Love Is Weakness

The Final Verdict

The council were already seated when we entered, Bellamy already having taken up his previous position on the far side of the room.

Their eyes narrowed when they saw Lexa but none dared to question her, not wanting to risk drawing themselves to the commanders attention.

Lexa stood a little to the left from me, her back to the wall as she made it clear she was only here for my benefit, not to cause any trouble.

They quickly lost interest in her when she remained silent and they turned their attention to me. This time I remained standing, not feeling relaxed enough to sit.

'The Council have now discussed your case fully and are ready to hear your defense' my mom told me, silence falling over the room as they waited for me to speak.

My mouth suddenly felt dry and for a second I didn't think I was going to be able to get the words out, but then Lexa caught my eye and gave me an encouraging nod and just like that I could speak again.

'That night, I went to the council room to wait for everyone to arrive for the meeting' I began hesitantly, 'when I went in I felt that something was wrong and I looked around until I found what it was that had put me on edge'.

The council stared at me in a stony silence as I recalled what had happened, each one of them listening intently to my story.

'At first I thought I was mistaken, but as I got closer I saw that I wasn't, it was a body' I continued, pausing a second to order my thoughts before going on.

'I moved even closer and recognized the body to be Ray, then I saw the knife by the body and knelt to look closer, I picked it up and saw that it was a Grounder knife' I explained, dropping my eyes as I remembered what happened next.

'As I was inspecting the knife I heard the door open behind me and my mom called out to me, she had agreed to the meeting and had gathered up a number of people to attend. She was at the front of the group with Lexa, they didn't see me at first because it was dark but when she did catch sight of me she fell silent, assuming the worst when she saw me knelt over the body' I addressed the council, not even able to look at my mother as I spoke of that night.

'I panicked and stood up to face her, forgetting that I still had the weapon in hand. When I did realize, it was too late, the entire room was watching and they had all come to the same conclusion' I said, my voice breaking slightly as I recalled the expressions of those in the room, especially that of my mother who had looked more betrayed than anything.

I cleared my throat before continuing, feeling slightly overwhelmed by the memory.

'From there on you know what happened, I was restrained and taken to a cell' I concluded, the council well aware of everything that had happened from then on.

I glanced up nervously at the row of faces, hoping to see any sign that they believed me. My mom regarded me with a pained expression, apparently just as affected by the memory as I was.

'Thank you Clarke, we now have a number of questions if you are willing to answer them' Kane spoke when it became apparent that my mom was not going to.

I nodded in response, letting out a shaky breath after my speech. Kane glanced along the table, opening the discussion to any member.

'Clarke, you say that you knew something was not right when you entered the room, so why when you saw the body did you not go to get help?' one of the members asked me, her voice gentle and encouraging.

'I'm not sure' I admitted before realizing that this was not the best response and quickly elaborated. 'I was shocked that there was a body and after seeing the extent of the wounds that he had received I could barely think straight.'