"After all, when a stone is dropped into a pond, the water continues quivering even after the stone has sunk to the bottom."
―Arthur Golden
They got down from the tower together, and once they were outside they stilled at the state ALIE left Polis in. Bodies littered the ground and overtop of them were wailing grievers that clung to their loved ones corpses desperately. Astoria felt the sickness in her stomach swell, but she didn't look away; if she did she would have to face the man that was stood on her right.
She would have to see what she had done. She didn't think she could handle that.
It nearly hurt to swallow the lump in her throat, but Astoria did and quickly tried to hurry away from her two friends. Bellamy seemed to know her too well, however, and grabbed her arm softly to spin her back around. He tried to ignore that she had to force herself to meet his eyes; he tried to ignore how much that hurt him.
Still, she kept his gaze desperately. She couldn't risk facing the forming bruises and dried blood.
"You can't blame yourself for what happened when you were chipped," he tried, voice low and comforting. Clarke stood awkwardly beside them, trying not to listen.
Astoria wanted to believe him—she wanted to push aside the horrible guilt she felt for allowing Jasper to chip her, and for not trying harder to break free from ALIE's control—but when her eyes flickered down to the cut on Bellamy's neck she shook her head.
She nearly killed him; she had a knife to his throat and was trying desperately to jam it through the skin to make him choke on his own blood. It seemed impossible to get the image out of her head, and she couldn't escape the fear that he had nearly died at her hands.
"I'm gonna go see if Abby needs help with the wounded," she mumbled. Bellamy didn't try to stop her as she carefully pried herself out of his grip and left them.
He watched her go and Astoria felt his eyes on the back of her head the entire way. She knew it was wrong to be frustrated and cold with him—she should have been the opposite, really, after the day they had—but she nearly killed him.
She nearly killed him, and he didn't even fight back.
As she moved through Polis in silence she roamed her eyes over the damage. People were being helped off crosses and bodies were being piled atop one another to make space for the wounded. Astoria stopped close to one of the buildings and rested her arm against the wall as she took deep breaths. They couldn't even return to Arkadia and attempt to regain normalcy.
Instead, they had to deal with the wave of radiation that was rushing towards them with the intention of wiping them all out.
"Well, you look horrible," Murphy made himself known, not bothering to properly greet her. Astoria could have guessed that would be how they reunited.
She took a deep breath through her nose and opened her eyes, meeting his and remaining silent. She could remember him saving the others while she was chipped, and she saw him briefly in the throne room when everything finished, but it was the first time they had properly spoken for three months.
He looked much more beaten up compared to the last time she saw him, though she assumed the same could be said abut her. They both looked horrible—the girl beside Murphy didn't look too great either. Astoria could tell she was a grounder from the tattoo that was on her face and she wanted to raise an eyebrow in Murphy's direction.
"Glad to see you didn't kill Bellamy," Murphy continued through a smile, eyes on the man behind her. Astoria turned her head to see that Bellamy was watching her from across the yard with Clarke beside him. It looked like he wanted to move over to join them, but the blonde was continuing their conversation before he could. Astoria sent Murphy a look of warning. "Lover boy's a sensitive subject, got it."
She shook her head, "Clarke told me you helped stop ALIE."
Murphy could tell she was trying to turn the conversation off Bellamy, and he didn't mention it.
"Yeah, I'd say manually pumping a human heart with my bare hands could be considered helping," he answered snarkily. Astoria found it strangely refreshing.
Could it be possible that she had actually missed Murphy's rude and condescending comments?
He didn't let her say thank you, though Astoria wasn't planning to, before he turned to the girl at his side. "This is Emori," he introduced. Astoria gave the grounder a nod because she definitely wasn't in the mood to meet someone knew. Murphy noticed, but didn't stop. "Emori, this is Toria; Sky Crew's best grounder."
At that Astoria turned to walk away from the couple. If she ever met Emori again she'd apologise for being rude, but she could only take so much of Murphy in such a short period of time. Her headache was too large, and the pit in her stomach was becoming to big to hear his voice for much longer.
She moved through Polis and felt eyes on her, and when she reached Abby and Kane she could tell that they felt the same way. "We need to leave," she decided for them and Abby titled her head.
Kane nodded his, "They blame us for the chip." Astoria understood that, and even blamed Jaha for ALIE as well. "It's not safe for us here anymore."
Before they could continue—and it looked like Abby wanted to argue against leaving—calls of Wanheda started from those around them. They all lifted their heads towards the name, but Abby took a step forward.
"Clarke..." she whispered as she moved towards the crowd, and the two behind her quickly followed.
When they found Clarke, Bellamy was with him. Astoria made sure not to met his eyes. He noticed and tried not to make the way it pained him noticeable.
"Good, you're down," Clarke nodded to the older adults, happy that Astoria was with them. "We have to go. The rover's in the north woods."
"What about the wounded?" Abby looked between her daughter and the grounder at her side, who seemed just as keen to leave. They had brought the death that washed over Polis—surely it was their job to help fix it?
Bellamy shook his head to show that he agreed with the younger girls, "The grounders don't want our help. Our people we'll treat at Arkadia."
Before Abby could continue to argue Raven's voice came through the radio at Bellamy's hip. The sound of her friends voice made Astoria's shoulders relax, and she released a deep breath of relief. They hadn't heard from those at Arkadia yet; with Jasper chipped there was no telling what had happened while they were at Polis.
"Bellamy, please come in," Raven spoke with a voice that was laced in static. When he and Clarke moved off to the side to speak with her, Astoria quickly followed.
"Raven, you okay?" Bellamy asked. Astoria waited impatiently with her arms crossed and her eyes on the walkie-talkie.
A few seconds passed, "Yeah, yeah. We're all in one piece."
Bellamy nodded, "That's good." He paused, looking to Clarke. "There's something we need you to look into."
Astoria knew it was best to get right to it, because the radiation wasn't going to wait for them.
"First, tell me how my friends are," Raven stopped him in an annoyed tone. Astoria couldn't stop her small smile. "Did everyone make it? Toria, Clarke?"
The blonde took the radio, "We're here, thanks to you." She waited a few seconds, sparing Astoria a quick glance. "Raven, did ALIE ever tell you why she created the City of Light?"
"No, why?" she questioned, sounding worried. Astoria thought it was definitely warranted with the bomb they were able to drop on her.
"Haihefa!" someone called and stopped Clarke from explaining. "Em kiken! Osir gaf in fis!"
Astoria turned towards the man screaming, and waited for Clarke to speak before moving to him. "Fill Raven in," she instructed Bellamy, who nodded his head and took the radio back. "They need a doctor!" Clarke translated for her mother, and when she and Astoria rushed towards the Azgeda King, Abby and Kane followed.
When Astoria helped to turn Roan over, Clarke's eyes widened at the blood that covered his face. Clearly, although she was able to understand that they were calling for a healer, she didn't understand that it was for the King.
"He got shot trying to help me," Clarke explained as Abby put her fingers to his neck. "I thought he was dead."
"Not yet," Abby assured as she checked him over further. "But he's close." She pulled him onto his side and looked at his back, "No exit wound." Astoria took a deep breath, nodding along as though she completely understood. When Murphy shot her there was no exit wound but Clarke managed to get the bullet out of her shoulder. "We need to get the bullet out quickly."
Before anyone could speak further a sword was pressed against Astoria's throat and she stilled. "Gon of kom oso Haihefa, Fragheda," a woman who Astoria didn't recognise—though, clearly she knew her—demanded.
Astoria raised her hands slowly, her face curled up in annoyance as the woman grabbed the back of her neck to get her onto her feet. "No, wait!" Clarke tried and Abby had to hold her back from doing something that would only get Astoria hurt.
"You're making a mistake," Kane took over as Arkadia guards arrived, weapons up and aimed at the grounder behind Astoria. She was gripped harsher and the blade was pressed tightener to her throat, but she didn't move. "We're apart of the coalition."
"I could save him, but you have to let me." Abby took a step forward, but stopped when the grounder pulled Astoria's head back slightly.
It was taking everything in her not to slam her skull back into her attackers head, but Astoria knew it would only cause more harm. Either she'd get her throat slit, or the trigger happy Arkadia guards would kill a few grounders. Either way, it wouldn't be good for Sky Crew.
"We have our own healer," the nameless woman all but cut the doctor off as more Azgeda warriors came to stand behind her. "Teik Haihefa kom bangeda osof gon oso stedaun," she began to shout orders. Astoria remained still as she grew more annoyed; if they weren't going to accept Abby's help, the least they could do was let her go. "Dula op nau!"
"Echo!" Bellamy's voice suddenly boomed through the crowd.
Astoria shut her eyes and exhaled deeply. No doubt he would only make it much worse, and she didn't even want to know how he knew the woman behind her.
Clarke thought the same, because she quickly shook her head. "Bellamy, don't," she tried as Kane grabbed the man to stop him. Bellamy only pushed against him.
Still, he was held in place and pointed a harsh finger towards the Azgeda grounder. "Let go of her, Echo!" he demanded as she titled her head. Astoria met his eyes and swallowed the lump in her throat the best she could with the blade against her neck.
The eye contact only seemed to spur him on further.
Echo had nearly taken Astoria from him once before, and he wasn't going to let it happen again. "Let her go, or I swear—"
"Back off, Bellamy," Echo warned, tilting her head slightly when Kane had to rearrange on his grip on Bellamy to stop him from surging forward.
Clarke moved a little closer—as far as dared with Astoria still in danger. "Your King is my friend. Let us help him."
The Azgeda grounder turned her attention to the blonde and held Astoria tighter. "I saw you in the City of Light," she began. "I know you destroyed it. Thank you for that."
Then she paused and allowed her eyes to flicker down to Astoria. The mighty Fragheda, at her mercy.
"We were planning to use you to kill the Commander..." she spoke quietly, and Bellamy titled his head in warning. Echo smirked, "Ai jimi bilaik nou lan gon yu noumou."
She pushed Astoria back to the group roughly, and Bellamy rushed forward to catch her as she stumbled. She allowed herself to grab his arms as she huffed and regained her balance, and then she forced herself to meet his eyes. She nodded to assure him that she fine and his shoulders relaxed slightly. He remained on edge as Astoria pulled away and Echo continued to speak.
"Look around you," she addressed only the grounders now as she shook her head. "Skaikru did this. Because of them, Ontari—your rightful Commander—is dead. This imposter stole her flame."
When she pointed to Clarke with her blade, Kane stepped forward quickly. "No, Wanheda saved us; grounder and Skaikru."
"There would have been nothing to save us from if not for you," Echo spat.
Kane shook his head, "Azgeda has no authority here."
Echo didn't waste a second, "We do now." The words loomed in the air and Astoria shuffled slightly. The last thing they needed was Azgeda command over the grounders. "In the name of King Roan, as rightful caretakers of the Throne of Commanders, Polis is now under Azgeda rule."
"Like hell it is!" a new woman spoke, walking up from behind the group of sky people and facing off against Echo. Astoria watched them carefully, glad that someone other than Skaikru was standing up to Ice Nation. It didn't come as a surprise; Azgeda was the most estranged clan of the coalition, and not many others would be content under their rule. "Where's your war chief, girl?"
"Our war chief is dead, Ambassador," Echo began to explain, not sounding too happy that she was being challenged. "As a member of the Queen's Guard, command of the army has fallen to me. Until the King awakens."
The Ambassador shook her head, "If he awakens." She waited a moment and then looked around at the surrounding crowd of grounders. She didn't pay much attention to Abby, Kane, or the other three; Astoria was glad for that. It'd be best if they blended in until they were able to get out of Polis. "Until a new Commander can ascend, Polis is to be ruled by the Ambassadors of the Coalition. If Azgeda wants it, they must take it by force—"
Astoria took a step back and Bellamy grab her arm absentmindedly when Echo brought her sword up to slit the woman's neck. Blood spewed from the cut skin until finally the Ambassador crumpled to the ground dead.
"Consider it taken," Echo decided. Astoria titled her head slightly, admitting that it was a hell of a way for Azgeda to send a message. "No Skaikru leaves this city."
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯
Astoria stood beside Clarke in the dark room, candles littering the space to give them some light. They had just shown the remaining Arkadia residents out of Polis through a secret tunnel despite Echo's warning. Leaving those who couldn't fight in the city where the war was brewing wasn't an option, and having all of them run wouldn't do any good either. They needed to figure out a way to push Azgeda back to sector eight.
She hadn't seen or heard from Murphy since she left him and his friend, but Astoria wasn't too worried. He'd figure a way out, and she'd most likely see him again next time he needed something.
Few guards volunteered to stay back knowing the risk, and the obvious group who didn't see leaving Polis as a solution remained; Astoria, Bellamy, Clarke, Octavia, Abby and Kane.
When the door opened for Bellamy, Indra, and Octavia to enter Astoria stood up straighter and watched as Kane left Abby's side to greet the grounder. After a few seconds of silence, Indra brought Kane in a hug—a small smile reached Astoria's cheeks at the sight. The two leaders brought her faith that her people and Sky Crew could live side by side peacefully, even when it seemed impossible.
"Well?" Clarke questioned as Astoria turned to see that Bellamy had stopped beside her.
He was close—so close that his elbow brushed Astoria's arm when he put his hands on his hips—and it made her swallow the lump in her throat. It felt good to have him nearby, even if she couldn't stop thinking of what could have happened.
"You're not gonna like it," he told Clarke.
Indra didn't waste a moment before pulling away from Kane and twisting to face the group. "When you destroyed the City of Light, there were a thousand Azgeda warriors inside the city of Polis," she explained. Astoria titled her head slightly.
"Good timing," Octavia voiced their shared thoughts.
"The only way to remove them is by force," Indra continued.
Octavia seemed confused as to why is sounded like a question, "Then let's remove them."
"Slow down," Abby stopped her. "You're talking about a war."
Astoria turned her attention to the woman and shook her head, "We don't have many other options."
Indra nodded to show she agreed—it may have been the first time the two found common ground, expect their desire to torture Carl Emerson months before when Arkadia was still called Camp Jaha. "Rockline, Flokru, and Broadleaf will join Trikru without question but we'll still be short."
"This is madness," Abby whispered. Astoria held in her huff. "We should be leaving with the others, while we still have time."
"They knew where we live," Kane stopped her with a shake of his head. "If we run, they'll follow. There are eight other clans; how do we get them to join us?"
The warrior fixed her gaze on Clarke, "I can do it, but I'll need the flame."
A moment of silence passed. "No."
At that, Astoria narrowed her eyes. "Clarke, the clans will follow whoever has the flame," Bellamy tried, but the blonde didn't listen.
"Azgeda won't," she clarified.
"You can't expect to keep it?" Astoria asked, growing defensive. A part of Lexa may be inside the flame, but that didn't mean it belonged to Clarke. She would need to give it back to the grounders, whether she wanted to or not.
Octavia could clearly sense the tension, and took a step forward. "If Azgeda won't follow the flame, then we fight," she started with a shake of her head. "That's the point."
"No, it's not," Clarke countered. "The point is, there's no time for a fight." At that, all eyes turned to her. "We have to save Roan.
"Save him?" Octavia shook her head, not seeing how that was possible. "They won't let us near him."
A moment of silence passed. "Wait a second," Abby took a step forward, eying her daughter carefully. "What don't we know?"
Astoria was glad that it was Clarke who began to explain, because she didn't want to be the one to tell anyone that their time may be limited. "The reason ALIE created the City of Light," Clarke swallowed harshly as Octavia titled her head.
"Why?" Kane asked quickly, taking a step forward.
When Bellamy nodded his head, Clare took a deep breath. "Nuclear reactors inside power plants that survived the bombs are melting down," she began. Abby and Kane shared a worried look. "Radiation levels are already rising. If we can't figure out a way to fix it, all of us will be dead in six months."
They group fell into a short silence as they processed the information. "ALIE told you this?" Kane questioned carefully.
Astoria nodded her head as Clarke responded, "Yes."
"And you believe her?" Abby countered. It was a valid question, seeing how much damage the AI caused, but Astoria didn't want to simply push it aside.
"Raven's looking into it," Bellamy assured that they were going to get a second opinion.
Clarke titled her head, "I believe her."
"Even if it's true, that's six months away." Indra cut in, looking them all over carefully. "There are a thousand Ice Nation warriors on the street who want to kill us today."
"They won't kill us," Clarke assured.
At the words, Octavia shook her head. "How could you possibly know that?"
Clarke waited a moment, preparing herself for the reaction she was going to receive. "Because we're gonna surrender."
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯
Astoria stood with her bow over her back and her hand on the pistol at her waist band. It looked as though the plan was working thus far—Skaikru just announced they wanted peace, and Jaha was limping back over to Kane and the others after Echo released him—but it didn't mean Astoria felt any more confident.
She knew Abby was a good doctor, however, and had to believe that with Clarke helping her, and Octavia protecting them both, they'd save Roan. There wasn't another option.
Bellamy had his eye pressed into the scope of his rifle to look over the scene more closely from their vantage point in one of the buildings, but Astoria watched him instead. It was horribly silent, and neither had said anything since Kane instructed them to be their eyes in the sky. Both found comfort in the others presence, however.
It wasn't until Kane's voice came through the radio at Bellamy's hip that Astoria took steps to be closer to him. "Bellamy, we need you down here," the older man instructed.
Astoria took the walkie-talkie before Bellamy could, shaking her head as she brought it up to her lips. "Why?" she questioned. Bellamy watched her closely, already knowing the answer.
"Echo won't speak to anyone but him," Kane explained, not questioning why it was her speaking back to him. The grounder met Bellamy's eyes and shook her head. "We need him to buy Abby time."
Just as she went to press the button and say that Bellamy going in alone was a horrible idea, the man was grabbing the radio from her. "I'll be down in a second," he assured, not meeting Astoria's eyes as he swung his rifle over his shoulder and started for the stairs.
"Woah, woah," she stopped him by grabbing the sleeve of his jacket. He didn't try to break away—they were so close, he didn't think he could back up if he wanted to. "You can't just go in there unarmed and alone, we need to think about this—"
"I can handle Echo," he assured. She titled her head slightly.
She dropped her arm from his arm and he nearly shivered at the loss of contact. "How the hell do you know her, anyway?" she asked heatedly. Astoria wasn't jealous—that would be childish and foolish, though not exactly out of character—she was simply worried.
Bellamy tried not to smirk.
"She was in Mount Weather when I first got in there," he began to explain. He shook his head as he continued, "She was the person who lied to us about the attack on Polis."
"More reason why you shouldn't trust her to speak with you alone," Astoria countered. He huffed and titled his head, but she wasn't letting up. "There's only so many times I can handle seeing you nearly die, Bellamy."
A few seconds of silence passed as Bellamy softened slightly, and his heart rate rocketed when she brushed a hand up his neck to hold his jaw. He moved to brush his fingers over her wrist carefully, softly rubbing at the skin.
"Were you chipped..." he started, terrified of the answer he could receive. But since he found out ALIE got her, he couldn't push past the fear that their moment outside her room had been a ploy to toy with him. He couldn't escape the thought that it hadn't been real. "When we...?"
He stopped speaking when she titled her head up to capture his lips.
His grip on her wrist tightened absentmindedly as his eyes fluttered shut, and when her other hand came up to slide into his hair he hummed in content. Only a week before he had been sure that she would never allow him to be so close to her again, but now he was terrified that one wrong move would make her see how he didn't deserve it.
Instead, he carefully brought his free hand up to hold her cheek. Perhaps they were both afraid they would break one another, or perhaps it was simply because—compared to months before when they were full of lust and need for one another—now they were filled with love and adoration. Either way, their kiss was so soft that Astoria felt her heart clenching in her chest from happiness and bliss.
God, it was terrifying how much she loved him.
When she pulled away she brought her lips into her mouth and found his gaze.
"It was me," she assured. Bellamy closed his eyes and released a deep breath of relief, and the sight made Astoria chuckle quietly.
Before either of them could say anything further, Kane was interrupting them. "Do I need to send someone up to mediate a fight between you both?" he questioned through the radio, and he didn't need to see her to know that Astoria rolled her eyes.
She took the device from Bellamy and grumbled her words, "Shof op, Kane, we're coming."
Bellamy couldn't stop his smile as she pushed the radio into his chest and moved past him.
It was nightfall by the time Indra was prepping Bellamy on Echo's reputation, and Astoria was stood next to him with her arms crossed over her chest. She knew that Abby had the real difficult job—Astoria couldn't take out a bullet from someones skin and save their life if she had a gun to her head—but it didn't make her like Bellamy's part in it any more. She didn't trust Ice Nation, and she especially didn't trust the woman who left her friends to blow up in Mount Weather.
"Never a dull moment, huh?" Murphy cut Indra off as he walked towards them. Astoria had to hold back her eye roll.
When Bellamy turned to watch the boy, Indra quickly shook her head. "Bellamy, pay attention," she instructed and he did as he was told. Astoria looked to Murphy as he stopped to stand between her and Kane, but neither spoke an introduction before Indra was continuing. "She's part of the Royal Guard; spies. That's why she's not marked. Very dangerous, and very loyal."
"Not to the people who saved her life," Bellamy muttered as he shook his head.
"Bellamy, I know how you feel about her," Kane stepped in, wanting to ensure that nothing went wrong before Roan woke up. "But you can't lose control. You offer them technology, guns... whatever it takes to keep her talking. Is that clear?"
At that Indra shook her head, but Astoria knew Kane wouldn't ever arm Azgeda with their weapons. "I didn't agree to give them guns."
"Well, that's probably because you're not an idiot," Murphy interjected and this time Astoria did roll her eyes.
"It won't get that far," Kane all but ignored him. "Our objective is to buy time for Abby to save the King." Then he looked to Murphy, "And if you want to help, grab a weapon, stand a post."
Bellamy didn't hesitate to take the rifle off his shoulder and hold it out to the younger boy, "Take mine." When Murphy nodded his head and took it, Bellamy looked to Kane and spoke cockily. "I got this."
Astoria took a deep breath as he started to walk away, and the others all went to follow him. They didn't get far before Astoria swallowed the lump in her throat and hurried to catch up.
She caught Bellamy's hand just before he moved into the square and he turned to her with a confused look on his face. Astoria wasn't sure what she was doing either; she only knew that she had a horrible fear in her gut that she would lose him. She wasn't sure what she would do if that happened.
"Don't say anything stupid," she settled on with a shake of her head. Bellamy smirked and she felt her heart beat against her ribcage. "I'm serious."
When he squeezed her hand slightly to reassure her she looked down. She hadn't even noticed that he had laced his fingers between hers. "I won't say anything stupid if you don't do anything stupid," he offered and Astoria rolled her eyes. "So, keep this," he tugged on her bow slightly, "Down. I know how trigger happy you can get—"
She cut him off by pushing him away slightly, but a smiling was fighting its way onto her lips. His was wide and after she took steps back whilst still facing him, he turned and took a deep breath.
Astoria stopped beside Kane and Indra, watching as Bellamy moved into the square alone and unarmed. Grounders stood up as he entered and Astoria looked up at the archers in the surrounding buildings. "He'll be fine," Kane assured as though he could read her mind, but Astoria couldn't bring herself to respond.
When he stopped in front of Echo, Bellamy kept his face straight. "Before you say anything," she began, hand on the sheathed sword at her hip. "Remember I saved your life by taking you out of Mount Weather." Bellamy didn't react to her words, but when she continued he titled his head slightly in warning. "Fragheda needed to be left behind for my people to grab—she was never in any real danger. I was following orders."
"And after you forced her to kill the Commander, what did you think was gonna happen, huh?" he questioned. "If things went your way she would be dead."
Echo took a deep breath. "I know how it feels to lose someone you care about to war, and I hope you didn't have to grieve her for long, but we do what we do for our people. You slaughter us, we slaughter you; that all went away in the City of Light..." she paused for a moment. "But it's back now."
Bellamy titled his head back slightly, feeling Astoria's eyes on him. Her gaze always felt different than everyone else's.
"So, here we are," Echo continued when he remained silent. "What are your terms of your surrender?"
"We recognise Ice Nation's rule," he started, taking a deep breath. "And you honour Lexa's coalition—including the thirteenth clan."
A moment of silence passed, and Echo almost looked happy to reject his offer. "No."
Bellamy titled his head in annoyance, but continued. "We'll give you guns." The words obviously sparked interest in her. "And show you how to use them."
"Trikru accepts this?" she asked.
"They're not happy about it," he spoke truthfully, because even if they had no plans to actually give Azgeda guns it still was a sour thought.
Echo trailed her eyes to where Astoria, Kane and Indra stood. They were too far to hear the conversation herself and Bellamy were having, but she still titled her head. "Not much they can do now, though, is there?" she asked, looking back to Bellamy. She lowered her voice slightly as though to make it more taunting, "Without an army."
When he looked away and blinked roughly, Echo narrowed her eyes. She could tell by the way his demeanour changed; he squared his shoulders and licked his lips slightly to distract himself. He was guilty.
"You were there?" she posed it as a question, but she knew it was true. When he looked back to her he held his head high and flared his nostrils, not wanting to talk about it. What happened with the grounder army was going to follow him for the rest of his life, it seemed. He was sure he deserved it. "Then you know why everyone hates Skaikru, and why we can never accept your terms."
"The alternative is war," he pointed out with a raised voice, sounding fed up. Kane's words reminded him to stay calm. "Is that what you want?"
Echo titled her head slightly. "No one wants war. Lay down your guns, and we'll let your children live."
Bellamy took a deep breath, knowing that their conversation was coming to an end too soon. He wished Abby and Clarke would hurry up.
"I'll give you time to decided," Echo added before she turned to leave, but Bellamy quickly jolted forward to catch her arm.
The Azgeda grounders had their weapons out quickly, and if not for Echo telling them to stand down they would have cut through Bellamy then and there. The Trikru warriors took out their swords as well from behind Kane and Indra, and when Astoria took out her pistol and tried to start forward Kane quickly stopped her. She let him hold her back, though when Echo twisted quickly and put Bellamy on his back she shook herself free and took five steps forward.
She had her gun out in front of her and aimed at Echo, her breathing heavy as the Azgeda woman brought a knife to Bellamy's neck.
"Kom of em!" Astoria bellowed, felling her body growing rigid as Echo looked to her. Her finger lingered over the trigger of her pistol. I know how trigger happy you can get—she didn't want to prove Bellamy right, but she sure as hell wasn't going to let him die.
"Guns on the ground, or he dies!" Echo demanded, taking to all of Skaikru but eying Astoria carefully.
From behind her, Astoria heard Indra speaking to Kane. "If we disarm, we're done."
A few seconds of silence passed over them, and Astoria couldn't pry her eyes away from the knife on Bellamy's neck. "Abby'll come through," Kane assured, looking back to the Arkadia soldiers. "Do as she says; guns on the ground, now."
Astoria didn't listen to him and Echo titled her head. "Nou ge branwada, Fragheda," she gave a final warning, pressing the knife closer to Bellamy's throat. Astoria didn't move. "Ai na fis op."
With a deep breath she let her gun slowly fall to her side, before she flipped on the safety and tossed it to the ground. Echo smirked and Astoria let out a deep breath from her nose. Soon, Azgeda soldiers were putting them all on their knees, and Astoria prayed that Roan was awake.
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯
She tried—as she was tied to the wall in the Polis lockup, she tried to stomach the horrible acid that was swelling in her gut—but after twenty minutes of being forced to stand with her arms up and her head rested against the stone wall, Astoria twisted her body to the best of her ability and vomited onto the dirty ground. It stung her throat and brought forward an embarrassment like she had never felt before, because now everyone present would have to remain in the room with her bile and blood until they were set free or killed.
Bellamy was chained up just beside her and watched carefully as she gaged slightly on the air. He had a frown over his lips and wished to rip the restraints off his wrists to comfort her, but instead he was forced to stand there useless.
"You okay?" he whispered after a moment. She barely nodded her head.
Her eyes were pressed tightly shut and she rubbed her mouth on her sleeve. "Yeah, I just..." she trailed off, resting her head on the wall. It was cool, and helped to ease her headache, but it didn't stop the aches in her bones. Perhaps she should have left with the others to return to Arkadia. "I just wish I could sit."
A few seconds of silence passed before Bellamy shook his head. He turned towards the iron bars and eyed the Azgeda guards that stood beyond them. "Hey!" he called, watching as one of them perked up to meet his eyes. Astoria weakly shook her head to try and get him to stop, but Bellamy continued. "She can't stand for this long," he tried to explain. Either they didn't speak English, or they didn't care.
"Leave it, Bellamy," she whispered quietly, not wanting him to get into any more trouble.
He didn't listen.
"Hey, you!" he called again, voice even louder. The grounder grunted and moved closer to the cell, taking the key from his waist and opening the door. "She sick. She needs to rest—"
Bellamy was silenced when the larger man brought his fist down into his jaw, and Astoria shut her eyes. She shook he head, hoping that it would bring sense to the man chained beside her, but it only spurred him on.
After a few seconds he looked back to the grounder, face stinging from where he was hit. "Em haken—"
"Hosh!" the Azgeda man shouted, and then he hit Bellamy again.
"Em get in!" Astoria stopped him from doing any more damage, voice loud despite how weak she felt.
Before any of them could continue the argument, or Bellamy could get hit again, more grounders were rounding the corner and moving into the cell.
"Wanheda, on your feet," the first one inside spoke roughly, and Astoria watched closely as they forced Clarke up.
"Where's the King?" she asked quickly, spotting Echo and shaking her head. "Hey, I need to see Roan!"
When a bag was shoved over her head Astoria jolted forward slightly, pulling on her chains as a grounder unlocked Clarke's. It was Abby and Bellamy that began to protest verbally, however.
"Echo!" he called, the volume of his voice—along with all the other screams in the room—making Astoria's head pound. "Wait, Echo, listen to me!"
He screamed her name once more as the Azgeda warriors were pushing Clarke out, but the grounder didn't so much as look at him. Just before they were all out a man slammed into Bellamy and sent him crashing into the hard wall, the sight causing Astoria to sneer and fail to kick the man. He eyed her in warning before shutting the cell.
The silence echoed through the room before Astoria shook her head. "You really don't know how to keep your mouth shut, do you?" she whispered towards Bellamy and he huffed. She was definitely right.
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯
"I know you've all come here for an execution," Roan addressed the crowd, voice loud and commanding. "But no one else will die here today."
Astoria was stood between Bellamy and Kane after Clarke had somehow managed to talk sense into the Azgeda King. The Ambassador's for the twelve clans sat behind him and Astoria knew that was a good sign, but the rowdiness of the crowd did little to calm her nerves.
"The City of Light has fallen, and there is no Commander left to rule us," the King continued, hand on the sword at his hip and crown heavy on his head. Azgeda warriors stood guard at the stage as the crowd reacted to his words. "Until another nightblood ascends, I—King Roan of Azgeda, eldest son of Nia, grandson of Theo—am caretaker of the throne, and keeper of the flame."
As much as she hated Azgeda, Astoria was relieved to see the flame back in the hands of the grounders. She turned her head and looked pasted Bellamy to Clarke, who swallowed roughly and nodded her head. Astoria forced a smile; she knew what the flame meant to the blonde, and she was proud of her for returning it.
"Yu laik heihefa, nou ouspika," a voice shouted from the crowd, loud and angry. "Disha ste bandragen!"
Astoria turned her head slowly towards the space the objection came from, scanning the crowd to try and find who it was. "Nou bandragen," Roan quickly shut them down and after a moment Astoria looked back to him. "Reinseden! Until another ascends, Azgeda honours and will defend the coalition of the last true Commander—Lexa kom Trikru, including the thirteenth clan."
At that, the crowd began to speak amongst themselves. Astoria grew more tense in her spot, and Bellamy grabbed her wrist to reassure her. He knew she wouldn't want him to take her hand—she wasn't comfortable enough with public displays of affection for that, and he still wasn't sure where they stood (they had kissed a few times, and had sex that was driven by more lust than love, but for all he knew that was because she was afraid something was going to happen to either of them).
When she didn't push him away, Bellamy's shoulders relaxed slightly.
"Let it be known that an attack against Skaikru is an attack against us all," Roan decided.
Twenty minutes after the crowd dispersed they were stood near the exit of Polis, waiting as Echo walked towards them with Roan's Seal wrapped in a thin patch of leather. Bellamy moved forward to meet her, and Astoria watched carefully from Kane's side. She didn't have an ounce of trust to give the Azgeda grounder.
"Clarke will be able to give you your blood transfusions at Arkadia while I'm gone," Abby tried to take Astoria's mind off of the exchange in front of her, and the grounder looked to her as she shook her head.
"I'm fine, we need to focus on—" she stopped when Kane put a hand on her shoulder, gaining her attention.
He wasn't told directly that she was sick, but he knew through ALIE. He took a moment to think over his words carefully, "Just because we now need to work towards saving everyone, doesn't mean we're giving up on you."
Astoria took a deep breath, stopping herself from telling him it was foolish to do so. Instead, she nodded. She remembered Raven's words from months before: People care about you, Toria. Get over it.
"Welcome back to the coalition," Echo addressed them all and Astoria turned to meet her eyes. She didn't trust her at all.
When she left Bellamy moved back to them, Roan's Seal in hand. "Time to go," he told them all.
Kane nodded, "We'll do our best to keep the King on his throne."
"We'll find a way to beat the radiation," Clarke assured, looking to Astoria and Bellamy.
"If you three screw this up, we die," Octavia reminded, the words almost making the grounder smile. "No pressure."
Bellamy wasn't as entertained. "This is serious, O. If anyone finds out why Roan helped us, it'll be every clan for itself. The King will fall, and they'll come after us."
"We won't screw up then," Astoria cut in, trying to stop any more tension from growing between the two siblings.
"It's getting dark," Clarke stopped the conversation all together. "Let's do this."
Then Abby was pulling her daughter into a hug, and after a moment of contemplation Astoria allowed Kane to do the same to her. She connected her hands around his back and released a deep sigh, allowing herself to find a brief moment of calm in his arms.
"Let them take care of you," he whispered to her. He waited until she nodded against his shoulder before he pulled back, finding her eyes and nodding his head. "Having people around you that care makes you strong, not weak."
It was strange how well he knew the way her mind worked, but she supposed that was the point of a family. Having people that knew you better than you knew yourself.
When he turned to Bellamy Astoria hugged Abby as well, but she found herself focusing on the wisdom he was giving the younger man just as he had her.
"You turn the page," he began as he clasped Bellamy's hand in his own. He nodded and tried to pull away, but Kane put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "You turn the page, and you don't look back. You do better today than you did yesterday, you understand?"
Astoria pulled away from Abby just as Bellamy nodded his head, seemingly taking in words carefully. She took a deep breath; they had all been through too much. They all deserved to live their lives with their loved ones in a house on a lake just as Miller suggested to Bryan—they all deserved to grow old in peace.
"Before you know it, you'll deserve to survive," Kane finished with a smile on his face.
Bellamy couldn't bring himself to return it, "I hope so."
When Clarke moved to join the other guards that were returning to Arkadia, Astoria and Bellamy followed. They walked out of Polis behind Jaha—someone Astoria had to stop herself from hitting—and moved in silence before the grounder finally huffed and shook her head.
"Alright, princess," she used the nickname that reminded her of Finn, though it seemed everyone had adopted it. "The hell do we do now?"
Clarke titled her head, sparring the woman a glance. "Now, we survive."
translations:
haihefa... the king/king
em kiken, osir gaf in fis... he's alive, we need a healer
gon of kom oso haihefa... get away from our king
teik haihefa kom bangeda osof gon oso steduan... take the king to the embassy with the rest of the dead
dula op nau... do it now
ai jimi bilaik nou lan gon yu noumou... i suppose there is no use for you anymore
shof op... shut up/quiet
kom of em... get off him
nou ge branwada... don't be foolish
ai na fis op... i'll do it
em haken... she's sick
hosh... quiet
em get in... he understands
yu laik heihefa, nou ouspika... you're a king, not a priest
disha ste bandragen... this is blasphemy
nou bandragen, reinseden... not blasphemy, order
( loving Echo but having an OC that would hate her is hell on earth )
( welcome to act four this is one of my favourites im so excited )