A/N: All characters except my OC belong to Isayama. Please review and any critique is welcomed. :)
Running… gasping for air with each frantic step, hoping.
Praying…
In that moment it seemed the only thing to do…
The only way to survive...
The screams…
The shouts of agony long forgotten...
Are they mine or someone else's…
The rumbles of the ground giving way to the white, crystalline monster surging from the forest brush fast.
It's coming for me… why me?
My feet carried my leaden form as fast as they could go. Through the blur of trees, I ran, mentally begging my legs to move faster… In the distance, I saw something that gave me hope, a sliver of a chance.
There! The river! I am so close! only a few more feet… I can already smell the mossy forest air and hear the babbling of its ancient flow.
My legs gave out, slamming my body, knees first into the mono-chromed pebbles of the river's shoreline. I looked up to see the sharpened teeth of my cruel enemy. Its icy breath hazing over my frozen form. I sat there, clamped down to the ground while its white bear like claw gripped harshly on my leg.
I swallowed hard feeling both afraid and angry.
I couldn't die, not now…
Looking up at this white demon I felt something inside of me begin to kick in. Maybe Dr. Yeager's son's strong will rubbed off on me after all…
looking at the monster, I glared, repeating to myself that I will not die! Not here, not now… not after the promises I swore to keep!
Looking around my trapped form for anything to grab, anything to at least fight with. I grabbed for the nearest sharp looking rock and screamed with a ferocity, threatening the monster. It smiled at me at first thinking it had won until it looked down at my crystal stone in horror. It howled before releasing my leg from its icy grasp. It crawled back to the forest's edge and started to shake. I snarled at its retreating form thinking I had stricken fear into the monster, at least I thought I did, before it turned to face me. The beasts white body grumbled and choked.
Was it laughing?
Why the hell is it laughing?
Before it started disappearing, it looked me straight in the eyes. Its minty blues into my emerald greens and spoke with a condescending tone to its voice, "You can run from us, you can hide all you like child, but you will never escape me, girl. For you are I and I am you. Are you so deluded to think you could ever escape me, your fate? No one can save you girl, not from the depths of this icy hell can you ever hope to escape!" it grinned with malice, its rumbles of laughter echoing around us, the sharp teeth of its monstrous face glistening in a dark grin that could put a demonic trickster to shame. And then before me, its icy form abruptly disappeared, but what is that in the wispy mist?
A small body fell from the disappearing flesh of the monster. It laid there still as a statue with white smoke steaming from all over its feminine form. I looked around scanning the darkness of the nearby shadows for the monster.
One can never be too cautious, not after the ominous threats made previously...
I crept closer to the unconscious form left behind, pulling back her locks of ebony black hair. I paled, no… no no no! I-it can't be… and then the screams came again. I heard them all around me and the whispers of my name from the dark muggy depths of the forest…
They whispered random strange words and my name over and over. I collapsed holding my head in a fetal position as the whispers turned to shouts.
I gasped, begging for them to stop…
whimpering I pleaded "Please stop…", the shouts grew louder and louder as my body trembled, tears streaming down my face.
This can't be real! Please, this can't be real!
I wanted to scream back and I did…
I screamed… Until silence came and the shouts dulled to whispers and the whispers to murmurs. For a moment is was silent until the silent void was broken by a voice calling out my name, it sounded off from the distance.
It was deep, was it a boy calling me? A man? Who is calling me?
The forest began to slowly disappear, while a bright light began to shine from the body. I shielded my eyes while feeling something or better yet someone shaking me...
"Freya! Frey…"
What is that voice…
"Plea..."
It is so dark…
"P-please wake up..."
Yet so gentle…
Why does this voice sound so sad?
Who are they?
Why do I feel so calm?
I felt a light pressure on my mouth and pressure on my chest… compressions?
As if I weren't breathing before?
What is going on?
I slowly opened my eyes. My vision blurry, the light seeping through the tree tops blinding me as small flashes of my nightmare came back to me… Mentally cringing from the horrifying scenes, I began to focus in on a pair of sullen green eyes. His sweaty skin turning various shades of pink while staring down into my own verdant hues. A sweat drop trickled down his face and onto my forehead. I blinked up at him as the hot droplet slid down my face. I look up into the green eyes of a handsome boy who seemed so familiar yet so foreign at the same time. Where have I seen him before? Wh-where am I?
"Freya!" This time it was a girl's voice, so gentle and sweet sounding…
A small blond girl came into view, "Freya are you alright?", I grunted a pained response at the angelic creature.
I started sitting up while I slowly evaluated my surroundings, my body felt extremely sore…Why am I so sore?
Did I hit something?
My gear was laid up against one of the many trees, my brown leather straps loosened.
"Why am I on the dirty forest floor?" I questioned as I nearly collided with the green eyed boy. He moved away quickly and looked at me with concern, eying my face for any signs of injury.
The blond girl took my movements as a sign that I was well enough and got up to go get water or at least I guess get help. I sure hope that is why she ran so off so fast...
Leaving me with the sweatiest person I've ever met in my life.
"What happened- er what was your name again?" I flushed red, feeling bad for having such a lapse in memory. The nightmares tormenting my nights so much lately that sleep pretty much eluded me at this point.
I looked at the boy only to see him turn crimson and stutter out his name. "Freya it's me...Be-Bertholt… Don't you remember? I was one of your patrol partners for the graded forest exercise? You know with you, me and Krista." His concern mixing with sadness. My heart pained at his expression.
Please don't frown…
It hurts to see you frown…
Realization of what was going on finally kicked in and I flushed, nervous at being in close contact with the only person I ever liked, maybe even secretly loved, from our cadet regiment. My heart was beginning to pound realizing that it had been Bertholt who had been doing CPR on me.
What happened to me?
"I-I'm sorry! Bertle I- Wha- What happened? Why am I on the ground?" I nervously fidgeted. My eyes glancing over his lean, sweat covered form to the trees to his blushing face and then back at the tree tops again.
He looked at me and then looked down before replying, "You fainted and then began to fall while on watch in the trees. I was worried when you fell back and didn't engage the hooks from your 3DM gear. I managed to catch you in time before you nearly hit the ground… Krista h-helped too… and then y-you started shaking and screaming in terror... you stopped breathing after a few minutes… I- figured CPR was the only solution, Krista said it was better I do it since I was better at it than her... I-I hope you aren't mad at me for… for you know uh…um...", his nervous explanations for what happened made feel warm inside.
Safe, I wonder if that is what I could even call this moment…
I don't know why but I laughed. I laughed so hard I fell back on the ground. Bertholt surged forward, helping me lay down slowly to make sure I didn't injure myself again while giving me a look as if I had lost my mind. Maybe, just maybe I did lose it after seeing that hellish night terror…
What was that dream supposed to even be about?
The flashes of that nightmare coming to the forefront of my mind. That white monster, the girl why did she- what was she?
Better yet who was she and why did she look so- so eerily familiar?
I looked away, shaking my head out from the terrible thoughts. After the last pained scene left my mind I looked up at Bertholt, the sullen look back on his face.
"Sorry, Bertle… Thanks for catching me. I definitely owe you one!" I smiled up at him, he blushed harder and looked away. He grumbled more stuttered responses about it being no problem and that he was glad I wasn't too hurt.
Looking at him I wondered. How can someone sweat so much in these cool temperatures? I giggled in my mind.
I laid my hand on his reddened cheek and turned his face to me. He started to stutter and mumble more sorrys and other incoherent ramblings. I placed my finger on his lips to silence him. His eyes looked into mine, the pupils dilated in the pool of his hunter green eyes. I slowly moved towards him and kissed his cheek. I giggled and hugged him tightly as he turned so red that not even the colossal titan could compare.
I managed to get up slowly from the ground with his help until I became dizzy and fell back into his arms. He grunted in slight pain and looked down at me as I fell into his chest. Bertholt gently sighed at the state I was in. Not knowing what else to do, and sure as hell not wanting to get instructor Shadis's ire on either of us, he wrapped one of his long arms around my shoulders, and the other beneath my knees lifting me up close to his chest. I looked at him blushing, unable to speak.
Realizing the intimate position we were in, Bertholt gulped and gently looked at me while whispering into my ear, "I-I think it is best that you don't walk Freya… you fell from a fairly high distance and you seem a bit dizzy still from the fall so... j-just let me carry you. Alright?" He spoke the last part with such a determined face.
A rather rare expression for the usually gentle giant.
I simply nodded my head, not wanting to pass up a chance to be in his warm arms, letting him carry me back to the cadet camp and then all the way to the infirmary.
While walking past the barracks, many of our fellow cadets watched on. Some blushed and whispered amongst each other and others started to laugh and crack jokes at the odd little show of affection…
Some pointed and spoke in hushed tones at the odd sight. I guess it was a bit of an odd sight to see the gentle giant and the little ice princess together in such an oddly romantic manner, despite no one knowing the circumstances of the predicament or why both parties seemed to be unable to look any other color than that of a tomato at this very moment.
Out of thin air, a blond boy built like an ox appeared, from what I could guess, was one of the boy's barracks. The blond giant clapped Bertholt on the back nearly making poor Bertle lose his grip on my form.
"Way to go Bertle you managed to save the day and get the girl after all! I told you, you could do it!" his raucous laughter making Bertholt blush and grumble at the blond.
"Reiner it isn't like that… She fell while we were on patrol in the forest… Besides Krista helped too so-"
"Yea, yea sure Bertle play the humble hero why don't ya. From the romantic tale Krista told us somebody thought the unconscious girl needed true love's kiss to awaken little Mrs. ice princess there. Right, Mr. Knight in shining armor?" Reiner laughed harder with his hands clasped in a dramatic manner of a damsel in distress while batting his eyelashes, all while Bertholt stuttered out in protest.
I blushed at Reiner's words and buried my face into Bertholt's warm chest making him blush even harder.
"See she even likes you too! Little miss ice princess likes you, just like I said she did!"
Reiner's teasing was joined by Connie, coming around the corner with Jean, scratching his oddly shaved head and asking another one of his air-headed questions "Who likes who now?"
Bertholt was even more flustered by the entire embarrassing situation and gripped me closer. He walked quickly past Connie and Jean turning into almost an all out run with me in his arms.
Connie loudly declared, "Whoa are they like, a thing now?"
Reiner still laughing about the situation could only shake his head in affirmation.
Connie surprised by the recent development shouted, "Hey, guys guess what! Bertholt and Freya are a couple!"
Jean snorted at Connie's statement, "No way in hell can that guy, of all the guys in this camp, possibly get a girl like Freya. The guy can't even hold a conversation with a wooden post without apologizing to it and covering it in sweat, let alone talk to a pretty girl! Face it man, the sleeping weatherman and the green eyed beauty of the forest will never be a thing, its just not possible."
While punching Jean's shoulder, Connie laughed out, "Nah I think they totally could be a thing. You're just jealous that another guy beat you to the other black haired beauty before you even had a chance!"
Jean glared at Connie while Reiner slapped them both on the back, "Connie's right Jean. You're just bent cause Bertle beat you to her before you could get rejected yet again by another pretty girl!"
Connie's and Reiner's snickering at Jean's expense left the poor city boy to abruptly stalk off sulking at yet another lost chance at love. Connie shouted at Jean's back, "Don't worry Jean, I heard the mares in the stable are still available!", causing both Reiner and Connie to laugh harder, while leaning against each other for support.
Marco, who had come to see what all the shouting was about, ran off to calm Jean down who ended up running into a confused Eren. Which ended up resulting in yet another verbal assault. Leaving Marco to hold Jean back and Mikasa pulling Eren away from another fight, while Armin asked Marco what was going on.