Super sorry! I've been busy with life. Enjoy!
Lexa was listening to Clarke telling the nightbloods a skaikru story when it happened.
They had been taking a break from their restless war preparations that'd had them both working so hard and so tirelessly that they were beginning to forget to see each other past their public titles. Lexa and Clarke were being shoved aside for Heda and Wanheda, something they both hated. So the two women had called a truce with their endless meetings. Clarke had thrown down her latest report detailing Delphi scouts sighted in the north near Roan's land. Lexa had handed off her own stack of reports to Gaia and dismissed their guards. The two women had stood staring at one another, impatient with the slow leave of their people vacating the room. The second the door had shut behind the last warrior they had gone to one another; tiredly, desperately; wanting to feel something other than the continuous dread that had been weighting down the winter air of Polis lately. Wanting to remind themselves and each other why they were doing what they were doing. They soaked in each others' presence, and held one another preciously, enjoying their privacy. When they found time like this both women struggled to remember they were expecting a war. It w as too easy to lose themselves in the feel of being with one another.
Lexa breathed softly while Clarke reclined back against her chest. She was smiling content for the moment against the blonde's shoulder, occasionally leaning closer to press a kiss to Clarke's soft warm skin and earning herself a deep purr from her lover's chest in return. Her fingers lingered continually over Clarke's belly where her child slept safe and sound. For the moment at least. Lexa's fingertips ran up and down the warm swollen flesh hidden beneath Clarke's shirt. She marvelled its ever growing size. Every day their baby grew bigger and stronger. Soon he would be laying in Clarke's arms, babbling cutely and playing with her gold hair. Lexa could barely wait. Every day the excitement in her belly grew. She couldn't wait to meet him. To hold him. Every day she loved Clarke more and more for carrying her child. She could envision no other in her place.
Clarke exchanged few words with Lexa while they sat together on the commander's throne enjoying the rare silence. Rather, she let her hitched breaths and not so subtle leans back into the commander do her talking for her. Lexa responded just the same. Her hands easily found the sweet spots on Clarke's body and stroked slowly until Clarke's hands returned the favour. They had been reading one another so long now that Lexa merely needed to look at Clarke to know where she wanted to be touched. She smiled happy knowing Clarke knew her just the same, and nuzzled the blonde's hand whenever it reached up to touch her face before pulling her by the neck closer.
Nearly two hours passed like this; of words being traded for silent looks and slow kisses. Until the door slowly opened an inch and a young face peered in through the crack. And then another, and another. Until all of Lexa's nightbloods were whispering not so quietly outside the door about who would go in to speak with the two women, while Clarke and Lexa listened on amused.
Eventually the youngest was pushed into the room to nervously approach the throne and request a little of Heda's time. Lexa had pretended to glare meanly at the child until Clarke had nudged her to behave. Lexa then beamed down at little boy and nodded her permission. She gently patted Clarke's lap on top of her own, motioning for the young boy to climb up and join them. Pretty soon after, the two women were surrounded by the rest of the children and their elder nightblood guardians. Lexa had smiled around at them all beaming up at her and Clarke on her throne. To her it felt as if she and Clarke already had a large family with the children, and were merely expected the next addition to it. And that made her feel guilty around her happiness. Because she knew she had been as absent from her nightbloods' lives in the last few months. As much as she had been missing from Clarke's.
"Clarke?"
A gentle tugging on the shirt covering Clarke's bump beneath Lexa's hand broke the commander from her distant stare down at the children. Together she and Clarke looked down to the small girl by their feet holding onto the end of Wanheda's shirt.
Lena nervously looked back at them both. She'd been the newest of Lexa's novitiates, come from one of the furthest Trikrku village and still finding her feet inside the city. And it showed in the way she still nervously sucked her thumb while she played for Clarke's attention.
Lexa looked down on the girl with a disapproving expression; one that was immediately nudged away by her girlfriend. Clarke smiled warmly at the little girl.
"Sha, strikon?"
Lena beamed back at her, "Tel osir op un sontaim kom Skai"
The rest of the children begun excitedly nodding and pouting at the blonde, giving her their best puppy eyes. Even the elder nightbloods, who had grown up on Clarke's stories and had even lived through some themselves, were giving the sky princess hopeful looks from their still guarding stances at the children's backs. Lexa had simply chuckled and squeezed her girlfriend gently. She knew Clarke would give in to the children easy. Aside from Lexa herself, their nightbloods were Clarke's kryptonite.
So they all settled down at the foot of the throne and listened intently to the blonde sky princess recall a story from her time living high above earth. Even Lexa, who had heard the story thousands of times and could probably cite them along with the blonde, sat hypnotised by Clarke's voice and Clarke's smile as she spoke of her childhood in the stars. She couldn't help herself. The blonde always seemed to enter a trance when she spoke of her old life. Her eyes held a light faraway reminiscent glow and her smile and laugh were always light and free while she spoke. To Lexa she was beautiful. As always.
A content peace had settled inside the room. Thoughts and fears of war were drowned by images of planets and star dust and floating above the world. Until the sweet melody of the commander's girlfriend regaling the young ones with stories of the stars and space was drowned by an loud crackling noise in the corner of the room.
Clarke and Lexa looked up together and watched as Aden quickly crossed the room to the radio Clarke's people had installed near Lexa's war maps. He picked up the handset while Clarke continued her story, and raised it to quietly call out for whoever had been trying to radio them. The static warbled back in fast short bursts, too loud and scrambled for him to understand.
Aden put the handset down and shrugged it off to some mistake. Maybe one of the Skaikru guards had brushed their handsets by accident. Aden turned to go back to the circle of children. As he did his eyes met the cool questioning gaze of his commander. He'd barely finished his curt nod back to her when a scream echoed out from within the tower.
Everybody's heads turned to the door in wonder to what had caused such a fearing noise. Lexa carefully lifted Clarke and Jak from her lap and leapt up off her throne. She gave Aden an order to check with the guards at the door while she herself rushed to the balcony to look down on the city. Her heart started to pound when her eyes settled on the thick dark smoke rising from the market stalls and homes below, and the dark block of bodies moving through the city's western wall towards the tower. More shouts rang around the city. More walls were being breached. More fires were being lit. More bodies were rushing around like ants to put them out and fight the intruders invading Polis.
It wasn't hard to distinguish an army breaching her city.
Lexa let out a slow breath.
War had come.
"Aden!" She shouted, rushing back to her throne where Clarke was trying to calm the little ones. Lexa looked down on their frightened faces before she looked back at Clarke.
The blonde didn't need to be told what was happening. She knew. She could read it in Lexa's eyes. The battle had finally found them.
Clarke gave the commander a curt nod and began ushering the nightbloods to their feet. Behind her Lexa was ordering the elder nightbloods who were now fully fledged warriors, tasking them with the job to ensure their younger siblings' safety to the highest room in the tower. Clarke's heart fluttered fearfully when she turned to watch the older kids listen to their Heda. She had helped raise them for ten years. Had watched them grow up into the strong men and women that they were today. It scared her how terrified the young ones seemed, while the elders looked fierce and ready to fight. And eager. They all looked completely eager to go out and prove themselves to their teacher. Even if it meant dying to do so.
"Stay together," Lexa was telling them all seriously, "Do not stray and do not stop"
Another scream echoed through the open door of the throne room, followed by another, and then a hoarse cry of warning. The tower seemed to explode in gunfire after. Causing the nightbloods to gasp in fright and cluster together. Clarke turned feeling one of them shy shaking against the back of her leg. She gently shushed the little boy and told him to rejoin the others. But he only clung to her tighter.
Lexa looked down on her students with worry. Most of them were young. Too young. Only a few had become old enough to start their training. If the enemy drew too close... If they got past the warrior nightbloods...
She didn't want to think about it.
Lexa's head lifted to the side seeing Clarke lead one of the youngest back to the group in front of her. The poor child was doing his best to stay with the sky princess. It made Lexa sad. And angry. Her nightbloods shouldn't ever experience fear within their own home.
"Don't be afraid" she told them all softly, "The fleimpekas will keep you safe. As will your brothers and sisters"
Lexa turned with the children's scared nods to look nervously at Clarke. She wanted the blonde to go with them. She would be safest with Gaia and the older nightbloods. Lexa would trust none but the flame keepers or Aden with Clarke's safety in her absence. But she knew her sky princess too well. The hard gleam in Clarke's eyes spoke her refusal to leave Lexa's side before Lexa could voice her opinion and plea that she should. Reluctantly the commander accepted it.
Clarke quickly strode to Lexa's war maps and then came to her side the moment Lexa sent the nightbloods away. The blonde raised the walkie-talkie she'd collected off the table and used it to call in to the sky people on guard in the levels below. She followed Lexa's quick stride out of the throne room and into the war one opposite while she waited for her people to answer her.
Lexa rushed to the far wall, to the cabinet that held her armour and weapons. She ignored her shoulder guard and sash and slipped into her lighter armour. She felt Clarke buckle the leather down at her ribs and shoulder. While she hastily wrapped a worn leather belt around her hips. The armour hadn't been worn since her fight with Roan over a decade ago. Seeing Lexa in it again made Clarke shiver.
"Here"
Lexa's turn around smacked Clarke's fingers away from buckling her right side. In her hands she held out a similar armour for Clarke to wear. It's leather was thicker than Lexa's, and darker. Clarke could smell how new it was. She felt touched that Lexa had thought to have her a new armour made.
She quickly slipped into it with Lexa's help. Her hands shook smoothing down the soft sturdy hide now protecting her bump. Outside she could hear Aden calling in to them to hurry. If she concentrated she could hear shouts drifting up through the floors below. She trembled feeling scared by it all.
Lexa ignored her nightblood. She was looking her lover over. Her fingers kept playing at the buckles on Clarke's hips, disregarding the ones still loose on her own right side. She checked and then triple checked that they were tight enough and that the armour covered their baby perfectly. Clarke's hands gently closed around her wrists to pull them down. She met Lexa's eyes, and her heart hurt seeing the fear in them.
"Lexa..." Clarke shook her head and leant past Lexa for the faded clay jar of kohl. She knew Lexa intended to battle without it. But Clarke wanted their enemies to see it on their Heda's face. She wanted them to see it ringing Lexa's eyes and know when she looked at them that death would carry their spirits away on the dark wings that crowned Lexa's face if they dared attack their Heda. She hoped by wearing it Lexa would be somewhat protected.
Lexa closed her eyes letting Clarke quickly spread the black liquid over them. She felt Clarke's fingertips warm and shaking on her skin as they drove up to her temples and then slid slowly down the sides of her cheeks to replicate the winged tears that usually adorned her face in battle. Clarke stood so close that she could feel and hear every quick breath her Sky princess took as she hastily readied Lexa for war. Lexa knew Clarke was scared. For her, for their baby, for their people. Lexa was too. For the first time in the longest time fear rode alongside the angry adrenaline inside her while the crashes and bangs of battle raged on in the floors far below her. And Lexa wasn't quite sure how to control it.
She waited for Clarke to finish her painted mask before she pushed her hand up to the skin above Clarke's breast where her heart thundered like her own. Wordlessly she looked back at Clarke and brought her hands away back to her own face to drag her thumbs along the skin beneath her eyes, cleaning a patch in the kohl to resemble Clarke's warpaint so that she could carry the blonde with her.
Clarke faintly smiled at her and smudged their shared design beneath her own eyes with her stained fingers. Lexa's heart pumped harder while she turned to collect their weapons.
"Take this"
Lexa held out Clarke's sword and ripped her own out of its sheath. She watched Clarke copy her and nodded when the blonde seemed ready. Clarke wore a thin smile and began moving out of the room to radio her people again, but was stopped by Lexa who held a holster belt out in her hand. Clarke looked down at it and felt herself freeze. Sitting inside the faded nylon pouch attached to the belt was the gun that Clarke thought she had discarded years ago.
She stared at the weapon hanging in the air. At the last thing that linked her to Wanheda and all the lives she'd stolen as an adolescent.
"Please?" Lexa whispered pulling the gun out to hold in her palm. She pressed it into Clarke's right hand, "So I know that you are safe"
Clarke's jaw clenched. Her head bubbled with immediate guilt and shame, and anger at Lexa for keeping the gun and now offering it up to her. As if she could defend herself no other way. The blonde looked up offended, and met the desperation in Lexa's eyes staring imploringly back at her. Slowly she reached up to take the weapon.
Clarke hated the feel of the heavy cold metal sliding into her palm. Everything about it reminded her of death. Too many ghosts lived in the scratches of its cold surface. Too much blood stained its worn pain. She brushed the trigger and her back trembled. She didn't want to go into this battle with it. She wanted to go into battle as she lived now. As a sword wielding grounder. But she knew Lexa would never allow her to fight if she didn't have it on her.
So Clarke pulled the holster from Lexa's hand and wound it round her hips. She tucked the gun inside after. She hated how comforting and familiar it felt laying over her left thigh. Clarke made sure to clip the safety belt over the gun's grip. She told herself she wouldn't use it. Even if there was no other option.
Lexa stepped close to Clarke after and held her hand out, "Together?"
Clarke nodded and took Lexa's hand, "Together" she quietly repeated looking into Lexa's dark eyes.
The blonde looked down from the way Lexa looked back at her and stepped forward to fix Lexa's last buckles. She slipped her hand around Lexa's neck after to bring her in for a quick kiss. Lexa breathed sadly against her lips. When Clarke moved back Lexa bent her head forward and closed her eyes again. She breathed in the warm heavenly scent of her girlfriend and soaked up their last few moments together. Her hand moved slowly over their bump and she leant heavier against Clarke feeling him kick out beneath the leather shielding him. The fear rose up sharper inside her.
"Stay close to Aden" she begged the blonde. She looked down to make sure Clarke agreed, "Be here when its over. Both of you" Her palm pressed firmer over Clarke's belly.
Clarke gently kissed Lexa again, "Otaim" she whispered against Lexa's lips.
Lexa brought her in back when she again began to inch back to leave. She moved her lips with desperate intent over Clarke's, scared that maybe today would be the last time she kissed her sky princess. The blonde felt Lexa's lips quivering and it had her heart throbbing painfully in her chest. She wanted to believe it wasn't goodbye. It couldn't be. She and Lexa had been through far too much to lose one another now. They would see each other after this battle. They would survive it. For their baby and each other. They had to.
The radio crackling between the two women broke them apart. Clarke gazed up into Lexa's scared eyes before she raised the radio to her mouth to speak with her people.
"It seems you've got some unexpected guests!" Raven's voice shouted loudly through the radio, "Want me to show them the door, Princess?"
Clarke grimly smiled, "What's the situation, Raven?"
"Short answer, we have a problem. Long answer, we have a huge fucking problem!"
Lexa stretched forward and raised the radio in Clarke's hand to her mouth, "I need the longer answer, Raven. Who, where and how many"
Lexa listened intently while Raven ran through the battle specifics. Her eyes held Clarke's steady with all the information Raven gave. She could see Clarke grow more and more scared with the things Raven told them, and it made her want to order the blonde away to safety. But Lexa made herself focus on Raven and what she had to do to help her people.
"Raven, spread your people out. Keep blocking any further entry into the city" Her order earned her a sarcastic reply from the mechanic. Lexa ignored her, "I'll send my people to the eastern walls and call my patrols in. Hopefully we can surround them"
The radio crackled with explosions, gunfire, and Raven swearing loudly, before the mechanic managed to calm herself down enough to post a question.
"What about the southern wall?"
Lexa angrily pursed her lips. She'd forgotten all about the southern wall. It was closest to the tower and was usually the most heavily guarded due to its weakened state. It had been undergoing recent reconstruction in preparation of war. But the commander knew her guards would abandon it to protect the tower. Meaning their backs would be completely undefended to allow Sev's armies to enter.
"Tell-"
Clarke quickly pulled the radio away from Lexa's grasp.
"I'll handle it" She answered firmly for her girlfriend, "You handle the ground on your side. I've got this side"
"Aye aye, Captain!"
Clarke clipped the radio onto her belt next to her gun and looked up to Lexa's eyes staring in disbelief at her. Clarke felt herself bristle. She didn't want to have a fight about her involvement. Not when they didn't have time. Lexa had known she wouldn't just sit around and wait for the battle to be over. She had to help. And she would. Nothing, not even Lexa, would stop her.
The sky princess took off past the still commander and headed out to the elevator. She called Aden and Ryder to follow her. As she expected Lexa was right on her heels. The four stood quiet while the elevator shook and groaned beneath them with the slow decent down towards the fight below. Clarke could feel the agitation and stress radiating from her lover beside her. She bet that if she looked she would see Lexa's hands twitch with the need to clench in worry. She expected Lexa to say something. To speak up before it was too late. To beg Clarke stay behind where it was safe. Clarke suspected Lexa was probably waiting until the last moment when the doors opened and she had time to order Aden or Ryder to forcefully take Clarke back upstairs to safety.
To Clarke's surprise, the elevator opened on her intended level and the two men walked out without any word to stay from the commander. She took a step to follow but Lexa's hand pulling her back stopped her.
"Clarke-"
"You take the lower levels like we planned" Clarke said quickly before Lexa could begin an argument. She turned to face the commander with a firm expression. She glanced away again when Lexa's dark eyes pleaded with her, "I'll meet up with my people on this one and arrange a guard for the wall"
Lexa stared deeply at the blonde, "And after that?"
She knew Clarke wouldn't just stay and play real life chess with their people over the radio. Clarke always needed to be in the fight. To stand on the sidelines watching on was simply not an option for Lexa's full time fixer.
"I'll stay here" Clarke touched Lexa's face when it crinkled with doubt, "I promise. I'll be safe with my people"
Lexa sighed deeply troubled but nodded anyway. She knew Clarke would be okay when her people had their guns to protect her with. Clarke gave her a tiny brave smile and hugged her tightly. Lexa clung back not wanting to let Clarke go, and almost whimpered aloud when the blonde begged her in a quiet cracking voice to be safe too.
"I'll come home" she whispered in a husky voice as she touched their bump. She kissed Clarke's lips a final time before letting the blonde slip out of her arms and leave the elevator.
Lexa breathed deeply watching Clarke walk away. She felt a hard urge to follow Clarke and guard her herself. Instead she exchanged a hard look with Aden and Ryder and waited for the trio to turn out of her sight before she slammed her fist into the elevator button to take her down.
The elevator groaning mixed with the growing sounds of people yelling and weapons clashing the further down the tower she travelled. Lexa's hand tightened around the grip of her sword. The familiar feel of worn leather on its handle inside her palm had always helped her remain calm before battle. She took slow deep breaths to control the adrenaline rushing faster inside her veins. It filled her with the nostalgic sensation of her youth when fighting in wars had been a test of victory. Now it was something she loathed.
Lexa made herself stand still and meditated an action plan for when she entered the fight. It was hard. Her mind and heart were still upstairs with Clarke. It distracted her from focusing fully. Luckily Lexa's body was well prepared for war, and saved her the moment the elevator stopped and the doors opened to reveal a spear flying fast towards her.
On instinctive reflex Lexa ducked to the left. The spear landed into the wall of the elevator, impaling the metal with a hard thud. Lexa looked from the quivering shaft back to the warrior who had thrown it. She glared meanly when he laughed out gleefully watching Heda's people falling around him. Lexa growled low in her throat and set a goal to end his life.
The commander quickly scanned the rest of the room then gripped her sword tight and began a jog into the corridor. She slipped around several fighting warriors, and cut down several more that jumped in her way to the main foyer that held the doors to the city. Her senses tipped into overdrive as she fought. All around she saw the movements of bodies and heard the screams of people being wounded and arrows being shot. Twice she had to duck when a volley was shot her way by new enemy warriors entering the tower. Twice she watched her warriors fall in front of her.
The commander growled furiously finishing off an opponent and looked quickly around herself only to see the numbers dwindle on her side. She pulled her sword free of its latest victim and ran forward to slide in behind an upturned table for cover. She ripped a bow out of the bloody hands of a warrior that had fallen when he'd jumped to shield her with his body when her advancing slide caught the attention of their opponents. Lexa carefully peered around the corner of the table and then took a steady kneeling stance beside the dying man.
"A-ai..- ai m-mo-.. moba..Heda!" He gasped jerking at her feet. His hand touched her knee but she shirked it away. Lexa pushed a hand onto his bloody chest when he jerked and kept loudly whimpering an apology for failing her.
"Shh..." she softly hushed him as she peered over the table and scouted the enemy.
In seconds Lexa quickly had knocked an arrow to her bow and shot it towards an enemy archer, hitting him square in the heart, before reaching blindly for the next arrow and repeating the process. More arrows and spears fired past her shoulder as she shot down her fifth warrior. She could hear her people rallying behind her.
"Aim for the doors!" She shouted back to them. The archers posted there were holding the way clear for more warriors to enter. They needed to be taken out so her people could push forward and drive the enemy back.
Her people followed her order, and volleys were shot at the door at random, then in organised fire. Lexa saw four archers fall to the floor before somebody shouted and warriors with shields clustered backwards to cover the door. She scowled while arrow after arrow being shot by her people pinged and ricocheted off the metal sheets protecting the traitor warriors ahead. Lexa's eyes darted along the line of gray steel, looking for a way through it, while more of her people fell behind her.
"Heda!"
Lexa felt Indra's body bump into her side when the weaponless general slid to her knees beside her.
"Indra" She greeted calmly and knocked her last arrow. Her eyes narrowed when she peered over the table and spotted the spear throwing warrior from before. He was shouting at his people, directing them where to fight. Clearly he was their leader in this attack.
"Heda! The market is overrun!" Indra panted heavily, "More delphikru warriors are arriving from the woods. Scouts say they saw Igranronakru horses" Lexa glanced up at the news. Another of her clans had betrayed her? Indra's expression hardened, "Skaikru plan-"
Indra's report was cut short by a massive explosion outside. The two Trikru women ducked behind the table. The floor shook and gasps echoed around the room before the fighting resumed. Lexa stretched her neck up and stared past the enemy to the thick dust cloud outside. Something had been destroyed out there. Something big. Lexa's heart drummed in immediate fear for her people.
She turned to Indra, who unlike Lexa looked more annoyed than worried.
"Skaikru blew up the southern wall!" She growled to the commander.
Lexa felt so relieved she nearly laughed. Of course Clarke would have the wall blown up. The explosion would kill anybody trying to enter while the wreckage would completely block the way into the city for survivors. She agreed wholly with the blonde's sacrificing the wall.
"Thats not our problem" She calmly nodded to the warriors shielding the doors ahead front of them, "Where are our people situated outside?"
"Most of them are in the market fighting off Delphikru's advance. Some are evacuating the citizens. They're using Raven's inventions but they do little to help inside the city" Indra's unsurprised dissatisfaction drenched her grumbling tone as she spoke, "Skaikru are also trying to shoot the enemy from above. I ordered the lower kapa shilkru to hold the main gate"
Lexa nodded and looked to the Delphikru warriors holding the ground in front of them. Her heart felt heavy recognising some of the young faces glaring back at her. Some had frequented the city often through the years. Many had spoken to her. A few she had even hunted with on occasion. It hurt her to see them now willing to kill her and those she loved.
The commander shifted her eyes on to the corner of the foyer. The spear warrior was pacing angrily and pointing frantically towards her hiding place behind the table. Indicating that the warriors charge there. Lexa glared at him and pushed her sword up into Indra's hand. The general looked down at it confused.
"Keep up!" Lexa barked at her and leapt to her feet.
Lexa jumped over the table and ran at the enemy yelling furiously. She heard Indra shout at her people to follow and she saw the fear enter her enemies' eyes seeing them all charge toward them. The spear warrior shouted and the first line of Delphi warriors began running up the corridor to meet them. The room trembled with a roaring symphony of yells as the grounders quickly neared one another.
Lexa danced a step back just before the two lines clashed. On either side of her voices and metal screamed out as bodies smashed into one another. It was almost numbing to Lexa, who fought the ringing in her ears and faced forward to fight. She dodged the sword of the first person to swing at her and caught his follow up on the shaft of her borrowed bow. Lexa saw the head of a spear coming for her head while they faced off, and bent her neck backwards, causing it to strike her opponent instead. The warrior next to him gave a surprised grunt when she prodded the point of her bow into his stomach, and cried when she stabbed the arrow head into his neck. She held onto it letting it fall free of him with his fall to the ground. Lexa yanked the spear free of his friend in the next moment and span herself around to shove it into a passing warrior's side.
She breathed heavy while she moved on. The smell of sweat and blood already filled her nose. Already stained her skin. Lexa caught herself wondering how she had ever revelled in it all before. She hated it.
A deep shout had her blinking past her thought. A large bare chested man covered in tattoos stood in front of her spinning a long axe in both hands. He grinned when she inched backwards and swung his enormous arms down. Lexa hopped to the side and his axe painted a deep crack into the stone floor by her right boot. The Delphi man yanked it free and swung again with a growl when Lexa ducked and rolled out of the way again.
Another yell above her made her look back over her shoulder. A masked warrior was standing at her back trying to take advantage of her low position on the floor.
The warrior raised their sword back in both hands above their head to stab down at her. In front of Lexa the warrior with the axe was moving closer readying his own swing down.
"Heda stedaun!" He laughed callously enjoying the way the commander's eyes darted between them. He thought it was fear. For how would anybody save themselves from this?
Lexa's heart pounded in her chest while she waited for them both to move. Around them warriors ran past to attack her people. Easily they could have surrounded her and simply hacked her to death. But none of them seemed at all interested in taking a claim on her life. She found it confusing. Hadn't they come to kill her?
Lexa looked back between her captors again and she smirked seeing the one holding the sword shifting his foot forward. Going to attack. Like she'd hoped he would.
"AGH!" He shouted out in pain when she span on her side and kicked hard at his shin causing him to take a knee in front of her. Lexa scrambled up in the same moment and kneed him hard in the face. Her hand in his hair stopped him falling backwards and held him suspended in her grip.
She heard his companion yell out as he heaved his axe higher in the air to swing at her. The commander waited until the last moment before shoving the dazed sword wielding warrior to take her place. She held him in place and clenched her jaw to stop the sudden nausea the moment her arms jarring and blood exploding everywhere signalled the axe connected with the man's face. In his shock the axeman dropped his weapon, allowing Lexa the opportunity to drop the dead man and grab his sword by her knee and send it through the large man's belly. He cried out and clutched frantically at it.
Lexa stood panting and kicked him to his back. She stood above him dying at her feet and then looked forward to the next wave of warriors being sent to her. Lexa looked back to her people and was relieved to see Indra yanking her sword free of an opponent. She breathed quick and then strode towards the next group of warriors heading somewhat nervously her way. She threw the bow across her back and slid her last arrow into her boot. The commander slowly picked up more speed as she neared the people running opposite her, and she yelled out with blazing eyes when they shrank back from her.
"Kill her!" The spear warrior screeched at them.
Lexa's yell lowered into a deep growl as she ran forwards. She dodged a arrow and darted towards an upturned cart that had been dragged in to be used as cover and propelled herself over the top of it, and over the heads of the enemy warriors, barrelling herself feet first into the ones holding the steel shields. They fell like dominos into one another, allowing Lexa's people the time to shoot at them. The others that she'd leapt over tripped on themselves turning to face her as she rolled back to her feet and bent defensively in front of them, appearing to be weaponless.
Lexa counted slowly in her head while they slowly came at her. Behind them her people were closing in.
The first warrior to attack threw a knife at her face and then snatched a spear from one of her companions. Lexa dodged the blade and caught it as it passed her face, twisting her torso to fight its momentum in order to throw it back into the line of warriors. She danced round the female warrior's lunge forward after and caught the spear in her grip. She punched the woman hard in the face with her left hand while her right shoved up on the spear shaft in her palm, hitting the warrior in the face with it. She span again forcing it from the warrior's ownership and whacked it hard into her ribs, sending her winded to her hands and knees.
Lexa made quick work of the rest of the warriors around her. She dodged spears, stole swords, kicked and punched and shoved. Her body was the best weapon she owned and she knew how to use it to destroy her enemies.
The commander stomped her boot down into the back of a female warrior attempting to crawl away from her. She ripped out the spear she'd thrown into her back while the woman screamed back at her in agony. Lexa quickly ended her fight and then threw the spear with all her strength hard forwards across the room, straight into the chest of a warrior turning and leaping towards an already occupied Indra.
Indra barely noticed that Lexa had just saved her. She cut down her opponent with her two swords. She turned after and shouted out to Lexa as she ran toward her and threw the commander her sword. Lexa span on her heel straight after catching it and cut down another warrior that had been about to attack her. She left her sword impaled in the other woman's chest. The next warrior to approach the commander had their legs knocked from beneath them. When they raised their head to look up at Lexa the commander already had her bow off her back, arrow aimed and ready.
Fresh blood splattered up across Lexa's thigh and wrist when the warrior's body slumped lifelessly forward into her front but she didn't care. She pulled the arrow the rest of the way out the back off the now dead warrior's head and re-knocked it to shoot it towards the door, where her intended target was yelling at his remaining warriors to take her down already.
Lexa narrowed her eyes and drew the bow string back as far as possible. Her cheek burned when it grazed her skin snapping forward after she released the arrow. Lexa watched it fly across the room and directly hit the spear warrior's chest. She smirked victoriously watching it send him hurtling backwards into his own people mid yell.
The commander breathed heavily while her people ran forward around her charging at the remaining warriors blocking the doorway. Without guidance they seemed not to know how to proceed. Which made them easy pickings for Lexa's warriors. Indra came panting to Lexa's side as she herself panted and yanked her sword out of the dead warrior she'd left it in.
"That was..." Indra knew from Lexa's smirk that she expected praise. So Indra gave none, "Dramatic" She finished in her usual tone of disapproval.
Lexa simply rolled her eyes and told Indra to hand over her radio.
"Clarke?" She called into it holding her breath. She hoped Clarke was okay. She prayed she was safe.
The radio crackled but Clarke wasn't the one that replied.
"Lexa! I need your ninja ass up here now!"
Lexa exchanged a confused glance with Indra, "Raven?"
"Who else?!" The mechanic growled impatiently back. A gun going off close to the radio shot three rounds and Raven screamed at somebody in the background, "Get the hell out of my tower!" Lexa heard her growl again before shooting more rounds.
The commander's heart jumped in sudden realisation. Raven was above them on the ninth level of the tower. There shouldn't be anybody up there. Unless..
"They're climbing the tower!" She gasped looking to Indra with panicked eyes. If the enemy had reached the ninth level then they had definitely reached the fifth. Clarke's level. Lexa's hand shook as it raised the radio back to her mouth, "Raven, I'm on my way!"
Lexa threw the radio back to Indra and shouted a command for the general's warriors to forget the fight outside and follow their chief. She shoved her general back when Indra made to accompany her to help Raven.
"You go to Clarke!" she ordered her sternly, "You take her to Gaia and you make sure she stays there!"
Indra nodded and barked at her warriors to follow her. Lexa glanced back at the remaining warriors trying to hold the door before she followed. She knew it wouldn't be long before they were forced back and killed. The fight would eventually head upstairs. She needed to make sure Skaikru survived long enough to even the odds.
Lexa shifted her grip on her sword and ran quickly back towards the elevator. She turned past it and rushed through the corridors to the stairs her people had to use to get around the tower. She looked up at the layers of steps above her head and huffed to herself before beginning her climb up.
The commander's legs were shaking with exertion by the time she'd made it nine levels up. Her lungs shook in her chest with each breath she heaved in. Sweat drenched her shirt beneath her armour. She moved quickly into the ninth level corridor, making her way quietly to the room Raven had taken over to use as a workshop. She heard the mechanic swearing loudly inside it and then the sound of glass breaking.
Lexa ducked into the room hearing a gun go off and then click. She heard more glass breaking and Raven's hurt gasp follow. Lexa turned and saw the bodies on the floor before she spotted the skaigada on the floor by a smashed graphic board, looking fiercely up at a warrior leaning over her about to kill her.
Lexa rushed forward and swung her sword into the warriors side. He cried out and she struck him again. Lexa kicked him aside after and reached down to help Raven up. Raven threw her hands away.
"Window!" The other woman gasped nodding frantically past Lexa's shoulder.
The commander turned and spotted hands clutching at the sill. Followed quickly by broad shoulders and a head. Lexa growled to herself and crossed the room in four large angry strides. She waited until the man had climbed up enough to lean forward on his belly on the windowsill so he could crawl into the room. When he saw her feet standing in front of him he froze and slowly craned his neck back to look up at her. His sweating face paled when he saw her warpaint and realised who she was and what she was about to do.
His lips trembled, "Bej-"
"Yu gonneplie ste oden!" She snarled kicking him in the face.
The commander watched with a stony expression while he yelled out in terror on his long way down to the ground. His body flipped and turned in the air as it gained more speed. Soon she lost sight of him. More movement caught her eye though and made her lean out of the window. Lexa could see many more bodies crawling like ants up the pale structure of her tower. More warriors climbing through windows below them. Some climbing higher towards her. It had her clenching her sword tight.
"Kick the grounder, hey. I, uh.. I forgot that was your thing"
Raven was breathing heavy leaning against a crate looking up at her impressed and disgusted when she turned back to her. Lexa impatiently rolled her eyes and strode back to the mechanic. She took in the dead skaikru guards and then the delphi warriors around the room. It looked like they had taken skaikru by surprise before the favour had been returned. Lexa spied the machine gun by Raven's side. Raven must have mowed down the warriors until her bullets had emptied.
"Where's Octavia?" she questioned not understanding the warrior's absence when she'd been tasked with being Raven's bodyguard in the event of war.
Raven shrugged at her.
"Clarke called in for some heavy explosive power. Something close to a launcher. God knows why. Octavia ran it down to her and never came back" Raven looked down to hide her intense worry for her friend, "Indra radioed and mentioned people on horses. I guess Octavia heard and went to play conclave with them"
Again Lexa was reminded of Igranronakru's betrayal. And it made her angry.
"I thought your inventions would protect the city?!" Lexa growled striding forward to pull Raven to her feet.
The skaigona gasped and swore at her. She hopped backwards from Lexa's firm grip with a deep scowl.
"Hey, my babies work fine! Haven't you seen them? They're holding off the rest of those dicks out there!"
"Then why is my city on fire?!" Lexa snapped at the mechanic in a threatening voice.
Raven threw her hands up.
"I don't know! They shouldn't have been able to get in! Nobody could. Not unless-"
Raven's face went blank. Lexa forgot her anger and worried the other woman was going into shock or something. She approached the sky girl and touched her arm. She jumped when Raven suddenly smacked her palm into her head.
"Fuck me!" She growled smacking her head again, "God dammit!"
Lexa frowned at the other woman, "What?"
Raven looked up at the commander. She saw Lexa looking at her apprehensively. She knew from experience how Lexa took bad news. The scars on her arm tingled in memory. She swallowed nervously wishing she could be somebody else right now.
"Not unless they were told how. Somebody's been feeding them our plans" Raven stepped forward watching Lexa's brow dip in misunderstanding, "Lexa, somebody on the inside told them how to get past our defences"
Lexa stared incredulously at her but in her heart the commander knew that Raven was right. Already today she had been informed of another kru betraying her. It made sense that more could have turned their backs on their commander. It explained how they had all been taken by surprise. Lexa just didn't understand why.
She nodded curtly accepting Raven's theory.
"Never mind that now" She rushed moving past Raven to the walkie talkie by the mechanic's foot. She bent to pick it up and raised it to speak to Clarke. She quickly called out the blondes name but the talkie stayed quiet in reply. Lexa shook the device not understanding why it wasn't working.
"Its fried" Raven told her simply. She limped heavily to Lexa's side with her gun in her hand. Lexa sighed and dropped the talkie. She'd hoped to speak with Clarke, or Indra. Anybody who was with the blonde right now. She just had to know that she was okay.
Raven read the stress in Lexa's eyes. She squeezed the commander's shoulder, "She'll be fine. Indra was with Clarke when I last spoke to her" she muttered to her softly before she shook herself and replaced her gentle expression with a harder one, "We've got to move. I bet my best wrench that more of Sev's goons are on their way up here"
Lexa glanced towards the window and nodded. Raven was right. They needed to leave.
"You're right" she said moving to pick up her sword.
"I usually am" Raven smartly quipped back, "So whats the plan?"
The mechanic limped hard past the commander to search for something in the corner of the room. Lexa watched the way the woman struggled to raise her leg enough to step. She wouldn't be able to walk or fight.
"We go up" she decided easily. Raven was their best mechanic. She had improved the city and kept it defended. And she was Clarke's friend. She needed to be protected. Lexa could take her to Clarke and they could strategise together.
"What are you doing?" she asked frowning at the other woman slinging a heavy belt into the wall by the window. Lexa stared at the shining metal spheres poking out of the pockets lining the belt. She turned her eyes back to Raven who was hastily pulling metal tags off her fingers.
Raven shook her head and awkwardly hurried back to the commander. Her leg kept dragging behind her and with every step she took a deep searing pain tore up her thigh. She pressed her hand to it and gritted her teeth. She could feel blood running down her pant leg to pool inside her boot. She couldn't dwell on it though. Those grenades were about to take out the entire room with them inside it.
Raven ignored Lexa's concerned look and grabbed Lexa's arm. She shoved her back towards the door, barking at her to run now or get blown up. Lexa immediately understood what Raven had done. She calculated to herself that with that many spheres about to blow, Skaikru's boom expert was about to make a pretty big boom. Lexa twisted around out of the mechanic's hold and ran to the door. She stopped realising Raven wasn't directly behind her. Lexa span about and saw her trying to drag herself out of the room, clutching her leg in pain. Raven told Lexa to go. But Lexa couldn't. She strode forward and collected a very reluctant Raven up into her arms to carry her quickly from the room.
"If you tell anybody about this, even Clarke, I swear to god I'll bury a screwdriver in your head!" Raven grumbled at her as she held on to the running grounder holding her.
The corner of Lexa's mouth quirked up with half a smile.
"Believe me, Raven. The feeling is very mutual"
The commander ran with the mechanic through the floor shaking with the bombs suddenly exploding in the corridor behind her. The two women could hear the distant screams people who had found themselves in the way of the explosion. Raven's arm around Lexa's neck tightened slightly listening. She hoped nobody innocent had been hurt by her idea to blow up the workshop. She told herself not to care either way. It was war. Collateral happened. Still, it was hard to be completely cold about it. Lexa exchanged a short look with her while she ran. She understood.
Lexa ran up the stairs to the next level of the tower. Against the odds the elevator was open and waiting for them. Feeling somewhat paranoid, Lexa cautiously approached it, and Raven held her gun out in both hands ready to shoot. They entered it when they realised it was empty. Lexa quickly hit the button for the throne level and set Raven down on the floor. The other woman groaned when Lexa took hold of the seam of her pants on her left leg and tore it open.
"Jesus!" she shouted out in pain, "Would you give a girl some warning?!"
Lexa ignored her. She was busy pressing her hands to the deep cut on the side of Raven's leg. Blood poured out between her fingers. Lexa worried her friend was losing too much blood.
In the meantime Raven was ignoring the fact she was injured and was stretching out on her side to reach up for the button panel. Lexa told her to stay still but the sky girl wasn't having it. She impatiently brushed Lexa off and yanked herself across the floor of the elevator. Raven sat up against the wall and took a couple steadying breaths before she twisted herself up onto her knees. She screamed out despite herself when it hurt.
"Raven, you need to-"
"Shut up a second" Raven snapped frowning to herself as she tried to prise open the button panel. Lexa watched the mechanic grow frustrated and handed her her sword. Raven wedged the blade between the metal plates and ripped the panel open and began playing with the wires.
"What're you doing?" Lexa asked her drawing her eyes to the changing numbers above the doors. They were slowly running out of floors for Raven to play with the elevator. Lexa was worried Raven would slow down their ascension, and in turn slow her progress to Clarke.
"I'm breaking this thing" Raven mumbled cutting a wire and pulling another out to scrutinize. She felt Lexa's astounded stare on her back and paused her work to sigh in aggravation, "Do you want your enemies riding up here in their twenties?"
Lexa swallowed her angry retort. She could admit she was impressed by the skaigona's quick thinking. And really Raven's plan was brilliant. If the army outside only had the stairs to use then Lexa's warriors would have height and restfulness to their advantage. They could easily overpower their enemies on the stairs. If it worked, Raven would save many of her people.
"You're officially a war general" she told the mechanic. Raven waved her hand back at her.
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever" She gave Lexa her sword back and accepted the commander's help up to her feet. Raven nodded to the panel panting when she sagged into Lexa's side. "That should do it. We'll get to the top but the elevator won't respond if anybody calls it down. In the meantime I can get my people to blow the stairs behind Sev's warriors"
Lexa frowned at her, "And trap us up here?"
"Not if you kill them all" The mechanic shrugged. She looked seriously at Lexa, "Here's the plan. You tell your people to get to a lower level. Fifteen should be the right enough if Sev's army is moving fast. I'll get my people on the ground to blow the doors downstairs and then the stairs. Nobody gets in. Nobody gets up. When this is all over we'll worry about getting out of here"
Lexa nodded in agreement. It was a solid enough plan.
The two women silently waited for the numbers above the door to stop going up. When they hit the highest level the elevator could reach they stepped out into a crowd of Lexa's warriors rushing about. Without waiting for permission Lexa picked Raven back up and carried her out into the hall. She called out to her warriors, trying to get them to the stairs as planned. The commander quickly handed Raven off to one and ordered that she be taken upstairs to be guarded by the flame keepers where she could be safe while she radioed her people. Raven's scowling look of outrage at being handed around and carried about like a doll would have had Lexa exchanging an even darker scowl with the girl if the corridor hadn't suddenly filled with enemy warriors.
Raven had been wrong. Sev's army had moved a whole lot fast then they'd thought.
"Gonot!" Lexa screamed at the warrior holding Raven.
She turned at his running away with the mechanic swearing loudly at her over his shoulder. Lexa drew a deep breath seeing the fierce men and women charging towards her and raised her sword ready for the next fight.
Translations;
Sha, strikon - Yes, little one
Tel osir op un sontaim kom skai - Tell us a story from the sky
Otaim - Always
Ai moba - I'm sorry
Igranronakru - Plain riders
Kapa shilkru - City guards
Heda stedaun - The commander is dead
Yu gonneplie ste oden - Your fight is over
Skaigona - Sky girl
Gonot - Go.
