A/N: Hope you will enjoy this immediate second update. Once again, I apologize for my procrastination in delivering this to you all. Enjoy!
Chapter 3: The Matching Ceremony
To say Jean was as red as a tomato would not be an understatement. He blushed furiously at the Commander's declaration. "W-what?" he sputtered. "You've got to be joking! That's not even five months from now!"
Sasha's eyes had bulged from their sockets in disbelief. When she was trying to catch what they were saying outside of the room, she knew it had to have been something worrisome due to Hange's facial expression, but this?
Mikasa didn't appear too perturbed, albeit her initial reaction was one of small surprise. She glanced at Eren. He was staring ahead, listening to the Commander trying to explain herself over the commotion of many voices who were speaking all at once. "Shut up twerps!" Levi yelled, and his authoritative tone got the whole room silent within seconds.
"This is unexpected yes." Hange said. "But while we were gone Paradis faced many tragedies. This is the government's way of coping with the disasters. There will be a ceremony tonight. It will determine who you will be marrying."
Armin saw that Mikasa was not fine with this. She stiffened. "Commander." she spoke up.
Hange looked in her direction. She had been waiting for this to come. "Yes Mikasa?"
"Are we not allowed to choose who we marry?"
"No. At least, not at first. There is a way to switch your partners after the Matching Ceremony. But both partners must be willing to perform the exchange." Mikasa nodded at this, soaking in the information. "Might I ask why we can't choose?"
"Political reasons." Hange stated matter of factly. She dropped it at that. Mikasa did not appear satisfied with the answer.
Nonetheless, Hange turned to re-address the entire group. "The ceremony begins at 5 tonight. Be there, sharp. More details, I presume, will be explained once we get there. Your Majesty, I leave the rest in your hands." Hange bowed before going to take a vacant seat to the left of her. The looks Historia was receiving were not gentle, welcoming ones in the slightest. "That is all." she said. "Thank you."
The Corps bowed and left the room, chatter running through them.
"This is nuts!"
"We just got back from a war, and now we have to deal with this? All I wanted was some peace and quiet once I returned. I want to properly mourn…"
"Hey, I bet 10 pieces of gold that Mikasa kills whoever manages to get a hold of Eren over there!"
"Nah man. I feel bad for the dude who lands with her. Hopefully he won't get his feelings hurt. Mikasa will never allow another man into her heart. That bit-" an angry look from Jean- "I mean, that woman, is phenomenal!"
"Forget about Mikasa. Who is captain going to be paired with?" Sasha's question seemed to get the whole Corps to pause in their tracks, with the exception of the Commander and the man himself. The two leaders had already found their way to their respective rooms. A newer recruit, the one Jean had glared at, whistled. "That's a tough one Blouse. Guess we'll find out at the ceremony tonight, huh?"
They would indeed. A female servant who was showing some of the girls to the washrooms sighed dreamily. The servant was probably in her mid to early 20s. "I hope I get matched with him." The Corps nearly blanched at her confession. None of them could even begin to comprehend their Captain being like that with a female. He was too...scary. Aggressive. A good man (okay, perhaps that was debatable), a good comrade and leader (this was without question), with exceptional combat skills and exemplary cleanliness. But a father? A husband? No. Inconceivable. A blasphemous thought.
At the silent stares she received, the female nervously chalked up a "What?"
The Corps didn't answer her. They continued walking.
Jean peered over at Mikasa, who was walking rather close to Eren. Well, she usually always remained close to Eren, but this time it was even closer, far more than he felt was necessary, and he couldn't help but to feel annoyance begin to creep inside of him. Knowing Mikasa and how fate loved to beat Jean into the dirt, he was sure the two would end up being matched together. He grunted, bitterness grinding its way through him. He hated his overly blunt, pessimistic thoughts. But he'd rather be truthful with himself than get his hopes up only to be crushed. Whoever wanted that?
He had been observing Eren for the last five minutes, trying to gouge out his reaction to all this. The man was expressionless as ever. This grated on Jean's nerves. Although he and the ex-loud mouthed, triggered, teenager were still not on the best of terms, they had managed to grow a sense of respect and comradeship with each other. They didn't really fight anymore, and even when they got into heated arguments, they were short and only ended with words, no longer fists. Jean had learned from Eren that sometimes it wasn't too bad to be a bit more idealistic. Did Eren learn anything from Jean? He wasn't sure. Maybe he learned that "horse-faced" people weren't all that bad. Just realistic.
However, even with these things said, it still didn't mean that the suicidal maniac didn't get underneath Jean's skin. Especially when it concerned Mikasa. It wouldn't be so bad if Eren acknowledged Mikasa's feelings and returned them. Then Jean could move on. Hopefully. But it was when Eren didn't that he hated him, because it gave Jean - oh, how he despised himself - hope. Hope for a future he would never have. Hope that if Eren continued to ignore Mikasa's affection, then maybe he could come in and show her how much he would definitely appreciate her for all she's worth, more than any other man would.
He turned down his inner musings and thought back on Eren's reaction to the decree. Hm...he was pretty certain Eren knew what was going on through Mikasa's head. Was he alright with that? He halted when Eren came into direct eye contact with him. He was staring at him...knowingly. The girl Jean was currently in affliction over, followed her love's gaze to settle on him, and her face softened. 'What is that supposed to mean?'
Jean wasn't watching where he was going however, and bumped into the person in front of him. "Oh! Sorry I didn't see you there."
"It's quite alright." Jean looked to see who he had collided with. It was Armin.
"What do you think of all this?" he asked him.
Armin shrugged. "I understand why the Court did this. It makes sense. With a low population, Eldia would be more prone to harm against invaders. There's not enough men or women to fight. But what I think isn't what I feel."
Jean quirked an eyebrow at the shorter man's words. "And what is it that you are feeling exactly?" Armin suddenly chuckled nervously with a tinge of red tainting his otherwise pale face, and Jean once again saw the stuttering, quivering boy from Boot Camp.
"I don't know if I'm mentally prepared to have kids. Nor am I certain anyone else here is. We're all bone tired. I wish the Court would have had the decency to wait until we were here for a few more months."
Jean scoffed. "More like years."
"Yeah." Armin's voice then lowered. "I know I once told you that it was creepy how you stared at Mikasa a lot but…" the way Armin's face took on a darker expression made Jean think Armin was no longer just thinking about his crush for his best friend. "...I now know how you must have felt. To see another man with the woman you loved." The blatant way Armin addressed Jean's feelings for Mikasa made Jean's face redden again (how many times was he going to keep blushing?! Pathetic!) and he had to resist the urge to peek over his shoulder to make sure the half Asian prodigy wasn't too close to overhear their conversation.
"You should tell her Jean." Armin suggested ignoring Jean's startlement. He was smiling. "Because if you don't…" His smile had now become more tight lipped. "You will regret it. Trust me." Jean looked at him curiously and was about to ask him how did he know of anything about love since he was never known to like anyone, when a servant quickly came up to them.
"Pardon me sirs. But you are being asked to change into formal attire for the upcoming ceremony. Her Majesty says if you do not have formal attire to please meet with the servants in the ballroom, where you will be fitted and given clothing." The two Cadets glanced at each other before following the maid. The only formal attire they owned was their Scout uniforms. They highly doubted the Queen would appreciate them arriving at the Ceremony in War trekked clothes.
Mikasa felt on edge. She laced her slippers silently, trying to calm down her nerves. This was really happening. After she retrieved herself back up from her previously bent down position, she stared at her reflection in the opposing mirror. She felt...very foreign. She had never worn anything like this. Not with the Yeagers. Not even when she was still living with her mother and father. She hung her head low, refusing to continue studying herself.
This stuff was meant for girls. It had never been meant for her. In her mind's eye, she could still see her six pack abs underneath her dress, mocking her for her lack of femininity. She had exercised and trained daily to always be prepared for when Eren might need her. If she had to defend him she would, whether it was through mere words or by physical violence. But she always wanted to have another side prepared for him, one that she didn't believe she could have if she wished to protect him.
She wanted him to see her as a woman. She didn't want to be seen as his competitor. She sighed. She always felt insecure about her appearance. Even now, her muscular arms stood out from her sleeveless dress, their bulkiness very eye catching. She winced. She would have to ask for a shawl.
On the bright side, she was pleased with the fact that she knew Eren and her would finally be together. It was for the best after all. She nodded to herself, removing herself from beside the mirror to walk out into the hallway. Maybe she could flag down a servant before she crossed paths with the man of her current musings.
She could never see herself with another man, besides Eren. Even after all of the things they've been through together and his...more recent changes, she still didn't want to leave him. Yes, she did disagree with the way he handled some of the events in Marley, and she knew that she always would. Bloodshed and revenge was not the answer to all of life's darkest problems. But the war was over now. And she was bound and determined to never let him witness another war again.
That's what she had always wanted. That was why she was so headset initially against him joining the Scouts. The monstrosities they saw, what they themselves went through...she had never wanted him to experience any of that. She knew what the dead would bring you. Guilt, misery, a loss you could never get back. She knew these feelings all too well with her parents. She felt she had let Eren down in this regard. By not shielding him, he was what he was now; a hardened war veteran.
Many nights she dreamed of going back to when they were young and forcing him to not join the Scouts. Even beyond that. They just wouldn't have even joined the Training Corps period. She had made a promise to his mother, and she would fulfill it. She would watch over Eren to the end of her days.
"And when do you anticipate the rest of your entourage and representatives to be here, King Yeager?" Historia watched on as the Court member questioned Zeke about the new alliance Eldia had just struck with Marley. She bit her lip in anticipation. Her stomach was filled with butterflies and hot lead, an odd mix of nerves and bitterness. In 15 more minutes they would have to close the meeting to attend the Ceremony. A ceremony in which Zeke Yeager had just made the most surprising proposition for. She supposed it was necessary though; uniting the countries through personal ties made it less probable for war. Most didn't want to murder their own family.
But she also saw that to a certain degree, it was the king's way of gaining leverage over them. If Eldia were to ever step out of line, then he would threaten one of their own. And since Zeke would only take someone from the Survey Corps, it would be someone of closer ties to the queen and of importance to the military. Someone who could be a threat to Eldia if they were to ever be pried of information. This didn't sit well with Historia. Not at all. She also thought it was a bit sadistic of the king to ask a former person he had shared such bad blood with to bed him. He had killed hundreds of their comrades without hesitation. Who would want to marry such a cold blooded monster? But she pushed these thoughts to the side, tolerating her observations for the future of her country.
She zoned back into the conversation. They were all but finished now, and some people were beginning to rise from their seats. "We look forward to what this day brings us." a court member said, and he bowed to King Yeager. Historia got the feeling that Zeke wasn't quite used to being treated with such high honor because he appeared a little off at the man's action, but he nonetheless bowed his head in acknowledgement. "As does Marley."
The Palace guards then stood beside Historia, escorting her to the Palace gardens to where the ceremony was to take place. The coordinator had done well; the garden was beautifully trimmed and dressed with ribbons and white. The Survey Corps was seated near the front, along with the rest of the military. As their Queen came to greet them, the citizens...well, they stood in her presence, but none failed to show their distaste for what was about to take place.
She gulped. A bellman who had helped spread the word throughout Wall Sheena about today's event came up beside her. He was to aid her in the actual matching process, along with one other servant. Historia cleared her throat. "Thank you to all who have arrived here today. We will be celebrating the return of our soldiers as soon as we get through with the ceremony. Today will mark the beginning of Eldia's return to modernization." A song was then played by the Royal government's band. Ballet dancers appeared next and they danced and danced until they formed a heart. Some of the subjects rolled their eyes. It was all a bit much. But at least it delayed the inevitable.
It was then that the moment of all moments had come. Three bowls filled with citizens' names were placed on a stool beside Historia and the female servant. The bellman spoke up then, to instruct the subjects on what was about to happen. "Males will be called to the front to pick their spouses. You will pick out one single closed piece of paper within the female's bowl, hand it to me, the Queen, or the lovely lady beside me, and then we will read aloud the bride's name. The bride is then to walk up beside her groom. Let us begin."
The bellman picked up the bowl with the smallest amount of slips inside it and gave it to Historia. The bowl contained a mix of citizens' names, military and non military alike, but it consisted mostly-though not all- of the Scout regime's female personnel. The shorter pool was geared to make it more likely for Zeke to pick a Scout, rather than him repeatedly have to re-pick a spouse due to the female being ineligible. The bellman then picked up a second bowl which he gave to the servant. It contained the rest of the nation's female citizens. Finally, the bellman picked up his own bowl, containing the men population.
To say the process was long would not do it justice. Hours seemed to go by as each man went up to pick a name from one of the two bowls. When the bowl intended for Zeke was becoming dangerously low and Zeke still had yet to be called on, the bellman instructed that no men continue selecting from the bowl. They then began to primarily focus on the bowl that held the remainder of the Eldian female population.
Jean felt like he was becoming sick. Eren and Mikasa had yet to be called on. That blasted thing called hope was beginning to rise within him again as more and more people were paired. Maybe he had a shot after all. His head snapped up however, when the bellman called a name he was familiar with.
"Armin Arlert."
He saw Eren and Mikasa shift in their seats. The blonde teenager rose up, stepping through the rows of seats to stand beside the Queen. She smiled at him. He looked at her anxiously. Jean could tell he was so not ready. Armin swallowed, trying to quell his parched throat, and glanced at the bellman. "Go ahead son." the bellman said, gesturing at the bowl inside the female servant's hands.
Armin unsteadily reached out a hand towards the bowl, heart pounding against his chest. He shakily brought back a small paper. The servant took it from him and read aloud "Annie Leonhardt."
Armin's face went unreadable. The audience became deadly quiet. Was it because they recognized the girl as the traitor who went rampaging across the districts 5 years ago? Jean wasn't sure. But the Warrior and holder of the Female Titan stomped up to the front of the crowd, going to stand beside her soon-to-be husband. She didn't appear happy. Not in the slightest. "Eldians, I'm pleased to present Armin and Annie Arlert!" the bellman sang, as he did with all of the couples that were paired together. There was a weak response from the crowd. A few claps. One or two coughs. It was entirely awkward.
He then motioned them to leave. Instead of the two returning to now go sit beside each other, Annie stalked off to where she had been sitting next to Reiner in the far back. Armin did not seem objective to this. In fact, he appeared to be relieved. Armin seated himself between Sasha and a nameless Scout recruit. Annie was the absolute last person he had wanted. He gripped his chair.
A few other people then went up to choose their spouse, once again nobody of real importance to Jean. The sun had set by now and the lanterns were what was illuminating the now night sky. His stomach was rumbling. Feed me, it cried. Me too buddy. Me too. He reached for the cup of water he had managed to smuggle in before he got there. He put it to his lips.
"Levi Ackerman!"
Well this ought to be good. Jean thought, continuing to drink from his cup. He kept an eye out for any guards catching him. None so far. The 5'3 frowning man went to reside by the servant. He did not want to be doing this either. He reached over into her bowl. You could feel the whole Scout Regime literally move towards the end of their seats. Who was going to get matched to Humanity's strongest and scariest?
The servant had been the one to confess to the Scouts earlier that she wanted to be the one to get the captain. So she was disappointed to read the name on Levi's slip. The person had not been expected at all. "Hange Zoe."
Gasps were heard all throughout the crowd. Jean abruptly did a spit take. His spray ended up landing on a buff looking man in front of him. The man turned and glared at Jean. He cracked his knuckles. The 19-year-old chuckled nervously. He put up his hands. "H-hey. Sorry man."
The Commander of the Survey Corps walked up to her captain with ease. She obnoxiously threw an arm around his shoulder. Levi looked annoyed by her touch. "Well what do you know, Levi? Looks like the vets will remain together after all!" The short man grunted. They departed from the surprised Historia and sobbing servant. As the bellman hastily told the servant to get a hold of herself, Historia's astonished expression turned into a small smile. She thought that it was good that they had gotten paired. They had been through so much together and even though Levi didn't often show it, she knew he had a soft spot for Hange. Besides...Hange hadn't smiled like that in a long time. She must have been secretly happy it wasn't someone she couldn't call a friend.
The bellman continued on with the matching. "Eren Yeager."
Mikasa's heart momentarily stopped. She slightly turned towards the boy she loved all these years. Eren was staring at her. She opened her mouth to say something but was stopped when he placed a warm hand gingerly over her left hand and began caressing it. There was something in his eyes, lingering there, but Mikasa wasn't sure what to call it. Her heart sped up.
Jean was not ignorant of their little communication and a wave of sadness but acceptance swept through him. It was time to let Mikasa go, he realized. Zeke noticed the transaction between his younger brother and his...whatever she was to him, but didn't comment on it. He was more interested in Jean's reaction. The horse was not a fighter for what he wanted, apparently. He wouldn't buck off his rider, but he wouldn't beg them to ride him either.
Eren stood up and walked up to the servant. Jean began to chant inside his head, mentally preparing himself.
He's going to pick Mikasa.
He's going to pick Mikasa.
Admit it, he's going to pick Mikasa.
You don't stand a chance, he's going to pick Mikasa.
Eren reached inside of the bowl. This time the bellman read aloud the written words, excitement and shock filling his voice. Jean closed his eyes, already feeling his heart shattering. "Our Majesty, Queen Historia Reiss!"
Jean's mouth fell open as the Eldians clapped for the announcement of their new king. His eyes scampered towards Mikasa who was stunningly silent and inactive, although a slight grimace marring her features gave a glimpse as to how she really felt about the whole situation. This wasn't right. She would never react that way, especially not after Eren just touched her like that. She should be fuming. Zeke lightly smirked at his brother's fate. Looks like both of them were destined to be kings.
Historia clutched the bowl in her hand tighter, shyly peeking up at Eren. He wasn't meeting her gaze. She shifted her weight uneasily unto one foot. She was content with Eren being her husband. He was actually one of the first people she would have chosen if she had the choice, since he had accepted her for who she was all that time ago and because she treasured him as a close friend and ally. But was he okay with it? She knew that he and Mikasa were close…
She was blushing like crazy and quickly shook her head to fan out the flames beneath her cheeks. "N-next one!" she squeaked. Her voice was suddenly so high pitched. How embarrassing!
"Jean Kirstein!"
Jean stood from his chair, praying inwardly to whatever god was out there as he trailed to now where both Eren and Historia stood. His previous thoughts that had been encouraging him to not get his hopes up had been all but kicked from the window of his mind. Call it a weakness of self, but for bloody Saint Rose! - he was going to beg to get picked with Mikasa. He went to the female servant, palms clammy with sweat. Please, please, please-
There. He saw it. A single slip of paper that should have been closed wasn't, not entirely, and there he read Mikasa Ackerman. The servant hadn't noticed this though and was becoming rather annoyed when Jean was taking a while to pick his paper. "Just choose one!" she snapped. Jean dug into the bowl greedily, heading straight for Mikasa's. He kept getting the sensation that Eren was boring holes into the back of his neck, knowing that he was cheating. This only made Jean sweat more. But he was too urgent in his hasty action to reach Mikasa's name, and the bowl ended up falling to the ground, spilling all of the papers onto the floor.
The servant's face went from mildly irritated to instant anger. "Idiot!" He looked at her apologetically, helping her to pick up the fallen slips. But inwardly, he was chastising and berating himself. Idiot you are! You just f'd up your chance with your dream girl!
This time Jean was much less eager to pick out the piece of paper. The servant huffed and read his slip out loud. "Mikasa Ackerman."
Jean died. What? What?!
Mikasa had careful control of her emotions as she went up to him. Jean was trying but failing absolutely miserably at not looking stupid in front of her. He was so - so happy. He could see his mother in the background, the only person who knew of his crush (though his feelings for Mikasa was most definitely not a simple crush anymore), and she was winking at him, giving him a thumbs up.
He battled within his head how to greet Mikasa as she approached him, but he just couldn't find the right words. It didn't matter though. Mikasa was not giving him a foot's notice. She was steadily watching Eren, who was returning her stare. Something seemed to spark inside Jean then, something he hadn't felt since that time at Boot Camp when he punched Eren in the face, and he suddenly blocked Mikasa's view of Eren. He grabbed a hold of her hand, coincidentally when the bellman was announcing them as soon to be "Jean Kirstein and Mikasa Kirstein" and tugged her back towards their seats. Except this time, he took Eren's place.
Mikasa had to have been really shocked at his boldness because she didn't fight him. But her eyes did narrow and scrutinize him. He tried not to pay attention to this.
The ceremony then continued and continued until there were very few people left to match. Zeke had started becoming impatient. He had hoped he would have gotten with that Hange woman. She was intelligent and seemed to be able to handle herself quite well in combat. She was also an excellent leader, something a queen would need to be in his country. But alas, she got with the Ackerman. If it was someone else, he might would have tried to switch for her. But not with the Ackerman. No, never him.
He was pleased when his name was eventually called, an hour later. He straightened his suit and strolled up to the four people, this time being told to pick from the Scout's bowl. He wasted no time in picking out a slip. Historia grabbed it and unfurled it. Her widened eyes and sympathetic look suddenly made him curious as to who it was. It was obviously someone she had known and was familiar with. Mikasa, Annie, and Hange were ruled out. He highly doubted Historia ever had a strong friendship with Hitch. So that only left-
"Sasha Blouse."
Yes. The woman who loved to eat a lot, her passion for food only rivaling his self's. His eyes roamed for her expectantly. But there was no movement in the audience. He searched for her, but could not find her. Had she refused to come?
The Queen suddenly appeared worried. "Sasha Blouse?" she repeated, this time louder. People were glancing around in their seats, murmuring. "Sasha-"
"I've got her!" came a hoarse yell. It was the cook. He was dragging a frightened girl by the collar, a cooked potato lounged inside of her mouth. They were emerging from another side of the garden, where the feast was supposed to be held. He was frustrated. "I caught this thief trying to steal tonight's dinner!"
Normally Sasha would have felt a small sense of shame and anger for being ratted out like that, but her eyes only held the man she realized she was supposed to marry. She had hoped it was a trick of her ears when she thought she heard the Queen pair her with Zeke. It wasn't. She met his amused, cocky smirk and it was then that Sasha knew what she had to do.
She screamed.
A/N: If you feel this story as worthy enough, would you mind reviewing and/or following/favorite? It is much appreciated. Thank you! I will try my hardest to personally reply to all reviews! Until next time.