Just Surviving (#Clexa)

I'm Glad You Came

Clarke POV

The crowd is deafeningly loud when I arrive at the courtyard. The whole city has come to watch their Commander fight, and they're thirsty for blood. It makes me sick.

I push through the throngs of stinking, screaming people, feeling only slight relief when I get close enough to see the two opponents. Prince Roan in his Ice Nation armour, and Lexa in her Heda uniform. Both cold and intimidating, perhaps just as deadly as one other. They stand in the middle of the courtyard side by side, glancing up to the stand where all delegates except myself are sitting. The Ice Queen is at the front, an insufferable grin on her face as she stares down at her son and the Heda.

Titus stands and raises his arms to quiet the crowd. 'In single combat,' he projects. 'There is but one rule! Someone must die today...'

My stomach flips while the crowd around me begins jeering, placing bets and calling out to their Commander. They don't have the capacity to care for or understand what this battle actually means. They only see this as entertainment.

Titus's hand wavers as he gestures to the fighters. 'You... you may begin!'

The crowd screams as Lexa and Roan part from the middle, each heading over to collect their weapons. My own heart is racing, and I can't imagine how the Commander feels. How terrifying must it be to fight to the death in front of a crowd of your own people? People who no longer trust you? I understand why she's doing it, but I wish she wouldn't.

I don't want Lexa to die.

Roan draws his sword from a silver sheath, and I can see it glittering from where I am. He has no love for the Commander; he won't hold back in the fight. If he loses, it will be through lack of skill, which seems rather unlikely.

As Lexa removes her cape and walks in my direction to collect her own sword, I shove my way through the crowd so I can stand hardly a few feet away from her. Quickly, I yank off my hood, showing the other girl my face. Her eyes reflect an ounce of vulnerability when she sees me standing there. She's surprised that I came. Of course she is. I'm nothing more than an ally, and yet I'm doing something a friend would do.

It's not just for political reasons that I want Lexa to live. I want her to live because I care about her.

I think, in this moment, we both realize that for the first time. Despite the black war paint and the heavy armour she wears, I see a girl very much like me. Strong, but human. I see fear in her eyes that's beginning to cloud with relief at seeing me here.

I just can't seem to get away from Lexa. However many terrible things she does to me, I have a feeling that I'll always eventually forgive her. She's an incredible warrior, a ruthless commander, an untrustworthy ally and – although it's hard to accept – my friend. I hope to God that I'll get to see her looking back at me again after this battle. 

Please don't die for me, I think desperately.

As if she heard me, Lexa slowly smiles, nodding her head respectfully in my direction. Her eyes glitter with amusement. 'I'm glad you came,' she says in a low voice. 

My voice breaks as I reply, 'Me too.'

If my emotion doesn't tell her how much I want her to survive, I don't know what does.

Lexa's eyes leave my face as she yanks her sword from its hilt in one smooth movement, tossing it into her right hand as Roan makes his first aggressive move. He sprints at her from behind, sword angled to run her through, and just as I'm about to open my mouth to yell a warning, Lexa meets my eyes and dodges like a cat, spinning and slicing her own blade over the back of his arm as he passes.