Athena slipped into the room where Lincoln was being held; though he had recovered from his incident being turned into a Reaper, he was still deemed dangerous. Athena knew she could handle him if he tried to hurt her, but also knew that he wouldn't. It was clear that the drug was out of his system, and he was back to his old self. Or, however much of it he could still identify with after going through what he went through.
It was late in the evening, and news from the meeting was still ringing in Athena's head. There had been a misunderstanding; someone tried to poison the Arkers, and ended up poisoning Lexa's second. They presumed it to be Raven getting her revenge for Finn's death, and she was nearly killed for the treason. It ended up being Lexa's second, and Athena wondered if this truce would last long enough to take down Mount Weather. If she was going to send herself and Bellamy in there, she couldn't afford to have her half of the army disappear and leave them to die in there. Things were teetering too close to danger.
"Leia woke from surgery; Abby said she will recover quickly." Athena explained to Lincoln.
"Eire, Salvatore and Acacius are in there, but for how long, we cannot say." Bellamy added, though he mispronounced Acacius' name.
"What else did she say?" Lincoln sat up in his binds and glanced down at them, "Are these really necessary?"
Athena reached over and unclasped the metal and leather straps that held his arms down, and Lincoln sat up right away, favouring his wrist, massaging one and then the other. His dark eyes seemed wary of Bellamy, but they were on good terms; better terms than most of the Grounders were with the Sky People.
"She told them to deliver a message, and that was that they had weapons beyond what we could imagine." Bellamy continued, as he was more fluent in English and Athena didn't want to stumble over her words, there was no time for mistakes even when speaking. She also didn't like speaking her native tongue with Bellamy around. "They are keeping the captive Grounders there, releasing them is too much of a liability. Chances are, they will be dead soon."
"They don't have enough of your people to start killing ours." Athena noted, "That means we already have an army in there."
Lincoln nodded, "A few hundred of their own enemies sitting pretty, ready to fight back."
"They'll be weak, weaponless." Athena stated, "If we manage to get in and release them, many will die."
"Many will die if we don't." Lincoln stated. "So, tell me your plan."
"Athena and I go in as your captives, you as a Reaper..." Bellamy paused, as if to see Lincoln's reaction. His face cringed, but he argued nothing. "And when those doors are opened and they are deciding what to do to us, you break us free and we kill them. Once we have their clothing and weapons, we're mostly in the clear."
"There will be other Reapers." Lincoln cautioned.
"It's a risk we have to take." Athena cleared her throat. "We're bringing it to Clarke and Lexa tonight."
"Alright, I'm in." He said, "But I want to see Octavia first."
"I'll go bring her in." Bellamy offered.
"Meet me at my tent," Athena said to Bellamy, "I'll get an in with Lexa."
As Athena made her way through the Grounder camp, she was no longer looked at as a traitor, but instead overlooked like every other Grounder was. No one was paying any particular attention to anyone, but the murmurs were still audible. She could hear concerns about the truce, but there was more concern about people killing on their own sides.
Indra allowed Athena to pass, withholding any judgemental looks this time. Athena nodded in respect and ducked through the tent flap. Lexa was standing with her back to Athena when she walked in. The commander didn't turn right away, she was holding something in her hands. When she did turn, her dark eyes landed on Athena and she sighed. In her hands was a cup, the same cup that had been an attempt to poison her.
"One of my own men, I trusted him with my life, tried to sabotage this alliance." She started, putting the cup on the table.
"Leadership always comes with threats."
"I want to make you my second, Athena."
Athena was taken aback, but did not show it on her face. "Why?"
Lexa smiled, faintly. "You have the ability to see either side, you can see what are the right choices amidst the chaos around you. Perhaps it is your remarkable battle skills that allow you to assess every possible option. You turned against your direct orders, but you stopped an unnecessary slaughter, and at the end of the day you helped piece this truce together, and we might once and for all rid the Earth of Mount Weather and its vile inhabitants. With you by my side, I trust that my mixed emotions will not play out in my decisions."
"I respectfully decline." Athena said, after absorbing everything Lexa had said.
Lexa looked stunned for a moment, so Athena explained, "Bellamy and I, with the help of Lincoln, are going into Mount Weather. The worst type of parasite eats your body from the inside out, slowly killing you and by the time you notice, you're already dead."
"You know the risks of this." Lexa walked closer to Athena, who was a head taller than her commander. "You know what happened to your parents."
Lexa was trying to scare Athena into backing out; the plan was a good one, she knew, but she didn't want Athena out of her sight. Living on a mountain and being unable to see your hand inches away from your face made Athena intuitive about the way words sounded, the ways lies flowed versus the truth. Lexa didn't trust Athena; she wanted to keep her close. "I don't know what happened to them. I don't care if I ever find out. All I know is that we have an army in there, and Bellamy and I can break them free, release the parasites. End Mount Weather."
Lexa caved, "Bring it to Clarke."
Sorry these last few chapters have been so short; I had to make some filler, some time go back to bypass the boring episodes of the season. The next chapter is about 300 words longer than these last few, and everything is getting back into action and getting interesting again! I'm going to another concert tonight, but I don't have to travel to the mainland to see it, so I will be home tomorrow afternoon and able to post around 4 PM PST. Hopefully.