A/N - First off, this is a big chapter guys. It was going to be a lot smaller and the plot was going to be completely different but I kinda got carried away haha. Although when reading, just remember my promise of happiness, it's all good guys I promise.
Right, two things I need to just quickly say as well. Firstly, lots of people have been asking me about my other fics. I haven't abandoned them at all, but I am in a really stressful period of my life right now so I just need you guys to be a little patient with me because I am doing my best and I promise that I will be updating them as soon as I possibly can.
Second. I have a reader called Wraithrage Ragnarock who is really cool and has left some really nice reviews for me, including one mentioning their own fic which I went to check out. If you like Game of Thrones then you should definitely give it a look, I'm on the follow list because I was genuinely surprised at how much I enjoyed it, because I don't usually read GoT fanfics because it's such a hard world to write for because of the complexity of it. But this is a nice, easy read that gives all the information you need without over doing it on minute details that the audience can do without. It's called The North Never Forgets so if you have a minute be sure to give it a look.
Finally, please enjoy this chapter, I love you all and I can't wait to hear what you think! xxx
The remainder of the time they were given had past quickly, and it was soon the day before the Clanless had announced they were going to attack.
Emori's information had proven to be helpful, with Lexa grilling her for many hours about the possible strategies that she though might be used against Arkadia. That coupled with the additional information about their numbers led to a solid defensive strategy being implemented, which was largely made up of a series of bombs that Raven had rigged, buried at various points around the camp that Emori highlighted as logical attack routes.
Standing outside, Lexa looked at the Skaikru fighters that had came outside in preparation dubiously, although she didn't let that show on her face. No matter how much they trained, they simply couldn't match Trikru's fighting prowess, it was an impossibility in the space of a week. Nonetheless, with their advance weapons and the army Lexa had brought to back them, she was confident that they would put up a good fight.
There was motion at the back of the group before they parted to let Ontari, Octavia and Raven through as they marched to the front to stand in front of Lexa and Clarke who were in full armor and warpaint themselves. Looking, as Octavia called it, like the most badass power couple alive.
Octavia immediately moved to stand next to Lincoln, both of them in gear themselves, with warpaint smeared over their faces. The two of them stood side by side, and in that moment, Lexa finally understood what Octavia had been trying to explain with the phrase power couple. The two of them together looked invincible.
It was the first time Ontari had been seen in her armor, and she was an intimidating sight, shrouded in black fabric with a hood that caused her face to lie in shadow. When she slipped the hood down, her warpaint became visible, the white paint of Azgeda that accentuated the scars on her face and made her usually soft brown eyes seem dark and calculating.
Raven however, was the most surprising to see. Many of the Skaikru did a double take as they saw her next to her girlfriend, especially Abby, who's mouth dropped open when she saw the quiver of arrows on her back and the gorgeous bow clasped tight in her hand. She had chosen to take the warpaint of Azgeda to show her bond with Ontari, and the white paint coated the better half of her cheeks in a swirling pattern before ending at the corners of her mouth.
The look on Lexa's face was proud as she inclined her head slightly to Raven, having been there when she was agonizing over whether to join the fighting or not, and Lexa respected her more than ever for how she was refusing to show even an ounce of the doubt that had been raging through her only an hour later.
Heda and Wanheda stepped forwards together, drawing their swords and raising them into the air as Skaikru and the gathered Trikru warriors cheered.
"Soon this camp will be attacked!" Clarke cried out, her eyes sharp as she looked around at her people, "But we are not alone in this fight."
"The armies of my Coalition stand together!" Lexa joined her, "And now we will show our strength. Because Arkadia will not fall. Not now, not ever!"
The cheering was thunderous as it rang out through the camp.
Once it had died down, Clarke lowered her sword to her side, "You all now what you must do now. Those who are not on sentry duty, rest, but be ready to fight at a moments notice. Tomorrow is the day we take our place in this world, once and for all!"
The crowd dispersed quickly, the people knowing that they needed to be as well rested as possible for the day they had ahead.
The six friends gathered together closely, with Octavia impulsively sticking her hand into the center, Clarke and Raven followed quickly with matching amused grins. The three grounders stared at them confused before reluctantly following suit, taking their cues from the three arkers.
"What now Octavia?" Clarke laughed, "Cheesy line from a movie?"
Octavia shook her head, "No, this fight will start and end with us as a family, I think that's the important thing to remember."
Raven grinned before quickly counting down from three before they threw their hands in the air, simply crying out the word family. Lexa, Lincoln and Ontari were swept along with it, their hands being on the top, but they all made a not to ask their significant other about the meaning of the gesture once they were in private.
"Raven, can I have a word with you?" Abby asked, hesitant to disturb the six of them, but feeling what she had to say couldn't wait.
Gritting her teeth, Raven nodded, already knowing what the conversation would be about.
They walked a little to the side before Abby stopped, pausing as she tried to work out how to phrase what she wanted to say, "Look, I understand that the others will all be out there tomorrow but-"
"Abby." Raven growled warningly, "I advise you to just stop now."
Stubbornly, the doctor persisted, "Raven you have nerve damage to your leg, I'm not sure a battlefield is the right place for you, why not stay and coordinate the attack from here?"
Taking a deep breath, Raven placed a hand on Abby's shoulder, "Look Abby, I know you are just looking out for me, but how can I stay here safe when my friends are out there placing their lives on the line? When my girlfriends putting her life on the line? I have been training with a bow so I can ride a horse and shoot. Ontari believes in me, so do Lexa, Clarke, Octavia, Lincoln, I need you to as well."
Abby shook her head, "I'm sorry Raven, but I can't condone you leaving this camp during the fight, it's too dangerous, I-"
"Actually Abby, it is too dangerous for you to continue that sentence. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to walk away now." Lexa cut in, who had been standing listening in.
"I am Raven's doctor, I cannot clear her for-"
"Clarke!" Lexa shouted, "I'm about to hit your mother, I assume you will want to stop me."
Clarke immediately shot over from the conversation she had been engaged in with Octavia, pausing next to Lexa to assess the situation before turning to her mother, "What did you say to make Raven and Lexa mad mom?"
"She's trying to keep me inside the camp during the battle." Raven said, keeping her voice even, but just unable to contain the underlying frustration in her tone.
"Mom, Raven is a warrior now, and she belongs with us." Clarke said immediately.
Ontari, Lincoln and Octavia gave up any pretense of not listening in, coming closer to see Abby's reaction, Ontari quickly taking Raven's hand supportively.
To those in the camp not close enough to here the conversation, it was a humorous sight, with the doctor facing down six warriors in full armor and warpaint.
"Clarke, you don't understa-"
"No you don't understand." Ontari jumped in hotly, Octavia nodding along enthusiastically without even knowing the point Ontari was about to make. "Raven is the strongest member of your clan, and she will be riding at my side to protect your home. Whatever you say changes nothing, because we will fight together, and then we will go home to our son, so you may as well just give up now."
Lincoln smiled regretfully at Abby, "I think that it would be best for you to just give up now Abby, when these five set their mind to something, it happens."
She opened and closed her mouth a few times speechlessly before doing just that. Turning and walking away without another word.
Octavia clapped her hands together as she left and turned to the others, "Well that's that then, time to get some rest not then?"
They shared a laugh as they headed off to their respective rooms, determined to get some sleep as they waited for the horn blast from the sentries at the gates.
They woke up to a deafening noise, and rushed outside, taking only a second to check themselves for their weapons and that their armor was correct before heading out of the door and to the main gate.
As they arrived, they saw the enemy that was emerging from the tree line less that half a mile from the gates.
As their enemies formed up into one mass of bodies close to their camp, Lexa breathed a subtle sigh of relief.
"What is it?" Clarke asked quietly, noticing the way the tense line of Lexa's shoulders visibly relaxed.
"Emori estimated between two and three thousand warriors, their number is far closer to two." Lexa whispered back, as they gates swung open to let their army out of the walls. The six friends leaving last on horseback, each carrying a ranged weapon as well as a sword.
A solitary rider from the clan less army rode forwards, stopping a short distance from the first of the defensive lines Lexa's people were holding.
"Wanheda, you disappoint us, are you too afraid to fight without the Commander's armies?" He shouted haughtily, which would have been more effective if he didn't look incredibly uncomfortable on the horse he was riding.
Clarke grinned, and nudged her horse forward, moving through the lines until she was within striking distance of the man, "Actually," She shouted back, so the army behind him could hear her, "I just don't find you important enough to deal with single handedly. Then stories would be told about your deaths for years to come, why give you the honor of making you one of my great victories? I am more than happy to share this glory with the Commander, who will make you just another in her long line of triumphs."
Raising her hand, she pressed a button on the little black box that Raven had handed to her the night before.
"That's not to say I don't enjoy a little dramatic flair of my own though."
A massive explosion went off that decimated one side of their army, killing at least three hundred of them immediately, which instantly increased the odds of victory for Arkadia.
Tossing the remote aside, Clarke kicked at her horses side and surged forwards, slashing at the messenger who fell without another sound.
The army that had marched against them shifted nervously at the strange technology that the Skaikru had used to kill so many of them. They had heard about such weapons but had never seen them in action before so the sight was jarring.
Lexa wasted no time, taking advantage of their distraction to scream a fierce war cry before prompting her own steed into a gallop, racing down the slope towards where their enemies were still standing.
The combined armies of the coalition and Skaikru followed after her, with Clarke immediately falling into step with Lexa as they went into battle.
Octavia and Lincoln flanked them on either side, as Ontari and Raven went to the side, having agreed to circle round to stop any escaping from their army. Their orders were to shoot down any that tried to run away. On the other side, a similar force was led by Kane, who had two riders with him on horseback, one Skaikru with a gun, and the other Trikru carrying a bow.
With their initial maneuverer going off perfectly, their troops were bolstered as they went at them again and again, cutting them down where they stood.
The battle ranged intensely, spreading out until it encompassed all the way up to Arkadia's gates as well as into the forest on either side.
Raven and Ontari were a brutally efficient team as they circled the fight, taking careful aim at any who were running rather than standing and fight. Between the two of them, not a single coward escaped from retribution after attacking Arkadia.
Octavia and Lincoln soon fell into a seamless routine, slashing away before Octavia was knocked from her horse. Lincoln wasted no time, jumping down to stand back to back with her as they fought on foot, driving away their enemies as they cut a path for themselves.
Lexa and Clarke struggled to retain the same proximity to each other. With their individual statuses, they were both targets for anyone looking to make a name for themselves, and so had to battle harder than anyone to stay side by side.
Eventually, a gap of about twenty meters had opened up between them, with each of the couple holding their own whilst worriedly keeping an eye on the other out of the corner of her eye.
A blade suddenly caught Clarke's leg and she cried out, twisting to drive her blade through the mans chest.
But it was enough to distract Lexa, who's head snapped up as she looked for Clarke. In the moment of her distraction, her sword was knocked from her hand, and she felt a blinding pain shoot through her arm as a foot connected with the back of her knee, sending her crashing to the ground. Which was immediately followed by an armored boot kicking her in the head.
The warrior who had attacked her grinned madly, holding their own jagged edge sword over her neck, "I can't believe that it's me! I get to kill Heda!" She giggled maniacally.
"Lexa!" She heard a voice cry out, as she struggled to focus on anything but the intense pain radiating outwards from the broken arm she had suffered and the gleaming metal hovering in front of her face.
"How many times do I have to tell you, you're not allowed to die on me?" Clarke laughed as she pressed their lips together.
Lexa smiled against her mouth, "Well maybe I'm just pretending to not listen, maybe I enjoy hearing that you care."
"Of course I care." Clarke said seriously, pulling back to look into Lexa's sparkling green eyes, "If you died it would kill me. I have lost so much, but when I'm with you, it's like all the broken pieces are back together and I'm me again. I don't want to go back to being no one."
Lexa's eyes softened, "You were never no one Clarke, and you never will be. As long as it is within my power, I will be by your side. I wish I could promise more, but I swore I would never again lie to you."
Clarke smiled, stroking the side of Lexa's face gently, "I wish so many things, but I understand that nothing in this world is certain. So instead, how about we promise to do everything we possibly can to stay together, that way there is no guilt if something does happen to one of us."
"I will gladly make that promise Clarke." Lexa nodded, "But with an addition, I vow to you that I will protect you until your last breath."
"And I will do the same until mine." Clarke said softly, shifting so she was on top of Lexa, reaching her hand up inside her shirt, "I love you."
"Until the end of time." Lexa answered softly, before leaning up to recapture Clarke's lips.
Clarke screamed Lexa's name over and over as she fought like a wild cat trying to get through the wall of warriors that were blocking her path. But they stood firm, knowing the bond that Wanheda had with the Commander, and that it would kill her to see her love die.
The warrior girl that was standing over Lexa licked her lips slightly, an almost feverish glaze over her eyes as she knelt down, pressing her waist against the Commander's stomach.
When Lexa failed to react with anything other that a slight dazed struggle, the girl huffed in frustration, taking hold of Lexa's injured arm and yanking on it sharply.
Lexa's back arched as she tried to get the girl off her, screaming in pain as her arm was pulled again and again.
Clarke watched in horror, realizing the extent of Lexa's injuries and also her inability to get to her.
The warrior wrapped her arm around Lexa's shoulders and pulled her to her feet to face Clarke, forced to support some of the Commander's weight when the knee she had kicked failed to hold.
Lexa's eyes were unfocused, glossed over with pain, as the sword was raised again to her neck, clanless bitch grinning at Clarke as she prepared to kill the Commander.
Slowly she pressed it against Lexa's throat, the cold metal causing Lexa's movements to still as what was happening broke through the foggy haze her mind was occupying. But as she desperately tried to regain control of herself, she knew it was already too late, and she was out of time.
Then an arrow was suddenly jutting out of the clanless girls throat, who dropped Lexa to the ground as she clutched at her neck, trying to stem the flow of blood pouring from the wound.
Raven lowered her bow, racing over to Clarke to pull her onto her horse, as Ontari's jumped the wall of bodies, leaning down to grab Lexa by the back of her armor and pull her onto her own horse.
"You've looked better Lexa." Ontari whispered to her quietly, as Lexa just blinked her eyes a few time weakly before settling against the Azgeda's chest.
They rode straight back to Arkadia, leaving Kane to finish off the rest of them along with Lexa's people, who had been enraged at the sight of their Heda almost being killed.
"No." Lexa protested weakly, as they slipped through the gates, "We haven't finished, the fights not over."
"Yes Lexa," Ontari said gently, "It is, the fight was nearly finished, the group around you was the last of them except for a few small pockets of resistance dotted around. Within the next twenty minutes, the last of our warriors should be returning. You can rest now Heda."
As soon as Raven's horse stopped, Clarke jumped down, ignoring the pain in her own leg as she raced to Lexa and caught her as Ontari gently lowered her down.
"Mom!" She shouted as she saw Abby tending to the wounded not far from them. "Help me!"
Directing her assistants to continue what she had been doing, Abby ran straight over, catching hold of Lexa's good arm to drape it over her shoulder so they could carry her to the med bay to get her settled into a bed.
"Wait." Lexa said softly, beckoning Raven closer as she struggled to keep her breathing even and her eyes focused even as the fog over her mind was clearing, raising her hand, she put a streak of her black blood through the white paint on Raven's cheek. "You saved my life today, I won't forget that."
Clarke smiled slightly before noticing how Lexa was avoiding putting weight on her left leg, so she looked at Ontari pleadingly, who nodded immediately and gently lifted Lexa into her arms, carrying her after Abby.
Trusting her mother to take care of Lexa for the moment, Clarke flung her arms around Raven, burying her face in her shoulder.
"Thank you Raven, I thought I was going to have to watch her die." Clarke said tearfully as Raven wrapped her arms round Clarke's shoulders comfortingly.
"Never gonna happen Clarke. Lexa would've pulled some miracle and gotten out of it, I just helped."
Clarke laughed quietly, "Maybe, maybe not, but thank you anyway."
A/N - So, thoughts? I promised no death, injury however, maybe a bit. Lot's of people were hoping for a bit of excitement so I hope you enjoyed this, don't forget to review! xxx