Hey guys! This story is originally from A03 but I had some requests to write it over here so here it is. This is my first ever attempt at writing a fan fiction so I hope you guys enjoy it! I have done my absolute best to minimize mistakes, but there will be some so I apologize in advanced for those. This story has a good bit of violence and some torture so be aware of that. I will give you a warning of the intense stuff ahead of time. Don't be afraid to comment and let me know what you think. I love hearing what suggestions and ideas you have and I love just hearing your thoughts and opinions. Anyway, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy this story.

The snap of a tree branch caused Clarke to stop in her tracks. It may have only been three weeks since she left Camp Jaha, but Clarke can tell what sounds are natural and what aren't, and that snap definitely wasn't natural. She reached to her side and help up her gun in the direction of the sound. She only had two bullets left, so if she took a shot she needed to make it count. She moved quickly and quietly to the cover of a large tree and slowly poked her head around it to get a view of the forest before her. Her eyes scanned the trees, but there was no sign of movement and she didn't hear anything out of the ordinary. Clarke stayed rooted behind the tree continuing to scan her surroundings for what seemed like hours before she was satisfied that whatever had made the noise had passed.

Clarke lowered her gun, but made sure to keep it in her hand in case it was needed, and she stepped away from the tree. She took a few steps forward, prepared for anything, but nothing happened. She finally relaxed, and that was when two men dropped out of the trees behind her. Clarke whirled around on the two men, both of them wearing blue and grey furs with scars adorning their faces and weapons drawn. As quickly as she could react, Clarke fired a shot hitting the man on the right in the chest, killing him immediately. Before she could turn on the second man, he was on her. His fist connected with her jaw, sending her stumbling backwards as blood started to drip down her chin. She tried to collect herself, but the man stayed on her, delivering a hard punch to the gut. Clarke doubled over as all the oxygen was forced from her lungs and she inhaled deeply trying to hold herself together.

The man's next move disarmed Clarke, but not before she got a shot off, which dug itself into the man's leg. He grunted in pain, but the shot didn't seem to faze him much as he pounced on her, knocking her to the ground. The man landed on top of her and Clarke struggled to move under his body weight. He wrapped his hands around her throat and squeezed. Clarke tried to fight back, using the butt of her gun and slamming it into his massive body, but it didn't work. The man's grip on her throat only tightened and black circles started to invade her vision. She continued to fight back, but the black spots quickly took over her vision and she passed out.

When Clarke awoke she opened her eyes, only to see the inside of a bag. There was a gag in her mouth and her hands were tied behind her back. She was laying on her side and she could feel the heat of a body behind her holding her up on what must be the back of a horse. She tried to sit up, but as she moved, a wave of pain shot through her entire body keeping her down, and before long she was out again.

The second time Clarke awoke she was being pulled off of the horse. She was put on her feet and pushed forward by the man who had taken her. She still had the bag on her head, so she couldn't see anything but she could hear everything around her. The first thing she noticed was the clashing of metal, she guessed it must be coming from some sort of training ground. She could also hear horses travelling around her and the voices of many people around her all speaking Trigedasleng. She had picked up a few words of the language, but not enough to understand what was being said around her.

Clarke continued to walk forward until her captor stopped her. She could hear him speaking to someone for a moment before she heard the sounds of a door opening and was led forward again. She walked on, guided by her captor until he pulled her to another stop. "Ai bring Wanheda gon the az kwin," her captor said to who must be another guard. The words made Clarke's heart drop. She knew little of the grounders language but she recognized two important things. Wanheda, which Clarke had learned was the name given to herself after the destruction of the Mountain Men, and az kwin, the Ice Queen. the Commander had told Clarke stories of the Ice Queen and what she did to Costia. Clarke's blood boiled at the thought of the Commander, but she quickly calmed herself down. Now was not the time to think of Lexa's betrayal or the Mountain, not when she was about to be brought before a murderous psychopath of a queen.

Before Clarke had any more time to think she was being pushed forward again. Her body was aching all over, but she still moved forward until she felt a boot collide with the back of her legs sending her down to her knees. Once she was down the sack was lifted off head and the gag was removed. She closed her eyes as she adjusted to the light before she took in her surroundings. She was in a large room lit by a few candles and some sunlight that shone through some windows. The walls were covered with antlers, skulls, bones, furs and a few gorgeously designed weapons. In front of her was a large throne on a dais that was made completely out of what had to be bone. There was a woman sitting in the throne with two guards standing at attention behind her, both heavily armed.

The woman rose from her seat and slowly descended the steps of the dais stopping a few feet in front of Clarke. Her eyes, that must have once been a beautiful blue, were a light grey, and her gaze locked with Clarke's. Clarke tried to look confident and unafraid as she met the woman's gaze, but it was like those eyes were piercing into her soul and Clarke knew she looked anything but confident. The woman's eyes scanned Clarke's body for a moment before she finally spoke, "So you are Clarke kom Skaikru, Mountain Slayer, the great Wanheda." She listed off Clarke's titles and waited for the girl to answer, but Clarke said nothing, doing her best to hold the woman's stare. "I must say you are not what I expected."

Again Clarke said nothing, but this time she was met with a punch to the jaw by her captor, who she forgot was standing behind her. "You are not what I expected either Queen Nia," Clarke spat. No matter Clarke's anger towards Lexa, what Nia did to Costia was cruel and it angered Clarke that someone would take a life so painfully, so senselessly, and so easily. She had taken many lives in her short time on the ground. She hated herself for it and she didn't kill unless it was absolutely necessary, but this woman did it for fun.

An evil smirk grew across the woman's face, "Ah, so my reputation precedes me."

"I wouldn't say that's a good thing," Clarke shot back, which caused another fist to connect with her jaw. Clarke turned her head and spit blood out of her mouth, "What is it that you want from me?"

"I want to command the Commander of Death," she said simply. Clarke flinched at the nickname. It was only fitting, she thought, but it still hurt. "My issue however, is that I don't think you live up to your legend. I need proof of your skill. Proof that you deserve the title of Wanheda."

"I burned three hundred Trikru warriors alive, and then I burned over three hundred of the Mountain Men. What more proof do you need?" Clarke retorted. She hated saying it. She hated knowing she was responsible for so much death, but she needed to show that she wasn't afraid. She needed to show that she was calm and confident, even though on the inside she was anything but.

"I need proof that you can fight. Proof that you can kill whoever, whenever. I'm sending you to The Crater. If you can prove yourself to me, then we'll talk."

"And if I don't?"

"Then I'll kill you, but not before I kill every last member of Skaikru," Nia threatened. Before Clarke could respond she was hit on the back of the head and fell unconscious to the ground.

When Clarke woke up she was in a cell. She was laying in the small section of the room for sleeping with one fur covering her body. In the corner opposite from her was a bucket and along one of the walls of the cell was a bookcase filled with books. Clarke slowly sat up and reached for the back of her head where her blood had dried into her hair. She winced as her fingers ran over the cut on her head and she thought back to her conversation with Nia. She had threatened the lives of Skaikru, and wherever the hell The Crater was, she was here now, so Clarke knew she didn't have much of a choice but to do as Nia said. Clarke slowly got to her feet and walked over to the bookshelf in her cell. Most of the books were written in Trigedasleng, but thankfully for Clarke, there was a book there that translated it to English. Clarke scanned over the first page before a guard arrived outside of her cell and spoke to her, "Learn our language, then our culture. You will need to know everything if you are going to serve our Queen."

Clarke turned to the man standing on the other side of the cell bars, "I'll keep that in mind," she said. "What is this place?"

"This is The Crater. Our Queen uses it as entertainment for some, a training ground for some, a punishment for others. You will be put into different matches with different people, each match a fight to the death," he informed her. He then reached into his pocket and unlocked the door to her cell, "Your first match is soon, I must prepare you." He entered the cell and tied Clarke's hands behind her back, in doing so, giving Clarke a good view of his face. The man had scars across his cheeks and forehead, which Clarke had learned was a symbol of those in the Ice Nation. His face was clean shaven and his long hair was tied back. He wore blue and grey furs just like Clarke's captor had worn, and he was well armed. Clarke followed the man, knowing she had no chance of escape, and was led into another room. There was a table in the room with some light armor, a sword, and a few bowls. The man sat Clarke down in a chair in front of the table and he reached for one of the bowls. "The people here do not need to know that Wanheda is among them. We must disguise you," he said as he dipped his hands into one of the bowls. He then proceeded to cover Clarke's hair with the bowls contents, turning her hair a dark red. When he finished he stepped away and motioned towards a pile of armored clothing, "Change. I will be back momentarily."

The man left and Clarke sat alone in the room. She didn't take Nia's threat lightly so she did as she was told, changing into the blue and grey armor that was provided for her. She used this opportunity to assess her wounds she had obtained previously. There was a gash on the back of her head, but it had stopped bleeding and wasn't too bad, and she had some bruising around her neck. There was also a nasty purple bruise covering her torso, but she relieved to have no cracked ribs. Her body still ached, but there was nothing she could do and she knew it was only going to get worse, so she sucked it up.

When she was done changing the guard entered the room again, "This way. Your first fight starts now."

Clarke grabbed the sword provided for her from the table and followed the man out of the room and down a hallway full of more caged prisoners and a lot of guards. There was no escaping this place. The guard led Clarke down another long hallway before stopping before a metal door. Light was pouring in from the sunlight outside and Clarke could hear cheering from the other side. "So what happens now?" Clarke asked.

"A fight to the death," was all the man said. Clarke could feel her heart beating faster in her chest. She didn't know how to fight, and even if she did, she didn't want to kill anyone. She was still haunted by the deaths of so many people, she couldn't add any more to the list.

Before Clarke had any time to protest the guard was opening the door and pushing Clarke through it.

Clarke stepped out into the light and she suddenly understood why this place was called The Crater. She was standing in a giant crater in the ground and it was surrounded by a bunch of cheering grounders all watching her. The ground around her was stained red from all the blood that had been spilt there, and there was no way out. Clarke's breathing increased to an extremely fast pace. This was disgusting, all these people staring at her, cheering for her, expecting her to kill. She was starting to panic, but she didn't have much of a choice here. She closed her eyes for a moment to slow down her breathing, but opened them when the cheers around her grew louder. She looked across the crater and saw that her opponent had just entered. The man was huge, scars covering his face, arms, and legs. He held a sword in his hand, the tip of it already covered in blood from what must have been a previous fight.

Once the cheering quieted down a little bit the man charged at her. Clarke was just barely able to move out of the way of his first strike, moving quickly to her left. The man turned and was on her again, bringing his sword down towards her head, and Clarke just barely got her sword up in time to block his. She blocked his attack and moved to her right, creating some space between her and her opponent. She watched him turn and she noticed him wince as he moved to look at her. A thought came to her, if this man already had a bloody sword then he had already been in a fight, and with that wince, he must have been injured. Clarke's eyes roamed his body before she noticed a tear in the fabric of the man's clothes and wound that had a decent flow of blood still pouring out from it. That was her opening, her only shot at winning this fight and she knew it. Clarke took a few steps forward and tried to use the man's injury against him but her inexperience with a sword or fighting in general cost her. As she tried to take out the man's injured leg, she left an opening in her defense, and the man made a shallow cut across her stomach. The crowd cheered at the sight of the first blood and Clarke stumbled backwards.

The man was quick to jump on Clarke's instability and he lashed out with his sword cutting into the flesh along her leg, knocking her to the ground. Clarke yelped in pain as she felt blood pour out of the gash on her leg and she watched as the monster of a man stood towering over her, preparing to deliver the final blow, but he was too cocky. He thought this was going to be an easy finish. He wanted to put on a show and it cost him. Clarke brought the hilt of her sword to the man's knee and a gut wrenching crack was heard before the sound was covered up by the man's howl of pain. Clarke quickly jumped to her feet, ignoring the pain in her leg, and without any hesitation, slammed her sword into the man's chest. The crowd was silent for a moment, stunned by the turn of events, before they erupted in cheers for her victory.

Clarke fell down onto one knee, taking the pressure off of her injured leg. She watched as a group of guards entered the crater picking up the body and carrying it out before someone came to her side and helped her walk out of the crater. She was taken to another room where she was given some supplies to treat her injuries. She cleaned and wrapped her wounds and then she was brought back to her cell.

She sat on her cot for a while before her guard appeared outside her cell. "Rest well, it only gets harder from here," he said. "Read the books provided to you and prepare. Tomorrow is a new day and a new challenger awaits." Once he finished speaking he was gone.

Clarke did as she was told. She rested and cared for her injuries, read the books provided to her, and prepared every night for her next fight. Each fight was different. There were different weapons, some used no weapons, different styles of fighters, different numbers of opponents, the only constant was that it was a fight to the death. Clarke stayed in her cell, learning how to fight, how to fight through pain, she learned Trigedasleng and a lot about the grounders culture.

She spent four months in the same cell, going through the same routine. It was extremely early morning and Clarke was lost in one of the books she was reading. She wasn't fluent yet in Trigedasleng, but she was getting there. She didn't sleep much in her cell as her sleep was marred by nightmares of memories from the mountain, including a pair of haunting green eyes, and those that she had killed in The Crater, so she spent most of her time reading. She was almost finished with one of her books when her guard, she had learned his name was Ryne, came to the cell. "It is time for your final challenge," he said.

Clarke looked up from where she was reading, "Final Challenge?"

"You have done well in The Crater. Queen Nia is impressed. She has one more challenge for you and if you succeed, you will be freed from here," he informed her as he unlocked the door to her cell.

Clarke got up from where she was sitting and returned her book to the shelf. She was already wearing her armor, so she didn't need to do anything to get ready. Ryne led her out of the cell and to the weapons room where Clarke chose her usual sword and an extra dagger. When she was armed she was led to entrance of the arena. She took a deep breath, "What do I have to do for this challenge?"

"You will face a beast unlike any other. If you can kill it, then you will be freed from this place. If not, then you will die a very painful death," Ryne said.

Clarke rolled her eyes, "Sounds great." Ryne smirked at her before preparing to open the door to release her into the arena. "Good luck Wanheda," he said. Clarke nodded once before the door was opened and Clarke stepped out. Immediately she went to assess her surroundings. It was early out, the sun not yet fully risen, and there weren't as many spectators as usual. She scanned the area for her opponent, but she saw no one.

Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement. She turned to face her opponent and her eyes widened. Her opponent wasn't a human, it was a black panther, bigger than any she had ever seen. It was hunched over something and hadn't noticed her yet. Clarke took a tentative step forward and she realized that the beast was crouched over a body, pulling the flesh from the bone with its powerful jaw. Clarke felt sick. The beast had killed this warrior and didn't look to have a scratch on it and if she wasn't careful, she would share in its prey's fate.

As Clarke approached the beast it froze, sensing her presence behind it. It lifted its head from its meal and turned to face her. Clarke swallowed thickly as she met the beasts eyes and they stayed locked on each other. "Okay, you can do this," Clarke said to herself. "One more kill and you are out of here."

Once Clarke was ready she made her first move to step towards the panther and it followed suit, making its way towards her. When they met, she lunged forward, hoping to gut it, but instead of meeting flesh her sword met air. Before Clarke could do anything else, she felt a searing pain across her back. The beast had swiped her with his claws leaving three scratch marks down her back. Clarke held back her cry of pain and she turned to face the beast quickly, just barely dodging its next attack in the process.

Clarke had been in that arena for what felt like hours, but in reality was only minutes before she had her opportunity. During the fight she had cut into one of the panther's legs and had left a gash along its side, all while avoiding anymore damage. She was looking good, until the panther jumped at her and Clarke lost her grip on her sword. It fell away from her body and she was just barely able to avoid a fatal strike from the beast's paws. She quickly pulled out her dagger and faced the beast, knowing there was only one thing left that she could do. She kept her grip tight on her dagger and she stood still allowing the panther to stalk closer towards her. When it jumped at her again, she held up the dagger, burying it into its chest as it took her down. Clarke could feel the beast stop moving on top of her and she rolled the deadweight off. "Yu gonplei ste odon," she whispered to the beast, just like she had to every one of her opponents, as some of the guards came out to remove the beast. Clarke watched as they lifted it and carried it away, and the sounds of the cheering crowds started to register in her ears. She hated when they cheered her for killing, but it was something she was growing used to. Clarke turned around when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Ryne was standing behind her a small smile on his face. He led her back to her cell and provided her with some extra materials to clean her wounds, "Queen Nia will see to your release shortly," he said. "I am glad to have met you Wanheda."

Clarke extended her arm to Ryne, "Thank you, for all the help you were able to provide me," she said as he grasped her arm just below the elbow. He nodded and walked away, leaving her to her cell.

A little while later, a different guard appeared and opened the door, "The Queen has requested your presence," he said and he tied her hands behind her back. Clarke put up no struggle as she let the guard tie her and lead her out of The Crater. He led her onto his horse and he took the lead, leading them both away from where Clarke had spent the last four months. After hours of travelling they arrived in the Azgeda capitol which Clarke had learned was called Saipan. She was led into what she believed to be the queen's stronghold and was brought into the room where she first met Nia. This meeting was much the same, although there was no bag over her head. Clarke was forced onto her knees before Nia's throne with Nia sitting proudly upon it, "Survival in The Crater is not easy," Nia said. "I am impressed."

Clarke met the woman's eyes, a fire burning deep within them, but she did her best to restrain her anger. "What do you want from me now?"

"I told you earlier, I wanted to use you to command death. You are going to be trained by my greatest assassin and I intend for you to become an even greater one than he is. You will follow my lead as your Queen and you will do whatever is asked of you. You will kill whoever I asked you to," Nia said, sitting up a little straighter in her throne.

Clarke felt her blood boil and she couldn't help but let her anger show, "I will never do that. I will not become an assassin and I will never follow you."

"Oh but you will," Nia smirked. "Your people will all die if you don't."

This time it was Clarke's turn to smile. She had learned something from Ryne that she was waiting for the right time to use. "You won't attack Skaikru. I learned while I was in The Crater that Skaikru has joined the coalition. If you attack them, then you will be at war with all the other clans."

Clarke felt confident. Nia's army was powerful, but not powerful enough to face the rest of the coalition. If she wanted to kill Clarke fine, but she would never serve her. Clarke stared at Nia looking for any sign of anger or frustration from the woman, but when a smile tugged at her lips, Clarke felt her stomach drop. "That is true, Skaikru has very recently joined the coalition, and I would be a fool to attack them with my army. However there is a way for me to kill them all without it having to look like Azgeda was involved." Nia nodded to one of her guards who was standing by the door. He left the room quickly and shortly returned with another man behind him. Clarke's blood ran cold. "Emerson," she whispered.

Emerson smirked at her as he walked closer to Nia's throne. He bowed at her before he turned to face Clarke. Nia stood from her throne and moved to stand beside him. "The last mountain man showed up a while ago asking for my help. He wanted refuge and he wanted someone to help him make you suffer. In return he will supply me with the launch codes for the last remaining missile inside of the mountain." Clarke's heart was pounding in her chest, all sense of hope leaving her as Nia continued, "All he has to do is enter the code and a missile will be launched directly at Arkadia, obliterating everyone within its walls."

Clarke wanted to throw up. She wanted to scream, she wanted to cry, but she could do none of that. The only thing left for her to do was follow Nia's orders. She closed her eyes and took a deep, shaky breath. "You have my service," Clarke said and she bowed her head slightly. Nia and Emerson both laughed before Nia returned to her throne. "The first thing about assassins is they must grow accustomed to pain, and they must learn to keep their mouths shut. Once you learn these skill, then you will be trained." Nia looked to one of her guards standing beside the door, "Take her away," she ordered.

Clarke felt the man arrive behind her and he lifted her to her feet, then guided her out of the room and out of the stronghold. He led her through Saipan until he came up to a tall, dark looking building and led her inside. When she entered the room the first thing she noticed was the smell. Blood, burning flesh, and death. She felt bile rise in the back of her throat and just barely managed to hold it down. The guard led Clarke up a spiral staircase and he led her into a room. The walls of the room were stained with blood and there were multiple weapons strewn all around. The guard moved and chained Clarke to the wall, without saying a word, and then he disappeared.

Clarke took stock of the room, but she knew it was pointless. She couldn't escape even if she wanted to, so she might as well get comfortable. It wasn't long until a woman entered the room. Her face held the usual scars of Azgeda, but that wasn't what was so scary about her. It was her eyes. They were grey, cold, and empty. Clarke watched as the woman stalked towards her, but not before she grabbed a small blade.

The worst three months of Clarke's life started from there. Every day she was tortured. She was cut, stabbed, poisoned, burned, branded, whipped, and anything else one could possibly think to use to cause pain. The point of the torture, she had learned, was to prevent an assassin from talking if they were ever captured. The woman, Severna, would consistently torture her all while asking Clarke questions about Skaikru. If Clarke talked, they would give her a day of rest, with no pain, but then the next day it would start again and the torture would be even worse than it was before. Clarke quickly learned not to talk, and eventually, she even learned not to scream. It was a waste of breath. To make it even worse, they not only tortured her physically, but mentally. They talked about the mountain, all the lives she had taken, and she was constantly tortured by her nightmares. She was now at the point where nothing mattered. She felt dead inside. The Clarke she once was no longer existed, and now the only thing she could do was endure the pain, do what was asked of her, and keep Skaikru safe.

After three months of this, Clarke was empty, and Nia knew it. That was when she was released from hell. Instead of Severna coming in and continuing her torture, she was met with a man who released her from her chains. She fell hard to her knees, a slight whimper escaping her lips, before she was hauled back to her feet. "I am Dak. You are to be my second until you are ready. Come, I will show you to where you will be staying. You will be given some time to recover, and then our training begins." Clarke followed behind Dak, limping the whole way and wincing with every step. She followed him out of the building and was led all through the capitol until they made it to a partitioned off area of Saipan. She was led into one of the few buildings in that area and given a room. Clarke spent a week in that room sleeping, awake only to eat or relieve herself. Once that week past, Dak returned to her room, "Training begins today," he said and he handed her some black armor. It was different from the usual grey and blue of the Azgeda warriors, so she assumed black was for the assassins. She changed into the clothes quickly before she met Dak outside. He led her to a training ring that was empty which was strange. "Assassins train in private," Dak said, answering the question she hadn't voiced. Dak handed her a sword and they spent the rest of the day training. Clarke quickly learned that what she had to do in The Crater was childsplay. In the back of her mind she had already known that. Most of her opponents were older, injured or crippled, or seemed like they had never held a sword before, which is why she was able to succeed against most of them with such little training. The work she did with Dak was intense and she found herself with a lot of new injuries, though she felt little pain from them after everything she had been through.

After hours of hard nonstop training, Clarke made her way back to her room. She opened her door to find a man standing out on her balcony. Clarke pulled out her dagger, and quietly approached the man from behind. Just as she was about to lunge, he turned and was able to quickly disarm her. "Nice try Wanheda," he said, "but you have not yet mastered the skill of moving silently."

"Who are you?" Clarke asked as the man released her. He was wearing the usual blue and grey furs and he had a half moon scar on both sides of his face. He had a very short beard, if you could call it that, and his long brown hair was pulled back behind his head. "I am Prince Roan kom Azgeda, and I am a prisoner here, just like you."

"Why would the Prince of Azgeda be a prisoner? And what are you doing in my room?" She asked.

"I wanted to meet the great Wanheda. As to why I am a prisoner, that is a story for another time. I just wanted to make my introduction, I will be leaving now," he said and he left her balcony and exited the room. Clarke watched him leave before she moved back inside and prepared herself for bed.

Clarke spent five months training with Dak. He taught her every skill that an assassin would need to know, and Clarke picked up on all of it rather quickly. She had also spent some time with Roan and the two of them had surprisingly grown quite friendly. She had learned that Roan was imprisoned because he disagreed with his mother's ideals. To keep him in line she captured his love and his son, threatening their lives if he didn't obey.

Clarke was in her room preparing for her trial. Dak had told Queen Nia that she was skilled enough to take the trials and become a full fledged assassin and today was the day Nia would test his assessment. Clarke got herself ready, wearing the form fitting black uniform of an assassin and made sure that all of her blades were well placed on her body. When she was finished she sat down on her bed and thought over the previous five months. Not only had she grown close with Roan, but her and Dak had developed somewhat of a relationship. Clarke thought back to one night in particular where the two had grown close:

It was month three of their training. Clarke was taken out to watch Dak complete an assigned mission. He was sent to kill someone who spoke ill of Queen Nia in one of Azgeda's poorer villages. The mission was completed easily, Dak killing the man in his sleep, with no witnesses to come by. That night Clarke had been asleep in her tent, Dak sitting out by the campfire when he heard her screaming. Clarke was having a usual nightmare, but it was the first time she had made it known to anyone that she suffered from them. Dak and Clarke had already started to become friends, and Dak decided he needed to go wake her. He entered her tent and found Clarke tossing and turning. She was drenched in sweat and she was crying out. Dak sat down behind her and woke her slowly, pulling her up and into his embrace. She woke with a start, her breathing heavy, and it took awhile for her to finally calm down. "I get them too," Dak said after a while of silence.

Clarke looked up at him and saw the sincerity in his eyes. "I am not a fan of killing, although I have learned to accept it. As you know all healthy men and women are forced into Queen Nia's army. She saw me training and believed that I had the skills to be an assassin, and she trained to be who I am today. I see the faces of every person whose life I take in my sleep."

"Then why do you do it?" Clarke asked.

"She threatened the lives of everyone I cared about, which I am assuming she is doing to you."

Clarke nodded, "She will kill all of my people if I don't follow her." A silence grew between them before Clarke spoke again, "You said you have learned to accept killing. How?"

Dak took a deep breath, exhaling slowly, before he spoke, "Death is a part of life. It will happen to everyone eventually. The good thing about it is that death is not the end. When Queen Nia orders that someone be killed, they will be killed. If she ordered me to do it and I refused, she would not only kill who I was supposed to kill in the most painful, brutal way possible, but she will also torture me and those I care about. At least this way I can kill her target in a peaceful way. I can send their spirit on to the next life where they won't be in danger from Nia and they will be at peace. To prevent my targets from feeling pain, I kill all my targets in their sleep, which is why I was given the name Dream Eater." All assassins have specific names that relate to how they kill or any identifying characteristics in the way they look in order to protect their real identity and those they care about. "I have learned not to feel anything when I kill, and I find a way to take what little pleasure I can in knowing the dead's spirit will move on. You will learn to deal with it as well."

"I hope not," Clarke said quietly, but still loud enough for Dak to hear. She didn't ever want to be okay with killing someone. If she was going to do it, she was going to feel it.

He was still holding her up against his chest, but she hadn't tried to move yet so Dak assumed the position they were in was alright. He adjusted his hold on her just a little before asking her his next question, "Do you want to tell me what you were dreaming about?"

Clarke was silent for a while, just breathing in and out slowly before she spoke, "Death, The Crater, Mount Weather, the Commander," she spat out the last part.

"I know about the deal she made," Dak said feeling the blonde tense up at his words, "and I know you have a lot of anger towards her. I understand that she betrayed you, but you are smart Clarke. You know that she did what she had to do for your people. Why are you still angry with her?" Dak was not a big supporter of the Commander, but he didn't dislike her either. In his opinion what the Commander had done on Mount Weather saved a lot of people. It may not have been the most fair thing to do to Skaikru, but as a leader it was a wise decision. Clarke had to know that.

"She left my people to die. She left me to die. We had a plan, a plan that would have worked, but she just walked away," Clarke sneered.

"Yes she did, but in the process she saved all of her people. How many of her people do you think would have died had you fought? With accepting the deal, the Commander was able to save all of her people with no bloodshed." Clarke listened intently to Dak's words. Deep down she knew he was right. She had made a smart decision, a decision to save all of her people. If Clarke was being honest, if she was in that position, she might have made the same choice, but she couldn't help but feel angry. Lexa had left her people and left her without a second thought.

Clarke sighed, "I'm not sure if I can forgive her."

"Forgiveness is not an easy thing to give, but Clarke, holding a grudge, being angry is not a wise choice. I can tell that you are not the type of person to hate anyone. Being angry does you no good, especially when it is over something that cannot be changed. You do not have to forgive her but just, think about it," Dak said. Clarke only nodded, not trusting her voice in that moment and a yawn escaped her lips. Dak smiled and released his hold on her. "Go back to sleep Clarke. I will keep your demons away tonight."

Clarke sat on her bed and remembered that she had actually slept through the night that night. As the memory finished playing out in her mind she thought about Lexa. It had taken some time, but she was actually able to hear and think about the Commander's name without getting angry. She wasn't sure if she had totally forgiven Lexa, but she was getting there.

All of a sudden a knock on the door snapped Clarke out of her thoughts. A second later, the door opened and Dak entered, "It is time," he said and Clarke followed him out of the room. She walked down the hallway of the building she lived in. Roan was leaning up against the wall, his arms crossed across his chest and his usual smirk on his face. "Good luck Clarke," he said, remembering not to call her Wanheda per Clarke's request. She accepted his wishes of luck and continued to follow Dak out of the room.

When they arrived to their destination, Nia was standing there with Emerson on her right and a few guards around them. She handed Clarke a piece of paper, "Here is your assignment. If you successfully complete this mission then you will finally be recognized as a member of Azgeda and you will be my personal assassin. Dak will watch everything you do during this trial, but he will provide no help for you. I hope you have paid attention during your training. Do not fail me," Nia ordered.

Clarke bowed her head before she left to read her assignment. Her job was to travel to Sankru and kill one of their diplomats who opposed Nia. The trip to the Sankru village was short, just over a day. Clarke entered the village where her target lived with Dak beside her. She entered the village at night with a cloak used to cover her hair and face, to avoid the eyes of anyone who would see her. Clarke chose to stay hidden using rooftops and shadows to travel throughout the village before she found her target.

The man was in his home, which was well guarded as it should be for a man of his position. It looked like was going to remain inside for the night, so Clarke knew that she would have to sneak past all the guards to get inside and finish the job.

Luckily for Clarke, she had learned how to move silently and she was very good at using shadows to hide herself. She moved quickly but carefully, easily sneaking past all of the guards and into the house. Her target was in his bed already and Clarke carefully snuck into his room. What she was unprepared for was the guard that was posted inside the man's room. It was strange for a guard to be inside the room of the man they guarded instead of outside. This guy must be really paranoid, she thought. She changed up her point of entry and went back outside the building and climbed into the man's room through the window. She used the shadows for cover as she creeped closer to her targets sleeping form. The guard in the room was clearly not paying very close attention as Clarke approached her target.

Everything happened quickly from there. She killed the man quickly, a knife to the throught, just like she had killed Atom all those months ago. The man let out a strained noise as he choked on his own blood. The guard shot over to his side, but it was too late. He was clearly shocked that this had happened while he was in the room, and he scanned the room for the killer. He didn't see anyone until he saw a slight movement from the corner of his eye, but it was too late. The assassin had escaped out of the window. The guard inside called out to the others on patrol, but it was too late, Clarke had escaped.

That night was not a good night for Clarke. Sure, she had killed before, but not like that. She felt sick, but what choice did she have. Her people would die if she didn't and Dak was right, at least she could send him off peacefully. When morning came Dak and Clarke prepared to leave. They stayed hidden, knowing that it would be difficult for newcomers to leave when a man was just assassinated. That was when they heard the rumors. The villagers and guards were saying that an assassination had occured. The assassin had snuck into a heavily fortified area and killed their target with a guard in the room. It was like he was killed by a shadow.

When Clarke and Dak returned to Saipan that was exactly what Dak told Nia. Clarke was then given the name The Shadow and she was now considered to be an assassin as opposed to an assassin in training. She was accepted as a member of Azgeda, but not given any scars, as assassins did not mark their faces to hide their clan affiliations. Clarke didn't think it was necessary anyway as most of her body was already marked with scars that she could say made her Azgeda. From that day, Clarke was given a little more freedom. She was able to train on her own and leave her room more often. She continued to spend time with Dak and Roan and she really only ever left to complete and assignment for Nia. Tales of The Shadow started to spread to the villages that she was involved with and she hardened herself even more. Death didn't affect her. It was a part of life. She would still see those she killed in her dreams, but other than that she accepted it. What other choice did she have but to accept it? This was her life now, and there was absolutely nothing she could do about it.