archenemy | clexa

forty five

The army has regained full strength by Sunday. By the dawn of the next day, a legion of soldiers approaches Azgeda's camp.

They have hundreds of people. They have guns. They have the advantage of surprise. They will ruin Azgeda in one day.

When the army arrives at Azgeda's camp, it's a child's play. Horses and foot-soldiers surround a camp with run-down tents and sick warriors. Azgeda is short of food, they're short of healers, they're short of guards- they are not short of enemies.

No one stands a chance. Lexa offers mercy, but except a selected few, many are too proud to kneel, too proud to give up, too commited to their clan. It is a blood bath. Anyone who does not put themselves in chains voluntarily dies. The rest come with the warriors.

It's easy now. The elite troop of Azgeda, the strongest warriors Nia has taken with her on her flight from the inevitable, is strong, but not as strong as Lexa's entire army.

She will win. She is at the tipping point. She has gone from days and days of slowness and nothing at all, forceful rest and uncertainty, to winning a war with the wave of her hand.

Not that she entirely disliked the slowness, but this is what she waited for. This is what Costia, Roan, Nia, Azgeda as a clan, that's what they deserve. That's what they will have to pay for their insurmountable pride and stupidity to think they could overthrow Lexa with foulness.

She has fought and she has won over the mediocre warriors. She will fight and she will win over everyone else. She will come out on top. She is Heda.

Although Lexa likes long nights and mornings with Clarke in bed, cuddling and other things (if Titus heard that...), although she likes being with other people (new development, too), although she likes the little things in her day more now, she gets a part of herself back when she gets to train, give a speech to her warriors and take care of the battle plans for the next day.

She might have been raised badly for it, but this is still her destiny. Her destiny is to push, to work, to succeed. Her destiny is to win. And she will not stop until she has. It's not over until Lexa wins.

They only depart for the castle the next morning. It's not like anyone is alive to warn the royals anyway, and the warriors need their rest.

Skaikru will approach from one side, the coalition will close on any other side. In case the royals are able to flee in some way, there will be Skaikru positioned around the forest to shoot anyone running. They have latters to climb the castle's wars, tree logs to splinter the gate, arrows to shoot at anyone positioned outside.

Lexa parts from Clarke with a promise to meet again. A promise she must fulfill. A promise of which the fulfillment is as important as the victory of this war.

She has commited. Now she must fight for it.

Clarke leaves with her warriors, Lexa leaves with hers. The Azgeda castle is big, but it looks ridiculous next to a gleaming army, tainted spots on the pure snow.

It looks epic. It's a win before they have to kill anybody, it couldn't be more obvious.

And then, things change.

Nia plays the only card she has left.

-

It's a strand of Clarke's hair. No doubt. A guard brings it outside the castle and Lexa orders not to shoot, inspects the cut-off braid she is handed and immediately looks at Anya on the horse next to her. "It's Clarke's."

"Are you sure? It might just be anyone's."

It's not anyone's. Nia appears on the balcony then, with Clarke in front of her, and a knife by her throat.