i felt inspired to write something soft and concluding, so here you go.
now, read, ponder, and enjoy!
The king and queen timed it well. Announcing Clarke's countship around the same time as Anya's impending wedding was a great strategy, because a royal wedding would always drown out the awarding of a noble title. Plus, Arkadia had been without a noble for quite some time, so a majority of the country was mostly relieved that the mansion wouldn't stay barren any longer.
Of course, there would always be some vultures who were looking into every crevice of the announcement, poking holes into Clarke's past and generating fake news about her in general, but those were easily swept away when it was clear that the palace wouldn't entertain their mediocrity.
All in all, it wasn't all too bad. The council's recommendation letter came easily once it had done its due diligence to ensure Clarke's suitability. Clarke and Lexa had managed to pay a couple of visits to Arkadia to know the people, with the princess guiding the doctor on when to smile and how to respond to inquiries and celebrations. The palace had set a date for the officiation of the title.
Heck, even her mother seemed calm in the face of having a noble as a daughter. All she did was demand a visit from Clarke for a face-to-face explanation, although she did kind of look like she was having a mini-stroke when she realized that a Polis princess had joined her daughter in the visit as well, standing on her threshold with four bodyguards surrounding the perimeter.
"Honestly, I didn't think it would last," Abby commented after getting over her shock, properly greeting the princess, and affectionately hugging her daughter. "But I guess I should have seen it coming with the countship."
"Mrs. Griffin, I assure you that the title has nothing to do with our relationship," Lexa replied with well-meaning smile on her lips, not so subtly taking a gander of her girlfriend's childhood home. "You have a nice home."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
Meanwhile, Clarke was herding Lexa towards the living room, where there would be places to sit, meaning that the princess wouldn't have to lean on her cane any longer than she should. Clarke had been immensely relieved when Wells had cleared Lexa from any dangers in the near future and even slyly indicated that exercises were allowed from now on.
Yes, the two of them had taken a lot of advantage from the clearance, and Clarke could hardly believe that she managed to hold out as long as she did after their first night in a long time on Lexa's very comfy four-poster bed. And then they'd proceeded to christen Lexa's study, Clarke's apartment again, and even the limo at one point.
None of that meant that Clarke stopped worrying though. For the rest of their lives, Clarke was sure that she would worry about Lexa, but the one good thing about it was that she had finally stopped being stupid and got to be by Lexa's side throughout. She meant it when she said that she would never leave Lexa again until the princess asked her to.
"I'm happy for you," Abby said quietly as they stood in the kitchen, Lexa admiring the albums that Abby had quite happily relegated to her in the living room. "Really. I don't know her, but I can see that she makes you happy. That's all I've ever wanted for you, even though I've gone the wrong way about it before."
"Yeah?" Clarke sounded uncertain as she opened various cabinets for cups and teabags.
"Yes, Clarke," her mother reassured her, leaning back against the counter. "She does make you happy, right? Otherwise, I don't care if she's a princess, I'll boot her out of the house with a ladle if I have to."
The blonde chuckled and dunked tea bags into three cups of hot water. "The happiest, mom."
"Good. That's good."
Now, Clarke was not under the illusion that Abby and Lexa would be the best of friends…ever. The two of them were too different, even with Abby's tendencies to climb up the hierarchy and Lexa's position on the hierarchy.
But she was glad still to see them getting along. They would never be the best of friends, but dinners would never be awkward. Abby and Lexa were both trying for her sake, and they barely had to try when it came to talking about Clarke's childhood. Sure, it was at her expense, but she really didn't have any complaints.
It was surprisingly simple, actually, to get a countship. So surprising that Clarke had haunted Lexa's assistant all day to really make sure that she didn't have to do anything else other than sign a few contracts and show up in the throne room on the date itself.
Really. She stayed over, made love all night, and woke up an hour before the ceremony. She appeared in the throne room in the best dress she had – seriously, she was saving it for Raven's wedding, which could happen any day now, but she supposed she could just get a new one. Raven would forgive her.
Though admittedly, there was a moment when she kind of choked, because she had never seen Richmond and Storme in their full royal regalia before. Crowns, coats, capes, and thrones; one had to wonder how they managed to not drown under all that getup.
And then, with her hand on a bible – a tome she'd barely read in her entire adult scientific life – two knees on a golden cushion nicely placed before the thrones, and a sword lying flat on her shoulder, Clarke swore to carry out her duties to the people to Arkadia as a Countess should and…that was it.
Dr. Clarke Griffin was officially the Countess of Arkadia.
"This is crazy."
"That's basically what I've been saying since I met Lexa."
"Like actually batshit – oh god, are those chocolate balls gold plated?"
"It's a royal wedding, Raven. What did you expect?"
"I think I'm gonna pass out."
"Before you do, can you tell Bellamy to stop with that creepy smile of his?" Clarke urged, one hand pulling on Raven's forearm and subtly pointing at Bellamy at the far corner of the room. Honestly, never had she regretted agreeing to have her two best friends attend this wedding than right this moment. "He's talking to the Minister of Religious Affairs, for the love of god."
Raven chuckled, shoving two gold plated chocolate balls into her mouth at the same time. "Nice pun," she imparted, and started crossing the milieu of dancing couples to where her boyfriend was.
Clarke remained where she was. At the bar, with the free flow of champagne and red wine and all the other rich alcoholic stuff that royalties drank. It wasn't often that she got to drink stuff that went down her throat so smoothly that she was of the mind to migrate the whole storage to her apartment. Or the mansion at Arkadia that apparently belonged to her now.
God, it was still difficult to comprehend this part of her life. Never in her life had she ever imagined that she would be here. At a royal wedding. Mingling with dukes and marchionesses and senators. It was like a wild, wild dream that she once had in second grade.
In a week, she would be back at Silver Hill, returning to her duties as a doctor and a patron of the Hippocratic oath. She would force feed everyone in her path to shed her identity as a countess, and she would save lives. In a week, she would pretend that everything was back to normal, other than the fact that she was dating Princess Lexa of Polis, Duchess of Goldcrest, third in line for the throne.
"Hey, pretty blonde doctor." Clarke smiled into her champagne, refusing to entertain the flirtatious attempt. "What's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?"
Pretty blonde doctor rolled her eyes and deigned to look up at her new companion, who was looking entirely too ravishing in her silver gown with a see through back and a thigh slit. Clarke had to tighten her grip on the stem of the flute so that she wouldn't succumb to the impulse of grabbing Lexa and devouring her right here at a royal wedding reception.
"Lexa, there's no need to butter me up. I already love you," she declared dryly, though the smile remained pasted on her lips.
"Butter, huh?" Lexa commented with a smirk of her own. "Didn't know you're into that. I learn new things every day."
Clarke heaved a disbelieving huff and circled her fingers gently around Lexa's wrist, guiding her to one of the empty chairs near the bar and forcing her to sit down. All night, she'd been watching her girlfriend flit from one corner of the room to another, entertaining guests and acting as if the cane was just an extra leg – being the perfect maid of honor.
All night, she found herself watching with a mixture of pride, adoration, and concern. She could hardly believe that there was once a time when she thought she could convince the woman to let go and just be a woman. Lexa, like it or not, thrived in her role as a princess and part of the family that could execute real change. And she was beautiful as she did it.
"How are you feeling?" she asked, taking a seat next to Lexa.
"Like a man just took my sister away," Lexa replied easily, though not without a hint of peevishness. "I should never have approved Roan as a suitor for Anya's hand. Why didn't I see this coming?" she complained.
That wasn't much of a surprise. In all the weeks since Clarke found herself slowly incorporated into the royal family without the public knowing, she'd learned a lot of things about this family that she'd grown up admiring from afar. For example, Lincoln could never resist a game of tennis, regardless of the weather. For example, Storme had a habit of sucking on a lollipop in the morning post-breakfast before she went about her work. For example, Richmond loved the Beatles.
For example, Lexa and Anya's sisterhood was so special that it was impossible to ever get in between them, even Clarke Griffin herself. One moment, they would take jabs at one another as if they were about to go into a mini war among themselves. Then another, they would be pulling pranks on the staff and family alike, giggling into the distance.
Clarke had known that Lexa would have a hard time letting her sister go and allowing Roan to take over the job of one Anya Woods, because that's what they were, this royal bunch. Each of them was a job, and they were all too happy to take them on, Clarke and Roan and Octavia, because they were suckers like that. The club of smitten royal partners, entirely too absorbed in their prince and princesses to see the rest of the world.
"Hey, do you want a big wedding?" Lexa asked, almost halfheartedly as she dangled her own champagne flute between her fingers, taking in the ballroom they were in. "It feels like so much work."
"I never thought I would get married," Clarke answered, watching the brunette carefully. "Not until I met you anyway. You, Princess Lexa of Arkadia, bulldozed your way through my expectations and left me with nothing at all."
Lexa, still not looking at her, only smiled wider at the answer. Moments passed where Clarke watched Lexa and Lexa watched the rest of the room. And then the brunette turned to the blonde with a grin and asked, "Hey, you wanna elope?"
Clarke blinked. Once. Twice. Thrice. "Are you – is this a proposal?"
"God, no." She didn't allow herself to display the disappointment sinking through her chest. "I would never do that. You once promised that you'd be the one proposing," Lexa lackadaisically added, running her fingers through her perfect hair. "You should know that I'm prepared to say yes anytime though."
Clarke could only gape at the princess. Her girlfriend. The love of her life. Lexa, who had just somewhat agreed to spend the rest of her life with Clarke without actually saying it. Without Clarke actually asking it. God, she loved this woman so much.
She reached out for Lexa's hand, tangling their fingers together. Tightly. Well-fitted. "How about we let the tabloids have their fun with us first?" she suggested.
Because right now, Clarke was only here as the Countess of Arkadia, as the doctor who saved Lexa's life twice. No one other than a few close family friends knew about their relationship. It seemed unbecoming to let themselves take over the spotlight of Anya and Roan, both of whom Clarke had never seen so happy in the short time she knew them.
Plus, before, Clarke still wasn't prepared for the publicity and the lack of privacy. But she'd been talking to everyone she could talk to, from Costia to Storme. She'd taken all the advice she could, and honestly, she just wanted to hold Lexa's hand on the streets and not feel guilty about it.
Thankfully, other than blinking in surprise, Lexa didn't exactly poke and prod. This was why she loved Lexa, because the woman always knew when to ask and when not to. She was good at this reading Clarke stuff; she was the best at it, really. She was prepared. She'd prepared herself for weeks, and she was prepared.
"Let's go then," Lexa said, standing up and supporting herself with the cane.
Clarke blinked. "Wait, right now?"
"As the saying goes, there's no time like the present."
"But the wedding –"
"This will go on for the whole night, trust me. I've made my toast and I've said hi to everyone. And if I have to look at Thelonious Jaha's face for one more second, I might actually shove my good leg up his ass," Lexa announced, almost like she didn't care that there were people around to hear her. "So yeah, right now."
Clarke reminded herself that she was prepared. She was ready for whatever was to come. And then she stood up and held onto Lexa's hand, allowing the princess to kiss her on the cheek and lead her out of the ballroom.
The next morning, Rachel emailed them an array of tabloid headlines and clear photographs of Lexa and Clarke walking out of the hotel, big smiles on their faces. But what definitely couldn't be missed was the way their hands intertwined so perfectly, like they were made for another. Or the looks in their eyes, where they could see nothing else but each other.
"We looked good," Lexa commented, bare naked on the four-poster bed in the master bedroom of the mansion in Arkadia.
Clarke snuggled into the arms of the woman that had changed her life in more ways than one. She breathed in the lingering smells of sex and sweat that never left Lexa throughout the night. Humming in agreement, because yeah, they did look good, she slowly drifted off to sleep, feeling safer than she had ever been in her life.
alright, that's it. y'all are cut off. i think i will leave this fic as it is, because i really don't see how i can expand...for the near future, anyway.
once again, thank you to those who have been from the beginning to the end. it's truly been a pleasure.