Chapter 3 – Training Ground

The sky was turning a light pink as the sun began rising, awakening the birds and people in Ton DC.

Lexa stepped out of her tent and into the sunlight, allowing herself a moment to linger in its warm embrace before continuing on her way. The sword at her side was accompanying every second step with a metallic clonk. She pushed aside the curtain hiding the inside of Clarke's tent from the eyes of the camp and was just about to open her mouth to address her when her eyes fell upon a curled up bundle of a young woman, wild blonde curls hiding half of her face.

Behind closed eyelids her eyes were moving restlessly, indicating she was dreaming and Lexa caught herself wondering what was occupying her subconscious.

For a moment she just stood there, her eyes mapping Clarke's features and debated, whether she should allow her to rest or wake her. The Commander in her demanded the latter but Lexa knew her guest has had a turbulent time on the ground, to say the least - and a war ahead of her. She could do with all the sleep she managed to get while she could.

And the better rested Clarke was, the sharper her mind and the more useful she would be, she justified her decision to leave the leader of the sky people be and left her tent. She told one of her men to bring Clarke to her when she was ready and headed to the training ground on her own.

Clarke kept her eyes fixed on the bearded giants' back as she followed him on a path through Ton DC she had not yet walked. She could feel the eyes of the grounders on her, following her every move. She could almost hear their spiteful thoughts, could almost feel the pain they wanted to cause her.

She tried hard not to let it get to her but the path seemed endless and fear was slowly creeping up her spine, making her shiver.

Her steps became stiff and hurried the longer she followed the Commander's guard to wherever he was leading her – it was not like she was being told anything around here – and was trying so hard to ignore the looks that she didn't notice her guide hat stopped in front of her.

Clarke collided with his back so hard she was stumbling backwards the next instant and landed on her behind. With her palm she covered her nose which was throbbing but managed to keep herself from groaning from the sudden pain that radiated from her tailbone through her body.

All around her laughter broke lose, echoing in her head. The grounders didn't get to see her burn but at least they got to see her make a fool of herself.

Clarke felt her cheeks flush hot pink and wished herself back up into space. Suddenly a miniature cell didn't seem all that bad. At least she was brought food and clean clothes, got to shower regularly and could spend her time expressing herself through her art instead of this.

Instead of fighting every single day for survival – her own and that of her people – of having to justify herself over and over to everyone. Instead of feeling like she was never good enough and having doubt and fear as a constant companion. Instead of feeling the pain Finn's death left her with, like someone had cut right through her heart and with every beat she could feel it bleed. Instead of...

"Daun ste pleni*!", Lexa's shouted, silencing her people and Clarke's mind. She looked up to see the Commander walk towards her with slow but confident strides and regarded her people with a look so intense and daunting, they all dropped their heads to escape her eyes.

When Lexa reached her, Clarke was still sitting in the dirt. The Commander glared at the bystanders.

"This ends now.", she went on, her voice so low it reminded Clarke of a growling hound. "The sky people march with us now. Their fight is our fight. Their people are our people."

A heavy silence met the Commander's words. Some of the grounders were looking at their leader, other didn't dare. Clarke could tell the people around her were not happy about Lexa's words but didn't dare speak their minds and she could feel their hatred towards herself being fueled.

The brunette closed the remaining distance between her and Clarke to offer her outstretched hand. The blonde hesitated when a wave of murmurs ran through the circle of grounders. She still had to learn a lot about their traditions and way of life but if she had to guess right now, their Commander personally offering her assistance wasn't very common.

She realized she was stuck between a rock and a hard place. If she took the Commander's hand her people would despise her even more – for getting special treatment when all they wanted for her and all the sky people was to burn.

If she refused, Clarke was certain, they would take it as an incredible insult and thinking they hated her now, she didn't even want to guess how much worse things would get then. Maybe it would even break the alliance.

And if she kept debating this any longer, not decided for either one, she would also be in trouble.

Finally, Clarke reached for the Commander's hand, her fingers closing around the leather protecting her wrist and felt Lexa grab a tight hold of hers, pulling her to her feet with a strength she wouldn't necessarily put past her.

Clarke had to put no effort at all in getting back on her feet and stood there with her lips parted in astonishment. She could feel the warmth of her fingertips pressing against her skin through the thin sleeve of her shirt and for a brief moment when Clarke's eyes met hers, their green seemed deeper than any ocean could possibly be and she felt herself getting lost in them.

Abruptly, Lexa let go off her arm and caused her fingers to slip Lexa's. Her features hardened and her eyes returned to their piercing way of looking at Clarke, as if the Commander had realized she had let down her guard, even if it was for just one second.

Barking something in Trigedasleng Clarke didn't understand, the people around them started moving and filled the air with the sound of footsteps and the song their armor sang when in motion.

"This way.", Lexa told her when they were almost left alone and led the rest of the way to what Clarke realized must be their training ground.

Amazed she looked around. In the middle were four logs placed in a large square, the wood covered with notches where blades had met them. To the left stood a row of targets, dark red circles painted on them and Clarke wondered, if the paint was really blood.

Lexa crossed the large space which was empty except for them and grabbed a sword off the wall where all the training weapons were hanging neatly arranged by type.

Clarke followed her hesitantly, taking in her surroundings. To the right was an area where the dirt was noticeably flat, like it had been purposefully evened as best as possible. The ground was lighter there, too. In all of Ton DC the ground was so dark, it appeared almost black but here, the ground was a shade of brown and light enough to give the dark spots splattered across the area enough contrast to be noticed. Clarke had seen enough blood by now to recognize it such.

"Here.", Lexa interrupted her examination. Clarke turned to look at her and found the Commander holding the blade of a sword, pointing its hilt toward her.

"Take it.", she ordered.

"What?", Clarke asked with a mixture of surprise and shock. "What for?"

"I will teach you how to fight.", Lexa stated simply and encouraged her with a nod toward the weapon to take it out of her hand.

Clarke breathed a laugh of disbelief.

"No, thanks.", she said, shaking her head. "I'm good."

Lexa's brows furrowed. "That is an arrogant thing to say. Not to mention incorrect."

Clarke looked at her irritated until it dawned on her and she couldn't help but chuckle.

"No, that's not what I meant.", she said and saw Lexa's confusion arch her eyebrows slightly.

"I mean, I've survived this far, I candle handle myself."

Lexa's features relaxed with apprehension and her eyes returned to their piercingly stern way of looking at Clarke.

"My people and I can not rely on you handling yourself. I need to be certain that you can fight to protect yourself and them, if need be.", she said coolly and pushed the sword closer to Clarke.

"If you want to fight at our side, you need to be capable of more than pointing your gun."

Clarke swallowed and felt her muscles tense. She was utterly overwhelmed with the situation. The hilt was only about a hand away from her and Lexa's eyes were demanding she take it from her.

She wanted to scream no, she wanted to turn around and leave. She wanted to be Raven and shine with her genius and skills. But instead she kept having to face more and more situations where she was just so far out of her depth.

"I need to know you can lead us to victory if I fall.", the Commander said, quieter this time but insisting.

Whether she said it because she meant it or simply to get through to her, Clarke couldn't tell. Either way, her words pushed the right buttons and she found herself grabbing hold of the sword.

Her arm dropped a little, the weapon heavier than she had anticipated. The hilt felt oddly pleasant in her hand, fitting into it perfectly. Clarke moved the sword around a little, letting it glide from side to side to get a feel for it and hardly noticed the Commander drawing another sword from the sheath on her back.

Clarke felt a strange confidence rush through her, as if the weight of the sword was anchoring her doubts and worries.

"Attack me.", the Commander ordered her and when Clarke looked up, she saw the tip of her sword pointed with an arm's length at her neck.

It wasn't just Lexa's intimidating fighting posture and eyes glowing with determination that held her back or the fact that Clarke was very well aware she didn't stand a chance.

"No way.", Clarke objected and took a step back, holding the sword in front of her as mere protection.

"If I hurt you, your people are going to kill all of us."

The Commander froze for a moment, staring at her with bewilderment written all over her face.

"Now you are being arrogant, Clarke of the sky people.", she finally said, relaxing her posture a little and Clarke thought she saw the hint of a smile tug on her lips.

And then, without Clarke even realizing what was happening, she felt her sword being lifted from her hand with one swift motion from Lexa. After the sound of metal on metal, the weapon flew into the air and all she could do was stare at it as the hilt landed in Lexa's left hand and before she could even react, felt its tip press lightly against her throat.

"If I were you.", Lexa told her, her voice low but softer this time and Clarke thought she could hear a trace of amusement resonating in her words. "I would worry about my own safety."

Fear was rushing through Clarke's veins, her heart pounding so hard and fast and with every beat, she felt her artery pulse against the sharp tip. Holding her breath, she didn't dare move.

The seconds that ticked by seemed endless but allowed her mind to spring into gear. Without her, there was no alliance, Lexa had told her. She was not going hurt her, she was testing her, pushing her to her limits.

The Commander finally let the sword sink and offered Clarke the hilt once more. This time, she only hesitated for a split second before grabbing it again and widening her stand to be more balanced.

"Attack me.", Lexa prompted her once more and Clarke obeyed instantly, raising her sword over her head and tried to taking a swing at the Commander who simply shifted her weight and waited for Clarke to stumble forward before hitting the hilt of her own sword painfully into her side, causing her to gasp.

She lost her balance and felt her weapon slip from her hand. She fell on her knees and hands and coughed as her muscles contracted against the blow.

She was given a moment to recover, the pain dying down from agonizing to bearable but still accompanying every of her breaths. When she sat back on her heels to take another deep breath in order to collect herself, the Commander was offering her a hand once more.

Picking up her weapon first, she allowed Lexa to pull her to her feet.

"You have a lot to learn.", Lexa said but there was no judgment in her voice.

Clarke looked into the Commander's eyes and was surprised about the softness and empathy she found in them, almost as if she, too, had felt the pain she had just caused more than once.

"Let us begin.", she said and after taking a deep breath, Clarke nodded.

The hesitation and doubt she had felt only minutes ago were gone. In their place curiosity and ambition had sprouted and were flooding her body with energy.

Though it wasn't just the fighting that motivated her.

It were the glimpses Lexa had given her, of the woman behind the Commander. They were sparking her interest and she started to think that she had more reasons than the impending war for seeking out Clarke's company.

She couldn't really tell what Lexa saw in her, why she had hand-picked her to speak for her people in the first place, but she knew there was something Lexa desperately tried to hold back and yet, couldn't keep herself from pursuing.

And maybe if Clarke figured it out, she could use it to her people's advantage at some point.


* Daun ste pleni = That is enough