Hey guys! I'm so sorry it took me so long to update! I hope you're still willing to stick with my story and I hope you enjoy!
Lexa emerged from the treeline into the outskirts of Saipan with a bound and gagged Nia beside her. As soon as she was noticed cheers erupted from her warriors who were dealing with the aftermath of the previous battle.
She held her head high and kept her stoic mask in place as she moved swiftly through the camp.
Indra approached from her left with two other guards and all three bowed their heads. "Heda," Indra greeted.
"Lock her up," Lexa ordered the two guards, pushing Nia toward them, receiving a glare and a growl from her prisoner. "I want guards on her at all times. No one is allowed into her cell with my approval."
"Sha Heda," the guards said, again with a quick bow, as they each grabbed onto an arm of Nia's and dragged her to her new cell.
"Report, Indra," Lexa said when Nia and the guards were gone. She needed to attend to her duty first, then she could go find the one person her heart was screaming for her to find.
"Your army received their share of injuries, but the casualties were minimal. Most of Nia's supporters are dead, those who still breath have been locked away. Many of Azgeda's civilians fought with us. It seems very few people were a fan of Nia, so they chose to fight with their Prince," Indra informed.
"Good. Prepare those we lost for the pyre. We'll send their spirits on when it's done," Lexa said.
"My warriors are doing so as we speak. I will inform you when it's done."
"Thank you Indra. Tell your warriors to remain vigilant. Not all of Nia's supporters may have surrendered, so we must be prepared in case of another attack," Lexa said.
"Sha Heda," Indra said and Lexa dismissed her.
Once Indra was gone, Lexa took a deep breath as her eyes began scanning those around her. Now that her duties had been completed, she had a certain blonde she desperately needed to see.
Not seeing Clarke from where she was positioned, Lexa began walking through the camp, searching for her.
The brunette was becoming increasingly worried the longer it took to find Clarke. Something wasn't sitting right with her, she could feel it.
Before she could really panic, as much as the Commander was able to look panicked out in public, she caught sight of a familiar face.
"Zora," Lexa said, interrupting the Shallow Valley leader's conversation with one of her men. "Have you seen Clarke?"
Lexa watched as Zora's face dropped, and her heart dropped along with it.
She watched as Zora swallowed and slowly met her eyes, "She was injured in the fight." Zora took a step forward and put a comforting arm on Lexa's shoulder, "I'm sorry Lexa."
It looked as if Zora was going to say more but Lexa spoke before she could, "Where is she?"
"The healer's hut over there," Zora pointed and Lexa was off. Whatever Zora had said behind her went unheard as all Lexa could hear was white noise. A buzz in her ear that blocked out everything around her. Her sole purpose in that moment was to get to that tent.
She was walking quickly with tunnel vision, ignoring everyone and everything around her until she reached the tent that Clarke was in.
Outside the tent Roan, Bellamy, Lincoln, Octavia, and a still injured Raven were all sitting in silence. Their shoulders dropped and looks of concern plastered on all of their faces.
"What happened?" Lexa ordered, her tone a little harder than she maybe meant it to be.
"Ontari," Roan spat the name like it was poison. "Her and Clarke went at each other hard. She killed Ontari but not before taking a hit. She made it over towards Nyko's tent before falling unconscious. Abby and Nyko are tending to her now."
Lexa took a step towards the entrance of the tent when Bellamy spoke up, "Abby and Nyko won't let anyone in to see her yet."
"I don't care," Lexa growled out before pushing past him and entering the tent.
"How is she?" Lexa asked as she entered the tent before freezing when her eyes landed on the broken and bloody form of her love.
"We've done all that we can for her," Abby whispered as she watched the Commander approach her daughter and grab her limp hand.
Lexa's eyes scanned Clarke's injuries. She was bruised and the upper half of her shirt was ripped and bloody, but her shoulder was wrapped and the location of the wound didn't look fatal. Clarke must have passed out from blood loss.
"When will she wake up?" Lexa asked, eyes never leaving the blonde's figure.
"Heda," Nyko started hesitantly. He lifted up the sword that Roan had brought back after finding Ontari's body. It was the one that had injured Clarke. "The blade that went into her shoulder… It was poisoned."
Lexa's head snapped towards Nyko at his words. "Is there an antidote?" She asked desperately.
Nyko's gaze dropped to the floor. "No. Not that I know of. It is the rarest poison in all of the coalition. It has a ninety percent death rate."
Nyko had only seen this poison once before. It was very rare and very deadly. It was a poison commonly put on swords or daggers because it would likely kill whoever it touched, and there was no antidote like most other poisons, so whoever was cut by the blade would most likely die.
"So how do I help her," Lexa asked, turning back to look at Clarke as her eyes welled with tears that she tried desperately not to let fall.
"We can't," Nyko said softly. "It is up to her now."
Lexa squeezed her eyes shut at the words and her grip on Clarke's hand tightened. No. No this was all wrong. This shouldn't be happening, not to Clarke. Lexa could feel her heart shattering within her chest.
No, I can't give up on her. She would never give up on me, and I won't on her, Lexa thought. She gazed upon the woman she loved and knew that she would never stop fighting for her. She has already been through so much, this won't, can't, be how it ends.
"When will we know?" Lexa questioned.
"The poison is relatively quick. No more than a day. She will either wake by then, or the poison will take her," Nyko answered.
Lexa's gaze hardened as her mind shifted to the person behind this, behind all of Clarke's suffering. Her body went rigid before she stood up and left the tent without another word.
Clarke's friends all rose when Lexa exited the tent, all eyes hopeful for good news, but Lexa ignored them as she stormed away towards Saipan's prison.
She found it easily enough and ordered a guard to take her to Nia who did so quickly and very nervously due to the angered look on his leader's face.
He unlocked the door to Nia's cell and Lexa pushed in before he could finish opening it.
She stormed up to the Queen and delivered a sharp hook to the face. "Where is the antidote?" Lexa snarled. She knew Nyko said that there wasn't one that he was aware of, but maybe Nia had one or knew of one.
Nia spit out the blood that pooled in her mouth before turning to smirk at the Commander. "There isn't one. She's as good as dead." At least her plan with Ontari to kill Clarke had been successful.
Lexa roared in frustration before delivering another fist to Nia's face and then another to her midsection.
Nia took a step back and inhaled deeply, trying to restore air to her lungs. She looked into the burning eyes of the Commander and smiled, although it looked more like a grimace. "You should be thanking me. If she wakes up you'll just have to kill her yourself anyway. You know what punishment is handed out to assassins."
"An assassin you turned her into," Lexa screamed as she took a menacing step closer to the Ice Queen.
"And how much fun it was to do," Nia drawled with a grin.
Lexa saw red. She launched herself towards the Queen delivering blow after blow, her rage taking control as she beat the Queen to the ground like a feral beast.
She felt something grab her arm and try to hold her back but she fought against it, continuing to attack the bloody queen.
"Lexa," Zora yelled trying to pull the Commander back with no luck.
"Lexa stop!" Luna yelled failing to stop the Commander just as Zora did. "This isn't the way to help Clarke!"
Lexa froze after that, the ringing in her ears ceasing and the bloodlust that was propelling her forward calming. Her breathing was heavy, her bruised and bloodied knuckles clenched and her eyes locked on the crumpled form of Nia.
Luna took a step forward and hesitantly put her hand on Lexa's arm pulling her away. "Come. There is nothing that can be done here, and she isn't worth it. The only thing we can do to help Clarke is find a way to get her out of this situation. Otherwise it won't matter if she wakes up or not."
Luna and Zora had both been informed of Clarke's condition and of the fact that Lexa had stormed out of the healer's hut like a woman on a mission, and they guessed they would find her here.
Lexa continued to breathe heavily, her hand lifting to run through her hair as she looked at her friend with wild, uncontrolled eyes. "You're ok Lexa," she said softly. "Come on," she said, lightly pulling the Commander out of Nia's cell and locking the door behind her, ignoring the pained groans coming from the woman on the floor inside.
Luna and Zora led Lexa out of the prison and back to her tent, ushering her inside quickly. Luna filled a cup with water and handed it to Lexa who drained the cup quickly. "I- I don't-"
"Shhh," Luna shushed softly. "We understand Lexa. Just breath."
The brunette nodded slowly and swallowed thickly before feeling the last of her energy drain and she collapsed down into a chair.
Zora and Luna exchanged worried glances at the distressed look on their Commander and friend before Luna moved toward the table in the tent and started to move around some papers. She knew that Lexa was drained, but she also knew that she wouldn't rest, not until Clarke was ok.
She silently started to divide the papers and books on the table into three sections before moving one towards Zora, one towards Lexa and keeping one in front of herself. "I gathered all laws and notes I could on how to deal with assassins. If there is a way we can help Clarke, it'll be in here somewhere."
Lexa looked at Luna gratefully before reaching her stack of papers.
The three spent the next few hours sifting through books full of laws, records from previous hedas, records from previous and current clan leaders, and any other pieces of information that could help them find a way to save Clarke.
Lexa was sifting through a series of records of trials and punishments for assassins from previous Commanders. Her eyes were quickly scanning for the pages desperately searching for an outcome that wasn't a painful death.
Death by a thousand cuts. No.
Death by beheading. Nope.
Killed in action. Not helpful.
Burned alive. Definitely not.
Blood Eagle. Hell no.
Lexa slammed the book shut and closed her eyes tightly, willing her mind not to create images of Clarke dying in these ways, and was only mildly successful. An image of Clarke going through the blood eagle popped into her mind and Lexa barely managed to hold back her vomit.
She jumped up to her feet and burst out of her tent, searching for a quiet place to calm down and breath.
She walked into the woods and found a small, empty clearing where she was able to lean up against a tree and take deep breaths, forcing the dark images from her mind. No way was she going to let Clarke wake up from this poison, because she would, only to have to be subjected to the torture she had been reading about.
She closed her eyes and gave herself a few minutes to think of Clarke. The beautiful blonde that fell from the sky and into her life. She thought of her smile, the blue of her eyes, the soft feel of her skin. She inhaled slowly at the images filtered through her mind and gave her a much needed moment of peace. She needed to pull herself together so she could find a way to save the love of her life.
"We'll figure it out Lexa," Luna said, stepping out into the clearing.
"I want to believe you Luna. So badly. But every story I've read of assassins ends in a slow and painful death. I can't do that to her, but it won't do any good if our people demand her blood. She'd never be safe, never be able to live her life, and the people may stop supporting me," Lexa said sadly.
"I know it doesn't look good. My research is giving me the same results as yours, but we have to keep searching. There has to be something that we can use, some occasion that forgave someone for coercion, and we'll find it."
"And what if we don't?"
"We will," Luna said with determination.
"And what if she doesn't wake up?" Lexa questioned quietly, her voice cracking.
"You can't think like that Lexa. She hasn't made it this far, to die by a little bit of poison. She's strong, we just need to give her a chance to wake up, and we need to be strong, so we can make sure that when she does wake up, she can stay that way," Luna said.
"Thank you, Luna," Lexa said and, in a rare show of affection, alone in the clearing, she gave her friend a hug, which Luna returned wholeheartedly. "Just give me one more minute out here, and I'll meet you back in my tent."
Luna nodded and headed back to Lexa's tent, leaving the brunette alone for a few more minutes.
Lexa closed her eyes again and allowed the happy images of Clarke to filter through her mind once again, "I'll find a way Clarke, I promise. Just keep fighting a little longer and come back to me. I love you," she whispered into the air.
After a few more moments Lexa turned and headed back towards Saipan and her tent to continue her search. She was almost there when she heard a voice calling out to her, "Heda! Heda!"
She turned as an elderly man approached her, his white hair tied back and thin frame slowly moving toward her. She stopped and waited as the man approached, "I'm sorry to disturb you Heda," he started and Lexa quickly accepted his apology. "I just wanted to know how our Queen is doing?"
Lexa's body tensed, as her eyes swept the man. He didn't have the scars of Azgeda, why was he worried about Queen Nia? "Your Queen is locked away and will face death for her crimes soon," Lexa spat.
The man furrowed his brows before coming to a realization, "Not Queen Nia, Heda. I meant Wanheda."
"What do you mean?" Lexa question, deeply confused by the man.
"Wanheda is the Queen of the prophecy, is she not?"
Lexa stared at the man with a blank expression for a moment until her mind put together what the man was speaking about. The prophecy left behind from the time of Becca Pramheda. Her eyes widened as her mind continued to put together the same pieces that this wise man already had. "Your Queen is healing," Lexa answered the man's initial question, "If you'll excuse me," she said to the man who bowed as head.
Lexa ran into her tent, startling both Luna and Zora who had been lost in the books they were reading.
"What is it Lexa?" Luna questioned when she saw the look on Lexa's face.
"A prison of rock, in a place of death, a shadow looms. From that shadow another will rise to take down its creator and lead beside the Commander to a world of peace. A light from the shadow, a love for eternity, the Commander and her Queen," Lexa recited the prophecy that all grounders had been taught since they were kids. The prophecy was passed down from generation to generation, each one hoping to live during the time of the Commander and Queen who would lead everyone to a time of peace. "It's about Clarke," Lexa whispered in awe.
"And you Heda," Luna said with an awed smile. "It's about both of you."
"I never thought I'd be alive to see the prophecy come true," Zora whispered reverently. "I can't believe it."
The three woman stared at each other with wide eyes as they came to the realization that the prophecy they had been taught about all of their lives was about Clarke and Lexa. This was what they needed to keep Clarke alive!
Before the three could discuss it much further, Indra's voice was heard from outside the tent, "Heda, dusk approaches and the pyres are all set."
"Mochof Indra. We will be out in a moment," Lexa called. "We will discuss this further later. First we must send off the spirits of those we lost," Lexa said dutifully.
The other two woman nodded, a ton of thoughts and questions coming to the forefront of their minds, but they held them back to honor their people.
They left the tent and made their way to the pyres outside. All of Lexa's warriors and the citizens of Saipan were gathered to watch as those lost were sent off to their next life.
Lexa gave a speech to honor the lives of all of her fallen warriors before using a torch to light the pyres. She stood tall well into the night until the pyre's final flames died out. By then it was very late and many had already gone in for the night, including Luna and Zora who had to go and take care of those from their clan.
Lexa made her way back to her tent and started to prepare for bed. She wanted to stay up, but she could hear Clarke in her head telling her that she needed to get some rest in her own bed for at least a little She had a busy day tomorrow with Nia's punishment.
She stripped into some light sleep clothes before laying down in her bed. She closed her eyes and imagined those earlier images of Clarke and managed to fall into a restless sleep.
The next thing she knew she was awake, reaching under her pillow, grabbing a dagger and holding to the throat of whoever had dared to enter her tent.
"Woah, Lexa. Calm down, it's Octavia," Octavia whispered, holding up her hands to show she wasn't a threat.
"Octavia? What the hell are you doing in here?" Lexa questioned, lowering the knife from Octavia's throat.
"It's Clarke," Octavia whispered and Lexa felt her breath catch in her throat. "She's awake."
The two women held eye contact for a few moments in silence before Lexa snapped out of it, launching herself out of her bed and outside her tent. She sprinted on her way to the healers tent, not stopping as she burst into the tent and to the bed the blonde was laying in, awake and very much alive.
She froze as soon as her eyes locked onto blue and she could feel her eyes began to burn with tears of relief.
Abby who was standing by Clarke, checking her vitals, saw that her daughter was now completely distracted by the entrance of the Commander and knew that she needed to give the two a moment. "I'm gonna go, my tent isn't far if you need me," Abby said, her words clearly going unnoticed as the two women continued to stare at one another.
Once Abby left the tent, Lexa's first tear fell and she took two steps forward into the open arms of the woman she loved.
They separated and Clarke used her thumbs to wipe the tears from Lexa's cheeks, "Shh, it's ok Lexa. I'm here."
Lexa choked out a sob and then her lips crashed with Clarke's. It was wet and sticky and beautifully gross and Clarke kissed Lexa back like her life depended on it.
When they pulled apart Lexa's hands reached up to cup Clarke's cheeks, "I really need you to stop almost dying," Lexa whispered.
Clarke exhaled a laugh, "I really hope that was the last time I almost die," she said. "I love you Lex. So, so much."
"I love you too Clarke," Lexa whispered almost reverently, before reconnecting their lips for another passionate kiss.
When they pulled apart, Clarke couldn't stop the yawn that escaped her lips and she blushed, "Sorry."
Lexa smiled and kissed her lips quickly again, "Don't be. Your body needs to rest."
"Will you stay with me?" Clarke questioned softly.
"Always," Lexa smiled, before climbing into the open arms of the woman she loved and wrapping her up in a protective embrace. She kissed her temple and held her tightly. "Sleep Clarke, I'll be here when you wake up."
"I love you," Clarke whispered as she snuggled into the brunette's hold and fell asleep almost immediately.
"I love you too, my Queen," Lexa whispered into the air. She would tell Clarke everything in the morning, for now it was time to sleep.