Chapter 68

Elena stood in front of the tent. Echo stood there staring back at her. Echo eyed her but she didn't make a move to stop her from entering the small tent. They had a small stand off, but Elena could tell that Echo wasn't going to relent and just let her enter the tent. After a few long, terse minutes of continued staring, Echo nodded to the other warrior woman and ducked into the tent to talk to Clarke. Elena just watched her go and waited to see if Clarke would come out. She knew that Echo knew that she wanted to talk to the blonde. She wasn't dumb enough to start anything with the other warrior women. She knew that Palla would have her head for it, but there was information that she wanted.

Elena looked around the small camp site and found a stump. She walked over to it and sat down. She pulled out her sword and cleaned it. She figured that it would be enough to pass the time and she knew the importance of a well maintained weapon. When she was done cleaning it, she started sharpening the edge. She lost herself in the rhythmic sounds of the stone against steel. So much so, that she put herself in a sort of trance with each downward stroke of her hand with the sharpening stone. She hadn't looked up to the tent to see if Echo had returned.

Her thoughts turned to the warrior woman. She was obviously someone important among their tribe besides being Clarke's guard and that made her wonder more. Then, she thought about Octavia and how close she was to Palla. It seemed odd that she would take a guard from the Earthlings, but Octavia seemed well equipped to handle anything that the Praha brought. The fact that she'd survived Sticky Sap meant that she wasn't just strong in mind. She was strong in body. But, they'd told Elena that Clarke's mother was a healer, a doctor, and she helped save both Octavia from the Sticky Sap and Palla from two arrow shots made Gryphonkru a very strong tribe.

Echo came back out of the tent. She retook her position guarding it and gave Elena a strange look. Elena wasn't sure if Echo just naturally had a resting bitch face or if she was just like that towards her. Honestly, she didn't care. She was curious about the blonde. Her guards, not so much, but she wanted to know about them, if only for informational purposes. Elena liked to be prepared...for anything and anyone. She stopped sharpening her sword and looked up. She saw Echo, gave her sword a cursory wipe down and sheathed it before standing to see what the verdict was.

"She'll see you," Echo said with an edge in her voice that Elena couldn't mistake.

Elena didn't answer. She just walked towards the tent. Echo pulled back the flap to let her in, but didn't move. Elena knew what it was and she smiled at the warrior.

"No worries, guard. I don't want to hurt her. I want to see if we can make an alliance like I have with Palla. Nothing more," Elena told her.

"Keep it that way," Echo replied, moving just a enough to let her pass without being in the way.

It took a minute for her eyes to adjust the darker light. Clarke was moving around papers, maps, and other parchments on a makeshift table when she looked up. She studied the redhead before her and she didn't look impressed. Elena didn't think she would. She could see why Clarke was the diplomat for her people, but Madi was the figurehead. Clarke had seen more, done more, and fought more than her young daughter had. But, Madi was fierce in her own right. In any other government set up, Madi would be queen and Clarke her minister. She wondered if Clarke actually had a rank beyond Wanheda or if that in itself was a rank in their tribe's military.

"You wanted to see me?" Clarke asked as she studied the maps before her.

"Yes, I would like to offer an alliance of sorts with your tribe," Elena stated.

"My tribe?" Clarke questioned as she dropped everything and leaned back from the table.

"Gryphonkru,yes?"

"Oh, yes, my people. I don't know that we've ever been referred to as a tribe, but I can see that we are here. What is it that you want with us, Elena, correct?"

"I've noticed that you are very tech savvy."

"We are."

"We don't use it much. We live off the land. We make our weapons. We don't favor guns."

"Only part of our tribe does, and we all live off the land. We are actually a group of tribes that have become one, but we make it work. But, that still doesn't tell me what you want with our people. What is it that your people want?"

"A mutual agreement to defend the wall," Elena stated.

"And, we will. We've already secured the section that Palla has allowed us to and we are planning to help the rest of the Village build their sections back up to par. I will not let a common enemy destroy what they've built," Clarke assured her.

"But, this is not your war. You weren't here when it started. Why are you so worried about it?" Elena asked her.

"It is a simple fact that I learned very quickly after landing on Earth," Clarke started.

"Why would you have landed on Earth? Weren't you born there? And, I thought that Earth was no longer habitable?"

Clarke smiled. Elena had been listening to them and knew just the bare basics. She pointed to a chair on the other side of the table. Elena took the gesture for what it was, drew her sword and sat down. Clarke watched this and kept her hand on the knife on her side. Elena wanted to laugh off the precaution, but she kept her eyes on Clarke as she sat. When Clarke took the seat across from her, she raised her sword and drove it into the earth in front of them, at full arm's length. It would be hard for her to draw it unless needed and then Clarke understood the gesture and let go of the hilt on her side.

"I was born in space and sent to Earth to help recolonize it. What we didn't know was that there were survivors. I figured out there political machines and became an ambassador for my people. Over time, I became the leader of our tribe, Skaikru. We became the thirteenth clan before the world ended in fire for the second time. Long story short, the people from the twelve surviving clans came together and formed Wonkru. I survived above ground while Wonkru was below and lead by Octavia. Bellamy, Octavia's brother, had taken a few to space to survive. When we all came back together, there was a fight for the last survivable valley on the entire planet."

"What happened?"

"Diyoza lost control of her people and they split. The leader of the split faction was a...very bad man. He destroyed Earth and those that survived the battles all went back to space. We realized that we couldn't survive for long. We opted to go into Cryo and find another planet to colonize. Some of my friends didn't go into cryo. They stayed awake and found this planet after they realized that Earth wasn't going to come back. They set a course for here and we came. We had no other choice. We are what is left of Earth. We aren't the last humans, but we are the last Earthlings."

Elena nodded along with the story. She could hear the pain in her voice and knew that there was more. She understood that she was getting an abbreviated version of the story and she understood that Clarke might not want to tell the hole thing. It seemed that they had fought for a long time to just live only to lose everything anyway.

"And, Palla, has granted you land here?"

"She has to the south, on her personal lands as Palla. We are starting our settlement there. I think in a few generations we might join with Village and the rest of Helios, but for now, our people just want a home and a place to live. She understands their reluctance to just assimilate. We have thirteen clans in our tribe, Elena and a teen as our leader. They will not give her up and Palla doesn't wish them to. This is better for all of us."

"Why?"

"Wonkru is a nation of warriors, Elena. That is all they've known. They eat, breathe, and sleep war. They are built for it. They train for it. And, they are ready at moment's notice. Diyoza's people are a new addition. They are a little unknown, but they've worked their way in and are keeping up. Diyoza understand the need for united people and for some strange reason, she respects Madi. I don't question it."

"And, Madi is your daughter?"

"She is my fosterling. She'll refer to me as her mother because her mother was lost in the second Praimfaya. I helped raise her and we saved each other. For around six years, we only had each other on the ground. When she was elevated as heda, it was hard for me. I'd already lost one heda that I loved and I didn't want to lose her. But, the people love her. They follow her. They trust her. And, she's coming into her own no matter how much I hate it and don't want it to happen. She is our leader."

"But, you are the head general?" Elena asked.

"No," Clarke answered with a depreciating laugh.

"But, you are Wanheda."

"That is just a title. One I never wanted, but I most certainly earned. To me, it is a badge of shame and a badge of honor. Depending on the day depends on how I view it."

"What did you do?"

"I helped kill an entire society of men, women and children. I destroyed the lives over three hundred to protect forty. I took the lives of almost nine people, some innocent and some not, to save each life I valued more. I was told that it is normal in war, but I'd never known war. My title translates into 'Commander of Death.' It seems wherever I go, people die. Letting Madi rule means that people live. If I rule, people will die."

"But, Madi turns to you," Elena stated.

"It isn't what you think. She looks to me on certain things because she isn't sure. It isn't permission she's seeking. She's looking for understanding and hoping that I agree with her decisions. She values my thoughts because she knows that I have been where she is. She led over four hundred men in battle. She's come up with thousands of strategies quickly, but that is just part of being Heda. It is a calling and she was called."

"And, if she were to die tomorrow?"

"The people would look to me."

"And, if you died?"

"I don't know. Octavia or one of our generals. There isn't a successor now, if you are wondering. And, there are those among my friends who wouldn't see me take the title. To be honest, I wouldn't. I would refuse it. But, only certain people can take the title. If I die, the only ones that I know that could take the title and actually survive it would either be Palla or her daughter, her foundling, Lex," Clarke answered.

Elena's eyes spiked at the mention of Lex. She knew then that Clarke was close to Palla to know about her daughter. It wasn't a secret, but it wasn't something that she boasted to foreigners.

"Madi is a black blood?"

"She is."

"There are none among us," Elena added.

"And, if there were?"

"We would send them to Palla. When they come of age, it would be their choice what they do with their lives. We wouldn't force them.

"I tried to stop Madi from taking the mantle, but failed. She did it to protect me. So, I now serve my daughter. And, she's named our tribe after me."

"How so?"

"I am Clarke Griffon, mother of Gryphonkru," Clarke stated.