Aletheia

Chapter 11: Claire

Nervousness had taken over Claire's body; her hands were shaking and clammy, her teeth digging into the side of her mouth. She could feel the sweat dripping down her back. Why was she needed in these meetings?

"What do you think Ms. Rasnok?" a gruff voice spoke from across the table. Claire looked up, she hadn't been listening to a thing they were been saying. This certainly didn't look good on her part. She sat up a little straighter and cleared her throat.

"Excuse me, about what?"

"We're running out of room, out of food, our population is getting out of control. We, the council, believe our only other option is to go beyond the wall and-" the man across Claire said, his mouth looked grim and pulled into tight line. He wore a charcoal gray suit a top a crisp white shirt. His hands were folded neatly on the table, making him appear more professional.

The governor interjected, throwing a look of cold steel towards the other man, "But as I was so kindly reminding Mr. Scott here, we cannot risk going beyond the wall. The beasts alone are enough to kill us all, not to mention what else could still be lurking out there. We cannot risk the lives of our people. Incase you have forgotten we built the wall for a reason." His eyes bore into Claire's, reminding her of the position she held, and the promise she had to uphold.

Then it struck her, this was her chance. The eyes of everyone on the council were on her, waiting for what she had to say. This was it, their way out, their proof. It was something, really something, but it certainly wasn't going to end well for her. Either she was speaking up against the governor to protect the people or she was doing her job and jeopardizing her only hope of saving them.

She opened her mouth, feeling it immediately go dry, "From past experiences we can judge that outside the wall is dangerous." She paused, watching the governor nod his head, now was her chance to back down, but she couldn't, "However, that was hundreds of years ago, we cannot be sure that that is the case today." Claire watched as the governor's expression changed, growing cold and hard, he knew what she was doing.

"If we keep living in fear we will never get anywhere, I propose we send out someone to observe the living conditions, see what is out there for us. I will volunteer myself, my ability to see our people's past mistakes will be essential," she continued, keeping her eyes on the head of council, Wilson Groff.

Wilson nodded, "I agree, we are running out of options, we have no other choice." He turned to the Governor, a grim expression settling over his face. His moustache twitched slightly, "Governor Krette, we are going to have to overrule your authority." The governor's face looked ready to melt all of them there in that conference room. Claire kept her eyes low, not daring to see his fiery ones glaring into hers.

"Excuse us." Wilson said, gesturing for Governor Krette beside him, the vice head of council, to join him in the adjoining room. The room was silent in their absent, aside from the off table murmurs of the councilmen and women. Claire's teeth ground harder and harder, the longer Wilson and Krette were gone. It seemed like ages until they entered the room again, Wilson sat down, his hands folded just as before.

His eyes moved over to Claire, "Claire Rasnok, we shall send you, along with a Protector outside the wall. Your mission during that given amount of time is to see if the outlying landers are habitable for our people, in the meantime we shall await your word before making any action to expand our borders. You understand the dangers of going outside the wall so we shall allow one day to get your affairs in order, incase anything were to... happen. Although we have just the Protector in mind to keep you safe on your journey. All in favor?"

Claire slowly nodded, a Protector... She knew those were the only terms the Governor would agree on to allow her outside the wall. Her foot tapped against the rough carpet, awaiting the result of the vote. All the councils replied, "I." It was decided.

The rest of the councilors nodded, pleased with the vote, and one by one they got up from their chairs and out the room. Wilson walked around the table, offering his hand out for Claire to shake.

"I wish you the best of luck," he said, giving her hand a firm shake, and a pat on the back before exiting after the others. No one was left but Krette and Claire, his eyes grew from their conserved coldness to a fiery blaze. Claire made her way as calmly as she could to the door, but he stopped her in her path.

"You'll regret crossing me," his voice came out like a slithering snake across the floor. She swore she saw his pupils twitch to turn to slits. A shiver overcame her body but she didn't back down. After another second the Governor marched out the door, leaving Claire alone in the cold conference room.