Late on the second day after the attacks, Murphy and one of the guards tied the tug to a pier. Clarke sent one guard off to return with more troops and at least one horse. She wanted to get back to Polis to begin planning the trip to the City of Light, but didn't want to leave the boat unprotected. They would need help to herd Emori and her gang to the capital, as well.
Because Emori and the others were locked up below, she felt it safe to let two more guards hunt for dinner. Their traveling stores were nearly depleted, but there was enough for one more decent meal for all of them. While those below were still sullen, they were grateful to be fed twice a day.
The remaining guard stood at the entrance to the below decks area while Murphy and Clarke sat on top of the wheelhouse.
"What next?" Murphy asked.
"You good with the boat?"
"We're here, aren't we?"
"Yeah. I guess while Raven gets what she needs together, we gather what we'll need and get the boat cleaned up. Maybe I can get someone from Floukru to look it over."
"That's probably a good idea."
"I'll do what I can when I get back to Polis." Clarke closed her eyes and raised her face to the sky in an attempt to calm herself. She still felt uneasy and couldn't identify the reason. She flinched at an unexpected blast of happy excitement.
Murphy noticed. "Griffin."
"I think Lexa's having fun with the Natblida or something," she answered.
"That is one of the weirdest things I've seen since coming down here."
"Feels weird, too."
"I bet." He paused. "The day Raven figured out the chips, she wanted to talk about Heda."
"What about her?"
"She uh, she said she thought Heda liked her. Like your Heda liked you."
"Huh."
"She talk to you about that?"
"Neither of them."
"You OK with that?"
"If it makes them happy, absolutely. Life's too short to be miserable. What about Emori?"
"What about Emori?"
"I'm pretty sure I can keep Ontari from banishing her if you want."
"I don't know, Princess."
"We don't have to deal with it until we get her chip out."
"Yeah. I still don't understand why she took it. She hated that her brother did. Shit, I have to tell her he was killed."
"Sorry."
"Me too. Fucking Jaha," Murphy said bitterly.
"He won't be doing any more damage."
"I wouldn't put it past him to find a way to fuck with us anyway."
"How?"
"I dunno. Failsafes at the City of Light. Bullshit inthe City of Light, you know, the crazy one. And who knows how many of those chips he distributed on the way back to Arkadia?"
"I didn't even think of that," Clarke admitted. "At least we can shut them down."
"You just wanna buff your legend status. Riding into battle without a weapon screaming Latin."
"Better that than killing them."
"Maybe," Murphy shrugged. "But let's face it, some people just need to be dead."
"Only as the last resort."
Murphy rolled his eyes.
"You weren't in Mount Weather."
"Heard about it. Story got crazier every time."
"It was bad." Clarke lowered her head and opened her eyes. She looked past Murphy at the broad reach of the bar where the river emptied into the ocean, thinking of Niylah asking why she had no kill marks. Her melancholy was driven away by another blast of happiness. She wondered what was so good and hoped Ontari was having fun, too.
100 – 100 – 100
Raven spent the rest of the day supervising the loading of the rover. It took a few hours, but before supper it held most of her workshop. She was itching to get it to Polis, but Ontari asked her to wait until morning, and Raven acquiesced without an argument. A backrub from and dinner with the other woman was too good to pass up, especially when she indicated she would ride to Polis with Raven.
After their meal, Raven set up the chess board while Ontari went to check on the Natblida one more time. Satisfied that they were all bedded down and guards were properly posted, she returned to her tent.
Raven had a mug of hot tea waiting. It was, by her standards, chilly. Like Ontari, Raven was used to cold. The Ark was always cool because heating it took resources better used elsewhere, but it lacked the dampness of the ground.
While they played chess, they talked about what was in the rover and what Raven planned to do with it. Both stayed away from some topics, primarily Clarke, Lexa, and the City of Light. When the game and their conversation was over, Raven gave Ontari a brief kiss on her way to the door. Ontari pulled Raven into her lap. They kissed a few times, then sat quietly, enjoying physical closeness they couldn't demonstrate in public.
100 – 100 – 100
All of their guards were back well before sunset. Instead of going all the way to Polis, the one sent to get help conscripted a messenger from the first village he came to. What Clarke wanted would arrive the next day. The others brought a deer. While one cleaned it, the other built a fire.
It was a quiet night on the tug. Clarke bedded down in the wheel house while Murphy joined the guard rotation. Everyone got a decent amount of sleep for the first time since leaving Polis.
After leftovers for breakfast, Clarke sat on the wheelhouse with her sketchbook while she waited for reinforcements. She was content at first to sketch what she saw, but soon her mind drifted and her hand moved automatically. She was brought out of it by the greetings from the soldiers she was waiting for, and closed her sketch book without looking at it.
There were four horses and a couple dozen warriors waiting for instructions. She left four with the boat, told the rest to get the prisoners and bring them to Polis, and picked two of their guards to ride with she and Murphy.
The ride was a bit longer than Clarke thought it would be, and when they reached Polis, she was surprised to see a vehicle at the gates. When they got closer, Clarke dismounted and walked to the rear of the rover.
"Raven, what did you find now?"
"The rover was sitting in the garage at Arkadia. Seemed ridiculous to leave it there given how much stuff needs to be hauled."
"Did you find what you need?"
"Oh yeah. When this load's gone, we're going back for more."
"We?"
"Klark, was your trip successful?"
"Sha. I left some guards with the boat and will speak with the Floukru ambassador about having someone make sure it's safe."
"Good. I will return with Raven, but we will be back soon. When Raven is finished gathering what she needs, we will discuss what to do next."
"OK. I, uh, I have some things to do."
"You may go."
Clarke looked at Raven, but she was busy giving directions to the people unloading the rover, so she entered the city and walked to the stable. Murphy waited there for her. "I think you're right about them."
"You think?" Murphy asked with a smirk. "Heda willingly rode in that deathtrap with Raven at the wheel."
"Yeah." Clarke picked up her saddlebags. "Good for them."
"I hope so," Murphy said, and followed her toward the tower.
100 – 100 – 100
Clarke went up to talk to Miller while Murphy bathed. Clarke was happy to hear about the successes Skaikru had in finding positions. She asked him to join her and Murphy for dinner before heading to her suite.
Murphy was in the common room, and Clarke hurried to get cleaned up. She felt much better after washing away the days of travel, and brought her sketchbook to the table. Murphy lounged there, nursing some wine, and continued to do that silently while Clarke started on the piles of correspondence that arrived during her absence.
"Miller's coming for dinner so we can start figuring out who's going with us."
"I don't think we'll need too many of them."
"Good, because there won't be enough room."
"I don't think we should take anyone who had a chip except Raven."
"We should bring your mom, too," Murphy answered.
"Yeah," Clarke replied tiredly.
"I don't really trust her, either, but she might be able to help with the medical stuff."
"So we leave Miller in charge and Kane to help him and Ontari?"
"We don't have a lot of options here, Princess. Raven's a tech genius and your mom does high tech medical."
Clarke exhaled heavily. Murphy poured wine into another mug and passed it to her. Clarke swallowed and returned her paperwork.
100 – 100 – 100
It took a few days of two round trips between Arkadia and Polis for Raven to move everything she could from Arkadia. Abby rode back on an early trip. To avoid having to talk, Raven played loud music and steadfastly ignored Ontari's questioning looks. On her last trip to Polis, the rover was full of the Natblida. Everyone else would follow on horseback, but Ontari wanted Raven and the Nightbloods safely behind Polis' walls as soon as possible.
On their first night back, Clarke, Murphy, Raven, and Ontari sat around the table in the Azgeda suite trading updates. Clarke removed the chips from Emori and the others, but they remained jailed. Murphy went down to talk to her a few times, but she remained angry so he stopped. Ontari ordered them banished.
Everyone returned to their routines. Twice a week, Murphy rode out to check on the boat. It was slowly being scrubbed clean. It had a few minor problems, which Floukru workers were busy repairing. Clarke continued to meet with Ontari each morning and study Becca Pramheda's journal each evening with Ontari and Fair. Other than that, she saw Ontari less during the day and evening. Raven spent most of her free time in Ontari's suite, but didn't talk to Clarke or Murphy about anything that happened there. When they asked, she shrugged, smirked, and said, "We play chess."