Prologue

"They're surrendering." Clarke asks Lexa. Before Lexa could even think to respond a smug voice cuts in.

"Not quite." Emerson smirks despite the fact that his hands were bound and he was surrounded by hundreds of enemy forces. His voice causes Clarke to turn to him. She watches as she glances at Lexa. Her eyes widen slightly before she turns to Lexa. Clarke swallows roughly trying to hide the tears that were surely gathering in her eyes. She blinked them back.

"What did you do?" She asks the stony warrior her voice quivering.

"What you would have done. Saved my people." Lexa responds her face impassive not showing anything. She stared at Clarke hoping the girl could and would understand. But she knew that this betrayal would not be forgiven.

"What about my people?" The underlying tone of anger wasn't lost to Lexa's ears.

"I'm sorry Clarke they weren't part of the deal." Lexa speaks once more before stepping back pulling out her knife and cutting the restraints around Emerson's hands.

"You made the right choice Commander." Lexa clenched the knife in her hand. Her body and soul needed blood. Her tradition demanded her to kill the man standing in front of her. To kill everyone inside that mountain stronghold. Yet as a leader she knew that her people came before everything. They came before traditions, feelings, especially her own feelings. So she swallowed her need for justice her need for vengeance and let him walk away. She turned to Clarke who was still staring at her in shock. Lexa wished that shock would stay there forever so she could hide from the hate that she knew was sure to follow. A betrayal like the one she was doing now would cost her, her soul. Lexa was so in her mind that she barely heard Lincoln the grounder who was once a reaper speak.

"What's going on?" He asks.

"Your Commander has made a deal." Clarke speaks with that same quiver in her voice.

"What about the prisoners from the Ark?"

"They'll all be killed." And there it was the pure malice in her voice that made Lexa swallow roughly her chest aching. "But you don't care about that do you."

"I do care Clarke." Lexa wanted to get across that feeling of caring despite wearing her impassive face. "I made this decision with my head and not my heart." She said this trying to show her that if she made it with her heart they'd be tearing down the door and her and her army would be running their deadly weapons through the weak flesh of the mountain men. "The duty to protect my people comes first."

"Please don't do this." The plea didn't fall on deaf ears. To most Lexa didn't hesitate in her response but Lexa knew that she had paused.

"I'm sorry Clarke."

"Commander not like this let us fight." Lincoln vehemently asks of his Heda.

"No the deal is done." The main door is closed once more. "Teik oso raunnes laud." Lexa speaks and the horn sounds. As her warriors begins to depart she speaks to Lincoln. "You too. All of our people withdraw. Those were the terms." When Lincoln continues on asking his Heda to allow him to stay and fight she orders her men to take him. She watched as his jaws clenched and he swung on the first warrior her tried to grab him. He fought hard to stay until he was knocked unconscious. Lexa almost smiled at this sight at his ability to be able to show his emotions so freely and act on them. She turns to Clarke internally wishing for her own ability to do so. "May we meet again." The words were so quiet they were almost a whisper that couldn't be heard yet Lexa was sure that Clarke heard her. Seeing Clarke was going to say more Lexa turned to walk away unable to look straight into those blue eyes that had pain in them from her betrayal.

Lexa walked for three hours straight without pause before telling her soldiers they would rest for the night. Her tent was immediately set up and Lexa walked inside before entering she spots Lincoln being tied to a tree and watched. She spots Indra looking at him with a frown on her scarred face. "Indra! Komba raun!" Lexa yells causing Indra to turn towards her. Lexa enters her tent and sits down on her throne. She waits for Indra to enter.

"Heda." Indra nods her head slightly. Lexa leans against her chair before speaking.

"Release Lincoln in a way it seems as if I did not order it." Lexa finally speaks. Indra's eyes flicker with an emotion bordering confusion and shock.

"Haukom Heda?" Indra reflexively asks. Lexa eyes hardened slightly at her questioning her orders.

"He is more them than us is he not?" Lexa questions her. Indra stiffens.

"Sha Heda." Indra nods her head.

"Gon we ai Indra." With that Indra departs and Lexa leans back on her throne her eyes wandering to her cot where she knew she would not sleep tonight. Lexa stands walking out of her tent. She eyes Hakim one of her best scouts and walks over to him her heart moving instead of her head.

Gon we ai- Leave me

Sha- Yes

Haukom- why

Teik oso raunnes laud- sound the retreat