A/N: Thanks for the reviews and stuff guys, it really helps the writing process. Just to let you all know, I have a clear plan, and it's going to be difficult and possibly painful, but what I ask is that you trust me with this one. We'll get there. Anyway, onwards we go. This part has turned into a bit of fun within in madness. Read, review and enjoy.

Chapter Sixteen

Lexa had slowly untangled herself from Clarke's sleeping form, quietly she got dressed and walked out of the tent. The sun was just starting to rise, the camp was slowly coming to life. She loved the quiet moments like this, it helped her to think. She still had doubts that the plan would work the way everyone expected it to, in war plans don't tend to last that long. But she also knew that it was her duty to do whatever it took to save her people, even if the price for that safety was her end. As she had told Clarke the previous night, her people would always come first. The life of a leader is to put the needs of their people above what they want for themselves. Sure, some days she would just like to be able to disappear, go off into the forest and just exist. No pressure, no demands. But she knew that would never happen. She had a sworn duty to protect her people, whatever the cost, and that cost was usually something that would cause Lexa to lose another part of herself. She had to succeed for her people, that is always the way it has been, but now she had added another level to the pressure. She had to succeed for Clarke.

The first moment she had laid eyes on the blonde girl from the sky, she knew that she was in trouble. The more time she spent around her, the more Lexa started to listen to Clarke's ideas. Ideas that she herself had had when she first became leader of her people. At first she just thought it was a naive ideal, the dreams of someone who doesn't understand the way of the world. Clarke had spent her life living in space, reading books and watching old movies and television shows, she had a romanticised view of the surface. But her hopes for her people were not too different to those which Lexa herself had when she was first called to lead her people. But the more you watch people around you die, the harder and harder those hopes become, you can cling to hope but you will eventually be left disappointed. Lexa had learned that lesson the hard way when she lost Costia. For a while she had believed that it was the biggest failure she'd ever had. She couldn't even protect those closest to her, how could she protect everyone else. That is part of the reason she built walls. Around her cities, villages and her heart. To become the person that her people needed her to be, Lexa wore a mask. She stopped being the leader that she wanted to be, and became the leader her people needed. Those ideals she once had became nothing more than a distant dream of a life once lived.

That is why she had tried to keep her feelings at bay, especially her feelings for Clarke. A leader cannot afford weakness, they cannot afford for anything to come close to taking the place of their people in the scale of importance. But like an irritating cute child who follows after you with their wooden sword and dreams of the future, Clarke didn't leave Lexa's thoughts. No matter how much she had tried to reinforce the walls around her heart to keep the Sky girl out, she broke those walls down. At first it had started with individual bricks, small pieces. It was now a cascade as the bricks collapsed with the fluency of a waterfall.

Just as she was about to go back into her tent and get ready for whatever challenges the day would bring, Lexa noticed Indra walking towards her.

"Heda." Indra said, as she walked up next to Lexa, standing with her as she looked out over the camp.

"If you think you can change my mind…" Lexa started to say.

"I was actually considering running a few extra combat drills," Indra replied, "if the Sky people run out of bullets they will be vulnerable."

Lexa nodded her head a little.

"I think that's a good idea." Lexa said, "Make sure that those who do not carry swords get one, and at least know how to swing it."

Indra lowered her head a little and walked back to her own tent.

x-x-x

When Clarke finally woke up, sometime after Lexa's side of the bed had gone cold, she made her way into the main part of the tent, finding Lexa sitting there again going over the plan.

"Need some help?" she asked.

"Indra is running combat drills," Lexa replied, not looking up, "you should attend."

"I know how to fight Lexa." Clarke said with a little laugh.

"No," Lexa replied, "you know how to fire your gun and hope for the best. Carrying a sword is useless Clarke, unless you know how to use it."

"Will you be at the combat drills?" Clarke asked, already thinking that she knew the answer.

"I may be there for a short time," Lexa said, still not looking up from what she was doing, "but there are things that I need to put in order."

Clarke nodded a little before she slowly walked towards the entrance to the tent.

"Well, if you do come down, and see me kicking someone's ass, please don't be too surprised." Clarke said with a little smirk.

"I assume I will be the one lifting your face from the mud," Lexa replied, looking over at her for the briefest of seconds, but it was long enough for Clarke to see the beginnings of a smile on her lips, "anything else would certainly be a surprise."

x-x-x

"Again!" Indra commanded as Clarke once again dragged herself up from the mud.

Clarke groaned as she lifted her sword again as she turned to face Octavia, the younger girl effortlessly spinning the sword in her hand.

"Remember I know your secrets…" Clarke said, causing Octavia to laugh as she dropped back into her fighting stance.

"It's not personal Princess." Octavia replied.

Clarke got into her fighting stance, without noticing the hush fall around the large circle of people who had gathered. She didn't notice as Lexa slowly made her way through the crowds, Octavia however did. As her eyes locked with Lexa's she noticed the commander give her a small nod, letting her know that this was not something that she would hold against her in any way.

"Okay," Clarke said, bouncing a little as she readied herself for another attack from Octavia, "let's do this."

"Enough talking," Indra said, walking around the two girls, "we are here to fight, not bore our opponent to an early death through talking."

"Must be why you have such top notch conversational skills…" Clarke mumbled, loud enough for Indra to hear her.

"It isn't my conversational skills that will keep me alive while you perish, Clarke of the Sky people." Indra replied, her jaw set in a tight line which always scared Clarke slightly, "you talk too much."

"I have no intention of perishing…" Clarke said, looking over at Indra.

"Prove it." Indra said, "Fight."

Clarke looked at Octavia, the younger girl smiling a little as she again lifted her sword, Clarke nodded at her before she stepped forward. Octavia easily side-stepped Clarke's attack, coming round behind her and catching the blonde in the leg. Clarke turned and lifted her sword again as she faced Octavia, blocking the younger girl's sword as it came down towards her shoulder, aiming for the soft skin between the shoulder and the neck. Using her foot she pushed the younger girl backwards a little, giving herself more space to move. Octavia used her free hand to grip Clarke's leg, causing her to lose her balance again, one again landing in the mud with a grunt as the air left her lungs.

Clarke decided she was just going to lay there for a while, catching her breath with her sword by her side. While she was looking up at the sky overhead, Lexa walked into her field of vision, coming to a stop by Clarke's head.

"Here to drag me out of the mud Commander?" she asked teasingly.

"Your mistake is that you project too much." Lexa replied, looking down at Clarke, her hands behind her back, she had no intention of helping her up.

"I do what?" Clarke asked, still not moving.

"You project too much," Octavia said, walking over to the blonde girl and offering her hand to help her up, "your opponent is aware of what you are doing before you do it."

A small smile crept onto Lexa's lips as she listened to what Octavia was saying, she was impressed that Indra's lessons had obviously been getting through to the younger girl.

Clarke took hold of Octavia's hand and let the other girl help her up. As she turned to look at Lexa, the commander just stepped back again, giving them space to go again.

"Any tips?" Clarke asked Lexa as she walked a little way from Octavia before turning back to face her.

"Think it through in your mind," Lexa said, her back still to Clarke, "always know what your opponent is going to do, don't think it, know it."

"Right," Clarke said to herself, "I could always just pull my gun out and shoot my opponent, and then I know they're going down."

"You rely too much on your gun, Clarke," Lexa said, talking as her commander not her friend or anything else for that matter, "a gun can jam, it can fail. You can run out of bullets and then you have no other options. Wars cannot be won with guns alone."

Clarke knew that Lexa was right, she usually was. Clearing her mind she took a deep breath before looking back at Octavia. She didn't say a word, no smart comment, nothing, Clarke simply dropped into the fighting stance. She heard Lexa groan behind her before she felt the commander behind her.

"Your legs need to be wider, your feet are too close together," Lexa said, tapping one of Clarke's feet with her own so she moved it, "holding the sword with one hand instead of two leaves you with an option to dodge an incoming attack."

Clarke let go of the sword with her left hand, leaving it solely in her right. Lexa's hand travelled the length of her arm until it reached her hand. The commander lifted Clarke's arm slightly, angling her hand so the sword partially blocked the blonde girls face. Stepping back without another word, Lexa stood and watched, her face void of all emotion.

"Yeah, cause now I can concentrate…" Clarke muttered to herself as she saw Octavia smirk a little.

Instead of stepping forward as she had done previously, Clarke moved round, choosing to circle Octavia rather than a frontal attack. She tried to read Octavia's movements, guessing more than knowing what she would do. Clarke turned to her left as Octavia came at her, planting her foot firmly behind the younger girl's knee as Octavia moved to turn back and face. Clarke knocked Octavia's sword from her hand without much effort before placing her sword across the younger girl's throat.

"Bang…" she whispered into Octavia's ear.

"Well played Princess." Octavia replied.

As Clarke stepped away from Octavia and the younger girl stood up, Clarke looked at Lexa who was undoing her jacket.

"No…" Clarke said, "no, how is that fair."

Lexa smiled a little as the crowd slowly began to chant 'Heda' as she stepped forwards, handing her jacket to Lincoln, spinning her sword in her right hand as she put her left arm behind her back.

"I'll go easy on you." Lexa said with a smirk.

"You could have both hands behind your back and you'd still kick my ass." Clarke said as Lexa began to slowly walk in circles around her.

"The level of the defeat depends completely on you," Lexa said, readying her sword, "you can stand there and complain, or you can defend yourself."

Clarke knew without a question of doubt in her mind that she was once again going to end up on her ass, it just a matter of time. Lexa was not going to go easy on her, not when it seemed like the entire Grounder army was watching them. Before she even had time to complete the thought that was in her head she found herself bringing up her sword as Lexa stepped forwards, effortlessly making Clarke stumble backwards as the sound of metal on metal sounded through the camp.

"Defend yourself." Lexa said sternly but quietly as she stepped closer to Clarke again.

Clarke used her sword against Lexa's to push the Commander back a little.

As Lexa moved around her again, Clarke took a sharp intake of breath before she turned and lifted her sword, bringing it round the metal made contact with the armour plate on Lexa's arm. She looked at the commander, worried about Lexa's reaction. The commander simply smiled a little, arched her eyebrow and nodded her head slightly. She noticed that Lexa changed the grip on her sword, the blade now facing behind her a little, bringing her hand up, the sword handle on a collision course with Clarke's face, the blonde girl ducked down under Lexa's arm. Lexa turned, mid attack and brought her sword back up, the cold metal coming to rest across Clarke's throat. Clarke stopped in her tracks, unable to move.

"An improvement," Lexa said calmly as she put her sword back in its holster at her back, "you may be able to take on an army of 6 year olds once this day is through."

Without another word Lexa walked over to Lincoln and took her jacket, she continued walking.

"Am I done?" Clarke asked, turning to Indra.

"For now." Indra replied with a slight nod.

Clarke slowly made her way over to where Lincoln was standing with Bellamy and Octavia. She ached in places she didn't know it was possible to ache in.

"And your people do this from what age?" Clarke asked Lincoln as they stood and watched as Monty tripped over his own feet landing on his ass before he'd even had the chance to raise his sword.

"A very young age," Lincoln replied, shaking his head a little at the sight in front of him, "as soon as your arm is strong enough to hold a sword. You recall the child that was with Anya that day at the bridge?"

"I remember…" Clarke said, thinking back to that day, where she hadn't been able to save the young warriors life, "she had these small scars on her shoulder blade… I asked Anya what they were, and she said that they marked the kills the girl had made… she was about 8 years old…"

"Rumour has it that Heda received her first scar at 6." Lincoln said.

"6 years old…" Clarke said, "At 6 years old I was still running around the Ark blissfully unaware of the dangers in the world…"

"Ignorance is bliss…" Bellamy said with a sigh.

"Would you really want to go back?" Clarke asked as she turned to look at him.

"Life was easier wasn't it?" Bellamy asked in reply, "not knowing about the bad stuff…"

"Your sister was forced to live in the floor, and you're asking me if life was easier?" Clarke asked him, before she shook her head and turned to leave, the crowd parting behind her, "that wasn't life Bellamy, that was existing in any way we could."

"And this is better?" Bellamy called after her, causing Clarke to stop, the crowd around her now all listening, Monty and his combat partner both stopping and looking over.

"Sure this is difficult," Clarke said, turning to face him, her sword still in her hand, "it's been nothing but fighting since the day we arrived…"

She slowly began to walk back towards him.

"But this is the life we have," she continued, "I don't know about you, but I would much rather fight to live the life I choose to rather than living a life someone else has chosen for me. If you can't understand that, then maybe you should return to Camp Jaha and continue to live the life someone else decides for you."

Bellamy opened his mouth to say something, stopping himself he took a deep breath and just kept his eyes fixed on Clarke.

"It is what it is Bellamy," she said, "and yes, it sucks, but we're down here, on the surface with so many more freedoms than we've ever had. Either you fall in line or you leave, it is that simple."

Clarke turned and walked from the crowd, knowing that everyone was looking at her, but not really caring too much. At that precise moment she didn't care if she was hard on Bellamy, he needed to hear it, and the Grounders needed to see that she wasn't weak.

x-x-x

The sun had started to set and Clarke hadn't returned to the tent, although she was finding herself worrying Lexa had pushed it to the back of her mind. She had completed all that she needed to do for her surrender, everything was in place. Once that was done she had too much time to think, so ran over it again. When her evening meal had been delivered and there was still no sign of Clarke, she had been tempted to send for Indra to find out what had happened.

She stepped out of her tent, looking down towards the camp she saw her people enjoying their food and gathering around the fire, she knew that they would be sharing war stories while terrifying the Sky people. There, sitting on the edge of the top of the hill in front of her was Clarke. She had her knees pulled up to her chest and her chin rested on them. Letting out a sigh of relief she slowly walked over to the seated girl.

"Is something the matter?" Lexa asked as she gripped her arms behind her back and kept a watch over the camp.

"Other than aching in places I didn't know I could ache in," Clarke replied, "and having mud literally everywhere you can think of, no, nothing is the matter."

Lexa smiled a little as she kept her eyes forwards.

"Have you eaten?" she asked, glancing down at Clarke.

"No," Clarke replied, "I was thinking about going down there and joining them… looks like it could be a fun party…"

"So why are you still sitting here?" the commander asked, her eyes once again travelling to the fire.

"Earlier I pulled rank on Bellamy," Clarke said with a sigh, "told him to either fall in line or leave."

"And now you regret it." the other girl replied, "Being leader isn't like simply being their friend Clarke, no matter how much easier everything would be. You need to be able to look in their eyes and ask that they die for you, without saying please. And they need to know that you are not asking, you are telling. They follow you Clarke, they put their lives in your hands, and they have to remember that you would do anything to keep their lives safe."

Clarke didn't reply, she just turned her head a little, resting it on her knees as she looked at Lexa, the other girl having a slight tinge of sadness to her voice.

"His pride is probably hurt," Lexa said, still not looking at Clarke, "but he knows you were right. As much as he sees himself as a leader, your people see him as your second. Your voice will always carry more weight than his."

"I suppose having him as a second is better than someone like Indra." Clarke mumbled, loud enough for Lexa to hear.

"Indra is an extremely accomplished warrior, Clarke," Lexa replied, the hint of a smile playing on her lips, "I do not keep her close for her conversation."

"Lucky that, cause it would suck if you did." Clarke said with a slight laugh.

"Indra's life has given her a… toughness that is sometimes off-putting," Lexa said, "she has seen things, and done things that would make your head spin, because it's what I asked of her. Do you think she and I always agree?"

Clarke shrugged a little, which caused Lexa to laugh.

"She follows my orders even when she doesn't agree," The Commander continued, "because that is what I ask of her. She is one of the very few people in this world who I would trust at my back."

Clarke nodded a little, understanding what Lexa was saying. Even though she and Indra didn't agree on everything, Indra would walk into Hell with Lexa if the other girl asked her to.

"Do you know why she dislikes you so much…" Lexa said.

"Something to do with me talking so much maybe?" Clarke asked in reply, rolling her eyes as she looked back out over the camp.

"Because she sees the strength in you that you are afraid to accept," Lexa replied seriously, "she sees the person you could become if you simply believed in yourself… that and yes, you talk too much."

Clarke laughed a little at Lexa's added comment.

"Will you come somewhere with me Clarke?" Lexa asked, a small smirk on her lips.

"That smirk makes you look like a serial killer, Lexa." Clarke replied as she stood up, "but I think I'll risk it. Where are we going?"

"First, you're going to clean up and put on some clean clothes," Lexa said turning to look at her, "you look like you have been wrestling with a Pauna. Then you're going to meet me out here, and trust me."

Clarke laughed again as she turned and started to walk back to the tent.

"No weapons." Lexa called after her.

x-x-x

Clarke had cleaned up, changing into the other clothes that she had brought with her from the Ark, when she left the tent Lexa was waiting. Clarke noticed that she wasn't wearing any of her armour, nor was she carrying any weapons that Clarke could see, though the blonde was sure there would be something somewhere.

"When you said no weapons you meant it huh." Clarke said as she walked up next to Lexa.

"It's an exercise in trust." The Commander said as she looked at Clarke.

"An exercise for who?" Clarke asked with a smile.

"Everyone." Lexa replied with a smile of her own, "Shall we…?"

She motioned to the main part of the camp.

Clarke shrugged and followed Lexa as she walked down the hill. She had no idea where they were going. Lexa lead her through the rows of tents as she made her way to the fire. As soon as they arrived everyone fell into a well-known silence.

"Is there room for two more?" Lexa asked.

Clarke wondered why Lexa asked, it was obvious that no one would say no. Clarke noticed one of the Grounders, who were sat on the logs around the fire, nudge the guy next to him as he motioned for them both to stand up.

"There is space here Heda." He said as they stood up.

"Please," Lexa said, "remain seated."

Lexa walked to the log where the men were sitting and motioned for Clarke to sit in the space on the end. Lexa herself surprised Clarke and a few others by sitting on the floor just in front of Clarke. It took a few moments but Clarke remembered something that Lexa had once said to her. Never ask your people to do something that you wouldn't do yourself. She was sitting on the floor, in the mud, because many of the army were doing so.

Clarke also noticed as Lincoln, Octavia and Bellamy moved round slightly, along with Indra, so the group of them were standing behind Clarke and Lexa. Lincoln and Indra had both noticed that Lexa was not armed. The faith that she was placing in her people that night was a brave statement indeed. Clarke remembered that even when she was in Polis, Lexa always carried some kind of weapon.

"Has Indra recounted her tale of confronting a Pauna yet?" Lexa asked, hoping to set everyone at ease and to get them to continue as if she wasn't there, "the one which ended in her being trapped up a tree for half a day."

"Or the one about your first hunting trip Heda," Indra replied, "which ends in you flat in the mud unable to chase a rabbit."

A murmur went around the camp as everyone wondered what Lexa's response would be, Indra had spoken out of place, in a very public city. Clarke noticed as Lexa moved back a little, she could feel the Commander's body heat against her legs. The blonde then turned and looked at Indra, the Grounder general looking straight ahead.

"I was 5 years old," Lexa replied with a laugh, "Gustus and Kassius had forgotten this when they stepped over a tree root, I did not see it. But I still got the rabbit."

"So exactly how long were you stuck up that tree Indra?" Clarke asked with a smirk.

"Only once you have faced a Pauna can you understand." Indra replied.

"Oh I have," Clarke said, smiling as she felt Lexa relax even further, "saved the Commander from it too."

"Tell us that tale." One of the younger soldiers said.

"I'm not sure the Commander would approve of that." Clarke said, looking down a little at Lexa, from the way Lexa was sitting Clarke could see that her shoulders were lowered, she was calm.

"It was not long after the Tondc massacre," Lexa said, getting lost in her memories as she watched the flames dance up from the fire, "Clarke had decided that she would go for a walk in the forest…"

Clarke noticed as everyone's attention was fixed on Lexa, they were hanging on her every word.

"Obviously as inadequately armed as she always is," Lexa continued, drawing a few laughs from around the gathered crowds, "there were two options, she would either get lost, or she'd get eaten…"

Clarke playfully slapped Lexa's shoulder.

"So," Lexa continued with a laugh as she dodged the playful slap from the blonde girl, "I followed her."

"Then," Clarke said, taking over the story, "we were running from this big-ass thing, getting trapped in what we figure was its feeding place. I jump down from this ledge, thinking it would be a good idea to get some distance. The Commander follows me down, injuring her shoulder in the process."

"It was a pretty big drop," Lexa interjected, "the landing was a matter of luck, which as usual you had used all of by not injuring yourself."

"Anyway," Clarke said, "I was telling it… We ended up trapped in this cage thing…"

"After Clarke ran in, without checking if there was an exit before she closed the door…" Lexa pointed out.

"After dragging you through a door after the thing grabbed your leg and tried to pull you back," Clarke said, "I wasn't really thinking exits, more like just blind fear."

"We didn't remain safe for long," Lexa replied, ignoring what Clarke had just said, "and Clarke trapped the Pauna in the cage, giving us the time we needed to escape."

"So much cooler than getting stuck up a tree." Clarke said, "which I'm still waiting to hear about."

"I can always enlighten them, if you would rather, Indra." Lexa said, leaning back further against Clarke's legs as she looked back at Indra.

In the moment Clarke felt her heart jump in her chest. The light from the fire was softly illuminating Lexa's features, the blonde girl thinking that she had never seen the Grounder Commander this relaxed. If Clarke didn't know any better she would have said that Lexa did this on a regular basis, and wasn't at that moment considering going to her death in a matter of days.

"Indra was accompanying Anya and I on a hunting expedition…" Lexa started, never taking her eyes of Indra, the tone in her voice was almost teasing to the general, "it was just after I became leader…"

"I will tell the story, Heda." Indra said, her expression not changing, "it had been up to Heda and Anya to bring in the hunt that day for the camp. It was supposed to be a scouting mission to another camp, the delays due to weather conditions were disheartening…"

Clarke noticed Lexa smile a little, her eyes moving back to the fire, as she rested more fully against Clarke's legs. If anyone had noticed her gradual movement nobody let it be known that they had.

"They had been much too interested in battle planning to remember that everyone needed to eat," Indra continued, "so as the day wore on, and they got more hungry, they remembered."

Lexa let out a little laugh, Clarke guessed that she was reliving the memory as Indra was recounting it.

"The night was coming fast, we had no time to track and hunt," The general said, the tone in her voice becoming more relaxed as she told the story, "the weather had just taken a turn and it looked like the rain would not stop. We set out to hunt. Heda spotted a deer, killing it without much trouble, using her knife rather than the bow and arrow…"

"I still remember your protests…" Lexa said quietly, knowing that Indra would hear her.

"As we moved in to retrieve the kill, the Pauna decided to claim the kill as its own…" Indra said, inviting Lexa to finish the story if she pleased.

"Anya saw it before either of us," Lexa said, picking up the story, "and she ran for this deer as fast as she could. Just before she reached it the Pauna came charging through the trees, knocking Anya off her feet. Indra fired arrows at it, getting it's attention away from Anya while I moved closer to her. The trick worked a little too well and Indra had to take to the trees while Anya and I distracted the Pauna and tried to lead it away. We succeeded and when we returned to retrieve the deer, we found Indra, still in the tree."

"A little cooler than I expected it to be." Clarke said, turning to Indra with a nod.

"Do the Sky people have any stories?" one of the Grounder soldiers asked.

"Yes Clarke," Lexa said, resting her arm across Clarke's legs as she turned to look at her, "do the Sky people have any stories?"

"What about the one where Clarke nearly fell down the trap?" Monty asked.

"Or the one where she stormed into the drop ship in a bad mood, closing the door behind her, then she needed 10 people to open it again from the outside because it was trapped?" Octavia asked, her voice literally dripping with amusement.

"Well there was this one time where Octavia decided it would be a good idea to go for a swim in the river," Clarke said, turning her head and looking at Octavia, "and she ended up getting dragged around like some kind of doll by who knows what."

"That was a pretty big-ass who knows what." Octavia replied, attempting to keep her embarrassment from her face.

"Can you tell us the story about how you took the mountain?" another Grounder asked.

"Er…" Clarke said as she rubbed the back of her neck, "I… well…"

Lexa looked back at her, gentle encouragement in her eyes as she smiled softly.

"Well you already know the start of it," Clarke said, "no need to relive that again… Once your people were free…I er…I found my way to the tunnels which Indra had taken Octavia through…"

"Maybe someone else has another story to tell." Indra said, interrupting Clarke, "that one is not ready to be told."

Clarke closed her eyes as someone else started to talk about the night 5 Grounders took out a scout team of 20. She felt Lexa squeeze her leg softly. Nodding a little she opened her eyes and looked at the Commander.

"It takes as long as it takes…" Lexa said quietly before quickly turning her attention to the story which was now being told.

The night continued, more stories were told. Eventually people started making their way to their tents, talking about how Heda had joined them. Clarke knew it must have given them a pretty big moral boost having Lexa there, as one of them rather than as their leader. Lexa excused herself and headed back to her tent.

"Well that was unexpected." Bellamy said as everyone else had cleared the area, leaving only the Sky people and Lincoln, "she actually seemed normal."

"Surprise…" Clarke replied, as sarcastically as she could muster.

"I mean, I've never seen that side of her." Bellamy said, hoping that he hadn't offended anyone too much, "and it was…"

"It was nice," Jasper said as he scuffed his feet, "at least we know now that there's a person under all that…"

"All that bad-ass." Octavia said finishing his sentence.

Clarke laughed a little as she looked into the fire.

"I could sit listening all night to war stories," Lincoln said, "it happens a lot in the lead up to a battle, people reliving what they've faced before is a way for them to remind themselves that they have survived before. It usually gets a little more…well it certainly gets louder, there are drinks passed around in jugs, but obviously with Heda here… it had to remain somewhat respectful."

"Has she never done that before?" Clarke asked.

"The last time she was present at something like that was…" Lincoln said, obviously thinking about the last time that had happened, "I believe she was 16… it was the first battle since she had become leader and Anya dragged her along because she believed that Heda needed to remember what it was like to be a soldier."

"Why do all of your people always call her Heda," Jasper asked, "she has a name…"

"She's our leader Jasper," Lincoln said simply, "it would be disrespectful to use her name."

"You've done it when you talk to me…" Clarke said, looking at him.

"That is different," Lincoln replied, "you are her equal."

"No I'm not…" Clarke said quietly, "I'll never be her equal. Everything that she has been through… I can't even imagine what it's been like for her."

"We need a name for Clarke," Monty said with a laugh, "something that is a mark of respect…"

"Clarke is just fine thanks." The blonde girl said with a laugh.

"I always thought Princess was fitting," Octavia said, "I mean, I know it started as an insult…"

"Let's stick with Clarke…" Clarke said as she stood up, laughing a little, "I'm going to… er…"

"Goodnight Princess." Octavia said with a smirk.

Clarke shook her head as she walked away, still laughing. It had been nice to just forget everything that was coming, even if it was just for a few hours.