Chapter 14

Echo and crew sat outside of the food hut in TonDC. She wanted to go back to Arkadia and see Clarke. She wanted to know how things were progressing, but Indra had asked for them to stay there. Jersey had come back from Sangeda, and she knew that it meant Anya and Luna weren't far behind. She could only wonder at the news they had. She couldn't believe that she'd beat them back, but she had.

She looked over at the small amount of survivors from Farm Station. Bellamy sat with them. Wells, Dax and the one called Callie were sitting closer to her. Callie had been a surprise to say the least. She seemed to be a good woman, and from what she heard from Clarke, she was also the closest thing to family, like an Ani to her. She could see it. She could see the compassion and the drive in her eyes. There was something else about Callie that Echo couldn't put a name on, though. It was like Callie was more worried about getting back to Arkadia than the rest of them. It made Echo want to watch her more.

The more she thought about it, the more she realized that it wasn't because she was scared that Callie was going to do something. It was something that niggling at her brain. Her spy brain told her that there was more to Callie than what she saw. Sure, she was Clarke's defacto aunt, but she could tell that Callie thought about her more than that. She also seemed to be overly worried about Abi. And, that is when it hit her. Callie loved Abi. Clarke couldn't know about it, either. She looked at the woman, who looked like she could more of kin to Anya than Clarke, and wondered what Wanheda would think when she learned of Callie's feelings. She knew how protective Clarke was of her mother, of anyone she deemed family really.

"Echo?" Dax questioned as he leaned into her space.

"Yes, Dax?"

"Am I going to return to being Clarke's guard when we get back?"

"Sha, you will."

"Does that mean that I have to train with you every morning?"

"Sha," she replied.

"Are we going back tomorrow?"

"I don't know, yet, Dax. I'm waiting on word from Tris. She's to bring word when Clarke thinks that it will be safe to move them all."

"Why don't we just go back in groups?" Callie asked.

Echo turned to look at her again. She cocked her head at the Asian woman and regarded what she was wearing. She was in the Ark Guard. She must have some rank that they put her in charge of the piece that was to fall in Azgeda. It must have meant a lot to both Clarke and Abby to have her on board. Echo was still a little lost when it came to her, though. Clarke hadn't spoken about her much over their lives together, and when she'd questioned Octavia about who she was, the younger woman couldn't tell her anything.

"That depends on what is going on with the Mountain," Echo said.

Callie just nodded. Echo narrowed her eyes at her. Her brain was coming up with things that she didn't like. She decided that she needed answers, though. This woman was causing all sorts of alarms to go off in her brain. And, until she could calm those alarms, she didn't want her anywhere near Clarke.

"Care to walk with me, Callie kom Skaikru?" Echo questioned her.

"Sure."

"Dax and Bellamy," Echo said loudly and both men looked to her. "Make sure that everyone is fed and given a bed. We need to be ready to leave as soon as we get word. Things are moving and haven't stopped since we left. Now that we are back, they will be going faster. We have to be ready to serve Wanheda as needed. Make sure that the rest of your people understand that Clarke is the one that is really in charge of them. I don't want any incidents later."

"Sha, Ekou," they both replied.

Echo moved away from the fire pits and towards the edge of the camp. Callie followed silently behind her. Echo rounded on her as soon as she deemed that they were far enough away from the rest of the camp. Callie didn't seem too surprised. Bellamy had told her during their travels from the North to TonDC that Echo was a warrior, a highly ranked one, and that she knew Clarke. Callie might not know the entire story, but she'd gained enough from Abby to understand that whatever Clarke said was law. She was saving them, so she'd listen to whomever Clarke put into power around her.

"Who are you?" Echo asked her.

"My name is Callie Cartwig," Callie answered.

"And, what did you do in the stars, Callie?"

"I was a member of the Ark Guard, an officer, but I was also the top communications officer."

"I do not understand. You were a soldier, but you had another role. Explain."

"I was the communications officer. I listened to the stars. I listened to see if there were more humans out in the stars. I only ever heard static. But, I also listened to certain areas of the Ark."

"Like a spy?"

"After a fashion, yes, but it was only communal areas. We were never allowed to listen in on private quarters. That was one of laws, and one that our chancellors tried to break on the regular so that they could stop any opposing views to theirs. When they would be shut down by the Council and the Guard, they would use spies. Always promising them something in return, but they mostly got floated along with their opposition. This way no one could implicate them in anything," Callie told her.

"And, you never did that?"

"No, I didn't. I was more worried about keeping the comms working. I had to make sure that different parts of the Ark could still talk to each other. If engineering couldn't talk to the command center, we didn't know if they were in trouble."

"I see. So, it was an important job, but not so high to put you on the Council. Did you live on Alpha Station with the Griffins?"

"Not, really no. I had quarters on Earth Monitoring Station. It was near the Go-Sci Ring and Alpha."

"I've not heard of this place from Clarke."

"I wouldn't think that you would. It wasn't a place that she had much access to or that she would need to be worried about. Her own father only came there when asked and he was the head engineer," Callie answered. "She spent most of her time in Alpha, the Go-Sci Ring, or Ark Medical."

"You seem close to the family."

"I am."

"Who are you to Clarke?" Echo inquired.

"I am her Godmother. Basically, I was the one that Abby and Jake asked to take Clarke in should something happen to them. We are like family, I guess."

"Clarke said that you are like an Ani to her."

"Ani? What does that mean? I don't know what that means," Callie stated.

"Auntie, I think is what it means in Gonasleng," Echo answered.

"That what you call English, correct?"

"Sha," Echo said.

"And, you speak..."

"Trigedasleng, it is the language of the Tree People or Tree Crew. They were the first of our peoples. They started speaking it before the bombs, and it spread to the other clans because of the Mountain as a way to protect ourselves. Now, we all speak it, but some areas still have their own languages. In Azgeda, up North, where you landed, we have Azgedasleng, but Clarke called it something else. Your Ambassador Kane speaks it."

"You mean Russian?"

"Wanheda might have referred to it as that once," Echo answered and studied the woman harder.

"Who are you to her?" Callie questioned as she stared at Echo harder.

"Why do you ask?"

"You seem like someone important, but she sent you to get us. She trusts you. Clarke doesn't trust easily. She gets that from Abby. And, Abby trusts you. So, you have to be someone important to them both. They know you, which we both know should be impossible because you've never been on the Ark."

Echo cocked an eyebrow as she thought, That you know of. Callie wasn't wrong to worry. Echo appreciated it. She expected it, even, especially from someone so close to Clarke. Honestly, she was surprised that Callie hadn't asked these questions before. Thinking back on their journey to TonDC from the Icy Fields of Azgeda, though, she guessed that Callie was looking for more evidence to what she thought she already knew. She was taking everything in and planning to ask when she felt safe enough to do it. Honestly, she expected Guard Miller to fight her more, but he didn't. Callie and he were the ones that Clarke and Abby had entrusted with these survivors. Guard Miller made sense to her, but Callie was a wild card for her. She didn't know Callie, so she was cautious about her.

"Do you trust me, Kali kom Skai?"

"I don't know that I should, but I do."

"Then, come with me. I will show you something. I cannot do it here," Echo told her.

Callie just nodded. Echo turned and headed back into the depths of the hut and homes of TonDC. Callie was amazed at the architecture and the engineering that the Grounders were using. She wanted to study some of the structures. She found it fascinating. All she'd ever been able to study on the Ark was the Ark itself and books. Seeing the wonders that they came up with for a daily life was mesmerizing for her.

The stopped in front of a small hut. Echo opened the door and ushered them inside. A small fire place was against one wall. Against the other was a large cot like bed, that could possibly hold two. Near the fireplace was a table and some cooking items. Callie supposed that it was the kitchen area. At the end of the bed was a big trunk. There were candles, some in holders and some not, scattered around the one room hut. There was even a little book case of sorts next to the bed.

"This is where I stay when Heda visits. It is close enough to her hut to give her privacy but still security. She always has at least two guards on her person and four or more on her residences. Sometimes, I share this hut with another on our travels, depending on our shifts."

"I see," Callie answered as she sat down at the table with two chairs when it was offered.

Echo moved around the large room until she found some cups and a bottle. It wasn't Ark hooch, and it also wasn't from Indra's secret stash. She wanted to talk to Callie, get information, share some, not knock the poor woman out. She knew those from the Ark had a weak constitution when it came to their hooch.

"Did you talk to Clarke after she was in your Skybox?"

"No, even though I was on the guard, it wasn't needed for me to talk with her."

"But, you believed her when she said that you needed to come down?"

"By then, everyone on the Ark knew. Abby had played Jake's message and got others helping Sinclair and Raven to extend our life there as best they could. Raven was working on how to get us back to the Earth, but she demanded to come down with the 100. Abby agreed as long as she would radio back as soon as possible. She made sure that they had gear, medicine and a radio," Callie answered.

"So, you were one of the ones that Raven was speaking with after they landed?"

"Yes, but she usually asked for Kane or Abby."

"Did you leave the room?"

"Sometimes, yes, others they spoke in your languages, so that I couldn't understand everything. I should have known more was going on then, but I didn't question it. I trust Abby and Kane. They trust Clarke, so I trust her, too."

"But, you are her Ani."

"Sha, I am," Callie replied, using one of the few words that she'd picked up.

"You learn languages quickly?"

"I learn things quickly. Codes and languages come easy to me. It was why I was the Comms Officer for the Ark. I could hear things that others couldn't."

"I guess you will be very handy to Klark. I wonder if she will keep you close to her or close to Abi," Echo wondered, knowing that Callie wouldn't understand it completely. "Clarke is a leader among your people, sha?"

"She is now, yes. Her mother is Chancellor. Abby is technically our head of state, our supreme leader, but I've heard from Guard Miller, Kane and even Abby herself that she defaults to Clarke on everything. Clarke is special."

"She is."

"Do you know about her?"

"Do I know what about her?" Echo questioned, defensively, not realizing that she had moved her hand to the knife on her left side.

"Whoa, hey, hey," Callie stated as she stood up from the table and backed away from Echo. "I don't mean her any harm. I can tell that you care about her a lot, but there is something else about it. You love her, too, don't you?"

"Does that bother you, Kali kom Skai? Do you have a problem with two women being together and having a family?" Echo asked harshly. "You Skai Buma (literally Sky "Boomers", out of touch adults) don't understand what you are dealing with or how special Klark kom Wanheda really is. She will show you, though. Believe me on that. If you survive, you will see."

"Wan...Head Ah?"

"Sha, Wanheda," Echo replied.

"That is some sort of title to your people, isn't it? It is a high honor, too. I see the way the people look when they talk about her. Is it the same reason that Abby has the mark on her stomach? Something about her being one of the...what did she call it? Damn it, what was it?"

"Twel-de?"

"Not Twel-dee, but just the Twel. Yeah, that's it. Abby is one of the Twelve of something," Callie said.

"Abby told you this?"

"Yes, she did," Callie stated.

"You are special to Abby."

"Yes, I am."

Echo looked at her again. She saw it, then. The love that Callie bore for Abby was in her eyes. She wanted to get to Arkadia to see Abby, to make sure that she was okay, and to check on Clarke.

"Clarke is like a daughter to you?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes, but no, she isn't," Callie lamented.

"She doesn't know about your relationship with Abby," Echo stated as she sat down. "I don't know you. I've never met you in any of our previous lives. Clarke saved you this time. Why?"

"She didn't. Marcus and Abby did," Callie told her as she returned to her seat. "Kane and I were together, but I always died before the Arkfall. After a while, Kane and Abby got together. It would have made Jake and me happy that they moved on. Kane and I never had a child. I found out that I was barren. Abby offered to carry a child for me, but then she announced that Octavia was Kane's daughter. With the one child rule, he could claim her, but then we couldn't have another. Clarke begged me to save Octavia, saying the were best friends. Kane was flabbergasted that he was the father, but Abby confirmed it. If I am to believe their stories, I was never meant to see Earth or become a mother. It made sense to save Octavia, though. She deserved a life outside of the floor."

"She did and does, sha. She is a beautiful warrior. One of you best and a good friend of Clarke. She is also one of the Twel, baliak ai."

"You are one of the Twelve?"

"Sha, ai laik Ash kom Az kom Twel-de kom Wanheda."

"Yes, you are..."

"Os, good," Echo encouraged her.

"Ash of the Ice? of the Twel of Wanheda?"

"Sha, os, very good, Kali."

"I don't know what that means."

"You said that Abby showed you her mark," Echo started.

"Yes, on her stomach," Callie answered.

"I have one, too," Echo replied as she pulled up her shirt and showed Callie the "ice swirl" that marked her as one of the Twelve.

"That one means 'Ice'?"

"Sha, em laik."

"Wow, okay," Callie replied as she sat back hard against the chair. "So, Clarke is like some sort of deity or something."

"Something like that, sha. She is going to save Man. She is Wanheda, the Commander of Death."

"Commander of Death?"

"Sha, that is what Wanheda means."

"Abby's mark is a flower."

"Sha, em laik Abi kom Bluma. She represents love, growth, and adaptation. She is basically the spirit of plants and nature. It is fitting that she is the Hedafisa."

"Hedafisa?"

"Sha, Commander of fisa, um, healers," Echo told her.

"Sha, em laik."

"Os," Echo replied.

"What does Ice represent?"

"Az represents the snow and the cold, but it a status of being cool and collected, too. Like Abby, I am one of Clarke's Preservers. I am one of the four Guardians. There are four Guardians, four Generals, and four Guides. You will meet them all because you are close to us."

"What do you need me to do?"

"Protect Clarke," Echo said resolutely.

"That is what you and Dax are for, correct? And the rest of the Twelve? You protect her, so she can protect us?"

"Sha," Echo replied.

"Then, what do you need me to do?"

Echo then realized what she was asking. Callie wanted a task to help them. She was asking to help pull her weight.

"Then, you protect Abby and make sure that the people of the Ark listen to Clarke. Without Clarke, we will all die. With Clarke, only a few will survive, but she will lead us into a new age of Man," Echo stated. "I know that you don't believe me, and I don't blame you. I have the black blood, too. Did Abby show you that?"

"Sha, she did."

"Did she tell you that this isn't her first time living this life?"

"She did."

"Then, you must know that she knows things, but Clarke knows more."

"How many times has Clarke lived through this?" Callie asked.

"I don't even know. I don't think she even remembers, now. I met her after twenty or more lives. She saved me that life and it took many more before I got to her in time to let her know that it worked for me to remember. Now, she has all Twelve of us. We cannot fail. We shall not fail."

"And, the rest of your people will follow her?"

"They have been waiting for the coming of Wanheda for over fifty years, Kali kom Skai. Her coming has been foretold since before the bombs fell and cleansed the Earth. Heda has been waiting for her as well."

"Will you teach me this legend?"

Echo raised her and regarded the woman before her, "Why?"

"Clarke is part of my responsibility. I want to help her. To do that, I need to understand. To understand, I need to know everything that I can about Wanheda and what it means to your people and to mine. Once I have that, I can make sure that the others fall in line without too much complaint," Callie explained.

"Then, you will go with Gaia kom Indra kom Trikru, kom Wanheda."

"Is she one of the Twel?"

"Sha, em laik. Em laik Gaia kom Natshana. Gaia of the Moon, Guide to Wanheda. She is also the Keryonkepa."

"Keryonkepa? What is that? Is that a title or something?"

"She is basically the Head of the Cult of Wanheda."

"Does Clarke know this?"

"Yes, she does."

"And, she encourages it?" Callie questioned.

"No, she doesn't. She hates it. But, over her lifetimes and what she's seen and done, she knows that the Keryonkepas have kept the legend alive. They can show her what others that have had the title of Wanheda have done. They can help her access parts of her memories that she doesn't want to remember. They live, serve, breathe everything that they can of and for Wanheda. As daunting as that sounds, there are only eleven in all of the Kongeda. Gaia is just the head of them now, but she represents the Tree Clan, or Trikru. She is also the Fleimkepa and head advisor to Heda Lexa."

"Your leader?"

"Yes," Echo answered.

"And, does she follow Clarke, too?"

"Yes," Echo replied.

"Why?"

"Because they are Keryonteina."

"What does that mean?"

"They are soul-matched. I think you call it soulmates. Clarke defied death to save Lexa."

"That sounds likes something her stubborn ass would do, Abby, too for Jake."

"I don't think that Jake and Abby were Keryonteina. They may have loved each other, but they weren't soul-matched. I don't think Kane is hers, either."

"Then, who?"

Echo looked her dead in the eyes and stated, "Until now, I thought is might have been Jake. Now, I know I was wrong. It is you, Kali kom Skai."