"No!" Clarke screamed roughly. She took a step forward, but the Azgeda guards quickly grabbed her in an iron grip, holding her back.
"I said I would spare your clan; I made no promise about her. I am Heda now, and the clans demand retribution. I will not deny them," Ontari hissed. "Agreeing to spare your people is weakness enough."
Lexa stirred again from behind the Ice Nation woman, and drew herself up as straight as her wounds and bonds would allow. "You are weaker for choosing this path, Natrona. You cannot become Heda though treachery. Not for long." Her eyes were cold and unflinching, as if she could see the weakness within the other woman.
"Watch me." Ontari grinned arrogantly, and drew close to Lexa. Her dagger gleamed in her hand.
Lexa did not cry out when the blade first touched her flesh, biting down on a sharp inhale of breath as the pain erupted. Her eyes locked with Ontari's as the woman stepped even closer, barely leaving room for her arm as she drew the blade along the ragged edge of a wound along Lexa's ribs, extending the slash to curve around her belly. When she stepped back, Clarke could see the black bloodstain on the front of Lexa's shirt spread slowly.
"Ai na op yu in. Disha ai meme in. Em Fleim meme in otaim," Lexa vowed through clenched teeth.
"Jus drein jus daun, Leksa." Ontari drew away from the fallen Commander and Titus stepped forward dutifully. A large square of cloth was draped over his outstretched hands, and he bowed slightly as Ontari laid her dagger upon it. She retreated to the throne and sat stiffly upon it, the corners of her mouth turned upwards slightly.
"Finish the sentence. Make her bleed."
Titus bowed, and drew the cloth over the blade. Clarke's stomach turned at the sight of the black blood smearing the cloth as she stood frozen in horror. To have gone from such bliss, to this endless terror, with no end in sight was a beyond any nightmare imaginable.
Uzac stepped forward when Titus approached, and took the dagger in a firm grip. He stepped up to Lexa, whose eyes burned with a raw mix of pain and ferocity. "Jus drein jus daun," he intoned, unable to match Lexa's gaze. He covered his cowardice by looking at his hand, which pressed the knife in a jagged cut along the outside of Lexa's leg, from just above her knee to her hip.
Her cheek twitched, but she was otherwise silent for a moment before she repeatedly her earlier promise to Ontari to him. "Ai na op yu in. Disha ai meme in. Em Fleim meme in otaim."
The Yujleda ambassador looked unsettled for a moment before hiding behind a mask of false bravery, dropping the blade into the cloth waiting in Titus' hands. He again wiped the dagger, and again, another Ambassador stepped forward to take up the blade and extract vengeance upon their former leader.
It seemed to Clarke that an eternity passed. It was impossible for her to think, her mind filled with wordless screaming in rage at the betrayal and horror at the scene in front of her. She struggled against her captors, and each time strong hands held her back, rooting her to the floor in silent witness to the bloody judgement being carried out against her lover. Nine more times Ontari's dagger met Lexa's flesh. Nine more times Clarke heard Lexa make her vow to each Ambassador, in a voice that grew increasingly weaker as she leaned against the restraints.
And, when it seemed as if there could be no greater horror than what had already occurred, Ontari barked a command that cut through the white noise of fear roaring in Clarke's ears and suddenly the guards at her sides were shoving her forward.
"The ritual must be obeyed, Clarke kom Skaikru," Titus entreated, his outstretched hands holding out the dagger. The blade gleamed in contrast to the thick black blood that now completely soaked the cloth.
"No," Clarke growled. "Never." Her voice dripped with bitter wrath. "You can blackmail and betray me into giving you my vote, but you will never, ever make me do this."
"To refuse to execute Heda's judgement is to be branded natrona, a conspirator of the condemned, Wanheda. As ambassador to Skaikru, it will be judged that your conspiracy was the will of your clan, and they will be judged harshly. You will not be asked again." For a fleeting moment, Clarke could see a flash of pain in Titus' beseeching gaze before his face again became an unreadable mask.
"No."
"I will be obeyed!" Ontari raged, rocketing to her feet. "Or I will make Skaikru blood flow like a river!"
"Your promises mean nothing Ontari; you will take what you want no matter what I say or do. I voted in order to remove her from power. But I will never do this."
"Gonas!" At Ontari's scream, several warriors drew their bows, nocking arrows in one smooth motion and aiming for the skayon's heart.
"Klark…"
Lexa's voice was weak, barely above a whisper, but it rounded out the edges of Clarke's name like a caress. She seemed to reach from deep within her last reserve of strength to lift her head, and her eyes searched Clarke's. "There is no choice here, Clarke. You must survive. For our people. For…" Lexa's voice failed, but her eyes spoke the words for her.
…for me.
The Azgeda guards released her arms. Clarke's fingers shook as they closed around the handle of the dagger, dark blood from the cloth staining her skin. She closed the distance between her and Lexa, boots smearing the rivulets of blood on the floor. Clarke felt as if her heart had stopped within her chest. Was this what Lexa had felt like, she wondered, at Mount Weather, when she had turned her back on Clarke? Was this some cruel attempt by Fate to extract payment from the Commander for that choice? Those thoughts filled Clarke with an unendurable agony.
"I'm sorry," Clarke whispered, so low that only Lexa could hear, strangling the sob that threatened to burst from her chest. The memory of what they had shared just a few hours before surged forward, and Clarke felt her limbs shake, nearly dropping the dagger.
"Don't be. Save our people, Clarke. I would not expect anything less from you." A heartbeat passed, and when she spoke again, the last harsh tones of Heda were gone, leaving only Lexa in the soft voice that whispered to Clarke with finality. "I will always be with you."
As Clarke shallowly drew the sharp blade over the skin of Lexa's forearm her lover's deep green gaze held her own, conveying such a look of reassuring strength and forgiveness that Clarke could not hold back the sob that tore from her lips, agonizing over her desecration of the woman she had just hours earlier so reverently worshipped.
The seconds that followed flowed by, interrupted only by the clatter of the dagger falling to the floor from Clarke's numb fingers. Lexa's eyes searched hers for a moment, then became unfocused before closing. Clarke could hear a whisper, a faint sigh of breath, and Lexa slumped bonelessly against her bonds, chin lowering to rest on her chest, before she was still.
Wailing in abject grief, Clarke fell to her knees before her still lover. She felt broken. For one brief shining hour, she had been cherished and loved. And it had all been taken from her in an instant, leaving her lost in a sea of blood and chaos. She felt as if her heart had stopped in her chest, relinquishing any hope that she held for the future.
Distantly, as if from within a dream, she could see Titus pick up the dagger from the floor, wiping it on a new, clean cloth. Reaching up, he took hold of one of Lexa's intricately woven braids, slicing through it with the dagger. "Yu gonplei ste odon, Leksa kom Trikru. Gonplei kom Heda kigon feva."
Tears swam in Clarke's eyes and she was unable to read Titus' expression as he briefly knelt, pressing her lover's braid into her hand, before rising and walking to the throne to return the dagger to Ontari. The newly anointed leader rose from her throne, stalking past Clarke and the unmoving figure bound to the post before her.
"I expect to see you at dawn, Clarke kom Skaikru, or your life is forfeit. Dula yu job op, Fleimkepa. Ai nou gaf ai gyonplei drag em daun," she called over her shoulder, exiting the room. Each of the ambassadors and guards followed her out, leaving only the subservient Fleimkepa and grief-stricken Wanheda in the silent chamber.
There was a brief moment of stillness as the doors slammed shut, and then Titus leapt forward, unfastening the knots and clasps that held Lexa's ruined body upright. He caught her as she fell free and held her in his arms as one would a child who had fallen asleep, rushing for the side door leading from the throne room to Lexa's chambers.
"We must hurry, Wanheda. We do not have much time. The Flame-"
"Where are you taking her?!" Clarke cried out as she rose to her feet. She balled her hands into fists and charged towards Titus, singularly focused on getting Lexa out of his grip, and then killing him with her bare hands. Red tinged her vision, and she was filled only with the need to end him even if it was her last act on Earth.
"Wanheda please! There is still time to save her, but only if we hurry!"
The shock of his statement hit Clarke like ice water, and her steps faltered, jolting her to her core. For a moment his words failed to penetrate the haze of anguished grief and rage clouding her thoughts, but when he repeated the statement, she felt the fury give way. Instead, she gathered her courage, and the last scrap of hope within her heart, and trailed Titus as he carried Lexa from the room.
Next week, in Chapter Four:
"Titus sighed heavily, but turned to her, the box still in his outstretched hand.
"This contains our hopes, our sorrows, our triumphs and bitter defeats... It is the soul of Trikru." She hesitated a moment before taking the box from his hand, tucking it away into her pack. "You are the Fleimkepa now. The Spirit of the Commander cannot fall into Ontari's hands...Guard it well."
Trigedasleng:
Azgeda= Ice Nation
Yujleda = Broadleaf Clan
Skaikru= Sky People
Natrona= traitor
Jus drein jus daun= Blood must have blood
"Ai na op yu in. Disha ai meme in. Em Fleim meme in otaim."= "I see you. I will remember this. The Flame will always remember."
"Gonas!" = "Warriors!"
Skayon= Sky woman/girl
"Yu gonplei ste odon, Leksa kom Trikru. Gonplei kom Heda kigon feva." = "Your fight is over, Lexa kom Trikru. The Commander's fight goes on."
"Dula yu job op, Fleimkepa. Ai nou gaf ai gyonplei drag em daun," = "Do your job, Flamekeeper. I do not want my Ascension to be delayed."