Ai Hod Yu In

Chapter 28

Lexa lay on the couch in the rooms they'd been in, Madi curled up in the other woman's arms. Clarke didn't know when she and Lexa had become so close that she would allow Lexa to nap with her infant daughter, but she had to admit it felt natural. Meanwhile, Clarke herself was sketching. At first she'd simply been sketching randomly, drawing the river she and Gustus had often gone to. Next thing she knew, her drawing had shifted to be the lines of Lexa and Madi's sleeping faces. Clarke had decided that apparently that was what she was meant to be drawing, and so she had simply continued, putting much more care in her images this time.

She could hear a quiet moan, and at first she thought that Madi was getting close to waking up. She started to stand, not wanting the little girl to disturb Lexa from her sleep. Just moments after she stood, Lexa jerked awake with a gasp.

"Hey. Hey. It's okay. You're okay. What were you dreaming about?" Clarke soothed, laying a hand on Lexa's back while checking over at Madi for a moment to ensure the child still slept peacefully.

"The commanders before me. They speak to me in my sleep. I saw their deaths at war, at the hands of an assassin." Lexa whispered, a haunted look in her eyes.

"It was just a nightmare."

"No. No, it's a warning. They think I'm betraying their legacy. Jus drein jus daun has always, always been the way of our people." Lexa told her.

"Listen to me. A ceasefire is not a betrayal. What you did on that battlefield stopped a war. Your legacy will be a lasting peace." Clarke responded, taking Lexa's hand into her own. Lexa allowed the contact for a moment before grabbing her hand away, standing up and closing the book that was left in her lap. She walked a few steps before seeing the sketchbook Clarke had been using, "Oh, um… That's, uh… That's not finished yet. You two just looked so peaceful, so right together. I didn't even mean to start drawing, but when I did I just couldn't stop. It seemed right."

A knock came at the door, and Lexa turned a bit, "Enter."

Titus swept into the room. Clarke moved quickly to gather her things, putting them in the bag she now carried with her for convenience and moving to her child.

"Pardon me, Heda. I didn't realize you were busy." he said, seeming to sneer at Clarke a bit as he said that. Behind him, two of the guards dragged in a large trunk.

"Are you going to tell me what's in the box or not?" Lexa questioned.

"Forgive me. This is a gift from King Roan of Azgeda for Wanheda. The messenger said this is both proof of Azgeda's loyalty to the coalition and an answer to a yet unanswered question. May I?" Titus asked, moving to the side a bit. Clarke moved forward hesitantly a bit, "Open it."

The two guard opened the box, and Clarke looked in it. It was a man, a bit bloody. It took her a minute to realize who he was.

"Emerson?" she asked. He growled, beginning to yank at his chains and trying his best to lunge toward her. He ended up on top of her, still growling and trying his best to attack her.

"Stop him!" Lexa yelled, "Get him out of here! Put him in a cage now."

"I'm fine," Clarke told her, standing up and watching as the growling man was dragged out of the room. She shook herself out of it, finally noticing Madi's crying. She turned around, seeing that Lexa had picked up the baby in the hopes of soothing her. Clarke had to smile a bit at the site before she reached out and took the baby, who calmed at the familiar scent of her adoptive mother.

Clarke took some time to calm Madi as Lexa deliberated with others on what to do with Emerson.

"Here she is," Titus said, turning to her. Lexa looked over as well.

"How is Madi?" she asked, and Clarke felt a warmth in her chest as a woman she was beginning to think she might love asked how her daughter was with such concern. Lexa really was amazing.

"She's doing well now. She had quite a fright, but she's a strong girl. I just got her down for a nap and left her with Alaia. You wanted to see me, Commander?" she asked.

"Yes. We need to discuss the fate of the last Mountain Man." Lexa told her.

"I believe he deserves death," Titus chimed in.

"She can speak for herself, Titus." Lexa cautioned.

"I want to say Titus is right, that Emerson deserves to die," Clarke started slowly.

"You see? It is human nature to need vengeance. Only once satiated, can there be peace. That is our way." Titus said.

"I was not done. I want to say that, but I can't. For one, I can not ask you to live by one set of rules while I choose a different set entirely. For another, I do understand why he would hate my people. If anyone did anything to Madi, I would destroy them and all they stood for. Emerson is one person. He is no longer a threat. As much as I want him dead, I would not advise that as the best course of action."

"That was our way. If even Clarke, the commander of death, can live by this new code, then so too can you, Titus. And I am not looking for advice, I am looking for a decision," Lexa told her.

"He was gifted to you. The crime he stands charged with is against your people. It is up to you to decide," he said.

"Then I believe it is only right that he be banished from these lands forever," Clarke said. She felt a bit guilty. Emerson was the only mountain man left. He blew up mount weather, killing some of her people. He really did deserve to die. Still, Clarke knew that he had a son, a toddler son. If it had been her and Madi instead of Emerson and his boy, would she not have done the same thing? The truth was, death would have been a mercy for her at that point as well.