Thank you to everyone who is still interested after all this time. This is Act 1.5, meaning that the next chapter will start the second half of the story. Enjoy!

Lexa stared impassively at the ambassadors assembled below her throne. They were all speaking at once, in three or four different conversations, and Lexa let it flow over her as she took in each one in turn. All were agitated. Some were furious, others nervous.

Some were simply not present.

Lexa let her eyes rest for a few short moments on the chair for the Ice Nation's ambassador, who had not been with them for some seasons now. It was only out of tradition (and insistence from Titus that setting the chair aflame and tossing it from her tower would simply cause unrest) that they even kept a seat at the table. What was on her mind now, what was on all of their minds, was that of the other empty seat. The chair of the Rock Clan's ambassador also sat empty, its occupant having left in the cover of darkness only a week past.

Her face remained stoic, but by the increase of volume in the room, she knew that her attention had not gone unnoticed.

Her palm began to itch with anger, and she clenched her fist around the sensation.

Behind her, she could feel the tightly coiled energy of her General, obviously as unhappy with the situation as she was. Of course, Anya was always unhappy, but this need to wait, to not take action in the face of obvious treachery, was especially hard on her. For all that she had preached patience to Lexa as her Fos, the one true lesson that she had learned was that Anya had very little of it herself.

The thought almost caused her to smile.

"They are obviously in league with the Ice Nation," boomed Tomas, of the Plains. "Even now, they could be amassing their forces, ready for a—"

"We cannot know that," interjected a quieter voice. Lexa allowed her gaze to focus on this conversation, only to find the speaker already looking back at her. Siena was the representative of the Desert clan, and the first child of its Chief. She'd also made no secret of the fact that she would be open to more than a political alliance. Lexa held the gaze, but her expression remained the same save for one questioning eyebrow. "The Rock Clan shares a border with the Ice Nation," the woman said, finally looking away when she could find no favor in Lexa's gaze. "And Cort spoke many times of the raiding parties testing their outer villages. That doesn't speak of a willing participant in…" Siena struggled for a moment with a word. "In treason."

Treason. Lexa leaned back, lacing her fingers loosely together in front of her. Treason implied that she might finally be succeeding in her goal. That those within her coalition were beginning to see it as fixed, rather than temporary. That maybe her legacy could be peace after all.

Her eyes flicked once more to the empty chair at the far end of the table, her gaze turning dark. And still there were those that would threaten it.

Maybe the time for waiting was over.

Tomas shook his head, obviously planning on a rebuttal. Other voices tried to join in, the conversation once more unified. Lexa sat with purpose, releasing her hands and swiftly bringing one up to silence the group.

"Enough!" she said. It took only a few seconds, but the room went silent. And then, before she could say more, there were murmurs. Lexa scowled at the disrespect, ready to stand and truly throw her power behind her words, when she realized where the gazes were focused.

Her hand.

She clenched her fist on instinct, lowering it and turning it towards her. When she spread her fingers again, she saw that what she had been dismissing as a physical reaction of her anger was actually… her.

She was still alive.

The relief that she felt shocked her so much that for once, it must have actually shown on her face, because the murmurs in the room got louder. Anya, sensing that something was amiss, stepped forward, presumably reminding them of their place.

Lexa could only stare for long moments, stunned at the vivid red lines on her palm. A five-pointed star stared clearly back at her, even if the edges were smudged and beginning to bleed. To bleed. Lexa felt her heart clench in her chest. What was this? What was it trying to say?

After all this time, more than a full cycle of the seasons, and her soulmate had come back with blood.

"Heda?" Anya's soft question pierced the veil of both relief and alarm, and Lexa quickly closed her fist again. Now that she wasn't ignoring it, the mark burned fiercely, and Lexa struggled to compose her expression.

"It's nothing. I…" But as Lexa went to brush it aside, she realized that she hadn't covered up the mark quickly enough, and Anya's sharp eyes were unrelenting. She swallowed, then spoke with more confidence and just enough volume that the ambassadors listening intently were sure to hear. "I cut myself with my knife earlier." Something that she hadn't done in years. Something that Anya was not about to believe. There was a promise in Anya's eyes, even as she gave a small nod for show and turned again to retake her place: they would be talking about this later.

Lexa tried to gather her thoughts, readjusting in her throne and calmly assessing each ambassador in turn. At least to all outward appearance. Inwardly, her palm ached and she felt an almost physical need to respond to the call, but her people came first. They always did.

She opened her mouth once more to speak.

The doors burst open, Aden uncharacteristically stumbling into the room, the shouts of Titus audible far down the hall. He stood quickly, recomposing himself in a manner not unlike Lexa. "Heda! The sky!"

Titus's heavy footsteps sounded closer, along with the pitter patter of half a dozen other little feet right behind him, but Lexa didn't even stop to consider doing anything but immediately moving to the balcony and throwing open the curtain. The gasps behind her were nowhere near as loud as her own thundering heartbeat.

A star, brighter than any she'd ever seen, falling from the sky in broad daylight.

She watched, transfixed and oblivious to anything happening behind her, as it streaked across the sky. Her hand burned brightly, and she could not resist the urge to hold it up against the sky, watching as the image bled further, distorting, even as the physical incarnation of that star burned ever closer.

When it finally, impossibly, hit the ground in the distance, Lexa felt a jolt of pain on her hand and watched the red smudge further with the impact. Long seconds passed. The noise behind her sounded far away as she stood frozen, watching for any sign.

The red was still there. It was smudged, but still there. Whatever had happened… her soulmate lived still. For now.

Time flowed again as Lexa felt a presence at her back. Anya, an unreadable look on her face, peered off in the distance as well. Lexa took a long, steadying breath, then let it out and allowed her thoughts to rush ahead.

There was much to consider. So many possibilities. Most of them incredibly dangerous.

The star had fallen somewhere between TonDC and the Maunon's territory. Indra's backyard, but far too close for comfort.

Lexa closed her fist.

"Gather your fastest riders. At least a dozen. Coordinate with Indra, then find the star." Lexa spoke low, so only Anya could hear. Without looking, she could feel Anya's wordless nod. Her General didn't leave right away though, and Lexa closed her eyes, knowing what she was waiting for. Lexa shook her head slowly, and finally Anya turned to leave.

At the last minute, Lexa reached out, pulling herself close to Anya.

"Anya," she whispered. Her eyes met those of her oldest true companion. "Be safe. Whoever you find…" And she tried not to react to the slight widening of Anya's eyes at the word 'who'. "… the Maunon may have found a way to bring the very stars to the ground."

There were many questions in Anya's eyes, but Lexa let go and nodded sharply to the door. Anya's nostrils flared, but she obeyed, and the crowd of ambassadors who were clamoring for some sort of explanation parted for her as if they knew instinctively that she would rather run them through than slow her mission.

The moment she was out the door, the noise level rose again.

"Heda, the mark—"

"Is this a sign?"

"Is this an attack?"

Lexa took in the crowd, unseeing, until her eyes landed on the gaggle of small children who were gathered around Titus, Aden out in front. Most of them were hopping around excitedly at the happenings, but Aden, ever the perceptive one, was quiet as he stared at her. When Lexa nodded at the door, he was already gathering the little ones before she even had the chance to speak.

"Titus, take the natblida back to their studies." Titus looked ready to question, but she threw him a look that allowed no disobedience. He was still slower than she liked, and she turned her attention to the ambassadors while they made their way out.

"Quiet," she demanded. There were more protests. This time, she practically roared. "Silence!"

There was a squeak from someone, and Lexa couldn't tell if it was one of the nightbloods happy to escape her wrath, or one of the ambassadors who weren't so lucky. Regardless, soon they were all waiting on her for an explanation. Lexa's mind was moving too fast for her to possibly process, but she knew one thing.

No one could be allowed to jeopardize Anya's mission.

"Lock the doors," she said. "The ambassadors will be staying in the tower until further notice."

As her warriors at the door immediately moved to do her bidding, the clamoring began again.