Winwolfa (A Roan x Female OC Fanfic)

Chapter 66

Astrid sat along the mountain top, taking in a breath of fresh air. For the first time in years, sand didn't penetrate her nose with every inhale. No stuffiness or raw vocal cords. Just pure, fresh oxygen. She could almost taste the crispness in the air.

She was a whole other person the last time she breathed in air like this. Still, she couldn't fully enjoy it like she wanted to.

Two hours were spent the previous night explaining the routes, the desert patterns, essentially everything she had learned the past two years about the lands. Though she never gave away the definitive route of where she thought her friends might be, she let McCreary and Diyoza argue about it.

Then, they forced her back into an empty room and tied her to the pipes. Until Diyoza woke her that morning and asked, then forced, Astrid to join her in a meeting, which she refused to disclose any information about.

Her eyes cracked open when she heard the rustling of footsteps and a whiny voice behind her. Twisting her shoulders to see behind the chair she was tied to, she noticed Kane walking towards them. Suddenly, all the pieces clicked.

If Diyoza brought Kane and her to talk about peace, then those in the desert weren't dead.

"So, Octavia's dead?" Kane seemed concerned, but not upset. An odd reaction, Astrid thought.

"No" Diyoza said, keeping her nose up turned into the forest, "We spotted an entire battalion huddled in a sandstorm to protect her. Do you think an army of murderers and thieves would follow me into a sandstorm?" She finally turned to Kane with a darkened look in her eyes.

"I highly doubt it." Diyoza smiled, then arched a brow like it had only proved her point.

Diyoza had taken a seat, offering Kane and Astrid a shot of bottle of transparent liquid on the table. Tequila. He slid a cautious glance towards Astrid, remembering their last interaction had Chancellor Jaha's head rolling on the ground. He remained standing.

"I wish you didn't give Abby those pills."

"Wishes are for the weak." Diyoza shrugged, "My father used to say that. He was helping hide me from the SEAL team that was sent to bring me in. My team. They put two in his head, just like I trained them. When I heard them upstairs, I knew it was over, so..." Diyoza pointed to the gash along her neck, "I slashed my own throat. Should've put two in my head." Diyoza said so casually Astrid wasn't sure if she was joking or not. She had seriously underestimated Diyoza's past and her deft abilities, which probably aided in her ascent to control over the prisoners.

Kane finally took a seat after discussing Abby's pill problem that Astrid didn't exactly care for. In fact, she didn't care for Abby all that much either. She had lied about her past for six years then tried to play it off as if she didn't have a choice, even when they were on the ground. Not just that, but Astrid wasn't even the first to know. It was Clarke and Roan.

As Astrid choked back that harsh tasting liquid, she wondered where exactly the whereabouts of her husband were. Safe, hopefully.

"Better than tea, don't you think?" Diyoza had a subtle smirk of approval.

"Does that mean you're bringing our people over?"

"Maybe. But first, tell me about Octavia. Astrid here has already done a swell job at explaining the territory. Just need you to fill me in on the missing pieces."

And so, for nearly an hour, Kane explained the rise and fall of the Red Queen. Astrid could see there were some things he glanced over, but what she did hear sounded fictitious. Like Astrid, Octavia transformed into something new. Cold and vicious. She became the queen of the gladiators, where they fought for their life for a chance at redemption. If Octavia let them.