"Bruce Wayne is here to see you."

"Oh!"

Historia raised her hand to her mouth in surprise.

"Already?" She asked, a little taken aback. She cast a look behind her, at the bedroom that the hotel had provided for them. Eren was laying there, resting after their long journey. He was very likely already asleep.

"He was very anxious to meet you."

"I was told that he was a very busy man…" Historia murmured, fingering her hair deep in thought. "I wasn't expecting to meet him until the party…"

She beckoned Armin, who stepped forward.

"Look after Eren for me, will you?" She asked. "I want to meet with Mr. Wayne."

"Are you sure?" Armin said, a little surprised. "On such short notice?"

"Mr. Wayne is the reason we are here, Armin." Historia reminded him, gently. "I will not keep him waiting."

"But-" Armin cast a look behind him at the door to the bedroom.

"Let him rest." Historia said.

She picked out two guards, recruits younger than she, and the woman led her down to the Hotel Lobby, where Bruce Wayne was waiting.

He stood up to meet them with a wide smile. Historia found herself taken aback. She had been warned that Bruce Wayne was a playboy and a fool, and to expect nothing but sleazy comments coming from him. She was not expecting someone so tall and imposing.

"Your Majesty." He said smoothly, as he took her hand and kissed it. She was ashamed to admit it, but she found her heart flutter a little bit.

"Mr. Wayne." She returned. "I presume?"

"The one and only." He said, smiling. "I trust your trip was pleasant?"

"Very much so." Historia said. "But the destination much more so."

He laughed.

"Oh, you've only seen the better parts of Gotham." He said. "There are a lot of problems here, trust me…"

She nodded. She had seen first hand, how following the complete extermination of the Titans on Paradise, how that had not necessarily eliminated all of society's problems. There were those who had been living in poverty in the interior who had no way to earn there keep, the military had had problems expanding to deal with the incoming threat of Marley's inevitable invasion, and developing the island to modern standards had proved to be quite the insurmountable challenge. She wondered what problems Gotham had, buried deep underneath the surface.

"I'm surprised to see you came alone." Wayne said. "Is The King busy?"

"The journey wore him out, I think." Historia admitted. "He was asleep when you called."

"Ah." Wayne said. "Perhaps I called a bit too early, but I was anxious to meet you both."

"I understand." Historia said. "But what is it that you wanted to meet with us about?"

"I wanted to get to know you." Bruce said. "And introduce you to my city."

He seemed very genuine, Historia thought. But she knew better than to trust him at face value. His tone and actions reminded her a lot of how her own father, Rod Reiss, had attempted to convince her to become a titan and take the Founder back from Eren. He had tried his best to make the act seem justified, even noble. The fact that she had ever considered it made her sick.

"How thoughtful of you." Historia said. "But I'm afraid I will have to decline. This is still a strange city for us, after all. I have no intention of leaving this hotel."

"As it so happens." Wayne said. "This hotel also happens to have a rather wonderful restaurant on the top floor. We can see the city without leaving the building.' He paused. "If… that's agreeable with you, that is."

Historia was torn. Her impulse would have been to say yes immediately. But the politician in her was wary. She knew so little about this new culture that, perhaps, she would be lured into some kind of uncomfortable situation.

"I'd prefer to have an escort." She said, gesturing to her bodyguards. "If you don't mind."

"Of course not." Wayne said. He bowed to her, and held out his arm. "Shall we?"

She reluctantly took it. She could feel the eyes of the staff around them following their every move. Among her own people, she and Eren were revered. Here, though, she could see that a lot of the ordinary people around her didn't know what to make of her. She supposed it was better than dealing with Marley.

"So tell me." Wayne said, as they stepped into the elevator. "I've heard stories of your island, but I am not sure which are true and which are false. Is it true that your domain is surrounded by three great walls?"

"It is." Historia told him. "Although we consider the entire island our territory."

"But what purpose do those walls serve?" Wayne asked. "Such structures are… unheard of, in this world."

Historia smiled, a little bittersweetly. This was a place that had never even heard of Titans. Explaining it to these people…. How they had been subjugated and controlled for over a hundred years, to the point of near extinction… would be difficult, if not impossible. Everyone from the outside they had met so far had asked the same question: "What is the purpose of the walls?" And every time, she had refused to answer.

"They are symbols." She said. "Of our culture."

"Oh?"

"They showcase our pacifism." She said. "Our desire to remain at peace with the outside world. They were our shield, against our greatest enemies."

"Who were these enemies?"

"Humanity."

She answered without even really thinking about the implications. Bruce's eyes widened, and she could feel his grip on her arm tighten. She had misspoken. But before he could question her further, they stepped out into the restaurant.

"Mr. Wayne… Your Majesty." The head waiter greeted them. "A pleasure to have you with us tonight, a pleasure…"

"A pleasure to be here." Historia said. The waiter sat them down and they looked at the menus. Historia looked at it, and although she had been learning the English language still found it difficult to piece together what she would like. So she asked Wayne to order for her.

"I must say." Wayne said, as the waiter took their orders. "I'm surprised your English is as good as it is."

"I've been studying daily." Historia told him. "To the best of my ability. And I've been teaching Eren…"

She stopped, perhaps a little bit awkwardly. Speaking about Eren, her husband to this man would certainly make reflect poorly on her. But if Bruce thought oddly of this pronouncement, it did not show on his face.

"I read quite a bit of those interviews you gave when you first arrived in the city." Bruce said. "All who spoke with you were rather impressed with your grace and elegant way of speech."

"I… thank you." He was trying to flatter her.

"Yet your husband the King did not speak much at all." Wayne continued. "Is he not yet fluent?"

"He is." Historia said, a little bit cautiously. "But he's not very diplomatic."

"Oh?"

Perhaps she had said too much.

"Our marriage." She explained. "Is based on emphasizing each of our strengths as rulers. I excel at domestic affairs. I handle public speeches, local policy, land distribution, and legal matters. Eren handles foreign affairs. He oversees the training of our military, and is the one who decides when we go to war. Usually, however, it is myself or his lieutenants who announce his plans to the population… or to the world at large, in this case."

"I see." Bruce said. "He is quite young to be such a… well renowned military leader."

"He is nineteen." Historia said, without thinking. Bruce gave her a surprised look, and she blushed. The average life expectancy of an Eldian, while within the walls, was below thirty. Lower if they were conscripted into the army. Considering they had purged the nobility of humanity, the traitors who had kept them oppressed from within the walls for a hundred years, nearly every figure of authority on Paradise was quite young. The outside world had noticed this, of course, but she had been informed that most thought of Eren as being considerable older than she was, rather than around the same age.

"He commands your Military at that age?"

"Yes." Historia said, thinking it best to be honest. "With absolute authority."

"And he fought his way onto the throne…" Bruce mused, aloud. "When did he start?"

It had begun when Shinganshina was attacked by the Marleyans. He had been ten years old. This was common knowledge within the walls, but it seemed that it had not yet reached the outside.

"At fifteen he joined our Survey Corps." She said. "He bore the Wings of Freedom proudly, and within less than a year we had eliminated our enemies on our island."

She sipped her drink, watching Bruce's eyes. She did not like them. He put on a air of childish, shocked interest, but she could sense a kind of dark cunning behind his eyes. She had the very strong impression she was being probed. She was aware of Wayne's political influence, but had been told that he was a bumbler and a fool. Whatever he truly was, he certainly wasn't that. She had expected him to treat be primarily interested in her, like the reporters had. But he had been asking too many questions about Paradise, and their political class, rather than herself.

The instant she came to this realization, she could see him shifting gears. He was trying to placate her suspicions.

"Forgive me if I'm being nosy." Wayne said, smiling. "But islands don't just… appear out of nowhere, you know? Suddenly there's a brand new country that I've never been too? Are all of the girls there are beautiful as you?"

She thought of Ymir.

"Yes."

"Well I'll definitely have to take a vacation on your Island some day." Bruce said. "Once you're open to visitors, that is."

"I see no reason not to take in tourists." Historia said. "But I would like to establish our country first, if you don't mind."

"Of course, of course." Wayne said quickly. They spent the rest of the meal discussing Gotham, its people, and the food. When all was said and done they stood up and faced each other.

"Well, Your Majesty, it was a pleasure meeting you." Bruce said. "And it was wonderful speaking to you about such… uh, challenging topics."

He laughed. Historia smiled at him sweetly, but inwardly she was troubled. She had not been dishonest with him about much in their conversation, but she had grown so certain that Wayne had some kind of other agenda that she was beginning to wonder whether or not she should have become more discreet.

"I hope to see you and your king at the Manor soon." Wayne said. "I'll… walk you back to your room, if you like?"

"No, I'll have my guard take me." Historia said shortly, beckoning to the girl standing just behind her. "Thank you, Mr. Wayne. Have a very pleasant evening."

She and her guard entered the elevator and returned to their own floor. Historia was already aching to discuss matters with Eren at length.

She entered their room with a sigh and looked around at the people staying in with them.

"Is Eren awake yet?" She asked.

"He is." Armin said cautiously. "But-"

He seemed to awkwardly flail his arms at her, trying to stop her as she pushed her way past him into the bedroom. She opened the door and stepped inside.

Mikasa was on top of Eren, sweat running down her body, as she bounced up and down on top of him. She had been in the middle of a moan when Historia walked into the room, but stopped mid noise to turn around and give her a dark glare.

In the past Historia might have been intimidated, but she had gotten so used to these moments like this that she barely even registered it.

"It's important, Mikasa." She said promptly, in a no-nonsense sort of way, as she moved up to them. Mikasa kept glaring at her as she walked up next to them and sat down on the bed next to Eren's head. He turned to look at her, looking almost bored.

"I spoke with Mr. Bruce Wayne of Gotham City." Historia said, much more in a rush than she usually would be. "He's a person of interest here, I think."

"I knew he would be." Eren said quietly. "His name comes up too much. I would not be surprised if he does not control this city, and everyone in it."

"I thought the same thing." Historia said. "He did not strike me as a bad person, exactly, but…" She faltered, unsure of how to put her thoughts into words. "There was something there. Under the surface."

"Hm." Eren said, as he turned to look up at Mikasa. "We will have to keep an eye on him."

Historia knew that that was her cue to leave. She stood up, nodded at Mikasa, and then made her way back to the door. She reached for the handle and was about to turn it before turning back. Mikasa hadn't even waited for her to leave the room before continuing their activities. Something about that thrilled her. For a brief moment, she let her wild side take over.

"Fuck his brains out, Mikasa!"

She opened the door and shut it behind her, smiling a little, ignoring the incredulous stares from those in the room. Several of which, she knew, were probably not aware of her unusual marriage.