Pairing: None.
Notes: Written for a snk kink meme. It does ignore the larger concept of titans within the walls, but I hope that's okay!
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Once upon a time there was prosperous kingdom with a kind hearted king who governed the land with justice and kindness. The people thrived and the king was happy, prepared to defend his people to the death.
The king, of course, had need for an heir for he wouldn't be able to protect his people forever. His queen came from a neighbouring kingdom, one that was in hard times and needed the protection the king could offer. She was a smart queen, a kind queen, and the kingdom blossomed under their rule, their rule reaching to the land around them.
The land rejoiced when the queen was announced as pregnant. Festivities swept through the land and celebrations lasted weeks – for that was what the kingdom could afford. The king was overjoyed, for now he had a son to take control of his kingdom when he was gone.
Except the child born was no male. The midwife bustled from the queen's room calling for more blankets and a wide smile on her face. She reached out to the king, hair in disarray and apron stained in blood, to impart upon him that the baby was in fact three babies, all girls.
Regardless of their gender, the king was overjoyed. He took his children – his beautiful babies – into his arms and into his heart. He slipped under the covers of his bed with his queen and they nestled the babies between them, stroking soft skin and letting tiny fingers reach out to clutch at them.
They were presented to the court a few days later. Despite being undersized, the children weren't sickly at all, but the king thought nothing of his children, of his blood, and they would serve their kingdom well under their brother.
"They have a great destiny," a soft voice whispered before the cradle and the king turned to look at the elderly woman. She was smiling softly at the children, eyes full of warmth and truth. "They are the most precious gift you could ever have."
The king could not disagree. His children were the most precious gift he had ever received, but girls weren't enough. Succession passed through the male line and while his girls could serve their kingdom through marriage and small deeds, they could never truly impact upon their land.
As they grew, the king and queen tried for a son. Every physician in the land was sought and none could find anything wrong with the king or the queen, but a child simply couldn't be conceived. Years passed and the queen withdrew from the king, still as kind and smart as ever, but she couldnot look him in the eye.
One night she touched the king on the shoulder and offered her neck, stating that she was of no use if she could not beget him an heir. The king held her tightly, face buried against her skin instead of a cold blade, and whispered that their daughters were enough, that he could not bear to rule his kingdom without her at his side. They had relatives who could take the throne and who would care for his kingdom, but he could never doit alone.
Their daughters grew and the king trained them as if they had been born men. They attended combat training along with etiquette lessons. They rode horses like knights yet could embroider the finest works with ease. They could command armies and speak softly to prospective husbands all in one breath. The laws could not be changed, but his daughters weren't to be overrun by their husbands.
They grew into beautiful women. When unrest broke the kingdom – rumours of terrible beasts snatching people from their homes and eating inhabitants – the sisters set to working on the problem. The eldest rode out with the knights; she would never be a prince, but she could fight finer than many men and had earned her place in command. The middle sister set her mind to research, locking herself away in soft dresses and thick tomes. The youngest took to the streets, holding hands with the lonely and comforting the scared. The monsters may inject their fear into the land, but they would never take the kingdom.
Except these monsters weren't just stories or rumour. The eldest returned with half her company, battered and tired. She spoke of monstrous humanoid figures, grotesque creatures that ate without remorse and without reason. Her sisters drew her into their arms and stole away, leaving the king to his thoughts and the queen to tend court.
Reports increased of lands falling to these titans. People fled to their kingdom in hopes of safety, for they had remained untouched. The king paced and held counsel many times over, trying to find a solution. One came in the form of his daughter, his middle-born. She suggested a wall, higher than any of these titans, around their land.
Construction began at once. Every able hand poured all they had into the wall. It would take months – years – of non-stop work, but they would be safe. The sisters tended the walls between their duties, looking after the people, building the structures and ridding the land of the titans the world had become so consumed by.
Their efforts became increasingly futile. Titans turned to their kingdom and no matter how many missions were sent to destroy them, there were always more and their armies returned devastated in numbers. The eldest sister became increasingly disheartened and while the king tried to forbid her from facing the titans, she laughed him off.
"This is my kingdom too," she said as she strapped her sword to her hip and nodded to the lancers already mounted. "And I will defend it till my last breath."
She rode off as dawn hit the land on a midnight black steed, commanding the largest army the land had ever seen. The few who returned from the mission said that their princess had never lost morale, had taken down titans as if they were pigs lined up for slaughter, and never wavered, even in her death. She died with thoughts of the kingdom on her lips and her love of her land for all to see. She'd given them hope even as the titan's jaws had clamped around her.
The wall construction faltered for a moment then began again in fervour, the kingdom reacting to the loss of their princess. The middle-born sister (now the eldest, though she'd never accept such a title) took to her books, concocting methods and drawing up weapons to fight the titans. Huge cannons with exceptional range were hauled out, the middle sister astride a huge warhorse to test her weapons. Just as her sister, she commanded until the end, roaring out her commands and firing without remorse. She blew through the first four titans that tried to take her and through twenty seven more that tried to take her soldiers.
When no one returned with the horses pulling the weaponry, the king knew he had lost his second daughter too. He and the queen begged their youngest to stay away from the beasts and thought she would obey, until rumours stretched up to the highest reaches of the castle.
"These people need me," she said softly, tucking her hair up and fixing her tiara. She wanted to remind people who was helping them, that their monarchy was for them and would help them even on the smallest matter.
She rode out on a sleek horse, the fastest she owned. The king and queen remained in darkness until small communities filtered past the huge gates of the wall, thanking the king and queen for sending their angel of hope. Without the youngest sister, they all would have perished. No one knew of the wall beyond the kingdom, but the princess was spreading the word, saving the people.
The news of her death reached the king and queen's ears weeks later. She had died to save children, they said. The children had looked up at the king and queen they had been told would save them in wonder and thanked them with small bouquets of hand-picked flowers. The queen had retreated to her chambers, sobbing uncontrollably, and the king had sat heavily in his throne, tears spilling down his cheek.
The grief never left, but the kingdom never suffered. The queen entered their chambers one night with a sheet of parchment and handed it to the king wordlessly, standing beside him as he read it. The concept was not for one wall, but three. Three walls for the three princesses who had given up everything to protect their kingdom and learn vital information they needed.
The king ruled for years more. His kingdom changed, the titans twisting his love into something barren and fearful, but his people remained strong. Their walls were built, taller than anyone had ever imagined, and the king's successor sent men to collect live titans, trapping them in the walls and strengthening the innermost wall should all others collapse. His daughters had devised these walls and had died to protect their kingdom.
The king woke one morning and knew it was his last day on this earth. He looked from his castle and thought how foolish he'd been to ever want a son. A son could never had protected the land how his daughters had and he looked over his walls, his precious mementoes his daughters had died for. They had deserved a better life, not to be slaughtered by titans. Their knowledge had saved them all though and the king watched flocks of birds fly high above the walls and his people safe in their shadows.
"You always protected this kingdom," the king said as he sat heavily on the chair by his window. His chest hurt, but he felt no sadness for he'd be re-joining his family soon.
"You will always protect them, Maria, Rose and Sina. You will always be watching them, long after our bloodline has faded." The king smiled, closing his eyes and thinking only of his daughters. His land would be well protected. He had never left an heir, but he had given humanity – his daughters had given humanity – something far greater.
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