𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐋 [The 100]

𝟎𝟏𝟒: 𝘿𝘼𝘿𝘿𝙔'𝙎 𝙂𝙄𝙍𝙇

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆

Unity Day marks the day when twelve stations joined together to form what is now known as the Ark. At home, Alice and everyone else was taught that this day was one of the most important in their history. For Alice, however, Unity Day was more than just a holiday; it was a memory that came back to her that night.

The words she had memorized many years ago, when she was only six years old, still circled in her brain - haunting her, like her father's face as he smiled at her, his hands folded proudly over his chest. Her mother's eyes filled with tears.

"Long ago when the Earth was on fire, twelve stations floated through space all alone. Then one day, Mir floated by Shenzhen, and they realized life would be better together. The other stations saw this, and they wanted to be together, too. When all the stations were formed, they called themselves the Ark," she recited as perfectly as she had been practicing for weeks. The typical Alice smile played on her little lips - the fake, perfect smile that she still wore like a mask even today. This should have been one of the most exciting days of her life. She should have been proud to be the youngest to have the honor of opening Unity Day with a speech that many had given before her. Instead, all the little girl with the long, dark brown hair had done that day was look around for her father and seek his approval, as if there was nothing more important in this world.

And he was proud. On that day, eleven years ago, she had fulfilled his expectations for the first time. She couldn't explain why she was reminded of it - of that very day - but she didn't want to escape the memory. She clung to the image - to her father's smile and his sparkling brown eyes. She clung to the feeling of being unbeatable that had filled her that day, while twelve children circled around her with different national flags. She didn't want to let go of that memory - she just wanted to stay a little longer.

Just a moment, she thought. Just one more moment.

"Alice. Wake up, Alice. Come on, get your ass up!" She felt a rough shake on her shoulders before the blanket was ripped from her body, sending a cold shiver down her spine. "Alice! How much did you drink?" This time she was grabbed by her arms and shaken again, so hard that the image - the memory - of her father disappeared completely from her mind. Alicent groaned in agony before finally opening her eyes and looking straight into Octavia Blake's face. Her head was pounding, throbbing incessantly, while every muscle in her body ached.
Was this what Graham called a hangover?

The dark-haired girl rubbed her temples, exhausted. Her vision was still blurry, but she wasn't sure if it was the alcohol still in her system or the fact that she had just woken up.

"Come on," the Blake girl repeated tensely as she pushed herself off the ground and began pacing up and down the tent. Alice immediately began to question - or rather, to search her foggy brain - if she had missed anything. Had she forgotten something? Maybe even made plans with Octavia?
She propped herself up on the mattress into a sitting position.
"Octavia, what time is it?" Alice began hoarsely, but was immediately interrupted by the girl, who threatened to explode with nervousness at any moment. The older girl noticed it, her growing anxiety overwhelming her so terribly that there seemed to be nothing left of the usually fierce and confident Octavia.