Shadows

Chapter Fourteen

(Clarke's POV)

The second she opened her eyes, dread filled her. Today was the day she was going to die, and there was nothing she could do about it. She tried to close her eyes and pretend she was still passed out, but it was too late, Nia had seen her.

"Don't bother Clarke. You can't sleep forever."

The Queen's back was turned to her and she was fiddling with something.

"You said you wanted to use me to send a message to the Commander, how?"

Clarke spoke, desperately stalling for time, and Nia chuckled.

"I have some loyal spies who know every inch of the Commander's palace better than she knows it herself. The room we are in right now is actually in between the walls that are adjacent to Lexa's bedroom. She has no clue of it's existence. Any sound that is made in here echoes in fascinating ways. This way, when you scream, she will be able to hear it clear as day but she will never be able to pinpoint where it is coming from."

Clarke felt like she was going to be sick.

Nia turned around, a twisted grin spread across her face. "Shall we begin?"

Clarke struggled to move but found that she was tied down to the bed. Straps secured her arms, legs, neck, and stomach, making it impossible for her to move more than a few inches. Her heart began to beat faster and faster in terror as she watched Nia approach her, a dagger held in one hand. She stopped when she reached Clarke's side.

"This isn't just any ordinary blade, you see, that wouldn't be any fun at all. It has been dipped in a solution that is used to heighten your pain receptors, which means that any pain you feel will be at least ten times worse than normal."

She stepped closer and Clarke's eyes widened in horror. She bit down on her lip. She would not scream, she refused to give Nia that satisfaction. The Queen placed the tip of the knife at the top of Clarke's bicep and slowly traced a line down her arm. Sharp pain shot up and down the cut and her arm throbbed like it had it's own heartbeat but Clarke remained still. Nia moved to Clarke's shoulder and began to draw patterns all over it, sometimes overlapping cuts she had already made. Tears blossomed in her eyes and spilled down her checks but Clarke just bit down harder on her lips. Don't give in, don't give in. Nia certainly was right about the pain. Clarke was used to getting cut but this hurt far worse than the deepest wound she had ever received. She knew only the surface of her skin was injured but it felt like Nia had just sawed her arm in half. When the Queen was finished with her shoulder she moved to the other side of Clarke, repeating everything she had done, but this time on her opposite arm. She must have cut deeper this time because Clarke couldn't stop a gasp from escaping her mouth. Nia smirked but didn't seem pleased.

"You are tougher than I thought, Clarke."

She moved away from Clarke's side and wandered over to a part of the room where Clarke couldn't see.

"I guess we'll just have to make things a little more... intense."

When she moved back over to Clarke's side the blade was red, like Nia had just been holding it in fire. This time, when she touched the knife to Clarke's skin, she couldn't hold it in. Her flesh sizzled like meat on a grill and an unbearable pain tore though her. She tried to stop it, but she couldn't. The scream seemed to build on it's on and it forced it's way out of her mouth. Once released it was impossible to contain. She screamed and screamed until her throat burned and she fainted from the excruciating pain.

(Lexa's POV)

By the time Lexa and Octavia had readied the horses and gathered supplies, Roan had been able to get up and come meet them. He was still weak but he assured Lexa the pain was going away. They had wasted no time in hurrying towards the gates. It was as they approached the entrance to Polis that they encountered some trouble. The guards jumped down from their posts to meet the group trying to leave.