Deviator

Home sweet home

2039
Valentine

"Are you sure this is what you want, Chancellor?"

The council stares at me, surprise badly hidden, while waiting for my answer. It isn't all that often I ask the council to be merciful. Actually, it has never happened before.

"Yes. This is what I want."

"But... We have never taken back a Deviator before. And now you want her to be pardoned for all her sins?" his gaze locks onto mine and I instantly detect the hint of betrayal in his eyes. He wants to make me look weak in front of the others. Maybe he wants my position in our society. Well, he can keep dreaming. I built this City, and I will be its leader until my grandson is old enough to take over.

"Why do you ask?" I put my palms on the table and lean in closer to his face. "Did I stutter?"

"No sir." He lovers his gaze. "I am just surprised by your sudden mercy. We wouldn't want people to think they can get away with disobeying the Obligations, would we?" His eyes meet mine once again, and I can sense his defiance.

Oh, so you want to push me now, do you. This isn't going to end well for you.

I stand up straight and look around at the entire council.

"The circumstances have changed."

"Because she is your daughter?" He asks, and my gaze snaps back to him instantly.

"Watch it!" I growl at him. The tension in the room grows thick. "The fact she is my daughter has nothing to do with it. She is pregnant."

The other councilmen gasps and even the disrespectful one looks shocked.

"Like... Pregnant by the natural way?"

"Yes."

"I didn't even know that she could get pregnant. Wasn't she affected by the vaccine?" The eldest in the council asks. He has always been loyal to me. I trust him completely. Not like the young pup who thinks he can take my place.

"Yes, she was. That is why I ask for her to be pardoned. At least until the baby is born. This baby is a miracle. Maybe even the miracle we have been waiting for. It has been conceived even though she was deemed infertile. Who knows what mysteries that is lurking in the child's DNA?"

"She has broken another obligation!" The young councilman slams his fists onto the table as he yells. "It will be immoral to pardon her!"

"Calm yourself. We do not raise our voices in this room." The elder councilman speaks with authority and I almost feel like grinning at the kid. Seems like I don't have to do much. He will dig his own grave. "We have to take the circumstances into consideration. And furthermore, the fact that the chancellor has come forward and asked for us to pardon her instead of just pardoning her himself is a sign of the uttermost respect for the society he has created, and that must also be taken into consideration." He turns towards me. "Thank you, Chancellor. We will discuss this and call you back when we have a verdict."

I thank them and leave the room. I am almost a hundredth percent sure it will go the way I want it to. The kid doesn't have the power he thinks he does. And if things don't go my way... well, then accidents do happen. Something could happen to his family.

A few minutes later I'm called back in.

"We have come to a decision." The young man says. "We will pardon your daughter for her sins." Just as I'm about to thank them, he continues. "For now, anyway. When the child is born, she must give up her life for it. She will be hung at the square, or the child will be smothered. The debt must be paid. That is our verdict."

"When the child is born, Clarissa will die by hanging." I answer without hesitation. I have no need for her, but if the child is a son, as I am hoping it is, then I would raise him as my own - as my successor- anyway.

****

"How are you feeling today, Clarissa?" I ask when I return home.

"Tired." She answers with a yawn. "But I guess that is what to be expected."

"Indeed." The bed creeks slightly as I sit down on the edge of it. "I remember when your mother was pregnant with you. She was tired most of the time, but she always made sure I knew she loved every minute of being pregnant...." My words linger in the silence that follows. I rarely speak of her mother, and I can tell she doesn't know how to respond to the unexpected turn. I don't even really know why I would bring it up now after so many years. I regret speaking of her, so I clear my throat awkwardly, stand up and tells her to get some rest before I leave the room.

The thought of Jocelyn is stirring up old feelings I have buried a long time ago. And I do not care for it to return now. I need to be strong. Focused. I cannot allow weakness to sneak in and poison my mind at a time like this. Not when I have seen how the council is slowly being manipulated to turn against me. I will not allow it. I have worked too hard to fail now. Jocelyn isn't important. Even Clary isn't important. Just the child she carries.

But to succeed in keeping the City under my command, there are things I must do. Convincing Clary that I'll do everything for her is one of them. I need her to trust me enough to legally submit the child to me when it is born. And if I play my cards right, she will be the one to suggest it. Thinking it was all her idea from the beginning. Clary is easily manipulated. She has a weak mind.

The most important thing is that Clary never finds out that the young man, Jace, is in the City. She might be weak, but he isn't. Unfortunately. And I don't know how much he has affected her. She might think she is stronger now because of him. She might even be tempted to fight against me if she finds out that I have offered Jace to the doctor as a test subject. 

It is for the greater good that no one in the City knows he is here. There must not be anything the council can use against me. Should they conspire against me at some point. And conducting a human trial - a reluctant one at that - will be frowned upon.

So, I will do whatever is necessary to keep it a secret.