Chapter 27
Anya was not really surprised when Marie was more than reluctant to hand over the red sash and the commander's glove to Lexa. The child had clearly enjoyed herself before and in fact, the little blonde girl looked at Lexa with huge innocent eyes, with her lower lip trembling precariously, as if she could burst into tears any moment.
Lexa needed a few moments to reason with the young girl, that this had been part of their agreement and that Marie could not leave the tent while wearing part of the commander's regalia. She did promise though that they would see about getting Marie her first own armour once they could return to the capitol.
Marie was ecstatic about the prospect, although she did not know for what she would be needing armour. But she knew that she would be looking more like Lexa and Anya then.
Anya had suddenly left them, while Lexa was still getting Marie ready to go out of the tent.
Once Marie was dressed in her own clothes, she stepped out of the tent, holding onto one of Lexa's hands and cradling the wolf plushie to her chest with her other arm.
The villagers of TonDC had by now almost gotten used to the sight of the little blonde girl being close to their leader. The warriors who had come to TonDC as reinforcement on the other hand were clearly nonplussed by the sight.
Lexa did not show any reaction to their stares though, keeping a straight face as she walked through the village with Marie.
She led Marie to the centre of the village, where she spoke to Indra, Anya and Tristan, coordinating the second attack on the invaders.
Anya was obviously not impressed by her order that Tristan would lead the second attack. The older woman had clenched her jaw the whole time. The only times her deep brown eyes had softened a fraction, was as her gaze fell to Marie.
The child had remained still absolutely obediently, clutching her new toy to her chest in silence, just listening to the foreign words being spoken around her with wide grey eyes. She could not understand what was spoken between Lexa and the other people. She knew Anya and she had seen Indra before as well, but the man was honestly scaring her. He continued to threw her dark glances and she tried her hardest, not to look at him at all, tightening her grip around Lexa's larger hand and almost hiding behind the woman's legs.
"Can we go to the ho'ses?" Marie asked in a soft tone after a few moments of silence. She did not feel well under the weight of the man's stare and his dark eyes seemed to never leave her face right now. She had tugged very lightly at Lexa's hand to gain the woman's attention, but she had not wanted to disturb her.
Lexa nodded her head with the hint of a smile. Everything had been said, which needed to be said right now. The attack would start soon, but she would not accompany the troop moving against the invaders. She would have liked to separate on better terms with her former mentor, she could see easily enough that the general was personally offended that she had taken the order from her and basically degraded her.
"Why's Anya ang'y?" Marie asked lowly, looking up at Lexa curiously. The general had been weirdly tense during the talk and she had appeared very angry, although she had not said anything.
Lexa sighed lightly under her breath. She had hoped that Marie had not caught on to Anya's mood, but it seemed that the child was more attentive than she had assumed. "You do not need to worry about that" she tried to ease the girl's apparent worry.
Marie frowned up at the commander, pulling her wolf plushie closer to her chest, while she narrowed her grey eyes probingly at Lexa.
Lexa waited for a few moments if Marie would simply let the subject drop, but to her internal consternation the child continued to throw her questioning glances. She had to stop the girl from tumbling over her own feet twice, before she finally gave in and tried to explain in a gentle tone "Anya is angry about a decision I made".
Marie tilted her head to the side, trying to understand what the vague words may mean. She did not fully understand the relationship yet between Anya and Lexa. At times, they appeared to be close and at others, she could not pinpoint if Anya was simply working for Lexa.
"Isn't Anya like you' mommy?" Marie asked after a moment of silent contemplation.
Lexa furrowed her brows, as she let her green eyes quickly scan their surroundings. Although quite a number of warriors were watching their every step, no one should have stood close enough to catch the child's soft words. She knew that Marie's question was innocent in nature and born out of a complete lack of understanding of their society. "No, Marie, Anya has been my mentor before I was called to lead our people" she tried to clarify for the little girl.
Marie seemed to mull the words over in her head in silence, obviously still not understanding yet what the difference was.
Once they had reached the place where the horses were standing behind a fence, Lexa hoisted Marie up onto the fence, quickly climbing over it, while trying to keep the child on the fence with one hand. From the corner of her eyes, Lexa could see Gustus hover in their periphery, clearly not sure if he should step up to offer assistance or not.
"Anya has taught me since I was young" Lexa continued to explain, placing the child back onto her own feet carefully "She taught me to fight, she taught me how to survive, how to navigate through the woods".
"Will you teach me too?" Marie asked after a moment of silence, grey eyes looking up at Lexa hopefully.
Lexa smiled slightly at the girl "Yes, I will teach you, little one" she agreed. She knew that Marie needed a lot to learn, she had absolutely no clue about this world after all. It was nearly a miracle that she had run into the girl a few nights ago. She shuddered to imagine how the child could have been killed this very night if she had not been found by her.
Marie smiled brightly at that, before it dimmed momentarily again as a thought struck her mind "But I wanna call you Mommy…" she retorted lowly.
Lexa had to strain her ears to catch the girl's low words and she crouched down next to her, placing her hands softly on her thin shoulders "If you want to call me that, you can" she promised in a strangely breathy tone. Her heart was beating faster within her chest and she felt a warmth bloom there as well. She could not remember if she had ever wished to call Anya mother, but she doubted it. She had always known that Anya was her first, not her kin.
Marie smiled again brightly, broadcasting the cute gap between her teeth. She let out a shrill surprised giggle as the commander's mare had trotted over to them and blew out a huge breath towards her.
Lexa remained in a crouched position directly behind Marie, letting her arms gently rest around the child's middle, while Marie stretched a little onto her tiptoes to be able to caress the silky skin of the horse's nose.
Gustus had remained behind the fence, watching over his young leader carefully, keeping his eyes on the warriors around them. The atmosphere in TonDC seemed to switch to excitement as the attack on the invaders was approaching; the troops would leave shortly and the warriors were preparing themselves for the battle currently. He did not expect an attack on the commander to occur now, but not all glances staying on the blonde child leaning so casually against the commander were only curious. He was not convinced that Lexa's choice to keep the girl so close was really wise, but it was obvious that the little girl would stay. The closeness between them was nearly palpable.
Lexa had planned to remain in sight in TonDC until their troop would leave to attack the invaders. She knew that her presence was important to keep up the motivation of even the last of their warriors and she also wanted everyone to begin accepting Marie's close proximity to her. Word would undoubtedly begin to spread about the arrival of the child at her side as the survivors of the attack would return to their villages in a few days.
Marie seemed entirely content to remain like this, sheltered by Lexa and laughing as the horse continued to either blow its breath into her face or to nuzzle at it, once she stopped caressing the huge animal. She obviously enjoyed herself.
Once Lexa noticed, that the warriors began to really organise themselves in order to leave TonDC, she got to her feet again, offering a hand to Marie, to lead her away from the horses again. She would see the warriors off with Marie. She was positive that the child would remain silent and still at her side.
Marie was intimidated by the warriors now. Most of them had been wearing pieces of their armour before, but now that they were all dressed into full attire and their faces were either obscured by horrific masks or smeared with war paint, they looked absolutely frightening.
She held on to one of Lexa's hand tightly, clutching the wolf toy to her chest with a vice-like grip, while she tried to disappear behind the woman's legs.
The only moment, the child perked up a little, was when Anya crossed their path.
The general stopped in front of them for a moment, while Marie looked up at her with wide grey eyes.
While Marie was afraid of the other warriors, Anya's crown like thing she was wearing, fascinated her. She waved at the woman shily, her wolf toy still in hand.
The corners of Anya's lips twitched into the hint of a smile for a moment "I see that I have chosen well for you" she commented in a dry slightly amused tone.
Marie needed a little moment to understand what the general meant at all, but once she did, she nodded enthusiastically "Love it" she proclaimed with a toothy smile.
"That much is obvious, Marie" Anya acknowledged with a slight shake of her head. Her expression cooled off the slightest bit as she nodded towards her former second in mute farewell.
Marie watched the general join the rows and rows of warriors who walked past them with a weird feeling. She had never really seen what a battle actually meant and she did not have more than a vague imagination of it. But she had understood by now, that not all of the warriors would return alive to TonDC.
"Anya's coming back, 'ight?" she asked in a slightly high-pitched tone a few moments later. Tris had not returned and she was worried that Anya would not either.
Once the warriors had begun to disappear out of sight in the tree line surrounding TonDC, drums had begun to resonate loudly in the distance, sending shivers through Marie's frame.
Lexa looked down at the girl in silence for a second. She knew that no good would come out of lying to the little girl. No warrior knew for sure that they survived any attack. "I hope that she does" she finally settled on, looking back towards the treeline. She could distinctly make out the last warriors disappearing out of sight.
Marie was not really satisfied with that kind of answer. She hated not knowing things and she wondered if it would forever remain this way on earth now. On the Ark, she had known that her parents would return, when they left. Until they did not return any more of course. Maybe life had not been that different on the Ark then? She was confused by this train of thoughts, she did not voice them to Lexa though.
Marie was distracted from her thoughts a few moments later, when Lexa gave her hand a gentle squeeze, leading her back towards the commander's tent.
Enough time had passed, that lunch would be served soon and there was not much to do right now. TonDC was nearly empty, safe for a few warriors who had remained behind for the improbable occurrence that they would be attacked.
Lexa got rid of the commander's regalia in her tent. She knew that she would not be needed until there would be news on the attack.
Marie watched Lexa from the table. The commander's shoulder guard looked extremely huge and heavy. "Do I get one like that one day, too?" she asked in a curious tone.
Lexa turned towards the blonde child with a slight smile. The girl was young and children her age began their training as warriors already. Somehow, she was hesitant to offer to Marie to begin ligth training with her as well now. She wanted the child to remain the curious innocent little girl she was right now, for a while longer. She herself did not have a choice as a child if she wished to become a warrior. As soon as her blood had been discovered, her path had been clear. Marie was no nightblood, she might not even wish to become a warrior in her future.
"If you become a warrior, you will get your own armour" she agreed, placing her sash on a stool, together her two swords.
Marie smiled at the agreement "Can I become a wa'io' tomo'ow?" she asked enthusiastically, nearly jumping up and down on the chair in bubbling excitement.
Lexa snorted under her breath and shook her head "Certainly not" she denied in fond amusement "You do not become a warrior overnight, little one. It takes long years of training to become a real competent warrior" she explained.
Marie seemed honestly disappointed by that and her enthusiasm dimmed noticeably "Can't I t'ain tomo'ow then?" she asked instead in a pleading tone.
Lexa gave the girl a gentle look as she sat down next to her.
Barely a second passed, before Marie slid from her chair and gravitated towards the commander, waiting with an innocent look until Lexa bend down a little, pulling the child easily onto her lap.
"You are not required to become a warrior, little one. You are aware of that?" Lexa questioned in a calm tone, pulling the small body a little closer to herself.
"But…" Marie began to argue in a whiny tone "you all wa'io's" she reasoned.
Lexa chuckled under her breath at the child's weird pronunciation "Not everyone is a warrior, little one. We do all receive basic training at one point" she amended and when Marie seemed ready to add another argument, Lexa quickly cut her off "You are still very young and you are new to this world. You can begin training later, once you have fully settled in". She on purpose did not clarify on a time point, not wanting Marie to focus on becoming a warrior.
Marie seemed appeased by her answer for now and Alira bringing a tray with food only a moment later, was enough off a distraction to fully let the child forget about her sudden wish to become a warrior.
During the meal, Lexa continued to teach Marie new words in Trigedasleng. She had at first thought of starting with certain phrases in their language, but finally settled in teaching the child about the things surrounding them.
Marie seemed to soak up the new knowledge like a sponge. Listening to the commander's every word with large grey eyes. She mouthed the new words a few times, before Lexa introduced new ones to her. Her pronunciation was even worse than it was in English, but Lexa was certain that the child would learn quickly with time.
The rest of the day passed in this fashion and Lexa knew that it was dangerous to let herself enjoy this soothing moments with the child too much.
Life was short-lived on earth and she was painfully called back into reality, as a messenger brought news a few hours later.
Lexa received the news with a stony face, sending the messenger away in a tightly controlled tone.
Marie had observed the conversation with a frown. The stranger had talked way too fast for her to really understand anything. It was obvious though that the young man was agitated. She was confused by Lexa's reaction though. If the troops had been successful, why was Lexa looking so shocked? Had the other 100 somehow managed to win unexpectedly?
She felt her heart sink into her stomach. Lexa should look happy if they had won. Her expression could only be explained by the fact that they had lost the battle. That must mean, that Anya would not be returning.
Once the man had left the tent again, Marie slowly stood up from the table, walking over to Lexa who was still standing as it seemed shell-shocked in the middle of the tent.
"Anya's not coming back?" she asked in a faint tone, feeling tears gather in her grey eyes.