Chapter Six

Erwin went through his day like any other with no one the wiser that his blood was buzzing with electricity. The only deviation, what had him so wired, was the meeting he arranged with the foreign woman from the field. Adeline.

Though he had too many questions to keep track of, once he had time in his office he set out to do just that. Going over that last council meeting, he could only sigh. He was honestly taken aback that it seemed like he was the only one who doubted her explanations, given the magistrates signature paranoia. Eventually, he was sure he would learn the truth of her origins, but this evening in their interaction he would focus on picking the girl apart bit by bit.

Lost in his thoughts and queries he barely registered the end of the dining hour or the knock on his door that followed. Unable to tear his gaze away from his work he absentmindedly yelled out,

"You may enter."

By the time he finally looked up the woman, herself, was in front of him. Something about her shook him, but from his solid clad composure she could never know. She stood like a defensive deer across the room and he had to stop himself from chuckling. By all accounts he knew there was nothing amusing about the situation. Even though she seemed frightened, he also gathered that she was a woman with resolve. His job was to learn to what end.

"You may step forward, cadet," Erwin said as he stood from his desk.

With sure steps she approached the imposing man and stopped a few feet in front of him.

"May I sit," she inquired confidently.

"Please," Erwin replied, gesturing to the seat across from his desk. He moved back to his seat as well and folded his hands over the mahogany. After a brief moment of silence Erwin began. "You're probably wondering why I wanted to speak with you."

"You don't trust me," Adeline simply said. "You're trying to figure out if you should or not."

A faint smirk played at the edge of his lips. "I'll be honest, that's certainly a part of it. But in order to get there I have to get to know you first, especially since you're going to be serving as one of my soldiers. So to start, do you have any combat training or experience?"

Adeline shook her head. "No, sir. I am, however, willing to learn and fight."

He was only mildly shocked at her sure answer as he recalled one of the first things she said to him was she "just wanted to help", but with what exactly.

"When I met you, you said you weren't the enemy. Elaborate," he softly commanded.

She shifted just a bit. Even now if she revealed the truth about Marley and the titans she could end up right back in a cell. If for nothing else, for her original deception. She would have to dig into her makeshift background to answer this one.

"Growing up outside the walls wasn't easy, especially with our camp as small as it was. My father told me there was strength in numbers, but there was always more of them than us," she gingerly explained.

"Them?"

"The titans, sir," she clarified. "My father told me there were more people inland and that's where his father was from. He said I had to find my way back one day and join the fight. Or else we could never live in peace." That much was actually true. Though she looked different from the people of Paradis, she did possess Eldian blood.

"Your grandfather is from here?" He wasn't expecting this information. "And your surname is Altenbach?"

"Yes, sir."

For the first time during their session he looked away from her, down to his notebook, and made a few notes. While he was distracted, the new cadet looked him over. It was the most at ease she had seen him since they met. His shoulders were relaxed and she noticed how well defined his facial structure was. It was undeniable that as formidable as Commander Smith came off, he was a very attractive man.

Finally, when he looked back up at her he noticed a rouge tinge to her cheeks that hadn't been there before. Upon meeting her eyes she quickly looked away as though to hide the embarrassment from her intrusive thoughts. Erwin frowned.

"I'm sorry, did I say something to offend you?" He sincerely inquired.

"No, not at all," she replied as solidly as she could, returning her attention to him. She did her best to shake away the remnants of a budding crush.

Cocking a brow and placing his pen back down he said, "Moving on then. Have you been able to meet the other cadets yet?"

Adeline lowered her eyes, then she remembered. "I met a very nice girl named Christa. She invited me to have supper with her friends." Conceding to just a touch of vulnerability she added, "Everyone seems nice, but it's obvious that I'm…different."

Erwin felt a sympathy looking into her sorrowful umber eyes which he just noticed held flecks of emerald. "So far you don't seem that unlike us. I'm sure after a while you'll fit in just fine." Circling back to her lineage, he inquired, "Did your father happen to mention why his father left the walls?" He figured it was a long shot, but he still needed to ask.

She shook her head. One day she would have to tell him that her grandfather didn't just leave Eldia, but fled beyond the sea. Despite her current deceptions, it was true that she never knew why her grandfather left. She said with what little honesty she could afford, "My dad didn't talk much about his father. He only told me that he was content, but very quiet. He wanted to make sure we knew where we came from, but as far as I know, he never liked to talk much about his past."

"Hmm," was the only response Commander Smith offered at the moment. He jotted down a much shorter note. "Fast forwarding to the past few weeks, is there anything else of note you can remember. If you're truly to be an ally we'll need as much information as possible." He caught her eyes with intensity. Nearly like a one man lie-detector she almost folded under his gaze and spilled everything. But she had to think first.

"No, sir," she simply replied.

Erwin cleared his throat, closed his notebook, and softened his gaze. "Well Ms. Altenbach, I don't think our time today was completely fruitless. Levi will bring you here twice a week; a check in if you will. If anything comes to mind in between that time that you believe could be important, please don't hesitate to come to me."

"I will," she agreed.

He nodded. "Training starts in the morning, 7am sharp. I don't expect you to be late." A shiver went down her spine at his firm words. "From here I'll show you to the barracks myself. If you receive any slighting treatment, I expect you to come to me with that as well. Understood?"

In her position the last thing she wanted to be was a tattle. Still she said, "Yes, sir."

He began to rise from the desk and she followed suit. As they made their way through the corridors that were becoming familiar to the girl, she racked her brain on how she could possibly start to unravel the full truth about everything. The commander's presence beside her was nothing like when they met. He wasn't rigid or nearly as suspicious and it seemed he sincerely cared for her well being. He was starting to trust her, if only just a bit, and she could feel it. She desperately wished to truly earn it completely. He'd saved her life twice now and she wanted to disclose to him everything she actually knew, if for no other reason, as just a repayment.

Along with that, she was sure the story she gave the council could only go so far. She wasn't one hundred percent sure how to go about it, but she decided to begin planting the seeds of truth the next time they spoke. The longer she waited, the more danger Paradis could be in.

Before she knew it they had reached the entrance of the soldiers quarters where they stopped just outside.

"…just fine." He looked down at the woman who seemed to have missed everything he just said. "Adeline?" He furrowed his brows.

She jerked her head up with her curls bouncing all over the place in a frenzy at the sound of her name. "I'm so sorry, commander!" She apologized with a warm face.

He was so curious about what had her in such deep thought, he almost marched them right back to his office for another interview. Looking at the girl though, he could tell that she must be quite tired. Especially having spent most of the day with their Hange. For a reason even unknown to himself, he felt the urge to touch her cheek. How could someone so interesting be real? Did she really have the answers he sought?

He just chuckled at her mental absence as the initial potential threat she posed diminished each time he saw her. "That's quite alright," he said. He opened the door and in his presence, the cadets ceased their activities and briefly saluted. "Lenz."

"Sir!"

"Please show Ms. Altenbach to her bunk and make sure she makes it to the training yard promptly," Erwin commanded.

"Yes sir!"

Erwin spared one last glance at the girl before exiting back to his office.