Hi there! Oh my it's been too long again, hasn't it. I really try to post quicker but time to write is limited. But as I promised before, I will not abandon this story, so please stay with me.
A small question from my side, as the person who betad for me has even less time than I do, I was wondering if any of you is willing to beta this for me, or if you know someone who would want to, let me know. :-)
Anyways, back to the story. From now on translations will immediately be posted after the lines.
Shit will get real, so hold on tight!
Chapter 19, get daun.
Clarke hadn't seen Lexa since she walked off with Anya last night, she hadn't even come back to bed and Clarke had spend the night alone. She had her own things to do today, training with Octavia in the morning, an invitation from Thoni to have lunch with him and talk politics and she just finished a physical therapy session with her mother. Now the evening was closing in and she decided to go and look for Lexa. Anya was spotted at the training grounds and would no doubt know where Lexa is, but on her way to the training grounds she was halted by a familiar voice calling out her title.
"Wanheda!" she recognized Aden's voice instantly and turned to face him.
"Hello Aden, everything alright?" she asked him once she spotted the serious features on his face.
"Oh, yes, I am fine but do you know where Tyler is?" he asked.
"No, did he run away again?" Worry krept on her face but Aden immediately shook his head.
"No, Wanheda, he asked if he could join me and Tys when we go hunting, I was just going to get him." Aden said reassuring.
Clarke looked at the training ground, where Tyler spend a lot of time watching the warriors spar and trying to convince them to teach him how to fight. But Lexa, and Rona, had specifically told them not to do that. Only Kensi, Tys, Anya or Lexa were allowed to train him. But he wasn't there right now, so that could only mean one other thing, he was out playing with the other kids at TonDC, probably on the field at the other side of town playing soccer.
"He's probably playing soccer with the other kids, I don't see him at the training grounds."Clarke said.
Aden nodded at her. "I think so too, thank you Wanheda, enjoy your day."
"You too, Aden."
She watched him walk towards the field and then continued her path to the training grounds. Anya was carefully studying two young warriors who were sparring, but didn't say anything when they made wrong decisions or sloppy mistakes, which Clarke, despite her limited training, could clearly see several times on her way over here.
"To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit, Skaigada?" Anya asked, her eyes remained on the sparring match.
"I was just looking for the Commander."
Clarke saw Anya roll her eyes.
"And here I thought you came to see me."
Was that a smile on Anya's face? An actual smile? Clarke was sure it was, it was brief and barely noticeable but Anya kom Trikru definitely just smiled. Whatever she and Lexa said to each other last night, they must have put whatever feud there was behind them.
"Did the two of you have a good talk yesterday?"
Anya finally looked at her. "A good talk?" she said. "The Commander and I only discussed the events of Lynn's death."
Clarke sighed, she should have known better than to try and make small talk with Anya.
"Never mind, forget I asked. Can you just tell me where the Commander is?"
There was that smile again, only it didn't fade away this time. "I can." Anya said and looked back at the two sparring warriors of which one of them was now lying on his back with a split eyebrow and the other warrior's staff pointing at his head.
"Os." Anya complimented him.
The warrior beamed with pride and immediately relaxed, forgetting he was in a sparring match for a second and then he too landed on his back and the warrior, beaten moments ago, now straddled him and placed a knife at his throat. A classic mistake, one that Clarke only made once and Lexa made sure she would never repeat it again during their first training. Clarke thought she might still have the scar to prove it.
"Never lose focus, you know this, no meal for you tonight."
The warrior didn't even complain, he just stood to his feet and nodded at Anya before the two men continued their sparring match.
"You never did that to me when I did something wrong during training." Clarke said, she didn't feel sorry for the warrior or tried to protect him, she was just curious.
"You are not under my command, nor are you my seken." Anya explained and then looked at Clarke.
"Would that really hold you back?" Clarke countered.
"Would you have listened?"
The challenge in Anya's eyes was clear and Clarke knew she was right, and even if she did listen, at the end of the day Lexa would give her some food anyways and Clarke knew she would take it because it's Lexa, and she loves it when Lexa takes care of her, and she best stop her thoughts here before they drifted off to a different kind of eating.
"Please defer from sharing your current thoughts, Skaigada."
Clarke had to blush at that, apparently Anya had noticed what exactly her thoughts had drifted off to. She recovered quickly and smirked.
"I won't if you can just tell me where the Commander is."
"The Commander is taking a walk with Rylan, she will be back shortly."
That was the answer she was looking for, which meant that she would have to wait a little longer before she could talk to Lexa, not willing to interrupt Lexa's time of rekindling her friendship with Rylan. Before Clarke could thank Anya, they were interrupted by Raven's voice.
"There you are, I've been looking all over for you."
Clarke had to chuckle, there seemed to be a high demand at the moment of people in search of each other.
"What? Why are you laughing at me?" Raven asked her.
Clarke shook her head. "Nothing, what do you need, Raven?"
"Not you, little miss sunshine over there." Raven pointed at Anya.
Anya frowned at her, confused at first and then offended, stepping closer to Raven, straightening her back to tower over Raven even more than she already did. Her attempt to intimidate was lost on Raven.
"I do not have time right now, tekgada." she said before giving the two sparring warriors her full attention again.
"Nyc said something about a drinking game you los-"
In lightning speed Anya turned around, putting a finger up in warning at Raven.
"Shof op, tekgada." she said, turning around when she heard the two sparring warrior had stopped and were almost laughing at Anya.
"Yu buk au, fai raunon!" You will run, five rounds (laps)
The warriors accepted the punishment and made sure not to complain and while they ran off Anya turned to face Raven again, her eyes dark to show she did not appreciate Raven mentioning the drinking contest in front of these warriors. The challenging smirk on Raven's face remained, Clarke wasn't sure she had seen anyone else besides her challenge Anya like this and she still struggled not to laugh when Anya suddenly grabbed Raven by the shoulder and hauled her to the side.
Clarke barely had time to register what happened when an arrow missed Raven for mere inches and gazed Anya's shoulder instead. The woman didn't even flinch from the contact and instead hurried to find more cover when more arrows flew around them, then suddenly there was an explosion in the distance and panic broke out amongst the villagers. The arrows had been lit with fire and some buildings started to burn. They had found cover behind a broken cart, Clarke reached for her sword and found nothing but air in its place. She cursed herself for not having it on her, instead deciding to check on Raven.
"You okay, Raven?"
"Yeah, don't worry about me, is Nia finally attacking us?"
Anya shook her head. "She is not, her army would not have gone unnoticed by our scouts. This is a small attack force." She peered around the corner when the arrows stopped coming, narrowing her eyes at the treeline from which they had been coming.
"An attack force for what?" Raven asked.
Anya turned back to face Raven. "To serve as a distraction no doubt."
"I think the question should have been, what do they need the distraction for?" Clarke added.
Suddenly battle cries were heard and another glance around the cart showed Ice Nation warriors charging from the treeline, ready to cut down anyone in their path. She saw Anya smirk at her, twirling her blades around twice, then granting Clarke her answer.
"Let me know when you find out, Skaigada." she said and then charged at the hoard of Ice Nation warriors.
Clarke glanced at Raven for a moment, who signalled with a nod that she would be fine and Clarke had no choice but to join Anya in the fight against Ice Nation, she took a deep breath and then charged in as Anya had, nothing but her fists as a weapon.
It was a nice and quiet evening, one she didn't have in a while now. After what happened with Lynn she thought at first to cancel her walk with Rylan, there was much to be done and the first steps of her plan to stop Nia had been set in motion yesterday together with Anya. But in the end she decided a nice and quiet walk while catching up with her childhood friend couldn't cause any harm. Vern and Senho were assigned to watch her tonight and while not in sight, she knew they were close by.
Lexa realized suddenly that she hadn't seen Clarke all day, ever since she spoke to Anya the Commander had been busy with scheduled and unscheduled meetings, a training session with Cole and now her walk with Rylan. She had only allowed herself some food shortly after midday so that she didn't have to train with Cole on an empty stomach. But now with the day nearing its end Lexa wouldn't mind a nice meal and warm bath in Clarke's company. It made her wonder what Clarke had been doing today and if she longed for Lexa's presence as Lexa did for hers right now.
"Is everything alright, Heda? You seem distracted."
Rylan's concerned words made her realize that her thoughts were drifting off a bit too long and did her best not to blush, not wanting to expose the chain of thoughts she just had as they were highly out of place right now.
"I am fine, Rylan, just a lot on my mind, like always." she said.
Rylan smiled and nodded. "Why don't we cut our walk short, we can go back to TonDC if you prefer?"
She wasn't opposed to that idea and nodded. It would mean at least that she could see Clarke sooner. "I appreciate that, Rylan, thank you."
He smiled at Lexa and instead of continuing on the current path, they turned left, using the path that lead past the lake to get back to TonDC. Lexa decided to turn their conversation into a more personal direction while they continued on.
"How has your son been, Rylan?" She asked him.
Lexa could see he was surprised at her change of pace in their conversation.
"Oh, thank you for asking, Heda. He is well I believe." he said quickly.
Lexa smirked. "You believe?" she asked quirking an eyebrow.
He quickly composed himself. "I apologize, Heda, your concern for him took me by surprise." he admitted. "I have not seen him today since I left this morning, but I assume he is as well as he was yesterday."
"Hmm." Lexa hummed in agreement, she scanned the horizon ahead of them, the sun was setting and the evening was peaceful, more so than she was used to, it was nice that despite all things that were happening, she could enjoy a moment of peace. "When he is old enough, you should teach him your knowledge of the tunnels." she said, moving her eyes from the horizon back to Rylan.
He smiled and nodded. "I plan to, Heda."
They continued on, their conversation remaining light while they discussed events of their past, a certain one of which Lexa remembered it was Rylan who was punished for sneaking into Polis instead of Lexa always being the one at the receiving end.
"I do quite remember the look on your face, Rylan." she said and stopped walking for a second, they were only a few minutes away from TonDC now.
The night was still quiet, and suddenly Lexa realized it was too quiet and it had been a while since she heard a signal from Vern or Senho to let her know they were still around. A flash of concern schooled on her face and it did not go unnoticed.
"What's wrong, Heda?" he asked.
"I am not sure yet, Rylan, but I believe we should head back to TonDC as quickly as possible." she said, worried that they might be walking into an ambush.
"Can I ask you one last question before we go?" he asked.
Lexa nodded. "You can while we walk back." she said as she continued walking, assuming Rylan would do the same, but he didn't.
"Of course Heda." He said. "It's just, I was wondering what you would do in a situation where someone not of your people had their life threatened in return for your surrender."
Lexa stopped walking that very instant, not sure if she had heard his words correctly. When she went to turn and face him, movement from the bushes ahead halted her and then someone emerged in front of her. Then suddenly the suspicious silence around them was replaced by the rustling of bushes and trampling of branches and before Lexa knew it, she was being surrounded. She could hear it but her eyes remained on the person who showed first, a hood covered her head but the face under the hood was still recognizable and Lexa knew exactly who she was while the woman aimed her bow at Lexa.
The Commander was not pleased with these turn of events. Had the things she'd done for Echo not been more than enough for her? This was not the way to repay the favors she had done for Echo. Lexa would make sure she and Rylan will both get what's coming for them before their fights end. Rylan, she never really trusted him after their dealings with Duran, there always had been this nagging feeling that something was off but Rylan had kept his true intent well hidden, until now. There never was another explanation of Nia knowing that Rylan had the knowledge of the tunnels and she doubts now that the boy they talked about earlier is actually his son. Lexa would love to know what the connection of this baby is with Duran, but she knew now was not the time to ask, nor did she believe he would tell her. She closed her eyes for a second, realizing that with all these people here to ambush her, Vern and Senho must be dead, ambushed and no doubt left for dead somewhere here in the woods.
"Commander!"
A young and scared voice forced her to turn around and the view that greeted her sent shivers down her spine, Lexa didn't hesitate to pull out her sword, ready to face the threat ahead of her. Next to Rylan stood none other than Otta, the woman who had been head of the guard in Polis, the woman she had once trusted with her life. Echo already told Lexa that she was a spy, but to see her here while holding a scared Tyler close to her body with a knife to his throat made anger boil in her insides.
Like always, Otta looked confident. The last time Lexa saw her, Otta's hair was as long as hers, now it was merely inches long and Ice Nation scars were just about visible below the short hairs. She was wearing black leather armor with Ice Nation furs sewed into it. Her pants were fortified with metal plates at her knees and shins. Across her chest several knives were sheathed in a belt and at the back of the belt a quiver and a bow were attached to it. One spot at the front was open, the knife that belonged there was pressed against Tyler's throat. The white warpaint on her dark skin completed the transformation her former city guard had gone through. There was no trace left of the woman once responsible for the safety of Polis.
She wished she could charge at her right now, but if she did that she knew Tyler would die. Otta held all the cards, and she was not only disgusted by her, but also by Rylan who had finally dropped the mask he had been keeping up around Lexa. His eyes burned with hatred and once again she wondered what made him decide to turn on her and share his knowledge of the tunnels with Nia.
Lexa shifted her eyes to Tyler and could tell he was really scared. His cheeks were wet from crying and he was completely frozen in fear of Otta killing him. She briefly looked away to scan their surroundings, the odds were not in their favor, there were at least two dozen warriors surrounding them.
"Hello, Heda." Otta said, clearly mocking her title.
"Otta, I was informed of your betrayal, but I never knew you were a coward too, shielding yourself behind an innocent boy."
Otta shrugged. "It is merely to ensure you will surrender instead of fighting us, I will not deny the fact that you are a skilled warrior but even you cannot fight over twenty warriors, me and Echo on your own. In which of course I already know what your answer to Rylan's question will be, even though this boy is Skaikru, you are willing to give your life for him, no?"
"And what assurances do I have that you will not kill him once I surrender?"
"None." Otta said.
Lexa weighed her options. If they wanted her dead, she would have been already. It meant that they have orders to bring Lexa back to Nia alive and Lexa didn't have to guess what would await her once she is in Nia's clutches. They will need Tyler alive as well, despite Otta claiming the contrary. At least till they reach Polis to make sure Lexa doesn't cause any trouble.
But she didn't want Tyler dead, Lexa would never forgive herself if something happened to him and Otta knew that too. Rylan had no doubt told her that she had started to grow close to the boy and now they were taking advantage of that, Nia would no doubt enjoy telling her how her love for others is her weakness. There was a time where she agreed with that, not anymore though, Lexa knew now that it was strength and it's a force that can keep you going, keep you fighting even in the darkest moments of your life.
She sighed and closed her eyes, taking a second to compose herself with anger threatening to take over. Anger towards Otta and Rylan, but anger would not help her or Tyler right now. She had concluded that they needed Tyler at least until they had arrived in Polis, that meant Lexa had time to think of something to help Tyler escape and once she does that, then she will give them a piece of her mind, even if it meant the end of her fight.
Her eyes opened again, allowing them to shift to Rylan for a moment, making sure he understood the threat in her eyes. There was a flash of fear and though it faded quickly, Lexa was satisfied with his reaction and then faced Otta again.
"Very well then, Otta. But let me make something clear to you, if the boy dies, I promise you now, you will be the first to die after him and I will make sure it won't be a quick death." she said and then dropped her sword.
Otta only laughed at that. "You are so predictable, Lexa, predictable and weak. Why bother saving a boy who is not even of your people." she spat.
He soon will be, Lexa thought but decided not to share that fact with Otta, whether she already knew this, if Echo had told her, or not. She decided to let Otta's question go unanswered and not waste any words on it.
The Commander heard footsteps behind her, followed by a pair of hands unceremoniously roaming over her body, searching for weapons. Her arms were forced up and then the search continued and the person doing so found every concealed weapon Lexa had on her, even the belt around her waist, where she had a small blade hidden in the buckle, was tossed aside. Once stripped from her weapons, her hands were forced behind her back and a rope was tied around her wrists. Lexa saw Tyler looking at her with pleading eyes, he was scared and not at all convinced that Lexa surrendering meant they weren't going to kill him here.
"Ste Yuj, Tylah." she said, trying to comfort him and then slightly grunted when a strong hand pressed down on her shoulder and forced Lexa on her knees.
"I promise you the boy will not die quickly, Commander."
The shock was more than visible on her face when she heard the voice behind her. Lexa had thought him dead, but had not considered the fact that he was in on the plot to overthrow her. She eyed him carefully when he stepped in front of her, an annoying smile on his face that she promised herself to wipe off herself when the time came.
"Vern." she snarled at him. "Is Senho in this too?"
She asked the question but somehow she knew Senho was not, he was too loyal to Lexa. But then again, she thought Vern was too. Lexa had wondered how this small group made it past her scouts and how they were going to take her back to Polis unnoticed, now it all made sense. Vern would know where to go, the journey might take a bit longer than usual but he was more than capable to lead them to Polis without her scouts or the army hidden in the proximity to notice them.
"Em stedaun, Heda, ai don frag em op, lagen en laudfou." I killed him Commander, slow and painful.
She will mourn his loss later.
"Then I will make sure you will suffer the same fate."
Vern took a step forward and smiled. "You will try and fail."
His fist swiftly and brutally plunged into Lexa's gut, making his point crystal clear. While it hurt it was nothing to what she had endured in the past, and nothing to what she knew was to come if she couldn't escape her situation. She grinded her teeth to fight away the pain, hissing slightly as she skipped a breath or two. Her eyes never wavered, not for a moment, remaining firmly locked on Vern with the promise of his demise by her hand.
"So many people betray you, Lexa." Otta's words made Lexa shift her eyes to the woman who was still holding Tyler. "And you don't even know why Vern betrayed you, you know nothing of the people serving you."
Lexa scoffed at her words. "You mistake ignorance for faith, Otta. I know Vern very well, I knew of his parents, Isha and Irvina and that they were killed by Azgeda when Vern was still a child." she paused momentarily, her eyes shifting to Vern again making sure he is betraying the memory of his parents by siding with Azgeda but he showed no emotion. "I know his sister lives in a village not too far from Polis and I know he had a twin brother who died in a fire set by Wanheda to defend their camp and her people and I also know he has a wife-"
"Stop talking!"
Anger had risen inside of Vern and his blood boiled, before Lexa could continue he punched her; first at her jaw then just above her left eye. Lexa felt blood seeping down the side of her head from where her eyebrow had split open, but she did not stop talking.
"Why? Because you know you are dishonoring your deceased parents by siding with the very woman responsible for their deaths? Or for dishonoring the warriors death of your brother?"
This only increased his anger but Lexa already saw he was ready to kick her, so she braced herself and the impact of his boot with the side of her ribs wasn't that bad and only made her flinch.
"Wanheda killed my brother and you did nothing!" his face was inches from hers now, he looked like a wild animal ready to kill its prey. His breathing was quick and loud, his eyes were wide and restless, one more wrong word and he would probably snap, which was exactly what Lexa was hoping for.
"Wanheda defended her people when attacked, Nia had your parents murdered in cold blood and strung up on trees for everyone to see."
He screamed now and Vern had obviously reached his boiling point, his fist reared backwards for another punch.
"Vern!" Otta's voice stopped him. "That is enough, you are falling for her provocations, calm yourself."
"What do you care if I punch her a few more times?" he snapped at her.
"I care about orders given to me by my Queen, which were to bring Lexa kom Trikru to Polis within three days, it has almost been two days now, which gives us plenty of time to return as long as you guide us safely past the scouts and armies in the woods."
"And you doubt I can do that if I keep hitting her?"
"Yes, it means you will be wasting precious time and if you continue wasting my time I will kill you myself and ask Echo to guide us through the woods."
Vern looked at Echo and growled. "She does not know these woods as well as I do." he defended himself.
"She does not, no, but it is a risk I am willing to take if you do not stop wasting time and calm yourself. You can do whatever it is you want to do to Lexa as soon as we arrived in Polis."
His gaze moved from Echo to Otta and then shifted to Lexa again, the anger in his eyes had subsided and he probably accepted having to wait with his revenge until they arrived in Polis.
"Very well then, this way." he said and started walking.
Two Azgeda warriors took the liberty of pushing Lexa forward and remained at her side to keep watch over her.
"Remember Lexa, I will be right behind you with the boy, you even try as much as glancing at him over your shoulder he will die."
She heard Tyler wimper, Otta probably dragged him with her a bit too forcefully to test Lexa and see if her warning was heeded. They both knew she was no fool and did what was asked of her, she would not do anything to endanger Tyler, Lexa would never forgive herself.
"Would you look at that, the Commander can follow orders too." she heard Rylan say as he walked past her, glancing over his shoulder and smirking at her.
Lexa ignored the sneer and chose to remain silent. Instead she focused on the direction they were going. She knew these Woods even better than Vern did, it made her wonder which routes he would chose to avoid her armies and scouts. It was a long way to go still to Polis, which gave her plenty of time to think of a plan to make sure that Tyler can escape and with a bit of luck she can as well. But Tyler was her priority, he cannot be brought to Polis, whichever fate was awaiting him there, it was not good. Vern threatening to kill him wasn't the worst. She knew how children were treated by Nia, some of her personal guard were brutally 'trained' since childhood, a fate that could not overcome Tyler. Lexa will get him out of here, no matter the cost.
Clarke pulled the sword, one she had taken from a dead Ice Nation warrior that didn't need it anymore, free from her latest victim and scanned around for her next opponent. There weren't many left, Anya was right, not that Clarke will openly say that to her, this attack force was small and in no ways meant to overtake TonDC. But as to why they attacked Clarke was still at a guess, fighting off these warriors had been their priority. A battle cry came from behind her, Clarke turned to see a bulky warrior charge at her. His big axe furiously swinging around before he aimed it at her head. His actions were wild and without thought and probably more out desperation than anything else he attacked.
Clarke had all the time in the world to sidestep his attack, tackle him and cut her blade through his heart, she ducked when footsteps approached and someone tried to take her by surprise. When she regained her footing a woman stood in front of her, two daggers in her hands and anger in her eyes as they shifted a few times between the man she had just killed and Clarke.
Then she charged at Clarke. The woman was fast, Clarke could barely avoid one of the daggers, but turned her head enough for it to only gaze her cheek. She ignored the sting of the cut and the blood seeping down her cheek and kept her focus on the fight. She was forced on the defensive, barely able to keep up with the speed of the woman's attacks and it wasn't long before she lost her balance. The woman took advantage of it and tackled Clarke to the ground, she managed to roll on her back but she could not avoid the kick at her ribs.
Clarke was thankful now for Anya and Lexa not going easy on her during their training sessions and she could easily bite away the pain at her ribs, running solely on adrenaline when she kicked at the woman's legs before her dagger could make contact. The woman fell to her knees and Clarke had enough time to roll over and get back to her feet. Her sleeve wiped away the trail of blood from her cheek, but her eyes remained focused on the woman in front of her.
Around her the sounds of swords clashing and battle cries were fading, it told Clarke the attack was coming to its end. This woman was still standing though and her mind was set on killing Clarke, if she wasn't careful that might be exactly what will happen so she ignores her surroundings and focused on the angry woman in front of her. With a heaving chest and sore ribs her eyes followed the woman, she circled Clarke and smirked and held plenty of confidence to believe she would end up victorious in this fight.
The woman charged and once more Clarke was on the defensive, slashes from the woman's blades cut the skin on her arms and face when her attempts to dodge or parry faltered. She winced though refused to give in and then she saw an opening when the woman moved slower than her previous attempts, Clarke thought she could hit her with a strong left hook, but had not anticipated that the woman had feigned the movement. An arm locked itself around her throat when the woman whirled around her, followed by a strong kick on the inside of her knee. Clarke fell down on her knees and was unable to free herself from the strong grip of the Ice Nation warrior.
"Yu gonplei ste odon." the woman said and all Clarke could do was watch how she readied her blade for a strike aimed directly at her heart.
Clarke tried to struggle free again but it was futile, the woman's grip was too strong. As the woman made her move, Clarke closed her eyes in reflex. But instead of meeting her end, she heard a gurgled grunt behind her before the woman's grip faltered and she felt her slip away. Clarke turned to her feet immediately and was happy to see Anya walking towards her. A smirk showed on her face when she pulled a blade from the lifeless woman.
"That, is how you throw a dagger at someone, prisa."
Her tease no doubt referred to the day now in the past where they were ambushed by Ice Nation warriors and Clarke saved Gia's life by failing to correctly throw a dagger at her assailant.
"Wonderful," Clarke countered sarcastically while she glanced around to see the battle had ended. "It would have been nice if you threw that dagger a bit sooner, she almost killed me."
Anya just shrugged. "I wanted to see if you could win, I have concluded I will have to train you even harder now."
Clarke rolled her eyes. "Great." she said and looked up at Raven as she appeared from behind her hiding spot.
"Think you can teach a cripple some of those tricks as well?" She asked. "I felt rather helpless out there."
Anya eyed her with a look Clarke was unable to decipher. "I might, if you will no longer refer to yourself as a cripple."
A chance to reply was lost on Raven when Indra approached with Octavia in tow.
"The village is secure, Anya, we have suffered a few casualties, Lincoln and Kensi are at the dungeons with a prisoner." she said.
There was a flash of regret on Anya's face before it turned stoic again.
"Have you seen Heda?" she immediately asked.
Indra shakes her head. "She is still in the forest with Rylan. Vern and Senho are with her."
"She should have been back by now, Indra."
"Sha," Indra said but the expression on her face did not falter. "I will find Keara and start a search."
"I'm coming with you."
Clarke barely realized she spoke the words, but she meant them. Lexa was out there and she was in danger. No one doubted her skills as a warrior but that doesn't mean that Clarke won't worry about her safety and has her mind set on joining the search party.
"No you're not." Anya countered immediately, grabbing Clarke by the bicep.
There was blood on Anya's hand, which seemed to resonate from a deep cut on her arm, Clarke ignored it because her mind was set on a verbal battle with Anya which she intended to win.
"Yes I am," she started raising her voice. "You wanted me to let you know once I found out why we were being attacked well here I am telling you. This was all to keep us busy so that they could attack the Commander while she is less protected by her people. So she is out there, somewhere, the victim of a well planned assault and unable to count on her people to back her up because we were busy defending TonDC and its people, I am going with Indra to find her."
She was fuming with anger, who was Anya to tell her that she couldn't go out there to find the woman she loves. God knows what they did to her, she could already be dead and they were just standing here, arguing. A hand on her shoulder and a gentle squeeze suddenly startled her and Clarke's head whirled around to meet Raven.
"Clarke, let them do what they are good at and you can do what you're good at here. Look around you, there are fires everywhere, people are wounded, your mother and Nyko need your help taking care of the wounded."
"She's right Clarke." she heard Octavia say. "You're needed here."
Of course they were right, Clarke knew that from the beginning and if Lexa were here she would say the same. But Lexa isn't here and it was difficult to not think what could have happened to her. She sighed then and lowered her head in defeat.
"Fine, but please Indra let me know the moment you found her?"
The General looked at her, expression stoic and her jaw set in a straight line while her eyes remained on Clarke for what felt like hours. Then she saw a slight nod, it was so short she wasn't even sure she saw it but Indra had already turned around with Octavia chasing after her.
"Go to the clinic, Prisa, I will go to Lincoln and Kensi to interrogate the prisoner."
Before Clarke knew what she was doing she grabbed Anya's wrist and pulled her arm up, studying the cut that was still bleeding.
"You can interrogate the prisoner after I stitched that wound." she said and refused to let go of Anya's wrist.
"There is no time." Anya yanked her arm free.
"And you will waste the Commander's time if you pass out from blood loss during the interrogation."
Anya was ready to protest, her eyes moving from Clarke to Raven, the mechanic held her hands up but smiled.
"Don't look at me, I'm no doctor. I'd tell you she's right but you would just tell me to-"
"Shof op."
"Yep."
Anya gave in and the two of them made their way to the healer's tent while Raven mentioned she'd help the village with putting out the fires. As they walked inside Nyko and her mother were already there. Nyko was working on stitches for a warrior with a nasty head wound. The bed he sat on was occupied by two more warriors who were waiting patiently for their turn. All in all their injuries didn't look too bad. Her mother had a female warrior lying on her table, arrows sticking out of her thigh, left calf and right shoulder. At the sight of her daughter a flash of relief showed on her face but she kept at the task at hand by helping the woman.
"Are you hurt?" Abby immediately asked.
"A few scrapes and bruises, otherwise fine. I'm just here to stich Anya's arm."
She nodded at an available chair for Anya to sit in but the General remained on her feet and studied Clarke closely as she gathered the materials needed to help Anya. When Clarke knew she wouldn't be able to get Anya to sit down she got to work. It didn't go unnoticed to her that Abby glanced at her several times with a set of worried eyes. Whether it was because Clarke was lightly injured or that she had fought and killed people, again, was lost on Clarke.
At the mention of it probably hurting Anya just huffed her words away and didn't even flinch when the needle and thread woved delicately through her skin. Several minutes later she was done though before Anya could leave Aden walked in, a few streaks of blood covered his face, which showed he had fought as well, but worries sank into the pit of her stomach when she saw the panicked features on his face.
"Wanheda!"
He walked over to her, his eyes watered with tears and Clarke braced herself for whatever news he was going to bring, afraid that he was about to tell her that Lexa had died.
"Tyler, he… he, I can't find him, neither can Rona."
Tyler, how could she forget about Tyler? She had been selfishly worrying about Lexa while before the attack Aden was already searching for Tyler. The more she thought about it, the more she hated herself for doing so but her gut told her that the attack and both Lexa and Tyler missing was all linked to each other. Panic struck her, if something had happened to both Lexa and Tyler she wouldn't know what to do with herself.
"This is no coincidence."
Anya's words drew her back to the situation at hand, it took a lot of effort to not let panic takeover but she knew panicking wouldn't help Lexa or Tyler so she made up her mind and locked eyes with Anya.
"Now it's time to interrogate that prisoner and I'm going with you."
For a split second it looked like Anya was about to object but she probably saw there was no arguing with Clarke about this, again, so she nodded but turned to Aden.
"Find Indra, tell her the boy is missing as well."
Aden nodded and took off with Clarke and Anya following right after him to make their way to the dungeons. A glance over her shoulder to lock eyes with her mother lasted just long enough to see the begging look to ask her to be careful. A reassuring nod went to her mother before she disappeared out of sight and she kept up with Anya's high pace towards the prison.
As they made their way inside Clarke saw Gara and Nova were still imprisoned, Gara passively seated at the back of his cell and Nova chained in the same manner Emerson had when he was in that very cell. She pushed the thought of feeling bad to see a fourteen year old girl chained to the wall aside and tried to put her focus on the cell at the end of the hall where Lincoln and Kensi were waiting at each side of the door.
The prisoner was an older man, his hair completely grey, face wrinkled and decorated with Ice Nation scars as well as battle scars that he must have had sustained during the many wars fought over the years. Right now, he had more than just scars on his face, his nose was bleeding, one eye starting to swell and blood was dripping down the back of his neck from a head injury. he was on his knees with his hands tied behind his back and despite his injuries and the situation he was in the man looked calm, not even worried when Anya approached.
"I will tell you nothing." his hoarse voice already said while they barely set foot at the door.
"He has said as such several times now." Lincoln said.
Anya nodded and then faced the old man, Clarke watched patiently, a voice in the back of her head already telling her to accept the fact that Anya will probably torture him to get the information. She'd been in this position before, when it was Lincoln who they had chained up, but things were different now, she was different now. Time on the ground had changed her, Lexa and Tyler were in danger and they had to extract as much information as they could, by any means necessary and Clarke accepted that. You do what you must to survive but the words she spoke to Lexa once, that they deserved more than just surviving, seemed further away now than they had ever been.
"You know," Anya started "There once was a time where I commanded Heda, where she had to do what I told her or suffer the consequences and I taught her everything I knew in order to prepare her for the conclave. And once she was Heda, I began to realize that I had nothing left to teach her but that she had everything to teach me. She was wise already before she became Heda."
Anya opened the door and walked inside, the man shifted slightly, craning his neck in an attempt to keep his gaze on her when Anya stepped behind him. He did not show it but it no doubt was because he worried what she might do and he couldn't see it coming.
"Once, not long before her conclave, I ordered her to interrogate a prisoner. She did without question and on her return I expected her to have bloodied hands and scraped knuckles. There was not a drop of blood on her but she gave me the information I needed. A day later I returned to the prisoner with her, he really didn't have a single scratch on him but the moment he set his eyes on the Commander to be there was respect in them, all the resentment he had held before was gone."
She circled him again, this time stopping in front of him. She was studying him, trying to read his emotions but from what Clarke could see they hadn't changed and he was as determined to stay silent as he was the moment they walked in.
"Your words have no effect on me, you waste time." the man said.
Anya raised an eyebrow. "Am I? I know quite a lot already. I know you were send here to die, we both know that the small force in which you attacked was never enough to take over TonDC, so the question remains, why did Queen Nia specifically chose you for this mission that was doomed to fail?"
"It is my duty to die for my queen."
Clarke couldn't hold back a snort and neither could Anya. The doubt in his voice was more than clear and he refused to look Anya in the eyes when he said it.
"Maybe you believed that once, but now it is a lie." Anya confronted him. "What did you do to deserve this mission? Did you sneeze too loud during a meeting? Did you let a mouse pass while you were on guarding duty? I'm sure it doesn't take much for the Queen to think you are unworthy."
When he chose to continue his silence, Anya continued.
"The will to die for a leader should come from respect, not from fear. Has she earned your respect?" she asked but knew the answer already. "I do not think so either. Your leader has taken a boy hostage to achieve her goals, that does not earn respect, that earns defiance."
She turned then and headed out of the cell, locking it behind her. "When you are ready to see you were wrong, let me know and once we are victorious in this war I will put in a good word for you with Heda. Unlike what your Queen has told you about her, Heda knows when to be compassionate, something I learned the day she interrogated that warrior."
They barely made it to the end of the hall when the warrior called out to them.
"Wait!"
Clarke was impressed with how Anya had gotten to the warrior with only her words, she was glad about it too but also knew it separated them from Nia who would no doubt prefer violence over words. Clarke bristled then, realizing that if Lexa had been captured by the Ice Nation a fate like that was awaiting her. She followed Anya back and prayed that the information this man was willing to share with them was enough for them to find Lexa before it's too late.
She watched intently when the warrior stepped towards the prison bars and locked his eyes on her instead of Anya.
"You are Wanheda."
It wasn't a question but it also didn't surprise Clarke that he figured out who she was.
"I am, though I would prefer it if you'd just call me Clarke."
"The Queen says you do not only command death, but Heda too, that Heda is weak."
Clarke smiled at him. "I don't command death, nor do I command the Commander."
He narrowed his eyes at Clarke and looked as if he was trying to figure something out. "You destroyed the mountain, freed our people."
"I destroyed the mountain with the help of Skaikru, Heda freed your people. She wisely chose them over mine. If we went to war more would have died, it shows she cares for her people and that is anything but weakness. Did you lose someone to the Mountain Men?"
He shook his head. "No, I was captured once by Ripa, but I escaped, it was when I was younger."
His eyes closed and he leaned his head to the bars. He let out a deep breath before he spoke. "Queen Nia will kill me." he said softly.
"Your Queen already thinks you dead." Anya countered and Clarke knew it was enough to convince him because he looked up and nodded at the women.
"I know nothing of the boy. We were ordered to join Otta on her mission, distract the people in TonDC till our dying breath so that Otta can complete her mission, that is all we have been told."
"So the Queen send Otta, do you know what her mission is?"
He shook his head. "She would not tell us the Queen's orders."
"Yet you still went." Clarke said.
"If I did not, or question my orders the Queen would kill me anyways, though I have no family left for her to threaten, I still value my life, the chances of survival here were higher than refusing my orders."
Clarke knew she would have done the same in his position, he was more than lucky to be the only one left alive and if he continued to cooperate Clarke knew it would stay that way, if Anya can't convince Lexa to keep him alive, she would. This war has seen too many deaths already. Clarke wondered there must be a reason why the Queen had chosen to send him to his death.
"She knew this mission would be suicide and purposely chose you, why?"
"I am a seasoned warrior, I served her husband before he died, he was a better man, an honorable man. Since his death, over the years, I have doubted many of the orders she's given, quietly, or so I thought. She has eyes and ears everywhere."
"What of Roan?" Anya asked.
"No one has heard of him since she left for Polis. He has the honor she lacks, but she holds power over him even, the rumors are that she has killed him and burned his body for no one to find."
Clarke frowned. "Roan is her son right? The Commander told me a few things about your people."
He nodded. "He is, it is why I do not believe she killed him, she might think him unfit as an heir, but she will never kill him, not her own son."
It was good that he answered all their questions willingly now, but so far they hadn't been very useful and the more they talked about things that didn't help Lexa, the more time they lost on finding her. But it seemed he really knew nothing about why he was sent here and what Otta's orders were. The Queen might be ruthless and heartless, but she knew very well not to disclose information to warriors that don't fully support her anymore and only listen to her through fear.
"I am sorry I cannot tell you anything about the boy." The way he said it told Clarke he meant it, she realized he accepted his fate. Clarke only hoped Anya would stay true to her word and maybe death will not await him just yet.
It makes her wonder, of all the warriors she had killed earlier today, were they really bad people? They were only driven by fear from whatever it was that the Queen held over them. The threat of a husband, wife or child? The thought alone made her sick to her stomach, but it also encouraged her to end this war as quickly as possible. Clarke knew the deaths she caused today had been out of self defense, kill or be killed, but she couldn't help but think what would have happened if fear wasn't the motivator for most of these people.
"What's your name?" she asked him.
"Nacada."
"Nacada." she said. "Is there anything you can tell us, anything that you thought was strange or unusual. It might have meant nothing to you but it could make a big difference for us."
His eyes moved back and forth, his mind probably running through the time he spend together with Otta. Clarke watched on while he contemplated her words, it seemed to last forever before she finally she a brief moment of recognition.
"We had to report to Otta in one of the tunnels, once I arrived it was only her and a hooded person. She had probably not expected me yet, she said but one word before she ushered the person away."
"What was the word?" Anya asked.
"Spoka." Match / firestarter
"Jok."
Before Clarke realised Anya took off and in a haze of thanking Nacada and trying to comprehend what happened she chased after Anya.
"Kensi, find Kane, Raven, Nyc and Tys then join us at the war room."
"Sha, Anya." Kensi said and took off as soon as they were outside.
"What's going on?" Clarke did her best to keep up with Anya's high pace.
"I will explain once everyone has arrived."
They walked inside the war room and she barked out orders for everyone to leave. The warriors didn't hesitate for a second and hurried outside. But Lexa was still missing and Clarke had no more patience left.
"Lexa is out there and you're not telling me anything, I'm worried as fuck and it's driving me nuts!"
Anya locked her eyes on Clarke. "The war is finally starting.
Lexa knew these woods. She knew them better than Rylan, Echo or Otta, no matter how much they believe otherwise. Lexa knows every tree, every branch and every leaf. She knew exactly where they were when Lexa's constant request for a break so that Tyler could get some rest had finally broken Otta's resolve. They now were in a small clearing, in the middle of the night, taking a thirty minute break. Lexa still had her hands bound behind her back and Tyler was sitting opposite of her, still frightened and not daring to say a word with Otta sitting next to him, sharpening her knife.
The remaining warriors were scattered around the area or on guarding duty while Rylan and Echo were in a hushed conversation together. Whatever it was that they were discussing, they didn't want anyone to hear, or maybe they just didn't want Lexa to hear it. But then suddenly an angry Echo turned to Otta and stormed towards her. Otta already saw it coming and stood to her feet, forcing Tyler up on his feet as well, forcing a whimper from him as she hauled him up and kept her hand pressed on her shoulder
"The deal was to kill Lynn and help get you back to Polis and in return you would free my brother, yet Rylan says my brother was not freed during the attack on TonDC." Otta merely shrugged at Echo's anger but Rylan joined in on their conversation.
"You also ensured me that the boy would be freed as well, he is needed for the leverage over Delphikru."
Lexa clearly saw Otta rolling her eyes at the sudden ambush from Echo and Rylan. She watched closely as Otta scanned the area, making note of where her warriors were positioned before she turned back to Lexa and pushed Tyler back down.
"You try anything, I will personally end the boy's life and make you watch while he bleeds out slowly." The warning was loud and clear before Otta walked a few paces away, out of earshot from Lexa and Tyler while she engaged into the discussion that Echo and Rylan had initiated.
Lexa immediately ignored Otta's threat. "Tyler, do you remember what I told you about watching the stars?" she whispered just loud enough for him to hear it while her eyes remained on Otta.
"Yes." she heard him say. "To watch them to get back home."
She ignored the fact that he called TonDC his home now, it made her feel proud that he did but it was not something to dwell upon right now.
"Yes, that's right. Now, do you still have the knife that I gave you?" He offered her a nod when her gaze moved between him and Otta for a moment. "Slide it to me when I say so, ok?"
"But the lady will hurt me if I do."
"I will not let her, I promise. Do you trust me, Tyler?" He nodded. "Ok, then slowly reach for it, and slide it over when I say so."
He did as she said and Lexa watched the conversation between Otta, Echo and Rylan entail, patiently waiting for the right moment for Tyler to throw his knife to Lexa. Otta occasionally threw a glance towards the two of them, Lexa knew she had to time it right for her not to notice. The remaining warriors and Vern were too far away to notice a movement like that, or so she hoped at least and when suddenly Otta's voice raised into anger and she gave Rylan a push Lexa motioned with a nod for Tyler to slide over the knife.
He didn't slide it hard enough and the blade stopped near her feet. Lexa didn't move when Otta quickly turned around to see if her burst of anger had caused them to try anything and Lexa feared she would spot the knife, but then she turned back to her discussion and Lexa relaxed while sliding forward a bit until the knife was below her boot. It took a lot of twisting and turning with short breaks in between to not draw attention, but eventually she had the knife in her hands and started cutting the ropes.
But then the conversation between the three seemed to end and Otta turned to walk back. Lexa cursed under her breath, she was almost finished cutting the rope and Tyler turned bright red in fear of being caught.
"Otta." Vern suddenly walked over to her. "We need to move soon, I found tracks."
Otta glanced at Lexa shortly before responding to Vern. "Tracks of?"
"A small group, could be bandits, could be scouts, I am not sure."
Lexa flinched when the knife finally cut through the ropes and it cut a bit through her wrist as well.
"Which direction?" Otta asked.
"To the south east." Vern replied.
Lexa knew this was the moment for Tyler's escape. "Go now, Tyler. Go!" she tried to say as softly as possible.
His eyes widened in shock and he froze on the spot, doing anything but running.
"Please trust me Tyler, I will protect you, turn around, and keep looking at the big star in the sky, go!"
She couldn't yell at him or they would hear her, but Tyler remained frozen on the spot, so Lexa decided to take the initiative herself. She stood to her feet and charged towards Otta and Vern, her body only colliding with Vern as she fell down, bringing him with her.
"Run Tyler!" she yelled this time. "Watch the big star and, run!" he shook his head wildly while chaos erupted and Lexa felt a fist at her jaw as Vern used the momentum to push her off him.
When she saw Otta moved towards him, Lexa crawled on her feet and lunged at her, tackling the woman to the ground. She looked at Tyler once more, her eyes begging.
"Clarke will find you, now go!"
This time her words broke him out of his panic and Tyler finally turned and ran into the woods. Lexa had no time to watch as she felt someone grab her hair and pulled her up to her feet. She was too late to avoid Vern's fist and it connected fiercely at her jaw, Lexa stumbled backwards but regained her footing, ready to face Vern, and whoever else would attack her. She knew there were too many to face on her own, but if she could at least slow them down Tyler had a big chance to escape. Especially since Otta hadn't ordered anyone after him yet until she pulled Vern back when he wanted to move towards Lexa.
"No, me and my warriors will deal with her, go after the boy but don't kill him. I want Lexa to watch him die."
Vern seemed more than content at that and then headed into the woods to chase after Tyler, while Lexa could not stop him with Otta in front of her and other warriors closing in on her.
"I will go with him, make sure he doesn't kill him." she heard Echo say and Lexa knew that with Echo going after Vern, chances of his survival were next to impossible.
But her focus was on the fight to come, it was a fight she could not win and she knew it would be a painful one, but it was a sacrifice she was willing to make for Tyler. So when Otta merely nodded and stayed back, the warriors charged at her. Lexa dodged and evaded as many punches and kicks as she could and countered when there was an opening. She lasted for as long as she could and even managed to kill a few of Otta's warriors when they charged in with too much confidence and gave her hope that for some miracle she could beat the odds.
But it didn't take long before all the blows she had suffered were taking its toll, Lexa was getting tired, her limbs felt heavy and her attacks slowed. While she kept on fighting and refused to give up, the fight abruptly ended when Lexa grabbed the wrist of a warrior and turned his arm around to cut the blade through his own stomach. Another warrior had already approached her, it was too late to avoid his blade from cutting through her shoulder. Immediately after a bulky warrior lunged at her and dragged her along until they collided with a tree and Lexa found herself desperately gasping for air.
Lexa was given no time to recover when that same bulky warrior brought his knee up to her stomach, she tasted blood and doubled over from the pain. When he pushed her back up against the tree, hand pressing down on her injured shoulder, Lexa bit down furiously to not cry out from the excruciating pain it caused. She was grateful for hearing Otta's voice ring through her head ordering him to stop. Instead he stepped to the side to make space for Otta but kept his hand pressed on her injured shoulder, not giving Lexa a chance to try anything, no matter how foolish that would be considering her current situation.
"I told you what would happen if you tried anything. The boy will die and you will watch, and I will take solace in watching you suffer. Making you suffer will come once you are back in Polis, but for now…"
There was nothing she could do when the handle of Otta's sword came at her to knock her out. The last thing on her mind before she lost consciousness was Tyler and the hope that her efforts had been enough to save his life.
Tyler ran for as fast as his feet could carry him. Heda said to trust her, Heda said he would be safe and that Clarke would find him. And he did trust her, he did believe her when she said she would slow the bad people down to give him time to escape. But he had doubts now, because he was only a little boy and the man chasing after him was bigger and Tyler knew he was closing in on him. But he was too afraid to look back, he feared that the moment he did everything would be lost anyways, so he kept running, he kept running and tried not to think of the burning pain he felt in his lungs and the stabbing pain at his side that told him he was tired and should stop running.
"I will find you boy!" he heard the man say. "It is useless to run, I will find you!"
Tyler wished he couldn't hear the man, wished he was deaf so that the man's words would not make him even more scared than he already was. But Clarke and Heda had told him once that he was the bravest boy they had ever known, he didn't want to disappoint them so he kept running and glanced up at the sky every now and then to make sure he was going into the right direction.
Suddenly he tripped. He tripped when he looked at the sky and did not see the root of the tree that had stuck out of the ground. His knee scraped over the ground and he felt it burn from the impact. Tyler cried and looked down at his knee to see it there was a deep cut in it and it was bleeding. He wanted nothing more than to sit down and cry and wish for the pain to go away and for a moment he did, he crawled up against the tree and wiped away the tears that had fallen down his cheek. But then he heard the man's voice again and his footsteps were closing in. And Heda had sacrificed herself so that he could escape, he could not let that be for nothing, he could not give up, he will prove that he is the bravest boy just like they said.
Heda said Clarke would find him if he would just keep running so he scurried back to his feet and did just that.
Heda said Clarke would find him.
He would just have to keep running. Keep running from the big man and make sure he cannot find him and then Clarke will.
Clarke will find him because Heda said so.
And then as he passed another big tree and looked up to the sky once more, a hand grabbed his shoulder and squeezed down to pull him back. A hand covered his mouth to muffle the cry that escaped because of it. A cry combined of surprise and fear. Mostly fear. Maybe nothing but fear. He kicked and trashed at the strong arms that held him back and kept doing so when arms wrapped around his body, they were strong arms and his struggles were pointless.
But heda had said to trust her and Heda had said Clarke would find him.
But he knew the person holding him was not Clarke, the person was too big and strong to be Clarke. The person was a man and the man's mouth moved to his ear and then the man spoke.
"Hush boy, it will all be over soon."
Sorry. sorry. sorry for this cliffhanger! :-) Cookies or icecream as peace offering?