Chapter Text
“Lexa, your pacing is driving me insane.”
Green eyes flit up for a passing moment, barely registering the raised eyebrow and folded arms before darting back down again. The Commander continues her nervous steps, certain she is going to create a divet in the rock floor soon. The throne sits behind her, but she knows she can't possibly be still.
Clarke is coming.
Not particularly willingly, no. It isn't as if she will be happily waltzing in the door and leaping into Lexa’s arms - the brunette expects no such thing. The most she hopes for is a cold but formal exchange of words, knowing even that may be a stretch.
“This is important, Kara,” Lexa replies simply. Before she can take even another step, strong hands wrap around her shoulders, stopping her in her tracks. She attempts to wriggle free, but knows her efforts are useless. Though Kara has never allowed herself to appear more powerful than the great Commander in front of any but the closest to her, Lexa will always, in the tiniest of ways, resent the woman’s strength.
Reluctantly, the brunette looks up at her. That expression, that damned protective and caring yet stern expression she sees staring back at her makes her feel so young and small. Kara is just two years older than her, Alex three and Maggie four, but at times Lexa feels like a child compared to them.
“I am not a child, you don't need to watch over me,” Lexa spits half heartedly, secretly appreciating the warmth of Kara’s hands and the steadiness they bring. Kara is unfazed by the slight aggression.
“One, I'm your guard. It's literally my job to watch over you. Two, you are most definitely not a child,” Kara agrees, her hands remaining on Lexa’s shoulders. “You are Heda Leksa, Commander of the Twelve Clans. No human being is half as powerful or intimidating as you are.”
Lexa doesn't miss the ‘human being’ part of Kara’s statement, mentally scoffing in the slightest bit of annoyance.
“Your flattery is kind, but my heart is not for the taking,” the Commander jabs, allowing herself a small joke. Kara rolls her eyes, and from behind the pair of them comes a small, poorly concealed chuckle. Margeux.
“Maggie, shof op,” Kara says, shooting the Fleimkeppa a small glare. Her attention returns to Lexa. “Yes, you are the most powerful human on Earth. So stop acting so scared.”
Kara's hands fall from their place, and Lexa forces herself to ignore the way it makes her heart sink slightly and her body feel older.
“I am the Commander, I do not act,” Lexa whispers. It is a quiet confession of weakness, something done only in front of Kara, Alex, and Maggie. And apparently, occasionally Clarke.
Kara has just enough time to give a sympathetic and understanding glance before the doors to the throne room burst open loudly, causing all three women in the room to jump in surprise. Kara and Maggie stand on either side of Lexa on the step below her, arms crossed behind their backs. The Commander stands in front of the throne, her own arms crossing behind her back. With her less personal guards unable to see her hands, she fiddles nervously with a broken nail.
There's a bag over Clarke’s head, and Lexa winces as the younger woman is thrust forward forcefully to her knees. When the burlap bag is pulled from Clarke’s head, she fights the urge to gasp. The blonde’s appearance is… changed. Battered, tired, primitive. But those eyes…
Those blue eyes are certainly and undeniably Clarke Griffin’s.
“Hello, Clarke."
The screams echo all the way down the hall. Angry, vicious, inhuman sounds that still ring in Kara’s ears seconds after they finally end.
Lexa is on the balcony before she or Maggie have time to react. From the places they still stand in, they turn to each other. An unspoken conversation passes between them, and a unanimous decision is made. They follow the somber Commander onto the balcony that overlooks her city.
Lexa stands with her hands still behind her back, appearing motionless and expression to anyone who is not paying attention. However, Kara knows better. Maggie knows better. The Commander’s subtle and almost imperceptible signs - her clenching jaw, her white knuckles, her unblinking and shimmering eyes - reveal her hidden pain.
For a few moments, there is silence between the trio as they gaze out at the great city hundreds of feet beneath them. Despite the harshness of their culture, this place is peaceful and rather mundane. Children play in the streets, small shops sell their food and other goods to passerbys, and Kara picks up the sound of music coming from a tent far away.
“She hates me.”
Lexa’s voice trembles, but only slightly.
“No,” Kara says with as much conviction as she can muster. “I assure you, that is not hate.”
“She threatened my life.”
“If she hated you, she would not waste her breath on even a single word to you. It wouldn't be worth it to her,” Maggie continues. She speaks Kara’s exact thoughts. “She's angry because she cares.”
“I hope you're right,” Lexa replies in a hushed and strained voice. Her eyes remain unblinking, but it takes none of Kara’s extraordinary vision to see the moisture collected in them.
Kara’s mind flashes to her sister, who is likely out hunting for the evening’s dinner. Alex had always been protective, overbearing at times, and had never let a day go by without telling Kara she is loved. Anytime Kara was even slightly sad, Alex always had this same look about her, every time. It was something in her eyes that Kara couldn't describe, but she didn't need to. Standing next to Lexa as a single droplet streams down her cheek, she knows she feels just as Alex does.