Chapter 8

Much to Clarke's surprise, Lexa began to fret. Usually, when faced with a problem or threat, Lexa was calm, cool, and collected; this was not one of those times. She paced back and forth, until Clarke grabbed her hand, dragging her back into the clearing. She continued to pace, mumbling to herself, while Clarke sat on the crumbled bench, her eyes following her commander. Left, right, left, right, left… "Lexa!" Clarke scolded, bringing her to a halt. "Enough! What are you doing?"

"I'm fretting, Clarke, what does it look like I'm doing?" Clarke stifled a laugh, smiling.

"Really, Lexa? Really?"

"Yes, really, Clarke. How are you smiling at a time like this? Someone attacked both of our guards, leaving us vulnerable. That same source is probably out to get us too. I should have never brought you here. It's not safe. I'm sorry-"

"Lexa! Lexa, calm the hell down! Why are you so upset?" She placed her hands on her heda's shoulders, trying to calm her down. "We will get through this, Lexa. It's really not that bad. Why are you worrying so much?" She looked into Lexa's eyes, soothing her further.

"Because it is my job to protect my people, Clarke. It is my job to protect you. I can't do that if I'm dead." She broke their stare, looking down at her feet. "I can't lose you, Clarke. I just got you back." Clarke agreed, but was shaken, and somewhat surprised. It wasn't like Lexa to fret, or express her emotions so freely. She didn't know what had changed her, but it changed her for the better.

"Hey. Hey, look at me," Clarke coaxed, gently tilting Lexa's chin up so that she could hold her gaze. "You are doing a perfectly fine job of protecting me and your people. I'm okay, aren't I?" Lexa nodded, but started to protest.

"But Clarke-"

"I'm fine, Lexa. I'm better, actually, now that I'm with you." She smiled reassuringly. "You took care of me, but now I need you to take care of yourself, Lexa. We'll find a way out of here, a safe way out of here, and we will search for and deal with the attacker once we get back to the tower, alright? It will be just fine." She pulled Lexa in, hugging her tight, making her feel safe again. They walked cautiously back to where the attack took place, both girls standing straight and alert, eyes darting across the forest. They wasted no time in fleeing the crime scene, and made it out of the woods safely. Raising their hoods again, they walked the short way through the city, risking being seen. Lexa had assured Clarke that it would be the better choice; first of all, they wouldn't be recognized easily at night, and secondly, they had to get back to the tower quickly. The pair talked sparingly, but when they did, they kept their voices to a low murmur. Once at the base of the tower, the girls brought down their hoods, Lexa calling over a guard to take them up the building safely.

Back in Lexa's chambers, the girls let their guard down again. It felt almost as secure as the grass clearing, only less private, with guards out on the balcony, and right outside her bedroom door. For some reason, Clarke felt uncomfortable.

"It's getting late," Clarke started. "I should probably go back to my room." She turned to face the door, but hesitated. Lexa saw her pause, and acted on it.

"If you feel unsafe at all, you can stay here for the night, Clarke." Truth be told, she wanted to protect Clarke, and make her feel safe, but Lexa would have jumped at any chance to fall asleep next to Clarke. "It really wouldn't be a problem." Clarke turned back around, considering it.

"Are you sure, Lexa? Won't your guards and maids be suspicious?"

"I'll handle them, Clarke. If that is all you are worried about, then please, stay. I don't care any longer if they know about -" She paused, not wanting to offend Clarke. "About us," she finished. Clarke moved closer to her, smirking.

"It sounds to me like someone wants me to stay for reasons other than just my safety." By then, she was only a couple inches away from her heda, her nose brushing up against Lexa's. She whispered faintly, her warm breath tickling Lexa's skin. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were in love, Heda." Clarke smiled, taking Lexa's hands into her own, their foreheads touching. She pressed a soft kiss to Lexa's lips, but quickly pulled away, backing up towards the bed. Smirking, she patted the bed gently, inviting Lexa over.

"Really, Clarke?" Lexa crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, but couldn't resist smiling - she was in love. Gently padding over to the bed, Lexa took off her outer gear, leaving just a shirt and jeans on. Clarke did the same, and laid back onto the bed. Lexa seized this opportunity, and, climbing on top of Clarke, planted a line of small kisses on her cheekbones and jawline. She moved down to her neck, and sucked soothingly at her pulse point. Moving up to kiss Clarke's lips, Lexa moved her hands gently over her girlfriend's upper thighs, occasionally brushing her fingertips over the zipper of Clarke's jeans. After about ten minutes of teasing, she started to pull at the zipper. She carefully maneuvered her fingers so that the top button was undone. As Clarke arched her back against the bed, Lexa reached around the blonde's waist, pulling at her jeans. She hooked her thumbs on two of the belt loops, and started to wiggle the jeans down towards Clarke's ankles. She had the pants almost off the blonde, when she heard stifled grunting coming from the balcony. Lexa looked longingly at Clarke, and stopped what she was doing. Not wanting to interrupt the moment too much, she assured Clarke that she'd only be gone a second, just to check it out. Grabbing her sword from the pile of armor laying on the ground, she moved towards the balcony door, eyes and ears alert. Lexa gently pushed open the door, darting her eyes left to right, searching for the source of the noise. She expected to see two guards standing at attention, however saw nothing at all.

Meanwhile, Clarke pulled her jeans back up and admired her commander's sense of dominance. She smiled faintly when she realized how quickly Lexa had gone from pleasing her in bed to protecting her at the ready, but her smile quickly faded. Clarke looked outside at Lexa, who was frantically shifting her head side to side, still searching for the source of the noise. Out of the corner of her eye, Lexa saw something move. Moving further into the shadows, sword still drawn, ready to put up a fight, she saw one of her guards lying on the ground. As she cautiously moved towards him, she heard another stifled grunt, but this time it came from outside of the bedroom door. Lexa finished checking out the dead guard, finding that a knife to his chest was the cause of his death, and quickly strode to the front of her grand bedroom, pausing slightly before opening the doors. Upon looking down the hall, she found that another two of her guards were dead, each by knife wounds. Turning around, she was yanked to the side, a small yelp escaping from her lips. Her captor placed a hand over her mouth, followed by a knife against her throat. When she tried to fight back, he warned her in Trigedasleng, "Stay quiet, or die."