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They had been wandering for hours. Alexandria had no idea what was happening, one day she and her mother were in Farm Station, and now they were on Earth! Alexandria had only seen Earth from the Ark, but now she was here! She was on Earth! Normally, this would be cause for celebration, but considering she had been banged up, cut open, and bleeding, Alexandria was not a happy camper.
“Where are we going, Mama?” The little girl asked her mother. The woman in question had gorgeous olive colored skin and thick black locks, that were a bit singed and flying everywhere thanks to the wind.
“Shelter, Alexandria. We need shelter.” Her mother told her in a level voice. She was the strongest person that Alexandria knew, not that she knew a lot of people, but her Mama was the strongest.
They probably would have taken shelter in the pod that forced them to Earth, but that had exploded. The two of them barely made it out alive, but they did. Alexandria wasn't injured that bad, but she wasn't sure about her mother.
“Mama! What is that?!” Alexandria asked, pointing to what seemed like dust. She was small enough that she barely could see over the tall grasses, but that dust cloud was massive.
Her mother’s eyes widened and she swept up the small girl in her arms. She sprinted away from the massive clouds frantically. Unfortunately, she wasn't looking where she was going, and she tripped by a large rock.
Alexandria and her mother tumbled to the ground with a large thud. Alexandria screeched as she hit the ground, and her mother rolled a few paces away, letting out a painful cry as she hit the ground. Their cries seemed to alert the dust cloud, and it quickly changed direction, heading their way. The woman did her best to gather her child up and run, but she was unable to get her balance, and she was tripping over her legs.
Soon the cloud surrounded them, except it wasn't a cloud, it was people. People on strange beasts that Alexandria had never seen before in her life.
“Chon yu bilaik!” A person roared, pointing a spear at the two.
Alexandria looked up at her mother, who pulled her daughter closer, practically crouching over her. She had a confused look on her face, letting Alexandria know she did not understand the language they spoke. Alexandria thought that was strange, because her Mama knew everything. She could speak a lot of languages and do anything.
“Chich op!” The same person shouted, thrusting their spear toward the two. The spear cut Alexandria slightly, making her cry out, and her mother see red.
The woman released her daughter and grabbed hold of the spear. Without hesitating, she thrust it back at the would-be attacker with such force that it knocked them from their mounted beast. The angered mother pulled the spear away, gripping it more comfortably and pulled Alexandria closer to her.
“Do not touch my child!” The woman roared, ready to kill their attacker.
The attacker stood up, ready to lunge at the woman, when another voice rang out.
“Em pleni!” A feminine voice rang out.
Both Alexandria and her Mother turned to see a woman, who seemed to be in charge, dismount her mounted beast, and stepped forward. She pulled off her helmet, revealing bright blonde hair, that reminded Alexandria of the sun. She had bright blue markings that went up her arms, at least as far as Alexandria could see, and blue marks sliding up her neck. Black facepaint covered her eyes, reminding Alexandria of a mask that the superheroes in her stories.
“I am Sara,” the woman told the two. “What is your kru?”
“Kru?” Alexandria's mother asked, still crouched over her child. “I am afraid I have no idea what you mean.”
“Where are you from?” The blonde asked her.
“The Ark!” Alexandria said, pointing to the sky, where they fell from.
“Ark-kru?” Sara asked, raising her eyebrow.
“No!” Alexandria said while gesturing to the sky once more, “the Ark! In space!”
“Alexandria,” her mother hissed out, effectively silencing the child.
“ You fell from the sky?” She asked, looking up. “You are the cause for the smoke and flames?” She asked, pointing in the direction that the two came from.
“It was not our choice, believe me,” Alexandria's mother told the blonde. “But, for all intents and purposes, yes, we fell from the sky.”
“How did you live in the sky?” She asked, clearly not believing the two.
“It wasn't the sky. It's above the sky! In space!” Alexandria protested loudly.
“Alexandria!” Her mother growled, sounding angrier at her.
“There is nothing above the sky,” Sara told her, crossing her arms.
“Have you been above the sky?” Alexandria asked, crossing her arms.
“Well, no,” Sara replied honestly.
“Then how do you know?”
“Alexandria!”
The girl grumbled, but said nothing this time. She just kept her little arms crossed and huddled into her mother's protective embrace.
Sara thought on little Alexandria's statement. The child made a fair point. She was intrigued by the two, that much was certain. Whether they really fell from the sky remained to be seen, but judging by the over all strange encounter, there must be some truth to their words. They admitted to causing the smoke that threatened the plains. The fire from the explosion has not spread, which Sara took as a good sign but she needed to check into it.
The blonde barked orders at most of her riders, sending them to investigate the smoke and report back to her. Most of the group split off, racing towards the smoke, while the others stayed with the blonde woman to see how she dealt with the Invaders.
“Well, Alexandria kom Skaikru. I am Sara kom Ingranrona,” she said with a hint of a smile. “Let me be the first to welcome you to the Plains.” Her blue eyes turned to Alexandria's mother, silently asking for her name.
“Nyssa,” The woman breathed out. “Nyssa Gordon. And this is my daughter, Alexandria Gordon. Kom, erm, Skaikru... I suppose.”
Sara smiled at the woman and offered her and to the young mother. Nyssa dropped the stolen spear, and extended her hand to shake it. She didn't expect the blonde warrior to grab her forearm. Nor did she expected it to hurt, but it did. Nyssa let out a sharp hiss, pulling her arm away. She rolled up the sleeve to reveal ripped skin, and black blood oozing from the cut.
“Natblida,” Sara breathed out in awe.
“What does that mean?” Nyssa asked, using her hand to cover the wound.
Her black blood held no significance on the Ark, it was just rare and those with it had tended to heal quicker, among other things. Very few had it, and they all lived on Polaris Station, Nyssa's old home until they moved to Farm Station. Here, her blood seemed to be more important, which worried her.
“Nightblood.” Sara replied, “you have it.” Her eyes glanced down to Alexandria, silently questioning whether the girl had it or not.
“Why does it matter?” Nyssa asked, sharply. She pulled her child close, almost daring them to come closer.
The blonde raised her hands. As if to put the mother at ease, though it did nothing. “It is a gift. In Trikru, they honor the Natblida. It is the blood of the Commander. The clans, they have an agreement that all Natblida are to be sent to Polis. There they train for the honor of ascending to the Commander.”
“I am no Commander,” Nyssa spat out. “Just a fallen woman, with nothing but the will to protect her child.”
Sara smiled at her. “Get knocked down, get up again.”
“I am afraid there is no way to get back up from here,” Nyssa replied to her, her eyes glancing up towards the sky. No, there was no way to get back to the Ark.
“Not if you do not try,” Sara told her, extending her hand once again.
Nyssa gingerly took the hand, letting Sara pull her to her feet.
“Come, it is time to get back up again.”
Ingranrona translated into the Plains Riders. The group was an interesting one, with interesting rules. For example, a rider who is knocked from his horse in honorable combat, will lose the horse to the person who knocked him from it. So, within their first few hours on Earth, Nyssa managed to win a horse. So she had that going for her.
“So this is a horse,” she said as Sara helped her up on the mighty beast.
“You have never seen a horse?” Sara asked her once she was comfortable on her own beast.
“There are no horses in the sky,” Nyssa reminded her. “I have never seen grass or trees either.”
“And what do you think?”
Nyssa smiled, “it is much better than the sky.” The air smelled fresh. The grass and trees were a thing of beauty. Nyssa always knew she loved plants, it was part of why she moved to Farm Station in the first place, but Farm Station was nothing compared to Earth.
Earth was a beautiful wonderland.
“I like Earth,” Alexandria said with a smile.
“What is the sky like?” Sara asked as the rode. The group was taking the riding slowly for their newcomers, and Nyssa was thankful. They did not seem too sour about moving slowly, as they were able to learn about life in the sky. Everyone was interested in that.
“Very cold. Or, what I imagine the cold to be. The temperature always stayed the same,” Nyssa answered. “We lived in a very large metal holding container, a metal box if you will, just waiting to return to Earth. We thought we were the only ones left alive. No one knew that humans survived the bombs. So you must imagine our surprise to see another friendly face.”
“We like to think we are friendly, despite the greeting given earlier,” the other warriors laughed at that. Except the man who lost his horse. He was a bit sour as he rode with another person. But, overall, everyone seemed pleasant.
Nyssa and Alexandria spoke of their time in space, talking about how they saw the stars all the time, and the moon and the sun. The others were in awe of their stories, and there were many questions. Nyssa answered them to the best of her ability, with Alexandria adding her two cents every so often.
The group set their sights on the closest village. According to Sara, there were many small villages along the Plains. The Plains were very large, so large that it took a full two weeks to ride from one end to another. In the center of their territory was the largest city, and their resided the Chief of the Ingranrona. The Chief was the best warrior of the Ingranrona people. Upon his or her death, the battle for the next Chief would be called. Riders from all over the territory would come and fight for the glory of being Chief.
“To the death?” Nyssa asked Sara.
“No. That is foolish. Then we would lose all our warriors.” Foolish indeed. “The best four fighters after the Chief become the Four Captains.”
The riders themselves came from many different villages. They were divided into four groups, each group representing one of the four cardinal directions. Nyssa and Alexandria learned that Sara was the Leader of the East Riders, and their mascot was a bright yellow bird, Nyssa recognized it as a Canary.
“Did you fight to become Chief and not make it?” Nyssa asked her.
“No,” Sara replied. “Should a Captain fall, others may battle for the position, same as Chief. I fought. I won.”
“You must be very accomplished.”
The blonde shrugged. She was very modest at least. “Come, the village is in sight.”
The riders picked up speed, making their ride to the village quick. Picking up speed, while nice, made both Nyssa and Alexandria sore. Their inexperience was obvious when they went to dismount. Thankfully, Sara was there to catch Nyssa when she fell off.
“You are strong!” Nyssa said when Sara caught her without falling over.
“You are just light,” Sara replied, helping her to stand on her wobbly legs. “Both of you.” She reached for Alexandria, carefully pulling the girl off the horse and carrying her gently. “Come, you must be treated and rest. Falling from the sky and surviving is no easy feat."
Sara escorted the group through the village. It was small, at least to Nyssa. Sara said that they had around fifty people, making it a decent sized village according to the blonde. Most people in the village were farmers, but there was a few hunters and fisherman, along with a healer and only one warrior. Sara explained that since they were so close to the center of their territory, they had very little need for warriors. Hunters often acted as soldiers if needed, but that was rare.
“Come, sit, rest,” Sara told her, opening the door to a smaller stone house. Well, it was mostly stone with some wood and metal panels. Inside was what looked like a bed with many furs and a few weapons and clothes. Light filtered in through makeshift windows, making the room brighter.
“Are you sure the owner will not mind that two strangers are here?” Nyssa asked, taking a seat on the bed.
Sara gently placed Alexandria on the bed by Nyssa before taking off her armor and helmet and placing it on a wooden table.
“The owner will be fine. Please, rest. I will return with a healer and food and water,” Sara told her, now wearing a simple pair of breeches and a simple cloth shirt.
Shrugging, Nyssa fell back onto the bed, pulling Alexandria to her chest. She didn't realize she had fallen asleep until Sara returned with a young blonde woman.
“Natblida!” She gasped, seeing Nyssa’s injuries. She spoke in some language that Nyssa did not understand, and Sara replied. After a moment, she began gently wrapping up Nyssa's wounds.
“She wishes to examine you, if that is alright.” Sara said when the blonde turned to talk to Sara. “Both of you. She is a good healer. She will not speak of what she has seen.” Sara told her, most likely referring to her black blood. “But she is curious to know how you left Polis alive. She does not believe you fell from the sky.”
“You may tell her that I do not know what a Polis is. I am just a woman who fell from space.” Nyssa informed her while taking off her shirt, well trying to take it off. She found herself unable to lift her left arm very well.
Sara made her way over to Nyssa and gripped the bottom of her faded shirt. The tanned woman nodded, silently giving the blonde permission to remove the shirt. Sara was very gentle in removing the shirt, trying not to hurt Nyssa any more than she was. Once it was off, the healer made her lay back so she could do her examination. A few injuries had begun to scab over, but the deeper ones did not. A deep gash on her back was not planning on scabbing any time soon, so the healer had to actually stitch it up. Nyssa was not a fan of it, and neither was the healer, but it had to be done. Nyssa took the pain in silence, trying not to make a noise, and failing. She never had stitches without anesthetic.
Her back was not the only place in need of stitches. Once Nyssa was made to remove her pants, a gash on her thigh required stitches as well. She let them happen, doing her best not to move. Once the healer was finished with Nyssa, she turned to Alexandria.
“No!” The girl cried out. She saw the stitches and she did not want them.
“Alexandria,” Nyssa started off in a tired voice.
“No! The girl shouted again.
“Mama did it,” Nyssa pointed out.
She still vehemently shook her head. It was only when Sara bribed the girl with a warm bowl of stew, did Alexandria acquiesce. Thankfully, she just needed a few bandages and she was good to go.
Sara said something in a language Nyssa did not know. The healer nodded and then left the little house, giving some sort of greeting or farewell in the strange language.
Nyssa found it strange that she did not know the language, as her family had been keepers of the old languages for many years. At least, until she moved to Farm Station. At the time, Nyssa regretted the sudden move, but now she was thankful. The preservation of cultures was not as important as learning how to grow crops and what plants are good and what ones are not.
“Why do you stare at me, so?” Sara asked her, offering the woman what looked to be a robe.
Gingerly, as to not rip her stitches, Nyssa took the offered garment and put it on. It was soft, something she did not expect, and warm.
“You speak a language that I do not know,” Nyssa told her simply. “I know many of the old languages, but this one I am unfamiliar with. It is strange to me.”
“You know gonasleng,” Sara pointed out, “are there more languages?”
“Many,” Nyssa confirmed, her arm gently wrapped around her daughter.
Alexandria was slurping down the stew that Sara offered her. She ate so fast that Nyssa expected her to choke, yet she did not.
“This is yummy, Mama!” Alexandria said, looking up at her mother with her bright green eyes. “Try some!”
Nyssa smiled as her little one offered her what little amount of stew that she had left. Her daughter had a big heart, and was always willing to share. She knew not where that trait came from, but she was thankful nonetheless.
“I am not hungry, little one,” Nyssa lied as she often did. “You eat it. You are a growing girl, after all.”
Her daughter studied her. Nyssa wondered if she was aware of her lies, but if the girl was, she gave no indication. Instead she continued eating the stew. What Nyssa didn't expect was a small bowl to be thrust into her hands.
“Eat,” Sara said, sitting on the dirt floor. “You are unwell. You must eat and recover.”
Normally Nyssa would refuse. She hated charity. She hated when the others would try to give her their rations when she was pregnant with Alexandria, and even afterwards, she hated when they tried to help her. She could provide for herself and her child on her own! But this time… this time Nyssa relented. There was something that told her that the blonde would shove the food down her throat if she refused. So, Nyssa took a bite.
“This is amazing!” Nyssa said as she swallowed the meaty, flavorful goodness that was this stew.
“It's just stew,” Sara said with her eyebrow raised.
“We do not have stew like this in the sky,” Nyssa told her before taking another bite. “This is literally the best thing I have ever eaten in my entire life.” A shiver ran down her spine as the warm liquid reached her belly. Nothing on the Ark ever tasted so good, she couldn't help but let a moan of pleasure out as she ate.
“I– I will let you enjoy your meal,” Sara told her while suddenly standing up. Nyssa noticed her ears were bright red and her neck seemed to be turning red as well.
The blonde left quickly, off to do something or another, Nyssa did not know. All she did know was that she had a warm stew within reach, soft furs beneath her, and her daughter was safely tucked next to her. They were on Earth, and this was the second best day of her life.