On The Ground (Lexa)

5.

Polis was magnificent beyond Lexa's imagination. The city rose up out of the forest like the flame of a torch in thick fog, eerily and beautifully in the distance, sprawling for miles around. There were hundreds of houses and buildings lining the busy streets, and thousands of people moving with the commotion of their daily lives. Lexa and Titus rode through markets and vendors towards the center of the city, and the point at which everything converged; a large tower that jutted into the skyline standing like a giant over the people below.

Lexa stared up at the tower, craning her neck just to see the top. A roaring yellow flame burned brightly in a basin atop the building like a beacon lighting the way for others to come from far and wide. The city was unlike anything she'd ever seen and she felt an overwhelming rush of excitement, letting herself smile for the first time in months.

"Welcome to Polis," Titus said.

"It's amazing," Lexa whispered. "Will I get to meet the Commander?" she asked.

Titus nodded, climbing down from his horse. "All the novitiates train beneath the Commander and learn from her wisdom," he explained. "Come."

Lexa slid out of her saddle, her legs sore from the ten-hour ride. She breathed in deeply, smelling the mix of fresh food from stall vendors and smoke from the fire burning brightly above the city. Titus disappeared into a tunnel that led into the great building, and Lexa followed silently behind him. They walked quietly down a dim lit hall, torches casting the glow of shadows on the walls around them.

"This way," the Flame Keeper said, leading her towards two guards that were standing around some sort of lever and pulley system.

The guards turned a giant wheel, and a platform held by ropes and chains lowered itself to the ground. Titus climbed onto it and pulled Lexa up behind him. She stood at his side, looking up into a vast tunnel of darkness as the platform slowly started to lift them into the air. Level upon level passed in front of them until the platform finally came to a creaking stop on the highest floor of the building. Before them was a set of double doors and two more guards standing watch as the Flame Keeper led the new novitiate into the hall.

Lexa's hand instinctually went to the blade at her side, but the Flame Keeper caught her apprehension. He placed his hand on her shoulder, calming her nerves. "You are right not to trust what you see," he said. "But you are safe here."

Titus shoved open the double doors in front of them, leading Lexa in to a great hall. The ceilings were vaulted; torches and basins of fire lit the entire room, casting it in a warm bright glow. Guards stood at their posts throughout the room, clutching spears and standing at the ready. A woman sat on a throne of woven branches and metal, behind her a balcony over looked the entire city and forest for as far as the eye could see. In front of her sat eight children, ranging in age from eight to eighteen, and they all looked towards Lexa.

It wasn't the sheer extravagance of the room she was in, or the eyes of the guards on her that made her nervous, but rather the woman that sat on the throne. She wore the Commander's shoulder guard, a bright red cape draping behind her elegantly, and an impassive look on her face. She was stunningly beautiful, her blue eyes framed in the traditional black makeup of a warrior. Tattoos of the Floukru, the boat people, lined her cheeks and arms. Her black hair fell in waves down her shoulders and braids down her back, and the gold fleck of a bursting sun sat prominently between her eyes.

"Heda," Titus spoke, bowing before the woman. "I bring you Leksa kom Trikru, the ninth novitiate."

Lexa understood who the eight people sitting before the Commander were; they were the other novitiates, and her competition upon the start of the conclave. She bowed respectfully to the woman on the throne, allowing the weight of Titus's words to sink in. It was another few seconds before the Commander spoke.

"Rise, Leksa kom Trikru," she said, moving gracefully to stand before Lexa.

The Commander held out her hand and clasped Lexa's forearm, greeting her as an equal. "Heda," Lexa said, meeting the woman's eyes. The Commander wasn't much older than Lexa, but there was a wisdom about her far beyond her years, as if her soul had lived for many lifetimes before.

"You have the look of battle about you, Lexa, yet I do not recall any battles of recent. Trikru is the sixth clan of my coalition, tell me, who do you fight?" The Commander asked.

"The Mountain Men," Lexa replied. "They've been attacking for months now. Taking our people."

The Commander nodded her understanding. "Your fight is no longer with the Mountain. Your duty is here now," she said.

"My duty is to my people," Lexa answered, instantly worried that she might have offended.

Heda stared at her for a moment, expression unreadable. "Leksa kom Trikru, if you were to win the conclave upon my death and ascend to commander, what would you aim to do?" she asked, catching Lexa slightly off guard.

"When I become Heda, I will unite all twelve clans," she replied without the slightest hint of hesitation.

"I have united six clans in my coalition, but the other six stand with Azgeda. People would argue that uniting all twelve clans has never been done. Ice Nation would stop you."

"And I would say let them try," Lexa challenged.

The Commander glared at her in silence, the weight of the air hanging heavy around them. And then she smiled. "If my spirit chooses you, it will have chosen wisely," she whispered so that only Lexa could hear.