Posted here exactly as it is on AO3 which means no editing sadly.
This is the story of how I died.
Don't get me wrong; this story isn't all about me and it doesn't center on some tragic moment in time. In fact up until a few hours ago it was a love story, rather than a tragedy. But I guess it just wasn't meant to be, and I'm okay with that as long as I got to experience all that I did before I die.
Now for all of those who may be confused, I guess I'll start at the very beginning.
Many, many years ago, a drop of sunlight fell from the heavens to the earth and a flower grew from it with amazing power. It had the ability to heal people or to prolong their lives. All you had to do was sing to it.
There were many people in the world who could've used this flower; people who were sick or mortally injured, but the outcast Annie Leonhardt hid the flower and coveted its power to keep herself young and beautiful.
At the same time in the kingdom, the queen was pregnant but growing very ill as the days wore on. A doctor confirmed that neither she nor the child would survive to the end of her term, so the kind led a search for the magical flower knowing it was the only way to preserve his family.
When the flower was found it was torn from the earth and brewed into a special tea which restored health to the queen and helped her to birth a healthy baby boy with golden hair the color of the sun.
She and the king were overjoyed that their family was finally complete. But it was not to last.
Annie needed her flower in order to live and so on the night of the prince's birth she broke into the castle, signing softly to the child. She was amazed to see his hair glowing exactly as her flower once had, she took a lock of his hair and cut it off.
To her horror the hair immediately lost its power, wilting in her hands and losing it's golden color.
But that didn't matter; looking down at the child Annie had found her new flower.
She took the prince from his crib and stuck him in a tower where nobody would find him, raising him as her own and warning him never to venture outside.
Every year on the prince's birthday, the king and queen would lead the kingdom in launching a thousand lanterns, in the hopes that their son would see them and return home. But he never did.
Whenever she would visit him, Annie would brush the young prince's hair and sing to him, eventually teaching him to do so herself. This way she would stay alive forever.
Nearly eighteen years passed by and the prince – Armin, as she had named him – had never once left the tower. His hair had grown to an astounding 50ft and Annie had warned him never to cut it.
Every year on his birthday Armin watched a thousand glowing lights floating into the air along the horizon. He couldn't help but feel as though those lights were meant for him.
But he had never left his tower and he would never know.
It was the day before his eighteenth birthday. Armin went through his daily routine as usual, tending to himself and the tower. Since it was done every day the tower required very little cleaning and he spent more time painting any bare spaces left on the walls before taking some leisure time with his kitten Mikasa. They played hide and seek but her stark color made her stand out.
"Want to play again?" he asked her.
She shook her head and pointed out the window to the balcony.
"I don't want to go down there," Armin told her, "I like it up here and you do too; we're safe up here."
He knew it wasn't entirely true. He didn't like his tower as much as he said and Mikasa knew it. For a kitten she was very smart.
Mikasa continued to jab her tail the direction of the sky. She meowed softly and Armin sighed.
"I know, I want to too. But Annie says no, she says we won't be safe out there and we can't just leave without her knowledge."
Again Mikasa meowed and Armin went to lean over the balcony, feeling as much of the autumn breeze as he could.
"I'll ask her tonight," he said determinedly. "I'm almost eighteen; it's time for our lives to begin."
щ(ಠ益ಠщ)
While that was happening I was just a while away scaling a castle wall with my two buddies Reiner and Bertholdt.
"This is going to be big!" I yelled, running across the castle roof. "After this we're going to be filthy rich!"
"Will you be quiet?" Reiner hissed. He was always a little on edge. "Nobody's going to be rich if we get caught!"
"Relax!" I told him. "It's simple, right? Now just lower me down and I'll grab the thing so we can get out of here. Before he sweats a river, please."
Much like Reiner had a tendency to snap or become paranoid, Bertholdt was prone to nervous sweating.
So by now you've likely gathered that I'm a thief, yes? And a greedy one at that. Yes in fact I was once a very greedy, very selfish man. But don't be so quick to judge. The guys I was with? They were way worse.
So they lowered me into the castle where a crown was lying on a silk cushion. It had never been worn and belonged to Armin, the lost prince. But at that time I couldn't have cared less.
I grabbed the crown, placing it in the satchel where I keep all of my stolen goods. I paused to bless a sneezing guard before I was pulled up and suddenly we were on the run. I was laughing hysterically until I banged into a certain horse.
This little shit had been gunning for me from day one! His huge green eyes were filled with nothing but hate and evil.
My one true nemesis.
But before I could engage in a fist fight with a horse, Reiner pulled me along and we kept running until we met a mound too tall and too steep to climb.
"Lift me up," I told Reiner, "And I'll pull you two up."
"Give us the satchel first," Reiner said.
Meanwhile Bertholdt was already lifting me up. He was a little too trusting at times; a kind of naive giant if you will.
A sweaty naïve giant.
"It wounds me that you don't trust me," I said, standing atop the mound. "But at the same time, you'd be right now to!"
With those words I took off, my laughter almost blocking out Reiner's angered cry.
"Jean!"
Which echoed throughout the land.
If they ever caught up to me I'd be dead.
щ(ಠ益ಠщ)
Back at the tower with our lost prince, Armin anxiously awaited the return of his caregiver.
He jumped when he heard her voice from the bottom of the tower.
"Armin, let down your hair!" she called.
Beside Armin, Mikasa hissed, only to be shushed by the boy she wanted to protect.
"It's going to be fine," Armin told her, immediately going to aid Annie.
He hated this part – hair wasn't made of steel and neither was he – but Annie was all he had grown up with and he wanted to see her more than anything. Her visits were growing less frequent and he was afraid one day she would just never return.
Annie and this tower were all he knew.
But he had to be strong; to take control of his own fate.
When Annie reached the top of the tower she ran her fingers through the hair on top of Armin's head. This was the most genuine affection she would show him.
"My, that looks painful," she said.
Armin flushed slightly at the attention he was receiving.
"Ah no, not at all!" he immediately lied.
"That's good; I wouldn't want to hurt you," Annie cooed. "I would never, ever hurt you. Not like the monsters out there, oh the outside world is just terrible!"
"But Annie, you go there all the time. Maybe instead you should stay here with me, so we will both be safe."
"No dear don't be silly! I have things I must do out there, staying here just won't do."
"Then take me with you instead," Armin suggested hopefully. "I won't get hurt if I have you to protect me."
"No," Annie said flatly.
"Annie, I don't know if you know this, but tomorrow's my birthday!" Armin pretended to be excited, but he knew deep down that she didn't remember and that part stung. "And well, tomorrow I'll be eighteen and I was kind of hoping that you could take me to the kingdom so I could see the floating lights."
"No," Annie repeated.
"Please, hear me out –"
"I Said no!" Annie yelled. She sighed watching Armin flinch, "Oh great now I'm the bad guy. You would never make it outside of this tower; there are bad people out there, people who would hurt you to steal your power. It's better that you stay here with me."
"Annie please," Armin pleaded.
Annie clicked her tongue.
"I mean look at you," she said, "you're silly, naïve, clumsy and a little dumb if you ask me. Oh don't get me started on these clothes."
Armin felt his face heat up, pulling at the material of his dress.
"You got these for me," he mumbled.
"Yes and you look beautiful," Annie said, "Is what I have to say because you're my child. But the rest of the world won't be so kind; there's no sugar-coating out there. You'll be no better than garbage out there and the ones who do notice you aren't the type you'd want to bring home to mummy, now are they?"
Armin cringed. He hated when she called herself that.
"Oh um well, I wouldn't know," Armin said awkwardly.
Truth be told he had no gauge of what a good person was or even what made a person bad.
"That's right and there are many other things you don't know," Annie said, "I'll go and get something for us to eat and you can stop all of this silly going outside nonsense. But first, sing for me."
Armin did just that, sitting in front of Annie and singing while she brushed his hair. Moments later she departed and Armin was left alone with Mikasa once again.
Mikasa meowed softly and rubbed against his bare feet.
She was restless and Armin thought maybe he should just let her free.
"I think Annie's right; we should probably just stay here. We wouldn't make it out there."
Just as Armin was expressing these thoughts out loud, a stranger, a thief looking for refuge in a tower which looked empty, broke him out of his somber mood.
Without any thought at all Armin took a frying pan to the man's head and he fell to the ground.
Now as you may have guessed, that man who just got owned by a terrified, frying pan welding boy, was me.
I'd been chased down by that stupid horse and found the tower completely by accident. But I thought maybe it could be my salvation and I climbed it without hesitation, only to be knocked out.
Once Armin realized what he'd done he quickly checked to make sure I wasn't a monster like the ones Annie would describe to him, and shoved me into a closet.
"Oh god Mikasa, what do we do?" he asked the small cat, "There's a man in our tower! Annie is going to be so mad!"
He started to pace the floor, tugging at his hair before he realized.
"Oh Mikasa, there's a man in our tower! And I handled it pretty damn well!" he exclaimed, "If Annie sees how I've handled this maybe she'll reconsider letting me outside?"
Mikasa meowed supportively, though it was clear she was doubtful.
Although she was merely a kitten she was a lot wiser than her owner.
Armin had only just secured a chair against the handles of the closet door, when Annie's voice rang from the bottom of the tower calling for him to let down his hair.
"Alright," he said, more to himself than to Mikasa, "it's now or never."
He helped Annie to the top of the tower, unable to control his excitement.
"Annie I have something to tell you," he said.
"Oh Armin this better not be about going outside again," Annie said.
"Well not exactly, but it's along those lines."
Annie sighed as Armin inched towards the closet only to be stopped.
"How many times do I have to tell you?" Annie asked.
"Wait Annie, please listen."
"No you listen," Annie snapped, "you are staying up here for the rest of your life, understand? You are never leaving this tower, ever!"
"I-I know, Annie," Armin said, feeling what little resolve he had left crumble. "It's just that, since it's my birthday tomorrow, I wanted you to bring me some more paints, like the ones you used to buy me when I was a kid."
Annie had the decency not to hide her annoyance.
"That's a two day trip," she said, "Are you sure you'll be okay here by yourself?"
"I'll be fine," Armin said quietly.
"Okay then, take good care of yourself while I'm gone."
"I will. Please be careful out there."
They shared a brief hug where Annie stroked Armin's hair, before she departed, calling out once more for Armin to keep himself – and his hair – safe.
When Annie was out of sight, Armin continued to stare out from the balcony for a few minutes before feeling Mikasa against his ankles.
The kitten let out a soft meow.
"We really shouldn't," Armin said quietly, "but I want to see outside so bad!"
He looked back towards the closet then down at his kitten.
"I think I have an idea."
So he dragged me out of the closet, propped me onto a chair and tied me up with that long hair of his. Only in the process of this did he notice the satchel I'd risked my life to protect, and unsurprisingly it piqued his curiosity.
He took out the crown, unaware to the fact that it belonged to him. He looked at it for the longest time before cautiously slipping it onto his risk, only to have it fall to the ground.
At his feet Mikasa meowed, brushing a paw against the top of her head.
Armin followed her instruction, lifting the crown to his head tentatively and rushing to a mirror. I can only imagine he didn't see himself as the prince he truly was, it would be hard to see himself as anything other than a head supporting a length of hair after the way Annie had treated him.
It was around that time that I began to wake up, startling Armin into dropping the crown.
He resolved to hide it only god knows where, and appeared out of breath when I finally opened my eyes.
Never before had I been rendered speechless by the mere sight of another person, but he wasn't just some random kid you would've seen on the streets. He may not have known it himself but Armin was truly breathtaking, despite his frazzled, frightened appearance. His big blue eyes looked as though they were about to fall out of his skull with the effort to hold back any sign of fear.
It was adorable really.
The dress he'd been forced into wasn't misleading in the slightest and it was obvious just from looking at him that he was a boy. He tried to hold himself with confidence but just ended up looking endearingly clumsy.
That was my first impression of my captor; pretty good really until I looked down and noticed that my bindings were made of –
"Is this hair?!" I asked.
My words seemed to shock him and he jumped back slightly. A small kitten stepped forward and hissed at me only to be cooed into calmness by Armin.
"Hey, Mikasa it's alright," he said, lifting the kitten up and allowing her to perch on his head. He turned to face me, narrowing his eyes in an attempt to be menacing. "Who are you and how did you find my tower?" he asked.
I tried to raise my hands in defense, only to remember my bindings.
"I assure you it wasn't my intention to come here," I said, "see I was chased here by a horse and if I'd realized this tower was occupied I likely wouldn't have climbed it in the first place."
"Why should I believe you?" he asked, "how do I know you aren't here to trick me and steal my hair?"
Why would I –
"Listen, right now the only thing I want to do with your hair is get out of it. Literally," I told him, "Now if you would kindly hand me my satchel and release me I will be on my way. We can pretend this whole thing never happened."
"No."
"Excuse me?"
Armin smiled, understanding that now he had the upper hand.
"I said no," he said. "I've hidden your satchel somewhere inside this tower and it will take you months to find it; you'd have to take the entire tower apart brick by brick. However I'm willing to make a deal with you."
I sighed.
"Look, you're very pretty, beautiful even, but I don't think I can get in the mood in this kind of situation."
My words caused him to go completely red.
"No I don't mean that kind of deal!" he exclaimed, pressing his hands against his cheeks to stop himself from getting any redder. "I mean I want you to take me out there," he pointed out the window which I'd climbed through.
"You mean outside? Can't you do that by yourself?"
He shook his head.
"No I can't. I need you to take me to see the glowing lights tomorrow night," He said.
"Glowing lights? Oh, you mean the lantern festival the whole kingdom does for the lost prince?"
"Lanterns?" he asked, wonder in his eyes. He quickly regained a more determined composure. "Yes, I want you to take me to see the lanterns."
"Sorry, no can do," I said.
Armin shrugged.
"Then I can't return your satchel."
The next few seconds were spent with us staring each other down, trying to wear the other down. I had a feeling he wasn't going to give up so easily; he had the air of somebody who'd been waiting his whole life for one moment.
I knew that feeling and I knew it was strong enough to overcome my own resolve, so eventually I had to cave.
"Fine, I'll take you to the kingdom to see the lanterns," I said, "But you might want to be careful; there are all kinds of monsters out there."
"So I've been told," he replied, "But as long as I'm the only one who knows where your precious satchel is, I guess you'll have no choice but to protect me."
My first impression of this boy – clumsy, silly, frightened – was clearly wrong.
This kid was devious; he definitely knew what he was doing.
But still I was sure I'd be able to shake him off.
Once he untied me, Armin watched cautiously as I scaled down the tower, cringing when I reached the ground as though it would open up and eat me.
"Come-on Blondie, we don't have all day!" I called up.
I watched him grab Mikasa and use his hair to carry them both down.
He hovered over the ground, one foot about an inch above the grass.
"This is it," he whispered to Mikasa, "This is really it."
The kitten meowed in his arms and he let out a nervous little laugh.
Tentatively, Armin jumped onto the ground, jumping back up into the air when his feet made contact with the grass. He seemed shocked at first before sinking to the ground and running his hands along the grass.
"It's so soft," he said in amazement.
He looked up, the autumn breeze sweeping through his hair and causing him to give a wide smile.
The next thing I knew he was running around, attempting to touch everything in sight.
"This is amazing!" he cheered, stopping by a tree.
His expression changed to one of utter horror.
"Oh no, what have I done, we have to go back!" he said.
A minute later he was hanging from a branch.
"I am never going back!" he yelled.
The next second he was seated on a rock, his head in his hands.
"Annie's going to furious," he muttered.
"This is so much fun!" he exclaimed, jumping up and down in a nearby stream.
Yet another shift in mood found him lying flat-faced on the grass.
"I am a horrible child."
As fun as it was to watch, I really didn't have time for all of his bizarre mood swings, and even Mikasa seemed to be getting sick of it so I went over to where Armin lay and helped him to get up.
"Come-on, you want to see the lanterns don't you?" I asked, "Well you're not going to get anywhere sitting there like that."
"Ah you're right, let's go!" he said.
He was about to take the lead – as if he knew where he was going – when his stomach began to growl, causing him to grow a bright shade of pink.
"Oh, you're hungry?" I asked, "lucky you, I know just the place to get a good meal."
He nodded gratefully and I tried to hide my true intent as a plan began to form in my head.
щ(ಠ益ಠщ)
As all of that was happening, Annie was passed by a horse.
At first she thought nothing of it until she noticed the royal insignia on its reins.
"A royal horse? What are you doing all the way out here?" she asked.
Suddenly a connection formed in her mind and panic began to sweep onto her face.
"Armin!"
She ran back as fast as she could, to the tower.
It wasn't possible, was it? After all this time, they hadn't finally found him, had they?
But just to be sure she called out.
"Armin, let down your hair!"
There was no response and so she called again, only to receive the same cold silence.
In a blind panic she rushed to find an old door which had been sealed since Armin's hair could reach the ground. She raced up the stairs and burst through the hatch on the floor only to be met by a dark, empty tower.
"Armin?" she called, "Armin answer me!"
She ran through the tower, nearly tripping on an oddly placed satchel that definitely hadn't been there when she left.
Annie opened the satchel and to her horror, pulled out the crown belonging to the missing prince.
Had Armin found out and left by himself?
If that were the case she would just have to track him down and drag him back home before he raised too many unnecessary questions.
щ(ಠ益ಠщ)
"Are you sure you can handle this, Blondie?" I asked Armin as we neared the Survey Corps bar. "This is a pretty classy place and if you can't handle the guys in here then you're probably not prepared for the rest of the world."
Amin nodded firmly.
"I'm sure," he said.
I tried not to look to proud of myself for thinking of this.
If this didn't make Armin run away screaming, I didn't know what would.
As soon as we entered the bar, all eyes were suddenly on us and I felt Armin tense, grabbing onto my shirt. I could feel him pressing himself against me to avoid the curious stares of bar goers, and jumping when he felt hands on his hair.
I knew everybody in this bar, and one girl in particular, Sasha, had grabbed a hold of Armin's unnecessarily long hair as it went past.
"Wow, that's a lot of hair," she said, watching in awe as Armin gathered it all up to keep others from touching it.
Mikasa took a moment to hiss at Sasha before we were confronted.
"Oi, Jean, is this you?"
I knew that voice and sure enough, near the bar stood a good old friend of mine – if you can call a guy out for my head, a friend – Levi. And he was holding a wanted poster with my face on it.
I snatched the poster out of his hands.
"No, no, no!" I exclaimed, "They got my hair all wrong!"
Those stupid royal artists always made my hair look like a horse's mane.
"So it is then," Levi said. He gestured towards Sasha, "Go and get the guards."
Before I could register what was happening, two people had grabbed me and were holding me back in case I might try to escape. I recognized them too; Ymir and Marco.
"Dude!" I said, looking at my freckled friend – the only one in this stupid bar I could genuinely call my friend. "Come-on, I expect this stuff from her, but seriously, you're going to do this to me?"
Marco shrugged, "there's a pretty hefty reward hanging over your head. We could really use it."
"Wow, that's cold."
By that time I was pretty much resigned to my fate and I didn't expect Armin to come to my rescue, swatting those idiots away with the same pan he'd used to take me out earlier that day.
"Hey, stop it!" he cried out, "You can't have him; I need him to take me to see the lanterns tomorrow night! Come-on, haven't any of you ever had a dream?"
Seriously, who could look into those big blue eyes and deny Armin anything?
Ymir and Marco stopped trying to hold me back and at the piano near the back, Connie began to play.
Then to my horror the bar erupted in song.
щ(ಠ益ಠщ)
While I had to endure fifty shades of shitty dreams – ranging from Ymir's odd but expected love confession to the waitress Christa, to Levi's small collection of familiar porcelain horses – outside the bar Annie had already tracked us down. However she didn't immediately intervene as she might've had it been another situation; she saw how happy Armin seemed with so much attention on him, singing like he'd been doing it his whole life.
She had to find a way to convince him of the world's true cruelty and the two wanted posters in her hand gave her a clear idea of what to do.
It was only a short trip to find the two men who'd been involved in stealing the crown alongside the man who'd stolen her flower.
She had a proposition for them and told them just that.
"Hey, you two," she called out to catch their attention.
Reiner and Bertholdt were on guard immediately, having narrowly escaped the royal police earlier.
"What do you want?" Reiner asked gruffly.
Annie dangled the satchel in front of the two men, seeing their attention piqued immediately.
"Where did you –"
"An item like this, would probably fetch a good price on the black market," Annie said, "I could give you this and send you both on your way, but a couple of smart men like you probably know a better deal when you see one. I have an item that would get ten times the price of this silly crown; all you have to do is catch him."
"Him?" Bertholdt asked nervously.
"Yes, him," Annie confirmed. "Now, are you two boys interested or not?"
щ(ಠ益ಠщ)
After Armin, I was forced to either sing or be lynched. His voice was so much sweeter than mine but the patrons of the bar seemed satisfied as long as I shared my dreams with them.
They continued to sing until the door burst open and Sasha rushed in, huffing and puffing.
"I got the guards," she said.
"Oh no, what are we going to do?" Armin asked me, stepping down from the table where he'd been singing.
Levi grabbed him by the arm and motioned for me to follow him behind the bar. He opened a secret hatch leading into a tunnel.
"Go," he said, looking at Armin with Ernest concern, "Live your dream."
"I will," I told him.
Levi hit me over the head.
"Not you, your dream is shit!" he hissed.
Levi shoved me into the tunnel and held the hatch open long enough for Armin to climb through before the door burst open once more.
"Where is he?" a guard shouted, holding up my wanted poster.
"Sorry officer, we haven't seen anybody like that," Sasha lied smoothly.
It might've worked had that stupid, stupid horse not burst in at that exact moment and caught my scent. He led the guards through the tunnel, right on our tail.
We still had a pretty good lead and as we hurried along I felt compelled to try and talk to him. I wanted to know him better but he was so strange.
"So I get the feeling I'm not supposed to talk about this Annie person you're always mumbling about," I started; I didn't miss the nod he sent me. "Or the hair either, and frankly I'm a little scared to ask about the kitten. But will you at least tell me one thing? Why did you never go to the kingdom by yourself?"
Armin sighed.
"That's kind of a long story, and a touchy subject for me," he said.
Of course it was.
I was about to try again when the tunnel started to rumble with the sound of a thousand distant footsteps. Suddenly the guards were right behind us and Armin had grabbed my arm, running as fast as he could to the end of the tunnel only for us to end up on a cliff.
"Wh-who are they?" Armin asked as the guards followed us out of the tunnel, cornering us.
"The royal guard; they don't like me."
Out of a cave down below, two very familiar thieves stood watching us.
"And who are they?"
"Some friends of mine; they don't like me either."
Armin nodded, appearing to calculate his next move very carefully.
"Hold on to this," he said, shoving the frying pan into my hands.
He tossed his hair over the gorge and hooked it onto a beam, jumping off the cliff while the guards continued to advance.
Of course leading them was that obnoxious horse.
God I hated that horse.
One by one I battled the guards; they weren't all that hard to beat and soon it was just me and the horse who was somehow able to fight using a sword.
It was going well until he managed to knock the frying pan out of my hands.
"Jean!" Armin called from the other side. He threw his hair over to where I stood, attempting to swing me over to him. however it appeared I was a tad heavier than whoever he usually lifted. I ended up colliding with a few water pipes and causing a whole damn collapse. Armin and I had to run quickly to avoid being caught by any of my enemies.
Armin and I ran and were trapped in a cave sealed off by rocks.
Water was filling into the cave quickly and I searched frantically for a way out, cutting my hand in the process.
"Oh no, what are we going to do to? What are we going to do?" Armin asked. "We're going to die!"
I resurfaced after failing to find a way out.
"It's too dark down there," I said. "We're not going to get out of this. I'm sorry."
Armin shook his head, "don't be," he said, "this is my fault. I shouldn't have dragged you into this. You've been so nice to me so far."
"Ah well, not exactly," I admitted, "you shouldn't die thinking I'm a good guy in fact, everything I've done since we left the tower has been an effort to get you to go back. And as long as I'm admitting things; I wasn't a good guy before I met you either."
Armin smiled sadly.
"I kind of gathered that, but thank you for telling the truth."
He pressed closer to me as the water began to rise. He heaved a heavy sigh and looked into my eyes.
"I have magic hair," he blurted out, "it glows when I sing."
My eyes widened, was he telling the truth?
His confession seemed to have given him an idea and soon the cave was filled with the sound of Armin singing as we took in our last breaths.
To my amazement, as we began to sink, Armin's hair started glowing. I was able to swim to the bottom of the cave and remove a few rocks, causing the entire pile to collapse and let us out into a river.
I swam to the side, coughing and spluttering, barely able to breathe.
All I could think was, he has magic hair.
щ(ಠ益ಠщ)
It was getting dark by the time we got out of the water and Armin suggested a fire to help us dry off quicker. Of course he didn't know how to make a fire so I had to take care of it by myself while he sat and tried to ring out his hair.
His hair with magical powers.
Which glowed when he sang.
I had no idea how I was going to get over that one, or even how to address it. But when I sat down beside Armin it turned out I didn't have to bring it up at all.
"You've been staring a lot," he said, placing Mikasa down close enough to the fire for her to get warm. "I'm sorry if I frightened you back there, but I've never told anybody about my power before; the only one who knows is Annie. It felt good to share."
I nodded dumbly for a moment, not sure exactly what to think.
"So um, how long have you had these powers?" I asked. Absently I reached out to touch a strand of his hair.
"For as long as I can remember. Annie has always told me they're the reason I've been locked up in that tower. She says she doesn't want me to be hurt when people find out."
He smiled, watching the hair fall between my fingers until his eyes caught something and he grabbed my hand.
"Oh, you're hurt!" he said.
"Yeah, it's just a flesh wound," I told him, "That stupid horse."
He looked at me for a moment as though I was crazy, before wrapped a few strands of his hair around my hand.
"I can take care of that for you," he said, "Glowing isn't the only thing my hair can do."
With that he began to sing once more and I watched again as his hair began to glow until finally the strands wrapped around me glowed too, filling me with sudden warmth.
When Armin removed his hair, the wound on my hand was gone causing my eyes to nearly fall out of their sockets.
"Wh – I don't understand?" I said.
"Don't think too hard about it," he told me.
"R-right," I said quietly, "Uh, I'm going to look around, see if there's anything around here we can eat."
With that I got up and hurried away from Armin, unaware as to the sad look he gave my retreating form.
"Oh Mikasa, I hope he doesn't think less of me because of what I showed him," Armin said, slumping down beside his kitten.
"That would be just awful, wouldn't it?" a voice sounded from behind them.
Mikasa got up into a defensive stance immediately and Armin felt his heart sinking.
"A-Annie, what are you doing here?" he whispered.
"I should be asking you the same thing," Annie said, "Running away from home and leaving me all by myself, isn't a very nice thing to do."
"I'm sorry Annie, I didn't intend to hurt you!"
"It's fine child, just come back home with me right now and all will be forgiven."
Mikasa hissed and Armin reached down to pet her comfortingly.
"No," he said.
"Excuse me?"
"I said no Annie, I met somebody and he's not a monster; he doesn't treat me the way you said people would," Armin said, "You were wrong."
"You're saying no to me?" Annie asked. She hid it very well, just how much she wanted to slap the boy in front of her. "Fine, take this."
She held out the satchel containing the crown, offering it to Armin.
"Where did you get that?"
"Take it, give it back to him, see if he sticks around!" Annie hissed, "This is the real reason you're still here; don't be fooled, he'll leave you just as quickly –"
"He won't!"
"Oh, you think he likes you?" Annie let out a cruel laugh. "That's absurd! Why would he, just look at you? You're a mess!"
"But –"
"Go ahead Armin, do as you please. But don't come crying when he disappears!"
"I won't," Armin said quietly, falling to his knees as Annie rushed off.
Having been apart from her for almost a day, Armin had actually forgotten how exhausting dealing with Annie really was. He'd never stopped before to realize the way she made him feel, until he started leaning there was more than one way to think about yourself.
But right at that moment he didn't know what to think.
He was asleep by the time I got back, curled up with Mikasa resting on his chest.
щ(ಠ益ಠщ)
The next morning I woke up to something wet dripping onto my face.
I woke up thinking it was raining, only to find that stupid – stupid, stupid – palace horse hovering over me.
"Well I hope you're here to apologize," I said.
The next thing I knew, I was being dragged by the collar, kicking and screaming, away from the scene. The racket caused Armin to wake up, immediately spotting us and running to my aid.
Or so I thought.
"Oh look at him, he's so cute!" Armin exclaimed, reaching up to pet the horse's head. The horse looked as though he were about to trample me, when Armin cooed him into calming down. "Hey, nice horse, calm down boy. Yes I know, he's a bad, nasty thief, huh?"
The horse nodded, glaring at me.
"Well," Armin took a moment to observe the horse's bindings before continuing to talk, "Eren, here's the thing; I need Jean to take me into the kingdom today, so I can see the floating lights. Do you think you could give me just one day?"
Eren shook his head stubbornly, causing Armin to pout.
"See, today is kind of my birthday," he said, looking up at the horse sweetly.
To my astonishment, Eren conceded, resulting in a gross horse hug that lasted at least two minutes too long and ended with Armin inviting Eren to come with us.
"You didn't tell me today was your birthday," I said as we started walking again.
Armin shrugged, watching happily as Mikasa made herself comfortable on top of Eren's head.
"You didn't ask," he said.
We kept walking for a few hours; pointless chit-chat coming mostly from Armin and the two animals – as though he could understand what they were saying to him – filled the air and I was happy to stay quiet and listen to the sound of his voice.
Eventually the kingdom was in sight and all we had to do was cross a bridge to enter it.
Just like when he left his tower, Armin was hesitant to step onto the bridge and at this point Mikasa had climbed back onto his head to take this first step together. Even Eren waited for the blonde to move before stepping forward onto the bridge.
I listened to him count under his breath before finally laying a single toe onto the bridge.
Then he was running, Eren following him closely, running and laughing and spinning as though he were the happiest boy in the world.
Once we reached the main body of the kingdom, people kept treading on his hair – despite Mikasa's tendency to hiss at anybody who got too close. Luckily, I was able to convince three young girls to braid it for him, in order to keep it off the ground.
Armin was all smiles and blush while the girls told him how beautiful his hair was and thanked him for letting them touch it. There was no way he was getting any cuter than that.
The kingdom was, as usual, bright, beautiful and full of life. The sun was shining down on us, illuminating every outstanding aspect of the pavilion we were in.
A band was playing quietly in the shadows, taking tips as people walked by.
Armin went over to them, smiling at anybody who looked at him as he passed by. He whispered something to the band and they began to play louder, causing heads to turn.
Armin was quick to drag a young girl into the pavilion to dance with him. at first she seemed shy but his energy was contagious and soon he dragged more young girls, boys and even adults in to dance with him.
It must've been so lonely up in that tower his entire life; I understood why he would want to get out and have fun with so many people, but I was still shocked when he grabbed my hand and made to pull me into the circle he'd created.
I shook my head and tried to shake him off.
"I've had enough music for a lifetime," I told him. But it was no use, as Eren pushed me into the circle and I couldn't manage to get away.
Not that I would want to. He looked so happy.
We spent the rest of the day like that; running around the kingdom and engaging in weird activities with random citizens. It was nice; I'd never been in the kingdom for any reason other than to steal – though I did a bit of that as well.
We even stopped to pay respect to the memorial of the lost prince – must be weird paying respect to yourself. There was a large mural covering an entire wall, of the king, queen and their missing son.
"Hey, I've seen that somewhere before," Armin said. He pointed to a vibrant, blood red rose covering the background of the picture.
"That's the royal insignia," I told him, though I was pretty sure I'd seen it painted all over the walls of his tower earlier. "You've probably seen it a bunch of times today."
"Yeah, I guess that's it," Armin said. He stared a few moments longer at the picture in front of us. It was as though staring at it gave him déjà vu.
While he stared at the picture I swiped on of the flags they were handing out with the royal insignia stitched into it. When I gave it to him he looked at me as though I'd given him the greatest gift in the world, though I don't suppose he was given many sincere gifts in his lifetime.
When the sun was beginning to set, I dragged Armin over to the waterfront. I'd called in a few favors and set up a small boat for us. Just the sight of it made Armin look as though he were about to melt.
"Wow, a boat?" he asked, as though incapable of understanding the obvious.
"Yeah, I figured you'd want a front row seat for your big –"
I wasn't able to finish my sentence, as Armin knocked any logical thought out of my mind by embracing me.
"Yeah so anyway," I said once he had let go, "get in, the show's about to begin."
He nodded quickly and made to get in the tiny boat, carrying Mikasa with him.
I turned to face Eren who was back to glaring at me. He'd become strangely protective of Armin over the course of the day.
"Relax a little," I told him. I held out a bag of apples and said, "I got you something."
He gave me a flat look as I got into the boat, telling me he didn't trust me.
"Don't worry, I bought them!" I called. Put at ease, he began to eat them until I called out, "Well, most of them."
Luckily by then we were too far out for him to reach me.
Stupid horse.
I rowed us out to the center of the lake, where we would get a good look at the castle and the entire kingdom.
Armin took in the sights; I imagine he'd never seen a lake before, nor any other large body of water. He'd probably never seen a boat either, or a horse, or anything besides the sky.
He looked up and caught me staring, looking away again quickly.
"Excited?" I asked.
"Terrified actually."
He took in a deep breath as though to calm himself and I couldn't help but ask.
"Why? Are you afraid it won't be as special as you've always imagined?"
"No I'm afraid that it will," he said. "This has been my dream for as long as I can remember. What if I love it, what next? I'm only eighteen; I can't fulfill my life's dream yet!"
"Of course you can," I told him, "that's the best part of life; achieving your dreams and finding new ones. After this, the sky is the limit."
Armin just shook his head and looked as though the whole world was crashing around him.
"No. after this we have to go back."
"Do you, though?"
"Yes. I don't know anything else."
He tried to look away but I met his gaze and he seemed to freeze up.
"You know me," I told him, "and I know a lot about the world. If you want, I could teach you?"
He smiled, seeming to relax slightly.
"Yeah, I'd like that."
From where we were we could see the castle as the king and queen launched the first lantern, signaling the kingdom to do the same thing.
"Oh, look!" Armin said, pointing up at the sky as the first lantern began to sink, floating across the lake.
Mikasa was nestled in his dress with her head poking out so she could see, and Armin pointed out separate lanterns to her which he found prettier than others.
My eyes were on him the entire time; watching the way his face lit up and his eyes filled up with a spark of happiness. The lanterns illuminated his entire being, making him glow.
"It's beautiful," he whispered, reaching over the side of the boat to lift a sinking lantern back into the air.
"Yeah, it is," I agreed.
Mikasa meowed quietly and Armin sighed, peeling his eyes off of the sky.
"Oh uh, Jean we have something for you," he said.
He held out my satchel and I felt reality hit me like a ton of bricks.
I shook my head and pushed it away.
"I don't need it anymore," I told him. "I have a new dream."
He leaned over to embrace me once again and I couldn't remember ever being so happy, until out of the corner of my eye I spotted two painfully familiar people
How did they find me?
Really reality could be so cruel.
I began to paddle towards the shore opposite where we'd started. I needed to do something.
"Jean, is something wrong?" Armin asked.
"Ah no," I lied. Then to myself I muttered, "Not for long."
I got us to shore as soon as I could and took the satchel out of Armin's hands.
"I'm sorry I just need to take care of something really quick, okay?"
"It's fine. I trust you," he said.
Mikasa didn't look so sure but I couldn't risk either of their safety.
щ(ಠ益ಠщ)
"Ah, hey guys! Long time no see, huh?" I said once I was face to face with Reiner and Bertholdt. "I didn't expect to see you guys so soon, what with you being nearly imprisoned and all."
They stared me down without saying a word and I felt my chances of survival begin to dwindle with every second that passed.
I should've just taken Armin and ran.
"So anyways, I'm here to return this to you," I held out the satchel for Reiner to take but he didn't. "I know things are rough between us now, but think of this as a sort of peace treaty."
"We heard you found something even better than some lousy crown," Reiner said.
His eyes flickered towards where I'd left Armin.
"What, him?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady. "No, he's nothing special; just a street rat. Nobody would pay for him."
"We've already got a buyer," Bertholdt muttered.
I felt panic flood through me and fight or flight set off in my brain. I was about to run for it when Reiner grabbed me.
"You're not going anywhere," he said. "First we get rid of you, and then we take the boy."
My last instinct was to call out and warm Armin to get away. But before I could utter a single word, my world went dark.
щ(ಠ益ಠщ)
Armin waited a full ten minutes for me to return before he began to think I'd abandoned him.
He was cold, tired and felt all alone in the world, feeling like the biggest idiot in the world for having trusted me.
I couldn't blame him one bit.
Then, he saw a shadowed figure making its way towards him and his heart lifted. He hadn't realized how close to tear he'd actually been until he wiped away at his eyes.
"Oh thank god, I was beginning to think you had taken the crown and run," he said.
"He did," Reiner said, stepping out of the shadows along with Bertholdt.
He pointed out onto the lake towards a boat floating towards the shore.
"No!" Armin shouted, tears welling up in his eyes. "He promised."
At that same time, Reiner took his time to survey Armin, looking over every inch of him.
"If you ask me, he got the better end of the deal," he said, "Jean was right; you're nothing but a street rat."
Armin shook his head.
Jean didn't say that! He wouldn't!
He was forced back to reality by the sight of ropes dangling from Reiner's hands.
Every horrible story Annie had ever told him about the outside world, was right. There were only monsters out here who wanted to trick him, hurt him, buy him and sell him.
He couldn't trust anybody.
He grabbed Mikasa and made to run, only to have his hair get caught causing him to trip. He tried desperately to free himself in a mess of panic and tears, before he heard a familiar voice calling out to him.
"Armin!"
"Annie?"
Armin looked back in the direction he'd come from only to see two limp bodies littering the ground, and the soft, concerned features of his caregiver. She was looking at him sympathetically and made her way over to him, quick to free his hair.
"Are you okay, are you hurt?" she asked.
Armin embraced her and tried to ignore the constant petting of his hair.
"Annie, how did you – why did you come for me?"
"I was worried about you out here with that thief," Annie said, "so I followed you. Then I heard him conspiring with those two monsters, so I came to save you. Let's go now, before they wake up."
Annie began to march onwards, looking back when she felt an absence at her side.
Armin was staring out at the water where Jean's boat was still floating along the surface. Tears were still flowing steadily and suddenly he ran forward, embracing Annie once more.
"You were right Annie!" he cried, "You were right about everything!"
Annie ran her fingers through his braided hair – she would get those horrid ribbons out as soon as possible.
"I know Armin," she said softly. "I know."
щ(ಠ益ಠщ)
Guards flooded around my boat when it reached the shore.
I'd been knocked out and tied to the mast to keep me upright. The satchel lay at my feet.
The impact of the boat hitting the shore shocked me into consciousness and my first thought was –
"Armin!"
Oh no.
Images began to flood through my mind; Reiner, Bertholdt, the crown, Armin.
I struggled against my bindings but it was no use. I was cut free by a guard only to be restrained once more.
"Guys please, you don't understand!" I yelled, "Don't do this, not now! I need – I need to help him. You've gotta let me go!"
Of course they didn't listen. They didn't have an ounce of sympathy for a guy like me.
No matter how hard I struggled they wouldn't let up. I had no choice but to accept my fate.
Near the dock a horse was watching the entire scene.
Seeing me getting arrested and dragged off, Eren looked across the water, wondering what had become of Armin.
щ(ಠ益ಠщ)
"There," Annie said as she pulled the last of the ribbon from Armin's hair. "Like it never even happened."
They were back inside the tower now though how they'd gotten there in the first place was a blur to Armin.
"Oh dear I tried to warn you," Annie said.
She ran her hands through Armin's hair, kissing the top of his head when she received no response.
"Wash up and get ready for dinner."
Armin remained motionless on the bed as Annie closed the door.
She thought it was better this way; flowers didn't tend to make too much trouble for those who bothered to grow them and now her flower would become much less restless.
Once Annie was gone Armin opened his hands to reveal the flag Jean had given him. Stitched onto it was the royal insignia, a blood red rose.
Armin scrunched the material between his hands.
Had it really all been a lie? He wondered.
It hadn't felt like a lie to him, though he knew he had no gauge by which to judge.
Armin fell back onto the bed, staring up at the painted ceilings. He allowed Mikasa to curl up beside him and was about to drift off to sleep when his eyes caught something in one of the paintings; a rose. Blood red and perfectly resembling the one on the cloth.
It was right in the middle of the ceiling and surrounding it he was able to make out several other roses though not the same colour as the first.
Suddenly Armin felt as though he were transported into a moment of time which didn't quite belong to him. he remembered trying on the crown and having it fit perfectly. He remembered the mural in the kingdom and the oddly familiar features of the child immortalized there. And finally Armin remembered the last time he saw his parents before he was stolen away.
Reality hit him, knocking all of the air out of him, shattering everything he'd known for the last eighteen years.
He wasn't sure if he could take another ounce of devastation, given all that he had been through in the last two days.
Now, he remembered everything.
щ(ಠ益ಠщ)
It took four guards to drag me into the prison. Not once did I stop struggling to be freed.
This had been an ongoing nightmare of mine since the very first apple I stole, but this time I wasn't fighting for my own life; I was fighting for somebody else's and that was a first for me.
As I was dragged down a rather long hall I happened to glance into one of the cells and caught the eyes of a very familiar thief.
I shoved one of the guards into the cell opposite Reiner's, and kicked the shins of another guard, struggling against the final two guards until I was able to reach through the bars and grab onto Reiner's collar.
"How did you know about him? Tell me!"
"It wasn't us!" Bertholdt exclaimed, "It was this strange blonde lady! She promised to pay us if we caught that kid!"
Blonde lady?
Armin had never said much about Annie but she must've been the only other person to know about his powers.
If that were true then Armin was in trouble.
щ(ಠ益ಠщ)
"Armin, dinner's ready!" Annie called for the second time in two minutes.
Not getting a response she began to climb up the stairs, about to open the door to Armin's room only to have him do so himself.
"Armin what's wrong?" Annie asked, "Are you still upset?"
Armin shook his head.
"I'm the lost prince," he said, very quietly.
"What was that?"
"I'm the lost prince. Aren't I?"
Annie let out a shrill laugh.
"Don't be stupid," she said, "why even ask such a question? Oh, the pain must be getting to you; you're inventing stories to make yourself feel better. Don't worry, mummy understands."
She reached out to hug Armin only to have him push her away.
"No! It was you, wasn't it? Everything up until now has been you!"
Annie's eyes narrowed, "Everything I did was to keep you safe!" she said.
"I've spent my whole life in this tower, hidden away from people who might try and use me for my power," Armin said, "A whole lifetime, kept inside, hiding from the world when I should have been hiding from you!"
The betrayal in his eyes was almost palpable. Armin wanted nothing more than to go to sleep and never wake up. To forget this entire nightmare he'd known for eighteen years as a life.
Annie sneered, "Where will you go? He won't be waiting for you!"
"What did you do to him?"
"That thief is to be hung for his crimes."
"No!"
"Oh dear, it's alright," Annie cooed, "This is how it should be; just you and I forever."
She laid a hand on top of Armin's head, running her fingers through his hair.
Her eyes widened when Armin grabbed her by the wrist.
"No," he said; his voice much stronger now, "You were wrong about the world –" you lied, "– and you were wrong about me!"
Annie struggled against Armin's suddenly powerful hold.
"And I am never going to let you use my power, ever again."
Annie managed to rip her hand out of Armin's grasp, flinging herself into a nearby mirror in the process. Armin walked away without looking back.
"You want me to be the bad guy," Annie said, getting back to her feet. "Fine, I'll be the bad guy."
щ(ಠ益ಠщ)
The guards came for me late the next day.
I didn't say a word. I knew I was going to be hung. There was no escaping it; nothing I could do.
I'd tried telling the guards about Armin but nobody would listen to me.
The fact that I could do nothing to keep him safe was even more frustrating than my imminent death. And yet as I was being dragged down the hall to my death, I couldn't help but take particular notice of an especially familiar porcelain horse.
Suddenly all of the doors and windows in the hall slammed shut.
One of the guards rushed over to the door at the end of the hall and knocked loudly.
"Hey, open up!" he yelled.
The hatch opened and I felt relief flood through me when I heard Sasha's voice.
"What's the password?" she asked.
Knowing her it was probably bacon, but while the guard was trying to coerce her into opening the door, Ymir and Marco dropped from a hatch in the ceiling, taking out the guards at my sides and helping me remove the cuffs around my wrists.
"They'll be fine," Marco told me though I knew he was talking more to himself than to me.
The door in front of us opened and Sasha ran over to pull me through, handing me over to Connie just in time to avoid being seen by the wave of advancing guards.
Connie dragged me outside and forced me over to Levi who was waiting alongside Eren.
"You?" I stared incredulously at Eren, "You brought everyone here?"
He nodded.
"Wow, I don't know what to say. I feel like, you and I have always been on the wrong side we –"
"Oi Jean just get on that damn horse," Levi said.
"What about the rest of you?" I asked.
"Don't worry about it idiot. Just go."
I did as I was told, not realizing just how grave the situation with Armin was. I clung tightly to Eren's reigns.
"Alright buddy, let's see how fast you can go."
I didn't have to spur him on; Eren took off running at near the speed of light. Sunlight was running out quickly and so was Armin's time.
When we reached the tower it was completely dark. There were no lights on up there, nothing to suggest life.
Was I already too late?
"Armin!" I called desperately. I was ready to try anything. "Armin, let down your hair!"
After a moment of no reply and no response I began to climb the tower the same way I had the first time. When I was halfway up, the window opened and out came Armin's long golden hair. I grabbed onto it and climbed the rest of the way ten times as fast.
I made it onto the balcony and into the room. I couldn't see much but I knew he was there.
"Armin, I thought I'd never see you again," I said quietly.
I looked around the room as my eyes adjusted, and saw Armin sprawled on the ground, tied up with tears in his eyes. He was gagged and trying to scream something at me but it was too late.
I felt a knife run through my stomach, blood pouring out as I fell to my knees.
Armin scrambled over to me as close as he could, his screaming having ceased into quiet sobs. I reached out my hand to meet him halfway but Annie pulled him away, tugging on a chain linked to Armin's neck.
"Now look what you've done. Ah but don't worry; our secret will die with him," Annie said. "As for you, you're going somewhere where nobody will ever find you." Annie pulled against the chain but Armin pulled back, strong and unrelenting despite everything. "Really now, stop fighting me!"
Armin managed to pull away, tugging the chain from Annie's grasp. The cloth gagging him fell out and he yelled.
"No! I will never stop fighting! Every day for the rest of my life, I will never stop trying to get away from you!"
I could hear just how scared he was and it killed me that I couldn't gather up the strength to even hug him.
Armin was so brave and so strong; he'd had this in him the whole time.
He took a few deep breathes to calm himself down and looked back at me.
"But if you let me save him, I'll go with you. I won't run or try to escape," Armin said, "You have to let me heal him. Then you and I can be together."
"No Armin, don't!" I tried to say.
He didn't listen.
"Forever, just like you want," Armin continued, "everything will be back to normal. I won't ever ask to leave again; I'll be good I promise, forever just like you want. Please just let me save him."
Annie heaved a heavy sigh. She walked over to me and dragged me over to a wall, chaining me to it.
"In case you get any ideas about following us," she hissed in my ear.
She walked over to Armin and unchained him.
He immediately rushed over to me, cupping my face in his hands. My heart ached seeing the tear tracks beneath his eyes, suggesting he'd been crying for hours.
"Oh Jean, I'm so sorry," he sobbed, "But everything will be okay, you just have to trust me."
He began to grab at his hair frantically.
"No Armin, I can't let you do this," I said.
"And I can't let you die."
"But if you do this, then you'll die."
He shook his head, a sad smile forming on his face which shattered my heart.
"Hey," he said, his voice shaking, "Hey, it's going to be okay."
He pressed his hair against me and opened his mouth to sing.
I knew I had to do something.
My hand closed around something sharp.
"Armin, wait," I said.
I reached up to brush a strand of hair out of his face and leaned in closer to him. My other arm came up around his head and dragged a shard of broken mirror through his hair, cutting most of it off.
"Jean!"
"There," I whispered, "now you're finally free."
His hair started to change colour, losing its near paranormal shine and shifting to a duller, normal state of blonde.
"You look beautiful," I told him.
As his hair began to change, Annie screamed, every ounce of magic transported into her skin by the magic of the sun was quickly undoing itself. Years of anti-aging and constant healing was being undone.
She began to stumble around the tower as her wrinkles returned, her sight deteriorated, her life slipped away. When she was close enough to the window Mikasa pushed her out. But at the time I couldn't have worried any less about all of that.
"You look beautiful," I repeated.
I felt like if I didn't tell him over and over, then he would never know.
"That's not important right now. There must be some way to heal you."
Desperately he placed my hand on his head and began to sing.
Needless to say it didn't work.
"Armin," I whispered hoarsely. "You… you were my new dream. I – I love you."
"Jean don't say things like that, this isn't over, I'll find a way!" he exclaimed, "Jean? Jean!"
I felt a weight on my chest though only lightly.
Then just like many, many years ago, a single drop of sunlight fell though this time from the eyes of a desperate young boy, seeping into the body of an injured man.
I felt the power sinking into me, patching my skin up and restoring my strength almost fully.
A groan alerted him to the fact that I was still alive and he sat up, seeing the results of his magic.
He embraced me, kissing me for the first time.
The circumstances were so ugly but the result was well worth all the crap I had to wade through.
щ(ಠ益ಠщ)
"King Erwin, Queen Hanji!"
A guard barged into their room where everything was quiet and somber as it generally was after the prince's birthday.
Both the king and queen looked over to the guard.
"Yes, what is it?" Erwin asked.
"The lost prince sir, he's returned!"
"What?" Hanji asked, "Are you sure?"
The guard nodded. "Positive! He's in the courtyard as we speak."
The queen jumped out of her seat and rushed to the courtyard, closely followed by the king.
They pushed through the double-doors and Hanji felt her heart burst.
There he was; safe and sound, in one piece, smiling.
Just like that very first day.
Eighteen years had gone past but this was still her very first day with Armin; a day she never got to see the end of.
Armin turned at the sound of the door and I did the same. The queen gave me a strange look before focusing completely on her son.
"It's really you," she said. "It's really you!"
Without warning Queen Hanji practically tackled Armin, wrapping her arms around him with unadulterated enthusiasm and crushing strength. King Erwin laughed before joining his wife and son. He was the first to start crying, quickly followed by his wife.
I stood at the edge of all the affection until Hanji noticed me and pulled me into the hug.
"Thank you," she whispered to me.
"It's wonderful to have you back," Erwin said.
Armin took a deep wavering breath.
"It's wonderful to be back."
щ(ಠ益ಠщ)
So, false alarm about me dying, huh?
I guess the fates were more in favor of a love story rather than a tragedy.
So after the return of the lost prince, a party was held throughout the entire kingdom lasting an entire week.
Not only that, but dreams were coming true all over the place!
Connie was recognized for his piano playing and managed to bargain half of his pay in food – which was a dream come true for Sasha.
Ymir finally got a date with Christa, who'd heard about her heroism helping to free me from jail and subsequently freeing the prince.
Charges were dropped against all of us, giving us all a second chance and Levi used his chance to join the military where he found an even better replacement for his porcelain horses.
As for Armin and I; well we're still living out our dreams together and if I have it my way we will be for a long time to come.