A few days had passed since their meeting with Eren and most of his time had been spend either in meetings with the Stationary Guard about their encounter with titan Eren or with the Military Police, arguing about what was right. No real conclusions came out of it, but Erwin was now aware of what the Police wanted to do with the kid. A quick death and then he would get disposed of. The message wouldn't get out and everything would go back to normal. Lies would be fed about how Wall Rose had survived and the people would buy it. Not something Erwin really supported. The villagers should be more aware of what actually was going on with their government.

Today was a different day though. No more early morning meetings with anyone. He would have to go to court where the fate of Eren would be decided. His plan was pretty solid. Use Levi to convince the Military that they could handle Eren. They could force him down on his knees and have him act accordingly. It's all most people needed. The Police would fight it, but the other branches and maybe even Zacklay would approve. It's all they had at this point, but Erwin had to believe they would succeed.

Sitting outside on a small bench somewhere in the midst of town Erwin relaxed. His mind was reeling after his conversation with Dot Pixis. The man had always seemed a little odd to Erwin, but he knew it was someone he could count on, someone who believed in the same things as Erwin did. They just had different ways of showing it, fighting for it. Even if Pixis spend a lot of his time drunk or drinking, he was a good man and the conversation had given him that extra confident boost he needed. He was going to succeed.

Leaning forward Erwin placed his elbows in his knees resting his head against his hands. The sun was filtering through the buildings, having just reached above the walls. They really had little sunlight in Wall Sina, but as soon as it was out, kids came out to play. He could already hear the excited screams coming from a few blocks done and soon two boys came into view, clearly running away from someone. The little doll in one of the boys' hands said enough. Either a little sister or a girl they sort of considered a friend would come running after them soon, tears streaking her face, soft sobs escaping her lips as she kept on yelling for them to stop.

Life had been so much easier back then, even if he hadn't lived in Wall Sina. But even back then he thought too much, always making up plans, trying to come up with certain conclusions. Some kids would want to play with him more for that reason and others actually teased him for it, but they couldn't deny that he came up with the best games. Yeah, much simpler times those were.

The little boys passed by his bench, dropping the doll a few feet away, because they were pushing each other a bit too rough. Slowly Erwin rose to his feet, standing much taller than the boys. They had already run off anyway and it's not like Erwin would've lectured them about treating a girl differently. It was not his responsibility and was he really the right person to raise kids? He didn't even have kids of his own. Maybe if he hadn't been so absorbed with titans and fighting for humanity, he would've settled down a long time ago. Much like his childhood friend, Nile. How different they had become.

Just as Erwin reached for the little doll, the girl came running around the corner. Her cheeks were flushed red and tears were clearly streaming down her face. She was about to run by Erwin until she noticed her favourite doll in his hand. A few feet away she stood still, knowing she wasn't allowed to talk to strangers, but he was Military and that made it different somehow. The girl didn't know why, but she trusted anything her parents told her.

To make it easier for the girl Erwin crouched down, leaning on one knee as he offered the doll back. 'They ran off already, so I don't think they'll steal your doll again anytime soon. Keep it close to you. There it will stay safe,' he said, trying to use a soft and soothing tone and not his Commander tone. He didn't want to frighten the child.

Quickly she snatched the doll back, hugging it close to her body. Her dress was a little dirty, letting Erwin know she had fallen down before and that's why the boys had such a head start. Evil games they were, but all kids played them. With big eyes the girl kept on staring at him, making no move to leave and Erwin wasn't sure if he should just get up and walk off or if he should wait on her to actually say something. Was she even going to speak?

'Mister, there was a carriage going through town and it had a lot of guards around it. Do you know what was in there?' she suddenly questioned and Erwin had to stifle a laugh.

So perceptive. The adults had probably not even given the carriage a second glance, but this little girl had noticed and had found it odd. Many carriages run through this town every day, but none with this many Police on duty. Erwin knew why, but couldn't simply tell the girl. He was still very impressed though. 'If it's guarded heavily, then it was probably something very important to the village. You should be happy they care so much,' he answered.

'Me and my friends already come up with stuff that could be in there,' the girl announced excitedly, obviously not really having listened to Erwin at all. She was just happy she could finally share her story and then Erwin also seemed interested! This girl's day couldn't get any better!

Now all Erwin had to do was ask her about it and the girl would be talking for a while. It was a nice way to get your mind off of things though. Kids were really cute, but he was certain he couldn't handle them for longer than a day. 'What do you think is in there?' he asked back and the girl let out a cute giggle, a blush forming on her cheeks as she hugged her doll even closer. The tears had been long forgotten and so had the kidnapping of her doll.

'Chocolate!' she yelled, arms going wide, almost throwing her doll away, because she didn't care that much about it either. 'I love chocolate.' Her eyes started twinkling and Erwin was certain she had learned that from her mother. 'But then the boys said it wasn't chocolate. They wouldn't have go guard it then. But I think it should be guarded even more. Otherwise someone might steal it! The boys said it was probably a monster and they guards were there to protect the village instead of the guards protecting what was inside.' The more she talked about the boys the more annoyed her voice got. Too bad those boys actually weren't wrong and it was in fact a monster in there. Not that Eren looked the part.

'Well, I like your idea much better and it's silly to think they would bring a monster into town, right? I bet they only said that to scare you.'

Immediately the girl's face retorted in some kind of anger, it not being very believable because she was pouting so badly. 'I wasn't scared!' she said accusingly, as if Erwin had just said the worst thing ever. How dare he say such a thing? See, he couldn't handle kids very well, but it was really funny. This would be a very strong woman once she grew up. 'I will kick the monster's ass and then everyone in the village is safe, right Bettina?' The question had been directed at her doll and again Erwin had to stifle a laugh. This girl was truly something.

Getting back on his feet Erwin decided it was time to leave. It was fun talking to this girl, but the sun was even higher up in the sky now and he still had to attend court. Better to get there early and make a good impression. 'I have to go now, but you make sure Bettina stays safe and when the monster escapes, I'll be sure to kick his ass. We'll need you when the bigger monsters attack.'

A bright smile formed on the girl's lips as she chewed on her fingers. 'Thank you, mister,' she said around a mouthful of… fingers. 'I'll go find my friends now.' And with that said she skipped away into a general direction, not asking where those two other boys had gone to or where she would find them. The girl truly had no care in the world. Everything would come to her in time and if she couldn't find them fast enough, she would just go do something else.

That was the life Erwin wanted for everyone, but a lot of people lived in poverty and with the fall of Wall Maria a lot of them were also scared. It didn't help that Trost had only fallen days ago. It had been reclaimed and that was one of the biggest victories for mankind, but it still made people wary. It could happen again and what then?

As Erwin made his way down the streets he could hear the happy scream of the girl finding her friends. A slight smile formed on his lips as he stuffed his hands into his pants pockets, keeping up a slow pace. He wanted to cherish that moment with the girl, the ease it had placed on his heart. It was a time where he didn't have to think about the problems, about the proof he was trying to find. Eren was important to him, something he needed, but thinking about him as a monster was so much easier and simply saying he would just kick his ass.

But then Erwin reached the courthouse and many people were already standing around the building. There would be journalists running around for the paper, wanting to know what was happening inside. But they were all forbidden to speak. Things from the Military were not allowed to be discussed in front of a reporter, unless it was Zacklay in person. The news had to be approved by him before it was shared. It was difficult sometimes to maintain it, but it did prevent the people from knowing everything. Erwin had said too much to the wrong person a few times before. Or so it had seemed. Of course he knew who he had been talking to, had chosen them. And then he would spill some kind of secret and only had to apologise, because he never had meant it. Any other way was not possible.

After pushing his way through the crowd Erwin entered the courthouse and made his way to the hall they were going to use. Everything was already set up and most of the soldiers were already in place. People were whispering to one another, unsure of what was going to happen. Erwin could see soldiers fresh from their training days, standing in line, looking around very unsure of themselves. Most of them must know Eren, some of them even considering him a friend. What would they think of him now?

Making his way through the room Erwin moved to his place right next to Levi, right on the opposite side of the Military Police. His eyes moved to his childhood friend for a moment, granting him with a friendly nod that was simply ignored. He didn't expect anything less.

They were both in the right place and would fight for what they believed in. Erwin knew he was not alone in this, knew he could always lean on Levi. The Corporal would always tell him the truth. If he went too far or not, but would never shun him for it, never walk away from the Scouting Legion.

For a moment Erwin placed his hand on Levi's shoulder, giving him an encouraging squeeze, because it was his time to shine as well. But as fast as it had went up there it moved away again. There was no need for others to know that Erwin truly cared about Levi.

Characters © Attack on Titan/ Shingeki no Kyojin

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