3rd Person POV
They stood and sat, they listened and the spoke.
The flashes of the camera, the shouts of men and women.
The echoing of a microphone, the static of voices, the clinking of metal against wood.
The cuffs heavy, the atmosphere heavier.
He is call to the stand. He has the words that could change everything.
The thoughts are silent, but they resemble prayers.
They wish they could reach for each other but the system keeps them a part.
They recognise the people sitting behind them, no words are exchanged.
Yet they all stand as one whole entity. It is not over yet.
Clary POV
That morning
My ankles ache in protest, I waddle forward anyway – I can put ointment later, I reach up for the tray of food being provided by the cooks, I give a nod in thanks. For a maternity ward in a prison, and for the time I have spent here pregnant with twins it's nice. The food is decent and the ladies – even the ones with two-year-old toddlers are fun to be around. They say once the child is three and a proper caretaker has been nominated the child or children go to them – but they get to visit an unlimited amount – it's to help keep the bond strong. Lowering myself onto the metal seat, I begin to eat the prepared oatmeal with the smallest drizzle of honey a top of it – I try to leave the parts that are sweet to the very end, the plain parts I eat with the sliced apples I'm given. None of us complains about the lack of variety – all of this food is meant to ensure a healthy pregnancy though I'll admit I was craving pizza more than anything with ranch and all the toppings one could possibly have. Two different guards began to make their approach, I slowed down my eating and wiped my mouth looking at the two of them and the clipboard the first of the two was holding; the other was doing a quick look over of my identification badge.
"Morgenstern once you are finished and have gone to the bathroom to freshen yourself up. We are to escort you to the courtroom. There has been a retrial of yourself and your brother's case."
"A retrial?" placing a hand on my swollen stomach and rubbing it in a gesture of comfort.
"Yes ma'am. We'll be at your cell door in forty-five minutes."
They then turned to leave, and as soon as they were out of earshot the other inmates as well as myself started to cheer and talk about why on earth I was being given a retrial – most of them, much to my surprise believed my story and the fact I was totally innocent but had been framed for what had to be a planned suicide.
Sebastian POV
We were barely inches apart – the fucking cuffs both on our hands and our ankles kept us apart. I wanted nothing more but to pull my little sister who was…. Very pregnant into my arms. Since was she pregnant? I gave her a questioning look and the glint in her eyes suggested she'd tell me after all of this was over. We looked hideous in jail orange… it clashed with our skin and for Clary it made her red hair look duller than it naturally was. The sensation of being watched by our guards was uncomfortable and unnecessary considering neither of us had anywhere to run or to go before being easily shot or tackled down – though a part of me what kind of approach they'd take with Clary.
Neither of us did any listening, we nodded, we stood and we sat. We have may have in any other circumstance been anything but calm but it was better to be calm than to cause a fuss. Break times sucked more because we were led down two different hallways – did they think we'd try to collude our way out of this?
It was the man on the witness stand that stunned us most. He looked so out of place. And it would have been him if not for his eyes. This was not Axel Mortmain. This was his bot twin and it would appear out of all the people who could have helped us. Was here.
This bot was not one to be prompted because he spoke, and he spoke – he brought evidence with him, evidence that the judge and practically all the lawyers who were in the room were unaware of and were sorely pissy about – Maryse had been pleasantly surprised if anything at the result of this witness who ratted off names, places, the plans everything… even further the damning evidence of the gun that Lilith had apparently used on herself – which had absolutely no trace of Clary even after several redo's of analysis.
Things were about to get interesting.
3rd Person POV
The pin drop silence was astounding, the mere sounds of breathing were the only thing uncontained. Occasionally broken by the ruffling-scuffling of pages being read, noted down and sometimes thrown haphazardly into the bin by the clerk's side. The silence would have – should have been of comfort; and yet it felt as though the world was about to cave in on the red headed sister and her blonde brother. Their eyes directed in focus to the single wooden – perhaps Mahogany at best guess was the thought of the sister, the brother's thoughts however pondered if it was in fact Elm or Oak. Thirteen strangers had entered that room, their words carried with them as well as the fate of the two siblings.
So the door cracked open, and breaths were released – but the time to wait was not over yet; for the thirteen men and women of various different standings and appearance made their own silent ways to the seats they had been given these past few days; the trial had expected to be a quick one; one that should have been over within a matter of seconds – and yet this very jury had spent days deliberating over the outcome of the case before them. The girl's eyes overlooked each – trying with some certainty to remember the exact details of every single individual who would play a part in her fate today. The boy on the other hand decided instead to turn his focus to the only family he had left, and her swollen belly.
"Foreman, has the jury made its decision?"
It was time, the words they had be dreading – the foreman in this case looked nothing out of the ordinary, though something could be said for his choice to wear cameo green pants into a court room; he hadn't changed out of them once since the beginning of this trial. His hands were the thick stocky type and adorned on his right hand a polished wedding band. The girl; the boy both craned to listen to what he had to say – there would be two outcomes one of pure utter bliss and the other of absolutely horror – those were their only options.
The baited terror of it all, has finally the verdict been spoken; at first, they did not know how to react to the words, but the courtroom behind them certainly did; there were some sounds of abrupt furious anger that justice had not been served and that the jury was wrong – but the other parts were sounds of joyous screams. Screams that the girl and the boy recognised; that was not the end of it however, for the judge gave them a gift even more – these crimes that had been forced onto both were to be erased from the books.
Clary POV
Several Weeks Later
Placing a hand over my belly protectively, my other hand aimlessly picked up the stack of letters that we had received, some of them surprisingly were death threats still after so many weeks. Feeling the sensation of being watched I looked up to see Sebastian up above with a glass of wine in his hand looking down at me. After everything; he had become paranoid and was constantly watching over me – supposedly I was the one living in blissful ignorance of all that happened. In reality, I was still scared that we could be returned to the cells any day.
One of the letters I noticed, much to my contempt was heavier than the others – suggesting that it was the most urgent, placing the others on the marble table in the hallway I examined this last one, all it had was our posting address and the letter M engraved onto it; having stepped back inside now, Sebastian resumed being my shadow; whilst we were alone most of the time we weren't technically alone for there were construction workers moving in and out getting ready the nursery for the twins; or so I had been told.
"What's that?" Sebastian asked
Taking the knife in my hands I sliced clean through the envelope and what fell out was a crimson piece of paper with black words adorned upon it.
The Magister's Farewell
I hope this letter finds you well, I hear of the success of the retrial. The freedom and the acquitting, the erasing of a record on both of your souls. I am doing well, and I had hoped that I could have attended that day. Alas my clone is now in prison for me, as are the other culprits. I hope you are both safe and content and that nothing more of this crime life, this family destroying mess comes to either of your doors again.
You may be out of the woods. But this is not over.
I will be in contact. Watch yourselves and trust no one but each other.
A.M