Chapter 2.
Clarke opened her eyes and immediately felt the pain in her head, it was throbbing furiously at the back of her skull. She slowly sat up and felt a big lump. Lexa must have struck her on the head when she was sitting down and took her with her, because when she looked around, she realized that she was in a big, sunlit room. There was a couch near large double doors and a table filled with candles. On the floor was a thick bearskin near the fireplace and there were drapes and canvases everywhere. She sat on a large double bed, filled with pillows and large furs to keep warm during the night. Clarke blinked her eyes in confusion. Where was she? Ans why did Lexa bring her here? She decided to het some answers from her. She got op and walked across the room to the large double doors and tried opening them, but they wouldn't give way. Lexa locked her up. Clarke felt her anger rise again and started pounding on the doors with her fists. "Lexa, let me out, NOW!" she yelled at the doors. She tried to pull open the doors again, nut nothing happened. Furious, she turned around and walked towards the large window. There was no glass in it, so Clarke popped out her head, only to realize she was in a tall building in something that looked a lot like a city. There were a lot of houses and other buildings, all made out of stone and wood. She saw lots of people walking in the streets, buying products from the vendors, trading goods and eating their local fruits and meats. It all looked so peaceful to Clarke. For a second she forgot about Lexa and just stared at the people below continuing their daily routine and wandered if she would ever have a society like this with the sky people.
Completely lost in thoughts, Clarke gulped at the sound of the large double doors opening and she turned around. Two grounder guards walked in, both with a speer in their hand. "Heda will see you now." one of the guards said and they walked towards her and each grabbed her by an arm. Clarke struggled a bit, but realized it was useless. She wanted to see Lexa and demand answers, so she let the guards take her. They walked out of the hallway and around the corner to another set of large doors. One of the guards knocked on the door and opened it. "Heda, here is the sky girl." he said as the other guard pushed Clarke inside. "Leave us." Lexa said coldly to them and they closed the door as they left. They were alone in the room. Clarke had expected at least one guard, for she would not have left her alone with Lexa right now. Not that Lexa needed a guard, she looked fierce in her black outfit. She was wearing her usual black pants and shirt, but now she also had her boots and long black coat on and part of her armor, her face covered with war paint. The look demanded respect and Lexa's eyes demanded obedience, but it had no effect on Clarke. "What the hell, Lexa? Why did you bring me here? You should have left me in the woods! Now let me go!" "The woods are too dangerous for you right now, Clarke." Lexa said calmly, as if Clarke never yelled at her. "You'll be safe here. My guards will provide you with everything you need." "I don't need anything, just let me go. Why do you care if I am safe? You left me to die, Lexa. Why try to save me now?" Lexa let out a sigh and took a few steps towards Clarke, as to empower her words. "There are a lot of people who want you dead now. They all want the power of Wanheda and I can't let them kill you." "So you want the power of Wanheda all to yourself, is that it? You're going to kill me?" Clarke said mockingly. "I don't have any powers! And I'm sure as hell not Wanheda! I can get by just fine without your protection. I'm off." She wanted to walk out of the room, but Lexa grabbed her arm and stopped her from taking a step. "I am not going to kill you Clarke, but I'm also not letting you go. You will be safe here and I will make sure no one will try to take your powers." "Why?" Clarke simply asked. "First you leave me to die and now you're trying to protect me." "I never meant for you to die." Clarke swore she saw something break in Lexa's eyes when she said it. "I made a decision as the commander of my people and I chose to save them. I do not regret that. I'm sorry I broke your trust, but I stand by my decision. But I still need you alive so we can start building another alliance." "What the hell makes you think I or my people will ever trust you again?" Clarke said angrily. "You had your chance and you blew it. None of us will ever trust you again." Now Lexa was getting angry. She closed in on Clarke, their noses inches apart "Don't take me for a fool, Clarke. You would have done the same." Lexa let go of her arm and walked out the room. "Take her to her chambers." she said to the guards as she left, leaving Clarke on the spot.
For the next few days, Clarke refused to leave her room. She had no desire to speak with Lexa, she didn't want to see her at all. Lexa ordered for food to be brought to Clarke and everything else she needed, but Clarke only took a few bites when she was really hungry and refused anything else. She wasn't in the mood for accepting anything from the cold commander. In her room, Clarke was pacing frantically up and down. She couldn't get Lexa's words out of her head. Would she have done the same if Cane had offered her the deal? Taking back her people in exchange for leaving? The more she thought about it, the clearer her answer got. Yes. She would have done the same. She knew that bringing back her people safely was the most important thing, and it always would be. Everything else came second, even the alliance.
She let go a little of her anger towards Lexa, but couldn't let go completely. She was hurt by her, by Lexa, not the commander of the twelve clans and Lexa would be the one to make up to her. All this formal talk about an alliance and Wanheda made Clarke want to slap her in the face. She wanted to speak to the real Lexa, the girl behind the warpaint but it looked like that wouldn't happen. Not any time soon.
Two can play that game, Clarke thought to herself. If she wants another alliance, fine, but she was going to discuss it with Wanheda, not Clarke. Let's see how she'll like that. Clarke stopped pacing abruptly and walked straight to the doors and started pounding. "I demand to speak with Heda!" she said loudly with as much command and determination in her voice as she could. It stayed quiet for a second, but then se heard the doors unlock and a guard stood in the opening. "Heda will see you as soon as she can." he said. Clarke could see her guard was a young man who looked at her with some fear in his eyes. He wasn't entirely sure about his decision to open the door and Clarke noticed that. She walked up to him and with a cold voice she said "I want to speak to her now. Move." The young man didn't know what to do and Clarke used his hesitation to walk passed him. "You cannot leave the room." He said with an unsteady voice. "Watch me." she said as she walked away from him, only to turn her head to look back at him, trying to fill her eyes with fire. It worked. The young man backed down and let her go. That was easy, she thought. He must be really afraid of me to risk Lexa's wrath once she found out how he just let her walk out of the room. She turned around the corner and her glorious mood disappeared instantly as she realized she had no clue where she was going or where Lexa might be right now. Shit, so much for my cold exit. The hallway she was in now appeared to be a dead end, so she turned around and walked back. When she neared the hallway back to her room, she peered around the corner to see if her guard was still at his post and if he was paying attention. He was still there, but not on high alert. Clarke had to risk it and sneaked passed the hallway, tiptoeing and trying not to make a sound, going in the opposite direction of the dead end. Applauding her stealth action, she continued her search for the commander.
There was another corner coming up, but there were no other ways so she just kept walking and took the corner to the right. After what seemed forever, Clarke finally stopped nearing two even bigger doors then the ones from her room. Two guards were posted outside, but the doors were open and she heard Lexa's heated voice and immediately knew she was white with anger. "No one will dare to harm Wanheda, not unless they wish to die by my hand! That includes you, Titus." She heard Lexa say. She didn't only sound angry, but also determined. "Wanheda is of much greater value to us alive than dead." Lexa added. "But you can take her powers all to yourself. You will be the greatest and strongest commander Trikru has ever had." Clarke heard a man almost beg. "Please Heda, she is dangerous and I am afraid for your safety." "There is no need to be afraid, Titus. Clarke is no threat to me and I will attempt to get her and Skaikru back in the alliance. We will be safer if she fights alongside us in free will." Clarke had noticed that Lexa used her name instead of her new title and she silently thanked her for it. However, Titus wasn't going to back down. "And how will she be controlled? We have no way of knowing what she will do after the purpose of the alliance is served. She could still decide to kill you." "No one will ever control her." Lexa said, getting angrier every time Titus defied her. "And I have no need to control her. Clarke is free to do as she pleases, but I will protect her and her people from harm. It is the least I can do after what I did to them." Guilt seeped through her voice and Titus also picked up on that. "She is changing you Heda, and I don't like it. Blood must have blood, it has always been our way and the other clans still expect you to honor that after Skaikru murdered three hundred of our warriors! To kill Wanheda not only gives you her power, but also keeps the coalition together. I would hate to see all of your hard work go to waste." Clarke was getting restless and eager to leave hearing what the man said. All the clans expected Lexa to kill Clarke, but Lexa refused. The only reason Clarke stayed, was because of what Lexa said next. "I will never kill Clarke, nor will any other person." Lexa growled with anger, but kept in control. "I will try my best to make another alliance with Skaikru and offer them a position in our coalition as the thirteenth clan and when the time is right, maybe Wanheda will rule with me. Together we will be undefeatable. That, Titus, is my vision and you are a fool for defying me. After we deal with Azgeda, the time for peace has come and I will do anything within my power to ensure that, including Skaikru. Clarke made me see that blood must not always have blood and I plan to bring that to our people. No more wars. No more fighting. No more losses. That will be my legacy, and we will have Wanheda to thank for that. And if you ever dare to question me again Titus, you will meet your end." Titus was silenced at a complete loss of words. This Heda was a true visionary and he had heavily underestimated her. He bowed his head deeply towards Lexa and said "Yes, Heda. Mochof." And slowly backed out of the room. He was still not convinced that Wanheda was to be trusted, but only time could tell. Clarke hid behind a guard as she saw Titus coming out of the room, but he never even looked in her direction and walked away. Clarke stood up and walked around the guard to enter the room. She stopped however as she saw Lexa standing there, her back towards her, her face buried in her hands. She was stunned by what Lexa said to Titus, all the plans she had for the future, but it made Clarke really happy. She saw that she was really making an effort to make things up to her and her people. Maybe she could trust Lexa again one day. She slowly walked up to her and stopped a few feet away, giving Lexa some space. "You would really do that for me?" She asked her with a low voice, full of emotion and admiration. Lexa startled at the sound of the blondes voice, she never heard her enter the room. She turned around and looked straight into the bright blue eyes that always made her feel like she was in the sky. "Yes, Clarke. I would." was all she could say. She realized that Clarke must have been right outside the whole time and heard everything, including her plans for after the war. She was afraid of Clarke's reaction, afraid she would reject her proposition to join the coalition and become the thirteenth clan. And that she didn't want to rule them with her. However, she saw Clarke relax at her words and her eyes changed. She looked thankful at her, maybe even loving but that could have been her imagination, craving it so badly. To her surprise, Clarke walked up to her and hugged her tightly. Lexa froze for a minute, but then returned the embrace, wishing it would never end.
When Clarke finally pulled back, Lexa looked at the floor, a little embarrassed for her thoughts. Clarke lifted up her hand and placed her fingers underneath Lexa's chin and pushed her face up. Their eyes met and something happened that moment. They both knew they would never betray each other and believed in what they were about to do. The understood each other now, completely. Nothing could ever break their alliance again. "Lets talk alliance." Clarke said and a smile came to Lexa's face, her fears subsiding as she looked at the other girl. God, she is beautiful when she smiles, Clarke thought to herself.
They spent hours talking about the alliance and they came to agree on a few subjects, but there was a lot more to talk about. Clarke liked the way Lexa was around her, sometimes she was the commander when it came to the wellbeing of her people, and sometimes she was just Lexa whenever Clarke tried to explain things to her about Skaikru and their customs and believes. Lexa loved it when Clarke talked about her people. Her face lit up whenever she explained something to her, trying to make her understand how they lived. Clarke spoke with joy about their ways and Lexa loved to listen.
"So, I guess I will have to go back to Arkadia and talk to my mom and Kane about this." She said to Lexa. There was only one question left she wanted to ask her. "Do you really want to rule with me Lexa? Is that how you see our future?" They looked at each other and Lexa shrugged, not knowing exactly how Clarke had interpreted it. "I do. Heda and Wanheda side by side. We will be the greatest leaders of our time. I cannot rule Skaikru for they are too different, but you can and if you enter the coalition, I will need your help." Lexa hoped that she made her intent clear, that she was not implying any romance with them ruling together. Lexa knew that she blew that chance at the mountain, but she still needed Clarke. And one can always have hope. "You know I'm not the Skaikru leader, right?" Clarke asked with a laugh. "Maybe my mother will take your offer." Lexa smiled a little at that thought. As far as she knew Abby, she would never rule with the commander. "You are their leader, Clarke. Your mother may have the title of chancellor, but the people listen to you. You are a true leader and they should accept that." Clarke smiled and looked down at her hands. "What if I don't want to be a leader?" she said, it finally coming out. "Having to make all those difficult choices, I don't know if I can do that again, if I want that again." Tears started to fill her eyes. Lexa knew it was difficult for Clarke to make those choices, especially when it came to other peoples lives. She decided to make a bold move and took Clarke's hands into her own. "That's why I will be at your side, to make those decisions together. I will help you as you will help me. We decide together and we will be stronger for it." Clarke looked up at Lexa and melted a little when she looked into her beautiful green eyes that were filled with hope. "Maybe I can do that." she said with a faint smile and looked at their hands, her face reddened a little. How could this feel so good? She wanted to kill this woman for a long time, and now she couldn't let go of her hands. She had the ability to knock every last bit of doubt out of her head and make her feel safe and secure. Clarke squeezed Lexa's hand a little and that immediately turned a smile on Lexa's face. "Lexa, I..." Clarke looked up at the commander, wanting to say something, but Lexa stopped her. "You have to go back to your people." She said, a little sad. "I know. You should leave at first light to talk to them about the alliance." Both girls stood up from the couch they have been sitting on, still holding hands. "I don't know if I will leave tomorrow, but I will soon. We still need to talk some more about the alliance" Lexa wasn't sure if Clarke was ready to face her people yet, but she didn't ask Clarke. Lexa knew it would be difficult for the sky girl to return to Arkadia, where she would see all the faces of the people she saved from the mountain, but also be remembered what she had to do to get them there. "You are welcome to stay for as long as you want." Lexa said softly. Clarke let go of one hand, put it on Lexa's jaw and leaned in, softly placing a kiss on the commanders cheek. "Mochof, Leksa." she whispered. She turned around and left the room, leaving Lexa with a blush on her face. Lexa was stunned, not only by the kiss, but also by the Trigedasleng Clarke had apparently learned. It gave Lexa shivers, good shivers.