Hey guys. Thanks so much for your reviews. We just wanted to give a small warning before you started reading the chapter. Chapter warning, in Anya's point of view we kinda go the darkest we've gone so far. So if you're sensitive to medieval execution like skip it. Like we don't go crazy with describing it but we're clear as to what happens and we kinda realized it was disturbing. Just you should be able to tell who dies from the other points of view if you skip it so just keep that in mind. Thank for reading.
RhinoMouse
-DLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDL-
Burka was a weapon and she was alright with that. She'd been a small orphan running around the capitol stealing to survive when her first had found her and began to train her. She was good at killing, it didn't burden and break her like it did others. Orders were orders and life was simple. She killed when she was told to and in exchange she had food, a roof over her head, and tasks to keep her occupied. It wasn't much and she wouldn't say she was happy but she was satisfied. So, when Nia ordered her to kill the man who had saved her from the streets and trained her, giving her purpose, she did it without question or shame.
Standing in the shadows, she'd seen Octavia and Klark both get hit by darts and fall to the ground, the drug clearly an effective one. She'd been expecting it to happen, Flora had been ghosting them for a mile now. Using recovered darts to disguise the attack as a hit by the mountain was clever. She was rather impressed by the blow gun the warrior was storing before slipping out of her hiding place towards the two knocked out women. Deciding it was time to make her presence known, she slipped forward on silent feet.
"Took you long enough." Flora snapped, kicking the general in the side as she pulled out some rope. "Help me tie up Octavia, we need to drop her down a small ravine."
"Is it just us taking care of this?" Burka asked, accepting the rope and beginning to tie Octavia's hands while Flora tied her feet.
"I'm not sharing the reward for the general's head with Tarba. The oaf can deal with Nia's disappointment at failing his orders when we return." She scoffed, pulling the rope bonds around Octavia's feet tight.
"And yet, you offered me a chance to assist in your take down of the general?" She questioned.
Flora rolled her eyes. "I don't feel like waking with a knife in my back."
"Fair," Burka said while slipping a gag into Octavia's mouth. "You have an appropriate place to make it look like the mountain men dropped her?"
"Of course, I'm not an amateur. We just have to drop her, make you look a bit bloodied, and the mountain will be blamed." Flora laid out.
Burka nodded. A few more questions to be prudent, after all she had a target to take care of and she was very good at these things. "You have a location to hide the body?"
Flora sighed, "Do you have to be so chatty? Loosen up, we can have some fun with this. I intend to get some payback for the shit jobs I've been performing for the bitch." The assassin walked over to the unconscious general and straddled her form after rolling her over onto her back. "I intend to do this up close and personal."
"Before we have a dead body, I'd like to know how you intend to dispose of it. Scouts would notice if we just bury it." Burka said, watching as Flora's hands wrapped around the general's neck and began to squeeze.
"That pauna she took down the other day, its lair isn't far from here. We can dismember the body there. It won't be recognizable by the time anyone stumbles on it there." She huffed while gripping Klark's throat with all of her might.
"I see." Burka stepped forward and in one smooth motion brought a rock she'd grabbed smack into the side of Flora's head with a sick thump. Impassively, she watched the would be assassin's body slump down to the ground. Leaning down, she rested two fingers against Klark's neck to assure herself that the woman was still alive. She blinked slowly at the confirmation that she'd judged the length of time she'd allowed Klark to be strangled correctly. Moving over to Octavia, she began to untie her before moving to the prone form of Flora and tying her, far more tightly than she had bound Octavia. She did leave the gag in Octavia's mouth, she was annoyed with the woman after all. Tame that fucking horse her ass, it was as much of a demon as it'd ever been.
With that done, she gathered some loose branches and started a fire. After a walk of the perimeter, she returned to her three unconscious companions and pulled out some rations. She'd been saving them for this since they'd been handed out. It took around three hours for the first signs of life to come from one of her companions. Octavia was giving a pained groan. Burka considered her options. Picking up a nearby pinecone, she bounced it off Octavia's head. It amused her greatly.
Octavia gave another sound of coming out of her stupor before she could practically see her remember why she was unconscious. The warrior moved as fast and as coordinated as she could, it honestly looked more like a blackout drunk trying to move, but she had to give the woman credit for trying. It took three tries for her to pull the gag out of her mouth before she was able to prop herself up enough to look for Klark and for danger. Burka could practically hear the wheels turning as she took in the unconscious Klark, the tied up and unconscious Flora, and lastly Burka sitting nonchalantly by the side of a small fire.
"The fuck happened?" Octavia finally got out, her eyes still glazed partially and a bit of drool going down the side of her face.
Burka was particularly enjoying the leaves and dirt in her hair even if it was petty of her. "Attempted assassination. It all went according to plan."
Octavia frowned, "What?"
Burka sighed. "Flora hit you and Klark with tranquilizer darts, she scavenged from the mountain's attack earlier today. I captured her before she could cause any lasting damage."
"How did she even get close enough?" Octavia asked, suspicion starting to set in now that the drug was leaving her system. "And why was I gagged?"
"The conditions that Klark set for trapping the assassins after her was that I was allowed to do whatever I needed to do to draw them out as long as no permanent harm occurred. It was within my authority to let their plans play out in any way I saw fit as long as it met that condition. You'll have a headache, Klark will have that and some bruising. No lasting harm and I have the attacker alive." She explained like the warrior was an idiot.
"You knew this was going to happen?!" Octavia yelped in realization.
"Of course, Nia ordered several of us to kill Klark."
Octavia attempted to draw her sword but was unable to stand up her limbs still not cooperating. "You're a traitor! A dirty fucking traitor!"
"Well yes, I just did go against orders from the queen." Burka said, frustrated by Octavia's inability to understand the situation.
"Are you saying Klark knows you were ordered to kill her?! You're delusional if you think I'll believe that." She growled, trying to get to her feet before her arms gave out on her again and she dropped down on her face with a grunt of pain and surprise.
"You should stop trying to get up till your muscles start working again." She said, enjoying watching Octavia hissing in rage while trying to move properly. "And yes, I informed her of my orders to kill her after I realized my future was more secure with her as queen then with Nia holding the throne."
"When was that, after you let Flora stab her in the back?!" Octavia demanded.
"I only allowed Flora to drug you both and attempt to strangle Klark so I could get her talking. There was no stabbing." Burka explained patiently. "I realized that Klark was a better person to belong to after she protected me from you. You're one of her favorites. If she'd protect me from you, she's more trustworthy than Nia. I explained my change of allegiance shortly afterwards."
Octavia stared at her like she'd never seen her before. "You're absolutely crazy."
Burka frowned. "Your comrade Monty described it as ruthlessly practical. I chose the leader who best guarantees my safety and continued survival as well as standard of living."
"What's to stop you from changing sides again when someone new comes along?" Octavia spat, finally having given up on standing for the moment.
"Nothing, but have you ever met a person as willing to sacrifice for those loyal to her as Klark. Do you think I will ever meet a person in her position as trustworthy as she?" Burka asked seriously.
"No." Octavia grunted. "Still, she's done shitty things, and sacrificed people. Killed people sworn to her though."
"I will fulfill her commands to the letter and not give her cause to have me disposed. With any leader there is the risk of being thrown away, at least with Klark I know there would be a reason." Burka shrugged, she'd long ago accepted the risks of her position.
"You're a psychopath." Octavia said, but the anger had gone out of her voice.
"I do not know what that means but I will accept that you are most likely correct." She replied.
-DLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDL-
One year ago:
Roan frowned at the general sent to support him. "We pursue our enemies. If they hide from us, we flush them out like prey from the bushes."
"We cannot do that while protecting our people. You need twice the force to attack a spread out enemy like this as to defend." Klark the blond general said, clearly frustrated.
"If we kill the nomads and Sankru, the villages won't need protection." He insisted, confounded trying to figure out why this general didn't seem to understand this basic tenet of how they fought. They could afford to give land. Come winter anyone who had taken the land would die from the cold anyways.
"Throwing the lives of our citizens away for a quick resolution is folly. We should garrison our troops in the villages to keep them secure and hunt down the nomads in small mobile teams." She said firmly. "I will not abandon our people to the deaths these bastards are bringing."
"A few burned villages is a small price to pay for victory. A quick victory benefits the people as much as it does the army." The longer this war drug on the more limited supplies were going to get and the higher the death toll would rise. A quick end to this was what was needed to protect their people. Conceding these losses now saved them from larger ones later.
Klark leaned onto the table and took a deep breath before looking at the map again. "What if we do both? I take my men and clean up the enemy that has already breached our border and secure our villages. I'll be spread thin but it's workable if we utilize the manpower in the villages. You take your army and push forwards and kill anything that moves in the dead zone before you reach Sankru territory. You'll have to keep their forces busy since I won't be able to hold the land if they marshal a proper attack. Still, it would allow us to minimize the loss of Azgeda life."
He let himself consider her words. It was a compromise and his mother would dislike him taking such a path, but it was workable. He'd largely been forced to give up on miles of land in an effort to take the fight to the enemy. If Klark retook the land, it would give him a safe location to retreat to if there was a need. "That could work." He pulled out a more detailed map of their current position. "The largest village you'll want to retake is Alb. We retreated there a month ago. If anyone is still alive, it's a defensible position. You can retake our territory from there."
-DLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDL-
Present:
Clarke was not having a good day, or rather night. Her throat hurt and she sounded like she was getting past a bad cold. Her reflexes were shot and she doubted she could take a trained second down let alone actually fight. She and Burka would be having words about how far attempted assassinations were allowed to go, privately. Of course, they had dealt with one of the blasted traitors in her camp for all the effort. The whole thing was beyond frustrating. Clarke had sent Octavia to discuss their plans with Laslow in hopes that she would be able to stave off a search party being sent out by a worried Lexa if she returned to camp immediately.
Turns out the first actual problem to arise from allowing feelings for the commander of the coalition to develop was worrying about a rescue party. She knew it was an issue because if their positions were switched it would be her reaction as well. It was hard to be annoyed about that, but she had a blister forming on her heel, she was damp and dirty, had rope digging uncomfortably into her shoulder, and was still dealing with the side effects from being tranquilized. So, she was annoyed. She missed her horse and her comfortable jacket that had armor built into it. She glared darkly at Burka, who was walking beside her helping haul the stretcher they'd made to carry Flora.
When they'd first arrived on the ground, she'd found Azgeda punishment excessive and barbaric. If her coup against Nia went as planned, she would be changing things, the crucifixion of those who dissented was nauseating. As was slaughtering innocents to stamp out rebellion. The liberal application of torture was also horrifying. However, she had come to appreciate jus drein jus draun. It was a simple principle and could be broadly applied. Having just almost been killed, she found she did not regret the fate she would be sentencing the bound woman behind her to when they arrived at camp. As sickening as it was, it was necessary. If she showed herself as weak she'd be dead within a fortnight. The mercy she was allowed to show was only possible because her men knew to cross her was to die, painfully, and slowly. The punishment demanded for the treason Flora had acted out would need Charlotte's expertise. So here they were, dragging the still unconscious assassin back to TonDC.
"Get down out of that tree and come help us." Clarke ordered, eyeing a tree she knew had a Trikru scout hiding in its branches.
Two heavily bearded men dropped out of the tree, looking at the scene curiously and somewhat cautiously. "What business do you have in our section Azgeda?"
Clarke narrowed her eyes, she was not dealing with this right now. "You will help us transport this traitor to TonDC or you will have to deal with the commander."
The two men exchanged looks before moving to help. The larger of the two simply grabbed Flora's limp form and threw her over his shoulder. Clarke sighed in relief as Burka moved and ducked under her arm to help her keep her balance. She'd fallen several times due to her numb uncooperative muscles making her trip. Letting the assassin take some of her weight, they began to move towards TonDC once more, only this time at a faster pace.
Clarke had never been so glad to see TonDC. As they stumbled in, the Trikru from the village recognized her immediately and the village turned into a disturbed beehive in moments. They'd barely entered the town and Charlotte was already barreling into them. Clarke accepted Charlotte's hug and breathed easy at feeling her sister in all but blood clinging to her. Keaton and Monty were hot on her heels and soon she found herself being checked over by her people.
She let Burka deposit her into her friend's care. Burka's slight frame was tiring from dragging and assisting in getting her and Flora out of the woods. Monty's strong shoulders under her arm reassured her. Noticing Peri standing at the edge of the group under her command, she spoke, her voice firm if somewhat hoarse. "Take the traitor Flora to the Trikru prison. Guard her until we have permission from the commander to give her the punishment her actions have earned."
Murmurs spread through the crowd at the word 'traitor'. Clarke looked and saw the crowd parting as Lexa approached. She knew the look on Lexa's face and she knew she needed to get Lexa on her own so she could reassure her. "Heda." She dipped her head in respect before flickering her eyes towards Lexa's temporary house.
Apparently, the woman didn't get the message. "Bring the general to the command room." She ordered before turning on her heel and moving to the large room with the beautiful map and models detailing the mountain and the surrounding blockade. If only it wasn't also a place where other people would be and where she couldn't properly reassure her.
Clarke sighed and let Monty help her stumble towards the large room. Face-planting because her legs weren't reliable was worse than accepting help. As they entered, she made note of Gustus' form standing behind Lexa's throne. Coming to a stop before the throne, she stared at Lexa. She was tense and her posture had none of the slight openness Clarke had grown accustomed to as their relationship had grown.
"What happened?" Lexa asked, and it was unmistakably an order.
"A traitor from my army attempted to assassinate me. No one was seriously injured. Octavia is delivering the message for captain Laslow. I decided it was important to return with the traitor intact. Any useful information she had has already been extracted. I ask permission to have her executed according to the laws of Azgeda in your territory." Clarke finished, watching Lexa's mask twitch slightly at the mention of injuries.
"You can barely stand and you claim no serious injuries?" Lexa's voice was low and dangerous.
Clarke wished that there weren't half a dozen other people in the room. "I'm not injured. I was hit with a tranquilizing dart from the mountain. My would be assassin decided to try and make it look like the mountain killed me. My muscles aren't working properly yet. I'll be fine once the drug has worn off."
Lexa stared at her and she could feel Lexa trying to bore a hole straight through her with her eyes. Finally, Lexa raised her hand. "Leave us, all of you."
Clarke pulled her weight off Monty, who looked at her in concern. She smiled slightly at the two day's growth of scruff on his face. "I'll be fine. Look after our men."
As the last of the men left the room, Lexa moved towards her and Clarke knew they needed to truly be in private before they spoke. This room was too accessible. She raised her hand to stop Lexa's movement. Lexa stopped instantly, her face looking hurt as she swallowed. "Can we go to your room? I don't think we should have this conversation here."
Lexa gave her a nod of understanding. "Of course. Do you require Monty to assist you across the street?"
Clarke shook her head, smiling in reassurance to Lexa. "No, I should have proper control of myself in another half hour or so. As long as we go slow I shouldn't fall."
"Very well." Lexa walked to open the door for her.
Clarke felt her heart warm at the consideration Lexa was showing. Clarke reached out stopping her before she made it to the door. "Thank you."
The remaining hurt from Clarke's refusal of her approach melted from the girl's shoulders and they proceeded out the door. It was slow going, but Clarke managed to get the commander's quarters without tripping or requiring assistance, even if she was sure Lexa was itching to offer her aid. As soon as the door closed, she slumped, accepting Lexa's arms that wrapped around her, helping to support her.
Lexa half carried her, half pulled her to the bed and sat her down, her hands cupping her face. "Klark…"
"I'm right here, I'm alright." Clarke reassured her.
Unfortunately, in this position Lexa noticed the bruising around her neck that her collar was hiding. Lexa's hands were instantly on her jacket, opening the first of several buttons so that she could see the damage. "You call this nothing?" She hissed in concern.
"It's just bruising." Clarke reached out, covering the hand hovering over the bruising in an offer of comfort. "It will heal. Burka ended things before anything could happen. I knew the risk of making myself bait to draw out my assassins."
"What do you mean make yourself bait?" Lexa asked, her tone dangerous.
Clarke brought their hands to her lap, knowing she needed to handle this carefully. Especially if she didn't want Lexa killing several members of her army and destabilizing the uneasy peace she had managed to maintain there despite a few of its member's questionable loyalty. "I told you that there were members of my army who would take this opportunity to try and kill me. That Nia had ordered my death. I was aware of two, I needed to know the names of any others in my army. I now have a third name."
Lexa frowned. "You let the assassin attack you so she'd spill information while high off victory."
Clarke nodded. "Yes, Burka came to me and informed me of her orders and confirmed Flora also had orders to kill me. While Octavia and I were unconscious, Burka was able to play the part of being in partnership with Flora and get another name out of her."
"You knowingly let an assassin you knew had orders to kill you, protect you while you were incapacitated?" Lexa's voice was deathly calm.
"It was an internal matter of my army." Clarke felt irritated Lexa wasn't accepting this. "I handled it how I saw fit, and it worked."
"You casually risked your life and you think that doesn't matter!" Lexa stood up suddenly and began to pace. "You are a general in my army! And I will not have you risking everything on the word of a double crossing assassin."
Clarke narrowed her eyes. "I am not Trikru. It was an Azgeda matter and I handled it. I am sworn to Azgeda not you."
"You serve the coalition and I am the coalition." Lexa snapped. "You will not do this again."
"What we have between us does not mean you can order me about on internal matters." Clarke said angrily.
"What we have between us? I am more than capable of separating what we have from my duty as commander. You risked everything on nothing! You swore you could trust your guard absolutely! Now you tell me you lied? You accuse me of not trusting you and then you take risks that threaten everything without telling me!" Lexa was clearly furious, her fists clenched at her side, nose flaring.
Clarke swallowed back a retort. It galled her but Lexa was right. The silence stretched before she spoke finally. "You're right, I wasn't thinking." She shuddered with an effort to keep herself centered. "I've never had this with someone before and I haven't had a superior I trusted not to stab me in the back since well, ever. Honestly, my life has never been as valuable as it is now. Normally, it has been the cheapest thing I could risk."
The fight seemed to drain out of Lexa as well. She sat back down next to Clarke heavily. "Promise me you'll tell me the next time you have a crazy plan like this. You might consider your life cheap but I value it quite highly." She begged.
Clarke reached up tangling her fingers in the hair at the back of Lexa's neck. "I promise." She pulled her into a kiss reassuring them both that they were here now and fine. That their argument hadn't changed anything between them.
-DLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDL-
Anya stood behind Aden and Tris as they watched Charlotte checking the edges of several wickedly sharp looking blades. The Azgeda detachment were all serious as they constructed a wooden frame and began to strap down the traitor to it. The overly cheerful warrior, Peri, seemed to be bouncing in excitement which was an odd contrast to the dark looks and tension spreading through the others.
"What are they going to do to her?" Tris asked watching the proceedings.
"There are several fates for a traitor in Azgeda. However, for a traitor who attempts to assassinate a superior there is only one fate. She'll be flayed alive." Anya worked hard to keep her disgust from showing.
"You mean they're going to skin her?" Aden asked in muted horror.
Anya kept her face impassive. "No, Charlotte is going to skin her. If she survives the process, her guts will be removed and burned."
"Why is she gagged?" Tris asked, looking rather pale as she watched the trembling traitor struggling to break free of her bonds.
"I don't know. Most likely so that she cannot reveal Azgeda secrets to us in an attempt at revenge." Anya assumed she was right. An assassin aiming for a general would be sure to know things that no one would want shouted about for anyone to hear.
"Do we have to watch this?" Tris asked.
"Yes, you need to understand why Azgeda is the most brutal of the clans in the coalition and why their general should not be underestimated. If she can keep men as brutal as this under her control while freely showing weakness, then know she is capable of brutality greater than this for them to still respect her."
"We execute our traitors by a thousand cuts, is it so different?" Aden asked seriously.
Anya considered the question. "You'll understand when you see. No doubt, Charlotte will keep her alive as long as possible to prolong the pain. We allow our convicted to die in their own time." It wasn't much, but she remembered before the coalition when being captured by Azgeda was a horror spoken of in whispers. She knew Tris and Aden knew those tales as well as anyone else. However, they hadn't been of age to face those fears.
-DLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDL-
Lexa re-entered her quarters. She sighed in relief when she saw Klark was still asleep on her bed. She'd summoned Nyko when Klark had passed out shortly after their argument. He'd assured her that Klark was fine, just tired and working the drug through her system. She'd left the general to sleep in her quarters while seeing to her duties for the day. Her first stop had been to grant Monty permission to begin the execution of the traitor who had tried to kill Klark.
Under normal circumstances, she would have been disgusted by a display of grotesque violence like the spectacle that was Flora's execution. This however, was not normal circumstances and while she did not enjoy it, she did appreciate that the woman would never be a threat to Klark again. Since the blockade by necessity delegated much of her duties, she was able to retreat back to her quarters not long after the muffled screams had started. She'd pulled off her heavy pauldron and coat before laying on the bed besides Klark to reassure herself that she was alive.
She traced the shape of the brands across Klark's face with her eyes. There was a strength to the shapes etched into the woman's skin that she found inspiring. The brands of the Ice Nation had always filled her with hate and pain but looking at them now she found those emotions missing, instead she was only filled with a warm affection and relief.
"I can feel you staring." Klark said, her eyes staying closed.
Lexa smiled. "You are supposed to be asleep."
Klark opened her eyes and rolled onto her side so that they were facing each other. "Oh really, and why is that?"
"You have to get the drug out of your system." Lexa said, although she was pleased to see Klark's eyes were no longer slightly glassy.
"That wore off a while ago. You let me sleep far too long." Klark said.
Lexa reached up and gently ran her fingers along the bruises surrounding her throat. "I worried for you."
"I'm here." Klark assured her.
"You may not be next time." Lexa said quietly.
"We both face death every day. We wouldn't be us if we didn't." Klark said.
Lexa frowned. "I know that when I die my spirit will move on. That it will not be a sad day for my spirit will continue, but it is not like that for you."
"Your spirit is staying right where it is." Klark said firmly. "Both of ours are."
"I hope that you are right." Lexa whispered, almost afraid to voice such a thing allowed. It was selfish, but she would not be at peace with the spirit moving to the next host. Not when it would mean an end to the happiness she was just beginning to feel.
Lexa sighed, leaning in and brushing her lips along the bruises, wishing she could cause them to fade or take them onto herself, even though she knew she could not. That Klark had gone through worse, that Lexa had ordered she be whipped! Just the thought of that made her shake in horror at what she'd been forced to command.
Klark rolled her over onto her back with herself on top of her. She propped her head up while looking down, "Enough about death and fate."
Lex leaned up, connecting their mouths. She let out a whimper as Klark pushed her down into the bed.
-DLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDLDL-
Eleven months ago:
Bellamy put his full weight into it as he lifted the charred beam onto his shoulder and began to move it towards the unsalvageable pile. It had to be done as soon as possible. He could hear the hammers as some of his men helped rebuild the village. His face was coated in the ash that still floated about on the wind. There was a lot of work to be done and not a lot of time to do it in. They needed the village capable of standing for the night. Then he and his men were going after those pieces of shit nomads.
He knew his orders were to hold the village but that wouldn't happen if the nomads escaped with the food they'd stolen from the village they'd attempted to burn to the ground. The snow having put most of the flames out by the time his men arrived.
"Sir!" A warrior came to a stop by him.
"Report." He ordered, not looking up from the pile of burned wood they were turning into a temporary wall.
"There are sixteen members of the village unaccounted for among the dead and the survivors."
He grit his teeth. Looking up from his work, he examined what was left of the village. Around a third of it had been burned to the ground, another third damaged to varying degrees. The store houses had been emptied, leaving only the food stored in basements under the houses. Thirty-six villagers had been found cut down and killed and now sixteen gone. This was an abomination. Who attacked villages and then fled at the first sight of the army? This was not a war, it was a bunch of fucking savages and he would kill them all.
He stopped working and walked over to the body of a nomad lying twisted grotesquely on the ground. Anger was boiling in his belly and he had an idea to put the fear of god into them.
"Sir?" His warrior asked from his position at his elbow.
"Feed the bodies of the enemy to the pigs. We will put the fear of a final death into them." He clenched his fists. They may not fear death enough to stop attacking but maybe they would fear not being re-incarnated. At the very least, it would give him some satisfaction to get one over on these bastards even in death.
"But the dead must be burned…?" The man asked cautiously.
"Our dead shall be burned. These monsters don't deserve to have their souls freed."