xxviii. the queen and the commander
long into the abyss

SAWYER HAD to admit, Clarke's plan to stop the attack on the Ark camp sounded feasible. At least, in theory. Clarke wanted to offer a solution to the Grounders' Reaper problem, but only if they agreed to a ceasefire. Sawyer did not know if they ever would, considering the declined every attempt at peace, but they needed to try. The alternative meant they would all have to run for their lives, or meet an untimely death at the Grounders' hands.

Darkness consumed the sky long before Sawyer, Clarke, and Finn made it to the Ark camp. The Wesley girl still refused to call the place Camp Jaha She would rather choke on a Jobi nut. Sawyer scanned the electrified fence, finding all of their guards positioned at regular intervals. They were ready for the Grounders. As they approached the front gate, the two men on guard let them through without a word.

"Mom!" Clarke shouted for her mother as soon as they stepped inside camp.

Sawyer looked to where Abby and Jaha rushed up to them from where they oversaw the evacuation. She remembered what Finn say before Nyko tried to kill him. Abby decided they would flee, instead of facing the Grounders. Sawyer did not know if she were angry with the woman or understood. After the last few hours, she felt conflicted about a lot of things.

"Where have you been?" Abby exclaimed toward her daughter. "We're leaving."

"I know how to stop the attack," Clarke stated, bringing a furrowed expression to the woman's face.

Jaha's brows scrunched and questioned, "what're you talking about?"

Clarke glanced his way, for a split second, and then set her attention back on her mother. "We haven't been able to negotiate with the Grounders because we haven't had anything to offer them. The biggest threat they face is from the Reapers. I think we may be able to eliminate that threat for them, once and for all."

Abby started at the teenage girl for a long moment, before she asked, "how?"

Jaha snapped to the Griffin woman. "Abby. You can't seriously..." he trailed off with a loud murmur rolled through the crowd of people gathered in the center of camp.

Sawyer turned to see many of them turn in the direction of the northern forest, while others followed their lead. Eyes were wide, mouths moved to form hushed whispers, and faces grew incredibly pale. Only one thing could cause that kind of reaction. Sawyer's fears were answered as orange torchlights began to appear among the tree-line. A few at a time until they multiplied into an entire line of fire. The Grounders had arrived.

_______

Upon Abby's request, she, Sawyer, Clarke, Finn, and Jaha gathered in the Council's meeting room. With the Grounders on their doorstep, Clarke's plan to negotiate with them needed to happen soon or they would all be dead by sunrise.

So, the three members of the hundred explained what happened earlier. How Bellamy and Octavia found Lincoln, how he had been turned into a Reaper with a drug, and how they were in the process of forcing him to purge it from his body. If they succeeded, they could help other Reapers do the same. Something the Grounders would want to know, and they might even form a truce because of it.

"If they haven't attacked by now, they're not going to until first light," Sawyer informed the two adults as she stood next to the large table in the center of the room. "Those were the terms they set with Jaha. They won't attack until then."

Clarke nodded from where the Wesley girl's side. "Which means, we still have time."

Abby leaned forward, placing her hands on the tables as she looked to the girls. "We have two hours until dawn."

Clarke released a breath and stated, "let Sawyer talk to the Commander." Sawyer's eyes widened and whirled to her, but Clarke continued, "she was Anya's Second. Maybe she'll listen."

Before Sawyer could speak up, Jaha said from his seat at the head of the table, "we don't even know if the Commander is here."

"Yes, we do," Finn spoke, pulling all eyes to him. "Nyko told us." He looked between the adults. "You have to at least let her try."

Sawyer raised her hand and opened her mouth to retort, but Jaha set his stare on Abby.

"Abby, we're wasting time. Give me the authority, now."

Sawyer paused at that. Give him the authority? He gave up his title as Chancellor when he stayed in space. He no longer held the right. Marcus Kane did. But with him gone, he handed it over to Abby. It was her position. She was the Chancellor. Not Jaha.

"Hold on," Abby told the man and then turned to her daughter. "Clarke, you said that Lincoln is going through withdrawal. We don't even know what he's withdrawing from. The detox alone could kill him."

"That's where you come in." Clarke nodded to her mother.

"And if I can't save him?" Abby questioned.

Sawyer shook her head. "You don't have an option. Lincoln has to live, or this entire thing is for nothing."

Jaha flicked his eyes between them with his arms crossed over his chest. "We are risking everything on a bluff?" He set his stare on the Griffin woman. "Abby, we have an out. We have a way to save the lives of our people."

"Not all of them," Finn replied.

Jaha slammed his feet onto the floor and shot to his feet. "We will come back to save the kids inside Mount Weather."

Sawyer scoffed, not at all bothered by the man's sudden outburst. "Yeah, right. The moment we leave, we might as well plan their damn funerals. The only thing you're worried about is saving your own ass."

Jaha's jaw clenched, but he simply ignored her and moved around the table to Abby. "Abby, this has gone on long enough. If you do not give the order to begin the exodus, you are killing us all."

Abby pondered his words for a beat. "I'm sorry." She turned to meet his angered stare with a placid one of her own. "I can't give that order."

Sawyer grinned. Go, Abby.

Jaha leaned closer to the woman and muttered lowly, "Abby – give the order."

Abby did not waver. "No."

Jaha drew in a deep breath and began, "I am the elected Chancellor of the Ark, and I am not going to let you risk the lives of my people. Do you understand? I am going to ask you, once again – give the order to begin exodus."

"No," Abby shot back. Her stance against remained steady. "Are you through, yet?"

Sawyer pressed her lips together to hold back the smile that wanted to form. It was about time someone put Jaha in his place. She loved even more than it had been someone the man saw as a friend.

Although, Sawyer's joy soon shifted to rage as Jaha strode to where Nathan Miller's father, Sergeant Miller, and Byrne stood next to the door and started to order them.

"Sergeant Miller, Major Byrne, I am relieving Dr. Griffin of her command." Jaha turned to scan the others in the room. "Place these four into custody, but make sure they are ready to leave with the rest of us within the hour."

Sawyer's heart would have burst in her chest, ready to fight for her life to get out of there, but she realized she would not need to when her gaze drifted across the room and met Sergeant Miller's. Because of her friendship with his son, Sawyer came to know the man quite well. Well enough that she knew he would not do something to jeopardize his son's life. Jaha's plan to run would leave Miller and the other kids of the hundred to die in Mount Weather. Sergeant Miller would stand with Abby, Sawyer just knew it.

Jaha whipped around and shouted at Byrne when neither guard moved, "right now, Major! Or the blood of everyone in this camp will be on your hands, too."

Major Byrne and Sergeant Miller remained in place.

Right then, Abby stepped forward behind Jaha and voiced, "Major Byrne, Sergeant Miller – put Chancellor Jaha in the stockade."

Byrne swallowed. "Yes, ma'am." She and Sergeant Miller moved to grab the man by the arms.

Jaha flinched away from them. His features were hard as he turned to face the Griffin woman. "Everything we did to survive – you're just throwing it all away. Why?"

"Because I have faith, too," Abby replied. "In my daughter."

Sawyer did not notice how Clarke's eyes grew wide as she looked to her mother. She knew how much Clarke struggled with how she felt about her mother since she learned the truth about her father's death. It warmed Sawyer's heart to know that Abby did not question her daughter, even after everything Clarke said and done in the past. It kind of made her think of mending her own relationship with her mother.

But then, the thought faded as Byrne and Sergeant Miller dragged Jaha from the room.

"Thank you," Clarke told her mother.

Abby nodded, before she set her attention on the Wesley girl. "I'll send a guard detail with you."

Sawyer shook her head. "No. The Grounders will see that as a threat. No guards, and no guns. That's the only way we're gonna do this."

"Finn and I'll take you to Lincoln," Clarke stated when her mother's stare returned to her.

Abby hesitated and glanced between the two girls. "If you're wrong – all of us are going to die."

Sawyer sighed. "Yeah, we know." She then spun on her heel to Clarke on her right. "And, why the hell am I going to meet with the Commander? It's your plan. You came up with it, and you and Abby are the only ones who can save Lincoln. It should be you."

Clarke faced her and countered, "because you've understood everything that's been happening since we landed in the dropship. If it weren't for you, we would have probably died at some point. And besides, you can move a crowd better than anyone. You got a hundred, teenage criminals to follow you. You can convince the Commander to do the same." She reached forward and set her hand on Sawyer's shoulder. "I mean, you are a queen, right?"

Sawyer stared at Clarke until she released a long breath. "You're a real pain in my ass, Princess." 

_______

The sun rose above the horizon by the time Sawyer left the Ark and began her trek toward the Grounders established camp. Tents were erected in the clearing right outside the tree-line, while dozens, if not hundreds, of Grounders roamed the space. All of them with weapons in their grasp or strapped to their belts.

It took Sawyer a long time to convince them that she needed to speak with their Commander about something important. Something that could end the potential slaughter of her people and help theirs in the end. When she got the go head, to her surprise, a group of Grounders escorted her through their camp and to the largest tent in the area.

Sawyer's heart hammered in her chest as they grew closer. Why did Clarke have to pull the queen card with her? She may be a leader to her people, but so where Clarke and Bellamy. They had just as much right to speak with the Commander as she did.

Sawyer came to a stop with a large man with dark hair and beard stopped her outside the Commander's tent. She stared up at his tall frame to meet his icy stare.

"If you so much as look at her the wrong way, I will slit your throat," he threatened.

Sawyer pressed her lips together and nodded. She did not reply to him as he stepped back and pushed open the tent flap. With a deep breath, she strode forward and ducked into the cloth structure.

Inside, more Grounders awaited. A man with a metal mask stood next to the door, his eyes following Sawyer as she walked. A short haired woman claimed a spot to the left. She glared toward her, making the black tattoo along her face stand out against her clenched jaw. Tables and other items were placed across from one another, each of them with maps, most likely of the forest and the Ark camp. Battle plans. Sawyer knew of them well.

Sawyer almost to a complete halt at the sight of the person at the end of the tent. She sat upon a large, wooden chair that resembled that of a medieval throne. Her light, brown hair fell down the back of her head and over her shoulders, while metal shoulder pad hung over her left arm. Black paint surrounded her eyes, dripping down her cheeks in thick lines, and a circular object sat between her brows. She seemed unbothered by the Wesley girl's presence and twirled a dagger in her hands, staring down at the blade as the point rested on the tip of her finger. The Commander.

Sawyer simultaneously realized the woman, no girl, the most frightening person she had ever seen. Although, it concerned her that a warm feeling began to settle in her chest. Maybe she found the fact that the girl could probably gut her in a few seconds attractive. She did not know, and she had other things to worry about.

"You're the one who burned three hundred of my warriors alive," the Commander voiced when the Wesley girl stopped in front of her.

Sawyer pursed her lips. They were going there, then. "One of them. You're the one who sent them there to kill us," she replied.

The Commander looked up from her dagger to meet her gaze. She raised the bladed and set the point onto her right armrest with a thud. "Do you have an answer for me, Sawyer of the Sky People?"

Sawyer figured she meant the offer she gave Jaha. Run, or die. As it turned out, they had another option in mind. She hoped, anyway. "I came to make a deal. An offer, really."

"This is not a negotiation," the Commander countered.

The woman at the tent's right began to speak in the Grounder's language. Sawyer did not know what she said, but she did not imagine it had been friendly. The Commander held up a hand, and the woman fell silent.

Sawyer guessed it was the perfect time to bring out the big guns. "It will be if you want to beat the Mountain Men." Her stare placid and fixed on the Commander.

The Commander set her dagger onto her lap and returned the gaze with the same ferocity. "Go on."

"They are keeping hundreds of your people inside their mountain in cages, draining them of their blood to use themselves as medicine," Sawyer explained to not only the Commander, but the other Grounders inside the tent.

The Commander's eyes narrowed. "How do you know this?"

"Because I saw them myself," Sawyer stated. "They're keeping my people there, as well. I was with them, but I escaped."

"Lies," the Grounder woman from earlier snapped, that time in English. "No one escapes the mountain."

"I did – with my friend, Clarke, and Anya." Sawyer noticed how the name caught their attention. "The three of us managed to slip through their defenses and then fought our way out – together."

"Another lie," the Grounder woman continued. "Anya died in the fire. You killed her."

Sawyer shook her head and shot the woman a sharp look. "No, she didn't. Anya saved my life in that mountain, and I helped save hers. But if you don't believe me," she paused, reaching into her jacket pocket.

The Grounders reached for their weapons, causing her to slow her movements and pull out a braided lock of hair. Anya's. Clarke managed to cut a piece off of the woman's body before they laid her to rest.

"This was hers," Sawyer said, holding the Commander's stare. "When we were out of the mountain, she said that you where her Second. She would want you to have it." She took tentative steps toward the wooden throne with her hand outstretched, the lock of hair between her fingers. Once she was close enough, the Commander held out her hand and grasped the hair.

"We don't even know it's hers," the Grounder woman exclaimed.

"Shop of, Indra," the Commander snapped, staring down at the hair in her hands, before she looked back up at the Wesley girl. "Anya was my mentor before I was called to lead my people."

Sawyer nodded. She may not have understood the true relationship between the Commander and Anya, but she knew enough to realize they were close. Or, at the least, were fond of one another.

The Commander gently set the hair down onto the left armrest and asked, "did she die well?"

Sawyer did not want to like to the girl, but she knew the truth would not help her in that moment. "She died by my side. But, before she did, she wanted to get a message to you."

"What message?" the Commander questioned.

"To beat the Mountain Men, we have to come together."

"Those who are about to die will say anything," the Grounder woman, Sawyer believed the Commander called her Indra, said.

Sawyer resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"I'm still waiting for an offer, Sawyer," the Commander voiced.

Sawyer released a breath and revealed Clarke's plan. "The Reapers. The Mountain Men are creating them. My friend, Clarke, she knows a way to turn them back."

"Impossible." Indra turned to the Commander and spoke in their language.

"It's true," Sawyer persisted, already growing annoyed with the woman. "And, it's not a complicated process. Clarke can explain it better, but we've already been successful with Lincoln..." she did not get the chance to finish as Indra's expression morphed into one of pure anger.

"That traitor is the reason why my village was slaughtered by your people," Indra hissed, storming toward the Wesley girl with her hand on the hilt of her sword.

Sawyer did not flinch or react in any way. She would not give Indra what she wanted. To see her cower and show the weakness the Grounders believed she and her people possessed.

The Commander shot to her feet and ordered the woman in their language. Indra pressed her lips together in a tight line, forcing herself into silence. She kept her grip tight on the hilt of her sword and strode off to the other side of the tent.

Sawyer stayed rooted in her spot as the Commander stepped down from her wooden throne and approached her. Their stares met. Sawyer could detected a sharp green in the girl's eyes. A color she never witnessed on the Ark. It suited the Grounders' Commander.

The Commander came to a stop less than two feet from her. "You say this – Clarke can turn Reapers back into men," she questioned, but it sounded more like a statement.

Sawyer nodded. "Yes, she can."

"Then prove it," the Commander demanded. "Show me Lincoln."

Sawyer maintained a flat expression. If the Grounder girl caught on to her worry, the entire plan would collapse. She just hoped Clarke and Abby were able to keep Lincoln alive. Without him, they would all die.

_______

Footsteps crunched through the forest as Sawyer lead the way to the dropship. The Commander followed closely behind, while a group of other Grounders crowded around them. None of them said a word since they left, not inclined to hold a conversation with someone they considered the enemy.

Sawyer felt their stares sear her back the further they traveled. She tried to not let them affect her, but it was hard when every one of them could end her with a slash of their swords. The prospect of Lincoln's death also lingered at the forefront of her mind. If they arrived and found the man dead, the Commander would not hesitate to have them all killed. Everything rode on his life, and the successful withdrawal from that made him a Reaper.

When they reached the dropship, Sawyer noticed the visible change in the Grounders' postures. The black, ash covered ground stood out amongst the green foliage, while charred skeletons still littered the area. Where Grounders where burnt alive not a week earlier. People those around her once knew.

Sawyer stopped at the end of the open hatch, turning back to see that the Grounders stopped to take in the sight of the camp. She swallowed when the Commander's hardened stare fell on her. "He's in here," she voiced, nodding to the parachute covered entrance.

The Commander did not reply, but she stepped forward to follow her inside.

Sawyer pushed the parachute aside and moved to the ladder. She made sure the Commander noticed her movement, before she started to climb up the ladder to the third level. Her hands and feet hit the rungs until she reached the closed hatch. She grabbed the handle, pushing it up and over her head.

Once she climbed up and stepped out onto the level, Sawyer paused at the silence that greeted her. Not a good sign. She turned to find Clark, Abby, and Nyko stood around the room. Their expressions sullen. Sawyer dropped her gaze to the floor where Lincoln laid. His eyes closed and body still. Bellamy crouched next to him with his arm draped over Octavia, who cried openly next to the Lincoln.

Sawyer's heart dropped. No. They could not save him. She snapped to where Clarke met her wide stare. Her eyes equal in size and shock.

Right then, the sound of movement drew Sawyer's attention. The Commander stepped off the ladder, taking in the scene for herself. Indra and the rest of the Grounders on her heels. Sawyer held her breath, knowing what would come next. She shifted her gaze to where Bellamy remained in his crouch. He looked to her and Clarke, before he slowly reached for the rifle next to him on the floor. Sawyer turned back to where the Commander glared in her direction and gave Indra a nod.

"Kill them all," Indra breathed, ripping her sword from her belt.

Sawyer stumbled as the rest of the Grounders did the same. Bellamy rocketed up for the ground with his rifle, aiming toward them, while Abby swiped an electrified baton and held it up to the closest person. Indra.

No one moved, or even breathed, in the seconds that ticked on. Sawyer looked to the Commander, who's glare did not falter. "Wait. No one has to die," she pleaded with the girl.

"You lied," the Commander snapped, "and you're out of time."

Sawyer shook her head. "It's still possible. We can try, again. We..." she trailed off when Abby whirled on her heel and dropped toward Lincoln.

Abby angled the electrified baton down and pressed it against Lincoln's chest. The man's body arched up as electricity pulsed through him. After a moment, she pulled back and Lincoln fell flat. Eyes still closed.

Sawyer gaped at the woman in complete confusion until Clarke exclaimed, "hit him, again."

An electric shock to restart Lincoln's heart.

Abby did as her daughter said and repeated her previous actions. That time, a gasp escaped Lincoln's lips and his eyes fluttered open. He took in a few deep breaths, before he rolled his head to the side.

Octavia shuffled toward him and met his gaze. "Lincoln?"

Lincoln stared at the girl for a moment until he spoke, "Octavia."

Sawyer released an audible sigh of relief. She turned to where the Grounders watched Lincoln in awe. They were just as astonished as everyone else. The Commander looked up from the revived man to Sawyer. A brief exchange passed between them. One of fear, disbelief, and most importantly approval.

_______

With Lincoln alive and back to his old self, Sawyer and her people were put at ease. At least, for the moment. A truce still needed to be made, and everything rode on what happened next.

Sawyer followed the Grounders back to their established camp next to the Ark. To her surprise, she found herself alone in the tent with the Commander. She did not know if they trusted her, or if they knew the Commander could easily kill her all on her own. The two of them were adjacent to each other, facing one of the tables with a map of the Ark spread across it.

"Lincoln's recovery was – impressive," the Commander voiced after a while of silence. She looked to the Wesley girl with a softer expression, and her tone held less hostility than before. "No one's ever survived such a fate before."

Sawyer shrugged and recalled what Clarke told her about the Reaper detox process. "It's actually pretty simple," she stated, drawing the girl's gaze to her. "All we have to do is keep them alive long enough for whatever drug Mount Weather used on them to leave their bodies. It worked with Lincoln. It can work for others."

A beat passed between them, before the Commander said, "you may have your truce."

Sawyer froze. She did not want to seem overly thrilled by the news, so she gave the girl a polite nod. "Thank you. I know the last few weeks have been – difficult, but I really hope we can put them behind us and start new."

The Commander nodded in return. "I hope the same. I just need one thing in return."

Sawyer quirked a brow. "Sure. Anything."

The Commander's eyes bore into hers. "Deliver me the one you call Finn." Sawyer's stomach plummeted to her feet. "Our truce begins with his death."

<February 14, 2020>

Here is the chapter many of you have been patiently waiting for! I hope it lived up to your expectations.

Don't forget to vote and comment.

-Jordan

P.S. Unedited chapter.