A/N - Bloody hell guys I had to actually force myself to end this chapter because I just kept writing and writing. Final word count is close to three and half thousand words which is a record for this fic! :) Please, please, please let me know what you think by reviewing and thank you for the continued support on this! :)
When Clarke woke up Lexa had already left and her mother was sitting on the end of their shared bed, "Mom, what are you doing in here?" She asked confused.
"Lexa sent me up to tell you that she had gone to prepare for today, and also to make sure you got up in time." Abby smiled at her, nodding towards the window.
Clarke looked over and noticed that the sun wasn't yet up, "Oh right, it doesn't start until sunrise does it?"
"Yes, the competitors have all been down there for the last two hours warming up."
Reluctantly Clarke climbed out of the bed and ducked into the room at the back to get changed as Abby looked around Lexa's room curiously, "So I take it you live solely out of this room now?" She asked, wandering over to Lexa's desk to look though the maps had charts she had out.
"Yeah." Clarke shouted through, coming round from the back in a set of clean clothes. "I wouldn't move any of that, Lexa doesn't like anyone interfering with her system."
Abby stared at the mess of papers dubiously, "There's a system to this?"
Clarke laughed and reached round to replace the map Abby had moved in it's original spot, "There is to Lexa."
As Clarke led the way out of the door and down towards the arena grounds, Abby let her mind mull over her daughters relationship with the grounder commander. She didn't understand it but sometimes they would do something so small and simple and it would remind her of the way she used to be with Jake. Like Clarke knowing exactly where the map she had touched was meant to go without seeing her move it. Jake had been similar, every time someone moved her medical equipment without her knowledge he would carefully put it all back exactly where it was supposed to be, knowing how much it stressed her out.
When they reached the grounds Clarke walked with her over to where the rest of Skaikru was already standing.
"Clarke are you sure about Octavia as the warrior for our people?" Kane asked worriedly, concerned about sending the teenager against warriors who had been trained from birth to fight.
Clarke smiled, understanding his reluctance, "Who would you have me choose in her place? She is the only one of our people who can hold her own against a grounder in a fair fight. Lexa assured me that there is no deaths during tournaments and if we didn't enter someone it could cause another war."
Kane sighed, "Ok then, I suppose we have no other choice."
Clarke patted his arm sympathetically, "Octavia's a good warrior, and she's happy about this, just enjoy the competition and maybe talk to some of the other clans during this week. It is a good opportunity to share information and build closer alliances without the direct intervention of Lexa."
Roan suddenly appeared at her shoulder, "Clarke it's nearly time, we should take our places."
"Are you not staying here with us?" Raven asked, having assumed that she would have time to question Clarke about what was going on between her and the commander.
Clarke shook her head quickly, "No, I'm a clan leader so I need to be up there to oversee the tournament with the leaders of the other twelve clans." She waved goodbye and took Roan's offered arm as he escorted her through the crowd chivalrously before taking his own seat which was next to hers on the dais.
"Your people question you too much Clarke." He commented casually as they waited for the other to take their places.
"My people are different to the other clans, they are my friends more than my subjects." Clarke smiled at him, not offended by his comment because she understood why he found the interactions between Skaikru strange when compared to other clans.
"Then I would be wary of what people you allow to see your interactions, Wanheda can't be seen to be questioned openly."
She acknowledge his advice, "Lexa has said much the same, I will have a word with them later on today."
A cheer went up from the crowd and they saw Lexa striding out from a building, in full armor and war paint, with her sword strapped to her side and her red sash fluttering in the wind. The people bowed to the commander as she passed and then rose to their full heights again to resume cheering. Lexa took her time, walking purposefully towards the dais and then ascending to stand in front of the gathered clans.
She waited for the cheering to die down on it's own, standing patiently with one hand resting lightly on the hilt of her blade. Eventually there was silence as everyone focused on their Heda intently.
"It is good to see so many of you here this morning, after last night I assumed more than a few would still be in their beds sick to their stomach after the revelries." Her voice carried across the crowd with a hint of laughter and there were chuckles at her joke. Many of those gathered knew of someone who was indeed still in bed under the negative effects of the alcohol they had consumed the night before.
"As you know I am fighting in the tournament myself on this occasion, but with the addition of Skaikru we have an uneven amount of contestants. So in round one I will not be fighting, and tomorrow the best performing warrior today will not have a battle. Then from there we will fall back onto the usual pairings structure." The clan leaders all nodded in support of this decision and the people cheered themselves as the warriors emerged from the building and stood in a line in front of the raised platform and faced Lexa proudly.
"Warriors kom Kongeda, you are the strongest amongst your own people, fight well and honorably and there will be no shame if you fall in battle today. Each of you has earned your place on this battlefield."
"Sha Heda!" Came the answering shout.
Ten of them retreated from the arena floor, leaving the first two to do battle that morning.
Clarke found herself enjoying the matches, especially when a chair was brought over and placed next to her on Lexa's command, who sat next to her and quietly explained the origins of each clan as their warriors fought in front of them.
Ontari and Octavia had been drawn in the last two matches of the day so by the time the other four had finished the sun was at it's highest point in the sky.
"Your warrior had been drawn against mine King Roan. He is almost as revered as Wanheda herself amongst our clan." The Delphi clan leader leaned forwards over Roan's shoulder to gloat, feeling secure in the knowledge that his man would out fight Ontari.
Roan shrugged casually, "It is dangerous to underestimate anyone from Azgeda, I have every confidence in Ontari's abilities."
The other leader scoffed slightly as he sat back in his seat.
Lexa smiled at Roan and Clarke, "Strange I have heard no prior mention of this legendary Dephi warrior."
Clarke chuckled slightly and then sat forwards when Ontari walked out, followed by her opponent who loomed over her like Polis tower over the rest of the city.
From the moment they stepped out, it was clear how arrogant the man was facing this unknown girl from Azgeda and he showed off for the crowd, twirling his hulking broadsword round in a great display of showmanship. Ontari just drew her own, slighter, blade and spun it once to loosen up her wrist.
They bowed to each other once and then looked to Lexa who dropped her arm to indicate that they should begin.
Dancing forwards under the immediate overhead strike, Ontari's sword flashed up and drew a red line across his cheek. He hissed in pain and narrowed his eyes, swinging again towards her side but was blocked swiftly as Ontari rolled her body with the blow to avoid her sword being torn from her grasp.
They continued on like that for a while, the giant of a warrior pressing his attacks forward furiously, and Ontari slipping away from his blade just as he was about to make contact.
In a move fueled by pure frustration that he hadn't been able to eliminate the girl who had been Nia's little helper, he followed her block with a punch with his left hand to catch her out. But, instead she seized the opportunity and ducked under, driving the pommel of her blade into the soft tissue at the back of his knee causing a sickening crunching noise.
Once he went down she kicked viciously at his wrist, forcing his blade to drop to the floor where she knocked it aside before raising her own sword to his neck.
The crowd began cheering wildly when the Delphi warrior raised his hands in defeat.
Bowing to Lexa and her King, Ontari walked from the field without a single scratch.
As healers came to carry the defeated warrior away, Roan turned to the Delphi leader in unison with Lexa, who blushed bright red at his gloating before the crippling defeat.
"I would be careful which of your legendary warriors you compare to Wanheda in the future." Lexa deadpanned before turning back to the front as Roan chuckled and winked at the man.
"What do you think Heda?" Roan asked after he had turned back, Clarke listening intently for Lexa's reply as she was curious herself.
"She may have been trained outside of Polis, but she is superior to any one of the night bloods I faced in my conclave. You are lucky to have such a natural born warrior as part of your clan Roan." Lexa replied honestly, finding that she was developing a friendship with Roan herself as well as Clarke now that his mother was dead, and so was more comfortable sharing information with him.
Roan smiled, "I'm sure she will feel honored to hear that you said that Heda."
Clarke suddenly turned to Lexa, a thought just occurring to her, "What if a warrior wins their battle but is too badly injured to compete in the next round?"
"Most warriors will fight on stubbornly regardless of any injuries. But if they absolutely can't fight then they are forced to withdraw but are toasted at the closing feast for their valiant effort." Lexa grinned at her in explanation.
Clarke nodded slowly as she processed the information, "Has that ever happened before?"
Roan shook his head, "No, these are show fights as much as anything else, they avoid vital areas to avoid major injuries."
Clarke shifted worriedly, concerned with what would happen if Octavia made a mistake having never taken part in a grounder tradition like this, but Lexa rubbed gently at her wrist to calm her, "All the warriors were briefed this morning. Don't worry about Octavia, I ensured that she knows and understands the rules personally."
Smiling happily Clarke relaxed again, in awe of how amazing and considerate Lexa was, and how she seemed to just know the reason for whatever was bothering Clarke sometimes even before she did.
Then the leader of the Lake people leaned forwards to speak across Roan to Clarke, "Luck to your warrior Wanheda."
Clarke smiled gratefully, shaking his hand, "And to yours."
Lexa grinned subtly, glad of the mutual respect Clarke was steadily gathering with the other clan leaders and proud of her growing diplomacy skills. Then she tapped Clarke's wrist once to catch her attention as Octavia walked out from the holding room for the contestants.
There was a stir among the crowd as they saw Octavia was walking shoulder to shoulder with the Lake warrior, it was a strong statement to all gathered that the Lake people respected the Skaikru as allies and Lexa wondered if this was a direct command from the clan leader or a spontaneous gesture from the two warriors.
They acknowledged their clan leaders and Lexa as everyone else had and then turned to clasp each others arms firmly. They exchanged what looked like good natured, teasing words, which went unheard by the audience but led Lexa to further believe that the show of a united front was entirely on the two young warriors. Although, judging from the pleased smile on the Lake's clan leader's face, it wasn't an unwelcome approach. Stepping apart, they drew their blades and squared up to one another, waiting for Lexa's command.
The young man Octavia was pitted against had slight build and gentle face, Lexa instantly pegged him as one of the fishermen that worked out on the Lake his clan were named for. It was not overly unusual for a warrior in the further out clans to have additional jobs during peace times as they had no use for war games and constant fighting.
She quickly signaled them to fight and then sat back to watch with interest.
As soon as she saw Lexa's arm come down, Octavia was moving, darting across the gap between them and hitting out at her opponents arm, whose name she had learned was Caleb. A grin flitted across Caleb's face when he realized where she was aiming and he brought his blade to block it, the two swords clashing with a piercing ringing sound. They held their blades together and he started to push down, using his superior height to gain the advantage, but she had been planning for that, twisting so that she could ram into his side with her hip to knock him off balance.
He stumbled to the side and was met by a fierce war cry from Octavia as she swung her sword in a perfect arc heading straight for his stomach. Just in time he managed to get his own up to block, realizing that he had completely underestimated how well Octavia had been trained.
From the dais, Indra watched her second fight with pride as Octavia rained down blow after blow, each more narrowly blocked than the last.
After a short string of perfect strikes that she deflected expertly, Caleb managed to slip in close and catch his foot round her ankle to trip her.
Octavia was caught off guard and fell hard, but forced herself into a roll and bounced back up to her feet, a long gash opened along the side of her face and slowly dripping blood onto her chest. She brought her blade up in front of her and bared her teeth as she growled, forcing the pain to the back of her mind.
Relying on every single one of Indra's teachings, her next set of strikes were almost clinical, forcing away emotion and showing flawless technique as she battered through his defenses and knocked the sword clean out of his hands and halfway across the arena.
Caleb smiled at her as he raised his hands above his head to show that he yielded, and Octavia's face spread into a grin as the crowds's applause reached her ears. They both bowed to the dais and then waited for the rest of the contestants who could still stand filed into the arena as Lexa stood to address the crowd.
"Congratulations to all of our victorious warriors today! You all have the rest of the day and the night to rest before the next round of battles tomorrow. As there will be another uneven amount of warriors, Ontari kom Azgeda is exempt from the battles tomorrow as she is the only warrior to not receive a single word in her fight today."
Ontari bowed her head to Lexa in thanks and recognition of what she said.
"Go, enjoy good food and company, tomorrow will begin at an hour past dawn as we have two less fights to watch."
The crowd slowly filtered away as they loudly discussed the fighters that they had seen competing, there were many mentions of how surprisingly well the Skaikru girl had done which made Octavia swell with pride, although Indra soon smacked her across the back of the head and reminded her not to get cocky.
The clan leaders stayed for a while to share congratulations and then eventually everyone had drifted away to leave the Skaikru, Trikru and Azgeda leaders and warriors.
"I just wanted to say congratulations on your fight today." Clarke offered to Ontari who smiled and took her arms gladly.
"Thank you Clarke, your warrior fought very well."
Clarke grinned at Octavia, "Hear that O? You proved Skaikru can hold their own."
Lexa's lips twitched as Octavia grinned back and then shrank under Indra's warning glare who then winked slyly and clapped her on the back, "Enjoy your victory today Octavia, you earned it."
Octavia practically bounced over to Clarke who laughed and then introduced her to Ontari.
Lexa, Roan and Indra wandered away to leave the three of them to discuss Octavia's battle.
"What of Ontari's request? Have you given it any more thought Heda?" Roan asked conversationally.
"What request?" Indra asked, still naturally suspicious of Azgeda agendas after their many years at war with the Trikru before Heda's coalition.
"Ontari had asked me if she can stay and train with the other night bloods." Lexa told her.
Indra gasped, there hadn't been a night blood not trained in the capitol for over twenty years, "She's a one of your line Heda?"
Lexa nodded quickly and then turned back to Roan, "I am still considering it, although I can tell you that after the fights today my interest in her has only grown."
Roan bowed his head, "Thank you Heda, I must take my leave now so I will see you at the next round tomorrow."
Upon noticing Roan leaving, Ontari excused herself and hurried to catch up with him, leaving Octavia and Clarke to walk back over to Lexa and Indra. "I suppose it's time for training now." Octavia observed glumly as she realized what time of the day it was, no matter what else was going on, Indra had never once allowed her to neglect her training schedule.
Lexa smiled, remembering how strict Anya had once been with her, "Seeing as your Skaikru, it would look strange if the Trikru clan leader was seen to be training you during a tournament in which you may very well go up against one of her warriors."
Indra shook her head at Lexa but nodded at Octavia anyway, "I suppose we can forgo training tonight, but if you fumble in your next battle you won't like the exercises I make you do in our next session."
Octavia grinned, fully aware that Indra had a soft spot for her and bowed respectfully to the three of them, "I will go and check on the rest of Skaikru then." She disappeared quickly and Indra just shook her head again at Lexa and then followed after Octavia back towards the heart of the city.
Clarke and Lexa started wandering back themselves, gently holding hands as they found a quiet moment as they walked through secluded streets in a meandering path back towards the building they called home.
"You know I never realized how good Octavia was getting with a sword." Clarke mused as they walked.
Lexa smiled at her, "It's unusual for someone to progress so quickly, it makes me wonder how you would do if I trained you in the art of sword fighting."
Clarke grinned, "You just want an excuse for us to take a bath together after a long hard training session when we're all hot and sweaty..." She had leaned in to whisper in Lexa's ear who just hummed and didn't deny anything. "Come on Lexa, I'm hungry, let's go get something to eat and then if you want we can have the rest of the day all too ourselves."