Chapter 5
Blood Earth Chapter 5
Pairing: Clexa
Rating: A-okay for Kiddies
Clarke struggled to open her eyes. She felt weak. Her breathing was ragged and she felt shivers up and down her spine. A comforting weight was laid atop her, body nestled into a nest of softness. While her discomfort from the illness still permeated every part of her, where ever she was laying was ten times better than the cold hard floor of Lock Up. Drawing in a steeling breathe, she cracked her eyes open.
Despite the dim lighting, the sudden brightness after being unconscious for so long made her head pound. Blinking a few times to lessen the pain, she examined her surroundings. She lay in a bed of furs, blankets drawn up to her nose. A curtain separates the sleeping area from what she assumes was the rest of a tent. A small gap in the barrier reveals a larger area, half a table is within view as well as a small portion of the tents entrance. Returning her gaze back to the sleeping area, she sees a low chair, empty, beside her bed, and a small table on the other side of it. A pitcher, a cup and a bowl sat on the table. Craning her head as far as it would allow, before exhaustion returned it to her pillow, she managed to spot a wooden chest near the foot of the cot. Lifting her hand slowly, she felt the damp cloth, now warm, resting on her forehead. Tucking her arm back under the blankets, she burrowed back down into their softness. A feverish fog had descended on her mind, making it difficult to think, but she knew someone would come and check on her eventually.
She didn’t have to wait long. The entrance to the tent was moved aside, more light streaming in, as someone came in. The harsh light forced the ill girl to shut her eyes tight, making her unable to see who had entered. She hears the sound of the curtain moving, and the creak of the chair. A gentle, but calloused hand is laid across her forehead as the cloth is taken away. The hand is gentle and soothing, Clarke almost whines when it is taken away and then replaced with a new, colder, cloth. The cold soothes her fever, clearing her heat idled mind enough to attempt a discrete look at her caretaker.
Cracking her eyes carefully, only looking through her eyelashes, she sees Lexa. Her coat had been discarded over the back of the chair she rested on. Even sitting on such a simple structure, she made it look like a throne. One leg resting on top of the other, she was obviously deep in thought, brow furrowed in concentration. Her shoulders were tense. Clarke recognized her slumped form as the position she took when she was drowning in responsibility, planning and worry. Clarke observed the other girl, still unaware of the ill girl’s wakefulness. She hunched further, pressing her face into her hands and rubbed at her eyes. The shift in posture made the older girl look older still. Her exhaustion was evident.
Lexa, heaving a sigh, suddenly stood from her chair, grabbing her coat and swung it back over her shoulders. Not wanting her to leave, Clarke attempted to sit up, to call out, but only a groan escaped her lips as she flopped uselessly back against the furs. Luckily, it seemed to be enough to draw Lexa’s attention. Pausing at the partition to the main tent, the brunette turned, hopeful eyes looking to the bed.
“Clarke…”
Lexa gasped her name as she fell to her knees next to the blonde’s head. A shaking, gentle hand cupped her jaw. A small smile tugged at Clarkes lips at the care and love the normally stoic girl was showing.
“Hey.”
She rasped, throat dry from the hours spent unconscious. Lexa’s thumb gently brushed along her cheekbone, almost as though she couldn’t believe she was really awake. Shaking herself from her moment of disbelief, the brunette removed her hand, much to Clarkes disappointment, and grabbed the pitcher on the table. After pouring water into the cup, she set the pitcher down and moved to help the ill girl sit up.
“You need to drink; you’ve been asleep for almost two days.”
Clarke started at that. Two days? She had been asleep for almost forty-eight hours. With Lexa’s help, she sat up, supported by the other girl. Her muggy thoughts prevented her from continuing her train of thought. The cup of water was brought to her lips. Drinking with a small amount of assistance, she felt better. The water cleared her throat as well as lifted a bit more of the fog that prevented clear comprehension. The only things she could really be certain of at this point were that, the illness had taken its toll, and Lexa, beautiful Lexa, was taking care of her. The brunette laid her back down carefully, brushing her hand against her forehead as she replaces the cool cloth.
“Your fever seems to be almost gone. It was worryingly high for the first day.”
Clarke nodded, relaxing back into the furs. Knowing Lexa, that probably meant that she had been ‘worryingly’ close to death. The brunette sat back in her chair, turning it so she could face the bed. Clarke reached out and took her hand where it had been resting limply in her lap.
“It is almost gone now, and that’s all that matters.”
Her words were meant to comfort, and when Lexa’s tense shoulders relaxed slightly, it seemed she succeeded at least a little bit. Now awake and comfortable, she turned her thoughts to what was happening outside. She had been asleep for two days. A lot can happen in that time.
“Lexa, what’s going on outside?”
The small amount of reprieve Lexa’s shoulders had gotten from being relaxed soon ended as her muscles coiled back into their tense state once again. Looking at their joined hands, the older girl began anxiously playing with the blonde girl’s fingers, avoiding her eyes.
“I don’t think now is the time for planning. You’ve been sleeping for so long, you need to-“
“Lexa.”
Clarkes tone had become firm, commanding. It surprised Lexa into meeting her gaze. Despite being physically weak, her eyes were strong. Mouth set in a grim line, she waited for the other girl’s response. Lexa sighed before squaring her shoulders and delivering her report.
“Two days ago myself and the army of the twelve clans came with the intention of attacking Arkadia. When we arrived there were no guards, and we were able to enter easily. We found the majority of your people gathered in the mess hall, most having come down with the illness or starting to show symptoms. Kane, already too weak to move told me where you were. I met with your mother, and agreed to have a force of healers assist her. She then had a man, Jackson, I believe take me to you and the people Arkadia had captured.”
Lexa breathed a heavy sigh before continuing, once again avoiding meeting Clarkes eyes.
“I had to treat the situation as a surrender. The guns have been seized, and, for now, the Skykru are under the custody of the Commander and the army of the twelve clans, but eventually blood must be answered. For the past two days I’ve had healers working around the clock to save as many of your people as they can, but once they are healed…”
Lexa stopped, worried what the blonde’s response would be. A gentle, but weak hand tips her head back up. Clarkes gaze is soft, understanding.
“Lexa, I know you’ve done the best you can. Honestly, this is better than we could have hoped for.”
Lexa had done what she could in the circumstances given to her, and Clarke knew that now. Living among the Trikru and in Polis had taught Clarke much about their ways. It gave her understanding and acceptance for the actions taken in the past as well as the actions Lexa was taking now.
“What will happen once everyone’s well?”
Lexa had continued playing with her hand again, lightly massaging her knuckles and gently tracing the lines of her palm. The response was so soft she almost didn’t hear.
“I don’t know yet.”
The older girl murmured. She looked uncertain. Clarke sighed, conceding that talking about this now wasn’t the best time.
“We don’t have to talk about it, but soon, before people start really walking around and becoming restless.”
The brunette nodded, accepting of these terms. Placing Clarkes hand back on the bed, Lexa moved to grab her coat again.
“I need to go speak with Abby, as well as find Nyco so I can get some medicine to hopefully fully rid you of this fever. I wont be gone long.”
Clarke nodded in acceptance as she saw the persona of the Commander slip onto the other girls face. She had duties to attend to, she couldn’t always stay with Clarke.
“Alright, do what you have to, I’ll be waiting.”
Clarke watched as she left, a small smile gracing her face.