Hey guys! Wow, I'm so sorry it took me so long to update. School and life are really kicking my ass right now and I'm trying to put the last pieces of this story together to make sure I do it justice. I'm not sure when I'll be able to update again, so please, bear with me. Anyway, I hope you guys like this chapter. Please let me know what you think. I love hearing all of your opinions and it really helps me move forward. Enjoy!
TW: Torture
The battle was down to its very end. The Azgeda warriors in Balor were either dead, retreating, or about to be dead. Lexa dispatched of her final opponent and watched as a few of her warriors chased down fleeing Azgeda, a few were putting out fires, and the rest were tending to the injured.
It was clear that Balor was now under the control of the Commander and the coalition and the large army following Lexa all began to cheer and chant out at their victory. Lexa felt a surge of pride at her warriors and what they were able to accomplish so far, until she heard a voice calling out for her.
"Heda! Heda!" Zora sprinted towards Lexa and stopped when she reached her. She was panting heavily with sweat dripping down her face and blood from an open flesh wound Lexa could see above her eyebrow and on her shoulder.
"Zora, you should get your wounds tended to," Lexa said, concerned for her relatively newfound friend.
"No time Heda," Zora breathed. She was tired and out of breath so her speech was a little choppy. "Clarke… went into the woods… followed some Azgeda… had Raven… needs help."
Lexa's eyes widened as she put together what Zora was saying and for a split second she froze. "What?" She heard the question come from behind her where Octavia, Bellamy, and Lincoln had approached while Zora was speaking.
"Where?" Was all Lexa asked
"This way," Zora said and she took off in the direction she last saw Clarke disappear with Lexa, Octavia, Bellamy, and Lincoln behind her.
The ran out into the trees and quickly found a trail to follow that led deeper into the woods. It didn't take long for them to find the same scuff marks and uneven footprints that Clarke had found and then the bloodstain that belonged to Raven. "Fuck," Octavia whispered as she bent down beside the stain. "Please tell me this belongs to whoever the hell took Raven."
"Over here," Lincoln yelled and the group all moved over to the tracks Lincoln had found. There were two different sized footprints and obvious marks of a fight with a few drops of blood scattered around.
"This isn't good," Bellamy said as he took in the scene.
Lexa had said nothing as she followed the tracks, her eyes searching desperately for any sign of the woman she so deeply loved and a glint of metal caught her eye. She moved over to it and her heart sank. "Clarke," she whispered as she picked up the watch that had belonged to Clarkes father.
Right beside the watch were two marks that Lexa knew well. An unconscious body had been dragged and the heels left marks in the ground. She followed them until they came to an end and a set of hoofprints marked Clarke's captors escape.
Lexa felt a presence from behind her and watched as Zora approached and concluded the same thing. "Damn, they took her."
Lexa returned to her feet and walked away from the tracks with a purpose, "Heda, where are you going?" Lexa ignored her. "Heda? She ignored her again. "Lexa stop," Zora said, grabbing the Commander's arm.
Lexa spun around angrily, a furious glint in her eye, but Zora didn't back down. "Lexa I know you want to go after her but you can't."
"I can do what I want," Lexa grit back.
"I want to save her too," Zora said. "But we can't do anything right now. This is what Nia wants you to do. She wants you to race off on your own, but you can't. The army isn't ready to move, not yet. We still pass a few more villages that will try to stop us on our way to Saipan, and you can't just storm into Azgeda's capitol on your own. We need to rest, gather supplies, make a plan, and then go and get her back."
"I have to go after her," Lexa yelled, her pain and fear evident in her voice.
"Not like this," Zora said softly.
Lexa's shoulders deflated. "You know what Nia will do to her. I can't lose her Zora. I don't know if I'll survive it."
"You won't lose her," Zora said with as much strength as she could muster. "The Queen won't kill Clarke, not yet, not in private. You know that. She's waiting for you to make a rash decision so killing you will be easy. You can't allow that. You have to stay level headed no matter how hard it may be. Besides, if anyone can survive Nia, it's Clarke."
"As much as I hate to admit it," Bellamy said, coming out into the clearing Lexa and Zora were in with Lincoln and Octavia, "She's right. Clarke's a survivor, and so is Raven."
"So if we're not going after them, what do we do now?" Octavia asked.
All eyes turned to Lexa. It was her call, she was the Commander, and that was exactly who she needed to be in this moment. "We wait. We give our troops time to recover and continue moving on towards Saipan. I will send a few scouts ahead to try and find where they are keeping Clarke and Raven. We move quickly, but we do not rush. We get to Saipan and I will kill Queen Nia and end her rule once and for all. Clarke and Raven are strong, they just need to hold on until we can get to them." The group all nodded, accepting Lexa's plan and they started their return back to Balor.
Lexa put on her Commander mask and made her way back to Balor. She had a job to do, and there was no way in hell she was going to fail. "Stay strong Clarke. I'm coming."
/
"I'm going to kill you," Clarke yelled and pulled at her chains as she watched another fist collide with Raven's jaw. They were still both shackled to the wall with their arms above their heads and Clarke could already feel the ache in her shoulders beginning to sink in. They had been in this position for a while and Clarke was being forced to watch as Raven was beaten.
Nia and Severna were the only others in the room and Severna was the one standing before Raven with blood already painting the skin of her fist. "You were warned Clarke. Disobey me and I will kill everyone you love slowly and painfully and right before your eyes," Nia said sadistically. She turned to Raven who was panting heavily, a steady stream of blood trickling down her nose and from her mouth. "I can make this easy for you," she offered. "Tell me everything you know about the Commander and her army and I can make your death quick and painless."
"Go to...Hell," the angry latina grit out and then another fist sent her head jerking to the left. She slowly turned her head back to its original position and locked eyes with Nia. She spit a mouthful of blood at the Queen and watched as it splattered across her upper chest and the lower half of her face. "I can… go all night."
The Queen wiped the blood from her face and stormed up to Raven grabbing her throat and pushing her up against the wall. "You will pay for that. I will make sure by the time we're through you are begging for your death, but I won't grant it to you. I will watch you suffer and leave you to die slowly and in more pain than you could possibly imagine," Nia snarled and then she let of Raven's throat.
Raven gasped for air as her airway was no longer restricted and before she could recover a flurry of fists reigned down on her defenseless body. When they finally stopped Queen Nia spoke again, "I will get the answers I seek Raven, no matter what I have to do to you to get them."
"I won't… tell you.. anything," Raven panted. "Might as well… kill me now."
Nia smirked, "Oh but where would the fun in that be?" She slowly turned to Clarke who been trying to break free from her shackles ever since Nia and Severna started to torture Raven. She couldn't sit by and watch as they tortured one of her best friends, but as of right now there was nothing she could do to stop it.
Nia's smirk grew as she saw the anger, frustration, and pain on the blonde's face. "Let's continue," Nia drawled, not breaking eye contact form Clarke.
Severna smiled wickedly at the order and moved over to the single table in the room. It was covered in all her favorite toys and she couldn't wait to use them. Her fingers grazed over the cold metal of each blade until she made her choice. The blade was jagged and deadly and it curved. It was designed for torture, to inflict as much pain as possible without digging too deep into the flesh and causing too much damage.
Clarke saw the blade Severna had chosen and she could feel her heart rate spike. That blade had met her flesh many times and it hurt like a bitch. She started yelling and Severna, taunting her, trying to draw her attention away from Raven, but it only made things worse.
Severna stalked up to the dark haired girl and without hesitation, ran the blade down from her elbow midway to her tricep. Raven cried out in pain, unable to muffle the sounds as the blade tore open her flesh.
The sounds of her friends agony spurred Clarke on, her threats getting louder, her body thrashing in an attempt to somehow break free of her chains.
Nia laughed at Clarke's attempt to escape and ordered Severna to continue. The cruel woman did with a sick smile on her face. Every once in a while, Nia would stop to give Raven the chance to talk, but the latina never gave in.
Every time Raven refused, Severna would make her pay. A deeper cut, a longer one, one placed in a much more sensitive area, each one causing the girl to cry out a little louder.
Clarke did all she could to try and break free, the skin on her wrists tearing and bleeding as she tried to pull herself free from her metal constraints.
Raven was panting her body weak and hanging limp, held up only by the chains on her wrists. Her vision was spotty and her entire body felt as if it was on fire.
"You can end this Raven. I'm being nice, giving you a chance to end your suffering. Tell me what I want to know and all of this can end," Nia offered.
Raven groaned and mustered her strength to roll her eyes, "When will you… get it. I'm not giving you… what you want… you evil… bitch."
Nia's brows furrowed at the insult which also seemed to really piss off Severna. She lashed out quickly with her fist, connecting hard with Raven's chin, knocking her out.
"Oh well," Nia sighed. "I suppose we'll have our fun with her later." She turned to face Clarke, "Now it's your turn."
Severna walked up to Clarke, her bloody knife still in hand, and she didn't hesitate to the same thing to Clarke.
Clarke grit her teeth as the blade sliced into her. It hurt just as badly as she so vividly remembered, but she wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of hearing her scream. This only seemed to make them angrier, causing them to push deeper and harder.
After a series of slices, Severna walked over to her table to pick her next tool, but was interrupted as the door to their room opened. In walked Ontari who took in the conditions of a still unconscious Raven and a very bloody Clarke. She smiled at the blonde and sent her a wink before stopping before her Queen and bowing her head. "My Queen."
Nia raised an eyebrow, "Well… Spit it out."
"The Commander has successfully moved on from Spire. Her and her army have taken control of Dreshal. They're moving closer to Saipan," Ontari informed.
Nia narrowed her eyes and had to suppress a growl. Her eyes looked up to Severna, and she sighed. She turned to Clarke, "We'll continue this later. I still need your skills," and then the three women were gone.
Clarke sighed and her body sagged in relief. She was in a lot of pain, but at least she was used to it. Raven on the other hand, she knew how it felt to be tortured for the first time, and she felt awful for putting her friend in this position.
A few moments later she heard a groan. "Raven," Clarke called desperately. "Raven wake up."
Raven's eyes slowly blinked open and she took in a bruised and bloody Clarke. The blonde looked about as awful as she felt. She groaned, "Fuck, that shit hurt."
Clarke puffed out a weak laugh, "Yeah. Yeah it does." Her laugh quickly died down, her body in too much pain, and she sighed. "I'm so sorry Raven."
Raven shook her head, "No, don't do that. You and I both know this isn't your fault."
"They're doing this to punish me," Clarke said eyes downcast.
"Yeah, and that is not your fault. They're evil sadistic assholes and that is not on you," Raven clarified as strongly as she could, which wasn't much, but it worked.
"I'm going to figure this out Raven. I'm going to get you out of here, no matter what I have to do," Clarke said with certainty.
"Hey, not just me. You're getting out of here too," Raven said sternly. She didn't like what she was hearing. It sounded like Clarke was prepared for her own death. "Besides, I'm sure your girlfriend will be here soon. Probably rode away from the army and is prepared to storm this place on her own just to find you," Raven tried to lighten the mood.
Clarke shook her head, "No, she wouldn't do something like that. She's a leader first, and she has to be there to lead her army." She sighed, "God, this must be so hard for her. She already lost someone to Nia once."
"What do you mean?" Raven questioned.
"Her name was Costia. Lexa loved her, and Nia killed her in hopes that Lexa would break down. It didn't work," Clarke explained.
"Well that is not happening to you. Do you hear me?"
"Raven… I got away from Nia once. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do it again," Clarke said with resignation.
"No. No, that is not happening. You have made it this far, and we just got you back. We are not losing you again."
Clarke didn't answer, and Raven knew she needed to get her message through to Clarke in another way. "You really love her don't you?"
Clarke looked up from the bloodstained floor to meet Raven's eyes. "More than I ever thought I could," Clarke answered.
"She's always cared about you too. I never noticed it, because I was so angry at her for abandoning us on the mountain. She never stopped looking for you, she never gave up on you, even your own people did, but she didn't. She loves you Clarke, and I'm sure that she loved this Costia girl, but the way she loves you... If she loses you, she might not be able to stop herself from breaking. So you need to fight and you need to survive not only for your people, not only for me, but for Lexa and yourself too."
Clarke opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted by the door opening. In walked Nia and Severna, both smirking at the two beaten down girls, and another girl that Clarke didn't recognize. She kept her head down and moved to the corner of the room without saying a word. "Let us continue, shall we?" Nia said, drawing Clarke's attention, as she closed the door behind her.
Severna walked back over to her table and considered her options while Nia walked up to Clarke. "I need you to do something for me," Nia said calmly.
Clarke almost laughed, "Yeah and what would that be?"
"I need The Shadow to finish another job for me."
Clarke scoffed. Her eyes flickered momentarily to Severna who had picked out a muck larger knife than before. She knew it would be painful, but she couldn't say yes to Nia's request. Her eyes returned to the Queen and Clarke stood as tall and looked as defiant as she could, "I will never serve you again."
"No? I think you'll change your mind shortly," Nia said all too happily.
"Try me," Clarke said. She watched as Severna adjusted her grip on her chosen weapon and walked away from the table. A cold feeling of dread set in when Clarke realized she was walking over towards Raven instead of her. Her eyes widened and she thrashed against her chains, "No!"
"Stay strong Clarke," Raven yelled. "Don't give her what she wants," she said before she felt the sting of a slap against her cheek. She turned back to look into the cold eyes of her torturer and watched as she brought the blade towards her flesh.
Raven bit her tongue to keep from screaming. She was successful at first, but eventually, the room walls were echoing with her screams.
Clarke was screaming as well and pushing and pulling as hard as she could against her restraints. Raven was constantly telling Clarke not to give in to Nia's request, but Clarke couldn't handle much more of Raven's screaming.
"All you have to do is listen to me Clarke, and this will stop," Nia said after Raven's last scream quieted.
Clarke had tears streaming down her cheeks, "I can't," she whispered, but it was more to herself than Nia.
Nia smirked. She had Clarke just where she wanted her. She looked at Severna and nodded. The torturer stopped and approached her table again, picking a decent sized dagger.
Raven's body was hanging limp. She was barely able to keep her eyes open at this point. "Last chance Clarke," Nia said as Severna approached Raven's left side.
"Don't… do it… Clarke," Raven rasped weakly.
Nia raised a brow at Clarke waiting for her response, but the blonde didn't give her one. Then Nia's attention turned to the other girl in the room, who Clarke had forgotten was there. "Clarke, this is a healer," Nia started. "She will be your friends only chance."
With that Severna plunged her dagger into Raven's thigh and pulled it out quickly. Clarke's eyes widened and she watched as Raven quickly passed out from blood loss.
Blood was pouring from Raven's thigh quickly and Clarke knew that the dagger must have nicked the artery. If she didn't agree to Nia's demands, Raven was going to die. "Okay! I'll do it," Clarke yelled desperately, still thrashing against her chains. "Whatever you want I'll do it. Just please, save her," Clarke begged.
Nia smiled, pleased at her work and nodded to the healer to get to work on Raven. She had Severna unchain Clarke's wrists and watched as the blonde collapsed onto her knees, sobbing.
She tossed a pair of black clothing at the blonde, "Get dressed. We have a lot of work to do."