I stared at her from across the courtroom. I hated the way they held her down. I hated the way they treated her. I already knew they went against my orders not to hurt her because she had been asleep for a day and a half. There was no other way she would have been asleep for that long.

I only partially listened to the Judge speak. I was too focused on looking at her, memorizing her face and the color of her hair. When he asked her to defend herself I willed her to say something. Anything. She put her head down and stared at the floor. What was she doing? Did she not realize the danger she was in? On the outside I was calm, but on the inside I was crying out.

I knew I should have let them know about the language barrier. Why had I left that crucial detail out? I felt like an idiot. I was about to say something when the Judge started to speak again.

"Very well then, because the subject has refused to answer the question, she will go to the Military Police for experimentation on her person. That is my final decision." The gavel went down. That was the verdict. She would be given to the Military Police. She stared desperately at me as they dragged her away. I could hear her cries of protest even after the courtroom doors had slammed shut and the din of everyone leaving protruded my ears.

I shook my head and ran my fingers through my hair. I was a fool.

"Damn," said my companion, Levi. "Would have thought she would have said something. She was so outspoken before."

I shook my head again. "No. We should have said something about it first." I gripped the railing in front of me, my nails digging into the wood.

Levi glanced around the room. "We'll talk about this in a moment. Not here."

We exited with the rest of the crowd, Hanji sulking in front of us. "I really liked her…" she mumbled sadly. None of us said anything else until we had entered the carriage waiting to take us back to our hotel. It was too late in the day to go back to the Survey Corps Headquarters.

Levi sat across from me with his arms crossed like usual. Hanji sat quietly to my right, still pouting. "So, let me guess," started Levi after the carriage lurched forward, "you want to devise a plan to go and rescue the girl."

"You and I both know she's not a Titan Shifter," I replied matter-of-factly.

"Does it make it worth the risk? Sending in a platoon of men just to rescue someone who isn't even of our world?" Levi leaned forward, his hands intertwined in front of him. "Commander, before you order anything rashly, I suggest you think hard and deep about this."

"Don't tell me how to do my job," I snapped. "And who said anything about sending in a whole platoon?"

"Hey, you two," Hanji scolded. "Knock it off." She stared at us harshly. "We may all have different takes on this situation, but the Corporal is right. If we are to do something about it, we need time to think of something."

I sighed heavily and leaned back on the hard cushion. I crossed my arms over my chest. "Then we do all agree to get her out of there." It was more of a rhetorical question, but they both nodded. "Alright then. I believe I know of something that may work, of course, not every detail is finite." I explained to them how I planned to use Espyon to take care of Ariadne and send her notes while she was in the Military Police's custody, but first I needed Ariande's bag. "I can't communicate with her unless I have that device of hers. It's the only way."

"How do you expect to get her things?" asked Hanji.

"Again, Espyon will have to retrieve those things. She should be getting them now. She is not well recognized as a Survey Corps member so she will be able to blend into the background of the Military Police," I replied.

"Wouldn't some of the other members get suspicious of her though?" Levi said. "If she shows up without new recruits arriving then she will stand out."

"There's already a new unit of recruits coming in tonight. She can fall in with them."

Hanji shook her head. "I still think she would be found out too early," she stated concernedly.

I shook my head. "Have a little faith," I urged. "Trust me, and Espyon, she can do it."

Hanji and Levi glanced at each other skeptically. Levi threw his hands up into the air. "Fine. It's not like we have any other ideas."

It had been four months since Ariadne was taken into the Military Police's custody. Unlike what I told her, I was unable to go and visit her during this time. The reports I received from Espyon were horrific, but they were few and far between. I wanted to know what was happening to Ariadne. I cringed when I read of her first injury down her body. I could feel the pain as if the blade were passing through my own skin. (I have felt the sharp edge from my 3D maneuver gear cut me before).

Finally it had come to the point where we (Levi and myself) were able to perfect the rescue plan. I did not intend for it to take as long as it did. We waited until the night to ambush the jail cells. There were only seven of us, not including Espyon, who was already inside. I was to meet her near the courtroom entrance. From there, we would fight our way down to Ariadne's cell, but we had no intention of killing anyone.

Levi directed the other five people to other places so they would distract the Military Police while I went inside. It started out perfectly, but before I could go rendezvous with Espyon, a woman stopped me.

She was Military Police, but she did not look intimidating. She held out a sword towards me, but it was visibly shaking. "I-I don't want to hurt you, C-commander Erwin," she said, her eyes trying to stay in a glare.

I sighed heavily and irritably. I did not have time for this. I rushed at her and grabbed her wrist, twisting it hard and holding it against her back until she dropped the weapon. She was about to cry out, but I managed to put my other hand over her mouth before she could make a sound.

"I don't want to hurt you either," I whispered. "I have no time to deal with you. Please, I ask that you leave and forget you ever saw me. I will do the same for you. Deal?" She slowly nodded and went slack under my grip. I let her go. She then bent down, picked up her weapon, and sheathed it, walking away from me in the opposite direction I was heading.

I continued on to meet Espyon. "Sorry if I'm late," I said hurriedly.

"Just follow me," Espyon replied, seemingly ignoring my apology.

She led me down numerous flights of stairs and through various corridors. Somewhere along the line, the wooden walls changed into stone. They were dimly lit by fire torches on the walls. She stopped in front of a heavy metal door and tried to push it open.

"That's odd," she said. "Normally it's unlocked."

"Hang on," I said. "Stand back." I kicked hard on the door several times before the lock broke apart and the door burst open.

"You know, you didn't need to break it open," Espyon said, holding up a key-ring with several keys on it.

"Yeah, well..."

I practically ran inside the next hallway to the only cell in the corridor, Espyon close behind me with a key to unlock it. Once it was undone, I opened the door and stepped inside. I hardly recognized the figure on the bed as Ariadne. She was much skinnier than when I had last seen her. Her hair was short and mangled. She was breathing heavily and sweating profusely. She was covered in bandages. When I got closer I noticed the skin on her left arm and shoulder had turned white. She had been poisoned.

I kneeled beside her bed and put my arm behind her back, supporting her upward, and wrapped my other arm around her front, embracing her. I was so glad she was still alive, but probably not for much longer. I was hardly aware of my own actions of kissing her and stroking what was left of her hair and saying her name.

I looked down into her face for a minute. Her eyes tried to focus on my own, but she was burning hot. It would not surprise me if she believed this moment to be imagined, but I was okay with that. I kept my right arm behind her back and held my left arm under her knees to pick her up. She weighed almost nothing. I grabbed the blanket underneath her to cover her as we exited the cell. Espyon waited for us outside the metal bars.

"She's been poisoned. We need to get her back now." Espyon nodded and led us out of the dank underground. I would like to say that the return home went smoothly, but it was better than it could have been. Espyon and I met with Levi and the rest of the team outside the Military Police headquarters. Ariadne had passed out way before we were even out of the underground. Instead of taking a carriage, which was way too slow for my taste, we went ahead on horse back. It was awkward carrying Ariadne on the horse at first, but as the rhythm of the horse's hooves steadied, holding her in front of me became easier.

When we arrived a few hours later in the Survey Corps Infirmary, Ariadne's skin had turned so pale I was sure she was already dead in my arms, if it was not for the heat radiating from her body. Hanji along with other nurses and doctors made sure that the antidote was ready and given to her immediately. I stayed outside of the infirmary with Levi, waiting for any news of her condition.

"Commander Erwin, sir." A cadet had approached us with a letter in his hand. "A letter from Commander Pixis." I took the envelope as the cadet saluted then departed.

I glanced at Levi. "How is it that this man knows everything I do?" I said with a small chuckle, while opening the envelope.

Levi shrugged. "Has eyes and ears everywhere I suppose."

Commander Erwin, your presence is requested with Commander Pixis this morning at 9 o'clock to discuss recent events.

I sighed and looked at the clock on the wall. "It's already 8:30. I should probably be going." I rubbed my tired eyes. I had not slept all night. "Let me know if something happens, would you?" I said to Levi.

He nodded. "Don't worry."

"Thank you."

"Well, Erwin, it seems you have had a busy evening." Commander Pixis took a sip from his tea cup and set it gently down on the saucer in his other hand.

"Oh?" I replied taking a drink from my own. "Why would you think that?" I rested my ankle across my opposite knee.

"For one, you look as if you've been running from a Titan all night," he replied with a laugh.

I shrugged. "You could say that."

He set his cup down on the table between us. "Erwin, you're playing a dangerous game, you know that."

"Enlighten me incase I don't."

"Stealing, or kidnapping however you want to put it, from the Military Police. Breaking and entering." He leaned back and settled his hands in his lap. "The judge said she was to go to the Military Police until they could prove her humanity."

"They had her for four months. I figured they would have figured it out by now," I replied sharply.

Pixis put his hand up, silencing me. "As far as the Interior knows now is a bunch of rebels came last night and attack them." He stared at me intensely. "Though I doubt a nice boy like you would have anything to do with that."

I shook my head and smiled. "No, nothing like that."

"As for the Titan Shifter, it died of natural causes and its body was taken out and burned, eradicating it from ever returning to torment humanity." He reached for his tea again and downed the rest of it. He shook his head in disgust. "I never was a big fan of tea. It's just over praised leaf water." He pulled a silver flask out of his pocket. "This is more what I like." He put the flask to his lips and took a long draw from it, heaving out a satisfied sigh afterwards.

"Where do you get that stuff?" I asked him in mock curiosity.

"If I told you, I wouldn't have any for myself!" he said with a laugh.

I laughed as well. "Well thank you for filling me in on these events." We both stood and shook hands. "I expect to keep in contact like always?"

"I will let you know if I hear anything," Pixis replied.

"Thank you," I said as I headed toward the door.

"Get some sleep," he ordered with another laugh.

"I'll try my best."

In fact I could not sleep. No matter how exhausted I may have been, I could not fall asleep. Levi told me Ariadne was reacting well to the antidote she was given. As far as anyone knew, she was sleeping everything off.

I ordered Espyon to be there when she awoke and to keep her fever down. I wanted to know the minute she was awake. I would have stayed awake the entire time Ariadne was sleeping, but she was out for a whole week, I had to sleep sometime.

I was resting my eyes at my desk over a pile of paperwork when someone entered my office. Lazily, I opened to peek at whomever had entered. Espyon saluted. "She's awake," she announced.

Immediately, I stood and followed her towards the room where Ariadne was staying. Levi and Hanji met us on the way there. When we entered the room, Espyon propped Ariadne up with a pillow. The color of her skin looked healthier. Her hair was still messy. She was not wearing any clothing, but the bandages and blankets covered her enough. I could see a bright red scar running down the middle of her chest. She smiled when she saw us walk into the room.

"(It's so good you see you all,)" she said with a weak voice. "(I see you still have my phone.)" She pointed to the device in Levi's hand.

We had a small conversation back and forth with the device. I was surprised to find that she was able to understand us without using the device too much. I asked her to tell us what she experienced, but after a while it was too much for her. She had to stop.

I sat down in the chair beside the bed then asked everyone else to leave. When they had left the room, I took Ariande's hand in my own. It was much softer than I (for some reason) expected it to be.

She watched as I gently stroked her skin with my thumb. "I'm sorry we couldn't come get you sooner."

How long was I there? When I told her how long she was in captivity, she stared down at her lap and then at the wall, avoiding my gaze.

Thank you.

"For what?"

Saving me.

"We waited too long."

I'm alive.

She was looking at me now. I opened my mouth to apologize more. I'm sorry for being a fool. I'm sorry for all the things they did to you. I'm sorry for leaving you alone. At least she is alive. I held my tongue. I wanted to say more and more apologies, but I knew they would not make up for anything.

I paused. Why was I so intent on protecting her? Why did I want to say these things to her? I did not understand myself. It was so frustrating! This girl whom I had only seen for not even two weeks had already dug under my skin and into my head. I do not even remember ever thinking like this before. Not about anyone.

Espyon entered the room carrying a tray of food. I quickly let go of Ariadne's hand, hoping Espyon had not seen. (Why did I care anyway?) "Commander, could you please get out of the chair so I can give Ariadne her meal?"

"Right, sorry." I stood and switched places with her. "I'll be by as much as I can," I said as I exited the room. I could feel both of their eyes on my back as I left. I was so confused.

Awww poor Erwin. I hope you like this point of view switch. I was just trying it out for this chapter. Next chapter will be back to Ariadne's perspective. On another note, this is my longest chapter yet! I feel like it's too much when I write this long of a chapter .A.

And I'm tired of changing my mind so much. I realized I have more free time than I think so I'm just going to update whenever I have time. That is my final take on that.

If you aren't caught up with the manga then you need to be! No spoilers, but I was freaking out this most recent chapter that came out. If you haven't read that yet, go do it now! (Off the top my head I believe it's chapter 62 that just came out a few days or so ago).

Anyway, thanks for reading! Don't forget to leave a review!