Sitting hunched over a boulder, Clarke tried to remember her father's face the day he was executed. It had been a cold winter evening, towards the end of the year cycle. She remembered the crunch of the boots on the snow and dried leaves, as he guards marched Jake out of the camp gates. She remembered her mother's stoic, and silent tears streaked face. She remembered the weight of Raven's hands on her shoulder and Octavia's fingers on her hands. The sky was clear and the color of a dead computer screen. Strangely, the air had smelt of spruce, and not gunpowder or blood. The dull thud of the gunshot reverberated in her ears.
Jake Griffin of Upper Arkadia, Chief Engineer and Diplomat, you have been sentenced to death in accordance with the Exodus Charter for treason and conspiracy against the Council. Any last words?
Clarke tried to remember what her father's last words were, but her mind drew up a blank. She could not remember either his face or his words, and that frustrated her beyond belief. It had only been a few years, and she wondered how her mind had blocked Jake out.
Clarke had believed that her pardon deal was a pretty good one. She could go scot-free along with Raven, Octavia, Jasper, and Monty. All she'd have to do, was kill the Commander. Kill Lexa. Kill the girl who she had kissed just a few hours back. Kill the girl who had given her food and shelter, and trusted her. Kill the moment when she had seen the bioluminescence in the river. The only problem was that the Commander wasn't some leader in warpaint. The Commander was Lexa, whose voice sent shivers down her spine and eyes seemed to look right throught, to inside her mind.
"Penny for your thoughts, Princess?"
Clarke nearly jumped out of her skin and looked up, startled.
Finn hanging upside down from the tree, she was resting against, his legs wrapped around a branch, a goofy smile on his face.
"What the hell Finn!"
"Pretty boy is high on theatrics," Bellamy jumped down from a lower branch as silently as he could. "Good to see you alive, Clarke."
"What in the name of Becca are you two doing here!"
"We're out on a date. Care to join us in a threesome," Finn winked.
"Keep your voices down, you idiots," Bellamy said, as Finn jumped down from the branch to join the two. "O escaped, Clarke."
"What do you mean by O escaped?"
"Raven helped her. She's out in these woods somewhere, and Murphy and I have been trying to track her down for a few days."
"You were not tracking me?"
"What? No. You have your GPS on." Bellamy said.
"No I don't. Le..I broke the bracelet."Clarke argued.
"That was a dummy," Finn shrugged. "The real one is under the skin. That's how we tracked you down."
"Oh god" Clarke stood up. "Are they hunting O?"
"They sent Miller's team after her. I bought some time from him. It's all upto you, Clarke."
"What do you mean it's all upto me?"
"We located you inside their village! No one has gotten this far, before."
"It's...that's different. The Commander is not here." Clarke shook her head.
"Then keep trying," Bellamy said. "Look Clarke, I know you since you were a kid. And I know that we've had our differences and we didn't see eye to eye for the last couple of years. But this is O we're talking about."
"And Raven's time is up in two months," Finn said with a solemnity that Clarke hadn't seen in him before.
"Bellamy...Bell," Clarke sighed, "I don't think I can do this. It's..."
"Raven and O will be executed, Clarke," Bellamy said, looking helpless.
"Then break them out! Do something! Anything. Please. I can't have this on my hands, Bell."
"We do not have the manpower for a coup of that sort against Pike, you know that. And that's why you agreed to this. You just have to hurry. Jake was like a father to me too, Clarke. I cannot carry O's body out in a bodybag like I did, Jake's." Bellamy shook his head, despair written on his face.
***
"Where did you find her?" Lexa asked, her face impassive.
"She was just a few miles away, walking towards our camp. I think she was glad to see us," Lincoln said.
Lexa nodded. "Have you taken her to her tent?"
"Everything taken care of, Heda," Lincoln nodded.
"Good. When does Titus get back?"
"He had sent word a fortnight back that he will join you at Polis. We haven't heard from him since then."
"Mochof Lincoln." Lexa tipped her head.
"And she wants to see you Heda."
"Has she said anything else?"
"No, Heda."
"Thank you Lincoln, that'll be all."
Lexa sighed as Lincoln left her tent. Atleast Clarke was safe and had come back willingly. She wondered if she should have just told Clarke who she was, right in the beginning. Would Clarke have feared her, respected her, loathed her? Or would she have been nice to the Commander in fear of her life? No, Lexa was ok with Clarke the way it was now. She would rather take Clarke's real anger than her fear and imposed respect.
She walked out of her tent and walked towards Clarke's, Indra behind her.
"Stay here, Indra" she ordered as she reached the tent. Lexa held the flap of the tent, paused for a bit, and then swallowed. She realised that she was experiencing an emotion she hadn't felt before - Lexa was nervous. She finally took a deep breath, and entered the tent. "You wanted to see me?"
Clarke turned around at the sound of Lexa's voice, and did a double take when she saw her. Lexa was no longer the girl in a ranger's outfit. She was the Commander, looking every bit as regal and intimidating in the red sash and warpaint. However, her eyes betrayed her. Clarke could see the nervousness in the green eyes even in the dimly lit tent.
"Lexa...Heda," Clarke corrected herself.
"Please Clarke. Call me Lexa."
Clarked nodded. "I...I wanted to give your dagger back to you."She unseathed the dagger from her belt and held it out for Lexa.
"No, it was a gift, Clarke," Lexa shook her head and walked closer towards Clarke.
"Oh...thank you," Clarked muttered and looked down. The heda had to be a far more skilled fighter than Clarke would ever be.
"Lexa," she began, "I'm sorry. I over-reacted."
"I lied to you Clarke," Lexa said. "You have reason to be angry."
"I don't know if I am angry at you or at me, or...I don't know. I wish I could tell you everything." Clarked sighed.
"Tell me what?"
"You did not lie to me Lexa. You just didn't tell me the truth. There are worse things to be lying about."
"Like I said Clarke," Lexa said, "This changes nothing about the way I feel about you."
"Way you feel about me?" Clarke looked into Lexa's eyes, a lump forming in her throat.
"I...I think you are a really brave person, Clarke."
Clarke wasn't sure what she was thinking. She wasn't even sure if she was thinking at all. In a few strides, she closed the distance between her and Lexa, and crashed her lips down on hers. She felt Lexa's hesitance melt away and her hands slid behind Clarke's neck. The ocean crashed into the forest and in that moment, there was no right or wrong. No clans, no missions, no secrets. In that moment, Lexa and Clarke were two girls struggling under the honesty of their feelings that were trying to surface inspite of their surroundings.
Lexa broke the kiss as the first noise of commotion reached her ears.
Breathing heavily, both of them adjusted their clothes an ran out of the tent. Indra, Gustus, Lincoln and a few others were gathered near the gate. Lexa and Clarke walked as fast as they could, to the gate to investigate the cause of the commotion.
"Chit ste the trouble hir?" Lexa asked.
"An Arkadian, Heda" Indra spat. "She was walking towards here. Lincoln saw her. We have to kill her."
"She has no weapons, Indra" Lincoln argued. "We are not killing her."
"She is a spy then", Gustus reasoned.
"Who are you and what do you want?" Lexa asked. "Remove the cloth from her mouth, please Indra."
Clarke moved ahead to get a better glimpse of the person standing between the Trikru. The mud covered and bruised figure was all too familiar with her.
Clarke gasped.
"Octavia!"
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A/N: Chapter 4 is up, yayee! :D
So what did you think? How are you liking the plot so far?
What do you think Clarke is going to do? And how do you think Lexa is going to react if and when she finds out?
Will try and write another chapter tonight (It's evening here now). And are you excited about Octavia showing up? Let me know.
Love,
Charlie.