Disclaimer: I do not own The 100 or any of its characters.
Author's note: at the end.
WAR ON ICE
An observation.
Clarke was still excited by the night's sky. Lexa noticed how often she'd look up at it whenever she was outside at night. It was casual, usually, like one would run a hand through their hair or brush over an itch on their arm. And it was always the same expression on her face: enchantment.
They were outside and camped for the night on their way to the battle at Mount Weather. For whatever reason, Lexa and Clarke were laying outside in an empty clearing, staring up at the stars. Their warriors were nearby, patrolling and guarding, but they just lay there.
"We call that one Sheidheda," said Lexa after a while, moving to point toward a constellation of stars that cut off abruptly.
"Sheidheda," Clarke repeated slowly. "That means… Dark Commander?"
"Yes," Lexa replied, impressed at how quickly Clarke had picked up their language. "Very good."
"Who's the Dark Commander?"
"We don't speak of him," said Lexa. But she knew without even looking at her that Clarke required more information. "He's known as the corrupt commander. An evil man. He only had one eye."
"One eye after he became Commander?"
Clarke grinned as she asked it, because she didn't know any better. She didn't grow up hearing the stories. She didn't live in the shadows of what Sheidheda had done. She didn't see him in her dreams and combat the vile influence he sought to instill on her leadership.
"Do you have names for the stars, Clarke?"
"Only the ones we could see from the Ark." Lexa turned her head to see Clarke squinting up at the night sky. "But everything looks different down here…"
It was silent for a few moments. Clarke continued to scan the sky, and Lexa continued to scan Clarke, taking in her rapt focus and attention as she searched for swirls and patterns that seemed familiar to her.
"There!" Clarke finally exclaimed, pointing to their left. "That one is called the Lynx, for the sharp eyes it takes to see it."
Lexa followed where Clarke was pointing but didn't see anything.
"Really?" Clarke asked. Lexa saw the mischief glinting in her blue depths. "My, my, a detail I can see that the Commander can't."
Lexa snorted, and then Clarke took Lexa's hand and lifted it up into the air, pointing to the spot where the constellation sparkled. Clarke's hand was soft and smooth. Lexa allowed her to move it further to their left, which required Clarke to stretch and lean closer to her.
"Do you see it?" Clarke asked, her lips close to Lexa's ear. "Right there. Next to the extra bright one. It looks like a leaping lion."
"I have never seen a lion."
"Neither have I." Clarke laughed, and her breath tickled the side of Lexa's face. She was very close now. "But do you see it, the zig zag of lights there under the ursa major?"
Lexa did. She saw a collection of lines in the shape of what could be construed as a jumping animal. And she smiled as she nodded, and as Clarke's hand lingered on hers, and how neither of them moved away from each other.
o - o - o - o - o - o
Chapter 4
Lexa had problems sleeping at Camp Jaha. The Arkers' bedding wasn't what she was used to. The frame was steel, the mattress soft, and the sheets too thick. That alone didn't bother her as much as the foreign-ness of it all. It felt cold. Wrong. She also couldn't hear the sounds of night all around her like she did while traveling or while staying in one of the villages. She'd grown accustomed to that and found that she missed it.
What was she doing there, she asked herself? Just as much as Clarke wondered, Lexa wondered, too. She hadn't initially wanted to make a personal appearance. She'd been trying very hard not to, as she sat in her tent waiting for news of Clarke and her people's fate. Lexa's inherent sense of duty and the call to lead her people told her that checking in with the Sky People would be a horrible idea and something she shouldn't even think to entertain. But, still, something in her told her to do it anyway. Something she couldn't quite explain. After hearing how Clarke brought down the entire mountain, she thought of Clarke and her nature-fierce, yet just, and merciful. And she worried about her.
And she worried about the Ice Nation, of course, and how the one force keeping them at bay was now gone forever. But she did worry about Clarke, too. Probably more than she should.
"Heda," Indra had greeted, startled, as the Commander strode over to the village entrance with her winter furs, horse, and sack of supplies at the ready.
"I'm leaving for a few days," Lexa had declared, not pausing as she placed her foot in the stirrup and hauled herself up onto the smooth, leather saddle. Her warrior continued to gaze at her, bewilderment frosting her eyes, but Lexa ignored it. "If anyone asks, I'm on a private mission and will be back soon. You all can suffice without me for a while now that the threat of the mountain is gone. I will send word."
And then there she was-laying wide awake in the cold, wide bed the Sky People have prepared for her, wishing she could be anywhere else.
Where was Clarke? Lexa blushed at the thought. She shouldn't wonder where Clarke slept or where she was or what she was doing. It wasn't her business, nor her place. But, she still wondered, like she wondered what in the world she was doing there, and how everything would turn out when the entire ground was at war with one another.
On the morning of her sixth day in the Sky camp, there was a soft knock on her door. Lexa's eyes snapped open and she jumped up to answer it at once, still fully clothed from the day before.
"Hello, Lexa." It was Abby, and Lexa felt a slight sense of disappointment pierce her. "I'm here to show you to the kitchens. Unless you'd like to wash up first, of course."
It was strange, being carted around by one of the Sky People's leaders like this. It had become the norm since the Sky People made it quite clear to Lexa that she wasn't exactly a guest, or a prisoner. Lexa would respect their rules and not ask too many questions of them. She accepted the food that was given to her, spoke only when spoken to, and abided by whatever customs and expectations were presented to her. Lexa would do everything she could to be the perfect guest, because she needed their peace. The entire ground needed their peace.
She saw Clarke on their way to another meeting. She was carrying a pile of bandages when her eyes caught Lexa's. Clarke looked her up and down quickly (or was Lexa imagining it?) before she nodded curtly and then passed by them without a word.
That was better, Lexa thought, settling down at the table with Abby, Kane, and the rest of the Council. At least Clarke didn't pull a knife out of her pocket like the first day she arrived, or avoided her gaze completely during the first few meetings. She was proving to be mature about the situation. The mountain must have aged her in that way.
The summit was only one day away. Representatives from each clan were en route, along with Lexa's guard and trusted advisors from TonDC and other villages The real planning could begin soon. It was a marvel they'd made it this far and that the council took Lexa as seriously as they had. There was a very real possibility that they would have killed her as soon as she showed her face. But they didn't; they decided to listen to her. And Lexa would honor that choice and help them see how wise of a choice it truly was.
Because if they didn't work together now, the Ice Nation would destroy them all, especially Clarke.
o - o - o - o - o - o
"Clarke!"
Someone tapped Clarke on the shoulder as she rounded the corner of a hallway and she tensed and reached for her knife. It was an instinct for her now since she's been on the ground-react, protect, fight. It was her first impulse. It was the way she survived.
"What the hell, Bellamy?" she sighed, relaxing her shoulders as she realized who it was. He was standing close to her and did not flinch as she'd lunged for her weapon. "Don't do that."
"I need to talk to you."
"About what?"
"Lexa."
Bellamy's brown eyes were hard. Clarke recognized the distrust that radiated from them. He'd expressed these fears to her before. About Lexa herself, actually. He didn't trust the grounders or anything they said they wanted, after they'd burned Finn and then abandoned them back at the mountain. Clarke didn't blame Bellamy for these thoughts and these cautions, but sometimes she disagreed with them.
"I don't trust her either, Bellamy." They were in the corner of one of the labs, unnoticed by any of the busy workers. "But, something tells me that this time is different." Lexa's behavior had been off. Clarke wouldn't pretend to be an expert on all things Lexa, but she was so...mild. Meek. Obedient. That wasn't the Lexa she knew.
Maybe she'd had a change of heart after the mountain, feeling guilty about what she'd done and realizing after Clarke took it down that other options were possible. That still didn't explain her demeanor, though-unquestioning, unassuming, unbothered by things. What was she doing, and why was she acting that way?
A lab worker neared them just then, fumbling around for supplies in a cabinet, and Clarke lowered her voice. "I'm on to her, Bellamy. Something is up. And we'll figure it out."
His gaze held hers for a few seconds before he nodded, frowning. "I'll hold you to that, Clarke. Because we know from experience that she will always put her people first. And we have to put ours first now."
o - o - o - o - o - o
Costia didn't want for it to be this way. But it was.
The wind howled and Costia's bones shook with the cold as she sat in her brick cell at the Ice Nation's headquarters. She wasn't a hardened soldier like Lexa. She wasn't taught from a young age to ignore discomfort, to set aside emotions, to fight against her desires; to put everything and everyone before her own feelings and comfort. It was harder for her. And, if she were being honest with herself, it seemed damn near impossible. She was but a girl born at the sea, stuck there in the north.
But she would try. Gritting her teeth and shaking her head, Costia swore to Lexa and to all the Commanders before her that she would die trying to escape from the Ice Nation who staged her death and held her captive for the past two years. To do so, all she had to do was follow the Queen's plans and help her get what she wanted: the power of Wanheda.
Author's note:
Thanks for reading! i'm having fun thinking about ways to tie in some history/invented aspects of the Ice Nation into this story. I feel like the Ice Nation is always up to something and has plenty of tricks up their sleeves, which we'll hopefully explore in this story.