Aaaand once again the madwoman strikes. Wrote this in one hour and a half. It's a short chapter, because this one needed to end on a cliffhanger, and so I can give you chapter 9 in a few days, using the small Easter week-end. Which by the way, happy Easter everyone!

Hope you will enjoy the angst ehehehehe! I'm glad I didn't publish this on Eren's birthday. It's a rather mean present.

Answering to reviews:

Ultimate blazer: Ahhh thank you! I hope you won't be disappointed with this one!

One Punch Micky: *whistles innoncently* Maybeeeee~

Guests: Ahhh yiiisss give me the long reviews.

I'm so glad you like it and yes I love making small references to the canon verse. XD

And I actually pictured the way Mitsuha says her name to Taki when Historia says hers to Eren, I didn't even notice that she does the same with Ymir. o-o

And yes, so proud of my boy for chasing after her like this, even though he didn't know why. T-T

I'm glad you liked the scene and transitions, I tried my best to make it enjoyable even with my poor vocabulary haha.

If Historia would've had the money, she would've returned straight to Shinganshina to meet Eren again.

But the moment she stepped out of her train, and walked down the aisles to see when the next train for the village is, she spotted her father standing in the main hall, with two bodyguards next to him. Once their gazes met, everything was over.

Historia was escorted back home, under her father's great reprimands, and before she could realize it, she was back in her golden cage she called bedroom.

She wanted to talk to Frieda, see how she was doing. But her older sister never once showed her face since she came back. She was locked up in her room, and Historia swore she heard cries coming from it each time she passed it.

But despite all that, despite her father being furious, Historia felt so light, and brave. She had gone her own way, she took her fate into her own hands for once, and it felt GREAT. She couldn't wait until the next switch.

Yet… Days passed. Weeks passed… And Historia always woke up as Historia. She started to grow a bit worried. She couldn't even go back to Shinganshina. Her father locked up her bank account and she always had a bodyguard following her the moment she steps one foot inside. It felt so much worse than before but… She learned a new escape game: Drawing.

She remembered whenever she was Eren, she would see how beautifully the brunet could draw, and how he expressed his feelings through drawings. Eren drew a lot of birds. Sometimes alone, or sometimes birds flying over a wall, which symbolized his longing to leave his village.

Historia started to draw similar things. Only, her bird would fly out of a fancy, golden cage. She trained with a few easy sketches of birds, but the end result was actually not so bad, and she felt very proud.

I hope Eren will get to see this one day, she smiled to herself, putting her drawing in the drawer next to her bed, under her journal.

Time kept passing, and Historia was still waking up as Historia every day. She kept thinking about that day she met Eren, wondering if this was all just a dream…

The time for the Winter ball eventually came, and Historia had already picked up a beautiful outfit: A dark red ball dress, that made her look like a beautiful rose. And her hair… Well, it was all released for once, no ponytail of string holding it back. She did however, have a small braid that tied the hair behind. She looked absolutely gorgeous.

"I except you to be on your best behavior tonight," her father said when they were all in the car. They were driving up the mountain to the Reiss Castle, where the party was. "We're going to build new ties tonight," he said, straightening up. He looked rather nervous and on edge, more than usual… But Historia didn't question that.

She frowned a bit to his words however, getting irked by him always giving her orders. Yet, she remained silent, still not having enough courage inside her to face him and speak up, and frankly, her mind was elsewhere at the moment. She pictured the evening with other people… A beautiful raven girl singing, a sweet blond boy talking about the ocean with her, and a certain brunet showing up in the crowd and offering her to dance. Historia smiled to the thought, feeling her heart flutter to the thought of dancing with Eren…

Once they reached the Castle, the Reiss family was escorted to the Ballroom. The room was already filled with important people from all over the country. At least that's what Rod told his daughters, neither of them knew these people.

"Ah, Hans!" Rod perked up when he spotted a tall dark haired male by the bar, talking to a much older, and bigger man, both wearing fancy tux. Rod grabbed Frieda's hand and pulled her to the two. "This is Frieda. You two will finally be able to spend some time together."

Ah. So this is the Hans.

Historia remembered briefly a conversation a few days ago between her father and Frieda, saying that the famous future husband will be at the Ball. This is what he meant by 'building new ties tonight'. The girl narrowed her eyes to the man, watching him kiss the back of her sister's hand with a very political smile.

He looks like he would dump her in two months, Historia thought bitterly, thinking her sister definitely deserved better. Frieda indeed didn't look very happy, but she had a polite smile on her face.

Rod then went to Historia and hummed, pulling her away from Hans and Frieda.

"Now, Historia," he said, scanning the room for someone. "I know you 'lost' your thread, and it might take some time to make another. But luckily you have me to fit you with someone in the meantime."

Just as he said that, Historia noticed where he was leading her. As they moved through the crowd, towards a balcony, she could see Reiner and Bertholdt standing outside and talking, both wearing fancy tuxedos as well. As expected, Rod presented Historia to Reiner and left them alone, just like he did with Frieda.

Historia watched her father a bit bitterly, feeling like a merchandise he just dropped and then promptly left. She turned back to Reiner, seeing the taller man smile down on her.

"Good evening Historia," he said, bowing his head politely and holding his hand out. "Would you like to dance?"

Historia smiled faintly and nodded, taking his hand and letting him lead back to the dancefloor. They danced gracefully and with great etiquette, almost automatically. Just a few months ago, Historia dreamed about sharing such a moment with Reiner, but now…

"You look beautiful tonight," Reiner said with a kind smile. "Like a real Queen," he said, spinning her gracefully before pulling her back.

"Thank you," Historia smiled, watching Reiner curiously. "You look pretty handsome too."

Reiner chuckled to that, shrugging. "I have to, to match with you," he shifted, looking a bit shy. "I mean.. We might become quite a pair soon."

Historia's expression fell a bit to that, and her gaze lowered, nodding slowly. "Yes…"

Reiner didn't think much of that reaction, and kept dancing. The two swayed around, with practically no emotion. Historia wanted this to change. She closed her eyes a bit and let the music guide her, and to Reiner's surprise, she started to dance a bit out of the traditional waltz dancing, her movements were smooth and free… And she pictured that someone else was holding her, and dancing with her. She lifted her head up a little, her eyes closed as she pictured a loving face smiling down on her with bright teal eyes, and brown hair pushed back. Historia smiled secretly to the picture, and a small tear even left her eye.

"… Historia?"

Reiner's voice broke her out of her daydream, and she stopped her dance, feeling numb again. She sighed softly, noticing Reiner's concerned expression, and gave him a faint smile.

"My apologies," she said softly, curtsying. "I just need a small moment, I'll be right back."

She then abruptly left the dancefloor, her steps rushed as she passed Frieda and Hans, who were dancing a few feet away from her and Reiner.

Historia walked out of the ballroom and upstairs to where he room was. When she did, noticed a few strangers mumbling to each other at the end of the hallway. Once they saw Historia, they tensed up, and quickly left. Historia raised a brow, and silently went to her room, locking the door behind her.

She sat down on her bed with a heavy sigh, reflecting on what just happened. Why was she still here? Where everything was planned and freedom was so difficult to reach? Why did a noisy brunet brat change her entire life and perspective in just a matter of weeks?

I miss him, Historia thought sadly. That brat was the one she wanted to dance with, the one she wanted to live adventures with. She couldn't deny it anymore after that dance. She loved that brat, so much.

Another tear rolled down her cheek to the realization, and she reached out press a hand against her aching heart. She wanted to see him. She wanted to talk to him. Even if he didn't remember her, she wanted to help him remember or at least… Build something new with him. She wanted to discover what she couldn't discover. She wanted to feel things she's never felt before. She wanted to LIVE.

With a determination growing inside her, Historia stood up, hands curled into fists. Even if she had to ride Pepper to Shiganshina for days, she will do it, to find the one she loves.

A proud and determined smile crept on her lips as she moved to the door, feeling excitement rush through her. Yes. Now she wanted to LIVE.

As she unlocked the door slowly, she froze for a moment, hearing something quite unusual coming from downstairs. Her hand rested on the knob for a moment, then swiftly pushed the door open…

Eren gasped out, eyes widening in shock as he stared up on the ceiling. His forehead was sweaty, and his breathing heavy.

This one was the worst one so far…

The brunet coughed a bit, his hand reaching for the necklace around his neck as he kept panting, his legs and hands trembling with fear. His head was spinning, and he suddenly felt very afraid as he glanced down on the necklace.

Historia….