Disclaimer : I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin / Attack on Titan nor its characters.
Note: Please read Author's note at the end; involves future UNCERTAIN Updating schedule and also changes made to previous chapters.
Face pressed against the dirt with his hands tied down by hers, the Prince found himself struggling beneath her. He had to get out, somehow. The last thing he wanted was earthworms sliding into his mouth if he were to stay down there any longer.
However, as much as Eren kicked and squirm, it was to no avail.
"Give up?" Mikasa asked calmly. And that nonchalance of hers whenever she managed to pin her down was what Eren found the most irritating. It was like winning against him became so natural to her.
This was the seventh time she had him pinned down, leaving him helpless. She thought he would be able to pick up or at least learn something by now on his own. Although quite clearly, that wasn't the case.
"No!" He grunted, "I—ACK!" He coughed out when Mikasa applied more pressure onto Eren's back, forcing his face deeper down into the dirt, closer to the home of earthworms. And when Eren felt something slithering beneath his chin, edging closer to his mouth, he finally resigned (though with much reluctance), "I yield!"
Mikasa relaxed her grip, before quickly getting off of him. The progress they made so far was definitely concerning to Mikasa. For a Prince at the adolescent age, she'd have assumed that at least he would have some prior combat training. She didn't expect him to be an elite, but at least at the level of an average guard. To her horror however, his skills seemed closer to a guard in training. It wasn't that he lacked strength. From his spar with Annie, and his spar with her, she could tell he had the muscle. What he lacked was strategy and a clear mind.
Mikasa extended her hand towards the brunette who sat on the ground miserably, wiping off the remaining dirt from the edge of his lips.
Though, like the six other times she offered, he refused her hand and stood up on his own while wearing that same troubled frown.
Is my hand dirty? Mikasa wondered as she stared at the palm of her hand, however she was quick to look away when a bloody memory nearly surfaced up. Shaking off that horrid memory before it could rise, Mikasa continued to ponder. He had a similar look to Levi's whenever his hand accidentally brushed a dusty area. Is that why he refuses it? Or is it because… She looked towards Eren; whose brows were still furrowed in frustration. She didn't know if it was the dirt or his obstinate pride that made him refuse, however she didn't dwindle too long on that thought anyways, they had more important things at hand.
How Mikasa found herself in this situation where she was sparring the Prince of Paradis was when she somehow found herself agreeing to do something dangerous with him, back then when they were at the crime scene of Paradis's recent murder case.
"I…I…It was the damn Ackermans!" One of the citizens screeched, and his grief soon morphed into an ugly rage. "You…You're an advisor aren't you…? WHERE WERE YOUR GUARDS?! ALWAYS DEPLOYING YOUR REGULAR GUARDS TO SURVEY THIS PLACE! THEY'RE CLEARLY INCOMPETENT! By the time they arrived, he was already DEAD! Are you so selfish to not spare and provide your civilians the elite guards?! The Prince—"
In the midst of the crowd, Mikasa could see the Prince flinch. While his back faced her, she could already tell what sort of expression he wore.
"Calm down sir." Hanji mumbled. "Did you see the killer or not?"
As Hanji started to question the man in hopes of garnering any form of evidence, Mikasa caught the Prince slipping away from the crowd before anyone could take notice of him. Even with that cloak on, he would've been easily recognisable had it not been for the corpse that had everyone's attention instead. Everyone's except Mikasa, who found herself slipping away to the direction of where the Prince fled.
She found herself around a nearby alleyway, and caught sight of Eren venting out his frustration on a trash bin that found itself victim to his brutal kick. "Damn it!" He cursed. "Those bloody Ack—"
He stopped midway in his rant the moment he looked up, with his eyes meeting with Mikasa's. His shoulders tensed, and his hostility remained. "What do you want?" He hissed.
What did she want? Mikasa didn't know the answer either. She had followed him on impulse. Perhaps it became an instinct of hers to find ways to get closer to him for the sake of the mission which resulted in her trailing him to this secluded area.
At that time, she didn't seem to notice the faint sense of concern lingering in her heart when she had saw him run off.
"Are you… alr—" No. That wasn't it. He clearly wasn't alright. Although, before she could think of something more fitting to say to loosen the tension between them, Eren was already making his way out of the alleyway. He walked past her, without casting a glance to her direction.
Right. Mikasa thought. I forgot how distant and hostile he could be.
Eren had been cold to her during their first meeting, and made it clear he didn't plan to wed her or anyone at all; that he didn't want to get close to any of the women. What he wanted wasn't marriage, what he wanted was revenge against the Ackermans. And while he said that, the night he visited her room to thank her for helping Armin, and apologise on Annie's behalf had made her think that at least they had established a certain level of acquaintanceship.
Now, he had just witnessed a murder allegedly done by the Ackermans. As a result of that, his walls were back up. His hunger for vengeance turned him hostile in the current moment Mikasa found him in.
Though Mikasa did wonder, did she ever manage to lower his guard down a bit?
It didn't matter now. She couldn't let a chance slip.
"Wait!" Mikasa turned towards Eren, "What do you plan to do now?" She found herself asking, and for one reason or another those words manage to make the Prince halt in his footsteps.
"Why do you w—"
"Are you going to go hunt for the Ackermans behind this?" She continued. The idea wasn't far-fetched, given the recklessness she had seen from him so far, coupled along with the fact that Mikasa had the impression he was the type of guy to dive straight ahead in a plan that hadn't yet been finished crafting. Eren's flinching gave Mikasa enough of an answer and she moved forwards towards him, facing him. "Let me help you then."
"What?" Eren spoke, baffled by her offer. "Why—"
"I…" Truth be told, Mikasa's offer had slipped off her tongue faster than her brain could process the logic and reasoning behind it. It wasn't like she wanted to find out who was behind it, or more specifically, to confirm if it was Kenny or not. "I… want Hizuru to have good relations wi—"
"We both know that's not the reason." Eren interrupted her curtly, before taking a step closer to her. While they were around the same height, Mikasa could find Eren's presence taking on a bigger and more threatening form, looming over her. Clearly, she had caught him at a bad time. And even when he tried to leave just now, she persisted and then found herself being interrogated.
Even with his cut-throat glare, Mikasa didn't break off eye-contact with him. Frankly, the only man she was truly frightened off was Kenny. While Eren's eyes hinted his fuming rage, Kenny's screamed murder and venom whenever he became displeased with either Mikasa or Levi. "It's not a lie…" Think Mikasa, think. She urged herself internally, trying to find an excuse because she wasn't so sure of the truth itself. Why did she want to accompany him to find the Ackermans who were allegedly behind this murder? She was an Ackerman for crying out loud. Yet, she offered her help. Besides, tracing the real killer behind that mess wasn't just unnecessary for the mission, but it was dangerous.
Maybe that was why. It was dangerous.
"I promised you, remember?" Mikasa quickly said when she remembered their agreement that night. "To help you train."
Eren raised a brow, and Mikasa noticed how his shoulders started to relax. Maybe it was because she sounded genuine—and she was.
"That doesn't… That doesn't explain—"
"Prince Eren! Are you here?" came echoing into the alleyway where the two were. Paradis's Guards were starting to search for the Prince upon finding out that he wasn't at the castle. "Your presence is required immediately!"
Eren stared at Mikasa for a long moment. Mikasa only looked back at him questioningly. Sighing, Eren finally spoke, "Meet me at the back of the castle once everything's over. Be discreet." With that, he walked past the raven, making his way towards the direction where the guards called out his name.
Not long after, the two of them found themselves in a forest which Eren had led Mikasa to once they met behind the castle. They didn't go that deep into the forest though, just far enough for anyone not to see them.
Eren had also said that this region of the forest was still considered one of the many training grounds for the guards to practice combat and whatnot. Fortunately for them, it was vacant. And fortunately for Mikasa, Levi didn't seem to notice anything off when she feigned her fatigue when they had met after the meeting held.
"I still don't understand why you want to help me." Eren said, breaking Mikasa out of her thoughts. He glanced towards her as he brushed off the remaining dirt off of his attire. "If you wanted to form good relations with Paradis, you should've just gotten contracts for me and those advisors to sign, or something."
"That doesn't sound genuine." Mikasa responded as she stretched her arm with the other.
"But it'd be on official papers." Eren pointed out, cracking his knuckles. "And for most that's more than enough."
"…Is it that you do not trust me?" She asked; it was an honest question, which she hoped would receive an honest answer. "You… always seem wary."
Eren widened his eyes in surprise, taken aback by her rather direct question—that he was soon finding difficulty to give a direct answer. The brunette wasn't always this cautious and suspicious of others, really. At most, he would try to keep an open mind with his guard up whenever he met with strangers or future allies.
However, now that it was the season for him to pick a bride, his guard was up more than ever. He didn't want to be tricked by the Princesses' words or his advisors' words that could cause him to wed someone. Granted, it sounded unlikely given his present disinterest in the entire concept of romance itself. However, he had already been tricked by almost all of his advisors at some point, and even by some allies before when he was more naïve. Perhaps it was just paranoia.
Yet here he was with Mikasa. With the exception of Annie, Mikasa was the second Princess he had ever communicated this much with; as if he sought a friendship. Or at least, a mutual sense of camaraderie. Because he did admire her strength. He had been in awe when watching her spar with Annie, who he once thought was unbeatable—was certainly almost beaten by her had she not been feeling unwell. Maybe that was why Mikasa became the exception too, because of her strength and her kindness, that she showed to Armin, a commoner.
When Eren didn't respond, Mikasa spoke, "…Sorry, we didn't meet too long ago." She realised, finding how strange her question might sound to him. Though, what she found even stranger was that she didn't enquire him about trust to check on their current relationship for the mission. "You don't ha—"
"It's not that I don't trust you." Eren decided. He didn't deny, nor did he confirm, Mikasa noticed. "It's just… you know, strange for you to volunteer to help me rather than report me to my advisors about the plan to go hunt for the Ackermans later tonight. Even Armin would've tried to stop me, and I've known him much longer than you. It's just… no one has really encouraged this idea."
"And that was why you were planning on going alone, right?" While almost everything from the murder scene didn't point to Kenny as the mastermind behind, Mikasa had her own set of paranoia. And the conversation she had with Kenny privately the other night, only escalated her paranoia.
Mikasa tried to convince herself that she wanted to tag along with Eren because she didn't want to have him murdered—should he somehow manage to sneak past the guards and enter town, and collide with the murderer, facing him or her all alone. Even if it wasn't Kenny, anyone who could commit the act of murder in the presence of Paradis's guards patrolling the area at night was not someone to mess with. Eren was the only confirmed one who would definitely know the location of the lair, right? He was a royal after all. Because of that, she couldn't risk having him murdered, kidnapped or anything of a similar scale.
She tried to convince herself that that was the reason, and not because she honestly worried.
"And I hope 'yer not falling for that Prince." Kenny joked ever so crudely during the night he intruded into her room through the windows.
She was certainly not falling for him. Nor did she seek an actual friendship with him, mutual on both sides. She was just using him as a key to that lair, right? That was the mission. Ackermans should never closely associate themselves with the Royal Family—Kenny had always taught her and Levi that. It would be wrong for her to fall for, or even befriend him. Whatever was going on between the two of them, was fake. From the beginning and to the bitter end, it would be all fake.
Right?
"What does that got to do wi—"
"Besides," Mikasa continued, "I could ask you the same thing…back then, during the meeting… you didn't have to defend me. But you did."
During the meeting earlier, Mikasa had her legitimacy questioned.
Some of the Princesses wanted to return back home, having felt unsafe. After all, how could the culprit get away with murder when there were guards patrolling the area that night? Not to even mention they only found out about the murder the following morning. As a result, Paradis's security along with the status of their military was thrown into questioning and became doubted.
The advisors tried to get them to stay, to change their minds. For the most part, they didn't want the marriage event to be cancelled, nor did they want them to leave on a bad note with a bad impression of Paradis.
Somehow, in the midst of the chaotic discussion, Mikasa found herself being targeted—by the same royal that dared hurt Armin.
"Princess Mikasa is being awfully silent." Anais mentioned, looking at her accusingly. Mikasa frowned, needless to say she found her painfully agitating. She wasn't the only one who chose to be silent in this mess, and yet only she was targeted. Besides, even if she had to talk, she didn't know what to say. It wasn't like she had another country to return to. Though, what Anais said next completely threw Mikasa and everyone in the room off. "She's from some closed-up land, completely isolated and whose existence was doubted on until now… and then one day, out of the blue… they appeared… just her and her guard. Doesn't that sound suspicious? Is there even any proof to show that she is royalty? What if she's the one behind the murder? That's why no one caught her! Or what if that Hiruku island she's from planned to gradually stir up chaos here?"
That girl could really hold a grudge.
All eyes were now on Mikasa, who never felt more anxious and pressured in her life. As much as she despised Anais for accusing her… she wasn't exactly far off from the bullseye. Because she was right. Mikasa wasn't a royal. She was indeed a murderer… but not in this scenario. Though murderer or not, what she was mainly being interrogated of was her identity. Her legitimacy.
And this time, Levi wasn't here to help her escape this situation.
From a foreign land that had closed its borders, isolated themselves to the point where people thought the people living in the East Sea Region were extinct… of course Mikasa's persona was enough to draw enough suspicion; especially from one advisor—Hanji—who gave a look at Mikasa that demanded answers.
To Hanji, she had been already questioning her legitimacy even before the ball. While the letter appeared authentic and legitimate, how a foreign ship managed to enter Paradis's border late at night without the people being brought into questioning was odd to Hanji. Surely, their security couldn't have been that bad. Something must've happened. However, with a lack of evidence there wasn't much for Hanji to work on. Not to mention, Hanji couldn't factor out the possibility of the guards who were stationed there being unsure how to act when met with such an unexpected situation; who perhaps out of fright of angering or irritating another nation, accepted the letter without much questioning. As much as Hanji wanted to confirm whether that possibility was true, she couldn't—thanks to one of the advisors' apparent disorganisation regarding the guards' schedule and posting.
Moreover, Mikasa being a royal was still a possibility, so she had to show respect and not throw her into interrogation. The last thing Paradis needed was to anger the entire East Sea Region, who claimed they had much riches, resources and advanced weapons to offer.
Based on Hanji's observation so far, Mikasa hadn't done anything that suspicious that warranted an arrest of some sort. If anything, Paradis probably gave Mikasa trouble; given the sticky situation she had found herself in with the royal from the Crystal Empire, that the other advisors practically encouraged, much to Hanji's utter disgust and disbelief. Then there was Mikasa's guard, Levi, who Hanji couldn't help but find intriguing in neither a good nor bad way.
However, now that Mikasa was being questioned about something that did bother Hanji a bit, she couldn't help but want an answer. So, she didn't immediately intervene as what Eren would've expected.
Mikasa could feel the tension building up in the room, it was palpable and it made her so uncomfortable to the point where it broke her into a cold, nervous sweat. She wasn't used to this much attention, especially without an actual mask to hide behind. There was also that pressure both Kenny and Levi had placed on her, to not fuck it all up.
Other than whispers that Mikasa could hear, that spoke of rumours surrounding Hizuru and the entire East Sea region, no one dared to say anything. No one came to her defence.
Why would they? Princess act or not, along with her being practically an unknown variable and stranger, that heavy accusation was enough to have anyone and everyone raise their guard around her. Especially when to some degree in the eyes of many, her accusation was not completely nonsensical. She came to Paradis with just Levi, announcing she was the Princess of Hizuru. No official meetings with other high-ranking officials or the King or Queen themselves. How Kenny thought they could actually pull this off was beyond her comprehension. How this moment didn't happen sooner was even beyond that. The façade she had put on could only be believed for so long.
Knowing any more prolonged silence could draw suspicion, Mikasa spoke, "I…—"
What had interrupted Mikasa was the sound of someone slamming down onto the table. "It's not Princess Mikasa." Eren defended, and along with the others in the room, Mikasa was caught off guard. She hadn't expected for him out of all people to defend her so readily. "She's not a monster, unlike you and your military who only know how to throw blame and hurt the innocent." Any other person in Mikasa's shoes would've felt touched—but she didn't. She just found this entire situation terribly ironic, sickeningly humorous. "And it's not 'Hiruku'. It's Hizuru. The country she is to rule, the country you are threatening. Do you know how much stupid shit you might get into for such an accusation?"
Mikasa felt something heavy sink in her heart. Guilt. She felt so guilty.
"B-But Prince Eren—"
"Prince Eren is right Princess Anais, that is absolutely absurd." Another Princess spoke before anyone else could, much to Mikasa's surprise. And it made the guilt in her stomach heavier, churning even more. "Are you simply still upset over that day when she had humiliated you for treating a human, or in your people's words, a 'peasant' so horridly? I advise you to stop being petty. You are a royal, not a child. Do you realise how heavy and dangerous of an accusation you are making? Do you realise that it could be seen as a threat directed at the nation she rules?" Mikasa would've never thought another Princess would've come to her aid and defended her. After all, her encounter with them hadn't been so great thus far.
"But Princess Margaret—"
"She has a point, Princess Anais. It's absurd." Someone voiced out, and to Mikasa's surprise once again, it was Annie. That was even more absurd. "Instead of stirring baseless things without solid evidence, we need to discuss the matter at hand—the ones who want to return, the ones who want to stay, the legitimacy of Paradis's security, not Princess Mikasa's. If you want to discuss the perpetrator, I advise you to leave this room and request a discussion with the guards who are indeed working on the case. Princess Mikasa's identity isn't to be questioned here. In any case, she hasn't done anything at all to warrant anyone's hostility."
"But—"
"Okay, okay everyone! Haha…" Hanji interrupted with a nervous chuckle, clapping her hands in an attempt to regain control of the discussion. The Princesses and Prince are right… more or less, Princess Mikasa hasn't done anything odd yet… and this is still a discussion for another matter… Hanji thought.
She turned to Mikasa momentarily, before facing the rest of the crowd. I'll deal with that matter later. She decided, before continuing, "We shouldn't get side-tracked…!"
"I wasn't the only one who defended you…" Eren murmured, looking away.
"You were the first." Mikasa said. "If you hadn't said anything, the other two Princesses probably wouldn't have either."
"I mean… how could I not?" He sighed, scratching the back of his head, his eyes still averted away from her. "You don't seem like you'd hurt anyone innocent, I mean you rescued Armin and even helped bandaged him… besides, Princess Anais is known for using dirty tricks, and her corrupted rule. You are not a monster."
You are not a monster.
But I am. Mikasa bit her lip. I am the monster you want dead the most, Prince.
She wondered how would things end between them, truly. Once they find the lair and inform Kenny, what then? Will he find out about her identity? What kind of face would he make when he found out that his enemy had been right in front of him the whole time, becoming closer and closer to him?
What would he do if she were to confess to him about it all right then and there?
As guilty as Mikasa was, that wasn't an option and could never be.
"Also… like you said, you promised to train me remember?" Eren said with a slight huff, as he looked back up and made his way towards her. "Can't have you being sent away, now can I?"
"…Yeah." Mikasa forced a smile.
Maybe it was because Eren stood a little too close to her, but for the first time, something about her smile… seemed off. Head tilting slightly, guard lowering ever more so slightly as concern came flowing in, he spoke, "Hey—"
"Ah, right," Mikasa cut him off, realising how much they had side-tracked and how much time they had wasted. "I thought by diving straight into sparring, you would be able to learn from you mistakes by your own… and while you seem to be… somewhat aware of what went wrong, and try to apply it the next spar, you don't incorporate what you have learnt completely. You get impatient, that's why. You need to have a clear mind but because of that impatience… you don't. It's no good if your body moves faster than your mind, or if your mind moves faster than your body. I know that can happen sometimes, but if you really want to be a good fighter, there must be a balance—"
"Alright, alright! I get your point… Annie said the same thing before." He sighed. To think I thought she was sad for whatever reason… she still has the energy to lecture me…
"I just… get too caught up sometimes. It's frustrating." He grumbled. "And… since my parents passed away early, those old fashioned and even older advisors thought it would be better to focus more on politics and studies and whatnot so I could 'mature faster in the brain' or some shit like that." He scoffed, though if what he said was true it made Mikasa wondered how despite all that studying to be so-called 'proper royal', the brunette had a rather vulgar tongue sometimes. She highly doubted a Prince should curse so openly to their guests; though that was a story for another time to be shared. "And because our guards… especially the elite Azker guards are strong, they didn't see any priority in me learning to fight as much. So… I started learning to fight later on than expected."
"That explains a lot." Mikasa nodded.
Eren frowned, finding some offence in that phrase even though she didn't mean for it to be an insult. "Oi—"
"But it's not too late." Mikasa spoke, "You can still improve. You already have the physical strength. We might have less than a day left before setting off for that plan of yours to improve, and in all honesty that is not enough to perfect your fighting skills… however, it is enough to fix a bit."
"But how—"
"Your shoulders." Mikasa pointed out, before tapping on her own shoulders to signal him. "Relax them. It's no good if they are too tense." In a way, this was somewhat nostalgic. Levi had said around the same thing to her back then, when he trained her during the times Kenny wasn't around her to. Frankly, as compared to Kenny's hellish regime, she preferred Levi's—even if he could be a little hard on her sometimes, it wasn't as bad as Kenny.
It wasn't until then did Eren realise his shoulders had been tensed the entire time; along with most of his body. Was that why he felt so… rigid? Constricted?
"Close your eyes and then take deep breathes." Mikasa instructed, receiving a quizzical look from Eren.
"What—"
"Just trust me." Mikasa assured, and with some hesitance Eren decided to comply. "I know you obviously can't do this in fights, but… it helps with your awareness. It's a start." She explained, before making her way behind him. "Focus on nothing but your surroundings, what you hear, what you smell… what you feel."
Is this how Hizuru trains their guards? Eren couldn't help but think, finding it a rather strange way to conduct training. Our methods to train the guards are much different… I mean, it's not like—
"Empty your mind, Prince Eren." Mikasa said, a little sternly; perhaps chiding him. Eren flinched, wondering if he had accidentally and unknowingly said his thoughts out loud, that or she was psychic. "Focus." She reminded.
"Okay, okay…" He grumbled, before taking yet another deep breath to relax his nerves. Once he calmed, muscles and everything loosened, he paid full attention to his surroundings as Mikasa had instructed. He could hear birds chirping, humming in different tunes and melodies. And it surprised him a bit, to him before they all sounded practically the same—especially that one annoying bird that liked to fly around the castle whenever it pleased, croaking out that aggravating noise in the early morning. At least this time, their hums and chirps sounded more pleasant and less deafening to hear.
Along with birds he felt the gentle breeze blowing by; and perhaps some flowers and leaves caught in its gust. He could smell one of the flowers Armin once told him about. He had forgotten the name, but the strong scent was unmistakable. He hadn't known those flowers grew around these parts of the forest, he had assumed it was further. He never noticed before.
"What do you hear?" Mikasa finally asked, upon noticing a calm having washed over a brunette; something she hadn't seen from him at all till now. Before this, he almost always seemed frustrated. The desperate desire to fulfil his thirst for vengeance was probably the reason behind it. Although now, that desire for the time-being, was diminished.
"…The small animals around… the sound of the wind blowing…the leaves or flowers being blown by it… I can recognize the scent… Armin told me about it before." Eren replied.
Mikasa smiled. If she had to be truthful, she hadn't expected him to get this right the first time. "What do you feel, then?"
"Earthworms…crawling underneath… and not nearing my mouth like before when someone shoved me repeatedly to the ground." Eren scoffed, recalling how one nearly made his mouth a new home. Mikasa gave him a slight nudge, a reminder to take this seriously. To say the least, his sense of humour was something, alright.
"Alright, alright…Well… I…" As Eren trailed off, Mikasa flinched. Something is off. Mikasa thought, taking a few steps forward from Eren where she felt the source of her uneasiness was.
Something, suddenly didn't feel… right.
Someone was watching them.
"I… sense someone? Something? Maybe a bigger animal?" Eren pondered. Foxes do tend to roam around here when there aren't a lot of people… Armin and I did—
"I think someone's here." Mikasa whispered. Unsure if he was permitted to open his eyes, Eren kept them closed as he asked, "What do you mean? If the guards were here, they wouldn't be hiding, they would drag me bac—"
"Shh." Mikasa hushed him, scanning the area around them.
That's when she saw the bush in front of them move. "Who's there?" At the very least, she didn't sense any malice.
"It's probably just a fox, Princess." Eren assured. I think I can open my eyes now… I don't think she'd lecture me. He thought, before testing the waters as he opened one of them first, to see Mikasa surveying the area with much caution.
Evidently, Eren wasn't that concerned as compared to Mikasa. He was sure it wasn't a guard, considering if it was, they wouldn't have a reason to hide. It wasn't as if he and Mikasa were doing anything that needed to be spied on. If anything, the guards would've been eager to drag him back.
Regardless, Mikasa's instincts told her otherwise. "I don't think—"
The sound of an animal hissing interrupted Mikasa; as Eren had predicted, a fox had pounced out of that bush, teeth barred at Mikasa. Only Mikasa.
"It's Earic!" Eren gasped, both eyes widening in excitement the moment he noticed the fox's torn left ear. Mikasa, rightfully puzzled at the bizarre name Eren had given the fox, turned towards the brunette with much confusion. "Armin and I used to play with this fox when it was a kit very often back then, it's normally not this… agitated." Eren spoke, before taking a few steps forward and with one knee down he whistled to the fox. "Hey, it's me. Remember?"
It was the first time Mikasa had ever seen a fox. If anything, it looked similar to the rats she would often see in the underground. Just… bigger. To say the least, she didn't have a good impression of the fox. "I don't think you should—"
Much to her disbelief, the fox that bared its teeth to Mikasa, calmed and came running towards Eren, making a pouring sound as it hopped onto him.
"Unlike the other foxes, he's not so hostile… he was quite nice to Annie before, actually… then again, maybe he saw you pummel me to the ground and that's why." Eren scoffed as he patted the fox's head, distracting it from Mikasa. "I told you it was just a fox. Seems like I'm even better than you at the whole awareness thing, hm?" He added on, rather proudly, as if he had just won some competition and like a kid, he was eager to boast.
If Mikasa wasn't so fixated on something else, perhaps she'd have lectured him to not get so ahead of himself. Maybe… animals like these foxes can sense the bloodlust? Mikasa pondered, a rather despondent sigh following after as she casted a glance at the fox who then turned its attention back to Mikasa; eying her warily. It clearly didn't like her at all.
It's okay, I can't blame you. Mikasa thought to herself, before turning around, breaking eye contact from the animal. "Let's take a short break." She said. That fox aside, I don't think it was the only one there…
Something still felt off; and the foreboding feeling growing within her unsettled her even more.
"Huh? But we have less than a day—"
"Just for two minutes or so." Mikasa wanted to check around the area, just for a bit. "Besides… Ear…ic? Earic looks like he wants to play with you." What an odd name for a… pet, though. Did he name it 'Earic' and not 'Eric' because of the torn ear? Needless to say, Mikasa wasn't that impressed. However, she had other pressing matters to be concerned about as opposed to an animal's name.
"Alright then… but right after we are having a rematch!" Eren smirked.
"I thought you went to pick up some flowers for one of Eren's advisors' future experiments or something… why are you panting?" Annie asked with raised brows, arms crossed and what Armin liked to call her signature fed-up look.
"A…A fox chased me… I thought it was going to rip me to shreds!" Armin panted, his body was still half-bent, hands supporting his aching knees as he tried to catch his breath. "Not all foxes are friendly like Earic… the ones around there are more… terri…territorial…"
"The names you two men come up with still astounds me." Annie responded, shaking her head. "That aside… we don't have that much time together this time round, you know? As much as I love the letters you write me… I rather spend time with you." She sighed, taking a few steps closer to the blonde with her arms still crossed. "So… you know…"
Armin looked up to the crystal-eyed woman a bit, before straightening his back and posture once he caught his breath. It amazed him till this day that the Princess of the Crystal Empire was his lover. How their relationship lasted this long despite the distance and the secrecy (with the exception of Eren, who was the first and only one who knew about their relationship) was even more astounding. In Armin's life, he never would've thought he would have won the heart of a royal. He was a mere commoner after all, who just so happened to be close friends with Eren… and thanks to that, their paths crossed and then they fell in love and more in love every time Annie visited. And since the Crystal Empire was a close ally of Paradis, her visits weren't that rare.
He didn't know how long they could keep this up, but to him that didn't matter for now. They both agreed to focus on the present. He loved her dearly.
And that's why he felt bad for lying to her about the fox. It wasn't a complete lie, though regardless it didn't make him feel any better.
However, it was for the best she didn't find out. He didn't want her involved.
"I know…" Armin smiled a bit, noticing the Princess's blush. He always found the shy side of her cute; it was a side Annie didn't just show to anyone. In the public eye's, she was a strong, fierce and well-reputable future ruler. Behind closed doors, with just the two of them, she melted. She melted in his arms and softened up.
Pulling her close, Armin was bold enough to press a kiss on her forehead. No one was around there, anyway. "As much as I love the letters you write back too, I rather have you here." He smiled. Annie blushed.
"You're lying." She pushed him away slightly, looking away sheepishly. "I'm horrible at expressing myself. You like reading that because it amuses you." She scoffed.
Armin chuckled. "Well, that isn't so much of a lie…" If it were anyone else, the glare Annie shot at Armin would've been enough to stop the person from continuing his speech. But not him. "I still like reading them, it's amusing. You always are."
Annie rolled her eyes. "You weren't so bold before. You used to stutter whenever we talked. I missed that."
"And you used to pause in between your sentences whenever we talked. I missed that too." Armin laughed, his hand gripping her gently, lacing their fingers together before she could retaliate or pull back. "Let's go elsewhere to spend time for now, before I have to go see Hanji and all… we don't have much time."
"…We never do." Annie responded, not pulling away. "Time flies too fast."
"I know." Armin nodded in agreement as they started to walk off together.
As they walked off, Armin briefly glimpsed at the direction of the forest, where he saw both Mikasa and Eren. I wonder what they were doing there… he thought. Unfortunately for him, he didn't hear much of their conversation. He just saw Eren's eyes closed, Mikasa behind him—and he feared for the worst, but nothing happened. (Save for Earic who came to Armin's rescue from getting caught.)
Even back when Eren visited Mikasa's room alone, nothing happened.
Then back during the ball, Mikasa had caught his eye—however, not in the same way like the others who looked bewildered when they saw her foreign-looking dress or how some were amazed at her beauty due to the different features she possessed.
Was I wrong…? But there's no way I'm wrong… I'm sure of it… Armin thought, hand sub-consciously gripping onto Annie's tighter. She's… that little girl from before, isn't she? She's—
"Armin?" Annie said softly, "Is something wrong?"
"Huh? Oh… no, it's nothing. I just hope that fox won't chase me the next time I go up there." He laughed, waving his hand dismissively while offering her a reassuring look. "Don't worry… It's nothing at all."
Author's Notes:
Firstly, about the changes. Originally, in the whole arranged marriage event, I included princesses AND aristocrats. However, I decided to change it to just Princesses completely for convenience and other reasons. I will correct this in previous chapters in my spare time… if I can find it lol. (and hopefully… I don't change my mind eh)
Secondly, I'd like to apologise for the late update. I got distracted, then demotivated, then distracted again ahah… I'm sorry haha T-T. It's been a while since I finished writing something, so I hope my writing quality didn't worsen overtime from its already bad quality HAHA.
Thirdly, that aside, starting next year I don't really know what the updating schedule for this fic will be like. Originally, I wanted one chapter a month. However, seeing how messy this year was for me (and everyone practically) and how next year I'm going to be busier due to academics… I don't know if I'll have the time since I have two other fics and a tumblr to run lol. Regardless, I'll try my best to update this when I can, I really want to finish all my fics… I don't really want to leave them unfinished / discontinued ;-;. However, do note that if I feel no one's reading a fic anymore, I'll most likely not prioritise it as high as other ongoing fics. I'll still finish it hopefully, but not as fast. I hope y'all will stay haha.
Lastly, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It had some EreMika moments hehe, and a sprinkle of AruAni. Also, it seems like Armin knows Mikasa? Hm… wonder when, where and how… or does he actually? Who knows~
Thank you for reading, and leaving reviews, comments and kudos; they are always appreciated. So, please leave a review! Constructive criticism is welcomed.
If you wish to contact me personally or to check if I'm still alive and active haha, my tumblrs are: snkwritings and rosaline-kei
