill her. She was twelve. Octavia was twenty-four. I couldn't allow Madi to die. I did what I had to do to protect her. And, in the end, Octavia realized that she could relent and someone else rule. She realized that she broke Wonkru when she took her fight to Diyoza. She was willing to let them all die because she didn't want to give up her power. When she saw the devastation that her power caused, she wanted to die. She bowed. She submitted to Madi. And, after we were aboard the Eligius, she actually asked Madi to punish her. Madi was the only one that had the power then," Clarke stated.

"But, Madi refused?"

"She did. Octavia is one of her heroes. She wasn't going to let Octavia go out that way. She was bound to make her redeem herself."

"And, has she?" Palla asked her.

"I think she has. She is getting to do what she wants to do. She wants to be a warrior and she wants to be worthy of Heda. Being Jusgona was just an added bonus. And, Madi gives her as much leeway, if not more than Lexa, did. It is amazing how much she had changed in so little time, but again because I know her, it really isn't. This is the Octavia that I became friends with. This is the woman that I want at my side always. I trust this Octavia with my life."

"So much so that you made her your Second," Palla stated.

"No, I did that because I know that if something happens to me, Octavia will step up and step in to protect Madi as if she was her own. Making her my Second ensures that Madi will always have someone that she loves and that loves her by her side. I also know that Echo has the same mission for me. Echo and Octavia are bonded like sisters. They will both make sure that Madi is protected, and that is all I want for Madi. I need to know that should something happen to me, she would cared for, loved, protected and she would have the support that she needed in order to rule for a long time."

"You never stop when it comes to her, do you?" Palla questioned.

"No, and I never will. Just like I know that you won't when it comes to Lex. It is my job as her mother. And, gods help anyone that every threatens her."

"Even the gods won't be able to protect them, Clarke. You and I both know that. We command death and we will lay a scourge upon anyone that dares."

"Damn right, I will," Clarke replied.