ASCENSION: BOOK 3- APOCALYPSE.

Chapter 23: Strength.

We rode through the gates of Polis to give a grave warning to those who'd stayed behind. Lexa remained seated upon her horse as she looked around at the faces of her people. We could see the concern resting in their eyes before any words were even uttered.
Lexa raised her voice so all could hear, "People of Polis, we are now the last line of defence against the invading armies. The Queen and her warriors will descend upon this city with the hour. They will not rest, they will not show mercy and neither will we. Polis is your Capital, the legacy of your ancestors, it is the very heart of our history and whilst it still stands we will fight for what is ours!"
In response, her people yelled out in support, ready to fight for their Commander.
As our warriors moved to prepare for combat. I rode with Lexa to the doors of The Temple. She climbed from her horse, hiding any pain she was in and invited me to join her inside this sacred space.
The flaming torches illuminated our way down the stairs to the main room. Lexa asked members of The Order to give us some privacy. After they left, she walked over to the bunker hatch and looked over at it.
"One simple key stands between us and this," she spoke in frustration.
"A key protected by an army, Lexa. There was no way of knowing Freya had such firepower," I tried to reassure her.
"A Commander should always know," her voice was full regret.
I took her hand in mine, "Not even the past Commanders could have seen this eventuality. You did what any leader would have done, you stood strong for your people. Now we focus on defending our city and this bunker. Our fight is not over, Heda."
Lexa offered me the faintest of smiles as she took a moment to look up at the banner upon the wall that held the scared symbol of Becca Pramheda.
"Seek higher things," Lexa said with a sigh before continuing, "We can't loose eveything Becca Pramheda fought to save. I won't allow her legacy to fade away."
As I stood by the side of my warrior woman, her words echoing in my head, I found my mind thinking of the past and then it dawned on me,  Lexa was right. All of this was about our  legacy, two worlds colliding, creation and destruction. In that moment I knew we still had a chance to save our people.

I had a plan, not necessarily guaranteed to work but it gave us an opportunity to acquire the key and buy us some time.
I explained everything to Lexa, who initially refused to sanction it, until I persuaded her that my plan had a greater chance of success than facing another potential massacre at the hands of Queen Freya. Reluctantly she agreed and helped me to formulate the details of what we needed to do. 
Before we presented it to The Clans,
we needed one person to confirm it would be a viable option, we needed to speak with Raven.
As we left The Temple, the people of Polis were preparing for Queen Freya's attack. It had also become clear that more were beginning to fall ill as the radiation levels in the air increased.  We were quickly running out of time.
Raven stood by The Great Tower arming herself with as many weapons as possible.
"Raven! We need to talk." I called out  as Lexa and I approched.
She looked at me and frowned, "If this is a, 'stand back from the fight speech', then you're wasting your time. My leg may have it's limitations but I've got two perfectly good  hands that can wield a sword and pull a trigger," she retorted.
I smiled back at her, always proud of her strength and resilience.
"I wouldn't insult you with such a request. I need to ask you if something incredibly important is possible," I spoke.
The details of this potential plan were relayed to her and she listened intently. With each word I uttered I could see the growing concern that rested upon her face.
"You're absolutely out of your damn mind, Griffin! Without knowing more details it's difficult to ascertain if it'll be successful. I mean, in theory it should work but if you do this there's no coming back from it. What's done is done," Raven warned.
I looked at Lexa and saw the dilemma she now faced. She knew we were low on options. If Freya didn't kill us, the radiation and the death wave would. Everything would be reduced to ash. There would be nothing left of our people, no trace of all we had achieved to survive our past.
Lexa breathed deeply and spoke, "Make the preparations you need to. I'll inform the War Chiefs of our change of tactics. They will take some convincing, but ultimately they will obey their Commander. We get one chance at this, if we fail all of us will be lost to this fight for survival."

The necessary arrangements were made, but not without objections from Lexa's War Chiefs and The Clans including Skaikru.
It was made clear that our options of winning this war and acquiring the key were now limited after our defeat on that battlefield. Lexa's reasoning was simple, we loose, we die, every last one of us. It was enough to sway the mindsets of her people.
Everyone had their place in this plan for it to work. None more so than Lexa and myself.
We took a moment of solitude inside of Polis Tower to say what needed to be said to each other before all hell broke loose.
"You look nervous, Skaigada?" Lexa noticed.
"A little, maybe," I smiled back at her.
She brought her hand to my cheek and kissed me gently to calm my mind.
I fell into the moment, wrapping my arms around her waist, not wanting her lips to break away from mine. When they finally did I only craved them more.
"Better?" She asked with a grin.
I felt my face flush, "That's one way to take my mind off the inevitable."
"We stand together in this, Clarke. Strength lies within the head and the heart. I hear those words over and over in my dreams. Even through the dark days of thinking I'd lost you to The Mountain, no matter how I tried to block those words from my mind, they were always there like a mantra from the past," Lexa said.
"The Commanders?" I queried with intregued.
Lexa smiled, "Becca Pramheda. It's not often her voice calls to The Commanders, but when it does it's wise to heed her words, I just wish I'd listened to her sooner. No matter what happens I'll be by your side, Skaigada."
Her words brought a tear to my eye. My Heda, my Trikru Warrior, but most importantly my Lexa. I kissed her slowly, taking my time to let her know I was and would always be her's.
"I love you," I whispered against her lips.
"I love you too," she softly uttered back.
We faced each other, lost for a moment in each  other's eyes. The blue of the sky and the green of the earth, together, no longer willing to fight and die for each other but willing to fight and live.