United Under Fire

By Samdagger

Chapter 1

Tanwen Brown was hiding in a tree near the dropship. It had been a couple of days since the fight with the grounders that ended in a ring of fire. She was nearly part of it, only escaping by diving into one of the tunnels they'd dug as other ways in and out of the compound. It was a close thing, any slower and she'd have some part of her with burns on it. Once the fire had died down, she had booked it out of there and away from the area as quickly as she could. The stench of burned flesh and soot was not a pleasant one and twice she'd thrown up from it.

She'd ran to the bunker Finn had found and stayed there for a couple of days before she had to go find food and water. She'd climbed out of the bunker and set off for the nearest water supply where she had drunk only a couple of handfuls of water. She'd watched others of the hundred throw up after drinking too much and she didn't need that again. Next she had to find food. She made a simple snare and caught a rabbit. Now she had to figure out a way of gutting it and then cooking it.

Once she'd figured it out - by going back to the bunker and using the box of matches she'd found and a knife, which she kept - she had her first meal in over 50 hours. It was nearly dark and she was wondering what she should do. She'd seen parts of the Ark come down but she had no inclination to go find them. She had no-one left of the Ark, so she felt no compunction towards looking for them. After they threw the 100 away to die, she really didn't care all that much if they did or not. If they had survived, no doubt the adults were trying to carry on like they were still on the Ark and ignoring the kids again. If she went there, they'd either lock her up for the criminal they decided she was, or she'd never be let out again because they would deem it too dangerous to leave the camp! She couldn't believe how idiotic the adults and especially the leadership of the Ark had become.

Tanwen decided to go to the dropship and see what was left. Maybe some of the others survived and they were there. She made her way to the ship and saw the devastation they had caused in trying to survive the slaughter the grounders seemed intent on.

She reached the ship itself and looked inside. She saw a large pool of blood on the floor which she knew was from Raven. Murphy had accidentally shot her in the back when he was trying to kill Bellamy. Clarke had done her best, but Raven had needed professional help. Tanwen moved up the ladder to the next deck. There was nothing out of place there so she moved up to the top deck and looked out of the huge hole Murphy had made during his escape.

She sighed and decided to bed down there for the night. She jammed the hatch closed and just hoped no-one climbed the outside of the ship and came in through the hole.

xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx

The next morning, she left the ship and went hunting again. This time, she took one of the spears they'd made and had been left behind in the ship. She may not be able to bring down large animals with it, but maybe she could get something larger than a rabbit. She had been gone most of the day, but she had been able to kill a red fox. She smiled to herself, now she had food for a couple of days. She'd use one of the containers they used for water and then she'd have a supply of that as well. She made her way back to the dropship.

She was nearly there when she heard the sounds of fighting. She quickly crouched down and moved forward quietly to see what was happening. She saw Clarke and the grounder Anya fighting and it seemed as if Clarke had the upper hand! Clarke was on top of Anya and held a rock above her head intending to smash it onto her head when Clarke seemed to be distracted. Tanwen looked where Clarke was and saw a shiny balloon. Suddenly the balloon deflated. Clarke stopped and was talking with Anya. She climbed off her and it seemed as if they were talking about the balloon. Tanwen decided to join them. She stood up and called out to them.

"Clarke! Anya!" she said while stepping into the clearing.

"Tanwen?" Clarke said.

"Yeah," she replied.

"Did you see that?" Clarke asked, pointing to where the balloon had been.

"Yeah, It's probably from one of the Ark stations that came down," Tanwen said.

"We need to go there. We need an alliance," Clarke was saying. She turned to Anya. "The only way we can win against the mountain is if we have an alliance against them. Your knowledge of the area and people and our knowledge of technology can bring that mountain down and free our people!"

"How do we know you'll keep to the alliance and not try to wipe us out?"

"The same way we know you won't do the same - trust," Clarke replied, looking her in the eyes. They stared at each other for a few seconds before Anya nodded.

"The Commander was my second before she became the Commander. I may be able to get an audience with her."

"We need to go to my people first and get them to agree," Clarke said. Tanwen snorted.

"Good luck with that!" she said.

"Why?"

"They threw us away, Clarke, do you seriously think they'll help us get those missing kids back?"

"I think the parents of those kids would and those who know it's the right thing to do," Clarke replied.

"That's naive, Clarke," Tanwen said. "Jaha will not help us and he won't allow anyone else of the Ark to help either."

"They're on the ground now as well, they know they need all the help they can get in surviving winter. We can get help from the grounders for that as well as an alliance to take the mountain down." Tanwen looked at her in astonishment.

"Clarke! Think! These are the same people - your mother included - that sent us to our deaths down here. Jaha said on that message that they sent us because we were expendable. Do you really think he'd help rescue our kids? His kid is dead, so why would he help us? No-one is prepared for the ground. We weren't but we decided we were not going to lay down and die, we organised - eventually - and we learned how to get food and water. I bet they stay near their stations and don't even let those of the hundred they've already found go hunting." Clarke thought about it and went through what she knew of the Ark.

"I have to try, Tanwen."

"I know, but I doubt you'll get anywhere. If you see the others, let them know I'm alive, will you?"

"What? Why? Aren't you coming with me?"

"No, I'm going with Anya. Like you said, we need an alliance. I can help with that. You try the Arkers, but I don't think you'll be able to persuade them. If not, try the remains of the hundred and maybe the parents of our kids, they may help us."

"So you're going to talk to the Commander about peace and an alliance?"

"Yeah, it may be a long shot, but right now, it may be the only thing I can do for the hundred. Even if it's only a non-aggression pact, it's better than nothing." Clarke nodded.

"It's getting dark, I need to go," Clarke said. Tanwen nodded. Clarke hugged Tanwen and then left the area.

"Why are you really coming with me, skai girl?" Anya asked.

"Because I don't belong with the Ark any more. I may not fit in with your people, but I can do something for the remaining hundred. They ARE my people, not the Arkers. Even if I'm the only one going with your people to the mountain, I will, for those left inside." Anya looked at her thoughtfully.

"You may come. We need to hunt for food first, though."

"No need, I already caught a red fox, I just haven't gutted it or cooked it yet," Tanwen said, going to get her prize. Anya grabbed it and the knife from Tanwen's belt and started skinning the animal before gutting it. Tanwen watched for a couple of seconds before starting a fire to cook it. She then went for some water for the two of them.

After the meal, Anya showed Tanwen how to wrap the rest of the meat up to carry with them. Tanwen found one of the bags they'd made from the parachute and seatbelts. She put the meat inside and they set off for Tondc, Anya's home village.

xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx

They were nearly at the village when Anya heard the sound of footsteps moving through the underbrush. Whoever it was was not being quiet. She didn't think it was her people, they had more sense than the alert people they were there. She crouched down and Tanwen did the same. Tanwen had enough sense not to question someone who lived her life in the woods.

Anya pointed out two sky boys moving towards Tondc. Both had rifles. Tanwen feared what they would do especially as one of them was Finn Collins, the boy Clarke had been dating until Raven came down and she found out that Finn was in a relationship with Raven. It would seem that Finn was still hung up on Clarke. She'd better tell them that Clarke was alive and back at the Ark camp. She laid her hand on Anya's shoulder as she spoke in her ear.

"I need to tell them about Clarke and send them back to their camp." Anya nodded. Tanwen stood up and walked towards them, calling their names.

"Murphy! Finn!" she called. They turned to her.

"What are you doing here?" Finn asked.

"Looking for you - or at least anyone who survived the ring of fire," she explained.

"We have to find Clarke! The grounders took her!"

"Actually it was the mountain men who took her and the others."

"Who?" asked Murphy.

"Mount Weather has people living in it and they are not nice people. They kidnap grounders by the hundreds and take them into the mountain. They never come back out of it. They are killed there for their blood. It seems modern day vampires live there. According to Clarke, they take the grounders' blood and put it into their own bodies and then throw the leftovers down into the reaper tunnels as food for them."

"Clarke's alive?" Finn asked, not believing it.

"Yeah, she escaped with Anya and is at the Ark camp trying to get them to agree to an alliance with the grounders against the mountain. Our people are still in there."

"With grounders! You can't trust them! They want to slaughter us!" Finn said.

"I know, I was there, remember?" Tanwen said, sick of Finn's insistence on blaming the grounders for everything. "Listen, we need this alliance, Finn. With it, no-one will attack us without the Commander wiping them out. We need this to survive. There are a lot more of them than there are of us and don't even think of saying that our guns make us superior, they don't! How many bullets do we have? Because I can guarantee that there are a lot more of them than the number of bullets we have! Don't let your bigotry and fear rule your head, Finn. Think!" Murphy understood what she was saying.

"We need to get back to camp and talk to Clarke," he said to Finn.

"But the grounders have her!" Finn insisted,

"FINN! Tanwen yelled at him. "Did Murphy kill Wells? We all knew what an idiot and a thug he was so it must have been him, right?" she asked him, raising her eyebrow. Finn stopped and thought about it.

"No, that was Charlotte."

"But Murphy's the thug, and it was his knife, so how could it be Charlotte? We all know it was him, that's why we tried to hang him." Finn frowned as he reasoned it out.

"But he didn't do it."

"Exactly. Just because one person does something bad, it doesn't mean they do all the bad things that happen. You were stabbed by Lincoln, but you still helped him escape when Bellamy had him tied up."

"But it was the right thing to do. We shouldn't have tortured him."

"But we did, that makes us the bad guys. I'm not surprised the grounders wanted to wipe us out, we tortured one of their own. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"So the grounders didn't take Clarke?" he asked, still confused.

"Precisely, it was another group who are the enemy of the grounders. They took her. You need to return to the Ark camp and talk to Clarke. Help her get an alliance with the grounders by siding with her. We need to free our people from the mountain, Finn, and the grounders are our way to do that. They have the manpower and we have the technology."

"I get it," Murphy said. "Come on, Finn, let's go see Clarke." Finn let Murphy turn him around and lead him back to the Ark camp. Just before they moved out of sight, Murphy turned his head towards Tanwen and nodded before turning back and leading Finn away.

Once out of sight and out of Anya's hearing, she stood up and walked over to Tanwen.

"Did you mean that?" Anya asked.

"Yes," Tanwen answered.

"You don't know which part I was referring to," Anya stated. Tanwen frowned.

"Nothing I said was a lie, Anya." Anya thought some more.

"Come on, we need to get to Tondc." They kept walking.

"What's the Commander like?" Tanwen asked.

"She's young, but she knows what she's doing," Anya replied. "She's honest and trustworthy if she thinks you are as well."

"And if she doesn't?"

"She'll kill you and your people," Anya stated, matter of factly.

"Huh," Tanwen said. She looked at Anya. "I heard some of what you and Clarke talked about."

"And what did you conclude?"

"You need a prisoner to take back to the Commander to try to win back her favour," Tanwen stated.

"Not quite how I'd put it, but yes."

"I'm the prisoner." It was not a question but a statement. "What will happen to me?"

"You'll be put in prison and questioned."

"I hope you talk to the Commander for us and still agree to an alliance, otherwise I'm dead, right?" Anya shrugged.

"I know that we cannot take that mountain down without help. I don't know if your people can do it, that's up to the Commander."

"Are you going to tell her about the prospect of an alliance or are you going to lie and say there was nothing said about an alliance, just you capturing me and bringing me to her?"

"I keep my word, Skai Girl!" Anya was pissed that her honour would be called into question.

"Hey, this is my neck on the line here! I've every right to try to protect it!" Tanwen said back, angrily.

"I promise to tell the Commander what we talked about," Anya said. Tanwen nodded. "What's your name anyway?"

"Tanwen Brown." Anya frowned.

"Why do you have two names?"

"We have a personal name and a family name. Brown is my family name, both my parents had the same last name. Tanwen is my personal name."

"Tanwen?"

"It's the name my parents gave to me, it means fire." Anya nodded.

xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx

They were close to Tondc when Anya pulled the knife from Tanwen's belt and cut some vines down. She tied Tanwen's hands together and put the knife into her own waistband. Before Tanwen could protest, Anya punched her in the side of her head and knocked her out. Anya picked her up and carried her the short way to the gates of Tondc where she was challenged.

"I've got a prisoner for the Commander! She's one of the Skai people!" She was let through and escorted to the Commander's tent. Anya got to the tent just as the Commander left it. Anya dropped Tanwen at her feet and bowed.

"Commander, I escaped from the mountain and brought you a Skai prisoner."

"Rise, Anya," the Commander said. "This one makes three Skai prisoners. Two of their leaders are in the dungeon."

"Which ones?" Anya asked.

"Jaha and Kane." Anya sighed in relief.

"The one you need to talk to is Clarke. She seems to be the leader of the Skai people - or at least of those who came first."

"Is that Clarke?" the Commander said, nodding towards Anya's prisoner.

"No. Clarke and I escaped the mountain together. She asked for an alliance with us against the mountain. Some of her people are now in the mountain as well. Clarke went to try to talk the Skai camp into an alliance with us to take down the mountain and free all prisoners."

"So who is this?"

"This is Tanwen, Commander, one of the hundred. Those that came first are a group of 100 children, thrown away by their leaders in the sky. Jaha was their leader at the time. His own son was sent down. Tanwen was one of the few that escaped the ring of fire and was not inside their ship when it happened."

"Put her in the prison, I'll talk to her later," she said to a couple of warriors. "Anya, come with me and you can tell me in detail what happened."

"Sha, Heda," Anya replied and followed the Commander into her tent.

xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx

Tanwen woke up several hours later. Her hands had been untied.

"Hey, you okay?" asked Kane, who noticed her stirring.

"Yeah, I'll be alright. Got a killer headache though," Tanwen said, putting her hand to her head and wincing.

"Who are you?" asked Jaha.

"Tanwen Brown."

"What station?"

"Skybox."

"I mean what station did you come from before going to prison."

"It's either skybox or none because I no longer belong to the Ark."

"Why not?"

"I'm one of the hundred, Jaha. You threw us away to die, therefore I don't want anything to do with you or the Ark!" Tanwen said harshly.

"You will do as you are told!" Jaha said.

"Or what? You gonna float me? - oh, that's right, you can't! Guess you'll have to kill me instead!"

"Meaning?"

"Kill me yourself instead of using space to do it for you."

"I don't want to kill you," Jaha said.

"You mean you don't want to get your hands dirty doing it yourself! Don't worry Jaha, murder is just a word, right?"

"What are you talking about?" asked Kane.

"Do you know what I was arrested for?" Tanwen asked Kane. Kane shook his head.

"Murder. Did I do it? No, but that didn't stop Jaha from accusing me of murder."

"You killed a guard!" Jaha said.

"I didn't do it on purpose, Jaha, and that's the definition of murder! I was on the high walkway in Factory station in J section. What was I supposed to do when he came at me with a piece of piping? He swung it at my head and when I ducked he tried again. I pushed him away from me and he staggered back and then fell over the railing onto the floor below. Unfortunately he landed head first and broke his neck, but I didn't murder him!"

"He died because of you!" Jaha was furious.

"If he hadn't tried to kill me, he wouldn't have died! Not my fault!" Tanwen roared back.

"Hey, you two, back off!" Kane said, trying to diffuse the situation.

"A man still died," Kane said to Tanwen.

"And how am I to blame for that? Do you charge the doctors with murder if they fail to keep someone alive? No, you don't, so why was I charged when all I did was defend myself?"

"Jaha, did you accuse her of murder when you knew differently?" Kane asked.

"It's only a word," Jaha defended himself. Kane closed his eyes at the stupidity of Thelonious Jaha.

"Jaha, she's innocent of the charges laid before her and yet you still locked her up! Would you have charged the guard with her murder had he succeeded?"

"He was only doing his job," Jaha muttered.

"His job was not to try to murder people, Jaha, or are you working from a different plan than the rest of us?"

"Plan? What plan?" Tanwen asked.

"Doing what we need to to save as many people as we can."

"Oh, yeah, he's playing by a different plan, alright!" Tanwen said with disgust.

"I have to save my people!" Jaha said.

"Who are your people, Jaha?" Tanwen asked. "Because 47 of the kids you threw away are locked up inside Mount Weather with a bunch of modern day vampires waiting for their blood to be drained from them!"

"WHAT!?" Kane shouted. Tanwen nodded.

"Clarke and one of the grounders escaped from Mount Weather. Clarke is right now trying to get the Arkers to agree to an alliance with the Grounders to go rescue both our peoples out of the mountain."

"She escaped? How?"

"With the help of one of the grounders. They made it to the dropship site and Clarke asked Anya, the grounder, to try to get an alliance with the Commander of the clans against the mountain. I met them there and came here with Anya."

"And they took you prisoner," Jaha said with finality.

"Not exactly. I knew she couldn't return without a prisoner, that's why I came with her. I can help get an alliance with the Commander while Clarke gets the Arkers to join as well."

"Why would we want an alliance with a bunch of savages?" Jaha asked in disgust.

"Probably because without it, they'd slaughter all of us," Tanwen replied.

"They have swords and we have guns, that makes us superior." Tanwen shook her head at his arrogance.

"Like I told Finn, there are thousands of them and only a few hundred of us. However many bullets you have, I guarantee it's not enough!"

"We can still kill hundreds of them." Jaha said in defiance.

"And they'll wipe us out. Will that make you happy? Kill a few and get wiped out?"

"Of course not!" he huffed. Just then the door opened and three large men came down the stairs followed by a small woman, barely more than a girl. She looked like some sort of serving girl. One of the men said something in their own language which none of the Skaikru understood. A knife was thrown to the floor and he spoke once more with the serving girl who nodded and then the men left and the door was locked behind them.

Jaha and Kane both looked at the knife.

"One of you must die today by the other's hand, it is our way," the girl said.

"They want us to turn on each other," Kane said.

"They want justice," the girl said. Tanwen looked at her. The way she held herself didn't seem like someone who was just a serving girl. She gave a good performance, but Tanwen was convinced it was just an act.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"Lexa," the girl said after a little hesitation.

"I'm Tanwen, those two are Jaha and Kane," she said, waving to each in turn.

"What did your Commander say before he threw the knife down?"

"He said you sent assassins after them. Only the actions of one of your own stopped them," Lexa said. Tanwen narrowed her eyes as she thought that through. Murphy and Finn! It had to be when she sent them back to the Arker camp. Finn had been insistent that the grounders were responsible for Clarke's disappearance. Could Anya have told her that they meant to kill people in retaliation?

"We had nothing to do with it!" Jaha claimed.

"It doesn't matter, the Commander thinks you did. You must pick up the knife, it is our way."

"And if we refuse?" asked Kane.

"Then the Commander will use it to slit all your throats."

"There must be some way to resolve this, something we haven't thought of yet."

"There isn't," Lexa said.

"There is," Tanwen said. All three looked at her but Tanwen only looked at Lexa, who she was certain was the actual Commander. Anya had said that the Commander was female so the male 'Commander' must be pretending.

"Look, Anya and Clarke both think an alliance can benefit us both. You have the manpower and we have the technology. Hell, Raven could build another bomb! The point is that if we work together to bring down the mountain, we can show you that we don't want to kill you. All we want is to live in peace."

"Jaha seems intent on wiping us out, how is that peace?"

"Jaha is an idiot, Lexa, he let the power of command go to his head and now all he can think about is getting the power, that control back. It's like a drug to him. Most of the Arkers aren't like him, they just want to live quietly. They just want to live!"

"You make it sound like I'm some sort of dictator!" Jaha protested.

"You are," Tanwen said. "You let your thugs in uniform bully others. You let innocent kids get arrested for crimes they didn't commit and you know they didn't but you still sentenced them to death and put them in prison. People have to do as you say just because you're the leader. You don't lead, Jaha, you abuse your power and you let others do it too. You are a dictator! At least the Commander of the clans is bringing all of her people together, you are pushing yours apart. We were so close to civil war up there and there's nowhere we could have gone to be out of the line of fire!"

"I do what I have to for my people," Jaha said.

"And who are your people, because it isn't the rest of the Ark?" Jaha was silent.

"What about you Kane? Do you want a war with the grounders?"

"No, but there has to be a way we can live in peace."

"Help us take down that mountain, then we can talk about it," Tanwen said.

"How?"

"We rescue our people and the grounders. Without our blood they would die."

"You want to condemn an entire people to death? That's genocide, Tanwen!"

"You didn't seem to mind when it was the Grounders who you wanted to wipe out, so what does it matter that we wipe out another group instead?"

"That's different."

"Why?"

"Because these people are savages!" Jaha said.

"So are the mountain men," Tanwen replied.

"They are not!" Jaha responded. Tanwen froze.

"How do you know? You've never met them."

"Just before I came down I made radio contact with them."

"What did you tell them?" Tanwen asked, scared he'd told them about the fight at the dropship.

"Everything. They promised to help us." Tanwen closed her eyes. She couldn't believe the arrogance and stupidity of the man.

"What did they promise?"

"That we could find a place to live once the savages were wiped out."

"Did you tell them about the fight at the dropship? Did you tell them where to find us?" Tanwen asked urgently.

"Yes."

"You bastard!" Tanwen shouted. "It's your fault those kids were taken!"

"It was them or us. You kids were already condemned to death and we weren't!" Tanwen didn't even think, she picked up the knife and slashed Jaha's throat before he could register that she was doing it. Jaha's hands flew to his throat. Kane went towards him to help him but Tanwen got in the way.

"Tanwen, he needs help!"

"No he doesn't, he can die on his own, he doesn't need help to do that!" Tanwen said. "He doesn't deserve to live after he betrayed us twice!" Lexa looked on. She marvelled at the speed of the girl and the sureness of the stroke. She wasn't bad looking either. Lexa looked away from the girl when she realised what she's just thought about. Love was weakness, Costia taught her that with her death. Lexa looked at Tanwen again as she held Kane at bay with the knife. It was only when Jaha was dead that she moved away. Kane went over to him and tried CPR but the blood kept flowing out of his neck. Tanwen moved to Lexa and dropped the knife at her feet.

"Commander, it is done." Lexa's eyes flew to the girl and widened at her words.

"I will fetch the Commander," she said.

"No, you are the Commander, Lexa kom Trikru," Tanwen said. "Now can we stop this nonsense and actually talk or have you even talked to Anya about what we decided at the dropship?" Tanwen had had enough of both the prison and the Commander's attitude. Lexa stood tall and her poise became regal as she called her people into the room.

"Free the man and he can take the other's body back for their funeral rites," she said.

"Sha, Heda," the fake Commander said. "And her?" he asked, pointing to the girl.

"She comes with me. We need to talk."

"Sha, Heda," the man said again and bowed. Two others moved past them and picked up Jaha and took him upstairs and placed him on a wagon then they went back for Kane.

"Kane, bury him beside his son behind the dropship," Tanwen said. Kane nodded.

They placed a bag over his head and carried him to the wagon as well. One of the warriors got into the back with them while two others took the front seat and they set off towards the Arker camp.

"Come with me," the Commander said, once she had finished dressing. Tanwen followed her and another two warriors fell into step behind them.

xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx

They reached the Commander's tent and the Commander sat and then bade Tanwen to sit on the ground in front of her. Another woman walked in and took up her position at the Commander's side.

"What do you want, Tanwen?"

"An alliance, Commander."

"Why?"

"To free both our people from the mountain."

"How do I know you won't turn on us?"

"How do we know you won't do the same, Commander?"

"How dare you! Show some respect!" the other woman yelled. The Commander held up a hand and the woman shut up.

"Your people are more intent on killing us than an alliance," the Commander continued.

"So are yours," Tanwen stated. The Commander smirked slightly at that. "I'm willing to put aside our differences for the sake of our people, Commander, are you?"

"This alliance, if we do have an alliance, what happens when we succeed in destroying the mountain? Would you still want a peaceful alliance or would you go back to trying to kill us?"

"Personally, I'm all for peace, but you met Jaha, there are still people like him among the Arkers - not many, but enough to cause trouble. Your own people may feel the same - once we've served our purpose."

"Then to have lasting peace, we need something more… permanent," the Commander said. The woman beside her frowned and so did Tanwen.

"Meaning?"

"Not an alliance, but a union." The other woman gasped.

"Commander you can't-" the Commander cut her off with a wave of her hand.

"What do you say, Tanwen of the Sky people?"

"I thought that was what the alliance was for?"

"If we want a peace that cannot be broken, I have to make them my people too. The quickest and best way of doing that is by a union." Tanwen thought it through. If a union was different from an alliance, how different? An alliance was two groups coming together in a mutual goal. A union was a joining of two groups. Joining… joining… no! She couldn't mean marriage could she? Tanwen's head snapped up.

"Marriage? You're proposing marriage?"

"I do not know this word," the Commander admitted.

"A marriage is when two people legally join together and become a family."

"Yes, that's what I'm proposing?"

"To whom and with whom?" Tanwen asked. The Commander frowned so Tanwen explained.

"Who's getting married to whom, Commander?"

"You and I will be getting… married? Is that the right word?" Tanwen nodded, too shocked to talk. "I assure you that you and I will not be a problem to my people, Tanwen. They all know now that you killed your leader by cutting his throat. They see you as someone who acts when needed."

"Our marriage will not cause the Arkers to join us against the mountain, Commander," Tanwen said.

"No, but it cannot hurt either," she replied. It was a good deal to save their people.

"I accept," Tanwen said. She saw Lexa give a tiny sigh of relief. It would seem the Commander was more vested in this union than Tanwen had thought. Maybe it was more than just business with her. Tanwen knew that she was attracted to the Commander, but to get married before their first date just didn't occur to her!

"Good, we will have the ceremony within three days," the Commander announced. Tanwen nodded, there wasn't much else she could do.

"Where's Anya?" she asked.

"She is fine," the Commander said.

"That isn't what I asked," Tanwen said. Lexa smirked.

"She's getting looked at by our healers. There are some wounds on her from a recent fight."

"Yeah, that was Clarke. They were fighting when I found them at the dropship. Clarke was on top of her beating her with her fists and then she grabbed a big rock and was about to bash her skull in when she saw the balloon at the Arker camp. They stopped fighting after that and talked of an alliance instead."

"Maybe you should marry this Clarke if she could do that to Anya, Commander," the other woman said.

"Shof op, Indra," Lexa told her. "This one will do nicely." Indra grunted and the Commander dismissed her to get them both some food and water.

Once Indra had left, Lexa showed her to the bedroom portion of her tent.

"We will live here until the mountain has been destroyed and then we go back to my city, Polis."

"You don't live here?" Tanwen asked.

"No, I have a capital city where the twelve clans meet. There is an ambassador from each clan living there and we meet once a month unless something comes up and then it's whenever we need to." Tanwen nodded. She moved to the bed and looked around while Lexa looked at her. She estimated her height to be around 5 foot 8 inches tall, slim with some muscles starting to fill out, light brown hair down to her shoulders, blue eyes and a smile that had Lexa feeling weak in the knees. Yes, this one had her feeling things she hadn't since Costia. She was sure that Titus would have something to say but right now, she didn't care.

Tanwen yawned.

"Sorry, Commander, I've barely slept for two days."

"You can call me Lexa, and if you want to sleep, go right ahead. I may join you later." Tanwen nodded and sat on the bed.

"I'll try to stay awake until I've eaten and then I'll sleep, Lexa." Lexa smiled, she liked hearing her name from Tanwen's lips. Lexa looked at those lips and felt the pull to kiss them. She took a deep breath and pulled herself back from giving in and kissing her.

"I'll be in the other room if you need me, Tanwen," Lexa said, slowly retreating from the enticing figure before her.

ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo

Nearly finished this story. Got some editing and re-writing of the final battle scene, but other than that, it's good to go. Enjoy! Samdagger