A/N: It's been a year since I started writing this story!

I hope you haven't forgotten the story of Ice...someone's coming ;)

I mostly use the italic for sentences written in English but meant to be in another language, be it Trigedasleng or Italian. And if there are no " " it's someone's thoughts.

Also... I'm looking for a beta to go over the story and help me with a few points and to get new ideas, so if you want to help me, contact me on tumblr my username is justawordunsaid or on twitter Sara_NobodyO

If you like it, please leave a review! Enjoy!

Chapter Nineteen: Our Princess

The morning after Malaya takes Nyx and Clarke away from their breakfast to brief them on their journey, more importantly on the last part of it. Apparently Malaya's group has moved faster than Nyx's and they've had a lot of success.

"We arrived here about a week ago. The people around the capital, the poor ones especially, are more than ready to fight the Queen, so our job was quite easy and it didn't take long. A few days and all the villages around here were on our side, word spreads way faster here where villages are so close to each others, I feared the wrong ears would hear about us too, so I took two guys and went to the capital to check on things while the others went on talking to people and preparing them for what's to come."

She takes a break and waits to see if Nyx is angry at her for taking the risk of being found in the capital, but the brunette only seems concerned about what they saw in the city.

"This war has gone over her head, the Queen is so worked up with her game of death that she probably wouldn't mind us even if we started talking about rebellion right in front of her doors. The defences of the city are low, from what we could understand she has her personal army not far from here, but she expects attacks from the south at most, if none at all, so if we manage to sneak rebels into the towns around here the army won't have time to get to Ice before we get to her."

Malaya is not one to look excited, nor is she foolish, she knows that it still won't be easy, though she can't help but feel somehow thrilled. She's wanted this for so long, and they may have finally found an opening to kill the Queen, she can't help the slight rise in her voice, the small spark in her eyes. It's been a long time since Nyx has seen her like that, she had got used to seeing her angry and always alert, but now she can make out some passion back in those green eyes that haven't spoken to her in a long while.

"Why would the Queen be so stupid though? Why would she lower the defences of the city?" Clarke has to ask, because it simply looks too easy.

Nyx turns slowly towards her, her eyes starting to light up like Malaya's. "Because, no matter how strong she thinks she is, that is exactly her weakness. She intends on leading the army, she always does in war, but she won't join her warriors until the last moment, because she wants to give the impression of being above all of this, she wants everyone to see that she's not afraid, she's not scared, she doesn't need an army to protect her. Her pride and arrogance will be her downfall, as they've been her rise to power."

"Nyx is right. She got the power thanks to her cruelty, her arrogance and pride, she imposed herself and offered the same to those who would follow her. But she's overconfident and a fool in her useless display of power now. She's going to war against the south clans, against her long time enemy, the Trikru, and she's certain to win. She's not wrong in thinking that she can win this war, but she's a fool for not making sure she gets to start it. The Ice Nation is well protected from all sides by our allies, that's why she doesn't deem necessary to defend the city in time of war. She probably plans to have the other clans keep her enemies at bay, occupied, and them march with her white army, like the unforgiving ice-storm that kills everything that survived."

"But if the wind doesn't rise to lead the storm..." Nyx grins for the first time after Clarke's capture.

"If we kill her while she's still in the capital we free our people and we stop a war. It could mean peace with the other clans, even if Ice is the clan that started this." Malaya finishes for her.

It still doesn't sit right with Clarke, but she trusts both girls enough to follow through with whatever plan they're about to come up with. The two brunette rebels are both smiling by now, Nyx grinning widely, Malaya only barely showing her own grin. Clarke feels a sudden burst of confidence at witnessing the hope in their eyes and she smiles along with her new friends.

They discuss some more, Malaya reporting that the Queen still has her personal guards and soldiers are still walking around the city, but she also reports that they seem far more interested in tormenting the population than keeping order or safety in the streets. Nyx is already formulating a plan, Malaya's mind is working on a strategy and Clarke's finding ways to deal with possible gone-wrong situations.

The next day they leave Lidia, a girl from Malaya's group, and Zakay in the near village so that they can lead the rebels and receive any message they could need to send from Cristallo, all the while also keeping an eye on what's going on in the capital; and then they head back to Cristallo.

... ... ...

They don't get as far as Cristallo, because they learn on the way that the people from Cristallo had to move in order to avoid the troupes of soldiers headed to the border to the Trikru. They're only told that the rebels moved to Sorgente.

The last days of the journey are heavy with worry for the family and friends they left behind. Hopefully Chayim and the others managed to handle the situation and warned all the villages in time, hopefully Cristallo heard about the soldiers in time to evacuate, but the unknown is always in the back of their mind, suggesting the worst scenarios, whispering horrors behind their eyes.

Clarke feels sick wondering about Aeryn and Mawiyah, about the young rebels who stayed behind, about Asher and Ianthe, about the children she drew a lifetime ago. A lifetime she isn't ready to give up. She feels Nyx stiff and cold at her side, she sees the disruptive storm barely contained in her eyes and the worry floating behind it. She knows that if any of their friends is hurt, the Queen is going to pay for it.

They're going to get her back, they have to. It's not too late, it can't be. She can't lose her daughter...again. Abby only wants to take one of the cars they found and drive right into the Ice Nation's capital, but of course it would be foolish and accomplish nothing. But walking with her guards and Lexa's warriors all around her, slowly proceeding and having to stop when the dark falls, set up tents and rest for the night, is driving her crazy. All she wants is for Clarke to be safely in her arms, but her best chance at getting her back alive and in one piece is Lexa, so she steels herself and goes on, keeping Indra's pace.

She failed Clarke before even coming down to the ground, she failed her when she got Jake executed, she failed her on the ground, she failed her when she got captured by the Mountain Men and left it all to Clarke to save everyone, she failed her when she let her go. She was so preoccupied with everyone else's wounds that she didn't pay attention to her daughter's far deeper ones.

Of course Clarke was torn inside, haunted by what she had done. As a mother, she should have been there for her, search harder, she should have been able to find her and bring her home, make her feel safe and cared for. But she didn't, she only moves now, after Lexa found out that Clarke is danger, after Lexa moved to save her, after Lexa offered to save Clarke, with or without their help. Only then, only now she moves, after the woman who betrayed her people and left her daughter to die makes the first move.

Abby feels awful, but she's more than determined to find her daughter and bring her home safely, it doesn't matter how many men of the Queen she has to kill, she'll do it gladly, she'll shoot them right between their eyes, no matter how much blood she gets on her hands, she will take it all to find her Clarke.

The day before leaving to meet with the grounder's small army, she cried all the tears she had, now her eyes are dry, her jaw set and her hands close to her guns.

She casts a glance in Lexa's direction but can only see flashes of her red as the grounder leader moves ahead with her warriors, marching among them and keeping herself near the front, as if she were continuously struggling not to run forward, not to mount her horse and gallop to Clarke. She doesn't look as calm and composed as when she was getting ready to attack Mount Weather, but she looks ever more determinate and there's death in her eyes that longs to hit its targets. Abby doesn't think that, despite everything, she's ever seen the Commander look so fierce and dangerous. But she doesn't let herself wonder too much about it, she dismisses it as the furor of war.

... ... ...

Bellamy is marching silently keeping an eye on his sister, walking ahead of him at Lincoln's side, not quite mixed with the grounders but still detached from the skaikru's guards. His mind keeps screaming, but he turns it all off and concentrate on the present task, finding Clarke and maybe killing the Queen while they're at it.

He's not ready to drown in his grief and regrets, so he keeps busy throwing distrustful looks at the grounders, but at the same time he distances himself from his own people not wanting to engage anyone in conversation. He stares at his sister, clearly displeased with her attempt at fitting in with the trikru's warriors, even if not as much as before. He wonders if Lincoln isn't uncomfortable being with people who consider him a traitor, if it were Bellamy he surely would be, given that he has to fight at their side. He already doesn't trust them to have his back, so he doesn't get why Lincoln would follow Octavia among the grounders' lines. But then, it is Octavia, so there's the answer itself.

He tortures himself with doubts, just to keep his mind from wandering to thoughts of Clarke. What if the grounders just lured them out there to kill them? They took a lot of guards from Arkadia, not enough to leave it defenceless, but still many. What if the actual army of the trikru is now attacking Arkadia while they'll have to fight this smaller one? They are outnumbered and not on the best battlefield in the forest, the grounders could kill them all. And with this mistrust in mind he keeps glancing venomously at the warriors marching ahead of them to distract himself from the pain and hurt that awaits for him in his head.

He concentrates on his hate for Lexa and her people to chase away images of Clarke being tortured, of Clarke caged in the Queen's prisons, of the Queen killing her. He needs to save his Princess.

... ... ...

Indra is aware of Octavia marching behind her, just far enough not to make it look like she's actually following the general, just close enough so that the trikru warrior knows perfectly that she's there. Every once in a while she starts to think about the girl who had been so promising before... and every time she does that she shakes herself out of it and focuses on her Commander instead.

Lexa has been unstoppable, she hasn't allowed any of her generals to change her mind, question or oppose her, she just demanded that her orders were obeyed. She left Avah in command of the army and to decide the strategy of the defence, and Eamon and Tansee to handle the capital and the other clans' leaders and delegates. She was calm and controlled when she explained the plan to the other generals, she made it look all about winning the war and killing the Queen, she made it clear that they needed to do this if they wanted to have the skaikru's help and she didn't let anyone argue when she declared she would have been going to Ice leading the small army. Every single one of the generals protested, but she didn't pay them any attention, only demanding obedience. Indra doesn't think she has ever seen her like that before. Which is why she's a lot worried.

It seems to her that the Commander would do anything for Clarke and Indra can't see any way that this could end well. She just hopes she can limit the damages.

... ... ...

Lexa is breathing fire with every intake of breath, it burns her lungs and sets her soul in flames. Only one thought in her clear mind. Clarke.

When they finally arrive in Sorgente they immediately ask for their friends.

They are led to where the rebels are training and they find Liri sparring with a young girl they've never seen before. They assume she's one of the rebels of Sorgente, but then Liri introduces her.

"This is Kyra."

Liri slowly looks Nyx, Malaya and Wit in the eyes.

"This is the Princess."