Chapter 30

Marie held onto Gustus' hand unsurely. She would definitely have preferred for Lexa to accompany her. She had seen the man around Lexa often enough, to sort of know him, but he never had appeared friendly in any way and he was looking almost like a giant to her. But standing around next to Lexa, while the woman was speaking to what appeared to be an endless row of warriors or generals or whatever they were, was honestly just boring. She had not understood any of what they had been talking about either.

"There is no reason for you to be afraid of me" Gustus addressed the child in a kind tone. He was holding onto her small hand carefully. The size of her hand, reminded him of times when his own daughter had been so small. Sierra had been outgoing and active as a young child, always getting into trouble in one way or the other. He could imagine that the young girl did not feel at home with them yet, so, he was actually interested to see her show her true self.

Marie looked up at the burly man with wide grey eyes, feeling almost caught. She tried to give the man a smile, but she could feel her cheeks getting hotter and she instinctively tried to pull her hand away, wanting to return to Lexa's side immediately, as she pulled her wolf plushie closer to her chest.

Gustus sighed under his breath, sensing that his well-meant words had just unsettled the child further. He kept his hold on the child's small hand though, not wanting her to run off. Although, the mood in TonDC was calm right now, he did not wish her to wander around alone either. He had seen his young commander with the little blonde girl often enough now, to know that the child would be staying. His job was it to protect Lexa's life and it went without saying, that it was extended now to protecting Marie as well.

Marie only really forgot about feeling unwell, once she could make out the horses. She smiled fully then, pulling Gustus quicker towards the horses now. Although the horses were very big, she liked their company.

"Hello, ho'sie" Marie greeted the commander's black steed, who came over to greet her. Gustus had finally let go of the child's hand, but he remained standing behind her, only a little distance between them.

So far, Lexa had usually been kneeling behind her, once the horses got close to her. Now, being alone, it felt completely different and although Marie had wanted to come and pet the horses again, she was totally intimidated now. The black horse had come close to her and leaned down, coming closer with its enormous head at an alarming pace.

Marie let out a startled shriek, when it appeared to her as if the horse wanted to hurt her.

Gustus quickly stepped forward, pushing the little girl behind himself. In her fright, Marie had raised her arms quickly, efficiently hitting her plush animal against the horse's head, spooking it as well in the process.

Marie actually reached out and held onto Gustus' trousers, when the dark horse suddenly reared in front of them.

Gustus tried to shush the horse, but he knew that he had very little chances to calm the steed. The horse was trained to obey Lexa and no one else after all. Once it seemed as if the horse might actually try to kick out, Gustus quickly took the little girl up into his arm and hurriedly left the enclosure with the horses. The commander's steed would calm down alone, but he did not want to risk Marie getting trampled. The other horses had been affected by Lexa's steed acting up.

Marie seemed entirely shocked by what had just happened and she was stiff in the man's arms, as tears already began to roll down her roundish cheeks.

"Sssh" Gustus tried to sooth the child in a soft tone "nothing happened, little one". He had heard Lexa call the child by that nick name and hoped that it would calm her in some way.

"Mommy…" was the only thing Marie sobbed out as she began to cry, still somehow fighting against the man's hold on her body.

Gustus sighed under his breath, realizing that the child was not trusting him at all and that it would probably be hopeless to try and sooth the girl now. It seemed that Marie had reacted badly to the news about Anya's death and the child was even clingier now to Lexa. He was fairly certain that this little scare now was less than helpful to the girl settling in with them.

He could imagine that Lexa would not be pleased with him if he had to bring the girl back in tears, but it could not be helped now. The only other option would be to wait somewhere with Marie until she had calmed down on her own, but he was not sure if that was likely to happen at all. The child was still as stiff as a wooden plank in his arms.

Lexa had just been talking to one of the returned scouting teams, who had observed more of the invaders roaming through the woods armed with guns. None of their scouts had been hurt, but the invaders had shot blindly at everything which moved.

She saw Gustus approach from afar already and her attention immediately was lost on the conversation. The child's bright blonde hair contrasted starkly to Gustus' dark clothing and she was surprised that Marie was actually in her guard's arms. As he came closer, it became apparent quickly though, that Marie was not comfortable at all.

Lexa quickly sent the scouts she had been talking to away with a mute gesture, barking to Indra that she would return later, already striding into Gustus' direction. Was Marie hurt?

"Mommmyyyy…!" Marie let out loudly, as she caught sight of Lexa, trying to bend further away from Gustus, making it hard for the man to even hold onto her at all.

Lexa quickly crossed the remaining distance between them, already holding out her arms to accept the child back. She wanted to know what had happened, but for now it was more important to calm the child again. She knew that this open display would be confusing to the inhabitants of TonDC, but she actually did not care right now.

"Are you hurt somewhere, little one?" Lexa asked, taking the little girl right over from Gustus, trying to let her gaze roam quickly over the child's small form for any obvious wounds, but she could not detect anything amiss.

Marie seemed to upset to say anything right now and she hugged her arms around Lexa's neck.

"Hush, little one" Lexa tried to sooth the child, keeping her in place securely as she drew soothing circles on the girl's back, gently brushing over her blonde locks as well "Everything is fine, little one". She guessed that now may be a good time to try and let the child take a short nap. So, she brought Marie back into the commander's tent, sitting down on the bed with the child.

"Can you tell me what happened, little one?" Lexa tried to inquire in a soft tone, as Marie finally looked up at her, obviously having stopped crying by now.

"Ho'sie was ang'y" Marie tried to explain, still hiccupping slightly.

Lexa furrowed her brow slightly. She would need to ask Gustus for what had actually happened. She knew that her horses had been tame with Marie before after all.

"Stay with mommy now?" Marie asked in a soft tone a few moments later, letting out a slight yawn.

Lexa smiled softly at the child. She laid down together with Marie, allowing her to settle onto her chest to get her to calm down fully.