Hi guys,

Once again I want to give a big shout out for anyone who had reviewed, followed and favorited so far. I haven't been this excited about writing a story in a long time and that's all because of you and your kind words. I honestly try to update as soon as I can just so I get the chance to read your opinion on my story. I'm sure without you I wouldn't post a new chapter that quickly after the other.

Enjoy the update!

Chapter 5

Thick shoes covered up with snugly warm fur trekked through the snow coated ground, leaving deep foot prints in the snow. Heavy fur coats protected them from the icy weather. Up here the thick forest had thinned out only leaving a few trees here and there, instead the number of naked, rocky stones increased.

They were moving through Azgeda territory, though close to the border to Trikru and in an area not used frequently by Azgeda seeing that the game chose to stay within the forest for protection. Out here the animals would be easy targets.

At the beginning they had toed along the border to Azgeda on their search for the plants Nyko and her had set out for. After two days Clarke had thought that they had found enough to last for a while but was surprised when Nyko had decided to continue on with their trip. Clarke had been even more surprised when Nyko had led them away from the border and further into Azgeda lands. The conflict between Azgeda and Trikru was becoming steadily worse and the blonde wasn't keen on meeting any Azgeda warrior.

However Clarke trusted her brother and she knew that he wouldn't risk their lives just like that. Clarke eyed the bag hanging from Nyko's shoulder filled with several herbs and plants, including the rare ones he had wanted so much. She doubted that he was actually searching for more plants. Nyko moved too determined and his eyes never strayed over the ground to look out for more plants while Clarke silently trotted after him.

After another few minutes Clarke finally picked up her pace and moved to walk directly next to Nyko, her eyes gazing at him to search for any indication of why they kept moving deeper into Azgeda territory. But his focus never pulled away from the path. "Where are we going?"

"To a place I've been before."

"I didn't know you know someone in Azgeda?" Clarke stated confused. The blonde knew that Nyko's trips often take a few days until he arrived back home, she herself didn't accompany her brother as often as she would like. But someone had to help their parents with their work and Nyko was often busy with his work as a healer. That left Clarke to help their parents so she couldn't just leave with her brother for a few days. However her brother had always shown her the route he would take, the general area he'd be in and what plants and herbs he was planning to get.

Never once had Clarke seen him moving through Azgeda.

"We're not visiting anyone." Nyko replied.

"Where are we going then?"

"We're going to a place that's very special for me. Though I've only been there twice. I want to show it to you."

Nyko's answer didn't help Clarke at all to find out where they were going to, though it seemed that it meant a lot to her brother. Keeping her eyes on their surroundings the blonde continued to follow her brother wordlessly while still trying to think of the place Nyko could mean.

It didn't take much longer actually. Another half an hour brought them to their destination – at least Clarke thought so since Nyko slowed down until he stopped completely a few steps later. He calmly stared at something at the foot of the mountain, but Clarke didn't see anything out of place. Just stones and a few plants and bushes.

The blonde moved from one leg onto the other waiting patiently for Nyko to start talking. Until now she had no idea what there was that could possibly make this place special.

"I'd like to think that this is the place my life changed forever."

Blue eyes flickered over to Nyko's tall figure waiting to see if he'll continue without her prodding. After a beat Clarke noticed that he was deep in thought so she gently brought him back to the present by finally asking. "What had happened here?"

"This is the place where I've found you all those years ago." Nyko breathed and turned around, smiling softly at his little sister.

Clarke's eyes widened at his statement. She knew that she had been found by Nyko as a baby and he and his family never hesitated taking her in – herfamily never hesitated. Back then Clarke had asked herself often what may have happened to her real family, where had she come from and had there been someone searching for her, though after some time the blonde had just shrugged the questions off of her. She couldn't change the past and fortunately she had found a good family to grow up in.

She had found a home.

When her family had told her of her origins they had shown her the little blanket she had been covered up with as a baby, and that the name sewn in in the blanket was the reason they had called her Clarke. The only other thing that had been on her as a baby was the chain she had worn all her life.

Those two items were the only things connecting her to her mysterious origin. Clarke still had them as a token for her past, but they will never change the fact that Nyko and his parents were her family.

"You found me in Azgeda?!" That was actually the first thing shooting through her head. Like all Trikru she grew up with an obvious distain for their violent neighbors. Having Azgeda roots would certainly make her life interesting.

An Azgeda child growing up in Trikru.

"We had been out hunting and I admit that we had crossed the border to Azgeda despite the orders of our leader. Not far from here we had set camp for the night. I had strayed away. A loud noise drew me here." Nyko told her. Once again he looked towards the foot of the mountain. Glancing back at her he nodded towards the mountain. "Why don't you go and take a closer look?"

"At the bush?"

"It's not everything as it seems." Nyko replied mysteriously.

Clarke narrowed her eyes but did as he said and inched closer towards the mountain, closer to the place a huge bush was located. Stepping closer to it Clarke detected something underneath it, something greyish and dull.

Pushing away the little green leaves and sticks Clarke uncovered the strange object seemingly hiding behind the bush. Uncertain the blonde glanced back at her brother who nodded encouragingly for her to continue. More and more of the grey surface came into sight.

"What is this?" Clarke asked in wonderment.

"This is where I had found you in."

The blonde stared at every inch of the box. "In? As in inside?"

"Yes, I think I may have opened it somehow when I touched it." Nyko nodded as he watched closely Clarke inspecting the box. Her movements reminded him of his own all those years ago. "Inside was a man."

That got Clarke's attention and her focus immediately shifted back to her brother.

"At first I had thought that he was dead. There had been so much blood. Like any curious, young child I had rummaged through the box searching for any useful item. There had been nothing. I had just wanted to get out again and leave, go back to the camp before they'd start searching for me, when I had noticed some movement from the corner of my eyes. And there you have been, safely cradled in the arms of the man."

Clarke hung at every word that came over Nyko's lips, enthralled in the story he was telling her.

"The next thing I knew the man – who I had thought was dead – had grabbed onto my arm. The sudden touch had startled me, but I wasn't scared. There had been something about the man which made me feel like I could trust him. Then he had started talking. He had spoken in Gonasleng."

Gonasleng? Like the Mountain Men? Where did she come from? Nyko had found her in Azgeda. Yet this box didn't seem to belong to Azgeda. It looked out of place. And the man spoke in Gonasleng? Questions upon questions filled Clarke's mind.

"I didn't understand every word he had said to me. I have been too young back then. But I had understood the meaning behind his words. He handed you to me and I carefully moved you into my arms. Just seconds later the man had taken his last breath. Afterwards I had quickly made my way back to the camp. I've never told anyone about the box, fearing that they'd reject you. As soon as I could I had sneaked out and made my way back here. I had pulled out the man and burned his body to set his soul free and hid the box as good as I could."

Clarke's hand moved over the cold, smooth surface of this big, metallic box. Blue eyes flickered up the mountainous area further up the hill. She contemplated Nyko's words but she couldn't imagine that the box was originally located at the top of the stony mountain. As far as she could see there wasn't anything up there indicating life. One would have to climb rather high to get to the top. That would be a difficult task in itself but with a baby?

But where did this box come from? And why had she been inside of it, safely wrapped up in the arms of a man whom potentially could've been her real father?

Dozens of questions ran through her mind as she tilted her head once again to stare up into the sky, as if she could find any answers up there, now more confused as ever.

The sun was already setting when Clarke arrived back at the tower, later than she had intended yet still early enough for their lesson with the flamekeeper, Titus. She had met the bald man first when Anya had led her towards the throne room upon her arrival in Polis, the man standing proudly next to Heda Sanco with a stoic expression. Just like the heda, Titus had eyed her carefully as if to assess her. The blonde knew damn well that no one in Polis was happy about the late discovery of her nightblood, the fact that her family was still alive despite having hidden a nightblood from them was a wonder on its own.

Slowly Clarke walked along the hall trying to remember to path to the room the lesson would take place in. Knowing that it was one of the rooms in the upper levels of the tower Clarke made her way to the elevator, choosing to try her luck on the same level their dorm was located in. Maybe she would see the others and just follow them.

As the doors opened and Clarke stepped out she had to discover that her luck didn't seem to be on her side seeing that the hall appeared to be empty. She couldn't even see one of the guards somewhere close by. The blonde choose to move to the right, hoping the room would be in that direction. She cursed herself for not asking one of the nightbloods for a little tour through the tower instead of discovering Polis.

Clarke arrived at an intersection of hallways leading further into the tower level and she got the feeling that she'll likely end up lost regardless which way she'd choose. Biting her lower lip nervously Clarke knew she most certainly won't be on time for their lesson. Sighing, the blonde nightblood chose the hall to her right but stopped immediately when she saw a flash of familiar long, brown hair and a regal looking person move at the other end of the middle hall.

Breaking out in a slight jog Clarke tried to catch up to the person she was sure to be Lexa. The girl moved with steadily long steps down the hall and Clarke called out to her to wait, yet the brown haired nightblood appeared to not hear her – or chose to, at least.

She picked up her pace and quickly caught up to the other girl. "Lexa wait!"

A slight yet noticeable drop of Lexa's shoulders and the annoyed sigh that had been barely audible let Clarke know that Lexa must have indeed ignored her earlier call. Slowly Lexa turned around waiting for Clarke to close the remaining distance between them until the blonde stood three steps in front of Lexa. "You're late."

"We're both late." Clarke stated.

"Yes, because you delayed me."

Clarke grew irritated by Lexa. It was obvious that the girl didn't like her and Clarke put her into the same drawer as Khalan and Tremot. "I'm sorry if I got you into trouble."

Forest green eyes stared stoically at her and Clarke had no idea what could be going on in the brunette's head. Probably a string of curse words. Wordlessly Lexa turned around and moved further along the hall, Clarke trailing after her silently.

As expected the lesson had already begun and Titus looked anything else but happy of their tardiness. The lesson was about Gonasleng and Clarke was happy to say that she knew already enough about the language to easily keep up with the others.

Having lived in a rather remotely village and wanting to become a healer like Nyko, her brother had stated that it may help to teach her Gonasleng. It never hurt to learn more than expected, he had told her then. Nyko had always been her hero so little Clarke had eagerly taken on everything he did, and she still looked up to him. Her big brother with a good heart and an inner strength she could only hope to archive to have herself sometime in the future.

He also taught her about patience and good behavior and she thanked him for that since it was the only reason she kept her mouth shut about Lexa's irritating behavior.

Another thing she noticed during the lesson was that Lexa appeared to really be Titus' favorite, his eyes always had a slight twinkle of pride in them when he glanced at her. Though the more Titus' did so the mood of Tremot considerably worsened with every glance, the older boy shot daggers with his eyes at Lexa's back now and then. There definitely seemed to be tension between them, though more so from Tremot than from Lexa who obviously ignored him.

Ignoring people must be a hobby from her, Clarke thought sarcastically.

The lesson ended differently than the one with Tristan, Clarke's strength pretty much laid in the theory aspect of their training just like Olev's. The only difference between was that the boy was definitely better in close combat than she was. Maybe she should put in some extra hours of sword training. Right now, she was not looking forward to their next lesson with Tristan.

Titus gave both, Clarke and Lexa, a quick reprimand for their lateness before dismissing them however his glare was solely resting upon the blonde making it clear that he didn't blame Lexa as much as he did her. Now she understood the annoyance of the others about Lexa's position as Titus' obvious protégé.

Not wanting to return to the nightbloods room just yet Clarke opted to get acquainted with the tower to avoid a situation like today. The next two hours were spent discovering the tower, starting with the first levels and then moving to the upper levels. Clarke spoke to some of the guards, but only the ones whom seemed to be always close to their sleeping quarters. It wasn't easy but she thought that she was getting the hang of the many hallways and rooms. The blonde planned to organize some papers and coal to draw a map the next time she'd be out in Polis.

Most of the inhabitants of the tower had already retired for the night, leaving only some guards. She turned around a corner making her way towards the room of the nightbloods as she crashed directly into something massive and ended painfully up on the floor.

"It seems you like to find yourself in the dirt, little girl." A deep, jeering voice rung out.

Clarke looked up and saw Tremot standing in front of her his body big enough to block her path to their shared room, the mocking smirk in place as he stared down at her. The fellow nightblood made no move to help the blonde up, opting to stay where he was as he chuckled and crossed his arms.

"An honorable warrior would at least help a person up." Clarke couldn't help but scoff at him as she got up from the floor, trying to shorten the height difference but still came up shorter than him. "But I get the feeling you know nothing about honor, do you?"

Okay, maybe she shouldn't have said that to Tremot, having gotten to know him to be hot-heated and aggressive, and taunting him wouldn't help her in this situation. At night there were fewer guards around and right where there were, Clarke knew the two nightbloods were alone.

The confirmation of her assessment came in form of his flaring nostrils and his angry, darkening eyes as he uncrossed his arms and made himself even bigger than he already was. Clarke woke the beast and now she had to deal with the consequences.

She knew the best thing she should do was to bolt the other way and try to lose him somewhere in the hallways of the tower and hope he'll calm down after some time and continue to dislike her from a distance, yet the only thing Clarke did was build herself to her full height and squared her shoulders, ready to deal with her brother in blood and prove that she wasn't someone to be pushed around.

She just hoped she didn't make a mistake.

Lexa calmed her breathing as she elegantly swung the sword in what appeared to be a series of throughout well placed hits. There was something comforting to be out training after the sun set for the day the cool air of the night engulfing every inch of her body, the only thing the brunette could hear were her calm breathes.

It wasn't long until Lexa called it a night and packed up here training utensils and moved through the empty streets of Polis. On her way back to the tower the brunette met a few familiar faces she which she nodded at in greeting. It was a normal sight to see the nightblood at this time of the hour out by herself. After spending most of her life in Polis she knew the capitol good enough to move comfortably alone, the guards at the entrance of the tower were used to her presence this late of the day. Though Titus didn't like it when the nightbloods were outside of the tower without proper security.

Yet, what Titus didn't know….

Quietly moving through the halls of the tower towards the quarters of the nightbloods, Lexa nodded at some of the guards patrolling the upper levels. One or two of them she knew since she was a little kid, running havoc and causing them trouble. Somehow they were her family.

Lexa didn't remember much of her parents. Her black blood was discovered very early on after her birth and she spent only the first three years with them before she had been taken from them, not seeing them ever since. A few years ago Anya had told her that her father had died after some bandits had raided her birth village, though it was only a brief moment during a training session and Lexa just took note of it and continued her training. After all those years she could sadly state that her parents were strangers to her, just two other people of Trikru. She didn't know whether her mother was still alive or not.

It wasn't like she didn't care about the fate of her parents, like anyone she was quite curious of them. She had often asked herself obvious questions like what they were looking like, if her mother was a kind woman and her father a skilled warrior, maybe they were farmers, did they have more children and Lexa often imagined during her earlier years in Polis and as Anya's Second what it would have been if she had stayed with them. However over the years she spent less and less time thinking about what if's and concentrated fully on her training. She couldn't indulge herself in little fantasies as such, especially not now when the conclave seemed in the near future.

The brunette entered the long hall leading towards the room as she could see Tremot towering over their newest addition ready to pounce. The blonde, Clarke, Lexa reminded herself, stood stubbornly her ground in front of the huge male nightblood. Lexa almost had to grin at the sight, a small girl against the brute of a man. It reminded her of an old story she had read once, David versus Goliath.

Although Lexa guessed that this time the bigger and stronger one will indeed come out victoriously. She had seen the blonde's skills in fighting, or lack thereof. Though she had to admit that she admired Clarke's courage, even if it was a foolish one.

Perhaps Clarke wasn't as weak as she had first thought. Her strength just laid somewhere else. She was certain that with a little help the girl may become a worthy opponent sooner or later.

Picking up her pace Lexa moved between her fellow nightbloods and kept the following fight from breaking out, putting herself in front of the blonde glaring at the boy. "Is there any problem, Tremot?"

Tremot's glare redirected at Lexa, yet kept himself as tall as he could. In turn Lexa also squared her shoulders, lifted her head and stared emotionless at Tremot. There was a certain authority radiating from Lexa. The two nightbloods were caught up in a staring contest, a battle of wills. Though Lexa knew that it won't be her who'd give in, and if Tremot knew when it was a good time to pick a fight and when not, he'll give in.

What seemed like hours but in reality were only seconds, Tremot's shoulders dropped a little and his breathing calmed down. He lifted his head and looked stubbornly at the brunette in front of him before he glanced back at Clarke. "You shouldn't roam through the halls that late in the night. You never know who you might meet, little girl."

Clarke clearly heard the underlying thread and made a mental note to avoid being left alone with Tremot. The next time would surely end differently.

Tremot huffed and turned on his heel undoubtedly moving back to their shared room. As soon as the boy was out of sight Clarke relaxed. She had been sure the confrontation would end differently than it actually did. Taking a deep breath her blue eyes flickered to the brunette who still had her back to her, though she could see that Lexa also relaxed once Tremot retreaded.

"Thank you." Clarke's soft voice drew Lexa out of her thoughts. She turned slightly to the blonde and nodded before she moved in the same direction Tremot had gone in, leaving the blonde girl behind trusting her to find her way back without help.

Please let me hear your thoughts about this one.

Thanks for reading!