"Irisa!" Matthew called as he jogged across the camp to catch up to Lexa.
They had been a part of the camp for almost a week at this point and so far very little had happened, Matthew seemed to be waiting for something to happen before he moved forward with his plans so his people were just focusing on training in the interim. Which would have worked just fine if it wasn't putting massive strain on Ontari and Lexa's ability to hide their night blood. Even the slightest mistake could cost them their lives.
"Where are you running off to so early in the morning?" He smiled charmingly as he fell into step beside Lexa.
Pushing her hair back from her face, and mourning the absence of her usual braids, she smiled up at him, "I needed to go for a walk or I would have strangled my sisters. I love them dearly but their bickering grows tiresome very quickly."
With a laugh, he offered out his arm, which she took quickly knowing that building a connection and trust between them was the fastest way to gaining information, "I suppose I was lucky then, growing up without siblings."
Lexa grinned, "They can be a blessing and a curse."
"I'm sure." He smiled back, before pausing and gesturing to the sword on her hip, "I haven't seen you training with my men, sure you know how to use that?"
Smirking, Lexa ghosted her hand over the hilt of the blade, "Trust me, I could run rings around you men, when you find me a worthy opponent I may spar with someone."
With a calculating look he stepped back slightly, drawing his own sword, "I'm sure I am more than a match for you."
Tossing her hair back over her shoulder, Lexa shot him a dazzling smile, stepping in close to lay her hand on his chest, "You are Heda Matthew, I could never compare, and why would I ever want to fight you?"
They broke apart as they heard a low whistle off to their right, "What did I tell you?" Lexa sighed, feigning annoyance, "Insufferable both of them."
Looking over to where the sound originated from they saw Ontari and Octavia standing side by side with their arms crossed, laughing and grinning at Lexa.
Matthew shook his head in frustration, "Your family makes interrupting us into an art form, are you sure I cannot have them killed?"
"Don't be cruel, my entire life, they have been all I've had in the entire world."
Gently, he raised her hand to his mouth and pressed a kiss to her knuckles, "Then I obey your wishes."
As he walked away, Ontari and Octavia quickly made their way over to her.
"You're playing a dangerous game." Octavia murmured quietly, "It better be paying off."
Lexa nodded, watching Matthew's back as he retreated further and further away, "I think it is, he speaks to me about things he probably shouldn't, I believe in an attempt to impress me."
"So how long until we can go home?" Ontari asked softly, looking around to make sure they were really alone. "I hate being here."
Reaching out, Lexa touched her shoulder sympathetically, "I hate it too, but right now we have no idea what he is planning besides overthrowing me, all we need is something, just one little detail that will give us the edge we need to win without losing thousands of lives."
Two weeks into their stay and they finally had what they were looking for.
Lexa had distracted Matthew for just long enough so that Ontari and Octavia could sneak into his command tent where they had found several documents and maps laying out the plans of attack for when the army marched on Polis. They had been careful to duplicate the plans before stowing the originals carefully away so they wouldn't be missed. And during her conversations with him, Matthew had told he the timescale he was working to before he attacked in full force.
That night when they all got back to their tent, Lexa nearly cried in relief when she saw that they had found everything they needed so they could slip away.
"When are we going?" Octavia asked quickly, once Lexa had announced that the plans were more than enough for them to work with.
"We'll go tonight, wait until midnight and then slip away when most of the camp is sleeping." Lexa said decisively, "The nearest village is less than five miles from here, we can make it in less than two hours if we move quickly and we'll be able to get horses there. If all goes well, we can be back in Polis by morning."
Everything was still and pitch black as the three of them slipped from the tent that they had been living in, darting from tent to tent as they headed for the direction they knew the main road was in, knowing if they got onto it then they were safe.
Just as they were about to melt away into the forest, they heard a crash and a scream from the center of the camp.
"Lexa what are you doing?" Ontari hissed as the Commander paused and looked back towards the source of the noise. "These are not your people, you owe them nothing, let's go."
Lexa looked back at her two companions torn, "They are still people." Another scream came, this one laced with agony, "Even when we win, I will not just wipe out an entire group of people. They don't have to die here."
Octavia quickly moved towards her, holding up the bag she was carrying, "What about these? If we go back we might lose our chance to slip away tonight."
"Then you go." Ontari said reluctantly, "Go now whilst everyone's distracted and we'll follow as soon as we can. Get those maps and papers to Clarke quickly so she can start raising the defenses of the city."
Lexa nodded quickly, "Yes, we will follow shortly, so go now."
Reluctantly, Octavia dipped her head, "Sha Heda." Then she span on her heel and took off into the trees, disappearing from sight completely within moments.
A fresh chorus of panicked screaming rang out as Lexa and Ontari both pulled their swords, heading straight back towards the center of camp.
When they got there, they immediately saw what was causing the uproar. A panther the size of a horse was prowling around the camp fire, the people cowering away as it stepped over the bodies of those it had already ripped to shreds.
Matthew himself was in the group, his eyes widening as he saw the two of them appear on the other side of the clearing, desperately gesturing for them both to just turn and run before it was too late.
Catching hold of Lexa's arm, Ontari leaned down to whisper in her ear, "If we leave now, the panther will solve our problems for us."
"No." Lexa murmured back, "There is still an army in these woods, another leader will rise and the plans Matthew has drawn up will change, leaving our time here a waste."
Staring into her eyes for a moment, Ontari nodded, "Ok then. Plan?"
"Don't die." Lexa grinned, before stepping forward, her blade held loosely in her hand.
As she approached the beast, she leaned down for a moment to scoop up a sword that had been dropped by one of the fallen warriors.
Ontari circled it in the other direction, before pausing as Lexa cleared her throat and whistled.
The panther's head snapped round to look at her, and the growl it let out caused the entire clearing to vibrate with the power of it.
"You don't want them." She called softly, inching her way closer and closer, "Prey that doesn't fight back is boring, come and play with me beautiful." Her voice was low and soothing.
The growling grew louder as the cats tail started flicking from side to side, with a yowl it suddenly sprung forwards towards her.
With the lack of warning, Lexa only barely managed to leap sideways, landing heavily but bouncing to her feet quickly.
It span around again, about to leap for a second time, when suddenly three arrows were protruding from it's furred chest. Ontari dropped her bow quickly as it suddenly ran at her, she barely pulled her sword before it was on her, it's massive paw swiping and sending her flying halfway across the clearing, landing with a pained cry. A cry that matched the panthers, who limped on the paw that Ontari's sword had bit deeply into, causing thick red blood to seep into the forest floor as it moved towards the fallen warrior.
Lexa darted across, fearing she may not get there in time, as she pushed her body to the limit, kicking off from a large rock in the ground to land solidly on the cats back, her sword thrust deep into it's back.
It went wild, twisting and writhing in pain whilst at the same time it was trying to reach round and rip her in two. Sliding forward towards it's head, she placed her sword at the base of it's skull, driving it forward with all her might until she felt it's body shudder and fall to the ground lifeless.
Once the immediate danger was eliminated, Lexa rushed across to Ontari, who was wincing as she held her side. There eyes met, worry echoed in each of them as Lexa placed her hands on Ontari's side to stem the flow of blood from the ragged claw marks that were decorating her skin.
Matthew himself was the one who appeared at their side, his concern and thankfulness dissipating when he got a look at her injury. "Natblida." He growled.
Lexa snarled at him angrily as his hand went to his sword, "I thought you had honor, we saved your life. Take hers and I will end you."
With an irritated sigh, he pushed Lexa to the side roughly before pulling Ontari up into his arms, carrying her straight to his own tent, "Did anyone else see?" He asked as the tent flaps dropped shut behind them."
"I don't think so," Lexa replied absently, rifling through his things for supplies to care for her with, "They were too busy being grateful that they weren't dead."
Giving up any pretense of deferring to him, Lexa barked orders at him as they patched Ontari up. Once the bandaged were in place, Lexa stepped back and wiped her forehead with the back of her sleeve, desperately thinking about how the situation could be salvaged.
"I have questions." Matthew said immediately, as she sat down on the edge of his bed.
"I'm sure you do." She replied quietly.
"How much of what you've told me has been the truth?" He demanded immediately, a harsh betrayed tone coloring his voice.
Lexa sighed, leaning back, not caring about the black blood that was getting smeared onto the furs she was sitting on, "Honestly, very little. We needed somewhere safe to hide for a while, when it became apparent you were going to be heading off to war with the Commander, we decided it was time to slip away." She lied tiredly, "It is hard to find a place in the world if you have something that sets you apart like my eye. When we realized that our sister had night blood as well? Nowhere became safe."
"Speaking off, where's your other sister?" Matthew asked suspiciously.
"She can't fight, you were so kind to us, we couldn't just leave you to die which is why we came back. But she refused, so honestly I'm not sure any more, we always manage to find each other again at some point though. I'm sure I'll see her again."
Matthew leaned forwards, his head in his hands, "I don't know whether to believe you, you lied, my generals would tell me to kill you now. I thought there was something between us."
Slipping from her seat, Lexa knelt in front of him, "In another life perhaps, I am sorry, but I have to leave, I don't believe in the war you are about to fight."
"Is Irisa even your real name?" He asked softly, meeting her eyes.
Smiling, Lexa patted his knee, "You don't want me to answer that really, do you? I will slip away and never be seen again. But I did care, hold onto that because it is the one truth I will tell you that you should never question. You are gentle and honorable and I expected neither from you."
Taking a deep breath, he nodded to the back of the tent where there was another exit, "Go now, before I change my mind, and if I ever see you again I will kill you myself."
"Thank you."
"Don't." Matthew said quietly, "I am repaying the debt you are owed for saving me and my people, nothing more."
Dipping her chin, she pulled Ontari's arm over her shoulders, helping her stand so they could quickly slip from the tent.
There was a horse tied nearby, and Lexa quickly pushed Ontari onto it's back before climbing up herself, digging her heels into it's sides as they headed for the road in the same direction Octavia had gone.
"In the end, was anything you said to him real?" Ontari asked curiously, trying to take her mind from the pain in her side every time the horse took a step.
Lexa sighed, "Not a single word, I imagine he's going to be rather incensed when he attacks Polis and finds us waiting for him."
"It's almost funny." Ontari laughed, her voice pained. "Everything he's about to fight for, he could have had already if he's just killed you then and there."
"Yes, well luckily for us he didn't work out who I am or that might just have happened."
They caught up to Octavia an hour into their ride, and Lexa climbed down to walk beside her the rest of the way to the village where they acquired two horses to head back to Polis on.
In the end, Lexa's initial thinking was wrong and they reached Polis in the early afternoon rather than in the morning.
All that registered in Lexa's mind was Clarke's arms wrapping tightly around her as tears of happiness and pure relief poured down her wifes face as Clarke slipped Lexa's wedding ring back onto her finger where it belonged.
"Never leave for that long again." Clarke said against her ear, "I don't think I could bear it."
Despite the tired ache that was settling over her body, Lexa found the strength to wrap her arms round Clarke tightly, leaning her chin on her shoulder, "Never again Clarke, I never want to be separated from you again."