Persphyni : I am Destruction

9

He didn't like that, his grip grew tighter as he now basically dragged me up the stairs and through the corridor to reach the elevator. I remained quiet until we reached the elevator. Scanning the corridor and outside to see rarely anyone but Ice Nation grounders. Once we were inside and moving upwards, I gave him a choice.

"You can take your hand off my arm or I'll take it off for you." My eyes on the metal door the entire time as I felt his stare on the side of my head. "If you were smart," I continued, my left hand snaking towards my dagger, "you'd know I wouldn't do anything that would possibly endanger my people. So I'll give you the option one last time. Keep you hand, or lose it." I felt his hand twitch making me smirk slightly.

"I thought the option was I take it off or you take it off." I pulled my dagger from my sheath.

"It was." Without waiting for him to digest my reply, I swung my blade towards his wrist. The metal biting into his skin and through the small fragile space between his hand and wrist bone.

Red blood squirted from his veins. The spray lightly coating the floor and doors of the elevator.

His cry of pain filled the elevator as I delivered a kick to the back of his leg, his body already falling as he cradled his left hand. Well, left stump.

Switching the blade to my right, I carefully peeled off the hand that surprisingly was still clamped onto my upper arm. Tossing the appendage in front of Randolf, I bent slightly and grabbed his braids. With a gentle pull, I lifted his head and set my dagger on his neck.

"Now, you're going to take me to the King. And when we reach him, you'll say nothing. Or else I'll cut out your tongue. Understand?" When he didn't answer I dug the blade further into his neck.

"Yes, yes! I understand, Wanlida." As soon as he agreed, I let go of my hold on him and sheathed my dagger. I grabbed hold of the tapestry that hung on the back of the elevator and tore a large portion with my hands.

"Do you have family, Randolf?" The man looked into my eyes as I knelt down and grabbed his left arm from his grasp. His eyes held anger and curiosity as he stared into my stoic green ones.

"Yes. Two girls. And a newborn on the way." I sucked on my tongue as I wrapped Randolf's arm, concentrating on slowing down the bleeding.

"Then I'm glad I didn't kill you." I finally spoke as I tucked the end of the cloth to secure the tie.

"To die at the hands of Wanlida would have been a better fate then a cripple." I rose an eyebrow as I stared straight into his angry eyes.

"Dying would have given me much more peace. But now you can return home and spend the rest of your life with your family as a local provider, rather than a simple guard who sees them once every season." He didn't argue. I saw the wheels turning in his head and eventually he gave up and dropped his head.

"Maybe you can put a hook on it." This time he rose an eyebrow at me as I stood. "You've never heard of the Pirate Captain Hook?" I offered him my right hand which he took and rose back to his giant height.

"Pirate? You Sky folk are strange." I went to respond but the metal doors opening stopped me from doing so.

We were at the top floor, the floor we had been going to all along.

"The King wished to speak with both you and Wanheda." Randolf informed as we began walking down the hallway.

"Perfect. I can find my own way there, you may want to go seek a healer." I called over my shoulder as I turned towards the throne room, never once looking to see whether he had acknowledged me or not.

"You wake up on the wrong side of Polis?" I asked as I saw Echo storm out of the throne room. "Or does the King not want your help, Spy?" Echo shot me a glare but continued past me down the hallway, two guards flanking her as she left, leaving two standing at the door.

"King Roan of Azgeda requested to see me." I spoke aloud taking a few steps towards them.

"Ai Haihefa, Wanlida-." One of the guards began to shout through the wooden doors.

"Let her through." Roan's response was quick and gruff. The two wooden doors open and I couldn't help the smirk that formed on my lips.

"Your Majesty." I mocked, curtsying with a smirk adorning my face. "How grateful I am to be in your presence." I continued before rising and walking towards the man crowned in deer bone.

"Something looks different. Did you cut your hair?" I heard Clarke hold back her snicker as Roan glared at me from his throne. "You know sitting only makes you shorter."

"Enough. I didn't call you here to pick on my appearance." I stopped beside the blonde and crossed my arms over my chest. My fingers fiddling with the small knife Adria had given me.

"Then please, King of Azgeda and Ruler of Polis, do enlighten me." I saw his hands dig into the chair as his knuckles became white before he released them.

"Wanheda has informed me that something is approaching. Something never seen before, what this is I have yet to hear." His gaze turned back to Clarke as he briefly filled me in on what has been talked about so far.

"You know the fire that ended the world." Clarke started.

"Praimfaya." I whispered, remembering the history of the Grounders.

"It'll be like that, a wave of radiation that'll kill everything in its path." Clarke finished after giving me a nod. Roan slowly stood, sighing like we had told him something to waste his time.

"Our ancestors survived Praimfaya. And so will we." He was right in front of Clarke now, my body shifting closer in case I needed to quickly get between.

"No, you won't. Not this time. Not without us." As if on cue, people down below began to yell in the streets. The shouting indistinguishable even for my own ears. The three of us looked towards the window where the shouts were filtering in.

"Look," Clarke began again as Roan and I crept towards the window, "I don't know if we can stop it. But if we can't, all of us will be dead in six months. Science is our only hope. Please, honor Lexa's coalition. Recognize Skairkru as the 13th clan so we can go home and come up with a way to survive. All of us." I walked closer to the window to see the large crowd gathered in the courtyard below, not bothering to correct the small false bit of information in that statement.

"She means it, your highness." I was sincere as I turned to face him. "If anyone can find a solution, it will be Skaikru. And I don't take you to be the guy who takes a throne only to die hated within the six month time frame where everyone he knows dies with him." I turned back to the window. Some of the roaring reaching my ears clearly. They wanted blood.

"But I also know, you could only have six days."