Denouement
Nia's face clenched in anger as Lexa threw all she had at her, knowing the Ice Queen wouldn't be stupid nor reckless enough to dare declare war to her. Or at least hoping she wouldn't, because, truth was, not all of the clans had joined her coallition. But Nia didn't know that, she couldn't, right?
The platinum blonde woman turned around as she spoke in the rare Trigedasleng dialect that was only spoken amongst Azgeda, so that no one but her soldiers would understand what she was saying. Still, her tone and facial expression didn't leave much to the imagination, her rage more and more obvious as she kept speaking.
Titus approached Lexa as Azgeda held their improvised war council, his mouth forming a thin line
"Why didn't you tell me about this?" He whispered to his Heda
"Yera never told you, so I didn't see a reason to act otherwise"
Hurt showed on Titus' expression as he took a deep breath
"How long have you been planning this?"
That was it for Lexa. The man had been by her side since she first arrived as a novitiate and had taught her most of what she knew about their culture, being Heda and their beliefs, but she wouldn't stand this any longer. He kept meddling and interfering in both her personal life and battle strategies, and she needed to make her point clear.
"I do not answer to you, Titus. Or anyone for that matter. I am your Heda, and as much as I appreciate your teachings, there is no reason why I have to explain to you every single one of my plans. This has been a secret for many years because an unfulfilled alliance could've brought us more war, which was exactly what we wanted to avoid. Yera and I..."
Nia loudly cleared her throat, startling Clarke and most everyone in the room. Lexa stopped talking to Titus as she stood gracefully in front of Nia. Then, the Ice Queen said the words she both feared and hoped for.
"Azgeda will join your alliance."
Lexa nodded "The vowing ceremony will take place at sunset in this very room."
Nia clenched her jaw and started walking away with her soldiers following just a few steps behind her. No one dared to stop them.
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"I don't care" Clarke walked into Lexa's chambers as the other girl dangerously started rising her voice at one of her captains, who must've done something to really piss her off. "Lincoln, I didn't call for you, I called for your clan's ambassador. Do you want Nia to throw her entre army at us?"
"I understand, Heda. But he said he was needed elsewhere, I'm just here on his behalf to deliver the message." The man's struggle was obvious, he had known both Lexa and Clarke for over a year and was facing the shame of dissapointing his Heda.
Clarke spoke up then "Lexa... It's not his fault, I mean, its not like he could've dragged the ambassador all the way to Polis."
"I know" Lexa sighed as she rubbed her temples, trying to figure out a solution as she instantly came up with one. She looked out of the window "it's already almost sundown. Let's go."
Lincoln was as confused as Clarke "But Heda...the ambassador..."
Lexa tiredly replied "Your clan's ambassador hasn't been branded. Therefore, you'll be branded in his place."
Lincoln didn't have the time to reply as they walked in once again into the Main Hall, this time it was filled with every clan's ambassadors, with whom Lincoln took place as Clarke stood next to the other warriors. Lexa stood before her throne as she motioned for one of the Trikru, who bore a hot iron with the Commander's symbol on it.
All of the different clan's ambassadors were branded one after another, with a disgusting sound of burning flesh every time the iron touched their skins, and making the room smell awkwardly. Finally, Nia sent the warrior designed to be Azgeda's ambassador: her very own son, Roan. When the time came for him to vow their loyalty to Lexa he very reluctantly and after a long, tense minute complied to do so.
Lexa knew this wasn't it, that Azgeda would try and attack them, that they didn't want the alliance and would try to break it even if it was the last thing they did. But for now, this was a victory.
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Once the ceremony ended, Lexa went back to her chambers as Clarke pretended to go to her own ones, only to sneak out to Lexa's, once again entering through the window. The brunette, already in her nightgown, turned around startled as she heard the other girl's footsteps
"So that's how you got in here last night." she smiled
Clarke smiled back. She never realised how much she missed Lexa's smile until she saw it again.
"You should smile more often, it suits you" she said as she threw herself on Lexa's bed, shifting into a few uncomfortable positions before laying on her back
Lexa sat by her side on the bed as she ran her hands through blond hair "Yeah. But you know, I am not allowed to be in love, or to care about someone, or to like, have feelings" she sighed sadly
Clarke turned around to look at her. She decided it was finally time for them to have the big, tough talk"Lexa. I know what you've always been told, that you shouldn't be in love. That we couldn't...You know...be a thing. But love..." she caressed Lexa's cheek
Lexa looked at her sadly "Love is weakness." She mockingly quoted Indra "But isn't it a wonderful one?" She smiled, but the sadness remained on her face
"No, Lexa. Our love, it's not weakness. It's strength. It's what has made me go on for all of this years. Even when we didn't know what we felt, even when we fought it to make things easier for us. It's what made me get up in the morning when I hadn't eaten for days and I knew I had to find us something. It's what's made me a better warrior, knowing that I had someone to go home to. This love you call weakness, this is where our strength comes from, Alexandria. I don't know where we'd be right now without the other. But I know this has saved me. You have."
A sole tear fell from Lexa's eyes as she kissed Clarke.