Regina // The 100

048

My eyes were blinded by the light coming through the window. I felt a presence behind me, and I hugged the blanket over my chest. I closed my eyes, trying to erase last night's memory, but it was burned fresh in my mind. I could possibly pretend it never happened, but would he?

I sat up and started pulling my clothes on. "Leaving so soon?"

"Shut up," I demanded. I stood up once I was covered, and I walked around the room gathering the king's clothes. "This wasn't supposed to happen." I threw his clothes at him.

"But it did," he said with a slight smirk on his face.

"Just get dressed. Unless you want me to throw your naked ass out the window," I said sternly. His brows raised, but he started pulling his pants on.

"Does this mean--"

"It doesn't mean anything. And it's never gonna happen again." I grabbed a cloak and put it on.

Roan squinted his eyes at me. "Where are you going?"

"I have to talk to Octavia."

Roan finally stood up, still shirtless. "Let me guess. You think Skairipa killed Rafel."

I froze. "Skairipa?" I turned around to look at him. "Skairipa?" I repeated. "Is that what she's called?" Roan gave a slight nod. "You people are big on titles. Clarke gets to be Wanheda, I'm Fragheda and Skaiplana, my sister is Kainripa, and now Octavia is Skairipa."

"Death from above," Roan said. "Fitting, isn't it?"

"Just get your shirt on."

I wandered through Polis with the cloak shielding me from view, and I was searching for Octavia. When I finally found her, she was sharpening her sword. When she saw me, she stood up, and I pulled my hood down.

"It's not safe for you here. What do you want?" she asked me.

I glanced at Indra. "We should speak alone," I suggested. 

"If you can't trust Indra, you can't trust me," Octavia told me. 

I raised my eyebrows. "Ok, be honest with me. Did you have anything to do with Rafel?" Octavia was silent, and Indra slowly came up next to her. "It's not just a coincidence that his heart stopped right before he was going to challenge me."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Octavia said, going back to sharpening her sword.

I gripped the collar of her shirt and pulled her up, forcing her to focus on me. "Octavia, I can't have you going rogue like this."

"Heda, she was protecting you," Indra said calmly. "If what you say about Praimfaya is true, then Octavia is just doing her job of keeping you on the throne."

I pushed Octavia away and approached Indra. "You should've let him challenge me. I could've taken him, and you know that."

Indra stared down at me. "I'm sorry, Heda. But you know, every commander dies a horrible death. Octavia is making sure that doesn't happen to you before the death wave."

I stepped closer, getting right into Indra's face. "And what do you think will happen if people find out about this? That I have minions helping me stay in power. The only reason the ambassadors haven't staged a coup is that my father is the Skaikru ambassador."

"Jules, you've been commander for less than two weeks," Octavia reminded me. "And you're already taking on so much. Half the people who refused to bow to you before do now. If you lose in Soulou Gonplei, no one will be able to lead the clans, and the coalition will fall, starting a war that will wipe out Skaikru. Is that what you want? Shouldn't you be happy that you got to fight Roan?"