Hello again, dear readers! Thank you all for continuing to keep up with this story, I promise it will get better! And I promise Ymir will actually come in soon (I didn't realize how drawn out this beginning was until now. And for that I sincerely apologize)

Note: There are no telephones in this world, you communicate through letters. Thus the address joke later…

I sincerely hope you will enjoy!

~~~~0000~~~~

Friday, August 21, 1513

The Prime Minister's summons immediately following the coronation came as no surprise to Erwin. Sir Edros hated surprises and heaven knew he'd received one hell of a surprise today. In fact, the only thing he hated more than surprises was insubordination, especially when he was already flustered by a disruption. Naturally, knowing these two crucial characteristics of the man, Erwin didn't have to be a genius to know that he was currently at the top of the Prime Minister's uncooperative list.

"Sir, we were in complete control of the situation," Erwin said calmly, his arms tucked firmly behind his back as the two men made their way down one of the castle's numerous corridors. The Prime Minister was walking much quicker than usual, his footsteps echoing off the stone walls, sharp and frantic compared to Erwin's slow, steady stride. The blonde man felt that he would have had trouble keeping up with the man if he weren't taller than him.

"Erwin, she could have been killed!" Sir Edros hissed for the second time, glaring at the master knight with cold blue eyes. "And then where would we be?"

"They weren't going to kill her," the blonde man replied. His tone remained neutral as he spoke, with the sense of authority only an experienced commander could pull off. "Killing a monarch is not the choice first move of a rebel group, or at least not the kind these sorcerers want to be. They want attention, to spark fear, and in order to do that properly, Historia needed to be threatened, not killed. Therefore, the girl was never in any danger."

Sir Edros stopped walking and stared at his companion. "What are you talking about?" he asked, his dark eyebrows knitting together curiously. "How could you possibly know what they want?"

Erwin answered, "I've been a soldier for a long time, sir. I've seen and read about numerous revolts and conspiracy groups, so much so that identifying them has become second nature to me. Trust me, sir, the girl in purple never would have revealed herself so plainly if she'd planned to kill Historia, she would've done it in secret."

The Prime Minister sighed, glancing away at the floor. "I suppose you know more about it than I do," he conceded. "But still! The fact that someone out there is trying to…" The man trailed off as a look of pure terror filled his pale face. He turned wide, panicked blue eyes on Erwin. "You don't think they're trying to revolt, do you? The magic-kind I mean?"

"I haven't thought of it, to be honest," Erwin replied candidly. "It is a possibility. However, I'm under the assumption that its more likely to be a simple uprising of the sorcerers and magic-kind in the kingdom opposed to our recent legislation."

"Simple?" Sir Edros exclaimed, his forehead creased with angry lines as the frown on his lips took over his whole face. "Just a simple uprising? Erwin, that sounds preposterous! There's no such thing as a simple uprising! Especially when there's magic involved. Why do you think we've been trying to eliminate the magic-kind in the first place?"

"I'm perfectly aware of your reasons, sir," Erwin said with a nod. "But I must stand firm in my suspicions. I believe your persecution of the magic-folk in the kingdom is causing backlash amongst them, and the appearance of those sorcerers at the coronation proves it…"

"But what reason have they to lash out against us?" Sir Edros cut in, running a slightly shaking hand through his dark hair. "We have been perfectly reasonable with them. They were given advanced notice to move to another kingdom years ago. We peacefully asked them to leave, and they refused. We're simply upholding our end of the deal. And we haven't even been enforcing the punishment tenet of the Mystic Relocation Act as hard as we should be…"

"Yes, but Sir Edros, people generally do not take being relocated kindly," Erwin interrupted as politely as he could. "Especially when the law specifically targets a select group of people."

The Prime Minister sighed, rubbing a hand across his eyes. He'd begun to feel older recently, and that troubled him. "I know, I know. But they have to understand the danger they pose, the fear they incite in regular folks like us. No sensible monarchy would allow such hazardous beasts to run loose in their kingdom; it's just not smart. Not after the dragon wars ten years ago, or the sorcery shenanigans that took place in Hartford last year, or the lycanthropy outbreak not even two years back! Magic is terribly powerful, Erwin, and if one doesn't have it, they can only be safe once it is eliminated."

Erwin studied the man before him as he let the words sink into his brain. Sir Edros was spooked, that much was clear. The nervous tremor in his hands, the distant look in his eyes, the way he constantly smoothed out his dark, thin mustache, all were symptoms of a manic anxiety that the knight had never seen in the man before. The Prime Minister was usually one of the most well composed people Erwin had ever crossed paths with, walking about with an air of complete and suffocating confidence. It was as if life were a book that Sir Edros already knew the ending of before everyone else had finished chapter one, (and it sometimes seemed that he also owned the author's supplemental notes as well so that he had both the main storyline and the underlying themes and tones memorized and at his disposal to use at will). Seeing him now, anxious and scared, was like seeing a completely different man. It was almost frightening.

"I'm not disputing your position, sir," Erwin finally spoke. Sir Edros fixed a pair of hopeful blue eyes on him. "I'm just advising that we should tread carefully. While it may not be a full rebellion, it's clear that these sorcerers have taken it upon themselves to be some kind of warning or flag bearer or nuisance for magic-kind. I know we haven't seen those Furies for the last time. And we will be prepared next time they strike and work to stop their shenanigans before anyone gets hurt. I've already assigned a group of my men to start gathering reconnaissance around the city. I would also like to propose a team to serve as bodyguards for the queen. I have a few knights in mind, and I wanted to know what you thought of putting a few of my younger soldiers on the job. I believe a guard team of teenagers would raise less suspicion. And I can assure that despite their age, they are highly trained soldiers and the most talented amongst their class. What say you?"

"I think that sounds like a wonderful idea," Edros nodded enthusiastically. "Your reasoning seems perfectly sound to me. Would you also increase the guards all over the castle? After the intrusion today, I fear that nowhere is safe anymore. What if they try to attack a member of the royal court?"

"I will see to that immediately, sir," Erwin replied. "Especially with the ball next week."

Sir Edros' eyes lit up. "Of course! The ball! I nearly forgot!" He laughed, his face regaining its natural color as his thoughts shifted to happier things. Erwin knew the conversation about magic-kind was over, and that was just as well. He knew the issue would resurface soon enough, and he'd deal with that when the time came. But for now, he was glad to distract the Prime Minister with the illusion of happier thoughts. "We will have to crack down on preparations tomorrow morning!" Erwin smiled as the dark haired man began to walk again, falling into step behind him. It was clear the Prime Minister thought they were smiling for the same reason: preparing for a party. He had no idea Erwin was actually grinning because he did not have to be present for party planning because he was just a knight, after all. "Just think of how beautiful Historia will look in a ball gown! She looked marvelous today, don't you think so?"

"The perfect image of a princess," Erwin replied. "She's a very good looking young lady. You'll have quite a time finding a young man to match her one day."

Sir Edros' eyes bulged slightly. "Come now, Erwin. She's only sixteen. There's still plenty of time before we even have to consider marriage." He was perfectly scandalized by the thought.

"Yes, sir," the blonde man replied, trying his best not to laugh at the comical reaction of the Prime Minister of his kingdom. He was as close to a boss as Erwin had, after all.

~~~~0000~~~~

Saturday, August 22, 1513

"What're you having?" the blonde waitress asked, pen poised over a miniature notepad. Her bright blue eyes scanned the occupants of the table as if she were picking a victim to sacrifice. They were regulars; she knew them all by name. But that didn't make her like them any better.

"I think we're all just going to have a slice of apple pie," Sasha spoke for the group, tentatively meeting everyone's eye and smiling when they proved her right. "Yeah. Five pieces of apple pie, please!"

The blonde girl nodded, scribbling the order down as she walked away.

"Your address would be nice too!" Connie called after her. The girl turned an icy glare back at him that sent Connie and Jean into a fit of giggles. "Oh, messing with Annie has got to be my favorite sport."

"Well that's good, considering you're like the least coordinated person I know," Sasha replied, shrugging casually. Connie narrowed his eyes at her. "Seriously, you tripped over air the other day."

"No! There was a hole in the ground, and you saw it and didn't warn me!" Connie exclaimed, pointing a finger across the table at the brunette and nearly spilling his water all over Armin.

"Whoa, children, calm yourselves," Jean said, pushing Connie back against his chair just hard enough that the other boy didn't tip over. "We're in public." Connie stuck his tongue out at Sasha. Sasha replied by mimicking the gesture.

"Have I ever told you that I really enjoy hanging out with you guys?" Armin stated. "Cause I do. You're fun people."

As a chorus of 'thank yous' and 'aw, Armins' rang out, a brunette waiter approached the table with five perfect slices of pie balanced on a tray. Jean felt his heart freeze as Mikasa sat up a little straighter. Eren.

"Order up!" the green eyed boy said with a gleaming smile as he began to slide the plates to the members of the table. "How are you all doing tonight?"

"Wonderful!" Sasha exclaimed as her plate appeared in front of her. Eren smiled.

"How's the knights' guild?" he asked, green eyes gleaming at the mention of it. "Are they training you to fight dragons yet? Or is it still just boring hand to hand combat and such?"

"Still the same old routine," Connie replied, settling back in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest. "But listen to this. Sasha, Jean, Marco, and I just got promoted to serve as the queen's personal guard. They wanted younger knights to be with her so we'd look less suspicious."

"Cause no one looks as inconspicuous as Connie." Sasha pointed her fork in Connie's general direction as she sniped him around a bite of pie. The bald boy glared at her and attempted to grab the fork from her hand. He was too slow and Sasha laughed at him.

"Congratulations," Eren said in response. "But, to be honest, why didn't they put you on the team, Mikasa? People are saying you're the best knight the guild has ever seen."

Mikasa shrugged, her cheeks turning the faintest pink at his words. "I don't know. I'm sure Sir Smith has his reasons, and I'm willing to do whatever he says. If he didn't want me on the queen's guard, I'm alright with that."

Eren frowned. "Well, I think Sir Smith made a terrible mistake. I think you would make the perfect leader for the queen's squad."

"Hey, don't discredit the real leader here," Jean spoke up with a satisfied grin. "Of course I think Mikasa should be on the guard with us, but if she's right and Sir Smith chose us for a reason, I mean, the title of leader shouldn't be taken lightly…"

"Wait a second. You are the leader of the squad meant to protect the queen?" Eren interrupted, pointing at Jean to further extenuate his point. Jean nodded proudly. The brunette snorted, laughing in spite of himself. Jean's hazel eyes set into a deadly glare.

"You got a problem with that, Jaeger?" he asked, a threatening edge to his tone.

"No, of course I don't have a problem with an arrogant, horse faced, wimp being in charge of protecting the monarch of our kingdom," Eren said sarcastically. "I think that sounds like a fantastic idea. Put the kid who only joined the knights to live in the castle at the head of the most important team in the military."

"At least I'm in the knights' guild," Jean fired back. Eren's green eyes widened as his expression melted from witty mastery to offended shock. Jean had hit him where it hurt, poured salt on the one wound that refused to heal. The two-tone haired boy knew exactly what he was doing when he said it too. And he'd wanted so desperately to be nice, he really had.

The tension at the table was palpable. Sasha and Connie's eyes moved continuously between Eren and Jean while Mikasa glared daggers at Jean's head. Eren's expression darkened, the gears in his head obviously working on another grating insult to match the caliber of his opponent's attack.

Armin gasped suddenly, the sound like a screeching choke. His hands flew to his head, eyes clamping shut as he began to tremble violently.

"Armin?" Connie exclaimed, standing up with his hands slamming against the table. The blonde boy began to mutter nonsense. "Armin?!"

Mikasa grabbed ahold of Armin's hands. "Armin, can you hear me?" she asked, voice soft yet forceful. "Armin?" The boy continued to mumble incoherently, rocking slowly back and forth. Mikasa tried to pry Armin's hands away from his head, but his muscles were so tense, it was as if they were frozen in place. The boy's mutterings were growing in volume. The girl met Eren's eyes with a sense of urgency. "Eren, he's gonna start screaming."

The brunette raced off towards the kitchen, dropping the tray to the floor. Mikasa began to run her fingers comfortingly through Armin's hair, biting her lip as he continued to shake and gasp. His eyes were still shut tightly, as if he were in incredible pain.

"What's going on?" Jean asked. Mikasa met his eyes with a look of panic. The sandy haired boy immediately jumped out of his seat and took up a place at Armin's other side, rubbing gentle circles into his shoulder blades. "Is he a…?"

"Yes," Mikasa answered plainly. Her eyes were glued to Armin, staring at him with wide eyes as if he were a rabid animal that could strike at any second. Jean had never seen her look so helpless before, and was overwhelmed by the desire to pull her into his arms and tell her everything was going to be okay. But in order to do that, he'd apparently have to break Armin out of whatever spell had befallen him. Would a hug solve that too?

"Where is he?"

All four of the teens at the table whirled around as a brunette woman ran over to them and fell to her knees next to Jean. The boy slid and made room for her closer to Armin. Eren was right behind her, nervously wringing his hands. "How'd it start?" she asked, staring intently at Armin through a pair of thick, round glasses.

"He just… sort of gasped suddenly and then this started," Jean answered. "I don't know what set him off, though. Seemingly nothing." The woman nodded, gesturing for them to give her more room. Jean and Mikasa moved away tentatively as the woman pulled Armin's hands away from his head with a considerable amount of force and gently stroked his palms with her thumbs. The boy slowly stopped shaking. His eyes peeled open, revealing orbs that shone a luminous, solid white. Sasha gasped, reaching for Connie's hand across the table.

"What do you see, child?" the woman asked, her voice authoritative yet sweetly soft. Armin blinked once, twice. The third time, his eyes opened back to their normal blue.

He looked up at the woman with wide eyes. "It's going to rain next Friday," he answered blearily. "During the royal ball. Nothing will be ruined; it's just going to be very wet outside. Also, it doesn't look like there will be any interruptions at the ball, either. Not like the coronation." Armin took a deep breath. Then his blue eyes curiously examined the woman kneeling in front of him. "I'm sorry, but who are you?"

The woman smiled. "I suppose we'd better let the royal court know about the rain and lack of disturbances so they can plan for it." She then extended a hand to the blonde boy. "My name's Hanji Zoe and I'm one of the co-owners of this fine establishment."

"How did you know how to…? Are you a seer too?" the blonde boy asked, his eyes widening with awe. Hanji nodded with a satisfied smile. Armin accepted her hand and shook it firmly. "It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am. I've never met anyone who knew how to stop a vision before."

"Anytime," the woman replied, taking a step back and wrapping an arm around Eren's shoulders. "I've heard a lot about you, Armin Arlert. Ever since this one started telling me about you and the stories from when you were kids, I've been dying to meet you. It's been years since I've met a trueborn seer like yourself, especially at such a young age. Tell me, when did you have your first vision?"

"Hanji!"

The teens at the table jumped and whirled around guiltily as the figure of the restaurant's owner appeared behind them, broom in hand and apron completely wrinkle free. He may have only been five foot two, but he was decidedly the most deadly man in the entire kingdom. Many questioned why he'd left the knights' guild to run a restaurant of all things.

"Yeah, Levi?" the woman replied jauntily, turning to face him with a gleeful smile.

"Don't suffocate the child with your questions. The kid just a vision for gods' sakes," the man said sharply. "You know how shitty you feel after those. Leave him alone. You're needed in the kitchen, anyway."

Hanji sighed, placing her hands decidedly on her hips. "Well, I guess that's that. Armin, we'll be in touch." With that, the brunette disappeared once more behind the counter, into the secret realm of the kitchen. Armin sighed, leaning back in his chair and rubbing circles into his temples.

"Armin, you okay?" Connie asked fearfully.

The blonde offered him a weak smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. My head just hurts."

"You should drink your water," Eren said, reaching for the glass and carefully placing it in front of his friend. "You should eat your pie too. Eating helps, doesn't it?"

"Well, it's helped before," Armin answered, taking a generous sip of water.

"So you've always been a… seer, then?" Sasha questioned, her brown eyes staring at the blonde with a mix of curiosity, apprehension, and awe. Armin nodded in response. "How come you didn't tell us?"

Armin shrugged. "It never really came up."

"That's what you do for the knights' guild, though, isn't it?" Jean asked. His tone wasn't accusatory in any way, just genuinely curious. Armin simply nodded again.

"When we were kids, after our parents died, we thought that his ability could be of use to the king," Eren explained. "So we applied to the military, and it just so happened that they had recently dismissed Hanji when we showed up. Yeah, she's an ex-knights' guild member too," he added at the confused looks that met his statement. "They thought the idea of training a seer from childhood would be a huge asset to the monarchy and took him on."

"Why'd they dismiss Hanji?" Armin asked. Eren shrugged.

"Dunno. She's never said," the brunette answered. "She's only ever told us that she used to be a part of the knights' guild. And we don't really like to question Hanji any further than what she gives us because that conversation can go on for hours…"

"Eren! Get back to work!" Levi's voice called from the counter. Eren flinched, stooping down and retrieving the tray he'd dropped earlier.

"Guess that's goodbye," he said, smiling reluctantly. "Armin, I hope you feel better. I'll catch you guys around. Don't be strangers." Eren hurried off to another table, flashing a charming smile to a group of older women as he pulled a pen and notepad from his apron to take their order. Mikasa watched him go, her eyes trailing after him until he disappeared through the kitchen door. Jean's eyes followed hers down to the wire, his heart sinking a little even though he already knew what she was thinking.

"It's always an adventure when we come here," Connie commented offhandedly.

"Well, what do you expect? The word dragon is in the place's name," Jean replied, standing up and moving back to his seat. He thrust his fork into the slice of pie in front of him and thoughtfully examined the mutilated piece. "That's just asking for adventure."

Thank you all for reading! As always, I'd love to hear what you're thinking, so feel free to drop a comment below and make a curious author's day!

Also, I am going to publish the next chapter this Wednesday in order to get this thing moving faster. I fear for Chapter Four, that it may be boring and tedious, but again, it's laying the foundations for character development and setting up the world we're working in, so bear with me and look for that on Wednesday. After that, I'll try to stick on the Saturday updates, but may go faster until the real action begins. Thank you for your patience!

Have a wonderful day/night wherever you're at!