𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐄 | bellamy blake²

❀ | chapter one

001.

━━━━━━ ◦ ❃ ◦ ━━━━━━ 

     "And that's why there's so many guards around Arkadia— so that we continue to be a strong, stuck-together community. When you guys get old enough, you'll get the option to be like one of them— protect everyone. Wouldn't that be cool?" 

     As per usual, all of Maggie Gray's students stared at her, captivated at the words that had just left her mouth. 

     After all, this wasn't the sort of stuff they learned in class on the Ark. 

     This, was much cooler. 

     Soon after the tragedy that was Mount Weather, Magnolia made a pact with herself, for even the youngest of children to have knowledge on the topics at hand. Introducing them in a scary manner was never something she wanted to do. Those kids in the mountain went on without awareness of a thing, and she didn't want her own people to be uneducated in areas that mattered.

     She wasn't technically a leader anymore, but she still happened to look after them as if they were her own. You know what they say— old habits tend to die hard. 

     Kane and Abby thought that the Gray girl's idea was intelligent. Ballsy, maybe, but what major, important decision on the ground wasn't gutsy? Having Lincoln reside in their walls, limiting people to go in and out— nothing was an easy choice, and nothing was to be underestimated. This had been no exception, and the two adults listened for a long ass time as Maggie ran through topics she believed were important to discuss. War, the reasoning for the Ark coming to the ground, Mount Weather, guards, and a shit-ton more were all topics she believed were crucial in an understanding of the ground. 

     At first, she had been unsure of teaching children. Her first true experience with the youth being Charlotte, Magnolia questioned her suitability for doing so. However, Bellamy happened to be convincing when he wanted, and he had played a part in her spark being ignited when it came to kids. 

     Children loved her, and what she taught them. 

     The set of doors in the back of the room opened with a whirr, and a warm smile met her mouth when she saw that Miller was there. Her eyes darted to the clock: the class was almost over. It went by so damn fast. "Let's answer a few questions, m'kay?"

     Like routine, nearly every child's hand shot up into the air, desperate to ask something that had their brain buzzing with curiosity. "Go ahead, Caroline."

     "Is being a guard scary?" a young girl, wearing a collared long sleeve and some light-washed jeans, questioned. 

     "If you know what you're doing and who you're fighting for— no. Your family, your friends, your people— when you see that you're protecting them, you don't have anything to be scared of," Magnolia didn't have to think long and hard about that one. Sometimes, she did— sometimes, those kids threw her for the ringer and asked insensitive questions with little to zero knowledge on what Gray had actually endured. 

     As Miller rocked on the balls of his feet, he tapped a finger against his wrist, as a silent way of telling her there wasn't much time. They had a supply run, and she was on the unit. 

     "One more question before next week. Your turn," her finger pointed to a boy, of maybe about seven or eight. 

     "Have you ever killed anyone?" he curtly asked, to which Maggie inhaled a sharp breath. Even Nate's eyes widened a little at that; it was a sore subject, for a lot of them. Some matters were— maybe not their favorite to openly discuss.