Chapter Text
Sometime in the future…
Her sword cut cleanly through the flesh of the invader, the sharp blade coming away slick with fresh blood. She barely had time to savor her enemy’s defeat when his body collapsed into the snow, revealing another behind him. She did not care that the boy did not reach for a weapon. She did not care that he cried out for mercy. And when her blade sunk into the boy’s neck, she did not care that he was only just that. A boy. Young and full of fear. Perhaps just a year or two younger than herself.
She cared for none of it. All she cared about was how easy it was to cut these invaders down. All around her she could hear their bodies hitting the snow, one thud after another. She had lost count how many invaders she had defeated when she realized that the hardest part of the battle was not the slaughter, but what they were going to do with the ship that carried these invaders into her home. The giant monstrosity of metal and tin would not fall as easily as the corpses that turned the snow red.
The ship would be difficult, but it would eventually fall. Clarke was certain of it.
Sometime in the past…
She did not expect to feel this way. For the last several weeks the seven-year-old brunette had spent her days training with the other Nightbloods with blunt metal training swords. She was already accustomed to its weight, but this was different. For one thing the small blade Lexa held in her hand was not a blunted training sword. The edges of the short blade were sharp, easily capable of cutting through an enemy. It was not an overly remarkable short sword. In fact, it was very plain. But this was her first real sword, and that made it all different.
“You like it?” Anya asked, seated against the trunk of a tree.
“Sha,” Lexa finally looked up at the twelve-year-old blonde. “Mochof .”
“Remember, you can’t bring that to your lessons. You are only to use it if you have no other choice,” Anya replied as she climbed back up onto her feet. “Now, sheathe your blade and walk with me around the village.”
Lexa slid the short blade into its sheath she had immediately strapped around her waist when Anya had first presented her gift. The older girl had already started walking, forcing the young girl to run to catch up. “What was it like to be named seken?”
Anya shrugged. “I don’t know how to explain it. The gonakru came from Polis and watched everyone in my age group practice. Then I was pulled aside and a gona named me his seken.” A smile began to tug on the older girl’s lips. “It was a good moment.”
“You will be a good seken,” a bright smile stretching onto Lexa’s face. “I’ve seen you train with the older kids. You beat them every time.”
“Of course I do,” Anya laughed, playfully punching Lexa in the shoulder. “You better get taller while I’m away. I’m getting tired of always looking down at you.” Anya’s hand ruffled with Lexa’s hair which earned the blonde a scowl from the small warrior.
Lexa reached up and tried to shove Anya’s hand away from her head. “Why can’t you keep training here?”
“You know why, Lexa,” Anya’s smile faltered as she allowed the brunette to push her hand away. “I have my orders, and I must go to continue my training as seken."
The two friends fell silent for a bit, the sounds of the village sweeping around them; children training in the small training yards, craftsmen working outside their huts crafting goods they planned to sell in Polis, hunters coming and going stocking up on meats for their families. But after a while, the silence hanging over the two broke as Lexa looked up at Anya.
“I will miss you.”
Anya was about to respond when a shout broke out.
“Klark! Klark come back!”
Anya took off in a run towards the source of the shouting. Lexa hurried after, trying to keep up with the older girl’s long strides. When Lexa finally caught up with Anya, they were outside of a hut. An older woman Lexa had seen many times around the village looked first to Anya, then to Lexa, and then back to Anya.
“What is wrong?” Anya asked.
“Klark has run off into the woods,” the woman gestured to the tree-line that marked the border of their village. “I tried to stop her, but she runs fast for a goufa. Please, you must help me find her.”
“Don’t worry,” Anya placed a hand on the woman’s shoulder. “She will be found.” The older girl’s attention shifted down to Lexa. “Go find the gonakru. Tell them what has happened, and then wait in the village for our return.”
“But I can help you find her,” Lexa replied. “She couldn’t have gone too far, and I know these woods just as well as you.”
“Do not argue with me, Lexa,” Anya had already started moving towards the tree-line. “Find the gonakru and stay here.”
Lexa crossed her arms and frowned as Anya disappeared into the trees. Why did she have to stay behind? Both of them could easily find this runaway gada. Just because she was smaller than Anya didn’t mean she was weaker. After a moment, Lexa let out a huff. Fine. They would do it Anya’s way again. It didn’t take the young girl long to find the few warriors in the village. It took an even shorter amount of time for the warriors to race off into the trees to aid Anya while Lexa remained behind.
Seated on a fallen log, Lexa watched the tree-line waiting for Anya to emerge with the child. However, as the day wore on none of the warriors that had gone into the trees to find Clarke had returned. The sun was beginning its descent when Lexa had finally made up her mind. She was tired of sitting on this log waiting for Anya to come back. She could do more than wait. She could help. She knew the woods well, and if Clarke was not found before nightfall than the Reapers might get her.
Lexa stood up from her seat on the log and rushed off into the trees before anyone could stop her. The small brunette immediately bent down, searching the dirt for any tracks that could put her on the girl’s trail. Unfortunately, all Lexa could find were large boot prints left by the older warriors. So Lexa started searching all the places she would hide if she had runaway. However, all the hiding spots Lexa checked did not yield any results. Night was dangerously close to settling, and the young warrior was considering returning home when she heard sniffling. Lexa followed the sound of the sniffles until she came upon a small pond. Seated on a small, smooth boulder at the bank of the pond was a young blonde haired girl who couldn’t be older than four or five. Her cheeks were red and wet with tears and her eyes…her eyes were the bluest Lexa had ever seen.
The small blonde sniffled again and looked over towards Lexa. “Who are you?”
“I am Lexa kom Trikru,” the brunette answered. Lexa waited for the blonde to speak again, but when the girl instead turned her attention back onto the pond, the young warrior was unsure how to proceed. After a few moments, Lexa started walking towards the boulder. “We must return to the village before it gets any later.”
The blonde shook her head and hugged her knees to her chest. “I’m not going back.”
Lexa paused as she reached the boulder. “But your nomon is worried about you.”
Those startling blue eyes snapped back to Lexa, suddenly blazing. “She is not my nomon! I have no nomon, and if I did she would not send me away!”
Lexa’s mouth opened, but no words came. She…she had not expected that. Lexa knew very little about the young blonde. She had not seen her around the village much, but she spent most of her time with the other Nightbloods. It would be unlikely for their paths to cross. But the only times when Lexa had heard of people being sent away were warriors or outcasts. Never children.
“Why are you being sent away?” Lexa asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence.
“Another family from Azgeda wants me,” the blonde started wiping the tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand. “Going to live with them will make everyone happy. But I do not want to go.”
Lexa looked down at her feet for a moment before nodding. “I would not want to go either. May I sit with you?” When the blonde nodded, Lexa climbed up onto the boulder and settled down next to the girl. From where they were sitting they had a great view of the pond, its surface as still as glass.
“I am Klark.”
Lexa smiled. “I know. We have been looking for you.”
“Oh. How old are you?” Clarke asked.
“I have seen seven summers,” Lexa held up seven fingers. “What about you?”
Clarke held up her right hand. “Five.” She dropped her hand back down to her lap. “You have a sword.”
Lexa looked down at the short sword hanging by her hip. She looked back at Clarke, warm pride filling the small warrior. “It is a gift from a friend. Do you want to see it?” A nod from Clarke had Lexa climbing down the boulder and pulling the short blade from her sheath. She held it towards Clarke so she could see the blade before performing a few basic sword techniques she had been working on with the other Nightbloods earlier in the day. Clarke watched, enchanted by Lexa’s graceful movements and the sound of sharp metal slicing through the air. When Lexa was done Clarke couldn’t help but clap her hands. A blush crept onto the brunette’s cheeks.
As Lexa carefully sheathed her short blade, she took note of the fading light. Night was fast approaching and they could not stay out here much longer. “My friend is being sent away too. She is going to be a seken. I do not want her to go, but sometimes we have to do things we don’t like.”
Clarke’s smile faltered, fresh tears threatening to slip free. “Azgeda will never be home.”
“Nobody said you can’t come home once you’re old enough,” Lexa replied.
Now it was Clarke who was at a loss for words. Not once, since learning that she would be leaving for Azgeda tomorrow, did it ever occur to her that this move didn’t have to be permanent. She could return home once she was of age. She could eventually come home.
Lexa and Clarke were almost to the village, night finally settling, when a tall figure stepped out from behind a tree, blocking their path. Lexa’s hand immediately fell to the hilt of her short sword, ready to face whatever threat had dared to cross their path, when the pale light of the moon revealed the figure’s identity.
“Onya,” Lexa sighed, relief rushing over her.
“I told you to stay in the village,” Anya nearly growled.
“But I found Klark,” Lexa gestured to the blonde beside her who was staring up at Anya with wide eyes.
Pinching the bridge of her nose, Anya pointed in the direction of the village. “Both of you better haul your butts back into the village. Now.”
Lexa didn’t wait for Anya to say anything more. She grabbed hold of Clarke’s hand and together they hurried across the forest floor until they finally reached the village. Anya stepped out of the trees shortly thereafter, along with the rest of the warriors who had gone in search for Clarke. Lexa didn’t stop running until they reached the first hut seated at the edge of the village. Lexa released Clarke’s hand and was about to speak but was immediately drowned out by the adults who hurried towards them. The tiny warrior waited for the adults to be done fussing over Clarke so she could speak, but that moment she sought never arrived. Instead, Lexa watched as the adults scooped Clarke up and carried the girl into another hut.
That was the last time Lexa saw Clarke. She had gone looking for her the following day after watching Anya depart for her seken training. However, the older woman who had been caring for Clarke informed Lexa that Clarke had already left for her new home in Azgeda.