Sheik ibn Ymir al-Fadl
The first time Annie met Armin's grandfather was the day she returned her copy of Divided Heaven (the book from which she had acquired Christa's name). She did not know, however, it was he who greeted her with a smile and he who looked with mortification to Reiner and Bertholdt when she requested a print of Lolita. She realized it when her blond classmate came to the front desk looking for him and found her instead.
"Hello, Annie!" Armin invited with a genuine grin. "How are you?"
"I am fine, thank you."
The two made small talk until the boy's grandfather returned with the book. The elder eyed Annie and her uncle's as he checked the hardback out in the girl's name, Bertholdt nervous and embarrassed at his glances, Reiner mostly placid. Armin paused the conversation as Annie was gifted her book, leaning behind the desk.
"Grandpa, Eren wanted a bookmark."
The boy was given a blue bookmark made out of thick cardboard. Annie wished her acquaintance a good day and was preparing to leave when he stopped her, the girl having to glance over her shoulder.
"Annie! Would you like to stay with Eren, Mikasa, and me for a while?" This was his asking, Annie deciding to consider the invitation. She hummed, inclining her head, looking towards her uncle's for their opinions. Reiner composed himself resistant to the notion while Bertholdt encouraged it with nods and the ushering of his hands. Annie recognized both of their thoughts before making her own, facing the eager boy waiting for her answer.
"… I suppose I could stay. For a little while." She determined.
.
It was agreed upon that Annie's caregivers would returned after two hours had elapsed. She followed Armin to the back of the library after the settlement, her book held under her arm. Armin disclosed that he had read the novel without his grandfather's approval as they walked.
"It is fairly good, actually." He said. "There are explicit themes in it, but the narrative is interesting."
"I like stories with unreliable narrators." Annie replied. "Like The Cask of Amontillado and Frankenstein."
The alcove they reached was adorned with bright lights and a multitude of whirling fans. Wooden tables and plush chairs filled the room nicely, the single couch pushed against the single window. A boy hung upside-down on this couch, his hair signaling so, his reading material positioned the same as he. Annie read the cover of the book as it was, seeing the title of The Metamorphosis. The girl next to him warned of the blood going into his head, the boy scowling as he sat upright, his companion contented and returning to her copy of Stranger in a Strange Land.
"Eren, Mikasa! You know Annie, right?"
Annie had no idea why they would not know of her, but greeted them nevertheless. Eren appeared absolutely baffled at the presence of the girl in the same ubiety as him without being in school. His wide, cow-like eyes watched her for many moments, Annie dipping her face to show her eyes at a harsher angle at the treatment. Mikasa returned the formalities with more kind words and a nod. She also took the liberty to scold her brother for gapping for too long.
"I hope it is alright if I join you." Annie pardoned, finding a chair close to a fan to rest in. Armin was the one to assure her she was perfectly welcome before clumping with his friends on the couch. The book he picked up was a plain hardback version of Lord of the Flies. Annie was curious about this choice in literature, never thinking someone of Armin's sweet nature could enjoy such a subject matter. She pondered upon it, concluding someone who liked Vladimir Nabokov could very well like William Golding.
Eren fiddled with his new bookmark in a restless sort of way. He creased the paper down the center and pinched the two halves together over and over, simulating the opening and closing of a crocodile's jaws. He also ran his thumbnail down the sides of the bookmark. This created an irksome rasping sound even more dreadful than the clapping of the paper. Annie wanted to snap at him to cease his actions. She, however, knew that to be impolite and that she was a guest. She instead ignored him to the best of her ability.
The distracting boy eventually spoke, fidgeting even as he did so.
"This book is… confusing." Eren said slowly, grimacing at the open page.
"Then read something else, Eren." Mikasa suggested. "You are more attuned to reading comic books anyway."
"But I can't! Jean read 1984, so I have to read something even more difficult! And I don't want to read Animal Farm…"
"There is no shame in knowing when to walk away." Armin added. "Maybe you can read it when you are older? Like when you are in high school?"
Annie paused in her study to view the conflict before her, leaning on her elbow as Eren made the argument that Armin had read the same story so he should be able to as well. The girl sighed as Mikasa tried to explain that Armin had read the text with his grandfather and therefore had better resources to understand it than her brother.
"Annie, you think I can read it, right?"
Annie stared at Eren for a moment. The boy was desperate to get her on his side, everyone else against him. She dropped the hand from her face, questioning his trust in her. He waited.
"… I do not think you have the ability to, no."
She looked away as all the hope in the boy's face vanished only to be replaced by defensiveness and anger.
"I can! I am sure I can!" He disagreed fruitlessly.
Annie said nothing more, disregarding the spewed arguments she found childish, useless, and exhausted.
.
"Sorry it took so long to come in." The man apologized with a tip of his hat. "I did not know they even made such a thing! In all my years we have never gotten a call for it…"
Annie followed her uncle's as they wove among the crates and displays of the feed store, the owner leading them to their requested purchase. A huddle of farmers enclosed the pile of burlap sacks, acting as if they were the most amazing thing they had ever seen. Annie thought that for old farmers who lived in a dusty Texan town that could be true.
"'Purina Lion Chow'. By golly…"
"I'll go get my boys, they can load you up." The owner offered, his kindness quick to be dismissed.
"There is no need for that." Reiner told him. He instead wedged between the circle of farmers, scooping a bag in each arm. He hosted them to his shoulders and stalked towards the truck. "Bertholdt, pay him."
"Reiner, be careful." Bertholdt urged his brother. "Those look heavy and I don't want you hurting yourself."
Reiner huffed, mocking the idea. He tossed the two bags into the truck bed ungracefully, marching back to collect more. Annie looked at the dull printing upon the burlap and saw they were fifty pounds per bag. She watched as her uncle carried two more away. She sighed as the farmers around her whispered, impressed.
A few trips later and the bed of the truck was full, Bertholdt finished counting the money and giving it to the beaming owner. Reiner rolled his shoulder and stretched his back, working out the slight aches he had. Annie hopped off of the loading dock after her uncle.
"There. If you two are done, we can go home." Reiner groused.
Bertholdt came at the calling, joining his niece on the other side of the truck. Reiner grabbed the door handle only to have his grip falter, his hand slipping and the rest of his body falling with it. Annie stiffened as she heard Reiner crash to the ground, the gravel and dust crackling around him. Bertholdt made the most horrified retching sound she had ever heard.
"R-Reiner!"
.
Annie was not afraid, even as her Uncle Reiner lied motionless and her Uncle Bertholdt drove like a madman to the hospital. She remained out of the way as the hospital personnel gathered her uncle from the car and wheeled him into a room, shutting Annie and Bertholdt out as nurses and doctors scrambled to and fro. The girl was calm and cool as she waited, sitting beside Bertholdt on a wooden bench. The man, however, was jittery and nervous, sweating as he bit his lip with worry. Annie put her hand atop his. The act soothed him, if only slightly.
After some time had passed and some tranquility had been restored, Annie deemed it safe to leave her uncle for a moment. She left her hat and made a trip to the drinking fountain. She had to jostle the switch for a moment before the water sputtered forth.
"Psst! Little girl! Psst!"
Annie paused her drinking momentarily.
"Psst! Over here!"
Around the nook in the wall a woman was gesturing to her, indicating the girl to lean closer. Curious, Annie did so, receiving a whiff of the woman's cheap perfume.
"You're with those brothers who live on that run-down farm?" She asked softly.
"… Reiner and Bertholdt?"
"Yes!" She confirmed in a harsher whisper. "I know about them. They are ex-mafia hit-men and they are on the run with millions that they stole from Al Capone!"
Annie wanted to inquire as to how the insistent women knew this, but decided it was not worth her time. She instead nodded her head and excused herself.
She returned to her solemn uncle promptly. Bertholdt had went back to shivering and chewing on his lips. Annie decided he needed something to distract his worries and thought she had just the thing: a story perfect to tell when Reiner was not present.
"Uncle Bertholdt…" Annie said. "Tell me more about Africa. About you, and Uncle Reiner, and Historia."
"Annie…" He replied gently. "Why do you, of all people, want to hear a story about old has-beens?"
"It's a good story," Annie shrugged. "What else do we have to do?"
Her uncle thought momentarily. He caved when he could find no answer. "… Alright. Now… Where was I?"
Annie knew exactly where.
"… 'That was him. A wild American that no nomad or slave trader had seen the likes of before.' And then I said that it sounded like something Uncle Reiner would do."
"Right, right," Bertholdt agreed, clearing his throat. "Well, it just so happened that one of the slaves Reiner freed was handmaiden to a princess."
"Historia?"
"Historia," Bertholdt nodded. "The daughter of Sheik Ludhriq al-Reissue. She had moved back to her father's kingdom only recently, after the death of her mother. As so, the new friends she had made were very dear to her. The reunion of the handmaiden and Historia was very joyful. It was only after that she heard the story of the handmaiden's rescue: the story of the heroic American who had saved her."
Annie wondered how the woman had depicted her uncle. She returned from her thoughts as her Uncle Bertholdt continued, her head shaking.
"It was only right that Historia wanted to meet him, to thank him."
"And she did, right?"
"I am getting to that." Bertholdt assured her. "Because one day, Reiner was riding his horse along the Mediterranean, when suddenly, another, veiled rider appeared."
"Historia?"
"I am getting to that," Bertholdt repeated, his telling stricter at the second interruption. Annie huffed. "The other rider pulled up alongside Reiner. Whether it was intentional or not, a race began. You know him; he would never let a challenger pass."
Annie hummed, nodding her head.
"Many considered Reiner one of the best horsemen in North Africa. He'd never lost a horserace before and was not going to today. And yet this other rider remained right beside him, neck and neck as they raced down the coastline. The race went on. And on."
Annie blinked as her uncle's expression illuminated with the excitement. "But suddenly the horses stumbled and crashed, tossing both riders into the sea. Reiner tumbled and jumped up, knife drawn, ready for anything… Or, almost anything. The other rider wrestled with their thick, wet clothing and pulled off their veil."
"Historia?" Annie asked, finally at the right time.
"Historia." Her uncle echoed. "It was the princess, the most beautiful woman he had ever seen."
If she was anything like her photograph, Annie had to agree. She could envision Historia's wide, turquoise eyes framed by a smile, her teeth perfect and white. Her long hair would be charming even while tangled, her petite form hugged by her wet clothing. Anyone who fell for her beauty could not be blamed, not even her uncle.
"This might be a little cheesy, Annie…" Bertholdt continued, rubbing his neck. "Might be a cliché from fairytales, but… When Reiner first laid eyes on her it was truly, undoubtedly, unbelievably… 'Love at First Sight'."
A smile picked up the girl's lips as she dreamed of the scene, of the two coming together and clasping each other in the surf. It was many moments before she realized that her uncle had finished, blinking herself back into reality. The abrupt halt bothered her.
"Wait… If it was true love they would have gotten married and lived happily ever after! She would be with us right now! Where is she?"
Bertholdt peeped at Annie's rushed, angry words. "A-Annie, you are getting a little ahead of the story…" He tried to explain, easing his clearly upset niece. The girl crossed her arms and leaned back against the bench.
Bertholdt swallowed once. "I told you Reiner loved her, not that she loved him."
"… What?"
"That's… How it was." He clarified. "Historia did not love Reiner in the way he loved her. She wanted to be his friend but nothing more."
Annie said nothing when he paused for comment.
"… A-And even though falling off their horses was embarrassing for both of them," Bertholdt continued hastily, "Historia still remained cheerful and waded across the surf to thank Reiner for her friend's rescue and to apologize for her mishap. She also invited him to visit her father's palace whenever he liked. And he remained around the palace, for a while, befriending the princess. He was also preparing for his courtship, but…"
"It did not work." Annie said so her uncle did not have to.
"Historia may have only wanted to be his friend, but he never thought that was the case. It is only when she told him of her betrothal to another that he knew."
The drama of the situation inspired Annie's interest. She kicked herself off the back of the bench and leaned towards her uncle.
"Who was she betrothed to?" She inquired.
"Sheik ibn Ymir al-Fadl." Bertholdt said with the proper inflection. "Her childhood sweetheart. The Sheik was the child of an official who had risen to power in a neighboring kingdom. The Sheik knew Historia from when she was younger and lived with her father, from before she moved to Milan. They reconnected when The Sheik heard she had returned to live with her father. It was not long before The Sheik asked Historia's father for her hand in marriage."
"I bet he did not deserve her." Annie decided. "I bet he was ugly and mean."
"… I do not know if The Sheik was mean or not, but Historia liked The Sheik. I have only seem pictures, but, The Sheik was... handsome?" The man struggled with the adjective, saying it like it had a bad taste on his tongue. "I cannot say The Sheik was terribly unattractive."
"You keep saying 'The Sheik', why is that?"
"Well..."
A crash interrupted and startled both of them. An uproar was heard as a bedpan whirled from Reiner's room, clattering against the wall and falling as other medical equipment was tossed about.
"Where are my pants? Where the hell are my pants?"
Reiner stumbled into the hallway with an I.V. tailing him. His wore a hospital gown, his clothing waded up in his hand. He also looked very, very agitated.
"Why am I in here? Bertholdt! Annie!"
Annie shook her head innocently while Bertholdt went rigid and pale. He was ignored, however, when a herd of doctors and nurses appeared. They had no hesitation trying to prevent Reiner from leaving.
"Mr. Braun!" A doctor with crooked glasses called to him. "Mr. Braun, you are in no state to be leaving!"
"Don't try and stop me!" Was his reply as he removed the I.V. in his arm and made his way to the exit. Annie and Bertholdt looked at one another before deciding to hurry after him.