Chapter 15: Suspect
Amelia's horse galloped beneath her as the squad raced out of the tunnel of Trost district into titan territory. Amelia didn't remain in her saddle for long, instead shooting up towards the buildings and keeping an eye out for any titans. She was in a spotter position for this trip, her first time doing it, since Erwin liked to keep rookies out of the position until they'd proven they could handle themselves against the titans. The spotters were paired, one less experienced member with one veteran, and one rookie further in to run horses and relay messages. Amelia didn't know what she'd done to be so lucky, but she was paired with Mike Zacharius which comforted her greatly, today was likely not the day she would die at the hands of the titans. Their rookie was a young man with short blonde hair named Henning who was a part of Zacharius' squad. With the new recruits, Amelia was the odd man out on Hange's team and one of the more experienced members at this point.
Amelia dodged the swipe of a titan's hand at the last moment, her line wrapping around its throat as she reeled back in, spinning in her harness and smashing through the nape of the titan, jarring her shoulders from the extra speed she'd accumulated on impact. Erwin had permitted both herself and Levi to field test her double belt 3DMG on this expedition and she was beyond thrilled. She was also looking forward to the opportunity to increase her ranking among the scouts. Being in a spotter position inherently offered the opportunity to come in contact with more titans, and although the thought made her blood run cold, it also made her steel herself in determination.
Mike nodded to Amelia as the titan crashed to the ground and they both swung back to their horses as they cleared the town. The flare to spread out was fired and Amelia grinned at Henning in encouragement as he swallowed nervously before she galloped off to their left. Mike was in front of her by nearly a hundred meters, far enough to be barely within sight but close enough to assist if anything should happen. They were stationed at the front left of the formation today. Hange and Keiji were the next pairing between them and the command squad. Levi's team was occupying the far right front and Amelia knew she would not see him again until they reached their checkpoint that night, well after dusk.
Training her eyes on the horizon, Milch wiped her thoughts of Levi from her mind, knowing that even a pleasant distraction could result in not only her own death but the death of her fellow scouts as well. As they rode, she found that Mike almost always saw the titans coming before she did, it was as if he had an extra sense warning him of their arrival. If it had been anyone else, she would have been offended, but Mike had a reputation of being the sharpest spotter in the entire Regiment. The few times she did catch them first, Amelia felt a warm bubbling of pride within her at her small accomplishment.
Although they had ridden this route many times before, wearing the grass thin, Amelia had never been in this area of the formation and rarely on the left side during the first portion of their journey so she found the less familiar scenery enjoyable. She knew that there would be nearly an hour of wide open spaces before the next town and that made it less likely that a titan would appear unnoticed near them. However, Amelia didn't count on the terrain becoming hillier on this side of the formation, and there were many times she lost sight of Mike and Henning, making her tense at the solitude. She couldn't imagine what it would have been like to be lost and alone in titan territory.
When a black flare shot into the sky to her right, Amelia yanked the reins on her horse, galloping as quickly as she could towards it, it must have come from Henning. When she crested the next hill, she caught sight of him trying to catch the attention of a 5-meter class titan who was heading further into the formation. Amelia breathed out a relieved sigh, grateful that he wasn't being attacked by this titan, but knowing that a deviant's behavior could change in a moment.
"I'll go for its Achilles, you get the nape once it's down," Amelia called to him, and he nodded in understanding, gripping his blades in nervous determination. Amelia's line impacted against the titan's lower leg, and her heals dug deep grooves in the earth as she swung around and back into its legs in a tornadic whirl, smashing halfway through its left leg. With a ferocious roar, the titan stumbled, crashing to the ground and Henning launched onto its back, sending a ferocious overhead swipe into its nape. He grinned at Amelia at his first kill, thrilled to have completed it without injury as he pulled himself into his horse's saddle.
"We'd better catch up with Captain Zacharius," Amelia instructed him, "You'll need to relay the information to Nifa further in."
As Henning turned towards the interior of the formation, Amelia caught up with Mike, appreciative of the fact that he'd trusted her to take care of the situation with Henning. With the speed she'd caught up to him again she was certain that he'd dropped back in order to give a hand if things had gone wrong. She gave her right arm a good roll in its socket, it was already sore from her two titan attacks. She knew that her shoulders were her weak points and though the extra speed she was afforded because of her double belt allowed her to dig deeper into titan flesh, it was also doing a number on her shoulder joints. Amelia rode up to him, intent on relaying the information.
"The variant was disposed of," she told him, and Zacharius nodded with a sniff, his eyes still sweeping the horizon. Deciding she wouldn't be given more of a response Amelia dropped back to her position. Mike was silent and foreboding when he was focused on something, it reminded her of Levi. The two were a lot alike, however their fighting styles were vastly different. Levi had an intuitiveness to his attacks that gave him incredible speed. While Zacharius was anything but slow, his assaults were more measured and relied on precision and strength rather than Levi's less accurate but equally deadly frenzy.
They were passing some farmhouses now, the landscape mostly returning to its typical flatness. Amelia and Mike alternated between shooting red flares to alert Erwin to titans well in advance any of them coming near. Amelia was quickly getting better at titan spotting, discovering that if she let her eyes gaze unfocused on the horizon, rather than sweeping from point to point, that she was able to sense their movement before they came into full view. Mike was still able to out-spot her two out of three times and she usually only caught the ones that were past her shoulder, well beyond Mike's range of vision.
When the sun finally set and they got to their checkpoint, Amelia found that her neck was aching from staring off to her left and her stomach was tied in anxious knots. She sighed, grateful she wouldn't be placed in a spotter position the next day. Sliding off her horse, Amelia led him towards their temporary stable, unsaddling him, dropping her supply bags to the ground, and brushing him down. Amelia watched as small dust clouds swirled out of his hair, rubbing her fingers across his soft nose. He looked into her eyes gratefully, his gaze deep and wise as only a horse's could be, and whinnied softly, rubbing his lips on her hand. He was the horse she'd received after the death of her first one the previous autumn, and they'd grown quite close.
"Alright Pikale," Amelia smiled, grabbing a bag of grain and hay mixture that the Survey horses ate from out of her bag which she'd refill before they left in the morning. Before she slipped the strap around his head, Amelia glanced around the stable and gave Pikale a conspiratorial look, pulling an apple out of the bag. His ears perked up and he tapped his front hoof on the ground in excitement as Amelia shushed him, slicing the apple in half with a knife that she carried inside of her jacket. Pikale munched on the offering happily, tossing his mane in delight, his soft lips tickling her palm as Amelia rubbed his neck and grinned, letting him eat his fill of the grain as well.
"Thank you for keeping me safe," Amelia told the horse, hugging him around the neck as he sniffed her hair for more apples. Returning the empty feed bag to her pack, Amelia slung it over her shoulder and headed out of the stable, glancing up at the starry sky as she gave her shoulder another experimental roll, it was still hurting her.
"You're going to make him fat," came Levi's disparaging voice, and Amelia smiled at him from his position leaning against the door to the stables.
"I doubt that any Survey horse could ever get fat." She responded, happy that he had come to find her. Amelia had not expected to have much interaction with him on their expedition. "Is everyone okay?"
"Gunther may have twisted his knee, but the rest are unharmed," he responded easily as they walked together, the fingertips of their hands occasionally brushing together as they walked. "We lost five soldiers, all new recruits."
Amelia nodded silently, unwilling to say the unspoken words of how good that ratio was compared to what it could have been. It was tragic to think that five kids lost to the horror of the titans was such a small number as to be celebrated. Though others in the Corps might react that way, Amelia knew Levi would never come close to thinking so. Every loss of life was keenly felt by him, even if he didn't show it. It was something she hadn't understood about him when she'd first met the man. Levi had no scruples about cutting losses or knowing when saving someone was no longer an option, but the burden of each life lost in the Corps was one he picked up and carried on his shoulders. It was something she loved about him.
Hooking her left index finger around the pinky of his right hand, Amelia walked beside him in contentment. Glancing at her out of the corner of his eye Levi was amazed by this outward display of affection. It had been to his surprise that she was even more tentative when it came to public displays of affection than he was. When he'd asked her why, she'd made some bullshit excuse about not wanting to compromise his authority. Levi was sure the real reason was that she was just embarrassed.
As they entered the large building in the center of the town that had become their temporary lodging, Amelia let her hand fall away from his, the loss of warmth keenly felt by both. He walked with her to the floor where her squad was staying, both of them hesitating at the open door.
"Amelia," Moblit, Hange's senior team leader, called to her in greeting, grateful to have a distraction that would cut through Hange's excited ponderings. Amelia's cheeks tinged red as many of the room's occupants turned to her. Waving back with an awkward smile, Amelia turned to Levi hesitantly, tucking her hair behind her ears.
"Goodnight Captain," Amelia told him awkwardly, trying to tune out the excited whispering among her team members whose intrigue in their relationship made no sense to her. Wishing she could do more, but too embarrassed by her squad, Amelia began to head into the room.
"Goodnight Lance Corporal," Levi responded slowly, watching as she turned to head into the room, his brow creasing with frustration. Any moment in titan territory could be the last moment that they would see each other, and Levi decided he would not be left in a situation where he would regret their last interactions.
"Mia," he called, catching her hand.
"Ye—" Amelia's response was cut off when he pulled her to him, catching the back of her head with his palm and pressing his lips to hers. Several wolf whistles came from the room behind them, but Levi didn't give a damn. Amelia's knees went weak at his passionate parting, his eyes dark but satisfied as he released her from his grasp.
"'Night, brat," he said with a smirk, turning away and disappearing down the dark hallway. Amelia stood rooted to the spot, her face flushed bright red at what had just transpired before heading into the room. She attempted to ignore the congratulatory whoops of some of the veteran members of her team, sitting down next to Hange and hiding her face in her hands. Her lips still tingled from where he had kissed her. Hange patted her on the back, looking entirely unsympathetic.
"Alright kiddos," Hange called to the group, "Lights out."
Getting to sleep was a difficult experience for the new recruits, and Amelia found herself holding a crying girl well into the night, rubbing her back comfortingly. She'd seen one of her friends eaten and Amelia knew first-hand what a terrifying experience that could be. By the time the girl finally fell asleep, the full moon had risen high above the horizon. Amelia found herself wide awake and went to sit on the windowsill, enjoying the cool night breeze playing with her long hair. She stared out across the abandoned town, she could see their night patrols walking on rooftops and shaking her head at the sorrowful state of humanity.
Tugging torn pages out of her pocket, Amelia perused Doctor Colman's musings on flight, the moonlight brightly illuminating the page. His handwriting was difficult to decipher, especially with her limited reading experience, but she was slowly making out letters and words. Amelia was especially interested in the diagram he'd partially sketched of what looked like a large sack attached to a basket. She didn't understand how he intended to make something like that fly but was certain that she'd be able to figure it out once she deciphered the writing.
Amelia sighed and rubbed her eyes at what little progress she'd made since her discovery of the journal. Glancing up she saw Henning on night patrol, his head drooping every few minutes. Tucking the journal back into her pocket Amelia swung out of her window and landed beside him. Henning jumped, shocked out of his half-sleep state and drew his knives on her before realizing she wasn't a titan.
"Lance Corporal Amelia, I um…"
"Go get some sleep Henning," Amelia told him sympathetically, knowing she wouldn't sleep for a few more hours. He nodded to her gratefully, walking back to the building as Amelia began her patrol. Night patrols were usually uneventful, especially after the first few hours of darkness, so she wasn't especially concerned. Amelia found herself exploring the yards of the larger houses, interested in this town that she'd never been to before the fall. She wondered what the people were like before they'd had to flee.
Amelia froze when a soft snoring floated through the air to reach her ears. Following the noise, Amelia was surprised to find a 7-meter class titan curled up in the garden of an estate, sleeping peacefully and lethargic from the night. Her breath caught in her throat, Amelia was about to turn and report its presence when she saw a small green shrub with white blossoms growing near its head. It was, to her great surprise, a Camellia plant, used to make tea. Against her better judgement, Amelia approached the sleeping titan with blades ready, trying to be as quiet as possible. Kneeling beside the titan's head she could feel its hot breath on her as she dug up the plant.
She was close enough to hear the titan's eyelids flicker open and she leaped back just as it jutted its neck out to grasp her in its jaws. Shooting up to the roof, Amelia knew she was only alive because of its lethargic state. As it struggled to stand, she shot her line into its nape using it to real her in faster as she spun in her harness, raking through its neck. Amelia bit down on a cry of pain as she felt her right arm rip free of its socket and she fell against its neck, titan blood soaking her jacket. She was grateful to find that the monster was dead, or she would have surely been eaten. Staggering over to the tea plant she pulled off her cloak and wrapped it gently around the shrub before beginning her walk back to their encampment to report the death of the titan.
After being reprimanded by the squad leader for taking on the titan alone, Amelia's arm was seen to and she was relieved by the next watch. When she gingerly peeled off her drying jacket, Amelia realized with sudden panic that Doctor Colman's notes had been in the pocket which had been soaked by titan blood. Reaching inside she hissed in frustration at the charred remains of the notes that crumbled in her hand. Amelia tossed the ashes into the wind in anger, heading back inside to get some sleep.
Amelia was exhausted after their week in the field, Pikale seemed to sense this and, the well-trained horse he was, followed obediently after the wagons back towards HQ. She was sore and scratched up, her hair tangled and wild and matted from sweat and grime, and her right shoulder was throbbing with pain. It didn't matter that she'd dislocated it because when it came to the titans you either defended yourself or were killed. At the expense of a second dislocation of the same shoulder and nearly doing the same to her left, Amelia had decided to defend herself when put in spotter position for a second time on their expedition. She had added three kills and four assists to her ranking, doubling her total kills and raising half of her assists on one expedition alone. Needless to say, she was completely spent.
Sliding off her horse Amelia's knees nearly buckled as she caught onto the saddle, leaning her head against Pikale's sweaty side and patting him gratefully. "I bet you're tired too boy."
She felt a supportive hand wrap around her waist, helping her pull herself back up and leaned gratefully into Levi's side. Glancing over at him, she gave him a tired smile and he looked at her with something like pride in his eyes. Amelia's heart beat faster at the thought, elated at the idea that her performance during this expedition made him feel that way about her. He began to lead her away from her horse, but she hesitated, looking back at Pikale.
"What about—"
"I already asked one of my recruits to take care of him, you should rest." He informed her, taking firmer hold of her waist and leading her towards the HQ. Frowning, as he passed the entrance, he saw a military police carriage stopped outside of it, but it wasn't unusual for the different Regiments to interact with one another. They were probably here to spout some bullshit agenda to Erwin.
Levi's assumptions were quickly disproved when they entered the barracks and found Amelia's bunk and belongings being torn apart by the military police personnel. Amelia gave a startled cry and stepped forward, causing one of the men to turn and look her up and down. Levi stepped protectively in front of her, leveling an icy glare at the man.
"Lance Corporal Amelia of the Survey Corps?" the man asked stiffly.
"What do you pampered pigs want?" Levi asked darkly, glancing at the man murderously.
"You're needed for questioning, you'll have to come with me," the man addressed her, ignoring Levi whose eyes narrowed in anger. Amelia placed a calming hand on his arm, stepping forward wearily and drawing herself up to her full, unintimidating height, staring the man directly in the eyes. She was not someone who would step back and let Levi take care of her problems for her, no matter how exhausted she was.
"I'm Lance Corporal Amelia, and I demand to know on whose authority you're tearing apart my bed, and for what reason I am needed."
"I am Major Sannes of the Military Police Brigade's First Interior Squad and as such my actions carry the full authority of the king himself, you bitch."
"Levi!" Came a sharp retort from the doorway, Erwin's command halting Levi's murderous steps towards the Major. With obvious effort, he turned to face Erwin, his eyes burning with a dark fury as he approached the Commander who whispered something in his ear. With a glance back at Amelia, Levi tore himself from the situation and left the room. Major Sannes' momentary look of triumph dissipated when Erwin walked up next to Amelia and placed a protective hand on her shoulder. Amelia's mild terror at Levi's exit was quelled with the safe shadow of Erwin looming over her. She trusted her Commander completely just as Levi did. A small crowd of scouts was beginning to gather in the doorway in curiosity.
"I am sorry we were not here to welcome you to the Survey Corps headquarters Major Sannes," Erwin told him cordially. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"
"I need to take your Lance Corporal in for questioning under suspicion of conspiracy with traitors against his majesty the King." Sannes retorted sharply and Amelia started in surprise, having certainly not expected that response from the man. She glanced panic stricken up at Erwin, afraid he would believe the man, but his expression remained serene and unworried.
"As a member of the Survey Corps, Lance Corproal Amelia is my responsibility and therefore also under my protection. If you wish to question her, you will do it here where she will remain unharmed, and the questioning will be supervised by her Squad Leader." Erwin told him evenly and Major Sannes brow creased in anger.
"If you're claiming such protections for her because she's your hero's whore, I'd remind you Erwin that if she is guilty, you will be held responsible." Sannes snarled and Amelia's breath caught in her throat. "Would you really risk so much for such an insignificant member of your team? She's only a Lance Corporal after all, easily replaceable."
"Are you guilty of what he has accused you of?" Erwin asked her, his eyes seeming to capture her entire worth in a glance.
"No, sir." She responded instantly, her eyes sincere and unclouded by guilt. Erwin nodded at her and turned his eyes back to the Major.
"I am prepared to assume all responsibility for Lance Corporal Amelia's actions. She is an indispensable member of my team and has recently been promoted to Lieutenant for her performance on our last expedition," Erwin told him. Amelia's eyes widened in surprise. Had he skipped her over a rank to protect her? "If you wish to question her then you will agree to the terms I have outlined."
Sannes ground his jaw together in evident frustration, glaring at her dangerously. "We will need to search the Lanc—excuse me, Lieutenant's person and belongings for certain documents which we have been informed that she is in possession of."
"Of course," Erwin replied amicably, his eyes narrowing as Sannes stepped towards Amelia. "Be certain that a female member of your team is the one to search her. I will return with her Squad Leader and we'll find a room for your use. Lieutenant Ral!"
Erwin had called over his shoulder to Petra who quickly came and took his place beside Amelia as he moved out of the room to locate Hange. Petra laced her fingers with Amelia's comfortingly, and Amelia let out a shaky breath as she followed a woman into a side room and allowed her clothing to be removed and both those and herself searched. She was incredibly grateful that Petra never left her side, and her unwavering eyes were always there to comfort her when she sought them out. She and Petra hadn't been speaking much since her relationship with Levi was made public, Amelia hadn't realized how deeply Petra's admiration for Levi had run until she had begun avoiding contact with Amelia and speaking to her only when necessary. Amelia was incredibly grateful for Petra's kind heart that she was able to move past any pain she'd been inflicted with and be there for her friend.
Amelia soon found herself sitting nervously in her nightgown in an office, Hange standing in the back of the room and Sannes sitting across from her. The man looked like a person who enjoyed inflicting pain on others, and Amelia was grateful that Erwin had not allowed her to be taken by him. Amelia was certain she wouldn't have been returned unharmed, if she would have been returned at all. Sannes threw a leather-bound journal onto the table in front of her, and Amelia swallowed uncomfortably at the familiar gold filigree on its cover.
"This book was, until recently, on the shelves of the Trost District Library." Sannes informed her, his eyes observing her reactions closely. "Do you recognize it?"
"It's possible that I've seen it before," Amelia admitted with a shrug, prepared to play his game. She had been raised among liars and thieves and she would be damned if he'd trick her into incriminating herself in charges she knew were false. "I frequent the library. However, I don't recall it specifically."
"Doctor Ernest Colman has been deceased this past year," Sannes told her, his eyes narrowed into slits. "Have you ever met or spoken with him or anyone claiming a relation to him?"
"No, sir," she answered honestly. Sannes flipped through the journal casually, coming to a halt at the end where a few pages had been torn out. Amelia found herself mentally sighing in sudden relief that the papers had been ruined on this expedition or who knows what dark hole she would have been whisked off to by this sadistic man.
"There were pages torn out of this journal. Are you aware of their location or responsible for their absence?"
"No, sir." Amelia repeated firmly. It took hours before he was done questioning her and Hange led her out of the room and helped her get to a much-needed shower and tucked into her bunk to fall almost instantly asleep. Sannes' questions awoke a deep curiosity about who this Doctor Colman had been and why the military police were so fearful of his discoveries being known, especially the one about flight. Didn't they know how much such an ability would aid in their fight against the titans?