Chapter 10
Costia realised what happened and came up behind Lexa to help her stand. Not letting panic set in, she helped Lexa to Clarke's room and made her lie down. She checked on her quickly, and after offering reassurance that it may look bad but she wouldn't let her die, she went back to the other room. Titus had obviously panicked upon seeing what he'd done, and whoever the other man was whom Clarke seemed to know, he took advantage of that to overpower him and tie him up to... What exactly had happened in Clarke's antechamber? There was some kind of pallet, and ropes... But she'd had time to figure that out later, she thought as she grabbed Clarke. She'd need all the help she could get to save Lexa, and if Titus was waving a gun around, he definitely wasn't gonna be that help. Not that she'd ever trusted him, but this was still a blow. She was glad he was tied up. Clarke's friend was holding Lexa's sword to his neck for now, and if he weren't doing that, Costia might have picked it up and sliced Titus's throat herself without further ado. She focused on Clarke instead: there was much to do, and very little time.
"Go get the guards!"
Clarke evidently wanted to stay with Lexa, and was looking towards her room, not quite sure what to do with herself, so Costia added, "They'll know you, not like your friends here, they won't kill you on sight! Make them get the best healers in town, I'm not sure we can do this on our own. And they'll have to get Titus, I don't want him around while we work." She thought back to the last time Lexa almost died on her, and Titus was more preoccupied with getting that damn chip in her neck than with saving her, and she shuddered.
"Work?"
"We'll have to operate, Clarke, the bullet is still inside. She won't make it otherwise. I'll need medicine to dull the pain, and sharp instruments. Tell them to get that for me, they'll know. And water and clean towels! Just tell them! And come back - she'd want you to be here. I want you to be here. Help me save her!"
Costia was practically pleading, now, her hand on Clarke's arm. Clarke squeezed it, and rushed out in search of the Commander's Guards, wherever they could be hiding. she hoped they weren't on Titus's side and wouldn't try to kill her, a thought that had escaped her when she saw Costia so desperate and Lexa clearly in danger.
She found some of them in front of Lexa's and Costia's door, at the opposite side of the floor, weapons drawn. They did not relax when they saw her approach, but at least they made no move to hurt her. She didn't wait to catch her breath before she explained the situation. Their captain barked orders, dividing Costia's commands amongst them, then rushed with Clarke towards her apartments to deal with Titus. As they ran, Clarke barely keeping up and him barely out of breath, he quickly explained that they'd heard the gunshots and looked to defend Lexa's rooms, where she was supposed to be. Before Clarke could observe that they were terrible guards to protect an empty room, he added that the ones who first arrived and didn't check that she was there would be in trouble.
When they reached her antechamber and the captain pointed his sword at Murphy, she realised that in her haste she'd forgotten to mention him.
"He's with me!" she yelled, hoping that Murphy wouldn't break her trust on this one. "Titus had him prisoner, he wanted to scapegoat him for my murder!" She sighed as the captain relaxed, and moved towards the Flamekeeper. "I don't have time for this shit!" and rushed towards her room, where Costia was holding Lexa's hand and trying to calm her. She seemed delirious, sweat covered her brow, and for now all Costia could have done was to bandage the wound while she waited for the proper tools to arrive. Servants were already coming in with bowls and wet towels, and Clarke took one as she approached the bed, to wipe the sweat off Lexa's brow and keep the fever low.
"I swear, Lex, I will kill him myself!" Costia muttered. "And shut up, too, I'm not letting you die! I'll go to hell and fetch you back myself if I have to."
Lexa smiled at them both through the pain. "My spirit would live on..." She saw their glares and amended: "But I've got the two best healers in the Twelve Clans with me, so that won't happen."
She was clearly saying that to reassure them more than herself, but Clarke considered it a small victory that they managed to make her think positively. Sometimes all it took to tip the scales in a hopeless case was some hope. And it was just a bullet, she told herself. She'd done worse operations. There had been poisoned spears and infected chest wounds... Here they had the best skills of the Clans in Polis; medicine and sharp surgical tools, and Costia of them all was reputed to be the best, the one who took on the worst cases and succeeded. Lexa would be okay. She had to!
It did help that Costia was keeping her calm somewhat - Clarke had no idea how she did that, because she was herself very close to freaking out, but her presence was grounding. And it seemed to help Lexa keep off the dark thoughts too.
Costia's kit arrived straight from their rooms, but the other healers were still far from there, and Costia did not want to wait any longer.
"Alright, we're doing this." She poured some powder in a ceramic glass, added some water and made Lexa drink it. "No protesting, I'm not having you entirely conscious throughout."
Lexa was still strong, though, and well awake in spite of the pain, that probably would have made anyone else faint. She gripped both their hands. "If I don't make it..."
"This won't happen I tell you!" Costia almost shouted, tears now streaming down her face, finally losing her resolve in the face of Lexa's conviction that she wouldn't make it.
Lexa squeezed her hand tighter. "Still, if I don't. You have to promise me you'll do what is right. Protect the spirits of the ancestors. Both of you." She looked into Clarke's eyes, who was now very confused, as well as trying not to shatter in pieces.
"What's going on? Lexa, are you... Is she hallucinating."
"No, but no time for explanations," Costia straightened up. "We'll talk about it after. Once Lexa wakes up." She added forcefully.
"A wise woman once helped me to see that emotions aren't weaknesses. So if this is the last thing I say—" She pressed a finger to Costia's lips before she could protest. She was slowly losing consciousness from Costia's potion, and she hated not feeling in control enough. She hated that it might be her last moments and she may not have time to say what she wanted. That she might die in her sleep while they were trying to save her and she could not say anything to ease the pain "No, let me finish. We both know operations are dangerous. And if I die, I want you to know-" She looked between them with eyes that were becoming veiled. "I love you, both of you."
When she passed out right after saying that, Clarke almost panicked, but Costia put her hands on her shoulders. "Look at me! It's normal, it's the medicine - she's still breathing, look! Now we can operate and she won't suffer. We got to do this now, we don't have much time, we don't know how much damage there is - are you with me? Will you be able to focus?"
Clarke nodded.
"Alright. Then let's make sure her trust wasn't misguided."