Wings of Freedom

Chapter 19

Roy was surprisingly strong and agile for a boy his age, being able to stay ahead of the bandit, who was weighed down by his armor. Unfortunately, Elizabeth was struggling to keep up and Roy had to put his arm under her's and practically carry her.

Roy was able to put a good distance between them and the camp but the bandit caught up to them when Roy turned to go around a tree and he callapsed as he was kicked with enough force to knock the wind out of him and Elizabeth yelled as she hit the ground, rolling a few feet away.

Elizabeth coughed as she pushed herself up onto her knees but then looked up with worry, when she heard Roy yell out in pain, and saw that the bandit had his boot, firmly planted on Roy's back and his sword to the boy's neck. The bandit laughed as he stood over Roy "nice try lad, but you didn't stand a chance in hell of gettin' away" he said before turning his almost amused gaze, to Elizabeth "and don't you bother runnin', if this kid couldn't get away, then a weak little lass like you ain't goin' nowhere" he warned, though he didn't appear very concerned about ether of them.

Elizabeth laid there stunned as she tried to figure out what she should do. Part of her brain was telling her to just submit, that there was nothing she could do. But some of that fire that Roy had stoked in her, was still burning a little and her addled mind was torn between the two.

Elizabeth's eyes flew to Roy as he gave a strangled gasp for air and he met her eyes with determination burning in his own "r-run" he chocked out, only to grimace as more pressure was applied to his back "that's enough out of you" the bandit growled but Roy only glared up at him before fixing Elizabeth with his intense stare again "i-it's you life…don't give it up…not matter what!" he forced out as more and more pressure was applied, to the point where he could barely breath and the bandit pressed his blade closer to Roy's neck "I said quiet!" the bandit ordered.

Elizabeth just sat there for a moment as she stared wide eyed at Roy, who contiued to glared defiantly up at the bandit how?…how is he still going, even when there's no way to win? she thought as she sat there helplessly and her life flashed before her eyes.

"Weak"

"Feeble"

"Sickly"

"Useless"

So many voices said in Elizebeth's memories as her miserable life was replayed for her why now? Why am I being forced to relive all of this now? Haven't I already suffered enough!? Why is life so cruel!? Elizabeth all but screamed in her mind.

"Life may be cruel, but it's the struggle that makes it worth while"

Elizabeth froze as that particular memory passed through her mind and suddenly she was back home, sitting on her fathers lap while she cried.

Elizabeth's father was a big man but none of it was fat. The man was a coil of muscle under tanned and callused skin, with a chiseled jaw and blue eyes but his well trimmed hair and beard were the same shade of blond as Elizabeth's. He wore a simple shirt and trousers along with his boots.

The giant of a man, looked down at his daughter with worry as her crying devolved into a coughing fit and he gently rubbed her back. The size and health diferances between father and daughter was truly an odd sight to behold.

Eventually Elizabeth calmed down enough to get her coughing under control and he gave her back a soft and comforting pat "Elizabeth, it is true that the world is unfair to us all, especially those who have suffered like you" her father said with a gentle voice that betrayed his appearance and his daughter looked up at him with tear stained eyes "most of the strong look down upon the weak like they are lesser then them or as pray to used for their own gains" he said grimly but a smile soon took over his face "but the world also works on balance. For every action there is an equal and opposet reaction. For every evil, there is a good" he said and Elizabeth looked up at him with confusion and curiosity as he gave her a serious look "listen to me child. We all pay for our sins eventually, in this life and the next. So do not let your heart fester with anger over those who scorn and dismiss you, for they will pay for it one day, just as we all must pay for our sins and be rewarded for enduring such hardships" he said.

Elizabeth mulled over her father's words for a moment before responding "but why…if we all pay if we do wrong, then why do they still hurt me just for being born like this. Why do the strong always pray on the weak?" she asked and her father sighed "not all believe like we do, and many will refuse to accept the truth no matter what they see. But not all are like this" he said and Elizabeth looked back up to him with confusion "but you said the strong pray on the weak" she said and her father smiled "I said most of the strong but not all. Some will stand for the weak and it is they who are strongest, for it is not strength of the body that make's one great, but strength of the heart. The will to go on living, no matter what you are faced with!" He said with a passion that was contagious as his daughter's eyes seamed to shine with wonder.

Elizabeth's father then placed both of his hands on his daughter's shoulders and turned her to face him as he leaned down to be eye level with her "whatever happens in your life Elizabeth Janesdaughter, promise me this. Never give in to despair. If you cannot be strong of body then be so of heart and never give up. And if you find one who fights for the weak, then do not discard them as foolish, but latch onto their teaching and their unbreakable will, and never let go" he asked and with that Elizabeth was suddenly back in the woods, still as a stone and eyes wide as she watched Roy defiantly glare up at the bandit.

Shame suddenly overtook Elizabeth as her body trembled and she started to cry dad, I'm so sorry I forgot my promise she thought as she looked down to the ground and let the tears fall unabated.

Roy and the bandit both noticed Elizabeth's breakdown and paused their glaring match to look over at her. Roy felt his hopes shatter as he feared she may have been pushed too far and just snapped, while the bandit on the other hand just chuckled "looks like the lass knows her place" he said before looking back down at Roy "and I'll enjoy teaching you yours" he chuckled darkly as he moved his sword over Roy's face as he prepared to make a very painful cut.

"Eeerrrraaaahhh!!!"

The bandit didn't get the chance to go though with his plans though as the girl's sobbing turned into an enraged yell and he looked up with surprise, only to immediately clench his eyes shut in pain as Elizabeth ran at him and threw dirt in his face "aagghh! You bitch!" He screamed but before he could wildly swing his blade, Elizabeth smashed a rock into his hand, making his drop the sword.

Roy was admittedly stunned for a good thirty seconds as he watched in awe as the sickly girl somehow blinded and disarmed the bandit in a moment of devine intervention. The boy quickly snapped out of it though as Elizabeth fell back to the ground, having pushed herself past her body's limits, and he quickly scrambled to his feet and grabbed her "come on!" He yelled as he carried her away.

Meanwhile Elizabeth was in a daze as Roy carried her away but she was suddenly brought back as Roy hastily set her down "what?…" she trailed off as she got her bearings and noticed they were at the tree Roy had attempted to run to before getting kicked to the ground, but why had they stopped and why was Roy just crouching there with his hand behind the tree as he stared down the bandit that had managed to clear his now bloodshot eyes enough to chase after them.

The bandit yelled as he ran at them "you're dead you little shits!" He cursed them but Roy stood his ground with a defiant glare. It changed to a smirk at the last second though as he dropped to the ground and pulled his hand back, yanking a rope he had pilfered from the bandit's own camp, loose and a tree limb with daggers tied to it, also stolen from the bandit's camp, came whipping around, right at the bandit's head.

The bandit had less then a second for his stinging eyes to widen in shock before the limb hit him and snapped loose and he fell to the ground.

Birds scattered at the loud snap of the tree limb and the thud of the bandit hitting the ground, but after that, everything went eerily quiet as Roy and Elizabeth both lay on the ground, waiting to see if the bandit would move.

The bandit then suddenly gave a gurgled cough, sending blood into the air. Roy then climbed to his feet to see the daggers lodged in the bandit's neck and blood pooling around him as he took gurgling breaths.

Roy stood there for a moment before walking up to the bandit with a dark look in his eyes and he picked up the bandit's heavy sword "I may be a kid, but I'm not stupid. I knew those two couldn't have been the only ones at that camp so I made sure to prepare for the worst" he explained to the dying bandit who stared up at Roy, not with fear, but just with utter disbelief.

Roy then held the sword over the bandit's head "I should probably just leave you to bleed out and die slowly" he said darkly before ramming the blade down with all his might though the bandits throat and spine, ending his suffering "but I'm not like you" Roy finished as he watched to life leave the bandit's eyes and was only vaguely aware of the blood the splattered across his face.

Roy just stood there for a long moment before letting the blade go but his hands still hovered over the hilt as they shook and he gave a thousand yard stare.

Roy then jumped as a hand grabbed his and he looked over to see Elizabeth giving him a sympathetic smile, wipping the blood off his face before giving him a hug.

Roy stood frozen for a moment before returning the gesture "thank you" he whispered and against all odds, Elizabeth chuckled a little as life came back to her eyes "aren't I the one who should be saying that?" she joked and Roy smiled as they broke the hug "come on, let's get out of here before the others get back" he said and Elizabeth smiled as he took her hand and lead her out of the forest and away from the dead bandit.

[Present Day]

"And so we made our way back to town from there. Liz told her side of the story and luckily enough the one person in town who would actually cared about what happed to me, was there to listen, so I managed to avoid getting in any further trouble and he took Liz in as one of his own and the guards were sent out the catch the rest of the bandits" Roy finished his story as he sat on his Dragon's leg with an emotionally exhausted look on his face.

Meanwhile, Mikasa just stared at Roy in complete shock. It was simply unbelievable how similar their pasts were and would have creeped Mikasa out if it wasn't already hitting some very deep wounds.

Mikasa knew the story wasn't over yet though, bacouse so far Roy had yet to elaborate on this mistake they made "so what happened next?" she reluctantly asked and Roy gave a haggard sigh "for the next few years she was my closest and only friend. She got healthier now that she was living in a highborn's house and we grew very close. But then…then a Dragon Rider came to town with eggs" he explained and Mikasa's eyes widened as she connected the dots "one didn't hatch for her" she muttered to herself and Roy gave a sad nod "it drove a wedge between us that only grew as time went…and then when it came time for me to finally leave that hell hole I was forced to call home, with my mother, I stopped by her house to try and mend things but…"Roy trailed off for a second as he grimaced "we had an argumaent…said things I know I regret and hope she does…and our friendship ended" Roy explained with a defeated expression "then the traitor had his Forsworn destroy anything and everything I might have cared for in their hunt for us" he finished with a clenched fist as Thalia nuzzled him with a whine.

Roy scratched under Thalia's chin as he reined in his emotions "we were still too young to say that we were in love or anything but had things gone diferantly…" Roy trailed off "I mean I did find Ari afterwords but Liz will always be the biggest "what if" in my life" he finished and took a moment before giving Mikasa a serious and pleading look "please Mikasa, no matter what happens, wether or not an egg hatches or how thick skulled Eren can be, pleases don't give up…Don't let him become another "what if" like we did" he asked.

Mikasa was silent for a long moment as she processed everything and she glanced back inside at Eren, Armin and the Dragons, still trying to figure out how to help her. Mikasa then took a deep breath before looking at Roy "thank you, and I won't give up" she promised, to which Roy gave a relieved sigh "thank you" he said before standing up "now if you'll excuse us, I think me and Thaila need to take a nice long flight to relax a little" Roy said as he hopped up on Thiala saddle.

Mikasa hesitated for a moment as the Dragon approached the edge of the balcony, getting ready to take off "Roy" she called out and they paused to look back at her as she hesitated again "if…you ever need to talk about this stuff again…you know where to find me" she said and Roy just stared at her for a moment before smiling "and you me" he replied before he and Thalia took to the sky.

Mikasa watched them go for a moment before taking a breath to steel her nerves and walking back inside to the others.

"I don't know, maybe we could-" Eren whispered but stopped abruptly as Mikasa aproched them "hay Mikasa" Armin greeted with an awkward smile as his Dragon, still roosted atop the boy's head, watched her with curious eyes. Armin's own eyes widened slightly though as he noticed the change in Mikasa's mood.

Eren on the other hand…

"Hay Mikasa…I know things are kind of stressful right now but-ow!" Eren was interrupted by Mikasa flicking his forehead "quit worrying so much Eren, or you'll turn your hair even more gray" she joked with her usual monotone voice as Eren's silver streak, fell over his eye from the flick. The two boy's just looked at Mikasa with surprise, but they soon smiled looks like she's back to her old self Armin thought as Mikasa cracked a very small smile before walking further in.

The two boys smiled as they watched her go but before they could fallow, Eren felt a spike of smugness intrude on his mind and turned to his Dragon "told you so" she teased him and Eren rolled his eyes before following Mikasa and Armin inside.

Things were starting to get back to normal.

A/N -

Firstly a BIG thank you to the reader who pasted several reviews though the day and especially thank you for giving suggestions for names, you have no idea how much trouble that's been giving me. Also yes, in this story the worlds of Inheritance Cycle and Attack on Titan exist in the same universe, just vastly separated land masses. Further elaboration in a chapter in the far future. And as for this story eventually going to the other side in the climax, that will depend on wether or not I can get my hands on the books.

Secondly there is an issue with reviews that other authors are having troubles with, where reviews only appear in emails, so please keep any reviews sort for the time being so that the full message will show up in said emails.

And lastly I have an anoucment. I've had a poll up on my page for a while now where people can vote if that want me to continue only posting one story at a time and so far it is still yes. However, I have an unholy number of older stories I have yet publish so I am going to make a compromise. I will attempt to make a forum where I will put up the ideas I don't want to just abandon for other authors to pick up and I will also be making some side story one-shots of this story. Some will be cut scenes or recreations of the original scenes from before the rewrite, but most will be non-canon, what if sinarios.

Ok that's it for me. Thanks for reading my story and hopefully I'll get back to posting more consistently.