The One Who's Fallen

Chapter 29

"Luna and I are true sisters, we share the same parents." Lexa begins. "Having more than one Nightblood in one family is rare, and having more than one in a generation is unheard of. Our parents were supportive, but it crushed them. They had me when they found out Luna is a Nightblood and was taken to Polis."

"I was only able to see her for her first week before I had to leave." Luna murmurs.

"When I came of age and was tested for the Nightblood, everyone present thought it was a trick. So they checked and cut me in multiple other places to make sure I was not somehow faking it."

"Wait. Sorry, coming of age?" I ask.

"Sha. At the age of six every child is tested for the Nightblood. It is a huge ceremony." Luna provides.

They don't seem to think anything of it but six? At the age of six they are bled to see if their blood's black? And with Lexa they didn't just cut her once?

"It may seem harsh but it is our way." Lexa says softly, apparently seeing the shock and horror in my expression. "The next day I was sent to Polis. Usually Nightbloods have a longer period of time to pack and say their goodbyes, but my case was so unusual they wanted to get me to the safety of the capital as soon as they could. It was only my parents begging that let me spend one last night with them."

"Safety? Why wouldn't you be safe outside Polis?" I question.

"Our people believe that when you kill someone, you gain their power." Luna answers. "Killing a Nightblood is forbidden and punishable by death. But some believe that if you are not caught and killed, you are imbued with the partial strength of the Commander."

"Has anyone gotten away with it?" I wonder aloud.

"Not since I became Heda. I have set up a group of elite trackers to solve any murder of a Natblida (Nightblood). They have sometimes investigated disappearances and such. There has not been a murder of a Natblida since it is well known that one of my friends as a child was killed for this. I take any death personally."

I have a feeling she's talking about more than just the Natblidas.

"The rest of our story?" Luna nudges Lexa when she stares off at a cave wall for too long.

She gives me an apologetic smile before she continues. "Now you know that Anya had been teaching me for years by the time I was taken to Polis. Anya finally accepted a position as General that she had been denying for years to stay close to me. She was allowed to continue training me and a few other Natblidas. She chose to train Luna and I. I was still her main focus, her Seken (Second) but spent some extra time training Luna as well. By then Luna was twelve and twice as good as I was, so she soon found another teacher who could focus all of their time training her. Everything went well for almost five years. Luna and I had established ourselves as the best of the Natblidas, excelling at every task given to us. That year, the Heda died. She was killed in battle, defending her home clan against an invading force. A new one has to be chosen, so the Conclave was set for a week after the news of her death."

"What's a Conclave?"

"It is how the next Heda is chosen. Basically, all of the Natblidas are put in an arena to fight to the death. The last one alive is the next Heda." Luna explains, chuckling at my horrified expression.

"Hang on, then how did you both survive?"

"Luna forfeited." Lexa says as Luna begins passing out cooked pieces of rabbit for us to eat. "Well, it is impossible to forfeit the Conclave, so she did the next best thing and vanished. Many tried to find her, but she always was good at hiding. I became Heda, and she did not resurface until many years later. She was in Floukru (Boat People) the whole time, rising through the ranks and only revealing who she really is when she was being considered to become the next clan leader. The people were more than happy to have her as a leader, a Nightblood and sister to the Heda. Once Titus found out Luna was alive, he ordered me to send assassins after her, but I refused."

Luna scoffs, "Titus always did have a pole up his ass."

Lexa purses her lips, but it's the way she does when she's trying not to smile or laugh. "Though Luna is the leader of Floukru, she has never been to a meeting with all the clans. She always sent another in her place, like I mentioned earlier. I have not seen her since the Conclave." Lexa turns her attention to Luna. "You never did explain why you disappeared."

"You were the best choice." Luna says like that's supposed to explain everything. "I love our people, but I fear death too much to be a good Heda. Even back then, I knew that if I were put in a situation where I had to choose between my life and the lives of some of our people, I would choose to live. Lexa, you have no fear of death. You never have truly feared your own death. We both have visions of peace, but you were and are strong enough to put that before your life. And that is exactly the kind of Heda our people need. Even if I stayed, I would not have been Heda. You were and continue to be a better fighter than I could ever dream of being."

"So why are you here now? You could spend the rest of your life staying in Floukru and avoiding seeing me." Lexa asks softly, setting down her empty plate.

Next, we'll find out why exactly Luna's here! Wow, that was a lot of dialogue. Thank you all for reading and stay awesome!