Day 2: Allies & Enemies
Coming face to face with Armin in Stohess on the day when the Scouts were supposed to come through on their way to the capital, Annie immediately knew something was wrong. Armin's words and reasoning sounded logical, sounded genuine, but Annie knew. She saw it in his eyes. He was begging her to help them but not to save Eren. He was begging her to tell him it was all a lie. That he was wrong and she was on their side. That it was all just a misunderstanding and that she was not a bad person. Not to him.
Looking down and playing with her ring in a nervous habit, Annie so wished she could grant his request. That she could stay a good person.
But she hadn't been one since the start, had she? Even before they met, they were enemies. She was one of the people who caused the destruction of his hometown and indirectly, the death of his grandfather. She was never a good person.
But she wanted to be. She wanted to be his good person. She didn't know why but the idea of Armin hating her was making her chest hurt. Making her feel all the weight of the lives she took only a few days ago.
Annie still didn't really know why Armin's wasn't one of those people . She knew she should have killed him out there. She knew he was dangerous, dangerous to their mission and dangerous to her. But seeing him, so small in her monstrous, titan hand and looking at her with those scared, wide eyes, she didn't even think about killing him. It just wasn't an option to her. She couldn't imagine killing him now either, even knowing this was her final judgement.
It was the end and there was no running away. A good person and a bad person, ally and enemy. This was the moment where it would all be decided.
So she put her ring on and nodded.
No escape.
She would become a bad person and there was nothing else she could do. She was the enemy now. She was the bad person.
No matter how much she wished she could be a good one.