It was the middle of the night when Clarke woke in a thin layer of sweat, panic filled and breathing heavily. Upon realizing the images in her mind had only been a dream, she squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath. Nightmares of the Mountain had become less frequent, but every now and then the terrors still woke her from her sleep.

"Bad dream?" Lexa asked. For a moment Clarke was afraid to have woken her, but Lexa's eyes were already open and watching her intently. She stroked soft fingertips across Clarke's arm and half of her face fell in the shadow of soft moonlight that shone through the light curtains, eyes filled with melancholy, and still she looked beautiful.

Clarke sighed, rolling into Lexa's form and nodding against her shoulder. She felt Lexa press a kiss to her forehead. "Did I wake you?"

It took Lexa a few more seconds before she shook her head. "It's not important," she whispered. A reassuring squeeze of Clarke's arm. "Sleep."

Clarke moved and settled back to go to sleep, but even in the darkness she didn't miss the way Lexa's eyes stayed open.

When Clarke could no longer fight slumber and was asleep again, Lexa found herself propped up against the headboard. Her gaze wondered over Clarke's sleeping form and she wondered how many nights it would take before she would be able to sleep again without fearing another assassin attack.

"Today we honor our covenant. A clan that stands against one of us, stands against us all." Lexa's voice boomed through the throne room. It looked much like the day before, except this time there were no rolling heads on the floor and Nia stood in front of them in chains.

Titus' voice was as strained as ever. "Queen Nia has confessed to an attempt on the life of Wanheda. To strike against the Commander's betrothed is to strike against the Commander." He spoke the words and then looked at Lexa as if waiting for her to speak her judgment.

Lexa, however, turned to Clarke. "Wanheda, what say you?"

Clarke swallowed, straightening in her seat. "This may be the first crime the Queen has ever had to account for, but she is responsible for the deaths of many others."

Nia chuckled heartlessly, shaking her head. "Are you referring to the loss of Lexa's former plaything? That poor girl, she never saw it coming."

If the words were meant to draw out a reaction of anger, they did their job. Before either Lexa or Clarke could react to it, Titus was the one to slap Nia in her face.

"A murderer's sentence should fit, then," Clarke continued, subdued anger audible in her voice. "Justice shall be served."

Lexa raised her chin, something of contentment settling in her stomach. "A thousand cuts it is," she decided. "Starting with your tongue."

As the guards took a firm hold on the Queen in chains once again, ready to drag her away to await her punishment, Lexa continued. "Members of the Coalition. Let us now decide on the fate of the Ice Nation."

Nia curled her lips in a snarl, even as she proudly resisted the guards' hold on her. "Your attempts to ruin Azgeda will fail. When my son will hear of my death, he will rally the people and they shall avenge me. My death will be your downfall."

Clarke stood up, not wanting to give Nia the satisfaction of thinking she still had the upper hand here. "Hod op."

The guards didn't hesitate to follow her order, stopping in their tracks. Lexa watched with curious eyes but made no attempt to interfere as Clarke walked up to the Queen.

"You're wrong. Roan will rally his people, yes, but they will be better off without you."

Nia raised her eyebrows in disbelief. "And how would you know?"

Clarke shifted in place, grounding herself to keep her stance. "Because he is here."

A low murmur went through the present leaders. With a sigh Roan stepped out of a dark corner of the room, removing his hood and showing his face.

Various people reached for their weapons, mumbling things about his banishment.

"Enough," Lexa stopped them. "The prince is here as our guest."

Nia laughed patronizingly at the way Roan's shameful eyes showed clear hesitation when he looked at her directly. "And to think that I called you my son."

Roan huffed. "You have never. Not unless it was to some political advantage to you."

"Take her away," Lexa then decided, not caring for any more of Nia's presence. This left Roan standing uncomfortably in the midst of the clan leaders.

"Couldn't have waited a little longer with introducing me?" Roan asked, receiving an apologetic smile from Clarke.

"Is what she says true? Will you be Azgeda's new king?" one of the leaders then asked, standing up to stress his question.

Roan turned to face the clan leaders. "It has never been my desire to be king. But if it means that I can represent my people under the rule of the Commander, then yes."

"What of Azgeda? Will they not rebel? How are you sure they will accept your claim to the throne?"

Roan sighed. "I am heir to the throne after my mother. It is our way. They will accept it."

Clarke found Lexa later that day in their room, cross-legged and eyes closed in a meditative position. Feeling almost bad at disturbing the seeming peaceful state she was in, Clarke quietly sat down next to her.

"I've had them make a throne for you," Lexa spoke, not bothering to open her eyes. Clarke was silent and Lexa softly smiled, just able to imagine the look printed on her face.

"To sit next to me," she explained. "So the people will see who you are."

Clarke pressed a kiss to Lexa's check in adoration. She leaned into Lexa and nuzzled into the brunette's neck, savoring the warm and familiar smell of her.

"We're expected in an hour," Clarke mumbled. The Queen's execution was scheduled to take place that same day and although Clarke felt relieved to know that Nia would no longer be a threat, nervousness accompanied her whenever she thought about what was to come. She had witnessed it before; saved Finn from it and watched Gustus suffer, and wasn't particularly looking forward to seeing it again.

This time, however, there would be no room for empathy or weakness. This time she would stand by Lexa, head held high and stoicism on her face.

As if reading her thoughts, Lexa squeezed her hand. "It's going to be fine, Clarke."

With a deep sigh she forced her tensing muscles to relax. "Is there anything you need to do before we go?"

"No, Titus has taken care of the preparations."

Clarke nodded. "Good. So maybe we can just sit here until then?"

Lexa turned her head to catch blue eyes. She nodded.

As it turned out, punishments executed in the capitol city were much more imposing than those in TonDC had been. Clarke hadn't thought it possible, but with all of Polis gathered in the middle of the square she was reminded differently.

Lexa's jaw was tense and Indra looked as gruff as ever.

"This is more than she deserves," the dark warrior grumbled.

War drums were sounding and the people were restless. Lexa adjusted her grip on the hilt of her sword that hung from her side; a sign of nerves Clarke had come to recognize. Or perhaps it was the fact that that very sword would be used today to end Nia's life.

"I am aware," Lexa replied. "But the people need to witness this. It is our way."

It is our way. And Clarke, against all she had ever believed in, understood. Even the death of the woman who murdered Lexa's first love in cold blood, would be for her people rather than for Lexa herself.

With much brutality Nia was tied to a stake, still looking as proud and regal as ever.

Clarke glanced to the side where Abby and Kane stood as well, determined to at least see this through. The looks on their faces were all but pleasant, however.

Raven had refused to come, saying she had had seen enough of this sort, and Clarke couldn't blame her. Bellamy, Monty and Jasper had voted to stay away as well, while Octavia stood proudly by Indra's side.

"How do we know this will not get a rise out of Azgeda?" Clarke mumbled, suddenly concerned that the Queen's public punishment would only work in their disadvantage.

"If what Roan said was true, her people will only be happy with her demise," Indra answered. "They know she deserves this as much as we do."

Clarke took a breath and steeled herself. Indra was right. They couldn't hesitate now.

Looking around, she didn't notice the upcoming Ice king anywhere. She could hardly blame him for not wishing to witness the death and public shaming of his mother. She did find Echo standing on the sideline and at that same time Nia seemed to notice as well.

Her eyes widened at seeing the Royal Guard alive but nothing more than a filthy look and a few strangled noises came out due to the gag in her mouth. Echo's face remained impassive and Clarke felt an immense amount of respect for her, knowing how Echo had felt conflicted about betraying her queen. Roan, however, had assured her that she had only betrayed Nia and not their clan. Still, it took courage to be here.

Titus spoke some words that went completely past Clarke as she watched the scene in front of her. Lexa was quiet, concentrated, and was swift to step forward when the moment arrived.

She stopped in front of Nia and even though she seemed calm, Clarke saw the tremors trapped inside her. "I'd give you any last words, but it seems you have always abused your right to speak."

Then, without hesitation, Lexa kept her promise as a guard forced the Queen's mouth open, removed the gag, and the Commander cruelly cut off her tongue. Clarke's stomach lurched at the image but she remained impassive, even as Lexa unceremoniously threw the cut off muscle on the ground before coming to stand next to Clarke again.

The Commander's gaze was still fixed on Nia as if she forced herself to keep it there, afraid that Clarke would see something brutal in her eyes. Her jaw clenched and Clarke brought her hand to Lexa's wrist, softly brushing the skin and conveying her support.

No one survived a thousand cuts. That was also the point of it; the lives taken were too many for a person to live with. In contrast to their usual tradition in which every clan member took their turn, Lexa allowed only a selected number of people to use their knives against the Queen, including those she knew to have personally lost someone at the hands of Nia. Polis was quiet except for the occasional war drum and as more and more knives drew red, it wasn't long before the Queen's stubborn pride gave way to pained cries that even she couldn't subdue.

The line between justice and revenge became blurred at many occasions and when Lexa's burning eyes found Clarke in a silent question, she nodded.

Clarke's steps towards the groaning, half alive woman tied to the stake were strong. Polis' eyes were on her and she could even feel her mother's heavy stare. But this was the woman who not only attempted to kill her, but also the one who tried to take Lexa away from her and murdered the girl who had first made the Commander's heart sing. The dagger drew crimson and shallow, more painful than fatal, across the woman's chest. Clarke's eyes never left hers.

She wanted to reach for words, tell Nia her fight was over, that she would never know peace - but left those words for Lexa. Once Clarke was back in her place next to Lexa, Nia had given up on stifling her groans of pain. Although nearing death, she was still conscious, and Lexa took this moment to step forward again.

The next few moments were filled with Nia's dying moans as Lexa dragged her blade over the woman's skin again and again. Lexa's jaw was trembling and Clarke knew that this was, in fact, for Lexa herself. The city of Polis watched quietly and they, too, knew what this meant to their Commander.

After a while Nia's head hung slumped on her chest, occasional breaths only coming in painful, trembling bouts. As always, Lexa composed herself, true to the self-control of Commander.

Leaning forward, she spoke the words in Nia's ear, too soft for anyone else to hear as her blade pushed strongly and finally through the woman's heart.

"Jus drein jus daun," went once through the square, and then all was quiet.

"The remaining Ice warriors will be sent home with Prince Roan for his coronation," Titus murmured after a while from where he stood next to them. The people were gradually dispersing again, getting ready to once more return to the routine of their daily lives even though an eerie reminder still stained the city square. Clarke and Lexa remained standing, the realization of what had passed slowly setting in. It almost seemed too surreal to be over.

"Take her down," Lexa commanded. Titus didn't hesitate, bowed his head respectfully and gathered a few guards to remove the dead queen from her position. Once done they covered her body with a large sheet and carried it off to a large wagon, where it would be taken to the Ice Nation's lands. She was not theirs to burn, Lexa had explained.

Lexa didn't move from her spot and Clarke remained still as well. After a while Indra and Octavia took their silent leaves and it wasn't until everyone else had left as well that Clarke spoke up, quietly. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Lexa looked away, shook her head.

And Lexa didn't talk about it. Not when she knelt by Costia's grave a little while later, not when Luna gave her a knowing look, not when Clarke took Lexa's wrist and led her through the streets and out of Polis' walls until they reached a small lake near the clearing where they had trained before. There Lexa took off her bloodstained fingerless gloves and Clarke helped her out of her crimson speckled shirt, neither sharing a word although enough was shared in the moments their eyes met.

The water was cold enough to be on the verge of being painful but Clarke ignored the burning in her legs as they stepped into the lake. Lexa seemed to be grateful for the icy cleansing. She washed the stains and reminders from the Queen's death off her skin and as the red dissolved into the clear water, she found serenity.

It was still early in the afternoon when they made it back to their room, washed clean and lungs cool from the fresh air. There were still many things that had to be seen to and there would always be skirmishes for them to sort out, but today had been an important event and the prospect that things would change for the better, was something that elicited a quiet hope in them.

Lexa stood on the balcony, the breeze weaving around her figure and her face still fixed in stoicism although her eyes were soft with a dozen emotions. Clarke wrapped her arms around Lexa from behind, her hands moving just underneath Lexa's shirt to rest against warm skin. She took in the view from over her shoulder. Polis had returned to its glorious daily life and for the first time she looked upon the city as theirs to look over; not just as Lexa's.

"Perhaps we can finally have peace after today," Lexa mused softly, finding silent comfort in Clarke's hold.

Clarke hummed softly, pressed a kiss to the back of Lexa's neck. "A new beginning."