Hey guys, here's the next chapter! It's got a good bit of dialogue so I hope you guys like that. I'd really love to hear what you guys have to say, good and bad. It really helps me and I want to know if you guys want something specific from me or if you want me to fix something. Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Burning. That's what the Princess felt as her mind slowly started to regain consciousness. Her entire body felt like it was on fire and the pain in her throat was the worst with each breath.

Her eyelids felt heavy and she struggled just to get her mind to understand the fact that they needed to open. When she finally managed, her eyes burned from the light in the room. It wasn't very bright in the room, but her eyes didn't seem to understand that. The few candles and torches that were lit looked like they were as bright as the sun.

This wasn't right. She wasn't supposed to be feeling this way. Why the hell was she feeling this pain? What was going on? She needed to find out.

She groaned in pain as she forced her body to obey her mind and sat up. Her eyes were still struggling to adjust to the light, but she could still see the shape of someone approaching her.

She felt a warm hand reach out and land on her shoulder and a voice she recognized, but couldn't place, spoke to her.

"Zora?" Lexa asked as she approached the groggy princess.

Zora squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again and shook her head to clear her mind of its fog, and the frame of the Commander became clear. "Heda?" She rasped.

A blonde woman appeared from behind the Commander. She reached for something on the table beside her and brought a cup of water up to the Princess's lips. Zora drank slowly, holding back a wince from the pain in her throat, until she finished drinking the contents in the cup.

"Wanheda," Zora greeted as she realized who the blonde woman was. The rumors of the gorgeous, golden haired skai girl had done her justice. "What happened? Where am I?"

"You are in my tent in the Trikru camp," Lexa answered, pointedly ignoring the first question. "We are on the border of Trikru and Shallow Valley land."

Zora nodded as she took in the information, and then repeated her yet unanswered question, "What happened to me?"

Lexa hesitated for a split second, but Clarke was able to step in easily. She had lied about many events revolving around The Shadow. "We're not exactly sure. Some of our scouts found you unconscious in the woods, surrounded by six dead bodies. Whoever killed them escaped, but for some reason, they left you alive for us to find."

Clarke's description was all Zora needed to remember what had happened to her. The person in black had saved her ass, but then knocked her out. Zora was skeptical though because the six other guards were dead, making her the only survivor. No one said anything about another person being involved in the fight. She raised a brow, "How do you know I wasn't the one who killed them?"

Clarke smirked, "Your hands were bound, your body shows no sign of you being in a fight other than the slight bruising around your neck, the weapons used were not common issue of Shallow Valley, which means none of the guards would have been carrying them, and they would be stupid to allow they're prisoner to have any weapons on them, plus there were signs of eight people in the fight, but only seven bodies."

Zora nodded, satisfied with the answer. "I don't know who it was. They moved so fast. One minute I'm being led to my death, the next my six guards are dead and there's an arm wrapped around my neck."

"Why were you being led to your death?" Lexa questioned.

Zora rolled her shoulders to relieve the ache in her muscles which both Clarke and Lexa noticed. They helped the girl to stand and moved her to a chair that was much more comfortable for her to be on, and they took a seat across her from, next to each other on the couch. "I suppose there's no harm in telling you. I was always a supporter of you and your coalition anyway," Zora started. "My brother… He's not a good leader. He's in it for himself, not for his people. I tried to take control while he was away. It didn't work."

"You're the Princess of the Shallow Valley. You know how deep the loyalty of your people lies. Why would they follow you instead of your King?" Lexa questioned. She felt she already knew the answer, but she needed to hear it from someone who knows everything about what's going in here.

"Look, King Zayn, he's," she sighed. "He's power hungry. Controlling. The people aren't being treated well. They listened to me once, I was hoping they would again."

This seemed to pique both Lexa and Clarke's interest. "What do you mean by they listened to you once?"

"At first, when Zayn came to power, he was a pretty good leader. He made the occasional questionable decision, but he was generally a good leader. After a while, things started to change. He grew more demanding, more controlling. He wanted power, he wanted to feel like he was unstoppable, and he did whatever he wanted in order to feel that way. The people suffered. I created a rebel group to rise against my brother. He's my blood, and no matter what he's done, I still love him, but I needed to put the people first. They were suffering from his leadership and I needed to put a stop to it. At first many people followed me, but the longer Zayn stayed in power, the worse he got. People started to fear him and what he could do. Many of them accepted his leadership as means to protect themselves and their families. I was hoping I could regain their support while he was gone, but he has a much stronger hold on the people than I anticipated," Zora explained.

"What caused the change in Zayn's leadership?" Clarke questioned. "If he was a good leader as you said, why would he suddenly flip to such a cruel one?"

"My father was a good King. He raised both Zayn and I together, teaching us both the ways of leadership, even though Zayn was the heir to the throne. Growing up, it was quite obvious, the want for power my brother had, but my father seemed to be able to contain it, along with the help of Seth, the army's general. When father passed, Zayn took power and Seth and I were now the one's who needed to contain his thirst for power. He listened to us, and he was a good leader. When General Seth was killed, everything went downhill," Zora said.

Clarke's eyes downcast as she heard Zora's explanation. She had killed Seth, and led to the creation of a cruel King. The people of Shallow Valley were suffering, and it was her fault. Before her mind could spiral too far though, she felt Lexa's hand wrap around hers and squeeze. Of course the brunette knew Clarke would blame herself for their suffering, and was there to pull her out of those thoughts.

Clarke looked up to meet the Commander's eyes and smiled in thanks before returning her attention to Zora's story.

"I tried to keep him from becoming too controlling, but I wasn't enough. He believed that he deserved the power, the control. Instead of earning the people's respect, he earned their fear," Zora sighed deeply. "Zayn was harsh to the people, but he didn't care. He did whatever he wanted to make himself feel powerful. He believed his army was above the other citizens. He allowed them much more power, allowed the to treat the citizens like animals instead of people."

Zora paused to collect herself before continuing. "When it was clear that he was too far down that path, I knew I needed to do something. As you mentioned, my people are deeply loyal. My bloodline has been in power for decades, they wouldn't accept just anyone as their next leader. I was the people's only hope. I started to gather followers, people supported me, but I didn't have enough yet to take power away from Zayn. As he got harsher, crueler, more people started to follow me. I was so close, but the rumors of my rebellion grew and Zayn found out. When it became clear that I was gaining so much support, he allied with Queen Nia," Zora spat the name as she spoke. "The Queen provided resources, warriors, and they were too much. Zayn's scouts found many who supported me and either killed them or threatened them. All of the high ranking rebels were killed besides me. Those who remained were so afraid, they supported Zayn to save themselves. Only a few rebels remain."

"How did I never hear of this?" Lexa questioned.

"The people of Shallow Valley were too afraid to speak out. Anyone who would have been brave enough was found and killed by Zayn's scouts. Any word that did leave Shallow Valley was only rumor, no one truly believed it," Zora explained.

"Zora, I have to know." Lexa swallowed, "What has he done to my people?"

"Lexa, I don't think-" Clarke tried to talk Lexa out of it. She knew that, just like herself, Lexa would only blame herself.

"Clarke, I have to know," Lexa whispered.

Clarke nodded sadly and took Lexa's hand. She didn't care that Zora was able to see. She needed to be there for Lexa and she had a feeling that Zora was someone she could trust.

Zora had of course noticed the comfort between the two in the tent, and was not at all surprised when Clarke held on to Lexa's hand. She didn't bring it up of course. It wasn't her business, and she didn't mind anyway. In her mind everyone deserved happiness, and the two woman before her had definitely been through enough that they deserve theirs.

She had to swallow past the lump that had formed in her already sore throat in order to answer the Commander's question. "His laws became stricter, and the punishments harsher. For stealing a piece of bread, the punishment went from work labor to ten to fifteen lashes. The punishments increased tenfold. People were beaten, tortured, or worse for doing something many wouldn't even consider a crime. And the warriors," Zora shuddered, "He gave them much more power than they deserved. Not all of them took advantage of it, there are still some good people, but many did. If a warrior felt disrespected they could punish that person however they so desired. They got away away with everything and anything, when the people never did anything to deserve it. Look, Commander, I know that we are at war with your people, but there are still good people among the Shallow Valley. The citizens have already been through enough and there are still some warriors who are good. Please, have mercy."

Lexa was fuming, but she could sense the pain in Zora's voice and remained calm. "We are not here to destroy your clan Zora."

"Then what is your plan?"

"That coup you wanted to stage," Clarke said. "We're going to help you."

"How? My execution is supposed to occur in a few hours in front of all of Murdock. If I'm seen in Shallow Valley, I will be killed. The people are still too afraid to ally themselves with me."

"Even with Zayn not present?"

"Yes. General Ric is control when Zayn is absent. He is just as cruel if not worse than my brother. The people are too afraid of him to follow me."

"Is he the only one holding them back?" Clarke asked.

"No, his three lieutenants, Usa, Roman, and Rina are as well. There are probably others, but those four would be the main concerns."

Clarke nodded, a plan already forming in her mind. Lexa saw the look on Clarke's face and knew that she was thinking. She noticed the exhaustion written across the face of Zora and she stood up, "Come, you should rest." She led Zora to the entrance to her tent where a guard was waiting. She called him over and ordered him to take her somewhere to rest and then find Raven and Octavia and send them to her tent. Those two Skaikru annoyed her, but they were smart, and they knew Clarke's secret so they would be a big help in planning.

Clarke was still seated on the couch, deep in thought, and Lexa began to pace the length of the tent. Her heart was hurting. She had promised her people that she would protect them, that she would be a good and fair leader. She already knew that the people of Azgeda were suffering and now, so were the people of Shallow Valley. She spent all her time telling her people how good peace would be, how she would protect them, but all along her people were being beaten and tortured and treated unfairly. She had failed them.

Clarke quickly caught on to the Commander's distress and she popped up to her feet. She stood in her path to stop the brunette from pacing and wrapped her up in a tight hug. "Don't do this Lexa. There was no way you could have know."

"I should have," Lexa argued, burying her face into Clarke's neck. "They're my people. I'm supposed to protect them."

"Lexa, you do protect them. And yeah things haven't been great here, but I have a lot to be blamed for here,"

"You don't-"

"-It doesn't matter. We're here now, and we are going to fix this."

"We really need to stop blaming each ourselves for these things," Lexa mumbled, wrapping her arms tighter around the woman she loves.

Clarke chuckled, "Yeah we do. We'll work on it together."

"Promise?"

"Promise," Clarke replied.

The deal was sealed with a kiss and when they separated, Clarke made her way over to the table with all the information Lexa had on Shallow Valley. Lexa watched and admired as Clarke returned to coming up with some sort of plan, but was soon interrupted when Raven and Octavia burst into the tent.

"A late night call to your tent," Raven said as she entered with Octavia by her side, not paying attention to anything as she entered. "I'm flattered, really, but Octavia here is already in a serious relationship, and you're in a relationship with my best friend."

"Hey!" Octavia exclaimed.

Lexa levelled Raven with a glare and Clarke chuckled from her spot by the table. Both Raven and Octavia's heads turned towards the sound, forgetting about everything. "Clarke!" They yelled as the ran and surrounded their friend. "You're okay."

"Yeah guys, I'm fine," Clarke reassured.

"What's going on? What are we here for?"

Clarke and Lexa both told Raven and Octavia everything they had learned from Zora. "I think I have a plan," Clarke said when they finished their story. "But it has to happen tonight. Zora's execution is being set up in the center of Murdock and everyone is supposed to attend. It'll be the perfect opportunity for her to step in and gain the support of the people with the Commander by her side."

"But Zora said that General Ric and her cronies still had control."

"Leave that to The Shadow."

/

Clarke was decked out in black, armed to the tee, hidden in the middle of the Shallow Valley army's camp. The sun was starting to rise, so Clarke didn't have a lot of time. Lexa, Zora, and some of the Trikru would be here soon, and Clarke needed to make her move before they got here.

Time was running out, but she needed to be patient. General Ric's three lieutenants were in the same tent, but there were a multitude of guards standing outside of it. She considered starting another fire as a distraction, but she was afraid that two fires in one night would be obvious that they weren't an accident.

The guards outside the tent looked tired and Clarke was hoping that their exhaustion would lead to a mistake. She waited and watched as one sat down and his eyes slowly closed. Clarke rolled her eyes. The moron fell asleep on the job. Whatever, it made her job easier. There were a few more guards still standing and Clarke couldn't wait much longer.

She darted down a row of tents and snapped some sticks and made some noises to draw their attention. It worked, drawing two away from the tent, but it still wasn't enough. She ran across the camp, creating even more of a disturbance and drew away two more guards. When her eyes returned to the tent there was only one guard left.

Clarke shrugged, good enough. She sprinted out of her cover and charged the remaining guard. He didn't notice her until she was only a step away and by then it was too late.

Clarke pounced on him, a knife in hand, and plunged it into the side of his neck as the two bodies crashed through the tent's entrance, hidden from outside view.

Clarke looked up from the dead body she was on top of and was met with three sets of wide eyes. They were standing around a table with empty mugs of ale. The entire tent reeked of alcohol and Clarke could tell that her targets were drunk. Perfect.

She moved quickly pulling out a knife and throwing it at the first lieutenant. He fell to the ground without having the chance to put up a fight and before the other two could do anything, Clarke was on them. Because they were drunk their reaction time was slow and their movements were clumsy.

Clarke dispatched of them quickly without either of them putting up a fight. She was in and out of the tent in two minutes.

With the three lieutenants down, General Ric was the final target. It was almost light out now and Clarke didn't have a lot of time. She sprinted through the tent to get to the General's tent. There were a few guards outside, but no one else was around.

There was no time to be methodical, so Clarke just went for it. She dove out of her cover onto the first guard and slashed his throat. She rolled off of him and ran toward the second guard, pulling out two knives and throwing them into the hearts of guard three and four. Once those knives were released from her hand she was on guard two and he didn't have any time to react before she stabbed in the chest and brought him to the ground.

Guards five and six charged at her, one from her right and one from her left. She held her position until the last second when she rolled out of harm's way. The two guards collided, forcing the air from their lungs, and the next second, Clarke took them both down.

Guard number seven's eyes widened and he held up his hands before turning and booking it away from the tent. Clarke watched as he ran, and normally she would have chased him, but she didn't have the time.

Instead, she turned and entered the generals tent, where she found him asleep. She walked up to his bed and cut him down without hesitating. This man had put his people through enough pain.

Clarke stood above his body, panting heavily, as blood dripped from her skin and clothing. Her side had been bothering her the entire time, but she had ignored it, having a job to complete. Now that it was done, she allowed herself a moment to feel the pain.

As her breathing slowed, a realization hit her. The Shadow had just made a hit, that would now lead to Lexa's success in Shallow Valley. What if someone decided that it wasn't a coincidence?

Even if no one did, Nia would definitely make the connection. The Shadow was still a fugitive. If Nia could prove that Lexa knew Clarke was The Shadow and used her to help her win the war, the people would riot against her. Clarke couldn't let that happen.

She looked down at her hand that was still wrapped around the hilt of the knife that had just killed General Ric. It would have to do. Clarke bent down and drew the symbol of the Commander in the dirt below her target. Then she stuck the bloody knife into the ground.

Once she was done she moved out of the tent and changed into some clothes she found to watch the rest of her plan unfold. She watched as Trikru warriors entered the city of Murdock. They didn't attack unless they were approached, but any warrior that tried to take them on was quickly dispatched.

There was a platform that had been set up in the middle of Murdock and many of its citizens had already gathered around it. It was supposed to be the stage for Zora's execution, but now it had a different purpose.

The Trikru were much better close combat fighters than Shallow Valley were and after a few attacks, many of the Shallow Valley stopped, waiting for orders from their General that would never come.

Clarke made her way into the crowd of Shallow Valley citizens and listened to the whispers as the people recognized the Commander and their Princess stepping up onto the platform.

Lexa's eyes immediately began searching the crowd, and she barely had to look before her eyes locked on Clarke's. It was like she already knew where Clarke was going to be. Clarke nodded her head to signal her success and she watched as Lexa returned her nod and then whispered something into Zora's ear.

"People of Shallow Valley," Zora began speaking in Trigedasleng. "I am Zora kom Shallow Valley, daughter of Char kom Shallow Valley. My brother Zayn is your King, but he is not a fair one." Murmurs spread throughout the crowd, some in fear, and some hopeful.

"Beside me is Lexa kom Trikru, Commander of the coalition. We are here to rectify my brother's mistakes. He has treated you all unfairly for far too long, and we will not stand for it. Neither should you. General Ric along with Lieutenants Usa, Roman, and Rina are dead. There is no one here who can harm you. So I am calling upon my people. I am calling upon the people of the Shallow Valley. Follow me, join me, and we can return to our former glory. I am not my brother, I will not harm you or treat you as less than. Follow me, follow the Commander, and we will have peace once again," Zora roared with emotion and strength and her people could feel it. They erupted into a chorus of cheers and started to chant Zora and Lexa's name. Shallow Valley was free.