"She dislocated her left knee and broke her left ankle. Everything else is just bruises. She'll need a simple surgery to place the knee back where it belongs, and we'll have her ankle casted. She should fully recover within two months." Before leaving the doctor had Tartarus's father sign some papers and agreements.
"Train her to use the gear, Shadis said. It will help protect her, Shadis said. Now I have to pay to fix her." The King huffed, leaving the room as well. The guards at the door now permitted Levi and Shadis to enter. Levi was already on the castle grounds, he was awarded for the number of titans he killed out on the expedition, and his bravery during the titan invasion. There Tart was laying on her bed, her left leg entirely covered in gauze.
"I'm surprised she made it, that place was hell. She must have been fucking determined to get out of there." Shadis placed a comforting hand on Levi's shoulder. "Without her gear she would've died. I doubt anyone would have even stopped to help if even if they knew she was the Princess. All lives are worthless when titans appear." Levi wasn't even listening, he was concentrating on Tart's eyes.
"Will she ever wake up?" Concern filled his voice. Shadis's laughter filled the room.
"Of course, kid!" He slapped Levi's back. "She's injured, not in a coma! I'm surprised you're not sleeping the way you fought. I'm going to head back to get some rest now that I see she's fine." Chuckling, Shadis left the room.
She never should have been out of the inner wall in the first place. I'm fucking stupid, allowing her to pursue her fantasy. Levi placed his hand over hers, and held it. She's too innocent to be exposed to kind of horror. He stood up to leave. I just made her life worst. Shit, I should be focusing on obliterating the titans anyway. Not being caught up with a senseless princess. In the doorway, he gazed at her. She did frantically come searching for me though. She has a good heart. It'll be helpful to mankind. Before he could leave, Tart spoke up.
"Levi, there were so many people. They were all so helpless. I couldn't do anything. I didn't stop to save anyone. I just ran. I ran to safety while everyone was dying. I didn't stop to help anyone. Everyone was dying, Levi. They were screaming. I didn't help, Levi... I didn't do anything." Tart's face was covered in tears.
"Did you see one?"
"See one what?" Tart didn't understand his question.
"A titan."
"No, I was running away from them."
"Good, you can stay pure." He exited from the room. "Bye, then." Before he could leave, Tart threw a pillow in his face.
"NO! You are not leaving like that again!" She commanded playfully. All happiness drained from Levi's face.
"Do you realize what this means? No one can live in peace anymore. The titans completely overran the outer wall. We lost over one third of our population, and half of our land. We don't have enough food to feed the few refugees who made it through Wall Maria. Things aren't easy anymore, we are not safe." Levi's stern face lectured Tart, as the tears renewed their flow across her face. "I can't waste my time with you, do you know how many of my men have died? Do you know how many people have died to protect the nobles? You're completely selfish!" Screaming, he bashed his fist against the wall. "I can't play house with you anymore." Then he was gone. Tart wiped the tears from her eyes, and smiled.
"I forgot to be more mature." She laughed to herself. Then she made another silent vow, one to actually help the people in her nation, to become known among them, and restore the peace they want.
Recovery was strenuous, but after three months Tart was back to her old self. Levi never came to visit her, as she hoped he would. No one did. After her cast was off, Shadis guided her through her physical therapy. Tart refused to ask about the Scouting Legion, she had conditioned herself to not think of Levi anymore. She found it a waste of time, time that should be spent on her nation. Shadis cleared her for full range of her left leg, then she set out.
She traveled through all the impoverished areas, with a wagon in tow full of foods and blankets. Her father would never okay such an expensive endeavor, Tart secretly stole the goods from the castle storage. They're so full, no one could ever tell what little she was taking. She handed them out mainly to the children and women, since men were often to proud to accept donations. The children nicknamed her cart "Tart's Treasures." and they would run to it in glee when they saw it. (AN: Like an icecream truck!) Despite her best efforts, people were still starving. The government knew that there wasn't enough food to feed everyone. They forced regular citizens to travel outside the safety of the walls, in an attempt to retake Wall Maria. Not trained officials, common people. They all died. Tart knew how the inner government weaved it's web, and was sure that her father organized this just to wipe out the hungry mouths. She confronted him, only to be thrown from the castle grounds.
"Tartarus, you cannot go meddling in official repairs. I'd simply kill you if the people weren't so fond of you. Instead, I'll just disown you. Leave my presence at once! You are banished from entering Wall Sina" Was the king's last speech to his daughter.
After that, Tart turned to the military. They were always looking for able hands, and having the princess aiding them motivated everyone. Tart stay cleared from the Scouting Legion, and mainly helped with the Stationary Guard. She was fond of Commander Pixis, since he often would play chess with her father at the castle. After working diligently for years, and become famous throughout the land, Shadis offered her a place helping him with the training corps. She looked at Shadis as a father figure, a better one than she had. Although he was ruthless in his training, he had a soft spot for Tart. He was concerned for her since she no longer spent time with Levi, but he knew better than to ask her about it. He was smart enough to also know that's probably the main reason she forced herself to become consumed in good deeds.
"The 104th Trainees Squad is shaping up to be a good group of kids. There's a few who were children from the outer wall, and were there during the attack. They should be diligent in their training. We've been short on help ever since the attacks, many have lost faith in the military, and they're too scared to join. It'd be great to have you help out, be a figure for them too look up to." Shadis explained his proposal to her.
"I'd rather work behind the scenes, making them food or keeping all the equipment working." As known as Tart had become, she prefers to offer her support in the shadows now. During her years of service, she had learn how to complete more useful tasks than she ever did in the castle. Instead of learning math, she now knew how to cook meals and repair devices.
"Well, have it your way then. I'm sure you'll be recognized no matter what."
Tartarus did have it her way, and spent most of the time cleaning and cooking. Even after the training began she did well to keep her face hidden, and spent more time scrubbing at night than anything else. None of the trainees even knew the Princess was on the grounds.
One day she made a mistake, and entered the dining hall while people were still in it. There were two boys and one girl. They seemed to be comforting the one boy with brown hair. Luckily, they hadn't noticed her, and she was edging to sneak out without them ever being aware of her presence. Unluckily, the blonde boy perked up when he saw her.
"Aren't you the princess?" He asked eagerly. Tart couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm.
"Yes, Shadis had me put to work, cleaning up after you all. I'm supposed to remain anonymous though, so don't tell anyone that you've seen me, okay?" She winked at him, causing him to blush, and turned to leave, but he stopped her.
"You used to give me bread when I was a child! It's because of you that we never starved." Although the blonde boy was moved by Tart, the other two seemed more concerned with themselves. The girl seemed to be lecturing the boy about getting into fights.
"I will kill all the titans!" The boy at the table screamed, slamming his fist onto it. Tart couldn't help but to think of Levi at that time, and all the forgotten memories poured into her. She wanted to cry, but instead laughed. The boy before her was channeling Mini-Levi, and it made her feel extremely nostalgic.
"Why are you laughing, I will kill them all!" The boy screamed again, angered. Tart just laughed harder. After she finally regained her composure, the boy seemed even more pissed.
"What is your name?" She asked him.
"Eren Jeager." He said proudly.
"What division to you wish to join?"
"The Scouting Legion!" He said proudly, which threw Tart into another fit of laughter. Eren wanted to punch her.
"You'll do well there, Eren." She smiled. She left, leaving the three feeling confused.
"Even if the Princess does do admirable deeds, she's weird." The girl deducted.
"She's a saint." The other boy concluded.
During their next three years of training, they never saw the Princess again. Tart did well to keep herself hidden, not wanting to force herself through interactions with the trainees. She was used to being alone, and worked well on her own.
After she heard that the boy Eren had graduated in the top of his class, she couldn't help but feel proud of him. She decided she should say congratulations to him, and went to see him on their graduation night. She spot him with the other two trainees he was with the first time, but before she could reach him the blonde boy called out to her.
"Look, it's the princess! Hey!" Tart found his personality endearing, and recalled acting similar when she was his age.
"You can call me Tart, I hate formalities." She said as she joined their group.
"A-ah, hello, Tart." Armin was beat red.
"I'm very proud of you all for graduating." She smiled. "Eren, Armin, and Mikasa, right?" They nodded. "I wish you the best of luck."
"Thank you!" Armin felt blessed to be near her once more.
"Well, stay out of trouble." As she left, she winked at Armin again, causing him to blush, again.
"Armin has a crush on the Princess!" Eren rang out, picking on his friend.
"Anyone would, she's practically a god send!" He defended his position. Tart heard them as she walked away, and laughed to herself.
"I'm not as good as you think I am!" She called out to him. Walking away, she sighed.
"Look, it's the Scouting Legions élite troops!" A voice rang out. Tart couldn't stop herself, she was already on the street, the horses were already in front of her. She couldn't breathe. She wanted to look up to see if Levi was among them, but after her years of conditioning she couldn't bring herself to. It would only cause her pain.
"Captain Levi!" A voice rang out.
"So he's a captain now." Tart thought to herself, still forcing herself to stare at the cobblestone road. She fell to the ground, trying to hide herself in the crowd. She didn't want to be seen by Levi. If he noticed her, it would hurt. If he didn't, it would hurt. If he pretended not to see her, it would hurt the most. She crawled on the ground, into a back alley as the troops left the gate. As she sat wheezing in an alley, Eren stood before her.
"Are you alright?" He asked. Tart couldn't regain her composure in time, she started sobbing. She could see Eren felt uncomfortable, he didn't know what to do.
"You'll do well in the Scouting Legion." She smiled at him, as she stood up, clutching her sides. "I'm proud of you." She patted him on the head, then hobbled down the alley.
She had made it back to the training grounds and into her cabin when she heard the news. Trost was under attack. Instead of rushing to help, Tart was wallowing in her own sorrow. Once again, she was useless. Once again, she was selfish. She couldn't help but be scared. She longed for the safety of the inner wall.