Hukop
CHAPTER TWO
Hukop
FREYA
The Sky camp was just as confining as she had predicted. Once inside the walls of the compound, Freya began to feel the pressure of the looks that burned through her. The Sky People were still skeptical. She couldn’t blame them exactly. She’d had the opportunity to watch them for months but to them she was still a stranger.
She sat with Lucian outside the Ark. They were seated far enough away from most of the Arkers that she could converse with him without the worry that they’d be overheard. They’d had a heated argument leading up to their agreement to stay at the camp during their negotiations with the Sky People. He’d agreed but he was still glaring at her as he sipped from his flask. She wasn’t oblivious to the way he toyed absently with the hem of his shirt and she knew there was a knife beneath it, the one that the Sky People hadn’t confiscated.
Lucian didn’t like them. But there were few people that Lucian did like. Even back home he was content to be labeled a loner. But he was an outsider to some, a Trigeda who had known her father and left his own for reasons very few knew. Freya didn’t care what he was labeled so long as he was by her side. She, like him, trusted with caution and therefore trusted few. She still hadn’t thanked him for following her. She knew what he’d sacrificed to do so. What he’d left behind. For her. Because above all they had each other now. And Lucian would never leave her side so long as she head breath in her lungs.
He’d been a warrior in his youth, fought alongside her father for a different Commander. But he also fought for the Floudon. She remembered what it was like during the unrest. Freya was a child then, still young and naive to the ways of the world. But war had come to their people before. And naivety and innocence were lost in battle. Lucian had fought for her mother, been the warrior where she couldn’t be. And in turn, when Freya was in need, he fought for her as well.
“They do not trust you, Heda,” he whispered in their language, leaning back in his chair to pose as if he was relaxed. Freya could see his jaw was still tense. He was alert.
She took a bite of her stew, sipping at the warm broth as it ran down her throat. It was bland, she thought. The Sky People cooked for survival not to savor. But she wouldn’t tell them that. Not yet. There were more important things.
“They’ll come around. Lincoln, will convince them,” she answered in their language as well, careful that no one overheard. She could see Octavia nearby and she wondered off-handedly if her brother had sent her to spy on them.
“You still think him reliable after what you did?” She rolled her eyes, something he didn’t like because he always frowned when she did.
“Why does everyone feel compelled to bring that up? It was a misunderstanding,” she tried to explain, her annoyance clear in her voice.
“Regardless, there will be difficulty. Don’t you think we should have waited? Until we--” he started but her eyes flickered quickly to Octavia and she cleared her throat.
“We can’t wait any longer, Lucian. If we do nothing, we risk the lives of our people back home.”
“People who have disrespected your leadership. People who have abandoned you. For Eden.”
She didn’t answer because he was right. She was doing all of this, placing her life and fate in the hands of the Sky People. If she failed she would be ensuring the destruction of the Floudon, the people who had chosen Eden, over her, for their security. If she succeeded, however, there was still no guarantee that it would change anything.
She was going to answer him, tell him that their choice was made and she couldn’t protect their people so they turned to someone who could. But before the words could fall from her lips she saw Lincoln emerging from the building. She immediately straightened in her seat, allowing her chin to rise slightly, her eyes vacant of the worry she hid so well.
“They’ve agreed to hear your proposal,” he told her lowly, Octavia joining him at his side.
“I suppose I have you to thank for that?” she suggested and he shrugged.
“I know Luna wouldn’t send you here unless the situation was serious. Despite how our last meeting ended, I believe you’re intentions with these people are true,” he answered her and she gave him a half smile as she stood, offering her arm out to him in truce.
He only hesitated a moment before taking it with his own. Octavia stared at their clasped arms for only a moment before looking away and walking towards the Ark. Freya followed, Lucian at her side.
Inside the Ark was even stranger than she had imagined. She had observed it plenty from the outside, but the inside had always remained somewhat of a mystery. She tried not to seem too curious as her eyes swept over the walls, lingering over the coldness of the brushed steel cage surrounding her.
The room she was brought to was small, but it had a table with several seats around it. The seats were frayed slightly with age, much like things on Earth. Six faces stared up at her from around the table. Three others entered the room behind Lincoln and Octavia. All of them glanced to Lucian.
“You’ll understand if we ask your man to wait outside,” the man called Marcus Kane spoke.
Freya smiled when Lucian didn’t budge.
“And you’ll understand if I insist that he stay,” she retorted, her voice steady. “You and your guns outnumber me quite heavily and until we come to an agreement, I’ll keep the only weapon I need at my side.”
Eyes flicked again to the large man on her right. Many were intimidated by Lucian. He was large and his eyes were hardened by war. With Lucian at her side, she’d never have to insist a second time.
No one argued.
“I assume you have questions?” she began when no one else did, sitting down in the vacant seat at the furthest point of the table. Lucian stepped behind her and his presence loomed across the table. But eyes soon traveled down to her.
“Let’s start with the reason you came here. You say you need our help. Why?” Abby Griffin questioned first. Bellamy Blake simply sat staring, watching Freya’s expressions.
“The Kongeda is at odds with the Commander. It is no secret that her friendship with Clarke has made her appear weak. She has Wanheda under her protection and for now that means Clarke is more powerful than the Commander,” Freya explained “My people live far from here, untainted by your war with Trikru and the Maunon. Our home has always been coveted as well as our ships. And now we have a new threat. With each crack in the Commander’s power over the Coalition, Azgeda grows more brazen. Queen Nia no longer has the threat of the Mountain to stop her from breaking ties with the Commander. But she needs a larger army, more allies to break the Coalition and defeat Lexa. She seeks first to move against the Floudon and take our lands from us against the terms laid out by Kongeda laws. That is something I will not have. But we cannot fight her alone.”
“Wait,” Lincoln interrupted. “How is Azgeda going to take Floukru territory? Your lands aren’t accessible without boats.”
“Boats she has access to. Loyalties have been compromised. I told you I would not have come unless I actually needed your help,” she argued.
“But if Luna wants an alliance, why does she need us? Surely there are other clans who are willing?” Bellamy finally asked. Her eyes danced briefly to Lucian, a glance which he did not share. “If we take up arms against grounders under Lexa’s protection, we violate the ceasefire. What makes you think we’d want that, threaten the peace we have here? Grounders have kept their distance for months. Why would we jeopardize that for--”
“You think because they aren’t knocking down your gates that you are safe? That this ceasefire is real peace?” she scoffed. “You have no idea what the Ice Queen is capable of, what they’ll do to your people if she gets enough followers!” her voice was raised and she felt Lucian’s hand fall gently on her shoulder. She paused, breathing in and out until she felt her heart steady. “Lexa will not come to our aid. Not while she is uncertain of the loyalties of the other clans. She believes a summit will be enough to appease the Coalition, to appease Queen Nia. But by then it will be too late. If we do not find allies soon, by the time the clans meet for a summit, Azgeda will have made soldiers or corpses out of my people.”
“The Azgeda army is too large for Skaikru to fight back, even with guns,” Lincoln noted and Freya nodded in agreement.
“So what is your proposal?” Bellamy asked then and her eyes perked up to his, hardened and suspicious.
There was tension, between them and she knew it wasn’t just her words. It was everything she had done between that moment and when she’d pinned his body to the ground, his own gun trained on him as he stared up at her in a combination of wonder and fury. And now he sat across from her at the long table and she could see the distrust in his eyes. She couldn’t exactly blame him.
“We want the same things as you, Skayon. We want peace and prosperity for our people without the threat of tyranny by other clans. Without bloodshed, if possible. There will be meeting, in my village. I have already garnered the support of five other clans, with Skaikru at our side, Azgeda can be defeated and the Commander will be forced to take action or lose the Coalition.”
“Which clans?” Lincoln interrupted and her eyes danced towards him in amusement.
“I will not name them here. Trigeda are understandably Lexa’s most loyal warriors. The Coalition is fragile and they will see any involvement as a direct act of treason against her.”
“And you think I’m going to run to the Commander and tell her?” he asked her, his voice accusing.
“I don’t know what you’ll do. But I’ll not wager the lives of my people and those of five other clans on the hope that you don’t hold a grudge,” she replied with equal fervor. She glanced then back at Bellamy. “I only need you, Skai heda. Come with me, meet with the other clans and see that there can be peace between our nations without the threat of the Commander.”
“Chancellor Griffin is in charge here,” he answered hesitantly but Freya did not move her eyes from his.
“And yet the people follow you,” she spoke, raising an eyebrow. Everyone in the room shifted slightly. “I mean no disrespect, of course. But the other clans know of you, Skayon. They will feel comfortable knowing you are there to speak for your people.”
Bellamy glanced at Abby and there was a tension there that Freya had observed several times before. Bringing it up was the only way to speed up what was already imminent. Somehow, the Chancellor would have to see that the people put their trust in Bellamy after the sacrifices he had made.
“This would break the terms of our ceasefire,” Abby announced.
“There is still no treaty protecting your people,” Freya reminded her. “Help mine and when the Commander calls the Summit, my people and I will stand with Skaikru for peace and embrace the treaty.”
“You mean Luna will,” Lincoln corrected and she could feel Lucian shift slightly behind her.
“Yes, of course,” she told them, catching herself. No one seemed to want to speak and she sighed. “If you accept my proposal, come to our meeting and align yourself with Floukru, we are willing to offer you land for your settlements.” At her words everyone’s tense eyes flickered. “Floudon may command the seas but we have vast holdings in the East. Our lands are fertile and less harsh than those in the forest. Can you imagine it, farmlands and coastal waters as far as the eye can see?” The sky people looked around at one another, considering her offer. Bellamy’s eyes did not move from her own. She would not allow him to see how his stare started to unnerve her. “You know you cannot colonize the mountain,” she said finally and it was Abby who looked at her in concern. “The other clans have been fighting the people in the mountain for decades. If your people move into those bunkers, Skaikru will become the enemy.”
There was only silence then, their options weighing heavily on their minds and she could tell that some were more likely to agree than others. Bellamy was hesitant, while Kane seemed intrigued and hopeful by the idea of a safer and more prosperous settlement. She could not gauge Abby’s thoughts though Freya was certain they were more or less focused on her daughter as opposed to uprooting their clan.
“The council will discuss it,” Bellamy answered finally and she felt her lips pull at the corners of her mouth when her eyes caught his.
“I’ll see myself out,” was her reply when Lincoln stepped towards her.
She stood, Lucian pulling her chair from the table as she did so and he followed her closely as they walked out the door. He did not speak until they were once again outside and they could isolate themselves from watchful eyes.
“They’ll accept,” she whispered in their language and Lucian’s jaw clenched.
“You hope they will,” he corrected. “He is not as blind as you would think him,” he warned her. “This place is not safe for you. You risk too much with them.”
“I risk what is necessary,” she reminded him once more. “There is little time and full disclosure will only slow things down, make them more wary. Lincoln will assure them that they can trust my mother.”
“Heda--”
“I know,” she interrupted, this time the bite in her voice silenced him. “But without his trust, there will be no convincing the others.”
Lucian rarely looked down at her in pity but she could see it in his eyes then. He knew the task at hand and the burden she carried. It was her duty to him, to her people. She had to fix what was broken and without these Sky People none of that was possible. She shifted uncomfortably and his gaze changed as he swallowed hard.
“We can still flee all of this,” he attempted and her eyes darted towards him.
“Do not even suggest it,” she commanded. “It was my weakness that led us to this,” she hissed. “You and I both know what they’ll do if I don’t succeed.”
“And if this Bellamy is not enough? They asked for Wanheda, not this boy.”
“He is not a boy, Lucian,” she reminded him though she realized as she said it she did not know why she was defending something so petty. “And I will make them see. He was there too. He is just as responsible.”
“And what will he do when he discovers your lie?”
“Hopefully by then we will be home and our people will be safe. He would do the same for his own.”
“I do not like this,” he whispered and his eyes were no longer harsh. His eyes were soft as they had been when she was a child, as they had been when--no she couldn’t think of that now.
“I know,” she agreed, letting out a long breath as she stared back up at him. “But we do what we must.”
BELLAMY
“You’re making a mistake if you think you can trust her,” Octavia whispered shaking her head.
“You think I don’t know that?” Bellamy replied, leaning back in his chair, it squeaked as he did so. His crossed his arms over his chest. “But what choice do we have? We can’t stay here. Not permanently. And if we try and take Mount Weather we’ll be at war with the grounders. Again. We need to stop simply surviving and start planning for the future of our people.”
“She’s hiding something,” Octavia added.
“Of course she’s hiding something,” Lincoln interjected. “Freya only ever deals with half-truths. It’s the only way she can deal with each of the clans. She’s telling us what we need to know, nothing more.”
Bellamy was surprised to see the slight look of amusement on his lips.
“So we just blindly trust her, even if it means she’s lying to us?”
“It’s a gamble. But Luna is a friend. Hell, and I’ve known Freya most of my life and while she and I have had our differences, the clans respect her for a reason,” Lincoln answered. “The Floudon see her as next in line to lead them after Luna steps down. To align with her would be in your favor.”
“You haven’t said anything about how Trikru will take this,” Kane spoke. “Is it wise to go against the Commander’s wishes and our alliance with the Trigeda?”
“She’s right about that, if Trikru knew of her plans to rise against Azgeda with the help of other clans, she'd be brought in stand trial at Lexa’s mercy,” Lincoln replied. “If Floukru are threatened by the Ice Queen…” he paused, sighing, resigned. “Freya is doing what she thinks is right for her people. Luna has been at odds with the Commander for a long time. If she can’t get help from the Kongeda, then she’ll do whatever it takes to succeed by other means.”
“What are the risks?” Bellamy asked and Octavia was shaking her head, disappointed the he was even considering the proposal.
“There are two factions of Floukru we’d be dealing with. Luna is their leader, but she’s a pacifist. She doesn’t permit violence amongst her people. But she’s also protective of them. She has a war chief, in charge of training their warriors.These warriors are heavily armed, as Freya said. It won’t be like fighting Trikru if the Ice Queen gets her hands on their weapons.”
“How did they get guns in the first place?” Abby asked.
“Boat Nation aren’t just farmers and fishermen, Abby,” Lincoln answered. “It is only recently that Luna left the old ways behind. In the past they have had less noble means of survival, like all of us. For decades they were able to do that by raiding settlements, taking what they needed to form a strong society. Their people are the most traveled of all the clans. The wealth of knowledge they have is unmatched. So is their arsenal.”
“You mean they’re pirates?” Bellamy scoffed in disbelief.
“We all have warriors. It just happens that most of theirs fight their battles at sea.”
“What else?” Bellamy questioned. Lincoln seemed hesitant at first but he spoke.
“Her older sister, Eden…” he paused. “She, unlike Freya, is not an ally you want. She is their war chief. She’s ruthless and cold and if my apprehensions are correct about the secrets Freya is hiding, then this is not just an outside threat they’re facing. If Eden’s making a power play for Luna’s seat, then we could be walking into civil war.”
“What help are we in that case?” Kane asked. “If the Boat Nation are amidst war in their own camps, it does us no good in the eyes of the Commander if we are seen to be sympathizing.”
“It also does us no good if we have no allies to stand on our side when a summit is called,” Bellamy answered. “If the Commander truly means to sign a treaty between the grounders and the Sky People, then we will need other clans willing to agree to it as well. Their unrest is dangerous to us. And if we consider the lands she’s offered…”
“We have lands, plenty to share if Trikru are willing to barter some of it,” Abby argued. “And Mount Weather--”
“Mount Weather isn’t an option,” Bellamy ground out, more forcefully than he’d intended and all chatter stopped. He was tired of talking about it, tired of fighting over and over again about the graveyard bunker in the mountains. “If were are seen colonizing the mountain, we breach our agreement with the Commander. We’ll be at war, again. If there is hope of peace somewhere past all of this, I’m willing to consider it.” He paused, looking down at his hands and swallowing hard before he spoke his next words. “Clarke would want this.”
“Clarke--,” Abby hissed. “--isn’t here. And here, I’m in charge.”
“Abby--” Kane attempted, placing his hand on her shoulder but she brushed it off.
“If Clarke wanted a say, she wouldn’t have left,” she added. “She’s gone and it’s up to us to keep our own peace with these people. If we agree to this, it’s them we’re putting in jeopardy. We all have had enough blood on our hands.”
“But if we don’t agree to this, we risk losing an important ally,” said Bellamy. “If we don’t at least hear them out, we could be facing the same threat a few weeks from now, maybe sooner.” Abby didn’t reply at first, looking away as she clenched her jaw. “She’s asked for me and I will go. For our people.”
Finally she turned, her eyes trained on Bellamy in anger at his defiance. She stood, pushing down onto the table as she nearly leapt out of her seat, seething.
“Then go. Leave with them. But know if you do, I’ll only allow volunteers to follow you. I will not willingly send people out there to a sector we still know nothing about.”
She didn’t speak again as she stormed out and Bellamy could still feel the anger hanging in the room as the door slammed behind her. He would not let his own anger cloud his judgement, not when he had such an opportunity before him. He didn’t mean to glance up at Octavia either, but when he did she saw her staring down at him in disapproval. But he’d made up his mind.
“I’ll put together a team of volunteers and a supply list before we sit down and discuss the plan with Floukru,” he announced and she shook her head slowly.
“I’ll go with you,” Lincoln offered, much to Octavia’s annoyance, and Bellamy nodded his thanks.
“What about the mapping run?” Kane questioned Bellamy. “You were planning to drive out through sector 7 tomorrow?”
“Octavia can lead the team on the run in my place,” he instructed, hoping she would find some pride in opportunity but she was still reeling about his decision.
“And Lincoln’s kill order?” she hissed. “If he’s seen, he’s dead on sight.”
“I’ll be fine,” he whispered, trying to comfort her but both could see it would do no good. “The farther away from Trikru territory I go, the better. Under Floukru’s protection, no one will find me.”
“You said Luna was in hiding for a reason,” she ground out. “Now you want to go out there, with a kill order hanging over your head?”
“Octavia,” he said, placing his hands on either side of her face. She lowered her eyes away from his. “Luna is a friend. I’ll be safe with her people.”
Octavia sighed, submitting to Lincoln’s plea but also doing so grudgingly as she walked out of the room. Several members of the group left, leaving him alone with Kane and Lincoln as they sat in silence.
“You realize the risk this poses?” Kane asked softly. “If this falls through.”
“This might be what is best for our people,” Bellamy insisted. “We can’t sit here, waiting for another attack, waiting for Ice Nation to come knocking at our door. What they’re offering is not only a way for eventual peace, but a way to remove us from this conflict entirely. Out of Trikru territory.”
“And into a foreign one we know nothing about,” Kane reminded him.
“But she’s right,” Lincoln offered. “Across the sea puts you far enough outside of conflict with Trikru, and the lands are expansive. They have farms and trading ports. They’ll have enough space to share.”
“But why so much?” Kane asked. “If their lands are vast enough, why is there so much to spare?”
“Floukru’s villages on land are small. Most Floudon land dwellers live in the port villages. The rest, the captains, the leadership, they live off-shore.”
“Off-shore?” Bellamy asked, his brow furrowed.
“You just have to see it to understand.”
FREYA
The cell she slept in was confining.
It was suffocating, the closeness of the walls, but it wasn’t the sole reason for her insomnia. There were more important things to do than sleep, her heart pleaded. But her head silenced the protests, reminding her that rest was necessary for the days to come.
Still, she found herself wandering in the dead of night. There were soldiers stationed near her confining cage and Lucian stood watch. He only lifted a questioning brow when she emerged and he followed her from a polite distance, giving her the space she craved. The two skaikru guards followed just behind Lucian, pretending not to be interested in the distance of their fingers to their triggers. She walked down metal corridors, which led into more metal corridors, until she found herself in front of an open door, a young woman standing between her and walking through it. Freya looked around, seeing no one but the four of them in this stand-off and the low hum of electricity buzzing through the overhead lights.
“This location is off-limits,” the girl said and Freya smiled.
“I was told only Command was off-limits,” she replied and the girl shifted, holding her gun a little tighter in her hands and she could feel the heat of Lucian’s body inch up behind her. Freya let her eyes linger on the gun for only a moment before her eyes traveled up, meeting the girl’s instead.
“You’ve been restricted to the common areas and sleeping quarters only,” she then announced, more force in her voice, lifting her head in an attempt at authority which was clearly not hers to give and it made Freya’s lips twitch in the corners ever so slightly.
Freya was ready to speak, opening her mouth to respond in well-crafted bullshit that would no doubt have Lucian rolling his eyes from behind her but she never got the chance when she saw a figure step up behind the girl with the gun. For the first time since she could remember, Freya’s voice was lost.
“Let her through,” he instructed, his voice tired and she wondered if he’d gotten any sleep either. His eyelids were heavy, but his stare was as direct as it always was in her direction.
The girl wasted no time in stepping aside, per his command, watching Freya from the side of her eyes as their paths briefly crossed. Freya took in the sites around her, the room was fairly small with little in it other than a couple chairs around a small table and a large board with various locations scrawled across it in hasty writing.
She let her eyes linger over it, noticing the half drawn sectors creating a map of their known territories. Sectors only half completed with details that caused her fingers to twitch from moderate inaccuracies. She could see they still didn’t know where Floukru was, or most of the other clans for that matter. Lincoln knew and she briefly wondered why he hadn’t just given them one of the maps from his little book.
“If you’d like a more accurate map--” she offered placing her fingers over the marked glass, intent on erasing a wildly exaggerated Trikru border in the South, but she paused when his hand wrapped around her wrist, pausing her adjustment.
“Meikas of, Skayon,” Lucian muttered from his place in the corner. He stood, his arms crossed over his chest, his permanent frown souring his face.
Bellamy understood the warning, pulling his hands from her person as he was instructed but his eyes remained on hers.
“Just--” he paused, moving a step back and she wondered if he recalled the last time they’d been in such close proximity. She nearly smiled at the bruises on his nose. “--don’t touch that.”
“I just meant to help,” she told him with a shrug, turning away from the map and plopping herself down in a chair where a bottle sat open and inviting. She glanced up at him, gesturing to it. “What are you drinking?” she asked.
Bellamy crossed the room where she was seated, taking the bottle from the table and pouring some of it’s clear contents into the cup in front of them. There was only one, she noticed, and she assumed he wasn’t expecting company. She smelled the liquid, squinting slightly as the harsh liquid burned her eyes, and then raised the cup towards him.
“Mochof,” she thanked him with a sly grin before downing the drink that burned her throat. She soured her face only slightly before setting the cup in front of him, pouring liquid into his cup as she swallowed her own. “Not terrible,” she whispered through her strained voice. “But I do prefer my booze a little less savage.”
“Can’t say we’ve had much time to perfect the process,” he mocked bitterly and his tension caused her to raise an eyebrow, following his eyes to the markered board again.
“I can help, you know? With all that,” she offered again, sliding the cup towards him and taking the liberty of pouring the liquid into it. “There are few people who can claim the knowledge I’ve acquired over the last decade.”
“Why do you care?” he asked her, watching the bottle resting on the edge of the cup as she poured.
“My mother believes we’re all better off secluded in our own world, away from all of this. When I was a child I saw her break from the pressure that comes from war. She swore never to kill again,” she explained, watching him place the cup to his lips and drink. “She wanted us to live in peace. But peace can only last so long. I’ve seen so much of this world and I know there is more to living than what she wants for our people. And I know that begins with making lasting alliances, bringing in outsiders to learn from and share our knowledge.”
“What’s so wrong with peace?” he questioned. “I’d give anything for real peace for my people.”
“There is no such thing as ‘real peace’, Skayon,” she explained. “Azgeda is at our door and threatening to destroy that peace for power. It’s human nature. The strong consume the weak. And if we let them take our lands to preserve ‘peace’, then we are sending out a message that we cannot stand up for ourselves. We might as well be bowing down to the tyranny of the Greek empire if you will,” she told him and his eyes lifted from his cup to her eyes in surprise.
She let loose a small grin as she nodded her head in the direction of the book on the table off to the side. The Iliad wasn’t a favorite of hers but she appreciated the story for some of it’s more popular themes - fate, free will, love...war. War was an aspect of life and no matter how many times her mother tried to emphasize the importance of Freya’s position as peacekeeper, there was always the looming conflict that threatened to erase it all.
“How was she when you saw her?” the question came and Freya was surprised when it did, having it expected it much sooner.
“Wanheda is in safe hands with the Commander for now,” she started but Bellamy shook his head.
“That’s not what I meant. I meant, how is she,” he clarified and Freya nodded in understanding, studying the way his eyes danced eagerly for news and then eyed his hands anxiously.
“I spoke to her once, she wouldn’t remember,” she admitted to him and Bellamy’s eyes shot up. “I’d tracked her to this trading post in the west,” Freya pointed towards the map. “She’d colored her hair red to disguise herself but I knew it was her. I’d been following her for weeks. She seemed--,” Freya stopped as she searched for the right word. “Burdened, alone. But strong,” she admitted as well. “She is brave, your Clarke.”
“She’s not…” but he didn’t finish the sentence as he glanced up towards the map where Freya had indicated. “We’ve never gone this far north before,” he noted. “It’s Ice Nation territory.”
“It’s a good thing. Azgeda is not known for their mercy. Even less so for their sympathy towards Skaikru.” she paused, noticing his lost expression. “She will be safe until the summit,” she explained. “Once our alliance is solidified with the other clans, I will take you to her and our clans will stand together in the face of the Kongeda.”
“Why didn’t you approach her then, ask for her help?” he questioned.
“She needed time and I was prepared to give it to her,” she admitted. “But I lost her. I was distracted for a moment, a mistake I won’t make again. By then it was too late. I tracked them to the outskirts of Polis but I’d already lost them. Once they entered the city I knew she was out of my reach.”
“If you’re at odds with the Commander, how will you get into Polis for the Summit?”
“My cousin may not want my presence, but she cannot deny a peacekeeper access to a peace summit. Our ambassador, the old goat that he is, is in Polis as we speak, negotiating for Floukru. But once the Summit is called, the peacekeepers of all thirteen clans must join for the ceremony.”
“Thirteen?” he asked, his eyebrow raised. Freya shifted slightly.
“If we break the Coalition, there will be chaos. Having enough strength on our side will force Lexa’s hand. She will have to make Skaikru the thirteenth clan to maintain peace and order.”
“There is no way the other clans will agree to that. They want us dead,” he argued but she shook her head.
“Five of the twelve do not. Together we make up six and as a whole we will make the Commander see our side. She will not side with Azgeda.”
“And Trikru?”
“Trikru will fall in line with whatever Lexa chooses,” she explained, reaching across the table and filling the cup once more.
“Who are the other clans?” Bellamy asked then and Freya lowered the cup from her mouth. “We’ve agreed to come and meet with them, based solely on your word. The least you could do is tell us who will stand with us.”
Freya couldn’t see Lucian from where she was sitting but she could feel his presence, even as he moved slightly towards them. Bellamy’s eyes focused on the man, much taller than he, as Lucian towered over them. He placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing once and she was brought back to the reality of where they were and what this was.
“Three days, you’ll meet them then,” she reiterated, standing. “Get some sleep, Skayon,” she instructed. “You’ll need your strength.”
She did not look back as she turned towards the door nor did Bellamy reply to her cold words and obvious evasion of his question. He’d find out soon enough who the clans were, and by then she could only hope that she would still have the strength to save her people.
A/N: Now that season 3 is over, I feel a renewed sense of motivation for this story. I’ve stated on my tumblr that Luna will not be the same Luna (not exactly) as the canon version on the show. Because I don’t want to have to go back and keep rewriting everything, Freya will remain Luna’s daughter, but I will do my best to remain as true to the canon character as possible with slight alterations to still adhere to the plot I envisioned for this story. Thanks!
Trigedasleng:
Heda = Commander/Leader/Chief
Kongeda = Coalition
Trikru = Woods Clan
Maunon = Mountain People
Floudon/Floukru = Boat People/Boat Nation
Azgeda = Ice Nation
Skayon = Sky One
Wanheda = Commander of Death (in reference to Clarke)
Meikas of, Skayon = Hands off, Sky One
Mochofi = Thank You