So I've been really into AoT quite a bit recently and this is a story that's swum around my head. So here it is. I've got a few chapters written up, to make up for my really slow update times. To anyone here from my other story, Fortune's Wheel, I am very sorry about that. I'm almost done with the latest chapter and I'll do my best to have that up soon.
With all that out of the way...I hope you like what you read.
Feedback is always appreciated.
xoxo
MorningWhispers
Her lashes twitched as her lids began to open, revealing her hazel eyes to the world. Before they could take in the surroundings, her body lurched upward and a series of coughs tore from her lips. After a moment she forced herself to calm her irritated throat, in the midst of this her eyes scanned her new surroundings.
No longer was she trapped underground. She lay in a small clearing of woods, a lush and green landscape. Sunlight peaked through the canopy, though from it she could not distinguish the time of day.
Instantly visions of memories swarmed through her head and as she had noted in her surroundings…she was alone.
Where were her sisters?
Panic rushed through her body as she hobbled onto her feet. She had to find them. While the circumstances of how she came to this new location eluded her, whatever danger that might awry could best be handled by the sisters together. For as long as they remained divided, so was their power.
Her hands tore through branches as she trudged over bushes to find some path. Blonde wisps fell on to her face, as a result of her barrette becoming loose. She broke through the thicket. While she still remained in a forest, at least she was on some sort of path. While it was a simple dirt road, it was mostly clear of trees and rocks.
She started down the path, eager to find some sort of civilization. From there, she'd search for her sisters. Not a moment on the path, something emerged into her view. They started as specs in the distance, then they steadily grew larger. A thundering sound preceded their arrival.
There was an ominous presence about them, as such the woman didn't think twice about running back into the forest. Hopefully, they had failed to seen her, she thought.
While the direction she had previously come from was flat, the other side of the path was a straight drop into a small ravine. Her feet fell out from beneath her at the steep incline. Jagged rocks dug into her body on her descent, which ended in her falling on to her side. But not before her head collided with one more rock. Her vision quickly became hazy, and try as she might to remain conscious it was a losing battle. Her hearing remained intact for a short while after her eyes shut.
The last thing she heard was the galloping of horses.
When she woke up again her setting had changed once again. This time instead of tree canopy overhead, there was a cloth. A tent of sorts. One with a desk and various trunks strewn about.
Her head ached as she looked about. She wanted to reach up and soothe the pain, but discovered her hands tightly bound in rope.
Before any thoughts of escape could be conjured, several figures strode into the tent. They were dressed in uniform, a sort of military fashion. However, the style was nothing like she had seen before. Over a dozen straps covered their bodies, and jackets were a bizarre short length. Stopping right beneath the breast.
Despite their strange fashion, the woman instead had to think about the individuals themselves. Three men and a woman had entered the tent, their eyes glued to her figure. Her muscles tensed defensively.
"Ah, She's awake!" The woman exclaimed, making a stupidly obvious observation. The brunette ran over to her, her eyes hungrily scanning up and down her body. Her fingers reached out and ran over her shoulder, tracing the pattern of her tattoo. The woman flinched at her touch and didn't hesitate to push her away.
'Personal space! Ever heard of it?!' She thought, her narrow in annoyance. The brunette made no attempt to stop the act, as it caught her off guard. She fell back onto her rear with a hard 'thud'.
As quickly as everything had happened, the woman found herself pinned onto the floor. A knee dug into her breast painfully as her bound hands were pressed up against her own neck. Pressure was applied to her neck and putting a strain on her breathing.
It was only after she was in this position that she could look at her attacker. One of the men who had entered the tent. His eyes were like daggers as they looked down on the woman beneath him. They were the same color as steel and felt just as cold as the material. His dark hair and eyes contrasted against his pale skin. Between all the individuals in the tent, this man had a completely different vibe. He was dangerous, even to someone like her.
"Don't forget yourself, brat" He warned pressing harder into her hands, thereby chocking her for a moment.
The brunette intervened, "Come on, Levi. I had that one coming"
She pushed herself back onto her feet and pulled the man back from the woman. The blonde gently rugged her neck and refilled her lungs with air once again. The brunette looked remorseful and lowered her gaze, "Sorry for the intrusion, I lost myself in excitement"
"I didn't mean for things to start out like this. Can you tell us anything, and everything about what led up to discovering you out here. Maybe starting with your name" This woman was by no means trying to beat around the bush. While she had given the blonde some space, but was still eager to extract as much information from her.
A thought came to mind before she thought of her response…a gamble really. It was a crazy idea, but she had this hunch it would work.
"Donde esta la biblioteca" She finally replied, a simple Spanish phrase she had picked up from school. She wagered they were at least unfamiliar with the language and that would buy her some time. She didn't expect them to be completely blindsided by her words, like they couldn't even recognize it. She decided to press on and further their confusion. (Where is the library)
"You quiero comer papas fritas. Nunca esta inglaterra. Cual es perros….aqui" She said as fluidly as possible, being such to add a thick accent with her words. (I want to eat French fries. Never is there England. How are dogs…here")
At their blank stares, the woman forced her face to be still. Internally she was grinning ear to ear. How could this interrogation go with a language barrier…it wouldn't.
"I don't know what she was just saying" The brunette said in disappointment.
"Were those even words" The dark haired man, known as Levi, added.
"It seems she speaks a different language" Another man surmised, tucking his hand under his chin.
"This will put a hold on gathering information for the time being…until we can decipher a means to understand her" From his manner of speaking, the woman gathered that he was the head honcho. And his words only further comforted the woman, he had given her the time she so desperately needed.
"Wait, Erwin" The brunette pleaded, much to the blonde's irritation.
She knelt down in front of the woman, her brown eyes steady and calm. They held a reassurance that comforted the woman. She pointed a finger towards her own chest and spoke the word, "Hange".
'Hange? Is that supposed to mean something to me?'
The brunette noted the woman's confusion via her furrowed brows. She repeated the action and word again, before doing the same to her dark haired colleague. Except this time she used his name, "Levi".
The woman's expression change as she realized the brunette's actions. She was conveying their names. At this understanding the woman silently berated herself for being so dense.
She didn't want to give them any information if she could help it, even if it was just her name. But they had all seen her face come to realization; it was unavoidable at this point. Utilizing a fake name would have been more trouble while she remained in their 'care'.
Before she answered, she mentally practice the thick accent from her spiel earlier. She pursed her lips and made sure to enunciate, " .Ah".
"Lydia" Hange repeated back, and slight nod confirmed the answer.
The leader observed the scene with cold and analytic eyes, "Good work Hange, we'll continue back at headquarters".
"Sir, we aren't due back for another two weeks. Do you mean to keep her bound during that time" Hange inquired, spinning to face her superior.
"No, we'll be returning early. This discovery takes presentence over our other objectives. Whoever she is, has an importance to be noted for humanity" He explained, his words giving slight worry to Lydia.
She surmised that wherever headquarters would be, they would continue with the interview in just a few days. Her Spanish vocabulary was so limited, she couldn't keep the act up for long at all. The need to escape became even more urgent.
The soldiers exchanged a few more words between themselves before filing out of the tent. Hange gave one more comforting smile to the blonde, which was reciprocated. The last to leave was the one who assaulted her. He glanced over, and the smile intended for Hange was replaced with an icy glare. It did little to phase him, his expression blank as he left the tent.
Now that she was alone, the work of escaping came about. She hiked her legs up, against her chest. This position hid her hands while she undid the bindings. She looked down at the intricate knot as it slowly started to unravel itself. Her brows furrowed as she concentrating on loosening the rope. Initially her work only tightened the constraints, but after a few minutes they eased up. The material slid off her wrists.
Lydia stood and glanced over to the entrance of the tent, taking care to notice the guard positioned outside. Security was light. Did they underestimate her because of the concussion she suffered earlier, or for the fact that she was a woman. Either way it worked to her advantage.
She looked for something to help get past the guard without injuring him too much. Lydia found a candlestick lingering on the table, it was perfect. In an instant it flew across the room and into her hand. Her fingers wrapped around the handle tightly and removed the mostly melted candle. Before she set her plan into motion, she needed a map. As soon as her eyes found some geographical paper it flew into her hand just the candle had. She tucked the parchment into the back of her jeans before getting to work.
She poised herself right behind her unsuspecting guard. A silent apology passed through her mind before striking the back of his head. His body slumped forward, but Lydia caught him before he fell to the ground. She struggled to hold him up and quickly searched for something to prop him up. A chair found its way into her field of vision. It scrapped against the ground as it came to be beside her. Lydia plopped the man onto the seat and removed his cloak. She fastened the green fabric around her shoulders and scampered off into the shadows of the campsite.
Her eyes searched for any means of escape desperately. She didn't know how many soldiers surrounded her, or how much time would pass till they'd notice her unconscious guard. She found a pack of horses hitched along a fence. She was hesitant at that option, however it seemed like the only one with them beings days away from the nearest city.
Hopefully those equestrian lessons from middle school would pay off.
The horses were out in the open, Lydia wouldn't be able to hide in the shadows. She mustered all her courage and hoisted the hood of the cloak over her head. She tried to hastily walk towards them without rousing suspicion. As she made her way, she could help but notice how distracted the soldiers were. It should be obvious she didn't belong, she had dark blue jeans contrasting against the white trousers everyone donned.
What was the source of their attention? And why were they out in the woods to begin with?
So many questions plagued her anxious mind, but the answers had to wait. She was only concerned with finding her sisters.
When Lydia finally reached the horses she had to sift through them to find one that could temper her. Her eyes fell on a grey mare down the end and walked over to her. Her hand stretched out and hesitantly brushed against her face, wishing she had some sort of food to entice the creature. But, the mare didn't hesitate to give her a reassuring lick.
Lydia felt confident in her choice with the action and worked to untether the creature from the fence. As she went to hoist herself up onto the saddle, fear swarmed through her core. It had been so long since she'd done this.
"Hey You!" Someone cried, suddenly forcing her fears to evaporate. Her leg swung over the saddled and squeezed her legs against the horse. The speed at which the horse took off was astounding. Lydia felt some whiplash at the impact; she was surprised such a gentle mare had such agility.
She forced her amazement aside and focused instead on eluding her captors. Her legs held tight against the creature and she heard thundering hoof prints behind her. Even though she had been caught in the act of escaping, she had a lead on them. She glanced back and saw only a couple trailing after her, her thoughts went to how to lose her pursers.
Any plans of thwarting them dashed when she glanced over to her side. She saw the furious face of the last soldier she wanted to see, Levi. He was quickly gaining on her. Lydia thought she had caught them off guard with her sudden escape, how in the world did he manage to catch up to her so fast.
Scratch that. It didn't matter how—she needed to figure out how to get away from him. The plan instantly painted across her mind and before she could give it more thought her finger unfastened her cloak.
He was just about to reach her when she threw the cloak in his face. His sight was obscured for a moment before he ripped the fabric from his face. By that point she had finished. In those few seconds her eyes had trained on the buckle of his saddle, and with little effort unfastened it. She watched with immense satisfaction as his figure dipped over the side of his horse and to the ground.
Now onto the pursers…not. There was always a constant stream of interruptions in her life.
But this one was by far the most horrifying.
One minute the path was clear. She was teetering on the edge of the forest, about to delve in as an attempt to further her escape. Then something fell through the tree line and into her path. The mare couldn't stop fast enough and tripped over her legs. Lydia lost her grip and fell onto the ground, and her horse followed after her. While her legs were trapped under the creature, she looked to the source of the collision.
Wide, unblinking eyes stared at her soullessly. These eyes were giant as was the body they belonged to. Lydia couldn't even begin to fathom what kind of creature this was, and she thought she was well versed with all variants of magical beings.
It couldn't be a giant—they'd been extinct for centuries. A troll? Perhaps a mutated one. No it looked too human.
The questions that flew threw her mind distracted her from the monster. She was reeled back to reality as it pushed the horse off of her. Lydia couldn't move fast enough to escape its heated grasp. It lifted her off the ground and stood tall once more. She watched in horror as its mouth stretch to immeasurable distance and moved her to its wet cavern. Close to the monster's lips, she tried to break free once more.
Lydia knew she was good as dead. Even with her power, the creature's size and strength was too immense to break free from. At best she could buy herself an extra moment at life. But she had to take that opportunity…for her sisters. Wherever they were in the world, she had to take every chance to live to see them.
Even if it was fruitless, she had to try.
Her brows furrowed with her concentration. The monster quivered and tried to fight her off. It was immobilized, but only for so long. The blood was rushing to her head as she refused to yield. She could feel that blood begin to seep out from her nose. Inch by inch, the beast was gaining. Her strength was fading.
In the midst of her fight, a metal sound rang out. A series of similar sounds followed, what they were Lydia could not decipher. As her power failed, the creature regained its will. Only it no longer continued the act. Instead his hand fell, and with it released the grip on the woman.
She fell, from dozens of feet in the air. She anticipated a broken leg, or two. Instead she found herself secured by a pair of strong arms. The motion of their descent was no ordinary fall, it was controlled and propelled in different directions. Lydia never felt greater relief as to when her feet returned to the ground. Levi's hold on her release, and she dropped. She wasn't bothered by the action, but was stunned by the events that had transpired.
As she watched the creature's body by consumed by a cloud of steam. In this moment she forgot her earlier act and the words fell from her lips quicker than she realized, "What the hell"
"What was that" Levi asked, only when he said anything did she realize her error. While she was relieved to have escaped that beast, she found herself in even greater danger.
Lydia hoped she could fool him once more, "Quiero Taco Bell".
She never hated herself more in that moment. Not only had she recited some dumb commercial, she had said it so meekly and void of any former accent. There was no more deceiving this man.
All the hostility from the events leading up to this moment was about to be unleashed on her. Levi knelt beside the blonde and pulled her arm behind her back. His other arm wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her into him. Her arm was twisted so painfully, she couldn't help but let out a cry at the pain he inflicted.
"You'd better be in a mood to speak, and not with those pretend words" He hissed, jerking her arm. Threatening to break her limb. The tears began to pool in her eyes, but she willed them not to fall. He wouldn't get that from her.
"Fine"