Homesickness
The last hours the girls spent gathering their belongings and packing for Polis were harder than either girl had expected. For years they'd lived in that house, created so many memories inside it, grown up in there... the place wasn't a house anymore for either of them. It was a home.
They both were overwhelmed by their feelings as they looked at the house one last time. None of them wanted to break the silence, nor were they sure that they'd be able to express what they felt. They didn't know when or if they were going to come back.
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They got on their horses as they rode towards the sunset. It was a long journey to Polis and there was no time to waste. Indra travelled a few metres before them, leaving the girls some privacy.
Lexa approached Clarke and they kept riding in silence for a while. Clarke's eyes looked a darker shade of blue as dark feelings clouded her mind. What if Lexa rejected her once she became Heda? What if her subjects objected to their relationship? No Heda had ever kept an official lover because of the risk it entailed. Would they have to hide from the world?
Clarke shook her head as she tried not to think so much. Then the darkest of all thoughts crossed her mind: what if Lexa died?
"Hey, you're going to be fine" Lexa smiled, but her eyes betrayed her. It was clear she was as scared as Clarke. Still, they both decided to pretend they hadn't noticed.
"Yeah, I know" Clarke smiled back
"So, is there something you want to see in Polis?"
Clarke played along with the light-hearted conversation. She wasn't in the mood for big talk. Not yet, anyway.
"I can think of someone..." she said cheekily
"You're such a child" Lexa giggled
They went on talking and shamelessly flirting for most of the road to Polis. However, a few minutes before arriving, Lexa spoke up
"Clarke, I need you to promise me something"
Clarke knew what Lexa's intentions were way before she asked
"Whatever it is, if it involves anything happening to you, I won't..."
"Please" Lexa cut her off mid-sentence "just...if I die..."
"No. You won't"
"If... I were to die" Lexa clenched her jaw "please. I've always wanted you to keep this"
She took off the necklace she always wore, a simple black thread with a small green bead of the exact shade of Lexa's eyes.
"I... you've always had that..." Clarke let Lexa put the necklace on her
"I could ask you to live on, to forget me..." Lexa sighed "but I know you. You're stubborn and won't listen" Clarke made a face but then smiled since she knew every word was true "so I want you to have this...as a memory of me. Something to hold on to after I'm gone"
Clarke held Lexa's hand "I'll keep it. But because I like it. You're not going to die at the Conclave. You...." Clarke's voice broke "you can't die"
They stared intensely at each other, the moment only broken by Indra's voice
"Behold the city of Polis"
And that way, hand in hand, both girls got into the city, filled with uncertainty.