Title: Sacrifice

Relationship: Clarke and Lexa (Clexa)

Author: ArshuK

Beta: Thundering Ice

CHAPTER-1

"You should be in the battlefield," Clarke whispers huskily as her small waist is encircled by his arms.

"You give the impression that we are in a battlefield." His breath warming up her face.

With a huge smile, she turns around to face him and entangles her fingers in his black hair while pulling his head to the crook of her neck.

"It will be soon. The grounders are very close to our camp."

He moves closer to her with his cheek touching hers. Both relishing in the contact.

He pulls his head back slightly, lower body still in contact, to look into her eyes. She feels butterflies in the pit of her stomach as she looks into those dark eyes that so full of passion.

"When we defeat the grounders, I am going to ask the Chancellor for your hand, Clarke."

"You don't need to do that," Clarke whispers.

"We both know we do. No matter how hard we try, we cannot live a life without the chancellor's blessings. Our people will not let us live happily otherwise."

Clarke pulls back and holds his hands in hers.

"How can you be so good about this? You know she would want me to marry for politics because according to her that's what leaders lives are. She won't let me marry you."

He smiles softly at her and tugs a strand of her hair behind her ear, "I know, but I will prove how powerful I am. How fit I am for you during the battle. I will destroy the grounders for you, Clarke. I will deliver the chancellor the grounder commander's head to be united with you."

Clarke is overwhelmed with emotions and pulls his face down to hers. He groans at the contact as the sinful lips passionately smudge kisses all over his face and finally land on his lips. He grips her waist tighter and Clarke can feel he wants more, desires more. She always has whenever they've shared these passionate moments but she is waiting. She wants her wedding night to be special ; she wants to follow her dad's beliefs, who according to her mom was old school. She wanted to follow her dad. She wanted to honor her traditions and morals. She had pledged herself that she would, on her father's death.

"Just a little more patience, my love. You will very soon have your way with me. You will have all of me- my body, my mind, my soul. I will be yours, I promise," Clarke whispers breathily as she creates some distance from him.

She watches as his eyes return to their normal size, and he composes himself.

"I should go now, Princess. My absence will be noticed, and you know how Kane can be. I hate the fact that he is the army chief, and I have to be his general aka his bitch."

"That temper of yours will get you in trouble. You know this is for the best. You are learning and soon will be competent enough to lead our armies," Clarke says encouragingly.

He moves closer to her one last time, brushes his lips against her cheek and moves back.

"See you later."

"Bye, Bellamy."

He grins as his feet lead him away from the chancellor's daughter's room.

He stands at the door and looks at her body, unabashedly up and down. Clarke reddens at the scrutiny and wears a question mark look on her face.

" I'll be waiting for the day when you will fulfill your promise, Sky Princess."

With that he leaves, leaving Clarke with the most beautiful pink colour on her cheeks.

...

She is sitting there, tapping her feet restlessly against the floor. She cannot believe this is happening. She, Abby Griffin, the leader of the Arkers, the civilized people, the modern people, has lost against the savages - the violent, vicious people. She couldn't help but be grateful to Marcus for being able to negotiate with the grounder commander in the final moments to withdraw her force and meet her in the Ark to strike a deal with them. She knew it was a hard bargain, but she had no choice.

...

"Clarke!" Octavia shouts as she bangs Clarke's bedroom door.

She keeps on banging but hears no reaction to it. Finally, she opens it up herself and enters Clarke's bedroom. At first, she finds it empty until her eyes lands on Clarke's bed where she finds her friend entangled with her brother. Both sleeping with a peaceful look on their face.

"Eww, gross! Get up, Bellamy," Octavia says smacking her brother's back.

Bellamy groans but removes himself from Clarke.

"What the hell, Octavia? Can't you see..."

Octavia quickly cuts him off, "Yes, I have seen enough to be mentally scarred for the rest of my life, Bell."

"Oh shut up, O. We were just sleeping." Clarke's sleepy voice reaches both the Blake siblings, making the sister roll her eyes and the brother grin stupidly.

"Why did you barge in again?" Bellamy asks.

"Oh, yeah! You need to leave now, Bellamy. Abby is coming this way, and she has a very deadly look on her face; not to mention the fierce temper she demonstrated today just this morning."

This immediately gets Bellamy's attention, and he rolls off Clarke's bed. After kissing Clarke's forehead, he leaves the two women alone.

Raven appears at Clarke's door a few minutes after Bellamy's departure and Clarke getting up and adjusting her clothes.

"Griffin, your mom's calling for you in the meeting room."

"Hello to you too, Raven." Clarke says grumpily.

"Get your ass down to the meeting room, Clarke! I have a feeling this isn't one of your mother-daughter friendly talks." Octavia says, urgency in her voice quite evident.

Clarke laughs humorlessly as she puts her shoes back on, " I am failing to recall when I last had a friendly talk with my mother."

With that, she makes her way down to the meeting room, chatting with her best friends. Octavia kept on bragging about her martial art skills, and Raven argued that she could electrolyze her easily and down all her moves would go. Clarke just shook her head and muttered, "cocky bitches," amusedly.

Once she reaches the room, her mom quickly ushers all three girls in. Clarke is surprised at the lack of people surrounding her mom, especially at the absence of Marcus Kane.

"You called, mother?" Clarke says, faking politeness in her voice.

"Yes, Clarke. You need to listen to me very carefully. You too, Octavia. Please stop playing with the curtain Raven and come here. The grounder commander is going to come here this evening, and I want you all to be on your best behaviors."

"I am sorry, but did I miss something? I thought that they were our enemies, not our best buddies," Raven speaks up.

"That kind of tone won't work, Raven, and you are right. We were hardly friends, but now...now things have changed. We are going to negotiate with them." Abby says.

"With those savages? No way! Wait...you are hiding something, aren't you, mother?" Clarke asks sharply.

Abby sighs as she takes up her chair.

"Yes. We nearly lost against them, thus these negotiations will be on their terms."

Octavia and Raven both start to protest, but Clarke just nods. She understands how her mom, as much as she tries to hide it, is powerless here. Clarke knows there was no way in hell she'd agree to talk with the grounders otherwise.

"You girls should get ready for the feast we will be holding in their honour, " Abby says gritting her teeth and dismissing them.

Thus after a few hours, all the council members, along with the other Arkers, hear the guard announcing the arrival of the grounder commander and her delegation. The grounders are asked to rid themselves of their weapons before entering the great hall, and Clarke inwardly sighs in relief as no commotion is created regarding this.

Then, she watches a dark, fierce looking woman enter the hall with her eyes sweeping everywhere, as if searching for a possible threat. Three more warriors follow her. Her body language speaks anything but friendly. Abby remains rooted on her spot as this woman announces,

"The commander's here." Her voice is fierce, unflinching and emotionless.

Abby nods at the warrior and watches, keeping a straight face, as another woman enters the room. She is wearing a long black cloak with multiple symbols and has a shoulder guard protecting her left shoulder. A red sash is also hanging from the front of her armour. War paint is covering her face, making her green eyes almost black and enhancing the coldness they carry. However, once Abby looks closer, she realizes that the grounder commander is no older than her own daughter. So young, yet so dangerous. Abby stops the scrutiny and is the first one to move forward among her people,

"Commander."

Abby extends her forearm in grounder fashion, to appease her at least a bit, and the great commander clasps the elder woman's arm firmly but there is not a tiny hint of smile on the her face. Her emerald eyes only darken and Abby inwardly flinches back. It's clear that the commander wants to remind the Ark Chancellor of the war, of the victor. She wants to remind her that who is in charge of the negotiations, even though they were being held at the chancellor's land. The Arkers will know of her power.

...

The feast is lavish, to say the least. Lexa was informed that the negotiations were to be held after it. She had wanted to be over it as soon as possible but couldn't help wanting to be over it as soon as possible. Her demands will be simple, but she knows that Abigail Griffin will not like them. The talks will be painful on both sides. She sips her wine and watches the dancers dancing. Then she watches , while still drinking her wine, as the chancellor's daughter joins the dance floor with a warrior. Lexa couldn't help but notice how very beautiful the girl was. Soon, she herself is asked to join the celebration too, she wants to protest but she is taken by surprise by discovering who had dared to ask her- a little girl, merely of 10 winters. And thus, the grounder commander dances with the little girl, a small smile tugging at her lips as she watches the little girl twirl and laugh in joy. After two songs though, the commander bows at her dance partner formally and excuses herself. She can see the young girl staring at her in awe as she moves to her chair. She inwardly chuckles at the young girl's response.

Abby eyes her in bewilderment. The strong and ruthless commander was lost in the dance. She was nothing but kind to the young girl. But as soon as she had returned to her seat, the same coldness had returned and the relaxed form of the commander vanished into thin air. The commander was anything but simple, Abby deduced. She really was one heck of a mystery.

"Chancellor, will you honour me with a dance?" She hears the very famaliar voice of Marcus Kane reach her ear.

"I would love to." Abby answers in the same formal tone.

As they move into circles, Marcus asks. "What are we going to do about it, Abby?"

She sighs before answering. "We have no choice but to agree to whatever they demand. I am actually surprised they even agreed to this."

"You are telling me. Let's just call it good fortune."

"Let's not hurry too much at the conclusions but the grounders are being led by a child, I don't..."

"Don't underestimate her, Abby. I have seen her in a battlefield and she is nothing if not smart. Her moves, her strategies, she is one heck of a leader despite her young age." Marcus warns her.

Abby frowns as she ends the dance and moves back to her place.

...

Lexa sips her wine as she allows her vision to lazily roam around the hall, her eyes halting at the Sky Princess dancing with the young warrior. She looks so carefree and happy, moving elegantly with the music and smiling uncontrollably. Lexa understands why she is called the 'Princess'- she looks nothing less than that. She shamefully looks away. This was not why she was here. She was here to make a deal with the Arkers and be done with it. But she was going to ruin the life of the Sky Princess too...

Clarke sits after the dance, and Lexa takes a deep breath. She gets up gingerly but walking proudly stands in front of the blond girl. She then extends her hand to the girl and asks,

"May I have this dance?"

Lexa watches amusedly as shock registers on Clarke's face. She is startled to say the least. Her eyes scan to where her mother is sitting and after receiving a nod of approval from her, clearing her throat she says,

"I would love to, Commander."

The commander leads her to the dance floor. As Clarke scans her face, the commander all of a sudden feels very exposed. Her eyes are so young, so beautiful, so pure, so observant, so blue. Lexa feels very nervous and the shy side of the fearless commander, intrigues Clarke endlessly and feeling bold, she starts moving sensually with the music. Clarke notices the commander admiring her, a smile forms on her lips at the attention. She watches the commander move at her turn, and she has the grace for such a feared leader. She wonders where the commander learnt to dance? Was she trained just like Clarke had been? All these thoughts are wiped away from her mind as they get together in the middle and their palms meet. Clarke had never been electrified but she totally understood the feeling after the mere contact. It was like all the atoms on her body were on high alert, had moved to their excited states, and all her senses hightened. It took all in her to stop from gasping. Controlling her nerves, she again moved with the music avoiding any eye contact with Lexa. The feeling subsides as they both move away and stop touching. Finally Clarke looks up and stares at those captivating emerald eyes. When she looks away, Lexa moves back a few steps and nods.

"Thank you for the dance, Clarke of the Sky People."

The ocean coloured eyes glow for a moment.

"The pleasure was all mine, commander." Clarke replies politely, as she had been taught since a young girl being the daughter for the chancellor.

Clarke sits back to her place just as Lexa sits next to the chancellor. Clarke eyes her mother who nods at her. Then she moves her head towards her dark haired boy who is standing with their friends; Monty, Jasper and Raven. She swoons at how handsome he is and how she is lucky to be the woman holding his heart. Soon she will give her all to him and will have him all too. Just the thought of it is enough to excite her heart and get it to racing. Then she watches as the commander, with her general -Indra- led by her mom, moves towards her man. Lexa and Bellamy have a brief conversation and Clarke stares at them interestedly. Suddenly, the jade eyes stare into the clear sky blue eyes and Clarke is once again lost in sensation.

...

They all were seated at the great table in a very tense atmosphere. The celebrations had failed to wipe out this tension, as it turned out. From the gounders side, Lexa and her general were sitting straight on their chairs and the opposite end was occupied by Abby and Kane. Octavia was standing behind them because it was no news to anyone that the Ark leaders were not good at defending themselves physically. A staring contest had been going on between Indra and Abby for the past 10 minutes and neither party had spoken up. Octavia tried her best to stop her feet from tapping and had been successful till now but wasn't really sure how long the success would last.

"Commander, I think we should start off with the talks." Kane finally spoke, trying to make his tone as friendly as possible. Abby felt a very fierce urge to roll her eyes at the tone but resisted.

"I want the little of your forces that are in my territory to move back."

"Of' course. " Abby agrees readily. This was not a problem for her, not at all. In fact, those poor lives would be saved.

"All my healers will be trained."

"We don't have any spare healers, commander."

"That is your problem."

Abby opens her mouth to argue but Kane quickly cuts her off. "We will manage, no problem."

"They will train all my healers in my camp." Lexa continued with her demands in a very cool voice.

"No. That's just not possible." Abby says finally losing her cool and slamming the table.

"You are in no place to argue with me, Chancellor."

"But commander, I just can't imagine my people walking into your camp and teaching your people there. They are not going to be comfortable." Abby tried to reason.

"You need to broaden your imagination then, Chancellor." Lexa retorted coldly.

Abby gritted her teeth in defeat and said, "Next?"

"You will destroy half of your weapons in the presence of my warriors."

"I cannot do that. Our weapons are the only thing that make us strong."

"You can and you will. You can keep the half you desire, but one half will be destroyed."

Abby looks ready to fight but stops when Kane sends her a look that says, This might be the last demand. Patience.

"Very well. I will ask Bellamy to finish the task tomorrow morning. Anything else?" Abby asks, hoping against hope that the answer was no.

"Yes. I will wed your daughter."

Octavia and Abby both stare at the commander as if she had grown horns. Kane looks with a unwavering expression. He knew something like this was coming. Abby stands up from her seat and grips the table tightly. Nothing had prepared her for the words that had left the commander's lips. Octavia had also moved forward and spoke up angrily,

"Never!"

Lexa raises her eyebrows in question at Octavia.

"I wasn't aware you were part of the talks," Lexa taunts.

"Cut the crap. Clarke is my friend, and I will not let her marry some heartless beast like you!"

Indra gets up, unsheathing her sword, but Kane quickly steps in between and shouts, "Octavia, Leave. Just trust me. Speak of this to no one!"

Octavia stays there for a moment before looking at Abby, who herself is fuming. Then, she nods at her and leaves.

"Let us all please take our seats and talk this through," Kane says calmly and sighs internally as he watches the two ladies - Abby and Indra- take their seats.

"Commander, how can I allow this? She is my daughter. What will I have in return for allowing her to marry you? What will we gain?" Abby speaks in a surprisingly calm voice. She already knows the answer, but she doesn't know why. She wants to hear the grounder commander say it. Maybe to make it a bit more real.

"Nothing. You will gain nothing. It is I who will gain everything. You will not dare try to attack our lands with your absurd technology and have your daughter's life at stake."

Abby knows that if she was in Lexa's shoes, she would've done the same thing. It was the wisest move. Kane was right, she shouldn't have underestimated the young commander; but she wasn't thinking rationally anymore. It was, after all, her daughter's life at stake.

"She is not a trading utility! She is a living creature. She has feelings; she is a woman!"

Lexa remained impassive at the heated speech.

"Please don't do this." Abby finally begged.

"You are being weak for your daughter. It's understandable, but I cannot allow it." Lexa paused for a while before continuing, her eyes firmer this time.

"If you do not agree to it, then we will finish off your camp. Your people. If you do not accept, then we will continue with the war till each and every one of you has been wiped out."

Abby can feel the moisture in her eyes. Her throat is dry. She tries to open her mouth, but fails. She is a broken woman - a defeated leader. A defeated mother.

"We accept." She hears Kane say softly as she feels pressure on her arm.

Abby just nods.

Lexa gets up with Indra following her suit.

"We leave after a day, prepare the Sky Princess."

"Of Course. Can we send a friend with her, at least?" Kane asks.

Lexa contemplates for a moment before answering, "If that's what she wishes for."

Kane nods in response. All four of them leave the room, one by one, with not a single one happy.

...

Clarke smiles as she runs her hand lovingly through Bellamy's short hair. God. He really is handsome.

"You are staring." Bellamy murmurs.

"I am gazing." Clarke says caressing his cheeks.

"It's very creepy." Bellamy says.

"It's romantic." She says as she runs a thumb across his lips.

"Hmmm. How was dancing with the brooding commander?" He asks, propping on his elbow.

Clarke immediately turns defensive, "It was just like any other dance. Why would you ask?"

"Oh. Nothing. Just, I mean I know you are bisexual and she is-"

"Don't even go there, Bell. You know, I love you. " With that she crashes her lips on his as he responds eagerly. Only after a few moments, he flips them over - him on top of her. Clarke opens her mouth in protest, but this just gives him excess to her mouth and he-

"Clarke, Abby is coming!" She hears Octavia shout, and the couple immediately jumps apart.

"Bellamy, go! If she finds you here, at this ungodly hour, she will surely suspect us which will make things difficult for you." Clarke says fixing the other side of her bed and pushing Bellamy out.

He doesn't protest, leaving as quickly as possible.

After a few minutes, her mother stands at the door and knocks.

"Come in."

"Hey, Clarke."

"Mom? Everything alright?" Clarke asks faking a sleepy tone in her voice.

"Ah...yes. I just- I just want to tell you that I love you, Clarke." Abby answers sitting on Clarke's bed and running her hand softly through her daughter's hair.

Clarke gives her a bewildered look before saying, "I know mom. I love you too. What's wrong?"

Abby opens her mouth and then closes it again. "I- I have an important announcement to make tomorrow, Clarke. Please dress up nicely and be prepared. Always know that I've always wanted the best for you, even if I can't give it to you."

"Be prepared for what, mom?" Clarke asks softly.

"You will see, my child," with that she pecks her forehead and leaves leaving a baffled Clarke.

"Well, that was definitely weird." Clarke mutters to herself before laying back in her bed and drifting off to dreamland.

...

The next morning after breakfast, which thankfully she wasn't asked to attend with the 'guests', Clarke makes her way to the infirmary. She had been informed that more soldiers had been brought in, battered from the war, hence, more doctors were needed. She didn't have a doctorate degree, but she was the next best person after her mom. All thanks to her experience in the area and teaching her from a young age. She had expected causalities, but not as many as Jackson had told her once she had reached her destination. More than half of their army had been brought down. She couldn't help but agree that if the negotiations with the grounders go successful, it would be the best thing for them. It was clear that the odds of Sky People defeating the grounders physically were heavily against them.

She immediately gets to work and tries to patch up the injured to the best of her abilities. By the time she finishes up with it, it's almost noon, and Octavia comes in the hospital wing to take her out. Clarke notices that her friend is unusually gloomy and is talking less than usual. When she asks her about it, she seems to struggle with words before giving up all together. Clarke is still trying to coax it out of her when she sees Raven walking towards her, fuming.

"Where is that lover of yours?"

"Huh?"

"I asked where is that son of a bitch Bellamy?"

"I don't keep him in my pocket, Raven, and don't call him that."

"Oh really? He fucking stole a bomb from me!"

Now that Clarke understands the matter, she can't help but laugh. Bellamy was just adorable. Clarke knew he loved teasing Raven about her love for bombs. This time, it seems, he had gone a bit more practical.

"Calm down, Raven. We both know he will return the lid to you after using it." Clarke said, still laughing.

"Screw you. If you two marry, it will be like the worst thing ever for me." With that Raven turned around and started walking in the other direction, but Clarke quickly grabbed her arm, halting her in her place. Then, raising her arms in defeat, she said,

"Okay, okay, I'll ask Bellamy to return your babies to you. We both know he was just playing with you."

Suddenly, Octavia's radio came to life, and they all heard Harper's voice telling them that the chancellor needs them all in the great hall in an hour.

"Now what?" Raven groans.

"Feast." Clarke says, eye rolling.

"Speaking of feast, I couldn't help but notice the enticing dance you shared with the hot grounder commander. Breaking up with Bell finally?" Raven winks at Clarke and receives a shove from her in response.

"Bitch." Clarke mutters and Raven just chuckles.

"What's up with you, Octavia? Why so quiet? Oh, I know...you totally saw your brother and Clarke-"

"Raven...Shut up!" Octavia finally spoke up. Both of her friends failing to get to know what was bothering her, even when they finally made it to the great hall, all dressed up.

...

Clarke wears her dark blue dress with golden outlines. It is knee length with a square neck which shows enough of her cleavage to be attractive and breathtaking, yet not entering the indecency line. She is wearing light make up, which is giving her face a much more radiant look which still looks natural on her.

She sits on Abby's right, and after a few moments, Commander Lexa enters. Her armour is still on as is her sash and everything that comes with, in her mind, with the title 'commander'. She silently takes her seat on Abby's left, nods at Abby, but completely ignores Clarke. The truth is that Lexa can't look at Clarke and not feel ashamed of herself. She just used the girl for herself, without asking for her consent; but she did what she had to for her people. Her people always come first.

After the feast, Abby gets up to announce the outcome of the negotiations.

"I am pleased to announce that our negotiations have been successful. In fact, a wonderful alliance has been formed and will only be strengthened when my daughter will marry the grounder commander." Abby wills her voice to stay strong as she announces this. She hears the gasp that escapes her daughter and can feel her anger towards her. She is just thankful as Clarke remains silent at the moment.

After a while, in which the people seem to come out of a trance, a round of applause rings in the great hall, but Clarke feels nothing but sickness. Her mother just used her like a pawn in her game. She wants to argue with her, fight with her, rebel, but she doesn't as the hundreds of dead bodies of her people swirl around in her mind. She gulps as she tries to stay calm. Then, drains her whole glass of wine in a single swig, not bothering about using table manners. She needs it to be able stay in her seat for the remainder of this torturous event.

...

"You are insane!" Clarke shouts at her mother, once they are alone.

"Clarke-" Abby starts.

"No, I will not! I cannot marry her!"

She is trembling, losing control of her body. This cannot be happening, she screams in her head. This is just a nightmare. How can she marry someone else when her heart belongs to another already? How can she give herself to someone else when she has promised it to the other? How can...

"Clarke, there was nothing that I could do. It was Lexa's adamant demand. You know what would've happened if I didn't agree. She is using you to safeguard herself from our attacks. I know this is hard, but this is the sacrifice I need to pay for being a leader."

"Price you have to pay?" Clarke shouts.

"You? You are not the one marrying some ruthless, heartless monster! You are not the one getting sacrificed! You...You are not paying anything!"

"FINE! The sacrifice you have to pay for being a leader!"

Clarke opens her mouth to protest, but Abby cuts her,

"Don't you think I see it? I see how the kids follow you around. I see how they'd rather follow you than me. I see that you are their leader. Tell me Clarke, you would rather let your friends die than protect them when you have the chance?"

Clarke remains silent, her chest still heaving from the outburst. Finally she asks,

"Will anyone be going along with me?"

"Yes, Octavia."

Clarke sends Abby a death glare before she leaves the room, ignoring whatever her mother was trying to say further. She has had it with the conversation. She was done.

AN: So...how's this? Use the review button to voice your opinions. Oh, and suggest me a name for the fiction people, as I don't like this one. Thanks.

-AK