Happy New Year everyone! I know it's been a tough year for everyone, including myself. But today i decided to push myself into finishing this fanfic. I don't even know if anyone is interested anymore but i wanna just finish it for myself. I love writing this and will be so proud if i finish it. I appreciate any comments and feedback! I love to hear you guys are enjoying my work!

Anyways enough of my blabbing! Here's chapter 13 for you! ))

Levi's group had taken refuge in old man Pixis' barn, the farmer suggesting they hide out until everything had calmed down. Considering what had happened, he knew the group wouldn't be in a good state of mind and definitely not in the right mindframe to defend themselves without doing something they regret.

"I-I can't believe he's gone…" Hanji mumbled sadly, unable to come to terms that she had lost her comrade and her closest friend from her childhood. They hadn't always got along but they had always been there for each other. Levi had even beat up any bully who taunted her for her glasses or her unusual interests, like the way she would investigate certain animals or plants, sometimes taking down notes on their growth and progress, like an early day scientist. Levi didn't understand it himself and even teased her about it sometimes, but if someone else did, they were lucky to just escape with one broken rib or a broken nose, some bullies were not so lucky.

"I can't either." Erwin replied, sighing deeply. Levi was the last person he expected to die, he was the strongest out of all of them. At that castle, he single handedly freed them all, putting himself in danger and made sure everyone got out safely, even if it meant he didn't. Erwin had no idea what happened between the time he himself had escaped to when Levi ended up on that roof, but he imagined it wouldn't have been anything good. He had heard guards telling Jean that Annie had died in the flames, so he assumed he must have ran into her at some point in his last few moments.. He had always had Levi's back and Levi had his, that's how it always had been, but this time, Levi was all alone. He died alone. That made Erwin feel extremely guilty. Maybe they should have stayed with him, helped him find Eren. Hanji had mentioned Levi told her to leave and she did, he wondered if it may have been different if it was him in that position, would he have refused and helped him instead. It was a strong possibility Levi would have just pushed him out the window anyway but the thought still came to his mind. He wondered how Hanji must have been feeling, apart from Eren, she was the last person to see Levi. From the way she was acting, he couldn't help but think that maybe she felt just as guilty as he did, maybe even worse than he did.

"First Petra, now Levi." Olou mumbled, looking down at the ground with his head in his hands. "I don't think I can take this anymore. What do we even do now?"

"There's nothing we can do. It's over." Mikasa replied, seemingly emotionless. Of course she was upset, but she wasn't willing to show it. She had to be strong for her comrades. Hanji suddenly huffed and got to her feet, storming out of the barn without saying a word. The rest of the group looked to Erwin who sighed and stood up.

"I'll go." He said calmly. "Hanji!" Erwin called after her, following her out of the barn at a fast pace. "Hanji, what are you doing?" He asked, watching the female stomp off in front before stopping and groaning.

"I don't know, Erwin!" She cried, spinning round to face him and throwing her arms up in the air. "Levi is dead! Our best friend!" She had already begun to tear up at this point, her heart wrenching at the thought. "I should have gone after him, he told me to get out of there but I shouldn't have listened to him…"

"You didn't know what was going to happen." Erwin said, trying to console her.

"If it were you, would you have gone after him?" Hanji questioned with a serious look on her features. Erwin just looked at her, unable to answer. He knew the answer to that question, he would have gone after Levi, but he didn't want to tell her that. Hanji sighed, knowing his answer without even needing a reply, the look on his face said it all. "Exactly." She spun on her heels and pulled her sword from its holster, walking away from him.

"Where are you going now?" Erwin asked, once again following her closely behind.

"Back to the castle! I'll kill the bastard like I should have done yesterday." She yelled in reply, not even looking back at him.

"Hanji, you can't just march in there, you'll get killed on sight." He ran off in front of her and blocked her path, stopping her in her tracks.

"What else am I supposed to do?!" She asked angrily, glaring at him."Levi is dead and that bastard is responsible! He needs to die!" She stepped past him, only to be stopped once more by him grabbing her arm.

"Hanji stop."

"Get off me!" She yelled, trying to free her arm.

"No, i'm not letting you go out there and get yourself killed! You mean too much to m-to us!" Erwin protested, holding her close in his strong arms and tossing the sword aside.

"Erwin, I can't do this! Not without Levi!" Hanji cried, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I-I can't… He has protected me so many times and I didn't even have his back when he needed me most…" She sniffed, wiping her eyes. "I don't care what happens to me."

"But i do!" Erwin replied quickly without even thinking, making her look up into his eyes in surprise. His eyes were also teary at this point, the thought of losing her of all people terrifying him. "Please. I can't lose you too…" He begged, wrapping his arms around her and bringing her as close as humanly possible. Hanji was surprised at first, never expecting someone as calm and collected as him to hug her so tightly and be so emotional, but she wasn't about to complain. Instead, she hugged his neck and clung onto him like her life depended on it.

~X~X~X~X~

Eren hadn't left his room since Annie had practically carried him there the night before. He was unconsolable the night before, spending most of his time on his knees sobbing while servants and guards tried to put out the blazing fire. They had managed to save half of the Castle, which included Eren's room. Now, here he was, sitting on his bed, hugging his knees. He hadn't slept, which explained the huge bags on his eyes, but that was also due to how much he had been crying throughout the night. By morning, he had run out of tears and had resorted to sitting silently, staring off at nothing in particular, the memories of the night before repeating themselves in his mind. Over and over he could see Levi plummeting from the rooftop and hitting the water, he had to watch him struggle to escape the moat over and over in his mind, his heart breaking a little more each time he saw it. The man he loved was gone, he'd died right in front of him and he couldn't even do anything to help him. If Levi had just ran off with the others when he had the chance, if he hadn't gone back for him, he'd still be alive. The brunette felt like it was all his fault, like he was to blame for his fiance's death. It was bad enough he felt like he was responsible for Petra's death and now he was to blame for the death of the man he loved, the man who'd promised they'd always be together.

"We will be together forever, right Levi?"

"Of course we will…"

The Prince tugged at his hair, screaming out in frustration. How could he have let this happen? How could have lost the person he loved most in the world? He felt like his heart had been torn into little tiny pieces, pieces that would never be put back together again. Eren had lost his love… and Nottingham had lost it's hero.

~X~X~X~X~

"This is ridiculous!" Jean snapped in frustration. "What kind of King can only have half a castle?!" He slumped down in his throne, the only thing he really had left at this point that meant anything to him. He'd lost ninety percent of his wardrobe so he had limited amounts to wear, meaning he'd worn the same clothes, three days in a row. Luckily for him, the wedding had been pushed back to the following month, so he'd definitely have a wedding outfit by then.

"I apologise, Sire." Bertholt said in reply. "But considering how bad the flames were, it's not safe for you to venture into the rest of the castle."

"Not even my own bedroom?!"

"I'm afraid not." Bertoldt replied calmly, shaking his head. "But look on the bright side, Sire."

"Which is?" Jean questioned sarcastically, being unable to see any bright side to this unfortunate disaster.

"Ackerman Hood is finally dead." The brunette stated, making Prince Jean grin widely.

"Ah yes, that is the only upside to this situation." He said, letting out a dark chuckle.

"Prince Jean?" A servant called after knocking on the door to Jean's bedroom. "Eren has left his room and has asked to see you.." Jean was surprised by this news but quickly got up and followed Bertolt's lead down into the dining room where Eren was waiting.

"Well look who finally got out of bed~" Jean said smugly, grinning in Eren's direction. Eren merely bit his lip and looked away from the other. "What do you want?"

"It's about the wedding." Eren explained, staring out the window as he spoke.

"Oh?" Jean raised an eyebrow, this definitely piqued his interest.

"Perhaps we should bring it forward?." The prince said slowly, finally turning head to look at Jean.

"Forward?" Jean repeated with a puzzled look on his features. "Are we suddenly growing impatient, dear?"

"I just don't see the point in delaying it till next month." Eren mumbled, shrugging his shoulders. He managed to shrug off the shudder that threatened to sweep through him at being called a pet name by the likes of him. "We could have everything ready by next week."

"My thoughts exactly." He chimed, an even bigger grin tugging at his lips. "Bertoldt! We need to get everything organised! We need to throw a big engagement party!" Bertoldt nodded and began to make his way to the servants to let them know when Eren called out.

"Wait!" Both Jean and Bertoldt stopped to look at him. Eren sighed and looked towards them both. "I have one condition."

"What is it?" Jean questioned, folding his arms.

"You pardon Levi and his group." Eren said calmly, looking back at Jean seriously. "You have to give me your word that no harm comes to them." Jean chuckled faintly and stepped closer to him.

"My darling fiance..." He took hold of his chin and kissed him gently. The urge for Eren to pull away was unbearable but he needed to do this in order to make things right. Plus once he was married to Jean, he could have some say in stopping the ridiculous taxes and cruelty upon his people. "You have my word." Jean purred.

~X~X~X~X~

Armin had been travelling for days, only stopping once to rest the horse in that whole time. He was terrified for his friend and the others he had come to call his friends, including Levi. He wasn't even sure how far he'd gone but he knew he was going in the right direction for London. Armin was smart, which was very helpful in this situation. The rain poured as he galloped through a forest, dodging trees and bushes as he went. Even though he was scared, he kept pushing on. He was physically exhausted, having not slept since he had left. Because of this reason, his reflexes weren't on point, so when the horse spooked at a deer crossing their path, Armin was thrown from the horse and tumbled to the ground with a whimper. He lay on his front, covered in mud and began to cry.

"I can't…" He cried softly, not having the energy to push himself up off the dirty ground. "I'm not strong enough. I'm sorry, Eren...I've failed you." The horse moved towards Armin and nuzzled him softly as if checking he was alright. The blond finally struggled into a sitting position, sighing in defeat at the state of his clothes. "Look at me...I'm not good enough to be by Eren's side." He had no idea why Eren trusted him so much and why Krista saw him as the one to convince the King. But both she and Eren saw something in him, something he didn't. He hated the thought of letting them and everyone else down, it made him feel even worse than he did at that moment. He was just about to give up entirely when he heard a brass band playing making him pick his head up. It couldn't be, could it? He used the saddle of the horse to pull himself to his feet, then stepped carefully to the clearing of the forest. What he saw made him gasp in relief. There it was, right in front of him over the hills, London. "I made it." He gasped, laughing in more shock than anything. He pulled himself back onto the horse with a groan and brushed the dirt from his clothing. "Hold on, Eren. I'm coming." He said, kicking his heels and galloping across the hills and towards London town, unaware of the situation back home. He wanted to prove to Eren that he was worth trusting and was going to make sure King Grisha heard what he had to say.