The Devastation
There was still smoke in the atmosphere when Lexa and her soldiers arrived to the village. Nothing was left but ruins and shambles, scraps of what had been the place where a group humble, yet fierce farmers had lived for the past century. Though none of them were professional warriors, they were not to be messed with, because, like every other grounder, they'd defend their people and what was theirs.
Lexa got off her horse and walked with Clarke and Octavia behind her.
"Look for survivors" she mumbled
"Lexa..." Clarke whispered
"You heard me" she repeated, her voice cracking. They knew they wouldn't find anyone. But Lexa had to believe they could.
They split as they wandered through the small village, which they explored in less than ten minutes due to its tiny size.
Octavia couldn't hold a tear back when she saw an entire family massacred as they slept: a couple and three children's bones rested on the remains of a bed in which they'd laid to sleep without knowing they were never going to wake up. The couple wouldn't have another anniversary. Their children would never grow up. They wouldn't create their own families. It was all gone.
Clarke found the remains of a little hut, no people were inside it, but she caught a glimpse of human bodies in the garden beside the house. She slowly walked closer to them, and what she saw broke her heart. Both bodies were entangled with each other. No, not entangled exactly, she realised. They were hugging. They knew what was coming upon them, and tried to protect each other. They died in each other's arms.
Lexa saw both scenes. She saw the entire village. Every body. Every story. And not a clue of who'd done it. That was the work of a coward. Grounders always left their brand whenever they attacked someone. She counted every single body and mourned all of their losses. Once she'd seen them all, she decided it was time to leave for Polis. The village would be left as a ghost one in respect for the lost ones.
------------
Once they arrived to Polis, Lexa gathered all of the ambassadors and captains in the Great Hall, as well as everyone who wished to attend. Octavia and Clarke were there next to Lexa's side, since they were both respected and admired by the grounders.
"I speak to you on behalf of our lost brothers and sisters. There'll be no mercy for the authors of the slaughtering of hundreds of people. The great coallition has been betrayed, and those of you who have done that will suffer the consequences of it. You're not getting away with this."
She needn't say anything else before the room kneeled before her as she walked away.
--------
A pair of ghost eyes laid on a girl. They knew that girl was the key. They'd use the girl. They smiled.
--------
Clarke climbed, once again entering Lexa's room through the window. She approached the other girl and hugged her from behind, Lexa leaning into her touch. They remained quiet for a while. Then tears started falling from Lexa's eyes. She turned around and cried heavily on Clarke's shoulder. She cried for everyone they'd lost, feeling every death as her own.
Clarke held her until she calmed down a bit, then both of them laid on the bed still hugging.
"I failed them" she said with a cracked voice
"No, Lex, you couldn't have done anything to help it"
"I could've sent someone to protect them, troops, an army, I...there has to be, people can't just die..."
"Alexandria. There is nothing you could've done to protect them. They were killed by someone so ruthless they would've massacred any other village and not given a damn about it."
Lexa breathed raggedly
"Lexa..."
"That's the worse. I am fucking Heda. And I couldn't do anything."
They stared into each other's eyes. Massacring a village like that was an act of war no one would dare to do unless they knew they could win, which meant a great deal of their allies must've been backstabbing them for at least as long as the coallition had been standing. People would want revenge. They still didn't know against who, but there would be a civil war. And there was nothing they could do to stop it.
------
The eyes fixated on her. Suffering was coming. Greater than anyone had ever felt. Greater than she could expect. They were going to make her suffer. They were going to break her.