The Beginning of Lexa

10

On the Ark

Abby enters Clarke's cell, and smiles at the new collection of drawings that had appeared since she last visited.

"Been busy have we?" 

Clarke looked up from the book she holds in her hands and chuckles. "There's not really much to do here mum."

The smile on Abby's face falters slightly.

With a deep breath, she place the small crate of art supplies she managed to gather for the past week in exchange for extra working hours.

"Mum! Oh my gosh, thank you!" Clarke clutched at the small charcoals in her hand, cradling them slightly.

The sparkle in her eyes lit up further. 

"No Problem love." She kissed Clarke's forehead. "I'm sorry darling, I can't stay for long this time. Jaha is calling for a meeting with the council and he requested for my attendance as well."

"I understand." Clarke smiles up at her only parent left. She is 16, turning 17 in just a couple of days. One year closer to getting floated, and being with her dad. Finally free from the constraints of the Ark. But Clarke knew, she was only telling herself that to keep herself from breaking down. She is 16, she had had a future. And now, she is going to get floated in a year.

Abby left her cell, leaving Clarke behind with her small stash of art supplies. The blonde pulled her hair into its usual band roping around her head, leaving most of her hair hanging down but effectively keeping it out of her eyes, and leaned down, a fresh charcoal in her hand and started sketching. 

Her dad had always marvelled at the possibility of returning to the ground. He always played videos from the past, taken from the ground. Most of them are football games which they watched together with the chancellor and his son, each cheering for their own team.

While watching those videos, Clarke always thought about the level of freedom the ground had. People are able to run freely. Eat as much as they want. Buy anything and everything they could ever dream of.

Clarke sketched the trees that filled the surface of the earth, the sight of the moon from the ground, surrounded by the shining of stars. Her tongue poked out from the corner of her lips as she paid attention to the minor details of her drawing. She smiled softly as her vision took place on the dull cement floor of her cell. She planned to cover the entire floor with this on sight. Expanding to the deepest oceans, the vast Milky Way in space. She is going to leave her art behind when they take her from her cell in exactly one year and 3 weeks. 

-------------------

"So he was right." Abby said as a matter of factly.

The council stared at her, waiting for her to continue but Abby didn't know what else to say

"You floated my husband for trying to tell the people the truth. You jailed my daughter to ensure that the people remains in oblivion. Do you still think that you are suitable to be the councillor?" Abby spat at her friend.

Jaha swallowed and stared at his clasped hands resting on the table. "Abby" He started. "What is done is done. There is no point trying to change the past. What we can do now is to plan for the future. The truth IS that the mechanism supplying oxygen to thousands of people living on the Ark. The fact is that we have no viable solution to this problem and the engineers have no clue how or where to start looking for the fault."

"If you had not floated Jake, you would not be having this dilemma." Abby said under her breath. 

Jaha glared at her.