Eren blinked, opening his eyes to the shining sun once more. The familiar feeling of a dream combined with reality told him where he was. Back inside his mind, where he talked to the old king. Looking around, he didn't see Reiss anywhere though. And the wall was gone. He was standing on the ground, plains of grass under his feet stretching as far as he could see. The absence of the man who brought him here in the first place however, made him question how he got here. His query got answered, when he spotted a giant figure sitting in the distance.

The Attack titan was gazing at the ocean, the setting sun illuminating his figure. Eren approached him, and after some thought, decided to sit down next to him, looking at the water too. They didn't talk, the silence falling over them like a blanket. Eren didn't know why he was brought here, for what reason has the giant decided to drag him back into this piece of his mind, but he didn't complain. He had some questions of his own. His patience got rewarded when the titan turned his head to look at him, deep rumbling in his chest signaling that the time for asking has come. All right, lets start with the obvious thing.

"Why are you the only one here? Where is Reiss? And shouldn't the Warhammer be here too? "

The Attack titan simply shrugged his giant shoulders. Right. Seems like that even his alter-ego didn't have all the answers.

"You heard Hange talking about the curse, didn't you? "

The titan nodded.

"Seems like we might be stuck together far longer than either of us expected to. "

He grumbled again, but this time Eren felt a wave of happiness wash over him.

"Yeah buddy, I love you too. "

The giant chuckled, turning back towards the ocean. Eren let his gaze follow, feeling content. With Reiss gone, his mind was finally becoming a place of peace once more. The Attack titan had a strong hold over it, and he was acting like a friend. Perhaps he truly was one. As they sat, the sun slowly disappeared beyond the horizon, shrouding the plain in darkness. Eren felt him body starting to dissipate, signaling the end of his visit. He held out a fist, turning towards his titan. The monstrous fifteen meters tall being looked at him in surprise, brows furrowing, before he extended his own massive fist, gently bumping it into Eren's. As his body completely disappeared, the last thing the shifter felt was a great amusement.

He woke, his body still laying in the cot where he fell asleep, a smile spread on his face. Unable to visit the dreamland again, he spent the rest of his night listening to Mikasa's breathing and stroking her hair.

It felt alien, coming back to Marley. Historia told them the truth when she said that the visit is of highest importance. It took her just three days, assembling the envoy and preparing a ship. It was a single vessel, one of those that Magath used to bring the invading army to Paradis. The group selected to come was small. Historia, Armin, Eren, Mikasa, Connie, Jean, Sasha and Hange. They were accompanied by an honor guard for the queen. The last cabin was filled by prisoners, a few picked individuals to be returned to Marley as a bargaining chip. Amongst them was the cart titan, Pieck. Armin strongly disagreed with Historia's decision to return her, but she was adamant.

"Giving back their only remaining shifter will make us look good in their eyes, and that's what we need now. We need to prove that we are no devils. "

The general grumbled but surrendered. She was the higher authority after all. The journey itself was quite pleasant, mostly filled with talking about the war. Eren asked about the time they spent separated with Mikasa. She told him that her and Sasha spent most of it hiding in the woods, because Magath deployed a considerable number of squads to try and flush them out. They were wiped out to the last man.

As soon as they reached the shore, they were surrounded by soldiers. After a few quick words from the queen, they were escorted into a building and kept under tight guard. No one tried to put them in jail yet, so it was going much better then expected. Eren didn't know how long they waited. But in the end an escort came and brought them into a room with a bunch of important looking guys sitting around a table. Historia immediately went and sat down herself, not waiting for any kind of invitation. Following her lead, the rest of the envoy took their seats, facing the officials. The one with most medals pinned to his chest cleared his throat.

"Greetings, what are the terms of your surrender? "

To everyone's surprise, Historia started laughing.

"Surrender? What are you talking about? "

"Well, since you requested a meeting, we thought… "

"We whooped your ass, Marley boy, why would we surrender? "

Eren cringed a little bit, this negotiation won't go very smoothly if she keeps talking like that.

"You have defeated but a tiny part of our military might, queen. Rest assured that we are more then ready to deploy a new army to
wipe you out if you do not surrender. "

"Oh, you could do that. ", the queen wasn't losing her cheery attitude, "You can attack us again, and most likely defeat us in the end. But at what cost? "

"What do you mean by that? ", asked the official, his voice wary.

"Well, as you certainly know by now, we posses all of the titans, with exception of the Cart, which we graciously returned as a sign of our goodwill. We have a hardened army of veterans, technology developed beyond your dreams and the perfect knowledge of the terrain we will be fighting in. "

Yea, she was exaggerating. A lot. Their army was smashed into pieces. They controlled just four of the titans, with three of them being fused in Eren. And their technology was still far beyond the one used in Marley. But sometimes you just had to bet on an uncertain card in politics, and she was going all in.

The official gulped, looking on the other members of his group with wide eyes. They were scared, Historia could almost smell it. But she can't spook them too much, she wasn't here to start another war, but to prevent one.

"But fighting us is just one of your options. ", she said, leaning forward, trying to appear friendly. "There are others, much more profitable for us both. "

"What do you propose then? "

"An alliance. "

"You can't be serious. ", his eyes almost popped out of his head, "An alliance with the devils? "

"Oh, but I very much am. Let's lay the facts on the table, shall we? ", she leaned backwards in her chair, a smug smile on her face, "Paradis has very vast resources, and you want those. Now don't look so surprised, did you really think that we are stupid enough to believe you would invade us just because of our past? There are huge profits hidden on that tiny island of ours. On the other hand, we are small. And we have no connection to the outside world. So, this is what I propose. We will open trade negations for our materials, selling them to you at a very good price. In exchange, you will give us protection, and access to other states. "

"If we are so much stronger then you, we could just take the stuff. "

"You could try. And while you would most likely succeed in the end, it would cost you. We are very good at making an invading army bleed out men and resources. So, you want to take the risk? You will end up weakened, and very rich at the same time. Are you completely sure that no other state will take advantage of that? "

There was a bead of sweat slowly rolling down the diplomat's brow. Eren knew that Historia struck a raw nerve. Marley may appear all-mighty to their tiny island, but in comparison to other huge states out there, they weren't as strong as they wanted to appear. They couldn't afford another war, especially now, when they lost their titans and a portion of their soldiers.

"There is one more condition. ", Historia said, "Any Eldian family from Marley that wishes to come and live in Paradis will be allowed to do it. Our alliance will be one of symbiosis, we are not a master and servant, we are partners. "

The official gulped again, "We need to discuss this. "

Historia stood, nodding.

"I expect your answer very soon. ", she said, and left the room, followed by the rest of her envoy.

It took them about an hour, before a man came to fetch them. The officials were in the same positions as they were, with the leader standing up when they entered, extending his hand.

"We accept. "

Another three days were spent in Marley, finishing up details of the deal. That usually meant Armin and Historia being closed in a room with the politicians, trying to tear each other to pieces with diplomatic terms. For Eren and the rest of the crew, it meant three days of free exploration of the city. They were kept under guard, but the men ghosting them were easy to ignore. Now that he wasn't here as a destroyer, he was forced to agree that the city was beautiful. Lively streets, open shops, tons of people going after their business. To them, the war never happened. On the morning of the third day, Mikasa woke to find Eren slipping out of the room they shared, trying to appear as sneaky as possible.

"And where do you think you are going? "

"Just need to take a walk, go back to sleep. ", he said, trying hard not to look suspicious.

"You are not getting in any kind of trouble, are you? "¸she asked, eyes narrowing.

He sighed, walking over to their bed and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"I'll be fine, I swear. There is just something I need to do. "

She nodded, relaxing a bit, and laid down, closing her eyes. Eren returned in about an hour, offering no explanation and acting like nothing happened. She thought about forcing the answer out of the soldier that was escorting him but decided against it. He will tell her in time. If they are to share a life together, she needs to give him some space. Eren's prolonged lifespan still felt like a miracle to her. His approaching death pained her greatly, and while she came to terms with it, it felt like a dagger in her heart. When Hange told them about the cleansing, she had to fight to keep tears of happiness from rolling down her cheeks.

When the deal was done and signed by both sides, they prepared to leave. The ship was waiting in the harbor as usual, only now it was accompanied by a group of other vessels, all aiming for Paradis. Some Eldian families, hearing about the treaty, packed up and left for the island. There weren't too many of them, but that was hardly surprising. After all, this was very new. To treat the people over the sea not like devils, but like their kin? It will be a slow process, but Historia was convinced that in the end it will be a successful one.

Back on the boat, heading back home, Eren wrapped his arms around Mikasa's waist, staring into the distance. With this done, there was a last thing he needed to do.

One last thing.