— But father! Why did you make the titans pursue the survivors? — Said a quite familiar man.
— You are already an adult, yet you act like a child, Anders. It is our divine right to inherit the land.
Hildegard felt the words were coming from her own mouth and she saw the memory with this man's eyes. If that man was King Anders, the one he was calling father could only be the late King Hermann, meaning the first memory she reminisced was her grandfather's. They were standing on a hill overlooking the massacre. Titans, big and small, ran after hundreds of people, mostly women, the elderly, and children, who wore unfamiliar clothes. The mindless titans picked them up, one by one, like people eating grapes from a bowl. It was as gruesome back then as it was recently.
— One more culture of miscreants erased. — Hermann said.
Anders looked furious at his father; the same way Hildegard often did before inheriting the Founding.
— You will understand once you inherit the ultimate power, my son. — Hermann stated as he tapped his son's shoulder.
Hildegard stood on that valley alone. Her titan form was the least unsightly of the last three heirs, being very similar to her human form, but with a few exposed ribs. On her feet were the bloody remains of her captor and torturers. "By Ymir, I lost my only friend and just made my first victims..." Judging by Hermann's memories, her father was not the frigid monster she always thought of. Then she remembered the maps from the meetings she attended to in the past. Since the northern part of the continent was mostly subjugated by Eldia, she began to walk in that direction, hoping she would find a settlement or at least one of her kind. Her booming steps scared away birds and land animals on her path. "Should I pay for my predecessors' crimes? It seems that every non-Eldian either fears or hates the empire. But once I'm back home, I'll make the changes I planned."
Half an hour of non-stop walking passed, but she found only a few ruined villages. Were they abandoned by their original inhabitants in fear of the titans or had Eldia made its way around here? How far south had she been taken? An idea suddenly appeared on her mind. There was a little girl on that other world. She stopped, concentrated, and soon found herself there again, but this time far closer to the tree of light. It was enormous, bigger than any structure or mountain she had ever seen. She turned around and found the girl standing, static.
— Hello, little girl. What's your name?
Her blue eyes, obscured by the bangs, stared into the distance. She still stood like a statue, perhaps waiting for something.
— I'm lost in some strange land and need your help. Can you do something?
The girl touched the tree and it glowed strongly for a brief moment. Hildegard didn't understand what happened. "I don't think she can help me. I need to know more about this realm, but the greater issue is going back home." She returned to the earthly realm and continued to walk northwards.
Sören sprang up from the ground. He was training again, but this time with Hodritz, who briefly froze up. The titan, slightly taller than Sören's Armoured Titan, had dark grey fur covering all its body. His head was much like a goat's, with two curling horns and a long chin beard, similar to its human form. He approached Sören and stood near him.
— Did you hear that? — The goat-like titan said in a deep, guttural voice, its yellow eyes looking at Sören expectantly.
— It was the queen's voice! — He shouted to the titan. — We need to inform the ministry and the rest of the Fritz clan as soon as possible!
— Leave it to me, I'll be faster than you in this form.
Hodritz sped towards the city while Sören mounted a horse. All the slaves were confusedly looking at each other. It appeared that they weren't able to receive the message.
— Go back to where you came from! The training session has ended! — He ordered before rushing away with the horse.
Some minutes later, he arrived at the city gates. The Beast Titan's body, reduced mostly to steam-emitting bones, was left lying on the ground outside the city.
— Did you hear it, my lord? Lady Hildegard, our queen, communicated with us! So she is still alive! — A guard said, excitedly.
— I don't know about that, lord Sören. The captain has been saying these weird things for some minutes now. — Another guard stated.
— Quiet! You dare question the word of an Eldian? You're just a lowly Lafiscan. — The captain replied, outraged.
— I think the queen unknowingly discovered another of the Founding Titan's powers. Open the gates, I'm going to the royal castle. — Sören added.
They turned a great winch and raised the gate. Sören hurried towards the castle and found himself at the gates a few minutes later. It was far greater than his clan's estate and he couldn't help but admire the architecture and the pure-white, extremely detailed sculptures given to the royal family by the Tybur clan, the holders of the Warhammer Titan. One of the guards approached to him.
— It is an honour to meet you once again, lord Sören. If you came to warn the Fritz clan about Hildegard's message, they already know. They say all Eldians could hear her voice.
— I see… Have you organised a search party yet?
— Yes, my lord. We've sent groups in all the eight directions of the wind. We will soon find our queen.
— Good. Tell lady Rena Fritz I sent my regards.
The guard bowed down and Sören decided to head back home. There was nothing he could do besides waiting, and the queen was still figuring out the Founding's power. How come she was kidnapped? Was there someone infiltrated in the castle? Were non-Eldians conspiring to kill her? There were too many questions with no answers.