The New Chapter (Chapter 2)
With Porco and Pieck finally having a way to escape Marley's racist and militaristic life, and head off to Paradis for one that includes better treatment for both them and their future child, they thought they would be able to relax for a month until the boat taking them to Paradis arrived. However, for the past month, all Porco and Pieck could think of is what if something went wrong? What if the boat sunk on their way to Marley? What is Magath found out about their plans? What if Porco was right all along and Reiner was going to betray them? All of these thoughts made it so that they couldn't have one day without their mind going a million miles a minute, creating a bunch of stress.
However, when the day for their departure from Marley came, everything seemed fine, as Reiner was able to take them to a private carriage, where it would only be the three of them. Porco and Pieck had backpacks with as many clothes, food, toiletries, and other necessities that they would need. After a silent nod, Porco and Pieck got into the back of the carriage while Reiner got into the front of the carriage. Once the carriage started moving, a silent tension and nervousness formed in the air, with none of the three Warriors wanting to open their mouths and talk. That was until Reiner decided to open his mouth after going down several blocks in the back of the line of military carriages and vehicles.
"Are you two ready?"
"Yeah Reiner, we're ready."
"OK, because we're almost there. Now, remember, once I let you out of here, you have to get to the ship as fast as you can so that Magath and the other commanders can't see you. I told the captain of the boat that you were going to be on the ship, so you don't have to worry about sneaking on," Reiner explained as the carriage started to slow down, with Porco and Pieck nodding in understanding.
"Thank you for all of this, Reiner. You have no idea how much we appreciate this," Pieck said as Porco nodded in agreement, not trusting himself to say anything. Porco had spent so long hating Reiner for a combination of reasons that it was hard for him to just be nice to him like that. He appreciated what Reiner was doing for him of course, but Porco still couldn't help but harbor some ill feelings towards Reiner. It wasn't the hatred that he was feeling, but Porco couldn't help but feel…something about Reiner that prevented him from truly liking him. But he didn't have time to delve too deep into that as Reiner had completely pulled his carriage to a stop, indicating that it was time for them to leave.
"Alright, this is your stop. Have fun on the other side, guys," Reiner said, not even looking back at Porco and Pieck. The couple quickly got out of the carriage and gave one last wave goodbye to Reiner, who returned it in kind before heading off to catch up with the rest of the brigade. Porco grabbed Pieck's hand and immediately started running to the boat while dragging her to where there was still a wooden beam down, acting as an entranceway to the boat. When the two got to the wooden beam, they continued running up until they got to the main floor of the boat.
"We…made it," Porco muttered under what little breath he had left after the sudden sprint he just ran. Pieck simply smiled and nodded at him before the Captain of the boat walked up to them. After a brief conversation, the Captain led Porco and Pieck to the bottom tier of the ship, where they were going to be staying for the rest of the duration of the ship's journey to Paradis. The Captain then left them on their own, and Porco and Pieck immediately sat down on the edge of the wall and took notice of their scarce surroundings. There was what looked like a pile of hay and a thin but big blanket acting as their bed, a bucket which they assumed was supposed to be their toilet, and…that was about it.
"Not exactly a five-star suite here, huh?" Pieck joked as she sat down, with her back pressed up against the wall. Porco couldn't help but chuckle as he sat down next to her and put an arm around the back of her neck.
"Yeah, but it's only temporary. We're gonna get a much better place when we get to Paradis," Porco responded as they felt the ground shake. Pieck and Porco looked at the window and noticed that the boat had started moving away from Marley. Porco looked away from the window and ran his hands through his hair, but noticed just out of his peripheral vision that Pieck was still looking at the window. "Feeling homesick already?" Porco joked, causing Pieck to turn around and chuckle at Porco's joke before returning her attention to her.
"No, but I just thought…we'll probably never come back here again. We'll probably never see our friends or parents again," Pieck said with a noticeable longing in her voice, as her eyes once again turned to the window, which showed nothing but the blue sky and the clouds surrounding the morning sun.
"True, but we'll also never see Magath or the other piece of shit racists in Marley ever again, so I think it's an even payoff," Porco countered before scooting over closer to Pieck, and while she still had her eyes on the clouds in the sky, started rubbing her back with his knuckles. "So, how did your Dad react to you telling him that we were leaving to Paradis?"
"Ummm…not very well. I mean, he understood why I was leaving, but he wasn't exactly happy about it. What about your parents?"
"Same as yours I guess." Pieck nodded as she opened up her bag, and took out a sandwich she had made. As she unwrapped the sandwich, Porco continued rubbing Pieck's back with his knuckles before getting his own brunch out of his backpack. The two decided to have their brunch in a comforting silence before continuing on with their conversation, as the two had been so stressed and excited about their way to Paradis that they didn't even bother to eat any breakfast, and they were very hungry.
"Porco…"
"Yeah?"
"What do you think is going to happen when we get to Paradis?" Pieck asked, causing Porco to nearly choke on his protein bar.
"Well…I think we're gonna be able to live a normal life. It's just gonna be us and our children," Porco explained as he regained his composure and swallowed what was remaining of the protein bar before Pieck looked at Porco with a raised eyebrow.
"Are you sure it's going to be that simple? From what Reiner and Zeke told us, Paradis knows that Marley exists and how they feel about them. Do you think that they're going to do something to us when we get there?" Pieck asked before taking another bite out of her sandwich before Porco sighed and put a hand underneath his chin.
"That's true, but Reiner also said that their soldiers were a lot more willing to talk things out, and I think as long we really try and not cause too much trouble, we should be fine," Porco responded, causing Pieck to laugh for the first time in what felt like a while as Porco looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
"You're telling me not to cause trouble? The same guy who got into daily fights with Reiner for no reason?" Pieck asked in between laughter, causing Porco to smirk at her, and nearly tackle her to the ground. Porco started gently running the knuckle of his pointer finger across Pieck's cheek.
"Well I can be a relaxed and reserved guy when I try, you know that," Porco whispered in her ear as the two started kissing each other. Their brunch was soon forgotten as Pieck and Porco engaged in a long make-out session as the worries of what they will experience at Paradis temporarily left their minds.
One Week Later…
After a week of packed lunches, sleeping on the floor extended make-out sessions, and the sometimes freezing cool air of the lower decks of the ship, the couple finally landed on Paradis. Luckily, Pieck and Porco were having breakfast rather than sex, so they were ready to leave once the Captain told them they were at Paradis. After having a quick conversation with the Captain to thank him, Pieck and Porco left the ship with their belongings on their back while finishing their breakfast.
"So…this is Paradis," Pieck commented as she and Porco left the ship, and took note of the foliage around them, with trees covering the couple in a cooling shadow, bushes giving them a practical path while also containing berries in an array of colors, and flowers that resembled a rainbow in front of them.
"Yeah…doesn't really look like a home for devils, does it?" Porco asked as Pieck nodded as she continued to look around the land. Porco and Pieck continued their walk through the plants before Porco heard something coming from the sides of them. Porco grabbed Pieck with a protective ferocity evident on his face as he looked around to see where the sound was going on, and what was causing the sound. After a couple of moments, the noise grew louder until it was evident that the sounds came from a couple of horses coming their way. Porco pushed Pieck out of the way as a couple of horses came in front of them, with two people on the top of the horses. One was a tall girl with brown hair and a smile on her face with crumbs of what Porco assumed to be bread on her lips. The other horse rider was a smaller man with blonde hair that covered his ears, and blue eyes that reminded Porco of a clear blue sky.
"It looks like we have some refugees, Armin," the brown haired girl told the blonde guy. Porco kept Pieck at a respectable distance, not knowing the intentions of these random people on horseback. However, upon closer inspection, Armin and the brown haired girl were talking to each other with smiles on their faces and calm body language. Porco relaxed a little, but his protective nature made sure he stood in front of Pieck until he was sure that these two were trustworthy.
"I guess so. We should take them to the refugee camp in town. I think they have a couple of homes available," Armin said as he turned his attention to Porco and Pieck. "OK…um…guy in the jacket, you can get on my horse, and…girl with the messy hair, you can get on Sasha's horse," Armin said, pointing to he and the brown haired girl's horses. Porco looked at Pieck to get a feel for what she though about this situation, and Pieck responded by giving his hand a supporting squeeze, and smiled at him. Porco smiled back at Pieck before looking over at Armin and Sasha, and taking a deep breath.
"Alright then, but my girlfriend here is pregnant, so please, PLEASE be careful," Porco said as he walked over to Armin's horse.
"Not a problem. I've been riding horses since I could walk, so I'll make sure your girlfriend gets to the refugee camo unharmed," Sasha responded as she helped pull Pieck up onto her horse. Porco also got onto Armin's horse, and when Porco and Pieck grabbed onto Armin and Sasha's waists, they immediately got ther horses prepped, and they started riding towards the walled cities. After what felt like a while riding on horseback, Armin decided to initiate conversation with the newest refugees.
"So…what are your names?" Armin asked, causing Porco to look up, and raise an eyebrow before responding.
"Oh, I guess we didn't introduce ourselves. I'm Porco Galliard, and that's my girlfriend, Pieck Finger. So, what're your names?"
"My name's Armin Arlert, and this is my girlfriend, Sasha Blouse. We're part of Paradis' army, and we're working on scouring the lands for Titans to make sure this lack of Titans isn't just a temporary thing," Armin explained as Porco and Pieck nodded, feeling a little nervous about actually talking about themselves. While Reiner told them that some of the soldiers and other people of Paradis were willing to hear the Marleyans out, Porco and Pieck, especially Porco, still wondered what would happen if they told Armin and Sasha what happened to them. However, they knew it would be suspicious if they kept quiet, so Pieck took a deep breath and started talking.
"We're former soldiers from Marley."
