Her Loyalties

Chapter Thirteen

Lexas POV

Next to me, I can hear Clarkes voice join into the chant. I dropped my sword to my side and watched her. She saw me looking and stopped chanting. I smiled at her and she grinned back.

"Let's go." I said, and she nodded, suddenly looking a bit nervous. To reassure her, I placed one hand on her shoulder. She relaxed at my touch and then bit her lip.

"Promise that you'll be safe." She whispered so that no one else could hear her.

"I promise." I told her. "You too." Clarke nodded and then we both turned to the Maunon (mountain men), who were so close now. I lifted my sword as high as I could and let loose a war cry. The warriors behind me echoed it, the sound so loud that it reached the ears of the Maunon.

My army ran forward, surrounding me. I followed after a minute, and saw Clarke run with me. It only took a minute before we were upon the Maunon (mountain men). I could hear fighting from all sides. Swords clashed against suits and there was the occasional spray of gunfire. 

A few Maunon (mountain men) slipped through my warriors and approached me. My red sash was almost glowing at my shoulder, clearly marking me as Heda. I pulled my other sword from it's sheath and twirled both in my hands.

One of the Maunon (mountain men) was taken on by a warrior standing close, while two others approached me.

I gritted my teeth and swung my first sword around. The soldier was not quick enough to dodge and fell to the ground with my sword embedded in his stomach. At the effort, I felt the stitches in my own stomach tear.

The second soldier watched me pull my sword from his fallen comrades stomach before he lifted his gun and pointed it at my head. A sudden cry made him jump and then Clarke was there.

She slammed the hilt of her sword into the helmet of the soldiers suit, creating a large crack on the visor. The man dropped his gun and scrabbled at his visor. The crack grew and -  when the man fell to the ground - it shattered completely.

His face was fully visible now and he couldn't have been much olde than Clarke and myself. As we watched, boils began to appear on the mans face. His whole face reddened, and blood begins to burst out of some of the fast-growing boils.

Clarke gasped in horror as she stared at the fallen soldiers face. She had obviously never seen this before. I touched her arm gently and she looked over at me, a look of horror on her face.

"It is okay, niron (loved one)." I told her. Her face scrunched in confusion at the unfamiliar word, but this was no time for her to ask.

"Are you okay?" Finn called, running over to Clarke.

"I'm fine." She replied, but was cut off by more Maunon (mountain men) stepping through the throng of people towards us. We turned to face them, lifting our swords in front of us. The one in front nervously raised his gun and shot at us.

We scattered, running in all directions to avoid the bullets. Finn ran straight at the man, swinging his sword in a wide arc. It was obvious he had no idea what he was doing. However, he managed to hit the soldier in the leg and make him fall to the ground. 

I took on another soldier, who tried to block me with his gun as I slammed the hilt of my sword towards him. Gun and sword, they collided with a shriek of metal. I stumbled backwards but regained my balance quickly. I saw a fault in his line of defence and stabbed my sword through the gap between his arm and his side.

The sharp blade pierced through his suit and I pulled it straight out. There would be no need to finish him off, he would die soon enough.

Behind me, I heard a familiar war cry and when I turned, I saw Gustus running at a group of three Maunon (mountain men) who had ben trying to attack me from behind. A sudden hand on my shoulder made me whip around, and I almost stabbed Clarke through the stomach.

Her eyes widened when I raised my sword but I quickly let it drop.

"Lexa." She had to yell over the roar of fighting around us. "There are too many of them!"

I shook my head, a surrender now would end with all of us dead.

"We have to fight Clarke." I told her. "There is no other choice." And even though we were in the middle of battle, even though there were people dying around us, I pulled her closer.

I kissed her briefly and pulled back after only a second.

"Be safe." I almost ordered. Clarke blinked and the nodded.

She turned away to fight.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Finn. He was wide-eyed, staring at Clarke and then at me. I knew he had seen me kiss her, but I didn't care.

"Heda!" Gustus called. "Take cover! We will fight the rest." He had finished with the three Maunon (mountain men) and was standing by my side.

"No." I growled. "Ai laik Heda. Non na throu daun gon ai. (I'm the Commander. No one fights for me.)" Ignoring Gustus, I threw myself into the thick of the battle. There was a wave of Maunon (mountain men) coming from every side.

I could see bodies everywhere as I fought. Most were Maunon (mountain men), but I caught the occasional glimps of one of my own. A warrior, killed when they were protecting their clan. "Yu gonplei ste odon." I whispered under my breath.

The battle seemed to go on forever. The Maunon (mountain men) just kept coming. I had killed many by the time there was no more in front of me.

"Lexa!" Clarke screamed. I turned and saw that she was pointing at one of the Maunon (mountain men). He was far enough away that I couldn't attack him yet. He pulled a long cylinder out of his suit pocket, and pulled something off it.

He threw it at me. It landed on the ground near my feet and began to emit some sort of red gas. Clarke was by my side, pulling me away.

"It's knockout gas!" She yelled. "I've seen pictures of similiar ones. We have to get out of here." Her cries had caught the notice of my warriors, and they all turned to run. Our army ran, tripping over bodies, away from the gas.

We were almost at cover when I felt Clarke fall. When I turned, I saw another wave of Maunon (mountain men). They all held the same long cylinder. One lay at the ground next to Clarkes unresponsive body. It must have hit her in the head, knocking her out.

Just metres away, I saw Finn being smashed with the barrel of a gun. A soldier shoved a canister spitting red into his face. Finn fell almost instantly, his eyes rolling shut.

They dragged him away.

Clarke and I were now the only ones out in the open. My army was hidden in the woods, hiding from the gas. Suddenly, Gustus was there, pulling at my arm.

"Heda run!" He told me. I shook my head, trying to drag Clarke away from the approaching soldiers. Gustus grunted and then suddenly I was pulled away.

He lifted me in to his arms and ran with me to the forest. I knew that his first priority would always be my safety, but it wasn't mine. Not anymore.

When he set me down just inside the trees, I twisted out of his reach, holding my sword to his throat.

"Do that again Gustus." I growled. "And you will die."

I heard a cry of pain and looked up just in time to see Clarke. She had regained consciousness, but the soldiers were upon her. One hit her in the head, sending her to the ground.

She only had time to reach out and call my name as they knocked her out and dragged her away.