So, don't get confused here, guys. There is a POV switch.
Thanks to my awesome beta, BadWolfRisen!
She crept through the night, the darkness of the sky and shadows of the trees covering up her movement and hiding her from the men she was following. They stomped through her woods and made no attempt to quiet their footsteps nor hush their speech.
Swinging to a lower branch, the teen whistled softly, waiting for the answering hoot before sliding to the ground, in the shadows of the lanterns of the Business.
Several forms filled in the empty space around her as they snuck up behind their enemy.
A sharp caw echoed through the forest.
The city kids were in place with their portion of the ambush.
Blair gave a loud call in return, letting Hoshiko know that her and her crew were in position.
They wouldn't fall to the men of the Business tonight – those foul kidnappers and brainwashers. Tonight would end their tyranny, end the fear of being stolen into slavery and bondage, branded and soiled and abused.
For too long had her people suffered at their hands. For too long had her people been forcibly turned against her to enforce and carry out the orders and whims of the men in charge.
She had recently discovered, too, that the Business had taken the city crew and molded them, smothered them into obedience before Hoshiko freed them and took them away into the cool darkness of her wood.
The two different crews followed the band of men, of adults, through the trees until they began to make camp, burning unnecessarily and killing animals and plants encountered without mercy.
Blair signaled her followers, watching as her most trusted split up her following into groups and led them up into the trees. Ten of her group remained, half to provide assistance to her and half to corral any of the Business who escaped their two-part attack.
When the majority of the city crew drew the Business' warriors away, Hoshiko, Blair's tree climbers, and the city warriors would attack, away from the safety of the adults' camp. The remainder, led by Blair and her five warriors, would attack and loot their camp, killing those left behind and destroying anything nonessential or unusable.
Her plan had to work.
Blair steeled herself as she heard the beginnings of the start signal. She could just make out the noise of one of the city kids stumbling around the opposite side of the camp above the rising volume of shouts from the Business camp. The teen looked over her shoulder, catching as many reflective eyes as possible before turning forward, stance hardened.
They were ready.
Lexa
The walk from the mountain was torture.
As Lexa and her people commenced their walk of shame down and away from those large steel doors, the Commander felt her mask tighten against her features.
The few Skaikru warriors they passed stared on with desolate expressions, acknowledging the Trikru's betrayal and their own subsequent defeat.
She tore away their hopes and their days of careful planning and maneuvering. She turned her back on the one who filled her warriors with inspiration and passion, igniting their fire for battle and freedom. The one who filled Lexa with warmth and slowly broke through her tough exterior, often times drawing out playful sarcasm and witty remarks from the normally war-hardened leader.
Clarke. Skaiheda. Killer of over three hundred of her men. Healer of many. Leader to her people. Betrayed.
The Heda had no hope for the blonde's true forgiveness, even with her final remarks. May we meet again. While Clarke had begun to accept, understand, and even embrace her people's ways, she was too connected to her soul, her compassion and her people to reconcile the brunette's difficult turn.
It was one thing to kill many to protect your people. It was another to betray warriors-in-arms for the safety of only her people.
Even knowing the unlikelihood of Clarke ever seeking her out – for Lexa would never disrespect the blonde by forcing her own presence – a tiny flame of hope flickered deep in the recesses of the stoic leader's heart.
So it was with an outward appearance of strength that the Commander led her people away from the Mountain, allowing the Skaikru to join their sad march to camp; forcing a struggling Lincoln – who continued to live up to the Skai ideals placed upon him, ever faithful to his new friends and lover – and her dying heart to leave behind the heartbroken blonde and her people still trapped within the Mountain.
Lexa felt tendrils of ice creep their way into her mind, shifting her thoughts. She needed to remain who her people required her to be, living by them and for them. Ruling with her mind.
OOooOO
In the weeks that followed the destruction of the mountain by the ever persistent Skaiheda, the Skaikru and Trikru remained in a state of hesitant peace.
A majority of her warriors had felt little over Lexa's perceived betrayal of the fallen, and had returned home with the Commander's well wishes, and she could not fault them for their disinterest. However, many remained in their stead.
The ones freed from the Mountain were the first to offer their assistance and pledge of peace to those who resided in Camp Jaha. Lead by a warrior from the Azgeda, they helped the Skaikru with hunting and building, returning the favor of the young Bellamy.
The rest of the warriors who stayed in their war camp by the Skaikru settlement were there as a result of their newly formed bonds of battle and friendship with the fallen.
The Commander herself returned to Polis.
Lexa's heart ached as she returned to her familiar capitol. It's large tower and spiraling dwellings seemed stagnant; unchanged in the face of the transformation that occurred in its leader's mind.
She didn't stay long.
She felt suffocated in her suddenly cold home. Her people looked at her with pride and awe, the fabled Commander of the Twelve Clan Coalition, now defeater of Mountains.
Lexa departed the city under the pretense of visiting the different clans who had been living in the shadow of the Mountain. The Commander was left behind, the persona floating away as she ordered her guard to temporarily ignore their duties.
She wandered under the guise of a normal warrior; a hunter trader from Polis making her wares. It was freeing, leaving behind her notable sash and pauldron.
The forest seemed welcoming, with its cool shadows and whispering creatures. Lexa felt she could hide forever.
Her heart sped her journey through the woods as her dreams began to swirl through time.
Thanks for reading! Feel free to drop me a review.
-Ally