Three Days, Clarke
Clarke woke at dawn and found Lexa already awake and in the process of getting changed for the day.
“I was about to wake you, it is time.” Lexa smiled. Clarke yawned and got changed, following Lexa to the skybox where the forty seven waited.
“Clarke! Commander!” They called in greeting.
“Today we talk to the council in your stead. Hopefully they will listen! But, if they do not, we have an alternative for you to consider. Bellamy, tell everyone what you’ve been doing!” Lexa called. Bellamy nodded and rose to join them.
“I’ve been building us a safe place to live if we leave. With the help of Indra and people of Tondc, we’ve started building a village where the drop ship sits! We can leave and live there! We will be safe and the commander promised to send people to help us build and teach us to survive on our own!” Bellamy explained to them. There were murmurs of conversation through the group as he finished.
“You don’t have to go if you do not want to! We won’t force anyone against their will. But now we have somewhere safe to promise you all, outside of here!” Clarke emphasized.
“Can we leave today?”
“When are we going?”
“What if the council tries to stop us?” Voices from the group asked. Clarke felt herself smile.
“If they stop us then we fight! If they try for Clarke or Lexa then we stop them! Heda an* Wanheda ou Wamplei! We are the gonakru kom wamplei! I dare them to stop us!” Octavia shouted, raising her fist.
“Yeah! Let ‘em try us! Heda an* Wanheda ou waplei!” Another voice agreed and everyone raised their fists with roars of agreement. Lexa smiled.
“I have a plan, but I need some of you to help me.” Lexa began, silencing the crowd. They all looked at her determinedly and Lexa felt nothing short of pride swell in her chest.
“Anything, commander!”
“You are one of us!” Voiced called to her.
“I will tell you more at tomorrow’s meeting. We meet here again. Bellamy, take a small group to the drop ship at noon. Everyone who goes with Bellamy will not return with him. We must be subtle.” Lexa promised and everyone nodded.
“Let’s go face the council commander.” Clarke whispered, taking Lexa’s hand. Lexa nodded and they left the room with a nod to Bellamy, Raven, and Octavia. Clarke and Lexa easily found the council chamber and joined the meeting already in session.
“Commander. Clarke. Thank you for joining us.” Kane greeted.
“Why are you keeping my forty seven here like prisoners?” Clarke demanded, cutting right to the chase.
“They aren’t prisoners. Outside the fence is dangerous. We have men who can hunt and provide for us. You kids are all safer within the walls sweetie. You all can relax. We’ll handle things.” Abby replied gently. Lexa could feel Clarke bristle at the words.
“And you. Why are you pressuring the girls to get their implants removed? Many of us are under eighteen. If we’re still kids then how is that right? You seemed to be either sick or a hypocrite.” Clarke growled turning to Jaha.
“We need to raise our population Clarke. Our numbers are low and many people died on the landing.” Jaha began but the growl that rose up in Clarke’s throat cut him off.
“What if we decided we all wanted to leave? That we could take better care of ourselves elsewhere?” Clarke asked. Abby and Jaha laughed, before seeing the look on Clarke’s face.
“Clarke, honey. We can take care of things here. There’s no need to go anywhere when everyone is safe here.” Abby told her.
“You have nothing for me Clarke?” Kane asked both amused and confused.
“You’ve done nothing but try to keep the peace. But you need to work harder at controlling these two.” Clarke shrugged.
“Would you stop them if they tried to leave Arcadia?” Lexa asked finally, joining in.
“Of course! It’s not safe out there for them, they’re just kids.” Abby answered immediately. Lexa felt a snarl rise from her throat.
“We will continue this conversation tomorrow, I have much I need to think about.” Lexa rose abruptly from her seat and strode out the door with Clarke on her heels.
“Lexa?” Clarke asked softly. She could feel the anger radiating off the commander.
“I am fine Clarke. We leave tomorrow. All of us. No matter how they try to stop us.” Lexa growled.
“Ok.” Clarke nodded.
Clarke sat at the edge of the sparring ground as Lexa sparred with her guards. She was mesmerized by the commander’s fighting.
“Showing off for your Kwin, Heda?” Britt teased.
“Shop of.” Lexa hissed back, blushing.
“Let’s make this more interesting. Loser has to run to Tondc tomorrow, instead of riding.” Britt challenged. Lexa grinned and shucked her heavy armored jacket to make herself lighter.
“You’re on. I hope you’re still in shape old man.” Lexa teased. Britt smirked and unleashed a quick flurry of attacks on her. Lexa deflected most of them and retaliated by slashing and hacking at Britts defenses, trying to make them shatter. The fight progressed as tensions rose and Lexa kept track of Clarke out of the corner of her eyes. Clarke was blissfully unaware of her surroundings, her attention locked onto Lexa, unable to stop a grin as Lexa shatter Britts defense and swept his feet from under him.
“Guess you’d better rest up then.” Lexa gloated, pulling her guard to his feet.
“Sha Heda.” He bowed his head. Lexa strode purposefully over to Clarke in nothing but her tank top and pants, knowing Britt would grab her jacket as he left.
“Like what you see, ai niron?” Lexa purred. Clarke immediately blushed and gaped wordlessly at the sight before her, cursing the heat she felt starting to pool in her belly.
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“I thought so.” Lexa smirked, striding away to change, leaving Clarke a mess in her wake. Clarke rose to her feet and hurried after the commander. As soon as they were back inside the tent, Clarke wrapped her arms around Lexa’s hips from behind and purred lustfully into the crook of her neck, rubbing slightly against Lexa’s backside.
“Klark…” Lexa rasped, putting her arms over Clarke’s.
“Lexa…” Clarke whined, running her hands across the flat plain of Lexa's stomach needily.
“Clarke… We can’t do this… Not here…” Lexa tried, her words melting into a moan.
“Beja…” Clarke whimpered, her arousal starting to become an uncomfortable bulge straining against the front of her pants.
“When… When we return to P-Polis.” Lexa promised shakily. Clarke whined again but stepped away, looking for something to hide herself with and settling for a pillow. She wasn't ready to change her clothes yet.
“Clarke… I can leave for a bit so you can take care of yourself but we can't yet. Not here. Not like this...” Lexa reminded softly. Clarke shook her head.
“Sleep… I just need to…” Clarke mumbled dizzily, curling up under the panther fur.
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“Ok. Ron yu op bida riden.” Get some sleep. Lexa purred, running her hand up and down Clarke’s back until she was sure the girl was asleep comfortably. Lexa slowly rose and exited the tent, wandering around Arcadia. Occasionally she was stopped by members of the gonakru kom wamplei and stayed with them for brief instances before continuing to move around Arcadia. As the sun set, she retrieved dinner and brought it back to the tent where Clarke still slumbered. She woke the blonde and got her to eat before pulling her against her chest and settling down to sleep.
When Lexa woke, Clarke was gone. She rose to her feet and left the tent. Dawn was barely breaking when Lexa found Jynx standing outside the sparring ring, where Clarke threw frenzied punches and kicks at Briat who encouraged the motions while also correcting her here or there. He easily blocked her attacks but she was improving steadily.
“She woke and wanted to relieve some stress Heda.” Jynx explained softly as Lexa stood beside her.
“Is she ok?” Lexa asked softly.
“She improves. Briat teaches her as Gustos taught you long ago Heda.” Jynx nodded. Lexa was silent. When Costia had been taken from her she’d been so full of rage and hate, letting it consume her until Anya threw her in the ring with Gustus. She’d thrown angry and unfocused strikes at the bigger man who deflected them easily, letting the young Commander tire herself out and calm down before he began to teach and correct her. Lexa smiled as she watched Clarke until the blonde pulled a final strike out of nowhere and hit firmly against Briats jaw, sending his head snapping the other direction. Clarke, Lexa, and Jynx all froze amazed.
“Ha! I got you!” Clarke grinned. Briat frowned, rubbing his jaw, before letting out a bellow of a laugh and patting Clarke on the top of the head affectionately.
“You did well, strik gona.” Little warrior. He praised. Clarke beamed up at him and walked over to Lexa.
“Hey.” Lexa greeted softly.
“I’m ok now.” Clarke promised, taking one of Lexa’s hands in her own and kissing the back of the commander’s knuckles.
“You should get changed so we can meet the others.” Lexa suggested and Clarke nodded, racing off toward the tent with Jynx on her heels.
“Muchof Briat. Seken kom Gustos.” Lexa murmured, extending her hand to him.
“Pro Heda.” He nodded, grasping her forearm firmly. She nodded and let him go, watching the large young man lumber after Jynx and Clarke. Lexa headed toward the sky box, wandering around the currently empty space until she found a cell full of drawings. She ran her fingers gently over the images on the walls and studied closely, the images scrawled onto the floor.
“Clarke…” Lexa murmured as she stood at the center of the space, taking it all in.
“This is where I would’ve stayed until they floated me. This was where I lived for almost a year before they sent us down here… No human contact… Just the window, the bed, and some charcoals some of my friends would find ways to slip under the door…” Clarke said softly, leaning against the door frame.
“These are beautiful… Are they of the ground?” Lexa asked. Clarke nodded.
“I only had my imagination and old pictures to go off of but… I wasn’t that far off.” The blonde shrugged, staying by the door.
“I pondered many things while you slept yesterday. I have many words for the council.” Lexa admitted, moving towards Clarke.
“I expected as much.” Clarke gave her a small smile and led them out to the larger part of the sky box where the rest of their people waited.
“We leave today. And it is on this day I need your help. I fear the council will fight back and try to prevent your leave. Bellamy, you will need to slip out before the others, I need you to have a door way through the fence.” Lexa began. Bellamy and Raven nodded.
“Now. If this goes the way I think it might, I believe the council will detain all of you, Clarke included and force myself and our guards outside and away from the fence. I want one of you to swap places with Clarke’s guard Jynx. I need a female volunteer who won’t mind darkening her hair with soot.” Lexa continued calmly. She was pleased that they got quite a few volunteers. She stood Jynx next to each one and picked the girl closest to Jynx’s body profile and pushed the pair into one of the cells to change. When they returned, Lexa continued.
“Thank you Fox. You will pose as a guard, Briat will help you play the part, try to remain silent. You will leave with me and my guards if the council forces us out. Jynx, you will try to pretend to be a helpless sky girl so you can remain behind with Clarke and the rest as I expect the council won’t allow her to leave with me. If that happens I will be relying on all of you to protect Clarke and each other until I return with forces from Tondc. In the meantime, one of you will need to slip out of Raven and Bellamy’s gate every few hours, but be subtle. Once you’ve gotten out, Bellamy will take you to the drop ship and Tondc. Raven, Octavia, Jynx, Clarke, and any who are combat trained without the use of guns need to be the last to leave. It shouldn’t take more than three days for me to muster forces and return and most of you need to be safely away by then. This is our failsafe.” Lexa explained, getting murmurs of approval throughout the crowd.
“Today, when the Commander and I go to meet with the council, you all will start to form in ranks and march on the gates. Do not be afraid they won’t shoot you. They won’t risk it but they will bluff. Any who can fight hand to hand, stay towards the edges, those of you who can’t, stay to the center so the outer fighters can protect you. We will be leaving, one way or another.” Clarke picked up and everyone began to chant.
“Wanheda ou wamplei!” They roared in a united force. Clarke and Lexa nodded approvingly.
“Raven, get Bell out now and then we’ll take on the council.” Clarke ordered.
“Yes Ma’am.” Raven saluted, limping away with Bellamy on her heels.
“The rest of you, while she does that, pack what you will take but no guns allowed. Only cowards need guns.” Clarke snarled disgusted. The crowd nodded and hurried away. Clarke and Lexa waited for Raven and the rest of the forty seven to return before walking to the council room.
“Commander. Clarke.” Kane greeted again.
“I’ve done quite a bit of thinking. The way you treat your yongons is wrong. You send them here to die but as soon as you rejoin them, you expect to lead them again, the fences are like a cage. This is not how they will grow.” Lexa growled.
“With all due respect commander, you are naught but a child yourself.” Jaha countered. Clarke felt Lexa bristle next to her.
‘Wrong move chancellor.’ She gloated mentally.
“Tell me then Chancellor, how could a mere yongon unite twelve warring peoples under one flag before they had lived to see sixteen winters? How could a simple yongon make peace with and then defeat their most traitorous foe in the name of loved ones before living to see twenty winters? Point out to me a mere yongon who could accomplish these things that lives in a cage?” Lexa snarled, pausing.
“There is only one and she sits beside me in this room and shares my bed. And you would’ve had her killed for doing what was right for her people. And yet she was sent here with them to die, and protected them with her life. She fought to build an alliance with my people and I, which I was wrong to break but even still she defeated the greatest threat to my people since the bombs, alone while you were all their captives. You were angry that she left after the mountain to regain herself but expect her to bend under your will upon her return. By my side no less. We are at peace because of Clarke.” Lexa continued, her eyes narrowing dangerously.
“Chancellor! They’re massing at the gate! They won’t halt!” A guard called into the room.
“Who?” Jaha called back.
“The kids! The forty seven! They’re chanting in the grounder tongue.” The guard answered. Jaha glared at Lexa and Clarke and rose from his seat, exiting the room to see with Abby and Kane in tow. Clarke and Lexa went after them.
“Stand down and disband.” Jaha called calmly to the group.
“You first. We want out.” A voice called back.
“Marcus, what are they saying?” Abby asked Kane.
“Wanheda or death. Essentially, Clarke or death.” Kane sighed.
“You cannot. The gates will stay closed. Disband immediately or you will be detained.” Jaha continued.
“What are you going to do, lock us up? Been there, done that.” Another voice sneered back.
“Yeah!” The rest of the group roared.
“Abby, why not just let them go? If you’re right, they’ll be begging to return.” Kane suggested, but in his mind he knew better.
“What will that show the other clans if we allow a mutiny?” Abby shook her head.
“Commander, it’s time for you and your guard to leave.” Abby called.
“Very well. Come Clarke.” Lexa nodded, reaching for the blonde.
“I’m afraid not. Thank you for bringing her home Commander.” Abby smiled sweetly, grabbing Clarke’s arms firmly.
“No! Lexa!” Clarke struggled, breaking free and clinging to Lexa.
“Clarke… I’ll come back to you. You will be safe, I will not allow anything to happen to you.” Lexa purred, kissing Clarke’s forehead before two of Arcadia’s guards pulled them apart and held Clarke tightly so she couldn’t run back to Lexa. The guard escorted Lexa and her private guards, along with Clarke’s out of the gate, locking it behind them. Clarke was released and ran to the gate, pressing desperately against it to be close to the commander. This would be the longest time they’d spent apart in the almost two months since Lexa had pulled Clarke from Nia’s dungeons.
“Beja Klark. Ste yuj.” Lexa told her softly. Clarke nodded, poking her fingers through the gate’s chain links.