Skaifaya

by Cairlinn1991

What if Charlotte was not the only or even the youngest child on the dropship? This is the story of nine-year-old Marie Matthews, who is sent down to earth as a member of the 100. When Murphy is exiled from the 100 Marie follows him and they run into grounders. Separated from the 100 and to become Anya's second how will Marie stay alive and find a new life for herself?

23. Chapter 23 (221 - 230)

Chapter 231

Anya barely felt the burn within her fingers when she accepted her sword back from Ontari, who had picked the discarded weapon up, and let them close tightly around the handle. But she still noticed the blood running through her fingers, where her skin had burst open, so she knew that her fingers would be stiff and swollen later, once the adrenaline from the battle had left her system. Now she still felt the prospect of getting revenge on their daughter's behalf coursing hotly through her veins.

"The secret exit is hidden behind a moveable bookshelf" Roan spoke up, keeping his tone low, while his eyes remained hefted on the door looming in front of them. The main part of his mind knew that he had made the right choice in working together with the commander, but a small voice within his mind kept on whispering insistently that he was betraying his own mother. Their relationship had not always been difficult, he still remembered earlier days of his childhood. But he tried to silence the bugging little voice, when the deeply frightened grey eyes of the commander's second invaded his mind, reminding him viciously of just what his mother was capable of. "Keep her away from it entirely" he cautioned. He knew that there were booby traps within this secret passage as well, which could be activated from the person entering and keeping whoever might try to follow away.

The other warriors nodded in acknowledgement, hands closing around their drawn weapons, ready to spring into attack any second now.

Lexa halted them for a single moment "Capture her alive if possible" was her last order.

Anya's brows furrowed; she was less than impressed with this order. Everything within her longed to storm inside this room and do to Nia what she had just done to Echo, maybe just letting the vile woman die slower and more painfully, just as she deserved. But her rational mind knew that it would be most politically effective to bring the Ice queen back to Polis and to subject under the judge of the coalition and the commander, holding a public execution for the queen.

The warriors nodded again in mute acknowledgement, although they had received the same order before already.

Roan stepped closer to the door and he did not hesitate for a single second in reaching out and turning the handle, slowly pushing the door open. His eyes directly fell onto his mother in person. The woman was obviously hastily trying to pack a few things and her eyes visibly widened when she recognized him. "Hello mother" he addressed her in a monotonous voice and his features were taken over by a blank mask "Long time no see" he commented sarcastically. His body was still blocking the sight out into the hall, so his mother had obviously not realized yet that he had not arrived alone.

Nia's brows visibly furrowed "Roan…" she retorted and the surprise flitting over her features seemed genuine "…how have you come here?" she asked as suspicion entered her eyes.

"I have made my own deal, mother" Roan commented in a cold tone. He had hoped to see at least a little joy within his mother's eyes to be reunited with him, if only for a brief second, his conscience felt slightly lighter at finding only suspicion. He stepped into the room, quickly crossing through it and directly coming to stand in front of the bookshelf which he knew was hiding the secret escape passage.

It was almost comical to watch Nia's features morph from surprised suspicion, through a deep sense of betrayal and finally settling on pure hate as her eyes fell onto the commander. Shock had flitted over her hard face momentarily, as she threw an accusative glare into the direction of her son. Her glare only intensified once she fully noticed Ontari standing behind Anya and her eyes flitted between the nightblood girl and the general for long moments, taking in the way their bodies stood slightly angled towards each other, clearly indicating that the two must share a personal connection of some sorts.

"Not just betrayed by my own flesh and blood but by my ward as well" the queen sneered, hatred dripping from her tone and her eyes burned with her internal rage. It was obvious that the queen had definitely not expected this turn of events to even be possible and the gears in her head were apparently turning in high speed, grasping at anything to turn the proceedings around into her favour somehow.

Lexa's face was covered by her stoic mask of the commander, only her green eyes betrayed the whirlwind of emotion raging through her mind. In all honesty, she was a little disappointed that the queen had not tried to put up a fight yet. But she guessed that even the queen must be aware that there was nothing much she could do being faced with ten opponents. "Queen Nia of Azgeda, you are hereby dethroned and will subject yourself to the judgement of the coalition" she proclaimed in a tightly controlled voice. She knew all too well that Nia would pounce relentlessly on any kind of weakness she would find now.

Nia laughed bitterly "Judgment for what?" she asked mockingly, brows raised in the exaggerated parody of a confused expression.

Lexa's lips thinned and she took in a deep breath, trying to reign in her temper. She knew that Nia was only trying to get a rise out of her and she would not give this excuse of a woman the satisfaction of that. Flashes of memories of Marie made her attempts all that harder. She would forever have the images ingrained within her mind of the child disrobing reluctantly on the first day back in Polis still confined into the dungeons, of just how many scars had littered the girl's skin. "You will be read your charges in Polis" she answered in a flat tone, grinding her teeth together in internally rising impatience. Standing within the same room as the queen, was putting her on edge and she felt every last nerve within her body being stretched thin.

"Certainly not" Nia retorted with determination gleaming within her eyes and with surprising speed and ferocity, she charged at the two warriors standing closest to her, slashing at them relentlessly.

Anya's eyes gleamed with satisfaction at seeing the queen put up a fight. It was a useless fight, but that way she would at least have the excuse to hurt the vile woman, if only a little. Her eyes widened a little when she noticed that the queen was trying to make a beeline towards her own son, a murderous glint within her eyes and an almost crazed expression marred her features.

She tightened the grip around her sword, aware that the prince had only been given a single dagger and nothing else to defend himself with. She knew already that the man was a well-trained fighter, so he could probably take care of his mother just with this weapon, but she did not wish to take any chances. Chaos would overtake Ice Nation in case of Roan's death, as he was the last living real successor to his mother.

Anya had to acknowledge that the queen was obviously a very well-versed fighter in her own rights, she had already taken out three of their warriors without sustaining more than a mere scratch herself. She kept her own guard high and unbreachable, aware that Marie would not be able to heal her now, in case of a fatal injury and she had vowed to herself to never leave the girl again, so dying now was simply not an option.

The queen's blows had more force than Anya expected and she barely managed to avoid one of her curved daggers from piercing her side. Ontari had followed in her steps and shadowed her, Anya was internally slightly surprised that the nightblood girl was obviously intending to support her physically.

Together, they were able to devest Nia of her weapons short moments later, while Lexa had hovered slightly behind the scene, ready to jump in if necessary. But the commander had been hesitant to truly get involved in the fight, if the queen could not take out her son, she was sure that her ire would have befallen herself and their daughter and her people needed her alive.

The self-righteous smirk had long fallen from Nia's features and the woman was visibly fuming internally, as two warriors forced manacles around her wrist, connecting them with heavy chains, which were a little weathered down by rust, but still sturdy.

Lexa felt something within herself loosen and an old weight lifted from her heart at seeing the queen in shekels; there was absolutely no way the woman could excuse her charges now which would end with anything but her execution.

"You will regret that" the queen seethed in the direction of both her son and Ontari likewise, her eyes glaring daggers at them, filled with pure hatred.

Roan seemed unfazed by his mother's ire, he had expected nothing else and for once he was in the superior position. He knew that he would need to establish his power position among his people first and he was well aware that there would be loyalists to his mother as queen who would not he impressed by him taking up the throne. His strength would surely be questioned as well because he had used the power of the commander to seize the throne for himself. But he would make sure that all of Azgeda would stand behind the commander and the coalition. His people would recognize sooner or later that the coalition was a good thing for them in the end, even if he had to execute all of his mother's loyalists, then he would do so. He nodded towards the commander, he would only become king now because of her, he knew that and he would be in her debt from now on.

Anya personally took over the chain binding Nia's wrist together, taking great pleasure in being able to pull the woman behind herself roughly. She internally rejoiced at the woman stumbling behind her, as she pulled her through the halls with quick strides.

Lexa and Roan proceeded the group and the soon to be king of Ice Nation loudly proclaimed ahead to all of now his own warriors to stand down.

It was obvious that the Ice Nation warriors were divided in their reaction. Some readily lowered their weapons, bowing lightly towards their new leader and acknowledging the commander beside him. The other half kept their weapons drawn and ready, either only lowering them again with obvious reluctance or refusing to surrender completely, choosing to attack and die instead.

The way through the fortress passed in relative silence. Ontari walked close to Anya and the bound Nia, keeping a dagger in hand for the improbable chance that the queen managed to get free somehow.

Anya barely batted an eye when Nia stumbled and fell to her knees at a sharp turn. She gave the women a short moment to get back up, more like a second than an actual moment, before she tugged hard at the chains, pulling the bound woman behind herself with force.

Lexa let Anya be for a few moments, but rolled her eyes slightly, stopping the group for a moment, when the main entrance came into view.

Nia immediately began spewing more empty threats, ordering the rest of her warriors which were still in earshot to get to work in eliminating the traitors and the commander.

Lexa's lips thinned and her tone was hard and cold when she proclaimed "Gag her, I am tired of listening to her voice".

Ontari obliged immediately, actually ripping a piece of the shirt she wore under her coat and stuffing it into Nia's mouth without any hesitation. She smirked at the woman who had once been her tormentor, convinced of actually having chosen the right side.

Once they stepped out of the fortress, the fighting almost immediately seemed to cease once the warriors realized that their queen was being led outside in chains, those who were still visibly hesitating, were convinced easily.

"I will be king from now on" Roan shouted loudly, his voice carried easily over the vast field "Ice Nation surrenders, so stand down" he added after a moment and he went as far as bending his knee in front of the commander to solidify his allegiance to the coalition.

Lexa left the man kneeling for a moment, before she inclined her head "Long live the king!" she shouted loudly.

Silence settled over the field for a moment, until even the last soldier of the Ice Nation troops had let their weapons drop and the forces of the coalition broke out into cheerful shouts of victory.

The Azgeda warriors were visibly nervous, probably awaiting retaliation from the commander.

The atmosphere only got lighter when Lexa stretched out her hand, offering it to Roan and helped the man back to his feet.

Roan and a delegation from Ice Nation would accompany the army back to Polis. He would be crowned by the commander in a ceremony in the capitol, that way it would remain clear that Lexa was the reason that Roan was actually sitting on the throne and the clan's loyalty would be bound firmly to the coalition as well for the foreseeable future.

It would take some time to gather the wounded and let the healers take care of them. They would also not bring those who had fallen back to the capitol, so they needed to construct pyres for those as well.

Lexa longed to leave the battlefield as soon as possible, checking on Marie herself immediately. She had not been able to quiet the little voice within her mind nagging constantly that the child had suffered another aneurysm. They were much too far away from Skykru to have Abby help Marie now.

Anya handed over Nia to her own unit, the order to keep the woman from escaping was clear without actually having to be spoken out loud.

On the way from the battlefield Anya checked with Ontari if the nightblood girl had gotten hurt at all. She had not seen the girl showing any signs of an injury, but she had made it clear that she wished to know of minor injuries as well.

"Nothing more than a graze" Ontari answered truthfully. She had taken a hit to one of her thighs, but she barely felt the injury, so it could not have been deep at all.

Anya nodded in acknowledgment "Have it cleaned out and bandaged" even a slight graze could catch an infection after all and during a journey the likelihood for this to happen was even higher. She stopped Ontari for a moment, before the girl could enter the tent of the healers reserved for those who had only sustained slight injuries. She held the girl's inquiring gaze for a moment, letting warmth and a hint of pride infuse into her eyes "You did well" she complimented the girl in an honest tone.

Ontari's lips ghosted upwards into a smile and she felt a warm unfamiliar feeling settle into the pit of her stomach. The general had not really complimented her on anything outright so far and she knew how hard earned was even the slightest appreciative nod from the stoic woman. She had not even been truly aware of the fact that she was longing to earn the woman's approval, but the happiness she felt bubbling in her mind, was proof enough of that. Ontari could not remember a single occurrence where Nia had complemented her on anything, the woman had only pointed out her shortcomings, not being punished had been her only way of knowing that she had not failed the woman's expectations yet again. She had observed Anya showing her appreciation to Marie for even the smallest things and she had tried not to feel jealous of the younger girl. She truly had not been actually jealous, but still a part of her mind had wondered if she might just not be deserving of acknowledgment like that. So, even hearing such little words, meant the world to her now and Ontari's steps were lighter when she entered the tent. The worry for the younger girl lingered in her mind still, but in the chaos of the battle she had not really noticed what had even happened.

Anya swiftly turned around after leaving Ontari at the smallest of the healers' tents, walking over towards the tent which had been erected for the commander, being convinced that she would find Marie there.

The relief of the war being won relatively uncomplicated - of course there had been losses, but they had found Nia within the first fortress and the losses had been minimal – paled within her mind as her steps carried her closer to their daughter.

Internally Anya feared what she might find inside. Her mind kept on replaying what had transpired in the medical bay of the Ark long months ago.

Anya quickened her step, whatever was waiting inside the tent, she would be at Marie's side now.

Lexa had been held up by the generals, having to organize the construction of the pyres, speaking with Roan about the specifics of what was expected of him now as well. The commander wished for nothing more than to accompany Anya to Marie's side and her mood was snappy at best now, her patience thinning with every moment.

Anya opened the tent flaps without hesitation, stepping inside quickly. She frowned for a moment, stopping in her steps, when she spotted Clarke and Raven standing beside the bed. She knew that the brunette was not a healer and she was not sure that she liked Clarke's presence around Marie, but she had to acknowledge that the blonde woman was probably best equipped to help the child.

She spotted Gustus sitting on one of the chairs and the simple fact that burly man was not standing but indeed sitting, already conveyed enough about his health. Anya saw more than one bandage peeking through his clothing and his features were marred with exhaustion and pain.

When he noticed her, the man glanced up, dark eyes flashing with relief without Anya actually having to spell out that the war was over.

Clarke looked over immediately at the general's appearance and the worry within her features was visible in the drawn lines. She seemed to expect Lexa to enter immediately as well and the disappointment at not finding the commander was almost palpable. "What happened?" she asked, voice tinted with worry.

Anya did not pay any attention to the blonde healer really, stepping around the two younger women quickly and bending over the bed. She felt her heart grow heavier at seeing Marie lying pale and still on the bed. A small part of her mind had kept on hoping that the child would have already recovered by the time of their return and she felt her worry and fear grow at finding her condition unchanged. She bent down further over the bed, caressing the girl's face with gentle fingers for a moment before she pressed a light kiss to Marie's forehead "Wake up, my little star" she whispered into her ear, hoping against all common sense that the girl would somehow hear her plea and wake up sooner.

"The war is over" she said bluntly, turning inquiring eyes to the younger blonde woman, she was more interested into what was wrong with Marie than anything else now. Anya grasped onto one of the child's limp hands, keeping up the physical contact to her.

Clarke let out a shuddering breath. More questions burned on the tip of her tongue, but she knew that the general would not offer any more answers now. "I do not know what is wrong with her" she answered truthfully. She had examined the girl carefully, but beside a few superficial scratches and bruises, she had found absolutely nothing. She did not have any equipment to do deep scans of the girl's head. Gustus had told her that the bump on the girl's forehead was a day old and she dearly hoped that Marie had not cracked her skull, but beside the bump she could not detect signs of a too high pressure within her brain. "It is possible that her skull has a crack, but I can't make any scans here. My mother could do more in the Ark. I have given her a tea against pain and exhaustion, I can assess more once she is awake" she explained.

Anya's lips thinned; she knew that the way was too far to bring the girl there in time if her condition was critical. She squeezed the child's hand, praying internally that Marie would wake up on her own soon.

Chapter 232

Lexa breathed out a deep sigh when she finally had finished with everything which needed her immediate attention, she knew that other things needed to be organised still, but nothing too pressing which could not be delegated to one of the generals.

So, she quickened her pace in the direction of her tent, her eyes still roamed over the battlefield momentarily. Warriors had already begun to clear the battlefield of their fallen comrades and former opponents alike and rows were constructed with their bodies on a free field. From what she could see so far, the losses had been relatively balanced between both sides. The body number count would have been much higher if they would not have had Roan's and Ontari's input and support, which had made the capture of the queen possible in the first place.

Lexa passed by the tent which held Nia on the way to her own and she faltered in her steps for a short moment. Nia's capture had all in all been much easier than she had anticipated and somehow, she was not as satisfied with the outcome as she had hoped. Costia's beloved features flashed through her mind for the blink of a second, replaced by the view of finding her head within her bed. She knew that she would never be able to ever forget the sight and the utter feeling of devastation that had filled her whole being at this moment. She had not been able to get avenge on her lover's behalf back then, having to listen to her rational sense and putting her own heart between what her head and what her people needed, but now she could finally get this avenge. Her thirst for avenge had been fuelled by what Nia had done to their daughter and every fibre of her being longed to step into the small tent and simply kill the vile woman right now. She pushed the longing from her mind and focused on her worry for Marie instead.

As she neared the biggest tent, the guards immediately stepped aside after opening the tent flaps for her. Lexa rushed inside without paying much attention to the interior of the tent, her eyes immediately searching out the bed and spotting Anya who was sitting on the edge holding onto one of Marie's limp hands. She stepped over to the bed quickly and looked down at the child. Anya's expression already told her that their daughter had not woken up yet.

"No change yet?" she asked towards Anya, although Lexa already knew the answer. She sat down beside the general, her eyes raking over the girl's too pale features and she felt her heart grow heavy again. They were so close to avenging what had been done to their daughter and seeing the child like this, made Lexa fear for the worse already. Marie had been too close to death too often already to her liking and Lexa dearly wished that the child would wake up soon, hopefully healthy again as well. A tiny part of her mind hoped for a miraculous recovery like the girl had already had in the medical bay of the Ark so many months ago now, while a larger part of her mind supplied the frightened question of what would happen if the girl's talents did not kick in to save her again. Lexa had no idea about how serious the child's condition was, she had simply dropped unconscious after healing her, something which had never happened before to her knowledge. Marie had healed both of them on numerous occasions in the past now and the child had never seemed to suffer from any repercussions so far, so Lexa found it rather unlikely that this should have changed all of a sudden.

Anya shook her head in the negative and the grimness of her expression showed the hopelessness the older woman must be feeling quiet plainly to see.

Lexa sighed again, feeling some of her own hope dissipate into fear and emptiness. "Nia will never harm a single hair on your head again, little star, you are safe to wake up again" she bent down over Marie slightly, Anya shuffled a little on the mattress to make some more room for the commander. Lexa took off her gloves, discarding them carelessly on the ground beside the bed and let the tips of her fingers caress over the girl's features softly, pushing a few unruly hairs from the child's forehead. She gentled her touch even further more into the whisper of a caress as she let her fingers trail softly over the large bump on Marie's forehead, afraid to cause the girl additional discomfort.

She wondered if letting the girl ride and march into battle with them, might have been a grave mistake and could have caused Marie's condition to worsen like that. Lexa did not know much about healing or the specifics of injuries, but she knew enough about injuries to the head that the girl should have been confined to bedrest for a few days at least. She doubted that she would be able to live with the knowledge that her war had harmed their daughter.

"Come back to us, little star" she whispered into the girl's ears, feeling her voice waver as her emotions threatened to break free. In the back of her mind Lexa was still aware that she was not alone with Anya in the tent, so she tried to keep a tight hold onto her composure. She had waited so long for this moment of finally getting revenge on Nia and now Lexa was unable to truly feel any satisfaction from it, the worry for their daughter overshadowed everything else within her mind now. She pressed a light kiss onto the girl's forehead and she felt her own eyes burn slightly with tears all of a sudden.

Lexa tensed abruptly, when she noticed the weight of an unfamiliar gaze resting on herself and she felt the hairs on her neck rise in anticipation and every sense within her mind told her to get ready to defend their daughter from the possible threat.

She blinked once, expression blanking over in the blink of a second and when she straightened herself and let her hands retract from Marie's head, her green eyes immediately spotted Clarke and Raven standing beside the bed a little awkwardly. Lexa's lips thinned in irritation at the sight of the Skykru mechanic. She could easily explain Clarke's presence within the tent, the Skykru woman was best equipped to deal with head injuries and had already seen Marie in a similar condition. In all honesty, Lexa preferred Clarke to take care of the girl now in comparison to one of their own healers, who would not be able to help Marie at all. But Raven's presence irked her the wrong way at the moment. She was sure without having to ask that Clarke would have invited her friend along. None of her own people would even think about entering the commander's private tent without an official summon or invitation, entering without permission was considered as a severe breach of privacy.

Lexa's nostrils flared in rising anger when Raven smirked nervously at spotting her negative reaction. "Get out now!" she seethed out through clenched teeth, green eyes burning into Raven's dark ones for long moments.

The other woman seemed speechless for a moment, but she hurried to obey, when Lexa even moved the slightest bit into her direction. Raven actually more or less fled from the commander's tent, nearly tripping over her own feet in her haste.

Clarke had watched the exchange with a frown and she was torn between following Raven outside without a word, as she was not convinced that the order had not included herself as well, or staying within the commander's tent. She had after all been assigned to take care of Marie and as far as they knew, the blonde child could wake up at any moment. She thought that Lexa had reacted a little too strongly to Raven's presence, but she could understand that the brunette's nerves would be stretched rather thin at the moment. When she saw how tense Lexa remained even after the tent flaps had fallen close again behind Raven, she sighed under her breath, shoulders slumping slightly in internal defeat. She knew that now was not the time to try to talk to Lexa, they would only end up fighting again if she attempted such now. They both would need to be calm for the conversation which still lingered in her mind, so Clarke resigned herself to wait, just like Lexa had done after she had travelled to Polis with them for the first time.

Clarke began to pack up her supplies, she had also taken care of Gustus' injuries. The burly man had tried to argue with her nonstop that she was responsible to examine Marie and that his injuries could certainly wait for the time being. But she had reasoned with the man after a quick examination of the blonde child, that there was in fact nothing which she could do at the moment to improve Marie's condition and that the girl needed to wake up first. The injuries which had been hidden under the remnants of his armour had been much more severely than Clarke would have expected and she wondered how the man had managed to stay upright on his feet for so long. He had insisted that he did not wish for a tea to numb his pain, so she had stitched all of his wounds close without this little aid. She had to acknowledge just how strong the man's willpower must be as he had not made a single sound through the whole procedure of cleaning, stitching and dressing his numerous deep wounds.

Lexa felt a little of her internal tension drain once Raven had exited the tent, Clarke had already seen her at her worse, so she did not feel as bad at being seen by her now. Her brows creased together in honest confusion when she noticed that Clarke seemed to gather her supplies "You are not dismissed yet" she proclaimed in a harsh tone, still within the mindset of what the role of the commander demanded her to have.

Clarke's frown deepened as she turned back to the young leader, her gaze quickly flitted over her armour, looking for any tears. She thought to spot a few slight tears, but the woman was not showing any signs of injuries. So, the commander had either only sustained minor wounds, had not been wounded at all or Marie had healed her sometime during the battle already. Although she internally winced at the raised tone, something Lexa had rarely used with her so far, she externally tried to be unfazed by it, aware of just how much stress the woman must have been under during the last weeks.

Lexa's expression turned slightly apologetic when she noticed the hurt flashing through Clarke's blue eyes, before the healer had been able to avoid her gaze. She sighed under her breath and her whole posture deflated visibly. She knew that snapping at Clarke would not help in any form. She was thankful that the woman was helping Marie after all. "I want you to stay and take care primarily of Marie" she explained in a noticeably softer tone "You are the best skilled to do so" she added honestly. Lexa looked directly at Clarke and she felt a deep sense of sadness overtake her mind, when she immediately felt the all so familiar connection flare back up between them.

It was obvious that Clarke was feeling it too, judging from the way her blue eyes seemed to grow sad and moist, but the healer refrained from saying anything and only held the commander's gaze in silence. Clarke nodded in acknowledgement, Lexa would not have needed to try and to appease her with compliments, she would have gladly helped in taking care of Marie just by being asked for it.

"I do not know what exactly could be causing her condition" Clarke explained after a subtle nod, choosing to simply remain professional in her function as a healer now. "I do not have any machines available at hand here to do a deep scan of her head. Her skull could have cracked when she bumped her head" she added in a calm tone.

Lexa's brows furrowed, feeling her worries confirmed that the continual of the journey could have been cause of Marie losing consciousness in the first place. The colour drained from her features as guilt settled into her mind. She did not know anymore why she had insisted that Marie would be with them, she could have easily left the child with some of her warriors within the village. Marie would have surely been protected enough there and she was blaming herself for not having thought of that option at all. It had not occurred to her as a viable option to leave the child behind, but now she was sure that it should have been.

Anya's features hardened when she saw the inner turmoil within the young leader. "Leave us for a moment, Clarke" she addressed the younger woman firmly, not giving her much of a choice.

Lexa was too much caught up within her own thoughts to disagree with Anya's words, so Clarke stepped out of the tent, mumbling lowly that she would return in a few minutes.

"Don't you dare blame yourself for Marie's condition" Anya spoke up, barely after the tent flaps had fallen close again. She could read the younger woman well enough without her speaking her mind.

Lexa's lips thinned in exasperation "What else should I do? There is nothing we can do, beside wait and hope. If I had only..." she retorted, but was interrupted by her general.

Anya stepped closer to Lexa, grasping onto her shoulders and actually giving her a slight shake, like she had done numerous times during the time when she had still been the younger woman's first "Stop!" she ordered "There is no way of knowing which might have been if things had happened differently. Marie will wake up" her voice was strong with conviction. She could not allow herself to believe otherwise, although there was doubt lingering in her bones, fuelled by the fear that Marie would in fact not wake again.

Lexa sighed under her breath and she held her former mentor's gaze for long moments, before she inclined her head in mute agreement. She sat down on the bed again, taking up on of Marie's hands and squeezing it softly. Almost automatically, she began to hum the melody of her old lullaby under her breath to the child.

Anya stepped closer to Gustus, the man seemed almost asleep on his seat and she lightly touched his shoulder "You can rest, the tent is guarded" she offered in a kind tone and after a moment of contemplation, the man heaved himself back to his feet and left the tent with a notable sway to his steps. Anya followed him outside, keeping an eye on the man making sure that he would reach a tent to rest without collapsing first.

Her gaze fell on Clarke afterwards, who stood a little of the side to the main entrance to the tent. "We appreciate your help for Marie" she honestly said in an even tone.

Clarke looked up at the general and nodded in acknowledgment "Think nothing of it" she waved off the gratitude easily "I had never intended to hurt her in any way" she added after a moment of silence. Neither Anya nor Lexa had truly given her the time to defend herself after their argument and she just felt the need to make this point clear now.

Anya's eyes narrowed slightly at the younger woman, searching her eyes for any signs of dishonesty, when she could spot nothing but true honesty, she nodded in acceptance. She would not apologise to Clarke for what had transpired between them in Polis and this was as close to something resembling a reconciliation as they would ever get.

Clarke did not take offence from the lack of an actual response from the general, she knew that the woman was not one for many words and they had never really gotten close to each other. She hoped that Lexa would believe her as well once she got the chance to really speak with the woman in private. But she was fairly certain that she should wait until they had reached Polis and the coalition was fully back under control. Making sure that Marie was getting better would need to take priority now. She was sure that Lexa would be needed to organise quiet a lot still in the upcoming hours and days, so she could offer to remain with the child instead.

Clarke's internal foreboding became true when the commander was called outside only slightly later, she guessed that only around an hour could have passed. The time had passed in relative silence, she had stayed back and watched Lexa and Anya either speak with each other lowly while holding onto Marie or directly murmuring something to the girl in soft tones.

Lexa left the girl's side only very reluctantly, lingering in front of the bed, looking down at the unconscious girl for long silent moments. The shouts outside, demanding the commander's presence grew louder with each passing moment and the irritation in Lexa's eyes increased, until she could finally tear herself away from the bed.

"I hope for whoever called her, that it was indeed important" Clarke commented lowly, watching the commander storm out of the tent with a slight frown. She was slightly surprised by the chuckle the comment had pulled past Anya's lips.

"I can stay with here, if you are needed elsewhere" Clarke offered in an honest tone and looked directly at the general.

Anya's lips thinned slightly at the idea of leaving Marie's side as well, but she knew that there were quiet a lot of things which needed to be done before they could even think of returning to Polis. So, she placed another kiss lovingly on the girl's forehead with another whispered plea for the child to wake up and stood from the bed again. She believed that Clarke would remain with Marie and keep a watchful eye over the girl, the tent was well guarded and no one would dare to make a move against the girl now.

She directly looked around to spot Lexa. The young leader was arguing heartedly with a pair of warriors. Anya closed up to them quickly, only catching the end of the discussion "...demand the right to kill her, she has ordered the execution of our whole family for nothing!"

Lexa listened to the demands with barely any patience left and she clenched her jaw tightly. She had more than enough reason to hunger for a personal kind of revenge against Nia as well and yet, the woman was still alive, because her rational mind yet again overpowered her heart. She did not know if there would ever be a time, where this could change either. She would forever remain to be the commander and this usually required from her to put her personal desires last. One question remained burning within her mind though, of why the queen had had to torture Marie in such a fashion. Lexa was not certain that she truly wished to hear the answer either.

Their discussion was cut short, when one of the warriors assigned to guard Nia approached quickly. Lexa firmly dismissed the warriors who had demanded to personally execute Nia with the clear answer that such a thing would not come to pass. The queen would get the public execution within Polis, which she deserved.

"Commander, the queen has injured herself" the young man relayed and the confusion of why the woman would do such a thing was palpable in his features.

Lexa's brows furrowed and her jaw clenched even tighter as she thought of Nia getting off of her own execution by choosing the easy way out and killing herself first. Anger clouded her mind and it burned hotly in her veins, as she strode towards the small tent, Anya hot on her heels.

The sight which greeted them inside was unexpected to say the least. The small interior of the tent was crowded with people. Two warriors were fixating the queen to the ground, while a healer was applying a bandage to a bleeding gash on her throat.

Lexa's green eyes burned with hatred at the sight "Fixate her completely if necessary" she proclaimed harshly "If she dies before we reach Polis, so will you!"

The guards visibly swallowed at the threat, knowing it to be true.

Lexa watched the healer take care of the older woman with a heated gaze. She had not thought that Nia would be cowardly enough to kill herself now and by thus rob them of their rightful revenge.

Anya's thoughts were going in the same direction and she stood at the entrance with angrily balled fists, refraining herself only through pure willpower from storming inside and strangling the woman to death herself.

Chapter 233

Clarke watched the general leave the tent in silence. It had been more than obvious that both women had only very begrudgingly left the child's side. She had known before of just how deeply the love between Marie and the two Trikru women ran, but seeing proof of that connection in such a tragic situation was almost painful. She desperately needed to find a time to explain to Lexa that harming Marie had truly never even crossed her mind.

She looked down at the child, keeping close watch of her features, looking out for even the subtlest of changes. She internally wondered why fate seemed to hold so much darkness for the young girl. Marie had suffered through enough already, not just during their short time on earth, but her childhood had already been marred with loss and misery. Clarke knew from personal experience how devasting her time in solitary confinement had been, but she could not imagine how much crueller the separation and loneliness must have felt to Marie being several years younger. It was no wonder really that the girl was so clingy and seemed to always seek out as much physical warmth as possible now that she again had role models within her life.

Clarke really hoped that Marie would get "the happily ever after" from the story books her father had read to her as a small kid. She was not sure if something like that truly existed in real life and she doubted that she was deserving of one after all those deaths she had caused.

Her thoughts halted abruptly when the tent flaps were opened again and she turned around to the entrance quickly, her hands closing around the dagger she wore strapped to her waist nowadays. She knew that she was not the best fighter, but Clarke had learned that carrying at least one visible weapon was sometimes already enough to dissuade others from attacking at all.

Clarke's stance relaxed when she recognized the Ice Nation nightblood enter the commander's tent. She rolled her eyes lightly at the open suspicion flittering over the younger girl's scarred features.

Ontari narrowed her eyes at the blonde Skykru woman. She had not been told exactly what had transpired between her and the commander. But she of course knew that they had been romantically involved and that they apparently had broken things off in the last days before the war. She had noticed how angry the general had been about whatever fight the two women had had, but she had not cared to question for specifics, she knew that it was not her place after all. But she had had to notice that other healers had taken over the primary care of the commander again, so she was confused to find the Skykru woman again. She had also not truly seen what had happened to Marie, she had assumed that the girl had already been sent to Indra, like Anya had proclaimed previously and had not really thought anything of her absence.

She strode through the tent quickly and was slightly taken aback to see Marie lying within the large bed, buried under a thick layer of furs. Her skin was unhealthily pale and appeared almost clammy. Had the younger girl been wounded after their separation? She wondered internally where the commander and general were, she knew how deeply protective they were of the blonde girl, considering her as their daughter now even, so she would not have expected them to leave Marie under Wanheda's watch, who had seemed to have lost the commander's trust.

"What has happened to her?" Ontari asked in a brisk tone, dark eyes glaring lightly at the older girl as she stepped directly up to the bed, coming to stand slightly between the bed and Wanheda. She held the healer's blue eyes in an intent gaze, wondering for a moment if she might have caused Marie's condition somehow.

Clarke shrugged slightly "Gustus brought her back. Already unconscious. She apparently lost consciousness all of a sudden. The only visible injure she had, is the bump on her forehead. She had had a nosebleed before falling unconscious, but I do not know why she has lost consciousness in the first place" she answered truthfully. She highly doubted that she needed to tell the nightblood girl anything, but she knew of the friendship between both girls, so it was natural for her to worry. She tried not to react to the open suspicion from her, guessing that Anya would have told her older charge that she was not welcomed within Marie's vicinity any longer prior to leaving Polis.

Ontari frowned at the information, she had not thought that the bump on the head could be so serious and cause such an apparent problem. Marie's condition must be at least slightly critical or Wanheda would surely not have been required to keep watch over her. "She has been sick and dizzy yesterday" she mumbled, more to herself than to the young Skykru woman.

Clarke nodded with a sigh, she had already guessed from the sheer size of the bump that Marie had suffered from a serious concussion, she must have hit her head really strong to cause that. The constant jostlement of the journey on horseback could surely not have been good for the girl's health as well. It was theoretically possible that the girl's unconsciousness now was a result of a severer concussion, but that would certainly be shown once she woke up again.

Ontari held the other woman's gaze for a moment longer, until she turned around slightly, sitting down on the edge of the bed. She hesitantly reached out for one of Marie's smaller hands, squeezing it lightly and settled herself a little more comfortably. She would take over watch until the commander or the general would return to their tent later.

Clarke rolled her eyes slightly, the younger girl was obscuring her view now "You can keep watch of her too, alert me, if you see any change" she directed in a kind tone and reclined to one of the chairs at the table. The journey up to her had been more strenuous than she had anticipated and she felt chilled to the bone. The commander's tent had fortunately already been stocked with a blazing fire and Clarke hoped that she would thaw again soon.

The first thing which truly registered within Marie's mind, was the almost oppressive feeling of being buried between way too many furs. Her whole body felt overly heated somehow, although she remembered having felt cold before. The second thing which she noticed when her senses sluggishly returned, was the light pressure of someone else holding onto one of her hands. She could not recognize immediately who it might have been though, it somehow did not feel like Anya or Lexa.

Marie tried opening her eyes, wanting to know who was sitting beside her at the moment. But somehow, her body failed to cooperate right away, everything felt strangely heavy. Her mind was still hazy and she tried to figure out what was the last thing which she could remember. Her breath caught in her throat when the memory of Lexa being impaled by a sword and her rushing to the woman healing her, just after having healed Anya only moments before, returned to her mind in clarity again. She could not remember if she had even managed to heal Lexa and fear gripped her senses.

She distinctly heard someone calling her mind, but she could not identify the voice, which only intensified her fear. What if Lexa had died because she had not reached her in time? Where was Anya then? Tears began to burn behind her eyelids, as the thought invaded her mind that both women could have died during her time of unconsciousness.

Ontari looked down at the younger girl with worried eyes. She thought to have felt the faintest answering squeeze coming from Marie's smaller hand still resting in hers.

"I think she is waking up" she called over her shoulder towards Wanheda, keeping her eyes fixed on Marie's face. She thought to see the younger girl's features twisting up slightly. "Marie" she said in a soft tone to the blonde child, bending over her slightly, giving her hand another gentle squeeze.

"Let me see" Clarke spoke up from behind Ontari. She had nearly dozed off in the time the wait had taken, but her senses were immediately awake again, ready to take over the professional care of the girl.

Ontari only begrudgingly made more room for the healer, keeping her hold over Marie's hand nevertheless and watching with sharp eyes, how Wanheda sat down in her abandoned place, speaking to Marie in soft tone, feeling her neck for her pulse and apparently waiting for the younger girl to truly open her eyes.

Clarke smiled down kindly at Marie, when the young girl in fact did open her eyes a few short moments later. She breathed out a sigh of relieve, a part of her had feared that Marie's condition would remain critical, but the fact that she had woken on her own after a few hours was a good sign and promising for her health. "You are safe" she immediately reassured the girl, taking her other arm and feeling her wrist for her pulse, finding it steady but slightly elated. She frowned when she noticed the sheen of tears within the child's grey eyes and she assumed that Marie would probably be suffering from a blazing headache. "I will prepare a tea to ease your pain" she soothed the girl in a soft tone, letting go of her wrist again and quickly standing from the bed. Marie's eyes had seemed clear and alert enough to assume that the girl was truly awake now again.

Marie's eyes wandered to whoever was still holding onto her hand and she felt a lump lodge itself into her throat at finding Ontari. She quickly searched through the interior of the tent, but she could not find Lexa or Anya. The thought that something must have happened to them to cause their absence got only louder within her mind. "Where are Lexa and Anya…?" Marie pressed out the words in nothing more than a faint whisper and a tear rolled down her cheek. She felt her innards contract painfully and she feared she would get physically sick if Ontari confirmed her internal suspicion.

Ontari was slightly taken by surprise by the quivering quality of the younger girl's tone "They are organising what happens now" she answered easily, dark eyes reassuring and calm.

Marie sobbed out a breath of relief "I thought... I thought that..." she cried, overpowered by her confusing feelings in combination with the exhaustion coursing through her body.

Ontari shook her head, gaze softening as she gave her smaller hand another squeeze "They are fine" she reassured kindly. She hesitated for a moment before she reached out and wiped away the tears from Marie's cheeks softly "The war is over, Marie, Nia has been captured" she added; it only occurred to her now that the younger girl probably was not even aware of what had happened after she had fallen unconscious.

Marie blinked up owlishly at the nightblood girl as it took long moments for the words to truly register within her mind. Her feelings seemed to be going through a rollercoaster right now; cold panic had swept through her senses at the mention of the queen, replaced with relief at her capture, but it could not compare to the relief of knowing that both her moms were well and safe and the war over.

Her lips ghosted into a fleeting smile as she concluded internally that they would be returning to Polis soon then. She did not know for sure what would be happening to the queen now, but she knew that Roan would take up the throne of Ice Nation in her stead. She could barely wait to get back to the capitol and into their comfortable room and to be able to reunite again with Risha as well.

She groaned lightly when she realized just how harshly the pounding in her head had returned.

Ontari's answering subtle smile immediately froze at the younger girl's groan. She glanced over her shoulder to see the blonde healer still working on the tea, internally urging her to hurry. It was obvious that the younger girl was in pain after all. "You'll feel better soon" she tried to reassure the child in a soothing tone. Her words did not seem to have too much of an effect on the younger girl, who just looked outright miserable by now.

"I want my mums..." Marie sobbed under her breath with fresh tears rolling down her cheeks "Can you get them?" she asked with her voice shaking and pleading grey eyes.

Ontari sighed under her breath, biting at her lip slightly. She did not know if searching for the two Trikru women was such a good idea now. There would be a lot to be done now, before they could travel back to Polis. But she also expected that the both of them would be quiet angry with her, if she did not tell them that Marie had asked for them. The commander had stopped a meeting before in order to be there for the blonde child, so it was not unreasonable to assume that she would leave everything behind now as well if asked. She did not like the feeling of having to watch Marie cry so bitterly and it was obvious that her own presence was very little consolation to the younger girl now. So, she sighed under her breath, before she nodded her head subtly in agreement, squeezing her hand one last time, before she let go and swiftly left the tent in search of the commander and the general.

It took the healer what felt like long moments until he finished to take care of the wound Nia had inflicted to herself.

Lexa dismissed the man immediately, there were more than enough injured warriors who still were in need of the care of a healer after all. She had been told already from one of the guards that they had apparently failed to search the woman properly for any weapons. The chains binding her arms still allowed her enough movement to pull a hidden small blade from her clothing and bring it to her own neck; the guards had only seen her doing so by chance, nothing more and that angered her immensely.

Anya had listened as well and the clench of her jaw and the sharp glint in her brown eyes, easily betrayed her annoyance at the guards' shortcomings as well, they had after all been from her own unit. Their shortcomings would fall back on her training when it came to it.

Nia's eyes seemed almost crazed as she glared at Lexa from her position on the ground and Anya could see the gears turning in her mind, frantically trying to think of a solution of how to get out of the situation somehow.

Lexa glared down at the queen, her jaw clenched together tightly. It would be so easy to give in to her internal urges, kneel down and simply kill the woman now. No one would be able to actually say anything if she was the one to do so, but she knew that it was better in the long run, if she controlled herself and did not give into her craving.

When their eyes met, a vicious snarl took over the woman's features and her tone was cold as ice and mocking as she inquired "How is Marie? I have heard whispers that you both take her to your beds as well" and to add insult to the injury, being well aware of the effects her words were having, she added with a smug expression "I have quiet enjoyed her company after some training".

Lexa's jaw clenched even tighter and she sensed Anya tensing beside her. She held out her arm in front of Anya, all too aware that the woman was probably only a second from snapping, just as she felt her own mind scream loudly at her to really kill the vile woman now.

Anya vividly remembered Marie offering herself to her during the first night back in their quarters and how hard the realisation had hit her of just what the queen had done to the innocent child.

Lexa's tone was much calmer than even she had thought possible, as she retorted "Tell me, why, Nia?" She tried to keep her face as impassive as possible, but she knew that she had gone pale at the mere suggestion.

Nia laughed a cruel joyless laugh "Oh, there was no special reason, my dear" she mocked in a cruel tone "Did that useless girl at least try to take you out?"

Anya's patience snapped abruptly and Lexa did not manage in time to physically hold her back from lounging down, before the general already let her fist connect with all her strength with Nia's nose.

The cracking sound and the blood pouring from the queen's nose showed clearly that her nose was most definitely broken now. But the queen did not look shocked or hurt at all, in the contrary actually and she laughed almost hysterically.

Lexa quickly stepped forward, grabbing Anya's raised fist, before she could land another punch and pulled the older woman away from the still laughing Nia. She gazed down at the queen with hatred burning within her eyes "You will get the execution that you deserve, no matter what" she promised in a cold tone. She needed to get out of the tent and away from Nia. She felt the anger course hotly through her veins and she was appalled that Nia would even now stoop so low to involve Marie again.

"How dare she" Anya seethed under her breath as soon as they had stepped out of the tent; four guards immediately stepped inside, making it impossible for Nia to do anything anymore now.

Lexa swallowed harshly, her eyes burned with unshed tears, as her hotly burning anger turned into feelings of desperate sadness and utter failure. They had both failed to protect their daughter from cruelty like Nia and now that the child seemed once again closer to death than life, Lexa felt as if even their impending revenge had lost its meaning.

Anya's rage ebbed away when she noticed the deep sadness clouding Lexa's features uncharacteristically open to see. She felt her own eyes mist over with tears when the queen's cruel words echoed through her mind again. "She will survive" she said lowly, if to reassure herself or if the words were solely for Lexa's sake, Anya did not know herself at the moment "She has to" she added a little forlornly.

Anya's head whirled around when she heard and noticed Ontari hurrying over towards them. Her blood felt as if it froze to ice within her veins momentarily, fearing for the worse news. She had thought twice already that Marie had died, she doubted that she would survive it a third time and remain sane in the process.

"Marie is pleading for the both of you to come" Ontari said, voice a little breathless, as she had asked around the camp for the two women's whereabouts.

Lexa and Anya bandied a look mutely, feeling the same encompassing relief at the news coursing through their minds and they quickly walked towards the commander's tent with fast strides, which had noticeably become lighter. Their daughter was still alive, that was all that counted for now, pushing the queen's toxic words from their minds forcefully.

Chapter 234

To Marie it seemed as if the minutes were ticking by awfully slowly. She did not really expect for Ontari have lied to her face about Lexa's and Anya's whereabouts or condition, but the wait was making her anxious. She did not really understand what had made her faint on the battlefield at all, neither did she know for sure how much time might have passed since then. But she guessed that Roan must have been able to lead the commander and the small group of warriors to the queen, or the war could surely not have been won this quickly. Or could she have been unconscious for days even? Her brows furrowed in concentration, but the harder she tried to tax her brain, the more intensified her headache became and she let out a groan of pain under her breath.

Clarke turned around quickly at the audible sign of distress coming from the bed, the rebuke to remain in her position was already on her lips, when she noticed that Marie was in fact still lying under the furs. She had just finished the preparation of the tea to dull the child's pain and cautiously carried the cup over to the bed, sitting down on the edge of the bed, while placing the cup onto a small table at the side.

"Let me help you into a sitting" Clarke offered in a kind tone and reached out under the girl's armpits, rising the younger girl's body up and propping a pillow behind her back to keep her in that position. She reached over again for the cup of tea and slowly brought it towards Marie's face. She did not know for sure if the girl's hands would be steady enough to hold the cup without sloshing the contents over her fingers and the furs in the process.

Marie's frown deepened when her fingers closed around Clarke's on the cup and she realized that the healer had no intention to let go. She resisted slightly when Clarke brought the cup closer to her face, wanting to ask something beforehand "Since when have I been here?" she asked, her brows creased in exertion to try to piece together what could have happened in the last hours or possible even days.

Clarke's lips thinned slightly, the sheen of sweat glistening on Marie's skin clearly showed that the child was not feeling well. But it was obvious that the girl was not inclined to drink the tea just yet. "Only a few hours passed, Marie, but you need to drink the tea, you will feel better afterwards" she tried to reason with the child in a patient tone.

Marie pouted lightly "It smells weird" she complained "and I am too hot" she proclaimed in a whiny tone, for emphasize she dramatically threw off one of the many furs still lying over her body.

Clarke tried to suppress an eyeroll at the girl's childish antics, feeling the exhaustion of the last days eating away at her patience quickly, she had barely managed to pull away the cup of tea before Marie had begun to move the furs around. Irritation flashed through her blue eyes "You are supposed to drink the tea, Marie" she repeated, voice getting a little more forceful.

Marie's pout turned into a dark scowl, when the smell of the brew truly registered within her muddled mind "Not gonna drink that" she proclaimed, lips pressing together into a thin line, glaring at the cup within Clarke's hands distrustfully.

Clarke narrowed her eyes at the girl's defensiveness acting up all of a sudden, she did not know if the child was distrusting her so much now that she did not wish to accept anything from her or if the tea itself was the problem. As she was alone with the girl within the tent now, she could not hand over the cup to someone else with the instruction to make her drink the contents. Her brows furrowed slightly, she had not given the younger girl enough reason to distrust her so deeply, but on the other hand had it never been her intention to blame Marie for Nymo's death and the blonde child had still drawn that conclusion on her own. She let out a slight sigh of defeat, she could picture already in front of her eyes how well forcing the brew down Marie's throat would go, if Lexa and Anya were to enter the tent in this very moment, both women would be more than a little agitated and angry at her treatment of their daughter and she was thinking of ways to earn back Lexa's trust and not destroy whatever sliver of it might be left.

"It is not poisoned, if that is what you are worried about" Clarke exclaimed exasperatedly, patience thinning even further with every passing moment. It was obvious that the child was in pain and she could not understand why the girl was so stubborn right now, she only wanted to help after all.

Marie's grey eyes suddenly welled up with fresh tears and there was definitely accusation within her nevertheless fiery gaze "I know…" she retorted, voice slightly raised and hands clutching at the furs around her, as a grimace took over her features "…but that's the tea I was given after the Mountain" she added, as if that would be explanation enough for her reluctance to drink the brew. Marie had identified the smell again only moments ago and she knew that she would be feeling all tired from the stuff and probably fall back asleep only minutes later. She did not want to be pulled under by the brew again, the tea had left her feeling weird before and she definitely would refuse it until she had at least seen Lexa and Anya with her own eyes. A small tiny part of her mind refused to believe Ontari's words and Clarke's insistence to now drug her up with the tea only worked as confirmation for her dark thoughts. Maybe the healer just wanted to put her to sleep so that her body could heal first, before her mind would be thrown into encompassing grief, when her whole world would ultimately collapse around her.

Clarke's brows furrowed in confusion, she had not been there in the immediate time after the Mountain, so she had no idea to what Marie wanted to tell her with this information. She knew that the child had been drilled for bone marrow in the Mountain as well, having seen the small roundish scars on her body with her own eyes. But she did not know with what the healers from Polis had treated the child. Lexa had told her that the healers had not been sure if the girl would ever regain her ability to walk in the wake of the Mountain, so her injuries must have been severe. She guessed that they would have tried to keep the girl immobile for some time at least, to give her body the time to recover without constant jostlement of movements.

When Marie noticed Clarke's blank look, a tear rolled down her cheeks again and her voice was nothing more than a broken whisper "You just want to keep me drugged, before you tell me of their deaths…" she sobbed out, hugging her knees to her chest under the furs and making herself as small as possible.

Clarke's eyes looked down at the child with a deep sadness coursing through her mind. It told a lot about the younger girl's experiences that she would even draw such a conclusion at all and she was slightly taken aback that Marie would truly believe something like that. No child as young as her deserved to feel this hopelessness, Marie had obviously already begun to only assume the worst events to occur now. Her gaze softened, as she finally placed the cup on the table again, giving up on hoping to coax the child to drink the brew for now. She would also not force the girl to drink it, the tea was strong enough to knock the girl out for a few hours and if Lexa and Anya were still as busy as she feared, Ontari might need longer to get them here than the tea would to take effect.

She slowly reached out and placed a hand on the girl's knees, ignoring the subtle flinch the action caused from the younger girl; the child still flinched at touch when it did not come from the few people she trusted nowadays. "I would not lie to you in such a fashion, Marie" she tried to reason with the younger girl in a soothing tone "And I am sure, neither would Ontari for that matter. I have seen Lexa and Anya myself, they are both fine and they will be here for you as soon as possible" she added as further reassurance in a tone laced with absolute conviction, while she kept her hand on Marie's knees over the fur covering them.

Marie did not look really convinced and she only began to cry in earnest.

Clarke sighed under her breath; she knew that trying to console the child would be pointless. Ontari had tried before and had not managed to keep the child content and they surely had a deeper and better connection than she shared with Marie. Internally she hoped that Lexa and Anya hurried up before the girl would have worked herself into a state, like she was clearly beginning to.

She watched the girl helplessly for a few moments, wondering if there might be literally anyone else who she could call into the tent to try and calm the upset girl, her crying had only increased and could surely not be helping with her head at all. Clarke wondered if Gustus might be able to help but she doubted that the burly man would be close enough to Marie for that, neither could she truly picture the boulder of a man to be soft enough to sooth her. When nothing came to her mind and Ontari had still not arrived back after more minutes, she began to try to hum Lexa's lullaby to Marie, hoping to get the melody right or at least close enough for comfort.

Marie's crying seemed to halt for a moment, but when the girl raised her head from her knees, looking up at Clarke with red puffy eyes, cheeks soaked with tears, a grimace pulled at her lips. "You got it all wrong" she informed the blonde healer humourlessly. She wanted Lexa and Anya and most definitely not Clarke. She guessed that she should not have sent Ontari away, the nightblood girl's presence had at least been welcome.

Clarke frowned with a frustrated sigh under her breath. She was truly trying with all her might to somehow cheer the child up, but she was obviously failing miserably at it.

Marie had just buried her face back against the furs and her small frame was wracked by heart wrenching sobs.

Clarke's hands hovered above the girl's back for a moment, internally debating if touching her was a good idea. She settled against doing so and reclined back slightly, resigning herself to the fact that she truly was not able to sooth the child. She could only stay with her now and wait for the two Trikru women to return. What was taking them so long anyway?

Lexa hesitated in front of the entrance to her tent for a moment. Her mind was a mess right now and she could not hinder it from picturing in vivid details just how Nia had tortured their daughter. Flashes of Marie's past break downs mixed together with what her mind supplied. She knew that the girl's reactions would have been different then, without her memories in place. But it somehow only made it worse in the moment. The child had told them already that she had not truly questioned what the queen had done to her, accepting it as a given at the time, not remembering any better. Her veins felt as if they were pumping fire instead of blood through her body right now as her mind switched between encompassing rage, hatred, failure and sadness.

Her thoughts came to an abrupt halt when it registered within her mind that part of what she was picturing in front of her eyes was true, the unmistakable sounds of Marie crying bitterly filtered out of the tent.

All of her internal musings of returning to Nia's side and giving into her dark longing to torture the woman to a slow death fell silent, their daughter needed them.

The guards immediately opened the tent's flaps for them and Lexa and Anya stepped inside quickly.

Anya's eyes narrowed in rising anger at spotting Clarke sitting beside the obviously miserable child and doing nothing to sooth her.

Clarke's expression was filled with deep relief when her head whirled around at their footsteps and she backed away from the bed immediately. "I have tried everything" she exclaimed quickly, recognizing the angry glint within the general's brown eyes "She is convinced that the both of you are dead."

Lexa and Anya likewise felt as if their breaths were knocked from their chests at the healer's words and they bandied a heavy gaze.

Ontari furrowed her brows in internal frustration, she had after all already told Marie that both women were fine. She did not know why the child had obviously not believed within her words.

"Little star, we are here" Lexa said in a soft tone, quickly stepping passed Clarke and taking up her abandoned seat on the edge of the mattress. She felt a deep sense of guilt at having left the girl's side in the first place invading her mind, feeling reminded painfully of the fact that she had not been there for Marie after the Mountain as well. She had promised the child to be there for her and she felt as if she had failed at that yet again.

Anya had followed Lexa and sat down beside her and her hands reached up immediately coming to rest on the girl's back, while the brunette had placed hers on the child's knees simultaneously.

Marie's head whipped up as if struck by their touch and the clear surprise flitting over her pale features felt like a knife twisted within their guts; the child had truly believed that she had lost them, her whole composure was screaming with deep grief. "You're both here..." Marie exclaimed in disbelief, not trusting her own mind for a moment and she uncurled herself only hesitantly, afraid that the two women would suddenly resolve into nothing if she reached out, having only been supplied by her wishful thinking.

When they were still there a second later and the warmth of their touch truly registered within her mind, Marie began to sob again "I thought you'd died..." grey eyes wide and swimming in tears.

"Ssshh, little star" Lexa tried to sooth the girl, feeling her internal pain as if it were her own "We are here" she repeated the obvious and she gently wiped off a few tears from the girl's cheeks.

Marie looked at them in silence for a moment longer, before she visibly shuddered and launched herself between them, bringing them both into half of a weird hug, immediately soaking in their presence.

"Everything will be alright" Anya tried to reassure the girl in a slightly wavering tone. She knew that Lexa had had to leave the child's side due to her duties, but she had simply done so after Clarke's urging and could have stayed behind instead. She felt immensely guilty for not having stayed now, the child would not be this miserable if she had. She was also worried that Marie's fear of losing them had obviously turned into such a grave situation that she had not believed Ontari's reassurance that they were fine. She guessed that Clarke truly had tried to sooth the girl and had simply failed.

The child was still shaking and sobbing in their arms for long moments until Marie even remotely began to calm down again. Lexa patiently held onto the girl, letting her fingers card softly through her blonde hair in a soothing motion, humming the melody of the lullaby lowly under her breath, while Anya simply let one of her hands rest on the girl's back, feeling her shirt getting soaked slowly by the girl's continuous tears.

Ontari had remained standing beside the bed uncertainly. She had not been able to sooth Marie before, but she did not feel like leaving them alone altogether either. Although she felt as if she was intruding in a private moment.

Clarke stood in the middle of the tent as well, she had not spoken to Marie yet about how the girl felt or if she had experienced any symptoms before losing consciousness. She had seen the girl break down before, but the sight was still a painful one to behold. She dearly wished for all of them that a time of peace and calm would finally be waiting for them. The tea would have surely grown cold by now and by thus losing most of its effects, so she mutely busied herself with preparing a new one for Marie to drink once she was calmer again.

It took Marie a long time for her sobs to slowly die down and her eyes were puffy and red-rimmed when she finally loosened her desperate rip on Lexa and Anya. A sheepish look settled onto her features when she noticed Ontari standing right in front of the bed. She could not even tell now, why she had been unable to believe the older girl's words, it was not as if she was not trusting her after all.

Lexa slowly guided the girl to sit in between them, so that she could really look at her. Although she truly had not expected for the girl to react like that, the relief of seeing the girl alive overweight the sadness of yet another breakdown. When she noticed Marie biting at her lips and the sheepish look on her face, paired with the faint blush rising on her neck, Lexa brushed a strand of hair behind her ear gently "No need for you to be ashamed, little star, we are here and all will be well now" she reassured the girl in a soft tone, holding her teary gaze for a silent moment.

Marie sighed lightly under her breath, nodding her head finally in mute acceptance. "I thought I had lost you..." she nevertheless felt the need to justify her breakdown somehow and the corners of her lips fell.

Anya gently patted the girl's back "You have not lost us, Marie, neither will you in the foreseeable future" she promised in a calm tone and her brown eyes looked down lovingly at the girl.

Marie smiled faintly at the reassurance; she knew well enough already that Anya could definitely not promise to die. She had seen enough deaths and seen how harsh life could be, but she understood the words for what they were. A reassurance that both women would not leave her side willingly. "Love you..." she mumbled, still a little sheepish, burrowing back against them. She involuntarily let out a pained groan when she turned her head to rest it on Lexa's chest and scraped the bump on her forehead against one of the huge buckles of the commander's coat.

Lexa immediately backed off from the girl, guiding her to lie down with a little force. She mostly ignored the clear look of protest settling on Marie's features at the loss of contact. She had seen already that the girl had not drunk the tea made for her by Clarke and the girl needed to rest as much as possible before they would begin their journey back to the capitol. She continued to hold onto one of Marie's hands though, not breaking the contact completely.

Nia's taunts resonated through her mind momentarily. A picture of the woman holding Marie down forcefully on a bed forced itself into her mind and Lexa swallowed past the lump in her throat, trying to clear her mind of her imagination. She turned to look over her shoulder and asked Clarke to hand her the cup of the fresh tea; it was unlikely that the girl would drink when Clarke tried to coax her to.

"You need to drink the tea now, Marie" she addressed the girl in a gentle tone underlined with a little firmness.

Marie pulled a face, protest clear in her features "I don't wanna sleep...you'll be gone then" she whined, holding on tighter to Lexa's hand.

Anya's brows furrowed slightly at the girl's words. The child had been clingy before but this was extreme.

"We will be here, little star" Lexa assured the girl easily. Even if she would be called away, which could sadly happen, Anya would remain behind at Marie's side now.

Marie still was visibly reluctant to drink the tea and fought off the tiredness settling into her mind only moments later.

"Rest now, little star" Lexa soothed the girl; she had sat down next to the girl on the bed again, trailing one of her hands gently over her arm in a soothing motion.

Marie's eyes slowly began to droop, she continued to look over at Anya for some time, until she drifted off in Lexa's arms.

Clarke sighed under her breath "I still need to speak with her when she wakes up" she said, a little annoyed that she had waited for nothing now.

Lexa looked up from the child leaned against her only distractedly "I'll have you summoned when she wakes" she dismissed the healer easily.

Clarke huffed once, but nodded and left the tent without another word, going back to the other healers to help where she could.

"I had tried to reassure her before" Ontari spoke up in a frustrated tone once Clarke had left.

Anya inclined her head, she had expected nothing less and was not holding it against her older charge that she had failed at it "We know, you should rest now as well" she answered easily, motioning the nightblood girl to another pellet of furs prepared for her. She would rest with Lexa and Marie on the bed.

Ontari nodded and gave the general a tight smile, before she reclined to the furs. She really hoped that Marie would be feeling better once she woke again.

Chapter 235

Anya quickly divested herself of her armour, leaving her in her underclothes which were comfortable enough to sleep in. A glance over her shoulder told her that Ontari had followed her instruction and had already lied down on the pellet of furs reserved for her. The nightblood girl had not been healed by Marie's talent, so she would probably be truly tired, while Anya herself still felt fully rested and even refreshed.

She stopped in front of the bed for a moment, simply observing Lexa lying on the bed curled together with Marie. The child's face had obviously been wiped clean of the war paint by Clarke and her cheeks still held the damp sheen of her tears.

For a moment Anya remained rooted to the spot, internally imaging just how the events of the past months would have played out without the child they now considered their daughter in the picture.

Anya highly doubted that she would have been called back to the commander's side at all. At least she was fairly certain that she would have remained within one of the smaller Trikru outposts if Skykru had never fallen from the sky. A light frown settled on her features as she let her mind spin this scenario into a future. Tris would probably have survived, the girl had shown great potential after all. But she herself would have remained away from her place, sent away with the rumour of the commander's most trusted general somehow losing the leader's faith.

Had Skykru fallen in the same place but maybe without Marie existing at all, Anya knew that Lexa would have ordered her unit to take care of the invaders again. She would have failed at that again, she would still have underestimated the skills and survival will of the Skykru children. She might still have ended up within the Mountain, maybe even dragging herself back to TonDC. But Marie had convinced Abby to help her and by thus saved her life.

Which scenario hurt the most to imagine was of seeing Marie within the holding cell in TonDC and coming to a different conclusion, killing the innocent child instead on the spot, just like Indra had proposed back then. She would have never even known what kind of chances she would have destroyed in doing so. It would not just have ended with her own death, but Lexa would surely have fallen by now as well. Nia would still be in a place of power and Anya shuddered to imagine just what would have happened with the Ice queen and her loyal nightblood. Without Marie the nightblood girl would surely never have even considered to change her views and to be honest, neither would Lexa have considered to let her survive at all.

The hint of a smile tilted the corners of her lips upwards. The probably biggest change Marie had brought about was hers and Lexa's change of perspective. Marie had somehow managed to worm her way into both of their hearts, bringing them back close together as well. They were now in fact much closer than ever. Long ago when she had still been the nightblood's first, there had always been a barrier of respect and station between them and later this had only been changed as Lexa rose to become commander, outranking her previous first by far. Anya had not seen Lexa look so utterly relaxed and even content as she was now holding onto the blonde child, black war paint still in place together with most of her armour, after Costia's death she had been sure to never see the brunette like this as well. Anya had always been convinced, right from the very moment of meeting Lexa all those years ago, that it actually would be her heart which would make her the great leader she was now. After the loss of her first love the commander had been nothing more than a grimmer shell of her former self and although Anya knew that her former second still executed her duty, she had heard of enough harsher decisions the commander had made which the woman would have done differently before closing off her heart. Somehow Marie had managed to bring the part of Lexa back to life which Anya had been convinced to have been lost forever, she somehow doubted that Clarke would have been able to do the same.

She was pulled out of her thoughts again when Anya felt the weight of Lexa's gaze resting on herself and the other woman's gaze was questioning and one of her brows raised in apparent confusion for her hesitation to join them. The contrast between the child, dressed down to her underclothes and Lexa, still wearing most of the regalia of the commander and black paint smeared over her features, was stark. Anya had never thought that something had been missing from her life before, but now it was almost unthinkable that Marie was not with them.

Anya smiled slightly as she sat down on the bed, feeling Lexa's eyes still resting on her in silent question as to what was on her mind. "I had never thought that it could be like this" she mused and a gentle expression took over her features.

Lexa seemed to contemplate the vague words for a moment, but she inclined her head in agreement, when she felt one of the older woman's hands coming to rest upon her own on the girl's back. She understood now what Anya must have seen in her moment of hesitation and she tightened her arms around Marie's smaller frame, bringing the girl slightly closer to her chest. She had never dreamed of a life beyond the duties of the commander. She had once wished for something more, believing that she could find it with Costia. But when her love had been ripped away in such a brutal fashion, she had accepted that she was required to spend her life alone solely committed to her people. Now, she once again dreamt of something more and Lexa knew within her heart how dangerous this was. She would fight with all her might to protect those she loved, unwilling to lose her daughter and former first.

The narcotic effects of the tea Clarke had prepared for Marie kept the child asleep, even when Lexa was called from outside of the tent.

The commander's green eyes immediately snapped open and a slight scowl rested on her features as she slowly and carefully detangled herself from the peacefully sleeping girl. She did not actually wish to get out of the bed, already assuming that Marie would surely wake up in her time of absence and after the way how Marie had reacted to their absence before, Lexa was reluctant to leave now. She huffed under her breath in rising annoyance, coursing the fact that she was needed right now.

Anya watched the younger woman get out of bed with a slight smirk gracing her lips, it was more than obvious that Lexa wanted anything but having to leave to this tent now. When the brunette glanced over her shoulder for a moment as if hesitating to actually go, she spoke up "Go, Lexa, she will be fine" she reassured, amusement colouring her tone lightly.

Lexa's brows visibly furrowed and for a moment Anya even thought she would retaliate something, before the woman turned on her heels and swept out of the tent.

Marie sighed under her breath and one of her hands reached out to the place where Lexa had just been moments ago.

Anya turned her attention from the tent's flaps back to the blonde girl, shushing her lightly. Slowly she urged the girl to turn over to her and it took only another moment until the girl now lay within her arms, head placed against her chest and the girl's breathing evened out again quickly as well.

Anya continued to hold onto Marie, letting one hand card lightly through her blonde strands of hair. She noticed absentmindedly that the locks had already grown a bit again since her return to the capitol. It would surely take more months if not even a year for it to grow back to its original length, but she was certain that Marie would wish for it to grow out again.

She did not know for what exactly Lexa had even been called out of their tent, but whatever it was, was obviously taking a while.

Marie began to stir within her arms some time later and this time Anya was not able to sooth the girl before she could wake up completely. She looked down at the child, careful to keep watch over the girl's reaction, not wanting her to fall back into another state of panic.

Marie blinked her eyes open slowly and she immediately sensed that it was not Lexa any longer who was embracing her, but rather Anya. Her brows creased slightly when she realized sluggishly that the commander was nowhere in sight.

"Where is Lexa?" Marie asked, a definite whine to her tone and a slight pout formed on her lips.

Anya huffed under her breath, trying not take affront from the fact that the girl was obviously not satisfied with just her own presence. "Lexa was called out some time ago" she answered in a calm tone, helping the girl into a sitting position with careful hands.

"How does your head feel?" she asked, having sat up as well and keeping a hand on the girl's back.

Marie's brows scrunched upwards and she slightly tilted her head to the side as she concentrated on the feeling within her head. She groaned slightly when the continuous ache which had replaced the sharp pain truly registered within her mind. "It still hurts" she complained as her pout deepened.

Anya's brown eyes took on a worried glint, as she slipped from the bed to have a guard summon Clarke back to their tent, but she was stopped by Marie's hands suddenly gripping onto one of her wrists with a surprisingly strong hold.

"Don't go…" the girl breathed out pleadingly, grey eyes already visibly tearing up again as she stared up at the woman.

Anya gently pried the girl's fingers from her wrist "I will not leave the tent" she promised honestly. She just needed to go over to the entrance for one of the guards to hear her. She could have easily shouted to call one guard inside, but that would have surely woken Ontari up and the nightblood girl clearly deserved to get some undisturbed rest as well. It worried her slightly that the young girl was showing this extreme amount of clinginess now after her breakdown and she really hoped that the girl's behaviour would normalise itself again once she was feeling better again.

She could feel the girl's eyes following her every step through the tent as she ordered a guard to summon Clarke. Anya did not know if the girl's head injury could truly be the cause for her to lose consciousness like she had, but some part of her mind feared that more was wrong with the girl. She could not put a finger onto it at the moment, but something was not adding up in her mind.

Anya was not sure if Abby would be able to find something if they were to bring Marie to Skykru for a check-up. But she did also not know if that was a good idea either. The Skykru doctor would surely find that some of Marie's wounds had healed unnaturally fast; the scars where the Mountain had drilled into her body were barely visible on her skin any longer. They had all agreed that the child's unique talent needed to be kept secret and she was not sure if the possibility of Abby finding out about it was worth it. Maybe she was just worrying over nothing and was just internally afraid that something more might be wrong with their daughter, that her mind was making her see signs where nothing actually was to see. Clarke had agreed that she highly doubted that her mother would just be placated if she found out about Marie's talent, so Anya shook the fleeting idea of bringing the girl back to Skykru from her mind again.

Anya turned back around, stepping through the tent and sitting down on the edge of the bed again. She rolled her eyes mutely, when the girl immediately scrambled to crawl over, so that she could lean her smaller frame against her arm again. She really had no idea just why the child seemed to depend so much on physical touch, seeking it out on every opportunity. After what Nia had put Marie through, she would have assumed it more logical that the girl would fear every kind of touch, no matter if sexual or innocent. In part this assumption was even true, the girl shied away from even the subtlest touch of people she did not trust, but she was absolutely clingy with them.

It took only a few moments for Clarke to arrive back inside of the commander's tent. The blonde must have touched her cheek while her hands had been coated in fresh blood and had left behind a red streak on one of her cheeks. Anya felt slightly guilty that they had obviously called the healer from warriors who might be dependent on the woman's presence to save their lives. But her continued and probably irrational worry for the girl, kept her silent, deciding against sending the healer away again.

The corners of Marie's lips fell in clear disappointment at finding Clarke within the tent, she had hoped that Lexa would have returned.

Anya's eyes turned slightly harder at the girl's apparent negative reaction. She wanted Marie to be honest with Clarke, otherwise the healer could not adequately help her. "Clarke wants to examine you again and she will ask you some questions" she exclaimed, before the blonde Skykru woman could actually say anything.

Clarke watched the general speak with Marie with a slightly raised brow, wondering why the woman was interfering, before she had actually begun to take care of the younger girl. She was truly surprised when the general seemed to caution the girl in an almost strict tone to answer her questions truthfully. She would have expected the older woman to be suspicious of her still, remembering her warning in Polis quiet clearly. But it seemed that Anya was strictly separating her work as a healer from her own person.

She plastered a slight kind smile onto her features before she stepped closer to the bed. It was thankfully obvious that the girl was so much calmer now that she actually knew that Lexa and Anya were fine. Her smile widened a little when she noted how Anya sat down beside Marie and without even batting an eye held offered one of her hands to the girl. The love between the two was almost palpable wen Marie immediately grasped onto it with a relieved and thankful expression.

"Hi Marie" she greeted the child kindly, keeping a close watch of the girl's face, looking for hints of the girl's condition.

Marie only turned her grey eyes towards Clarke, but stayed silent for now, waiting for her to state an actual question.

"How are you feeling?" Clarke asked into the slight silence, keeping her tone calm. She lightly reached out towards Marie and she swallowed down the sigh at the girl's apparent flinch.

Marie only reluctantly answered the question when she felt Anya giving her hand a squeeze in mute warning. "Well enough" she said a little reluctantly.

Clarke raised a brow critically and one corner of her lips turned down in disappointment, it did not take a genius to figure out that the child was not being truthful now.

Marie huffed, she did not really even know why she was so defensive now, only that she did not even really want to speak to Clarke, she wanted to cuddle with Anya and preferably Lexa as well and go back to sleep, so that hopefully the headache would be gone again. She did not wish to think about her head or why she had fallen unconscious at all.

"Marie" Anya addressed the girl, giving her hand another, a little stronger squeeze and her tone had a reprimanding hint.

Marie's grey eyes flicked to Anya shortly, before they returned to Clarke and she reluctantly answered "It hurts still". Her whole composure clearly conveyed that she wished to be anywhere else at the moment.

Clarke nodded in acknowledgement "Has the pain changed after the tea?" she questioned further.

Marie agreed easily, telling her that it had changed more into an annoying ache than anything else.

"The tea might not have been strong enough" Clarke mused thoughtfully "You can have another later" she added a moment later. She had been careful not to mix the herb into the tea which was the main ingredient of the sleeping tonic which Marie had used too much of on her own, afraid that the girl's body could either react hypersensitive or show no reaction at all any longer.

"Have you had problems with your head before you hit it in the village?" Clarke continued her questioning, while she bent forward and gently felt along the girl's head.

Marie winced visibly at the touch and her lips pressed into a thin line. She still let out a little yelp when Clarke touched the actual bump and instinctually moved further away from her, burrowing herself against Anya in search of her protection.

"Problems?" she echoed with a frown taking over her features, while she stayed almost glued to Anya's side, thankfully the general did not make any comment on it.

Clarke nodded, explaining "Yeah, like headaches, losing consciousness, irregular sleep or being overly tired, nosebleeds, dizziness. Anything unusual really".

Marie's frown deepened and a series of short memories flashed up in front of her eyes. How she had suddenly had a nosebleed while sharing the bath with Lexa, which had not even been the first time, now that she thought about it. She had also been pretty tired especially the last days in Polis, but she guessed that that could also have been caused by her forced time of rest.

Anya snaked an arm around the girl's frame and she felt her heart beat a little quicker within her chest at Clarke's words. The blonde Skykru healer had enumerated more than one thing of what she had already seen the girl develop in Polis. But she had not thought anything really of the little acts of being too tired, falling asleep even before they joined Marie on the bed. They had both been worried when the girl had suddenly had a nosebleed without having been hit in the face during training and the child's appetite had not been normal since her return from her time with Nia.

When it became clear that Marie had no intention of actually giving a verbal answer, beside shrugging her shoulders vaguely, Anya spoke up. She was too worried now to keep silent. She had already been worried in Polis that something might be wrong with Marie, but with the war looming above them, the girl's slightly off behaviour had simply not seemed so dire to require immediate attention and she had also vastly chalked it off to the child's fear of having to return to Ice Nation lands.

"Marie has been overly tired in the last weeks already" Anya stated in a calm voice, but Clarke still saw the definite worry within her brown eyes.

"Tired beyond training?" Clarke asked inquiringly. She had formulated the symptoms very broad, beside the head injury there could certainly be hundreds of possibilities for the younger girl to be sick with. She really hoped that the child was not suffering from any disease but that her symptoms could have also only been caused by stress, she knew how strong the mental health could have an influence on the physical health as well. The young girl had already suffered through too much and she was not sure if her body and mind would be strong enough to fight off a severe disease. She knew that the girl's mother had died from a disease on the Ark as well, but she could not remember from what she had suffered.

Anya nodded with a slightly frustrated sigh, remembering how the girl had fallen asleep almost instantly on the first day of training, where she had actually barely let the child do anything. The few days of rest should not have been enough time for Marie to have such a drastic set back in her endurance.

Clarke frowned, filing the information for later "Anything else?" she questioned. With this kind of broad information, she would never be able to narrow down what could be wrong with the girl. She still doubted that the head injury would have enough to cause her to fall unconscious just like that, if that had been the case, she was convinced that Marie would have already shown greater problems while riding for hours.

With another sigh, Anya enumerated all the little things which she could remember now. She might be telling too much to Clarke now, but she guessed that it could only help the healer in providing the best care to Marie. The way with which Clarke's expression got darker and darker every moment, made Anya's heart plummet to her stomach and she held tighter onto the girl, wishing that she could just somehow shield her from everything with her very arms.

Clarke shook her head in slight exasperation "I cannot say what could be causing this, but what you just said does not sound normal and healthy at all. I will prepare another tea for you" she said to Marie and she felt slightly guilty for the unmistakable fear shining in the girl's grey eyes as she looked up at her "I will have to contact my mother once we reach Polis, maybe she knows more or can do some tests" she proposed and stood up again to quickly prepare another tea.

"I can't be sick…" Marie breathed out with wide grey eyes, looking up at Anya pleadingly.

Anya pursed her lips slightly, swallowing forcefully as she gave the girl a little squeeze "You will be fine in now time" she tried to reassure the child. She recognized now that she should have spoken with Clarke alone, without Marie present, but something in the child's reaction told her that Marie herself must have recognized that something was not right with her any more and she could already feel the slight frustration bubbling beneath the surface at the fact that the girl had not said anything about it. "You already noticed something" she finally said, keeping her tone as light as possible and the slight wince Marie gave in reaction was answer enough. Anya sighed under her breath, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"I had not wanted to bother you …" Marie tried to reason in a small voice.

Anya sighed under her breath, shaking her head in mute agitation at the child and simply pulling her into a firmer hug "Everything will turn out alright" she tried to sooth her. It simply had to be, the mere thought of losing the girl was too painful to even contemplate.

Chapter 236

Lexa returned to the tent a few hours later; she had been called out because the pyres for the fallen warriors had been erected so that their souls could be set free again. She had been required to light each single one of them and she had remained behind until they had nearly burnt down as well. Although the number of the warriors who had found their death had been minimal in comparison to how it would have turned out if the war had changed into a siege, Lexa still regarded every fallen one as a senseless death.

Azgeda especially would need even more help from the coalition now if the clan was to survive the next year. Nia had truly called most of the food and supplies to this fortress, obviously in preparation of a siege. If Roan had not led them inside, Lexa did not know if they truly would have won at all. The queen obviously had not cared one bit if all of her warriors would have starved in the process, as long as she herself would have survived. Without the aid of the coalition, it would be the normal population of Ice Nation who would not even have a chance at survival. She could already imagine how hard of a time she would have to convince the other clans that they were required to aid to the people of Azgeda. She hoped that the crowning of Roan by her hands would make them at least a little likelier to offer help. If not, skirmishes at all borders to Azgeda would break out in the next months and not because the people did not want to abide by her laws, but simply because they were starving and she knew the length to which people would go to make sure their families survived.

From the corner of her eyes she had seen Clarke hasten from one of the healers' tents over to her own. She immediately felt a little antsy when the blonde woman did not return after a few moments, wondering just what exactly could be taking the healer this long. Marie hopefully only still had a headache from the bump on her head, but Lexa was powerless to stop the seed of worry from forming in her mind, the longer it took the other woman to exit her tent again.

Lexa was standing too far away from her tent to be able to recognize the expression on Clarke's face, when the healer in fact finally left the commander's tent and the woman hurried back to the other healers before Lexa could even think of approaching her. She knew just how many wounded warriors there were who needed attention and she guessed that Anya would be able to tell her as well about whatever Clarke might have determined.

Although her expression had been void of any emotions, as she watched the pyres burn, together with the warriors of the army who were not severely wounded, internally Lexa was already planning on what all needed to be executed now, while a large part of her mind stubbornly refused to let her attention wander from Marie, instead constantly wondering if the girl was fine or if she might have been asking after her again. She did not doubt for a moment that Anya was not fully capable of taking care of the girl on her own, but she knew how clingy and upset Marie could be after a breakdown and it just annoyed her that she was not able to be there for their daughter now. It had happened quiet a few times already that the girl had refused to be calmed until they both had been with her after all.

So, she only felt a slight surge of relief course through her mind when the pyres had finally burnt down low enough for her to return to her tent again.

Lexa was slightly surprised to spot Marie asleep upon her return. She had been convinced that the girl would have refused to go back to sleep before she returned, but she shook the thought from her mind as soon as it came up. Her slight relief at finding the child asleep and calm, dwindled down quickly when she took in Anya's and Ontari's expression, both sitting at a table together and obviously having been delivered a light dinner.

Ontari had woken up only shortly before Clarke had left and the few words which she had still caught passing between the general and the healer had been enough to alert her to the fact that something was indeed wrong with the younger girl. She had observed some things as well before they left Polis, but she had not said anything to Anya to Marie's urging that she would be feeling better once the war was over again and that she did not wish to worry Anya and Lexa who had been stressed enough with the preparation of the war. She had waited until Marie had fallen asleep again to stand up as well and tell the general of what she now remembered as odd about the younger girl's behaviour.

"...kept on nearly falling asleep..." Ontari said, falling silent immediately when she noticed the arrival of the commander.

Lexa furrowed her brow in confusion, she could sense that something was obviously wrong "What has Clarke said?" she asked, green eyes shortly staying on Anya inquiringly, before she moved through the tent and to the bed, bending down slightly above Marie and feeling her temperature gently, careful not to wake the girl with her subtle touch.

Anya's expression clearly conveyed her internal worry "She does not know what has caused her to lose consciousness like that. She wants to ask her mother for help" she retold quickly and her tone reflected her worry as well.

Lexa turned from the bed with a frown, if Clarke was willing to engage Abby, then whatever the woman might assume must be severe and she felt her heart grow heavy with the realization that Marie might be sick with something. She hoped that the girl's state could have been explained by her head injury, she still remembered that the girl's skull had been supposed to remain more delicate after her aneurysm. "You have seen that something was wrong with her and have not said anything?" she addressed Ontari with rising irritation, piecing together internally which conversation her arrival had obviously interrupted.

Ontari's brows creased and she opened her mouth to defend herself, but Anya silenced her with a slight glare.

"We have noticed her nose bleeding without any cause as well, or how tired she suddenly was without even really exerting herself" Anya supplied before the commander could place the blame on her older charge which would only be highly unfair to the nightblood girl. Marie herself had after all kept silent as well.

Lexa deflated visibly, letting herself sink down on the other empty chair as if drained of her strength all of a sudden. Now that Anya had mentioned it, numerous occasions flashed up in front of her eyes of instances where Marie's behaviour had seemed off somehow. She immediately felt a slight guilt settle in her mind when she realized that Marie had not just not told them about not feeling well but had in fact actively tried to hide that something was off. "Why has she not said anything?" she asked in a slightly pained voice.

Anya's brown eyes were sad as she shook her head with a sigh "She has not wanted us to worry in the wake of the war" she easily explained. She could even understand why the girl would have thought so at all, but it was truly not Marie's job to try to protect them from something.

Lexa's lips thinned visibly in displeasure at the other woman's words and her frown deepened. She wondered if she somehow could have conveyed to the girl that she did not regard her as important enough to wish to know from any problem immediately. Could she have somehow put it into the girl's mind that she thought of the war as more important than herself?

The night passed relatively slow. Marie had woken up again after a few hours of more sleep, clearly still cranky and suffering still from a persisting headache. Lexa and Anya both had had their arms full to try and calm the girl down on numerous times during the night.

On the next morning Anya was almost relieved when it was finally late enough to rise from the furs again. She did not feel rested at all any longer and she highly doubted that she would have gotten more than an hour of sleep on a stretch.

"How does your head feel?" she asked Marie in a rather tight tone, once she saw the girl opening her eyes as well.

Marie shrugged slightly, the pain had truly gotten better since yesterday, but she knew that they would probably soon begin their march back to Polis and the prospect of having to sit in a saddle and by thus being jostled for hours on end did not sound so appealing. Being able to stay in the bed for longer and ideally together with Lexa and Anya did sound much better in her mind. She discarded the idea of asking to be allowed to stay in bed, when she noticed the even slightly strict expression on Lexa's face though.

"I am sure that you can have another of those teas" Anya mused in a slightly worried tone. She could not say if the bump on the girl's forehead had gotten any smaller already, but she guessed that the girl's headache would recede once her bump would have gone down as well.

"You are to tell us immediately if you experience anything off at all" Lexa addressed the girl in a voice tinted with strictness, although she placed a hand gently on the girl's back.

Marie leaned back slightly into the touch, but she nodded her head with a sheepish expression in mute agreement. She was saved from having to actually give a further verbal answer by breakfast being brought into the tent with the urgent message that Roan wished to talk to Lexa.

The atmosphere during breakfast was rather tense, it was obvious that all of them were tired, even Ontari had been woken up several times through the mind.

Marie more or less only picked on her food, not feeling hungry at all. The mention of Roan had made her remember something, namely that she had no idea what would be happening to the queen now. Would the woman be executed? Would she be expected to partake in that as well? She had already seen and participated in enough executions by now and she was not feeling well at all with the thought of having to see the woman again. She was fairly certain that Lexa and Anya would truly make sure that the queen could not actually touch her ever again, but the mere thought of seeing her again, made her body tense and her heart beat faster within her chest in nervous anticipation.

"Eat, Marie" Anya reprimanded the girl lightly, having watched the child only picking on her food without actually eating for long enough now.

Marie looked up at the general with a slight pout, her stomach was already clenching and she doubted that she could truly stomach much, not that she had felt any real appetite to being with. She hesitated for long moments, before she finally spoke up, voice quivering noticeably "What happens with the queen now?" she asked, grey eyes flitting between Lexa and Anya inquiringly.

"Nia will be brought to Polis and publicly executed" Lexa proclaimed in a slightly icy tone. She was internally already looking more than a little forward to finally bring the older woman's death.

Marie swallowed visibly, paling a little as well "Will I … will I have to be there?" she pressed out with great effort, breathing quickening.

Anya's expression tuned compassionate immediately and she wished to be able to tell the girl something positive, but as the commander's second the child would most definitely be expected to be there as well when the queen was executed. At the length at which she had suffered at the woman's hands, would also grant her the right to partake in it as well. They could certainly keep the girl from having to really participate, but excusing her absence would be hard and would once again renew the rumours of Marie's continued allegiance to the Ice queen.

"No, Marie, you will not have to be there" Lexa proclaimed in a kind tone, green eyes shining with conviction. She would make sure that the ambassadors would not dare to speak up against the girl as well.

Marie breathed out a sigh of relief, looking at the commander with an expression of gratitude. Maybe she would be lucky and not even come face to face with the queen at all again.

Lexa left the tent shortly after, intent on meeting with the future king of Ice Nation as soon as possible, while Anya had remained behind to stay with Marie and assist the girl in getting ready as well. In all truth, Anya was actually unwilling to leave the child alone with Ontari right now, preferring to keep both girls company personally now.

The camp of the army was already beginning to be dismantled in various places when Marie looked around. Gustus had already returned to the entrance of her tent, visibly better rested again and she gave the burly man a slight smile in mute greeting. The spot on the other side of the entrance had been filled by another Trikru warrior for now and a new personal guard to the commander would be need to be appointed once they had returned to the capitol. Her smile froze visibly when her mind realized that Ryder's absence must mean that the man had not survived the battle; Marie could not remember when the man might have fallen though.

Thankfully Clarke had given her a different tea after breakfast; it worked efficiently to numb the ache in her skull, but it would not make her so tired again. Marie hoped that she would be able to stay awake for longer now and maybe even be allowed to ride alone again. She knew that the generals were probably all watching her and appearing too weak to ride alone, could certainly not be good.

Marie faltered a little in her steps walking beside Anya as the commander's tent was supposed to be cleared out and dismantled now as well, when her gaze fell on a small tent which was visibly heavily guarded. She did not need to ask who was being held inside at all.

Anya stopped walking when she caught Marie hesitating from the corner of her eyes and her gaze followed the child's gaze for a moment; she sighed under her breath, rage at the queen and compassion for Marie battling in her mind. "She will not be able to touch you ever again" Anya promised in a low tone, stepping closer to Marie and putting a hand around her shoulders in a supportive gesture, while Ontari stepped beside them, efficiently blocking Marie's view of the small tent with her own body.

Marie tried to muster up a convinced smile, but it turned more into a doubtful grimace at best and she tried to simply push all thought about the queen from her mind. She hoped that she would be able to stop thinking about her after the queen's execution, maybe her nightmares would finally ease off then as well.

"Can I ride on my own again?" Marie asked, trying to keep her tone steady, but it still shook a little.

Anya frowned slightly at the girl's question, Marie's determined expression clearly conveyed that riding alone was for some reason important to her right now, but she was hesitant to agree. Clarke still did not know how much off an influence the girl's head injury had on her constitution or if it was even likely that Marie could lose consciousness without much of a forewarning again. If that happened during the ride, it would be unlikely that either of them would be quick enough to catch the girl before she fell from her horse. She could already envision exactly that happening and Anya was sure that Marie would likely hit her head again, which surely could only worsen her situation.

Marie's hopeful expression already dimmed notably, Anya's continued silence was enough answer to her question and a slight pout settled on her features.

"I do not want to see you fall from the horse should you lose consciousness again" Anya tried to reason with the girl in a soft tone.

Marie rolled her eyes slightly and annoyance creeped into her tone "I would not fall" she proclaimed with conviction.

Anya's lips thinned "You cannot foresee that, Marie".

"I could share a horse with her" Ontari offered, voice slightly hesitant. She did not know if Anya would actually even consider the offer, she would surely not let the younger girl drop from the horse on purpose.

The frown remained on Anya's features; in all honesty she would feel better if she personally made sure that the blonde girl was alright. She would be able to keep a closer watch over Marie with the child with her on her own mount. She doubted that Lexa would share her mare with Marie now, too many important people were within the ranks of the army still to allow such open closeness to the child for Lexa.

Ontari gave the younger girl an apologetic slight smile, when the general declined her offer, proclaiming that Marie would be sharing her own horse again with the Trikru woman. She did not really know though why Marie seemed slightly disappointed by the woman's words, trudging in between them with her shoulders visibly hunched and her eyes glued to the snowy ground at her feet.

Anya let the girl stew in silence, knowing better than to try and cheer the girl up again. She counted on the fact that Marie's mood would likely change quickly again once they reached the horses.

Marie stayed mute beside her, while she quickly listened to a report on the progress of taking down the camp. It would not take them long to be able to begin their journey back. The army would also not be required to travel together as one unit either, so that those on horses could travel ahead.

She watched on with a slightly knowing smirk how Marie quickened her pace a little once the animals got into sight. Amusement danced through her eyes as her own and Lexa's mounts immediately moved towards their daughter as well, greeting the child on the way. It still astounded her how easily Marie seemed to get on with animals like that.

Marie's smile turned bigger when she reached out with gloved hands to caress the two enormous horses. She giggled lightly, when the commander's mare moved even closer to her face, blowing its breath out in a huff. The tea had taken full effect by now and she barely felt any residual ache within her head, keeping her eyes open and focusing on something was also not painful anymore. Internally, she was really looking forward to the prospect of returning to Polis. She did not know for sure what would be happening in the upcoming days either.

Marie let herself be hoisted onto the hazelnut horse in front of Anya and immediately settled back into a comfortable position against the woman's firm chest, feeling her long arms reaching around herself and securing her in place.

She glanced over at Lexa mounting her own horse on one of their sides, the commander's face had been wiped clean of the war paint again and her green eyes quickly scanned the group of warriors who would travel with them.

Thanks to one of the Ice Nation warriors, now riding with them, they now knew a route through the ice plane which was save to take and had not been manipulated. Marie had already wondered how they had planned to cover it, but that way they now did not lose any more warriors to the icy waters.

She did not know exactly why, but she guessed that barely any time had passed on their travels yet, when she felt her limps growing heavier again, as fatigue settled back in her mind.

Anya looked down at the child in her arms with slightly worried eyes, when she noticed that the girl was obviously already having difficulties to stay alert; her head continued to fall down on her chest for short moments as Marie was still fighting actively against her exhaustion.

"Rest, little star" she hushed into the girl's ears, pulling her smaller body more firmly against herself. She could only hope that more rest would make the girl feel better later.

Chapter 237

The journey back to Polis passed mostly in a blur to Marie.

The gentler tea which Clarke had prepared for her before they had begun their way back to the capitol had not been effective enough to keep her headache under control for long. As soon as she had woken up, a few hours later, her head had been pounding viscously and everything was spinning around her.

Anya was barely quick enough to bring her horse to a sudden halt and dismount with the girl still in her arms, before Marie bent over and began to vomit out her whole breakfast again.

Lexa immediately ordered the whole group to a stop; they had left behind the rest of the army who were traveling on foot some time ago now. She nearly jumped from her horse in her haste to get closer to Anya and Marie, watching the child being sick with worried green eyes. She felt a little relieved to note that the girl did not seem to have another nosebleed at least, but she still only hesitantly made more room for Clarke, hurrying over as well.

Clarke had to give Marie something stronger, knocking the girl out again only moments later. Lexa internally contemplated if it would be better to ride back to the fortress, where the girl could get some real rest. Roan would surely not have anything against that, but Clarke seemed convinced that bringing the child closer to Arkadia was the better solution for now. She said that whatever was causing the girl to feel like that was hopefully not life-threatening and the other healers had not been any wiser than her, so Abby was probably the only one who might be able to diagnose what was actually wrong with the girl.

Lexa spurred the group back on with renewed urgency to bring Marie back to the capitol as soon as possible. Clarke had offered that she could reach out to her mother once they came into a distance at which their radio would be working again, so that the older woman could even already be within the capitol when they reached it.

Even without the immediate effect of the tea numbing her senses, Marie now almost constantly felt tired and exhausted. Lexa and Anya had to keep her awake in the evening long enough to actually get her to eat something. The tent which had been erected for them for the night was not large enough to offer any room for Ontari as well, so the nightblood girl would be spending the night in Gustus' tent with the burly guard.

In her attempt to cut some meat up for Marie and simultaneously keeping the girl balanced as well, Lexa sliced into her own fingers. Before she even had time to react with more than annoyed hiss, Marie had reached out and closer her own fingers around Lexa's, healing the slight graze in the blink of an eye.

Lexa's brows furrowed as she looked down at the girl, reprimanding her lightly for using her talent yet again so casually. They still had no idea how it actually worked and she was internally convinced that it could not be good for the girl to use it now, that she was so obviously already physically weakened.

Marie had already been given another tea before their brief dinner, so Lexa and Anya both thought nothing of it, when the child's eyes began to droop only shortly later.

The rest of the journey continued in a similar fashion. Marie's mood had turned whiny and bleak, the girl did obviously not understand why she was feeling so tired and exhausted all the time and the mere fact was frustrating her beyond measures, while Lexa's and Anya's worry only grew with each passing hour and no apparent positive change of the child's constitution.

Clarke did unfortunately not have any luck in getting her mother on the way towards Polis; a kind of plague seemed to have broken out in Arkadia and Abby and Jackson had their hands full with trying to take care of all the sick people now, making it absolutely impossible for Abby to leave Arkadia currently. She had also suggested not to bring Marie there, in case the girl would catch whatever was going around in Arkadia, making her recovery for her already weakened body even harder. Abby had promised though to look into the medical file of Marie's mother, researching again what exactly the woman had had and getting back in touch with them, once they reached the capitol. Clarke had already relayed all of the girl's symptoms she had heard from Anya to her mother, so that the woman should be able to at least speculate if Marie could be suffering from whatever had ended her mother's life.

The streets of Polis were already filled to the brim with its citizens once the group around the commander finally reached the gate to the inner ring of the capitol. A quicker messenger had already proclaimed the impending arrival of their leader, bringing back the queen from the North as a prisoner, heavily bound and gagged still.

The citizens cheered loudly for their leader and their cheers turned even up a notch when they could see queen Nia being brought into the capitol. For safety, the queen was surrounded on all sides by warriors, who had strict orders to immediately bring the woman into the dungeons of the tower, where she would be remaining until her execution.

Almost feverish whisperings broke out when the crowd noticed the presence of several Azgeda warriors and prince Roan among the group of generals and warriors, riding through the streets behind the commander. It was no wonder that the people were reacting in such a way, they could not know what their commander planned for Ice Nation now that the war was over and wars before often had ended with the near extinction of the losing clan. The last real wars had been fought to built the coalition, so how they would deal with a war now, was mostly speculation from this point onwards.

Marie had woken up only a few minutes before they reached Polis and her grey eyes flitted over the large crowd almost nervously, she was still freaked out by such a large gathering and she burrowed herself a little closer to Anya still, feeling her arms tighten around her in mute reassurance. She breathed a little easier once the tower loomed high in front of them and its base was visible as well, indicating that they had nearly reached their destination.

Her grey eyes kept on searching for Risha and she was disappointed to not spot the light grey wolf anywhere. She really hoped that Risha had not run away during their absence, they had been gone for a few days already after all. She would need to remember to ask Anya about trying to train at least one horse to accept Risha running beside it, she did not want for the wolf to have to be left behind each time they left the capitol in the future.

She tried forcefully to keep her attention ahead of them, all too aware of the queen riding only a few horses behind her. It was as if she could feel her dark eyes burning a hole through her back, even though she was leaning against Anya and was practically hidden from view like that.

Marie's expression turned a little stonier when she noticed Titus' form already waiting for their arrival at the entrance to the tower and judging from his expression, the bald man's mood was not the best either, although Marie highly doubted that she would ever see the man actually smiling an honest smile. She did not believe that there were people who were actually physically incapable of being happy, but if someone like this were to exist, Titus would surely be an example of such an individual. She could not fathom what could have turned the man into such a bitter person, but she also was rather convinced that she actually did not wish to know either.

Lexa kept her expression mostly impassive as they rode into Polis, she inclined her head here and there in mute greeting and graciously accepted a few small trifles from some children who had obviously already been eagerly waiting for their return. She internally hoped that whoever parent of them had marched with the army into Ice Nation lands, would also be returning to them unharmed.

She had hurried the group of warriors around them towards the capitol, so that they had not covered the whole distance in two days. Lexa wanted for Marie to be able to lie down immediately, hopefully recovering from whatever was plaguing her body with some rest. She knew, that she would not be able to join the girl now, no matter how much she wished so. She was required to speak with Titus now, so that the man could prepare a meeting with the ambassadors first thing in the morning. The crowning of Roan to make him king of Ice Nation would need to be planned and of course Nia's execution would need to be held as well. Tomorrow would be a day of resting and celebration in the streets of capitol and it could even stretch into two days. She would not let the execution take place before the rest of the army had reached the capitol as well, all warriors deserved the privilege to witness the queen's death. She could also not officially crown Roan before their current leader was truly dead.

"I will be in the throne room in a moment" Lexa addressed Titus in a rather brisk tone, not caring one bit for the clear look of annoyance flashing over her former teacher's features. The man nodded with a slight grimace and turned on his heels, vanishing back inside of the tower, before she had even dismounted.

Lexa stepped closer to Anya, still mounted on her hazelnut horse with their daughter in her arms, and she raised her arms up mutely, offering to take Marie down. She simply wished to physically hold the child for a moment, no matter how brief, before she would be swept up in her duties, probably for hours and easily lasting through the whole night as well.

Marie was a little confused at the commander's insistence to be the one to personally help her from the horse, but she would certainly not be complaining about it either. She already knew that Lexa would surely have to organize a lot now and theoretically she should probably be standing beside her during such times, as being the commander's second called for, but internally Marie hoped that Anya would allow her to retire now. She was just unable to get rid of this annoying encompassing fatigue, whenever she felt even remotely rested, it did only last for an hour or so, before she felt as drained as before.

"Should I come to the throne room too?" she asked in a low tone, keeping her hands resting on Lexa's arms steadying her for now and her grey eyes clearly conveyed that she was hoping for a negative answer.

Marie suddenly felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise involuntarily and a shudder ran through her frame, when she felt the unmistakable weight of someone else's gaze resting on her with an almost burning intensity. Beside knowing better, Marie glanced over her shoulder and she took in a sharp breath, when her eyes connected with the queen's immediately, even though several paces still separated them. Her breath shuddered and remained stuck in her throat, she was physically unable to tear her eyes from the queen's burning gaze, as if she was pinned in place by it. Beside the loud ringing noise resonating shrilly through her ears, Marie was unable to hear anything else and soon black spots began to cloud her vision.

Lexa's green eyes widened when her gaze followed Marie's quickly and she had to recognize the signs of the child falling into another panic attack.

Anya quickly dismounted as well when she realized what was going on and she barked an order at one of the warriors of her own unit to bring the queen into a cell already, removing her from open place as soon as possible. She stepped up behind Marie, efficiently blocking the girl's view from the queen, who was already in the process of being pulled from the horse and non-too gently being escorted into the tower, vanishing from view all together in a few short moments.

"Breathe, little star" Lexa addressed the girl in a soft tone as she turned the child's body to face herself again.

Marie's breathing was nothing more than short erratic bursts now and no matter how hard she tried; she could not take deeper breaths anymore right now. Her grey eyes were wide and panicked as she looked up at Lexa.

"Breathe" Lexa repeated, taking one of the girl's hands and placing it flatly on her own stomach, hoping that the child could feel her body move regularly with each inhale and exhale she took, even through the layers of clothes which still covered her skin. "Breathe with me, Marie" she added and began to tell the girl when to inhale and exhale for long moments.

She did not care one bit that some of the generals were already shuffling their feet uncomfortably, unsure of how to react to such a scene playing out in front of their eyes. It was unfortunate that Marie was having a panic attack out in the open like that, but Lexa had already feared before that this occurrence had been inevitable sooner or later and she would not stand back and let the child suffer when she could help her, simply because her station would require her to do so. She was only glad that Titus had already returned into the tower, her former teacher would hear word of this rather soon, but she would not put it past the man to try to interfere actively if he had actually witnessed the scene himself.

Marie's grey eyes visibly swam with unshed tears, when her breathing finally was remotely calm again. Although Anya, Ontari and Gustus had been blocking her and Lexa from most of the onlookers, she knew that she had just caused another scene and the disappointment at that, burned even stronger than the tears in her eyes.

Lexa squeezed the girl's shoulders in mute reassurance and her gaze only held compassion as she gazed down at the child "It is alright, Marie" she soothed the girl, giving her shoulders another light squeeze. She would never hold a panic attack against the girl and she would surely not be angry about one either, she only hoped that Marie would soon recover enough to not have to suffer through any more episodes like that. Her reaction clearly showed that taking the girl with them into the fortress had never been a viable option, neither would it be good to have Marie witness Nia's execution. Lexa was now utterly convinced that the girl simply had to remain in their quarters when the execution took place, she would not put the girl through any more suffering like that knowingly.

Marie sniffled slightly under her breath and she immediately leaned back against Anya, when she felt the general moving even closer towards her.

Lexa bandied a look with her former mentor mutely for a moment and she saw the same worry and compassion she felt coursing through her own mind being reflected in Anya's brown eyes, before she said "I am expected in the throne room, bring her into our quarters and stay with her".

Anya inclined her head in acknowledgement and her hands came to rest on Marie's shoulders gently, giving the girl a little nudge to finally get moving in the direction of the entrance of the tower.

They stepped into the elevator together and Lexa was now more than ever annoyed at the fact that her duties required her immediate attention now, Marie's eyes remained glued to the floor at her feet and her whole composure screamed at the fact of how miserable the child was feeling. Lexa wished for nothing more than to be able to take the girl into her arms, carry her into their quarters and curl up on the bed with the child, until she felt better again, but she could not do so now. She left the elevator on the throne room only begrudgingly and her gaze lingered on the blonde girl for long moments, searching for something to say to cheer the girl up, to make her smile even for a fleeting second, but when nothing came to her mind, as her thoughts were already focused on what needed to be done in the upcoming days, she stepped out of the elevator with a heavy sigh passing through her clenched teeth.

Marie let herself be led through the halls of the tower without saying a single word, tears still burned in her eyes and she wished to be able to go back in time for a few minutes and prevent herself from looking back at the queen at all. Her stomach was clenched painfully and made weird flipflops and she was sure that she would vomit again, if she had not done so already a few hours ago, there was simply nothing left in her body now to puke up.

Her bleak expression cleared somewhat when they entered the commander's quarters and Risha leapt from the huge bed. The wolf's tail wagged in greeting and the animal was obviously ecstatic to see its human, jumping around Marie for a few moments.

Marie fell onto her backside with a shrill shriek, when Risha suddenly jumped up and her heavy paws rested on her shoulders; there was no doubt any longer that the wolf had reached its maturity by now with the way how big and heavy the animal had grown. Marie's shriek turned a series of giggles as Risha enthusiastically licked over her face in greeting.

Ontari remained in the background, watching the proceedings with a disgusted expression. Although she had truly grown used to the wolf's presence by now, she was not one bit disappointed to not be greeted by the animal in such a fashion. The two of them had sort of reached the mute agreement that Ontari would occasionally even throw a piece of her meals at the animal when it behaved and kept its distance. She was alright with the wolf walking around her legs and she sometimes even let her fingers glide through its soft light grey fur, but Ontari had no intention to deepen their connection any way beyond that state.

Anya let Marie and Risha reconnect undisturbed for a few moments, stepping through the quarters and quickly disrobing of her armour. A quick glance into the bathroom of the commander's quarters showed that beside dinner having been supplied already, a bath had also been drawn in preparation.

"Marie" she called out, waiting for the child to push Risha aside at least slightly "Come on, a bath has been drawn and after you have eaten something, you can rest" Anya explained, walking over to the girl and holding out a hand for her to grasp.

Marie took the offered hand while a smile remained on her features. She hoped that her stomach would have settled so far again after a bath that she would be able to actually stomach any food.

"Can you stay?" she asked Anya in a low tone and her grey eyes pleaded with the general. She knew that her feelings were irrational, Anya and Ontari would only be beyond the door to the bathroom, but somehow this was not enough now.

Anya sighed lightly under her breath, but nodded finally in agreement. She knew that the girl tended to be clingier than usual after a panic attack and the child had clearly been feeling off for days now. So, she gave the girl a soft smile and offered her a hand to help her climb into the bathing tube, before she sat down beside it, taking out the braids out of the girl's hair. She truly hoped that whatever Clarke would learn from her mother about Marie's condition, would not be life-threatening, the mere contemplation of losing the girl hurt much more than Anya ever thought possible.

Chapter 238

Marie fully enjoyed the feeling of being engulfed in the warm water of the bath and she felt her body lose its tension gradually, probably due to the various herbs she could see floating on the water.

Anya directed the child to lean forward after she took out her braids, intent on washing her hair and back for her. Her hand holding up a pitcher of water to wet Marie's blonde hair with remained extended for long moments as she took in a slightly worried huff of air. The girl's back seemed littered in bruises and she could not remember clearly at the moment if Marie had actually fallen on it at one point during the battle or where the bruises might be coming from. It was not really unreasonable to assume that the child could have acquired them during the battle somehow, none of them would have been able to keep watch of her nonstop after all.

"Marie" she addressed the girl in a kind tone, aiming to keep it light. It was obvious that the girl was frightened enough already to realize that something inexplicable was happening with her body and Anya did not wish to deepen this worry further. She waited until Marie tilted her head slightly upwards again, indicating that the child was indeed listening and had not already drifted off to sleep, to voice her actual question, inquiring in a soft tone if Marie could remember where the bruises on her back might have come from.

Marie's brows furrowed in thought as she tried to remember everything clearly which had occurred since they left Polis. Her head began to hurt again with the effort of searching for a specific memory, to her great internal chagrin a lot of her memories just remained sort of hazy and stretches of time even seemed to be missing completely. With a sigh of utter frustration passing through her lips, Marie shook her head in the negative "I don't know..." she breathed out whiny, while she internally began to panic over the simple fact that she was unable to remember. What if she was losing her memories again? Could that even happen like that? She knew that she had lost her memories before after falling from a tree and hitting her head, she had hit it again, so within her mind it sounded reasonable that it could be happening again now. She wondered if she should ask Lexa or Anya if they thought it was possible, but she knew that both women were already worried enough about her, so she did not want to make it even worse, deciding to keep her thoughts to herself instead.

"That is alright" Anya immediately tried to reassure the girl, when she noticed her body tensing again in the bath. She felt slightly guilty now for having asked at all. She lightly nudged the child forward again and actually began with her task of washing the child's back and hair.

Marie let herself be handled by Anya without really contributing much. Internally her thoughts were running wild, whatever she was experiencing now did not feel like a simple cold, neither could it compare to how she had felt after the Mountain.

When Anya helped her out of the bath a few moments later, Marie already felt so tired again, that she was really relieved that the woman wordlessly began to help her dry off.

She smiled slightly when she spotted Ontari sitting on the couch, a slightly reluctant expression in her features, while Risha had obviously taken the chances of the only human being available right now and had placed her muzzle on the older girl's legs, clearly expecting to be caressed by her, which Ontari only did obviously begrudgingly.

Ontari looked up at the sound of the bathroom door being opened and closed and she let her hands fall from the wolf's grey fur "There" she said towards the animal, giving it a light nudge into Marie's direction "your human has returned".

Ontari's words pulled a little laugh from Marie's tired mind and her grey eyes twinkled when she retorted "She likes you now, too".

Ontari's lips thinned in mock displeasure and she added an exaggerated eye roll to it for good measures, she had come to terms with the wolf after all, but Marie's reaction of laughing again at her antics made it worse to overreact right now.

Anya's expression was grateful as her eyes connected with Ontari's dark ones for a moment "Eat something now, before you fall asleep" she urged the blonde child in a kind but firm tone, aware that it could not be long before the exhaustion won out over Marie again.

The general's prediction held more than true and Marie was soon experiencing troubles with keeping her head up. She had stopped eating anything moments ago already and her posture was slouched on the chair.

"Come on, Marie, time for bed" Anya addressed the girl and worry and compassion for the child coloured her tone. She stood from her own chair, coming to stand beside Marie and waited for the girl to stand up.

Marie shook her head in the negative, trying to shake off some of the fatigue. She wanted to be awake when Lexa returned to their quarters "Wanna wait for Mommy" she breathed out in a slight whine and her grey eyes were pleading with Anya, as she tilted her head backwards slightly to look up at the woman.

Anya sighed under her breath, she knew that it could take Lexa hours to return to their quarters before she had finished all the things which needed to be organized and delegated now. She did not like to have to tell Marie no now, but there was no way that the girl would manage to stay up so long at all. She mused about letting the child stay where she was and simply carry her over to the bed once she had fallen asleep, but she guessed that it would be better for Marie to lie down now and really get some rest.

"You need to rest, little star, Lexa will be there when you wake up" Anya reassured the girl in a gentle tone, placing her hands on her shoulders.

Marie twisted in the chair, raising her arms up mutely in Anya's direction, a clear mute plea in her grey eyes.

Anya's lips thinned slightly and her eyes narrowed for a moment. When Marie's expression turned even more pleading, she sighed under her breath, indulging the girl and simply picking her up. "You are aware that you are too old for this and are in the possession of two healthy legs" she said to the girl in an amused tone, tightening her arms around the girl's smaller frame, as she carried her through the length of the room.

Marie only shrugged her shoulders while she slung her arms around Anya's neck, a sweet smile on her lips as she breathed in the woman's calming scent.

Anya shook her head at the child's antics and the corners of her lips turned upwards in a smirk, brown eyes gentle as she let her chin rest on Marie's head for a moment, sitting down on the edge of the bed with the girl still in her arms. Although Marie was unmistakably still clingy now, she at least did not appear to be upset any longer.

"You need to let go in order to lie down" Anya said in an amused tone, long moments after having sat down with Marie.

Marie only shook her head in the negative, burrowing herself even closer against Anya and wiggling around on her lap until she had found the most comfortable position, letting out a content sigh before her eyes fell close again.

Anya sighed lightly under her breath, scooting further on the bed with the girl in her arms, resigning herself to the fact that she did not want to have to push Marie away right now. There was no harm in letting the child fall asleep like this if she felt more comfortable in this position after all.

Ontari had watched the scene play out between Marie and the general in silence. She should not be surprised any longer of how gentle and loving the general was in handling the younger girl, she had seen the commander act in a similar fashion more than once by now as well, but somehow it still astounded her. She was powerless to stop her mind from thinking about what might have been if she had not been torn from her parents and delivered to Nia at such a young age, or if Nia could have been even remotely like the general was. Could she have been treated like this as well? Would she have been different then? Ontari knew that she in fact had definitely changed some of her views since she had been allowed to stay in the capitol, what she had once seen as a ridiculous charade from the commander, had now turned into a second chance which she had never even dared to think about. In all honesty, she had not even known that there could be a viable different way to what she was used to.

It took Lexa long after midnight to finally set foot out of the throne room again, feeling drained and exhausted. Much more things to solve had accumulated during the few days of absence from the capitol. No matter how hard she had tried, she had been utterly unable to completely focus on her duties at hand, a part of her mind always kept on wondering how Marie was doing. She had not liked it one bit to have to leave the child's side so promptly after a panic attack.

She had not made it to the rest of the conclave yet either and she could imagine very well how worried the nightblood children would have been during her absence. With only Aden and Thalu remaining in the capitol as potential fighters for a conclave and both of them wounded in addition from their run in with the bandits, the two nightbloods were bound to have been tense the whole time and they would probably only be reassured by seeing her with their own eyes. She still remembered how her brothers and sisters and she had felt when their commander left the capitol with the intention to ride into a battlefield.

She really hoped that Anya had been able to take care of Marie on her own, not that she thought the general to be incapable of doing so, but Marie tended to be overly clingy after a breakdown and the last weeks had been more than exhausting for the blonde girl.

She also longed to finally get rid of the added weight of the commander's regalia pressing down on her frame relentlessly. Lexa usually did not feel the weight so much, but her armour had also been modified with a layer of fur, so that she already could feel a layer of sweat clinging to her skin hidden by the thick layers of clothing.

Lexa's steps got quicker once she stepped from the elevator on the top floor of the tower, each step finally carrying her closer to her daughter and the sanctuary her quarters usually were for her.

When the doors were pushed open for her, Lexa's gaze shortly landed on Ontari, lying on the couch in a slouched position, as if the nightblood girl had fallen asleep sitting upright still. The fact that the girl was still dressed in the clothes which she had worn during their travels, confirmed that suspicion.

Directly upon her entry Lexa began to unbuckle her heavy shoulder pauldron, placing the piece of armour as silently as possible on an empty table. While she opened her coat, she turned towards the bed and the corners of her lips tilted upwards into the hint of a loving expression at the sight.

Anya had obviously also not really changed her clothes but had only removed the armour and boots from her body, lying on the bed now in her comfier underclothes, with Marie lying completely on top of the general's body.

Marie's head moved slightly with each breath that Anya took beneath her and Lexa remained standing in front of the bed for long moments, simply watching the two of them sleep. Thankfully it did not seem as if Marie had cried again from what she could tell with the girl's eyes closed. Her young features were completely relaxed and her hands were holding onto Anya's shirt beneath her.

Lexa breathed a little easier at the clear proof that the girl must have been well enough after their separation and she continued to undress quickly.

She cussed lightly under her breath, when she went through the room to blow out some of the candles which still burnt and stumbled over one of Marie's boots, which had obviously been discarded in the way. Lexa barely managed to catch herself on one of the smaller tables, but whatever sounds she had made in the process had been enough to rouse Marie.

Marie woke to the sounds of whispered swearing and she blinked her eyes open quickly. She frowned for a moment when she noticed that she was practically lying on top of Anya, but she did not think further of the sleeping position when she looked up and spotted Lexa's silhouette moving through the near darkness of the now mostly dark room.

"You're back" she said enthusiastically all tiredness momentarily forgotten, while she noticed from the corners of her eyes how Anya grunted slightly under her breath and turned onto her back, facing away from her.

Lexa's internal annoyance evaporated into nonexistence immediately and she gave the girl a slight smile, as she crossed the remaining distance to the bed and sat down on the edge of the mattress. She had barely sat down, before Marie had already scooted over and launched herself at her. Lexa's smile grew into a loving expression, as she caught the girl "Yes, I am obviously back" she confirmed with amusement colouring her tone.

"No more meetings?" Marie asked, grey eyes looking up the commander hopefully in the dim light.

Lexa's brows furrowed slightly "At least not for today" she answered. The following day was a day reserved for resting and even she was allowed that privilege after having returned from a victorious battle.

Marie's own smile grew big at the news "So we'll not leave this room like at all?" she asked eagerly.

"We shall see" Lexa answered vaguely; she had planned to at least make a short detour to the conclave, so that the nightblood children could truly that she was alright and had not been wounded during the battle.

Marie's smell fell visibly and she opened her mouth to protest, but let it shut again, when she noticed how drawn Lexa appeared at the moment.

Lexa noticed the girl's change of mood instantly, but she only mutely let one of her hands make a soothing circular motion over the girl's back. She knew that it would not be long, before the sun rose again and although she theoretically should be able to sleep in for once, she knew that such plans rarely came into fruition.

Marie readily settled down on the bed again, this time lying in Lexa's arms, absentmindedly twirling one of her brown locks around her fingers, as she waited to fall back asleep.

Lexa sighed when she noticed that the child was obviously much too awake now to actually fall back asleep, when her own body and mind just felt drained of all energy. It truly sank into her mind now that they finally would put an end to Nia's reign with the woman's execution. She had waited so long for this moment, that it felt surreal now.

For a moment she wondered how Costia would have reacted to the fact that she was finally getting revenge on her behalf as well, even if it only happened years later. But her first love had never been a vengeful woman, Costia would probably have more to say to the fact that she considered a child her daughter now, even if she only could so within her thoughts and within protected privacy, than to Nia's downfall.

Lexa quitted her thoughts when she felt Marie shifting around almost restlessly and she pulled the girl a little closer, beginning to hum the melody of the lullaby to the girl in the hopes of relaxing her enough to fall asleep again. When she felt Marie's body beginning to lose its tension only short moments later, she wondered if all children reacted so quickly to the simple soothing effects of a lullaby, but she had no experiences to compare Marie's behaviour with.

The morning began as peaceful in a bizarre way as it possibly could have. On the rare days that Lexa's presence was not required at dawn or where she had not scheduled a training session with the conclave before the sun rose, breakfast would only be brought to her, once she stood up and asked one of the guards to have it sent up. Besides the guards standing their posts at the doors to the commander's quarters, the top level of the tower was deserted now, while Clarke resided with her people.

Ontari was actually the first one to wake and that with a rather loud and shrill squeal passing through her lips. Risha had stood in front of the couch, where the nightblood girl had still been sleeping and licked over her face.

Lexa and Anya both almost shot upright in the bed at the unexpected sound, while Marie let out a little whine at being woken in this fashion and burrowed herself deeper into the furs.

Ontari's expression had switched between clear disgust as she looked down at the grey wolf and almost panicked apologetic so quickly that Anya could not contain herself and actually laughed out lout at the sight, her laughing turned even louder when Risha leapt forward again, nearly jumping into Ontari's face.

"Uuhhggg, stop that!" Ontari demanded, trying to push the wolf away from herself, which only resulted in Risha licking at her fingers instead. "What do you want?" she breathed out; dark eyes narrowed at the wolf.

As if the animal actually understood her words, Risha backed off, trotting over to the door and turning back around, looking at her with an almost inquiring gaze burning within her icy blue eyes.

"Let her out" Lexa said to Ontari, trying to stifle her own amusement at the girl's still mostly clueless way on how to interact with the wolf.

Ontari's brows furrowed at the order, but she followed it regardless, while the frown remained on her face. She watched the wolf dart out of the room almost immediately, shaking her head slightly. She could definitely have done without being woken in such a fashion and she threw a slightly dark gaze towards Marie. All she could make out from the younger girl were some blonde locks peaking out under from a bunch of furs. Why the wolf had woken her and not just jumped on the bed was beyond her. She grimaced lightly when she noticed that she had completely neglected to change clothes last night, falling asleep on the couch while she had waited for Anya to return from the bed, which the general clearly had not at all.

"Tell the guards to have a bath prepared for you in our quarters" Anya spoke up in that moment; she had bathed last night with Marie already after all.

Ontari nodded mutely, she knew that she could already move over to the other room then as well. The preparation of a bath usually did not take that long after all.

"Time to wake up, little star" Lexa addressed the younger girl, unable to make out the girl's features hidden beneath all the furs. A smile tugged at her lips at the sight of the girl looking almost cocooned into them.

Marie shook her head in the negative, barely visible to Lexa and Anya, only curling herself together a little tighter.

Lexa and Anya bandied a non-impressed look mutely for a moment and the glint within Anya's brown eyes was unmistakable as the older woman bent over, quickly pulling the furs off of Marie's body.

Marie's clear put turned into shrill shrieks of laughter as Lexa and Anya both bent over and attacked the girl with tickling hands from the side.

"Stop…!" she breathed out with great difficulty, trying to move away from both women.

"Are you going to stand up now?" Anya asked with a slightly raised brow.

Marie's surrender dropped quickly as she cheekily shook her head in the negative.

"Is that so?" Lexa questioned; green eyes shining with amusement, as she renewed her efforts to tickle the girl.

"I surrender…surrender" Marie brought out a few moments later, almost out of breath and a few tears had trickled down her cheeks "Love you" she said, addressing both women likewise and letting herself sink down on the mattress again between them.

"Oh no, little star, up with you" Anya said, a little strictness underlined her tone now, although her brown eyes were still soft as she lightly nudged the girl to sit up again.

Marie pouted lightly and with an overly dramatic huff, she sat up again, only to actually yawn as soon as she truly was sitting upright and her carefree expression dimmed as a frown took over her features. She had felt totally rested moments ago and now she felt again as if she could use some more sleep.

Lexa and Anya bandied a worried gaze over Marie's head, both hoping internally that Clarke would soon show up and tell them that Marie hopefully was not suffering from anything incurable.

Chapter 239

While Marie was alone in the bathroom, getting ready for the day, although quiet reluctantly at that, Anya told Lexa about the bruising which she had observed on the girl's body the previous evening while helping her bath.

Lexa's brows visibly furrowed as she tried to remember if she had seen the girl fall on her back during the battle or having been pushed over from behind. She guessed that it was possible that the girl's body could have also connected harshly with the cold frozen ground while losing consciousness, although Lexa knew that she had tried to catch the girl, she could not deny the chances that it could have caused bruising. They also had not been there when Marie had played hide and seek with the children from the village, the girl could have tripped and fallen then. She regarded it as unlikely that Marie would have told them about it happening with the way they had already doted over her apparent head wound. But somehow a doubt remained in her mind that the girl's bruising had been caused by a physical impact. They had kept so close watch over the girl that one of them should have noticed, but on the other hand the battle had been hectic, like all fights were, and it had happened all so quickly as well. But what else could cause bruising like this to suddenly appear without any cause? It did not astound her that Marie did not remember of where the bruises might have come from, the girl's mind had probably been overwhelmed with the whole situation already and her head injury would have only worsened the matter for sure. She would need to ask Clarke if whatever they assumed could be wrong with Marie, could also explain the bruising on the child's skin. She really hoped that Clarke would send word soon, the uncertainty of not knowing what could actually be wrong with their daughter's health was nerve wrecking and Lexa was sure that Anya would be feeling in a similar fashion.

When Marie returned from the bathroom, Lexa was quick to ban the worry from her expression. It was obvious that the girl was already unsettled by what was going on and she did not wish to add on to that in any form.

Marie smiled slightly, as she stepped over to the table. During her brief time in the bathroom, Alira had been inside of the commander's quarters and obviously had delivered breakfast for them. "Where's Ontari?" she asked, looking around the huge room shortly, but unable to spot the older girl.

"Bathing" Anya answered easily, giving the girl a pointed look to sit down and to begin with her tea. It still remained a slight struggle to convince the girl that the tea to settle her stomach was needed before every intake of food. Anya wondered now if the girl's constant upset stomach could be another symptom that something was wrong with her general health and they might have simply overlooked it so far.

Marie nodded with an innocent expression plastered onto her featured, trying her best to ignore the general's pointed look, although she had of course noticed it.

Lexa watched the girl's attempts at getting around of drinking her obviously hated tea with veiled amusement; she decided to step in, when she noticed how Anya's patience with the girl's antics was waning quickly and she lightly tapped against the mug "Drink up, Marie" she added, voice still soft and kind, while her expression had turned solemn again.

Marie's lips turned into a pout for a moment, but when she looked at Anya and only received a light glare in reaction, she sighed in obvious defeat and picked up the tea, gulping it down as fast as possible, wanting to get rid of the taste quicker like this. Her smile returned visibly, when she noticed a few of the small honey cakes which she enjoyed so much, sitting close to her plate, obviously just waiting to be devoured by her. She had never seen Lexa or Anya eat any from the sweet pastries after all, so she knew very well that Alira only supplied them for her sake, but she could not remember if she had ever thanked the handmaid so far, she would do so, when she saw her next.

In the meantime, Clarke was waiting for her mother to react to her contact attempts through the radio. She had begun pacing up and down the length of the room, trying to ignore Raven, sitting casually on the bed and clearly being annoyed by her pacing. Clarke knew that it was entirely possible that she would have to be the one to break the news to Lexa and Anya, in case that Marie suffered from the same condition as the child's mother had died from. If her own mother had been unable to save Marie's mother back on the Ark, it would be literally impossible for Abby to save the child now. She could only hope now, that her mother would say that the symptoms were not matching at all and that Marie should be examined more in depth at Arkadia, once they had their plague under control again. The plague was also the main reason why the delegation from Skykru had agreed to remain within the capitol, the risk of even more people catching the weird disease would be too great.

"Clarke, for god's sake can you stop with the pacing!" Raven exclaimed in exasperation. Her blonde friend had been all tense since getting up from bed this morning. Clarke had told her already that this was about Marie again and she internally wondered if the child truly could not catch a break from trouble at all for some time. The girl had suffered through so much, much more than the most of them had by now, it was unfair to think that fates could be so bleak for her that she might be facing a terminal illness now. Clarke had said that it had not taken very long for Marie's mother to die from her disease and it would probably be hard to assess how far the girl had already progressed in it.

Clarke whirled around with a grimace on her features "What if she is going to die?" she retorted, beginning to pace again immediately. She knew that this kind of news would surely crush Lexa and Anya, both women had mourned the girl greatly already when they had thought her lost before. Having gotten their daughter back, only to lose her now for sure, Clarke could not fathom if Lexa would survive such a loss.

Raven's annoyance faded with a deep sigh, although she had never gotten to know the young girl from the Ark very well, it was clear that the child had found a family here and she would dearly be missed. But the rational part of her mind knew, that there was nothing they could do, if the girl was truly suffering from a terminal illness. "She will die then" she answered in a calm tone, for once there was no joke, she could think off which would make the situation any easier.

Clarke huffed under her breath, mouth already opened to retort, blue eyes blazing slightly, when the radio within her hand came to life suddenly and her mother's voice resonated from it loudly, making her jump in place in surprise. She quickly took the radio closer to her mouth "Hello, mother" she answered her mother's call "What have you found in the medical files about Marie's mother?"

The connection rang silent for a moment and it seemed as if Abby was taking a deep breath, before her voice sounded again from the radio "I have looked through the files and her mother died from leukaemia and a very aggressive form at that. It progresses quickly and there is very little I can do. We do not have access to a real cure any longer. We could try chemotherapy, but if she is exhibiting the symptoms already for some time, it is unfortunately likely that it might have progressed too far and her body will be too weakened to deal with the added stress of such a harsh treatment."

Clarke's eyes widened with every further word her mother spoke and she felt her heart drop into her stomach at the realization that Marie was indeed likely in the process of dying already. She felt tears burn within her eyes and her voice shook as she raised the radio higher again to her mouth "How high are the chances of a treatment working?" she asked, fervently hoping that there would be chances for the young girl to get better again.

The connection stayed silent for a moment as if Abby was contemplating her answer carefully for some time, before her voice resonated from the radio again "I cannot give you an absolute number, Clarke, you know enough about medicines to know that this is not possible. I would need to see Marie myself and be able to take a closer look at her. With the plague still not under control, bringing her here if it really is leukaemia would be almost certainly her death warrant, if she catches the plague in addition. You can take another look at Marie yourself; you have not mentioned that she shows signs of fatigue and had nosebleeds without promptings. But there are other symptoms, such as easy bruising, infections, pains, excessive sweating or even recurring infections. Has she shown anything of those as well?"

Clarke furrowed her brows in thought, trying to remember word for word what Anya had told her and she sighed in frustration when she could not remember anything else. She would have to speak with Lexa and Anya again, before she even mentioned her mother's suspicion. She did not wish to throw them into a panic, maybe the girl was having something else entirely. She would need to hope that her mother was somehow wrong about all of this, she could not accept that there was nothing which they could do to help the child. "I do not know, I will have to ask Lexa and Anya again, if they have observed anything else" she finally said, frustration colouring her tone strongly.

Clarke finished the talk with her mother quickly, feeling herself mentally unable to talk to her now. Her thoughts were already running wild with how she should choose her words when she faced Lexa and Anya. She had hoped that once they returned from the north, she would find the chance to talk to Lexa about them, trying to reconcile with the brunette leader, who still owned her heart. But she would definitely not try to talk to her now, Lexa would be worried enough about her daughter now and she would not cause her more hurt by trying to force herself back on her.

Raven watched Clarke for a few moments, taking in her slouched shoulders and the way her blue eyes swam in tears. She reached out and placed a hand over hers, giving them a squeeze.

"How should I tell them that Marie, who by all rights is seen as a daughter by them, is dying…?" Clarke asked, voice heavy and shaking, as she looked down at Raven's hand.

Raven did not know what to say at all to Clarke, she had no advice to give to her, so she only pulled her into a hug, hoping that this would be enough for now.

Clarke had remained with Raven for some time, trying to find the courage to march up to the top floor of the tower and tell the commander and the general, what they deserved to know. She really hoped that someone else could have told them, but there was no one else to do it.

She had been told from one of the guards that the commander was expected to remain within her quarters for most of the day, as the day directly following on a battle was reserved to solely resting. So, she knew that she would find both women in the commander's quarters. But she was fairly certain that Marie would be with them, it was doubtful that they would leave the child out of their sight willingly now, and she did definitely not wish for the girl to be present during their needed conversation.

She hesitated in front of the doors to the commander's quarters for long moments and luck seemed to be on her side for once. The door to Anya's quarters was opened behind her and Clarke could over her shoulder see Ontari stepping out of it, walking in her direction.

"You need to do me a favour, Ontari" she addressed the nightblood girl, as soon as she was in hearing distance, keeping her tone low, hoping that it would not filter through the doors and into the commander's quarters.

Ontari stopped slightly behind Wanheda, a brow raised in mute question. She could not think of anything which the healer could wish for her to do right now and she was astounded to be asked anything from her at all, they had never had much contact to begin with after all. But she immediately began to wonder if Wanheda was actually there in her function as a healer and if this had something to do with Marie. She had heard from Anya that they wanted to find out if the younger girl's overly tiredness was actually caused by a disease.

"I need to speak with Lexa and Anya in private about Marie" Clarke told the nightblood girl bluntly, hoping that the girl was less likely to deny her request if she was honest about her reasons.

Ontari's brows furrowed and a slightly dark look settled onto her features, she noted now how the healer's blue eyes were red-rimmed and she could already imagine what the woman wanted to talk about. Her stomach clenched painfully, as she nodded in agreement that she understood.

Clarke inclined her head as well, a grateful expression flitted over her features before they turned solemn again, with the knowledge of what she had to do now.

Ontari tried to muster an expression onto her features which at least remotely resembled honest joy, as she proceeded Wanheda into the commander's quarters. Her heart grew heavier at the sight of the scene into which they had intruded.

Marie was still having breakfast with the two women, but for some unknown reason the child was actually sitting on the commander's lap, clearly more than comfortable with her position. A huge book had been placed on the table in front of them and Lexa seemed to have been reading something together with Marie, but she had fallen silent as soon as the doors had been opened.

"Would you like to go and see how your horse and the foal are doing?" Ontari spoke up in a kind tone, looking at Marie expectantly.

Marie seemed visibly confused by the offer and her head tilted to the side slightly as she contemplated the option for a moment. She felt absolutely comfortable right where she was, but she had also not thought about the wounded horse and the foal yet and she was curious to see how the horse was doing as well.

Lexa gave the girl a light nudge to stand up from her lap again. She did not know yet what was going on but it was obvious that Ontari was asking to escort Marie away for now and Clarke's presence behind the nightblood girl already eluded to the fact that she must have spoken to her mother. "I will still be here later" she encouraged the child to follow Ontari, keeping her tone soft and gentle, although she felt her thoughts running wild already internally. If Clarke wished to speak with them without Marie being present, the child's constitution must be more severe than they had hoped.

"But we'll continue to read afterwards, right?" Marie turned back to face Lexa slightly, grey eyes hopeful and voice pleading.

Lexa gave the girl a soft smile, squeezing her shoulders once "Of course, little start" she assured her, before giving her another nudge to move into Ontari's direction. Her eyes remained hefted onto Marie, as the blonde child stepped up to Ontari, willingly walking out of the rooms with her. Only when the doors had been closed again behind both girls and she heard their steps getting lower as they moved towards the elevator, did she turn her eyes to Clarke. Lexa held her breath in anticipation, internally preparing herself for the bad news which she now surely expected to hear.

Clarke's eyes shortly flitted between Anya and Lexa before she hesitantly sat down in one of the empty chairs around the table, fiddling with her fingers for another moment, before she breathed out a deep sigh, looking up again between them "I have spoken to my mother about Marie in the morning" she began.

Anya and Lexa both subtly inclined their head, their attention focused intently on the blonde healer.

"Have you seen anything else beside fatigue and nosebleeds?" Clarke asked, deciding to wait first if they had observed more symptoms. Her eyes shortly stayed on the now drained cup from Marie. Could the girl's upset stomach be caused by a persistent infection and not just her nerves?

Anya and Lexa shortly bandied a look, before the general answered the actual question "I have seen last night that her back is bruised. But she cannot remember where the bruises came from".

Clarke's expression fell visibly, remembering that bruising was also a clear sign of leukaemia.

Anya's brows furrowed at the open reaction and she quickly tried to justify "She could have aqcuired the bruising during the war or when she played with the village children…" her voice trailed off when Clarke shook her head and she felt the blood freeze in her veins at the clear hopelessness shining within the healer's blue eyes now.

"My mother has looked into what disease has caused Marie's mother to die and it was leukaemia" Clarke explained in a grave tone, feeling a painful tug in her stomach.

Looks of deep confusion settled onto Lexa's and Anya's features likewise, as both had never even heard this word before and were absolutely clueless as to what it could mean.

Clarke sighed as a slightly apologetic look crossed her features "It is basically a disease of the blood. Certain cell types in her blood are ceasing their function."

"Is that treatable?" Lexa asked immediately, green eyes widened slightly and voice noticeably higher than normal, hoping fervently for a positive answer.

Clarke grimaced slightly, deciding to remain as honest as possible "My mother said that Marie's mother died of the most aggressive form. It progresses quickly, too quickly for an efficient treatment. There are treatments, yes, but the chances are very high that they will not do anything to prolong Marie's life, but only cause her suffering. The treatments are harsh, very harsh on the body in fact".

Lexa felt as if someone had torn her heart out of her chest and ripped it into tiny pieces, leaving her hurting, bleeding and empty. She looked over at her former mentor and found Anya's features stony and frozen, brown eyes glistening with unshed tears.

"That cannot be true" Anya finally breathed out, tone hard and unbelieving.

Clarke swallowed forcefully "To know for sure, I would need to take a blood sample from her and have my mother analyse it. The symptoms fit so far, but it is possible that this is caused by something else entirely."

Lexa felt her heart beating far too quickly within her chest, feeling it contract painfully with each beat. How should they survive to see Marie dying a probably slow and painful death like that "How long?" she breathed out through clenched teeth, trying to keep her composure together.

Clarke's grimace intensified "That depends on the exact form and how far it already is progressed" she answered as honestly as possible.

Lexa was clearly unsatisfied with the vague answer "Years? Months? Weeks?" she pressed for a more definite answer, tone growing impatient.

Clarke sighed again "I really cannot say, Lexa, I wish I could. But if it is truly leukaemia, years are highly unlikely. Her body will get weaker quickly. It could sadly only be a few weeks or months…"

Anya sucked in a harsh breath, while Clarke's words replayed within her mind for a few moments, as the realization sunk in that their daughter could by dying so shortly and there was absolutely nothing, they could do about it. If it had been a physical opponent threatening their daughter's life, they could have fought another battle for her, but they were powerless to battle a disease. They would be forced to sit back and watch the girl die. As this particular thought crossed her mind, Anya could not face it for the moment, standing up from her chair abruptly, not even caring that she had stood up so briskly that her chair fell over, before she stormed out of the room with fast strides.

Lexa watched the older woman flee from her quarters with sadness glistening in her green eyes, she felt as if all strength had been drained from her body and she knew that she would not be able to win against her tears for long. She inclined her head towards Clarke "You can draw a blood sample from her later" she forced the words from her mouth, keeping her tone as steady as possible.

"Lexa…" Clarke tried to address the brunette, but she was cut off.

"Leave" Lexa commanded and authority underlined her tone, trying to keep her composure together for a moment longer.

Clarke looked slightly hurt to be ordered to leave in such a fashion, but she inclined her head in acknowledgement. She would accept Lexa's wishes for now, although she felt anything but leaving her alone.

Lexa watched the blonde healer leave her quarters visibly begrudgingly and she already felt the first tear falling down her cheek, before the doors fell closed behind Clarke and a strangled sob escaped her throat as she lost her composure completely.

Chapter 240

Ontari did not have a hard time at keeping Marie's attention diverted, the younger girl seemed almost ecstatic as soon as they neared the stables and a large grin was plastered onto her young features.

What worried her though was that she could basically see a bruise form beneath Marie's fair skin after the girl had stumbled and she had reached out quickly to steady her. The place where her fingers had closed quickly around the younger girl's shoulder was already visibly bruising up in front of her eyes. She tried to keep her own mood as convincingly positive as possible and it seemed that she was succeeding at it as well. Ontari had no way of knowing just what kind of news Wanheda would have brought to the commander and the general about their second, but she knew that it would not be her place to speak with Marie about it either. The two women would need to decide on what to tell the blonde girl and when they intended to do so. Maybe there would need to be done some sort of tests before Wanheda even knew for sure what was wrong with Marie after all and she did not wish for Marie to worry over nothing now. So, keeping the girl happy and her attention diverted seemed like the best course of action for now.

Marie smiled brightly when they entered the stables and the commander's horses and Anya's mare immediately looked over their stalls, neighing happily in greeting to the girl as well. She came to a halt at Skairasha's stall, peering into it quickly and her smile widened when she saw the foal standing slightly behind the white mare.

"It has grown already" Marie exclaimed in wonder, grey eyes shining as she threw a glance over her shoulder at Ontari.

"Of course, it did" Ontari retorted with a slight frown. Young animals usually grew quick, the longer they were young and small, the longer they were vulnerable to other predators after all.

Marie's eyes narrowed at the older girl for a split second, before her surge of annoyance at Ontari's non-impressed reaction vanished, as the foal had walked over to her and butted its head against her outstretched hand. "Hey, little one" she greeted the young horse in a soft tone "You remember me, don't you?" she asked with a smile, as she let her fingers glide over its soft nose for a few moments. Her joy dwindled a bit, when the foal moved away and out of her reach all too quickly as well, but she continued to watch it move through the stall for a moment, coming to a halt beside its mother again and beginning to drink.

"Did you not want to see the other horse as well?" Ontari addressed the younger girl in a nonchalant tone, leaning against one of the posts casually as she waited to move on.

Marie nodded in agreement, tearing her gaze from Skairasha and her foal. She still had to settle on a name for the foal though and somehow after Anya had told her that Muffin was not really considered as a fitting name for a war horse, she found the name lacking now as well, but she could not think of a more fitting one either at the moment.

The mutated horse with the broken leg still stood in a single stall at the far end of the stables and it also immediately neighed when Marie neared the stall. The two pair of ears flicked around for a moment until they turned upwards, as if to catch the girl's muffled steps moving towards its direction.

"Hey" Marie greeted the horse and it seemed as if it was answering her greeting with a sort of a deep hum, sniffing at her hand for a moment.

Ontari watched the horse flicker around its head for a few moments but curiously its movements seemed solely restricted to the upper part of its body and it seemed to keep its legs obediently still. She still though that the horse was acting weird and uncharacteristic, but she had to admit that it was a magnificent creature. The pale blue eye staring right ahead, between the normal pair of dark eyes, was a little unsettling though, it felt almost as if the animal could look right through you with its penetrating gaze.

"Have you been good?" Marie asked the horse in a playful tone, letting her fingers scratch at its nose lightly.

"Exceptionally" a dark voice suddenly resonated from behind them and Marie visibly jumped in her place at being startled like that.

The dark horse had flattened its ears in a clearly threatening way and its breathing seemed to have gotten erratic.

Ontari watched with a perplexed frown how the horse seemed to relax again the very minute that Marie had recognized the stablemaster as a harmless threat and the younger girl's composure had relaxed as a slightly sheepish expression crossed over her features.

It was obvious that the younger girl was a little lost for words now, but she was saved from having to come up with an answer, by other footsteps nearing them loudly.

Ontari's frown deepened and she felt worry coil in the pit of her stomach as her gaze landed on the general, approaching them with fast strides and the woman's expression was a mixture out of outwards calmness, belied already be the storm of emotion raging through her brown eyes.

Marie did not seem to notice the same at the moment, too focused still on the horse's reaction, who had begun to act up again at the additional arrival of someone else in the stables. She only smiled brightly at the general, giving the horse one last pat before moving away from the stall and coming to stand in front of Anya, looking up at the woman expectedly.

Anya had left the commander's quarters in a frenzy and her thoughts had been running wild within her mind. She refused to believe the truth in Clarke's words and she kept on hoping that the blonde healer was mistaken, she had said herself after all that a blood sample of the child would need to be analysed to know for sure. It was still entirely possible that Clarke's mother was wrong. Simply because the symptoms were matching, at least slightly, that could not have to be the only explanation for them. The girl was bound to have been exhausted after all that she had been through during the last months. Maybe she had in fact hit her face during training to cause her nosebleeds and she had simply not noticed. Her mind refused to think about the fact that Marie should have shown bruises on her face then, she had to cling to the small fleeting hope of another explanation. Marie was not allowed to be dying, not after everything that they she had been put through. The girl still had so much to learn, so much to see still, she had barely seen anything of their world yet besides violence and war. The child deserved the world and the thought that her time could already be running out, was nearly unbearable. Anya felt like screaming at the injustice of it all, but she sadly knew that it would not change a single thing. She felt powerless, powerless and unbelievably angry at the fates itself. Giving in to her anger coursing hotly through her veins, just needing to let it out somehow, Anya stopped in her vast tracks, turning and punching her fist harshly against the wall of the hall in which she had come to an abrupt stop.

She had left the commander's quarters using the stairs instead of the elevator and she had not really paid any mind to where exactly her feet had been carrying her at all. When she glanced around she was met with the clearly uneasy expression of a few guards standing post across the hall. They were throwing each other unsettled looks, shifting restlessly on their feet, not knowing on how to react to her right now.

Anya's brown eyes narrowed dangerously at them, but she did not utter a single word. The hand which she had slammed into the stone wall pulsed in sync with her heartbeat and the pain now registering within her mind grounded her thoughts back into the reality of the presence. The sudden urge to go and actually be with Marie now settled in her mind and she turned on her heel abruptly, storming back to the elevator, which would be faster in bringing her down to the basement of the tower and by thus closer to her daughter. She could only hope now that Ontari had actually brought the younger girl into the stables as her words had implied, but she doubted that the nightblood girl would be irresponsible enough to do otherwise. She knew that having to search for Marie right now, would only test her already bleak mood, she just needed to see the child now. Seeing with her own eyes that the girl was in fact still there and reasonably healthy as well.

The child had been relaxed and happy even during breakfast and a content expression had been constantly plastered onto her young face. Did someone who was suffering from a deadly disease look this happy? Anya shook the thought from her mind forcefully, as soon as it had taken hold.

She had reached the stables by now and by the way with which everyone had nearly jumped out of her path, she knew well enough that her expression must have reflected the stormy emotions still coursing relentlessly through her mind. So, she pulled herself to a stop at the entrance of the stables, inhaling a few times, taking in the scent of the straw, mixed with the horses', hearing their regular breaths and their movements as soon of them shifted around.

At the end of the row of the stalls her eyes fell on Ontari standing slightly behind Marie, who was obviously speaking to the mutated horse which had only been saved for her sake alone. She began walking abruptly again, when she saw the blonde girl making a slight jump when she was startled by the stables master's sudden appearance behind herself.

She felt some of her dark thoughts stop when Marie's grey eyes connected with her own only a moment later and she forced the resemblance of a smile onto her face. She felt calmed slightly by the proof that Marie was here and alive in the presence. She could not completely quit the thoughts telling her harshly and loudly that the girl could very well be dying already in front of their eyes at this moment, but she knew that she needed to accept that there would probably be nothing they could do to change that fact if it truly was the case even. She would ask Clarke to speak again about this treatment options which the blonde healer had mentioned. If there was even the slightest chance of them saving the girl, however slim, they would need to try and she was certain that Lexa would agree as well. She had to believe that the child was strong enough to overcome this as well, she had been put through hell more than once in her short life already and she had somehow survived, so why should she not be able to battle with whatever disease this was and be able to come out of it alive and stronger afterwards? All of them would be with the girl on every step on the way, however that might look like in the future.

The child's almost hesitant voice pulled her out of her thoughts immediately.

"Did something happen?" Marie asked, grey eyes staring up at Anya intently, unnerved by the woman's continued unusual silence. She sensed that something must be wrong, but she did not know what it could be right now. For a moment the absurd thought of Nia somehow managing to get free crossed her mind and she felt her stomach coil in fright. That could not be true, right?

Anya shook her head slightly, trying to clear it finally of all of her dark thoughts and she gave the child a tight smile.

Marie frowned, not convinced at all at the denial. Anya's mood had definitely been better before she had left the commander's quarters with Ontari some time ago, so something must have occurred between now and then. When Anya continued to remain silent and her stare felt uncharacteristically unnerving, Marie frowned even deeper, it almost seemed as if the general was waiting for some kind of reaction from her. "Did something happen with the queen...?" she finally mustered the courage to ask, tone quivering noticeably and chest tightening slightly.

Anya's brown eyes widened at the girl's train of thought and she felt a definite surge of guilt course through her mind at the apparent fear showing in Marie's expression. "No, of course not" she denied the mere implication in a forceful tone, but kept her expression as gentle and open as possible not wanting to worry the girl even further.

Marie's frown lessened only a little "Has Clarke left?" she prodded; head tilted to the side a little bit.

Anya nodded in agreement; she was fairly certain that Lexa would have sent the blonde healer away by now. "Come" she said to both girls likewise, turning on her heel and expecting them to follow her.

Ontari followed the general without any hesitation, while Marie remained frozen for a second, internally still wondering just what might have upset the general in the first place.

When Anya failed to hear Marie following as well, she stopped in her tracks only slightly down the row of stalls, turning back around slightly and extending a hand expectantly towards the girl.

Marie's frown disappeared finally, as a smile lightened up her features and she quickly caught up with Ontari and the general. She took hold of the general's outstretched hand before the woman could retract it again and only gave her a sheepish look when Anya raised a brow in mute question.

Anya let her fingers close around Marie's smaller hand, not wanting to deny the girl the simple comfort of such an easy touch. Her throat tightened as the thought flashed through her mind that they might not have many chances left to spent such moments with their daughter and should probably be making the best of them altogether.

Marie's mood was still rather good when they returned to the commander's quarters, but she paused in her step, looking around for Lexa and failed to locate the woman in the big room. A pout settled onto her lips "She promised that there would be no meetings today" she exclaimed in a whiny tone, looking back at Anya with accusatory grey eyes.

Anya narrowed her eyes at the girl's antics for a moment, wondering herself just where Lexa might be. She should probably not have stormed out of the room in the fashion that she had, but she had simply needed space for a few moments to let her mind possess what they had been told by Clarke. She felt slightly guilty now for having left her former second alone like that, the brunette would have been hit as hard by the news as she had been after all. She wondered if Lexa might have even reconciled with Clarke in these emotional times, but she somehow doubted that to be the case.

"No meetings were scheduled for today, but Lexa could have gone to see the conclave" Anya finally answered after a moment of silence. She knew that Lexa had not had the chance to see the nightblood children yet since their return and she usually took the time to reassure her charges of her continued health by paying them a short visit after a time of absence from the capitol.

Marie huffed under her breath, as a little of her apparent annoyance left her system. She would have liked to see the other nightblood children as well, she considered them her friends after all and she wanted to know how Aden and June were doing, as both had still been injured when they had left Polis.

"What do you want to do, little star?" Anya asked the girl, giving her a soft look.

Marie tilted her head to the side slightly, looking up at the woman inquiringly. She could not remember if Anya ever had asked her this directly after what she wanted to do; it was usually Lexa who took more into account what she wished to do. Anya normally was mostly all about the necessity of certain lectures and lessons that she still had to learn, as so much of the world on earth was still slightly alien to her. The only problem now was that she actually did not really feel like doing anything at the moment. She felt the energy draining already from her body and the best thing she could imagine right now would be curling together with Lexa on one of the big arm chairs and listening to her reading something to her in her soothing tone. She would probably fall asleep soon after, but she had enjoyed those times the best when the commander had had a few free hours and spent them solely with her in the quietness of their rooms.

She frowned slightly, Anya had only very rarely read a book to her and in the instances that the woman had agreed to do so, she had either been sick or wounded. Otherwise the general would have just passed her a book containing actual knowledge or repeated a lesson with her.

The book which Lexa had begun to read to her was still lying opened and abandoned on the table where they had used it together after breakfast and Marie glanced at it for a moment.

Anya caught the girl's almost longing glance and sighed lightly under her breath. She still could not fathom why the girl even enjoyed it so much to have someone else read something to her, when she could just read it herself.

"I can certainly read a few pages to you until Lexa returns" she finally offered after a longer moment of silence.

Marie did not seem really impressed with the offer and tilted her head to the side slightly, actually turning to Ontari with an inquiring gaze "You can read to me instead" she said, grey eyes hopeful.

Anya's brows furrowed, utterly astounded that the child was clearly declining her offer and although she would not admit it, she felt slightly affronted by Marie obviously preferring Ontari right now and she could not understand why that was the case either way. "I'll certainly not offer again" she proclaimed, her lips thinning slightly.

Marie's grey eyes widened a little when she realized that she must have actually insulted the general that way "I had not meant it like that" she immediately defended herself "But you got to do the voices" she added with importance in her tone.

"The voices?" Anya echoed questioningly with a raised brow, not understanding at all what the blonde girl meant right now at all.

"Yeah, the voices" Marie repeated, as if that would explain everything easily.

Ontari tried to stifle the laugh wanting to escape past her lips, she knew exactly to what Marie was eluding after all. The younger girl had bugged her so long that she had finally given in and also tried to mimic the voices of the characters in the book to match how Marie wanted them to. She had found the idea ridiculous back then and it would certainly be a sight to watch the general having to attempt the same.

"You will have to explain that more, Marie" Anya huffed in rising exasperation. She actually wanted to indulge the child now in every way possible, but she truly did not know what the girl wanted her to do.

Marie sighed dramatically and actually rolled her eyes at the clearly clueless woman. She did not understand what there was not to understand about her request, Anya had sat beside her and Lexa in the morning after all, so she should know in her opinion.

She did not want to sit down at the table now, so she walked over to the table and took up the book, heading over to the bigger couch and waiting for Anya to sit down beside her. Her look turned a little dark when she noticed Ontari hiding her amusement at the general's cluelessness.

Anya sighed again under her breath, but willingly sat down next to the girl, who immediately scooted closer, even climbing into her lap as if it was the most natural thing. She felt her heart tighten painfully as she let an arm snake around the girl, trying to balance the opened book in her other hand. When she began to read, Marie continued to criticize her way until she got it correct in the girl's mind and Anya readily let herself be corrected by the girl for now. Wondering again just how many of those quiet moments they would even have with Marie. Her sudden melancholia turned into worry again, when the girl began to drift off, lying in her arms obviously completely content and relaxed, only a few moments later, she had barely read more than three pages to Marie. Careful not to wake the girl, Anya closed the book silently and let it glide onto the couch beside them, bringing the girl even closer to her and letting her chin rest lightly on the girl's head. She tightened her arms around Marie's smaller body – she had never even thought it possible to gain a daughter and certainly not from a previously opposing clan – and she felt tears burn in her eyes as the thought slammed back into her mind that the girl could be ripped from their arms so soon now, without them being able to help her in any form.