WILD HEART • COMMANDER LEXA [1]

vii. REHABILITATION

Erica led a troop of nearly a dozen grounders, showing them the way to the dropship.

She wrung her hands nervously as the grounders followed, desperately praying that the others had healed Lincoln and that this ceasefire would actually be able to happen. The lives of all of her people depended on every move she was making, and it was one of the most stressful thoughts she'd ever had.

They reached her former home, and she once again felt that sickness in her stomach she'd felt when she first returned after the explosion.

The teenager stopped in front of the dropship, and turned to see all of the grounders looking at the charred bones on the ground mournfully. "These are not just the bodies of your people, Commander. They are the bodies of mine, too. Please don't let the past give us anymore lives to grieve."

"That all depends on whether or not you speak the truth." She replied sternly.

Erica nodded and led them up the ladder.

The scene made Erica's heart plummet. Octavia sat crying over Lincoln's body while the others leaned against the wall solemnly.

Erica and The Commander made eye contact, the latter looking furious with the former.

She nodded at the warrior, who immediately growled. "Kill them all,"

One by one, the grounders and the sky people pulled out a weapon, whether it was a sword or an electric baton, everyone except Erica was prepared to fight. Bellamy moved towards Erica and pushed her behind him, aiming at the Commander.

Erica looked over the man's shoulder at the grounder leader. "Everyone, wait."

"You lied!" The Commander replied. "And you are out of time."

On a whim, Abby bent over Lincoln, shocking him with the baton in her hands. His chest rose and Clarke stepped towards her mother. "Hit him again,"

Abby obeyed and did what Clarke said, and Lincoln began couching and gasping. The women moved out of the way for Octavia, who had began to cry. "Lincoln,"

"Octavia," He breathed.The redness in his eyes had disappeared, and his uneven breathing was finally regulating.

Erica thoughtlessly hugged Abby, muttering about a million 'thank yous' to the woman.

The others had returned to camp, but Erica had gone with the grounders to negotiate the terms of their truce.

"Lincolns recovery was, impressive." The Commander divulged once the two were alone in the tent they'd met in. "No one has ever survived such a fate before."

"It's much easier than you'd think. The mountain men give them a drug, that's what is turning them into reapers. You just have to care for them and keep them alive long enough for it to leave their system. We can save so many people this way."

The grounder nodded and they stayed quiet for a moment.

"You aren't what I expected." The Commander observed.

This confused Erica. "What do you mean?"

"I would never imagine the Commander of the people who nearly defeated mine to be the kind of person to have," She paused for a moment. "Flowers in her hair." She suppressed a laugh and maintained her stoic expression.