Its the night before the Spring expedition outside the walls and the Reiss family holds true to their tradition of a long night of bed time stories and cuddles in front of the fireplace.
Warning: This was written to make my RP partner cry, so after the third horizonal line contains, it contains some triggers, such as death and blood. You have been warned.
It was the nights before expeditions that were the hardest on the Reiss family. The idea that they might not see one another again made everything nearly everything more painful, more real than they liked to admit. Each hug of their children just a little tighter, each kiss lingered a little longer.
Fed and bathed, the small family gathered before the fireplace within their home, bundled in blankets and stacked upon pillows. "It's an expedition night! That means it's another part of the story, right Papa?" Runa said gleefully.
It was both daughters favorite part of the night. Historia and Ymir would let the girls stay up an hour or two longer and fill the time with beautifully crafted stories, filled to the brim with terrifying monsters and heroic acts that Runa and Christa would reenact with their friends.
The blonde waited for Ymir to get comfortable before she found herself a spot lying beside her with Christa lying atop of her. Runa nestled herself between both parent's sets of legs, too excited to lie still for very long. "Momma, do you 'member where you left off?" Christa asked, reaching for Ymir's hand so she could hold it like she was holding her mother's.
"Mhmm, Lena was battling the fearsome ogre in the dungeons while Princess Raine was outsmarting—"
Runa squealed, "She was outsmarting the King's guards!"
Ymir laughed, cupping a hand over her oldest daughter's mouth and pulling her into her lap. "Y'going to listen or tell the story yourself?" She teased, earning a non-threatening glare from Runa. "I dunno what's gonna happen! How am I suppose'ta tell it!" Runa challenged, wiggling around to get into a better position. "Quit wiggling, you have your mother's bony butt." Ymir plucked the girl from her lap, putting a pillow down for her daughter to sit on.
Historia rolled her eyes, smoothing a hand through Christa's hair. "Are you both quite finished?"
A chorus of 'yes, momma's and 'whatever' answered her question.
Folding an arm beneath her head, Historia shut her eyes, trying to fully recall where they left off in the story while Ymir continued to playfully poke and pinch Runa and Christa to get them riled up. "Okay, okay, I've got it."
Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes again and started to spin the finale to their fairy tale. "As Lena turned to avoid the ogre's slashing claws, her heavy armor adding weight to her kicks, she swept the loathsome creature on to its back and withdrew her sword." Ymir crashed her hands together, making the sound of the creature hitting the floor as Runa leaned forward in her father's lap, hanging on every word. "The beautiful knight plunged the sword into the creature's chest, piercing its heart and leaving her free to escape to the aid of her Princess."
Historia nudged Ymir with her knee, letting her know it was her turn to take over. "While the knight battled deep within the belly of the castle, Princess Raine stood atop the highest tower, surrounded by the King's best guards in front of her and the rocky ocean cliff to her back. 'The King cannot keep me from living my life!' She yelled, watching as the soldier's encroached—"
"What does encroached mean, Papa?"
"Moved in on."
"Thank you, Papa."
"—Encroached on her perch, her mind trying to work out her best angle. She could jump to her death, and be forever free from her father's clutches, or she could stay and fight, waiting for her knight in shining armor to save her." Historia raised an eyebrow at the thought, wondering where Ymir was taking the story. They had never discussed how the stories they told would go, since they liked to play off one another and improvise, but this was taking a rather dark turn for two young children.
Ignoring her wife's concerned look, Ymir continued. "Raine looked over her shoulder, spotting a familiar face in the tower across from her—the knight had taken the wrong staircase, and left her with little choice as the guards approached her. Lena looked on in terror as Princess Raine leapt from her tower, plummeting down and out of the view of the guards."
Runa gasped, craning her neck back to look at Ymir as Christa wiped her eyes of the tears that were forming, trying to keep her tough-girl-persona. Historia simply looked at Ymir in disbelief that she had really done that. Keeping her face impassive, the woman, wrapped her arms around her eldest daughter's body.
"Lena raced down from the tower, pushing anyone who dared get into her way to get to her fallen Princess. The knight slowed as she rounded the corner to the rocky shore, her eyes falling on the dark haired princess that she loved. A trail of blood dripped from her forehead, and her shoulder twisted in the wrong direction—but her chest still moved with breath. Raine was alive." Historia let out a pent up breath and Runa sighed, hitting her father's hand. Christa shut her eyes again, trying to paint a mental picture of everything going on.
Ymir gave Historia's calf a gentle squeeze, passing on the end of the story to her. "Tears in her eyes, Lena ran to Raine and fell to her knees, holding the Princess close to her and kissed her forehead. 'You fool! Why did you jump?' She asked, tears falling. 'Because I knew you would find me.' The Princess replied, brushing away Lena's fair hair. 'I'll find you, Princess.' Lena promised." Historia smiled softly at her wife, who got a small smile in return. "The castle guards ran across the grassy knoll above them, sure that the princess and the knight had fallen to their deaths. With news of his daughter's suicide, the King called back his guards. Lena the Knight and Princess Raine escaped, and found a place in which they created their own little kingdom, and they lived happily ever after."
Runa sighed wistfully, and Christa let out a quiet snore, having fallen asleep. "Momma, why was the knight crying?" She asked, settling into Ymir's lap and pulling the blanket closer. "I thought knights and warriors were supposed to be strong."
Petting her daughter's hair, Ymir chuckled and shook her head. "Your mom cries all the time on missions, and she's still a soldier." Historia scrunched her face and twitched her foot to kick Ymir. "You do, though!" Runa laughed at her parent's interactions, laying her head back on her father's shoulder.
"I do, Runa, and it's because I am scared." Historia admitted, letting her gaze fall upon Christa's sleeping figure. "But I have you and Christa and Papa to keep me strong. Just because someone cries doesn't mean they're weak. Lena was crying because she was afraid she had lost her reason to be strong."
Satisfied with her answer, she glanced back and forth between her parents. "Can we just sleep here tonight? I don't wanna go anywhere." She pouted, waiting for an answer. The blonde shrugged, "I'm not going to risk waking Cissy. She'll never go back to sleep. I don't have a problem with it if Papa doesn't." In all reality, she didn't want to be out of arm's reach of any of her family at the moment. With the expedition looming at dawn, the closer everyone was, the better.
Sensing her wife's insecurity, Ymir nodded. "Alright, squirt. Get comfortable." She mumbled, removing the young girl from her lap to lie beside her mother and Ymir on the other side of Runa. With the warmth of the fire and the small family, the rest of the family quickly followed Christa's suit, sleeping in a pile of arms and legs.
"Christa! They're raising the gates!" Runa yelled, climbing the pile of crates to get a better vantage point. It had been a few days since they saw their parents off, and both children had waited patiently waiting for their return. While Miss Hanna was great, she wasn't their mother and father.
The younger Reiss struggled to follow her sister, using her foot to pull herself up. "Ru, it's not nice to run off like that." She whined, bouncing up on her tip toes to see the legion members as they came in. "I'm going to be one of them someday! I'ma follow in Papa's footsteps!" She beamed, not noticing the look of pain on the adult's faces. Runa shook her head, "I'm gonna be a medic so I can help those who survive outside the walls…" She said, spotting the hair of her mother. "Momma! Momma!"
Historia glanced over at the sound of her daughter's cries, trying to hide the tears falling from her eyes. She waved weakly, raising a finger to let the girls know she had to finish her walk. So much had gone wrong; no one was ready for the bloodshed that had ensued. Right now, her main concern was finding Ymir—given that she had survived. They had been separated from the moment they left the walls.
The blonde waited patiently at the circle, her eyes searching for familiar faces. Person after person filed within the area, but none that she needed to see. The longer she waited, the more her anxiety grew. Ymir would show up. She had to… Ymir couldn't just die out there… Not without her. The last of the riders arrived, following behind them the carts with the bodies of the fallen that they could tote back.
No… "NO!" She screamed. Forget a soldier's mask, her eyes searching for traces of steam that would signal her wife's body. A puff marked her place, sending Historia in a panic as she raced over to the cart. "Ymir?" She yelled, pulling the sheet off the bodies, finding Ymir almost entirely in one piece, given her missing legs from the knee down.
A groan answered her screams, amber eyes opening slightly. "Stop yellin', His'." Ymir groaned, feeling the weight of Historia fall upon her middle as the girl broken down completely. "I-I—I thought y-you…" The blonde sobbed, gripping the bloody material of Ymir's military uniform. Ymir smirked slightly, weakly raising her hand to rest it on Historia's before she passed out again.
It took a while, but eventually Ymir was taken into one of the infirmary rooms while her legs regenerated, leaving Historia to tend to her as she needed. The blonde waited patiently by her side, her head resting on her arms as she rested on the edge of the bed. Historia had made her rounds, making sure the rest of their friends had survived prior and asked Hanna to bring the children in later. Opening her eyes, the blonde got up from her seat and pressed a gentle kiss to Ymir's forehead. "You idiot." She mumbled, not meaning a word of it.
Unaware, Runa and Christa peeked between the door and the wall, both young girls beaming from ear to ear. While in their world, loss and death was common, they lived in their own fairy tale, complete with the fair haired knight, the dark haired princess, and the kingdom in which they ruled.
"Cissy! Come on! I wanna play," Runa called out, watching as her younger sister wandered across the shoreline of the creek near their home looking for smooth stones. "You always wanna play, Ru!" The girl replied, planting her hands on her little hips. "But I wanna pretend to be Lena and Raine! Please?" Runa begged, rolling herself down the hill on her side, watching as the world spun around.
Christa pouted slightly, knowing she was going to end up playing Raine again because Runa liked to be Lena. "Fine. But I get to be queen of the kingdom." She laughed, pouncing on her big sister who cheered in victory. "Yes! Okay, you go up there—" She pointed to the small piece of land that jutted out over the creek, "- And I'll stay down here to battle the ogre!" Runa planned, pushing her sister off of her so she could pick up a stick she could use for her sword.
"Back, foul beast, fore I, Knight Lena, shall slay you dead!" She proclaimed, immediately in character for their reenactment. Christa howled in laughter, tripping over a stone, "Hey, Knight Lena, your sword is backwards!"
"Shut up, Cissy! I know how to hold a sword!"
Getting back up to her feet, the younger Reiss took her place at the 'tower' and tipped her head as she judged the distance down to the ground. It wasn't that bad. She had jumped off taller crates to get to her Papa's back. Then again, her mother always did yell at her for jumping off high things. The overdramatic sounds of Runa's ogre slaying jerked Christa back to reality.
Standing with her back to the edge, Christa pretended to be surrounded by tall guards, each taking a step toward her every second. "You can't keep me from living my own life!" She yelled, taking a half-step back toward the edge, glancing back down, then to the side to find where Runa was standing.
Here we go, She thought, taking another look at the 'guards' before she launched herself backward and off the cliff like Princess Raine did.
Runa cheered as Christa hopped off the cliff, masking a tell-tale sickening snap. "Oh, no!" She said with a dramatic lilt, running around in circles as if coming down from the opposite tower. Runa weaved between 'guards,' sure that she was as quick as lightning. "My princess!" She cried out, trying to keep from giggling as she finally directed herself toward Christa's seemingly lifeless body lying amongst the rocks and water on the shore.
As the child neared her sister, Runa could see a faint red tint to the water, mixing in to turn the water near Christa a light pink. The same color seeped into her shirt. Another step, amber eyes caught the unnatural angle of Christa's neck. "C-Cissy?" Runa uttered out, her body seizing up in fear. "Cissy, this isn't funny…" She said again, attempting the same conviction she heard in her mother's voice when they did something bad.
There was no movement in Christa's chest—no breath leaving her parted lips, but still her eyes darted around wildly, searching for something, anything. "Christa!" Runa cried out, tears quick to fill her vision as Christa's eyes stopped completely. "Christa, no!" She screamed, grabbing her sister from the water and picking her up to shake her.
"Wake up! Wake up, Cissy!" Her young mind couldn't grasp the concept, yet she knew there was no chance her sister would come back. "Mommy! Papa!" She shrieked, her voice cracking as she dropped her sister, racing back to her home. "Someone! Please help my sister! She's not breathing! She won't move!" She cried, tripping on her own two feet while the other's ran toward the shore.
The fairy tale ended slowly, over a period of days, and the dark reality of loss had entered the poor little child's mind. "Mommy… Papa…" She whimpered as Christa's body was lowered into the ground, covered in beautiful white lilies. She couldn't see her mother's tears, but she could hear her sobs, accompanied by her papa's. Their kingdom lost their princess and the knight had no one left to protect. Her reason for being strong was gone…
. . . I'm not sorry.
Though, this is an AU. Christa is still alive, as is the other kajillion kids that Ymir and Historia end up with.
Did you know you could send me prompts to write about? Leave one in the reviews and I'll get back to you! :D Remember, leave a review and let me know how I'm doing!