Dawn had barely broken when Clarke found herself being whisked away from her room. She had nearly attacked her personal guards when they entered, her groggy brain not processing who they were at first. After a brief moment of explanation, she now headed for the main gates of Polis. Thick, stifling energy filled the air as she walked through the streets. These were no longer the alleys and markets she had walked through days before. No sweet aromas of food being prepared for breakfast filled the air. Stalls remained empty, most of the wares gone save for a few trinkets littering the floor. Tension strangled her all around and she knew immediately what had happened. Her and the rest of the one hundred delinquents sent down to Earth had experienced this before. War has come.
Lexa stood up ahead, surrounded by several of her guards. Even at this distance, Clarke could feel the fire coming from the Commander. Gone were any hints of the vulnerability and calmness Lexa exhibited to her last night. As she got closer, Clarke could tell that Lexa's body was tense and coiled. The Commander paced side to side relentlessly shouting out orders to those around her. She paused for a moment to take a deep breath, then closed the rest of the distance.
"Commander," Clarke greeted politely. Despite whatever closeness she had with Lexa, this was not the time to be informal. Observing the crowd with a closer eye, she found a very irritated looking Indra scowling at the edges. "What happened?" She could already guess that Pike had attacked. It was plastered all over Indra's face. Her only hope was that the damage wasn't severe. We'd be right back to where we started, before the Mountain Men united us.
"Pike has taken the village," Lexa responded coolly. Clarke looked around and all eyes were on her, even though the Commander was speaking. They must hate me right now. "Before that, another of your people convinced Indra to leave."
Clarke felt a small wave of relief wash over her. This is good. Nobody has died yet. The fact that Pike disobeyed the Commander and took the village still remained, but all wasn't lost. "Who was it? My mother?" She couldn't imagine her mother being a supporter of Pike's actions. Her mother had proven before that she would take matters into her own hands when needed, and this smelled of her doing.
Instead of Lexa answering, Indra stepped forward from the crowd. "No," she responded, reaching into a small bag on her side. "It was Kane. He warned us your people were attacking early." Indra pulled a black object out of her bag and Clarke instantly recognized it as a walkie-talkie. "He said to give it to you, or the Commander if she demands."
Clarke looked to Lexa, who simply nodded. She reached out and took the walkie from Indra's outstretched hand. It's much too far to use it here, but it could come in handy. "Is that all he said? Why give this to you?" It couldn't have been easy to smuggle something like this out of the camp. When they were in orbit around the Earth, resources were heavily monitored and controlled. Being on the ground in the ruins of their ship most likely doubled the monitoring.
It was Lexa who spoke up this time. "To give us information." Clarke heard grumbling through the idea of working with and trusting Skaikru seemed to be not very well liked by others. "The village was evacuated and none of my soldiers were killed. I warned them of the consequences, and they ignored them. Many here would have me wipe them out to the last man... including you."
Clarke felt the hesitation and unease in saying the last part from Lexa. She knew the Commander was in a rough spot, but knew that the woman was capable of being ruthless. "Please... you don't have to do that!" Clarke begged. She held up the walkie for all of them to see. "There are people inside that do not agree with what Pike is doing. Enough so that they risked being killed to get this to me." Clarke turned to Lexa and fell to her knees. If she had to beg, so be it. Her friends were still in that camp. "Let me go back and help sort this out."
"That is why you are here," Lexa responded. "You are lucky I need to deal with that traitor Nia. Bring me Pike, surrender the village, and all will be forgiven." More grumbles, albeit muffled, came from the crowd around them. Many of them would rather fight. Peaceful solutions were not something they were used to. "You have until I've annihilated Nia. After that... I will come to fulfill my promise."
Clarke rose to her feet, clasping her hands together in thanks. "That won't be necessary," Clarke responded. Once again, Clarke had the opportunity to save her people. She would do it right this time. No more unnecessary deaths. "When can I leave?" Clarke knew she was on a tight schedule. Lexa had conquered all of the clans before. She didn't know how long it would take her to wipe out the Azgeda and wanted to get started as soon as possible.
"Now," Lexa said, motioning to the gate. "I have a horse prepared for you. Come." Lexa turned from the group and started walking to the towering doors.
Clarke followed soon after, though none of the others made any attempt to move. Lexa rose her hand and the doors parted just enough for them to slip through to the other side. A beautiful horse stood waiting at a nearby tree, its mane flowing and dark brown hair finely brushed. The animal honestly looked like it had been grabbed straight from a history book.
Lexa walked up to the horse and patted its side a couple times, running her hand over its muzzle. "This is my personal horse," she explained, turning to Clarke. "He is fast and loyal. He will serve you well."
Clarke stepped forward, delicately reaching out to pet the horse. It was as soft as it looked, her hand gliding over its body. "He is gorgeous," she commented. "I will take good care of him." She turned to face Lexa again and bowed slightly. "Thank you for giving me this chance. You will have Pike after you kill that bitch." It brought some small measure of joy to Clarke knowing that horrible woman would soon meet her demise.
"I don't doubt it," Lexa responded, a soft smile adorning her face. "Bring me Hannah, too. I cannot let disrespect like that go unpunished. Now, let's get you on your way."
Clarke nodded. Hannah made sense too. Many in Polis had seen and talked about the arrogance of the woman to challenge the Commander like that. She had sealed her own fate the second she spoke. "I will try," she answered truthfully.
Lexa untied the horse and held out the reins for Clarke to take. She took the ends of the rope and gripped them tight, looking at Lexa. Memories of their conversation the previous night bubbled up. The reality of what was about to happen hit Clarke. She is going to war, and could never come back. Even though it hadn't happened, just the thought of it caused her heart to sink. She knew then and there that her feelings for the slender Commander couldn't be ignored any longer, though she still had a long way to go to open up to them. Clarke closed the distance between them and gently cupped Lexa's left cheek in her hand. Leaning in further, she placed a gentle kiss on her cheek and felt the Commander melt ever so slightly into her hand. "May we meet again," Clarke whispered.
"May we... meet again," Lexa responded, standing still as a rock.
Clarke let her hand linger for a moment longer, then forced herself to drop her hand. Turning, she swiftly hopped up onto the horse and steered it towards the road. With a gentle kick, the horse jumped to a gallop and left the Commander standing still behind her. Clarke felt freedom and power flow through her as the winds rushed past her. She was finally heading to the one place she had avoided for so long: home.
Night had fallen upon Polis by the time the rest of Lexa's generals arrived. The smaller clans had their armies with them, while the larger ones would have their forces ready by morning. All throughout the day she struggled to keep focus on the war. Her mind kept drifting to Clarke riding away and her farewell. The spot Clarke kissed felt warm for hours afterwards, remembering the the intimacy of it. Questions raced through her mind since then. What did Clarke mean by it? Why at that moment, where they could easily be seen? Was it just some Skaikru farewell she wasn't familiar with? She growled at the lack of answers.
Two sharp knocks on her door snapped her out of her own mind. The generals were finally assembled. Lexa let out a small breath and steeled her face. Clarke's mysteries would have to wait. She had a war that needed planning.
The short walk from her personal room to the throne was long enough for her to slip into the familiar visage of the Commander. Everyone in that room knew why they were summoned. The other clans had all at some point experienced the brutality of the Azgeda. She wouldn't need to provide much motivation to get their war cries going. Internally, she hated what she was forced to do. Nia had given her enough cause to wish the bitch dead multiple times over and she looked forward to driving a blade through her chest. I just wish so many wouldn't have to die to get that.
Lexa reached the doors to the throne room and sealed away those thoughts. She had called the war council. No signs of weakness could be showed. Chatter inside the room was already loud enough to hear through the doors when Lexa swung them open. All sound was sucked out of the room the second she stepped in, all the generals raising to their feet. She paused in the middle of the room. Surrounding her throne were twelve wooden chairs, each meant for the generals of the clans. One too many, she thought, brow furrowing.
All eyes followed her as she moved to the one closest to the throne. She hoisted up the chair in one swift motion and carried it with her to the balcony. With a rough grunt, she launched the chair off the edge with as much force as she could muster, taking a moment to watch it plummet to the ground below. And so it begins.
Lexa turned heel and walked back into view of the generals, who all stood at their seats. She eased herself onto her throne and motioned the others to sit. "Warriors of the eleven clans, thank you for coming," she began. "You all know why you are here. Azgeda have been cast out as traitors and as such I condemn Nia and all who defend her to die. I trust there are no issues with this?" Her question was answered when none moved to speak. "Good. Then let us talk strategy."
The Shallow Valley general, Timet, was the first to rise up. "Heda," he began respectfully with a bow. "Invading Azgeda territory will not be easy. Many of the clans are not used to the conditions and terrain." The man waved his hand ain an arc towards the other generals. "The cold and snow will be a factor if this turns out to be a long fight."
It was an unfortunate truth. Clans from the warmer climates would struggle in the sometimes harsh Azgedan mountains. Polis had some provisions to counter this, but not enough for their whole army. "Polis will provide furs and rations to as many warriors as we can afford. What do you propose for the rest?" She could provide all the answers, but then having the gathering of generals would be pointless, and her advisors always had valuable input. Timet especially.
"I had anticipated this when you summoned us, Heda," Timet replied. "Shallow Valley brought all the furs and small amounts of food we could spare. My father taught me to never count on anything being short," he said with a smirk on his face. "His words have served me well."
"Your father was a wise man, and your supplies appreciated," Lexa replied, nodding. The extra supplies were a much welcome surprise. She hoped to not need them.
Indra was the next to speak. "Heda, I would advise to only march with the soldiers you have supplies for," she spoke, raising to her feet. Lexa shifted in her chair slightly to face the Trikru general. She greatly respected Indra's words and always made a point to listen intently. "All of us would love to take revenge on the Ice Nation for all they've done to our clans, but that is foolish. Polis will still need to be guarded."
Lexa and the other generals nodded, though she knew each was hoping they wouldn't be the ones left behind. All of them saw the truth in Indra's words, though. "Supplies will be divided as evenly as possible between the clans. The rest will remain here to guard our people and serve as reinforcements."
Rhett, the large, burly general from the Plains Riders was the next to stand. "Now that we've got the boring part out of the way, lets talk about the fight!" He never changes, Lexa thought to herself. The general motioned behind him and two of his guard brought forth a table and map. "Even though Azgeda have a large army, they will be scared dogs hiding in the hills."
"A scared dog is more likely to kill," Indra responded back to him, stepping up to the map. She scanned the page for a few moments before pointing to a ring of mountainous terrain. "They will most likely hide here. It has natural defenses and rough terrain."
Lexa rose to her feet to join Indra at the map. The rest of the generals followed moments later. She remembered back to when she first conquered the Azgeda. They were not ones to run and hide from a fight. "The Azgeda do not abandon their home easily," she replied. "They tend to focus their defenses around their capitol, here," she stated tapping on a location East of the mountains. "We will cut them off from the mountains and crush them until they are at their very doorstep." She paused while the others played the strategies out in their heads and a few long moments later all were in agreement on the plan.
"We move at first light. Any soldiers not ready to march will be left to defend Polis. Dismissed," Lexa commanded. Her generals all bowed, then turned to leave to prepare their armies. Energy started to flow through the halls of her tower. The first major war since the formation of the Coalition was formed, and there would be no last second retreat this time. Jus drein, jus daun. Nia and her little pet had drawn first blood, but she would end it, just as she had Ontari.
No sooner than the last general had left, Lexa's mind already drifted back to Clarke. She hoped the blonde made it back to her people safely. The other generals most likely had questions on their mind on what to do with Skaikru. She was thankful they decided to focus on the matter at hand. Clarke held Skaikru's fate at this point. Lexa only hoped the woman she cared for could meet the demands she placed on her. Now weary from all the stress from the day, Lexa headed back towards her room for sleep. She doubted much would come. Tomorrow she would be at war, to finish what she wished she did several years ago. You will suffer, Nia, just like you made Costia suffer. She just hoped, like the others, that it would be over with soon.
A/N: Hi all, sorry for the long wait between chapters! Life has a way of getting in the way of writing. I promise you that this story will be finished. We are now fully in the action, and I think there will be about 4-5 more chapters of content left before the story is done. Thank you to all of you who continue to support the story. It means a great deal to me! Enjoy!