CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
we were born to be the pawn
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𝐈f there was one thing people should know about Elliot was that she doesn't pick sides anymore. When she truly cares about someone, she would do everything and anything for them. Even if it means risking her own life to save them, she'd rather die saving them than watching them die.
Elliot had promised herself that after watching her mother get killed in front of her. She promised herself that she would never let that happen again━she wouldn't watch someone she cared about die in front of her without doing anything. Never again will she watch someone she loved on their knees with a sword over their head.
Coming back down to the village, Elliot was quite surprised to see several sky people helping the Grounders on their feet. It was something to see. Funny how it took all of this for them to be civil with each other When Clarke and Lexa appeared, the Grounders began to chant her name With a signal of her hand, the chant stopped. The power of Heda.
"What happened here will not stand. The mountain will fall. The dead will be avenged!"
A series of shouts of agreement and appraisal followed. The village boomed with war cries━rough voices of seasoned warriors itching for the blood of their enemies.
"Enough! That's enough," Abby yelled, cutting into their celebration to pull them back to the real world. "There are still others in the wreckage. We heard them. Go to work!"
Elliot was quiet the whole time she witnessed what was happening before her. She listened in to their words like a crow on the lease, and with one unwanted action, she would spring up into battle. Intuition of a built warrior. From the corner, she'd seen that Lincoln had reconciled with the warrior chief.
But the moment of bliss wasn't going to last long as tomorrow will be the day where they take lives instead of saving them like tonight.
After everything that they'd done to save those who could still be saved, Elliot was relieved to get some fresh air as she sat on a small log next to Octavia. A fair distance between them. She watched the fire dance around the wind in silence, clasping both of her hands together with calmness all over her face.
She snapped out of her state when Clarke suddenly appeared and sat across them. Octavia's blank expression didn't falter and neither did Elliot's━she remained staring at the bonfire as if the blond wasn't there. The suspicion that Clarke knew something about the bomb never left her since they saw her with Lexa in the woods.
"Everything okay?" Clarke asked, sparking up a conversation with Azgeda traitor and the younger Blake who was starting to look a lot like a Grounder.
"I'm going over it and over it in my head, just trying to figure out how you're still alive," Octavia muttered, earning Elliot's attention as her eye glossed over their grim faces.
"What are you talking about?" Clarke asked, feigning confusion.
"I saw you in Tondc before the missile hit. I know you, Clarke. Something's wrong. And then you and Lexa disappear and just happen to survive," Octavia said, trying to believe that Clarke wasn't capable of something like that. "Tell me you didn't know it was coming."
She was almost pleading with her to tell the truth, expecting her to say no, but she got the opposite answer. No words were needed. The look on Clarke's face was enough. She knew all along. And she let it happen. The Commander let it happen. I suppose the rational part of Elliot knew it had been a matter of decision.
Because if they had told them and evacuated the village━the Mountain men would've known and realized they had an inside man.
"Octavia..." Clarke's tone was filled with guilt.
"You let all those people die," Octavia said angrily, abruptly standing up and Clarke did the same thing but not for the same reason. She couldn't have others knowing that she and Lexa knew about the missile. "You were gonna let me die."
Elliot inched her knife closer to the flame in front of her, her azure eye swimming with nothing as she listened. After all, the Grounder traitor was not surprised. She knew it wasn't Clarke's choice but she had followed Lexa's words.
"I did it to save Bellamy, so that we could win this war. Don't you see that?" Clarke said desperately, stepping closer to Octavia so nobody else could hear her "If we'd evacuated Tondc, Mount Weather would've known that someone tipped us off. They would have found your brother."
"No," Octavia said through gritted teeth, shaking her head adamantly. She knew her big brother all too well. "Bellamy would have never told you to do that. He would've found another way."
Clarke shook her head. "I couldn't take that risk."
"Right. Because you're in charge now, and you decide who is disposable," Octavia spat. "You'd have fit right in on the council." Then she walked away, leaving Clarke whose guilt was eating her up on the inside.
The Grounder stood up from the log she was sitting on, brushing the dust off her sleeves, the blond girl's eyes flickering toward her. She looked at Clarke. This time, the blond did not look away. "We all make decisions we can't take back, Clarke. Own it. People are already dead."
She walked off to Octavia's direction. But Clarke followed them, desperate and anxious that someone had figured them out. She rushed after them, calling out their names urgently. Elliot and Octavia stopped in their tracks, the latter narrowing her eyes at the girl. She had heard enough.
"You can't tell anyone. If people found out━"
"The alliance will break." Octavia finished her sentence with disbelief and annoyance. "I'm not an idiot, Clarke."
Clarke looked at her as soon as Octavia left. "Elliot━"
"I'm a traitor in these woods, Clarke." Elliot glowered at her, fisting the handle of her knife. "Nothing I say or do will make them believe me."
The Azgeda Grounder didn't make it obvious that she was following Octavia. The girl was supposed to be on a scouting mission with Lincoln, but it seemed like something had changed and now she was needed at the guard post. Something wasn't right. But a part of her knew exactly what was going on.
After all, she knew that Lexa didn't trust Octavia enough to keep a secret. Hell, the Commander does not trust anyone. Elliot━while she did not trust her, Lexa knew she would never speak.
That's what she was built for anyway. To know the most horrible things and keep them to herself.
Elliot hid beneath the darkness, creeping on two feet so no one could see her. Her hand held one of her swords, getting ready to strike if needed. She saw Octavia standing alone beside a tree, keeping an eye on the trees. Completely unaware that someone━specifically the Commander━had just ordered one of her warriors to eliminate her.
She stopped in her tracks, becoming alarmed when she noticed an unfamiliar Grounder hiding behind a tree with a bow and arrow within a couple of feet from Octavia. She prepared to jump on him, but then she saw a certain blond girl putting a gun to his head and telling him to back down. Quietly.
Elliot lowered her sword and watched as Clarke guided the Grounder assassin out of the woods, still pointing a gun to his head. She seemed pretty good at that. She shook her head, scoffing under her breath as she stood up from her hiding spot. Octavia quickly turned to her, a small furrow between her brows.
"El?" Octavia sounded confused.
The Grounder slightly frowned at the nickname she called her. No one ever called her that except Lincoln. Maybe she picked that up from him. Elliot didn't say anything but instead, she trudged towards her, sheating her sword. She cleared her throat, sending her a small nod. "You mind?"
The corner of her lips lifted into a faint smile. Octavia tilted her head at their surroundings. "Not at all."
For whatever reason Elliot was civil with her━Octavia decided to enjoy the moment while it lasted. She had heard things about her━bad things━but a part of Octavia would always trust the Grounder. Because while she was a traitor in another's eyes, Elliot was only a sister who would do anything to protect her brother in hers.
Elliot reminded her a lot of her big brother.
The next morning━the first thing that Elliot saw was a flare coming from the sky people camp then it was followed by the sound of a horn from the Grounders. Bellamy did it. He disabled the acid fog. Elliot jumped down from the tree with one thought blazing through her mind. Don't die. She gripped the hilt of her swords and sauntered towards the other warriors. This time, they had the same objective.
Kill the Mountain men and take their people back. So the war has begun once again.
She marched along Lexa's army, lost in the sea of Grounders, but with Lincoln and his lover on his side. She was relieved. Because once in her life, she wasn't fighting against them, instead she was fighting with them against the real enemies up the mountains. People who had been taking advantage of what was left of their kindness for some time.
Among the army of Grounders, Elliot stood out with her ivory strands that glinted from the sunlight. The usual red hood and scarf that covered half of her face were gone. The fabric was down on her shoulders instead. Elliot didn't want to be covered up. She wanted them to remember her face as she drove her blade into their hearts.
If they think she is the devil. Then so be it.
Inside the tent of the Commander stood a couple of other Grounder leaders waiting for her orders. All feeling the same thirst for revenge. They were clad with weapons━swords, knives, bows, and arrows, rifles━to the bone. They were more than ready for war. The Grounders were born for it.
"Field commanders, today's the day we get our people back. The enemy thinks it's safe behind its doors, but it's not," Lexa began, glancing at each of them with a hard expression on her face. "When it realizes that, it will fight back... Hard. We need to be ready."
"This is a rescue mission," Clarke reminded them. "We are not here to wipe them out. There are people inside that mountain that have helped us, children who have nothing to do with this war. We kill their soldiers, their leadership if we have to, but we are there to rescue our people. Is that clear?"
There was a short distinct chatter most about disagreement before all of them nodded in response.
"Then let's begin."
Meanwhile, Elliot led the group of a few Grounders and Sky people with Octavia and Indra inside the mine tunnels. She was quite familiar with the place that's why she was with them instead of the army in front of the main door. Lincoln was supposed to be here but even Elliot knew he wasn't ready. (And Octavia suggested her knowledge and presence to Indra, which she reluctantly agreed with).
"According to Lincoln's map, we're getting close," Octavia said quietly from beside her, the other Grounders following close behind them. "It's a maze. Lincoln should be here to show us the way."
"He wasn't ready. Even he knew that," Indra told the worried warrior. "He'll do well fighting with the commander."
"It meant a lot that you forgave him."
"He earned that," Indra said gruffly. Elliot glances at her but only to find the war chief already looking at her with an indistinct expression on her face."I have known Lincoln since he was a boy. He always questioned our ways, but if he ever chooses sides against the clan again, not even his bravery can save him."
Suddenly, someone began shooting from the back, wasting bullets on nothing but air. Those who were in the front turned around, surprised at the sudden commotion before realizing it was just a false alarm. Elliot shared a look with Octavia who looked baffled and a little annoyed as she yelled: "Stop shooting!"
"Reapers are not the enemy!" Indra went towards the sky person who was holding a rifle. "We don't kill them unless we━"
"Now!" Elliot yelled as the sounds of the Reapers' incoherent shouting and animalistic growls echoed in the tunnels.
Jackson immediately used the thing that Raven replicated to stop the Reapers, a high-pitched tone emitting from them, deafening the Reapers. Octavia and a few others rushed towards the men and started injecting them with the tranquilizer before they tied their hands and feet together with a rope.
They weren't aiming to kill them this time. Because there was finally a way they could save them.
"Well done. They'll be out for a while," Jackson sighed in relief as the high-pitched sound faded. "We'll come back for them."
"Let's go," Indra said firmly. "We have to find that door."
The lights flickered in the tunnels before they were completely turned off. Darkness encased the passage, making all of them stop for a moment. Raven had done her job. They had blown up the dam which stopped the electricity inside Mount Weather. It was only a matter of time before they got inside.
The faint sound of gunshots and loud explosions above them were unnerving, but they continued to walk further through the tunnels so they could find the door that leads inside Mount Weather. Whatever that was happening up there━she hoped it was nowhere near as bad as she could imagine.
Lincoln was up there with the Commander. She thought it would make her feel better, knowing he had them by his side, but instead, all she wanted to do was get out of there and drag Lincoln away
She wondered what would happen after all of this. Would she be alone in the woods, wandering to nowhere once again? Because where else could she go? She didn't want to be a nuisance in Lincoln's life. He has his own worries now, and she knew she was beginning to get further and further away from it.
Elliot would mindlessly clench and unclench her fingers around the hilt of her sword now and then. Even though there wasn't much happening around them at the moment━adrenaline still coursed through her body. Not knowing what was happening up there and inside the mountain was making her anxious.
Was Lincoln all right? Were the Grounders treating him well? Has Bellamy saved the kids? A thousand questions rushed through her mind as they walked further inside the tunnels with nothing but luck and the expectation of their friends to do their jobs right.
"We found it." Octavia sighed in relief as the sight of a door came into their sight.
"You found it," Indra said, appearing beside the young sky girl. "It appears we didn't need Lincoln after all."
Elliot ignored their conversation and cautiously trudged towards the door. She couldn't be too sure and confident right now. Everybody's lives were at stake including Octavia's older brother who was nowhere to be seen at the moment. She hadn't stopped wondering about the guy since he got inside Mount Weather.
He was a good spy. I guess that's one thing they had in common.
Suddenly, the familiar sound of the retreat horn echoed throughout the tunnel. Elliot turned, confused out of her mind. She remained her ground, glancing at the others who shared the same look of bewilderment but the Grounders never questioned. Octavia looked at her, both alarmed and worried.
"We're retreating," Indra stated.
Octavia shook her head in disbelief. "That can't be right."
"We have to go. Now!" The warrior chief ordered and the Grounders did not hesitate to leave the tunnel━except Elliot. She remained standing outside the door as Octavia rushed towards the warrior.
"Indra, wait!" Octavia exclaimed. "They're still in there."
"And our Commander's out there, under attack for all we know."
"I don't trust her, not after Tondc, and neither should you."
"I gave you a direct order."
"Please. This was the plan. If we're not here with the tone generators when they come out, Reapers will kill━"
"Plans change," Indra snapped.
"Octavia, let's go," Caris, one of the sky people who came along, told her.
Octavia was stubborn as a mule. There was no way she was leaving without getting her friends out of the mountain. She shook her head and said: "I'm not going anywhere without my brother."
Indra was livid. She suddenly whipped out a knife and placed it directly above the girl's collarbone. Elliot pulled a sword out of instinct, her protective side coming out, prepared to step up if Indra decided to press the knife closer to her neck. She wasn't going to let her hurt the girl after all they'd been through.
"You are no longer my second," Indra growled before abruptly removing the knife from her neck.
A small gasp of shock escaped the poor girl's mouth, touching her skin where Indra had left a fresh cut. Elliot only relaxed when Indra marched off towards the other Grounders who were already leaving the tunnel to leave the tunnel. She glanced at Octavia, the girl trying to register what just happened.
"Octavia, please," Jackson pleaded. "Come home with us."
"I have no home," Octavia said shakily, and the scarred-face Grounder felt her words hit close to home.
"You'll need this," Jackson said defeatedly, dropping a small pack on the rails before he walked off, too, leaving the two women alone to themselves.
"Let's open this," Elliot said gruffly, turning towards the steel door. "We don't have all day."
Octavia frowned, standing beside her. "Why didn't you leave?
"Leave you here to have all the fun?" Elliot scoffed, pulling the door but it wouldn't even budge. "No way."
"Right." Octavia narrowed her eyes at the Grounder. "Because you wouldn't do that."
"You have so little faith in me, Octavia," Elliot deadpanned. Then she cursed out loud, slamming her fist against the door that was adamant to keep closed. "Come here and help me get this door open and then you can continue doubting me after all this."