Chapter 13

Lyanna was surprised to see that night was falling around the village already as she was being led out of the holding cell by Anya.

She saw Markus being led into another small tent on the other side of the village and a number of guards took up their post around it immediately.

"What happens with Skykru now?" she questioned the general in a low and strained tone. The pain was still intensifying and she knew that she indeed needed to rest.

Anya still had a hand on the younger woman's back as they walked through the village slowly. "The commander will decide" she answered easily. Lexa had not proclaimed just yet what kind of message Thelonius was supposed to bring to his people. She had seen the dark-skinned man being dragged towards the commander's tent and she was sure he would be hearing the message for his people most likely at this very moment.

Lyanna waited with her next question until they had reached their shared tent "Anya?" she started with an almost hesitant voice and when the general looked at her with an expecting expression, she continued "Were you worried about Lexa?"

"In that cell" the general checked and raised a brow.

Lyanna inclined her head in agreement.

Anya immediately shook hers "You have never seen Lexa fight before, but this man had no chance of hurting her. He only got to hold the dagger to her throat, because she allowed it to happen" she answered with a confident tone.

Mulling the general's words over for a moment, Lyanna remained silent. Her features were torn between astonishment, and a sliver of adoration, and lastly, fear settled on them.

"How should I ever be able to learn any of this?" the princess spoke the question in a strained and weak tone and she let herself sink down on one of the stools around the small table.

Anya furrowed her brow at the younger woman. No one of them would expect the girl to pick up everything within a matter of days, but she did regard it as possible for her to learn. It would remain to be seen if she possessed any kind of talent for fighting, but they could only start testing that when her wound had some time to heal.

"You do not need to learn everything in a day or two" she tried to appease the princess. It was obvious Lyanna was upset and worried.

Lyanna looked up sharply at the older woman "I should better" her voice had gotten firmer again and anger gleamed in her eyes momentarily "I know nothing of your people. I can't even understand what you're talking about if you switch to your native tongue".

"We will change that" Anya sat down on a stool next to the princess and laid a hand on one of her knees, giving her what she hoped to be a reassuring pat.

The general's hand on her knee was at the one hand grounding and on the other, she felt it burning hotly through the material of her pants, but Lyanna was way too upset to pay it too much attention for the moment.

"I know that without you, I would already be dead already" she continued to speak, ignoring the general's words altogether.

Anya gave her an incredulous look. The general sensed that she could try to argue with the princess now, but that it had very little sense. It appeared to her that Lyanna needed to state her thoughts and if she required her to listen, then listen she would.

"Oh, come on" Lyanna reacted to the older woman's doubtful look "Most likely neither Clarke nor I would have ever gotten out of these damn tunnels at all. And as you pointed out we also would not have gotten through the traps hidden in the woods" she paused momentarily, sighing "but that was not the point. You defended me in front of Lexa. I've seen now that she could have just as easily decided to execute me on the spot."

She paused again and her eyes were almost burning in their intensity as she looked right back at Anya who was sitting patiently and letting her rant undisturbed.

"Probably still could, if she wanted" the general gave a curt nod at the princess's words and Lyanna closed her eyes for a moment before she opened them again "I don't think your people are primitive by the way, just because you are not using technology".

Anya raised a brow at the princess. The logic sounded lacking to her. Just a moment ago the girl had claimed nothing about their people. Knowing nothing would not allow making any kind of founded assumption about their way of living.

Lyanna pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. She felt antsy and overwhelmed, just as well as she felt exhausted. She was torn between the need to start learning all that she would need to keep alive and the growing wish to lie down and curl together, probably to cry as well. If she had thought her life had been complicated before, she had had no imagination of how much it could change within a few hours.

She sighed again, opened her mouth to say something, and closed it again with a snap and frustration settled onto her features at her failure to find words for what was going through her mind.

"Are you done?" the general broke the brief moment of silence, keeping her tone light and her expression as kind as possible.

Lyanna huffed slightly and raised a brow at the older woman, but she remained silent.

"Good" Anya acknowledged with a curt nod and she gave the girl's knee another soft squeeze "You are overthinking and overwhelmed" she assessed easily enough and for the most part she could fathom why. She could not claim to understand exactly what the princess was feeling, but she could guess a lot of it. "Your situation will not get any easier by doing that though" she reasoned calmly "You already know all there is to know for the moment".

Lyanna opened her mouth again, intent on protesting this point. She felt that the ratio of what she knew and what she should know at this moment could not be any more unbalanced.

Anya shortly held up her other hand to silence the nightblood though "You know that you have my support and as it seems Lexa is intent to let you learn from her as well. Right now, what you should be doing is resting. Your body needs to heal. Once you are better, you can start learning".

A frown settled onto the princess's features at the general's words. She was unnerved a little by the woman's serenity. Of course, she knew that in parts the older woman was right. No amount of worrying would change anything about her situation. She knew that. But she could not understand how Anya could be so calm and composed when she herself felt like there was a storm raging inside her mind.

"I do not think that I will be able to find rest right now" she had taken a moment of silent contemplation of the general's words before she spoke up again and Lyanna felt her internal tension like something tearing through her mind viciously.

"Do you know how to meditate?" Anya questioned the princess and when the girl shook her head, she sighed slightly "That ought to be our first lesson then".

She gave the younger woman's knee one last squeeze before she stood up from the stool and motioned Lyanna over to the bed rolls.

"You can have some more of the healing herbs if you want to" the general offered and waited for the princess to follow her.

Lyanna got up with a slight sigh and she nodded to the offer. The pain was getting stronger still and she knew it would most likely impact her sleep. She was still not convinced that she would even be able to fall asleep though.

Anya went back over to the table and retrieved some of the herbs, while Lyanna already slowly lowered herself onto one of the bedrolls.

The princess looked at her feet and the boots she was still wearing, she doubted that taking them off was a real possibility for her at this point.

"You know there is no shame in asking for help" Anya reminded the nightblood girl in a gentle tone when she was back at her side. She had crouched down in front of the princess and mutely handed the herbs to her. While the girl was chewing on them, she took one of the girl's legs up, placing the foot on her own knee, making the laces of the boots easier to reach, and began to undo them in silence.

Lyanna sighed lightly under her breath, but she nodded. Her expression was grateful, although she looked away from the general's intent stare when their eyes met. She knew that she was being too hard on herself when she felt bad for not being able to undo her own boots at this moment, but it only added to her rising feeling of inferiority. Her shoulders slumped slightly as she slouched her position.

"Stop that" Anya admonished the nightblood and her tone had lost some of its gentlenesses as she narrowed her eyes.

Lyanna looked up briefly and her expression was confused "Stop what?" she checked. She was literally just sitting here and not doing anything. She grimaced when the herbs began to turn to a vile-tasting mushy thing within her mouth and she spat them out, reaching over to a piece of cloth to get rid of them and wipe it over her mouth.

"Thinking" Anya retorted briskly while she pulled the boot off the girl's foot. Her eyes narrowed slightly when she noted that some of the blisters on her foot seemed to have erupted. She would keep in mind to make sure that girl did not walk too far the next few days or those would never heal properly.

Lyanna huffed and bristled slightly "How am I supposed to think nothing?" She was alienated by the concept and she doubted it was even possible.

"That is why you learn to meditate" Anya answered easily, still unlacing the second boot for the princess.

"It is literally impossible for a human to not think at all" Lyanna pointed out with a frown, not wanting to cave the discussion just yet.

Anya pulled the second boot from the girl's foot and placed it on the ground gently while her expression showed her growing annoyance "Then you have no control over your mind".

Lyanna rolled her eyes at the older woman "You can't mean to tell me that you can think nothing at command?" she checked and sarcasm was seeping into her tone.

Anya looked at the princess with a hard expression "New first lesson" she started, obviously not impressed with the princess's words "you respect me at all times and do as I say without any argument".

Lyanna gaped slightly at the older woman "I am not a child" her temper flared up.

"You act like one" Anya deadpanned and stood up, folding her hands over her chest as she stared down at the younger woman.

Lyanna opened her mouth to retort something but closed it again. She did not think that she had been acting like a child, but starting an argument now over it would surely only fuel the general's opinion. She tried to even her breathing, but she was powerless to stop her thoughts from falling right back into chaos.

"You are again thinking too much" Anya pointed out and uncrossed her arms over her chest "Back to meditating" she continued and pulled the second bedroll closer to the one where Lyanna was sitting. "Lie down" she gave the order in a softer tone again, pleased that the princess had not tried to argue with her like a petulant child.

Lyanna obeyed mutely, lowering her body with a muffled hiss to the bedroll. It hurt the most when the tensed and clenched the muscles in her abdomen, but she knew it would fade soon enough as the herbs were kicking in slowly.

"Close your eyes now, Lyanna," Anya said into the slight moment of silence when the princess kept staring at the canopy of the tent.

The princess let her eyes flutter close only a moment later, but to Anya's liking the girl's breathing was still too quick.

She tried to guide the nightblood princess into breathing more deeply and evenly, but it was obvious Lyanna was getting frustrated and failed to find relaxation.

Anya furrowed her brow when the girl opened her eyes again "This is not working, Anya" the princess stated it almost as a complaint.

"Clearly" Anya agreed with a slight nod. She knew that not everyone was able to slow their mind with the same technique and she had learned a variety of them in the past. "You cannot quiet your thoughts, right?" she checked.

"No" Lyanna agreed with a heavy sigh "Still thinking of all the things I should be trying to learn now."

Anya's furrow grew into a slight scowl "You should be sleeping and resting, nothing else" she admonished the girl and her voice had gotten a sharp edge to it.

"Close your eyes again" she directed the girl and decided to lie down beside her "Focus on your surroundings".

She paused for a moment "Focus on what you can feel, what you can hear and what you can smell".

She noted with a slightly pleased expression how the girl's breathing immediately evened somewhat, but the princess was still not fully relaxed and she tensed again when the clang of steel on steel, probably from ongoing training, wafted into the tent.

"Give me one of your hands" the general ordered in a soft tone and she held out her own hand in a waiting position. Once she had the girl's slender fingers in her own, she gently guided the girl's hands to rest on top of her chest, right where the princess would be able to feel her heartbeat beneath the clothes.

"Anya…" Lyanna started to say in protest.

"Sshh" the general immediately shushed her and she was pleased to see that the girl had kept her eyes closed "Concentrate only on my heartbeat and the rise and fall of my chest".

Lyanna squirmed a little for a moment and when Anya cleared her throat loudly and tightened her grip on the younger woman's hands minutely, she quitted down again.

"Match your breathing to mine" Anya directed the girl in a calm and even tone "until our hearts beat united".