On my knees

Mort walked up to her and his hands touched her face, causing an immediate smile. Her heart jumped a beat as he kissed her and she gladly went with it. There was no way that she was ever going to grow tired of the feeling he gave her with every touch. So when he pulled away, naturally, she sighed. His words however, put a new smile on her face. By the Mother. Now she wanted to go back in immediately. “Better make this quick, then,” she decided. There was no way she was going to be able to avoid her duties, after all. And the only way this was going to work, was if she could actually get herself to perform those duties.

The horse started walking as soon as Mort rested his chin on her shoulder. “I have no idea,” she told him. “But it won’t be fun to watch,” she warned him after, giving the horse some encouragement so she would pick up the speed. A part of her feared for what would be waiting for her at the village. It could be everything. From a bunch of strayed strangers they didn’t trust, to a bunch of thieves or murderers tied to a pole, waiting for her judgment. Fun times, to say the least.

---

After handing Astral to a guard and telling him she’d have his head if he wasn’t careful with her, she had led the way. She walked through the village, passing by the square. No one there, so that meant… A sigh sounded and she walked up the stairs, into what you would call her throne room. Also the place she and Mort had met again the day before. Where she had pledged allegiance to the vampire. Where they had given each other a second chance. A faint smile appeared on her face as she entered the throne room, slowly turning towards Mort. “Please join the others and watch. If… Feel free to walk away if you do not agree with anything that goes down today,” she told him. Please walk away if you don’t want to see the Commander again. She didn’t want him to remember what she did to his brother if this day was going to be anything like that.

The Commander sat down on her throne and looked at the few people who had gathered on the sides of the throne room. Not many. Mostly guards, as the regular citizen was not welcome in the throne room. While Mort would be a bit out of place with the guards, she knew that all of them would be busy with what was happening right now. Soon enough, two guards came walking in, a man in the middle. They both held him by one arm, throwing him on the ground before her feet when they got close enough. “Speak, my child,” she spoke calmly, though she had an idea of what was going on. The fury in the eyes of the man who kneeled in front of her, made perfectly clear what he was on about. Yet, he was quiet for a bit. Just stared at her with this intense hatred. As if she had personally done something to hurt him.

‘You’ve allowed multiple strangers into our home, Commander,’ the man spoke. Oh, boy. ‘You’ve spent a long time away from Vanaheim and suddenly these unbelievers are found left and right!’ he went on. Lexa slowly raised a brow, leaning forward in her throne as the man hissed at her. ‘We can not let them infect our village, wait for them to come in and...’ He wanted to go on, but Lexa cleared her throat, interrupting him in his sentence. “I don’t want to hear any more of it,” she spoke, her voice as strict as ever. “The day I became Commander, our gates opened to everyone. If this is a problem to you, your issue lies with me.” The man stood up after these words, setting a step towards her. The guards immediately grabbed his arms, but Lexa raised her hand, telling them to stand down. “Speak,” she commanded the man. She knew exactly what was coming.

‘I challenge the Commander.’

---

The Commander could hear how the room divided in two. Those who agreed with the man and thought that Lexa had done wrong. Their agreements were soft, barely noticeable, but she could see it in their eyes. How they felt like truth was finally put on the table. The others, however, were angry. One of the guards called for the head of this traitor, but Lexa slowly shook her head. “I will accept your challenge,” she spoke, her voice calm. “You know the rules. Will you fight yourself or will you let a warrior do it for you?” she went on. ‘I will fight myself,’ he answered instantly. Good.

It was acceptable in Vanaheim to challenge a Commander to their rank. If you won, the next Commander in line would take over and the winner of the Challenge would immediately get a seat as advisor, there to guide the new Commander to a path they agreed on. As the Conclave hadn’t been yet, this meant that if she lost, she would not get to guide the new Commander to her paths. The new Commander would be his to guide. Which would, clearly, mean that they would go back to the ways of the previous Commander. The man who was convinced every outsider was plotting war against them.

‘I will fight for you, Commander,’ a voice sounded. Lexa looked up, watching how one of her guards stepped forward and kneeled. He was not just a guard. He was one of the men that had trained her when she was still a child. When she hadn’t met Arawn yet. He had been a smith at the time, but had sworn to protect his new Commander. He was capable, definitely. “The issue lies with my beliefs,” Lexa calmly answered. “And I can feel that he is not alone in this. I think it is time we let the Mother decide what path we walk from here.” For a few seconds, she fell quiet, giving her guard the chance to stand up again. “So I will not ask for a Warrior. Instead, I will accept your Challenge myself,” she told the man, looking him straight in the eye as she spoke. “If this is where my Command ends, so be it,” she spoke to the guard, who clearly seemed to disagree with her decision. “But I stand behind my decisions and I believe She does as well.”

---

Fully aware that this might be her last day on this planet, Lexa had to keep herself from looking at Mort. She wanted to know his reaction to all of this, but at the same time she didn’t. After all, she could guess. There was no way where he would like the idea of her fighting to the death at this moment. But, it was her job. This was something she had to do herself. No one could fight this battle for her. This was something that had been going on for longer. As time passed, she had accepted outsiders to trade in Vanaheim and to look around, as long as they did not cause any issues. Helios and Mort being the most recent ones. Not everyone accepted this change and it had been cause of conflict a few times already. But now, finally, she could prove that the Mother was on her side. And if She wasn’t, she would know.

‘Let’s take this outside, then.’ There it was. No time to prepare. The Commander raised a brow. Her current attire was fine for battle, though she wished she had some more protection around the waist. No matter what, she didn’t plan to back down and to delay this any longer would be unwanted. The man walked away and Lexa sighed, walking out of the throne room. As she passed by Mort, she threw him a quick glare. This would be bloody.

It seemed like people had already gathered around the square in front of it, cheering. They didn’t quite seem to cheer for any of them, were mostly excited because it had been a while since their Commander had been in action. ‘There are no rules,’ one of the guards spoke, as the two stood in the middle of the field. ‘May the Mother guide you both.’ Lexa took a deep breath in and allowed her eyes to scan the people around. This was not going to be fun, but it was absolutely needed. She needed to show her people that the Mother believed in what she was doing. And if She didn’t? The Commander clenched her teeth at the thought. Then she would just pray that Mort would forgive her and that the next Commander would do better.

---

Two swords versus a spear. In this case, she was quite lucky. She was a very experienced fighter when it came to spears too, so she was hoping to be able to predict a lot of his actions. It was when people used the heavier tools, that she found it somewhat more difficult to predict. Lucky for her, the heavier the weapon the slower they usually were. The spear the man had seemed well-made. Light, but wouldn’t break without a fight. Lexa took a few steps away from the man. Now it was time to show why she was the Commander.

The first lunge was her opponent. He swung the spear high up, giving the Commander room to dodge by bending forward, feeling the spear move right over her back. She immediately stood straight up again, taking a step backwards as she dodged the next one. His eyes gave away his next move, giving her time to take a step sideways when he tried to go for her right. Lexa turned around and immediately struck, hitting the man in his upper arm with her sword. She tried delivering a second blow, but this one was blocked by the spear. Quick as he was, the man pulled back his spear and managed to slam one sword out of her hand, causing it to land on the ground. Cheering sounded as her opponent smiled at her. This was what they wanted: an exciting fight.

Again, her opponent came at her. His eyes gave away his movement before he even made it, so she took a step backwards and managed to dodge the lunge for her stomach. It seemed he had paid attention to the fact that her current attire did not have much armor, striking for the spots that were vulnerable. His next blow, however, managed to hit her on her upper arm. Not causing any blood, but giving him the chance at the next blow, going for her feet. Within a second, the Commander was lying on her back, one sword in hand and the man ready to deliver the final blow. The cheers stopped, as anxiety seemed to fill the air around them.

---

It was his ego that ruined his chance. He raised his spear, making himself ready for the final blow. In a quick movement, Lexa raised her feet and kicked the man in his stomach, causing him to take a step backward. In the blink of an eye, she got herself back up on her feet. This seemed to enrage the man. His ego was ruined. He could have won, had the chance to end this all. Yet, he had taken a second too long to get ready, had wasted his opportunity. Now he had to do it all over again. He rushed into it this time, giving the Commander the chance to avoid his blow again. Sadly, it seemed he had anticipated that. In a quick movement, he turned the spear and hit the Commander in her wrist, causing her to drop the sword. It landed on the floor and she immediately stepped backwards, now without weapons.

Her opponent tasted victory. He launched at her, now expecting her to not be able to fight back. In an effort to avoid the first blow, she dodged sideways again, but the tip of the spear managed to slide her arm. As she instinctively grabbed it, he once more went for a second hit. This time she was just a bit too slow dodging and the tip of the spear managed to slide past her side. It was quite deep and the blood loss from both wounds was not going to be kind on her. Now fully sure he was going to win, the man planned on another blow. She avoided it by grabbing the spear and delivering a kick to his wrist, causing him to open his hand. In a quick movement, she turned the spear, causing his other hand to let go of it too.

Now she was the one with the weapon. She took the spear in both hands and felt a sharp pain in her side as she did. Quickly, she stepped towards her opponent and struck. He avoided the first hit and grabbed the spear instantly, causing them both to hold it as they stood face to face. The Commander immediately smacked her forehead against his nose, after which her knee hit his weak spot. Hard. He let go of the spear and she hit him in the face with the back of it, causing him to finally land on his back. Unlike he had, she didn’t give him the chance to recover and the spear immediately found its way into his flesh

“Your fight is over,” she told her opponent, as she pressed it in deeper. She wasn’t going to allow this to go as it had with Kaz. This had to be over as quickly as possible. So when the man let out his final breath, she had to keep herself from sighing in relief.

---

“The challenger is dead,” the Commander spoke loudly, dropping the spear on the ground. “The Mother has chosen our path and any who opposes it, opposes Her,” she went on, staring into the crowd as she spoke. This was an important moment for her and her people and she had planned on making her speech longer, when the wound on her side got through. The woman fell down on one knee and placed her hand on it, which instantly covered in her own blood. She clenched her teeth. Her eyes fell upon Mort, who had stepped upon the battlefield. Her guards didn’t quite agree with this, as expected. She gave him a nod. I’m okay.

‘Long live the Commander!’ a voice sounded, finally breaking the quiet. The people cheered and the guards smiled. Lexa noticed how a few people left, clearly still disagreeing what had happened, but she had earned back her trust today by showing the Mother was still on her side. By showing that she hadn’t been weakened, was still strong enough to kill those who opposed her. The path from here would still be harsh and she didn’t expect her people to understand what she wanted them to, but every step forward was one that she needed to appreciate.

‘We need to treat your wounds,’ a voice sounded and Lexa looked up, her eyes meeting those of the guard who had offered to fight earlier. She smiled. “I’ll be fine,” she told the man, who immediately raised a brow at her. ‘Yes. Because the doctor is already getting ready,’ he then spoke. Not listening to his words, the Commander nodded towards the vampire. Her vampire. “Let him come,” she told him, before accepting the guard’s hand and ending up back on her feet. She had to fight to not fall again, clenching her teeth as she stood straight. There was no way in hell that she was going to be able to walk back. Now that the adrenaline had vanished and the loss of blood had gotten through to her, she felt like she was going to collapse any second.

---