Warpaint | Clexa (Completed)

Chapter 14: Switched

Clarke stood beside Costia's chair as Lexa was marched in, followed by Octavia, Raven, Bellamy, and Finn. They all must have been the battle tonight. Arkadian guards sounded the prisoners of war on all sides.

Twenty months. Twenty months trying to erase those two eyes from memory, and Clarke still felt as lost in them as she was, the night at the cliff. Lexa walked right to the front of Costia's chair and stood, head held high, almost challenging her authority.

"Commander of the Glowtree Clan. You were the one who murdered a hundred of my people." Costia said, tiling her head at Lexa.

"Arkadian Chancellor. You were the one who sent them to attack us in the first place." Lexa replied cockily.

Clarke swallowed hard, as she stood there, Costia and Luna on either sides. There she was. The same Lexa she loved. Confident and exerting her authority even without having to try.

"Please. I'm not the Chancellor. I'm Councillor Costia. And I usually deal with all the war related issues..."

"You mean prisoners." Lexa said, a challenging look on her face.

Costia smiled slightly. "Is that how you want to be treated? Leksa kom Trikru?"

Clarke felt a slight twinge of jealousy when she heard the Trigedasleng accent on Lexa's name as it fell from Costia's mouth.

"I want to be treated as one Commander treats another, Councillor." Lexa rested her bleeding arm on her sword.

Immediately the Arkadian guards raised their guns at her.

"There'll be no need for guns," Costia waved her hand. "And please, Leksa. Call me Costia."

"Costia." Lexa repeated.

"You must already know Clarke, here," Costia said, nodding her head at Clarke, standing beside her chair.

Lexa felt her throat go dry at the sight of Clarke, as she tilted her head and took in the way the blond stood there. She had seen her during the battle only in darkness. Now that she stood under the full light, Lexa saw that Clarke had dyed her hair a rather strange muted red. She was dressed in full NouKru garb and had a blue sash on her left arm, which could only mean one thing - she was very high up amongst the NouKru warriors. But somehow this was not the Clarke she knew. The light was gone from her eyes. She stood there in a feigned and forced rigidity that Lexa saw completely through.

"Ofcourse. She was the best you sent." Lexa said,and paused. "And she got me again."

Lexa's words hit Clarke like a steel knife. She had done it again. The one person she didn't want to let down. And Clarke had done it again. She grimaced and tried to look away, only to be greeted by Octavia, Raven and Indra's cold stares.

"Well down Clarke. You finally sold out." Octavia suddenly said, and Clarke could have sworn that the temperature in the room fell quite a few degrees.

She opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say. She looked at Lexa, who was staring at her with an impassive, unreadable expression. Why was it always her.

"Clarke is the NouKru Commander's second, and she will be spoken to, with respect, Blake," Costia spoke up. "And Commander Lexa, we are sorry, but we weren't expecting you tonight at the battle. We had to go to war for our people who were dying out for lack of fresh water supplies. War isn't a happy decision for anyone."

"I am the Commander of three clans now, Kostia," Lexa said, the Trigedasleng accent strong. "The Glowtree and the Desert clan will not take the capture of their Commander lightly. I should warn you of retaliation while there's still time."