A/N: Three questions:

1) Do you want Nyx to have a partner at some point, or do you like her more as the single kickass lady?
2) Would you rather have Ontari as a negative or positive character?
3) Life is getting really busy again, so would you rather get one long chapter once in a while or more frequent but also shorter chapters?

Also... I was wondering: do you enjoy the small parts I write from Octavia's or Faith's POV like the ones in this chapter? Would you like it if I added more of those from other character's POVs too? Which characters would you want?

Also, as for the relationships... do you want me to concentrate on the clexa (and Clarke's other relationships...that won't be many, promised) or would you like me to show the other characters' relationships too? Would you like to see a bit of Malaya and Katarina? Do you think Wit and Chayim are together? And if they were, would you like me to show that? What about Faith?

I mostly use the italic for sentences written in English but meant to be in another language, be it Trigedasleng or Italian. And if there are no " " it's someone's thoughts.

Also... I'm looking for a beta to go over the story and help me with a few points and to get new ideas, so if you want to help me, contact me on tumblr my username is justawordunsaid or on twitter Sara_NobodyO

If you like it, please leave a review! Enjoy!


Chapter Twenty-Four: An old friend

Hatan and Lexa march side by side in silence, Lexa's eyes scanning the path, catching everything that moves, Hatan's ears picking up all the sounds of the forest letting him know what awaits them further on. Both rebel and trikru scouts are checking the way ahead, still having to report any obstacle.

Everything is going smoothly that day, maybe too smoothly for Lexa to relax, and Hatan keeps throwing glances at her which annoys the Commander greatly.

"Ice wasn't always like this, Heda." he tells her when they pass yet another destroyed village. "At the time of King Kyr and Commander Sasha we still were a great Nation, our lands were rich, our leaders fair. Our people happy. We are not fighting for destroyed villages, we are fighting for the people we are, we are not rising for what we've lost, but for what we have. The Queen may oppress us, crash us, kill us, but we are Ice people, we are artists and lovers and we are fighters. Our bodies may be so no more, but our hearts are free. We are fighting because we still have what once made us great and we are sick of watching her ruin it and humiliate it. We do not stand here now for a ghost of the past, we stand for what still is alive."

His voice is quiet as they keep marching, the passion behind it lulling the words as if they rose from a serene lake. He almost sounds condescending, as if speaking to a kid who knows only what he has heard from other children, and yet his tone is not judging in the slightest and so Lexa can't hold a grudge even as she feels a little like a child being called out on a prejudice.

"You will get your lands back." she promises just as quietly.

And he believes her as he thinks about his friends leading a small army to the capital right now. He also thinks about Clarke, the girl he only saw in Cristallo all those weeks ago, the one who ignited the passion in the heart of so many of his people, the Sky person who helped Nyx finally raise their people in a rebellion.

He still ponders whether he should tell the Skaikru that their Princess is with them, not prisoner of the Queen. But that would be saying too much and he can't risk his friends' lives, although he's developing trust in the Commander of Trikru, he can't tell them about their plans and Clarke is a too important part of them.

Lexa still feels like apologising for not being aware of what was going on in the Ice Nation, but Hatan has silenced her more than once on the subject, telling her there wouldn't have been much to do either way except going at war with the Queen. And Lexa feels that's exactly what she should have done.

After Costia's death she thought seeking peace was an act of strength, being able to put aside her feeling for her people's sake, but as she formed the Coalition accepting peace with the Ice Nation she already condemned some of the people she was supposed to take care of. But Hatan reassures her and after the first harsh words the Ice rebels welcomed them with, Lexa hasn't heard anything offensive any more from them, they look weary of her warriors, but they haven't accused her of anything again. The rebel at her side even comes to say that the Coalition was a sort of salvation for those who could leave, although it always felt too much of an exile for most of the Ice people, some chose to leave and they could thank to Lexa. He smiles at her and although she doesn't smile back it makes her feel better.

"Maybe we'll have peace like when Kyr was alive." he tells her and Lexa really hopes they can still find peace after this war even if the Coalition is broken and the clans divided. She hopes that killing the Queen and having a peace with the Ice Nation will prevent the other clans from moving against them. She even dares to hope that they can restore the Coalition, but she doesn't linger on that as Clarke comes into her mind yet again.


Faith is with Vera, the young leader of Sorgente, and a couple of other rebels, they're in the capital, walking around without drawing attention. They slide through crowds and look down empty alleys, no one really notices them, but they watch everything carefully.

Vera is silent at her side, guiding Faith through unknown streets following the man in front of them. Most of the young rebels have never been to Ice, so they organized scouting groups lead by those who remember something about the city, at least able not to get lost in the big town. The two redheads look at each other every once in a while, Faith angry at the utter misery they find at the borders of the city, down alleys flanked by poor, ruined huts and wretched houses, Vera's eyes reflecting a sadness from deep down her soul and a calm rage ready to flow down her long elegant sword.

Sometimes she has to tug Faith away from a particularly awful scene, the young girl longing to help. Vera reminds her they can't be seen, they can't risk anyone knowing or suspecting about them, and as she says so she hurriedly pulls her away from a soldier beating a boy for speaking up to him. Faith eventually relents as Alaric, the man guiding them, joins Vera in trying to talk her down, she lets them drag her away with clenched fists and a madly beating heart.

Vera's hood, pulled on to hide her ginger hair, shades her eyes but they shine with silent fury beneath it. She drags Faith away, but they will both exact justice.

Eventually they find themselves closer to the inside of the city, the risk of running into soldiers is higher, but that's exactly what they need to check, and although Nyx told Faith to stay out of trouble and not to venture too near the centre of the capital, the girl doesn't mind it one bit when Alaric takes them further inside. He doesn't let them get too close, but they scout the streets to see how many more soldiers they are to expect getting closer to the royal palace.

The buildings are less ruined, the houses look better and more solid, safer, but the people still look unhappy. The first members of rich families start to show and Faith's sad expression turns into a grimace as she looks at the people who betrayed their King, their Nation, their brothers, their principles, the very life of Ice. She can't help but stare at them, throwing cold glares at those who signed the downfall of the Ice Nation. None of them looks twice in her direction and Faith knows she should be relieved, instead she feels the desire to grab them, make them look her in the eyes, make them watch those people whose lives they've condemned and then make them suffer as they've made suffer their brothers.

But she schools her features and follows the others around the turn of the street, and then she stops dead in her track.

Some feet away stands a brunette, severe expression, sword attached to her back, leather covering every inch of her body, unforgiving eyes as hard as rock. She stands there, surveying some soldiers talking to a man in a shop.

Faith barely recognises her, she's only sure it's her because the others stop too and Alaric immediately drags them to hide behind a shop. Faith knows who the girl is, they used to play together, they used to know each other, they used to joke and laugh and run. Until the Queen had her kidnapped.

The black haired girl hasn't seen her and Faith takes her time to stare at the slightly tanned skin, she remembers how it was darker when they were children, the girl's origins not belonging to Ice. It is lighter now, probably because the girl has been living in the north all this time and the sun doesn't show itself often up there. Her eyes are as deep as Faith recalls, she imagines her hands to be hardened now, not soft as they were before, the hair is longer, but not too much longer, so she must cut it once in a while, Faith remembers how it used to grow fast and how it annoyed her friend.

Alaric is suggesting to go back, Vera and the other boy agreeing with him, but Faith is reluctant to leave. She feels the need to talk to that girl she once knew, but everyone seems to have already made their conclusions, she's with the Queen and they can't risk her recognising them.

Faith follows her friends back through the streets and only glances back once to see Ontari turning her way without noticing the retreating redhead. Faith stares at those coconut eyes now as cold as the winter wind and she walks away.

... ... . ... ...

That night Nyx puts together the informations every party of scouts has come back with and scribbles notes on a large map of the city. She's been informed of Ontari's presence in town and of the uniform she wore as a personal guard of the Queen. Most of the people from Cristallo knew Ontari, all of them remembering how the soldiers came, one day, to bring the kid to the Queen and no one saw her again in the village of Galaverna, they heard she was being educated in the capital, but no one had any idea of why the Queen would want her.

Jeanne, the leader of Gelo, one of the villages near which the rebels had set camp, that night tells them they are used to see Ontari bossing soldiers around, she says she has the reputation of being the Queen's right hand, together with another young man who acts as the prince.

Nyx stores this new knowledge of Roan, a strong warrior, unbeaten among the other guards, who is treated by the Queen as a son. She also gulps down the rage and sadness at finding out the fate of the little girl Faith used to play with back in their village and goes to sleep with a restless mind.


Octavia thinks she has found her second favourite clan. She walks side by side with a wild brunette as the rebel girl talks about her people and their traditions. Octavia likes how these Ice people think, they love parties, they love beer, they love food, they love fighting, they love making love. She can relate to all of that and she listens happily as Sylvia tells her short stories from adventures in the forests and recalls embarrassing memories from parties in the village.

Now she always sits with the Ice rebel at night while they eat and she greatly enjoys the beer they always seem to find in villages they pass by during the day. A boy who usually sits with Sylvia smugly tells her it's the best beer in the clans, no one making it as good and strong as the Ice people. And, even if she hates feeding his pride, Octavia can do nothing but agree. Lincoln laughs quietly as she mumbles something like "You should try Monty's moonshine though" before gulping down the rest of her beer.


The next days bring more positive news. Malaya and Goral found allies in two boys from the capital, Elia and his partner Livio, who trains as a soldier. Elia tells them how Livio was forced by his mother to join the soldiers as she wants him to become a guard of the Queen one day. But Livio can help, Livio is a good person and he opposes the Queen as Elia does.

Elia's sister was killed by the Queen's men after they raped her and his hate for the Queen has only being growing, but he's not a fighter, he couldn't even help his father when those same men came to take him away. When he heard about rebels wanting to take down the Queen, he was more than ready to help, he begged his mother, too ill to survive a war, to leave the capital and hide in one of the villages nearby when he heard about the arrival of the rebels and talked to his boyfriend to help them.

Nyx and Malaya consider the offer, they could really use a spy among the soldiers and the boy is known, the rebels from the other villages trust him, they tell them he's a brave kid who's been through too much. Malaya is still weary, but she wouldn't have taken the boy back to the camp if she didn't trust him. Nyx wants to trust Elia, but they both need to meet Livio first.

It's a dangerous bet and when Nyx tells Clarke about it the blonde is immediately against it, saying they can't risk having a soldier know about them. Apparently though, Livio already knows about the rebels and he hasn't talked, so Nyx is prone to give him a chance. Aeryn agrees with Clarke and they both watch with worried expressions when Nyx leaves the next day to meet Livio with Elia, Goral and Malaya. Xavier and Kora go with them, but it does nothing to ease Clarke's worry.

... ... . ... ...

As Nyx leaves camp and Clarke is called away to receive a message from Liri, Faith sneaks out of the camp, skilled at not being caught after her adventurous childhood. She has to see Ontari again.

She slips away through the streets of Ice, hood over her head, torn up clothes hiding daggers, head low and prying eyes scanning the way. She has no idea how to find Ontari, but as she strolls down her path she knows she will eventually run into the other girl, an odd, comforting certainty upon her troubled mind.

Passers-by don't spare her a second look as she makes her way to the richer part of the city, the more dangerous one. Nyx would kill her if she knew Faith is there and the girl really hopes she doesn't find out. She also hopes she doesn't get in trouble or end up in a fight, she's pretty sure Liri would happily join Nyx in making her life a nightmare. And she would ruin everything for the rebels.

This thought slows her walk, regret and guilt heaving down her steps. But she has to find Ontari, she can't just give up on her questions now, it really doesn't make sense that Ontari is now with the Queen. And, yes, Faith only knew her as a kid and the other girl sure can have changed, but Faith needs to hear for herself and not from peasants.

And finally there Ontari is, walking across a square flanked by royal guards. A young man is talking to her, he wears a royal uniform that is not the one of a guard and Faith thinks he might be the prince Nyx and Jeanne were talking about the night before.

She knows that following them around, as discretely as she might manage, is not going to work, they're trained warriors, they're going to catch her, so she lets a long distance fall between them and eventually she pursues, finding her direction according to the sound of their swords against their sides. It's not too hard, a lot of people are still throwing glances behind their backs after the guards pass by, other are quickly walking away in fear, some are still cowering when Faith passes along.

Eventually the guards stop, Roan leaves with half of the men and Faith feels almost safe enough to risk following closer. It doesn't take long then before Ontari notices her and she finds herself pinned roughly against a wall in a dirty alley. There's a knife pressed hard against her throat and Ontari is snarling at her, but no guards are at her side.

Faith gasps loudly when she sees all the scars that now adorn the other girl's face. She knows it is a very ancient tradition the Queen brought back, every warrior has his scars, they speak about him and his skills. The rebels chose Kyr's tradition, as it is also common in the other clans, to use tattoos instead, although every Ice person gets his burn scar when he becomes a warrior, even Faith has her own, as well as a tattoo she earned a year ago.

But Ontari's face is covered in scars, there are just so many and Faith doesn't know what to make of it. She keeps staring with utter sadness in her eyes and worry until the girl snarls again and Faith remembers that Ontari probably doesn't recognise her and is going to kill her if she doesn't talk soon.

So she tries, she tells her who she is and Ontari remembers, of course she remembers, and the knife starts to draw blood. Faith panics, knowing she can't get out of the warrior's grasp and she's going to die at the end of her once best friend.