Clarke managed to mount correctly-and stay in the saddle-on the second attempt. She wove her fingers into the mane and held on for dear life as Lexa led them out of the stables through a back entrance that Clarke had not noticed earlier. She blinked when Lexa lifted a flap that had concealed a mine entrance. "Is this safe?" She asked as the warrior led her through.

"This path is, for now. This place is known as The Labyrinth. We have several of them. We change the layout daily as a precaution against the Reapers using them to catch us unaware. There are three paths that lead to safety. The rest..." She paused outside a side tunnel. Reaching into her pouch she removed a thick leather glove and some flint stone. She struck the flint and lit a torch on the wall, but did not touch it. Instead she put the flint away and donned the glove. She took the torch with her gloved hand and held it out so that Clarke could see the shaft of it in the dim lighting left from the stable. Sharp metal barbs lined the torch, tips gleaming from some kind of liquid. Poision. "Lead to a very slow and painful death. Remember this Clarke. You are safe now because you are with me, but you must never enter the mines alone. Do you understand?"

Clarke nodded.

Lexa lifted the torch, illuminating the wall next to the stable entrance. The numbers 8675309 had been written there in charcoal.

"What does it mean?" Clarke asked.

"It's the key to navigating the labyrinth safely. There may be three paths, but as they change so often we have no way of communicating what they are to all who may need it. So we leave them a clue."

"But wouldn't that also help the Reapers?"

"No. We leave clues, but we also have a code we use to interpret them which changes every week. Without the code, the hints are worthless."

"Why three paths? If they change daily surely one would be enough?"

"One path in, one path out, one that can only be used by the horses."

Lexa took the reins again, leading her into the darkness.

This place is so strange. Clarke thought as the darkness swallowed everything but the warrior, her horse, and the light. One wrong turn, one wrong move, and everything would be over. My body wouldn't even be found, unless the Grounders chose to expose it. Death... I am literally surrounded by it, but I feel so safe. Like I've been away somewhere a long time and am finally returning home.

The sounds of footsteps and hoof beats echoed softly as they travelled the tunnels, Lexa confidently leading the way. The torchlight flickered along the walls as they passed. The combination of light and sound and the motion of the animal beneath her made her relax despite her excitement over riding a horse. She sighed, easing her death grip on the horses mane. Her mind wandered.

Lexa's voice brought it back. "Does it bother you?"

"Does what bother me?" Clarke asked absently, shifting her hands to a more comfortable grip.

"The fire." Lexa said, gesturing to how the torchlight flickered along the walls.

Clarke understood what she meant. "Oh. That. No, not really. I may have started the fire, but I didn't see it."

Lexa said nothing to that.

Clarke figited as she watched the Commander walk, her shadow keeping pace along the wall. "Does it bother you?" She asked in a rush.

She took in a shaky breath and tried again. "I mean, being here, with me. Does it bother you?" Do you hate me? She wanted to ask, but held it back, fearing what the answer may be.

Lexa didn't miss a step as she replied, not looking back. "No."

What? "Why?" She blurted out, too surprised to stop herself. "After everything I did? How can you stand to be this close to me and not want to kill me?" I'm covered in your people's blood, so why? The question hung in the air, unspoken, yet its presence lingered all around them. It was there in her eyes and would have begged to be answered, if Lexa would only look.

She didn't.

"War is war, Clarke. We our not ourselves when we are in it, yet we are also most alive when we are in its throws. There is no room for judgement in those times. We underestimated you, backed you into a corner, and as any creature would do, you lashed out. We should have known better." She spoke the last part ruefully, as one who had learned a painful lesson at too high a price.

She sighed, finally glancing over her shoulder to look at Clarke. "I do not blame you, Clarke. We all do what we must to survive."

She doesn't blame me. Relief flooded through Clarke, easing the hard knot of anxiety in her chest. The guilt was still there, but it was not as all consuming as it had been. She sat up a little straighter, unconscious of the gesture.

IlIlIlIlIlIlIlIlI

Ahead of her, Lexa noted the change in the girls demeanour and felt a moments satisfaction. Good. Guilt like that wreaks havoc on the soul. She led the girl steadily downward, the decline so subtle that she doubted the girl had even noticed that they had gone underground. She carefully kept count of the turns as they went, mindful of how easy it would be to lose track of the turns and get lost. She reached the eighth turn and took the passage, beginning the count again from there.

She had not exaggerated the danger, one wrong turn and they would all be dead. But she had been travelling the labyrinths since she was old enough to understand the key, and was confident in her ability to navigate it safely. She heard Clarke shift in the saddle and sensed that she wanted to ask something, but was hesitating. "We can talk if you want to, I won't get us lost." She assured the girl.

"What's her name?" Clarke asked softly.

Lexa smiled a little, risking another brief glance over her shoulder. "You can speak normally, you know. The roof is not going to collapse upon us."

The girl flushed. "Sorry." She gestured to the horse beneath her. "What's her name?"

"Naveen." Lexa answered, turning back to the path. "It means Beautiful."

"Naveen..." Clarke echoed softly. "I like it. It's pretty."

"Do you know why I chose it?" Lexa asked, then continued without waiting for an answer. "I chose it, because she never gave up. She kept going. She endured beatings, starvation, and still kept going the next day, everyday. Her spirit was never broken." And neither is yours. She did not give voice to the thought, knowing that if she had it would only be rejected.

She glanced back again. Clarke was running her hand over some of the scars on Naveen's back, a soft smile on her lips. Yes, think of that. Think of how the scars tell her story. Think of her battles, and then think of the healing that took place after. Let Naveen's scars plant the seed that the same may be true for you. She frowned, turning back to the path before the sky girl could see it. Her thoughts swirled around the girl, even as she counted the sixth turn and led Naveen down it.

What happened to her? The guilt has eased, but why was it even there in the first place? Why do my touches make her flinch away? She has true strength, I know she does. So why does she feel so worthless? She pondered over this, analyzing her confession from earlier. Tainted dreams... No. She knew in her gut that that wasn't where the problem lay. It's not that her dreams have been tainted, it's as if she feels she is no longer worthy of having them. But why? What could have happened that would have damaged someone so strong in such a fundamental way.

She mulled over the blonde rubix cube behind her, turning down the seventh passage subconsciously. She went back, analyzing every moment she had spent with the blonde, recalling every word, every subconscious gesture, that had happened in her presence. She thought back to when she met the girl in her prison, and almost missed a step as a sentence jumped in her memory.

"The massacre was my fault. I tried to stop him, but I was too late."

"The massacre was my fault..." What did she mean by that? "Clarke?" She called, keeping her tone neutral so as to not startle the girl while getting her attention. "I am not angry with you, but I am curious. When you said that the massacre was your fault, what did you mean? Was it an order that you intended to cancel, or..."

"No!" Clarke denied vehemently. "I would never order a thing like that!"

Lexa nodded. "I didn't honestly think that you would. But then, what did you mean? If it wasn't at your direct order, how could it possibly be your fault?" She turned, leading Naveen backwards so her puzzlement could be seen by Clarke.

Clarke bit her lip, looking down at the fistful of mane in her hands. Lexa was beginning to wonder if she would get an answer, when Clarke sighed softly and looked at her again. "He did it for me, to find me."

Her eyes turned pleading. "Please... Try to understand. The person who did that, to your village, is not the Finn I knew. He was passionate for peace, so much so that he didn't even want us to have the guns to defend ourselves with. He never wanted any of your people to be hurt."

Her fists tightened on the horse hair, her whole body going tense as she continued. "But then the army attacked. He was outside the dropship when I closed the hatch."

Her eyes closed. "When I fired the thrusters."

She opened her eyes. "Something inside of him broke after that. When he learned I was missing, he became obsessed with finding me. He thought your people were responsible. He became ruthless in his desperation to find me."

Lexa's eyes narrowed, a feeling in her gut telling her that she was close to having a piece of the puzzle fall into place. "Why you? My soldier informed me that all of you were missing, and the one you call Kane backed this. What was it about you that was so important?"

Clarke flushed. "He loves me."

Lexa's brows went up as the puzzle piece clicked into place. "You're lovers?"

Clarke figited with the horse hair and looked to the wall, watching their shadows. "We were, but it ended."

"Why?"

Clarke's gaze shifted to her hands. "His girlfriend landed the next day."

Ah. That's why. More of the puzzle fell into place. She cocked her head. "Was he your first?"

Clarke shifted in the saddle, looking like she'd rather be anywhere else than alone with Lexa at that moment. "Yeah."

Lexa blinked, another piece falling as she asked, as gently as she could. "He didn't tell you about her, did he?"

Clarke shook her head.

The puzzle clicked into place, complete. So that's it. That's what planted the seed of doubt, why she feels so unworthy. The other failures, the tainted dreams, they were just what the seed needed to grow. She's still there, still the strong, beautiful, leader that her people needs, but her doubts choke her. Like a flower wilting in the shadows because the weeds have blocked out the sun.

Lexa turned back to the path, looking for the fifth turn. Seeing its outline, she led them through it. The path ended, broken into three different directions. She picked the third one, noting as she did so that the path was starting to angle up. They would be at the surface soon.

They continued in silence for a while, though it was clear from her figiting that Clarke had expected her to say more. Lexa waited, offering nothing but her acceptance of what had already been given. Don't ask, don't push. Let her come to you. Anya's voice whispered in her memory. Be patient.

Naveen had healed, thanks to her care under Anya's supervision. Lexa was confident that the sky girl would be no different. Yet a treacherous feeling of doubt had wormed its way into her heart, waking a feeling she had suppressed long ago as being weakness. A feeling that now lifted her thoughts into a prayer. At least, I hope.