CHAPTER FIFTEEN - DARKNESS SEEPING IN

GAIA FINISHED CLEANING THE BLOOD OFF OF DAKOTA'S NOSE.

  Bekka's sacred temple in the city of Polis was quiet, almost too quiet which made the four warriors stand on edge while they waited. The whole room was eerie which made Octavia cough to relieve the silence that stood around them.

Herminius looked upon Dakota's face which was void of any emotion. Her face was like stone and he couldn't detect a single thing from her expression, or lack of. He blinked a couple of times before looking towards Gaia, a obvious look of worry in his eyes. "Something is wrong." he told her nervously, shaking his head.

Gaia smiled warmly to ease his nerves but even she too, had become worried the longer they waited for Dakota to rise from her slumber. She had read in her books that the host of the Flame would sometimes wake in minutes, sometimes seconds. Dakota has not risen in over thirty minutes. "Patience, the flame affects every Commander differently." she told him.

Herminius shook his head as he looked up towards the ceiling of the temple, and his fist hit the table out of anger. "I know how the flame works, Fleimkepa. Her brain couldn't handle it and now we've lost her." But he knew something that she did not, and that was there was a greater loss if the new Commander had fallen, her child too would not taste the world they lived in.

Gaia looked towards him with a furrowed brow, she could see the worry in his eyes but there was something else - something unknown to her. Gaia was obviously feeling insulted by him for assuming that she didn't know how to perform her duty correctly. "I have prepared for this my whole life. She will wake up!" Gaia breathed out confidently, glancing down at the brunette with a hardened gaze as her face was still just as pale; lifeless.

Sick of the sound of arguing, Octavia Blake walled towards them with her hand on the handle of her sword, almost like she was waiting for someone to run into the temple while they waited. She would not be surprised if someone else walked into the temple after seeing Ilian and his small band of Trishanakru warriors walk out seething.

"It's almost been an hour Gaia." Octavia said worriedly. She did not want to admit it but she was beginning to lose hope for the brunette. "If she doesn't awaken soon, the Ice Nation will come looking for her and then we will have a bigger problem on our hands."

The raven-haired warrior could only imagine what King Roan would think if he witnessed them and the Azgeda Queen. There was blood on the floor from the Flame that ate it's way into her skin, and the temple was in ruins. It looked like a murder scene.

Herminius looked down upon the woman he swore his sword and his life to. It has been a long time since he believed in anything, and he definitely did not believe in the Flame like he once did but he saw the truth in her eyes. He saw the way her eyes held kindness once and a while, that she was human and not taught to be a killing machine like the other Nightbloods before her. She wasn't raised like them and that's what made her different.

"What will the King think once she has risen with the Flame in her head?" Herminius questioned the group,  but really he was looking towards Indra who had been standing at the door.

Indra glanced amongst the group, catching the mixture of emotions coming from each person, and then to Dakota whom was lying on her back after Gaia had put a collar around her neck to protect the flame.

   He didn't wait for her to answer the question. He wasn't sure if it was even a question he was asking, "He would kill her for betraying him. They want an Ice Nation Commander, and she is not Ice Nation. It does not matter if she plays the part, she's still connected to Skaikru."

Indra knew he spoke of the truth. The Ice Nation wanted a Commander who was born into the frozen lands, not a woman that had been born in Outer Space. It was something she had thought about once the Flame ate its way in and dug itself into the skin of her neck.

    "The Clans will follow who ever has the blood." Gaia informed him, looking back down at the brunette with hope in her eyes. Gaia waited for this, to guide the next Commander and now she had one.

"The Ice Nation wouldn't follow Lexa." Octavia pointed out with a straight face, her voice emotionless.

"Queen Nia would not bow to Lexa." Gaia fought back with distaste in her eyes. "She was a ruthless woman who had a insatiable hunger for power, and she knew she could not play Lexa like she could with Ontari."

  Everyone fell silent once again, not knowing what to say but only their eyes were watching the brunette. Octavia was not even sure if Dakota was breathing, she could not see the rise and fall on her chest. Her forehead which was scrunched in pain was now softened which made the younger Blake sibling look away in pain. She did not know if she could lose any other person close to her, she had already lost Lincoln.

But suddenly without warning, a sharp intake of breath had all their eyes snapping towards her body. Her eyes were fluttering under her closed lids and then with a start, Dakota's brown eyes shot open and her body launched forward into a sitting position, like she was awaking from a bad dream.

Octavia noticed that she was drenched in cold sweat, as the hairs on her neck were wet, sticking to her skin and her face was unbelievably pale.

  The younger Blake exhaled a breath of relief and farted towards the brunette, wrapping her arms around the girl's shoulders. "How are you feeling?" She questioned.

Dakota did not say anything but her eyes looked around. It felt like she was seeing things for the first time but this time, she could hear the whispers of the past Commander's in her ear. They were almost unnoticeable but somehow, she could hear their muffled voices clear as day. Her eyes gazed towards Indra, who followed Lexa's commands without any hesitation and her eyes softened slightly. 

  Octavia had let her go from her embrace and quietly watched her with furrowed eyebrows, her gaze following to Indra who looked alerted and cautious, but her chin was high. Dakota lifted herself off of the makeshift stool that was made from the debris after Trishanakru trashed the temple and from under her, Dakota's legs gave out.

  "Dakota, Heda." Indra breathed out before catching the brunette before she hit the floor. Dakota exhaled as Indra's arms wrapped around her like a safety blanket and the warrior dragged her back towards the stool. 

  Dakota's voice was strong despite her weak-looking appearance. "Octavia, we need to go back and tell him the flame has been destroyed." she looked towards the younger Blake, who hesitated.

 "You're too weak to go anywhere, and we don't have a plan." Indra was the one who spoke for her but Octavia was thinking the exact same thing. Dakota could barely stand on her feet, the last thing that was on all of their minds were going back to the Commander's tower to address the Ice Nation King that they failed with obtaining the Flame. 

 "Indra," her body was close enough to reach out a put a finger on her sleeve, but Dakota's hand felt too weak for her to grab onto the fabric. "You believed in Lexa with everything that she done, now it's time to believe in me."

 Indra could feel a pull in her words but her chocolate gaze landed on Gaia standing behind them, the empty box where the Flame would be resting if it wasn't in Dakota's head was still in her hand. "You got what you wanted." she spoke to her daughter in a dull tone. 

 "We all got what we wanted," Gaia replies before turning her gaze on Dakota, her hands holding the empty box close to her chest. Indra quickly left the room without saying anything but Octavia could feel the tension rolling off her shoulders, disappointment. 

 Dakota looked towards Octavia, waiting for the girl to take her extended hand. "I will meet you back here after we've dealt with Roan." Dakota told Gaia before Octavia helped her to her feet, pulling her arm over her shoulder. Gaia said nothing but watch the two of them start to walk towards the doors, until Dakota halted. "Wait, you keep this." 

 Gaia watched her as she unclasped the collar from around her neck before throwing it towards her and she caught it in her hand. "Heda." Gaia's lips turned upwards just slightly, enough to call it a smile before Dakota nodded her head, and the two exited out the temple, closing the doors behind them.

 Dakota could feel the tension in the air as she glanced towards Indra, whom was standing off to the side, her body tense and unmoving. Dakota gestured that they moved forward to approach, "Indra." Dakota called which made the older woman turn around, tears gathering in her eyes while she struggled with eye contact. 

  Octavia's eyes softened at the sight of her mentor, the strength was collapsing under shame, and disappointment, but most of all— she was afraid. "She's family." Octavia told her firmly, knowing she would do anything for those she loved, for Lincoln. 

 Indra blinked, "Roan will still want her head."

 Octavia looked towards the ground before saying with a confident tone, "Not if he doesn't think it was her."

━━━━━━━━

 Octavia didn't just bring the broken, and false Flame back to King Roan, but a head in a bag as well. Dakota thought it was better for her to hang back and sneak her way into the Commander's tower without alerting Roan of her presence. She was weak and her head ached, the last thing she waited was to answer a million of questions from Roan. The nights to come had drew restless when Dakota shut her eyes for the night, the past Commanders would greet her behind closed lids, all of them contributed with their own knowledge about the woman hanging in the shadows. Becca had told her that with time, separating her unconscious mind from the flame would become easier as she learned how to call and disconnect from it. 

 Dakota was not sure if she could get used to another world living behind her eyes, and while she was loosing sleep, she was becoming more guarded and weary as the days passed. Word was quick to flood the markets of Polis of what Octavia did while nothing had been confirmed by any of the ambassadors or Roan about the Flame, the Grounders were whispering about how the Flame had gone missing. It was another day as Dakota began to make her way through the streets of Polis after meeting up with Gaia at the temple, reading about the Commanders before her, which was tiring on it's own. Dakota noticed the sneers and whispers that came as she passed the stalls of the marker, which made her eyebrow furrow but she kept her eyes trained in front of her while her ears were paying attention to the things around her.

  There were whispers that Skaikru either had something to do with the Flame or had helped destroy it which Dakota wasn't surprised at the assumption put on her people. It seemed like Grounders wanted to blame everyone else expect their own people. Dakota's brown eyes glanced towards one of the Grounders she had passed that whispered, and their eyes met with such burning hatred that the Grounder woman dipped her head, unable to meet her smoldering gaze. 

 Gaia had encouraged her to bring forth her influence to the other Grounders, and the past Commander's voices inside her head helped to gain more ally's, but most of them were unsure. She could hear Lexa's voice whisper in the distance, telling her that the Grounders were unsure of her, which was something that Lexa had to overcome when she was younger.  Dakota could see it behind her eyes, Lexa walking through these very streets years ago, at the young age of twelve when she won her conclave after Luna fled.

 The guards that tailed behind her had went their separate ways once Dakota reached her father's office in the city, and soon she saw her father sitting down at a table with two empty chairs, both of them were empty. Marcus looked up from the table as he heard the door open, and lifted himself up from the chair as he caught the frame of his daughter to embrace her.

 "You look well," he pointed out, but when Dakota pulled away from his hold, he saw the dark circles under her eyes. 

 Dakota held onto his arms as she studied his face, "Don't be so formal, dad." Dakota smiled over at him as she sat down on the chair opposite to him, tucking her sash behind her. "You can say that I look like shit." 

 Marcus' face lit up at the playful banner that Dakota had started, and her own face lit up in amusement when a chuckle escaped from his lips. She missed being with her father, but being the Azgeda Queen meant that she had other priorities to attend to before giving her time to other matters that deemed less important.

 "In all honestly, I'm here for a different reason than what you have to discuss with Octavia." Dakota leaned forward onto the table and kept her voice in a whisper which made Marcus lean towards her to hear her better. "There's something that I need to tell you."

 Marcus watched as her eyes softened and her hand came out to hold onto her father's. Marcus' gaze wandered down to their hands and the wounds that covered her knuckles that were pink, almost healed. "You can tell me anything, Dakota." Marcus told her, his gaze following up to her softened features. "You know that."

 He could see her hesitating with whatever news that she had. Dakota was struggling with what even to say. She had been denying this for a month since she found out but now there was no denying what the eye could see. "I'm pregnant." she breathed out in a shaky breath, which made her father blink back in surprise. "14 weeks to be exact."

 Marcus breath hitched in his throat as he took in this news, his hand pulled back from hers as he sat up straight and looked at her, then his gaze dropped to her stomach that was covered with layers of clothing. Dakota saw how his gaze dropped and she moved some of her clothing away, her gaze looking towards everyone in the room as she cupped her small but noticeable bump. 

 He wanted to say something but he couldn't find his voice. Dakota was aware that this was not the time to bring a child into the world, not when their world was ending and war was on their back doorstep. "Dad, please say something." Dakota took her father's silence as disappointment but soon, her assumptions were washed away when his hand fell on top of hers, his hand curling around hers.

 "The father ━" Marcus trailed off but didn't want to say it since he didn't know but he thought, "Bellamy. It's the only thing that makes sense, we last saw each other two months ago." she confirmed his suspicions. 

  They didn't have anymore time to talk about the news that Dakota brought to the table before Octavia appeared at the entrance, her gaze immediately falling onto Dakota's frame, her back towards her. Dakota watched as her father's gaze lifted from hers, and she turned her head to look back at Octavia, her features were highlighted by the high pony-tail she was wearing as of late. 

 Octavia didn't break their stare as she walked towards the table, arms clasped behind her and head tilted in question before Marcus gestured towards the empty seat next to his daughter. "Have a seat." 

  Dakota's lips lifted as Octavia pulled the chair out and made it scrape against the floor, and then she sat down. "What did I do now?" she questioned, sounding like a stubborn teenager about to get a lecture from her father. Something that Dakota was familiar with. 

 "The Rumors on the streets, you've heard them?" Dakota replied, her voice was much stronger than the last time they had talked. Octavia's gaze went to her frame, but her eyes held curiosity. 

 "Rumors of the Flame's destruction are spreading. People on the street openly call for the king's head." he weaved his fingers together and leaned forward to say the next sentence quietly. "Your choices have consequences."

 Octavia's lip curled, "Would you rather I killed Indra's daughter?"

 "I rather you didn't kill." Kane response is quick. 

 Octavia's eyes turned to slits as she leaned forward, "Our mission is to keep Roan on the throne," she reminded him spitefully. "To buy time for the others to find a way to save us from the radiation. I'm doing that."

 "It sounds like you're going on a killing spree, Octavia." Dakota leaned back in her chair but kept her voice low. "You decapitated an innocent boy and brought his head to Roan."

 Octavia's expression was hard and hostile as she turned her attention to the Azgeda Queen, "You tied warriors to a tree and lashed them,  everyone's guilty of something." she sneered back at her which made Dakota's mouth clamp shut and her nostrils flare. 

 "There's a darkness in you, Octavia." Kane's whisper broke an argument from Dakota and Octavia that was about to start as Dakota's hands wrapped around her chair. "In both of you, and I hope for your sake that you can find peace." Marcus directed his last words to Dakota, eyeing her in only what she would understand what he meant. "I know you're still mourning." 

 Octavia's features were instantly wiped clean and her expression fell in place like a statue. Hard and unmoving before she pushed herself to rise and leave. "Sit down!"  Kane's exclamation keeps Octavia from moving away, and Dakota's eyebrows raise on her forehead as heads turned to look towards their table. "You didn't have to kill that boy. You didn't have to kill Ambassador Rafel." Marcus watched as Octavia sat back down, before continuing much more harshly. "You didn't have to kill Pike."

 "Pike was an asshole that almost got both of us killed." Dakota was quick to stick up for Octavia on this decision but if Octavia was glad for it, she didn't show it at all. "He got what he deserved." Dakota said with a harshness that Marcus didn't know she had. 

 Marcus held a hand up to stop her, his eyes were sharp on her as if he was scolding her from opening her mouth. "Justice and vengeance are not the same thing," he stated. 

 "To me, they are," Octavia responded. 

 Marcus looked at her for a second before leaning back in his chair. Dakota watched her father as a sour look overlook his features, almost like he looked defeated in trying to knock some sense in Octavia that she was doing all the wrong things to solve this problem. "Your decision-making has grown increasingly questionable, and I can't have my people going rogue."

 "Rogue," Octavia repeats with a scoff of disgust. "I'm a warrior."

"No." Kane shakes his head. "A warrior knows when not to kill. Lincoln taught you that, you seem to have forgotten." Dakota was studying Octavia's hard features before their discussion was interrupted when an Ice Nation warrior walked in, his eyes going over the individuals before stopping on Dakota and her father. "My Queen, Chancellor Kane," he greeted as he bowed his head towards Dakota. "The King would like to see you."

 Kane nodded towards him as Octavia was rising from the table, and his eyes landed on Octavia once again. "You're no longer part of my security detail." The words from Kane's mouth caught Octavia off guard, completely stopping her.

 "Dad━" Dakota leaned forward to stop him because they needed Octavia but her father completely dismissed her and continued without a second thought or glance towards his daughter. "I had Helios saddled for you. The ride home will do you good."

  Octavia put her hands on the table as she took a breath out, her eyes gazing downwards. "I'm not going anywhere before I talk to Indra." Dakota could hear the sight bit of pain in her voice but from Marcus' perspective, it wouldn't of been heard. 

 "Suit yourself. She'll be here soon enough," Kane said, walking around the table to help Dakota up with an extended hand. "After you." he gestured for the Grounder to go first and Dakota turned her head around to look towards Octavia with softened features but the girl didn't turn around to watch her leave. 

WHAT UP HOES? 

It's been 50 years since I last updated and I just want to apologize, I just was not motivated to work on this story anymore and now with this news involving Bob, I'm just as conflicted. I'm going to continue with this story since Bellamy isn't Bob Morley, and I know this is going to get some talk but don't leave hate below about Bob. I don't want to hear verbal abuse to the accused. It doesn't solve problems, it makes it worse for Arryn and the situation. 

 ANYWAYS, enough of that. I hope you guys are excited for this because I feel like I'm finally getting back into this story and you guys have been waiting patiently. <3