Beautiful Tragedy

Seventeen

                    Third Person POV

"I suppose you think you've got us right where you want us." Roan says walking behind Clarke into the cave.

"Roan, we're allies." Clarke reminds him taking a seat. "What are we doing?"

"We had a deal. You broke it."

"I broke it?" Clarke says incredulously. "You nearly killed Octavia." She charged. "You're holding Bellamy and our Chancellor hostage. You marched an army here to do what, exactly? Why would you kill us when you know we're all gonna die soon, anyway?"

"We're not here to kill you, Clarke. Not all of you." He amends shrugging his broad shoulders taking a seat opposite of her. "We're here to take Kikheda, and your ship, a ship you restored to save your people, not mine."

"That ship is a backup plan. It'll hold 100 people tops." Clarke says quickly

"Then you won't mind if we take it."

"Hey... before you took him hostage, did Kane tell you about the Nightblood solution?"

Roan scoffs. "He tried. Sounds to me like you're making the next Commander, also a violation of our deal."

"The Flame is gone, and you know it."

"If what Octavia says is to be believed, and from where I'm sitting, you people aren't good at being truthful."

"Roan, this isn't a conspiracy." She says with a pleading tone. "I am doing everything I can to save all of us."

"No, you're not." He counters. "You grieve for Lexa, yet you've learned nothing from her. She was Trikru, but she rose above loyalty to clan." Again she visibly flinches as the second time today another person has brough up her lost love. "You tell yourself you have, too... the great Wanheda, the Commander of Death who says she wants to save everyone yet builds a ship for herself, for her people."

"The Nightblood solution will save everyone."

"No, you want to save only your people.. And I don't believe in miracles.

"You don't believe in miracles, but yet you believe possessing Kayleigh will keep you all from dying."

"Isn't that why you've kept her locked away in your camp?"

"I kept her locked away from starting a new war, so I could figure out how to save us all."

"And you failed." Roan says standing once more

"It doesn't have to be like this."

"Yes, it does. The way I see it, you have two choices... tell your shooters to stand down, give us your ship, give us the nightblood, and use whatever time we have left to find your Nightblood solution, or tell them to open fire."

"We have more bullets than you have men." Clarke says standing as well. "You'll lose."

"Maybe." He says shrugging once more. "We'll both take losses, Kane and Bellamy among them."

"You think you can shake my resolve?" Clarke says angrily. "I was willing to sacrifice my own mother to stop A.L.I.E.."

"And I was willing to sacrifice mine to help you. Ain't we a pair?" He says shaking his head growing weary of words. "Fight it is."

"Wait." She calls as he starts walking away. "What if we share it?"

Roan pauses at the entrance, after thinking it over for a moment he turns back towards Clarke.

"50 spots apiece." He says and she nods adamantly. "I can live with that."

"Can your people?" She counters. "They wanted war."