Historia was telling her tale to her friends one night about the truth of her origins.
'I was born in a small farmstead in the northern lands of Wall Rose,' she explained. 'It was owned by the Noble Tradesman family; as far back as I can remember, I was helping out around the farm.'
Historia was working around the farm helping where she could, but her mother always sat at the same tree reading day in and day out.
'My mother was always reading books, she didn't care to work, and no one cared to make her. She was a beautiful woman, most nights, someone would come for her in a carriage, and she would go off into the city wearing fancy clothes.'
Historia was looking out the window as she watched her mother dressed like a noble entering a carriage that took her away. During those nights, Historia would read the same books that her mother would read during the day to imitate her.
'For me, that was life as I knew it, but when I learn to read and write, I started picking up books to imitate my mother, and they taught me just how alone I was. In all the stories that I read in those books, parents cared about their children. They'd talked to them, hugged them, scolded them… I had never experienced any of those things. One day out of curiosity, I decided to try to hug my mother. I guess I want to see what kind of face she would make.'
Historia slowly approached her mother and then jumped at her. "Mummy!"
However, the reaction was not exactly what she was hoping for; her mother looked horrified and immediately grasped her face pushing her aside when she was some kind of pest causing her nose to bleed.
'She ended up shoving me away from her, but it was the first time that my mother had acknowledged me, so it actually made me happy.'
Her mother just looked at her as she smiled. "There wasn't such a coward; I could have killed it."
She then walked away crying, much of the confusion of Historia.
'Those were the first words that my mother ever said to me; she went to live somewhere else after that. I see her for a long time and then five years ago, just a few days after Wall Maria fell… I finally met my father.'
Historia was rather surprised to find that her mother had returned and with her was a noble-looking man she had never met before.
"Historia, my name is Johann Tradesman; I wish we could have met sooner," he said, taking off his hat. "You see, I'm your father."
Historia's eyes widened, and then she caught her mother standing behind, and she looked terribly frightened.
'That man, he was the lord of the land I had grown up. The mother I hadn't seen in years looked terribly frightened.'
Johann then bent down towards her. "Now listen, you'll be living with me from this day forth."
With that, they left the house, but no sooner have they stepped outside than they were greeted by several men in coats. Her mother immediately screamed upon seeing them and try to run away only to be grabbed.
"You know what this is, Lord Johann," said Grimmel. "The fall of Wall Maria has gotten you to act a bit reckless. I suppose you thought you would get your pretty little secrets to safer ground, huh?"
"Let Mum go!" Historia yelled.
"No!" Her mother yelled. "I am not that girl's mother! I've never even met her, do whatever you want with her but let me go!"
"Oh," said Grimmel looking up at Johann. "You have anything to say about that Lord Johann? Maybe it's just a coincidence that the three of you are out here at the same time?"
Johann sighed as he released Historia's hand. "So be it. That's correct; these two have nothing to do with me."
"I thought that might be the case," said Grimmel.
Historia then watched as they pushed her mother to the ground. "Wait, what are you…?"
"You were never employed at this state, and no one here has ever heard your name," said Grimmel as he pulled out a knife. "Sounds to me like you don't exist."
Her eyes widened in horror. "No, I… Master, please, that isn't true! You have to tell them!"
"What are they doing?" said Historia as she slowly approached her mother. "Mother?"
"If only you had never been born, I could…" she said just before Grimmel slit her throat.
Historia looked down at her mother and dropped the book in her hands.
'Those were the last words my mother ever said.'
Grimmel then approached Historia, prepared to do the same thing he had just done to her mother.
"No, wait," said Johann.
'Moments before I was killed myself, my father proposed an idea. That if I was sent somewhere far away, to live out a quiet life, perhaps they could spare me.'
"Your new name will be Christa Dove," said Johann.
Historia was still being hugged by her father back in the present and finally released her.
"I for your forgiveness, child," he said. "Please know that everything I've done I have done to protect you."
"F-father?" said Historia slowly.
"Not a day has passed that I haven't thought of you, long have a dream that the day where I could hold you like this. You are special; the blood of the King flows in your veins."
"Is that true?" she said with tears in her eyes.
"Yes, Historia. The true Royal bloodline is carried by the Tradesman Family, and as its heir, the power to save all humanity now rests in your hands." He then rose to his feet and grasped her hand. "Please, Historia, come with me, and I'll show you where it all began."
Meanwhile, Valka and Mason had escorted Lael back to his cell, where Carl was waiting.
"Lael," said Carl taking note of his very bruised face. "Your face, what happened? Wait, did you… they did actually make you talk, did they? But we swore a vial of loyalty to the King—"
Lael was absolutely furious and immediately grasped his throat. "I can't stand another word from you! I would have died for you, and you betrayed me for a bed! To think that I trusted you!"
"Hey, he never told us anything," said Valka. "He didn't get a chance to; we never questioned him."
Lael then immediately stopped and stared at her as she held up the script in her hand. "This is the conversation you heard. We forced Carl here to read of this script at knifepoint; it was staged."
Lael was completely horrified as he released Carl and then fell to his knees. "Then it was me… I was you betrayed the king's secret."
Valka and Mason then walked away.
"You… You're a devil," said Carl looking directly at Valka as he massaged his throat.
Valka stopped and looked back at him. "You might be right about that, but I bet that Pastor Mildew felt the exact same way about you. That's why I felt sorry for you, Lael, not because your nails got plucked out, because of what you have done with your life. You're pathetic! A grown man wailing like an infant! Now you can spend the rest of your lives eating and shitting in this cell! Enjoy…"
She then turned her back on him.
"It's your turn," said Lael as she looked back at him. "There is an order to these things; perhaps it's more than human nature. But once the time is over, another must take upon the role they used to plan and thus, the world can never be cleansed of it. Best of luck, Valka."
Valka narrowed her eyes and made her way to the door.
"Section Commander?" said Mason.
She didn't say a word and left the cells; she then took a deep breath and then kicked a nearby table. Eret had arrived at almost exactly the same time and looked at her.
"I'm sorry, seems like I made a mess," she said. "I encountered a large cockroach."
"I see, well as hard as you kicked it, I bet it learned its lesson," said Eret knowing what she was referencing. "It's time you feel them in."
"Oh yeah," said Valka knowing what he was referring to. "I guess I might as well."
They soon gathered the rest of the squad, and Valka told them about Ragnar's message.
"They plan to eat Ragnar?" Fishlegs stared.
"Yeah, Ragnar remembered a conversation between Ymir and Clueless," she said. "Based on this, we can speculate, Ymir used to be a mindless Titan just like the others until she consumed some. Someone from Clueless and Dogsbreath's group, we've never seen a Titan turn back into a human by eating one before. That said, Dogsbreath's comrade's ain't normal humans, and there are a different set of rules for humans that can turn into Titans.
My thought is this, if a Titan eats someone with that power, then it will transformed back into a human; what's more, they will obtain whatever powers that human had. In the battle the other day, Dogsbreath was throwing Titans at Ragnar as he tried to run away. He knew that Ragnar had the power to take the command of feral Titans with his scream. If Ragnar's death meant that power was lost, he wouldn't have risked it. I think he hoped that one of those Titans would eat Ragnar and take his power. My point is that if the Government has a Titan of their own, they will use it to eat Ragnar."
"Goes a long way to explain why Titans only seem to be interested in eating humans," said Hiccup. "Perhaps their hunger for humans is a subconscious drive for them to return back to human."
"You make it sound as if we should feel sorry for them," said Snotlout.
"He didn't say that," said Astrid. "But what I would like to know is how one even transforms into a Titan in the first place."
"There are still too many unanswered questions like why the Government is so interested in Ragnar in particular," said Eret. "And the only way to answer those questions is to make our way to Johann's estate. Prepare to leave at once."
"Sir!"
"I'll go and tell Stoick about everything we have learned about the Tradesman family," said Valka. "I'm sure he's waiting to hear from us."
"Right," Eret nodded.
"You head for Lord Johann's estate; I'll find you when I can."
Stoick, meanwhile, was at his house looking through some reports we had a knock at the door.
"Pardon, sir," said a Scout as he opened the door. "But the commando of the Garrison has just arrived."
"Alvin?" said Stoick looking surprised.
"Yes, he's asking to speak with you."
"Very well then."
"Sir."
Stoick then began tidying up his desk, and a few seconds later, Alvin entered the room in civilian clothes.
"Forgive me for dropping in unannounced, but I just couldn't sit still, you see," he said. "I finished reading your letter, and I have a few thoughts of my own."
Alvin sat down as Stoick close the curtains, and no one outside could see them.
"But first I have to ask, you are serious, right?" Alvin asked.
"Yes, I have a plan for retaking Wall Maria and to depose the government."
Stoick then sat down and began explaining to Alvin of all current events and his theories.
Alvin looked deeply troubled. "I knew this would happen someday. The state could only hold people in this cramped world for so long before the beginning to lash out. And I knew when the time came, I would have to point my gun at the king I'm sworn to serve."
"Should a certain hunch of mine proves to be correct, it may be possible for us to carry out this plan without military force," said Stoick. "My objective at least is a bloodless coup."
"Ah, then, by all means, go on. If such an option is plausible, I'm for it."
"Well, the catch is that the groundwork for this hasn't yet to be laid out, and if things don't go as I think they will, there is no plan B. I and everyone else will be hanged."
"Oh, is that all," Alvin smiled. "So this is another one of your great gambles then."
Stoick chuckled slightly. "Seems like I'll be a betting man to the end. I expect the news to come shortly; if you care to wait, I would like you to hear a story from my childhood and the mission my family has been pursuing for the past hundred years."
The sun was beginning to rise, and people have discovered the remains of Gorm in the street. Valka and Mason rode past them on horseback.
"Damn, that's bad," said Valka.
Mason looked at her. "Section Commander that was…"
"I saw it; keep moving!"
They soon arrived at Stoick apartment and found that both he was sitting down with Alvin.
"Stoick, it's done," said Valka, then whispered something in his ear.
"I thought as much," he said, not looking surprised and then turned Alvin. "Looks like my gamble may pay off, Commander. One of the First Interior Squad just confessed, the current king is a pretender to the throne, Tradesman is the true Royal family."
Alvin's eyes widened. "Are you sure?"
"I've deployed my Scouts; they're working to retrieve your son and Historia. Once they're secured, we will declare that Historia Tradesman is of royal blood and Crown her as this country's Queen."
Valka and Mason's eyes widened; clearly, this was the first time they had heard of the plan.
"Knowing that this is true, the usurper king will have no choice but to give up the throne," said Alvin as he pondered.
"Assuming that he does, we would have staged a bloodless coup. Then we'll go to the people and expose the system that tried to protect them through all its lies."
Alvin rose to his feet and stroked his beard. "I'm convinced you can count on my support. That said, we could be in the wrong. The final decision is out of our hands; you do understand that don't you?"
"I do, yes," said Stoick.
Once Alvin left, Valka and Mason gave their report.
"Anything come from the Johann investigation?" Valka asked.
"I found out as much as I could," said Stoick handing her some files. "Not much to speak of, just one curious incident."
"Huh?" said Valka, curiously looked through the file.
"Commander Stoick!" said a Scout barging in. "The Interior Squad has put has put out a warrant for you! They're making a scene in the middle of the city centre, sir. Saying that you had someone murdered."
"What?" said Valka.
Stoick didn't look surprised. "It would appear that the enemy has been making plans of their own. Valka, leave town at once."
Valka stared at her husband. "What are you planning to do?"
"I need to be the face of the Scout Regiment," he said as he put his coat on. "I trust you to act at your own discretion. Also, I've chosen the Scout's next leader, and it's you. The Scout in your hands."
Valka couldn't believe her ears as she watched her husband leave.
Stoick had made his way to the incident, which was now crowded with citizens.
"Hey, that's him."
"Stoick's here?"
When Stoick arrived at the crime scene, he saw three dead bodies and crying over one of them was a woman he had to assume had to be the widow of the deceased.
"I take it that you know who this is," said the MP in charge. "Right, Stoick?"
Stoick nodded. "That's Mr Gorm Gulson; he was the head of the Gulson Company."
"Just yesterday, at this exact location, Ragnar Keatson was abducted by a group of Gorm's lackeys," said the MP. "However, Gorm was hired to do this by none other than the Scouts themselves, in the hopes they might avoid handing Ragnar Keatson over to the Government and then when Gorm had outlived his usefulness, they killed him to stop him from talking. The murderer is still at large; we presumed that they had Keatson."
"What a convenient story that would be," said Stoick.
"I can see what you scandals are doing; you're trying to monopolise Ragnar's Titan power to keep it all for yourselves. That type of action violates Clause Six of the Charter of Humanity. I trust that you're familiar with that law."
"One must never prioritise their own gain for humanity survival," said Stoick. "Am I correct?"
"That you are, and because the Scout Regiment is in violation of this law, all Scout must be arrested!"
Unbeknownst to anyone, Gorm's son, Cleaver, was watching from the shadows.
"Dad," he said and quickly ran off.
MPs then immediately began to read every single Scout in the entire city.
"Maybe this will satisfy the fatcats," said Grimmel as he and Shard watch from a distance. "Gorm's ended up being just as useful against us as with us."
"But we still don't have any leads on Eret," Shard pointed out.
"Like I told you, the boy is not going to hide forever. When he shows, we'll kill him."
Valka and Mason were currently running through the alleyways to the wicked invested by the MPs; they were now fugitives.
"Would you think we should do?" Mason asked.
Valka really wished she had an answer.
Stoick was being escorted to a carriage that would take them to the capital for his trial.
"Give me a moment," said Stoick.
"What?" the MP frowned.
Stoick then made his way over to Gorm's wife.
"Get get the hell away from my husband!" she snarled upon seeing him.
Stoick knelt down. "When the battle for Trost first began, Mr Gorm delayed evacuation efforts to preserve his wealth."
"Yeah, so what's your point? Are you trying to say that he deserved to die?"
"No, I'm not, because, upon his return to Trost, he founded on the verge of collapse and instead of abandoning it, he planted his feet. He helped those who couldn't leave by striving to revive this city…" He then placed a hand over Gorm. "…but now that dream has been cut short by a knife in the dark. I swear this, I will avenge him."
Everyone then stared at him as he made his way to the carriage, and he drove away; those were hardly the words of a man who put himself ahead of humanity.
Stoick couldn't help but think back to the conversation he had with Alvin on the trip to the capital.
"My father, he was a teacher," he said. "One day, we were discussing history. Faced with the annihilation by the hands of Titans, humanity took refuge behind the walls and realise 100 years of peace, but in this process, we lost all records of humanity earlier past might have looked like. That's what all of us were taught; even back then, this seemed strange to me, so I asked my father a question. He gave me a fairly evasive answer and continued with the standing lesson."
At this same point in time, Hiccup was having a similar conversation with the squad as they made their way down the road.
"It was my great uncle who created the Scout Regiment, and I bear his name. He petitioned to the capital that we had to regain the land we had lost the Titans. At first, the capital ignored him, but then he started to rally the people giving them no choice but to issue his request. However, his true motive was not to take back the land we lost them Titans, but discover the truth of humanity."
"When we got home that night, he sat down and gave me the real answer," said Stoick. "He told me that the history books he had received from the Government were filled with contradictions and mysteries. He then proceeded to tell me a theory of his; even as a child, I was astounded."
"Ever since humanity hid behind the Walls, the Haddocks have been trying to find humanity past, but there are no records," said Hiccup. "That seemed odd to my family because even if all written records were destroyed, the first-generation that took refuge behind these Walls would have given detailed accounts of what life was like before the Titans. My grandfather came with a theory which he shared with my father, but unfortunately, he didn't realise the seriousness of this truth."
"There was a reason why my father did not share this period with the rest of the class, but I was too stupid to see it," said Stoick. "I told the other children what he had told me, and one day the MPs arrived to question me. My father did not come home that night, they said that he had died in some kind of freak accident, but I knew that was not true. He had been silenced by the Government."
"Like the rest of my family, I was curious about what lay beyond the Walls, so I asked my father whether humanity still existed outside," said Hiccup. "He told me of my grandfather's theory told me not to share it with anyone, not even my closest friends."
"And you didn't trust us with this secret?" Fishlegs asked, looking rather hurt.
"After what they did to my grandfather, It's abundantly clear that the government will do anything in order to keep the secret of humanity's past the whether it's for protecting us or to control us, I cannot say."
"107 years ago, when humanity fled to the Walls, the King altered their collective memory to make it easier to rule," said Stoick. "That was my father's theory."
Alvin nodded. "Yes, I can see why the first king might do that. He must have believed that such knowledge would lead to civil strife. Yes, but ever since I was a child, I have asked myself why would the Government have to kill my father for nothing more than getting close to the truth? Despite the cruelty of it, I had hoped that their motives might have been noble. But more recently, I have realised something about these men.
What their fighting to protect is not humanity but their own gardens, houses and lands, which means all they care about is suppressing those who dare to question their authority in any way. I no longer believe there was any justification for my father's death; he was killed by human greed and by the s my father heer stability of his own son. I can't tell you why, but I know in my gut that my father's words are true. I have made it my mission in this life to atone to my father by proving to the world that he was right."
"It is now obvious that the government does not with the people live or die so long as they maintain their control," said Hiccup. "To that end, they would use any means to stop anything that would endanger their rule. My grandfather, Fishlegs parents, Historia's mother now the Scout Regiment. However, there is a massive food shortage, and if Wall Rose falls, they may end up sealing Wall Sina and leaving the citizens of Wall Rose to the Titans. This is the closest my family has ever come to the truth, and I won't let it slip through my fingers."
The next morning in the Nexus District, news about Stoick's arrest spread like wildfire.
"The Scout Regiment has murdered a civilian!" an MP yelled, handing out flyers. "Some of them have evaded capture; these people are dangerous. If you spot any of the people on these posters, report them immediately."
"I told you, didn't I," said a civilian. "These are the same bastards that unleashed a Titan here. They destroyed half the town."
"I bet they're planning to use that freakshow, Ragnar, to wipe us all out."
Hiccup, Astrid and Snotlout had managed to snuff again to get supplies when they heard the news.
With their scouting mission complete, they return to the forest where the others were waiting.
"Captain, we brought the supplies," said Snotlout.
"The MPs were handing out these flyers," said Hiccup handing one over to Eret. "If this is true, the Scouts will be disbanded. They say they will be hunting for us in the mountains tonight. They are also posting guards on all of the vital roads. No one can get through them without a pass. So what do we do now, Captain?"
"We need to hurry and find Ragnar," said Astrid.
"He'll be fine," said Eret. "They're taking him on a wagon that gives us one day before they reach Johann's estate, and we need every second we can get to come up with a plan."
Heather then heard something moving through the forest. "Captain, I hear footsteps. It sounds like they're approaching."
Everyone knew that MPs were trying to sniff them out in the woods, and they had to come over planning quickly.