A/N: I'm taking the follows and favourites as a good sign and continuing this. I figured as Indra called them the Tree people, I might as well have them all living in tree houses. It makes sense in my head as I visualise it, so go with it for now. Onwards we go. If you get a few seconds after reading this and feel like you can, please drop me a review. Read, review and enjoy!

Chapter Two.

They had been back in the capital for two days when the alarm rang out, someone was approaching the walls. Lexa stepped out of the door and looked down to the ground.

"Someone is approaching." One of the guard said as he looked up at his commander.

"Who?" Lexa asked.

"Clarke of the Sky people." He replied.

"Let her come," Lexa said, "take up your positions on the wall, everyone off the ground, now!"

Lexa watched as the ground emptied, the guard taking up their positions on the wall. She knew that Clarke would eventually find them, find her. She knew that the blonde girl would have questions, she knew it was only a question of time before she would have to provide the answers. If she was being honest, Lexa thought that she would have more time.

x-x-x

She had been walking since she left the mountain, stopping only to rest when her body couldn't take anymore. She was in pain, the physical pain she felt paling in comparison to the emotional turmoil she still found herself in. On her travels she had passed a small grounder camp, instead of killing her as she assumed that they would, they had offered her refuge. She had stayed for a few hours, eating a small amount of food and filling up her water bottle before she left again, asking directions to the capital. Following the directions she had been given, Clarke was starting to think that they had lied to her and she felt that she was aimlessly walking through the forest. All the times that she had dreamt of the ground when she had been on the Arc, the world around her had slowly started to lose its wonder, all that she felt now was pain.

She had a large wound on her leg where she had fallen down a large bank, catching her leg on a broken branch of a tree. The branch cutting deep into her leg. She had cleaned the wound the best she could and stopped the bleeding by using a small piece of fabric which she tied around her leg. As she continued to walk the pain was the only thing keeping her going. She needed to see Lexa, she needed to know why she had done what she'd done. Deep down she knew, and she understood, as much as it hurt her she understood why. But she needed to hear it from Lexa. Clarke knew the chances of her making it to the grounder commander alive were slim, but she also knew that Lexa had scouts throughout the forest, she would already know that Clarke was coming, and Clarke knew that the only reason that she was still alive was because Lexa wanted it.

Holding herself up using her hand to lean against a tree, she was about to give up. Narrowing her eyes she saw a huge wooden wall. Clarke knew a wall that size was for security. Looking into the trees around her she couldn't see anyone. She knew from experience if the grounders were going to attack her, it would come from the trees. But she saw no one. All the heard was the sound of the forest. Taking another deep breath she pushed herself away from the tree and staggered towards the open door in the wall.

Beyond the walls she saw yet more trees. Looking around she could tell that the place was lived in. High up on the walls she saw the grounders, all of them with their arrows trained on her. She continued forward, gritting her teeth as she used the final reserves of her energy.

x-x-x

Lexa stood and watched as Clarke started to edge forward, the sight of the guards on the wall not stopping her. She knew the Sky girl was stubborn. Her eyes met one of the guards on the wall, as he pulled the string back on the bow, Lexa shook her head a little. She watched as Clarke staggered further into the clearing.

"Now would be a good time for them to shoot." Indra said, standing at Lexa's side.

"She's not dying today." Lexa replied, her eyes still locked on the blonde.

"She's here to kill you, why else would she come." Indra said.

Lexa turned to look at the woman standing to her right.

"She is not dying today," she said, "is that clear."

Indra nodded a little, her jaw clenched as she looked back at the Sky girl.

"She will be your downfall Commander." Indra said.

"So be it." Lexa replied quietly, watching as Clarke fell to her knees.

Nobody made a move as Clarke fell. Everyone watched as she looked up at the sky and digging deep into the last of her reserves she screamed.

"Lexa!" was the last word to leave Clarke's lips before she finally lost consciousness.

Curiosity got the better of some of the grounders and they made their way from their hiding places towards the now unconscious Sky girl. Using the rope lift Lexa made her way to the ground, knowing that Indra and the others were following her. The crowd parted as she walked.

"Get the healer." Lexa said, it wasn't a request, it was an order.

"We should leave her to die," one of the guards said, "we owe no allegiance to them, send her body back as a message, they are not welcome here."

Slowly Lexa raised her head, her eyes moving from Clarke to the guard. She drew her sword and slowly walked over to him.

"Are you questioning me?" Lexa asked.

"No, Commander," he replied, "I just…"

"Lock him up," Lexa said, "I'll deal with him later."

As Indra's men took the guard away Lexa turned to the crowd that had gathered.

"The next person to question my leadership will not get off so easily," she said, "where's that healer?"

x-x-x

The hours passed as Lexa sat watching Clarke. The healer had done all he could, now she was left hoping that Clarke was as stubborn as she believed.

"She doesn't belong here." Indra said from the doorway.

Lexa didn't reply.

"She isn't Costia, Lexa." Indra continued, "She is a weakness for you."

"Get out." Lexa replied.

Indra let out a low growl, but did as her commander told her.

Clarke groaned as she opened her eyes and looked around her, she felt like she had been in a battle for days.

"Lexa..." she said.

"Why did you come here, Clarke?" Lexa asked, not moving from her seat.

"I think your truce with the Mountain Men kind of fell through…" Clarke said as she tried to sit up, admitting defeat she lay back down again.

"So I saw…" Lexa said, sighing as she stood up and walked closer to the bed, getting a cup of water for Clarke, "You did what you had to do…"

"I killed a lot of innocent people…" Clarke said, taking the cup from the commander, "kids…"

"Were they alive when you blew up the mountain?" Lexa asked.

"No, they were long dead," Clarke replied, struggling to sit up, Lexa moved to help her, "don't help me…"

The commander took a step back as she watched the blonde sit up with difficulty.

"I killed them the night you left my people to die," Clarke continued, "I opened the air vents and flooded the level with outside air, which was full of enough radiation to kill them all, slowly and very painfully… I think I get it now…"

"Get what?" Lexa asked as she sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Why you're such a heartless bitch who doesn't care about anyone or anything," the blonde said, "I guess I'm going to have to become that heartless…"

"No you're not." Lexa replied quietly.

"What makes you think that you can tell me what to do," Clarke said, getting angry, "you're not my commander."

"You're right," Lexa said with a little nod, "I'm not…but I'm not heartless, and I do care Clarke, which is why I'm saying you can't…"

"Why not?" she asked.

"Because it's just not who you are, this…" Lexa said, reaching over and placing her hand softly over Clarke's heart, "this is who you are, this is where you get your strength, your passions… your damn stubbornness, Clarke of the Sky people…"

"But it hurts Lexa…" Clarke said, her emotions clearly written all over her face as fresh tears burned her eyes.

"Because it's broken…" Lexa said, fighting to stop tears forming in her own eyes, "get some rest… things might look better in the morning…"

Clarke lay back down as Lexa stood up and walked towards the door. She turned and looked back as Clarke closed her eyes, the analgesia which was in the water taking effect. As she exited the room she looked at the guards standing outside the door.

"Ready the cart," she said, "we travel at first light."

x-x-x

The sun was setting on another day without a grounder attack, Bellamy was about to take his break when a shout came from the fence stopping him.

"Grounder approaching!" one of the guards shouted.

Bellamy turned and made his way back to the fence, using the binoculars they had he looked at the hill, Abby made her way next to him and he handed her the binoculars.

"It's Lexa…" Abby said, "She's alone."

"She's their leader," Bellamy said, "she's never alone."

He looked at the guards.

"Keep your eyes on Lexa," he said, "and watch for attacks from the trees."

Lexa lead the cart up to the gate, her eyes locked on Bellamy and Abby.

"You can shoot me," she said, "kill me, but the horse will bolt, my precious cargo will be even more damaged than it already is."

"Clarke…" Abby said, "Open the gate."

As the gate opened Lexa moved the horse forward, bringing the cart to a stop just inside the gate. She got down from the cart and Bellamy pointed his gun at her head.

"Why should we trust you?" he asked, "you betrayed us."

"You shouldn't trust me," Lexa replied, "but she needs to heal, and she can't do that away from here."

"She left for a reason." Bellamy said.

"She left because of the lives she took to save you all," Lexa said, "she needs to be here to heal, she needs to face the choices that she made. You can kill me Bellamy, but you will start a war you cannot win. I came here alone, to return Clarke to you, nothing more."

Bellamy lowered his gun as Abby climbed into the back of the cart to check Clarke's injuries.

"Physically, she's healing," Lexa said, "There was nothing more my people could do for her."

"She doesn't want to be here, Lexa…" Abby said, "She made that clear."

"She doesn't know what she wants," Lexa replied, "she needs to find her place, who she is… and she needs you to help her do that. We all make choices that we don't like, choices that we would make very differently in other situations. But to survive, to grow, we must accept those choices, whatever the outcome."

"Thank you, Lexa…" Abby said.

"Don't thank me," Lexa said, "Clarke won't…"

Lexa turned and walked towards the gate.

"What do I tell her when she wakes up?" Abby called after her.

"Nothing." Lexa said as she walked out of the camp and back down the hill.