She hadn't fully expected Lexa to be in her room- surely the Commander would be busy attending other matters. And yet, there was a small sliver of hope that Lexa would be there, so she let herself inside. Quietly looked around the room and noted how undeniably Lexa it was. There were no personal items around the room, but despite that, it still felt warm and welcoming. A part of Lexa that not everyone saw, but it was one of the things that drew Clarke to her.
She saw Lexa come around the corner and felt her heart jump right into her throat. She'd seldom seen her with her hair down, though she was always itching to sketch her like this, to be able to look at it whenever she pleased. Lexa paused upon seeing Clarke in her bedroom, almost as surprised as Clarke was to see her. Clarke bit her lip and straightened a little.
"When do you leave?" Lexa asked, a hint of desperation in her voice as she drew closer. The light filtering through the window caught her hair perfectly.
"Now," Clarke said, forcing herself to get through this. Lexa nodded, and Clarke walked towards her. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be. You have to go back- they're your people. That's why I-" she paused, and Clarke felt her heart skip. She met Lexa's gaze, and she nodded a little. "That's why you're you."
"Maybe someday, we'll owe nothing more to our people," Clarke said, stepping a little closer. The look in Lexa's eye was heart breaking- not once had she seen Lexa tear up, and that's when it occurred to Clarke that Lexa still had strong feelings for her. And despite all that, Lexa still smiled sadly and nodded.
"I hope so," Lexa agreed. She extended her hand, and if they were going to shake hands, but when Clarke reached out to meet her, she gripped the other girl's forearm. "May we meet again."
Clarke looked Lexa in the eye before she leaned in to kiss her. The Commander was startled at first but quickly relaxed into the kiss, reaching up to caress Clarke's hair. She leaned away just enough to see the dumbfounded expression on Lexa's face. Their eyes met again and before Clarke could brush away the trail of tears on Lexa's face, she leaned in for another kiss. This one was more passionate and breathier than the last, and they found themselves swaying gently back and forth as Clarke unfastened Lexa's shirt with no trouble at all. She'd thought about it enough times to know how it came undone.
They found their way to Lexa's bed. Lexa sat among the furs and looked up with Clarke with adoring, bright eyes. Clarke knew that doing this would only make it that much more difficult to leave afterwards, but it was impossible to resist when Lexa was looking at her like that. She leaned over Lexa and found her lips again...
"We'll work something out," Clarke assured as they were getting dressed. "I'll get Octavia to deliver letters to you."
"That's too risky," Lexa protested. "If they contained sensitive information-"
"They'd be love letters," Clarke clarified, grinning. Lexa smiled back.
"They don't know that. They'd punish you, or Octavia. Help me with my shirt?" Lexa asked, struggling to tie it at the back. "We need a rendezvous point."
"Remember that place where that pauna attacked us? That's romantic, right?" Clarke suggested, tying the loose ends together and pressing a gentle kiss to her neck. Lexa turned around and shoved her back playfully.
"Come on, be serious! We only have a few hours to figure everything out," Lexa reminded her.
"I've already got it all figured out, I want to be with you," Clarke replied, kissing her on the forehead. "And I don't even care if we meet up next to a rotting gorilla in the dead of the night."
Lexa paused, considering it.
"We'll meet there tomorrow night, and then we'll find a better spot, alright?" Lexa explained.
"So soon?" Clarke asked, grinning.
"I have to make sure you're safe. If you aren't there at midnight I will have my army-"
"Lexa," Clarke interrupted, before she got carried away. "Would you like to escort me back to Arkadia?"
Lexa looked at her with a shy expression, and nodded.
"We're almost there," Lexa announced as they neared the front of the blockade. "Are you nervous?"
"A little," Clarke admitted. "I'm not sure how they'll accept my arrival, or even if I'll be able to command them anymore."
"You saved them Clarke," Lexa reminded her. "They will not turn their backs on you."
Once they could see Arkadia, they halted their horses.
"I'll see you tomorrow night," Clarke whispered, leaning over and pressing a chaste kiss to Lexa's lips.
"I'll make sure that the blockade will let you pass. Good luck, Wanheda," Lexa assured, bowing her head. Clarke smiled stiffly and dismounted her horse. Though she wasn't fond of the name, it sounded almost endearing on Lexa's lips, so she let it slide.
Surely enough, Clarke was met with a general sense of apprehension, especially from those who saw her escorted by the Commander of their rivals. She sought out any familiar faces in the crowd, and while she knew their names, she hardly recognized many of them. Their faces were sullen and hopeless, and she knew she was to blame for it.
"Clarke," said an unforgettable voice- her mother's. Clarke turned her head towards the voice and ran out to hug her mother, an embrace she'd sorely missed while she'd been at Polis. Abby was followed by Kane, who also put his arms around her, and while she'd had her differences with him, she welcomed him as well. Soon, a group so large that Clarke couldn't see past the first row of heads, was putting their arms around each other in a brilliant display of loyalty that brought tears to Clarke's eyes.
"Clarke," said another voice, this one new. The group broke apart to reveal Chancellor Pike. She'd never met him, but she could tell by his authoritative tone and stance that he saw her as a threat. "You think you can just walk in here and everything will go back to the way it was? After you left your people behind for months?"
"Pike, she's just a kid," Abby protested. While Clarke appreciated the support, she hated being reduced to "just a kid".
"She can stay here, don't get me wrong," Pike said, as if Clarke wasn't standing right there. "But don't let her think that she'll be able to resume an active leadership role."
For the time being, that was all Clarke could ask for. The rest of the day was spent laying low and catching up with her old friends. This was mostly to get a sense of how things were being operated at Arkadia, and to keep from drawing more attention to herself.
The next day went by slowly. Clarke was unaccustomed to being at the bottom of the hierarchy among the Skaikru, and while she didn't mind the simple tasks that she was put to do, she couldn't help but feel like she had more important things to do. The mindlessness of food preparation and water purification allowed her mind to wander. While physically, she was at Arkadia, her heart was at Polis, and the thought of meeting Lexa that night made the day go by even slower.
Finally, the sun set and most of her people were retreating to their bed rolls. Abby had arranged a place for Clarke to sleep in her bunk, which Clarke appreciated. She hadn't shared a room with her mother since before even landing on the ground, and she missed it. And luckily for her, Abby was a heavy sleeper, so Clarke's absence wouldn't be noticed.
She sought out Octavia, who had snuck out several times before. Clarke was reluctant to go to her for such a request, since the younger girl had been relatively unaccepting of her relationship with Lexa.
"Octavia, I need your help," Clarke whispered. Octavia stirred from her sleep and gave her a cold, calculating stare through weary eyes.
"You're sneaking out already?" Octavia asked incredulously, though there wasn't any malice in her whisper. "Is that really a good idea?"
"Probably not," Clarke agreed. Octavia grinned as much as her still-swollen face would allow.
"Say no more," Octavia replied, silent as she got to her feet. She led Clarke to a narrow, dimly lit hallway, and pulled back a section of the wall, ushering her through. "This opens on both sides, but try to be back well before sunrise so that you don't get caught sneaking back in."
"Thank you," Clarke said. "I owe you one."
"Yeah you do," Octavia retorted. "Now hurry up and go before someone hears you."
Clarke slipped through the gap in the wall and found herself walking through a tunnel that led to outside of the camp. When she emerged, she found herself face to face with the blockade.
She opened her mouth to explain herself to the Grounder soldiers, but they moved aside for her without a word. She bowed her head to them and ran through the gap in the line. How Lexa had gotten them all to be familiar with her face was a mystery to her, but she'd save that question for later.
She arrived shortly before Lexa did, sitting alone in the darkness. The body of the pauna was nowhere to be found, which was unsettling, but she told herself that something likely used it as food.
As usual, she didn't hear Lexa's approach, so when she saw the girl walking towards her, she startled for a second before she realized who it was. She jumped to her feet and ran to meet her in a hug, which was met with general enthusiasm by Lexa.
Lexa pulled away first, lifting a hand to Clarke's hair and searching her face for any sign of injury, then leaning in to kiss her on the forehead.
"I've gotten used to having you around," Lexa commented. "It feels strange without you at Polis."
"I missed you too," Clarke replied. "I don't know how we're going to keep this up."
"It's only temporary," Lexa reminded her calmly. "Once your people dethrone Chancellor Pike, you can return to Polis with me, if you'd like."
"That might take a while," Clarke said grimly. "I didn't realize how actively my people supported him. He's using your people as a scapegoat, blaming mostly you for what transpired at Mount Weather."
"Are you saying we need to come up with a new plan?" Lexa asked, sounding potentially angry.
"I don't know," Clarke admitted. "Give me a bit more time to assess the situation."
"My people will not be happy about that," Lexa warned. "But, this conversation is in confidence. I won't tell them the news until you've stated your position."
"I don't like the idea of you keeping secrets from your people," Clarke said, all too familiar with what happened the last time that Lexa shared secrets.
"We don't have much of a choice, do we?" Lexa replied. "Come on, let's talk about something else."
"Okay," Clarke agreed. "How are things at Polis?"
"Tense," Lexa admitted, starting to walk away from their meeting point. Clarke fell into stride with her. "There are times when I'm so tempted to go back to the way things were, but no one likes change, do they?"
"I guess not," Clarke said. "But years from now, they'll look back at you and they'll celebrate your name as the one who brought peace. Isn't that worth it?"
Lexa smiled a little. Clarke slipped her hand into Lexa's and swung their arms back and forth as they walked.
"So, what kind of romantic place are we looking for?" Clarke asked. "You're the picky one out of the two of us, so you should decide."
"You're mistaken," Lexa commented. "I don't care where we are, as long as we're together. However, meeting together where we almost died isn't exactly ideal."
"I think you're missing the point," Clarke said, stopping in her tracks and taking both of Lexa's hands. "I don't know about you, but it's where I first realized that maybe there was something more between us."
"Really? Even when I was so weak?" Lexa asked incredulously.
"Especially because you were so weak," Clarke replied, kissing her quickly before adding, "it made me realize you were more than just the Commander. That you're more than just some tough facade and that you're actually a really tender person."
"Clarke," Lexa said, looking down and blushing. "You're flattering me. But I would prefer if you could choose a different moment."
"Well, there was also the time when you came into my room wearing that dress- was that on purpose? Because you looked stunning, by the way," Clarke laughed. "And I thought you were the bravest and most tenacious person I had ever met, and yet you were so vulnerable that night. And of course, you bowing to me helped a lot, so, keep that going."
"You like it when I'm vulnerable?" Lexa commented, though she was grinning too. "That doesn't make sense."
"I like that you feel comfortable enough around me to be so vulnerable," Clarke corrected. "It can't be easy to keep your walls up all the time, can it?"
"It isn't," Lexa agreed. "I used to think that love was a weakness, but with you... It feels more like strength than anything else."
"I feel the same way," Clarke replied, smiling as she kissed her again. Lexa let go of Clarke's hands to wrap her arms around the small of her back instead, pulling her closer. The kiss broke but they stayed holding each other for a couple moments before they continued walking, mostly in silence.
"This looks like a nice spot," Clarke suggested. They had come to a cliff overlooking a lake. There were no trees to obstruct their view of the night sky, and Clarke found some comfort in looking up at the stars that she used to live amongst. Lexa agreed, and they sat down with their legs dangling over the cliff and their fingers tangled together as they leaned on each other.
"I knew that I had feelings for you long before the pauna," Lexa announced, out of the blue. Clarke's breath hitched involuntarily- it wasn't often that Lexa talked about her feelings so openly, and she was ready to hang onto every word. "I was inspired when you chose to take Finn's life yourself, and since that moment, I have been drawn to your loyalty and your spirit ever since."
Part of Clarke was still raw over Finn's death, but the way that Lexa spoke of it was so calm that Clarke couldn't help but feel a little more at peace with what had transpired that fateful night.
"Really? It took me killing my ex to get you to like me?" Clarke joked, though Lexa took it seriously, as always. "Can you pick a different moment?"
"That's not what I meant," Lexa assured.
"I know, I'm just teasing," Clarke replied. "But seriously, please pick another moment."
"Well after Mount Weather I tried my best to suppress my feelings for you," Lexa admitted. "When you defended me so valiantly when my rule was threatened, I started to hope that maybe there was a future where you and I-"
Lexa stopped herself before she could say more, and Clarke blushed.
"I hope there is too," Clarke whispered, leaning over and kissing Lexa on the forehead. She closed her eyes and rested her lips on Lexa's cold skin for a minute, refusing to let go of the serenity of the moment.
"What time do you need to leave?" Lexa asked.
"Stop asking me that," Clarke whined. "I have to be back by sunrise."
"You've seen how my people operate," Lexa said absently, taking to braiding Clarke's hair. "I wish I could see how yours operate."
"Is that Lexa for 'I wish I could come back with you so that I can protect you and kiss you all the time'?" Clarke asked, grinning.
"It is not!" Lexa protested, smiling back. "But that would contribute to the experience."
"I can protect myself," Clarke insisted. "And besides, there are still a handful of people who support me. They'll make sure I'm alright."
"Is Bellamy one of them?" Lexa mused, the slightest hint of jealousy in her voice. Clarke paused for a moment. She hadn't seen Bellamy since she'd tasered him, and surely he wouldn't have taken that well.
"I don't know where he stands," Clarke admitted.
"You had faith in him when he was in Mount Weather," Lexa remarked. "What's different now?"
"He was part of the group that slaughtered your people," Clarke said, taking a rock in her hand and tossing it into the lake below. "Even if blood must not have blood, I don't think I'm ready to forgive him for that."
"I'm not ready to forgive him either. Can you banish him?" Lexa suggested. Clarke smiled sadly.
"I think you're overestimating my power," Clarke replied. "Even before Pike was Chancellor, I wouldn't have been able to banish anyone."
"How did things operate before the Ark station came down?" Lexa wondered. "Anya told me some things, but not enough."
"When we first got here, we pretty much did whatever the hell we wanted to," Clarke explained, feeling rather sheepish as she recounted the events out loud. "Then Bellamy assumed this leadership position when things started going bad. He wasn't very wise back then, and he just made sure that we were safe while we did whatever the hell we wanted. I tried convincing him to make up some plans about how we were going to actually survive down here, and eventually we learned to stop fighting each other and we lead together."
"A good tactic," Lexa remarked. Clarke smiled.
"And now that all the adults are here, I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to do," Clarke admitted. "They treat me like I'm just a kid, but they don't know the half of what I- what all of us- have been through."
"Can you propose another election now that you've returned to Arkadia?" Lexa suggested. "A motion of non confidence? If your people see that you are not comfortable with Pike's leadership, maybe they will follow suit."
The idea took flight in Clarke's brain, and a grin spread across her face as she dared to gain hope.
"You're amazing, you know that?" Clarke said, kissing Lexa. They lay back on the gravel ground, and though it was nothing compared to the comfort of Lexa's bed, Clarke wasted no time in getting Lexa's clothes off.
She made it back unnoticed, and made it back to her mother's room just in time to get an hour of sleep. She didn't regret it at all. She thought of everything that Lexa had said to her and resisted the urge to scribble it all down and keep it forever so that she would never forget.
Her mother woke her up when the sun rose, and Clarke smiled up at her, though she was surprised by the stern look on her face. Had Pike made her this weary, or was it something else?
"You went out to see Lexa?" Abby demanded.
"Why would you think that?" Clarke asked, before revealing anything. Abby reached out and tugged on one of the braids that Lexa had put in Clarke's hair. It was far too intricate for Clarke to have done herself. "Oh."
"I'm not going to tell anyone," Abby assured. "But I want you to know that by sneaking off with her, you're not only putting your life at risk, but hers too. What were you even doing out there in the middle of the night?"
Clarke wasn't about to tell her mother that she had sex on top of a cliff at midnight, so instead she said, "trying to figure out a way to restore peace between us and the Grounders."
Abby looked somewhat relieved by this, so she dropped her angry act.
"And? Did you come up with anything?" Abby pressed.
"I can't tell you. But it'll be set in motion soon," Clarke assured. "But, I'm going to have to meet with Lexa often. Once, maybe twice a week."
"I can cover for you," Abby said. "You're in good hands with her."
"Thanks, mom."
When she inevitably bumped into Bellamy, it was just as uncomfortable as she would've expected. When he looked at her, there was no form of warm recognition in his eyes, just a kind of betrayal or disappointment that was almost worse.
"You're here to try and convince me to change my mind about supporting Pike, right?" Bellamy assumed.
"I was actually just on my way to help out with some chores," Clarke corrected. "But since you're here anyways... You're wrong about them, Bellamy. Why the sudden change of heart?"
"You're asking me about the sudden change of heart?" Bellamy demanded. "You're the one who willingly stayed at Polis after Lexa betrayed you and then had you kidnapped!"
"She was protecting her people," Clarke snarled defensively.
"Maybe she was, but kidnapping you had nothing to do with it," Bellamy said in a more resigned tone. "Have you forgotten all that they've done to us?"
"Have you forgotten everything we did to them?" Clarke replied. "If anyone is in the wrong, it's our people. They may have killed some of us, but we've killed thousands of them! They want peace, Bellamy. We just have to agree with them."
"Do you trust them?" Bellamy asked, crossing his arms. "Not Lexa- do you trust her people?"
"Yes," Clarke said with absolute confidence. They would never doubt Lexa's authority, and if Lexa insisted on peaceful coexistence, then they would follow suit.
Bellamy sighed before saying, "then I guess I trust them too."
Finally, Clarke was seeing the Bellamy that she knew as a good friend. She let out the breath that she'd been holding and hugged him, and he hesitated for a moment before he hugged her back.
"Kane," Clarke said, swinging her feet back and forth as she sat on the counter of the control room. "What would I have to do to start a motion of non confidence?"
"Well it's no walk in the park, that's for sure," Kane laughed, before turning to look at her. "Why do you ask?"
"Why do you think?" Clarke retorted. "If anyone should be Chancellor, it's you- fight for it!"
"I asked the people to choose, and they did," Kane explained grimly.
"If I propose a motion of non confidence, maybe they'll change their minds," Clarke insisted. "They're loyal to me."
Kane paused, considering this.
"It might not be wise to hold another election so soon after the last," Kane said.
"It's more wise than whatever Pike is planning next," Clarke countered, and Kane hid a smile.
"Okay, I'll help you," Kane relented.
By the time the election actually came around, there were too many people supporting Clarke for Pike to object to it. It had only been three days since Clarke's arrival and yet people were already flocking back to her command, especially those who remained of the first hundred.
"The votes are in," Abby announced. "It looks like Kane is going to be the commander from now on."
Most of the sky people cheered, excluding Pike's followers. Clarke beamed as Kane emerged from the crowd to join Abby in front of them all. She pretended not to notice the outraged look on Pike's face.
"I guess I should've put more thought into an acceptance speech, huh," he said, eliciting a laugh from his audience. "Things are going to go back to the way things were. I'm going to talk with the Grounder people to remove the blockade surrounding our camp, and from there, we'll hopefully be able to renegotiate some treaties."
Clarke felt a rush of relief at his words. If the sky people would be permitted to rejoin the coalition, Clarke would be able to resume her position as an ambassador at Polis, which would allow her to be with Lexa again, without all the sneaking around.
"Let me go to talk to the Grounders," Clarke demanded as soon as she was able to catch Kane and Abby privately. "They have a kill order for anyone that tries to get through the blockade."
"So why would I let you approach them?" Kane asked protectively.
"Marcus, don't worry. She has a special relationship with Commander Lexa," Abby said, with a knowing look, but didn't reveal more than what was necessary. Kane met Abby's gaze, then looked back at Clarke, as he mulled over his decision. "She's going to meet Lexa in the morning anyways, so that would be a good time to reveal our new leadership, right?"
"Why are you meeting with Lexa?" Kane pressed suspiciously. Clarke shot a pointed look at her mother for telling her secret.
"To discuss the progress of the situation here," Clarke lied. "She'd been helping me think of a way to get Pike out of leadership to prevent a war with her people."
A series of emotions crossed the new Chancellor's face, but ultimately he said nothing of it, other than granting his permission for her to go meet Lexa.
She didn't get much sleep that night, she was practically buzzing with excitement. Once she fell asleep, she didn't stay asleep for very long. She'd wake up and check the time, and then drift off again for another half hour. As soon as the clock read 4:55, she was out of bed and on her way out. She wore a cloak that Lexa had given her, one that would cover her head and keep her warm in the early morning temperatures. She was always cold- so the gift was much appreciated.
As she made her way to the cliff, their new rendezvous point, Clarke heard another set of footsteps among the trees and she froze. She instantly wished she had brought a weapon with her. However, when she stopped, so did the other footsteps, so perhaps she was imagining things. She continued walking.
As she walked, she could definitely distinguish between two sets of footsteps. She looked around and saw another figure in the woods- also frozen. They were too far away to make out any identifying features, which was troublesome to Clarke. She had no idea if she'd be able to take this person on if they decided to attack her.
She continued on her way, hoping that it was just a strange coincidence that there would be someone else in this neck of the woods, and that they were headed for somewhere else. Eventually, the footsteps grew softer and softer, then ceased altogether. Comforted, Clarke let her guard down.
Big mistake.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, she was thrown to the ground, landing on her face with a thud, and before she could even scream, she was flipped onto her back with a knife pressed to her throat.
"Lexa?" Clarke asked incredulously as she was met with the face of her assailant. Immediately, Lexa's knife fell to the ground beside Clarke's head as she released her hold on her, thoroughly humiliated and afraid.
"I'm so sorry," Lexa whispered, cupping Clarke's face with much gentler hands and pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I saw you from a distance but I didn't recognise you, and when I saw you walking towards our spot, I-"
"Don't worry about it," Clarke assured, reaching up to caress Lexa's cheek. "It's weird being on the receiving end of your fury."
Lexa let out a short laugh, and kissed Clarke again.
"Clarke, you've seen nothing of my fury. And I promise, you will never be on the receiving end of it," Lexa said, standing up and extending a hand to help Clarke.
"I have good news," Clarke said, brushing off her pants. "We had another election. Kane is the new Chancellor."
A smile spreads across Lexa's face.
"So what will become of Pike?" Lexa asked, her eyes alight with excitement.
"I don't know, I guess it's up to Kane," Clarke said, walking towards the cliff. "He'll likely face punishment for what he did to your people, I'm just not sure how severe it will be."
"That's great news, Clarke," Lexa said in a softer voice as she fell into step with Clarke. "I'll remove the blockade as soon as I can."
Leaning her head on Lexa's shoulder, they sit on the edge of the cliff to watch the sun rise over the lake.
"So I think my mom knows about us," Clarke admitted after a period of silence. "She saw the braids in my hair the other night."
"What did she say?" Lexa asked, growing tense beside Clarke.
"I told her that we were discussing strategy," Clarke said. "She bought it."
"You lied to your mother?"
"Well I wasn't going to tell her what we were actually doing!" Clarke protested. Lexa blushed, but grinned anyways, and even laughed.
"You know what this means, don't you?" Lexa asked after a brief lull in the conversation. "We can bring the Skaikru back into the coalition."
"Really?" Clarke replied. "Your people would allow that?"
"It would ultimately benefit us all," Lexa pointed out. "Why quarrel with each other over past grudges? We all share this Earth, we should do it peacefully."
"And surely this has nothing to do with the fact that I'd have to return to Polis to represent my people?" Clarke asked suspiciously. "Long nights alone with you, talking strategy in the candlelight, and being too tired to go back to our rooms so we end up sharing a bed?"
"It has nothing to do with that," Lexa insisted, though her face was red and she was grinning incessantly. "But I would enjoy that as an added benefit."
Lexa returned to Arkadia with Clarke to congratulate Kane and to announce that she would be removing her blockade. She made a speech to the sky people about how she wanted to achieve peace between them. While the sky people weren't as enthusiastic about her speech as they were about Kane's, they were still able to agree with her.
"The Skaikru will be able to return to my coalition, if they'd like to," Lexa said, turning to Kane.
"Let's put it to a vote," Kane suggested. Lexa nodded curtly and watched the crowd of people. "All in favour?"
Even without counting, it was obvious that a comfortable majority was in favour of the proposal. Clarke grinned, but reminded herself that she couldn't hope for this to work out just so that she could be with Lexa.
"Then it is settled, Clarke will return with me to Polis to represent your people as she did before," Lexa announced, turning to Abby for approval.
"I'll be sad to see you leave," Abby said to Clarke. "But it's the right thing to do."
Clarke hugged her mother and the crowd dissipated, leaving Clarke, Lexa, Kane and Abby to themselves.
"Take care of her, please?" Abby said to Lexa in a softer voice. Clarke looked down, embarrassed. She knew that she didn't need protecting, but she appreciated the sentiment.
"I swear it," Lexa replied, with a knowing look at Clarke. "Gather your things. We'll leave as soon as you're ready."
Clarke nodded and went to her bunk to collect a few things. She didn't have many belongings, other than a change of clothes and her father's watch, and a sketchpad. Just as she was about to leave, she found herself face to face with Lexa in the doorway.
"This is your room?" Lexa inquired, looking around.
"Kind of. It's more my mom's, but we're short on space, so we shared," Clarke explained. Lexa nodded as her eyes roamed the room.
"What did your room look like on the Ark?" Lexa asked, being careful not to overstep any boundaries. Clarke hadn't told Lexa that she was a criminal yet, and while she doubted that Lexa would be upset about it, she was reluctant to tell her.
"It was about the same size as this," Clarke said, picturing her cell. "It was very blue. The walls, the floor, everything. And there were drawings all over the walls. And there was a window that you could see Earth from."
"You could see Earth from up there?" Lexa asked, awestruck. Clarke smiled and pulled out her sketchbook. She flipped to a page that she had used when she was still on the Ark, a drawing of her view. "This is incredible."
"Thanks," Clarke said sheepishly. "It's nothing compared to the beauty of the Earth, though."
Lexa smiled and handed Clarke her sketchbook back.
"Are you ready to go?" Lexa asked. Stashing the paper in her bag, Clarke nodded. They walked outside and Clarke shoved her hands in her pockets to keep from holding hands with Lexa.
Lexa got on her horse and extended a hand to help Clarke up as well. Clarke had never ridden doubles before, but she was happy to have an excuse to wrap her arms around Lexa for the next hour.
And as Clarke leaned her head on Lexa's shoulder, she couldn't help but relish in how right it felt.