In stark contrast to the first few days after Annie met Illya, the following couple of weeks passed by without much change or incident. Annie continued to go to school each weekday by herself and deal with the various annoyances that she'd been dealing with all her life. On the weekends she still did her chores and spent time reading and exercising.

She and Illya saw each other almost every day, mostly in Edensburg. Annie finally found out how Illya was sneaking out of the manor (Leysritt was driving her down the road each time, behind Acht and Sella's backs). The two met straight after school to do the two miles of walking that Annie prescribed, then went to grab food either at Annie's house or at a local restaurant.

Every Tuesday and Thursday, Annie would walk half a mile up the path in the forest, where she would meet Sella in the sleek limousine to drive her the rest of the way to Einzbern Manor. There, she would spend an hour instructing Illya in hand-to-hand combat. Illya's progress was extremely slow, Annie had to admit, but it was there. And it couldn't be said that the girl didn't give it her all.

Annie didn't see Jubstacheit once since her first visit to Einzbern Manor, and that was completely okay with her. That man was very difficult to be around, especially given the situation. If he was willing to leave Annie alone, she would allow him to do so without a second thought.

On the other side of things, Armin was still trying to pry into Annie's friendship with Illya, though he was being very coy and subtle about it. He seemed to know that his only angle was through Annie, which is why he was popping up around Annie a lot since their curt conversation in the student lounge. He spent half of his lunch breaks shirking his large group of friends to sit alone with Annie, always coming with a smile. Not once did he mention Illya, instead opting for meaningless small talk.

Annie didn't give him any leeway whatsoever. She answered his innocent questions honestly, but with no emotion or interest at all. It would have been easier to tell him to leave her alone, but it was difficult to do that to someone who wasn't actively being troublesome, even for someone like her. She was able to deal with the nuisance, as long as she made sure the conversation didn't drift into dangerous territory. She might have even been somewhat appreciative, had she not known she was only a means to an end in his eyes.

Against his knowledge, Annie regularly eavesdropped at the door of the student lounge whenever she got the chance and she knew Armin was in there. Sometimes others from that group were in there without him, Ymir, Marco, Reiner, etc, but she didn't bother. Armin was the only real danger of the large bunch. Most of the talk was normal, but she did hear Illya's name pop up every now and then, as well as her own. Eventually she would enter, just to make it uncomfortable for them.

Unlike Armin, the rest of the school wasn't as kind to her, even superficially. It was almost every day that she heard her name being mentioned by someone, along with vast speculations regarding Leysritt and Sella, the limo, and her grand departure from the school that Tuesday afternoon. Some of the wilder theories ranged from her secretly working for the government to her having a very rich uncle that took her in. One idiot even suggested that a rich businessman in Munich had taken her to be his lover!

One thing that didn't change: she was still an outcast. Before she met Illya, though, people just ignored her. She was just the new girl that recently moved into town that was always by herself. Now, though, she got stares as she walked through the hallway, and not the nice kind. If people ignored her before, they were actively distancing themselves from her now.

But she didn't care. Not about Armin, not about Eren, Mikasa, Jean and the rest, and not about her schoolmates. She had Illya, and she was happy with that.

One Wednesday afternoon, about two weeks after Illya's first lesson, Annie was sitting in the back of a classroom watching the snow fall outside the window. It was the last period of the day, and Annie was eager to get home, as usual. The snow was falling quite heavily, leaving Annie with a difficult walk home.

At least Illya will be there, Annie thought to herself. The two were planning to take their daily walk when Annie got home from school, but it looked like they would have to call it off. It was difficult on regular days, trudging through un-shoveled sidewalks, but walking in the midst of a storm was impossible.

Her stamina has gotten a lot better, Annie reasoned. One day off won't hurt.

At long last the bell rung, freeing Annie from the classroom. She stopped by her locker to retrieve her coat, which she donned, then walked back down a stairwell to the front entrance of the school. Outside it was dark, snowy, and unforgiving, but the only way to get past it was to go through it, as she knew too well.

"Hey, Annie," a familiar voice called from behind her.

The blue-eyed blonde sighed inwardly. Him again? What does he want now? Reluctantly, Annie turned around to face the approaching Armin. Why he was coming toward her, she did not know. He had already spent his usual fifteen minutes conversing with her at lunch about the most nonchalant things, what more could he want?

"Hey Armin," Annie said dully. "What is it?"

"Where are you headed?" he asked.

"Home, as always," she replied, on guard. Such nosy questions!

"I figured," said Armin. "Do you mind if I walk with you? My house isn't that far away from yours."

Annie had to try very hard to suppress her surprise. That certainly came out of nowhere. He really was that committed to getting something out of her, more that Annie ever thought he would.

Annie glanced up. There was a throng of people flooding out of the building around her, but off to the side she got a glimpse of Jean, Marco, and Bertholdt looking at Armin as if he were crazy.

"You're not going to go get food with your friends, like you usually do?" Annie asked him, raising an eyebrow.

"I've got to get home early today," Armin explained. "Come on, let's go."

Armin started for the door, motioning for Annie to follow. Seeing no way out of this one (she couldn't not go home), Annie followed Armin out the door and into the storm. The wind wasn't fierce and howling, but it was ever-present, slowly gnawing away at the two of them and blowing snow into their faces.

It was clear what Armin was trying to do. By coming home with her, he hoped to actually get to meet Illya. If not, then at the very least he would get to pepper her with more questions. It was a very stealthy move on his part, Annie had to admit.

I'll set a very fast pace, she thought, her mind racing. If we get to my house early, there's a chance Illya won't be there yet.

The first couple of minutes were spent in silence. For Annie it was an awkward silence between two people who did not have any sort of friendship with each other. Armin seemingly had nothing to say, and Annie sure as hell wasn't going to start the conversation. Armin seemed to be at ease, though, his face pleasant despite the silence and the incessant annoyance of the wind and snowfall.

Finally, Armin sighed. "I don't know about you, but I'm getting sick of this weather."

"Are you?" Annie quipped without looking at him. "You seem to be fine."

"I'm frozen, truthfully," Armin replied with an innocent smile. "I'm getting tired of snow and cold all the time. You?"

"Yes and no," Annie replied truthfully. "I prefer the snow from a distance, but I like it."

"And the cold? It doesn't bother you?"

"I wouldn't say it bothers me," Annie replied. "To say that implies that I let it get to me. I don't. It's just an annoyance that I tolerate. And don't complain about."

"I see," Armin said pensively, completely ignoring the not-so-subtle jab. He paused, as if giving thought to his next question. "What about playing in the snow? Do you enjoy doing that?"

So that's his way in, Annie mused. For the millionth time, she wished she hadn't issued that troublesome police report.

"I haven't played in the snow in a long time," she lied. "Not since I was five or six."

Armin gave her a surprised look. "Really? That long? That seems very unlikely."

"It's the truth," Annie insisted fiercely, almost angrily. "What is this, an interrogation?"

"No, not at all!" Armin replied quickly, hands in the air and a placative smile on his face. "I'm just trying to make conversation."

Annie immediately lowered her head and looked away. "Whatever," she sighed.

The rest of the walk was filled with silence. The only good outcome of Annie's outburst was that Armin stopped asking questions. Other than that, Annie just hoped that it didn't make Armin more suspicious. Her sudden anger wasn't even in relation to Illya, but to her dad. Playing in the snow was a touchy subject for her at times.

"Well, that's your house, isn't it?" Armin said after ten more minutes of walking.

"Yeah," Annie sighed. She looked at her watch, seeing that she was home five minutes earlier than usual. Annie breathed a sigh of relief; Illya was nowhere to be seen.

Armin looked a bit disappointed, but still kept a pleasant expression on his face. "Well, it was, uh, nice walking with you. Maybe we can do this again some other time?"

"We'll see," Annie replied quickly. She was eager to send Armin on his way before Illya got there. "Have a good night."

"Have a good—"

"Hi Annie!" Illya exclaimed.

Annie turned to see the pale-haired girl walking toward them with a wide smile and a wave of her arm. Her outfit was completely white, which was why Annie did not see her coming. She very nearly blended into the heavy snowfall swirling around her. Next to her, an annoyingly satisfied Armin smiled.

"Hey Illya," Annie replied quietly, internally alarmed. "This is Armin, by the way. He goes to the same school as me."

"It's a pleasure to meet you!" Armin said enthusiastically. He held out his hand for Illya to shake. Illya considered the hand for a moment, then slowly shook it.

"It's nice to meet you too," she replied awkwardly.

"You must be a very interesting person," Armin continued over the harsh wind. "After all, you found a way into this one's cold heart, huh?" He nudged Annie with his elbow, laughing at his jest.

Annie pulled her hood tighter around her head, hoping to hide her colored cheeks, and clenched her gloved hands at her sides.

Illya, though, took it very much in stride. "I suppose I did," she said coyly, "although if you think someone's heart is closed, maybe it's just you that has the wrong key."

Armin flashed a puzzled look, then hid it with another smile. "Where are you from, Illya?"

"Out of town," she replied without pause. "I assume you're from Edensburg yourself, like Annie?"

"Born and bred," said Armin.

"I hate to interrupt," Annie interjected quickly, "but I'm absolutely freezing. Shall we head inside, Illya?"

Illya shrugged her shoulders. "Sounds good to me."

"I'd invite you inside too, Armin," Annie added, "but you mentioned earlier that you had to get home early today. I'd hate to keep your family waiting."

"Maybe another time then," Armin replied kindly. "Have a good night, you two."

Once Armin had turned to head toward his house, Annie rushed across her snowy yard, Illya in tow, toward the front door of her house. She took out her key, unlocked the door, and ushered Illya inside before closing it behind her. The two exhaled sighs of relief at the exact same time.

"That was too close," Annie said, slightly out of breath. "I'm sorry, Illya. He all but demanded he walk home with me; I had no way to refuse him."

"Don't worry about it," Illya replied slowly. Annie noticed the poor girl's hands were trembling with nerves, and her breaths were drawn and shaky. "I'm assuming he's the one you're always complaining about?"

"Yeah," Annie replied in a low voice. "Armin Arlert. Nosiest person I know. You did very well with him, Illya."

"Thanks," Illya said, looking up at her with a grateful expression. "I can be smooth when I want to be."

"I'll try to arrange it so that you don't have to run into him again," Annie assured her. "It'll be hard, he's clever, but I'll do it. Your secret is safe with me, and always will be."


An electric wind chime sounded as Armin opened the door to the café. He was chilled to the bone after being outside for near on thirty minutes, with puffy, red cheeks and snow in his hair. He wiped his snowy boots on the large mat by the door before going deeper inside.

There were a few different places that he went to eat out in Edensburg, but the cafe was his favorite. There was something about the warm, inviting atmosphere and the delicious aroma of coffee and baked good swirling through the air that Armin found especially pleasant.

Toward the back of the café, Armin found the usual gathering of his friends. Not all of them could make it every day; usually there weren't more than four or five on any given day, but one could be sure that a portion of that group would be in some eatery within the hour immediately after school ended.

Today it was Jean, Marco, and Bertholdt, calmly sipping a hot drink in a small booth. It had been difficult to ignore their stares when he abruptly walked away from them to go with Annie, but he managed. Now their heads turned toward him as he approached their table.

"Well?" Bertholdt asked once Armin sat down. "Did you find anything this time?" His tone was very even; it was clear that some of his friends were less interested in this than others.

"Not a thing," Armin said, his voice slightly defeatist. "Annie was as curt as ever, and Illya is just as tight-lipped as Annie, albeit friendlier."

"You met her?!" Jean asked incredulously.

"That was my hope," Armin explained. "I figured they might meet after school, and I got lucky that she arrived while I was still there."

"Well, what's she like?" Marco insisted.

"Like I said, friendlier than Annie…and surprisingly coy," Armin added. "She's very smart for her age, I'll give her that."

"Sounds like someone we know," Marco commented with a smirk, nudging Armin in the ribs. Armin didn't even notice the compliment, though, as a grim look overtook his features.

"I've been pestering Annie for over two weeks now, and nothing's come of it," he muttered. "She hasn't slipped yet, and every time I go anywhere near the topic she immediately shuts the door. I fear I've reached the end of the trail of this tactic, and who knows if I'll see Illya ever again, so that means…"

"Uh, Armin?" said Jean. "Are you alright?"

Armin nodded. "I know what I have to do now."

"And that is?" asked Bertholdt.

Armin paused. Should he really put this out into the open? They'll all try to convince him otherwise. They might say that he's going too far, they might even call him crazy. But I have to tell them, he thought grimly. They're my friends, I have to. And there was no chance they would change his mind; his mind was already made up. He just had to know if he was right all these years.

He sighed. "Tomorrow, I'm going into the woods."