Outfit:
XXXDaughter of Zeus ||
Hex: #d63b71 "I'm Wesley Preston... Not that that matters," Alex never liked him doing that to himself, talking like he didn't matter. He did matter, and he was just as important to the Camp as anyone else.
"Alex is my best friend. She is a good and kind person, who would sooner fall on her blade for someone else rather than be the one to take a life. There is no way that she did this without being under the influence of someone else. I would stake my life on her innocence." He looked towards her, giving her a slight smile which she returned.
"She's not a murderer." Alex looked to the Gods that stood in the room. She tried to see if she could make out their reactions to Wes's words, but none of them even flickered any clue of emotion. Still, Wes had done his best to voice his thoughts about her, to try and show the rest of the room that she really wasn't a monster.
Duke came second.
"I'm Duke Loycen, son of Hephaestus. I've known Alex for a couple of years, enough to say I know her well. Commonly, there's signs of a killer being born or a sociopath and she displayed and even now displays none of that. She's not a murderer or a monster. I know that hurting Jennova weighs on her conscience, so I don't think it was deliberate and I don't think it was premeditated. Killing isn't in her or her instinct. Something must have pushed her, whether circumstances or a person." He sat back down, and with his eyes on her, Alex smiled. She felt proud of both, him, and Wes. Both of them had stood up before everyone and not cared about what others might think of them for taking a 'murderers' side.
It was a good start, but Andy soon leveled everything with her speech. Of course, she would take Mason's side, but had they forgotten that Hades also tried to kill Ajax before Andy placed herself in harms way instead? It should have been Hades standing trial. Not Alex, who took in a deep breath to ready herself to hear what Andy now had to say.
"I was the first person at the scene... I thought it might be beneficial to recount what I witnessed. I remember it started to rain... blood. There was no visibility, like walking through a blizzard. I somehow wondered my way to Jennova's cabin where I found her... them. Alex stood on the porch to Jennova's cabin. And Jennova... She was on the ground, decapitated. I then went and got Ajax. When I returned... I buried her. Jennova was unarmed. It looked like a murder... in cold blood." Alex remembered it now her memories were back in full swing, which is the reason why she lost most of her sanity. All of the memories hitting her like a sledgehammer to the gut with no intervals to catch her breath. Still, even if the memories had formed slowly over time, it still wouldn't have made a difference. She still felt guilt and disgust for taking another's life.
She could still picture the way it happened, blood, Jennova's blood, dripping from the blade of her sword. If she was murderous, then she would have killed Andy for bearing witness to a murder that Alex did not commit alone.
"Trust you to take lover-boy's side." Ajax said, glaring at Andy without turning his head completely.
"Son.. be silent." Zeus warned, which caused Ajax to clench his jaw as he now kept silent and waited for an opportunity to make his own speech.
βLook- Trinity Wallace, Daughter of Ares. I don't know much about the actual events except word of mouth. Mason, Theo and myself were absent on a mission. I know Alex killed Jennova, but that doesn't make her a murderer. She doesn't have murderous tendencies, trust me I know. If anything, after she killed Jennova, was when she became a little unhinged. But I'm a strong believer of an eye for an eye, and I'm not sure who started it. So either payback is due and she should face some form of punishment in the eyes of the Gods, or Alex ended the cycle with Jennova.β Alex wouldn't blame her if she decided to take Mason's side, or anyone for standing up for those they cared for since those who cared about Alex were only doing the same. However, Trinity's words had actually surprised her. She was smart to not go by hear-say. Trinity had placed herself in the neutral zone, so to speak. She hadn't been there, so to blame Alex outright without bearing witness, would have been crazy.
The newest campers seemed to be talking quietly among themselves, probably to try and guess if Alex was actually guilty of the crimes she had been committed with.
Many years ago, there was one God which had gone against the laws of their cosmos. He had slaughtered so many mortals, all because they chose to no longer worship him. This angered Zeus. This particular God was not placed on trial, for his actions were evidence that he had done it deliberately, and showed no remorse for his actions. Zeus destroyed him where he stood, and he was never mentioned in Mount Olympus again. Though he swore, that if anyone broke the laws again... he'd make them stand trial. That murderous god, the rotten apple of their roots had once been Zeus's friend. He couldn't allow that fate for his child, especially when part of her still remained.
The trial didn't seem too bad, but as soon as Hades stood to speak, Alex imagined she could feel the earth beneath her beginning to slowly open up to swallow her. Her soul would be damned to the firery depths of Tartarus, where Hades would never allow her to see the light again, or her mother who was hopefully at peace in the fields of Elysium, which is Persephone's domain - gifted my Hades himself. The snake opened his mouth and began to poison the ears of those who chose to listen.
"I will remind those present that this trial isn't about intentions and an individual's belief, but the actions of the Daughter of Zeus. We all know what that was, and as a result, I have no daughter anymore. And he, without a sister. In robbing this one life, you have robbed others and you have forbidden growth. Jennova was a girl. Around the same age as the children present, no more powerful, no wiser. She attended this Camp because she wanted to better herself, like many demigods. Even I thought it would be a sanctuary, but it appears it is where the vile are permitted to roam." Alex remained silent, tears falling down her cheeks as Hades's words cut into the most. She thought that was the end until Mason added his own words. All of it made her feel even worse.
She could no longer look at anyone. Her gaze remained focused on the sand floor of the arena, wishing it would really open up and swallow her this time. Her heart felt like it was crushing along with her lungs. She held her hand over her chest, steadying her racing heart, and struggled breath.
Her brother was the last to stand.
"Ajax Valis. Son of Zeus." he still didn't like saying that, still held a grudge against his father like an immature child, but this time... he finally decided to let it go.
"You all forget, that it was Alex who did her best to keep everyone safe last year. She held the biggest threat back with me and our father, placing her own life at risk for everyone else to stand a chance. She held them back so the others could take out the lesser threats. Alex has been nothing but kind, and for a sudden change of personality, surely people should know that isn't right. No one can suddenly change overnight, especially when she's been such a lovely person her entire life. She was a rebel during her teen years before attending Camp Athens, but that doesn't mean she is a murderer. We all have a past.. every single one of us. Does that determine who we are, and who we choose to be now?" he sat down, fists clenched. He didn't want to take it any further, scared that he might say something he'd later regret. Her brother's words were honest, but it didn't seem to be enough. Even with Duke and Wes on her side, it just didn't seem to do her justice.
This was it. As Ares stepped down from the podium, Alex squeezed her eyes shut tightly, begging beneath her breath, sobbing as she readied herself for the fateful blow... but it didn't come.
She opened her eyes and looked up. Ares had taken hold of her arm instead, and lead her over to the luminescent liquid that filled the large basin. Were they going to drown her in that thing? without a word, he let her go and held out his hand, signaling for her to step into it. So she did.
She stood there, looking down into the basin as silence fell on the room. All eyes remained on her, and it wasn't long before the room also grew dark with only the Pensieve's light to be seen.
Memories began to form. They spiraled up before her which gave the others the insight of what exactly Alex was seeing. It formed clear images of the past, followed by whispers until they turned into voices, voices that echoed clearly around the room. Zeus swallowed as he recalled Susanna's voice.
"Alex!" she rushed over, both of her arms held open wide to embrace her child. With her cheek pressed against her mother's shoulder, Alex closed her eyes as her own arms wrapped around her mother's slender frame. Already, she hated this. The warmth of her mother's love was never forgotten. Not even the scent of her perfume that had been embedded in her skin and clothes. It had been a Greek flower - An Iris - one of her father's chosen favorites from Aphrodite's garden.
"I take it the camp allowed you to finish and come home for the holidays?" "Yes." Susanna frowned.
"What's wrong? are you not excited to be home? you and your brother get to spend time with me until you have to go back. We can plan something together. What do you think? Alex?" She felt her hand squeeze around the handle of the blade she had suddenly picked up, and before her mother could even get the chance to leave, Alex began to plunge the knife repeatedly into her mother's stomach as she remained emotionless, even while her mother screamed in pain.
Susanna fell to the floor, bleeding to death as she begged for help, but Alex just stood there. She watched as her mother reached out toward her, her bloody fingers gripping at the bottom of her trousers.
"Please..." she begged again, right before Alex finished it and exited the kitchen, leaving her mother's lifeless body in a pool of blood.
Part of her that remained in the present, stepped back and screamed out. She couldn't believe she was seeing her mother dead like that for the first time. That memory had kept itself from her... until now.
"No!!" she wailed. Athena quickly moved to her side to support her.
"It's okay.. keep going." she whispered into her ear.
"Dig a little deeper." but Alex didn't want to.
"No, stop! please... let me take a break. Please." she begged. Athena looked up at Zeus. He nodded once to give her the all-clear, so Athena gently leads Alex out of the memories.