The scorching sun rose high in the sky, indicating that it was early noon. Sweat dripped down from the hard worker's brow, his chrome tourmaline colored eyes squinting in extreme awareness. The searing rays of the sun continued to vanquish his strength, yet he strived on. Ignoring the signs of fainting, he scrubbed the side of the last mare. The brown mare had been covered in grime and dirt, now he was spotless. Eren took the last cold bucket of water and splashed the mare until he was clean. Eren gave a huff of exhaustion and led the horse back inside the stable, legs quivering and drenched in sweat. With the shut of a door, Eren was finally done with his work.
He looked up towards the blue abyss that he held so much ardency for. A horde of riders passed over heading to the landing grounds. How he'd love to be up there albeit he was . The group of drake's amenably followed their rider's requisition. His admiration for riding was reached beyond the skies limit yet he could only reach heavens limit. Eren sought after more albeit for what he did not know. A loud roar broke his out of his daze, a horde of drake's-slightly bigger than the regular-soared over his head, signaling the kingdom of their arrival. The drakes were clad in onyx metal armor, which meant one thing. The skyriders were here. They were a specialized team-The Titans-only consisting of warchiefs, who worked personally with the king. Their missions were private and extremely dangerous. Those who weren't trained could lose their life.
Eren gave a huff and stumped his feet, childishly, creating dust. he couldn't prevent the actions that took place, matter of fact it was his subordinate's fault. Such a pain, he huffed mentally.
" Lieutenant Jaeger," addressed a painstakingly bland voice from behind him. A soldier, he thought. He turned around, giving the cadet a empty stare. Bland eyes stared back. He was dressed in the regular cadet attire, only the bright emerald green emblem on his cloak showed his division. He was from the Military Police, ranked as Cadet.
"Cadet." Eren finally acknowledged after giving the recruit a proper once over.
"Your presence have been required in the palace, sir."the monotone voice was like sandpaper to Eren's ears."Please follow me."
"Is that all, Cadet." Eren asked voice stiff from heat. He needed to get inside soon or he was going to pass out.
"Yes, sir." the cadet saluted and turned around, fully expecting Eren to follow. Eren huffed once more wiping the sweat from his brow, before following the cadet on shaky legs.
The soldier led him through Sina not once looking back. Sina had an air of refinement that Eren was still trying to get use to. Ladies were draped in embellishments, plumages, and mantuas. The merchants shouted from their stands ridiculously high pay for ridiculous artifacts, their stand filled with whatchamacallits and doodads. Well dressed men bellowed in gluttonous laughter, their round cheeks tinged red from intoxication, with their hands wrapped around their pudgy bellies. Eren gripped his hands into fists, nails digging into his palms. The air here was dangerous. Eren couldn't explain it into proper words. He could feel whatever it was in the air and it wasn't a good feeling. It crept through his clothes and under his skin like vermin. He resisted the urge to shiver and settled for tapping his forefinger at his side.
"You can feel it too, huh," the soldier suddenly spoke, surprising Eren more than the lack of title which counted as disrespectful. Eren didn't mind.
"It's impossible not to." Eren left honorifics as well.
"You'll get used to it." the soldier turned and gave Eren a smile he'd rather not name. The rest of the trip was silent.
They soon arrived at castle known as 'Die grossen roten Schloss'(The Big Red Castle). The castle poised like a mistress against the rugged slope of the mountain. The Forest ensnared her by the foundation, eternally encasing her. Her luscious scarlet hair shone like pyrope in the morning star; It fell like curtain shrouding her to the very sole of her foundation. A diadem of wicked beryl-blue thorns crowned her head, digging tightly into her scalp. She truly was unearthly prepossessing. She looked down on the entire land with blatant derision and repugnance. She was sincerely iniquitous.
The soldier and Eren climbed the endless pearly white stairs until they finally came to the entrance. Eren ignored the two colossal statues of weeping angel and met face to face with two swiney unexpressed guardians. They-soundlessly-moved aside pushing the doors open as they did. The soldier remained silent as he waltzed through with not even a word of appreciation. Eren followed ignoring the growing disquietude and the swell of the proverbial 'bugs' as soon as he crossed the threshold. He didn't let his eyes wonder, only allowing them to follow the cadet in front of him. They didn't wonder to the spacious halls that were adorned with garnish and lavish ornaments such as exalted paintings and furs of the rarest animals. They didn't wonder to the chandeliers that sparkled like a thousand fireflies or siberian tiger whose stare that was stuck in time. They didn't even wonder to the prince's feather or the white windflowers or the climbing Cecile Brunner ran only a few up the walls.
It was only a matter of time before he came face to face with the Emperor. The Emperor sat on a throne draped in a great lion's fur and a deep red robe made of silk across the seas. The scent of lavender, incense, and other delicacies stung Eren's nose like a bitch when he had gotten closer. The soldier bowed and turned to leave without another word. Guardians stood tall like statues from their guarding point from around the room. The Emperor was too busy drinking to his heart's content from a golden chalice-no doubt filled with wine-to notice Eren. His crown covered most of his receding hairline and his clothes-the more than likely cost more than Eren's cottage-were tight against his potbelly. Mistress of all ages encircled him from all sides all cooing and whispering praises and other sickly sweet tangy things. They fed him zickly leaves, sugar apples,purple plumberries, chocolate limes, and sweetened ivies. Maids stood off to the side waving thick leaves to keep him cool. Eren tried-he really did-but nothing could keep the irritation dow. He cleared his throat, impatiently making the porky little man jump. He used his pudgy hands to wiped the crumbs off his even pudgier cheek. Eren could easily pass him up for a chipmunk but kept the thoughts to himself. He hurriedly pushed the tantalizing mistresses off not caring if they tripped and hurt themselves. Eren couldn't even will himself to sympathize. The Emperor fixed his crown before turning to face Eren fully, making his tummy jiggle more that what was considered normal.
" You've arrived." he stated flushed red. He looked like cherry. Eren didn't allow himself once to ease up because of the Emperor obvious poor appearance. He wouldn't win the game that easily.
" Now can you tell me what you want, sire?" Eren inquired, not bothering to bow like the guard had.
" Vugar and atrocious behavior as always, I see, Lieutenant Jaeger" The Emperor gave a hearty laugh, merit filled his eyes. " If you weren't as talented as you are, I would've beheaded you a long time ago. "
"Yes, yes, now would you tell me why you would call me on such a beautiful day as this, sire?" Eren asked with just a smidge of wisecracking. He didn't want to test his limit.
I've assigned you a job in the dungeon. There you will be in charge of a drake."
"Is my punishment over, sire."Eren almost gagged at how desperate he sounded. He could see it in the Emperor's eyes.
"It is if you can train the drake that is in the dungeon." The Emperor chuckled mockingly.
"That sounds inexplicably facile, sire," Eren tilted his head while looking at the porky Emperor almost accusingly," What is the catch?"
" This drake is unlike any other we've seen. Aggressive, destructive, and ill-tempered. So far 308 of our men have died trying to even get near the drake. Not to forget, it's size is unlike any other we've seen. If we can train it and bend it to our will, we'll have quite an impregnable one man army." The Emperor looked extremely troubled. Eren could see the fight between the greed and honesty in the Emperor. He had always been a terribly predictable man when it came to Eren's experience.
" So you basically sending me to my death."
"The outcome is unpredictable, now Guardian Lewi will you please escort him to the Kerker(Dungeon), I wouldn't want him to run off in the middle of an obligation." The Emperor said simply and with a wave of a hand he was dismissed.
Greed won.
Without much delay, Eren and his new escort were out the castle and on there way to the Kerker. The Kerker was where quietus prowled in another man's uniform and resolution's face was worn with defeat. It was located in the Southern Forest of Sina where the citizens did care to visit.'Winterwald'(Winter Forest) was where trees grew so compressed together sunlight barely reached the floor and they reached so high the very tips were brushed with a star's dust. The condensed forest concealed the Kerker from the metropolis view, so the townspeople were ecstatically naive to their evildoing. Or maybe they weren't.
Eren kept quiet during his and the guardian's journey. His legs were still quite shaky from the day's work and if he was any less of a man, he would've collapsed. He took a shaky breath and tried to ignore the same feeling he had at the castle before entering the forest. It was at least a few hours before they came to a sizable defoliated center stood The Kerker, its' rotten smell seeping into the earth. Goosebumps traveled up Eren's arm but it wasn't from the afternoon chill or even the tenebrous sensation coming from the institution, it was something far more corrupted. Tremors run up and down Eren's body making it difficult to keep straight up, he let out another shaky sigh. Something was underneath them, or rather someone, whatever it was Eren didn't like blinking Hosenscheisser(coward) get yourself together. Eren straighten up, walking steadily into the institution.
"Keep that posture and you just might make it out alive." Lewi, the guardian, uttered. Eren nodded. It remained silent.
He was lead through the dark damp tunnel that seem to head down, deep in the earth. Eren thanked goddess that he was equipped with his flame-retardant cloak. They came to a well-built holding cell. Eren's eyes drifted over the charred bars that held the beast in captivity. The claws of apprehension dragged over his tan skin cutting deep enough. The guardian had long gone, soundlessly and efficient. Eren, as well, soundlessly step into the large cell, only the charred bars keeping him from the beast that lurked inside.
The first thing he saw was hateful slitted eyes. They stared at him in conviction and acrimony. Eren felt his heart jumping in his chest and lungs dancing in his stomach. Cold sweat slipped down the corner of his brow, yet he commanded to keep impregnable facade. He'd attained one, through maturity, when handling an unstable drake. Albeit this drake wasn't just unstable, he was formidable. If Eren sought after an exhilarating existence, he was caught in a consummate standpoint. His eyes prevailed incandescent; Eren was gazing straight into the gates of Tophet.
The eyes continued until he heard some rustling and the eyes started to rise higher and higher. Then finally they stopped. Eren never felt such an atrociously dominate presence before. Judging by the height of the drake's eyes, he was 6 stockwerke in height. Sunlight peaked through the small hole in the far right corner of the cell and torches light up the outside of the cell, other than that the dungeon was completely black.
" Hey there big fellow." Eren's barely managed to squeak out." You wanna come in the light for me, I can't see you. "
Suddenly there was a growl, scratch that- an earthquake. It shook the torches and vibrated the walls. It sounded like straight out of a nightmare. It was a nightmare. The dungeon felt a few degrees cooler as the drake sucked in. Eren want to action, running and hiding behind a corner and hiding in his flame resistant cape. The drake's throat glowed hot red and with a blow, searing white hot fire came. The whole dungeon became engulfed in sweltering heat as crimson flame lit the place on fire. All Eren could do it wait and pray that he didn't drop the cape. Once the inferno burned out, he emerged from the corner. The drake growled once again, disappointed that he wasn't boiling like all the others.
"That wasn't very nice, you know." he chastised like the flame hadn't almost burnt his eyebrows off.
A deep snarl resonated again. The drake came forward. Eren's facade dropped. Onyx colored scales shimmered like diamonds in the light, horns his size decorated his head like a wicked crown, fangs thick as trees and sharp as a needle adorned his lengthy snout, His scales were marred with scars, blemishes, and wounds from years of battle encounters, it size so immense it took up all the cell, even though it was still seated and curled up, and his leathery bat-like wings were tucked in his colossal sides. No, no, this wrong. Eren though in terror. His insides was numbed in fear. This so wrong, his wings, his size, his scales, their all wrong. Eren took a step wasn't a drake. NO. He was something more formidable- sinister. Eren suppressed his will to run, although that was what his instincts were yelling at him. He was a dragon. A pure blooded, legitimate, authentic, dragon. The one that ruled the world long ago; the one that destroyed entire continents at a time; the one that the humans huddled onto the brink of non-existing. Eren knew that he needed to run and not look back. But that wasn't an option, the door was locked.
A vehement roar erupted for the dragon's throat. Unlike the growl, it was unbearable. It violent shooked the fortress itself, rattled the chains that held it captive. Eren clamped his hand over his ears in pain. he could feel his ear buds practically ringing.
"What are you doing here, human?" a dark booming voice ask. Eren couldn't speak. he was, for the first time in ages, speechless. But being speechless wasn't favorable to the dragons opinion.
"Answer me, you idiot." It spoke again, impatiently. Its wings gave a rustle. Eren needed speak, but no words would come.
"I see, you're incompetent." His blazing eyes eyed her with its brilliant flames, sparking within," I'll give another try and see if you finally melt into mush."
That snapped Eren's conscience out of it's turmoil. "NO, please no." he cried out.
The dragon gave a huff of smoke, pleased with the response.
" The Emperor have sent me here, in hopes that I can tame you" Eren spoke fast.
" YOU THINK YOU CAN TAME ME!" The dragon exploded," A MIGHTY DRAGON."
Before Eren could think, the dragon's stomach gave off a mighty red signalling danger. Eren intuition kicked in and behind the corner he went. Fiery wave once again invaded the cell.
"I didn't come to this decide this," Eren explain frantically," It was the Emperor's decision!"
The flames finally stopped and the torches had been reduced to globs of melted wood and wax.
"Is this true." The dragon asked.
"Yes, hopefully we can come to a compromise." he bargained.
"Is that so?." The dragon had finally calmed down but his defenses weren't down. What could Eren possibly do to hurt him or least try to.
"Yes, is there anything I can grant you." Eren walked from behind the corner feeling a little confident.
"Freedom." the dragon stated his wish without hesitance.
"Deal." Eren knew this was what he had waited so long for. The thrill of a new adventure.