Alright guys! Here we are again, with another chapter for your reading pleasure. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, I love you all, keep being your awesome selves.

I didn't get much of a reply on whether or not you wanted more of Lexa's POV though and it seemed fitting for this chapter so a little over half is Clarke's and then the rest is Lexa's. There's a clear split, of course, and it's easily identifiable. Again, if this is something you guys would like more of, please let me know and I'll do what I can.

I think that's pretty much it for what I have to say other than to thank my lovely beta - trueloveaddict-ally - again for her work on this chapter.

Disclaimer: Please see chapters 1-3

With that, onward and upwards!

Now:

"I hope that our people can work together, Clarke of the Sky People. I would hate to have misplaced my trust in you."

...

"Then you may call me Alexandria." Clarke had to do a double take at that. What? Clarke shook herself, she'd deal with that later.

...

"Yeah, that's the smile. Damn Princess, you've got it bad." Clarke huffed and crossed her own arms, pointedly ignoring Octavia who was smiling mischievously.

...

[Octavia] walked around Clarke and moved towards the table that was displaying all sorts of food. Fruits and meats and something that Clarke thought might be cheese.

...

"I do not think you will betray me, Clarke. I do not think you want to betray me either." Her brows raised slightly, almost daring Clarke to oppose her.

...

She watched with interest how she closed herself off and spoke in curt sentences. She picked up after a minute or so that Lexa was annoyed with Indra and, if she had to guess, Clarke thought it was because of the matter they were brought here.

...

Clarke's smile had widened when she saw the softness of the morning back in Lexa's eyes and moved her hand, ignoring the sudden lack of warmth and the immediate feeling of missing it that followed.

It was after lunch by the time Lexa told them that she needed to go out and speak with her people. She hadn't given any explanation other than that but she didn't need to. They all left the tent feeling slightly lighter despite their heavier stomachs.

That quickly went away when new figures walked into camp with prisoners in tow, two people that the four immediately recognized.

"Bellamy…" Octavia whispered, a frown on her face.

"Finn?" Raven said at the same time, her brows furrowed. She looked at who was leading them and saw Anya and knew that whatever the two boys had done, it was definitely not good.

"Anya?" Clarke heard Lexa say quietly to herself. She looked at the Commander and then looked towards Anya who was looking back at her with suspicion. Clarke followed Lexa as she made her way to Anya, motioning for her friends to follow her.

"What's going on?" Lexa asked when they reached her old teacher. Clarke stood slightly back and kept her face blank as Anya gave her a hard stare. She couldn't help the slight smirk that made its way onto her face when she heard a low rumbling come from Lexa. "Do not worry for my guests, Anya, I asked you a question."

Anya's gaze snapped back to Lexa and the glare was lost, her face conveying her apology. "Moba, heda." Lexa nodded but stayed silent. Anya cleared her throat. "These two were caught in my camp. They were armed and had their weapons ready to attack so one of my warriors knocked them out. When one of them was down, the other lashed out and started shooting. Four of my warriors are dead, heda."

The sinking feeling in Clarke's stomach got worse as Anya kept talking, her face showing her emotions plainly. Octavia had a hand covering her mouth, her eyes wide as she looked at her brother and Finn. Lincoln and Raven gave each other a worried look and Raven took a step towards Clarke, moving a hand to her shoulder.

"Who…" Clarke cut herself, not sure if she really wanted the answer to that. Well, of course she did, and she thought she knew, but she needed to know for sure. Had it happened again, had Finn gotten trigger-happy in a grounder encampment?

Clarke moved her arms across her stomach and looked at the scene in front of her. When Anya nodded and one of the guards kicked the offender, Clarke closed her eyes, her jaw clenching and Raven's hand tightening on her shoulder.

Somebody should have stayed, someone should have been there to keep the two boys from coming to find them. Raven, or Octavia; somebody. Now, instead, the four of them were safe and sound in Ton DC and Bellamy and Finn had gotten worried and they were in the same predicament that had come of a situation not so different the previous time. Finn had killed people, people who were trying only to protect themselves from this exact situation. What did he expect when they walked into a camp, guns at the ready?

Clarke shook her head to herself, not believing it. This couldn't be happening, not again, not after last time. She couldn't take his life again, she couldn't do it. She knew she couldn't. She had tried to keep her distance this time, tried not to bring Finn into the bulk of the fray of what was going to happen but he was wriggled his way in and planted roots. And really, what had she expected when Raven was a big part of what was happening? Was that why he had come this time, because he thought she had been taken by force? Retaliation for keeping one of their own locked up?

She felt Raven's hand on her shoulder again, tugging. She turned and looked at Raven, her eyes pained. Raven pulled her forward slightly and wrapped her arms around Clarke's shoulders. Clarke moved her own around Raven and took a shaky breath, burying her face into Raven's shoulder.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. She felt Raven shake her head and Clarke just held her closer. She felt another hand on her shoulder and only then did she look up, seeing Octavia standing behind Raven, her arm stretched across them both. Octavia looked pained and Clarke couldn't blame her. Bellamy was here too, though at least he hadn't taken anyone's life. Still, he had been ready to shoot in a grounder camp and now he was being held.

Clarke looked behind her and noticed that everyone was gone. When she turned back to Raven with a questioning look it was Octavia who answered.

"The Commander took them to where they kept us while she decides what's going to happen." Her voice was low, strained. Clarke tried to swallow the lump in her throat but it was persistent. She closed her eyes and felt Raven's forehead meet hers.

"We'll figure this out Clarke." She said in a rough voice, like she was holding back tears. "We'll figure it out."

"I can't help him again, Raven." Clarke said lowly, holding back tears. "I can't do it, I can't." She felt the telltale burning behind her eyes, felt the wetness in the corner of them. Clarke heard Raven hush her quietly and felt Raven's head leave hers, letting her own fall to Raven's shoulder again.

"Can we talk, you guys?" Clarke assumed Raven was talking to Octavia and Lincoln. She swallowed thickly and balled her hands into fists against Raven's back. Clarke heard footsteps and listened as they grew fainter before Raven was pulling back slightly and moving her hands to Clarke's shoulders, pushing lightly.

"Come on, Clarke." She said softly. "Come on." Clarke pulled back and moved her arms around her stomach, nodding and following as Raven led them away from any prying ears.

When they were a safe distance away from anyone, Raven pulled her into another hug that Clarke immediately returned. Her mind was a mess. She didn't know how to get them out of this one, she couldn't kill Finn again. The conviction was there, resolute in her mind. The only thing keeping her from breaking down, from withdrawing into her mind again was Raven's presence and Clarke was eternally thankful that Raven had come back here with her.

She felt Raven's hand move softly against her back and realized she was breathing quickly, too quickly. She tried to breathe properly but she couldn't and it only increased the speed of her breathing.

"Hey, hey, hey." Raven said quietly, holding her closer. "Come on, where's the badass Griffin I know?" She tried but Clarke just shook her head, unable to take in a full breath. She couldn't think, couldn't pull herself away from what was happening. Lexa was going to want Finn's life and he was going to die a grounder death; death by a thousand cuts. It wasn't going to be pretty and it was going to be all her fault. Her fault because she couldn't stop it, she couldn't do the one thing that would bring him less suffering.

"Clarke seriously, if you keep breathing like that you're gonna pass out." She knew that, of course she knew that, but it wasn't helping any. She shook her head. "Okay, okay breathe with me Clarke. You can feel me breathing, so do like I do." She tried, she inhaled when Raven did and let it out at the same time and it worked for a couple of cycles before her breathing was laboured again and she couldn't focus.

"Shit." She heard Raven say. She felt her hands move to her shoulders again and then they were on Clarke's cheeks, pushing her back gently as Raven tried to catch her eye. Clarke met Raven's eye and moved her own hands to her waist, still in fists. She could dully feel her nails digging into her palms. "C'mon Clarke." Raven moved to pull Clarke to sit on the ground, guiding her to a nearby tree.

Clarke sat against the trunk as she was instructed to do and leant her head back against it, eyes closed as she swallowed thickly and continued in a valiant effort to try and calm her racing heart. Valiant, yes, but it wasn't enough; she couldn't do it, not when she kept thinking about the situation she was facing.

All of a sudden she felt Raven's hand against her own, coaxing her to loosen her fist. "Come on Clarke," She said softly. "Stop that." Both of Raven's hands were on hers now and she loosened her fist, letting Raven's fingers slide between hers and across the top of her hand. Clarke opened her other hand too, focused on the grounding touches that soothed the ache she now realized had settled in her hands. She focused on that and kept watching as Raven's hands moved across her own and paid no mind when her breathing began to even out, finally.

"You're okay." Raven kept saying. "You're all right."

She really wasn't, she didn't know what she was going to do. What would happen, why wasn't Raven angry with her again about Finn, why was she being so calm?

"I'm not, but you're freaking out Griffin. We can talk when you can breathe." Raven said and Clarke realized she might have spoken aloud. She nodded and leaned her head back against the tree again, letting Raven continue the soothing patterns on her hand.

Soon her breathing was normal and Clarke drew her knees up against her chest, wrapping her free hand around them and resting her head on them, looking beside her at Raven.

"I don't know what to do Rae." She didn't know where the nickname came from, but it seemed right that she would have one. Raven had a bunch of names for her, and Clarke thought they were close enough now that she could give Raven one. She wasn't disappointed when Raven gave her a small smile and stopped tracing patterns on Clarke's hand, electing just to hold it instead.

"Neither do I, Clarke. But you don't need to take every decision onto yourself, you aren't responsible for every single thing that goes wrong or stays the same. Things are shitty. Yeah, okay, there are times like this morning where we forget, but then shit like this happens and everything comes crashing back down." Raven sighs and Clarke closes her eyes, squeezing her hand gently.

"Finn…" She says quietly. Clarke hears Raven's heavy exhale and her heart tightens in her chest.

"This is the same shit he pulled last time Clarke. I don't even care why he did it this time." Clarke can hear the pain in Raven's voice and opens her eyes, seeing Raven looking out into the forest. She takes her hand from out between Raven's and moves closer, wrapping it around her back instead. Raven's goes around her waist and Clarke holds her close.

"I don't even know how to justify who he is anymore. I can't see him as Finn anymore Clarke. He isn't my Finn, he isn't the Finn who used to bring me food. He isn't the Finn who saved my life or took the rap for me when I took that spacewalk." Clarke frowns and she looks at Raven as much as she can while Raven's head is on her shoulder. "I know. It was a present, there was maintenance happening and I was the one who went on the spacewalk. When I was coming back in, something went wrong and instead of letting me get caught, he put on the spacesuit and let himself get taken in.

"He was under eighteen, I wasn't. He knew I'd get floated and he didn't let that happen." Clarke ran her hand over Raven's back, listening to the story she'd never heard before. Even not having experienced all that Raven had with Finn, she kind of knew how she felt. She remembered Finn's outlook on everything when they had first come to the ground. A pacifist, thinking the best of the grounders even after they had speared Jasper. He had wanted peace, had helped set up the talk with Anya.

She couldn't link that boy with who Finn was now, with the person who had shot and killed children and elders in Ton DC, with the person who had killed Trigedakru warriors when they acted in self-defence.

"Lexa isn't going to let him go." Clarke said quietly. It wasn't helpful, but it was the truth. Blood must have blood, and Finn's actions demanded four life's worth.

"I know." Raven answered, matching her quietness. "You don't have to save him." She added. Clarke clenched her jaw and closed her eyes.

Breathe in… Out… Count to three. She thought to herself, not wanting to go back into the panic she'd been in earlier.

"We could leave." Clarke offered. No one would like it, but Raven shouldn't have to witness what was going to happen.

"No." Raven said. "No, Clarke. I'm going to save him." Clarke's hand stilled and her eyes shot open.

"Raven, you can't-"

"I'm not going to break him out." Raven said. She pulled away and Clarke looked at her, confused. "It's my turn Clarke. You took it on yourself last time when I asked you to save him, no matter what. It wasn't fair to you or to anyone else. It's my turn." Raven looked back at her and gave her a small, pained smile. "I have to."

ooOoOoo

"Jus drein jus daun." Anya said, hands at her sides, fingers twitching for weapons that weren't there. Her warriors were in the Commander's tent with her and she was anxious. Lexa could see it plainly, she knew Anya better than she knew almost anyone else. She liked leading her group, but when she was with her, she preferred that it was just the two of them so she could speak freely.

Not that Lexa was always happy with that, but Anya knew that any threats she made were empty when it came to her speaking her mind. Lexa had a respect for Anya that she didn't have for anyone else as she was her first instructor and a close friend, despite their difference in age.

"Ai get disha diyo in." Lexa said. I know that. "Yu nou gaf chich ai op hashta dison." You don't need to tell me this. Lexa twirls her knife in her hands, distracting her from making a decision, idly wondering what would become of the relationship she was building with the Sky People. With Clarke, someone who spoke like she knew about all of the things that Lexa tried to keep hidden from even her own people. Not that the relationship with them was as important as upholding their number one rule. If making the decision to go ahead with the wamplei kom thauz kodon, the death by a thousand cuts, broke the trust she was building, then that was what would happen.

Her people had expectations, and she wasn't inclined to go against them on this, no matter how much Anya seemed to think otherwise. She rolled her eyes internally before setting the knife on the arm of her chair and sitting back.

"Skaiskat-de na wan op kom wamplei kom thauz kodon gon sonop." She spoke evenly. The Sky Boy will die by the death of a thousand cuts in the morning. Lexa discreetly looked over the pleased expressions of the warriors behind Anya and had to keep herself from rolling her eyes. Even though she understood the importance of the rule and the tradition, the fact that others took pleasure in it was tiring to her.

"Gonot." She said towards them all. Lexa watched their respectful nods before, one by one, they made their way from her tent. "Onya, kamp raun." Lexa said shortly, stopping her from leaving. Anya did as she was asked and turned, a small smile on her face when she saw Lexa visibly deflate and shed the hardened Commander when only the two of them remained.

"You look tired, Alexandria." Anya said, moving towards Lexa. She mustered up the most sarcastic smile she could as she moved the knife from the arm of her chair and slid it into her boot.

"These situations with the Sky People do not help my position on the matter any. The three who were here, all morning they were with me, speaking of their home and how they lived." She saw Anya's surprised expression and Lexa's smile turned genuine before she sighed. "Clarke said she was with you before she was brought here."

Anya nodded. "She was. She seemed like a good person, someone we could be allied with." Lexa tilted her head and furrowed her brow.

"But you banished her from your camp." Anya sighed and moved towards Lexa's bed, sitting on the furs. Lexa smiled softly before getting up from her chair and joining Anya.

"The camp was on edge when their ship fell. You know, the Sky Girl saved one of my men. He's here, actually; he owes her a blood debt. I think he's going to stay with her to try and pay it." Lexa looked intrigued and Anya explained what had happened and then how Clarke had saved him the way that Clarke had explained it to her.

"She is a healer." Lexa said, mostly to herself, and Anya nodded.

"Anyway, after their ship fell, the camp was tense and almost afraid. I couldn't let the Sky Girl stay, not with what some think of the Sky People. You have given them your protection, Alexandria, but not everyone agrees that they should be left to themselves." Lexa sighed and lay back on the furs, her hands coming together on her stomach.

"I do not know what to do, Anya. The many cannot be judged by the sins of the few, even the Sky People know that. You know of their actions after they fell to the ground. They were attacked and did not retaliate. Now one of them has attacked and we will have justice. But it does not change how I feel." Anya leaned back on her hands, looking down at Lexa with a look that told Lexa she was seeing through what she was saying.

"What else?" Anya asked. Lexa closed her eyes and took a breath.

"Clarke dreams of keryon-de." Anya was on her feet in an instant and standing in front of Lexa with her hands on her hips. Lexa sat up and looked at Anya evenly.

"Explain." Anya said.

"Indra and Gustus brought the Sky People here, they claimed it was retribution for when their ship fell and killed some of our people. When I saw Clarke, I had a feeling that I knew her and Anya… It was unsettling." She motioned beside her to the furs again and Anya reluctantly sat down, her body turned towards her Commander.

"I dismissed the guards as well as Gustus and Indra – they had this idea in their heads that I should act the part of a common girl and gather intelligence like that." Lexa rolled her eyes and Anya smirked.

"I cannot imagine you as anything even close to the word common, Alexandria." Lexa hushed her and continued.

"I spoke with them and they told me that their ship was not meant to come down like it had, that there was outside interference." She gave Anya a pointed look and Anya growled low in her throat.

"The Mountain." She said and Lexa nodded.

"After this, Lincoln mentioned that the Sky People wanted an alliance which was when I learned that he and Clarke had been with you. I told her that she and her people were free as long as they did not interfere with us or make any moves to attack and then asked why she would want an alliance." Lexa smiled softly as she spoke.

"Lincoln handed me a piece of paper and when I unfolded it, the symbol was on it and everything. Clarke had not seen her face though, it was just a woman's outline and the moons. She said she dreamed of it every night." She frowned, thinking about what Clarke could possibly have to do with her drawing. Why did Clarke dream of her, and why did Lexa not know about it.

"You have not been visited." Anya pointed out and Lexa shook her head.

"Not since the Sky People came down. There has been nothing and it is beginning to worry me, Anya. Especially now that this Sky Girl is having the dreams and I am not." Lexa looked at the ground, her focus inward as she continued to think about the matter.

She felt Anya's hand on her forearm and looked up at her, returning the easy smile that was on Anya's face. "We will find out, Lexa. I am sure it's nothing to be overly worried about." Lexa looked over at the table that still held food, though significantly less than there had been earlier this morning and motioned towards it.

"Are you hungry?" She asked. Anya's stomach growled lightly in answer and Lexa laughed. "I guess that answers that question. Come, eat, we have until tomorrow before we must be leaders again. I think you should meet the Sky People without having to worry about your camp." She saw Anya frown slightly before it was gone and a smile was on her face.

"Okay," was all she said. "Will you tell them of what's going to happen to their friend?" Lexa nodded and stood from the furs, moving towards the table.

"It is only right that they should know. If we are to have a proper alliance, they should know our ways. Especially the younger one, Octavia. Lincoln is going to take her as his second, and I believe they are together."

Anya looked at her in surprise and she moved to Lexa's side. "You are making him a teacher?" Lexa nodded and rolled a pepper in her bread, smiling softly as she remembered Clarke's propensity towards the small delicacy. "And he's taking a Sky Girl as his second. Wow." Lexa nodded and took a bite of the food, swallowing before talking again.

"She will learn our ways and, I hope, I may learn their ways. Or, perhaps, the one who owes Clarke a debt can learn about the Skaikru ways." Anya finished the food in her mouth and then raised an eyebrow, looking at Lexa.

"You would spend your time learning their ways?" She asked. "And it is Holt who owes her." Lexa looked at her pensively, face betraying nothing at the familiar name.

"As I said, if we are to have an alliance, it would be the smart thing, would it not?" Anya looked at her closely and Lexa looked back before she grew uncomfortable and turned her attention to the spread. Anya grinned when Lexa looked away and poked at the Commander's shoulder.

"Who is it?" Anya asked and Lexa's cheeks reddened slightly.

And there we have it! So, Finn's gonna die, and Raven's taking it upon herself to do the deed this time. What effect will that have on the grounders? With Lexa? With Anya?

Also, about Clarke and Raven, a lot of the time when I read fanfic, it's Clarke and Octavia who are as close as sisters and while I want to write that as well, I think the Raven and Clarke dynamic is a good one to be fleshed out and played with. So they're gonna be close, as you can see. What image will that show the grounders though? ;)

Thoughts?

Also, the Lexa and Anya dynamic: Yes. I need it like I need life so that's gonna be shown as much as I can as well.

Anyhow, as always, reviews are most appreciated. Feel free to leave questions, comments and concerns in them.

So then, I'll see you all on Sunday!

Keep the faith

-Bad Wolf