Regina(On Hold) // The 100

009

"My friends. This is a historic Unity Day. Every year, we mark the moment our ancestors of the 12 stations joined to form the Ark, but this is the last time we do so while aboard her. Next year... on the ground."

The people that surrounded Jaha applauded at the news. It had been nine years since I celebrated Unity Day, and I barely remembered what it was like. As for Strisis, she could never celebrate it, so this was new to her.

"Right. After we did all the work," Miller complained. "Someone shut him up."

"You shut up, Miller," Raven countered. "No one's forcing you to watch."

"For 97 years, we have eked out an existence hoping that someday our descendants would return to Earth," Jaha continued on the screen.

Clarke stepped out of the dropship and stood beside me and Finn. Finn gave her an annoyed look and looked back at Jaha. "Don't tell me you don't like Unity Day," Clarke said, and I knew that Finn would tell her the same story he told me just minutes before.

Finn sighed. "Unity Day is a lie. The Ark only came together after the 13th station was blown out of the sky, just not the version of history we like to tell each other at parties." Finn explained. Before today, I'd only heard part of the story, the Grounder's perspective of it.

"Bekka Pramheda saved us. She came down in a Polaris pod and wasn't affected by the radiation. Her people treated her like a God because she helped them get back to the ground," the previous commander had told me.

Of course, the only reason Becca came to Earth from her station was because the other stations blew her ship out of the sky, but that was all I knew about it.

"Well, the Unity Day story gives people hope, though, and peace came out of that violence," Clarke told him.

Finn looked down sadly. "Yeah, but did there need to be violence at all?" When he glanced at me, I knew that he meant it more towards the Grounders.

Clarke looked ahead at the group listening to Jaha's speech before walking away from us, and just at that moment, Jasper came out of Monty's tent cheering while holding a canister. "Yeah! Monty strikes again!" Jasper removed the goggles from his eyes and held up Monty's moonshine. "Call this batch unity juice!" He ran to a table in the center of the crowd. "Who's thirsty?"

People started to gather around Jasper with cups and Jasper filled each one with Monty's moonshine. The gunners by the wall, Strisis included, placed their weapons down to celebrate with everyone else.

Finn and I stood back watching them. "Jules, yu ste na gada bida in(Jules, are you going to have some)?" he asked me. I was amazed at how quickly he had picked up the language. Strisis and I spoke it a lot, but I didn't expect anyone to pick up on any of the words.

"Enyo," I corrected. Only Finn, Bellamy, and Clarke knew Strisis and I were from the Ark. I hadn't really spoken to Bellamy much because it was a lot to take in that the friend he thought was executed was still alive. "I'm not ready for people to know my name yet," I added. 

"Well, do want to celebrate Unity Day?" Finn asked again. 

"I don't know, I haven't celebrated in nine years, and wouldn't it be weird to them if a Grounder celebrated Unity Day? They'd think it was crazy," I confessed. I wanted to celebrate with them, it was supposed to be a special day. Even Strisis, who hadn't even celebrated the Grounders' version of this day, was celebrating. But I couldn't let my guard down just yet.

"Just like if a sky person celebrated the first commander?" Finn asked. "Is that why you don't worship her?"

I nodded. "I don't know how I have Nightblood," I told Finn. "Bekka Pramheda shared her Nightblood with the Grounders to allow them to survive the radiation of Earth. But how did it get to someone from space?"