Chapter 58

Madi was waiting outside of Palla's quarters. Leaning against the wall, she saw her as she came back up the stairs from Raven's. When their eyes met, Palla realized that it wasn't a social call. Madi's eyes weren't hard, but they weren't soft and filled with childlike wonder as she'd seen before. No, Madi looked like she had something pressing to tell her and she wasn't sure how Palla was going to take it. They both knew that it had been a long week, from making sure that preparations for winter were in order, to riding the perimeters, to outlaying who was going to be where to guard the wall, the barracks, and the people, they were both tired. The stay in the woods the night before had done nothing to calm Palla's thoughts, but Madi looked exceedingly refreshed and ready to go fight a war.

"Heda," she greeted the teen.

"I would like to discuss something with you," Madi told her.

"Alright," Palla replied. "I'm assuming that Clarke doesn't know about it and that you don't wish for everyone to know. Is that why you've come here?"

"Yes."

"Well, come in, then," Palla resigned as she opened the door and walked inside. "Do you want something to drink? Something to eat?"

"No," Madi replied as she made her way over to a chair in the common area of the quarters and sat down.

Palla watched her movements. For someone usually so agile and gracefully, Madi seemed to be forcing herself today. She knew that Raven hadn't told her about the leg. It was something that they had all sworn to secrecy, even from their Heda, but Palla understood not wanting to get Madi's hopes up for Raven to walk again.

"Things are complicated," Madi started as she watched Palla fall into sitting on the couch.

"Complicated?"

"Yes. Balt was here while you were gone. He was taking more histories from our people to record so that they wouldn't be lost like the rest of Earth's. But, that isn't the problem. You and I are the problem," Madi told her.

"How so?" Palla asked, staring deeply in the girl's...no young woman's icy blue eyes.

"You care for Clarke," Madi started.

"I do."

"I worry about her and what might happen should something happen to me. Losing Lexa almost destroyed her. If I die...it will kill her. But, I know that you have the same keyron as Lexa. I am afraid of what it might do to her if something were to happen to you," Madi explained.

"I've survived this long, Madi. The Praha haven't killed me yet and I am not about to let them. I'll be fine."

"I know you will. I have made sure of it. I cannot afford for anything to happen to you."

"What have you done?"

"The same thing that I would do if you were part of my people, Palla. I've found a way to protect you. Now, all you have to do is accept and not fight me on it."

"Not fight you? Not fight you? Madi, that is all I have been really doing for the last ten years. I have fought. I have killed. I have destroyed all in the name of survival, revenge, and pain. Waking up everyday has been a fight for me. Not having Tamma beside me... Clarke has awakened something in me that I lost, but I am not about to let that go. I am not about to go charging over the wall and beg for death like I would have months before you landed."

"Octavia will be your jusgona until I have a replacement after the trials."

"You are giving me no say in this?"

"None."

"And after the trials?"

"Depending on who survives the trials, I will let you pick your guard."

"And, if I don't want one?" Palla asked.

"Then, you will still bear a shadow."

"You aren't going to let this go, are you?"

"I'm doing three here for all of us," Madi started.

"And, what is that?"

"I'm protecting Clarke's heart by keeping you alive and protected. I'm protecting myself by keeping you both happy, alive, and protected. And, I am giving you an ambassador to our settlement that will accompany you back to the Village. Octavia has been ordered to be your shadow. I didn't have to tell you this, but I am because I believe that as a leader you have the right know. I have my own guards and I am sharing them with you. This is a symbolic step for our people into accepting yours and possibly joining yours. Don't waste this, Palla. Take it and use it to help us further the relations between us. I don't want us to be island amongst your people. I want us to join together and survive. It is the only way that will conquer death...together," Madi told her.

"Then, I will accept Octavia."

"Good. I need to call the ship and see how things are there. Shaw, Emori and John have been too quiet lately and I want make sure they are safe."

"Has Abby completed her trials on bringing Kane down?"

"I'm not sure. I'll go ask her. I know that she needs him, needs his support and his understanding."

"I think that there is more there than you know."

"Oh, she loves him. I know this. I've seen it. But, she doesn't feel worthy of him for many reason."

"Clarke?"

"No, I think that Clarke approves of the match regardless of the issues between her and her mother. At the end of the day, Clarke wants her to be happy. She loves her mother and she still needs her. I don't think that Kane dying will destroy Abby. She's been through a lot on her own, but it might make her relapse and that is something that none of us want," Madi told her.

"Go to your people. I'll meet with Octavia. I need to head back to the Village soon."

Madi nodded and stood. She reached out and took Palla's arm, shaking it, binding their agreement in the Grounder fashion. Nodding again, she left the quarters with a very perplexed and bewildered Palla. That conversation hadn't gone at all like she thought it would. She never expected that Madi would do something like that, but then again, she had Lexa in her head. And if Madi was protecting her, she was protecting Lexa's spirit. But, mostly Palla realized that Madi was giving her approval to be with Clarke. She'd won over Heda. Now, she just needed to win over Wanheda. Clarke was going to be harder and it wasn't just because she was so damn stubborn.

Miller, Aeolus, Bellamy and Indra were down in the pins sparring. The rest of the hopeful guards and jusgona were training and sparring around them. Occasionally, Aeolus or Miller would break away and correct them before going back to fighting each other.

Indra was circling Bellamy. She was watching him, but she had her eye on the young gona kom Podakru. She knew that she shouldn't be thinking about the different clans as they were all now one, but even Heda wanted them to maintain their heritage and the clans were part of their heritage.

"Indra?" Bellamy asked when he noticed her wavering attention.

"I'ago is a good gona."

"He is. I can see why you sent him to Octavia to be trained, but there is something more to him. What is it?"

"He is from Podakru."

"Boat crew?"

"Yes, but he fights like he is Trikru en Boudalan, no Podakru."

"Is that a problem?" Bellamy asked her.

"Not really as we are all Wonkru, but it gives me reason to watch him more. I want to know more about him. If he is to be jusgona, he needs to be questioned," Indra told him with her eyes narrowing on the boy.

"I'll get him," Bellamy stated as he moved towards him.

She watched as Bellamy navigated the other trainees and zeroed in on I'ago. He was sparring with an older warrior that reminded Bell of Gustus and Nyko just in sheer size. The other warrior wasn't wearing any markings to let Bell know where he was from, but oddly enough he kept his face clean shaven.

"I'ago," Bellamy stated in a clear enough voice that two warriors broke apart.

"Sha, Bellami?"

"Indra wants you," Bellamy answered in Trig.

"Sha," I'ago replied and moved towards the dark female general.

Bellamy watched him go, but decided that Indra didn't need his help. If she did, she'd call for him. Instead he turned to the other warrior and engaged him. They needed to keep training and the more time he spent with the warriors from the different clans, the more training he realized that he needed in order to prove himself worthy of being a guard again, for Madi, Clarke, and Palla. He didn't want to disappoint them again.

Indra watched at the young man came towards her. He sheathed his sword and stopped about two front her. He saluted and waited for further instructions from her.

"I'ago, you are the most promising of the gona we have."

"Thank you, General."

"I know that you want to go through the trials and become jusgona and serve Wanheda en Heda."

"I do."

"Then tell me more about yourself," she demanded.

"I am from the Lakes near Azgeda. My father and mother sent me to be one of the children to survive. My father was a gona for Heda Leksa and my mother was a smith. I had four older brothers and two sisters. I was the youngest and the only boy to survive the Reapers when they swept our village before Wanheda took the mountain. A brother and sister were freed with Lexa's deal, but both died in battle as Queen Nia made her run for Polis," he told her.

"What village are you from?"

"Mi'gan, General."

"Mi'gan? It was one of the first to fall to Nia's wrath. You grew up on the water?"

"I was born there, yes. But, after Azgeda's constant fighting, my mother took us south to the lands of Boudalan, as she was from there. I grew up there until I was able to be a sekkon. Then my father called me to Polis to serve with him in Lexa's armies," he told her.

She nodded. It all made sense, but he was still young enough to prove to be a threat to Heda if he wanted. She wanted more information. So, she pushed further.

"Who was your father?"

"O'Hare," he replied.

Indra's eyes lit up. She spoke with O'Hare many times. He was a Podakru general, but he only served Lexa in the coalition. He lived in Polis and was at Lexa's bidding. He served his people, but he believed in Lexa's dream. He had been loyal and died well.

"He was a good man."

"You knew my father?" I'ago asked her.

"I served with him for Heda Leksa. He was a friend. I didn't know you were in Polis or I would have been training with you as well. Who was your Prima, E-Ahgou?"

"He was called Kieran kom Trikru," I'ago answered.

"Your father didn't chose someone from Podakru?"

"He chose who he thought was best from those gona in Polis."

"Kieran was a good woman."

"She was. I learned a lot from her. She was a great teacher."

"Were you with her when she died?" Indra asked him.

"No, by then, I was sent back to Podakru to swear loyalty to Prince Dupage."

Indra watched his eyes. She knew that he was telling the truth. He was just like most of the younger generation of the Grounders. War had ravaged their villages, but Lexa had brought them all together for a better future. They didn't honestly care about who they were from, they wanted to serve Heda and her coalition. Lexa's armies were vast and wide. She had her own armies and then the armies of the twelve clans. She only mobilized the coalition armies when she had to and the fight for the mountain was the last time she did. They fought alongside their brethren and each of the clans armies. That was the one thing that Lexa demanded. Each clan was to keep their own army, but they were to support heda when called, and they always did.

"Good. Go continue to practice with Mikle. He is big and he'll help you learn," Indra told him dismissing him.

I'ago reported back and watched as Bellamy and Mikle continued to circle each other. He wasn't going to disrupt them. He would wait to see who won this round. Indra must have found it interesting as well, because she'd followed I'ago back over. She smiled when Bellamy cut under the larger man and made him fall. He went for the kill but obviously missed on purpose. Mikle signaled his loss and lay on the ground panting.

"Come on, Bellami kom Skaikru. We have things to report to the jusgona. We're done for today. Let them continue to practice," Indra told him.

Bellamy backed away from the monstrous man and nodded. He saw the smile on the man's face fade as he stood. He looked at Bellamy strangely.

"What is it, Mikle?" Indra asked him.

"Yu skaikru?"

"Sha, Ai laik."

"No, yu Azgeda."

"No, Ai kom Skaikru. Same as my sis, Okteivia kom Skaikru en Trikru en Wonkru, Skairipa en Jusgona."

"You fight like Azgeda."

"Eko es houmon. She trained me when we were Spacekru. I can only fight the way I know. Is that a problem?" Bellamy asked him.

"Yu sis es jusgona en Skairipa? Eko kom Azgeda, Azripa es yu houmon?"

"Sha."

"Then, no, there is no problem, Skaigoufa."

Indra wanted to laugh at Bellamy being called Sky Boy, but she didn't. She just gave Mikle a scathing look and grabbed Bellamy's arm. They turned and walked away. Azgeda was still a touchy subject for some. Wonkru took care of it, but for some of the older ones, there were wounds that would never heal completely. Azgeda had been ruthless but in the bunker, under Octavia, she made everyone equal. And, Mikle must have known of Echo's reputation not only as a spy but as a possible assassin. Going after Bellamy would be a mistake and he knew it. That wasn't going to stop Indra from reporting him and not allowing him to compete in the trials for jusgona. She agreed that there was no room for clans in the jusgona, because they only served heda and heda served all the people, not just one clan.

Pulling Bellamy with her, they headed back to the barracks. It was time for Indra to give her reports to Echo and Octavia. They needed to give them some names to watch and those to let go. The trials needed a date and they needed to be prepared for them quickly. It was time.