"Ship ho!" bellows Oruo.
Jean frowns, taking out a spyglass. Through the gray of the morning mist, he makes out a distinct shape.
This close to enemy territory, it's got to be Marlayan. "Raise the black flag," Jean barks. The flag for parley. Glancing aft through the spyglass, he sees Erwin's ship raising the same flag. "Get Zeke," he orders Marco. The wind slaps his face as he clutches the helm. This is it.
"I'll prepare the cannons, Captain," Petra shouts, her red hair flapping.
Jean nods, although he prays they won't have to use them. If they start firing on the Marlay, even if the Marlay are trying to sink them, Jean's not sure he can count on the rest of the crew—already only tenuously supporting him—to stay loyal. "Don't fire without my command."
"We won't," she promises. Oruo shimmies down the rigging and darts after her.
The ship looms closer and closer. Jean's heart pounds in his chest, and his graze wound, mostly healed, throbs anew.
I wanted a safe, comfortable life.
He spots Marco scurrying across the deck below, dragging a bound Zeke. That would have been boring.
Marco appears, panting, at the helm. Zeke scowls. "They'll blow you out of the water."
"Maybe," Jean responds.
"You can't negotiate with someone who's already winning," Zeke adds.
Jean's fist curls. Don't punch him. Do not do it. "Are they winning? Without you? They'll have nothing."
Zeke spits on the deck.
"Don't you want to live?" Marco asks. "Don't you want to see your brother again?"
"My brother, who hates me?"
"Who also saved your pathetic life," Jean snaps. "Look, I hate Eren and I hate you. But he doesn't hate you. You're too human."
"You do not hate Eren, Jean," Marco corrects. "You saved his life."
"Goddammit, Marco!" He scowls and peers out at the horizon. We don't have enough ships, Jean thinks. If there's a battle, we're all going to die—and Eldia will die with us.
Zeke laughs, as if he knows exactly what Jean's thinking and it's humorous to him. Jean shouldn't be surprised given that this is the man who turned in his own parents, but he still could smack the man.
"That's not a Marlayan ship, though," Marco breathes, peering through the spyglass.
"Huh?" Jean turns.
"It's an Eldian merchant ship."
"What the hell would it be doing so close to—" This doesn't make any sense!
"Jean," Marco says. "Jean, look." He passes him the spyglass.
It's an entire fleet.
Zeke's mouth still hangs open hours later, when Flegel joins Historia, Erwin, Jean, the bald naval captain who arrested them earlier—whose name turns out to be Pixis—and about a dozen other captains as well.
"This is all because of Hitch and Marlowe?" Historia asks.
Pixis smiles at her in an almost fatherly sense. "Not entirely. As it turns out, Kenny Ackerman left several incriminating documents behind at his house, which Rico, my first mate, discovered after he passed. Then Nile Dok turned on Zackley, and Zackley squealed. Nile's governing for now, but the kingdom is yours, Historia."
Historia looks as if she's about to faint. Jean rubs his skull again and again, and Levi just looks stunned.
"We'll guard you," Pixis says. "We'll send three ships ahead—mine, Jean's, and Ian's—and wait to hear from the Marlay. We've loaded those ships with grains and gold as goodwill gifts, so if the Marlay know what's good for them, they'll listen. All our sources indicate they don't have a lot of resources, and the Eastern nations have been threatening them for skimping on their trade deals. It's in their best interest to want to end this war as soon as possible."
Jean swallows.
"And they ought to send their own fleet out to meet us. You shouldn't go into their own territory, Historia."
"I think that's a good plan," Erwin cuts in.
So we're still risking our lives, Jean realizes. But not for nothing. No matter what, Historia has the throne. We have hope.
He still hopes he's able to return to see Historia and the rest of his friends again.
Four days pass, and with each rise and fall of the sun, Historia starts to lose hope.
But on the fifth day, the bell clangs and she scrambles onto the deck. "Ship ho!"
All three of their ships are heading back to them. Ymir clutches Historia's hand.
"Fire!" Erwin bellows, and their ship shoots a warning shot across their bow. They previously agreed that, should they fire a warning shot and one not be returned, it would serve as a sign that all was well, and their ships had not been taken over by Marlay.
Historia waits with bated breath. Her fingers dig into the rail.
The beast ship doesn't fire back. A sob claws up Historia's throat. She throws her arms around Ymir as Jean sails closer.
Even Eren grins as Jean swings over to their ship, landing on the deck with a thud. "Your brother's still alive and as miserable as ever," he blurts out.
Eren sags in relief. Historia thinks of her father, supposedly rotting in a prison cell awaiting trial. Do I have to carry it out? Can I just leave him there?
"Historia," Jean says. "They want to meet at this location." He draws out a scroll, unfurling it and pointing to a nearby coordinate. "Just one of your ships, and one of their ships. The king will come and negotiate himself."
"Only one ship?" Ymir snaps. "That's not enough protection!"
"How do we know they'll keep their word?" demands Mikasa.
"They let him live," Armin says quietly. "If they were planning on killing us all, they should have killed them and sailed back to us in disguise."
"When?' Erwin asks simply.
"Tomorrow."
"You're not going to meet the Marlay looking like a common pirate," Ymir snaps.
Historia flinches. "It's not as if I have a choice."
"Yes, you do," calls Armin. "Rico dropped this off for you." He holds out what looks like a lump of purple satin.
Historia reaches for it. I'm a queen, and now I'm supposed to dress like one?
She doesn't much like the idea of dressing above her friends.
"I could do your hair," Annie offers. "If you want." She flicks her fingernails, as if she expects Historia to refuse. Historia knows Annie and Armin have both been visiting Reiner and Bertolt. Personally, she's glad about it.
"Okay," Historia says. "I'd like that."
"Men out," Mikasa orders, gripping her sword.
"The hell?" Eren gapes.
"Eren, just because you've seen one girl naked doesn't mean you can see them all," Ymir says dryly.
Eren glowers at her. "Don't—"
"Out!" Mikasa hisses, jabbing him with her elbow.
One very cold bath later, and Historia's wearing the violet dress, which is a little large for her but usable. "I wish Sasha were here," she muses as Annie drags a brush through her now-wet hair.
"Have you thought about what happens?" Ymir asks. "All of you? Once we get back to Sina and Historia has her coronation?"
"You're marrying her, aren't you?" Annie asks as her fingers weave through Historia's hair.
"Yes," Historia says firmly. "She is." She hesitates. "And I'd like the rest of you to stay around. You're my—the closest thing I ever had to family."
Mikasa meets her eyes, and in them, Historia almost sees a sister. She smiles, and Mikasa smiles back.
"What about me?" Annie asks softly. "It's not fair that Reiner and Bertolt will be tried and I won't be."
"Good grief, Annie, don't ask to be put in that fortress," complains Ymir.
"It didn't seem like a nice place," Historia admits. "And no, Annie. I'm pardoning you. And Reiner, and Bertolt. And to be fair, Gabi, Falco, and the rest of them if they want to come to Eldia. If not, I'll let them go back to Marlay. You were all just kids."
Annie's fingers still. "You are?"
"Of course."
"I'm not sure that's the wisest—"
"Neither am I, but Erwin thinks I can get away with it."
"That is not a sentence I want to hear my leader saying," Ymir grumbles. Historia kicks her in the shin. "Ouch!"
"I'd actually like to have you and Armin stay nearby," Historia says. "And Eren and Mikasa, too. As members of my guard, or advisors, and depending on how these negotiations turn out, maybe you'd be given a mission or two, but—"
"Really?" Mikasa asks, her eyes shining. "I'd—like that."
"I think Armin would like it," Annie says.
"And you?"
"There's no ruler I'd rather serve," Annie says. "But I'm tired."
Historia blinks. "If you don't want to, you are more than welcome to do some other work. I'm thinking of starting an orphanage—"
"What about a place for stray animals?" Annie questions. She ties something in Historia's hair.
"That would be wonderful," Historia says. "Annie, you're in charge of that."
"What?" Annie laughs. It's a surprisingly girlish sound. Ymir looks at Historia as if she's proud of her.
"I mean it."
"Your hair's done."
Mikasa pulls out a small mirror, handing it over. Historia examines the intricate braiding and bun. "Never mind. You're in charge of my hair."
They all laugh.
"It's not that simple," the Marlayan king snaps. "If we free our Eldians, the Marlayan people will kill them. And if they all go with you, well, you're asking people to leave the homes they've lived in all their lives. They won't want to."
Armin sits next to Annie, listening to the king debate with the queen.
"We want Zeke."
"I can't give you that," Historia says with authority. "Zeke is a danger to my people. We plan to lock him up, and you'll never have to hear about the Fritzes again."
She's handling everything quite well so far, Armin thinks. She's been calm, and Erwin's been supplying her with advice.
"Someday that might be you," Annie hisses in his ear. "Giving advice to royalty."
Armin's heart leaps. It's a dream of his. "Maybe. But in truth I've got a lot to learn."
"We've got time," Annie whispers, as if she almost can't believe it.
"And the rest of my soldiers?" the Marlayan king demands.
"I will release them to return to you, should they wish to. Eldians who want to journey to Eldia are, of course, welcome." Historia sounds as if she thinks most of them will stay, but Armin doubts it. "Zeke is the exception. For the crimes he's committed, we want him. And I'm going to have to ask for the families of three in particular: the Brauns, Hoovers, and Leonharts."
"That Kirchstein character told me you'd say that." The king, a heavyset fellow with a long, graying beard, reclines in his chair. "The Hoovers and the Brauns refused to come."
Armin inhales sharply, looking at Annie. Her eyes grow wide.
"Mr. Leonhart, however, is on my ship."
"S—are you willing to have him meet with her?" Historia questions. "His daughter is here with us." She gestures to Annie.
The king's eyes are suddenly on her, and Annie almost appears to shrink. Armin clutches her hand. You can do this. You're strong.
"Yes," the king answers. "I am." He gestures to a member of his guard, who moves to leave the cabin.
Annie rises, gripping Armin's hand as if she wants to break it. She pulls him onto the deck. Seabirds swoop and dive, calling to each other. Armin can barely breathe. Annie trembles.
Are you scared he'll reject you? Armin wonders. The little she's told him about her father hasn't been pleasant.
But he's still her father.
Like Zeke is still Eren's brother.
Armin remembers his grandfather. A lump grows in his throat.
"I wanted to return to him so much," Annie said. "But I don't even know why."
"Annie!"
A thin man races across the deck. His shabby clothes hang off him, held together by patches. He throws his arms around her. Armin steps back, watching as Annie keeps her arms by her side. "I thought—they told me you were captured!"
Annie blinks. "Cap—? No. I—I've joined Eldia, and there's a future there, after all—they have a wonderful new queen, who's my friend, and—" Annie's voice cracks.
"So it's true you're a traitor?" snaps a Marlayan guard.
Armin jumps in front of Annie. None of them were allowed to have weapons, but he'll throw his fist in that man's face if he has to.
"Back off, little Eldian," the guard says, rolling his eyes.
"We all have to grow up, and make different choices," Armin said to Annie last night, when she asked him how her reputation might affect his ambitions. "I don't care. I'd rather have people than status, and if that upsets people I can handle it." He thought of himself, how he feared Eren and Mikasa would hate him for relying on Annie. "But sometimes, people surprise you."
"I wouldn't taunt him," Annie warns. "He may be small but he's smarter than anyone on board."
"Watch your tongue!"
Mr. Leonhart grips Annie, shaking his head. "What are you—"
"You asked me to forgive you, for sending me off to be a warrior," Annie says. "Now I'm asking you to forgive me, because I couldn't do it in the end." Her voice breaks. "Maybe Eldia's future won't be long, maybe it will be, but if it isn't, I'll be happy there. I can be a good person there, and there are people who care to help me, because no one ever did in Marlay."
Mr. Leonhart's eyes flit to Armin. His face burns.
"If you want to join me—us," Annie says, swallowing. "You can." She steps back and takes Armin's hand. "If you ever were really sorry, act on it now. Don't just leave me with your words."
Armin waits, breath held. The sun bakes his hair.
"I—I love you, Annie, but—"
"Mr. Leonhart, you seems to be a man for whom the end justifies the means," Armin cuts in. "I think the same way, a lot of the time, but this journey we've been on—but if I've learned anything, I know now that life isn't that simple. Not when the means are lives like Annie. She had a nightmare last night, do you know that? I think she has them a lot." She woke up covered in sweat, stiff as a board, and Armin could only hold her, press her face against his chest until her stifled sobs dissipated and she drifted back to sleep, though he stayed awake long after.
"Armin!" Annie glares at him.
"She's worth so much to me," Armin says. "I know you don't know what Eldia is like, and I can't tell you it's a wonderful place—at least not in my experience. But I can tell you Annie will be there, with me, and isn't that enough?"
"Armin," Annie said to him when he apologized for how he couldn't fix her fear. "You are never useless."
The door to their cabin flies open. Bertolt and Reiner both jump to their feet.
Eren and Mikasa stand there. "They want you on deck," Eren says. "To prove you're alive."
Hope sparks inside Bertolt. "Our families—"
"They didn't come," Mikasa says quietly, her gaze on her scuffed boots.
Bertolt always knew this would be the case, but still, he sucks in his breath as a stab of pain cuts through his lungs. Eren's eyes follow Reiner's hand as it moves from covering his eyes to Bertolt's shoulder.
"Historia has an agreement to let Eldians leave if they want to. That, and a temporary two-month-long ceasefire," Eren adds.
"That's all?" It's progress, but it's still a blow. I'm a fool, still taken in by fairy-tales, Bertolt thinks. And he knows his family won't want to come. Ever.
And I'll never set foot in Marlay again.
"You two can leave," Mikasa says. "If you want to go back to Marlay. We can't guarantee your safety there, of course, but Historia pardoned you. That's what they're going to ask you about—where you want to go."
Eren glances at them both, his face impassive.
I don't want to go back.
I never could, Bertolt realizes. All those nights in training, when he envisioned the small house his family stayed in, tried to picture his mother cooking something, pictured himself slipping back in there as if he'd never left—it was never going to happen. Not like that.
The sunlight invades his sight, blinding him momentarily. He hears Reiner's breaths behind him.
"Grab on," Eren instructs. He grasps a rope, and grasps Bertolt. Mikasa takes Reiner, and they swing over to the deck. Bertolt lands with a thud.
Annie and—her father? It must be, Bertolt thinks. Armin stands with them.
"See?" Historia asks. "They are alive, and unharmed."
"Did they harm you?" The Marlayan king's addressing him.
Bertolt swallows, and kneels along with Reiner. "No."
"They are my subjects."
"They are Eldians, and you don't want them as your subjects," Historia says. "We've already established this."
"Very well." The Marlayan king nods.
She didn't tell, Bertolt realizes as he looks to Reiner, whose mouth opens in shock. She's really giving us a choice here. If the king doesn't know that they betrayed the Marlay, they might have a chance—no, someone will tell.
But even so, Bertolt appreciates it. There's no animosity marring Historia's face as she looks down at him and Reiner.
"We're staying," Reiner croaks out. "With the Eldians."
Bertolt's heart almost bursts in his chest. To the king?
The king snorts. "Fine." He turns to Historia. "Two months?"
"Two months," she confirms. "You will take the majority of Zeke's crew—all the Marlayans. Since Bertolt and Reiner wish to stay, that means all the Eldians are coming with us, albeit Zeke and Pieck as prisoners. Jean Kirchstein and the rest of the Eldians are vacating the Marlayan ship they took."
Pieck glowers at them from between Erwin and Ymir, both of who look as if they'd like to be rid of him. A gag lines his mouth.
"Let's go." Historia strides towards the edge of the deck. Ymir and Erwin follow. Eren grabs Bertolt again, and he's back on the still unnamed ship that, according to Ymir, they had lent to them from a merchant.
This is it. Bertolt nods at Colt, Gabi, Falco, Udo, and Zofia. They look as terrified as Bertolt feels. Colt clutches Falco's shoulders; Falco holds Gabi's hand. Udo cries, tears streaming down his face, and yet he still chose to go. He wipes his glasses on his shirt.
Goodbye, Marlay.
Bertolt turns to Eren, ready to ask if they should just head back down to their cabin, when a crack splits the air.
A gunshot.
Bertolt throws himself down, hands flying up.
A splash echoes.
"Erwin!" screams Eren, rushing towards the rail. Across, on board the Marlayan ship, Bertolt sees two Marlayan guards wrestling Pieck down. Historia stumbles, as if she's going to faint. Mikasa has her sword out, ready to protect her queen, and Reiner too—Reiner adopts a protective stance, in front of Historia.
Bertolt hurtles towards the rail, looking down at the water. Ripples and something magenta spill across the surface. Where is Levi?
"I'll go in," Armin shouts, tearing for the rail, and Bertolt can't let him do it—Armin probably barely knows how to swim, if at all.
"I can do it," Bertolt yells. The wind steals his words, and Annie's rushing as if she's about to jump in, too.
Bertolt doesn't have time to speak again. He dives in.