AN: For those of you who are returning after all this time, Hi, thanks for sticking around. I just want to let you know that I took part of my previous chapter and move it to this one, so you might recognize some bits. I think it works better this way, but y'all can be the judge of that. If you're new here. Hi. Welcome. I hope y'all enjoy.
Chapter 13: Blending Realities
Raven reluctantly allowed Octavia to roll her out of her bedroom, and through the tower towards Lexa's room. She had just fallen asleep, in her own bed none-the-nonetheless. Surely whatever the crisis was could wait until morning?
Octavia refused to answer her questions. Well, that wasn't exactly true. Every time Raven questioned why she had been rudely awoken, Octavia shushed her. It was all very rude in Raven's book. None-the-less she allowed Octavia to push her through the building right into Lexa and Clarke's room. It was then that she fully awoke and stopped questioning if this could wait until the morning.
Clarke was on the floor furiously moving sheets of paper around. She didn't even seem to notice that they had entered the room. Indra and Lexa were sitting on the couch, a book in both their hands, while a mountain was piled up in front of them. Aden was sitting in the armchair with his own book. There was another mountain of books piled up on the floor in front of the coffee table.
"What happened?" Raven asked, suddenly very awake and even more concerned.
Aden turned to look up at them and solemnly sighed, "Clarke's a prophet, and she seen mine and Heda's deaths."
"Aden," Indra sharply said.
"It is fine Indra," Lexa said as she rose to meet the newest arrivals. Both of whom were staring at the group strangely. "Despite Aden's brash way of announcing the news to you, he is right."
Raven looked up at Lexa and then began to laugh. Loudly and uncontrollably. She was fairly certain that she was still asleep and was having some crazy ass dreams. Obviously, she had been pushing herself too hard and needed to go to bed earlier.
Clarke, who had remained engrossed in her pictures, looked at Raven with an unreadable look. Inside she was feeling angry but given that she had only just accepted that Lexa was speaking the truth, she could also understand why Raven was laughing. If she were in Raven's position she probably would be laughing as well. It was incredibly far-fetched. She did believe her now though. She had to believe it, because if Lexa was correct then she wasn't losing her mind and maybe, just maybe they had a chance to change her dreams.
Instead of scolding Raven, she stood with a picture in hand and deposited it in her lap. Raven sobered when she saw the strange look of Clarke's face, then looked down at the paper in her lap. The tears that had sprung in her eyes from her intense laughter, turned into ones of sadness. In her hands was a picture a black-haired woman from Azgeda holding Aden's severed head outstretch for a group of people to see. "I don't understand. Clarke you're sound crazy."
Clarke growled and turned away from Raven. "I know it's hard to believe," she began as she turned back to Raven. "Since Tondc, I've been having dreams about people I have never seen before, and things I couldn't possibly have known about." Clarke picked up her pile of pictures, flipping through them and pulling one out. "This was the first dream," she said and handed the picture of Titus shooting Lexa. "I dreamt this while in Tondc. I had never seen or even heard of Titus at the time." She handed Raven the picture of the AI in Lexa's head. "Lexa never told me about the AI in her head. I had never seen her tattoo, never heard of the flame, and never seen anything about it. The next picture was of Roan and Lexa's fight. "This is Roan, Prince of Azgeda. I have never seen this man before." And finally, she pulled the first picture from the bottom and placed it back on top. "I have never seen this girl before. Oh, and Lexa and Aden have black blood. The dreams told me that too."
"I… Wait, What?" Raven choked.
"Look," Clarke said and gestured to Lexa, who slowly raised her arm up. There was a bandage where Clarke had cut her with a small amount of black blood seeping through the fabric.
"How is that possible? How is any of this possible?" Raven asked. She stared at the pictures in front of her, then back up to Lexa.
"I know it sounds crazy, but they have books about it," Clarke insisted. She went to the table and plucked the book sitting in front of Lexa. She flipped to the page she was looking for. "This was written almost sixty years ago."
Raven read the passage Clarke pointed out aloud. "As the first century after the cataclysm dies, a star will fall from the sky amongst a hundred friends. This blonde hair beauty will bring death to the commander's enemies, and together they will defy the past and bring about a peace not seen since before the fall of the bombs."
Octavia, who had quietly watched the chaos unfold from behind Raven, spoke up. "I know Lincon has talked about this, but I thought it was all metaphorical."
"I mean some of it is. The spirit of the commander turns out to be an AI and not a ghostly spirit, but prophecies are real." Clarke groaned and rubbed her face. "AI and prophecies in the same sentence. I don't know what's real anymore."
Lexa stood from her spot on the couch and moved to embrace Clarke. "It's alright," she whispered quietly. Clarke buried her head in Lexa's shoulder, not caring about the eyes on them. She felt like her mind was fracturing and she just needed a little of the comfort Lexa always brought her.
Over Clarke's shoulder, Lexa addressed Raven and Octavia. "I understand that this is a lot to take in and that you may need time to process. For now, I ask that you trust in us and help us prevent Clarke's dreams from happening.
Raven began flipping through the book Clarke gave her. "Are you sure that's possible?" she asked.
"We don't know," Aden replied. "That's what we're searching for."
"Along with any references on how to control the dreams," Lexa added. Clarke still hadn't retreated from the safety of Lexa's arms.
"What can we do?" Octavia asked.
"Clarke is trying to put her pictures into a timeline, while the rest of us scour through these books to find any reference to a prophet changing the outcome of their dreams."
"But we don't read Trigedasleng," Octavia said.
Lexa pointed to the pile of books on the floor. "All those are written in English. I can only read a few words."
Raven looked up to Lexa sharply, confusion written on her face. "You can speak English, but can't read the language?"
"I was never taught," Lexa replied.
"But you have an AI in your head," Raven sputtered.
"Apparently," Lexa smirked, and Clarke laughed lightly in her arms.
Finally, she stood back and faced her friends. "She doesn't understand what it is. Just that it's tech. We haven't had a chance to discuss it yet. We don't know how the AI works or what kind of information is stored."
"Do you have any books on the AI. Maybe how it was created and by who?" Raven asked on a long shot.
"Sha," Lexa replied, shocking both Clarke and Raven.
"You do?" Clarke asked, surprised.
"Sha, but it is in Titus's possession. It contains instructions on how to pass the flame. I have only seen it a handful of times. I did get a good look at it when I was young. I snuck into the sanctuary and glimpsed through it. It's mostly in English, so I understood nothing."
Clarke asked, "Titus can read English?"
"Sha."
"But he never taught you?"
"Sha," Lexa repeated, suddenly growing annoyed with their questioning. She didn't understand why they were focusing on her inability to read English.
"That's strange," Clarke replied.
"I do not understand, Clarke," Lexa admitted, slight annoyed with her love.
Clarke just smiled at her softly. "I didn't think anything of it when you told me. Why would you need to know how to read a language that isn't commonly used, especially if there was no one to teach you. But then you brought me here and showed me all of these books written in English. And I thought how strange it was that no one could read any of these. Which is what made me want to teach you and Aden how to read. But knowing Titus can read English and never taught you, especially since part of your history is written in English, is strange to me."
"Me too," Raven agreed.
Lexa took a few moments to think over what Clarke was saying. Truthfully, she had never wondered why she was never taught to read English. No one around her seemed to know except Titus. To her it seemed normal. Now under the scrutiny of her Skaikru love and friends, she wondered if she should have questioned this. It was part of Titus's duty to help teach the nightbloods everything they should know as Heda. Clarke's bit about part of her history being written in English, stuck with her.
Clarke was right. Part of her history was lost to her, simply because she couldn't read English, and translations either were never made or were lost. She looked to the pile of journals written in English, suddenly understanding what Clarke was saying.
"Why would he not want me to read them?" Lexa questioned aloud.
"Or I?" Added Aden. He had been watching the exchange curiously. "As I am likely to be the next Heda."
Lexa smiled fondly at Aden. "Sha, you as well."
Clarke moved over to the table and picked up one of the oldest looking journals. "Didn't you say there were references to the original commander's journals being translated into Trigedasleng, but they were missing."
"Sha, I did."
"What if there's something in these that he doesn't want you to know," Clarke suggested. "He takes the translations, knowing there's only a reference to them, leaving behind the originals knowing you can't read them, leaving you to suspect nothing."
"Suppose you are right. Why would he do that?"
"I don't know," Clarke admitted. "Perhaps it has something to do with my dreams. We don't know why he wants me dead or how my death will push you to start a war, but we do know that it's going to happen. This could tie in with that."
Lexa nodded. "You are right. We should leave all possibilities open." She knew in her heart what Clarke was saying was true, just as she knew Titus was going to betray her very soon, if he hadn't already. And yet, there was still a part of her that trusted Titus. He was her teacher, mentor, advisor, and even father at times. She had put her trust in Titus wholeheartedly for as long as she could remember. Being faced with the reality that her trust was misplaced was hard for her to conceptualize.
Still, she was Heda, and it was her job to see everything from all angles and plan accordingly. Titus was no different than Nia now. A threat to be assessed and planned for.
"Clarke, beja, show me your dreams again, in order of which you think they happen," Lexa softly ordered.
Clarke took the picture back from Raven and the ones she had left laying on the table and spread the pictures out on the floor. She pointed to the first one. "I think the fight with Roan comes first. I don't know why I was shown this. I know you both survived the fight, because I saw Roan in my latest dream. She pointed to the last picture, the one of Ontari and Aden. In between them were the pictures of Lexa being shot and the AI.
"And what was being said?" Lexa asked, kneeling down beside her.
Clarke pointed to Titus. "He had Murphy tied up in my room. He pointed a gun at me, I told him I was leaving. He said that you would never execute your duty as long as I'm alive. I told him you would know it was him. He said, you would believe it was Murphy, Skaikru gun in the hand of a Skaikru thief, and that you might be angry enough to declare war. Then he shot at me. Two, three times. And that's when you came into my room and he…" Clarke choked on the words.
Lexa gently placed her hand on Clarke's shoulder. "And this one?" she asked gently, pointing to Aden.
"Um… There are no words left. It was just images. It takes a few nights for the dreams to come into focus better."
Lexa nodded, her eyes falling back to those of Titus. Clarke's words again ringing through her mind. How she might be angry enough to declare war. They were so eerily familiar to words Titus had spoken to her after Costia's death. So eerily familiar. Lexa closed her eyes for a moment as a wave of emotions washed over her. He had been so insistent that Costia made her weak. That Costia was the reason she never declared war on Azgeda. He had wanted war with Azgeda, while she had wanted peace. She knew already that her fears were true. She didn't need the proof, because it had been staring her in the face for years.
"Lexa," Clarke questioned softly, so only she could hear.
Lexa opened her eyes and laid her blazing eyes upon Clarkes. "I won't let him take you from me too."
Clarke was structed by the fire and determination in Lexa's voice. "Too?" she asked softly.
"Too," Lexa replied.
"Costia?"
"Sha," Lexa said and looked back to the pictures and ran her fingers over them. "He's done this before. I just didn't see it. Perhaps I didn't want to see it."
"You trusted him."
"Sha. I fear I have made a grave error in that."
Clarke reached up to cup Lexa's cheek. "We can stop him this time. We will stop him from doing this ever again."
Lexa nodded as she grasped Clarke's hand, leaning into the warm palm slightly, before releasing her again. "We don't have enough information. About the past or the future."
She stood and helped Clarke to rise as well.
"Well, we can help with the past," Octavia said. "The future is all Clarke."
"Unfortunately, I have no control over when or what I see, so I don't know how much help I can be with that."
Aden stood and moved to Clarke and Lexa. "I think I can help with that." He handed Lexa the book he was reading. Lexa looked over it and then nodded to Aden. "Good job. Go collect the herbs from Dryad. She should have everything in her stores."
"Sha Heda," he replied and left the room with the book.
Lexa looked at Clarke and explained. "Aden found a tea for you to drink before bed to help bring on the dreams and give you more control over them. There's also one to help the dreams stay away. I think you should try that one first."
"But I need…" Clarke began to protest but was cut off by Lexa saying, "Rest. Beja, just for tonight."
Clarke relaxed and smiled softly. "Fine, but only for tonight. We need to figure out the whole thing before its too late for us to change it."
"You seem sure that you can," Raven commented.
"I have to be, because I won't let the alternative happen," Clarke said fiercely.
"Then we better make sure you're right," Octavia added and tossed a book to Clarke.
~ Meant To Be ~
Titus had been awoken in the middle of the night by a mysterious reason. He laid his bed listening to his surroundings, listening for any change. Something was wrong, he knew it. Growing up with a prophetic father had given him a sense of intuition to his surroundings, and his surroundings extended through the lengths of the tower.
He rose from his bed, quietly dressed, and then slipped from his room. He navigated through the halls, avoiding the guards when he could, and slipping into hidden passageways when he couldn't. Nearly forty years in the tower had given him an insight into the tower that no other occupant could claim. Not Even Lexa could claim to know the tower better than him.
His first stop was to check on his children, which was made easier now that they were all on the same floor. Until ten years ago all the nightbloods were kept on their respective clan's floor, but thanks to his guidance, they were all on one floor. A floor that conveniently had an entrance to one of the tower's many passages.
He walked into his children's common room quietly, just in case one of the nightbloods were slumbering there. It had been a week since he had found Clarke reading to them, which had been a recurring event since. He often found Aden lying on the couch with a book in hand. She had been teaching him to read during their time together. A fact that he despised. If his plan was to continue working as well as it has been, then the next Heda must remain illiterate in terms of the English language.
Aden was not on the couch. Titus turned and headed straight to the boy's room to search for him. A rage washed over him like none before. He stormed out of the room, no longer caring if he woke the other natblida. He knew exactly where Aden was, and that was exactly where he was heading.
He didn't bother keeping up discretion by using the passageways and went to the stairs. They were quicker than waiting for the elevator to reach the floor and then take him up. His rage only mounted when he saw a Skaikru guard standing next to a Sentry, as it did whenever he saw one of them in his home.
His rage only increased when the Sentry and Skaikru guard bared him from entering Lexa's floor. "What is the meaning of this?" He demanded rather calmly considering how angry he was. He hadn't come this far to ruin his guise over Skaikru scum.
"Heda wishes to be left alone," replied the Sentry.
Not wanting the Skaikru guard to understand what he was saying, he decided to switch to Trigedasleng. "Surely Heda does not mean me. I am her most trusted servant. You will let me pass or I will have you hung from the trees for disobeying me."
The Sentry, who was named Archie, understood exactly why Titus was speaking in their native tongue, which infuriated him. Ever since the Skaikru began patrolling the tower alongside them, he had grown fond of them. It was a rough few days at first, but they each began to grow accustomed to each other's ways. Now Titus was trying to exclude a Skaikru guard because he thought he could get one over on him. To make him bow to his will, but it wasn't going to work. He had his orders, and James, the Skaikru guard, was a part of those orders.
In Gonasleng, he spoke, "I take orders from you only after I take orders from Heda."
James, suddenly understanding what was happening, moved even closer to Archie. "And I don't take orders from you at all. My orders were to remain here until I am relieved and to let no one pass. That includes you."
Titus wanted to huff in annoyance and frustration, but that would also be an act that would potentially ruin his guise. He barely refrained from doing so, however and then turned back towards the staircase. He retreated to his room, like a wounded puppy to lick his battered ego in peace, and to begin planning his next move.
He didn't know how Clarke had managed to sink her claws into Lexa as fast as she did, but with a few strategic moves, he could rid this world of that nuisance. Lexa would hurt for a while, as she had when he snuffed the life out of her precious Costia, but she would be better for it. She would rise stronger than she was before, and if his plans worked as well as he hoped, she would decimate every last Skaikru.
~ Meant To Be ~
Aden returned a little while later with a leather satchel hanging from his shoulder, and book still in hand. "Heda," he said as he handed her the bag. "The tower's awakening."
Lexa nodded, "Mochof."
Aden nodded and went to sit on the couch next to Indra. Clarke was sitting at Lexa's feet, who had taken over the armchair again. "Time to get ready for the day," Lexa said softly to Clarke, who looked up at her with a soft smile. To the group, Lexa asked, "What does each of your days look like?"
Aden spoke first. "Me and the other natblida are helping Raven again."
Lexa looked at Raven with a smirk. "More video games?" she asked.
"One day you're gonna see what all the fuss is and then you'll regret teasing me about this."
"Perhaps, but that day is not today."
Raven chuckled lightly, while Clarke and Aden joined her. Even Indra could be seen smiling just ever so slightly, while Octavia looked on in amusement and a little awe of her commander's ease around them.
"And sadly, no video games today. We ran out of power. They kids have been helping me restore a solar panel and sort through some of the scraps."
"Solar panels," Lexa said trying to remember what they were. "They were what powered the rover, sha?"
"Yeah," Raven answered. "They draw power from the sun and convert that into energy we can you to power things."
"And you're teaching the children how to repair this," Lexa asked in astonishment.
"Yeah. It was actually Jace's idea. She remembered me explaining what they were when they were going through some of the stuff. When we ran out of juice to fuel the video games, she suggested we fix one to get more power. I figured why the hell not. I can repair solar panels in my sleep and figure it'd be cool to teach them how to fix them too."
Clarke laughed and looked up to Lexa again. "And you were afraid she was gonna blow the place up."
Lexa put a straight face on and attempted to sound Heda like, but her voice betrayed her slightly as she said, "I'm still afraid she might blow the place up."
Clarke, Raven, Octavia, and Aden all began laughing, and Lexa found herself unable to be upset with them for doing so. The sound was so beautiful to her, and she found herself smiling along with them. She looked to Indra to the woman smiling widely at her.
It was so rare to see something other than a scowl on Indra's face. She was momentarily stunned by how peaceful and happy the woman looked. It was a beautiful sight to see. She looked out over the group, her eyes falling on all their faces. The happiness and ease she found there, even in facing a dark future, brought so much joy and hope to her heart.
Her eyes lingered on Aden, taking the young man in. She had seen a different side to him since Clarke arrived. A softer, happier side and yet he has grown ever stronger and wiser. She had never been prouder of him.
She looked to Indra again to find the woman still smiling but eyeing her curiously. Lexa smiled at her and answered her questioning glance. "This is what I want for our people." She looked back over the group, who were now all watching her. "I want our people to share our knowledge and ideas, but I want us to share our happiness and joy with each other more. To come together and find peace and solace and ease with each other, until even the strongest and most stoic of warriors…" She turned to look at Indra, "might find themselves smiling along."
Indra looked at Lexa curiously for a moment before smiling at her. "It's hard not to smile when you're around these goufa."
Octavia and Clarke both let out an accosted, "Hey," while Aden looked offended, and Raven looked confused.
Clarke saw her confusion and explained. "She called us children."
"Hey," Raven said, making Lexa laugh.
"Indra speaks true. You are all goufa to this world and it is amusing to watch."
Raven scoffed and chucked a book at Lexa's head, who caught it easily out of the air. She relaxed back and opened the book as though she hadn't just displayed amazing agility.
"That was awesome," Octavia gushed sitting forward in her seat.
Lexa looked up with a smile. "There are many things I can teach you," she said, then with a flick of her wrist, she chucked the book at Aden at rapid speeds. The young man plucked the book out the air, not nearly as gracefully as Lexa had, but it was still an impressive sight.
"Me next," Octavia said, bouncing slightly in her chair but looking at the book determinedly.
Lexa could barely hold in her chuckle and could see Clarke was doing her best not to laugh either.
Aden chucked the book at Octavia, who clumsily caught the book in her outstretched hand. She looked at the book for a moment, almost in shock she had done it, then suddenly stood outstretching her arms and yelled triumphantly. She enjoyed herself for a moment, then suddenly realized who she was standing in the room with and attempted to compose herself. She managed to look stoic for only a moment, before bursting out laughing, triggering a chorus of laughter from everyone in the room, even Indra.
Once everyone had calmed again, Lexa asked Clarke what her plans for the day were. "I'm meeting with Kane to finalize our plans before he heads back to Camp Jaha."
"When does he leave?" she asked.
"Tomorrow."
"And you, Raven, have you settled on when you wish to return as well."
"Yeah. Next week some time. Abby's sending the Rover for me. I wish I didn't have to leave yet, but there's a lot of work to be done to fix the Ark up for the winter and start preparing for Clarke and Abby's classes with the clans."
"We're going to miss you," Aden said quietly.
"I'm going to miss you too Aden," Raven replied fondly.
Lexa smiled sadly at them. Raven had been amazing with Aden and the nightbloods. She could see how close her children had grown with Raven, especially the younger ones, and vice versa. She wished they could have more time together.
She looked at Indra. "And what of you and Octavia."
"Our day is free for your wishes Heda," Indra replied.
Lexa nodded. "Take the day. Go enjoy the festival."
"Sha Heda, Mochof," Indra replied.
The group dispersed, leaving Clarke and Lexa alone again. Clarke slipped up the chair and into Lexa's lap, laying her body across her so she could lean into Lexa.
Lexa kissed Clarke's head and softly asked how she was. Clarke hummed, "Tired." She looked up at Lexa. "What about you? How are you doing?"
"I don't know," Lexa answered honestly. "I need time to think everything over."
Clarke nodded her head and rested it on Lexa's shoulder.
Lexa kissed her head again. "I wish you had shared you dreams with me before."
"I know," Clarke whispered. "I guess I needed time too. We were so new and still figuring everything out. My nightmares seemed like a problem we could worry about later. Something I could shoulder the burden of while you dealt with everything else."
"I'm here to share that burden." Lexa gently lifted Clarke's head up by her chin. "I promise you this, I will do everything in my power to change your dreams."
"I should be promising you that," Clarke replied.
Lexa smiled gently. "Then we can promise it together." She leaned down and gently kissed Clarke.
Clarke wrapped her arm around Lexa's neck and deepened the kiss. She broke the kiss briefly to whisper, "I think we have a little time before I have to meet Kane." She squeaked slightly when Lexa stood suddenly with her in her arms, and laughed as Lexa carried her to their bed.