A/N: I'm a strange kind of nervous excited about the end of this chapter... I like the idea (a lot), I just hope I've done it justice!
Bit of a warning: This is quite an episode heavy chapter, and I do retread a lot of what was on the show. I've tried to change things up a bit so it's not too boring though. The good news is this is the last 'episode heavy' chapter, after this I will be touching on dialogue/scenes from the show, but it won't be half as intensive as this one!
Rubbing at her eyes, Clarke tried to process exactly what it was that had awoken her. Light was already streaming through the curtains and it was startling for her to realise she had just slept through the whole night without dreaming.
"Wanheda?" A muffled voice called through the door.
Clarke glared at it. At least she knew why she was awake now. Shuffling out of the bed, the barely awake woman slowly made her way to the door.
The guard stiffened at the sight of her. "Heda has requested your presence for breakfast." The woman informed her.
"Now?" Clarke asked. She ignored the way the guards face twitched with unease at her presence. The reaction was becoming far too familiar to her.
"Yes, Wanheda." The guard nodded.
"I need to change." She muttered before letting the door slip shut again.
Opening the closet, the blonde couldn't help admiring the selection of clothing that had been provided for her. A multitude of tops hung from the railing, each one a different hue of blue and a perfect fit for her body. She refused to let her thoughts linger for too long on the prospect of Lexa herself choosing them for her.
Clarke was inside the Commander's bedroom a few minutes later, her eyes still heavy from sleep.
"Wanheda." The Commander greeted formally.
Clarke bowed her head. "Heda."
The guards, apparently satisfied with their exchange closed the doors. The second the wood clicked back into the frame, Clarke could see Lexa's shoulders visibly relax.
"How did you sleep, Clarke?" She asked tentatively.
"Well." The blonde replied simply, before asking the question that had been playing on her mind since Anya had visited her the night before. "Did you ask Anya to give me the vial last night?"
Lexa stiffened slightly before answering. "Yes. You looked tired, I thought it might help."
Instantly, Clarke wanted to snap back at her that she didn't need help and from the way the other woman's shoulders tensed again, she wondered if Lexa was expecting the exact same rebuttal. She had to consciously remind herself that they were on the same side. Lexa had sworn to protect Clarke and her people. She didn't have to be so visibly angry at the woman any more.
Taking a deep breath, Clarke let a small smile pull at her lips. "Thank you."
Lexa blinked for a few moments, her eyes searching Clarke's face as if she was expecting her to say something else. Clarke stayed quiet though and eventually the other woman nodded her head, before taking a seat at the table.
Clarke followed her lead and immediately started to spread some of the crushed fruit across the bread Lexa had provided her.
"Why the breakfast?" She asked after chewing her way through the bread on her plate.
"I wanted to apologise." Sorrowful eyes looked at her. "The way Titus acted yesterday was unacceptable. It will not happen again."
"And..." Clarke pressed, because she knew Lexa hadn't brought her to her room just to apologise.
"Queen Nia arrived during the night."
The revelation had Clarke opening and closing her mouth in shock. Truthfully, she had started to think that maybe the Ice Queen wouldn't come to Polis. That she would just attack her people and the army that guarded them.
"You must be careful with her, Clarke. She will react quickly to emotion, but she is no fool."
Numbly, Clarke nodded her head at Lexa's advice whilst her mind tried to digest the information. The Queen was there in Polis. Her people were going to get justice.
"I spoke to Prince Roan about her yesterday." Clarke revealed, though she was sure Lexa had already guessed the topic of their conversation.
"And what did he tell you?" The other woman asked as she scrapped her knife across another slice of bread distractedly.
"That you killed Nia's son."
Lexa paused her movements and glanced up at Clarke. "It was the only way to become Heda."
"They were your friends? The others you had to kill to become the Commander?" Clarke pushed, curious as to what actually happened at the conclave.
Lexa visibly swallowed. "They were."
Clarke almost bit back at her, almost told her that her knack of betraying people she was supposedly loyal to had started young. She wanted to hurt Lexa.
It was the light sheen to her green eyes that stopped her though. It was the way Lexa suddenly looked down studiously at the over scrapped bread in her hand. It was the way Clarke's heart unexpectedly broke to know that to become Heda, Lexa had been forced to kill her friends.
"Love is weakness."
It was the way Lexa's mantra about love suddenly hurt so much more.
Clarke shook her head lightly, desperate for her string of thought to stop. These weren't thoughts she should have been having. The Commander was a means to and end. She was the key to her people being safe. It shouldn't matter to the blonde whether the woman on the other end of the table felt lonely.
"He wants to be King." Clarke quickly said.
"And do you think he should be?"
Lifting the cup of tea to her lips, Clarke savoured the sweet flowery taste for a moment before replying. "Yes."
Smirking, Lexa took a sip from her own cup. "A few conversations is all it's taken for you to decide he should be a King?"
"No." Clarke didn't know Roan. She knew they were similar, and she hoped she was right about her assumption that the man just wanted to do right by his people. The point was, if Lexa thought the Prince was a bad man, if she thought his influence on her would be negative, then Clarke was sure she never would have been allowed to even meet the man. The Commander had enough power to have kept him locked away somewhere else in the tower. It wasn't an accident that they had met. "It's the fact that you've let me have those conversations."
"Clarke, I wouldn't-" Lexa began, her eyes widening slightly in subtle panic. Clarke already knew from her expression that she was going to tell her that she would never stop her from talking to someone if she wanted to. That she would never try to control her like that.
"If he wasn't fundamentally a good man then you wouldn't have let me talk to him at all. We wouldn't have even met." Clarke pointed out.
Lexa looked taken aback by her revelation. "Perhaps." She simply replied, taking a bite out of the bread on her plate.
They ate in silence for a few moments, but Clarke knew the conversation wasn't quite over. Lexa was just using the time to think.
"Roan is loyal to his people." The brunette finally said and Clarke creased her brow. The way the other woman said it, made it sound like that was a bad thing. "If siding with his mother will protect them, he will not hesitate to do it." She explained and once again Clarke had to bite back her retort about the Commander knowing exactly what it was like to side with the enemy to protect her own people.
Instead, Clarke smiled. "But after today there will be no Queen."
The corner of Lexa's lip twitched upwards for the briefest moment. "But there will be a King."
Catching sight of her watch, Clarke quickly fumbled her hand into her pocket to pull out the radio.
"I almost forgot, my mom wanted to check in again this morning." She explained distractedly whilst switching the device on. With fumbling hands, she tuned the frequency to the right number. "I don't really understand how this works."
"Waves."
Looking up from the device, Clarke furrowed her brow. "What?"
The radio in her hand crackled loudly, making Clarke wince as her mom's voice echoed around the Commander's room. "Clarke, are you there?"
Quickly twisting the knob back around, Clarke pressed down on the receiver. "Yeah, yeah I'm here."
There was an audible sigh of relief from the radio. "How are you? Is everything okay?" Her mother questioned worriedly.
"I'm fine mom, the Commander's here with me." She added before her mom could say anything painfully awkward about the other woman.
"Oh- I- Commander good morning."
"Good morning, Chancellor." Lexa called from across the table.
"Is everything okay at Camp- at Arkadia?" Clarke asked.
"We had the service for those we lost yesterday. Things have been," her mom paused for a moment. "Quiet."
"The spare water purification system, did we ever fix it?" The question had been playing on Clarke's mind since her conversation with Mae the day before. If they were going to start building bridges with the Grounder's, offering them a quicker, cleaner supply of water would be the perfect opportunity to begin.
"Clarke..."
"Did we fix it?" She pressed.
Her mom paused, and that was answer enough to Clarke. "Yes." She finally admitted.
"Make it available to the Trikru army." Clarke said, watching as a curious look appeared on Lexa's face at her request.
"Clarke, if our system goes down-"
"It's just for a few days, mom, just whilst the army is protecting you." She quickly explained. "Think of it as a good will gesture."
A light seemed to go off in Lexa's eyes. The smile that followed was one Clarke was sure looked at awful lot like pride.
"Pike and his supporters aren't going to let us just give it to the Grounders." Her mom continued to fret.
"They don't have a say in it." Clarke flinched at the harshness of her own voice. "Just- Don't tell them, have Bellamy help, he'll be able to talk some of them around." There was silence on the other side of the radio and Clarke felt her stomach drop. "Mom?"
"Bellamy's girlfriend was in Mount Weather." Closing her eyes, the blonde rubbed at her temple with her free hand because she knew what her mom was about to tell her. "He's joined Pike."
"Can Lincoln help? Maybe the Grounders can come to collect it instead of us taking it to them?" Clarke suggested.
"I'll talk to him." There was another pause, and Clarke was sure she could just make out the sound of Kane in the background. "What about Polis? Is there any news about the Ice Nation?"
Before Clarke could answer, Lexa was standing from her seat to get herself closer to the radio.
"The Ice Nation border remains quiet. Queen Nia arrived in Polis late yesterday." Lexa answered for her. "We'll be having our summit soon. Your people will be getting their justice, Chancellor."
The noise in the throne room fell away the second Lexa and Anya walked through the doors together.
Titus was hot on their heels, shooting Clarke a withering look the second he saw her. The light bruise on her neck was covered by the high collar of her top, but her throat still contracted uncomfortably at the memory of the man pinning her against the wall.
Roan had already been escorted into the room, his wrists bound together with cuffs and chain. It wouldn't be for long though. With the Queen finally in Polis, the blonde knew that the Prince would soon become the King. Roan would be King and the threat of war would be gone.
"Sit." The Commander ordered as she gracefully took her own seat on the throne.
Anya nodded her head in greeting to Clarke and passed out of sight behind her chair.
"Ambassadors of the Coalition, today we honour our covenant. The clan that stands against one of us stands against us all." The Commander announced.
"Bring in the accursed." Titus demanded from his position next to the throne.
Instantly the doors were thrown open again.
A gust of air passed through the open windows and Clarke wasn't sure if it was the sudden drop of temperature or the sight of the Ice Queen herself that sent a shiver down her spine.
Two guards marched her in, their hands clutched around woman's arms.
The same decorative scars that adorned Roan's face swirled across his mother's, the raised flesh easily visible from Clarke's seat. Everything about her exuded strength. From the strong set of her jaw to the piercing blue eyes that glared at the Commander.
Roughly, the guards forced the Queen of Azgeda to her knees.
Clarke studied the woman. This was the person who had ordered the attack on her people. This was the woman who had killed 49 of people. This was the woman who was trying to force them into a war that Clarke didn't want.
"Queen Nia of Azgeda has confessed to the destruction of Mount Weather, resulting in the death of 49 members of Skaikru." Titus said to the room before directing his attention straight to Clarke. "Wanheda, what say you?"
"Skaikru demands justice." She stated simply, looking straight into the Commander's eyes.
"The Ice Nation does not answer to this girl." Nia snarled in Trigedasleng. Clarke knew the use of the language was purposeful.
"Silence!" Titus interrupted. "The punishment for your crime is death. Do you have anything to say in your defence?"
"I need no defence." Nia smirked. It was in that instant that Clarke knew something was about to go terribly wrong. With a cruel smile on her face the Queen glared at her Heda. "She does."
The Commander's head tilted, her jaw tightening at the Ice Queen's insubordination.
"Today is judgement day." Nia continued, her chin jutting out in defiance. "I call for a vote of no confidence."
Clarke kicked herself for not realising it earlier. She had been so caught up in the thought of getting justice for her people that she hadn't even seen it coming. Nia arriving in Polis was too easy. Even with her son being held captive, her surrender had been too effortless. Of course she had come to the city with a plan.
"Take this Queen to meet her fate." Titus ordered and the guards began to approach her again.
"Not so fast." The elderly ambassador for the Boat People announced. Dread started to swirl in Clarke's stomach as the man rose to his feet. "Commander no longer."
A second latter both the Broad Leaf and Plane Riders ambassadors were standing, both of them repeating his words. "Commander no longer."
"Take them away, too!" Titus bellowed, pointing the guards towards those that had called out against their Heda.
"Wait." The Commander called, silencing the room.
Clarke's mind swirled with the possibility of what was unfolding before her. She couldn't hear what Titus was saying to Lexa, but it didn't matter, because she was raising her hand to silence him almost instantly.
"Let her make her move." The Commander practically drawled.
All the other ambassadors started to rise to their feet, all of them calling out the same phrase and Clarke desperately looked to Mae. She was angry, her eyes practically drilling into the side of Nia's head as her jaw visibly tensed. The woman remained seated though, and Clarke was glad that Lexa at least had the backing of her own clan.
"Commander, what is this?" Clarke asked, urgently trying to get Lexa to look at her, but the other woman's eyes were fixed on the woman in front of her. Truthfully she knew exactly what this was. She knew what Nia was trying to do, she just didn't want it to be true.
"This is a coup." The Commander stated flatly.
"This is the law," Nia said directly to Clarke, her cold blue eyes almost making the blonde flinch. Slowly, Nia pushed herself to her feet and glanced towards Lexa. "Her law to stop another Commander like him. A unanimous vote of the ambassadors or death are all that can remove a Commander from power."
"Not everyone." Clarke instantly challenged and Nia laughed harshly.
"Oh, silly girl. Every ambassador knows a member of the Commander's own clan can't take part in a vote of no confidence." Nia explained, the patronising tone slipping into her voice easily as her head jerked towards where Mae was still sitting.
Clarke pushed herself to her feet. She could feel the eyes of the room on her. "I was talking about me."
"Enough, Wanheda." Anya's voice suddenly said from beside her. The woman's strong hand gripped onto her shoulder, gently pulling her back towards the seat.
"Anya, I didn't see you lurking in the shadows." A smug look appeared on Nia's face. "Tell me, how are your parents?"
This time it was Clarke reaching out to stop Anya, only just managing to grab onto her arm as she jerked forwards. "How is your son?"
The chains around the Ice Queen's wrist strained. "Watch your tongue or I'll see to it that it's removed." Nia hissed in harsh Trigedasleng, her eyes glaring straight at the General.
"I will not renounce this Commander." Clarke quickly interrupted through clenched teeth before Anya could retort. "This vote is not unanimous."
"Your vote doesn't count, Wanheda. I don't recognize the legitimacy of Skaikru." Nia said flippantly, and once again Anya had to grip onto her arm.
"We do." Titus announced, his voice finally drawing the Ice Queen's attention away from her. "Yesterday Skaikru took the brand. They are the thirteenth clan. This vote of no confidence fails. All these coup plotters," his arm pointed across the whole room. "Will suffer the exact same fate as the Ice Queen."
Even as the ambassadors started to share concerned looks, Nia merely sneered. Once again her gaze fell to the Commander. "She won't take our heads because she knows our armies will retaliate. None of us here wants war."
"We both know what you want, Nia." The brunette seethed, her lip curling with barely suppressed rage. From her seat, Clarke could see the way her hands trembled as she tried to control her anger. Rising from her throne, the Commander stood before the Nia. "If you think me unfit to command, issue the challenge and let's get on with it."
"Very well." Nia replied, a cruel smirk on her face once more. "You are challenged."
Clarke couldn't help looking between the two, trying to unravel exactly what it was the leader of the coalition was being challenged to.
"And I accept your challenge." The Commander snarled back.
"So be it. Single combat. Warrior against warrior to the death." Titus announced to the room. "Queen Nia of Azgeda, who do you choose to be your champion?"
"My son Roan," finally looking away from Lexa, Nia smiled at her son. "Prince of Azgeda."
"Heda, who will fight for you?" Titus asked quietly.
Clarke saw Anya straighten her shoulders and she felt her heart unexpectedly clench. The woman was the obvious choice. Clarke had seen her fight, she had experienced her fighting. The challenge would fail. Nia would be executed. Roan would become King. Her people would be safe.
It was unexpected then when the Commander turned away from Nia, and returned to her throne. "I'm the Commander." It felt like her chest was going to implode as Clarke felt the panic starting to take over. "No one fights for me."
Titus looked as lost as she felt, his eyes darting across his charge's face. This was meant to be about getting justice for her people, but suddenly Lexa's life was hanging in the balance, and Clarke's racing thoughts couldn't quite focus as the walls of the room started to close in on her.
"Then tomorrow, at the midday sun, you will fight." Clarke blinked in surprise at Titus's revelation. She had a day to fix it. She had a day to make this right. "All of you, you are dismissed."
Clarke wanted to stay behind, she wanted to talk to Lexa, she wanted to find out what the hell was happening. Mae was walking towards her before she could though, and Clarke struggled against the hold of her hand against her arm. "Come with me."
Lexa and Titus were already arguing in hushed whispers, and Clarke knew she wouldn't be able to get close with the man still there. Reluctantly she let Mae lead them away from the throne room and into on of the smaller rooms that branched off the main corridor.
Anya followed not two steps behind them, the anger rolling off her almost palpable.
The second the door closed behind them, Anya sent the table in the centre of the room crashing across the floor. The paper that had been resting on it floated slowly to the floor. Anya was panting, her shoulders tense as she glared at the wreckage in front of her.
"I don't understand, why are they all siding with the Ice Queen?" Clarke asked with wide eyes, her mind still desperately trying to understand what had just happened.
Mae scoffed. "That fool Naois would have turned first. Just one mention of the last Sankru Commander and he'll bend to anyone's will."
The others, Clarke understood. Reading the history of the clans had taught the blonde that their past had been a bloody one. Each one betraying the other time and again. But there was one thing that remained consistent throughout. Two clans that had been allies from the very beginning. "The Boat clan as well though? I thought they were the Trikru's closest allies."
Anya and Mae stared at each other. Clarke could almost see cogs turning in the their minds.
"They wouldn't." Anya finally said aloud. Looking back at Mae again, she straightened up. "Send a rider to Luna, tell her she's needed in Polis."
Mae was already shaking her head. "She swore never to return here, not after-"
"Tell the coward she either returns to Polis or this coalition shatters." Anya snapped at her and even Clarke felt her spine stiffen at the sound of her voice.
Nodding her head Mae backed away to the door. "Then it is done."
After Mae's retreat, Clarke watched nervously as Anya started to pace the room. The names of the different ambassadors were dropping amongst her muttered Trigedasleng threats.
"Are you okay?" Clarke asked.
Anya was swirled around abruptly, forcing Clarke stumble back. "Don't pander to me, Sky girl!"
Clarke flinched at the tone of the other woman's voice, her feet stumbling back further. Anya instantly deflated. "I'm sorry."
Clarke left Anya to pace for a while longer before pressing her again. "What she said about your parents-"
"They were guarding the border from the Azgeda when they were attacked. Even after they joined the coalition Nia refused to return their heads." Even from the other side of the room, Clarke could see Anya's usually hard eyes softening. "She said she lost them."
Shaking her head, Anya straighten up again. "I need to speak with Mae."
"What should I do?" Clarke asked, desperate to do something to help stop Nia's challenge.
Anya's eyes pinned her with the intensity of their glare. "Nothing."
Clarke managed to follow Anya's instructions for only a couple of hours.
At first she was content to read through the history of the Grounders again. Switching from clan to clan, she tried to figure out their motivation for turning on their Heda. Despite what Lexa had said to her, Clarke couldn't help wondering if inducting the Skaikru into the coalition had been the change that led to their revolt.
The itch for to do something more productive was soon too much though. It was why she found herself striding towards the throne room.
The guards didn't question her as they opened the doors for her. She hadn't even made it two steps inside before her step faltered though.
"What are the three pillars of being a Commander?" Lexa asked the children that were sat around her throne. She was dressed casually, her coat and shoulder guard nowhere to be seen.
With a relaxed smile, the brunette pointed towards each child that raised their hand.
"Wisdom."
"Compassion."
"Strength."
Small voices all answered, and Clarke's breath caught in her throat at Lexa's smile as she praised them. Shaking her head, she looked away from the scene in front of her to talk to Titus.
"Did you talk her out of it?" She asked him, ignoring the way he glowered at her presence.
"No." Titus gritted out from between his teeth. He didn't want to speak to her, that much was obvious, but Clarke needed him to tell her where Lexa was with her decision to fight.
"I don't understand. Nia's not fighting. Why should she?" She pressed.
"The Queen's strength is not in doubt. Thanks to you," His head whipped around to look at her, his eyes staring into hers angrily. "Heda's is."
The lesson was apparently over, and Clarke listened to Lexa giving the children one final round of praise. "Train hard and remember, you are each worthy of your Nightblood."
Clarke's brow furrowed, she had heard the term before. Multiple times. Whatever a Nightblood was apparently held importance in Polis.
"Nightblood's!" Titus's voice boomed from next to her, his hands clapping together once. "Follow me."
All of the children rose to their feet, quickly scurrying to form a line behind the man. Lexa stood from her throne, walking down behind them before calling out. "Aden, stay."
A small boy with scruffy blonde hair at the back of the line stepped out and waited for the others to leave. His back straightened, and his small hands clenched his sword tightly to his chest.
"Clarke, this is Aden." Lexa introduced. "Aden is the most promising of my novitiates. If I should die tomorrow, he will likely succeed me." She had heard Lexa talk about her death before, but it still took her by surprise. The way Lexa said it, as if her death would mean nothing. As if it was just an event to be brushed over. Clarke couldn't help opening her mouth in shock.
"Clarke worries about our people." Lexa smirked at her, making Clarke frown at the expression. "Tell her what will happen to them when you become Heda, Aden."
"If I become Heda, I pledge my loyalty to the thirteenth clan." The boy recited, only briefly looking at Clarke before turning back to stare straight ahead with his head tilted high.
"Thank you. Now go join the others." She instructed and Aden bowed his head to them both before leaving. "See? Nothing to worry about." Lexa smiled over her shoulder whilst walking back to her throne.
"I'm sorry if I'm worried the fate of my people lies in the hands of a child." Clarke declared, her mind still trying to unravel exactly what had just happened.
"Then you worry for nothing." Lexa announce. Clarke followed after her until the woman turned around. "Indra's army is protecting Arkadia as we speak. Anya will see to it that you are returned to your people safely. Aden will ensure your future is safe. Your people and your future are protected, as I vowed they would be."
"This is not just about my people. This coalition needs you, Lexa. Roan isn't going to just let you kill him." Clarke spluttered, not understanding why Lexa couldn't see that the coalition needed her. The Skaikru needed her. She needed-
"And you think I'll let him just kill me?" Lexa asked. Clarke could have sworn she saw the woman's eyes roll slightly. "Clarke, if tomorrow is the day my spirit chooses its successor, then you need to accept that."
Clarke bristled. She wouldn't accept that. She wouldn't accept that there was nothing she could do to stop the fight from happening. She had faced tougher odds in the past and won. She could win this too.
"Like hell I do." Clarke almost snarled, glaring at Lexa before she turned to leave the room. She needed to see Roan. If Lexa wasn't going to budge, then he was her next best shot.
Polis was as incredible from the ground as it looked from the tower.
Trees sprung up from everywhere. The snaking cracks on the hard pavement all gave way to their twisting roots.
Compared to the tower itself, the buildings around her felt small, but each one held more character than Clarke could have ever imagined. There were large birds running freely in fenced off plots of land and the blonde couldn't help pausing to watch them as a young child sat happily throwing pieces of grain for them to eat.
There was life everywhere.
Clarke knew that now she had started to discover the city of Polis, she wouldn't be able to stop. Lexa was right. Polis truly was changing her opinion of the Grounders.
Eventually, the trees around her gave way to the opening of the market she had spotted from the balcony of the tower. Roan was here somewhere. At least that's what the guard had told her. Keeping her head ducked under her hood, Clarke scoured the area for the Prince.
From across the crowd, Clarke spotted Pheme waving at her and she quickly returned the gesture. It was only when she started focusing on the faces that she realised how many of them she recognised. Amongst the strangers were a healthy mix of guards and hand maidens from the tower. A part of Clarke started wondered exactly how many people the tower actually employed.
It was the subtle clashing of metal that finally alerted her of the Prince's position, and Clarke slowly made her way around the back of the market until she found where he was training.
Roan's movements were solid, his stance grounded. Every blow of his blunted sword rattled against the spears of the guards. Every strike making them step backwards and in turn giving him more time to manoeuvre. Every thrust between their weakening defences landed it's mark.
It didn't take long until each guard fell, their weapons laying useless on the floor besides them.
"Were you hoping to see someone die," Roan's voice gravelled before he was suddenly pivoting, his sword at her throat. "Wanheda."
Clarke didn't finch, she knew Roan's blade wouldn't touch her. Slowly she pulled down her hood. "I was hoping to speak to the King of Azgeda."
"There is no King of Azgeda."
"Not yet." Roan rolled his eyes at her, his arm finally dropping back down to his side. "I know you just want to go home."
"When I win today, I will." Roan said, his sword twirling absentmindedly in his hand.
"For how long? How long until your mother finds another reason to kill you, or to have you banished again? No one can banish a King out of his kingdom." Clarke tried to entice.
She knew she was getting through to him when he stopped spinning his sword to look at her properly.
"And how do you propose I become King? My mother is alive and well, as I'm sure you've noticed." Roan replied pointedly.
"Then kill her."
The words fell from her lips too easily. Death was once again her go to reaction. If something was failing, if it wasn't panning out the way she wanted, the first thing she would think of was killing the problem away.
When Anya had tried to bring her to Polis, Clarke's reaction hadn't been to just incapacitate the woman. It had been to kill her. When Lexa was pushing her to join the coalition, she had tried to kill her. And now the Ice Queen was threatening the peace she was craving? All Clarke could think of was killing her.
Her heart ached. She truly was the Wanheda.
"I can't." Roan replied, making Clarke look up at him in shock. He wanted to be King, the blonde was sure of it. "My people would never take me back."
"We can't let your mother win."
"No," He agreed and Clarke backed away slightly when she saw the knowing look on his face. "Which is why you're going to do it. You are the Commander of Death after all." He smirked. "Under your pillow, you'll find a gift. Maybe you should think about seeing my mother for breakfast tomorrow."
It was just one more. Just one more death. She could kill one more person, then that was it, her people would have peace and she wouldn't have to do it again.
Swallowing back the bile that had risen in her throat, Clarke nodded firmly. "Fine."
"Now run along Wanheda," He said, kicking one of the spears towards the hand of the most awake guard. "I have a duel to prepare for."
Roan had been telling the truth. When Clarke had finished her exploration of the city and returned to her room there was a small vial of black liquid hidden under her pillow.
The guards that Roan had bought were apparently still loyal to him, and Clarke couldn't help feeling nervous that the Ice Nation had a small faction of supporters within the walls of the tower willing to follow his instructions.
"I hear you were talking to the Prince earlier." Anya said from across the table. The woman had invited Clarke to her room to eat their evening meal together earlier that day. Clarke had gladly accepted. Since leaving the solitude of her room, she had found herself craving the company of others.
Lifting her gaze from the plate of meat in front of her, Clarke knew she looked surprised at Anya's revelation. "Rumour spreads quickly in Polis." The other woman continued.
"I was trying to help Lex-"
Stabbing her knife into her food, Anya glared at her. "Let her handle this, Clarke."
"The safety of my people lies in the hand of a woman who doesn't seem to think her death matters." Clarke hissed, remembering her conversation with the Commander and Aden.
"Of course it doesn't." Clarke's eyes widened at the other woman's confession. "When Lexa dies another Commander will take her place, your people will continue to be protected and life here will continue." Anya said with a tone that Clarke could only describe as bored.
"How can you say that?" She asked with astonishment.
"There's a difference between wanting her to die and accepting that she might." Anya replied simply, chewing into another piece of meat. "Death is not the end, it's just another part of our journey."
"And you would be okay with that? With Lexa dying tomorrow?" Clarke challenged. She didn't understand how the Grounders just didn't seem to care about death. They acted as if it wasn't the last time they would get to see someone, as if it was just another everyday occurrence that happened in their lives.
"She won't die tomorrow-"
"Have you not seen Roan fight? He-"
"I trained her, Sky girl." Anya spat. "She will not die tomorrow. Now eat, whatever happens tomorrow will be a long day."
Silently, Clarke started to chew at her food again.
Anya sighed loudly, her knife clattering against her plate. "Our cultures are different, Clarke. What is it your own people says when someone dies? The words you recite to them?"
"In peace, may you leave this shore." Clarke began, and an overwhelming feeling of sorrow started to flutter in her chest. "In love, may you find the next. Safe passage on your travels, until our final journey to the ground. May we meet again."
Anya looked at her thoughtfully. "Yu gonplei ste odon." She muttered before smiling sadly. "Do you not think it odd that your prayer talks of hope, yet it is my people that truly believe death is not the end?"
It hadn't taken Clarke long to find out where and when the Ice Queen would be eating her morning meal. When Pheme had come to help her with her braids that morning, she had happily divulged the information to her.
The lower tower was darker than the brightly lit upper floors. The walls were a skulking hue of grey compared to the bright walls of the corridors into the throne room.
As she approached, Clarke could see the surprise on the guard's faces at seeing her. "I'm here to see the Queen." She said, her back straight and head held high.
"Of course, Wanheda." They said in unison, and they both clumsily reached for the hands on the door to let her in.
"Wanheda to see you, Queen Nia." One of the guards announced.
Nia looked up from the food that was being served in front of her.
There was a girl besides her, not much taller than Clarke, with dark hair framing her face. Like the rest of the Ice Nation, decorative scars littered her face.
Shooing the girl away from her, Nia took an over exaggerated drink from her cup and Clarke wondered if all political prisoners brought their own hand maidens with them. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
Trying to look as confident as possible Clarke stalked around the table, casually rolling an apple across the hard wood. "What if I changed my vote?"
Lifting the fruit Clarke took a bite, finally making eye contact with the Queen. "Now you're thinking like a leader of your people." Nia smiled almost gleefully.
Dropping the apple back onto the table, Clarke walked closer. "I would need some assurances first."
"Skaikru will be safe." Nia quickly assured, straightening up in her chair.
"And me?"
"My quarrel is with Lexa, not you." She tried to affirm, but Clarke wasn't fooled. Betrayal ran deep in the Ice Nation, and Clarke knew the second Lexa took her dying breath the legendary Wanheda would be back at the top of Nia's "to kill" list. "Once she's gone, I won't need the power of Wanheda."
"Okay." Clarke agreed easily.
"Okay? You don't want vengeance for the dead at Mount Weather?" Suspicion swirled in the woman's eyes.
Clarke smirked to try and dispel Nia's worry. "My priority is with the living, not the dead."
Reaching forwards, Clarke pulled the dagger from the table. The design was similar to the one Roan had given her. Without hesitation, she dragged the blade across the sensitive skin of her hand, grimacing as her palm split open.
"We bind ourselves in blood." Clarke said in clear Trigedasleng before she wiped the blade across the sleeve of her shirt.
The sleeve she had soaked in the poison Roan had left for her.
"I see you've learned our oath." Nia noted, staring at Clarke's hand as the blood started to drip around her fist.
Using the full force of her arm, Clarke stabbed the knife back into the table. "Do you accept?" She asked.
Standing, Nia pulled the knife free again and help out her hand. "We bind ourselves in blood."
The blade was close, practically upon Nia's hand when the girl behind Clarke cried out for the Queen to wait. Before Clarke could even realise her plan had just completely fallen apart, she found her body slammed painfully onto the table, the air pushed out of her lungs at the force of it.
Desperately, Clarke tried to blink back the little dots of black that had started to cloud her vision. The woman that had been serving Nia lifted the blonde's poisoned sleeve to her face and inhaled deeply.
"Poison." She confirmed to Nia.
Fear jolted straight through her. Clarke wouldn't let it show though. Gritting her teeth, she stared up at them both defiantly.
"We could've been allies, Wanheda." Nia growled at her. "Instead, I declare you and your people enemies of Azgeda."
Picking up a cloth from the table, Nia wiped the blade clean and Clarke couldn't help the subtle shiver her body gave. This was it. This was the end of Clarke kom Skaikru-
"Ontari, hold out your hand." The Ice Queen suddenly demanded, and Clarke watched as the woman pining her down winced when Nia cut the blade across her palm. "I'm letting you live for now to send a message to Lexa."
Clarke gasped at the blood pooling through Ontari's fist. Even in the barely lit room, she could see how unnaturally dark it was. How black it was.
Nia shifted Ontari's hand until the blood was dripping straight onto her. Every drop made her stomach roll and fruitlessly, Clarke tried to shift her head away.
"I have my own Natblida and she will be the next Commander." Nia snarled down at her.
Ducking her head, Clarke walked towards the throne room with her hood up. As much as she wanted to go back to her room and wash the blood from her face, she knew she had to deliver Nia's twisted message.
"Clarke?" Anya's voice called from behind her, but Clarke kept walking, speeding up slightly to try and outpace the woman. A hand grabbed onto her arm, and Clarke couldn't stop her body from spinning under Anya's strength.
"Clarke?!" Anya's hands were on her face instantly, her eyes searching every patch of skin. "Are you hurt?"
"No, no, I'm fine." Moving back Clarke dropped the hood from the head, so Anya could look at her properly.
The woman's face turned positively thunderous. Anya quickly pulled her hood back over her head. "Come with me." She ordered, grabbing onto Clarke's arm again.
As they approached the throne rooms doors, Anya pushed her head down, further shielding Clarke's face. The doors swung open wildly, the glass shuddering in its frame.
"Everybody out." Anya's voice demanded. "Now."
Feet shuffled past her, and Clarke could hear the curious murmur of voices from the hallway as whoever had been the in the room filed out.
"What is the meaning of this?" Titus's voice boomed.
In an instant, Clarke her face uncovered as Anya ripped the hood off her head.
"Clarke?" Lexa was in front of her before Clarke even had the chance to fully raise her head. The woman kept her hands clenched at her side, but her worried green eyes studied Clarke's face almost frantically. "What happened? Who did this?"
"Nia- I went to see Nia, there was a girl with her, she cut her hand and did this." Clarke quickly explained, having to look away from Lexa's searching eyes.
"She knew what she was doing when she put the blood of a nightblood on her." Anya growled from next to her. "She knew the disrespect that would cause."
"A Commander from the Ice Nation? Now all of Nia's provocations make sense, and we played right into it." Titus muttered with defeat. Clarke had to stop herself from flinching when his thumb brushed over the drying blood. "She knew you would accept her challenge."
"I've never seen blood that colour before." Clarke said, looking down at the smears of black that were still on her hand.
"It goes back to the first Commander." Lexa explained. "When a nightblood child is found, they're brought here to be trained, or supposed to be."
Nightblood. Like a lot of the Grounders language it was literal. The blood was black like the night. They were Nightbloods. She would have time to think about it later, at least Clarke hoped she would, because medically she didn't know how it was even possible.
Titus looked towards Lexa with pleading eyes. "You legacy is no longer secure. There is still time to choose a champion."
"You know she can't do that." Anya replied for her and Clarke watched horrified as Lexa nodded her head in agreement.
"Heda-" Titus went to argue, but Lexa was already walking away from them all.
"Leave us! Both of you!"
Both Titus and Anya looked to Clarke, and she knew it was for entirely different reasons. She couldn't do as Anya wished though, she couldn't just let Lexa fight.
Both of them ducked out of the room, the doors slowly slipping shut behind them.
"Titus is right. You're giving her exactly what she wants." Clarke argued. She was desperate for her mind to think of something, anything to stop the fight.
She wasn't prepared for Lexa's angry snarl when she swivelled back around to face her.
"Only if I lose." The woman seethed. Shaking her head lightly, Lexa took what Clarke thought might have been a calming breath. "I know you're just trying to help, Clarke, but there's nothing you can do here."
"I can't just let Roan kill you." She protested vehemently. Her people needed Lexa, and with the Ice Queen onto her plan to overthrow her, Clarke knew the Skaikru wouldn't be safe any more.
"If that is to be my fate, you must." Lexa repeat and it hit Clarke again that Lexa was so willing to accept her own death. "You're driven to fix everything for everyone, but you can't fix this. I have to do this on my own, and you have to let me."
"I won't just sit there and watch you die." Clarke cried out desperately.
Lexa stared at her, and Clarke couldn't help staring back. She had revealed too much. She had opened up too much. It didn't matter how many times she tried to tell herself the woman in front of her didn't matter, that she was just a necessity in her life to keep her people safe. The truth was despite everything, it wasn't just the Commander, Clarke was scared of losing.
It was Lexa.
The door clicked open behind them.
Clarke shook her head away from Lexa's stare, her heart pounding in her chest with an emotion she didn't want to put a name to.
"Heda? It's time." Titus informed them, his voice shaking with obvious nerves.
"Then this is goodbye." Lexa said quietly, and Clarke could feel the tears threatening to pool in her eyes. "For now."
Gasping lightly, Clark tried to remind herself to breathe when the woman marched straight past her. Clarke's heart clenched painfully. The walls of the throne room seemed to be getting closer and closer as she watched Lexa disappear from her sight.
She was going to die and there was nothing Clarke could do.
"Clarke?" Anya's voice whispered from next to her.
"I'm fine" She spat out.
"No. You're not. Come with me."
Anya covered her head with her hood again. Clarke didn't resist, she just let woman dictate her movements. She barely even took in the changing scenery as Anya directed her through the corridors.
Clarke wasn't sure how much time had passed, but eventually she started to register what was happening around her.
They were Anya's room again. During her haze, Anya had sat her on the bed, and was cleaning the blood off her face, whilst her other hand gently tapped at the back of the blonde's clenched fist. The touch was grounding, and Clarke focused on it as her mind slowly unravelled from the knot it had wound itself into.
Anya gently dragged the cloth across her skin making the diluted blood dripped down her face.
"When I was with Yein-" Clarke started, blinking heavily when Anya wiped her forehead again. "She told me the previous Commander used to wear the blood of the nightblood's as his war paint."
"Yes." Anya replied whilst she wiped under Clarke's eye. "Lexa was his favourite for a while." Dipping the rag back into the water, Anya stared at her for a moment. "He wasn't like her." Clarke didn't speak, choosing to watch the other woman as she rung out the cloth again. "Her biggest fear was that she would turn into him, that one day she would wake up and become him. It's why her first act as Commander was to instil a vote of no confidence. She never wanted that to happen again."
Anya handed Clarke the dry towel at her side. Gently, the blonde patted her face on it. It was as the she pulled away that she heard the crowd roar outside.
"You should go. Lexa will be fighting soon." Clarke whispered.
"No."
Snapping her head up in surprise, Clarke tried to search the other woman's face for any hint of emotion. "What do you mean 'no'?"
"She asked me to stay with you." Anya replied simply.
"What?"
"If she dies I'll need to get you out the city, there's no telling what Nia will do." She calmly explained before standing up to take the bowl of soiled water away.
Clarke's chest hurt. If Lexa died, she would be alone. There would be no one there to watch her. No one for her to look to in her final moments. She would die in a crowd of people. All alone.
Her decision was already made by the time Anya came back into the room.
"I'm going." She blurted out, already pulling her hood back over her head.
There wasn't any shock on Anya's face, and Clarke suspected that she knew all along they would be going to the fight.
The lift descended the tower far too slowly for Clarke's liking.
"Patience. We'll be there before it starts." Anya implored, her eyes still watching each floor pass them by through the metal grating.
As if heeding her prayers the cage finally jolted to a halt, and Clarke pushed past Anya as she opened the gate for them. "Do you even know where you're going?"
"The same place Roan was training." Clarke replied, quickly flipping her hood up.
She started to jog the same path she had taken the previous day. The need to get to Lexa before the fight started was overwhelming. Clarke couldn't, she wouldn't, let her thoughts linger on that fact for too long.
She didn't know where Anya was, if she was just behind her or still lingering in the tower, but it didn't matter. Her pace increased, her legs moving faster until she broke out into a sprint.
It felt so much further than the day before. The beauty of the city suddenly an obstacle for her to weave through as quickly as possible.
Clarke stumbled to halt when she found the make shift battleground.
The crowd was already six people deep and without another moment of hesitation, Clarke pushed past them. She didn't care about the Trigedasleng curses that were thrown at her as she squirmed her way through. It was luck, or perhaps fate that when the crowd broke it was Lexa standing in front of her.
The Commander had been about the grab her sword, but her hand froze as her eyes stared at Clarke.
"I'm glad you came." Lexa muttered with the smallest of smiles.
"Me too." Clarke replied honestly.
Their eyes remained locked for a few moments longer, and Clarke knew whatever happened she wouldn't regret this. She wouldn't regret being here.
Looking away from her, the Commander pulled the sword from the sheath the guard was holding and the crowd roared with affection for her. Cries of "Heda" came from all around Clarke, and her heart swelled that despite the Ice Queen's attempt to overthrow her, Lexa's people were still here to support her.
The feeling didn't last long.
Clarke's eyes widened when Roan suddenly appeared behind Lexa, his sword raised and ready to slash down onto the Commander's back. In the blink of an eye. the Commander was ducking under the arch of his arm though, her own sword slashing at his unprotected flank as she spun away.
The fight had begun.
They circled each other a moment before the Commander let out a cry and began her assault. Strike after strike reigned down on Roan, his own sword the only thing protecting him from her relentless assault.
Clarke couldn't help seeing the beauty in the way Lexa fought. Her flowing, twisting movements a stark contradiction to Roan's heavy set stance.
Their swords came together, the clash of metal ringing out across the square, and Clarke dug her nails into her palms when Roan started to take the advantage. Pushing his arm onto his own sword, Clarke watched in horror as the Commander's knees buckled under the weight.
He was going to overwhelm her, he was going to win when the fight had only just begun.
In the next moment one of the Commander's hands were shooting out to grab onto his blade. Clarke let out a gasp at the sight of black blood visibly drip from her hand. It was the advantage the brunette needed though because in the next instant the hilt of her blade was slamming into Roan's face.
The break in movement didn't last long, and Roan was quickly hammering at Lexa again until his foot lodged squarely in the back of her leg, forcing her onto the floor.
Clarke's nails bit at her palm again. Her heart was thundering in her chest, almost drowning out the sound of the crowd around her.
Roan beat down the Commander's attempt to defend herself. The sword in her hand was swiftly kicked away from her too, but before Clarke could even begin to worry, the Commander was driving her elbow into Roan's knee.
Hard.
Even from the side lines, Clarke heard the grunt of pain from the the Prince as he was forced onto his own knees. She also heard the sickening crack of the Commander driving her knee straight into his face.
Unseen to her, the Commander had ripped the sword from Roan's grip and with her eyes still on the man she stepped backwards to pick up her own discarded sword. The crowd jeered when the weaponless Roan slammed his fist into the side of a guards face, stunning him long enough to take his spear.
The fight began anew, and Clarke watched completely transfixed as the Commander once again struck out against Roan. Both her blades twisted around her whist she spun, crossing and uncrossing in a hammering series of blows. Roan desperately tried to knock back every strike, barely managing to hit each one.
It wasn't to last though.
Clarke could almost feel the blood pumping through her veins with the strength that her heart was pounding. The Commander's left sword was the first to go, a small arch of black following the arch of the spear that slashed across her arm. The right sword was flying from her hands a second later.
Before it had even finished clattering to the ground, Roan was raising his foot.
It felt like time had stopped. The crowd around her was crying for the Heda, but Clarke could barely hear them over the sickening thud of Roan's boot kicking Lexa squarely in the chest.
She didn't stand a chance. The force of the blow had the Commander sprawling out on the floor. Clarke could see the rapid rise and fall of her chest. Her ribs would be aching, possibly broken, and with the location of the hit, her sternum could have been broken.
Roan approached her, and Clarke almost cried out, almost begged him not to do it. The Commander didn't move though, her eyes merely watching the man as he stood over her and raised his spear.
He thrust the spear at her neck.
Instead of the sick sound of flesh being torn apart, Clarke heard the sharp twang of steel colliding with the hard bricked floor. At the last moment, the Commander had rolled from underneath him. Relief sparked through her when the woman's foot once again struck Roan's knee, sending the man flying onto his back.
It didn't take long for Roan to scramble back to his feet, the spear still held tight in his hand. Once again, his attack began anew.
Clarke held her breath, watching Lexa duck and swerve around the point of his spear. Roan was relentless in his attack, his whole body shuddering with each blow he sent the Commander's way.
The fight turned quickly, the crowd roaring their Heda's name once more.
In the blink of an eye, the Commander grabbed onto the weapon, striking Roan's hands to force him to let it go.
This time it was Roan on the retreat as he tried to dodge the spear the Commander was expertly wielding against him. The movements looked almost wild, the spear spinning around her whole body before striking Roan. Each strike was calculated though, and in a second the the butt of the spear was colliding painfully with the Prince's face.
Blood exploded from Roan's nose as his body crumpled onto the grounder. Clarke watched him fall onto his back again, blood splattering from between his teeth.
It was over.
Lexa twirled the spear in her hand, pointing the blade on the end at Roan's throat.
"Get up!" The Ice Queen demanded in Trigedasleng, her neck pulling taught. "If you die, you don't die a prince, you die a coward!"
Without warning, Lexa drew back from the man, the spear running almost parallel to her body as she launched it at Nia.
Nia was prepared though. Before the spear had even fully left Lexa's hand, the Queen of Azgeda was grabbing onto the shirt of the Broad Leaf ambassador. He didn't make a noise.
He didn't have the chance to.
A woman to the left of Clarke screamed, and the blonde had to cover her mouth as Uzac fell to the floor, the spear firmly lodged in his back.
"You dare try to kill me!" Nia raged, her eyes blazing at the Commander. Clarke felt her stomach roll at the sound of her pulling the spear from Uzac's back. "You dare try to kill the Queen of Azgeda!"
Nia jumped down from the stage, the spear still held firm in her hand as she stalked towards the Commander. A flash of metal on the stage caught Clarke's attention, and she looked up in time to see Anya's hand wrapped around Ontari's throat, her dagger pointing at the young girl's neck.
"Your challenge has failed, Nia." Clarke heard the Commander growl to the woman in front of her.
"I am a Queen-"
"No, you're not." Stepping around her, the Commander raised her voice to address the crowd. "The Ice Nation has a new ruler! Roan of Azgeda, I pronounce you King!"
Roan merely rolled onto his side and wiped the back of his hand across his bloody mouth.
"You have no authority-" Nia tried to argue, her eyes squinting dangerously.
Spinning around, the Commandeer snarled. "I have every authority, or do you wish to challenge me yourself?"
With a feral cry, Nia raised the spear in her hand, ready to strike it down onto the woman who had just humiliated her. The Commander didn't move though, her head rising confidently. Clarke felt her foot jerk forwards, ready to run to Lexa's side. Ready to push her out of the way of Nia's killing blow.
It never came though.
Without warning, Nia's weapon was flying out of her hand, and Clarke had to dart out the way as it clattered noisily across the floor towards her. With the danger of the spear out the way, Clarke whipped her head back up.
There was an arm wrapping around Nia's neck and a blade pressing threateningly into the woman's throat. Clarke couldn't quite see who it was from her position, but she could just make out the wild dark hair of a woman standing behind the Ice Queen.
"Hello, Heda." The woman greeted and Clarke could see a rare full smile pulling across Lexa's face.
"Welcome home, Luna."
A/N: She was a late addition to the story, and I don't regret it. There are more Clarke/Lexa scenes coming, I realised this chapter that so far there's just been a lot of Clarke/Anya, sorry(/not sorry) about that. Thank you for the continued support, and I hope you all continue to enjoy the story despite The 100 being over for us Clexakru.
The next chapter is called The Unbroken where we discuss capital punishment and Clarke annoys the heck out of Ontari.
(Side note: any feedback about the fight scene would be great, I'm not sure if I quite hit the mark with it)