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TWO COMMANDERS
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"SO YOU ARE THE ONE who burnt three hundred of my warriors alive." The Commander lifted her dark eyes to finally gaze upon them, then they flicked towards Clarke first.
"You're the one who sent them there to kill us," Clarke replied bravely.
"And you..." The Commander raised her knife point towards Jinny. "Are the fake commander."
Jinny frowned, for once, stunned into silence because she had no idea what was happening anymore. If the Commander had known all along that she was a fake, why did she want to meet with her? Why not ask to meet with Abby instead, who held the real authority?
"I thought you said she liked to talk?" the Grounder leader leaned her head to the side in Raulf's direction.
Raulf. What was he even doing here? Who was he? Why was he standing by the Commander's side, dressed in the same clothes as her? The questions burned in her mind, desperate to find the answers that she silently sought. But Jinny knew herself to be clever, so she held her tongue for the moment until she could gather more information to compute a logical solution.
"She was whenever I saw her," Raulf replied casually.
"Lid em in," the woman commanded to the tall man that had greeted them outside the tent. Despite it being a foreign language to Jinny, she now understood what Octavia had meant when she tried to explain it. She could clearly hear the words sound as 'lead them in'.
The man stepped through similar curtains that were behind the Commander's throne. Clarke glanced towards Jinny in trepidation, but she in turn held her gaze on Raulf and the Commander fastidiously. There was no other explanation; the boy was a spy.
After a moment, the hulking Grounder returned with a hostage. Jinny's eyes widened when she recognised the black uniform of the Ark's Guard that the man adorned, exactly the same as hers with the embellished star on the shoulder that only she and one other in their ranks wore. The thin woven sack over his head was quickly torn away to reveal Shumway's bruised and bloodied face. It was obvious on sight that he had been tortured and beaten.
"Dad!" Jinny cried out when she saw him, taking a step forwards before halting when the Grounder drew a knife to her father's throat. She glared heatedly at them, clenching her teeth until the muscle in her jaw twitched visibly. Taking a deep breath, she turned her blazing gaze upon the Commander. Her voice was low and dangerous when she spoke. "Let him go."
"She finally talks," the Commander noted with amusement, before waving her hand in the air. The imposing Grounder forced Shumway to his knees beside the throne but the blade moved back to its sheath. "He told us everything about you, that you're no one. You stole the title to take command of the first ship, and that you're actually a criminal who killed hundreds of innocent lives."
Jinny glanced briefly at Shumway, his face veiled as was his wont. She knew that he said all that to spare her of responsibility, but Jinny knew it to be true too. Instead, she smirked at the Commander and did what she did best. "When a nameless man steals the crown from a king, does it make him any less of a king when the people bow to him? Titles and things are merely possessions to be taken, and I will take back what is mine."
Raulf looked away in an effort to hide his smile, but the Commander's face remained smooth and impassive as she stuck the knife in her hand through the arm of the throne. It stood upright, tip embedded into the thick carven wood without wavering.
"So do you have an answer for me, Jinny and Clarke of the Sky People?" she asked.
"We've come to make you an offer," Clarke quickly said, taking the few steps forward to stand next to Jinny's rigid posture.
The tips of the Commander's lips curled upwards in further amusement as she looked to the girl. "This is not a negotiation."
A different voice suddenly spoke from the side, one of the Commander's advisors. The dark skinned woman with black closely cropped hair scowled at them with distaste. "Teik ai frag emo op en dison laik odon."
Jinny couldn't make head nor tails of that. The Commander raised her hand in reply, a gesture for her to stay silent.
"We can help you beat the Mountain Men!" Clarke immediately took the opportunity to state their proposal.
The Commander leaned her head back as she fetched her knife once more to glide her fingers over its smooth steel. "Go on," she said as Raulf shifted on his feet beside her, his expression clearly showing that of intrigue.
"Hundreds of your people are trapped inside Mount Weather," Clarke continued. "Kept in cages. Their blood is used as medicine."
"How do you know this?" the Commander demanded.
"Because she saw it with her own eyes," Jinny answered. "We have cause to believe that forty-seven of our people are trapped in the mountain as well. Clarke escaped with Anya."
"And where is Anya now?" Raulf asked.
"She died while we were escaping," Clarke replied with an expression of regret.
"Lies," the advisor said. "Anya died in the fire, the girl killed her."
Clarke reached into the pocket of her jacket and the warriors around the tent moved their hands to the hilts of their swords. Jinny raised hers in the air to show that they were not a threat and Clarke pulled out a tangled lock of brown hair.
"She told me that you were her Second," she said, carefully moving forwards to offer the token. She glanced towards Raulf cautiously. "I'm sure she'd want you to have this..."
The Commander reached forwards to pluck the braid from the girl's fingers, thumbing over the fine hairs with a soft sigh underneath her breath.
"We don't know it's hers," the advisor said.
"Shof op, Indra," the Commander scolded. 'Shut up, Indra', Jinny guessed. That seemed to bode well for them. "Anya was my mentor before I was called to lead my people. Did she die well?"
Clarke nodded. "Yes. By my side, trying to get a message to you."
"What message?" The Commander looked at her with a steely gaze, her tone frigid.
"The only way to save both our people is to join together," Clarke said and Jinny had to commend her on her skills in manipulation.
"Those who are about to die will say anything," Indra interjected. She was like a poisonous snake, trying to corrupt her leader's ear against them.
"I'm still waiting for an offer," the Commander told them.
"The Mountain Men are turning people into Reapers," Jinny said, pulling out a bloodied strip of Lincoln's clothes and his necklace, then throwing it on the ground in front of them. She looked to Raulf. "Lincoln was one of them... they use a drug, it drives them senseless. But with our medical knowledge and expertise, we can turn him back. We can turn all of them back."
"Impossible!" Indra exclaimed in outrage. "Heda, ai beg yu, teik ai frag emo op!"
Jinny could finally make sense of the woman's words and it sounded like a threat to their lives. Raulf took a step forward and crouched on the ground to retrieve the necklace. He examined the silver coin with thick twine woven through a hole in its middle before turning back to the Commander. "I gave this to him. Heda, beja kep em klin."
The Commander shook her head slightly and he stood back up to shake his fist holding the necklace in front of him. "If what they say is true, Lincoln has been inside the mountain. He will know the dangers that lurk inside, he will tell us what we need to know to crush our enemy once and for all. Think of Adela, Hieri, Tiga, everyone that they captured and took away from us. The time is now, Heda. These people are giving us a chance."
"Don't be foolish!" Indra hissed at him, storming forwards with her hand clenched around the hilt of her weapon. "We cannot trust these people, they are murderers and killers! They are the reason—"
"Em pleni!" the Commander yelled, standing up angrily to look down on her two advisors. They separated and went back to their designated positions. She then stepped down from her elevated perch to stand in front of Jinny, far more imposing up close than she initially thought even though their eyes were level with each other. "You said you can turn Reapers back to men?"
"Yes," Clarke asserted beside them.
"Then prove it," the Commander ordered. "Show me Lincoln."
Jinny leaned in closer, her voice dropping. "Free my father."
There was a tensed silence as they stared at each other heatedly, then the Commander lifted her hand and Jinny heard the sound of rope being cut loose. The Grounder pushed Shumway forwards to them and Jinny waited until he stood beside her. "Follow me."
She swept out of the tent without another word, leaving the others to follow in her wake. When Jinny emerged onto the field, the warriors waiting outside immediately drew their swords on sight. She ignored them and walked down the trodden path towards the perimeter of their camp. The Commander, Raulf, Shumway and Clarke stepped out after her, followed by the rest of their entourage. A detail of the Grounder warriors followed them on Indra's command as Jinny led them through the woods at a casual pace. She really hoped that Abby had managed to get Lincoln stable by the time they reached the dropship.
Clarke and Shumway eventually caught up to her and she heard her father's voice hiss in her ear. "What are you doing?! Are you trying to get us all killed?"
"No, we're trying to save everyone," she replied with barely constrained agitation before finally glancing to him. "Kane was with you. Where is he now?"
"They still have him bound in one of the tents," he replied, glancing over his shoulder to the Commander. "They would have killed you if they kept thinking that you were in charge."
"They can't kill what they can't touch," she said in a confident tone, her eyes veiled and face smooth with an impenetrable mask to hide her bluffs. "They feared me in space and they will fear me on the ground too." Jinny picked up her pace as her hand moved towards the walkie by her hip, furtively pressing on the PTT button before shouting back to the others. "We're almost halfway there, let's hurry up and get this over with!"
It didn't take long for them to finally reach the battered gates surrounding the dropship, and Jinny tried in vain to ignore the Grounders as their eyes widened at the devastation that was wrought there on that dark chaotic night. The heat of the flames still haunted her skin, the scars she sustained from the ground serving to remind her of the trials they had all faced. She stopped next to the entrance with Clarke and turned around to the Commander who stood in the middle of the ashen grey field of death. Her dark eyes, framed with the black paint, gazed back intensely at them after having taken in the charred corpses of her fallen warriors.
"They died with valour," Jinny told her. "They died for you. I hope there is no greater honour than that."
The silence that permeated the air was thick and heavy. Clarke darted forwards to move the parachute canvas away and cocked her head to the side. "This way."
Jinny followed after her, climbing the ringing ladder to the top of the dropship. The blonde opened the metal hatch above them and they could instantly hear Octavia's soft sobs echoing through the steel structure. Jinny hurriedly pulled herself onto the upper level after Clarke, her eyes instantly searching for Bellamy. He peered back at her over his shoulder, relief flooding his face when he found her unharmed, before averting his gaze to Octavia. The girl had her head pressed against the side of Lincoln's neck, her arms encircling his still chained body.
The Commander, Raulf, Indra and Shumway finally came up behind them. Abby and Bellamy instantly tensed at their presence as the Grounders' dark eyes took in the scene before them. Then the Commander moved forwards to take a closer look, finding Lincoln peering back at her in shock. His eyes were still bloodshot, but his face had resumed its usual kindness. The monster that had possessed him before was now gone.
Jinny almost allowed herself to breathe easily again, but Lincoln suddenly started to seize and Octavia gasped in shock. Remnants of the drug must still be in his system and the Commander took a step back in surprise just as Abby rushed forwards to grab hold of the man's face. His body convulsed, shuddering against the cold metal floor before lying still. The doctor started to repeatedly press down against his chest but just like the last time, the seconds grew too long. "Clarke, the baton!" she called with her face flushed.
Clarke quickly moved forwards to assist, grabbing the weapon from the floor and extending the metal rod before blue electrical charges coursed along its length. She jabbed the tip into Lincoln's chest, the rise and fall of his body echoing around the room. There was a pause before she hit him again and finally, his eyes flew open as he took another deep rasping breath. Jinny rubbed her face tiredly, feeling as if she hadn't slept in weeks.
"See?" Raulf said behind them, a hint of smugness in his husky voice. "I told you that we could trust them, Lexa."
"My brother appears to be right," the Commander responded and they looked at her in bewilderment. Brother? "You may have your truce."
"Thank you," Clarke said breathlessly.
Lexa turned to Jinny. "I just need one thing. Deliver me the one you call Finn. Our truce begins... with his death."
Jinny stared back at her in silence, but her mind was screaming 'fuck'.
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ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © KAYE CEE
DO NOT STEAL, COPY OR TAKE ANY PART OF THIS WORK.
Translations :
Teik ai frag emo op en dison laik odon : Let me kill them and get this over with.
Heda, ai beg yu, teik ai frag emo op! : Commander, I beg you, let me kill them!
Heda, beja kep em klin : Commander, please save him.
Em pleni! : Enough!
[ author's note ]
i have been waiting so looonnggg for this!!
but idk was it a surprise that raulf is lexa's brother? or did you already see it coming?
my boy is gonna have a much bigger role now, i'm so happy!! :')