Annie decided to put off all her chores until the next day, a Sunday. She spent the rest of her Saturday reading one of the books she picked up from the town's library. It was the only thing she had to entertain herself, since she couldn't afford a television, smartphone, or computer.

Annie woke up on Sunday around the same time she did the day prior. She followed the same routine, styling her hair the only way she knew how, and set out for the grocery store. She was able to afford skipping the shopping on Saturday, but if she didn't get groceries today then she would run out of food.

Outside, the snow had only slightly melted. It had been cloudy and below freezing the day before, and the night was only worse. Today it was still piercingly cold, but at least the sun was out, so maybe some of the excess snow would melt away.

Annie took a different route to the grocery store than she did yesterday, for obvious reasons. She did not want to pass by that path again, so she turned in the opposite direction when she left her house, even if it meant taking the longer route to the market. It meant enduring the cold longer, yes, but it was worth it.

Along the way, she saw a few people from her school hanging out at a café she was passing by. Eren, Mikasa, and Armin, together as always, although they were joined by Marco and Christa as well. They seemed to be having a good time, chatting lightheartedly as they enjoyed coffee and pastries.

Annie shrugged and moved on. She could never see herself doing something like that. She just wasn't that type of person; she didn't enjoy people's company like other's did. Not to mention that she knew nobody at her school, and no one bothered to reach out to her. And why should they? It's not like she was outgoing to them, either.

The grocery store was near the center of Edensburg, where the library, movie theater, and park were all bunched together. To call it the town square wouldn't be inaccurate. It was Sunday afternoon, so the square was packed with people. Parents and children stuffed the movie theater, and the grocery store looked pretty busy as well. Only the park was empty, save for one girl, as no one wanted to be outside for long in the frigid cold, understandably so.

Wait a minute, Annie thought, glancing back at the park. The girl that was in there was wearing a nice, white coat with a fur collar, and she had white hair.

"You're kidding me," Annie said aloud, loud enough that a person passing her by gave her a look. Annie didn't notice, though. Her eyes and thoughts were all on Illya. A million questions ran through her head, all of it drowned out by the shock she felt that the girl was still alive.

She felt something else, too. Relief, possibly? It was a strange sensation; she wasn't used to feeling relief over someone's well-being. Yet she couldn't deny being somewhat glad that Illya was alive and well. And she had come to the park, waiting on a bench, as she had promised to do.

Annie wasn't sure what to do. She had never been invited by anyone to hang out before; she was usually so removed from other people. Her first instinct was to not go, that's what she probably would have done with anyone else, but she found herself unable to act upon that feeling. There was something different about Illya, something that set her apart from the apathetical people in Annie's life. Maybe it was the fact that Illya seemed to actually give a damn about her, maybe it was something else, but Annie found that she was starting to renege on her dismissal of the white-haired girl.

A short walk later and Annie was entering the park, empty save for her and Illya. The younger girl didn't notice her arrival; instead she seemed to be twirling a stick in her hand. Luckily for both of them, the benches were clear of snow. With an exhale of breath, Annie sat next to Illya on the bench.

"Annie, you made it," Illya stated, looking up at her when she sat down.

"I did," Annie confirmed. "Listen, you have a lot of explaining to do."

Illya cocked her head to the side in confusion. "Why's that?'

"Really?" Annie asked her with a raised eyebrow. "Look, can we at least talk someplace indoors? I'm freezing."

"Hmm, there's a café a couple of blocks down, I think," Illya suggested. "I'm sure a nice cup of coffee would warm you up."

"Works for me," Annie complied.

The two of them made it to the café in short order. It was very packed, but there were a couple of smaller tables open. The two reached one of them and sat before someone took their spot.

As Annie walked in, she saw her schoolmates glance over at her, their eyes betraying a sliver of surprise. This was probably the first time they had seen her outside of school, and perhaps the first time they'd seen her with someone. Annie ignored them, as usual. They could think whatever they wanted to.

Most of the other people in the café didn't spare Annie a single glance, but most did do a double-take of Illya. Such bright, white hair and red eyes were obviously very much unheard of. Illya didn't seem to notice at all, and simply glossed over the menu without a thought to anyone else in the café.

After a couple of minutes, a waitress timidly approached them. She tried to look normal, but her eyes flitted to Illya every couple of seconds. "Have you two decided what you want to order?" she asked.

"I think it'll be a nice, hot tea for me," she stated nonchalantly. "How about you?"

"A coffee, please," Annie replied. "And a strudel."

"Coming right up." The waitress scuttled away from the table a little faster than normal.

"Was it just me or was she acting strangely?" Illya asked.

"Just ignore her," Annie replied simply. "Now, what the hell happened to you yesterday?" She asked the question calmly and coolly. She wasn't angry at Illya or anything, she just felt she had the right to know what happened to her after she had gone to the trouble of starting a police search.

Illya stared silently back at her. "I'm not sure what you mean," she replied slowly. "I went home as soon as I left you and didn't leave until this morning."

"Liar," Annie stated calmly. "I saw you go into the woods."

"Your drinks," the waitress announced, presenting the two women with steaming cups. "Your strudel will be out shortly."

"Thank you," Annie said to the waitress's back, as she already turned and walked away. She turned back to Illya, who was stirring her tea nervously. Her eyes were downcast and she somehow looked paler than before.

"Illya? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she said, closing her eyes tight. "Listen, can you keep a secret?"

That certainly came out of nowhere. Annie was slightly taken aback by that sudden question, but she recovered quickly. "Of course I can." It's not like I actually have people to talk to that I'd divulge to. "What is it?"

Illya continued to nervously stir her tea, staring down at the table. "That path that leads into the forest," she said quietly, "that's actually the way to my house."

At first, Annie thought she misheard her. "What?" she asked. "But that can't be possible. There are no houses in that forest. There's only that old, abandoned—" Annie's eyes lit up. "No way."

Illya nodded. "That's where I live. The manor isn't abandoned at all. My family has lived there for generations."

Annie quickly closed her mouth. She wasn't one to stutter or gape when she was shocked, but that doesn't mean she wasn't shocked. All this time, there had been people living in that castle. And not a single person in town knew about it. It seemed utterly impossible, but there it was.

"How could you keep it all a secret?" Annie asked, almost breathlessly.

"I can't really answer that," Illya replied with a small chuckle. "Let's just say it takes a lot of subterfuge."

"I can only imagine," Annie muttered. "I take it you must be some sort of nobility, then?"

"I guess you can say that," said Illya, still talking in a low voice. "No one knows about us though. The Einzberns are not a famous noble house of the olden days or anything like that."

"The Einzberns," Annie repeated in a near-whisper. It all made sense now. The fancy clothing, the manner in which Illya spoke and acted, it all seemed very noble-like. The strange part was that despite Illya's noble looks and mannerisms, she didn't act nearly as haughty and snotty as Annie would expect of a lady.

"Please, you can't tell anyone," Illya said frantically. "Grandfather will have my hide if word of this gets out—"

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone," Annie assured her bluntly. "I don't exactly have friends that I talk to anyway. Your secret's safe with me."

Illya let out a relieved sigh. "Thank you, Annie. You're the best."

Annie felt a sudden, unexpected rush of gladness at those last three words, glad that she could be relied upon and glad that Illya appreciated that. Is this what it was like to hang out with someone? Did it always feel this strange? Did it always have this many feels?

"Don't mention it," Annie muttered. "So, I take it you don't go to school?"

Illya shook her head with a sigh of regret. "I'm not really allowed to leave Einzbern Manor at all. I've always wanted to go to school, though."

"Trust me, you're not missing much," Annie assured her. "School sucks. I don't think sitting boredly in a classroom for six hours is something to look forward to."

"True," Illya agreed. "But it would still be nice to go just to get out of my house for a bit. It gets very lonely there."

That last line was said so softly and sadly that Annie would have been tearing up if her heart wasn't stone cold. Even so, she felt a stir of pity in her gut. Trapped in a stone-cold castle practically her entire life with no one but an overbearing grandfather keeping her company.

Strangely, Illya's story made Annie question her own values and actions as well. Unlike Illya, Annie did have the opportunity to go to school and meet new people, yet she squandered it. She had the opportunity that Illya dreamed of having, and she wasn't taking advantage.

That's different, Annie told herself firmly. I just don't want that kind of life. I shouldn't be pursuing something I don't want just because someone else can't. Still, it was bitterly ironic, the situations they were in. Annie, able to socialize but unwilling, and Illya, willing to socialize but unable.

"What do you do to pass the time?" Annie asked her, unable to come up with anything else to say.

"As you can tell, I try to sneak out every once in a while," Illya replied, a mischievous glint in her eye. "Other than that, I read a lot, among other things. I just finished a very famous American book written a few decades ago."

"Which one?" Annie asked. As an avid reader, she was genuinely curious.

"The Great Gatsby," Illya replied proudly. "I really liked it, too."

Annie was taken aback. "Wow," she said. "That's a very advanced book for someone your age."

Illya's eyes flitted to the table again. "I suppose," she murmured, avoiding Annie's eyes.

Something about her behavior there was odd. Wouldn't someone be proud for accomplishing something unexpected. Wouldn't a nine-year-old girl be happy that she read a book meant for adults and understand it? What was the girl hiding?

"Illya," Annie asked suddenly, on a small, worrisome hunch, "how old are you?"

"F—F—Fourteen," she stuttered in reply. "I'm fourteen."

Annie nearly dropped her cup of coffee. She swore Illya didn't look a day over nine, ten at best. Her voice was too high-pitched and she was too short to be fourteen. Not to mention she was completely, well, flat-chested was the best way to put it. How could she be fourteen.

"Here's your strudel, ma'am," the waitress announced, once again breaking a heavy silence with the arrival of food. "Sorry that took so long; we're slightly backed up at the moment, as you can see. Thank you for waiting patiently."

Annie hardly heard her. She was still looking at Illya, trying to reconcile her age of fourteen with that small body. Illya, meanwhile, was once again stirring her tea with a downcast face. Stop staring, Annie told yourself. You hate it so much, don't do it to other people.

"So, I guess that's it, isn't it," Illya said suddenly. Her voice didn't break, and there wasn't a single tear in her eye. It was the kind of dead, emotionless sadness that made it all the more melancholy. "You're probably going to leave me too, aren't you. Don't worry, I understand. People like me just don't get to have friends."

"I don't look normal for my age; my mom had strange genes, you could say. Grandfather says I've stopped growing, too. I'll look this freakish as long as I am alive. Perhaps Grandfather was right. Perhaps it is best for me to stay in the manor." She sighed and took a deep sip of her tea. "This was nice while it lasted, Annie.

Annie had no reply, because she was still mulling it over. There was no doubt in her mind that behind the innocence, Illya was hiding some significant, unpleasant secrets. She was not what she seemed, not in the slightest. Perhaps it would be safest to stay away. Whatever was going on up at that castle seemed like something Annie would want no part of. It would be easiest to forget Illya and her how, to do what she did best.

Yet there was one thing that she was hung up on, something that Illya had said. 'I'll look this freakish as long as I live.' Freakish, she had said. The same word used to describe her not that long ago. She almost always made decisions based on what was good for her, and almost never on what was right, but was it right to shut the door on someone just because they were unusual? Whatever the reason Illya looked like how she did, it wasn't her fault.

"Here's, this should cover the whole meal," Illya murmured in a dead voice, laying some cash upon the table as she stood. "I should go."

"Wait," Annie interjected, using a direct tone of voice. "Tomorrow's Monday. I end school at around two-thirty. We'll meet at the park a little while after. I expect you to be there."

Illya's eyes widened like full moons. "What are you—"

"You know why you should leave your manor?" Annie interrupted calmly. "Because you want to, it's that simple. Always do what's in your best interest, Illya. Even if your old hag of a grandfather tells you otherwise."

Illya's breath caught. "Annie…why?"

Annie simply shrugged her shoulders. "I like to judge people by the character," was all she said. "Now if I don't get groceries soon I'm going to starve tonight." She pushed Illya's money toward her and put her own money on the table, enough to pay for her coffee and strudel. Then she stood up to leave. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Hey, Annie?" Illya called as Annie was walking away. "Does this mean we're, you know, friends?"

Annie stopped in her tracks. She paused for a moment, then looked over her shoulder. "If that's what you want to call it." Then she exited the café.