Clarissa sat down at dining hall table with a beer bottle. At the table was, Armin, Eren, Mikasa, Petra, Oluo, Moblit, Nifa, Commander Hange, and Captain Levi. Everyone old enough to drink had one. Meaning everyone but Armin, Eren, and Mikasa. It was about nine, most everyone was hanging out with their friends, or doing something for themselves. Some were partying over the victory of getting Trost back. That is what this small group was doing.
Clarissa opened her beer bottle and took a good drink from it. "So, you guys didn't die dangling off of the wall." Clarissa said looking at Armin, Eren, and Mikasa. Armin and Eren shrugged.
"Nope, it was close at one point though." Eren said. Petra and Oluo were talking to each other. Commander Hange and Captain Levi were talking to each other too, well Commander Hange was talking to Captain Levi. Nifa was listening in on Clarissa's conversation. Moblit was sitting in a corner, already one beer deep.
"Did Mikasa have to save you?" Clarissa asked looking at Mikasa. Mikasa nodded slightly. Clarissa smiled and laughed slightly. She stopped her laugh with taking another sip of her beer.
"Are you making fun of me?" Eren asked. Clarissa shook her head setting her beer down.
"No, I am just grateful that you didn't die." Clarissa said crossing her legs. She took another sip of her beer.
"It is hard to tell if you are being sarcastic or not." Nifa said. Clarissa looked over at her and nodded.
"I am not, currently." Clarissa said with a sheepish smile. Clarissa learned her first time getting drunk, that she gets very sarcastic, and giggly. Because of that her body had a built in defense system to stop her from getting too embarrassed. If the need ever arised, Clarissa could sober up in seconds. Only to get drunk only seconds after she did what she had to do sober. The side-effect of that is she got drunk quick.
"Rose, are you seriously getting drunk this quick?" Captain Levi asked. Clarissa took another sip of beer then she shrugged.
"Possibly, yes." Clarissa said sheepishly.
"When did you get the name 'Rose' anyway?" Nifa asked. Clarissa paused a moment to think. Then she pointed with her beer bottle at Eren.
"Ask him," Clarissa said before she took another sip of beer. Everyone at the table looked over at Eren. Even Moblit. No one really remembers exactly when and why she started to be called Rose. All Clarissa remembered is that Eren came up with it.
"For one, she always has the rose necklace on, and she always wears red." Eren said. Clarissa nodded and looked down at herself. She had on her maroon dress shirt, and her rose necklace. "The second reason, she is like the walls. When she first joined the military she was guarded, like Maria. Then after she got her memory, she opened up more, so she became wall Rose. Still, no one really knows about her past, so that is the Sina part of her." Clarissa took another sip of beer and laughed a little.
"You will never figure that out. Because wall Rose is not going to break." Clarissa said after she noticed everyone staring at her. Clarissa was already pretty drunk. The door to the dining room opened and Commander Erwin came walking in. He walked straight up to Clarissa with a folder in his hand.
"The MP's asked me to give this to you." Commander Erwin said holding the folder out to Clarissa. Clarissa took the folded and put down her beer bottle.
"Thank you sir," Clarissa said with a smile. Commander Erwin nodded and left the room. Clarissa opened the file and looked over the paper. As she read her smile faded and her heart dropped.
"What is it?" Armin asked noticing Clarissa's expression. Clarissa still couldn't move. She took a deep breathe then read further.
"The first trial for Mrs. Lilith was inconclusive, they are asking me to come and testify at court. In a couple of days." Clarissa said after she recentered herself.
"Let me see it," Commander Hange said putting her hand out. Commander Hange was sitting down beside Clarissa. Clarissa instantly handed the folder to her. Clarissa grabbed onto her beer bottle.
"Mrs. Lilith Everdeen was released from Military Police custody one year ago due to the inconclusive ending of the trial on Monday the fifteenth, at ten in the morning. Due to the many reports filed on Mrs. Everdeen from Ms. Alina Everdeen, the second trial has been scheduled for Wednesday twenty third, at three in the afternoon. It is asked that both Clarissa Daren Ackerman, and Alina Everdeen will be present as victims of Mrs. Everdeen's crime of child neglect." Commander Hange read off. Clarissa grimaced, she grabbed onto her beer bottle.
"I am going to need more of this." Clarissa said chugging the bottle of beer and standing up.
After she left the room she got another bottle of beer and she sat outside watching the stars, all night. The next couple of days Clarissa was emotionless, whenever she had to do her turn at guarding the wall, she would sit on the wall with her legs hanging off; just staring at the many titans.
When the day of the trial came Armin had to literally pull her out of her bed. Then the morning duties went on slowly, Clarissa was majorly slacking off. Commander Hange let her, knowing what was going to happen later in the day. Right before lunch Clarissa was taken to the courthouse by two Survey Corps soldiers.
It was a three hour long ride, giving Clarissa an hour in the courthouse to mull over what was going to happen. Clarissa was not allowed to talk with Alina before the trial because they could 'scheme' about what to say. Clarissa though that was stupid, but it made sense, a little.
Clarissa was pacing in the hallways of the courthouse. There were many reasons for her to be nervous, one because she was going to meet with her crazy mother. Two, because she was going to see Alina for the first time since she left to join the military. At least for this trial Clarissa wouldn't have a whole bunch of her higher ups watching her. So that took away some stress, only some.
"Clarissa Ackerman?" A voice asked from behind Clarissa. Clarissa turned around and there was a Military Police holding a file. Clarissa nodded. He looked her up and down. Clarissa was still in her military uniform. He probably wasn't expecting her to be in uniform. "The trial is starting in ten minutes. I was asked to bring you to the courtroom."
"Alright," Clarissa said with a shaky voice. She nodded and the man turned around and started walking down the hall. Clarissa grabbed onto her necklace with both her hands as she followed him. Clarissa had never been so nervous in her life. If she wasn't a soldier that had to hold up an image, she would fall apart and run out of the courtroom. But she was a soldier that had an image to uphold, so she couldn't.
The two of them walked into the courtroom. Clarissa scanned the room before she took more than a step. Her eyes landed on Alina. Clarissa could hardly recognize her. She was standing at attention, with her hands placed behind her back. She was in the Training Corps uniform. She looked so old. Her hair was up in a messy bun. She had a blank expression. It didn't show any nervousness, or pain, Clarissa felt an ache in her heart.
The military took away her baby sister.
Clarissa swallowed a lump in her throat then she walked further into the room, then she walked into the witness area. Alina turned to Clarissa. Once Alina saw Clarissa her eyes widened. Her stance dropped then she run up to Clarissa and pulled her into a hug. Clarissa released the hug then stared into Alina's eyes.
Clarissa shook her head, she didn't want to believe that Alina was so grown up. She is sixteen now, her birthday was yesterday. "Happy birthday," Clarissa said trying to muster a smile.
"Yeah, thank you. Today in training we were supposed to go to a forest and practice survival skills overnight. But because of me they had to postpone it until tomorrow. I feel so horrible about it." Alina said looking at the ground. Clarissa hit Alina's shoulder.
"You are going to be a soldier, you and your comrades are a team. Not just one person holds them back. It isn't holding them back anyway, I know I would be thankful for having a one day break before something like that." Clarissa said. Alina's eyes widened. She nodded and returned to her stance. "You got Comodant Shadis to come, that's impressive. He must like you." Clarissa said looking up at the stands over top the courtroom. Comodant Shadis was standing in the stands with his arms crossed.
"He said he had to come because it was a large claim, being it child neglect and all." Alina said with a slight smile. Clarissa nodded and turned to face the center of the courtroom. Then Clarissa spread her legs apart slightly and placed both her hands behind her back.
"I read the reports on how you are doing. Personally I think you are doing well." Clarissa said as both of them were looking forward, and not at each other.
"Really? I am doing horrible in the actual schoolwork part of it." Alina said. Clarissa turned her head to the side slightly.
"I am not to sure about that, I am not going to tell you what the reports said, because legally I am not allowed to; but I can assure you, you aren't doing that bad." Clarissa said with a smile. The small fraction of relief that Clarissa had, disappeared when the door to the courtroom opened and Mrs. Lilith began to walk into the room. The smile on the two girls' faces were wiped off. They both tensed up. As Mrs. Lilith walked to the middle of the room she looked over at Clarissa and Alina and she scoffed.
Clarissa restrained from grimacing and she kept her posture, so did Alina. "The trial of Lilith Everdeen will begin now." The judge said before she sat down. Clarissa took in a deep breath and held it.
"Mrs. Everdeen is here on the count that she has been accused of child neglect. The first trial ended inconclusive. We only had one witness, Alina Everdeen. Now we have Clarissa Ackerman, as well. Mrs. Everdeen's adoptive daughter. Before we start I would like to thank those two girls for taking time from their busy days to join us here today. Ms. Ackerman is a soldier in the Survey Corps. Ms. Everdeen is currently in her second year of training to join the military." The mediator said. She stood at the head of the room.
"First I would like for Mrs. Everdeen to go over a normal day, before they were forced to leave Shiganshina." The woman said. Mrs. Lilith nodded. "Please state your name before you start."
"Lilith Everdeen," Mrs. Lilith started, "First thing in the morning I would get up and make breakfast for the girls. Then I would wait for them to wake up. If they weren't up at eight I would wake them up. Then we would have breakfast. After breakfast the girls' would either go to school or hang out, depending on the day. If there was school I was left alone with Aley."
"This is after your husband, Daren Everdeen, was murdered by Ms. Ackerman, correct?" The woman asked crossing her arms. Mrs. Lilith nodded.
"Yes, then after school it would be lunch. I would make them food, after lunch Clarissa would go to a cafe, I don't know what she would do there." Clarissa grimaced, parents are supposed to know where their children are. "She would have to be back by sunset. She would normally be back at supper though. We would have dinner, then it would be chore time. Everything in the house needed to be cleaned at this time. We would clean together. Then if there was time before bath time we would read together." Clarissa refrained from speaking out.
"What would the other girls be doing while Clarissa was out?" She asked. Mrs. Lilith froze, she didn't have an answer. She lost her cool for a fraction of a second then she smiled.
"They would work on their school, I would help them." Mrs. Lilith said. This time Alina laughed slightly. The woman at the head of the room turned to Alina, who had already regained her composure.
"Do you have any issues with this statement, Ms. Everdeen?" The woman asked. Alina nodded.
"We would do our homework, but Mrs. Lilith would never help." The woman nodded then turned back to Mrs. Lilith.
"I assume after bath time it would be bedtime, correct?" The woman asked. Mrs. Lilith nodded. The woman smiled. "What did Clarissa do at the cafe?" Mrs. Lilith froze again, this time it was more noticable.
"I don't know," Mrs. Lilith said. The woman nodded.
"What did she and her sisters do in their free time?" The woman asked. Mrs. Lilith regained her composure.
"They would write, and read, and play the piano. They loved the piano! There was constantly a sweet sound of music going through the house." Mrs. Lilith said with a fake smile. To any normal person it was a real smile, but Clarissa knew that Mrs. Lilith never actually smiled.
"Who would play the piano most?" The woman asked.
"Alina, no Clarissa, no maybe all of them." Mrs. Lilith said confident at first, then her voice drained off. Clarissa took a deep breath to stop herself from showing any of her emotions. To Clarissa, this was laughable.
"You adopted Ms. Ackerman, correct?" The woman asked. Mrs. Lilith nodded. "Explain, please."
"One day Daren and I were on a walk out in wall Rose. We came across an old house we wanted to explore. We went in and we heard cries. Then we found Clarissa swaddled on the bed in a blanket. In the blanket was a piece of paper with her name. We decided to keep it. Daren and I were just one year into being married when we got Clarissa. So she was our first child." Mrs. Lilith explained. The woman nodded.
"'It', as in Clarissa or her name?" The woman asked. Clarissa cracked a small smile, but not large enough to be noticed.
"Both," Mrs. Lilith said. Clarissa couldn't help but laugh. As soon as someone looked at her she regained her posture and wiped the smile away.
"Now I would like us to go through what happened the day Ms. Ackerman killed her father." The woman said. Clarissa took a step forward.
"I would like to object!" The judge nodded, "We already went through this. I am innocent!" Clarissa said. The woman nodded.
"Yes, but we would like Mrs. Everdeens idea of what happened. You will continue to be innocent. Nothing will change about that." The woman said. Clarissa closed her eyes tight and took in a deep breath.
That is full of crap! This is court, anything can happen! Clarissa wanted to say. Instead she took a step back and fell back into her stance.
"Now, Mrs. Everdeen, please start." The woman said with her focus once again on Mrs. Lilith.
"It was a normal day, everything went on as normal. Breakfast, school, lunch, supper, then after supper I heard a scream. I ran to our bedroom and Daren was laying on the bed, lifeless, blood was pouring out everywhere. C-Clarissa, that monster was standing above her!" Mrs. Lilith yelled pointing over at Clarissa. Clarissa flinched and her eyes widened for a fraction of a second.
"Thank you for that Mrs. Everdeen, but we will not be accusing her of anything today." The woman said. Mrs. Lilith nodded then looked back at the woman. "I would like to speak with Ms. Ackerman now." It took a little but Clarissa went up to the witness stand. The woman looked up at Clarissa and she took a deep breath.
"State your name for the file, then start with a normal day, after Daren passed away." The woman said. Clarissa nodded, regretting that she had to say her full name.
"Clarissa Daren Ackerman, on a normal day I would get up around seven thirty. Then I would make breakfast, then Aley and Alina would wake up. Then we would eat together, and I would make Mrs. Lilith a plate and leave it on the counter for her. Then we went to school, and Aley stayed at home with Mrs. Lilith. Then we got home for lunch, Mrs. Lilith would make us lunch. We ate lunch, then I would go to the cafe, I would play the piano and sing there to get money. I used that money to buy groceries, then I went home and I would have to make supper. After that Aley, Alina, and I would hange out and we would play piano, if Alina was struggling with school I would help her. Then it was bathtime, then bedtime." Clarissa said going deep into her memories.
"That sounds like a lovely day! So Mrs. Lilith wasn't working, and you had to make the money?" The woman asked. Clarissa nodded.
"Correct," Clarissa said. The woman nodded then she looked at a piece of paper.
"Tell me what happened on the day that you murdered Daren?" The woman asked. Clarissa took a deep breath and nodded.
"It was a normal day until dinner. At dinner Daren was pissed off, he wasn't speaking. He had a constant scowl. I was sitting right beside him, I demanded to sit beside him, I wouldn't let my sister's near him. Then after dinner we were doing chores, I went to make the bed in my parent's room. Daren was on the bed, I had to make the bed, I went to make it. He took out a knife and held it up to my throat. I yelled, that only made him push the knife against my neck, so it drew blood. Aley and Alina ran into the room. Daren yelled, 'I am done with you idiot child!' and he took the knife away and held it in his hand, he was ready to stab me. I grabbed a knife off of the floor and stabbed him, it was all instinct, I wasn't even thinking." Clarissa said. She was shaking, in cold sweats. She was reliving it. Every second of it. There was a lot more that happened that day, but she couldn't bring herself to say it.
"Good, thank you." The woman said.
Clarissa took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She once again standing on the side. Now it was Alina's turn to speak. Clarissa clenched her hands into fists behind her back. Alina wasn't the type to testify in court. She did do it before, but Clarissa wasn't there to see how she actually did. The trial ended inconclusive anyway, Alina wasn't able to testify properly.
"State your name for the file, then start with your relationship with your sisters, and Mrs. Everdeen." The woman said. Clarissa took another deep breath before she looked up at Alina in the stands. Then Clarissa looked up at the Commandant. He was standing there watching Alina closely. He looked like normal him. Clarissa looked back to Alina.
"Alina Everdeen, Aley and I were close, well as close as we could get. Which is pretty close. I was closer to Clare, Clare was my big sister, she cooked for me, helped me with my chores, she taught me how to read and write. She taught Aley how to read, at three. Clarey taught me how to play the piano, and how to write songs, I still write songs and play the piano to this day. Well, I can't really play the piano because there is none at the training camp, but I still write songs. Anyway, Clare, Aley and I were really close. The only time we weren't with Clare is when she was at the cafe, or she went to get groceries." Alina said. Clarissa sighed in relief. Alina was doing better than Clarissa thought she would do.
"So Clarissa was a second mother to you and Alessandra?" The woman asked. Alina nodded.
"Yes," Alina said.
"I know you don't want to speak about this, but what happened the day Shiganshina was broken into?" The woman asked. Alina swallowed a lump in her throat. Clarissa dropped her arms to her side and she took a slight step forward. Clarissa looked up at the Commandant. His arms were at his sides and he took a step forward as well. Then he looked down at Clarissa.
"Okay," Alina said in a shaky voice. "It was about ten when Clare left. Aley and I waved her goodbye, Aley gave her a rose necklace that she found a couple days earlier." Clarissa grabbed onto her necklace. "When she left Aley and I went for a short walk. When we got back to the house, that is when, that is when the titas started coming in. Mrs. Lilith ran out of the house just as we got there. She was scared, I think, I have never seen her scared before. But then she started running away from us. I grabbed onto Aley's hand and started pulling her along with me towards the gate. Aley let go of my hand, I was too focused on getting away to realize."
Clarissa shook her head and turned around. She put both her hands around the necklace. This is not what she meant when she said she wanted to know how Alessandra died. A tear fell down Clarissa's cheek. She took a deep breath before she turned back around. Everyone was looking at her. Clarissa just ignored them and waited for Aley to speak.
"I didn't know, she fell. She called for me, then I turned around to go pick her up. A titan was down the street from her. I….I… I wanted to go get her, I wanted to so bad. I couldn't move. I called out for Mrs. Lilith to come help, she wouldn't listen, she kept running. Then… the titan grabbed her, I couldn't move, I tried believe me, Clarissa I tried!" Alina said looking at Clarissa. Tears were running down her face. Clarissa nodded.
"I know," Clarissa said quietly, so no one could hear. Alina nodded, and she closed her eyes.
"Right before the titan ate her, she called out for Clarissa. At first it was normal. I thought it was normal. But the more I thought about it, she should of called out for her mother." Alina said with her eyes closed. Clarissa turned to look at Mrs. Lilith. She was frozen, she was shaky, her eyes were wide. Maybe she is just now noticing wat she had been doing.
"Why did you join the military?" The woman asked. Alina looked down at her hands.
"Before or after I knew my sister was alive?" Alina asked still staring down at her hands.
"Before, please." The woman said. Alina nodded.
"I joined to get away from Mrs. Lilith." Alina said. The woman nodded. Commandant Shadis crossed his arms and took a step forward.
"How about after you found out Clarissa was alive?" The woman asked. Alina looked up at Clarissa before she shied away and looked back down at her hands.
"After, I wanted to be with her. I trust her judgment, and she joined the military, so I knew it was the right thing to do." Alina said. Clarissa felt sick, she was about to throw up. This was exactly what she didn't want. She didn't want it to be her. It couldn't be her. Clarissa couldn't be the one making Alina go to her death. Clarissa grabbed onto her stomach.
"Ms. Ackerman, are you alright?" The woman asked. Clarissa shook her head and she started to feel light headed and dizzy.
"It's okay, please continue." Clarissa said taking in a deep breath. She straightened her posture and placed her hands behind her back. The woman nodded and turned back to Alina.
"How did you find Clarissa?" The woman asked. Clarissa was staring blankly at Mrs. Lilith. She was trying to stop herself from either puking, or passing out, both of those would be horrible.
"At the refugee camp, after the fall of Trost. Clare was getting her ankle fixed, I don't know what happened. Then Mrs. Lilith went up to her and they started fighting. Clarissa wasn't like herself, she was, I can't explain it." Alina said. Clarissa took a deep breath.
"I was doing my job, I am different when I am in active duty. It was also a really long day." Clarissa said still staring at Mrs. Lilith. The woman nodded still looking at Alina.
"Then what happened?" The woman asked.
"Mrs. Lilith was trying to make Clare step down from being in the military. Clarissa kept saying no, in the end one of her higher ups, Captain Levi, came and cleared it up. When Clarissa and I were having our reunion they were talking. Then after, Captain Levi said that Mrs. Lilith and I would be staying at the Survey Corps base. A little after that Section Commander Hange wanted to speak with Clarissa alone. I only assume they were talking about me, or Mrs. Lilith." Alina said. Clarissa took in a deep breath and nodded. Then she looked over at Alina. Clarissa took a couple of short breaths to stop herself from passing out.
"Commander Hange and I were speaking about my name. Because I had an arrest warrant out for me at that time, so she was seeing if I was the person the warrant was for." Clarissa said. Alina and the woman nodded. Alina came back to stand beside Clarissa. Clarissa didn't notice it, she was to focused on keep herself in one piece.
Something happened and the judge stood up. Clarissa took a deep breath to be able to look up at her. It was hard because her vision was fuzzy. She could hardly see anything.
"I have decided that Mrs. Lilith Everdeen is guilty of child neglect. I sentence her to three years in jail." The judge said before she walked out of the room. Clarissa took one more good look at Alina. She was smiling, Clarissa smiled. Then her knees gave out. The whole world around her turned black. The last thing she remembered is falling onto the ground.