Epilogue - Rainflower

True to her word Clarke had returned after taking Keenan to Raven Rock. She had returned bearing a case of nightblood serum for the remaining residents of Mount Weather. For Lexa the week that Clarke had been away had dragged on as she was weighed down by a raft of doubts and petty concerns. The members of the Kongeda had been furious at the limited retribution they had been able to exact on the Maunon. Worse, murmurs had begun to circulate around Polis questioning Lexa's ability to lead the Kongeda and Lexa had a good idea of where the dissent was originating from. Nia and her agents would do everything that could to undermine Lexa's leadership. A lack of retribution was a short-term concern and Lexa knew that it would soon be forgotten but a nearly bloodless victory that preserved so many warriors' lives would not be forgotten. There was still the matter of the Skaikru but after what had happened at the Mountain Lexa suspected that the truce would hold. She would need to negotiate a more lasting treaty with Kane but that could wait until things had a chance to settle down.

When Clarke finally returned Lexa couldn't stop herself from enfolding the other woman in a tight embrace the moment she saw her, heedless of who had been watching. After having Clarke recount just what had happened at Raven Rock, nothing remarkable as it turned out ,and giving Clarke the welcome home that she deserved the two of them settled into a comfortably normal routine. No words had been given to the subject of when Clarke would eventually need to travel North although they both knew that it was coming eventually.

Clarke had settled into the role of Lexa's advisor and bodyguard despite such a position not having existed prior to Clarke's arrival. There had been a few rumblings about Clarke's divided loyalties but soon enough the stories of how she had saved Lexa's life in the Mountain began to circulate and those concerns were swiftly banished. Most of the ambassadors and clan leaders had come to treat Clarke as an extension of Lexa's person and Lexa was grateful at being able to share the burden of leadership with someone else. Privately, Lexa had to marvel at how easily Clarke slipped into her role, it was almost as though she was born to lead.

It should have come as no surprise to either of them that there would be threats on their lives but when the attack did come it still managed to take both of them off guard. They had been wandering through the market with a quartet of Lexa's bodyguards when a single man had sprung out of a group of travellers and attacked one of her guards. The man was completely non-descript, clearly not a warrior or an assassin, and Lexa would have paid him little heed until he downed the first of her guards in under a moment. We a grace and dexterity that seemed at odds with his average build and musculature he moved from one to another of her guards with the ease of a trained killer. Clarke shoved Lexa behind her as she drew her own sword and advanced on the assassin.

Lexa sparred exclusively with Clarke on a daily basis,- not out of a romantic attachment, though that was certainly a benefit, but because Clarke was the only one who could give her a challenge. Ever since they had returned from Raven Rock Lexa had found that their reflexes and reaction times had been dramatically enhanced. It had reached the point that Lexa was able to outfight a group of her own bodyguards with ease, something that she would never have been able to do before Raven Rock. While Lexa had been impressed and a little worried about the assassin's ability to incapacitate her bodyguards she was justifiably confident that Clarke would have little trouble with him. Nevertheless she drew her own sword and advanced cautiously behind Clarke.

To her horror she watched as the assassin was able to deftly hold his own in the face of Clarke's initial attack and then subsequently managed to put Clarke on the defensive. Lexa realized that this was no ordinary assassin that they were facing but something else entirely. Still, Lexa was disciplined enough to quash her doubts and focus on fighting. In complete silence she moved to Clarke's right and entered the fray.

There is a common misconception that in a two versus one fight with swords that the pair have the advantage over the solitary combatant and in some very select cases this is true. Backstabbing an opponent while they are distracted is one such case. Attacking a prepared and capable swordsman from the front is another proposition entirely as the duo has to carefully manage their attacks so they do not confound each other's movements or worse still end up being struck by their partner's blade. While Lexa knew Clarke well enough to anticipate some of her moves there was a cautiousness on both their parts that prevented them from really benefitting from their advantage in numbers. Eventually the two of them settled into a tag team in which one would launch most of the attacks while the other would content themselves with the occasional feint or thrust under their enemy's guard. As a strategy it worked quite well and before long, they had opened several cuts on the assassin's body although it did nothing to slow him down.

With the fight dragging on Lexa decided to do something unorthodox. Waiting until Clarke had the assassin's complete attention Lexa made to thrust under the assassin's guard, a move she had done several times during the fight and one the assassin was familiar with. As the assassin parried, Lexa put her full weight against the blade and while the assassin was distracted Lexa used her free hand to drive her dagger into the assassin's chest. The assassin was momentarily stunned but where another human being would have been well on their way to death the assassin seemed likely to rally at least until Clarke's blade opened his throat.

The two of them were left panting for breath as they surveyed the carnage. Glancing from the dead man to Clarke Lexa had the dreadful premonition that the moment that she had been dreading had just arrived. Lexa had been about to say something to Clarke when another group of her armed warriors came boiling into the marketplace with them. She heard Clarke say something about wanting to examine the body as her guards hurried her away from the scene of the attack. It would be the last time that she would see Clarke.

As soon as she was back in the tower, she had set to irritably pacing back and forth waiting for Clarke to report back to her. As the sun made its transit across the sky so too did Lexa emotions transit from impatience to irritation to worry. She had sent out several guards to find Clarke and had even resorted to having Anya scour the city for her missing lover. It wasn't until that she had returned to her apartments that she found a note sitting on her pillow. With a growing sense of dread, she opened the note and read the first line.

Dear Lexa

By the time you read this I will be gone …

An animal sound of grief tore through Lexa's throat as she dropped the letter. Clarke had finally left to follow the task that Ama had set her, leaving Lexa alone. Even now she was sailing into unimaginable danger without Lexa. Despite this it was the vicious rend in Lexa's heart that occupied all of her attention as she sank to her knees and read the remainder of the letter.

I'm sorry I wasn't brave enough to do this in person but I knew that if I saw you my resolve would fail me. Even now it's all I can do to continue forward with this.

I want you to know that what I'm doing isn't because the AIs are somehow compelling me to do it. I'm doing this because it's the right thing to do and it's the only way that I can be sure that you'll be safe. The assassin was, as we feared, enhanced by Mari's rival. He had a chip in him that I can only guess was responsible for his combat performance and complete disregard for his own self-preservation.

What can we do against such foes Lexa? They are an enemy that we cannot hope to beat through simple force of arms alone. The only path that I know of is to travel North and seek out Mari's core. I know that it will be dangerous and that I could die. I promise you that I will do my very best to avoid that happening.

I never wanted this but we are the only ones who can possibly meet this new threat. I never wanted to hurt you. I love you and I will always love you no matter where I am.

I will see you again.

Clarke

Lexa let out an agonized sob as she hurled the now balled up letter across the room. Despite her best efforts, Clarke had managed to wound her deeply. Despite knowing that this moment was coming, despite having mentally prepared for it, Lexa was still left shattered. Intellectually she knew that it wasn't a betrayal but she was a far cry from being able to think about things rationally.

"She's gone." Anya finally remarked without any hint of emotion when she finally braved Lexa's apartments an hour later.

"Is that supposed to be news Onya?" Lexa snapped with an uncharacteristic amount of ire.

Anya seemed taken aback by Lexa's sharp reply before composing her expression. "We searched the entirety of Polis. It was not until we spoke with the harbourmaster and he told us of a Tseekru merchant ship that made an unscheduled departure that we suspected that Clarke may have left the city. What is this all about?"

Lexa rose imperiously to her feet. "Clarke has chosen to leave to pursue a mission that does not involve me."

Anya looked at her skeptically. "What could possibly possess her to leave you?"

Lexa was torn between wanting to yell at Anya to get out and telling her everything. Despite the gaping wound in her heart her long years of training won out, there were things that Anya was not ready to know. "The Azgeda have lied to us. There are powers dwelling in the Northern lands that have only just begun to stir. Clarke has gone to confront them. A time may come when I have to do the same."

Anya looked at her with an uncomprehending frown confirming Lexa's suspicion that a fanciful tale of eldritch entities that were playing a game of chess using nations as the pieces would have broken poor Anya's brain.

"Consider yourself lucky to be spared the burden of this knowledge Anya. If you will excuse me, I would like to retire."

Anya looked like she wanted to say something further but nodded her assent, still she paused at the door. "If you need anything Lexa …"

"I know Anya and I am grateful." Lexa replied as she turned away from her former teacher.

Looking out over Polis, her city, at the all the slumbering houses filled with her people Lexa was reminded of just what her duty entailed. The people below her looked to her for safety, for reassurance, and for simplicity. It was her duty to carry the knowledge of what lurked in the darkness beyond the light and order of her little scrap of civilization. How bitter a word – duty.

Lexa looked beyond the walls, beyond the lights, into the darkness of the sea beyond – Clarke's adopted element. She wondered if somewhere in that black abyss Clarke was thinking of her.

"Come home to me Clarke, come home safe."

A/N

Gah! It's finally complete! I hope there are at least a few damp eyes after the epilogue.

The chapter name was a bit of whimsy on my part after reading Memory of Empire and getting into the significance of plants. The meaning of Rainflower in this context is 'I'll never forget you'.

This has been a journey nearly four years in the making. I first published the beginnings of this back on FF in March of 2016 and now it's finally complete. The most difficult chapters in this were Chapter 21 and Chapter 7, for some reason both of them proved exceptionally hard to write. My MVP character was the Homrippa and I'd credit him/her with revitalizing the story and getting it back on track.

As most of you are aware I have an idea where I'm going for the next book - the frozen wastes of Canada! Brrrrrr! The narrative style is going to be changing slightly with the entire first half of the book being told from Lexa's perspective and the back half from Clarke's. They will reconnect fairly quickly after a couple of chapters. There will be no shortage of new characters in the next book but some old characters are going to be making reappearances. There will also be some slightly Ranya in the later parts of the book.

I'll probably aim to start releasing chapters at the end of March to commemorate the beginning of this book. The next book will be posted exclusively on A03 thanks to 's clunky interface.

Finally I want to extend a profound thank you to everyone who has reviewed the story. While it might not look it, your reviews have actually encouraged me to finish this work. Keep on reviewing if you want to see more!