A/N: As always, the favorites, alerts and reviews are appreciated.

Chapter 5:

The healer arrived a short time after Clarke went back inside and she redressed the ankle and told Clarke via gestures and attempts at English words to stay off it for the rest of the day if she could to allow it to completely heal. She left more leaves for Clarke's head, but the pain was almost all gone. She was sure the leaves had something to do with it, but there was also something else that had helped. The fogginess and confusion from that night had lifted. Hearing that Lexa had experienced nightmares too and for much longer had really hit her. Listening to her explain her actions more than she did before she left the mountain, allowed Clarke to put at least part of that tragedy behind her. She knew her nightmares weren't gone. She'd still have those to contend with, but she was working on trying to trust Lexa. She believed the girl when she said it was her head not her heart, but Clarke worried about what might happen if her head and heart had to combat each other again. Lexa's head would win. Clarke knew that. She just didn't know how it would affect her.

She ate and rested and ate again. By late afternoon, she was growing restless and Lexa, her only friend, if she could call her that, still hadn't returned. She decided to leave the safety of the commander's house to wander the capital and when she took a step outside the house, one of Lexa's guards greeted her.

"The Commander has asked that I escort you if you want to leave. She said you are free to leave the capital if you wish and I am not to detain you."

"I'm not leaving. I just want to go for a walk."

He nodded. The grounders nod a lot, Clarke noted. He stayed a few feet behind her as she walked down the alley and back toward the main street of the capital. There were people moving in and out of buildings and selling food and other merchandise on the streets. They didn't appear to be paying in any kind of currency, but used the barter system, which Clarke was familiar with because that's what they used on the ark. She didn't have anything to barter with now though so she was just looking at the people who did as she walked along.

She watched the city work as a unit, which surprised her and she knew it shouldn't. Lexa had told her that they were more than just warriors going into battle. It was more similar to the ark than Clarke ever thought. There was what looked like an infirmary and Clarke guessed that's where her healer ran off to once done with her injuries. Sick people walked in and out. There were other buildings where people could buy supplies or other items, but there were also carts where things were traded and people yelling in their grounder language. As she walked, people stared. Clarke had bathed and changed clothes so she looked somewhat like one of them, but not enough to just blend in. The guard also didn't help. He nodded at people as she walked past and they'd move out of her way. They must have known that the guard was doing the Commander's business because they gave only strange looks to Clarke and not much else. She was glad for his company because she doubted that would be the case if she were on her own.

"You stayed?" Lexa walked out of what Clarke assumed to be their headquarters. It was the building she was first bound and brought to.

"I told you I would. I kept my word." She didn't mean it to sound harsh, but she was sure Lexa took it that way. "Are you done here?" Clarke followed to try to change the subject.

"For now." Lexa replied and approached Clarke. "I can give you a tour of the capital if you'd like."

Clarke thought about telling her she'd been walking for a while and had already seen a lot, but opted against it.

"Sure."

Lexa said something to the guard. Clarke recognized a few words and interpreted she'd told him to return to the house. They'd go on alone. They walked for several moments without a word. Clarke kept waiting for the tour to actually begin, but Lexa seemed content with silence for the time being.

"That is where I was when I found out your people had arrived." Lexa pointed at a small house down an alley. They stopped walking.

"When the shuttle crashed?"

"Yes, I was a young Commander then."

"How does that work? Your leaders are reincarnated?"

"Our elders predict the next Commander. If we are to be leader one day, we are told at a young age to prepare ourselves."

"So, you really were born for this?" Clarke asked knowing the answer.

"So were you." Lexa looked over at her confidently. "We may have been chosen differently, but we were both chosen, Clarke."

"I wasn't chosen, Lexa. Trust me. I'm sure my people wish they had someone else to lead-"

"But they do." Lexa turned to her. "Do you still not see? They had choices and they chose you over and over. Each day. Just as my people choose me to lead them over and over each day. The Sky People could have chosen Bellamy to lead them or your mother or one of the others who came down after you. You had a group of people in place on your ark."

"We had a chancellor and a council." Clarke even had to remind herself of that.

"Yet they listened to you; followed your orders."

"It doesn't matter. I don't belong there anymore."

Clarke started walking on. Lexa paused before beginning to catch up.

"That's Costia's family home." Lexa professed and motioned with her head toward the small house she'd referenced earlier.

Clarke remembered Costia being one of the only people Lexa had every loved. She'd been murdered by a rival clan because of their relationship.

"Costia died after we arrived?" Clarke asked.

"No. Before. Her mother still lives there. Father died days before Costia was born. Costia's younger brother was in training to be a warrior at the time of her death. I made him my second after she died."

Clarke looked over at Lexa who seemed to be sad at the memory, but okay to talk about it.

"You wanted to protect him." Clarke inferred.

"Yes and I failed." Lexa proclaimed. Clarke stopped walking. Lexa stopped a few paces ahead. "He died in training. Sword through the chest. It wasn't supposed to happen. He wasn't ready. I pushed him." She explained without turning around. "I was here that day delivering the news when Indra entered and told me a strange object had fallen from the sky and there were survivors."

"I'm sorry Lexa."

"Be sorry for her." Lexa motioned to an older looking woman who was hanging clothes on a tree branch presumably to dry them.

"I am, but I'm sorry for you too. You've lost too many people."

Lexa turned.

"We both have."

They continued on their tour. Lexa explained how the capital functioned compared to how things were when they were at war. During times of peace, the warriors acted as guards and policed the crowd as needed. There was a government kind of like on the ark and Lexa was the head of it all. Clarke knew though that Lexa relied on her advisors because she was a smart leader and she'd seen her defer to her plans even when Lexa questioned them.

It had grown dark and the lanterns and torches were being lit all around. The flickering light made Lexa's eyes flicker with oranges and reds. As they walked back toward Lexa's house together, they spoke nothing more of war. Clarke found that she was enjoying the company of the woman she'd so recently thought a traitor. It created conflicts inside her, but she had no way of dealing with them so she carried on in spite of them.

"Lexa, who are the Old Ones? I've never heard you talk about them."

"They're the ancestors of the bomb survivors like you and I."

Clarke looked over at her.

"There are more survivors?"

"They are more like you than like us. More like the mountain men. They held onto the old ways while we had to start over." She explained as they made their way up the steps to the house.

"What do you mean?"

"They have the things you have. The medicine, the screens…"

"Technology?"

"Yes, they kept those things somehow. My people weren't able too. They left us alone for generations. We knew they were out there, but neither side bothered the other until recently."

"What happened recently?"

"Mount Weather was destroyed."

Clarke walked into the house in front of Lexa and turned to face her.

"The mountain-"

"Would have taken them too since they were immune to the radiation the mountain men were not. The Old Ones lived far enough away that the mountain couldn't reach them. When they did try coming this way, some of them were taken as our people were. They stopped."

"What do they want?"

"They see us as primitive beings. They want us to adopt their ways. They've tried to get closer and closer each day. We've managed to hold them back, but they've only sent small scouting parties with messages. We have no idea how many they are in numbers."

"Have you met with their leaders?"

"No and I won't."

They made their way into the kitchen where a meal was already laid out for them. Lexa motioned for Clarke to sit down at a small table and she sat next to her.

"Why not?" Clarke took a bite.

"Because I am not interested in hearing what they have to say, Clarke."

"Seems like you should be. What if they start a war, Lexa and you could have prevented it by talking to them?"

"I doubt many wars were prevented by talking."

Clarke decided not to argue. She'd been enjoying their war free conversations. They finished their meal and Lexa walked her to her room.

"Thank you for the tour today."

"Thank you for not leaving without saying goodbye. Will you depart tomorrow?" Lexa asked.

Clarke opened the door to the room and looked on the bed. She smiled with relief.

"You had them bring it?" On the bed was her pack filled with her supplies including her father's watch.

"Yes." Lexa stated plainly. "I do not want you to go, Sky Girl." When Lexa said Sky Girl it did not mean the same thing as when other grounders said it. "I know it is not fair of me to ask you to stay here, but I would ask it."

Clarke walked over to the bag and reached into the pocket to remove the watch.

"This was my father's." She told her. "It's the only thing I have left of him. I thought I'd lost it forever." She looked over at her. "Thank you." Lexa nodded wordlessly again. "It's okay to say you're welcome, Lexa."

Lexa smiled and approached her.

"Will you tell me about your father tomorrow?"

"Sure." Clarke replied. "Or some other day." She looked over at Lexa who was staring at her again with something Clarke could only describe as longing.

Clarke reached for the pack to open it and take out the rest of her supplies and as she unclasped the strap, there was a sound like a hissing that emerged from the bag. "Clarke!" Lexa screamed and pulled Clarke backwards. A snake jolted from the bag and attempted to bite them both. Lexa just barely got Clarke back far enough before she reached for her knife, which was at her side and within seconds, took the head off of the snake. Clarke's heart was racing.

"I don't know how that got in there. The bag was closed. How could it have climbed in?"

"It didn't." Lexa responded. She walked out to the doorway and yelled for the guard. They spoke in hushed tones Clarke couldn't make out and Lexa returned alone. "I have increased the guards on this house and you'll have 2 escort you around the capital whenever you leave."

"Lexa-"

"One of my people did this. They would have found the snake when they brought your bag from the woods. It is a tree snake that does not go to ground in search of hiding spots. It is incredibly poisonous with venom that has been changed by the radiation. It causes a slow, painful death. There is no known antidote. Someone put it in there." She pointed at the headless snake, grabbed both pieces and walked out of the room. She returned a moment later without the snake and walked over to a washbasin that had been setup for Clarke. She started washing her hands. "I will investigate this and punish whoever attempted to take your life."

"Lexa, if they know who I am, they probably hate me. It was bound to happen."

Lexa wiped her hands and walked back over to Clarke.

"You have sanctuary here, Clarke. That is a very important and respected law for my people and someone violated it. They disobeyed my orders."

"Okay." Clarke just agreed still not entirely understanding the grounder's ways. She looked at Lexa's jacket. "You have snake something there." She wasn't sure what it was, but it looked like pieces of the snake made their way onto Lexa's jacket.

Lexa went to pull it off and winced. "What's wrong?" Clarke asked. "Did it bite you?"

"No, but a blue hornet did earlier when I went to find where the Old Ones were camped. It's not deadly, but it's painful."

"Here." Clarke reached out and helped her pull off the jacket. She tossed it on the bed. "Turn around." Lexa turned and Clarke could see the bite. It was a swollen knot and bright red. "Lexa, you should have had Atami take care of this."

"I'm fine. It will go away in a few days."

"Sit down." Clarke ordered.

Lexa complied and Clarke reached in her bag and removed the old first aid kit she'd found. It was doubtful anything in it would work, but it was late and Lexa was too stubborn to call her healer. She opened a sealed, small tube of first aid cream and it looked okay enough so she rubbed it onto Lexa's bite.

"It's cold."

"Not as cold as that water you pulled me into earlier." Clarke retorted. She could feel Lexa's tension leave.

"I recall you pushing me in first."

"I didn't mean too."

"Oh, well then I have no defense because I meant to pull you in."

Clarke laughed lightly and reached for a large Band-Aid. She thought better of it though and instead located the wrap and salve type liquid the healer had left for her ankle.

"Lay down."

"This is your room, Clarke."

"So, you slept here last night. Just lay down, Lexa."

Lexa lay down on her stomach.

"You should really be careful ordering me around, Clarke. I am the Commander." Lexa toyed while resting her arms at her sides. Clarke could get to the bite easier now since Lexa was wearing more of a tank top than an actual shirt.

"Says the person lying on her back." Clarke played back and laid the soaked wrap on top of the bite. "This is okay, right? This thing?" Clarke thought to check in the moment after she laid it on.

"Yes, it will work to relieve the swelling." Lexa replied and seemed to again release some tension. As she did, Clarke could feel and see her muscles relax beneath her shirt and she realized she'd left both her hands on Lexa's back even after she was done. "Thank you." Lexa finished and reminded Clarke to snap out of it.

"Can I get you anything?" Clarke asked her from her sitting position.

"No, I will leave you now." Lexa moved to get up.

"Just stay, Lexa." Clarke placed her hand back on Lexa's uninjured shoulder. She reached again for her first aid kit and found a bandage big enough to lie over the wrap and hold it in place. She stuck it to Lexa's skin, which gave the girl freedom to roll over. Now that the wrap was adhered to her, Lexa was free to leave. Clarke wanted to make sure it was her choice to stay. "I need you too." Clarke implored and lowered her head. It was hard to be vulnerable in front of someone so strong.

Lexa sat up and lifted Clarke's head with her hand to look at her.

"Then I will stay." Lexa offered generously and Clarke accepted without comment. The two lay side by side without words until sleep took them both back to that night.