Chapter 15
During the journey toward the Skykru camp, the atmosphere was tense.
Lyanna was sharing a horse with Anya again and they had not spoken again after their conversation in the healer's hut. The princess understood that she needed to be careful with her words, but she could not deny how rattled she was after their conversation.
Her eyes flitted to Lexa riding ahead of them next to Gustus over and over again. She hoped that she would soon have an opportunity again to speak to the commander in private. The number of questions that were heavy on her mind was just increasing now.
"You are silent" Anya assessed after a while. She could feel the tenseness in the younger woman's body sitting in front of her on the saddle and she hesitated to pull her closer to herself. The horse was a little discontented with Lyanna sitting in the saddle almost like a piece of stiff wood and its huffing was growing more prominent as they continued their way.
Lyanna only made a slight noise of acknowledgment but remained mute.
"Are you tired?" Anya prodded in confusion. She had noticed that Lyanna had fallen silent since their conversation in the healer's hut. It did not fit with the nightblood princess asking questions almost nonstop before. It was important that the young woman would get to know her environment and the way they lived if she wanted to have any chance of blending in.
Lyanna shook her head in the negative "I am thinking" she retorted in a low tone. Her gaze was fixed on the commander riding in front of them. She was not sure how old the leader actually was. Her face spoke of youth, but the way she carried herself made it hard to make an acute judgment.
Anya huffed under her breath and waited for the nightblood princess to break the silence. She could almost feel the buzzing questions radiating off of the younger woman. Surprisingly enough, she remained resolutely silent.
"What are you thinking about then?" she prodded with another huff, annoyance seeping into her veins with every passing second.
Lyanna rolled her eyes, knowing the general sitting behind her would be unable to see it before she answered with a question of her own "How old is the commander?"
"She is within her 19th summer" Anya gave the information with a slight frown, unsure of what the princess was playing at.
"How old was she when she took up command?" Lyanna asked this question in almost a whisper. She had almost hoped for the commander to be a few years older than she actually was, although she could not pinpoint exactly why she had felt a little disappointed with the general's answer.
"She ascended in her 12th summer" Anya gave the answer easily. She still remembered this day vividly and she knew that she would never forget it either. She remembered how afraid Lexa had been right before her conclave, the brunette had not spoken about it, but she had known the girl well.
Lyanna let out a big puff of air, startled by the answer. "She was a mere child" she breathed out as horror sat into her veins. She did not know yet how this ascension was done, but her mind was struggling to wrap itself around the concept of a child being put on a throne. She remembered her first meeting with the commander in the tent and how she had automatically assumed Gustus to be the leader. She could only guess how weird it must have looked just after Lexa took up command. "Are commanders usually this young?" she added the question almost tentatively.
Anya was beginning to understand where these questions were coming from and she could understand the apparent interest and sudden unease of the princess better now. "There is no general age of a commander" she answered. It was true that Lexa had been exceptionally young when she took over the throne. But there had been commanders who had a similar age as Lexa at her ascension as well as others who had been many years older when they took the throne.
"And how long does a commander usually reign?" Lyanna added another question, only logical as a follow-up.
"That also highly depended on the individual commander" Anya answered, "Lexa is in power for seven years now and by forging the coalition she has done something, no other commander managed before her."
The pride in the general's tone was evident to Lyanna and she wondered how deep the personal connection between Anya and Lexa actually was running. She knew though that right now was not the moment to inquire about it.
"How is it actually determined who gets to be the next commander?" Lyanna asked instead. She had not been told anything about this yet and she was of course curious. She could imagine that there would be some form of evaluation or test, maybe even a vote. But somehow what she had seen of them yet, did not fit with the concept of voting for a leader.
Anya hesitated with her answer. She sensed that explaining the concept of the conclave to the princess right now would most likely only overwhelm her. The girl had not officially been announced as a novitiate just yet, but of course, there would already be warriors watching her at this moment. She assumed that the young woman's reaction may be too emotional to have out in the open like this. She also knew that Lexa was hoping to still have the chance to change things about the conclave during her reign, but only time would tell if the brunette leader would get this chance still.
"It is not something to discuss right now?" Lyanna checked, turning in the saddle slightly to glance up at the general's form behind her. Her midriff experienced a painful tug at the motion, but it was not unbearable. The general appeared calm and collected though, so, she probably had not angered or annoyed her with her ongoing questions.
"Lexa will surely explain this aspect to you soon enough" Anya evaded the question easily. She tightened her hands holding on to the reigns as the younger woman moved in front of her and was in danger of sliding off one side of the saddle.
"Okay" Lyanna acknowledged the answer without any discussion. The general had already given her more than enough new information to give her something to mull over now.
Darkness had started to fall around them and Lyanna was a little surprised that they did not stop to make camp for the night. She could barely make out Lexa riding in front of them, only slightly ahead. The moon was not very bright this night and they were still riding through the forest.
"Isn't it dangerous for the horses right now?" Lyanna husked the question in a mere whisper over her shoulder. She had felt Anya's arms tightening around her body even further a while ago, keeping her steady in the saddle.
Anya snorted slightly "Are you afraid of the dark, princess?" there was an unmistakable tease within her tone.
Lyanna rolled her eyes again and pouted, although she knew that the general would not be able to see either reaction.
It took a while later before Lyanna finally saw that they were moving in the direction of a light source. She was confused about it at first until she remembered the sight of Clarke's camp in the dark only a short moment before having been shot.
Her heartbeat quickened as the memory flashed through her mind and her breaths came out in elated bursts as she relieved the immense pain and shock of having been shot. Lyanna placed one of her hands directly on her midriff, feeling the bandage that was still wound around her body and she felt the wound pulse angrily with her breaths.
"Hey" Anya addressed the young woman in front of her in rising worry. She had felt her tense even more and she could hear her breathing being elated and her body seemed to shake all of a sudden.
"I … know …" Lyanna tried to force through clenched teeth "… where we are going". She had great difficulties to try and fight off the panic settling in her whole body.
Anya nodded. She understood the underlying implication without further explanation. She pulled the princess's back flusher against her own body, sure that the younger woman would be able to feel her beating heart slightly against her back. "Concentrate on me" murmuring the words into her ears in a reassuring tone "I will not let them harm you again".
Lyanna later wondered how no one of Skykru had noticed their approach. They had not only traveled with a rather small group of warriors all on horses. But another and much larger part of the force had already assembled right in front of the Skykru's camp. Of course, the warriors would have waited for the cover of darkness to move close and start constructing their tents. But still, it did not give a good impression to the guard of Skykru that a whole army managed to march on them totally undetected.
She did not think that it had been a coincidence for Anya to stand vigil with her while a tent was erupted for them, right next to the largest tent in the whole camp. It went without saying that the commander would reside in it.
"What is that?" Lyanna questioned in a curious tone. Even though they were surrounded by nothing but a little dim light she could see a few warriors carrying some weirdly shaped things into the commander's tent.
Anya snorted under her breath "In times of travel, the throne travels with the commander" she commented.
"Lexa is bringing a throne with her while she travels…" Lyanna echoed incredulously and raised a brow at the general. In the silence which settled between them momentarily, she thought for a moment and something clicked within her mind "The commander is not expecting Skykru to just pack up and leave, right?".
Anya inclined her head and if Lyanna was not mistaken appreciation flitted over the general's austere features "You will notice with time that appearances can be very powerful".
Lyanna raised a brow again "Are you telling me that the commander has a flare for dramatics?".
It did not seem to be a question that Anya deemed worthy of an answer though. Not that it actually needed an answer as Lyanna found out just a few moments later.
Torches had been passed around in the darkness after the tents were erected fully. Once the commander stood at the entrance to her tent, a signal was passed through the ranks of the warriors and all at once and it was as if all torches were lit simultaneously.
"Dramatics, indeed" Lyanna muttered under her breath. She was impressed though. She could guess just what the Skykru must be feeling now, faced with their impending doom visibly. Echoes of a few screams wafted over from their camp and Lyanna could sympathize with them, while Anya sneered at the apparent show of fear.
"You seem tired" the general had turned her back on the Skykru's camp. Their tent was finished and she was looking closely at the nightblood princess, taking in the strained expression on her fair features with a twinge of worry.
Lyanna nodded wearily. The wound was hurting much more strongly again and she longed to lie down. She was antsy though of what was going to happen. It was clear now that the commander did not expect a peaceful solution to be found easily with Skykru. After what had happened in the village and what Anya had told her about the position of the commander, she got an idea of how precarious the situation really was. She had naively assumed before that the commander could just command her people to form an alliance with Skykru without any repercussions.
She had never observed her father suffer from any repercussions from any decision he made in his function as king. She wondered now if she had just been too blind or if his position had simply been securer.
"You still seem deep in thought" Anya observed after a long silence had settled between them. The general had helped the nightblood in taking off her boots again and they were settling down for the night.
Lyanna turned onto her side in order to face the general lying on a bed roll next to her. A candle was still burning and illuminated the small tent, basking it in the soft flickering light.
"I am wondering what will happen tomorrow," she said truthfully.
Anya shook her head slightly "That is irrelevant right now. Neither will worrying change anything about what will happen. You need rest".
Lyanna groaned under her breath "Oh please do not tell me that shutting your worries down is another skill I need to master…".
"It very well is" Anya deadpanned in a calm tone "You better start meditating again. As you will every night from now on."