Missing

Lexa's PoV:

The numerous problems that seemed to spring up these last few days have been rather daunting. James had won the battle like I knew he would, but then a factor we had completely forgotten about had entered the battlefield.

Mountain men had either killed every warrior present or had captured them. When I heard the news of what had happened, I was overcome with a sense of fear that he could be dead, but I knew in my gut that he was still alive. He just had to be… In public I wouldn't allow others to see how the loss of my Shield was affecting me, but whenever I was alone in my quarters, I let my bottled emotions loose. It was like I was losing Costia all over again. All I could do was hope and pray to the spirit of the commanders that he would come back to me in one piece.

I could tell John was affected by the disappearance of James as well. Not nearly as much as I was, but affected nonetheless. He tried to hide it similar to how I was, but he wasn't even close to the level of emotion concealment I had reached. It was the subtle changes in behavior and drive that gave his emotions away.

Whenever I would train with the nightblood, I would see John training himself to the point of near exhaustion. I would ask him about it, and his answer was always the same. "I need to be stronger." He'd say to me. While James's disappearance was the most personal impactful news that I had received, it wasn't the only news. The Ark came down.

Pieces of it landed in many different territories, and not all of them landed safely. Few sections of The Ark landed actually intact with their people unharmed. Azgeda had reported that a section had landed in their territory and the people inside were still alive. With the heartache and rage that has accompanied the loss of James, I ordered Azgeda to do what they wished with the invaders.

Another section has landed in Trikru territory once more, though this one seemed to be quite a bit important. Based on the Skaikru warriors that set up a defensive perimeter around their camp, I'd have to take a guess and say that their leaders are there. According to my scouts, the camp has been named "Camp Jaha." I did not know who this Jaha person was, but they sounded needy.

I have already ordered the clans nearby Camp Jaha to set up near the treeline and to kill any Skaikru that enter the forest. So far the clans have reported that they've eliminated three separate squads of four men who've decided to risk stepping out of their camp. No one shall leave, nor enter, that camp without me knowing about it.

-*-*-*-*

If you were to enter the training grounds around midnight you'd expect it to be silent and completely void of people, but this has not been the case as of late. Instead, you'd hear the steady and constant thud of a dull sword striking a wooden post.

The post was marred with deep gauges and splintered wood chippings from constant abuse. Every night since the disappearance of James, John had come to the training grounds and would work himself till he couldn't swing a sword anymore. More than once, he has passed out from over exertion and had to be carried to his room by Polis guard, only to wake up and do it all over again. If John kept this up, he would surely work himself to death, it was only a matter of time.

-*-*-*-*

John's PoV:

It's been a week since James has been missing and The Ark… the Skycru situation, has only gotten worse. Chancellor Jaha has been wandering the desert, he was captured and then delivered to Polis. When I first laid eyes on him I thought I was going to snap. The man who I hated more than anyone else, the man I wished I could kill, every single day in the skybox. The man who floated my parents… I wanted to kill him on the spot, I had to struggle to not pull my sword out and gut him, then and there… But I knew that he would be useful in subduing Skaikru. He will not be returned, instead he will be executed. He will be used as a tool to demoralize Skaikru, he will not live, and I will be the one to execute him.

I brought up my plan to Heda and she seemed quite interested in the idea, when she finally decided to go through with my plan, I explained why I wanted, no, needed him to die. When I was finished telling Heda my story, I requested that I be the one to end his life.

I couldn't believe that she agreed. For years I have dreamed of killing the man that killed my parents, because that's all I believed it could be, a dream… but not anymore, it wasn't a dream; it was a reality.

Thwack!

I struck the training post as hard as I could and was rewarded with the satisfying sound of my sword nearly cleaving the target in half. There were many reasons I wanted to get stronger, but one of the most prominent was that while James was gone, I needed to show him that I took my training seriously and didn't slack off. If he came back and I was the exact same as when he left then I just know that he'd be disappointed. Another reason was I needed to protect the Heda in his place.

Lexa was the most important person to him, and if anything were to happen to her under my watch then James would probably kill me. Well, probably not kill me… probably. Either way, I just needed to be stronger than I was currently.

I was still looked down upon as being former Skaikru, more than once I've been attacked on the streets. I've always managed to defend myself but, eventually my luck will run out and some former warrior will get a lucky blade past my block. Heda wanted to have these types of people executed and made an example of, but that wasn't what I wanted. I've managed to get her to agree to letting these people go without any punishment whatsoever. I wanted them to realize that I wasn't Skaikru and I was one of them. I couldn't blame them for wanting to attack me, after-all, Skaikru were responsible for a villages destruction.

"Do you mind if I join you?"

I nearly snapped my neck with the speed at which I turned my head to look towards where the voice had come from.

"Of course not." I replied with relief, realizing that it was only one of the newer Nightblood. I hadn't yet gotten her name, but she would often come down from the Nightblood quarters and join me for a late night training session. Apparently she was given to Heda as a show of trust from the Ice queen.

She had dark brown hair and a cute face that was sadly marred with scars. That didn't take away from her beauty though, to me, it only seemed to accentuate it. She was rather short being only Five feet, three inches, since she wouldn't give me her name easily, I'd often call her shorty.

The first time I had called her that, she had challenged me to a duel, a duel in which I failed rather embarrassingly, but during the fight I somehow earned her respect. She has allowed me to continue to call her shorty and has promised to only tell me her name if I were to beat her. Of course, I could just ask Heda what her name was, but where would the fun be in that.

"Up for a spar?" Shorty asked, a little excited, now standing in front of me with a sword in hand.

"I'm always up for a spar, the question is… are you ready to finally gift me your name, Shorty?" I answer back teasingly, I smirk at the way she rolls her eyes at me cutely.

"You wish, John." She answered while getting into position, a matching smirk on her face.