Hearts of Gold
The titan leered down at them and in that instant Viviette's body tensed and her grip around Leren's neck tightened. Her entire life, she thought nothing could overlook Wall Maria and yet a giant monster was staring into her district, its vibrant red muscle sharply contrasting with the soft oranges of the sunset. The giant titan was an abomination that nightmares were made of and Viviette's was about to begin. From behind the wall, the titan reared its foot back and slowly slammed it against the wall. The ground shook from the impact and Leren lost his footing. He pitched forward and with only one arm, quickly lost his hold on her. Viviette felt weightless as she sailed over his head; for a split second she thought she was flying, but the thought was shattered when gravity kicked in and she crashed into the ground. Her body rolled across the dirt as if it weighed next to nothing before finally skidding to a stop. She tried getting up but her limbs wouldn't move, she was frozen from either pain or fear, she couldn't tell either way.
"Viviette!"
Moments later Viviette felt her brother roll her onto her back and he sat her up. She groaned loudly, the sudden movements amplifying the throbbing in her skull. She was positive it has split open. Her head fell forward and she stared at her lap, unable to hold it up on her own. Her vision was fuzzy and it took her a moment to focus in on the small scarlet droplets that began to fall onto her dress. With a shaking hand Viviette brushed her hand against her temple where her pain had centralized. When she brought it down to her lap, her palm was slick and warm with blood. Her blood.
"Oh God Viviette, tell me you're okay. Please tell me you're okay." Leren begged.
Viviette slowly turned to look at her brother, his lips were moving but she couldn't make out the words, the ringing in her ears overpowered any sort of noise. Panic was written all over his face and it scared her; it was nothing like she'd never seen before, the pure desperation evident in his wide blue eyes.
"I-I'm okay." she said, unaware that she was yelling.
Her eyes bulged when she caught a glimpse past Leren, a boulder lay where her house had stood not five minutes before. In that moment, Leren and Viviette had become orphans. She screamed and reached for her house, but he held her down with a firm hand. He stood and threw her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes before running in the opposite direction of the wall. Tears mixed with blood as Viviette yelled and cried for her dad, desperately reaching for her shattered house that only grew smaller and smaller the further they got. When her voice grew hoarse and finally died away, Viviette noticed the screams rising from the town. The shrill cries made her skin crawl and goose bumps lined the flesh on her arms, the hair on the back of her neck standing on end. She looked back to the wall and gasped, the giant titan had disappeared. She prayed hard that her nightmare had finally ended, but the screams of her fellow human beings said otherwise. Her eyes frantically scanned the roof tops and she could see the heads of titans searching for prey. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't tear her eyes away from a titan wearing an idiotic look as it picked a woman up and dropped her into its open mouth as if she were a cherry. The movement of the titan's throat and its red stained lips made Viviette's stomach churn and she slammed a fist against her lips to stop herself from vomiting. She dropped and watched the ground pass by, the sight of the woman and the titan playing on repeat in her head. Viviette clenched her eyes shut and tried her best to erase the image, but nothing could stop the screams from ringing in her ears. One hundred years of blissful peace had finally come to an end.
Leren turned into an alley and set Viviette down as gently as he could. His chest was heaving and his breathing was labored, his face dripping with sweat. Viviette leaned against the hard brick of a house and rubbed her sore stomach, it ached from Leren's shoulder digging into it. Standing on her own two feet made her head spin, the blood rushing back to it now that she was finally upright. She slid down the wall until she was sitting, not caring if the hard brick scratched her back. She laced her fingers and prayed, she prayed that Eren and his family were safe, she prayed for Armin and his grandfather, she prayed Walter was still alive, and she prayed that she and Leren would get out of this together. Viviette wasn't particularly religious, but she remembered times when her mother would pray before bed and hoped it would work for her too. If someone or something was up there, she hoped with her entire being that they were listening.
"Let me look at your head." Leren said after finally catching his breath.
He tipped her head up and she stared right into his eyes as he inspected the wound on her head. Her frown matched his as he fished around his pockets. He retrieved a handkerchief and instructed it to press it against her temple.
"...Is it still bleeding?" she asked, trying to think back to head injuries during her lessons with Dr. Jaeger.
"Yeah, we'll get someone to check it out later but for now we've got to keep going. Can you walk on your own?"
Viviette nodded.
"Alright lets go."
She held the handkerchief against her temple with one hand and with the other grabbed Leren's. They continued walking towards the inner gate, Leren had decided they were far enough away from the titans that it was safe to walk, but the urgency never left their step. He led her past the gate and towards the ferries and it didn't take long for them to arrive, but the hordes of people trying to board concerned her. She was afraid there wouldn't be enough room and she; as well as everyone else in Shiganshina, would be left to die at the hands of the titans. Leren kept a firm grip on her hand as he started shouldering his way through the hoard, ignoring the cries and jeers that followed them. They were lucky enough to be one of the last to board the ferry and despite being pressed tightly against the ferry's rail, she was extremely grateful to be on board. Viviette diverted her attention to the billows of smoke rising from behind the wall, her home district had been reduced to rubble and there was nothing left to do but abandon it. Everything she'd ever known had vanished in an instant. Thunderous footsteps grew louder and Viviette's heart pounded heavily in her chest as numerous cannon shots sounded off. Moments later a large armored body barreled through the gate, sending debris from the wall as well as the bodies of soldiers through the air. The large stocky titan's glowing eyes caused a sharp shiver to roll up and down her spine. Before she could stop it, Viviette leaned over the side of the ferry and vomited violently into the water.
Her eyes watered while her throat burned from stomach acid as the contents of her belly were dumped into the canal. When her stomach was emptied, Viviette wiped her face off and sighed. The sharp taste lingered in her mouth and she was dying for something to clear it out, but she knew there was nothing available. She gasped when she say her reflection in the water. The girl looking back at her looked awful. Half her face was caked with dried blood and wild curls stuck up in every direction, wild blue eyes stared at her. Viviette jerked back when Leren squeezed her shoulder, he offered her an apologetic look. She grabbed hold of his shirt and refused to let go as the ferry moved through the water. Viviette leaned back and was taken aback when she noticed the armored titan had disappeared. It baffled her how something so large and frightening could be there one instant and gone the next. Regardless she was pleased to see it gone, unaware of the true extent of the damage it had done. The sounds of cries and whimpers blended together as they slowly abandoned the ruins that used to be their home.
"You doing okay?" Leren asked.
"I'm fine...what are we going to do now?"
He frowned and looked up to the sky. "We keep moving forward."
Viviette looked forward and didn't say another word for the rest of the trip. Her mind was working rapidly to process the events of the day, her whole life had turned upside down in a matter of minutes. Everything she'd ever known had been overrun by titans, the whereabouts of her other brother was unknown. She hoped Walter had gone to Mia's and that they were safe. Their future looked bleak, they had no money and all of their possessions had been left behind. All they had was the clothes on their backs.
Sometime later the ferry docked inside the safety of Wall Rose and the refugees were ushered onto land. Garrison troops had set up stations for them to check in and from there they would be directed to shelter. When Leren and Viviette reached the front of the line, they signed their names along with the other survivors and stepped aside. Viviette took her time writing her name, using the opportunity to scan the list for the names of her friends but was disappointed when she came up with nothing. She shuffled out of the way and was prepared to follow the other refugees to their designated areas but Leren pulled her back. He shook his head just as she was about to question him, silently asking her to trust him. Quietly they ducked away from the rest of the group and she followed him down an alley, when they were away from everyone else she decided to ask what he had planned.
"The Garrison troops are idiots, they are in no way prepared to deal with this situation." he snapped.
"But what are we going to do? We need their help."
Leren shook his head. "No we'll figure this out on our own. We're just extra mouths for them to feed; they don't care about anyone coming from Wall Maria."
"We don't have anywhere to go."
Leren sighed and grabbed her hand, giving it a tight squeeze.
"Just trust your big brother okay? I'll figure something out."
Viviette nodded and let him lead the way. Together they stopped at inn after inn seeking refuge but were constantly turned away. All the inns were full to capacity from the first few waves of refugees, they had come too late. After having the tenth inn shut the door in their faces, Viviette was beginning to lose hope. Her feet were sore from all the walking and her body felt heavy, she wasn't sure how much more she could take. Her head had begun to throb and she wanted nothing more than to shut her eyes and sleep all the pain away. The moon had already taken its place in the sky and had its soft light to go from. She wearily trailed after Leren as he knocked on another inn's door. A curvaceous woman with long auburn hair greeted them. She wore a stern look that made Viviette's back straighten immediately, afraid she may be scolded for her poor posture.
"Can I help you?" she asked, her voice sharp.
"Please help us, we're from Shiganshina and we need help. We don't have anywhere to go."
"Sorry I can't help you, there's no room here. Surely there are refugee camps. " she said.
The woman moved to shut the door but Leren's hand shot out and stopped her.
"You don't have to take me, but please don't leave my sister out here. I'm begging you, please help her. She was injured in the attack and we haven't gotten a chance to get any treatment. Please, just take her." He cried.
Viviette shook her head and wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her nose into his back.
"No! I'm not leaving you!"
The woman stared at the siblings for a long time before letting out an audible sigh.
" Fine. I'll help you, but in no way is this going to be permanent. I'll let you all stay here until you get on your feet, okay?" she huffed, obviously annoyed.
Leren's head shot up and he snatched the woman's hand away from her hips.
"Thank you so much, I could never repay you. You've saved our lives miss." He said.
She jerked her hand back and scowled. "Do that again and I'll change my mind."
Viviette unlatched herself from her brother and entered the inn with him. She was surprised to see the lobby so empty; she thought it was full, but after glancing at the clock on the wall she realized it was nearly midnight. The woman hastily explained their living situation to them as she quickly led them through the inn. They would be sharing a bed in the attic and it would be their responsibility to clean it out, apparently it'd been years since anyone had been up there. The woman opened the attic door and Viviette promptly sneezed when the dust entered her nose. It definitely needed a thorough cleaning.
"And don't think I'll be letting you stay for free, you'll have to earn your keep." She said to Leren as she lit a candle for them.
"I wouldn't have it any other way. We never got your name by the-"
The woman ignored him and turned to Viviette. "I'm going to get some water for you."
"Well she sure is charming." Leren said when she was out of ear shot.
Viviette shrugged. "She is letting us stay here."
"Touché."
Leren started wiping off some of the dust while Viviette watched; she'd developed a head ache so he let her opt out of helping. The woman returned with a small bowl of water and a towel. She sat Viviette on the bed and kneeled in front of her. After wetting the towel, she gently dabbed Viviette's temple.
"What's your name kiddo?" she asked, her voice softer than when she spoke to Leren.
"Viviette Tieren and that's my brother Leren."
"It's nice to meet you Viviette, my name's Julia," she paused, "I'm sorry this happened to you."
Viviette winced, her words paining her more than her wound. The horrors of the day replayed in her mind and she blinked hard to clear any tears from her eyes. Julia noticed the change in the girl's demeanor and silently resumed washing her face. The bowl of water was stained red by the time Viviette's face was clear of any blood and grime. Quietly she grabbed the bowl and made her way towards the door.
"…goodnight." Julia sighed before shutting the door behind her.
Viviette reached up and touched her cheek, her fingers touching soft skin rather than caked blood.
"I think it's time for us to go to bed." Leren suggested.
She slid under the blanket and took the right side while Leren slid into the left after blowing out the candle. Viviette was grateful to be lying down after everything that had happened, her body ached all over and she was ready for sleep. The pillow felt as soft as a cloud and the blanket offered her a small sense of security. From under the blanket, she carefully fingered the small bishop charm on her wrist while finally letting her tears escape. She hoped with her entire being that Armin and the others were safe. Viviette rolled onto her stomach and let her eyes shut as sleep tugged at her tired brain. That night, her dreams were graced by the screams of humanity and the haunting stares of titans.
So I'm going to go ahead and apologize now for this chapter being so much shorter than the ones before. I really struggled with this chapter, if you couldn't tell already. Sorry, I promise it gets better so stick with me. Thanks for reading everyone and I really appreciate it when you review, I read them every time I need to motivate myself.
