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The Sacrifice (WillowVX & littlerooster)

Hearing the shower stop Clarke yelled out "I'm down here making hot chocolate in the kitchen".

"I hope the clothes and shower were ok, come down when you are ready" he yelled to her.
 
Annie followed Clarke's voice down the stairs and found him in the kitchen. This was the first time she's really seen him in the light. He looked so difference under the contrast of the fluorescent bulbs. He had seemed to mysterious and dangerous in the dark. He had a very intense feel. Now, standing with him in the kitchen, while he's making her hot chocolate, she didn't think he could look any more innocent.

"They were both great." She said, her voice seems to have more lift. Annie's breakdown seems to be over with. "Thank you." She looked down awkwardly. "Thank you for everything." She said. He handed her a mug of hot chocolate and motioned for her to sit on the stool across from him.

"I have a question..." Annie started.
 
Clarke looked at her as she said she had a question.

"Sure ask anything, but first I would like to call your Aunt and Uncle if they notice you are missing there will be hell to pay, if I call them and tell them where you are they will be ok, they trust me due to my father's position. Can I do that? My folks will be gone a few days, so you might be able to stay with me as well." he said not realizing how that sounded.

"err... I didn't mean it that way, I just meant, so we could hang and you could get some space and your head around things" he said blushing.
 
Annie smiled. "No!" She said, maybe too quickly. "I mean, no. It's okay. I want to stay." She chewed on her bottom lip again. "Truth is, since I've been here, you are the only person I've met that I can trust." She shrugged and met his eyes. "You make me feel safe." She spoke honestly. She noticed him blushing and it made her scratch the back of her head nervously. She tried to redeem herself. "But you're right. You should probably call them."

Annie almost forgot about her question. He had a habit of doing that, distracting her. Especially his mouth. When he talked, all she could do is stare at it. It was perfect.

"That reminds me, Clarke." She started. "You just said 'due to my father's position' and earlier, when you were talking to those guys, you said 'I'll be telling my dad.' What exactly does that mean?" Annie asked and tilted her head curiously.
 
"One moment" Clarke said as he reached for the phone.

He called Annie's Aunt "Hi, Mrs Taylor, it's Clarke, look...... yes I'm good sorry for not asking are you well too? ........ good, good, I just wanted to tell you, I have Annie here...... yes at my folks place......... yes, yes, she is rather overwhelmed with her parents..... yes it is bad, I just wanted you to know she is safe and I think she needs some time alone, you know?.... yes, not a problem... bye"

He hung up the phone, "Thanks for letting me do that, it would have been terrible if we had to hide you!" he said smiling.

"Ok your question, well my father is Sheriff, those boys broke the law, I don't know how far those two idiots would have gone, but they went far enough as it is anyway. My father will talk to their dads and they will get a severe whipping for it, things are harsh here Annie and sometimes it is for the better, we have little crime asides from the odd idiot, everyone knows each other as well and my Pa is well connected so people fear and respect him." he explained to her.
 
"I don't mind being hidden." Annie mumbled. "I wouldn't mind never going back at all." She folded her arms and pouted. Her father used to tell her that she had a stubborn and rebellious streak that could knock out a small population. She hoped this time, it actually would.

Something inside of Alicia froze. The sheriff? What if he found out that she tried to escape? Clarke wouldn't do that to her... He wouldn't turn her in, would he?

"Your father... is the sheriff?" She asked, worry in her voice.
 
"Yes he is the Sheriff and don't worry I'm not going to tell him you wanted to run away because of the festival, I'll just say you have had a hard time and were needing some time out, it's all reasonable." I explain to you.

"Now, I still am unsure if you get the whole festival thing and understand that so far you are not the chosen one" he added.
 
Annie nodded. She still felt uncomfortable that his father was the sheriff. That meant he was partly in control of the town. And the festival.

"I understand." Annie sighed. "I know that one person gets picked. But, Clarke..." She struggled for the words. "I don't care if it's not me. I don't want it to happen to any of them." She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and forced her mind to concentrate. "None of the girls deserve that." She made a face. "Selena didn't deserve that... And I want to make sure that never happens again." Annie looked at him with serious eyes. "Plus," She added. "If my name gets chosen, they are going to be sorry. Because I won't do it."
 
"I know, I know, I have had to witness this festival since I was 15 that is the age they allow you to start watching the draw and the final part of it. I hate it too, look in the morning if you like I will take you to see some people ok, but you have to promise to be cool and not blab to everyone ok, this is serious stuff and I am trusting you ok" he explained to her.

He didn't go into what happens when girls refuse and make it difficult, she didn't seem to understand that one girl vs the whole town means that the one girl gets taken by the whole town whether she is cool about it or not.
 
"Speaking of..." Annie said. "Clarke, when is the draw?" She was nervous. She couldn't get picked her first time in. That was impossible.

She nodded and rubbed her eyes again. "I promise." Annie yawned. "You can trust me." She gave him a sleepy smile.
 
"Well the festival has to start first which it hasn't there is no hard and fast date, it starts with the first mist, then the draw is 4 days from the end of the fest which lasts 2 weeks. So it is still a far way off anyway". he explained to her.

"I think you need to sleep. We will talk more when we wake up." He took her to the spare bedroom, and showed her where his was in case she needed anything.

"Good night" he said as he went off to his room.
 
Annie felt better about that at least. "That means we have time to stop it." She mumbled quietly, sleepiness was starting to take over. She hadn't realized how exhausted she was. The shower stripped away all the panic and now she just needed rest.

She let him lead her to the guest room which was just down the hall from his room. The bathroom, where she showered, was in the middle. He tucked her into the bed and bid her goodnight.

"Goodnight." She called after him. For the first time she's been in this wretched town, she had a feeling she would get a good night's sleep. She closed her eyes and let images of Clarke dance in her mind as she drifted.
 
It was the next morning, Clarke was in the kitchen making breakfast, "Hope you like bacon and eggs?" he said as he heard her come down the stairs.

There was coffee on the stove brewing and he was cracking farm fresh eggs into the pan "Just got these babies, hens lay well!" he said referring to the eggs.

"eat up, a big day, we'll go meet some folks soon" he said to her.
 
Annie woke up feeling sick. She forgot where she was. She smelled something delicious and followed the smell. She saw Clarke. He was in the kitchen. She took everything in. The bacon sizzling. The eggs being cracked. The coffee brewing. His smile. The way his skin glowed under bright lights. The sunlight came in through the kitchen window and shone through his hair.

Annie felt happy. She smiled and sat down at the stool. It was crazy. She'd only met Clarke last night and she already didn't know what she would do without him. He was her only friend.

"Thanks, Clarke." Annie said. "Where are we going?" I asked as you poured me a cup of coffee.
 
Clarke started serving her breakfast, lashings of bacon and eggs on thick toast.

"I have made some calls and we will be going to see some guys from the resistance movement, I have told them about you and provided you behave.." he said looking at her remembering the mischief she got herself in the night before.

"..they are happy to meet with you and have a chat" he said sitting down and eating like a man possessed.
 
Annie made a face with Clarke told her to behave. She let out a sigh, "I'll be good." She said to Clarke. "I promise. No more episodes."

Annie tore into her food too. After all of the excitement, she hadn't realized how hungry she was. She swallowed the fork full and said, "So, do you really think we can do it?" She spoke quietly, remembering how dangerous Clarke said it was.
 
"I don't know Annie, we may not be able to stop the whole festival, but we will talk about our options" he said smiling at her.

After breakfast and clean up they got ready and Clarke drove her out into the woods, "We have to meet in secret, you have to be careful around her, we have a cave" he explained.

He stopped his truck and they got out and walked a while through the trees and scrub. Finally getting to a cave where there was a fire inside.

"Relax" he said to Annie, realizing how weird this might all seem.

"Lets go inside" he said taking her hand.
 
Annie nodded. She figured she could take what she could get. Plus, in the short time she's known Clarke, she has grown to trust him completely.

Annie was overwhelmed. This was so much to deal with, so soon. "This is incredible." She whispered as they drove through the woods. "Really. It's like a scary movie or something." She was in wonder at the whole situation. A town that sacrifices virgins. A secret resistance. A cave. A knight in shining armor. How had her life turned into this so quickly?

She was nervous. Annie's anxiety was acting up and when they walked up to the cave she wanted to run and hide. This was too much for her. Clarke was able to tell. He comforted her. When he grabbed her hand he squeezed it in assurance. Annie squeezed it back and held tight. As long as she was with Clarke, she thought, she would be alright. She took a deep breath and he led her inside.
 
They walked into the cave heading towards the fire, there were 6 people sitting by it. 4 guys and 2 girls, they were all around 15-20 years old.

"Hey there" said Clarke, "This is Annie, the girl I told you about".

The 6 people all said Hi and Clarke started to introduce them to Annie.

"This here is Robbie, Sam, Dean, Billy, Ruth and Julie" he said as he motioned for Annie to sit down.

(For ease of RP and recognition of Characters descriptions below)

Robbie
19 years old
Tall, handsome, dark hair, brown eyes, slim

Sam
17 years old
average height, chubby, blonde, blue eyes

Dean
20 years old
thin red hair, freckles, average build, green eyes

Billy
19 years old
dark hair, thin, brown eyes

Ruth
15 years old
very pretty, blonde, busty, slim, blue eyes

Julie
18 years old
Plump, pretty face, dark hair, brown eyes
 
Clarke introduced Annie and she sat with him next to the people by the fire. "Hello." She mumbled nervously, scratching the back of her head. She felt a little awkward. She scanned the faces and their welcoming smiles but her stomach at ease. Everyone but the one Clarke introduced as Robbie. His smile reminded her of something. When she looked at him, she pictured a wolfs grin. His dark hair fell into his eyes and he almost gave her the creeps. Granted, he was attractive. Not like Clarke was attractive. Clarke was beautiful in every sense of the word. Probably as close to an angel as Annie could imagine. But Robbie, he had an exotic handsomeness to him. She looked into his eyes to study him and she felt a coldness, a danger. Annie brushed it off. He noticed her looking for two long and she looked away quickly. She didn't know why, but she felt like she shouldn't trust him. She would have to tell Clarke later about her weird feeling.

"Have you guys been a part of the festival before?" Annie asked, trying to break the silence.
 
The cave went quiet as Annie asked her question.

"Yes" started Julie, "As per town custom, boys 19 years old and over have to take part, it is as good as law, better probably so Robbie has once and Dean who is 20 will be coming up to his second one now have, Clarke and Billy have just turned 19 so this will be their first one" she looked at the boys who were looking uncomfortable.

"I'm 18, this will be my 3rd lottery, so far haven't been picked and this will be Ruth's first" she said looking at Annie.
 
Annie felt a pang of sympathy for the girls. Julie hasn't been picked yet. And she's been in for three years. Good. There was something about Julie, Annie noticed. Something admirable. She had a tired face and wise eyes. The things she must have seen. Ruth reminded her of her best friend that she left behind. Annie hoped that she wouldn't get picked. The boys looked sullen as Julie explained their place in the festival. Dean seemed to look the most regretful. Ashamed that this would be his second year taking part. All of them seemed sad, besides Robbie. He was the only one who smiled. It wasn't a happy smile, though. It didn't reach his eyes. It was a bitter smile and he grit his teeth. I wonder what his story is, Annie thought. And caught herself staring again.

Clarke sat beside her and squeezed her hand again. "Do you guys have a plan?" Annie whispered. "You know, to stop it?"
 
They looked at her and Julie started to explain again.

"Most of the young people don't like this at all, the festival I mean, most of the boys don't like the idea of gang raping a girl, watching it even, that it could be their sister or sweetheart, the girls obviously don't like it either, it is the older people mostly, the ones over 35 or so, they just seem to accept it, also some of the younger people, they are just sick or brainwashed." she left it at that for now, she had to be careful Annie could be anyone.
 
Annie shook her head, small tears forming in her eyes. "That is so horrible..." Annie didn't realize she was shaking. "We can't let them DO this." She whispered intensely. She looked at the faces around the room and they all looked scared. She looked at Clarke and he shook his head. He really believed there was nothing he could do. Imagine the pressure. His father being the sheriff.. This time she squeezed his hand. Her eyes trailed to Robbie again. He looked angry. His fists were balled at his sides. his mouth was still tilted into a cold smirk. He didn't look afraid. Annie wondered again.
 
"As an outsider Annie have you got any ideas?" Clarke asked her.

"You might have some thoughts that are different to ours" he added.

They all looked at her wondering if she had some great plan or thoughts that could free them.
 
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