Yes, I am aware how late this is, and I'm terribly sorry, but now with school over, I can actually focus on my writing! Don't worry, I've already written out the next two chapters, so the wait won't be anywhere near as long as between them. That doesn't mean I'll post them back to back however! The next one will be posted one week from now, so you can wait till then!
I really want to thank all my patient followers who've stayed with me this far and given me so much support! Those reviews really brighten my day and give me even more motivation for the story so I wanted to say how much I appreciate you all! ^.^
Also, for the guest asking about Marco, I suppose I could keep him alive, since the events of Trost were changed so much and keeping him alive wouldn't change my story.
Hope everyone enjoys! Thank you all for your support! 3
Chapter 15: The Trial
The sound of heavy footsteps echoed down the dimly lit, stone corridor. A single figure quickly strode down the empty hall, before stopping at the only door in sight. It was a large, heavy wood door, with impressively carved intricate designs. This hallway was restricted to only a certain few but the figure was always welcomed, according to the woman behind that door.
With a deep breath and a shaking hand, the door was opened and the figure walked into a cozy office. The room wasn't large but it made up for space with lavishness. The walls were a warm cinnamon brown and a plush, deep red rug was unfurled across the floor, covering much of the dark chocolate wood. Elaborate lamps were set up around the room to give off a comforting glow while still giving plenty of light. Massive bookshelves lined the back wall and paintings of landscapes, strange animals, and war covered the rest of the interior. The centerpiece of the room was a sturdy, mahogany desk, neatly organized with papers and writing utensils. Sitting behind that desk was an equally lavish woman in an emerald silk dress, hair in elegant waves and face painted to perfection. She was the person the figure was anxious to meet with.
"Sit down, Rogue, don't be a stranger now," Violet purred, indicating the stiff-backed chair in front of her desk.
Eren sighed and lowered his hood, having kept his cloak on after their successful mission in Trost. It made him feel secure when he thought she couldn't see him. He took his seat and glanced at the paintings on the walls. They had always intrigued him whenever he came to speak with Violet. Judging by the unfamiliar scenery and creatures, Eren surmised they were illegal paintings of the outside world, maybe from a hundred years ago.
Violet leaned over the desk, her head resting on her folded fingers and her eyes gleaming with excitement. "Tell me, dear, how was the mission? Were you successful?"
Eren smirked smugly on the outside, but inside his stomach was roiling. He hated acting so friendly with her, but that was how he'd gained her trust over the years, something he greatly valued. If he had to act to keep himself and the others safe, then he'd be the best damn actor inside the walls.
"It was almost too easy actually, it was hardly any fun," he replied with an exaggerated hum of disappointment. "And here I thought I'd be able to let loose and enjoy some titan slaughtering."
Violet giggled like a little girl at this. "Oh, I'm sure there will plenty of opportunities for you to have some fun in the future. But tell me now, how was your team? Did they perform adequately?"
Eren froze at this, teal eyes hardening with caution but his smile still in place. He had to be careful how he went about this, for fear of his friends being punished. He already knew there would be great danger when everything was explained, but he hoped to leave them out of it.
"My team did as they were told without hesitation and preformed to my standards," said Eren professionally. Violet relaxed, knowing how efficiently Eren trained the other shifters. This was why he was chosen to lead them and eventually became the woman's favorite. The boy's next words, however, caused her to pause. "But we did hit a slight…problem."
Violet raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow. "Problem?"
Eren swallowed and nodded. This was where things got tricky.
"Yes, you see, we were intercepted by a group of Garrison soldiers on our way back. They didn't see us shift or come out of our titans, but…they managed to capture Angel. I instructed her stay in her human form to better assist with injuries. She isn't much of a fighter, as you know."
The woman's face darkened considerably. Her eyes glowed with dissatisfaction. "So, you managed to lose one of your siblings to those drunken wall-repairmen?"
Eren was incredibly tense at this point, sensing Violet's anger. This also wasn't the first time Drake had referred to them as siblings, because in her twisted mind, they were all a weird, disjointed family, though she was far from a loving mother and many of the brothers and sister's wanted to kill each other.
"Yes, and I take full responsibility for it. I was the one who decided Angel should stay in her human form instead of shifting. We did what we could to get her back, but we couldn't do much without exposing ourselves. I will accept this failure fully."
Violet set back in her seat, watching him intensely, before standing up and making her way around the desk to stand behind his chair. The boy tensed even more, like a spring about to snap.
"I must admit, I'm quite disappointed with you, Rogue," she sighed, reaching her claw-like fingers to squeeze his shoulders a bit too roughly. "I expected so much more from you, but maybe you weren't ready for a mission like this?"
Eren kept his eyes forward, trying to keep a strong front.
"I apologize, Violet," he replied, stiffly.
"Oh, I know you are, and you will receive appropriate punishment for your failure." Eren flinched at the coldness in her voice. "And afterward, we are going to get our little Angel back."
"H-huh?" Eren stuttered, not anticipating something like that. Honestly, he just assumed she would leave Gwen to the wolves, it seemed like her nature, but maybe he was wrong.
"We'll have to bring her back, of course, I've spent far too much money on her to simply let her become a human toy," Violet said haughtily, Eren held back his derisive snort at her ironic statement. "She will be punished severely for allowing herself to be caught but at least she will be under our control again."
Rogue grit his teeth in malice, but made sure to keep his face blank. Oh, how he wished he could strangle this woman. Of course, she didn't care about Gwen, why would she start now? All she cared about were her plans.
He was so caught up in his thoughts he was surprised to find Violet behind her desk once more, taking her seat and staring thoughtfully at her treasured little puppet.
"This actually works out quite well for us, Rogue," she said, the gears already turning in her head. "I was planning on getting the military involved eventually. After all, our plan won't work without their trust, hm? I suppose this is a wonderful opportunity to take our shifter back and form an agreement with those barbarians in the government."
Our plan? Since when was Eren involved with planning anything? He was merely a pawn in her little game of wits and war and though he had been informed of a few details he was nowhere near on the same level as Violet. He didn't really care though so long as the others were safe and he had plenty of chances to destroy the monsters outside the wall.
That was the other vice Violet had on him, his obsession with the titans. It had not diminished an ounce since his training days, if anything it had grown to unhealthy proportions while inside the facility. Any time Violet gave an offhanded remark about letting Eren outside to take on a few monsters he practically salivated with excitement and vengeance. She promised him if he and the other behaved, he could kill as many of the bastards as he wanted and that drove him insane but it kept him in line. He would do as she said, even if he hated it and her.
"What do you plan to do to get her back exactly?" Rogue asked, clenching his fist under his cloak to keep his rage in check.
"Well, knowing those old dogs there will be a trial held. Probably to decide whether to kill her or not," said Violet, thoughtfully. "I think crashing that little party might be our best bet. I'll have to have you and maybe Light come along as well."
Eren nodded, thrilled to be going outside again but dreading having to escort Violet.
The door opened then and two guards came through, watching Eren with grave eyes. Why were they here? Did Violet somehow magically call them?
"I'm afraid this will all have to wait until tomorrow, Rogue," she sighed, almost regretfully. "I'll gather some information about Angel's trial but I believe it's time for your punishment."
Oh, right, he'd almost forgotten about that.
The guards waited for him as he stood and made his way out the door before silently following behind. They hadn't felt the need to restrain him for quite a while now, he wouldn't struggle anyway.
"What does she plan for me then?" Eren asked them.
"You'll see, boy. Seems she's got a new form of torture for ya," chuckled one of the guards. Eren's frown grew in distaste. These men were all so annoying at times.
They led him to the testing hallway and through one of the doors, where two more guards were waiting with someone Eren did not expect to see.
"Light? What are you doing here?" he asked, confusedly. The look on Gabriel's face gave him the fear that he was here to be punished as well.
"Sit boy, you'll find out soon enough," one of the guards growled, nodding toward the single chair in the middle of the room. This definitely confused the brunette, but Eren did as he was told and took a seat in the uncomfortable metal chair. His arms and legs were quickly strapped down before all the guards stepped away, two of them leaving to stand outside. Eren frowned and turned back to look at Gabriel.
Shaking uncontrollably, the Lightning Titan stepped up to the back of Eren's chair and he was strangely reminded of the scene in Violet's office less than a few minutes ago. The boy lifted his trembling hands to his leader, who was still trying to understand why Gabriel was involved and why he looked so remorseful and scared. The young man placed his fingertips at Eren's temple and then went still.
"Please forgive me, Eren," he heard Gabriel whisper in a choked voice.
Rogue was pondering the reason for his friend's words. Forgive him? What had he ever done that deserved forgiving?
All his thoughts were suddenly put on hold when pain ripped through his temples and down his body. His eyes rolled back into his head and his jaw locked shut, refusing to let any of his agonized screams out. Twitches and spams rocked through his body and saliva foamed between his lips.
Even in his paralyzed state, Eren understood Gabriel's guilt and anguish. There was a reason he was named the Lightning Titan and now Eren was experiencing his electricity in full force. The metal chair only added to the pain, absorbing the sparks and then sending them back into his body. The entire time, Gabriel sobbed his apologies but Eren would never blame him because this as much a punishment for Light as it was for him. The only one to blame was Violet and her sadistic ways.
As if it were humanly possible, Eren's hatred grew and festered inside him. Oh, she would pay someday, that he could promise.
They didn't tell her much as Gwen was lead to the courtroom, though it wasn't like her escorts weren't talking. In fact, the one brown-haired woman hadn't stop talking since they left the dungeon. She was cheerfully chattering about her excitement for the trial and over what happened in Trost. Gwen actually liked this strange woman, Hange. She had a good energy about her.
The other one, however, was giving her the creeps. At one point, he had even bent down to sniff at her shoulder, which she did not appreciate.
"Okay, here we are!" Hange exclaimed, stopping outside a large set of double doors. Suddenly all her nerves came crashing back to her and she was completely frozen.
"W-what do I say in there?" she asked, scared out of her wits.
"Oh, just be yourself, I'm sure everything will work out!" Hange insisted. That didn't help Gwen in the slightest. "Sadly, we can't come in, but don't worry we'll still be watching from a distance."
"But, wait, wha—"
"Nope, no time! Good luck!" Before she could protest more, Gwen was shoved into the courtroom and the doors were closed behind her.
Without a word, two guards took hold of her chained arms and lead her to a metal pole in the room. She was forced to kneel and a metal pole was placed between her shackles, effectively trapping her in the center of the room. All around her, beady and judgmental eyes watched her every move. On one side stood the Commander of the Military Police along with several of his soldiers and a man in a religious robe. On the other side was Commander Erwin and Captain Levi with a few of their soldiers, two of which Gwen recognized from the mission, Armin and Mikasa. Why were they there? Standing next to Erwin was a bald man Gwen had never seen before, but from his uniform and stance, he looked like another official.
At the head of the room, directly in front of Gwen, sat an older man in a heavily decorated uniform. He had to be General Zackly, the man who held Gwen's fate in the palm of his hand.
"Let's start this, shall we?" he muttered, slipping on a pair of circular spectacles and looking over a set of papers in his hand. Everyone in the room was tense despite his relaxed demeanor.
"This certainly is a strange case, isn't it? So, let me get this straight, Miss…" He paused to look at the papers. "Angel, you appeared during the titan invasion of Trost, alongside several Abnormal titans, and attempted to help with the retake of the city, correct?"
"Yes sir," Gwen agreed solemnly, as if she were being scolded by a parent.
"And your apparent intentions were to aid the injured soldiers and assist these Abnormal titans in blocking the gate?"
Gwen nodded, but when someone snapped at her to speak, she squeaked out a yes. She hated being yelled at and her anxiety was only growing in the massive room.
"Blasphemy! What you and those atrocities have committed is utter blasphemy!" ranted the robed man furiously. "Those sacred walls should not have been befouled in such a way!"
He was quickly shushed by the General, who was not pleased by the interruption. Gwen couldn't help but grumbled angrily to herself. What should they have done? Let the titans continue running rampant in the city?
"There also seems to be little information about you. It's almost as if you don't exist within these walls," the General hummed thoughtfully before looking directly at her. "Or you aren't telling us the entire truth about your identity."
There was an unamused snort from Gwen's right and she assumed it was from one of the Military Police, but it went unnoticed.
"Regardless, the full decision of your fate shall lie with me, considering the oddness of this case. Before I hear the arguments on your future custody arrangement, I have one question for you girl," said Zackly, staring down at her with fathomless eyes.
"Are you human or titan?"
Gwen froze at the question. Since her time here, she had not been directly asked that question, not even by Commander Erwin. How could answer that without ruining her chances of freedom?
"I am…both, sir," she answered solidly.
"Both?" repeated Zackly, silver eyebrows raised.
Gwen nodded, "You see I'm—"
SLAM
The doors to the courtroom flew open and everyone jumped and turned their attention on the unexpected newcomers.
Striding into the room was Gwen's worst nightmare. Fear like nothing she had felt before shot through her body and in her uncontrolled state of terror, she let out a terrified whimper and started yanking at the chains holding her wrists to the pole. She had to leave, she had to escape.
There, leisurely walking up the aisle between the spectators, was her tormentor and warden, Violet Drake.