Both meetings were routine and boring. Ontari listened to the ambassadors, answered the few questions they had, and asked them to stay with the coalition. They finished earlier than expected and were about to break for the day when a guard came and said that Titus wanted to speak with both Ontari and Clarke.
Marcus waited with them in the meeting room. Titus didn't look surprised to see him there. Lexa started talking as soon as he entered the room. She quieted when he knelt before Ontari. "I will serve you as I served other hedas. I am here to advise when asked, to teach what you should know, and to support your plans."
He rose and bowed to Clarke. "Wanheda, I will do the same for you, if you wish." Do not trust him, Klark. Do not turn your back on him. Fear makes men desperate.
"Return to the Natblida," Ontari directed. "I will call you later."
"Sha, Heda." He took a few steps back before turning around.
When he was gone, Clarke turned to Ontari. "I wish he could hear her."
"Sha," Ontari agreed. "She is still speaking."
"What is she saying?" Marcus asked.
"That we cannot trust him."
"Probably good advice. She knows him better than any of us will. Do you need anything else from me?"
"Not today." She paused for a moment, then refocused. "Thank you for your assistance."
"You're welcome. Same time tomorrow, Clarke?"
"Yes. I'll see you then."
Marcus left them.
"I liked it better when she was quiet."
"Is there anything else you need to do today?" Clarke asked.
"No."
"Let's get out of here, then. I'm tired of being inside all the time."
"Stairs?"
"Sha. Race you to the stable?"
Ontari smiled and nodded. They took off for the door, blew through it, and hit the fire door on the stairs with Ontari in the lead. They were three flights down before they heard guards trying to catch up, and lost them in the streets.
They reached the stable together and prepared their horses themselves. A few minutes later, they rode out of Polis. Ontari took the lead, and Clarke let her. She left the road as soon as possible and slowed the horses to a walk.
"This is much better," Clarke said.
"Sha. I did not realize how much time I was inside."
"Maybe when things calm down, you can do some hunting or something."
"Or something," Ontari agreed.
"What would you rather do?"
"I don't know. I am still adjusting to the idea that I can choose."
"The hard part is thinking everything through."
"It is like planning for battle."
"Yes, but plans don't last when the battle starts."
"Sha, but going in without a plan is foolish and dangerous."
"Sometimes you just have to wing it."
"Wing it?"
"Act without a plan. React. Change things on the fly."
"Is that why you went to see Titus?"
"Lexa, let us talk," Clarke said in response to the flood of words his name provoked. She was surprised when Lexa quieted down. "Yes. We know how he feels, but he knows things that only he can teach you. I don't like him and I don't trust him, but it's better for everyone if he stays where he is. And can we stop talking about business, please?"
"Sha. Tell me something about you, Klark."
"You have to tell me something in return."
"I will."
Clarke thought for a while, and a small smile came to her face when she decided what to share. "My dad called me princess long before I came to Earth. I went through a phase when I was five or six when I couldn't hear enough fairy tales. I wanted to be a princess, meet a prince and live happily ever after like he and Mom. So when I got down here and they started calling me princess as an insult, it didn't bother me. It reminded me of my dad, and how much he loved me. That was the first title Trikru gave me, Skaiprisa, and every time somebody said it, no matter what tone they used, I thought of my dad, and it was ok. I was ok. I miss him so much. He would have loved seeing all of this."
"Thank you for sharing that, Klark."
"Your turn."
"I was six when they discovered I have natblid. Until then, I lived with nomon en nontu en ai sis en bro. All my family lived in the same village, so all the children played together and slept in whatever house we ended the day in. Riders came one day and killed everyone. I do not know how I survived, but I woke on a horse, wrapped in a fur, held tight by a young warrior. It was Roan. He brought me to his mother. She was pleased with him, and promised me great things. I was with the healers for a long time, and every day Roan came to visit. He always brought something he thought would cheer me. He tried even then to protect me, and to warn me about Azplana. He was the only friend I had, and then he was gone. I thought he was dead. Azplana never spoke his name, and forbade everyone else to say it. I did not see him again until the day Heda Leksa killed Azplana. He remembered me, and apologized for leaving me alone with her. He said that even when he left, I would not be alone." Ontari smiled at Clarke. "I do not know what you and he shared, but he trusts you above others, and he promised that I would be safe with you."
"Wow. That's. That's a lot. I'll do my best to live up to it."
"You already have. I am curious how you know Roan, though."
"You heard about the Mountain?"
"Everyone heard about the Mountain. Azplana did not believe until Emerson came, and then admired your ruthlessness."
"After that, I left my people. I did not want to be Skaiprisa, and I really didn't want to be Wanheda. I wanted to be no one, to be invisible. I stayed in the woods and came out only to trade. I was at a trading post when he came in with another man and showed the trader the wanted poster. She lied to them for me. She'd been lying to everyone to protect me since the first bounty was put on my head." Clarke paused, frowning. She didn't get a chance to thank Niylah for all she did.
"I tried to sneak away, and Roan caught me. I thought he was going to take me to Nia. I tried to kill him to get away. I fought him every step of the way. I was stunned when he pulled the bag off my head and I saw Lexa. She locked him up. I was locked up, too, and he asked me to kill Lexa so he could get back into his mother's good graces. That didn't work, and you stopped me from poisoning her, and I thought he was going to kill Lexa." Clarke heard Lexa laugh.
"Roan and Lexa made a deal. The fight was real, but Roan threw it. Lexa wanted Nia dead for what she did to Costia, and Roan wanted to go home, so Lexa killed her." It did not change anything. It did not bring her back. It did not ease that pain. You did, Klark.
Clarke felt Ontari watching her.
"I owe him a lot. He brought me back to Lexa. He kept her alive. He rescued me from Titus and put me in a position that would keep me safe."
"He brought you to me," Ontari said.
Clarke tried to smile. She liked Ontari, and hated the reason Ontari held her position. Lexa was woven through their every interaction, and Clarke doubted they would ever be free her influence.
They rode through the woods without talking for a while longer before Ontari turned them toward Polis.