the war has been going on for months. the grounders and the sky people are tearing each other apart, blood soaking the earth, fire burning the forests.

lexa kom trikru is the commander. she is cold, she is calculated, she is the leader who puts her people above everything else.

she wears the armor, she carries the spirit of the commanders before her, and she has learned that love is not a weakness she can afford.

not after what happened. not after costia.

but then, the scouts bring in prisoners. a group of sky people who wandered too far, who got caught trying to scavenge supplies.

they are brought into the camp, bound and terrified, and lexa comes to look them over, to decide their fate.

to decide who lives and who dies.

she walks down the line, her expression unreadable, her cape sweeping the ground behind her.

she looks at them with nothing but duty in her eyes. until she stops. until she sees you.

the world seems to stop spinning.

you are standing there, shoulders shaking slightly, trying to be brave but you are scared. and lexa freezes. her breath catches in her throat.

because it is like looking at a ghost. you have the same eyes. the same hair.

the same shape of your face, the same way you hold yourself. you look exactly like her. you look exactly like costia.

lexa feels her heart hammering against her ribs, a pain so sharp it makes her dizzy.

she thought she had buried those feelings. she thought she had hardened herself against everything.

but seeing you is like being stabbed in the chest. it is like the ground has opened up and swallowed her whole.

"what is your name?" lexa asks, and her voice is lower than usual, rougher, betraying something she doesnt want anyone to see.

you look up at her, and you flinch slightly, expecting anger, expecting cruelty. "y/n," you whisper. "my name is y/n."

lexa nods slowly, her gaze never leaving your face. she cant look away.

every detail reminds her of the girl she loved and lost. the girl who was killed because she was with her.

because she was lexa’s.

"take her," lexa orders, her voice steady now, masking the chaos inside. "separate her from the others. she will be kept under guard. in my tent."

the warriors obey, though they look confused. why would the commander take interest in one of them?

why spare her when the rest are destined for the mines or the grave? but no one questions lexa.

they take you away, and you look back at her, terrified, wondering what is going to happen to you.

that night, lexa comes to see you. the tent is lit by firelight, casting shadows on the walls. you are sitting on the ground, your hands still bound, and you stand up quickly when she enters.

you expect her to hurt you. you expect her to interrogate you.

but she just stands there, looking at you. she walks closer, slowly, carefully, like you are something fragile. something precious.

"you are not from here," lexa says, her voice soft but commanding. "you are from the ark."

"yes," you answer, trying not to shake. "we just needed food. we didnt mean to trespass."

lexa steps closer, and she reaches out. her hand hovers near your face, and you flinch, but she doesnt touch you. not yet.

she just stares. "you look..." she starts, but she stops herself. she cant say it. she cant say you look like the love of her life who was beheaded and delivered to her in a box.

"you look familiar," she settles for, though the words feel heavy.

"have we met?" you ask, confused. "i dont think so. i would remember."

"no," lexa says quietly. "we have not met."