CHAPTER SIX; POWER OF HER FLAMES

    DAKOTA BREATHED HEAVILY as she swung her sword at Roan. They had been practicing since this morning, despite his protests on helping her train since she was not fully healed from her injuries, he agreed to help her. As Roan had gotten his pulse working more than usual, Dakota looked like death was waiting around the corner. The young woman had developed her combat skills tremendously since she had been crowed Queen, however, she still had much to learn before joining in the fight against Trikru.

Dakota swung and slashed her sword up, her knee bending to get a uppercut, only to have her let out a painful shriek as she felt the flesh tearing from the healing wound on her hip. Roan immediately stopped the training, and Echo, who had been standing by, watching with cold blue eyes had lifted her chin to take a look at the wound.

"It's too early," Roan mumbled, his own blue eyes looking down at hers. "You're tearing the wound back open."

Dakota scoffed. "If I remember correctly, you wouldn't stop training when you had a bullet in your chest. How is this any different?" Dakota said, her voice filled with authority and confidence.

 Roan's eyes had narrowed back at her. Her fire and determination reminded him of himself at times. With a brief nod of his head he rose his sword and then swung at her.  Without the use of her sword, Dakota began to move her body as she began to dodge the oncoming blows from the older and more experienced Azgeda warrior. Dakota's brown eyes had only left his form for a brief moment, her attention focusing on Echo standing in the corner. 

 "Focus!" Roan almost scolded her as he held his sword up, placing the sharp blade against her throat.

 "Now, you're dead." Echo's words chilled the air around her as she stepped up from the side. Her arms were crossed over her chest as she observed their training session. "We have other warriors to take her place, my King." Echo spoke up, her eyes moving from the Queen and onto her King. 

 As much as she wanted Dakota to take place in this war, along with her serious wounds proved to be like likeliness of her dying in the midst of battle, she still needed to respect that the girl was crowned by her King.

  She didn't need to actually like her, just tolerate the girl until her recklessness managed to get herself killed.

 Dakota's body turned towards the spy, her shoulders growing tense as she felt she had been insulted right then and there. "Don't talk about me like if I can't understand you." Dakota spoke up, her words getting spat out in their native tongue, crisp and pinpointed, leaving Echo to wonder just how she had gotten so fluent in their language. 

 Dakota was about to swing her sword at Roan's head, but he had ducked and Echo had to lean her head back to not get caught in the slice.

 Dakota breathed out a shallow breath as her body twisted and turned, "the element of surprise," she told him confidently as their swords connected. "never take your eyes off your opponent." her words were spat with venom and confidence and Dakota kicked out at Roan's chest, letting out a battle cry as he landed with a thud. 

 Her sword spun around in her hand as she mounted on top of Roan, her legs resting on either side of his torso while her sword stood high, pointing down at his heart. "And now you're dead."

"And now you're bleeding." Roan grumbled with annoyance, noticing that her brown T-shirt was now soaking with a black stain.

Echo was quick to react to the sight of the color of her blood, her eyes narrowing down in realization of to why Roan wanted to crown her in the first place. It wasn't long until Dakota took a rag and placed it over her bleeding wound, her eyes darting towards Echo.

Dakota stood in the middle of the throne room, her hand placed over her hip as she wiped away at the stitches that she had put in herself. Roan suggested for her to burn the flesh, closing the wound since it would be easier and much faster to heal, but that caused scars, and she had enough of those.

Echo's eyes met with Roan's briefly as she took in the sight of the girl, now knowing that she was a Night-blood complicated Roan's claim on the throne. As she saw it, Dakota had the rightful claim because of her blood.

It had finally made sense.. If his claim on the throne shattered, Dakota would be the last Night-blood to claim the flame, and with her glued to Roan's side, he could control her.

Echo smirked at the thought, Roan was always one step ahead. "I don't understand why you don't trust me.." Dakota muttered under her breath, so soft and delicate that it was barely heard in the already quite room.

Roan's blue eyes flickered towards her frame, her back now facing him as she leaned against the wooden table. Her head was leaning back as she pushed on the wound harder; applying more pressure to get the bleeding to stop.

"You think I don't trust you?" His voice was in it's usual gruff and steady tone that Dakota had grown custom too, but his eyebrows were lifted in something she pegged as disbelief.

It was only until Dakota turned around and noticed that they were the only two beings left in the room, and that Roan must have dismissed Echo behind the door; having her in ear shot in case of an emergency.

"You don't trust that I have this," Dakota shook her head. 'I'm fine, and I'm healthy enough to fight alongside Echo."

"You are not fine!" Roan growled, taking her arm in his hand and lifting her shirt where the wound was growing irritated from getting re-opened from her intense training. "This-" He pointed down at her wound. "makes you weak."

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. 'I'm not weak, and I need to prove that to the other warriors."

"You've already-"

"Proven myself to you?" Dakota shot back, her eyes growing wild. "What about the others, huh? They all look at me, Roan. I need to give them a reason to why they shouldn't try to kill me."

"And what if you die, huh?" Roan shot back with a growl, his eyes going into slits as the venom escapes his lips. "Then I loose the one thing that's keeping the alliance between Skaikru and the other clans."

"Is that all I am to you?" Dakota blinked back, leaning away. "A tool?"

"Dako-"

"I get it.." Dakota said in a low voice, turning away from him.

Roan sighed. "The fight is already unfair since you are injured. Now, if you're caught from behind." He grabbed her arm and spun her around earning a small yelp from her. Dakota's back was pressed to his chest, which had them both distracted, and her sudden squirm only made his pants tighten.

"That's not very effective-"

"No, but this is." Her tone was jovial as she brought her elbow backwards to hit him in the face.

Roan was caught off guard, since his mind was else-wear, thinking that he should've just played along and teased her like she had. With her cheeks flushed and her brows furrowed with concentration, she took his arm and twisted it.

Roan's body jerked to the side along with her movements, trying to ease the pressure that was now aching in his joint. Roan smirked, not being able to resist countering it. Breaking free from her delicate hands, he turned to face her and pinned her arms behind with one hand.

Dakota's back hit the wall rather harshly, sending a loud thud to echo throughout the throne room, and leaving her breathless. Her brown eyes flickered back to his face, but now they were widened in surprise. Her lips parted slightly as his eyes glanced down to her pout.

"That's not effective." Dakota mocked his words back at him, a slip of a small smirk coming up onto her lips while a playful glint in her eye rose. Her mouth moved, instantly catching his attention.

He trailed the blade on the tender flesh and Dakota started breathing heavily. Her face was inches from his, and his lips looked inviting and she thought he was thinking the same thing, as he kept glancing down. "Seems very effective, Trikova Gona."

Dakota's eyes narrowed down to his glazed blue ones, Roan was taken by surprise one again once she brought her skull down on his, gaining the distance she needed with just a simple headbutt. Dakota kicked his chest with a high knee, a battle cry escaping her lips once the heel of her foot connected with his shoulder, making Roan stumble backwards.

Dakota rose her foot again, but this time Roan had caught her boot before it connected with his jaw. He pulled on her leg, sending her stumbling to the floor and Roan mounted on top of her. "You're dead again." Roan sighed, his knife directly placed above her heart.

She was starting to get under his skin, scratch that, she was already two inches deep, and now he was imagining all sorts of sinful activities they would do together. "You haven't stabbed me, so the way I see it.. I still have a chance."

Roan rolled his eyes again, and rolled off of her and then offered his hand to her. Dakota took it, and he helped her off of the floor. "I'd admit, you've grown as a skillful warrior, but you are not healed and as your King, I forbid you taking the front-lines of the war."

Dakota's brown eyes turned towards his bulky frame once again as she turned her body to face him. Her eyes were on fire as she stared him down, her lip turned up into a sneer. "As my King?" She scoffed as she began putting her leather breast plate into place, clasping the straps together as she re-dressed herself.

"As your Queen, I demand you to stop treating me like I'm a weak, fragile child." Dakota turned her back towards his icy gaze, no longer wanting to look Roan into the eyes as she spat out her reply. "I get that you care for me, and that you are afraid I'll die, but If I don't show up..."

Her words trailed on the tip of her tongue while she tugged on her tan leather jacket, her hands running through her curls as she took a glance behind her.

"What warrior hides behind her King?" She asked him, her body now fully facing the Ice Nation King, and Roan's face managed to soften. He understood where she was coming from, and he knew that the other men of his clan would look at him as protecting her. The Mighty Shadow Warrior, the symbol of strife and chaos from the shadows would be nothing but a joke if he didn't allow her to take stance on that battlefield.

When Roan didn't bother to answer her, she scoffed and started walking towards the door of the throne room. Roan watched her leave, the way her shoulders had grown tense with every step she took, told him that she was pissed off.

She had every right to be.

Roan sighed from behind her, but before he had a chance to speak, the throne room doors opened and Dakota slammed them back closed after walking out. With a scowl on her face, Dakota straightened her posture and start walking towards the Royal chambers. Echo, who looked from behind her, glared, her eye sparkling with curiously from the yelling she heard behind the doors a moment before.

Dakota quickly entered the bed chamber, and closed the door behind her to rest her forehead against the wood; a disappointed sigh coming from her lips.

"Are you okay?"

A voice had her spinning around in an instant, her hand gripping her sword and shooting it out in front of her. "For fuck sakes," Dakota breathed upon seeing a familiar face that belonged to the voice, an amused expression came onto the aged face of Herminius, as he tilted his head at her.

"You seem tense." He commented to which Dakota shot him a glare.

The silence was quick to tear through the room as soon as Dakota rolled her eyes at him. She wanted to talk about it, everything that had been happening lately. The dreams of her death, and perhaps they weren't dreams at all, a vision of the future? She wanted to talk about the target that had been placed on her back since she took the role as the new Ice Queen. Everywhere she looked, anger filled eyes followed her movements, waiting for her to trip up.

Dakota felt alone, and loneliness was something that she had grown costumed too while in the SkyBlock, but it was different now. She wasn't alone when she arrived on Earth, she had the chance to feel physical contact once again after being in isolation.

She thought that was loneliness.. standing here in the room, a place where she was a stranger to everyone.. that was alone.

Herminius' head shot up to the sound of a fist pounding on the wooden table in the middle of the room, frustration flooding from the Queen as she clenched her teeth, her brown eyes now fired up with specks of Amber.

"I'm sick and tired of being looked down on." Dakota muttered through her teeth, her back was facing him, but he could tell she was on the edge of tears, and not the ones of sadness, the ones of anger.

"I'm the Shadow Warrior, for fuck sakes." Dakota slammed her fist on the table once again. "I'm Dakota Kane, daughter of Chancellor Marcus Kane."

Herminius crossed his arms over his chest as the young girl turned to face him, her nostrils flaring. "I was a murderer, killed guards with my fucking teeth." She seethed. "I was feared!" He rose his eyebrows at her sudden outburst, fighting the urge to not let his lips slip up into a smirk. "I have scars of plenty, I've endured things people only imagine in books."

Dakota let her face fall, her features softened as her brown eyes looked towards the dirty floor. "I'm Dakota Kane.." The words were softly spoken, trailing on the tip of her tongue.

That was it, she was Dakota Kane.. The chancellors ruthless daughter, the one that had went crazy, The Ripper.

"Make them fear you." Herminius' words caught her off guard. His low voice came out like a growl as he started to walk closer towards her. "Nothing is more scarier than a girl that knows the power of her flames."

Dakota watched him as he walked past her, opening up a wardrobe from the far corner of the room. Her head tilted towards him as he moved out of the way, and her eyes landed upon numerous Commander clothing that was worn from the past Commanders.

Her feet carried her towards the wardrobe, the silky fabric was soft between her fingers. "I'm not the Commander.."

"You command the Ice Nation, and you have the blood."

Her brown eyes twinkled with curiously and a glint of confidence snapped in her as she took the cape from the handle. Her lips parted as she started undressing the black jacket from her shoulders, and clipping on the brown jacket from the hanger.

The black drape flowed behind her, and for a second, Lexa had flashed in her mind, making her lips turn up into a small smile. The fur decorating her shoulder made her look more from Azgeda, and Dakota began clipping her gun holder to her left thigh.

The snaps of the buckle filled Herminius' ears as he watched the young girl from afar, a smile of amusement coming into his features as she rolled her knifes between her fingers. "Now, you look the part."

Dakota's frown was replaced with a satisfied smirk, and her head turned to look towards the warrior. "What do you get from this?"

Herminius let out a low breathy chuckle as he pushed off the stone wall. "I'm not serving someone who looks like a complete idiot." His eye twitched with amusement as she narrowed her eyes up at him.

She hummed and turned around to pick her sword off the table, "Fair enough."

---

The moment that Dakota had stepped foot out of the safety of the Commander's tower, she took a deep breath of fresh air when her boots hit the cobblestoned road. The door opened up behind her as Herminius joined her.

He was dressed in black pants, and his armor laid underneath the layers of fur that helped dress his mid-section. His Axe secured on his back. A sigh escaped the older man's lungs as he could already see the wondering eyes.

With light steps Dakota walked towards the masses that made up the trading markets, Grounders selling wares and cooking food. Her eyes traveled among the faces of the Ice Nation, and she swallowed down the lump that was beginning to come up her throat, back down.

"It's her, the false queen," the murmurs of the grounders filled her ears rather quickly, even though a lot of them were trying to stay quiet, and glare at her from a distance, she could hear them. "she's the same as the rest of Skaikru."

"She'll never command me."

It had happened so quickly, amounts of angry looking grounders had soon started to surround her, angry faces snarled back at her and Dakota's back was exposed.

Herminius hung back, his eyes scanning the mass of people that begun to surround her. He began to walk backwards as she approached the marketplace, and Dakota was unaware of his absence.

Dakota's brown eyes scanned the crowd, profanities were yelled at her as she caught glance of a familiar Grounder who was leaning against the wall, her black hair braided back to show off her facial scars. A smirk was placed on her face as she watched the growing crowd.

She was going to get herself killed.

"This is the outside who claims she commands us?" An older man walked into the small circle that was shaped around her. Facial scars adoring his face and the mighty stride that followed his steps, he was a warrior.

Dakota's eyes narrowed and she bit the inside of her cheeks. She wasn't a complete outsider, by the tone of his voice it almost seemed like she was a whole different type of species. His downgrading tone fueled her burning flame inside.

She wasn't raised to quit, she was raised to be fighter until her heart stopped beating without any doubt flooding through her veins.

"She was one of them, killed our families!"

Ice flooded through her veins yet a deep unknown wrath had slowly lit in her soul. Her brown eyes stared the Azgeda warrior, his face full of nothing but hatred, and his cold eyes searched the growing crowd. His people.

He turned back around, his icy eyes holding her fiery gaze and Dakota's eyes never left his but in the corner of her eye, she could see another warrior pushing through the crowd, his sword coming out of it's scabbard.

In a second, a single gunshot sounded. Herminius found himself grinning as Dakota's arm remanded extended, her eyes never left the warrior that stood in front of her.

It was a perfect shot, and he could see the breath she was holding falling from her lips and the widening of the male warrior's eyes that stood in front of her. Dakota made the mistake of letting her eyes fall from his gaze, to look back at the Grounder who had fallen down behind her, a bullet hole between his eyes and the blood oozing out between the bullet that was still placed in his skull.

It was only until she heard the mighty war cry bellowing from the older Man, she knew she was under immediate attack, and she ducked in time for his sword to come crashing down on the concrete. The sound of metal sliding out of it's scabbard filled the streets, and soon clashed with metal.

Dakota ducked under his sword and grabbed the silver weapon that had fallen from the dead Grounder with the bullet wound. She turned to see the man let out a war cry, his arm hitting his shoulder and he turned around, fully charging after her.

Dakota smirked when the man in full speed ran towards her with his sword ready to strike up high. The Grounder was lacking a helmet, so when he swung his sword at her head in full force she blocked it with one sword before swinging the other at his neck.

As the sharp blade came in contact with the soft flesh, it penetrated; swiftly cutting through the flesh and almost cutting the warrior's head right off. Blood splattered on the street, and sprayed onto Dakota's face.

His lifeless body fell to the ground and Dakota kept her neutral expression as the man had fallen from her sword. She heard the series of gasps that filled the streets, glances to one another as she turned her head.

"Get out of the way, I'm going to end this bitch once and for all!"

Another low voice sounded from behind her, and the sound of gasps filled her ears from behind as another warrior pushed his way through the crowd. Dakota turned her head to the left, seeing the much built man make his way into the circle but this time he had brought company.

Dakota was now surrounded with two warrior's on either side of her and the main one in the front. If she wasn't mistaken, they all looked related some way or another. Tattoo's decorated their faces, and a hallowed out helmet was securely placed over the bigger man's head.

With calm and heavy steps, she turned her body to take a look at the three men who enclosed her inside. Their blood-thirsty and dangerous expressions were on their faces as one of them licked their lips at the thought of snapping her in half.

"We're going to have fun breaking your bones." One of them told her with a snarl. "You're going to wish you would have never left your little tower."

"You're going to regret starting a war with me." She turned her body, her hand gripping her sword tightly as she immediately raised the sword. Letting out a roar, the sword slipped through her fingers and flew through the air, hitting the man right in the shoulder. She spun around, clashing her sword with the more built man who charged.

Dakota ducked under the two swords that were meant to slice her in half, and instead, sliced in one of the warrior's meaty arm. Dakota grabbed her gun from the hoister, her finger pulling the trigger only to miss the Grounder who was unaffected from the slice. He swung his shield, yet she dodged the hit before blocking his swinging sword. As he had swung his arms in one direction each, leaving his front exposed for strikes, she kicked him in the stomach, the air leaving his lungs as he fell to the ground.

She kicked the sword away from his body and ducked when she saw a reflection in her raised sword. The warrior that advanced from behind her, swung his sword down; hitting his relative in the skull. His sword was now stuck in his skull as Dakota kicked the knees from under him.

She grabbed hold of his swinging arm, only to get snagged in the shoulder from his knife and his fist came swinging, hitting her straight in the teeth and sending her flying towards the ground. Dakota went down with a thud, blood dripping from her busted lip and the slice in her shoulder.

Her eyes flickered open as a groan escaped her lips, seeing the warrior swinging his sword. Dakota only looked at him before kicking her leg up with full force, her foot quickly and with great force making contact with his groin. Her kick made his swing less forceful so she could move out of the way.

Dakota jumped to her feet as the warrior without groaning from the hit; gave her a painful glare. Both of their breathing was rugged as she attacked. Their swords clawing together, yet his strikes weren't as powerful as they were before due to the pain radiating from his lower regions.

Taking the advantage, she swung her sword at his, the force making him loose grip of the sword and then kicked him in the stomach. He stumbled back and fell to his knees. Dakota swung her foot up, hitting him under the chin and he snapped his head up from the impact and his back hit the ground.

Dakota took out one of her sharp knives from her jacket and walked over to him, straddling his upper body and then dove the knife down into the palm of his hand, straight through. She felt the knife penetrate the ground after stabbing through his hand.

"Anybody else?" Dakota's powerful voice filled the streets as she stood up, letting the fallen warrior regain himself. She scanned the crowd that looked at her with fear in their eyes as her nostrils flared, her breathing heavy.

Dakota spit out the warm blood that filled her mouth, onto the ground below her. "The Trikova Gona is your new Queen!" She roared as her fingers went to her mouth, gathering the black liquid onto her fingers and smearing it over her face.

A hand on her shoulder had her spinning in seconds, and the warrior who was on the ground just minutes ago was on his knees in seconds. His arm painfully getting twisted to his back, she could swear she felt the pop of his shoulder dislocating from it's socket.

"Who is your Queen?" She spoke dangerously in the ear of the warrior that she had in her deathly grip. The warrior struggled with his breath, "The Trikova Gona-" A cry fell from his lips as Dakota twisted his arm back even more.

"I can't hear you!"

"The Shadow Warrior commands the Ice Nation!"

Dakota smirked, her eyes connecting with Herminius who decided to push his way through the crowd and he stood in front of her and nodded slightly. Dakota grabbed hold of his grimy brown hair, her fingers tangling painfully in his braids and she slammed his head down towards the ground; blood gushing from his nose as it broke.

Everyone thought she was finished, and for a second the Ice Nation warrior thought she was. A muffled cry escaped his lips as her teeth sank into his throat and Herminius walked up to hold the man down as Dakota's hand dug into his eyes and then her teeth crushed his throat as her hand helped her dig out his throat by pushing him towards the ground.

With the help of her Right hand, Dakota shocked the Market Place as she resurfaced from the man's neck, blood coating her mouth and dripping down her chin. She spat out his blood from her mouth.

"Against all odds, I will reign!" Dakota growled through the crowd, a series of shrieks coming from the villagers who backed away from her. "Make him an example if anyone who wants to challenge me, you'll wish you didn't."

"For I'll rip your throat out."