The One Who's Fallen

Chapter 110

Lexa and I stand before our people again on the platform, waiting as more and more people arrive. Finally the last few stragglers seem to be here and I nod to Lexa.

"As you may or may not know, a scout went missing." Lexa says, her voice carrying easily. She raises her hand to stop the worried murmuring, staying stoic. "The Maunon have taken him."

The whispers and mutterings get louder until I step forward. "That's enough. Listen to her."

The crowd quiets and Lexa speaks again. "They have offered me a deal. For thirty Skaikru or ArkKru lives, they will release our prisoners and will never take another."

Lexa is forced to be quiet when the crowd starts talking and yelling. She purses her lips and I take her hand in mine. People continue shouting and exclaiming and the fear is practically tangible.

"That's enough." I call out.

"Your girlfriend's a traitor, Clarke!" Someone yells.

I fight the urge to roll my eyes. They haven't even listened to everything Lexa has to say, they just cut her off and jumped to conclusions.

"That's enough!" I say louder.

"Traitor!" Another person yells, throwing what appears to be a very old, worn down shoe at us.

"ENOUGH!" I roar. The place goes silent and I take a deep breath before I continue. "You haven't heard everything Lexa has to say. You cut her off and jumped to conclusions. You will listen to her and you will treat her with respect."

"Mochof (thank you), Clarke. If I had done that, they may have rioted or refused to listen." Lexa murmurs to me before speaking louder. "I will not take their deal. Skaikru and ArkKru are our allies now, and I will respect it even if you all do not."

She makes eye contact with a few of the people who yelled against her the loudest. They look away either in shame or to avoid a fight.

"The Maunon has made their move against us. It is time to retaliate. We have the numbers, we have the strength, we finally have the technology. This time, we will defeat them for good! We have come up with a plan and it will work. If you aren't sure about your involvement or if you would to help, we can use everyone. Come talk to someone who knows all of the plan. For the next few days we will be wearing a red cloth tied to our wrists. Tomorrow, we finalize our plan. The next day, we mobilize and head to the Mountain. Kom war (to war)!"

The Grounders in the crowd echo Lexa's shout and everyone begins to disperse.

"That was a great speech, Commander. I like the red cloth idea, that's smart." Raven says as she limps towards us with Luna and Anya flanking her.

"Mochof (thank you), but Clarke is the one who came up with it earlier."

"We have the cloths in our tent," I say. "Come with us, we'll get them."

"Alright," Raven answers and walks alongside us. "Can you believe that no one trusted Lexa? They just assumed that she's bad and betrayed them. The Skaikru and ArkKru has some serious trust issues."

"They do," I agree. "I guess that's another thing we will have to work on."

"Yeah. And hey, Griffin. I didn't know you could scream that loud." Raven remarks, making me groan.

"Neither did I." Anya says before I can say anything. "And I have slept in a tent near theirs at night."

I blush and clear my throat while Raven bursts out laughing. She gives Anya a quick kiss on the cheek and I snicker when her cheeks turn a rosy pink. Anya scowls at me but it's not nearly as intimidating as when she's not blushing because one of her girlfriends kissed her on the cheek.

Lexa holds open the tent flap, letting us all go in first before she walks in. A moment later, the others join us. Lincoln, Bellamy, Octavia, and Mom all enter together, followed by Indra. I actually forgot for a second that she's here.

Lexa pulls the cloths from the table and hands one to each of us until there's just one left for her. Even though I'm pretty sure everyone knows who she is, I'm not surprised she decided to wear one as well. We help each other tie them around our dominant wrist, which would normally be a pain. In a way, it feels symbolic. What would have been difficult is made easier by us working together. But maybe I'm just cheesy.

I help Lexa while the others start discussing the plan again. We turn back to them, hand in hand.

"Everyone knows the plan?" Lexa asks.

"We have all memorized it, Heda." Anya answers respectfully.

"Good. Tomorrow, many people may approach you and ask questions. We will all need to be prepared for that. Except for Raven. I would like you to focus on your work and only answer questions if no one else is available or if it is about your work. Alright?"

"Okay," Raven nods.

"It is going to be a long few days." Lexa makes fast eye contact with everyone before continuing. "People will be scared and tired, nerves will be frayed. We will need to keep up morale as well as keeping people from blowing up at each other. Be peacekeepers. Especially while we march. That can bring out the worst in some people. Keep a close eye on everyone, make sure the other lieutenants and higher ranked officials do so as well. Report anything out of the ordinary to me or Clarke. We have to be prepared for anything, you never know what the Maunon is planning."

Everyone nods solemnly and I take over. "If there's a question you can't answer or do not know how to answer, direct them to either Lexa or me. Are there any questions you have for us before we dismiss you?" I wait for a moment. "Okay. Be careful and stay safe."

Wow, the Skaikru and ArkKru jumping to conclusions and everything's happening so fast... Soon, they'll be marching on the Maunon and enacting their plans ;) I give away nothing... Thank you all for reading and for your amazing comments! Stay awesome!