Chapter 11: Suspicion

                                    

                                          


                          
The tour of the city ended up being different to what Lexa had expected. Rather than explore the outside world, Valin merely guided them around the many levels of the towering building they were residing in.
                          
She didn't know what Clarke's time at Mount Weather had been like, but she got the feeling it was similar to this. Scheming disguised with kindness and hospitality.
                          
Every time they passed a piece of furniture, Lexa would assess how much time it might take her to break it apart, create a makeshift weapon. She already felt naked without her dagger and sword; they never used to leave her side. Should it come down to it, she would make do with what was nearby.
                          
She recalled laying eyes on a particularly flimsy table near the last stairwell they ascended. One of those legs ought to make a nice staff.
                          
Every now and then, Valin would launch into a lengthy explanation about an element of the city's history, using what Lexa had learned were called 'screens' to accompany her words with images.
                          
These images supposedly captured what the city looked like, both at night and during the day. The colours and abstract architecture alone were enough to intrigue her, yet her gut told her something was off. Why couldn't they just let them see this with their own eyes? Why bother with pictures when the real thing was lying in wait beyond these pristine walls?
                          
At the end of their so-called tour, they had arrived back where they began, on the level where the doors to their temporary rooms lined the ivory walls.
                          
Lexa hated the colours here. It was all too white, too...perfect. There was nothing natural, and that alone unsettled her.
                          
Luckily, her mind hadn't the time to focus on such worries. The steady presence that Echo provided kept her grounded, the sights and sounds of the new world distracted, and the warm sensation at her back that said Clarke's gaze rarely strayed from her was a comfort.
                          
Their formation had, for the most part, remained the same, with Lexa and Echo at Madi's back, Octavia and Kane slightly in front, Raven at her side and Clarke like a brick wall behind them—their first defence should someone attack. It was an unsettling thought, that she might be in danger, yet even in Lexa's skeptical mind she knew that these people wouldn't risk attacking—not yet, at least. If they were planning something soon, they wouldn't have bothered with the tour.
                          
Now, hovering in the spacious corridor, the group stood in silence. It was almost like you could see the cogs turning in each of their minds, Lexa thought. If Echo was the same person who she used to know, then she would most likely be contemplating a variety of ways to make a quick escape. Clarke would be focused on how to keep them all safe, and Madi would be churning through the memories of past commanders, gleaning what wisdom she could from their lives. Kane would be well into planning a peace treaty should one be required, and the others... well, Lexa didn't know them well enough to make a judgement.
                          
Valin wrapped up her latest spiel about the supposed indisputable gloriousness of the city and turned, giving Madi her undivided attention. "Well, Commander, do you think you and your friends could be at home here?"
                          
With a pensive look on her face that reminded Lexa of Clarke, Madi nodded her head and strode to the window on their left. What she was looking at, Lexa wasn't sure. Perhaps she was admiring the view, but the more likely scenario was that she was weighing up her options, deciding on the best course of action.
                          
Lexa wanted to offer her input, but it just wasn't her place. Madi was Heda, which meant these decisions fell on her—especially one so pivotal for the future of their people. She had to do this on her own.