"Long live Queen Frieda!"

As the crowd chanted those words, the dark-haired female, dressed in regalia, stood proudly. The crisis had been resolved, the military police was organized better than ever, and the joyous population was slowly starting to forget the fall of wall Maria.

On the first day of Autumn, she officially stepped out of the shadows. The old king was revealed to be a stand in, and everyone was thankful for how she handled all the problems troubling the people of the walls. As Frieda was looking over the happy crowd, she closed her eyes to remember what happened just yesterday.

"You are the real queen?" Historia asked her with the most surprised expression imaginable.

"That's right" the dark-haired woman responded with a smile "your big sister is also the ruler of the walls."

"This is unbelievable!" Eren exclaimed in amazement "so that's why you couldn't be here all the time…"

"Yeah, I'm sorry for that" Frieda responded apologetically "I still won't be able to come here more often, but maybe…"

"Huh?" The two kids looked at her with hopeful eyes.

"Maybe you could visit me in the palace instead?"

"That'd be wonderful!" The boy spoke happily "could Ymir come as well?"

Frieda looked over to the freckled girl, standing behind the two. It looked like they've integrated pretty well over the course of the last year. Noticing her staring, Ymir just rolled her eyes.

"Of course, she can!" The dark-haired female replied, "the three of you are very welcome!"

This day turned out to be one of the busiest days in her entire life. The newly revealed queen visited the representatives of the military, several notable churches and many, many more important people. Nobles and merchantmen all wanted to get to know her, which was understandable. She even gave an interview for the press.

Her palace provided her with much needed refuge from all her troubles. It was also the place that her only family had been awaiting her, patiently.

"Frieda!" Her sister cried out once she saw her in the doorway to the visiting chamber.

The dark-haired female could only extend her arms before the blonde bolt filled with energy, impacted with her.

"I'm so glad you could make it!" Historia said while hugging her tightly.

"Yeah" Eren seconded the girl, "this place is awesome!"

Behind the boy Frieda could see a slightly annoyed Ymir, sitting on one of the couches inside the room. She was probably feeling out of place and even though their relationship was mostly professional, the dark-haired queen figured that it would probably ruin the kids' evening if she were to exclude her out of everything.

"Wait till you see the garden" she said with a smug smile "everyone, let's go!"

Frieda turned to look at the incognito bodyguard. Being forced by someone to work for them probably wasn't the best icebreaker, but if the freckled shifter wanted to make a scene, the queen would be more than happy to put her back in her place.

"You too, Ymir…"

Not before rolling her eyes, the girl stood up and joined the other three.

The royal garden was as beautiful as ever. Looking at the three kids, Frieda remembered her own brothers and sisters playing here. Even though it was still a little painful to think about her deceased family, these were all happy memories.

Suddenly, the dark-haired female realized that she hadn't thought about them in a long time. She couldn't even recall visiting their graves. Being a monarch in a time of crisis was a great excuse, however she couldn't imagine that she hadn't even spent a single moment thinking about her dead family.

Frieda watched Eren throw Historia into the small pond. It was really amazing how much the boy has changed over the time he had spent on the farm. He was way happier and more carefree than ever. Aside from his naturally roguish character, he was just a normal, growing boy.

While he was laughing, Ymir snuck up on him from behind and pushed the boy into the pond as well. Now, it was Historia's time to laugh as she splashed him with water. As Eren stood there with a sour face, his wet clothes stuck to his body, showing his physique.

He was definitely becoming a real man. While his abs weren't that much defined yet, his muscles were way bigger than she thought. Maybe it was due to all the work he was doing on the farm. Moreso, he let his hair grow out more, and those were absolutely beautiful. For some reason, they resembled hers and she wondered if the boy could pass off as her relative if they grew even more.

After the sun had set, the kids went back to the guest room, where they would spend a night.

"If you are the queen, does that make Historia a princess?" Eren asked Frieda once she tucked them in their respective beds.

"Don't call me…" the blonde deadpanned.

"I guess it does" the dark-haired female responded with a wide smile, much to her little sister's displeasure.

"Oh, so Ymir was right all along!" Eren exclaimed.

"Shut up…"

The freckled girl was nowhere to be seen. It wasn't a big concern for Frieda, since she was sure of Ymir's loyalty. After all, there wasn't anywhere she could hide from her.

"Don't say bad words, Historia" the queen discipled her sister "now, sleep, little ones."

"Okay, Frieda…" the two kids responded with a yawn.

It wasn't long before they were asleep. The dark-haired female had to admit, looking at their peaceful faces was worth more than all the other hardships combined.

Especially Eren. His face belonged to one of the most beautiful faces that she had ever seen. Frieda wasn't proud of that, but she was somehow drawn to him. Suddenly, a single strand of hair fell between his closed eyes.

She just couldn't stop herself. The queen raised her hand and slowly, brought it to the boy's cheek.

"Eren, why do you want to go outside?"

"I hate the idea of spending my whole life inside the wall, ignorant of what's out there!"

What was going on? She was looking on the young Eren, but she was no longer in the guest chamber.

"And besides" the boy continued "if there's no one to carry on, everyone who died up until now will have died in vain!"

These words struck her in a way she wasn't expecting. Freedom was something she wanted for herself as well, but really what could she do to overcome the vow of Karl Fritz?

"I see" she responded, while standing up.

"Wait, honey!" The mother exclaimed as Frieda was opening the door "talk some sense into your son!"

"Eren" the queen spoke, holding out a small key "when I get home, I'll show you what I've been keeping in the basement…"

Then, she looked to the side.

'No way…'

She literally couldn't believe what she was seeing. This wasn't right. She recalled Grisha Yeager's words about the attack titan, but how was this even possible.

Did this memory belong to the past, or to the future?

"What are you doing…?"