THE UNDERGROUND / GXG (The 100)

6

"And why not let it happen? Why not let the coalition get destroyed? Why do you care about a coalition that doesn't involve you?" Lexa asked after she took a sip from her cup of water. Zalia's hands were now untied while she ate. The Commander had cleared her schedule to get information out of Zalia. Everything else could wait. They have already talked about Zalia's equipment and weapons. Zalia noticed Lexa's interest spiked when she was talking about her sword and why it had a blue color on the blade. Zalia even offered to let Lexa borrow it for a day if she wanted to try it. For Lexa, it was all very interesting but it made her feel uneasy. These people had much technology that could kill so many of her people. But it also could be useful technology against the Mountain men.

"Because the coalition is what my people and I have been waiting for. We believe that we're here to promote peace. Our ancestors were both grounders and undergrounders. The first grounders to join the underground were banished from their clans. And they realized that we're not that different. So they believed that a Commander would rise to bring peace and to unite the clans. And we believe that commander is you, Heda. You're the uniter of the twelve clans and we believe that we were chosen to protect that union." Zalia explained while she cut up a piece of meat. "That's why you murdered Nia," Lexa said and Zalia looked at her before nodding.  "Nia would have never allowed the coalition to become a reality. She was gonna find another way to kill you. I couldn't let that happen." Zalia said.

Lexa's mind quickly took her back to that day. She was fighting a duel to the death against Roan. That was the result of Nia's challenge to Lexa. It was a close fight. Roan had managed to take Lexa's sword and push the Commander to the ground, but she quickly evaded his attempt to behead her and stood up pushing him to the ground. She grabbed his spear and when she was about to pierce it through his skin a gunshot was heard. Many people started to run away in fear but Lexa looked around, trying to find who had been shot. All the chaos was making it hard for her to see who was the target. Her guards ran over to surround her in hopes of protecting her, and suddenly someone yelled "The queen is dead!". Lexa looked at where Queen Nia was seated and indeed she was dead. The bullet had pierced through her forehead, killing her instantly. Suddenly a single arrow landed in the middle of the dueling ground. Lexa looked at the arrow and she noticed it had paper wrapped around its shaft. One of her warriors grabbed it and handed it to her. She unwrapped the paper to find out it was a note that read:
"Long live the King.

- CZS "

Now Lexa knew what those letters meant. Captain Zalia Smith, who was now seated in front of Lexa giving her information about her own clans. Lexa was still hesitant to trust her, but what she was saying made sense. For now, the Commander would have to take that risk if she wanted to protect the coalition. "And how are we going to do this? You can't walk into the meeting like you originally had planned. Word has spread that I captured you." Lexa asked, and she noticed a small smile appearing on Zalia's face. "We use that in our advantage."

****

Zalia had spent the past two months giving information to Lexa about the secret plans of the clans, the underground's lifestyle, their technology and weapons and also training with her. She had noticed Lexa's interest in the underground's weapons, so Zalia decided to teach her how to use most of them, in hopes she would be able to defend herself against superior weapons than her swords. Lexa was surprisingly good with handguns, something Zalia didn't expect.

Lexa still had trouble trusting Zalia fully, but the info she had given her has been very important and truthful. Lexa had sent spies to confirm the information and it all turned out to be true. She hadn't let Zalia talk to the underground yet, and she knew that caused Zalia some kind of sadness. But she couldn't let her think that she suddenly was forgiven by all her crimes. For now, Lexa agreed to grant her temporary immunity so she could make her one of her advisors. That way Lexa could keep an eye on her while she provided the information without having the risk of the clans killing her or her people.

Lexa knew that the clans would not be happy with this decision, but she wasn't happy with their secret plans of war either. So she hoped that would be enough leverage for them to not question her decision.

***

It was the night before the meeting of the clans, and something was happening in the basement of the Commander's tower. Gunner and his men were in the cells and they had already figured out the guards' routines. They knew that the guard that held the keys to the cells would be walking by in about two minutes. So they set their plan in motion. One of Gunner's men started groaning loudly, faking that he was in pain. The guard walked closer and told him to shut up. Since the dude wasn't shutting up, the guard took out his sword and walked closer to the groaning guy's cell. The guard was about to stab the dude when he grabbed the guard's sword and pulled his arm against the cell, making him bump his head harshly against the metal bars of the cell. The underground warrior quickly grabbed the handle of the sword and killed the guard. He grabbed the keys and quickly opened the cells where his team was being held captive. Gunner shook his hand with a smirk on his face. "You did good, Mark. Let's go back home."

While all that was happening, Zalia was laying on the bed she had been sleeping in for the past eight weeks, looking at the ceiling. Tomorrow was the day she has been expecting for years. Her heart was beating fast, and her breath was slightly shaky. She gulped as she thought about the possibilities. The clan leaders could either give in and put the Underground in position to become the 13th clan, or she would die.

Since the moment she took the position of Captain she knew she had to be willing to die for her people. And she was. She has been willing for a while. But she hasn't had the chance to say goodbye to her sister. That was eating her from the inside out. Zalia wiped away a tear before it reached her neck. She hadn't noticed she was crying until now. But a memory flashed through her mind and she managed to smile through the pain. She remembered how she sang to Marian when she was sad. Zalia had found her crying many times after their parents died. And she always sang her the same song.

"And promise me this
You'll wait for me only
Scared of the lonely arms
Surface, far below these burns..."

Zalia sang to herself softly while she closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and managed to stop crying. In her heart hope replaced the fear. Hope that she would come home to her sister.

"..And maybe, just maybe I'll come home."

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🥺🥺🥺 I love Zalia way too much