Author's Note: This story is my response to the senseless cruelty that was committed to the fans and the cast of The 100 with episode 3x07. I can't sit aside and not do my part to help correct the grievous mistake that showrunners committed. This story is rated M, for violence, some dark themes and some sensuality. Don't worry if you don't get everything this first chapter. You're not supposed to understand all of it just yet, but it will make sense as the story progresses, I promise. I'm shooting for about 15-20 chapters. We'll see. Just so you know, things are going to happen fast in this story, exactly like in The 100.
Please note that this is a crossover story, involving both the characters of "The 100" and Frozen. Yes, it's an odd combination. No, I'm not entirely insane. Just see where it goes. Please do note that this story will include both Clexa and Elsanna, although neither is going to be sexual to the point of being smut. If Elsanna makes you uncomfortable, I completely respect that. I'd encourage you to try the first chapter or two to see if you like the story, but if anything about this story makes you uncomfortable, then please just stop reading. I don't want to make anyone uncomfortable or upset. Life is too short for that. If you're curious as to the backstory of how Elsa and Anna realized they were in love with each other and came to terms with that, I deal with that in my other story "Feel, Don't Conceal," which you're more than welcome to read, but it's not a requirement to enjoy this story. Again, no smut or porn; that's just not really my thing, and there are several other authors who do smut much better than I can. This first chapter is going to be mostly Clarke and Lexa, because fixing the horrible things that were done to them in 3x07 has to happen first.
This story begins during the events of episode 3x07 of "The 100."
I do not own the television show "The 100" or make any claims upon it or its characters. Similarly, I do not own Frozen, its characters or any Disney characters or property. All these characters are used under the concept of Fair Use, and I make no profit or income from using any of them.
Our Fight Is Not Over
by Jo K.
Chapter 1: Like a Bolt from the Sky
Is there anyone out there
Somewhere I can belong
Man, the city just ain't so kind tonight
I need a place to take refuge
See, I been lovin' you blind
I guess that made it hard for me to find
That we were caught up in the middle of a worn-out dream
I knew we were in trouble but baby I almost screamed
-Brandon Flowers, "Jilted Lovers and Broken Hearts"
—O—
The blackness of night did much to conceal the barren landscape around him, but neither the night nor his tightly clenched eyes could spare the young boy from the screams and cries around him. He sobbed weakly, straining once more against the ropes binding him tightly to the tree behind him, but they refused to yield. He attempted to saw them against the spruce's coarse bark, but they only slid up and down slightly, as he had already rubbed the tree's trunk raw in his attempts to break the ropes.
A weak, wet groan and cry stilled his movement as he heard another member of his family die. Most likely his mother, from the heart-wrenching cries and pleas he had been listening to for the last few minutes.
The crunching of footsteps on snow made him lift his head and open his eyes, in time to see the cloaked figure who had destroyed his life approach him once more.
"Wh-why?" the boy stammered, flinching despite his desire to not show any more fear to this heartless creature who walked like a man. "Why... did you kill them?"
The man stopped, the glint of the nearby firelight reflecting off the blade of his knife where fresh blood had yet to coat its length. Surprisingly, he sheathed the knife at his belt.
As the man stood motionless in front of him, the boy dared to look up into the blackness of the hood pulled up over his head. He thought he saw hints of a human face, a chin, possibly the outline of a nose, but the late hour and hood's shadow did a fine job of concealing any defining features.
Suddenly the man's arms moved, and the boy reflexively shied away as waited for a slash of cold metal against his throat. When no blow fell, though, he cautiously opened his eyes... then immediately wished he hadn't.
The man held forth a book, just inches away from the boy's face. Despite the bitter cold in the air, the boy swore he could smell rot and foulness, and as his gaze danced across the black, oily binding of the book's cover, his eyes began to water and burn. There was something so horrible, so wrong about the tome held before his face that he began to cry again.
"This is why," spoke the man, and his voice was shockingly soft, even pleasant, had that word held anything whatsoever in common with the atrocities the boy had watched him commit in the last few hours. "Your family's suffering, your deaths, will open a portal from this world to..."
A long pause followed, then a tired sigh. "Well, to somewhere else," the man finally finished. "But that will only be the beginning of what this book holds, of the power contained within its black pages!"
And the boy began to weep for the last time, for now he knew that he would never see another sunrise.
—O—
Lexa paced nervously back and forth in her large apartment, uncharacteristically anxious and unsure of her next actions.
Clarke loved her.
Clarke.
Loved.
HER.
Neither of them had actually said the words yet. But Lexa had known how she herself had felt for some time. She had ignored the warnings from Gustus, from Titus, from the voices of the former Commanders, and she had allowed herself to hope, to dream that Clarke would one day return the feelings Lexa held in her heart for the girl who had fallen from the sky.
Lexa smiled to herself, a smile so shy as to seem entirely out of place on the face of the Commander of Thirteen Clans, and for a moment she looked like nothing other than a young woman in love. Even the knowledge that Clarke would be temporarily returning to Arkadia to deal with the growing menace of the new Chancellor, Pike, couldn't pull the lovesick grin off Lexa's lips.
But the gunshot ringing out in the room across the hall managed to do just that.
Lexa instantly glanced at the table where Clarke's bag and gear had been neatly packed by Lexa herself. The black grip of Clarke's pistol was just visible inside Clarke's leather bag, which sent another chill slithering down Lexa's spine. Not only was someone other than Clarke shooting inside the Tower, Clarke had no way of shooting back.
Clarke.
Suddenly breathless, Lexa bolted across her quarters toward Clarke's rooms as a second gunshot rang out.
—O—
As the boy breathed his last, the hooded man chanted the hissing syllables inscribed on the book's black pages, the bloody characters still glistening despite the tome's vast age.
A tearing sound that twisted the man's guts manifested in front of him, as the air itself tore and peeled back, revealing a swirling maelstrom of brilliant blue, white and silver. He paused, taking a deep breath, then he stepped into the portal—and disappeared.
—O—
Moving at a full run, Lexa's bare feet had barely touched the smooth floor of the hall when she suddenly felt a burning, ripping sensation just below her sternum, the same instant as a brilliant flash of light and images too brief to be coherent erupted inside her eyes. The sensation was so unexpected and so crippling that she fell as clumsily as a toddler taking her first fighting lesson, her forward momentum sending her tumbling and crashing awkwardly into and through the door to Clarke's room, just as another gunshot roared and a hissing projectile shot through the air above her, mere centimeters over her body as she rolled into the room. Everything was happening so quickly that the guards stationed in the hall outside her door had yet to take a second step toward Clarke's room, the source of the gunshots.
She heard Titus shout her title despite the ringing in her ears, but it was the pistol in his right hand that instantly claimed her attention. She could see Clarke moving toward the two of them in her peripheral vision, and concern for the woman she loved quickened Lexa's pulse even more, leaving her heartbeat singing in her ears as she shifted her legs beneath her and drove upward, launching herself toward Titus, who seemed to be frozen in place.
Lexa's left hand twisted around Titus's right wrist, angling the gun away from her and Clarke, as her shoulder drove into Titus's chest, sending him sprawling backward. Lexa used his body to cushion her own landing as she drove Titus into the floor, never releasing her grip on his right arm and the far-too-lethal pistol. The impact of another body on Titus made Lexa turn away from the gun in time to see Clarke punch Titus's head, twisting the older man's face to his right as Clarke scrambled across his body, clawing at his fingers until the gun clattered from his grip onto the apartment's floor.
Clarke grabbed the gun and got to her knees as two of Lexa's guards finally ran into the room, spears pointed forward... and at her.
"He tried to shoot me!" Clarke cried out, causing the guards to hold their ground while she kept the gun pointed at Titus.
"You threaten Heda!" growled one guard, beginning to charge forward.
"NO!" Clarke shouted, dropping the gun in front of her as Lexa and Titus both grew still; Lexa's knee was positioned over Titus's throat, ready to crush his windpipe if necessary.
"I would never hurt her," Clarke said softly, her voice pained and raw as she sought out and met Lexa's piercing green eyes. "I..."
"Titus attempted to kill Clarke with a forbidden weapon," Lexa hissed, pressing down just a hint more with her knee as she risked looking over her left shoulder to the guards behind her. "Klark kom Skaikru would never threaten me... or hurt me," Lexa said firmly. "And you will never suspect or accuse her of that again. Is that clear?"
"Sha, Heda!" both guards called out together, standing up more fully but keeping their spears leveled, this time in Titus's direction.
Lexa turned her head until she was looking back down at Titus. More than anything she wanted to examine Clarke, make sure the woman she loved was unharmed, but that had to wait a few more moments, regardless of what Lexa wanted personally. "Why, Titus?" Lexa said, her voice just above a whisper. "Why would you try to kill Clarke?"
As she eased the pressure on his trachea, Titus gasped deeply, trying to fill his lungs despite Lexa's weight on his chest. "Your love weakens you, Leksa," he croaked in Trigedasleng, reflexively trying to clutch at his throat but feeling Lexa's steely grip tighten on his wrists instead, keeping his arms pinned at his sides. "With the Sky Princess dead, you would see that trying to bring Skaikru into the coalition will be the blow that fractures the coalition forever."
Clarke had learned enough Trigedasleng to make out most of Titus's words, although not all. Still, she was fairly sure she got the intent of his words. "He's wrong, Lexa," Clarke spoke softly but confidently.
When Lexa turned her dark green gaze upon her once more, Clarke had brief visions of those emerald eyes looking up at her, filled with love and joy, looking down on her with pride and confidence, speaking so much with just their brilliant expressiveness. "Love is not weakness," Clarke continued. "It makes us brave. It gives us hope. It lifts our spirits when we're broken inside, when there's nothing else to live for." She swallowed before continuing; she could see Lexa's eyes starting to moisten, but she continued anyway. "It makes us better than who we were the day before. It motivates us to change the world, not just out of duty but out of a heartfelt desire to make things better for those we love."
She smiled, and despite the others in the room, the smile was meant only for Lexa. "For the one we love."
Lexa blinked twice, but she was unable to stop the twin trails of tears from sliding down her cheeks, dripping twice onto Titus's chest. "It takes more courage to believe in love than in death," Lexa said, her voice incredibly soft.
Clarke smiled back at Lexa. "And that's exactly why you're the bravest person I've ever known," she said honestly.
Lexa closed her eyes and tightened her grip upon Titus, taking several seconds to compose herself before speaking again. "From this point forward, Klark kom Skaikru is allowed to carry her gun with her at all times, even in the Tower," Lexa said loudly.
"Heda..." braved one guard, only to freeze when Lexa uncoiled, shooting to her feet and turning to glare at the guard while placing one foot on the floor and keeping the other on Titus's sternum.
"That is NOT up for discussion!" Lexa shouted, her tone final. "Take Titus to the Deep Cell," she said coldly. "No one is to see him except for Clarke or me. He is to be bound, chained and gagged at all times."
"Sha, Heda," replied both guards crisply.
Lexa stepped off of Titus, moving to stand between him and Clarke. Surprisingly, Lexa knelt to help him up, but she kept her weight back far enough to be able to fight him should he attempt to grapple with her or flee.
"You were the closest thing I had to a father, Titus," Lexa said sadly. "But I am not a child, and I have not been one for a very long time. This mistake you've made today cannot be forgiven." She nodded to the guards, who parted to let Titus walk between them, then took position behind him as they left the room. She motioned to the next pair of guards waiting in the hall. "Find Octavia and Indra. Bring them to my quarters as soon as possible."
As they bowed and turned to leave, Lexa knelt and picked up Clarke's pistol, handing it to her. But Clarke ignored the gun and instead wrapped her arms around Lexa, embracing her fiercely.
"When you fell through that door..." Clarke whimpered beside Lexa's ear, her breathing ragged and her heart pounding. "I thought I'd lost you."
"Come," Lexa said, standing and pulling Clarke to her feet as they continued to hold each other. "I... I need—"
Clarke's lips against hers cut off her next words. They kissed hungrily, desperately; neither remembered being the one to deepen the kiss, but both were eager to oblige as their lips parted and their tongues, gently, softly touched.
"I need you," Clarke whispered against Lexa's open mouth before kissing her again.
"And I you," Lexa breathed in return, feeling her warm breath mingle with Clarke's against her lover's lips.
Without warning, Clarke leapt upward, wrapping her legs around Lexa's waist. Having felt the blonde's body tense in preparation, Lexa was ready for the sudden movement, smoothly adjusting her grip on Clarke and sliding her hands into a more secure position, her left hand now in the small of Clarke's back and her right hand beneath her buttocks as Clarke buried her face in Lexa's long mahogany hair, trying to still her racing heart with the knowledge that Lexa was still here, was still alive, in her arms.
They crossed the hallway that way, ignoring the gaping stares of the quartet of guards now positioned outside their Heda's chamber. One guard recovered his wits enough to open the door for the two women, then close it behind them once they were inside.
None of the guards dared to look at another as they kept their silent vigil. Back in Clarke's room, an uncharacteristically stunned Murphy continued to stare at where the two woman had kissed, disbelief flooding his thoughts. It would take several minutes before he remembered he was still securely bound.
—O—
In a dark bedroom, cold due to the lack of a fire in the fireplace but still comfortable for the room's inhabitants, two bodies tossed and rolled on the bed they shared.
Twin girls, both thirteen years of age, struggled against the dreams which had overtaken them before one shot upward into a sitting position, her heart racing and her nightshirt wet with cold sweat. She reached beside her, finding her sister's hand on the first try and squeezing it tightly as she felt her sister roll over to look up at her.
"Do you think she understood our warning?" Elin, daughter of Arendelle's two queens asked as she turned to look down at her sister, her long, straight platinum blonde hair tousled from their fitful sleep.
Her twin sister Erin looked up at Elin, her blue-green eyes nearly black from the width of her pupils. "I think so," Erin said, her voice raspy from a dry throat. "Who was she?" Erin asked, trying to put into words how unusual their dream had been, especially the young woman with dark brown hair and green eyes much older than her age and the blonde who had suffered so much pain and loss but still possessed a spirit that blazed like a bonfire.
Elin shook her head. "I'm not sure," she said. "Not yet." She looked out their window, watching a light snow fall upon the mountains visible from their room. "But something's badly wrong," she said sadly, feeling Erin squeeze her hand in return. "We've never felt anyone like them before," Elin said nervously, shivering until Erin tugged her back down to lie beside her.
"No, we've not," Erin said, gathering her sister in a comforting embrace. She felt Elin's tears drip down onto her neck, sliding down the back of her neck onto her pillow. "We'll figure this out, El."
"We shouldn't be feeling them at all," Elin whispered, unable to stop her tears. "Should we?"
"I..." Erin fought tears herself, trying to be strong for her sister. "I don't think so," she finally said, quietly holding her sister and wishing for sleep that refused to return that night.
—O—
Clarke and Lexa simply lay on the long couch in Lexa's main room, holding each other tightly as they lay together. "Did Titus say anything else to you?" Lexa asked, her lips brushing against Clarke's blond braids as she pressed light kisses against her lover's soft hair.
"He wanted to kill me with that gun, then pin the blame on Murphy." Clarke lay with her eyes closed, savoring the feeling of Lexa's body against hers, even through their clothes. "He hoped you seeing me killed by a Skaikru with a Skaikru weapon would send you into a rage, so he could point you at Arkadia and wipe them all out."
Lexa lifted her eyebrow slightly, unable to prevent a slight smile from crossing her lips at hearing Clarke refer to the former Ark's inhabitants as a very distinct them. "Interesting," she mumbled, but her close proximity to Clarke's ear allowed Clarke to hear even that soft whisper.
"What's interesting?" Clarke asked. She shouldn't be feeling so happy, especially after someone tried to assassinate her, here in the middle of Lexa's tower where they were supposed to be safe. But she was unable to stop smiling due to the presence of the fierce, proud, brave, loving woman who had slowly grown to fill—and begin to heal—the shattered mess of Clarke's heart.
"Who is Murphy?" asked Lexa abruptly.
Clarke caught the change of subject but decided to let it pass. "I completely forgot about him. He's tied up in my room," she said.
"Now?" asked Lexa, surprised. She lifted her head up to look into Clarke's blue eyes. She had been so focused on Titus, then on Clarke, that she hadn't even registered the presence of anyone else in Clarke's chambers.
Clarke nodded slightly. "I guess Titus had him captured. He's... complicated."
"So he is dangerous."
After a pause, Clarke nodded. "Yeah, he is. He's done some good things, but he's done a lot of bad too." She turned her head to look into Lexa's eyes, pausing to lightly kiss the tip of Lexa's nose, getting a smile and soft laugh from the brunette. "You remember Raven?"
"The one who can fix things?" Lexa asked, still enjoying the fluttering sensation from the feel of Clarke's lips on her nose. "Whose leg is crippled?"
Clarke nodded. "Murphy crippled her. He shot her, and the bullet damaged the nerves to her left leg." She left out Murphy being with Finn at the village when eighteen Trikru were killed. While Murphy hadn't helped Finn in his brutality, he hadn't stopped him, either. But those wounds were still healing for both her and Lexa, and Clarke didn't want to bring any of that painful episode back up ever again.
Lexa nodded gently. "Dangerous indeed. It would have been easy to believe he could have killed you."
"Yeah," Clarke said softly. She lifted her head enough to look into Lexa's green eyes. "Would you have done it?" she asked, part of her dreading the answer and the rest of her dreading her own reaction to what Lexa was about to say. "Killed all of them, if you thought they had sent Murphy to kill me?"
Lexa looked into Clarke's blue-gray eyes, a soul stripped bare staring at another just as naked and vulnerable at that terrifying thought. "Yes," she breathed slowly, terrified at Clarke's potential response but unable to lie to the woman who had claimed her heart. "I would have killed them all."
Neither of them moved for several seconds as they stared into each other's eyes. Then Clarke leaned forward, slowly, never breaking eye contact with Lexa, until their lips touched. Only then did the two of them close their eyes and relax into the kiss, breathing into and with each other as they tightened their grip on each other, shifting slightly on the wide couch as they continued to kiss intensely. Finally Clarke broke for air, only raising her head a few millimeters, still close enough to feel the heat of Lexa's lips on her own.
"I would have forgiven you," whispered Clarke, her eyes reddening with swelling tears. "Because if Titus had killed you back there, I'd have burned this whole fucking tower to the ground."
Lexa smiled sadly before lifting her head to capture Clarke's tears with his lips, first Clarke's left cheek, then her right, pressing so tenderly and softly against Clarke's skin that she had no words for how to describe Lexa's gentleness. Lexa licked her lips as she relaxed her neck, tasting the saltiness of Clarke's tears as she looked into her love's blue eyes. "And they say I'm the dangerous one," Lexa teased softly, making Clarke smile, a sight so beautiful that it was Lexa's turn to have no words to capture the sheer radiance of that simple sight.
"Well, they do call me Wanheda," replied Clarke, still smiling. "But you can call me something else."
"And what's that?" asked Lexa, under to keep herself herself from grinning like an eager young girl as she gently pushed one of Clarke's blonde braids behind her left ear.
Clarke leaned forward, her eyes briefly dancing as she stared intensely into Lexa's eyes. "Yours," she said softly, smiling as she saw Lexa's eyes light up. "And the woman who loves you," she whispered, smiling once more before kissing Lexa again.
Lexa pulled back slightly, prompting Clark to stop. "What is it?" Clarke asked.
"It's not..." Lexa said, swallowing tightly as she looked slightly embarrassed. "It's not... our way to..."
Clarke pressed her thumbs gently against Lexa's lips. "You don't have to say it with words," Clarke whispered, trying to convey with her eyes that she truly understood. "You've said it so many times in so many ways already," she murmured, feeling her own tears begin to slide down her cheeks. "I was just a fool for making you wait, and I'm sorry for that."
"You needed time," Lexa answered calmly. "And I understood that."
"Better than I did, apparently," replied Clarke.
Lexa placed a soft kiss on Clarke's forehead. "Apparently," she agreed pleasantly.
Voices outside drew the attention of both women, interrupting them as their lips brushed again.
"I need to use the toilet before we speak to them," Lexa said, not wanting to release her hold on Clarke. "There will be much that needs to be done because of Titus's actions tonight."
Clarke nodded, then grinned as she claimed another quick kiss from her lover. "Go pee," she said, pushing herself up and off of the couch, then extending an arm to help Lexa to her feet as well.
As she gracefully stood, Lexa matched Clarke's smile with a sly grin that made Clarke's heart toss abruptly. "I will try to... pee... quickly," Lexa said softly, holding Clarke's gaze for several seconds as she walked backward, finally turning to hurry to the bathroom before the burning flush on her cheeks became too obvious.
As the doors to Lexa's chambers opened, Octavia and Indra both entered. Clarke noticed that Indra looked disheveled, almost unkempt; as soon as she realized Clarke was examining her, the older woman straightened up and flashed an angry scowl toward the blonde.
Clarke rolled her eyes at Indra's reflexive show of bluster, stepping forward to take Octavia's right arm as the guards closed the doors behind the two. "Clarke, what's—" Octavia started, only to be cut off by Clarke jerking her forward toward the parlor, away from the master bedroom and bathroom where Lexa had gone.
As they entered the side room, Clarke yanked the hanging curtains sufficing as a door closed, catching a baffled look on Indra's face with no small amount of amusement.
"Okay, what's going on?" Octavia said, confused. "We were getting ready to leave when this guard tells us we had to come with him right freaking now, and he wouldn't tell us an—"
"Titus tried to kill Lexa," Clarke said quickly, keeping her voice low.
"What?!"
Clarke nodded vigorously. "Lexa's alright. In fact, she's perfect. God, she's—" She shook her head. "That's not important right now."
"What?" replied Octavia, her voice likewise subdued but shocked. "Clarke, you just said—"
"O!" Clarke said, shaking Octavia once to stop her talking. "Have you and Lincoln talked about getting married?"
Octavia blinked twice, then straightened up. "Well, that's a bit of a personal question, don't you think?" she replied, putting her hands on her hips.
Clarke sighed, blowing air upward through her clenched lips and sending a few of her braids swaying. "Has he talked to you about how Trikru handles the whole process?"
"Why do you want to know, anyway?" Octavia asked, lowering her voice again. "It's not like you're going to be..." She trailed off as her mind fit the pieces into place. "Oh. OH." She leaned forward and whispered, "Lexa? Geez, Clarke, you set your sights high, don't you?"
Clarke's face darkened. "I'm serious, O," she hissed. "Has he talked to you about it or not?"
"I guess it's not that surprising, though. I mean, the sexual tension between you two has been ridic—"
"O!" Clarke hissed.
"Okay, okay, I'll stop." Octavia looked closely at Clarke, thinking about how healthy Clarke looked. At how happy she looked. "Does Heda know?" she asked. "How you feel about her?"
Clarke nodded, and she couldn't help but smile. "She does."
"And she feels the same way about you?" Octavia asked, getting another nod. "Have you two..."
Clarke threw her hands up in the air. "Never mind! I'll ask Lincoln," she said, turning to leave the room they were in until Octavia grabbed her arm.
"I'm sorry," Octavia said, softly but sincerely. "It's just... a bit much to process, you know?"
Clarke nodded once again. "I know. Believe me, I know."
"And... marriage? Don't you think you might be moving a bit fast, Clarke?" Octavia asked gently.
"Why?" Clarke shot back, quickly but not entirely angrily. "Because of how much time we have down here on the ground?" She held Octavia's worried gaze before continuing, "Octavia, you know all too well how quickly things can happen. How any one of us can die on any day." Clarke blinked, and suddenly she was hotly wiping at the tears running down her face without warning.
"Clarke, I'm sorry," Octavia said, stepping forward but uncertain what to do with her hands. "I didn't mean—"
"I almost lost her today, O!" Clarke groaned, anguish entwined in her words. "When Titus was shooting at me, and she came crashing through that door, I thought..." Clarke stopped, unable to speak coherently as she began to sob quietly.
"Hey," Octavia said, opening her arms and stepping forward to gather Clarke into a friendly hug. "She's okay, Clarke, that's what you said, right?"
Clarke nodded against Octavia's shoulder, her eyes clenched tightly shut. "And I made her wait so long, all because I wasn't sure if I was ready yet," she mumbled, more to herself than to her friend.
Octavia sighed, then took a deep breath. "There really isn't much ceremony to it," she said. "If two people want to officially be recognized as houmon, then they make pledges of loyalty and devotion to each other, usually in front of their village. Once they both acc—"
"Wait," Clarke said, pulling back so she could look into Octavia's eyes. "Pledges of loyalty?"
The dark-haired girl nodded, the loose ends of her dark braids swaying with the movement.
Clarke felt her breath catch in her throat, and it suddenly took great effort to put a string of just a few words together. "Like... swearing to put someone first... above everyone else?" she managed to ask. "And... bowing, maybe, while saying it?"
Octavia nodded again. "Yeah, that's about it."
"Oh God," Clarke swore softly, and now the tears flowed freely again. "I was so stupid," she muttered to herself. "I didn't know..." trailing off as she thought back to a few nights ago, a tender moment in Lexa's room that now seemed much more important. She jerked, directing her gaze back to Octavia again. "Thank you, Octavia," Clarke said, seemingly not fazed by the trails of tears from her reddened eyes tracing their way down her cheeks. She hugged her friend again, then quickly released her, wiped at her eyes and walked toward the doorway, leaving Octavia standing there with confusion still etched across her face.
When Clarke slid the curtain aside, revealing a face glistening with newly-shed tears and eyes red, Lexa immediately feared the worst. "Clarke!" she said, cutting off her discussion with Indra and stepping forward quickly to meet the blonde. She quickly looked Clarke up and down, gently grasping Clarke's upper arms to support her lover in case she had been injured.
"I didn't understand," Clarke said quickly, reaching up to cup Lexa's cheeks in her hands, a gesture of affection that made Indra audibly gasp and Octavia freeze in the doorway from the parlor. "I didn't realize what that meant the other night, you bowing before me, not until now," Clarke whispered, smiling despite the sting in her eyes and the salty taste of tears in her mouth. She watched as Lexa blinked several times, with wetness accumulating in the brunette's light green eyes as well.
"You were proposing to me," Clarke breathed out. "And I didn't realize it."
"You weren't expected to know, Clarke," Lexa said, and the longing and heartache in her voice at that moment made Clarke's eyes close in shame.
"How long would you have waited?" Clarke asked, unable to look into the eyes of this brave, intelligent, patient, considerate, loving woman standing in front of her. "For me to figure it out?"
Lexa drew in a shaky breath. "Forever," she confessed. "Because you would have been worth it."
Clarke shook her head. "I don't deserve you," she whispered.
Lexa placed her hands on Clarke's jaw and softly tilted Clarke's head up, waiting patiently until she saw the blonde's blue eyes blink open. "Yes, you do," Lexa said lovingly. "You deserve to be happy, Klark kom Skaikru. You deserve someone who loves you and who would do anything for you, because that is exactly what you do for those whom you care about. You are merciful, you are considerate, you are brave and strong, and you have shown us all a better way to live our lives."
Clarke swallowed, then she slowly knelt, ignoring the noises of surprise coming from Indra and Octavia. She looked up at Lexa, who now had a hand covering her open mouth and full tears in her eyes; Clarke slowly reached up, waiting until Lexa placed both of her hands into Clarke's own hands. "I swear my life to you, Leksa kom Trikru," she said clearly, her voice shaky but distinct. "I will put you first before all others. I will love, protect and care for you forever. I will never betray you and will always be there for you. Please let me be yours, as your wife... as your houmon."
With Clarke's words still ringing and echoing in her mind, Lexa knelt in front of Clarke, just inches away from the woman who had become the most important force in her life, much to the chagrin of the Commander spirit that buzzed in the back of her head. "Yes, Klark kom Skaikru," she said, grinning through the tears dripping from her face onto the hard floor. "I take you as my houmon, as I give myself to you as yours." She kept looking into Clarke's blue eyes as she said in Trigedasleng, "No longer will we fight alone, for from today and for every day to come, we now fight together."
As soon as Lexa finished speaking, Clarke released her hands and grabbed Lexa by the sides of her head as they leaned forward and kissed slowly and tenderly. "Please tell me what you said at the end," she whispered against Lexa's lips before kissing her again. "Because if you just said that I have to make the bed every day, it might—"
The sound of Lexa laughing, deeply, freely, resonated through Clarke's body like warmth from a fire, only much, much faster.
Lexa smiled at Clarke as they continued to kneel before each other. "I said that we will no longer fight alone, because from today onward we fight together, as one," Lexa said, pressing her forehead against Clarke's as they continued to watch each other intensely, as if one of them might disappear at any moment were the other to let her eyes rest on anything else.
"Will you teach me Trigedasleng? Please?"
Lexa nodded. "Sha," she spoke softly. "I will."
Clarke smiled. "Good, because I want to be able to tell you how beautiful you are in your own language when we make love," she said, her voice thick with emotion but still rendering Lexa incapable of forming words before they kissed again.
"Heda..." Indra finally spoke, her voice shaky and uncertain. "What have you done?" she whispered, her voice nearly pleading.
Lexa rolled her eyes with surprising smoothness, making Clarke briefly sputter with laughter, a joyful noise which made Lexa smile even more beautifully. "I learned that from you," Lexa whispered, savoring each second of this moment with Clarke. "My...?" she looked at Clarke, wanting to make sure she used the correct word.
"Wife," Clarke said. "That's the word we use for a female spouse. Although houmon works perfectly fine, too."
"Are marriage ceremonies more elaborate for the Sky People?" Lexa asked, her curiosity evident in the twinkle of her light green eyes. "Should we have a ceremony for them as well?"
"Don't give my mom any ideas," Clarke said, only half teasing. She could look at Lexa's stunning face all day, draw her a million times, and she could never come close to capturing just how captivatingly beautiful her wife was.
Her wife.
Clarke leaned forward and embraced Lexa, burying her face against the warm skin of Lexa's neck. "I don't care how much shit anyone gives us," she whispered against Lexa. "I love you, and I'm going to be with you no matter what."
Lexa closed her eyes and basked in the feeling of Clarke's arms around her, Clarke's breath against her neck, Clarke's scent with hints of paint, graphite and warm, clean bed linens. "We make each other better together," Lexa said softly. "You understand the sacrifices and terrible burdens of being a leader, how it scars the soul and tortures the mind. But now we can share more than just suffering and the weight of duty, Clarke." Lexa breathed in deeply, rubbing her right hand softly on Clarke's back. "Now we can share happiness and joy as well."
"Heda..." whispered someone from outside of their embrace, and the interruption vexed Lexa notably. Her eyes snapped open, turning her head just enough to pin Indra in a furious glare.
"Choose your words carefully, Indra," Lexa said, her voice just above a growl. "This is a joyous day for Clarke and for me, and I do not want to ruin the mood by having you beaten for insolence."
Indra swallowed; slowly her sense of self-preservation was beginning to return after being properly shamed by Octavia's words earlier that day, and at this moment she truly did fear for her life were she to upset her Heda on her joining day. "I... did not mean any disrespect, Heda, either to you or your houmon," she said carefully.
"An excellent start," Lexa spoke, her voice clipped despite the thrill of hearing Clarke officially recognized as her mate. "Continue."
"No Heda has ever taken a houmon before," the older woman continued, her voice carrying hints of trepidation, possibly even fear.
"No Heda has lived or ruled as long I have," Lexa replied firmly. "No Heda has ever presided over a period of peace as long I have."
Clarke's movement drew Lexa's attention back to her wife; she made a point to ease the tension in her voice for the woman she loved. "What it is, Clarke?"
"How long does a Heda usually... reign, I guess?" Clarke asked, dreading the answer but knowing she had to know.
"Usually a year or two," Lexa replied softly. "Almost never more than three, and usually less than two."
"And... how long have you been Heda?" asked Clarke, her eyes searching Lexa's own.
Lexa swallowed. "Eight years. I was twelve at the time of my Conclave."
Clarke closed her eyes, trying to picture a twelve-year-old Lexa, already far too serious for her age, wearing a full set of armor and bearing a sword... and then killing the rest of the Nightbloods in her class, a cruel test intended to scourge any remaining compassion or mercy from Heda's chosen host, as well as to remove any potential challengers to the position.
"What will the Council of Twe—" Indra stopped at twin glares from Lexa and Clarke. "What will the Council of Thirteen think of you taking a mate?"
"Well, I'll tell you right now that Skaikru is going to be all for it," Clarke said deadpan, maintaining a straight face until she heard Octavia snort behind her. Then she broke into giggles and laughter, which prompted Octavia to do the same. Clarke actually went partially limp with pent-up emotion, boiling over in an attempt to vent itself all at once, but Lexa easily held her up until the blonde could regain her strength.
Lexa smiled but was able to control her mirth. She turned to look at Indra again. "I will inform the Council tonight at a special meeting."
"This could set a dangerous precedent, Heda."
"And what dangerous precedent is that, Indra?" Lexa snapped at her general. "Uniting the clans? Achieving a peace across our entire region? Forming an alliance with people who fell from the sky? Rescuing our people from the Mountain? Surviving an assassination attempt, carried out by our Flamekeeper no less?"
Marshaling what she could of her resolve under Lexa's withering glare, Indra lifted her head and said, "The precedent of a life beyond that of Heda." She held Lexa's gaze and refused to back down. "When one has something to live for, it can be difficult to make decisions which might jeopardize that."
"I understand your concern, Indra," replied Lexa, easing the tone of her voice slightly. It was a valid concern, and Lexa had known Indra long enough to realize that she wasn't bringing this to her attention out of spite, maliciousness or pettiness. Or jealousy, for that matter. "But Clarke and I have both been dealing with that risk for quite some time already."
Clarke nodded quietly. "I won't make you have to choose between me and our people, Lexa," she said. "Skaikru joining the Coalition as the thirteenth clan already united our people. Our joining, our marriage only makes the union of our people even stronger."
Lexa held Clarke's gaze a bit longer, then she reluctantly turned to look at Octavia, then Indra. "Both of you get cleaned up. You will be present at the emergency council meeting tonight. Oktevia, assist Indra, since she is still recovering from her recent injuries."
"Sha, Heda," Octavia replied, bowing her head slightly; she was also exceedingly grateful for Lexa wording the request the way she did, so she wouldn't have to argue with Indra about her needing help for the time being.
"When the council arrives, tell them that Clarke and I will be there momentarily," Lexa said to Indra. "Do not say anything else. My houmon and I will inform the council of our joining in person. Also send for Titus's Second, as I will need to speak with him before the meeting."
Indra nodded, but she did not turn to leave. After several seconds she limped forward; Octavia moved to help her, but a quick gesture and hiss from the older woman stopped Octavia in her tracks. Lexa and Clarke both turned to face Indra, leaving their joint embrace to instead simply hold hands as they watched Indra slowly make her way toward them, finally stopping just a foot away from them.
Indra looked Clarke over carefully, not visibly sneering but clearly not happy with what she saw. However, where the older woman's scrutiny might have upset Clarke just a few months ago, she had been through far, far too much to let something so trivial as someone's disapproval bother her now. She met Indra's condescending look with a quiet confidence that refused to waver, even politely smiling in the face of the general's attempt to intimidate her.
"You're not going to rattle me, Indra," Clarke said calmly. She leaned forward slightly and added, "You might be one of our generals, but you should remember that I am Wanheda." Seeing the flash of fear in Indra's eyes at the mention of the cursed title, Clarke allowed her smile to turn cold and her voice to drop to a lower register. "The Mountain couldn't beat me or break me. What chance do you really think you have?"
Lexa smiled as she watched her mate assert her strength and inner power. Clarke had been overlooked and underestimated by many people since she had met the princess from the sky, and most of those who had mistakenly dismissed her houmon were now dead. It was time Clarke received the recognition and respect she deserved, that she had earned through her leadership and resolve.
Indra finally looked away from Clarke's steady gaze, only to find a nearly identical expression on Lexa's face as well. "I wish you happiness on your joining day, Heda," Indra finally said. She glanced at Clarke and added, "And to you as well, Wanheda."
"Thank you, Indra," Lexa replied coolly, while Clarke simply remained silent, only acknowledging Indra's words with a simple nod. "You and Octavia may go."
As the unlikely pair of first and second left Lexa's chambers, Clarke kept her eyes on the doors as they closed. "Well, that was fun," she muttered quietly.
"I do understand sarcasm," Lexa said, turning to look at Clarke once more, her eyes softening at the sight of her mate. "I just prefer not to use it. Threats tend to work much better when not veiled in something else."
Clarke lifted her hands to clasp them behind Lexa's neck, gently rubbing the slightly raised scar she had felt earlier that day. "And that's one of the reasons I love you," she said. "You always say what you mean."
"Not always," Lexa said, her voice dropping to a whisper as her eyes dropped to the floor. She gathered her courage, then looked back up into blue eyes that now showed concern. "I... love you," she said softly, her body shivering involuntarily at the sight of Clarke's eyes widening and filling with tears once more. "I love you, Clarke," she said again, and the force of Clarke's lips slamming into her own knocked her a step backward.
"Say it again, please," Clarke murmured against her lips, unable to stop her heart from hammering in her chest.
"I love you, Clarke," Lexa whispered, kissing her new wife over and over again until Clarke's fingers gently stopped her.
Clarke looked into Lexa's eyes and smiled before tenderly saying, "Ai hod yu in, Leksa."
Lexa blinked twice, surprised at Clarke's knowledge of that particular Trigedasleng phrase. "How..."
Clarke pushed Lexa's long, dark hair to the side, taking a moment to admire the brunette's natural beauty once more, something she decided she would never get tired of doing. "I wanted to be able to tell you how I felt in your own language, should this day ever come for us."
"You continue to surprise me, Klark kom Skaikru," Lexa said quietly, holding her wife tightly and breathing in Clarke's scent, her warmth, her love as she gathered her courage. "There are some things that I will need to tell you tonight, Clarke, things that you will need to know, and... I do not know how you will take them."
Sensing Lexa tensing up, Clarke blinked her eyes open, fearing some horrible surprise, some piece of bad news that would mar this otherwise amazing, wonderful day. "Is it... something bad?" she asked hesitantly.
"No," Lexa said, pulling back to look into Clarke's eyes and reassure her mate. "No, not bad at all, I swear to you," she said earnestly. "Just... things that most people do not know and will never know. About the Heda." She swallowed, understanding that she was about to reveal some of her people's greatest secrets to a woman who had been at war with them less than a year ago.
But this was Clarke, whom Lexa trusted entirely. Titus was no longer trustworthy, and his Second was too young to take on an apprentice just yet. Someone else had to know their mythology, their secrets, and what had to be done, in case anything happened to Lexa or the new Flamekeeper. Lexa stared into Clarke's eyes, then whispered, "I trust you with everything I am, Clarke. With everything I have."
"And I feel the same way, Lexa," Clarke replied. "I will never betray your trust or betray you."
Lexa nodded. "I am sor—"
Clarke's fingertips on her lips stopped Lexa's words. "Please don't apologize again," she said warmly. "You don't need to, and I didn't mean to imply anything of the sort with what I said." She smiled. "I know you would never betray me now."
"Never again," Lexa agreed, her voice a pained whisper. "Now our people are one."
Clarke smiled and leaned into Lexa's body again. "As are we," she said happily.
Lexa nodded simply. "For this life and all that comes after it. I will never let you go, Klark kom Skaikru."
"I'm going to hold you to that promise, Leksa kom Trikru. Or you'll have an angry Wanheda on your ass."
—O—
A world away, a hesitant knock resonated through the bedchambers of the Queens of Arendelle.
The initial reply to the annoying noise was a nonsensical grumble from the redhead currently occupying over half of the large bed, including the sleeping figure of the pale blonde beneath the redhead's lightly freckled body. The second response to the persistent knock was a fluffy pillow thrown awkwardly at the door, falling quite short of its target and striking the floor with a weak puff.
When the knock rang out a third time, significantly louder, the platinum blonde hair of Queen Elsa finally shifted as the Winter Queen sighed and began to disentangle herself from her wife Anna's grabby limbs. "I'm coming, I'm coming," Elsa called out, not worried about waking Anna. It would take considerably more to fully wake the Summer Queen, or at least a different approach, Elsa thought with a smile as she created a long silver robe around her as she walked to the double doors of their chambers.
"What is it?" Elsa asked as she reached the doors, not dissolving the ice holding the doors closed just yet.
"My apologies, Your Majesty, but something has come up which requires your attention immediately," came the voice of their personal assistant, Hilde.
"Is everything fine, Hilde?" Elsa asked, lifting her right hand but not using her magic just yet.
"All is right in Arendelle, Your Majesty," replied the young woman, using the code which indicated that nothing was amiss.
Elsa waved her hand, dissolving the locking seal of ice around and between the doors, then depressed the latch to open the right door. "What is it, Hilde?" she asked, concern growing in her heart. "Is Arista alright?"
Hilde quickly nodded. "She is, Your Majesty, and thank you for asking. In fact, she's already left the castle to see things for herself, but I thought you and Queen Anna would want to be made aware of this immediately."
"Of course," Elsa said, stepping aside to let Hilde into the room then closing the door behind them, restoring the icy barrier once the doors were closed. One assassination attempt several years ago in her and Anna's bedroom was more than enough to instill caution in both of Arendelle's monarchs.
"Elsaaa..." moaned a sleepy voice from the bed behind Elsa. "I'm cold."
"You don't get cold," Elsa said over her shoulder, unable to keep from smiling at how much she loved Anna.
"I'm lonely."
"I'm right here, Anna. Hilde has something important to tell us."
"I'm sleepy."
"Then sit up. You'll remember things better that way."
Elsa began to relax when she heard no further complaints from Anna... until she saw Hilde look over her shoulder toward the bed and their assistant's eyes grow startlingly wide.
Elsa quickly lifted a hand to cover Hilde's eyes while flinging her other hand behind her, using her magic to create a short nightshirt for Anna. "Anna!" she said quickly. "That was rude!" Turning, she saw Anna yawning, her arms stretched toward the high ceiling; she imagined Anna had inadvertently given Hilde quite a show just then.
"Sorry," mumbled Anna. "Didn't realize anyone was here." She rubbed sleepily at her eyes, ignoring the chaotic mane of coppery hair floating around her head.
"I told you she was here," Elsa said patiently, finally lowering her hand from shielding Hilde's eyes. "It's not my fault you didn't listen. Now if you can stop scandalizing our friend, maybe she can tell us what's so important that Arista had to leave in the middle of the night to investigate."
That particular fact succeeded in getting Anna's full attention. Anna slid out of their bed, yawning once more but covering her mouth with her right hand as she walked toward Elsa and Hilde, the conjured nightshirt just barely falling to mid-thigh on her.
"There have been reports," Hilde began, "of something awful happening to a family in the southeast of Arendelle..."
—O—
After a few seconds of disorientation, the hooded man realized that he stood once again ankle deep in snow, with a spitting cold wind swirling all around him. But as he looked around, he realized the snow was different, more grainy and irritating, and the mountain peaks were entirely wrong from what he seen the last few hours while he had labored on his vile ritual.
"It worked," he said to himself, grinning evilly as he took stock of his new surroundings.
Despite the limited protection from the cold granted him by possession of the eldritch tome, he hurried toward the nearest settlement; he could feel the pull of even a handful of lives when contrasted to the odd barrenness of this new world, giving him a beacon to pursue.
As he arrived on the outskirts of the tiny village, he hid in the barren treeline for several hours, until he was certain no one was keeping a vigil in this weather and this late at night. Then he merely had to wait a bit longer, until a single man left the shelter of a small hut seeking to relieve himself.
It was a simple matter to approach him undetected from downwind in the storm, but when he stabbed the man in the back, the hardy man refused to go down without a fight, turning and landing a fierce blow to the cloaked man's jaw. But a second slash of the knife, this time to his throat, stilled the larger man, and the cloaked man was upon his victim even as he sank into the snow.
"Shhh," he whispered despite the howling storm as he pressed one hand to the man's throat to momentarily slow the bleeding, then his other hand to the dying man's forehead. "You're going to share with me everything you know as you die," he said, knowing that his words couldn't possibly be understood by the dying man.
Not yet.
As the man's life left him, his recent memories flooded into his cloaked assailant's mind, thanks to a few whispered words of a dark language never meant to be uttered by humans. The man's name, his thoughts, his language, they all flowed into the consciousness of the hooded man, who gasped with the painful sensation of draining his victim's psyche.
After several seconds the cloaked man threw his head back, dropping his hood and revealing a head full of thick auburn hair marked by prominent sideburns, a clean-shaven face, and green eyes with speckles of black in their irises, gleaming with excitement and more than a touch of insanity.
Despite the biting wind, he laughed quietly at the irony of his situation. "The Ice Nation?!" he said, dark humor lacing his words. "The more things change..."
—O—
Author's Afterword: So this chapter is pretty much Clexa. That needed to happen first, for many reasons. Next chapter will start to have more of a balance between our two main protagonist couples. This story's theme is going to be quite serious, much more in line with The 100 rather than Frozen, but I'm telling you a few things up front: There will be no stray bullets taking the lives of any lesbian characters, Lexa and Clarke are going to get some much-deserved happiness, and I love happy endings. Make of those statements what you will.
Do be aware that I update very slowly, simply because I write long chapters, proof them several times before posting and try to ensure very high quality work before I post. As such, I usually update about once or twice a month, so please be forewarned of that. If typos do slip through, I usually will have them corrected within a few days. I hope you enjoy this story and stick around for the ride!