Chapter Two
Elections
The sirens blared for 10 minutes, not stopping for a single second. Eren and Grisha managed to find Carla within the crowds, clinging to her husband as her eyes were stained from all the crying. In the bombarded crowd, everyone hurried their way to the centre of Shiganshina, where a stadium stood tall like a live theatre performance. Everyone was nearly walking on top of each other, the babies crying in distance and some children were separated from their families. As the Yeager family almost makes it to centre coming from a side street, Eren froze to see someone out of the ordinary. A soldier from the world outside the walls.
Wearing nude toned armour, a crest of a star imprinted on the chest. It was quite off-putting. What was most disturbing was the helmet, shielding over the person's face with a demonic creature like shape. The soldier held a gun, smacking someone in the head with it to hurry to the ceremony. The person smacked was a little girl of 9 years old, how disgraceful. Then Eren noticed the soldier lifted its head, staring right back at him for a brief moment, the tension beginning to boil.
"Eren, stay close." Grisha tugged his son's sleeve to his jacket, struggling as men and women are trying to get past between them.
Doing what he was told, although secretly wanting to start on the soldier, Eren followed his parents. They stand by a chapel, huddled close as there wasn't enough room to stand apart.
The sirens stopped just as many soldiers from all the towns stood by the ends of the side streets to enclose the crowd, not giving them the choice to leave. At this point, Eren's ears were ringing like mad. Unable to hear the parents asking their children to stop crying, that everything will be ok, that they won't be chosen. The Yeager Family were quiet. Eren felt his hand was touched, he looked down and saw his mother holding it tightly, making Eren step to the other side of her. She then cried into her husbands chest, struggling to cope. How traumatic is the Titan Games?
"Helloooo, everyone." A voice cooed in the microphone, booming the speakers across the district as it frightened the folk.
All eyes moved to the stage. A woman, waving wearily at the crowds. Carla covered her mouth, muttering Grisha's name as he whispered calmly for her to settle down. Eren squinted his eyes, trying to make out this figure on the stadium.
"My name... Is Yelena Tootan..." She chuckled, bowing down to the folk in a grand gesture.
Yelena is a very tall woman with her blonde hair styled in a short bob with straight bangs. She has large black eyes, thick eyelashes and somewhat androgynous features due to her build and style. She tried her best to sound welcoming, but Eren took it as pure mockery.
"I hope all of you... are ready for another, long awaited event of the Titan Games!" Yelena beamed, extending her arms wide to the crowd, pretending as if she was ready for the crowd to cheer in excitement. "Now, now.. don't be scared. Only three candidates are chosen You just hope they better win, am I right?"
Yelena chuckled into the mike, a dead like chuckle because it was nothing to be funny about.
"Tough crowd.." Yelena smirked, "It's alright. We understand how nerve-racking this must be... We sincerely hope, you'll get through this along with the 12 other districts taking part. Now! The candidates have already been picked by the Queen of the Walls Freida Reiss... She... has written their names..."
Wiping out a black envelope from her blazer pocket, waving it to the side like a lucky ticket Yelena continued, "Right here!"
More silence, and more torture for the people of Shiganshina. Now was the time to reveal these candidates. Carla grabbed Eren's hand tighter, squeezing it for dear life. Eren suddenly felt everything was becoming more real as he could hear through the speakers the envelop starting to get ripped open by Yelena as she explained,
"Now.. as some may know. It does not matter what age or gender are elected... You have been chosen by the power of the paths. Meaning, it is with great honour to serve your district and your queen of Paradis."
Eren watched the white piece of paper slip out of the black envelope as the it was tossed to the ground. In silence... The woman grinned at the names on the paper, speaking in a commentating tone;
"Our first subject... ARMIN ARLERT!"
The crowds started to shift, forming a open space of a young man fearfully on the spot. Eren couldn't believe it, for he had seen that guy on multiple occasions around his parents workshop. Armin has a boyish face, with large standing sky blue eyes and a small pointed nose which is always distinctly a bit red. His blond hair is styled in a short undercut with bangs over his entire forehead. Armin has noticeable defined eyebrows and sideburns, indicating his age that was similar to Eren's. Quite a smallish frame, the guy stared up to the stage at Yelena on what to do.
"COME FORTH, GREAT SUBJECT OF YMIR!"
Two soldiers broke their way through the crowds, grabbing Armin by the arms and forced him up the stage. He didn't speak with his mouth, but his body looked as if he wanted to run away. When the soldiers reached the steps of the stage, they tossed Armin forcefully on them. Eren frowned, thinking that if it was so great to be chosen, why did they have to treat the poor guy like dirt? Armin stumbled up the steps, met with Yelena as she takes his hand and makes him stand on the front right of the stage. His face looked petrified, close to having a panic attack as he struggled to breath standing there. Yelena returned to the centre stage,
"Alright... next.. We have..." Yelena stared into the page, arching her brow in a impressive manner, "My, my.. this will be one eventful game indeed... MIKASA ACKERMAN!"
"NO MY SWEET GIRL!" A woman cried from the front of the stage. "THIS IS FIXED!"
Eren tried to find the next candidate, stopping when he spots the girl making her way to the stage.
Unlike before, the person happened to be already at the front of the crowd, without being guided. She walked to the steps quietly. Unlike Armin, Mikasa when she went on the stage was still. Her eyes barely looking at Yelena as the woman takes her to the top right of the stage. Another candidate who was close to the similar age as the Eren. A fairly tall and well-toned woman. She is of partial Asian heritage, with pale skin, gray eyes, and shaggy black hair to her shoulders as her fringe wore over her face. Eren could read she didn't look scared or happy to be there. Though it was obvious her mother was devastated begging,
"PLEASE DON'T TAKE HER! SHE'S MY DAUGHTER! PLEASE! I'LL TAKE HER PLACE.! I VOLUNTEER, PLEASE TAKE ME INSTEAD!"
"My dear, volunteers are not permitted..." Yelena sighed, pretending to be sad, "If you are chosen by the queen... You cannot escape this."
"MIKASA! I LOVE YOU MY DARLING! PLEASE WIN! PLEASE WIN FOR OUR SAKE! COME BACK HOME!" The mother cried, hushed by the husband as he cried in her neck for her to stop or they'll get punished.
Mikasa, standing at the corner turned her head, revealing some emotion as she tried to hold back the tears by closing her eyes tight and tilting her head back to the sky for the tears run down her cheek. Once she recomposed herself for a moment, she remained still again. Eren looked at both Armin and Mikasa, saddened by the pairs fate. It really was unfair.
Yelena rolled her eyes, returning to the centre stage and began to eye a lot of the faces within the crowd. She wondered who will be next to stand here, before return back to Marley. Dead and dark hues returned to face the last name written on the paper, raising them back up as she announced.
"Our third and final subject of Ymir representing Shiganshina District is... EREN YEAGER!"
"What.." Eren froze, his heart dropped along with his gut.
"EREN NO!" Carla exclaimed, grabbing onto her son.
Grisha does the same, the couple holding onto Eren for his dear life before soldiers ripped the son off their grasp. A soldier crushed Eren to start moving, a path now made by the crowds guiding him to the stage. Everything felt numb, for a moment, he felt inclined to move. But he stopped, his instinct rejecting this concept as he roared to Yelena,
"NO! THIS IS WRONG! IF YOU THINK I AM TAKING PART IN THIS, YOU CAN GO FUCK YOURSELF!"
Not the wisest choice, a soldier punched him in the face and body slammed Eren to the floor. The other soldier grabbing him also and began to drag Eren across the stoned pebbled ground. Eren was trying to regain focus from the blow, only able to hear his mother crying his name and tries to turn back to look at her.
"Oh, I like your energy Yeager." Yelena arched her brow, impressed with his outburst. "Though unfortunately, there is no other option. Unless..."
Eren, now dragged up the steps, feeling each step hit against his knees and was tossed across the stage in front of Yelena. The tall deranged woman had the microphone in her head, kneeling down to Eren. His eyes met with hers with venom as she playfully warned;
"You want this district to get wiped clean by titans before even given these lives a chance... Now, now Eren don't be selfish... You a choice to decide.. You fight.. or you all die..?"
Eren spat to his right, feeling the iron taste fill his mouth. He faced that freaky bitch, glaring at her but realised that if he did decline he would be responsible for his home to be demolished. His family...He wanted them to live. In defeat, he lowered his head unable to answer her back. But his response was plenty for the woman as she shoots back up declaring;
"AND THE MAN ACCEPTS HIS FATE! I KEEP AN EYE ON THIS ONE, LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE A FIGHTER!"
As Yelena said this, Eren was now getting dragged to the centre stage. The three candidates now standing side by side as they face the district of Shiganshina. Able to stand on his own to feet, Eren looked from left to right. Armin had tears in his eyes, unable to stop as he whimpered alone. To then Mikasa, who to his surprised had her eyes on him. For some reason, their eyes stared longer than expected before she broke away to return facing the crowd.
"MEET YOUR THREE SUBJECTS, YOUR POTENTIAL HEROES OF YOUR DISTRICT! APPLAUD FOR THEM, AND THEIR BRAVERY TO FACE THE GREAT TITAN GAMES!"
Nothing, nothing but stillness was their award to be chosen. Eren didn't want it though, his eyes searching for his parents. When he caught sight of them, he felt his eyes water when his mother had her hand out for him, still clasped into Grisha's arms but had been battered in the face as blood dripped down his mouth. Yelena backed away from the microphone, finding this utterly amusing as she twirled facing the exit of the stage and snapped her figures ordering the three;
"Common! We got places to be! Don't cry... "e don't have time for that, Arlert... You'll see your loved ones again."
Eren, Armin and Mikasa turned around, leaving the crowd behind them. Eren, his face still facing the direction of his parents but spun full attention to Yelena when she playfully giggled darkly,
"If you make it."