Chapter Two
Meetings
The sound of soft squeal flew across the garden, and Sophia could've sworn she heard something else from it. Her blue eyes opened, gleaming like the sky itself, and looked at the black-haired girl snuggled within her arms. A soft smile crossed her face as she passed to another page, watching Ymir's curious gaze lose itself to the pictures being presented for anyone to see. Even after Wallace left the girl to the maid no long ago, Sophia had found a place in her heart to begin accepting the girl as just another child.
Ymir was wearing a small shirt and brown trousers, due to her sudden appearance there was no time to go outside and buy some clothing for the small girl. Ymir seemed to not have a problem with it, always lost in the book, and Sophia was waiting for Wallace to come back for both of them to go out and but stuff for the girl.
"Hey, Y-Ymir." Sophia struggled to speak the girl's name, quickly sighing in shame as the girl looked up to her, tilting her head to the side. "Don't you want to read another book?"
Ymir's brows creased in confusion, and Sophia didn't know how to convey her message. She was used to dealing with people who knew the language, but she knew from the simple reason of clothing and that she was an orphan that, Ymir never had the education, to begin with. An idea reached her mind, as her eyelids blinked. Sophia snapped her fingers, Ymir's eyes going toward them, she made her way with her index finger and touched the book, then pointed at the rest of the bundle that was nearby them on top of the small glass table.
Ymir's eyes gleamed with understanding, and she nodded her head shyly. Sophia smiled, and placed the book she was holding, and grabbed another one. The wind chimed, and the fresh air blew against them while the scent of grass filled up their lungs.
Sophia sighed in relief, knowing that Ymir won't mind her struggling to speak her name. Even if she was uncomfortable with the name the girl held, Sophia understood that she was no devil. Far from it. An angel, she thought about is, as children held the greatest of innocence.
The black-haired maid was about to open the book when she felt it. She looked down at Ymir, who was frowning. Sophia was about to ask when she heard the sound of a carriage getting close to their position and wondered if Wallace had already gotten back from his meeting to ensure Ymir's custody to the Tybur family. Well, I have to greet him. She thought, as she patted Ymir on the arm, and nodded far from her body.
Ymir nodded her head and propelled her body. The girl jumped to the ground, flexing her knees as she touched the grass. Sophia stood up and swept all dirt from her dress as she laid the book on the table, and walked toward the front door. The maid noticed Ymir walking behind her, and smiled as the soon-adopted orphan struggled to keep up with her, but managed in the end.
The blue-eyed woman reached the door and opened it up, Ymir hiding behind her legs. "Welcome home—"
"William is not here, Sophia?" The cold voice of Madam Tybur greeted her.
Sophia felt a shiver running down her spine as her eyes widened, the sight in front of her being somewhat shocking to her. Wallace's brother, his mother, and best friend were standing in front of her, looking ready to kill someone.
"Eh, Madam Tybur, may I ask what are you doing here without notice?" Sophia inquired, feeling Ymir's grip on her dress tighten. Silently and without no one in front of her noticing, she stroked Ymir's head, calming the girl down.
Larry butted in. "Where is my brother, Sophia?" He demanded to know.
"He is not here at the moment." The maid answered, tone flat. That seemed to be the wrong answer.
"I'm going to repeat it. Where is my brother, Sophia?" The dark-eyed man repeated before getting slapped in the hand by Madam Tybur.
"Stop that," The elder woman scolded, voice cold and threatening, though the cute smile painted across her face gave off a warning sign inside of Sophia's mind. The maid took a silent step back, carefully noting each one of their body languages, and knew that Wallace was not going to have it good once he comes back.
Master Wallace, I pray you to find peace wherever you go. Sophia prayed in her heart.
"Now, Sophia, what I was about to ask before my son here interrupted me was, do you know where Wallace is currently at? We have something to say to him." Madam Tybur asked, smile sweet.
Sorry, Master, but I want to live another day, I hope you find in your heart to forgive me. "He should be currently coming back from his meeting with the Marleyan General, and if that is not the case, then he should be buying something." That was the best she could come up with while being truthful about the situation. Sophia had known tricks to avoid being caught lying, and that is simply telling a lie with the truth, as long as there is some truth inside of your words, no lies could immediately be picked up.
Madam Tybur narrowed her eyes, and Wallace's best friend spoke out. "I don't even know why I am here." He sighed.
Sophia looked at the man. William Kaiser was a Marleyan who had grown up with Wallace and have been best friends ever since they both had met all of those years ago. The Kaiser family and Tybur family are close due to their friendship for their respective current figurehead. He had black short hair and brown chocolate eyes, and he was wearing his military uniform.
"You should know what was that letter about, shouldn't you!?" Asked Larry, glaring at the Marleyan.
"As I've told you, he never told me that he was going to do anything like this. He simply told me that he was going to find a way to redeem the Eldians from their sins, no matter what." William replied, quirking an eyebrow. "Besides, shouldn't he have told you this? After all, you are close family, aren't you?"
"Don't change the subject—!"
"Larry, Will, stop this bickering." Madam Tybur shut both of them up and silence fell around them.
Sophia could feel the temperature dropping around them, as she felt shaky hands gripping her dress. She sighed, knowing that Ymir was going to come up sooner or later, and it was better to get it over with. The maid whirled on her heel and crouched, catching the attention of the guests. Sophia picked up Ymir and scooped her in her arms, giving the girl a clear view of the people who have just arrived.
"Sophia. . ." Madam Tybur started, hiding her mouth with her fan. "Who is this?"
Larry and William seemed to share the same question, as their expressions are very similar at the moment. They were intrigued, curious, and who would be not? As there was a child in the hands of the maid that takes care of the house of Wallace Tybur, the current head of the family after his father's death.
Sophia looked at Ymir, who looked at her back, and both of them looked at the guests of the house.
"This is Ymir, and she is the one Master Tybur is going to adopt."
Wallace walked down the hallway as he looked at the side, the light of the sun shining through the windows. His mind was filled with thoughts about the events to come, and the things he had to prepare for the sake of the betterment of the Eldian treatment.
Even If I don't manage to get the approval of this, as long as Ymir stays in Tybur custody everything will still go as planned. There is no way I am backing now, not after everything I have seen in my ancestors' memories. Wallace thought, hardening his resolve.
He turned in a corner and reached the door that was at the end of the hallway. Wallace paused for a second, taking a deep breath before knocking on the door. After a couple of seconds with no response, someone spoke on the other side.
"Who is it?" An annoyed voice called out.
"Wallace Tybur." The blonde man said.
Someone choking on their saliva and then speaking again. "Come in."
Wallace whirled the knob around and opened the door, he looked back for a second, ensuring that no one was looking at him going inside of the room. The Tybur went inside and closed the door behind him. The newly arrived moved over to the middle of the room, where there were two couches with a small wooden table in between them, a desk in the corner of the room, looking like it had just been used.
A man was smoking on one of the couches, and as soon as the man's eyes landed on Wallace, who narrowed his at him, he quickly stubbed out the cigarette. The man was bald with a grey mustache from his old age, he was wearing a white military suit with medals on his left side. There were scars over his left cheek, and two mission fingers on his right hand.
"It's been a while since I last saw you, Wallace. Tell me, did you get yourself a woman? A young one, perhaps?"
Wallace deadpanned, but a thin smile crossed his face. He knew what the man was referring to. "Please, don't joke about that. You'll truly make me look like a devil, General Weber."
"Call me Stefan, I am going to retire in a few years, there is no reason to call me general like that." The man—Stefan Weber—said, waving his hand.
Wallace nodded and sat.
"Now," Stefan started. "I've heard from one of my subordinates that you wish to adopt an Eldian orphan from the internment zone. Care to explain why is that?"
"Because I want the best for Marley,"
Stefan raised an eyebrow, prompting Wallace to continue.
"I wish for that girl to be in my family because I want to give Marley a chance to see that us Eldians are not simply devils to be despised, that we want to atone for the sins of the past and seek out the betterment of the world. If you allow me to adopt her, then I promise to make that a reality."
The Tybur bowed his head as silence made its presence in the room. While Wallace was bowing his head, inside of Stefan's mind was happening a train of thoughts that were not stopping by anything on the world.
It was true that Eldians did everything that the Marleyans said to atone for the sins of their past, and the Tybur family had done the most to atone for their sins and were granted luxuries the rest of the Eldians of Marley did not have.
Stefan didn't see any reason to deny his request, since it also made the possibility of having their help within matters of Eldians and being a spokesperson that could help control the masses, as well as a role model for the rest of the "Devilkin" to know how a redeemed Eldian behaved and acted.
The Marleyan nodded his head and spoke out.
"Very well, but I must know how do you wish to start this. . . 'atonement' for the Eldians." Stefan was intrigued, and he hoped that Wallace wouldn't disappoint him.
"I wish to start a church."
"A church, you say. . ." Stefan trailed off, narrowing his eyes at Wallace, who lifted one of his hands.
"Let me explain," Wallace started.
Stefan nodded, still narrowing his eyes in suspicion.
The blonde man continued. "We know that most Eldians deep down have a sense of faith in Ymir Fritz, and will believe her to be a goddess above all else. A church will most likely be a good place to teach them what a good Eldian should be, using their faith to shape them into something better. The Warriors are already seen as though they are on the way to atonement, but if we play our cards right, Eldians will be more willing to help Marleyans or even the rest of the world to atone for what happened in the past, to finally show everyone, that we can be more than devils, that we, too, have regrets and sadness within ourselves, that we can feel their pain."
Stefan widened his eyes at the lengthy answer, and his brain processed it all in a couple of seconds. Putting his finger on his chin, his brain began to work.
The Church. There weren't many churches around Marley that Eldians could use, to begin with, and there were some hidden somewhere within the internment zone that no higher up had allowed. Stefan then thought, if they managed to create a place where they could keep an eye on Eldians while shaping them, it would be better for everyone.
Devils seeking atonement without out us telling them to. . . who would have thought about it. Stefan thought. "Very well." The Marleyan nodded. "Now, why is the orphan you are going to adopt so important?" That intrigued Stefan to a certain degree.
"She will be the figurehead," Wallace explained.
"Why?" Inquired Stefan.
"She will be named Ymir," The Tybur said, to the Marleyan's surprise. "I assume you can understand where I am going with this, right?"
"Correct. We can discuss this later, but I'll tell the rest later in the day. She will be in official Tybur guardianship effectively immediately."
Wallace then had a troubled face.
"What happened?" Stefan asked.
"Well. . ." The blonde man twirled his fingers around. "I need a tutor for her." The Tybur admitted as he sighed.
Stefan laughed. "It can be arranged. Now then, we have to iron out the details at a later date, I have too much work to continue today."
"Thank you for your time." Wallace stood up and bowed.
"See you in another time, Wallace Tybur," Stefan said.
The Tybur nodded and got out. He paused for a second, then continued to move as he stepped out of the room after opening the door. He thought he heard something, but it could be just the excitement of getting Ymir into the family.
There was a carriage waiting for him outside and Wallace stepped inside. He told the rider to take him to his house, and the carriage began to move. A smile crossed his face, finally seeing a bright future for Eldian.
For the sake of Eldian, he couldn't fail.
His family couldn't fail.
All we have to do. . .
The brunette man gazed over the Tybur that was stepping inside of the carriage with a face devoid of any prominent emotion. His green eyes glowing slightly when he saw the Tybur smiling through the window of the carriage for a second, and a smile crossed his face for a second. Then, a sudden headache came to his head, and a frown decorated his features as he massaged his temple.
"Is something wrong?" The black-haired teenager beside him questioned, confused by the sudden action.
"Don't worry about it," The man responded, waving off the teenager's attention. He looked down, at the syringe in his hand. "Come, we have to get out of here and look for the next."
The teenager grumbled under his breath. "Fine." There was a bit of sadness coloring his voice.
The man breathed out just below a whisper, for no one except himself to hear it. ". . . is to keep moving forward, no matter what."
"So . . .this is the one Wallace wants to adopt. . ."
Sophia nodded, gently grabbing Ymir's hand as she stood by the girl's side. The maid was standing beside the couch where Ymir was sitting, while the rest of the guests had taken other seats to continue their talk. The blue-eyed woman held no emotion in her face, but inside she was growing slightly worried that Ymir will grow to fear the rest of the family of Wallace.
Madam Tybur was glaring at Ymir with what Sophia could assume was a hell bending glare, as for she herself shivered every time the elder woman looked at her eyes.
"Madam Tybur, please stop glaring at the girl like that," William said, and then added. "Glare at Wallace when he comes back, he deserves it for not saying anything."
"That's true," Larry mumbled under his breath, but anyone could pretty much tell what he had just said.
At the words of Larry and William, Klara Tybur sighed before taking a sip of her tea that Sophia had managed to prepare. Even so. She couldn't simply stop looking at the girl. One could only imagine her surprise when her eldest son had decided to adopt someone from the internment zone, and one with the name of the Founder Ymir no less. It was a bitter reminder of memories she had wanted to forget, of how her husband would go out when no one was looking to seek out someone.
Wallace had gone out the same as his father, but he brought someone from the internment zone, for reasons she will demand to be explained. Though, she knew that Wallace wasn't stupid, and she will respect his decision to bring the girl until she heard his words.
The sound of a knock came, and Sophia swiftly moved towards it. She opened the door, and Wallace was standing there, a smile on his face.
"Hello, Sophia. Do you know here—?" Wallace was about to ask something when he caught sight of his family and best friend. His eyes quickly traveled toward Ymir, who simply had her head tilted.
"Hello, Wallace." Madam Tybur began. "It seems that you have much to explain."
A/N: Here it is. Next chapter Wallace explains himself to his family, and the Church of Ymir begins its creation.