As the time went by, the pregnancy of the queen became a widespread news among the nation. The population was mostly thrilled with it, and aside from the few disappointed nobles who actually considered marrying Historia Reiss, the people anxiously waited for the new heir.
Eren thought it was mostly due to the fact that the queen was pretty much loved by everyone. Her often visits to the exterior, to meet her simplest subjects and talk with them about their daily troubles, proved to be the main factor of this sympathy. She was widely considered to be the queen of the people.
The young man wasn't sure about anything. While Historia agreed to his plans, this didn't mean an end to their problems. He hasn't been announced as the queen's consort yet, but he was sure that most of the military already had their suspicions about who the father might be. His close association with the monarch was a well-known information among the soldiers and if they timed some things wrong, all of his plans would have to be abandoned.
As the last winter snow melted away, the scouts announced the territory of wall Maria as free from any titans. The civilians rushed happily to repopulate the recovered cities, the peasants set out to cultivate the regained lands and the merchants began overseeing the whole endeavour, backing it all up with their investments.
When, the first settlers started returning to Shiganshina, the survey corps decided that it was the time to head out of the walls. After six long years, the scouts once again set feet outside the exterior. As the soldiers rode on, towards the island's coast, Eren was thinking about what the future will bring.
Historia's pregnancy had advanced remarkably in these few months. In a short time, he would become a father. Even though his powers showed him glimpses of what might happen, the young shifter was still anxious about it. He had little to no experience with children and the only father he knew was his own. Grisha Yeager while being a good dad, couldn't bring himself to fulfil his mission. Eren wondered if the same thing could happen to him as well. Would having a child prevent him from doing what needed to be done? Or maybe, it would motivate him even further…
The expedition was going pretty smoothly. Just as Hange predicted, nearly all the titans on the island gathered within wall Maria. Eren looked at the horizon and all of a sudden, he saw that a red flare has been launched.
"A titan" Jean concluded.
"One finally showed up" Connie exclaimed "be careful."
Eren made his horse gallop forward, to see the specimen in question. As they rode over a hill, they could finally see the titan.
Despite its massive body, it had really small, weak limbs. The only thing it could do was to crawl on the ground slowly. As Eren came closer, he could see that it took the titan many years to move, since little bushes and flowers managed to sprout out of the ground it had covered.
"It's harmless" Eren said as he touched the titan's head "one of our compatriots, sent to paradise… It's best if we just leave it here."
"I'm sure we're getting close…"
The soldiers continued riding forward, until finally reaching a large plain filled with sand.
'This must be the desert' Eren thought as he rode on.
Soon, he could see a familiar sight.
"It's here!" The young shifter shouted out as the scouts reached a small wall-looking structure.
When they finally climbed the hill next to the build, Eren finally saw it.
The ocean.
It was beautiful. The azure waves dancing on the surface, the yellow sand covering the beach and the blue sky reaching out from beyond the horizon were just as astounding as in his father's memories.
"Recon companies!" Erwin cried out "scout the area! Check the harbour and see if it's still functional!"
"Yes, sir!"
As the support teams dispatched, the officers, as well as squad Levi took in the beautiful sight.
"It's so pretty!" Sasha exclaimed with awe.
"I wouldn't mind spending some quality time here!" Connie added.
The team looked with hope at their commander. Erwin just sighed and closed his eyes.
"Squad Levi and the rest" he started "we will inspect the beach…"
Eren's friends happily ran down towards the coast.
'Too bad Armin can't see this' the young man thought as he took of his boots and socks to set his bare feet in the sand.
All of a sudden, everything seemed more like a vacation than a military expedition.
"Eww!" Sasha yelled with disgust as she spouted out the water "it's all salty!"
A splash could be heard as Jean sneakily pushed Connie into the water.
"Don't overdo it, brats" Levi exclaimed as he watched them, trying to hide his smile.
"Hey, Eren!" The young man in question suddenly heard from behind "look!"
As he turned around, he could see Mikasa standing in the water, holding something in her hands. When he walked closer, he saw that it looked like a weird rock, only that it had a specific shape and a hole inside it. Could it be a creature of some kind?
"I think it was in Armin's book!" Mikasa said joyfully "it must be a conch!"
Indeed, now that Eren tried to remember, he once read that sea creatures sometimes created shells around them for protection.
"OUCH!" A loud yell spread across the beach.
As the duo looked at the source, they saw that Sasha was holding her leg out of the water and something was dangling from it.
It looked like an animal, with multiple legs and huge pincers, coming from its body.
"Throw it away, Sasha!" Connie cried out "what if it's poisonous!"
"Maybe not" the girl said as she pried it off and held it by one of its arms "maybe we can make dinner out of it…"
Before she could do anything else, the creature pinched her hand.
"Ouch!" She yelled as she jumped away.
The weird animal used the moment to fall back into the water and disappear beneath the slow waves.
As Eren's friends laughed at the funny situation, the young man wondered if it would be nice to take his future child to the beach.
However, before they could do anything else, they suddenly saw one of the recon team members hastily riding towards them.
"Commander!" The soldier cried out once he reached the man "an enemy ship has been spotted!"
