Disclaimer: I don't know why I still fell located to say this but hedonic Roth owns Divergent and I sadly have nothing to do with it. *Sigh.*
A/N : Hey everyone! Just wanted to thank you again for your awesomeness! You guys are incredible! Thank you for you kind reviews that I look forward to reading everyday and for your genuine support and true interest in this story. It makes me so happy to know my work isn't useless. Because , y has been read hundreds and thousands of times in over 56 countries. (!) I am ecstatic to know my work is actually is really hitting some of you. I am so happy and humbled to see you are as dedicated to this story as I am. That being said I have an announcement. I might have to switch to every other day updates for the next two to three weeks with exams quickly approaching. Don't kill me please! I promise I will update whenever I can. Thank you understanding, and as John Green would say DFTBA! Love you all!
~Chapter 21 ~
Tobias
Guilty?! But I didn't! I didn't! I felt two Dauntless police officers arms on my hands as they put handcuffs around my wrists. I felt the immediate reaction to fight back, but I realized rather quickly that that would do me no good now. "Wait! Wait. I was not done. I wish to speak to Mr. Eaton before he is custody," the judge piped up, and the police officers released me, still leaving me in the handcuffs. "I understand that the jury has found you guilty of these crimes, do you understand the severity and consequences of this?" I nodded and replied, "Yes, Your Honor." "Very well. Let me ask you one question. What was your motive for attacking Mr. Hayes and the others?"
I had been asked the question multiple times, even under the truth serum, and my answers were always consistent. I would give the same answer now. "Your Honor, I was simply protecting Miss Prior. As she is our smallest and highest-ranked initiate, it puts a target in her back. I was walking and heard a scream, and upon approaching the scene, I saw Tris dangling by one hand over the Chasm with three cloaked figures who I had to physically displace in order to assist Tris. I meant no permanent harm. I only intended to knock him and the others out long enough to get to help her. I felt like I had to do something, even if that meant hurting others. The attack on Peter, Drew, and Molly was completely justified. It was self defense, Sir. However, their attack on Miss Prior was not. It was completely uncalled . They instigated this, not me. I was just helping my initiate."
The judge stared at a minute. I hope he could see I was telling the truth completely. "This is a most unusual circumstance. I believe you. The jury does not." "What does this mean?" A voice from the crowd called out. "It means," the judge started, "That I choose to exercise my veto power here. Mr. Eaton, I have found you not guilty. By the power vested in me, I declare you an innocent. You are free to go." With a slam of the gavel, I was freed. Free. I never appreciated that word so much as right now. This was incredible. I was two words away from a lifetime of being factionless. I know I said I was going to drop out of Dauntless, but that was before I met Tris. She was the reason I was still in Dauntless. Now that she was there, I had no intention of leaving again. Ever.
I breathed a sigh of relief and for good reason. I was words away from never seeing Tris or my babies ever again. Now, I could be with them everyday, just like I should be. We belonged together. Like pieces of a puzzle, we fit perfectly together, out insufficiencies being the other's specialties. What was absent in one of us was abundant in the other. I never knew how much I loved Tris until I nearly lost her once again, but this time was different. I almost lost her because I did save her. Irony at its finest, right? I knew tonight I would hold her closer, hug her tighter, and kiss her longer, and I did. I remembered Tris' words. "Tobias, we're safe! All of us!" And I knew for the first time, it could be. We could be safe. That was a thought. I believed it, so it was true.