Disclaimer: I do not own The 100 or any of its characters.
Author's note: at the end.
WAR ON ICE
An upgrade.
Lexa never understood how Clarke could walk and fight without any armor other than the back of her jacket. She'd noticed that as she and the Sky People spent more and more time together. It bothered Lexa, for Clarke left so much of her body exposed to external threats. While that may not have been an issue in the sky, it certainly was on the ground, where no move is left unconsidered.
"I have something for you," she'd told Clarke one evening, walking over to her as she stood by the campfire with her mother and some other people. Clarke turned around to look at her while the others narrowed their eyes.
"What is it?"
"Come with me." As Lexa nodded toward her tent and Clarke started forward, Bellamy put his hand on Clarke's arm to stop her. He glared at Lexa before bending down to whisper something in Clarke's ear.
"It's fine," Lexa heard Clarke mutter before whispering something else to him, her arm slipping out of his grasp and gently brushing his hand.
What was that? Lexa wondered, leading the way when Clarke finally walked forward. That touch, the whispers, the protective impulse. The ease between them. The familiarity. Were Clarke and Bellamy…together? So soon after Finn?
Lexa shook the thoughts away as they approached her tent. Petty matters between individuals should not be one of her concerns. And she needn't occupy herself with monitoring the people Clarke spends time with. It's none of Lexa's business. She nodded at her guard, opened the tent fold, and allowed Clarke to step inside. As she passed, Lexa caught the faint scent of roses and blossoms from Clarke's hair, which looked to be freshly washed.
"I'm still waiting for whatever this is," said Clarke, her eyes twinkling at Lexa as the brunette entered the tent. Lexa felt her lips itch up to smile but then held it back before gesturing to the armor plate at the center of the table.
"For you," Lexa explained. Clarke's gaze swiveled to the armor and widened. "I've seen the armor you and your people wear. It is no match to the threat of the mountain and other dangers. You all need something more substantive."
Clarke picked up the armored vest and ran her hands over it. "Is this…"
"Leather with metal, yes." For whatever reason, it satisfied Lexa to see Clarke in awe of the gear in front of her. She watched the blonde examine its contents carefully, her fingers tracing every thread and smoothing over ever fold.
It was a simple piece of armor, really. Lexa pulled it from one of her extra supplies, along with a few more for the other warriors. A merchant back in the capital of Polis had made this group of armor, promising Lexa it would allow the wearer to remain agile while gaining resilience to arrows and other snags. It wasn't special, but it was practical. And much better than what Clarke and her army currently had.
"Thank you," Clarke finally said, turning to Lexa and bowing her head. It became strictly formal now, Lexa realized with a pang. "I will take good care of it."
o - o - o - o - o - o
Chapter 6
Clarke didn't like what was happening. Not one bit.
The Ice Nation was on their way and the camp had gone on the defensive, stationing guards at every entrance and in the main hall of Arkadia. Kane and the rest of the council plotted in whispered conversations in their chambers while Clarke, Bellamy, and the rest of their friends were shuffled aside like children, kept out of everything entirely. Even though they were the only ones who wanted to actually do something about the situation.
"They don't know the grounders like we do," Bellamy was saying as they crowded together in the dining hall. "I know there's some big clan meeting or whatever, but they can't just sit here while they march out there."
"Well, apparently we don't the grounders either, given what happened at the mountain." Jasper tossed a dirty look over at Clarke. He hadn't been taking it well, as to be expected. Clarke could understand that. Maya was kind to them. She'd helped them try to escape; she embraced that what the mountain men were doing was wrong. And what did Clarke do? Murder her and all of her people with the flip of a switch.
Clarke would hate herself, too. In fact, she does and always will.
"We still need to do something," Clarke continued. "Just guarding our walls does nothing to confront a threat we know nothing about."
"Who even are these people?" Bellamy asked. "We didn't see them during all of our time with the grounders."
"They're a rebellious clan." Everyone stopped as Lexa walked over to them, her green eyes watching them cooly. "They do not answer to me, and will now try to conquer the rest of the ground now that the threat of the mountain is gone."
Clafke felt a hit surge of anger pool up in her stomach. There stood Lexa, the leader of the twelve clans who did nothing when the mountain men went ahead to slaughter to her people. She'd fought beside Clarke and the Sky People and pledged her support to help all of their causes, and here she was-standing there smugly discussing a threat that she in reality had caused just as much as Clarke did.
"We didn't ask for your input, Commander." It was cold, and Clarke saw the brief ripple of feeling that flicked through Lexa's eyes. But she didn't care. This was about her people, and this was something Lexa would never truly understand.
"Don't be foolish, Clarke." To everyone's dismay, Lexa pulled up a chair and sat down at the table, resting her hand comfortably on the flat surface. "I know you hate me. I know you all hate me and don't trust me. But you have to believe me when I say the Ice Nation is unlike any other clan. They are ruthless, they are independent, and they will stop at nothing to get what they want."
"Buzz off!" Murphy snapped, shifting his seat away from her. "We don't want you here."
"You've heard it twice now," Bellamy added, eyeing her darkly. "We don't want or need your counsel. Get out of here."
It was silent for a moment. Murphy and Bellamy were bristling, Jasper was glaring at the floor per usual, and Clarke was looking carefully at Lexa.
What did Lexa want? Clarke asked herself this question every day since Lexa had arrived, unarmed and unaccompanied. The girl had waltzed into their camp after having left their people for dead, and now there were talks of peace treaties and the Ice Nation and rebellions and working together as a united front.
Clarke wanted to hate Lexa. Part of her did, but another part couldn't quite help but feel that Lexa wouldn't be here unless there was a truly pressing reason. And maybe the Ice Nation really was that reason, and maybe they should listen to her. She hadn't pulled any tricks since arriving, although the Sky People knew well enough from Lincoln's spying that these were people with no fear of waiting to strike.
Clarke didn't have a chance to finish her thoughts, for Lexa stood up, gave a stiff nod, and then walked away. Retreating from her, again.
o - o - o - o - o - o
The meeting was to go on as planned, the council had decided. It was nothing they couldn't handle, they argued. Everything would be fine, they determined. Lexa let them decide, but made her disagreement heard.
"This is not a threat to take lightly," she insisted calmly, neither too insistent nor too gentle. "Azgada does not attack directly. They know you're watching them at the front, and they likely have armies coming in from the side and behind."
"Nonetheless, we have to finish what we started." Kane did not budge. And of course the other council members followed his lead, as foolish as it was. "Didn't you yourself say that we will never be taken seriously as allies until we strike a treaty with the other clans?"
"Yes," Lexa replied, "but that was under different circumstances. I didn't anticipate the Ice Nation moving forward like this."
"We didn't anticipate your people threatening to eradicate us, Commander, and we did fine. So please forgive me for again having confidence in our ability to defend our walls and negotiate."
These aren't your people, Lexa reminded herself as she felt herself grow impatient with the way they disregarded her warnings. They don't know how much you know, and how much you've been through.
Lexa was no stranger to the doings of the Ice Nation. They'd wandered out of control for years during her childhood, taking people from her village and turning them into spies or, worse, slaves and cheap army bait. It was only recently with the start of the coalition that they calmed down, limiting their raids and mostly keeping their toes in line.
But Lexa never imagined they'd be still for long. And today her instincts were proven to be correct, even if no one else believed her.
o - o - o - o - o - o
That night, as Lexa and Clarke slept in their respective tents outside of Arkadia in preparation for the morning's clan meeting, it happened.
Five figures slinked into Lexa's tent, past the Arkadia guards whose throats they'd slit in silence. Before Lexa could rustle and cry out, they slipped the cloth over her nose and her mouth, her consciousness slowly drifting further and further away until it was black and completely empty.
Author's Note:
Thanks for reading! So sorry for the delay in posting. I had parts of this chapter (and later ones) sketched out, but work got busy and it slowed my pace. Hopefully I can keep up a faster pace moving forward! I hope you enjoy it :)