Lightning Only Strikes Once - Clexa

Chapter 44: The Sudden Stop

They've been marching south for some time now and the argument between Clarke and Jaha has made everyone return to their previous uneasy silence. The Sky People are shocked and uncertain. The Azgeda aren't sure what to make of a leadership contest which has not ended in a challenge, and consider the shamed Jaha weak for giving in. On the other side, the Trikru are used to considering Clarke the leader of her people, and are confused as to why she did not kill Jaha for his insolent words.

Wells looks especially uncomfortable, and Lexa feels for him, caught between people he cares for. She has no sympathy to spare for Jaha, who is wan under his dark skin, and who throws venomous glares at Clarke as they walk.

It takes Jaha a long time to work his way to the front of the train of people – her guards have been doing their best to subtly keep him back, blocking his way without hurting him. She wonders idly if she should give them some kind of honours for their efforts, which she greatly appreciates. Eventually he still manages to get there, of course, and Lexa knows what his aim is.

"Commander," Jaha says to Lexa, face contorted with anger. "I need to speak to you."

She looks at him, sighs as if she is doing him a massive favour, and holds her hand up for everyone to halt. Then walks to the side, far away enough that they won't be heard. She gestures to Clarke to follow.

"I am the Chancellor," Jaha growls to Lexa. She meets his eyes steadily, uncaring.

"And I'm in charge," Clarke says, spelling it out for him. Lexa can barely suppress a smile, so proud of her strong, clever niron that she can barely contain it. Clarke is a far better leader than the Skaikru deserve. "This is my deal with the alliance. The land they're letting us have? It's for my people. Any goodwill from the twelve clans is towards me and the rest of the 100."

"People will not accept you as the leader, not in the long-term," Jaha says. "You're too young, you don't -"

"Then it's good that it's just for the moment. Later, when things have settled down, I'll consider who should be put in charge of our new home." Clarke says.

"You'll consider -" Jaha gapes at her, beyond fury now.

"She will," Lexa says coolly, "I have offered her this land in our deal, after all – it is her deal, the one she came up with and negotiated. Clarke kom Skaikru is the only one who may decide who she trusts to run her land."

It warms Lexa's heart that Clarke thought so thoroughly about how the deal could benefit all their peoples, instead of just Skaikru. How she thought carefully about how to prevent leaders who would restart old conflicts and risk the Trikru.

They will probably have to allow the Skaikru to go back to their strange voting system at some point. But perhaps not for some time. If Clarke is going to live in Polis and help run the alliance, they need to trust whoever leads the Skaikru. Lexa thinks that at some point, Clarke realised that she cannot trust her people to choose well anymore, not after Pike.

So they will choose. Clarke and her have not settled on the exact system yet, but are considering having it so that Heda and the ambassador both must approve all potential leaders before any vote, and Clarke is also fond of perhaps having some kind of overseer who has the power to remove Chancellors, just in case one goes off the rails.

They will not risk another Pike.

"And you think our people will follow you in this?" Jaha hisses, starting to completely lose his composure.

"They don't have to," Clarke says with another shrug. "If they don't want to live on the land the Trikru have agreed to give our people, they can walk to a new area. There's the Dead Zone to the west, which is pretty much exactly like it sounds. South you could walk for six months and not find a new place, and east there's the ocean, but there's always north. If you walk north for a month or so you'll get out of Azgeda territory, they don't go that far north because it's too cold."