Lexa awoke the next morning ready for training, she knew that to get better she would have to fall down a few times, even if it was embarrassing. She understood why Anya was being hard on her with the training, so Lexa could learn that she isn't the best, that to get better she has to fail first. She hopped out of bed and promptly fell to the floor, her legs having given out from under her. She looked down at her bare shins and sighed, they looked even worse than they had the day before and were starting to swell. Regardless, Anya did not like to be kept waiting, so Lexa stood back up slowly, put her clothes on and carefully made her way down to the training yard.

Anya was waiting, staff in hand, in the middle of the training circle. She smirked as Lexa entered the circle.

"Shame you weren't late, I had the perfect rooster picked out for outside your bedroom and I even fed my horse extra food so he would dirty the stables more." Anya let her smirk turn into an actual smile "I'm glad you got here, you seemed pretty banged up after our session yesterday, so I was half expecting you to not show up at all."

Lexa shrugged "I'm fine, just a couple of bruises."

Anya nodded "I see it as motivation NOT to get hit."

Anya swung the staff at Lexa and Lexa swatted it away sloppily, almost losing her balance in doing so.

"Just a few bruises? Bruises wouldn't make you wobbly, young one."

Anya put down the staff and walked closer to Lexa, motioning for her to pull her pant leg up. Lexa sighed and rolled her eyes.

"It's nothing. I'll live."

Anya glared at Lexa as if she were an idiot. "If you can't fight, you can't fight. Permanent damage would damn you, Lexa. Show me."

Lexa closed her eyes and exhaled heavily, pulling up her pant leg and exposing the bruises and cuts. Anya knelt down to take a closer look and nodded.

"Walk around for a bit, stretch it out. We will resume training tomorrow if you are able."

Lexa opened her mouth to object, but the look Anya gave her effectively shut her up. She lowered her head and nodded, unhappy. It was just a bit of pain, she would have to get used to it if she was going to be found herself wandering through the streets of Polis. While the city was stunning and fascinating to explore, seeing so many unfamiliar faces and new areas made her feel strangely exposed. Everybody knew everybody in her home village of Ton D.C, but here she knew nobody.

Lexa stopped at a food stand to check out some apples, she had worked up an appetite with all of her walking and could use some food. These apples looked impressively fresh, so she dug in her pockets for something to trade with, momentarily forgetting that she had no belongings other than her father's knife.

"Lex?"

Lexa nearly dropped the apple at the sound of her name. Startled, she looked up into familiar brown eyes and smiled broadly.

"Costia!"

Lexa rushed behind the cart and enveloped her friend in a hug, smelling her usual scent of fresh food. Lexa pulled away suddenly, looking confused.

"Wait, what are you doing here?"

Costia frowned and gestured to the cart in front of her.

"My mother makes the trip to deliver fruits and vegetables to Polis, she often comes up to set up a stand for a week or two. I offered to come with her this time because I knew you would be here, I wanted to see you." Costia paused for a second, looking hurt. "I thought you might be happy to see me, but you don't look like that happy. What's wrong Lex?"

Lexa forced a smile "Nothing, it's fine. I am happy to see you, I just wasn't expecting to, that's all."

Costia raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Really? You didn't think I would come to visit my best friend the Nightblood? Total badass? Potential new Commander? You must be so excited for the conclave, that is what it's called, right? I mean I don't know exactly what happens, but you either win or you come home right? Everyone back at home is so jealous, they all want to be in your shoes."

Lexa shifted uncomfortably, directing her gaze to the apple in her hand. "Yeah… very excited. They shoudn't be jealous though. Really."

Costia narrowed her eyes at Lexa. "Come on Lex, don't play the reluctant hero now. Why shouldn't they be jealous? What happens that is so terrible?"

Lexa looked at Costia, then went back to inspecting the apple in her hands intensely, avoiding the question. She wished she could tell Costia what happened at the conclave, that you either win or you die, but she knew that Costia would worry and that was the last thing she wanted. If she were to die, she would want her last moments with her to not be plagued with worry and fear, but rather happiness and bliss. She would rather die without Costia knowing it was a strong possibility. Lexa felt Costia's hand cover her own, sparks dancing across her skin as Costia pushed the apple away from her gaze.

"Lex?" She whispered gently "Lex, what happens at the conclave?"

Lexa sighed and met Costia's soft gaze, she looked frightened and worried. Lexa pulled her eyes away and shook her head "Nothing, don't worry about it. It was good to see you." Lexa put the apple back on the cart and turned away towards the tower. Costia put a hand on Lexa's arm, stopping her.

"Tell me."

Lexa closed her eyes at Costia's desperate whisper. She sounded so concerned, as she should be, and it broke Lexa's heart. She turned around slowly and looked at Costia sadly.

"We all fight. To the death. Last one standing becomes commander."

Costia's eyes widened in horror and her mouth fell open. "Lexa… did you… did you already know this? Crap, we need to get you out of here, we could run somewhere, I'm not sure where. Lexa, does your mom know about this? We can bring her too and… Lexa… Lexa why are you crying?"

Lexa swiped aggressively at the tears trickling down her face. She couldn't show weakness. She took a deep breath to ground herself, preparing herself for Costia's reaction to what she was about to say.

"My mother is dead, Costia. They killed her when she- when she tried to stop them from taking me."

Costia's face fell even further, tears gathering in her eyes. Lexa's mom was like a mother to Costia as well, this must have hit her hard.

"Lexa… we can go somewhere, okay? You, my mom, and me. We can run."

Lexa shook her head "No, Costia, I can't. They will find me and they will kill me if I run. They already found me once. I have to stay here. Hopefully I will live to be Commander and, if not? Well, I hope the next in line is kind to you."

"Lexa, that's a bit dramatic, even for you."

Lexa shrugged, she didn't care if it sounded dramatic. She meant it.

Costia saw that Lexa didn't want to discuss the topic any further, she wasn't exactly good at hiding her feelings on her face. "Tell me about the past couple of days here, how is Polis? Is it everything you dreamed? We need to start taking the stand down anyway so we have time to talk."

Lexa and Costia took down the stand together as Lexa shared the details of the last 2 days, of working with Anya, how hard the training sessions were, seeing the Commander and winning her fight in the tournament. It was just like back at home, where she and Costia used to talk about anything and everything, and, for a moment, she felt like she was back there. Like everything might just be okay.