Chapter 3
In Tondc the next day, Tanwen and Lexa came out of their tent to yells and cheers from the village. Tanwen blushed but the Commander just nodded.
"Today starts a new chapter for our clan, Tanwen's people are now our people too. They will want to stay separate, but they are not to be harmed. If any of them try or do harm you, tell me or Chief Indra. With both our peoples we can take that mountain down and free our people!" More yells and cheers reverberated through the trees surrounding the village. Lexa stepped away from the crowds and Tanwen followed her.
"What now?" Tanwen asked.
"We need to inform your people that we are one clan now." Tanwen smirked.
"That's going to be fun when Abby Griffin or Kane find out, they'll hate it."
"Too bad," the Commander said, "There's nothing they can do about it now."
"So are we going to the Arker camp?"
"Yes, you'll ride by my side with one of your guards beside you and the other behind you. Gustus will be by my side and several warriors from Tondc will guard us as well."
"Anya?"
"Yes, she'll be in charge of the other warriors."
"Okay, when?"
"Now. I have some clothing for you to wear. The Skaikru clothing is no longer appropriate for the wife of the Commander."
"I've no problem with that - unless it's a dress or a skirt!"
"No, with winter approaching, those garments are not suitable. I have some thick, fur-lined pants and a fur-lined coat for you. There will be some tops to choose from and also some gloves and a warm hat. It gets cold here."
"Thank you, Commander," Tanwen said. Lexa looked at her. "Inside our tent, you're Lexa, but in public, you're the Commander."
"You may call me Lexa out here if you wish."
"That may be a little hard, Commander. I haven't yet figured out when I'm speaking to the Commander and when I'm speaking to my wife. It's easier at the moment to just call you Commander when outside." Lexa nodded.
"Very well, Come on, Ai kwin," Lexa said.
"What?" asked Tanwen, frowning at the unknown word.
"Ai kwin means 'my queen'," Lexa said.
"Why?"
"Because you are my wife and I'm the highest authority on my lands."
"So am I of the same rank as Queen Nia of Azgeda?" Tanwen asked, trying to get her head around it all.
"No, you are her superior. She will not like that and may try to kill you. She took my last love and tortured her for information she didn't have and then she cut off Costia's head and sent it to me. You will have guards at all times, Tanwen, that's not negotiable!"
"Not arguing about it, Lexa, I'm just trying to figure out where I stand in the clans. Being your wife is one thing, but I have no idea where I fit in. I know next to nothing about your people nor the other clans and I have no idea what I'm supposed to do as your wife." Lexa smirked.
"I could show you again, but we need to leave for your former camp."
"Not that! I know what to do there, it's outside the bedroom I'm worried about, especially when we go to Polis. I don't want to be sidelined and shunted off somewhere doing not a lot. I want to move around your city freely - with guards - not told I can't go out because of any threat you may deem possible. Life on the ground's hard enough without being locked up again!"
"You were locked up!?" Lexa asked, livid that her wife was once put in prison. "Why?" Tanwen looked at her and sighed.
"On the Ark, we had a policy that every crime, no matter how insignificant it was, was a capital crime. It carried a death sentence. The Ark tried to pretend they were civilised because they refused to kill children so we were put into prison until we turned 18, that's when we're legally adults. Not many of us lived past our 18th birthdays."
"They locked up children and then killed them when they deemed them adults!?" Lexa wanted to just kill a lot of them but as a newly married woman to one of them, she couldn't.
"With resources in high demand and short on them, they wanted to keep them for people they deemed as worthy so they came up with the capital crime policy. There was also a one child policy. I'm not sure what they were thinking with that one as that would mean our population would be reduced significantly by the time two hundred years had passed after the war," Tanwen said, frowning.
"We can ask them when we get there," Lexa said.
"You do know I've never ridden a horse in my life, right?" Tanwen asked.
"Yes, but I have a supply of ointment to soothe your aching legs," Lexa said, smirking again.
"Does your mind always go to the gutter, Commander?"
"What?"
"It's an expression for always thinking about sex."
"Well after last night, how could I not?"
"Come on, Lex, be serious! Am I riding a horse and how do I ride it?"
"I'll show you. It'll take about three days to reach the camp so you have plenty of time to learn."
"Fine! When do we go?"
"Within a candlemark. Anya's getting supplies ready."
"Make sure she has plenty of that ointment, Lexa, I have a feeling I will need it!" Tanwen reached back and started rubbing her thigh muscles in anticipation. Lexa laughed and continued towards ther war tent. She let Tanwen in and she saw several of her warriors already there.
"My wife and I will be heading for the Ark camp within a candle mark. I want everyone ready to go by then. Anya will be leading the warriors from here and the rest of you will have to make sure the mountain takes no more of our people."
"Sha, Heda," they all said together. The Commander nodded once and led Tanwen back out and towards their tent.
"The clothes are laid out on the bed. Get changed and then our tent can be taken down for the move to the other camp." Tanwen nodded and took her jacket off. She noticed Lexa didn't move, but was watching her.
"Are you going to watch me strip, Commander?"
"Yes, that's my perogative as your wife," she said, grinning. Tanwen sighed but smiled as she continued to get changed.
Soon, everyone was ready and Lexa led her to a horse that Tanwen had no idea how to get on.
"Put your foot into this stirrup," Lexa said. "Other foot," Tanwen changed legs and found it was awkward but she did it. "Now bounce on your other foot and push up with the one in the stirrup." Tanwen bounced a couple of times, which was awkward with only one foot and then pushed off hard and pushed down with the foot in the stirrup. She managed to get up and only by laying over the horse's back did she manage to stay up.
"Now swing your free leg over the back of the horse and then sit down and put your other foot into the other stirrup. Tanwen did that.
"Alright, what now?"
"These are the reins. Hold them loosely enough you don't pull on them but tight enough you don't drop them." Tanwen nodded. "If you want to turn left, pull gently on the left rein and for the right, the right one. This is a very gentle horse and quite docile and obedient. She'll be a good horse to learn on." Lexa then got onto her own horse and moved up beside Tanwen.
"When I move off, your horse will as well. If you need something to hold onto, either hold the front of the saddle or the mane. Do not pull it because that hurts the horse." Tanwen nodded and soon they were setting off for the Ark camp. Tanwen had the impression that at the end of it, she'd not want to ride another horse again!
xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx
The following day at the Ark camp, Kane walked out of the trees towards the camp. The warriors at Tondc had built a travois for Jaha's body and Kane had dragged it half way from Tondc. It had taken him two days but he was now at the camp.
"Halt!" yelled one of the guards.
"I'm Marcus Kane!" he shouted. "Alpha Station." Bellamy yelled for the gates to be opened and went to meet him. Several people came out and took the burden of Jaha from him.
"Didn't think we'd see you again," Bellamy said.
"I didn't think I'd make it out of that prison cell!" Kane said.
"What happened?" Bellamy asked, nodding to Jaha's body.
"He was killed as a traitor. He was the one that told Mount Weather where you were during the ring of fire fight," Kane said, sighing.
"Who killed him?"
"Tanwen Brown. If she comes here, I'll have to arrest her for murder."
"No you won't," Clarke said, running up to them. "If he betrayed us, then she did the right thing."
"You weren't there, Clarke, you have no idea what I went through."
"Welcome to the club, Kane. You had no idea what we went through when we were sent down and yet, here we are."
"That's different," Kane said.
"No it's not. We were in prison too, Kane, we were just in prison on the Ark."
"Well I'm here now so I'll just go to see Abby about getting the Chancellor's pin back."
"Mom's not in charge. We had an election."
"Who won?"
"I did."
"You're not legally of age to stand as Chancellor."
"Not by Ark standards, but this isn't the Ark, Kane, this is the ground. New rules apply. I stood for leadership of this clan and I won so I'm now the leader. We do things the same way as the clans."
"No, I forbid it!" Kane said.
"Kane, you have no choice in the matter. Neither you nor mom were elected by the people so you can't say that you were the legitimate leader. Right now, we have to get an alliance with the grounders to rescue our people and theirs from the mountain."
"How could you want an alliance with them! We're at war with them!"
"We're stopping that with this alliance."
"But think about what they did!"
"And what about what we did?" Clarke asked.
"What do you mean?"
"We tortured Lincoln and you don't seem concerned by that. Murphy said that Finn was very close to shooting up Tondc in his desperate need to save me. He's become unstable, Kane and you all seem to think it would have been okay to do that! We are just as much to blame for that war as them."
"But they started it…" Kane said.
"You weren't there, Kane, you have no say if we decide to join them in fighting the mountain instead of killing them. We were the ones who died in that fight, not you!"
"We have to do something. Tanwen stayed in Tondc to speak with the Commander. What if they come here to wipe us out?"
"And what if they come here to agree terms of an alliance? What if they, too, don't want to fight us? What if they have peaceful intentions? Are you going to hate them because of actions that happened before you even got to the ground that had absolutely nothing to do with you?"
"But-"
"No, Kane. We will not be shooting at them if they come here. That's the kind of thinking that leads to war in the first place. Do you want them to slaughter us because you're scared of them?"
"They did nothing but hold us prisoner!"
"Where was Tanwen in all of this?"
"In prison with us. They'd knocked her out and she was brought in and then untied and left with us. Later after she's woken up, she and Jaha had an argument about them. Jaha wanted to kill them and Tanwen wanted an alliance with them."
"Oh, good, she reached Tondc safely."
"She was tied up and a prisoner, Clarke!"
"Yes, she was. She knew that for Anya to be accepted back into Tondc, she'd need a prisoner. Tanwen volunteered. I came here after I escaped from the mountain and Anya and Tanwen went to Tondc to talk to the Commander about an alliance."
"She went willingly?"
"We need this alliance, Kane, otherwise the clans will wipe us out before moving on to the mountain. We will be wiped out, understand?" Kane nodded slowly.
"So what now?"
"We bury Jaha and then we wait until Tanwen comes back."
"Tanwen requested that we bury Jaha next to his son at the dropship site." He was silent for a couple of seconds while he thought about things. "What if she doesn't come back?"
"Then we either go get her or we take that mountain down ourselves, either way I won't leave those kids in there, they'll die."
Kane slowly nodded and then, making up his mind, he nodded once more firmly.
"I agree," he said, holding out his hand to Clarke. She took it and shook it - Trikru style.
"Welcome home, Kane," she said, grinning.
xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx
The Commander and Tanwen reached the treeline near the Ark camp two days later.
"I'd better announce us or they may start shooting," Tanwen said flatly. She had no use for idiots who couldn't keep their nerves when the wind blew through the trees. She moved her horse forward, just out of the treeline and sat there waiting. It took almost two minutes for someone to shout that someone on a horse was near. She set off again and stopped half way. She saw Bellamy and Kane at the gates waiting for her so she closed the distance.
"Welcome back," Bellamy said.
"Thanks. Kane, glad to see you're okay," she said to him. Kane just nodded.
"Well, come on in. Do you need to return the horse?"
"I'm not staying with you. I need to speak with Clarke first."
"She's inside. She's also our new leader," Bellamy said grinning.
"Clarke pulled a coup?"
"No, Raven called for a legal election since neither Kane nor Abby were elected. Clarke won."
"Good for her, now go get her please." Both hesitated. "Now, the Commander's waiting for the all clear to approach." Both looked into the treeline trying to see them.
"Go and get Clarke!" she barked and Bellamy ran off to get her.
"Why won't you come in?" Kane asked.
"Because I don't belong here anymore - actually, I never belonged here. I belonged on the Ark until I was thrown in prison for a crime I didn't commit, then I belonged to the hundred. Now I belong to Trikru. I'm one of them now."
"How?"
"That will be explained once Clarke comes." Kane nodded and waited with her.
"Are you in charge of security?" Tanwen asked him.
"No, Clarke made Bellamy the Security Officer but I do help him out."
"Then you'd better tell the guards not to shoot at those coming towards us when Clarke's given her word that it's safe." He nodded and set off to inform them.
Clarke came out of the gates.
"Hey, Tanwen, glad to see you. Are you coming in?"
"Only if you give your word that the Commander and her people will be safe, otherwise I'll be staying outside with them."
"Why?" Tanwen hesitated and then, knowing only Clarke could hear, she bent down and quietly told her why.
"An alliance would only last as long as it took to take the mountain. We needed something more long term so we got married. Now your people are her people and no-one has the right to attack you, to attack you would be to attack the Commander."
"You did what?"
"To keep the peace, I formed a union with the Commander. I'm now Trikru."
"This could cause trouble, you know?"
"Yeah, but I really like her and she really likes me," Tanwen said.
"How do you know?"
"Because we had to consummate the marriage and the entire village was outside the tent when we did. They heard everything!"
"Seriously? They didn't give you privacy?"
"Yeah, they never came into the tent, they just stayed outside. Apparently for high-rankers, it's to witness by sound that the marriage was consummated and not faked."
"So you're married to the Commander and now we are part of the Trikru clan?"
"I think so, the Commander can tell you better. Do you give your word that no-one will try to harm them?"
"Yes. If they think it would be better to camp outside the fence, however, I have no objection."
"I'll call them in," Tanwen said, turning her horse and moving back towards the treeline.
xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx
Not long after, the Commander, Anya, Gustus and Tanwen's two guards came down the open area and Tanwen joined them as they made their way to Clarke. Once the horses had stopped, Clarke bowed.
"Commander, you honour us with your presence." Anya was pleased that at least Clarke seemed to know to show respect to the Commander. The Commander nodded.
"You have safe passage here, Commander," Clarke continued. Tanwen looked around and spotted Abby Griffin and Kane talking together and Abby seemed animated.
"It would be better to camp out here, Commander," Tanwen said. "I'd feel safer if our camp was more towards the treeline." Lexa looked at her and nodded.
"We camp back towards the treeline," she said. Nods and sha's accompanied that statement. "We will set up our camp first and then you are invited to come to discuss what we can do about the mountain."
"Yes, Commander."
"I'll send for you in two candlemarks."
"Yes, Commander," Clarke said, bowing again. Tanwen nodded this time and then they turned around and headed back towards the trees to make camp.
After the tent was set up, they still had a little time so Lexa and Tanwen went into their tent.
"Why do you want to camp out here?" Lexa asked.
"Clarke may be the new leader, but I don't trust the Arkers, Commander. Clarke's own mother was the Chancellor - leader - until Clarke came back and there was an election which Clarke won. I don't trust Abby to behave and Kane knows I killed Jaha and why. I don't know what he said to the others about how Jaha died. Under the old rules, I would have been arrested for his murder and put back in jail."
"Which ones do you trust?"
"The hundred, Commander. Those I trust implicitly, including Murphy - well except for Finn. I don't trust him." Lexa nodded.
"Then we will talk to Clarke about who to trust around you."
"It's not just me, Lexa, it's you as well. If they are now your people, they may fight against it. They think of you as… primitive, because you don't use tek."
"Guns don't make you better, Tanwen, it's what you do, the way you act and how you treat others."
"I know, but don't forget, all civilisations have their dark side that they think is normal. They locked up kids for the most stupid reasons and they never really investigated what happened if it would be against one of their own. They threw us away once, why wouldn't they do it again? Those kids in the mountain may not live much longer, Lexa, and those in the Ark camp will drag their feet getting organised. I trust those of the hundred to actually get things done, but not the adults from the Ark."
"Then we must talk to Clarke about it."
"Sha, Heda," Tanwen said. Lexa smiled.
"I like it when you speak our language," she said, still smiling.
"I like listening to the language - well except when Indra seems to spit the words out." Lexa laughed.
"She doesn't have much of a sense of humour, but if you knew what she went through, you'd understand why. It's not my story to tell, Tanwen and I wouldn't advise asking her either."
"Understood."
"Commander, the Skai Heda is here with a few of her people," Gustus called out.
"Let's go see who she brought with her," Lexa said, heading towards the tent flaps.
xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx
Clarke had brought Kane, Bellamy, Monroe and Sterling with her.
"Hey, Clarke," Tanwen greeted her.
"Tanwen," Clarke replied, nodding to her.
"Let's go into the Commander's tent and talk," Tanwen said, gesturing toward the large tent set up with Gustus on guard.
They entered the tent and the Commander immediately went to her throne and sat while Anya took her position to the left of the Commander with Tanwen on her right, with one of her guards standing beside the Skaikru.
"Commander, Tanwen has told me that you two got married to make a more permanent solution than an alliance which would have broken down once our people were out of the mountain, is that true?"
"Yes," the Commander said simply.
"So what does this mean for us?"
"Your people are now my people, and my people are now your people. You are no longer Skaikru but Trikru. You are protected by the same laws as the rest of the Trikru and the other clans. If one clan attacks you, they are attacking me and I will retaliate with the full force of all the other clans. They will pay for attacking you with their lives and their clan will be attacked as well!"
"So no-one will attack us and those people inside the mountain are our people as well? We get everyone out," Clarke asked.
"Yes, those of the hundred are also my people, they will be rescued along with the clansmen still alive in there."
"That's good," Clarke said with a huge sigh of relief. Monroe, Bellamy and Sterling also sighed in relief.
"So what do we do now?"
"We plan to attack the mountain. The best generals and maybe leaders of the other clans will be in Tondc within 15 days. You and your generals are welcome there to help plan it out," Lexa said.
"Do we get Trikru clothing and help to survive this coming winter?" Clarke asked.
"Yes. I will send people to your camp to help you learn."
"Good, but a lot of the adults are stubborn and think they shouldn't have to learn from primitive people - their words, not mine - I've seen your people up close and personal and I can assure you, I know just how capable they are at surviving and fighting."
"We all are, Clarke," Bellamy said. "We fought a war with them, that one in particular," he said, pointing to Anya. "We fought them because they declared war on us. We know how bad it can get. I look forward to learning from them instead of fighting them." Tanwen and Clarke stared at Bellamy, seeing a new side of the man who was all for killing them all.
"What changed your mind?" Clarke asked Bellamy.
"You two did," he said, gesturing to both Clarke and Tanwen.
"Us? How?" Tanwen asked, moving towards them.
"You both did what was right for our people. You, Tanwen, went off and married the Commander for God's sake! And Clarke defied her own mother and was duly elected as our leader. Both acts for our people and not for their own reasons. Commander, my actions when we came down were for selfish reasons. I'd shot Jaha - I thought I'd killed him - and I was scared of what would happen if they came down. I was dreading it because I'd be arrested and probably executed for his murder. I was keeping the kids from organising and I did some stupid things. One of them was torturing Lincoln and the other was not listening to my sister. I can see now that Clarke was trying to do what was right for everyone. I was a bad leader, but I'm a good security officer for Clarke."
"Wow! Never thought I'd ever hear you say you were wrong, Bellamy!" Tanwen said, with admiration. Monroe and Sterling laughed.
"Alright, I know, I was an idiot."
"Yup," came three replies and they laughed again.
"Okay, getting back to this meeting, we'll set off in 12 days to Tondc. I'll have Kane and Sterling with me. Bellamy and Monroe are needed back here to keep the rest of the Arkers in line - especially my mother! Kane is now one of my generals," Clarke said.
"It may be better to have both your generals there," the Commander said.
"I know, and I'd love to, unfortunately I need him to make sure the adults don't try to take over and cause trouble here."
"Cannot Kane do the same?"
"No offence to Kane, but I don't trust him to keep the others in line and not fall in with them thinking they can do better just because they are adults and they still see us as children!" The Commander nodded slowly thinking it through.
"I will allow it. Is there anyone else who could take Bellamy's place and come to Tondc to help plan it?"
"Octavia maybe," Clarke thought.
"No, she's my sister!" Bellamy protested.
"And she's her own person, Bellamy. She no longer needs to be hidden and protected, she can run free here. She's almost 18 and then you don't have a say in how she lives her life, Clarke said.
"Actually," Tanwen said. "According to Trikru laws, she's old enough to make her own mind up. Every child upon reaching ten years old is asked what they want to do when they get older - that's get older, not grow up - and they have the right to self-determination in their lives. They are still the children of their parents, but those parents can only guide the child in their chosen career path."
"So Octavia will do what she wants?" asked Bellamy.
"Yes, all your young ones will be asked. Some may choose to be cooks or bakers, some clothes makers, some tanners, some blacksmiths and some warriors. It is up to the individual and not families what they choose."
"She'll want to be a warrior and be with Lincoln," he said, with a sigh.
"Most likely. Does anyone know where she is?" Tanwen asked
"No, she hasn't returned yet. I think Lincoln is tending to her injuries somewhere she'll be safe."
"Then we'll look for her when we're out and about," Clarke said with finality.
"What about the other stations?" Kane asked.
"We'll look for those as well, but remember, we can't have too many people within our camp or we'd overhunt this area. We need to find places we can put them so they have an area they can use."
"How many?"
"Depends on how many survive, Commander. Right now, there are almost seven hundred people at our camp. That's more than I'd like but at least we know they are safe and fed."
"If you have some maps of your territory, Commander, I can have a look at them and try to find areas where they could live. I'll ask you when I've found places and you can tell me if they would be viable for parts of the Ark to live there." Lexa nodded.
"Is there anything else you need?"
"Not right now, but when we come to Tondc, we'll probably have a load of questions and needs. We can work it out then."
"Good, return to your camp and we'll see you in 15 days." Clarke and the others left to go back to their camp. When they'd left, Tanwen turned to Lexa.
"Are we going back now?"
"Tomorrow, we'll stay here today and leave in the morning."
"Good, My backside needs a rest before we go back!" she said, nearly rubbing her behind. Lexa laughed as did Anya.
"One thing though," Tanwen said, becoming serious.
"What?"
"I would like Anya to be Clarke's guard in Tondc. She may bring her own, but they know nothing of living on the ground. I want someone who will look out for her and keep her safe from everything, not just people. Anya will do that and she can teach her our ways and how things are done." Lexa nodded and turned to Anya.
"Do you have any objections to being Clarke's guard?"
"No, Heda."
"Then once she reaches Tondc, you will become her guard until the mountain has fallen and our people are freed."
"Sha, Heda," Anya said, bowing.
xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx
The next day, they set off back to Tondc and the war plans. Once they got back there, Lexa had Indra start to teach Tanwen weaponry. They went to the training rings set up for the incoming warriors to train and Indra gave her a wooden sword.
"These are what we train the young ones with first so they don't kill each other nor get killed in return. We will start at the very beginning. I will call in two of the seconds here to show you what you should be doing and then you can try it. At the moment all we are doing is assessing your form, strength, speed and agility. There are several weapons we can try but you learn the sword first." Tanwen nodded and she stood by while Indra called out positions for the two seconds. She watched every move they made and followed their footwork, body positions and their stances before Indra let her try.
Tanwen took one of the swords, but it felt a bit heavy in her hand. She changed her grip and rotated her wrist but felt that it was off-balance.
"Indra, this sword isn't right, it's too unbalanced. When I rotate my wrist backwards, the sword feels like it's going to fall to the side," Tanwen said. Indra smiled.
"Well done! Most first time warriors, don't get a feel of the weapon so soon.'' She led Tanwen over to a variety of wooden swords. "Choose one you like." Tanwen picked up and tested each one and finally picked up two of them.
"Both of these feel right," she said. Indra nodded and took one off her. Tanwen went to stand beside one of the seconds who showed her how to move whilst using the sword and Tanwen copied her. Eventually, she was paired with the male second and she went through the same routine she'd just been taught. For the next two hours, she was shown and practised several moves and counter moves.
They took a water break for a few minutes and as Tanwen and Indra sat side by side, Tanwen voiced a concern of hers.
"Indra, when I'm fighting, I feel off balance, like there should be something in my right hand as well to balance it out. Is that normal?"
"No, it's not." Indra turned to her and looked at her. "Tell me what you feel as you practice the moves with the sword."
"It's like I feel clumsy, I'm not equally balanced and feel like I'm going to stumble. I'm almost clenching my fist around an imaginary handle but there's nothing there." Indra looked at her in awe. Most people were clumsy when learning the sword, but Tanwen hadn't said she felt clumsy from using the sword, only that she felt clumsy because her right hand was empty. She'd try her with a knife for the next round and see how she went with that. It was very rare for people to actually fight with two swords, like the Commander did, but if it made her learn better, Indra had no problem with that. The Trikru kwin needed to learn to fight.
The next session had Tanwen holding a wooden knife as well as the wooden sword. She twirled her sword around and held her knife low and then she stepped up to the second and began the lessons again. This time it felt a little better and she was not so clumsy with her swings and footwork. She was faster in speed and reaction time and was soon stopping ninety percent of the strokes swung at her. Indra called a stop and picked up a wooden sword herself and tested Tanwen with more than she'd been taught. They started off with the routine strokes but soon Indra tried different things. Tanwen stopped more of them than Indra thought she would but noticed that Tanwen still looked awkward with her knife hand. She stopped the lessons and took the knife and replaced it with the second sword Tanwen said was a good match for herself.
Tanwen took it and swung both of them and then rotated her wrists to check their balance and then grinned. Indra began attacking her again and this time Tanwen enjoyed fighting back. Tanwen just went with instinct and found that both swords were a balance to each other. When she went high with one, she went low with the other. She found herself more balanced with both swords and her confidence rose. Soon Indra was pulling every trick she knew out of her bag and was still hard-pressed to get a hit on Tanwen. When they stopped for another water break, Indra told her that the next session would be Tanwen attacking her. Tanwen grinned and nodded.
They started again and this time Tanwen couldn't keep the grin off her face as she plied Indra with stroke after stroke trying to get through her defence. Unbeknown to either of them, a crowd had gathered including Lexa and Anya. They watched as Tanwen swung both swords towards Indra, instinctively blocking any random strike Indra made in an attempt to push her back. It was clear that Tanwen was a natural with two swords. She still had to learn with one in case she only had one sword, but for now it seemed that Tanwen was loving using two swords.
Eventually they stopped for the day and Tanwen sat down exhausted. Her guards stood protecting her and Indra went over to the Commander when she finally spotted her.
"Commander, your houmon is a natural with two swords, it may be better for you to take over her training in both of them. She already is better than most second year warriors." Lexa looked sharply at her wife and smiled in pride. Her houmon had a rare talent and she was proud of the woman she chose as her lifemate.
Lexa went to her wife and sat beside her.
"I see you've been improving relations with Indra," she said. Tanwen looked at her. "It's almost impossible to get Indra to praise anyone's training. You should have heard the things she said about me before I became the Commander!"
"It's my first day of weapons training, Lexa, I'm not that good at the moment." Lexa stared at her in astonishment.
"Tanwen, you have demonstrated a level of weaponscraft that should have been beyond you as a first year warrior! The way you attacked Indra shows you have an instinct most people don't have. I'm the only other person who can use two swords with precision. You instinctively did that against Indra. For two swords, I'll take over your training, but for the others, Indra will continue to work with you during our planning sessions."
"I like training with weapons," Tanwen said, humming in pleasure.
"I like watching you train, houmon, it was rather satisfying." Tanwen looked at Lexa to see her smirking.
"Your mind is still in the gutter, Lexa," she admonished.
"I can't help it if I like watching you move. Watching your muscles move and your legs and arms moving as well as your-" Lexa was cut off by Tanwen's hand covering her mouth.
"Lexa!" Tanwen said, "Some things are still private!" Lexa took her hand away with a smile. She pulled her palm to her mouth and kissed it.
"Tonight, I will enjoy rubbing more ointment into your sore body - all of it!" Tanwen gulped and went red before leaning into her wife. Lexa put her arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. They stayed there for a few minutes, finding peace and quiet in a busy day.