A/N - New chapter guys! Excited as always to hear what you think about this, your comments are always the highlights of my day! :D xxx

The ride back to Polis had been harder than Lexa had imagined with her broken arm and injured leg, in the end she just rode close to Clarke and looped the reins off her horse over the front of Clarke's saddle.

When they got back to the city, they made a great show of returning victorious, taking care to show no sign of weakness as they processed through the city. With Lexa greeting all the children who had come to meet them by name.

An hour after they rode back through the gates, the doors of the Commander's tower swung shut behind them, just as Aden flung himself into Lexa's arms excitedly.

Stifling a cry of pain, Lexa stumbled back slightly before regaining her footing and wrapping her good arm around his shoulders, "Hello Aden." She said softly.

Aden jumped back as he heard the underlying pain in her voice, his eyes widened as he saw the cast on her arm and the way she was favouring her right leg. "You're hurt, did I make it worse?" He asked worriedly as he reached out to run his fingers over the cast on Lexa's arm.

"Of course not." She said seriously, rubbing his shoulder gently, "But you do need to be aware that jumping on me isn't a good idea for the next few days."

"Weeks." Clarke jumped in quickly, "Next few weeks."

Lexa rolled her eyes, cut off from a sharp retort as they heard an excited yell and saw Cal flying down the hall towards them, leaping straight into Ontari's waiting arms who hoisted him up onto her shoulders.

"I've missed you so much!" The small boy yelled happily as Raven leaned up to place a gentle kiss on his cheek.

Ontari laughed and tickled the back of his knees lightly as everyone smiled fondly at the boy.

Lexa placed her hand on Aden's shoulder, pushing him forwards slightly towards the lift, followed by the rest of their family, including Octavia and Lincoln, who had tried and failed to escape from the reunion, knowing that that Indra was not going to be impressed when she saw them.

As they stepped off the elevator Lexa's jaw dropped as she saw the damage in the corridors leading to her throne room. The walls were charred and several of the drapes on the walls were burnt beyond recognition.

"So when you said I may want to do some slight renovations?" She said quietly, before turning to glare at Octavia and Raven who she knew was responsible for the mess of her home.

Raven laughed nervously as she ran a hand through her hair, "We needed a distraction to call the guards away from our rooms, this floor is the only place important enough to do the trick."

Octavia held up her hands defensively, "We didn't damage anything too bad, and if we hadn't have done it who knows what would have happened at Arkadia?"

Lexa shook her head despairingly, "Making a valid argument isn't going to help you right now. I will agree to put this behind us, but in return you don't destroy any more of my property, understood? And I'm only making this offer because if I try to wield a sword right now, Clarke will not be happy."

Raven and Octavia nodded hastily, taking the out whilst it was on offer.

Throwing the doors open, Lexa strode into her throne room confidently, leaning her weight on Clarke's arm subtly to hide the pain she was feeling.

"Heda, welcome back." Indra greeted immediately, breaking off from the conversation she had been having with the ambassadors from the clans.

Lexa dipped her chin in answer as she walked up to her throne, breaking off from Clarke at the last minute to take her seat, Clarke quickly moving across to take the Skaikru chair.

"Good afternoon ambassadors of the thirteen clans, I am pleased to report that the defense of Arkadia was a success."

"We lost many men defending those traitors." One of the men seated around her muttered darkly.

The other twelve ambassadors breathed in sharply, surprised when Lexa just smirked in amusement, "We did, and we would have lost many more if the clanless had chosen to attack one of our cities unannounced rather than going after the sky people to make a statement. If anything we should be grateful that they were present to attract the attention."

"Wanheda?" Luna's ambassador asked with a smile, watching the exchange with an interested look.

"I agree with the Commander, having my people be the ones attacked allowed for the clanless army to be wiped out in one fell swoop on a favorable battlefield with minimum casualties." Clarke said calmly, keeping her voice even and focusing on a logical argument that would be easily accepted rather than rising to the challenge of whether her people should have been defended or not.

Lexa nodded at Clarke before looking back at the other ambassadors, "I believe Wanheda just summed up the positives of the battle. Now, how is the clean up effort in Azgeda lands going?"

The ambassador from the Ice Nation sat forward quickly, clearing his throat. "King Roan wished for me to relay his gratitude for the volunteers helping with clearing the streets. Especially, he wanted me to express his personal thanks to Raven Kom Skaikru who's technical knowledge has allowed for all of the ice to be cleared in record time."

Raven smiled happily as Ontari took her hand and squeezed her fingers proudly.

"I am glad to hear that." Lexa said seriously, "And now, if that is all, I am calling this meeting to an end. Indra if you could please stay for a moment."

The room cleared quickly to leave just their small little group and Indra who shot a glare at Raven and Octavia once there was no need to keep up appearances in front of the other clans. "Have you come back to attempt to burn down Heda's city again?"

Lexa held up her hand quickly as the two of them shrunk back from Octavia's mentor.

"I have already dealt with that Indra, I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate your loyalty to me and my coalition. I've not said it before Indra, but you are more than just my General, you are a friend as well, and I value your advice when ruling my lands." Lexa said softly, before extending her arm to Indra, who took it gently.

"Mochof Heda." She replied just as softly, unsure how to reply to what her Commander had said, unused to the sincerity Lexa was showing.

Lexa just nodded her head once, before releasing Indra's arm and allowing her to leave.

Aden watched her walk away thoughtfully before looking back at Lexa, "Are we supposed to reject all of Titus' teachings now Heda?"

Lexa smirked at him, "Only the ones about how to lead our people Aden."