New Gods
Pairing: Clexa
Rating: Children be wary (k+)
Note: A random oneshot that is technically a continuation of my fic Young Gods. This is un edited to forgive any errors please.
Warnings: mentions of blood, fighting and technically there's a character death.
She could feel her body shutting down. A chill crept up her limbs and nestled in her chest. If she had the strength she was sure violent shivers would be running down her body with abandon, but at this moment, her muscles were still for the first time in several years. Water dripped down her face and mingled with the blood stained mud below her. Breathing ragged, she called silently for her Guardian, unsure if the silent plea would be heard without words.
It had been a bloody battle. Swords had clashed and blood had spilled. She had cut down more than one foe with a single swing of her blade, while others had taken many more to fall. It was to be the final battle of a long and arduous war to determine if peace would reign for the people she led. Laying amongst the dead and dying, the young leader was unsure if they had won, but she knew for certain that it was her time to embrace the end.
A soft glow to the edge of her darkening vision signaled the arrival of her ethereal friend. She knew she had been nearby throughout the entire battle. At moments the warrior had felt her wounds knit back together as though they'd never happened, preventing her end before the time was right.
She had met her long ago. The warrior, having just reached her sixteenth summer, was stalking the woods, bow drawn tight, in search of a meal worthy to bring back to her village. A young buck had answered her prayers for a successful hunt. Its antlers large and strong, signalling its youth. With breaths even, and a steady hand she had let her arrow fly. What she hadn't counted on was that in its death throes, the buck charged. Goring her side with vicious aim and throwing her against a tree.
At first she thought the soft light growing before her was her greeting into the afterlife, but as she opened her eyes the face of an angel, or rather Goddess as she'd soon learn, welcomed her back. Her side had hurt fiercely, but the pain lessened with every second the other girl had her hands on the wound. When her lucidity had returned, the determined blue eyes of a blonde girl, no older than herself, garbed in white robes of the softest fabric, met her gaze.
Much like back then, the young Goddess leaned over her, but instead of placing soothing hands on burning wounds, her arms wrapped around the young warrior, cradling her head to a white clad chest.
"Clarke?"
The warrior croaked out questioningly. She understood death and what was to come, but it didn't stop a tinge of fear in her chest from blooming. Clarke combed slim fingers through brown, blood soaked, hair comfortingly. She had a sad smile on her face.
"Shhhh, Lexa, it's alright. Remember, death is not the end."
The Goddess had repeated those words many times after they had bonded. They had always reassured Lexa when she prepared for a coming battle, or when she was wishing fair well to her friends as they traveled beyond the living realm. The Goddess had been at her side during those times just as she was now. The familiarity of the situation calmed her, but only slightly.
"Did we win?"
Clarke continued to untangle her hair in rhythmic strokes, not responding until a particularly tangled snarl had been rid from her hair.
"You will see in time."
Her answer was short, cryptic, but after almost six years of such wording, Lexa let it be. She would know when the time was right. Sighing, the brunette relaxed into the arms that held her. She could feel her body cooling further, signalling her nearing end. A soft kiss was pressed to her forehead.
"Your time is soon, ai Hodnes. Sadly, this is where I leave you. You must make this final journey alone."
Lexa's heart clenched in panic, her hand shooting up to grab at the silken robe. She didn't want to be alone. All she had left was Clarke, and she couldn't lose her too. A gentle hand came to cradle hers, prying off the weak grip. Clarke brought the other girls hand to her lips, and kissed the knuckles one by one.
"Death is not the end. I will be waiting for you, and if you do not arrive, I will be waiting for you. Death is not the end."
The Goddess repeated her words as she laid her love back down on to the rain soaked earth. Not a spec of mud could be seen on her, despite having been kneeling in it for the past several minutes. Turning towards the battle fields edge, she waited as Lexa's remaining warriors crept back on to the field. Brushing hair from fading leader eyes with a gentle hand one last time, she stood, drawing attention to Lexa's position. Stories would later be told about how the commander that united a continent was led to the afterlife by a goddess in white after the final battle. As the warriors neared, Clarke disappeared in a blinding flash, leaving behind the body of Commander Leksa kom Trikru, clean, as if she had never entered battle.
Lexa slowly opened her eyes. Groggy from sleep, she yawned, her hand raising to cover her mouth. A silken sleeve brushed her face as she did so, startling her further into consciousness. Blinking, she gazed at her arm in confusion, clad in white, just as Clarkes had been.
"Clarke?"
She called, whipping her head about the room in search of the blonde. The room wasn't so much of a room, but more like a cave. The carved walls were smooth, herbs and spices, some Lexa recognized as the ones Clarke enjoyed using when pretending to be mortal, hung from the ceiling. The young leader lay on a nest of furs, tucked into a carved out bowl in the stone floor. It was warm and comfortable, and beckoned her back to sleep, but her panic in the blonde's absence spurred to leave the nests comfort.
Stumbling from among the furs, the brunette darted towards the entrance of the cave. Sliding around a sharp corner, the brunette stumbled into the opposite wall, coming to a stop, panting. She felt exhausted. Holding her knees to steady herself, she looked around the new room. In the centre was a large pool, surrounded by smooth marble and illuminated by a large hole in the roof. Pale watery moonlight shone through the opening, lighting up the pool and the goddess who sat next to it.
"Hello, Lexa. I see you've awoken."
Clarke laughed at her frazzled state and lifted herself up to help her love over to sit by the pool.
"Death may not be the end but it is exhausting."
Lifting Lexa's arm over her shoulder, she guided her to sit next to the calm water. She helped her to lay down, resting her head in the blonde's lap. Now reassured that Clarke was there, Lexa's memories of what happened came to the front of her mind.
"I died."
She said simply. It wasn't a question, just a statement.
"You did."
The reply was just as simple. Clarke began threading her fingers through the brown locks before her. Biting her lip, the brunette asked the question that had begun to gnaw at her insides.
"Did we win?"
Clarke smiled softly.
"Why don't you see for yourself."
Leaning over, the Goddess tapped the surface of the water, creating ripples that soon formed into images. Lexa lifted her head to watch as the images depicted a great celebration. Her people, commoners and warriors alike, danced, and drank. She could see her Second, Aden, sitting amongst her people, wearing her shoulder pauldron, showing he had taken her place as their leader, just as she had asked. Sighing in relief, she sagged against Clarke.
"I did it."
She sounded dazed, as though she were disbelieving of what she was seeing. She had done it; she had united her people under one banner. She could rest now. Arms wrapped around her waist in a firm hug.
"Yes, you did, ai Hodnes."
They remained like that for only a moment before hooting and hollering could be heard down another stone hallway, echoing off the rocks like a roar. She glanced questioningly at Clarke, but was unable to get an answer before a tall black haired boy, clad in the same robes as Clarke and herself, swing around the corner into the room.
"Looks like we have a new Goddess to welcome! Congrats on finding one so hot, Clarke!"
Lexa heard Clarke groan in exasperation beside her.
"Bellamy! You couldn't have waited like five more minutes!"
The brunette could tell the Goddess wasn't really angry, just mildly annoyed. Bellamy shot her a grin, revealing rows of white teeth.
"Nope."
His lips popped the 'p' loudly. With flare, he turned, his robes flowing out behind him.
"Come on, Clarke, everyone wants to meet the girl who's finally managed to capture your heart."
Turning back to the Goddess, she could easily see her irritation on her normally patient face. She had slid her hands down either side of her face in frustration and her brow was furrowed. A deep sigh filled the blonde before she gave Lexa a look of apology.
"Well, I'd hoped to introduce you to them in a less abrupt way, but might as well do it now."
Clambering to her feet, Clarke offered a hand to Lexa, which she took. The blonde began leading her down the tunnel Bellamy had appeared from.
"Come on, Lex. Time to meet the family."
