"Something's changed with her, Raven. I don't know what... I don't know how. But I feel like she's changed." Clarke leant over the table, her whisperers drowned out by the loud sound of the kitchen.
The tables in the hall were dimly lit by power saving lamps, illuminating the food and faces which surrounded them. Jasper sat in the corner, a cup filled with some sort of intoxicating drink even though it was still early in the morning. Some seats were empty, where people had to rush off to their jobs before they finished their food. Other seats were empty as their usual owners had been lost to their war efforts.
Raven rolled her eyes as she bit into her food, quickly chopping down and taking a sip of water "Clarke, she's been gone for years. Of course she's changed. I don't think you've noticed yet, but you have too"
"I know but-"
"And besides, she still looks like the commander to me." Raven nodded in the direction of Lexa, and Clarke looked over her shoulder to follow her gaze.
Lexa weaved through tables with a kind of swiftness which she always carried in her. Her back was straight, poised, ready. And for a moment, it was like Clarke was meeting her all over again, in her tent with Indra glaring over Lexa's shoulder like she was scum. Maybe because she was.
"Yeah well, you don't know her like I do" Clarke whispered as Lexa neared them.
Lexa finally sat down in the seat beside Clarke and Octavia, who had been with Lexa, sat down on her other side. Clarke felt the need to do something, anything, to make Lexa know that she acknowledged her presence... or something like that. Her hand acted upon instinct, like an irresistible and strong magnetic pull dragging her towards her, and she reached into Lexa's lap under the table, fingers tangling amongst each other. Their hands rested on Lexa's thigh ardently. Clarke felt green eyes watching her throughout the entirety of her actions.
Octavia's eyes searched the hall, most likely looking for Lincoln. Raven however, seemed more interested in eating her food than looking for Luna. Octavia then shuffled in her seat and looked down at her food.
Lexa seemed to notice her squirming and leant foreword over the table to confront her. It seemed like Octavia had been anxious for years now, and Clarke had just put the blame towards the leading position she had found herself in. But now, her anxieties were much clearer than before.
"Octavia"
Octavia's head quickly lifted from her plate at the sound of her own name "yeah?"
"I have news for you. About your brother"
Octavia pulled a disgusted face, betrayal evident as she looked back down to cut her food. Even so, everyone on the table could see through her pretences. She was not fooling anyone. "why would I even care about him anymore?"
"Would you like me to continue or would you rather I kept my information to myself?" Lexa snapped. That was the commander everyone knew. Patient but impatient when needed. Peaceful but violent when pushed. Always carefully calculated. Always.
Clarke loved it.
"Okay..." Octavia dropped her cutlery to turn and face Lexa "What is it then?"
"He is attempting to get back to you. Escaping Pike's grip on him would be hard since he knows that his previous loyalty lay with you. But he has help."
"Who?"
"An ice nation woman named Echo is aiding him in his escape"
"How can he trust her?" Octavia frowned "She's ice nation."
"Prince Roan, son of Queen Nia, was never a great supporter of his mothers actions. He supports your side from Pike's side. Echo is one of his most trusted warriors"
"So my brother finally came to his senses and realised how much of a coward he was?"
"Indeed."
The silence that followed allowed everyone to think, until Lexa spoke up once again.
"I think you of all people, Octavia, can find a place in your heart to forgive him. He may have betrayed you, but he is still a loved one. He recognises his flaws and wants to make it up to you. Let him."
Clarke watched Lexa as she spoke, knowing well that she wasn't just talking about Bellamy. She was talking about herself too, after betraying Clarke. And how Clarke had managed to forgive Lexa after everything.
Clarke just wished she had forgave her sooner
___________________
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
It was extremely evident that Lexa was eager to return Polis to its former glory. The way she was leant over the map beside Octavia, murmuring suggestions that left the other girl nodding in agreement, had Clarke falling deeper and deeper in love with her.
Although forced into it, leading was clearly Lexa's passion. She lit up and shimmered in the grasp of her own leadership, and left peace in her wake. The fact that she was willing to give all of it up just to be with Clarke made her heart ache. But then again, everything about Lexa did that.
Raven was sat on her workbench, slumped against the wall and flicking the sides of her Rubik's cube into their places. The sound of the crunching metal as it spun had everyone in the room on the verge of throwing it out of a window. But stick Raven sat, flicking away at it, eyes narrowed in concentration.
"There are several bridges from Polis that cross this lake. That's a rather large risk being put in place if you think of the refugee camps you have there" Lexa pointed to the map. She looked to Clarke for clarification after reading the label on the map. Clarke smiled in pride, realising that Lexa had read it without her help for once. Maybe Clarke wasn't such a bad teacher after all.
"Yeah, but there's not much we can do. We set up a peacekeeping force near the bridge to prevent them from-"
"That's not enough." Lexa said and scratched her chin "We need to take down the bridges. It's the only way to ensure their safety"
"But you were the one who built them. Doesn't that not, I don't know, hurt to know you're tearing down your own home?" Octavia questioned
"Bridges can be rebuilt, Octavia. Lives cannot be replaced" Lexa lifted her head to Raven, who was still absorbed in the focus of her Rubik's cube "Raven, do you remember when you destroyed the bridge to prevent Anya from crossing?"
"I... yes?" Raven looked up, the flicking of her cube ceasing for a moment.
"Can you do it again? For three more bridges?"
Raven grinned "hell yeah, of course I can."
"Good. Then your plan has concluded, Octavia. There is no need to lose more lives peacekeeping bridges"
Raven went back to her annoying hobby of her cube, causing all three heads in the room to spin toward her.
"Raven! Do you have to?" Octavia exclaimed
"What?" Raven exaggerated, lifting her head once again
"That is so annoying!"
"You're annoying!"
"That was childish to say, you know that right?"
"You're childish!"
"Guys! Shut up, would you?" Clarke interrupted their arguing.
"Yes, your constant bickering are making me wish that I stayed in the flame." Lexa joked, earning a half hearted glare from Clarke. The other two women looked slightly shocked that Lexa had made a joke, especially about dying, in front of Clarke but they shook it off as Lexa voiced her curiosity "What is that?"
"It's a Rubik's cube. It was scientifically proven hundreds of years ago to help you indirectly train your brain to be sharper, improve on your eye-hand co-ordination and help process your thoughts better. Basically, solving one shows your logic and decision making capabilities."
"May I?" Lexa held out her hand. Raven rolled her eyes.
"You don't even know the technique."
"Ill shortly figure that out, Raven"
Raven scoffed and messed up the colours "Fine. You have to make it so there's only one colour on each side of the cube."
She tossed it over to Lexa, who caught it with ease. Clarke sat down next to her and watched the long, slender fingers slide over the cube, shifting it in different angles. Brown curls and braids fell over her shoulder, covering her face of concentration. And Clarke kindly pushed Lexa's hair back from her eyes. It was a generous gesture, but in the greatest honestly, Clarke just wanted to see Lexa's face.
"This could take a while you know, Clarke. I've had years of practice." Raven chirped.
Octavia pulled out her sword and settled against the table as she began to sharpen it "Maybe you should get it work on those bombs, Raven."
"Good idea." Raven winked and hopped down from her bench. She poked through what appeared to be junk on the surface, pulling it different pieces and piling them up for work.
Although Raven was constantly full of herself, and overly confident about her work, Clarke couldn't help but admire her. She was dangerously smart, and if she hadn't came down from the ark at the time that she did, she was sure that every single member of the 100 would be dead. It was still strange to think that Lexa was the one sending her warriors to kill them... oh how the tables have turned.
Clarke felt Lexa shift from beside her, standing up and making her way over to Raven. She set the cube back down on the bench, and Raven scoffed without looking. Clearly her self confidence had overruled her confidence in Lexa's knowledge.
"Give up, did you?" Raven finally turned to look at it and see how much of a mess Lexa had left it in. But when she did, she found it in a different state. Clarke had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing out loud at Raven's jaw-dropped face. The Rubik's cube sat completed with every face a single colour.
"Alright, I'm done with this shit now. Everyone get out so I can get working on blowing up some stuff" Raven said, clearly embarrassed of herself.
Octavia let out a small chuckle as she slid her sword back into its sheath, heading for the door "Maybe you should practice a little more with that thing, huh Raven?"
There was a small clank of metal, indicating that Raven had thrown a piece of scrap at Octavia in her frustration. Her violence however, only drew more laughter from the red queen's lips. Clarke jumped out the sound, her instincts dragging her to Lexa's side in an instant without even registering in her mind. Her fingers locked around the commander's arm, tugging her so close that her cheek was firmly pressed to Lexa's shoulder.
She felt Lexa's hand on her waist to steady her and, to her utter embarrassment, looked up to see amusement in her green eyes. Lexa raised her brow at Clarke's actions and the blonde quickly let go, feeling the blood rushing to her cheeks, her face burning.
"Jumpy are we, Griffin?" Octavia smirked.
"Oh shut up Octavia." Clarke rolled her eyes, ducking her head to hide the deep shade of pink on her face "You can't blame me"
Clarke had just got Lexa back. And now the poor girl couldn't stop thinking about anything other than losing her again. Even thinking about it again could cause a stream of tears from her eyes. In fact, she had thought about more than once over the few days that Lexa was back in her life. Each time she had wedged herself closer to her, willing herself to remember that she was alive and was there to stay.
Still, she held Lexa's hand in her own tightly and continued on their trip through the corridors. All the time that she walked them alone, mind blank and empty, was finally made up for as Lexa walked side by side with her. It definitely still hadn't settled in wth Clarke that Lexa was alive again.
Her thoughts were interrupted as Lexa pulled her to a halt. Caleb Isaac sat in the middle of the corridor, back slouched against the cold walls. He held her dagger in his hand, twisting it back and forth as he stared at it. He was mumbling things, incoherent but predictable in their meanings.
"What is he doing?" Lexa whispered
Octavia crossed her arms and glanced at Lexa "He's talking to you and Jayden" she said "That dagger is his reminder of you."
"Nobody has told him I'm alive?"
"Nobody has the guts to. Everyone was too scared incase he thought Jayden was alive too. So we held it back for a while." Octavia shrugged.
Lexa tugged her hand away from Clarke and moved with quiet footsteps towards the dark haired boy. Clarke stood back, allowing her to approach him alone. When she moved, she still moved as the commander. After all, it was what Caleb was so familiar to. He was familiar to her radiating power and stable safety.
His head lifted, perhaps after capturing sight of a single boot which belong to Lexa. His eyes widened as he stared up at her, clutching the dagger tighter to his chest. It was like a dark room had suddenly been illuminated. No more shadows. No more fear.
"Commander...!" He stumbled to stand up, fumbling with the blade to make himself look more professional with it in his hands "y-you... you're alive! I spoke to you! I spoke every day! I begged you to come back!"
"I'm right here, Caleb" Lexa said as she crouched down to his height
"J-Jayden isn't with you. Is he?" He asked. The sorrow that filled his eyes made Clarke want to scoop him into her arms and never let go. But Lexa was the one to deal with this. Not her.
"I'm sorry Caleb. He is not." Lexa said.
Suddenly, it was like the boy hesitated, as if he was in a life or death situation. As if he was about to risk his life. He wiggled his fingers, unsure of what to do until he finally acted. He perched on the tips of his toes and hugged Lexa tightly, wrapping his arms around her neck. The dagger clattered on the ground beside him as he lunged for comfort.
Lexa was frozen for a moment, slightly shocked at his sudden bold actions. But then it was like everything clicked into place all at once, and she wrapped her arms around him safely and securely, lifting him off the ground as she stood. His sobs, although muffled by Lexa's shoulder, could be heard from the poor boy. He was tired. Exhausted. And it was already obvious that Lexa had detected it.
"Where does he stay?" Lexa asked, one hand gently rubbing Caleb's back, whilst the other held him from falling.
Clarke was suddenly jolted into the future, her mind racing as she pictured her life. She could see Lexa. Clear and happy and free. She could see her, maybe even clutching a child of their own, brown curls falling over her face as she stared down in awe at their child. Clarke sighed and rubbed her eyes. She could hope.
Clarke nodded Octavia ahead, signalling that she was free to continue with her duties "this way, Lexa" Clarke said softly and lead the way.
Caleb's room appeared to be more of a teenager's room than a child's room. The clutter of papers almost made it impossible to reach the bed, and the room was already seeping with darkness. Clarke watched from the doorway as Lexa weaved through piles of books and clothes, finally setting him down on the bed. Caleb kicked off his shoes, and they landed in a pile beside a dirty t-shirt. Lexa lifted an eyebrow at him as she lifted the covers over his small frame. He immediately curled up into the warmth, dark brown eyes puffy with tears. Lexa carefully brushed away his tears.
"Commander?" He asked, his voice small.
"Yes, Caleb?"
"You're not... you're not as scary as people think you are. Are you?" He tugged the covers up to his nose, almost shy from his question.
"There is no need for you to fear me, Caleb. The only people who must fear me are our enemies" Lexa straightened as she headed for the door, but his scared voice once again drew her to a halt not far from Clarke.
"And what if they're not scared of you?" He asked.
Clarke' eyes met with Lexa's, patiently waiting for her response. Something seemed to burn behind the green, something Clarke came to recognise. The need for revenge.
"They will be" Lexa answered the boy
_________________________
Hey! So, I'm sick, so I'm sorry if updates are slow again. And I'm also heading back home so that will also delay the updates. But I promise to still update!
Im thinking about planning another story for when this series ends, and I'd like to know what you guys would want. I had a few ideas. Maybe a criminal au? Maybe a band au? Orrrrr army au? The options are endless and I can do literally anything. Just let me know what you think you'd like to see, and I can work with it! I don't even mind if it ties in with another fandom (Harry potter, the hunger games, divergent etc.) the options are endless and you can help choose it.
Other than that, thanks for reading this chapter, don't forget to comment and tell me what you think, vote and point out my mistakes (I'm aware I make many!)