"I don't want to be queen," Historia pouted, pacing the length of Ymir's small room. "I don't want to do this at all."
"Then say no," Ymir stated simply, from where she lounged on the bed. Of course, it wasn't quite so simple as she made it sound.
"I can't just say no!" Historia almost shouted.
To be honest, Ymir was pretty put off by the idea herself. Who would want that kind of responsibility? Ymir had been there, done that. Goddess... queen... it's all the same. People want someone who will sit around and make their difficult decisions for them... tell them what to do. People need someone to revere.
"Then say yes," Ymir shrugged. It wasn't as if she didn't care, but she already knew that Historia was going to do what everyone wanted. She wouldn't do it for them, though. She would do it because she needed to.
"Gahhh" Historia grumbled in irritation, tugging at her ponytail as she began to pace faster.
Despite Historia's apparent frustration, Ymir had to admit that she would make a great queen. Historia actually cared about people and wanted to make their lives better. She was driven to help people who were incapable of helping themselves. That's who she was. There were times when Ymir found this particular trait to be annoying and even weak, but Historia was anything but weak. She was so small, but she always found ways to impress Ymir with how surprisingly strong she could be.
"You'll figure it out," Ymir said, not unkindly.
Historia stopped in her tracks, hands still pulling at her hair. "I have to do it," she said quietly, staring at the floor.
"I'm pretty sure you've already decided that," Ymir smirked at the look of betrayal that painted her best friend's face.
Historia sank to the floor, her eyes empty.
"You're right," she said, determination in her voice. "I'm going to do it." She paused for a minute, staring blankly at Ymir. "I am going to be queen."
"Queen of all of humanity," Ymir began. "Or so we would have thought."
Historia didn't respond immediately, looking away. She was looking in the direction of Reiner's room, Ymir noted.
"You knew," she started, after a minute. "All this time you knew."
"About what?" Ymir asked. "Reiner? Or do you mean I knew about humanity outside the walls?"
"Everything."
"It's complicated," Ymir shrugged.
"How is it complicated? How many lives could have been spared with the information you kept to yourself? Too many, probably."
"Maybe," Ymir looked up at the ceiling. "Maybe not. We don't know how things would have turned out."
"Damn it Ymir," Historia mumbled. "You are so selfish."
"You know it's more than that," Ymir told her patiently. "but maybe I am a bit selfish."
After a moment of silence, Ymir looked down at Historia. "Are you scared?"
"Of course I am," her friend sighed. "What about you? Aren't you scared?"
"Not really," Ymir answered honestly, leaning back on her palms and looking up at the ceiling.
"How is it even possible for you to not be afraid right now?"
"Well," Ymir started. "I guess don't see the point in being scared." She closed her eyes and tried to remember the sixty years of her life that she spent incapable of feeling any emotion at all. She couldn't clearly remember everything from before she became a titan, but she knew she had been terrified then. That was a lifetime ago. Ymir was different now.
"You'll be fine," Ymir reassured her, after a moment. "Plus... think of the perks you will be able to enjoy, as queen. You won't have to fight anymore. You will be relatively safe. No more titans." Well... almost no more titans.
"Facing titans might be easier than this," Historia responded, almost sadly.
"Have you talked to him about it?" There wasn't any need to be more specific. They both knew who Ymir was talking about.
Ymir was grateful for the time Historia had been spending with her lately. Her friend was being kept very busy, with all this talk of the wall cult, her family, and becoming queen. Her exhaustion was obvious, despite her efforts to try to hide it. She tried to maintain her cheerful exterior, but Ymir could see how weary she was. She had even fallen asleep a couple of times when talking to Ymir like this.
Despite this exhaustion, Historia also found time to spend with Reiner.
"No."
"No," Ymir agreed. "I suppose you can't."
"Even if I could," Historia continued. "I'm not even sure what I would say."
Ymir could empathize with Reiner. The two of them had been spending a lot of time together in the last couple of weeks they were stuck underground. She felt like she could understand him, now. He had changed a lot. Before, he was this big, strong, charismatic guy. He was annoyingly flirtatious, but also eager to help anyone who needed it. People had respected Reiner Braun of the 104th Training Corps. This Reiner was different. He was broken.
Reiner had clearly enjoyed the love and respect of his comrades. He had plenty of that, before. Now... things were different. Now, he was loathed. Hated. Despised. All of the people who had grown to love and trust him now wanted nothing to do with him. Well... almost all of them.
"Do you trust him?" It seemed like a simple question, but Ymir knew it really wasn't.
Historia hesitated before answering, and closed her eyes for a moment. "I think I do."
"I think you can," Ymir agreed.
Historia didn't really respond. She chewed her lip and stared off into space.
Historia cared deeply for Reiner. Of that, Ymir was certain. It was an interesting dynamic, Ymir had to admit. She knew them both pretty well at this point, and she thought she had an understanding of what drew the two of them together. Sure, they had each been living a lie... but there was more to it than that.
Reiner's lie wasn't really a lie at all. The guy he had been for the last three years she had known him... that was the person that Reiner wanted to be. Through sheer will and determination, he had forced himself become that person - the big brother that everyone looked up to... the top-ranking student who went out of his way to help the others improve. He wasn't the simpering kid he had been when Ymir first laid eyes on him five years ago. The Reiner of the 104th Training Corps was the best possible version of Reiner Braun.
"I don't know what's going to happen to him," Historia said after what seemed like a long moment. "Or you, for that matter..."
"Well... maybe when you are queen, you will be able to do something," Ymir suggested.
"Could I really, though? After... all of the things he has done... people might never accept him."
"You'll be queen. You can make them."
"I can't make them accept him... or forgive him."
"No, I guess you're right," Ymir sighed. "It's a lot messier than that... he has a long and painful road ahead of him..."
"I'll do whatever I can to help him," Historia spoke with a sureness that Ymir found to be comforting.
"I'm sure you will," Ymir smirked. "Getting into his pants again would probably cheer him up some."
"Ymir!" Historia stared aghast at her friend, her face rapidly cycling through various shades of red. "Where the hell did that come from?"
Ymir snickered a bit at Historia's reaction.
"So you don't deny it."
Historia looked like she was going to smack Ymir silly, her eyes wide with horror and embarrassment.
"It's nothing to be ashamed of," Ymir added. "We're teenagers. This is the kind of shit we are supposed to be doing. Plus... Reiner's kinda hot. I can't blame you for wanting to get with him." A devilish grin began to take shape on her face.
Just when Ymir thought that Historia's face had gotten as red as it could possibly get, it got redder.
"So... now that we have established that I know... do I at least get some juicy details? How was it?"
"We aren't talking about this right now, Ymir." Historia was still red, but now she was trying her best not to laugh. Ymir was glad that she had succeeded in lightening the mood.
"Not even just a little bit?" Ymir raised her eyebrows and pretended to pout. "But I thought we tell each other everything."
"No."
"That bad huh?"
Historia just closed her eyes and giggled into her hands. "No. It wasn't that bad."
Ymir managed to force some details out of Historia before she needed to leave for the night.
Reiner was just about to fall asleep when Historia came to his room. She had the dark circles under her eyes that had seemed to become a permanent feature of her face, and her hair was tied back sloppily like usual. Despite her tired appearance, there was a lightness to her tonight. There was laughter in her eyes and her face was slightly flushed.
"Everything alright?" he asked, sitting up in bed.
For a second, Historia just stood there and smirked at Reiner. "Yeah. Ymir is just ridiculous."
"She has her moments," he agreed, not knowing exactly what Historia was talking about. He smiled for her anyway. "I thought maybe I wouldn't see you today."
"Sorry," she said quietly, smiling slightly at him. "I just wanted to visit you before going to bed. Tomorrow is important, and I probably won't be able to see you for a couple days."
A couple days? That would be... lonely. Reiner supposed he always had Ymir to talk with, and he had genuinely enjoyed all of the interactions they had had lately. However, talking to her wasn't the same. She didn't radiate the same warmth that Historia did.
"What's going on?"
"We're making a move tomorrow," Historia began, yawning. She sat in her usual spot at the foot of the bed and told Reiner about the Reeves company, and how its leadership had agreed to work with the Survey Corps. She explained that the company was pretending to cooperate with the Military Police's First Squad. As part of the plan, they would hand Eren and Historia over to them. The Survey Corps would then follow them to wherever Eren and Historia were taken from there. They were hoping this would lead the Survey Corps. to the true ruler the world inside of the walls.
Reiner didn't like it. It didn't make any sense to him.
"I don't understand," Reiner said, after she'd explained everything. "I don't get why they need you to act as bait. I get why the MPs would want Eren... but why you?"
"I told you," Historia sighed. "My family is... important to the Wallist cult. If they're involved with this, then it makes sense for me to be there too. If me and Eren are there, it increases our chanced of attracting the right people."
He supposed it made sense enough, but he still didn't like it.
"I'm going to worry."
Historia chuckled quietly and rolled her eyes. "Ymir said the same thing."
"Well we both care about you," Reiner reached up and scratched the back of his head nervously.
It almost felt silly, having these feelings. There was too much else to be worried about. He shouldn't be nervous around her anymore, not after the last couple weeks. In the time he'd been kept underground, Historia visited him regularly. Sometimes, he wondered why. He assumed it was just her nature, and that she would have done this for any one of her friends, had they been in his position. He didn't dare think it was because she had any actual feelings for him, not after everything that had happened... not after everything she now knew.
He'd be lying if he said he didn't have any feelings for her, though. Caring for her is arguably what got him into his current predicament. That was oversimplifying it though, he knew. It was obviously more than just her, but she helped him to see things differently. She helped him realize that he had a choice in who he aligned himself with. Thanks to her, he knew he could stop what he was doing. There wasn't just the one path forward.
More than that, she had helped to keep him sane in these last couple weeks. Without her, Reiner suspected he would have torn himself apart by now.
"I'll be with Eren," she reassured him. "I'll be fine."
Historia's words did little to soothe his concern. This would be incredibly dangerous, even with Eren by her side. Reiner wasn't about to tell her what to do though. She was a soldier, and soldiers were expected to be willing to take risks when ordered to. She had faced titans before. Humans weren't nearly so dangerous, right? Even knowing all this, he hated that there was nothing he could do to help. He would be stuck here, while she risked her life above ground.
"Just...Please be careful," he sighed after a moment.
It felt like everything had been on pause for the last couple of weeks, but he knew that was only his perception. Everyone else had been busy working, planning. As much as he dreaded the future, these weeks hadn't been horrible. This new assignment Historia was a part of though... it was the Survey Corps continuing to charge forward. It was a reminder that he was no longer one of them.
He was no longer a soldier of the Survey Corps, but he was also no longer a Warrior. He didn't know what the hell he was anymore. There were few things he was certain of, but he knew that he wanted Historia to be safe... that he would be devastated if something happened to her. He would worry about all of the others as well, even if they no longer thought of him as a friend... but his worry for Historia easily dwarfed his concern for anyone else.
"I'll be fiiine," she repeated. "But it's nice that you worry about me." She closed her eyes and laughed into her fist. She didn't seem to be concerned at all, and that made him feel a little better.
Reiner wondered how she would react if he kissed her then. It was just the two of them, alone in this room. It was a ridiculous thing to be thinking about, but he just couldn't help it. If it were a month ago, he might have actually done it.
He probably should have done it anyway, he realized after she said goodnight and left, shutting the door behind her. The truth was that he owed her a lot, and he didn't know what he'd have done without the support she had given him in the time he'd been stuck there. It wasn't as if he deserved it, but he appreciated it nonetheless. He should have told her that, he realized after she'd already gone.
The next day...
Hange anxiously paced the halls of their temporary base in Trost. So much new information had found its way to her in a matter of hours. She needed to process all of it. Erwin told her she should get away from here, and she would. Soon. She just needed a moment to think. She'd ordered everyone else to flee. It was just her now, and Moblit who she had asked to prepare their horses.
So Dimo Reeves and his men were killed, she thought mournfully. She didn't know Dimo well, but he had been an ally. He legitimately cared about the people who lived in Trost district, and she admired his dedication to keeping the struggling city afloat. She'd never gotten to thank him for his help in capturing the MPs who had ended up spilling the secret about the true rulers within the walls: the Reiss family.
First Pastor Nick, and now Dimo Reeves. The list of names just kept getting longer. Hange hated this. Even more than that, she hated that she had to ask even more of Flegel Reeves, who had witnessed the murder of his father and colleagues. If she were a better person, she would let him go into hiding. Hange never thought of herself to be a good person though. She was selfish. She would use him, because she had to. He was the only one who witnessed what happened. Flegel Reeves would be the key to clearing the Survey Corps of the accusations that had been made against them.
The murder of these men was being pinned on the Survey Corps, which was absolute nonsense. Erwin had been summoned to the capital to answer for the crimes, and the Survey Corps was ordered to cease all of its activities and submit to the Military Police until the matter had been settled. They would likely try to disband the Survey Corps, Hange suspected. They'd been creating too much trouble for the people in power. That did not bode well for Erwin, who was already being taken to the capital in chains. The thought made her skin crawl.
The plan with Eren and Historia had failed. She wondered how the Military Police got word of Reeves' betrayal. She took small comfort in the thought that perhaps the First Squad had intended to kill the Reeves men no matter what. It would have been the most effective way to keep the whereabouts of Eren and Historia secret.
It might not have been our fault, Hange kept telling herself. She tried to push the thought from her head as she considered what remained of the situation. There would be time for guilt later.
Eren and Historia had been taken by the Military Police First Squad. This was bad... They had only just learned how disposable Eren was to the people who were after him... just a vessel. They would take his titan power from him at the first opportunity, killing him in the process. Historia was more of a question mark. She was the king's bastard, but Hange failed to understand why that would make her so valuable. Erwin had been stumped too, when the two of them discussed this.
Hange had so many new questions for her commander, and she had been given no chance to ask them. What was she supposed to do? Erwin had declared her his successor as leader of the Survey Corps, but that didn't help her figure out what she would need to do next.
Think, Hange .
She needed to get out of here. She'd tucked Flegel Reeves somewhere she hoped he would be safe for the time being.
Squad Levi and the other recruits were gone, probably tailing the group that took Eren and Historia.
Soon she and Moblit would be heading to Stohess, to speak to an old acquaintance who might be able to help. She couldn't go off searching for Eren and Historia herself. She wouldn't know where to start. Hange had to believe that was what Levi and his squad were doing. She had at least been relieved that none of her comrades' bodies had been put on display in the street with those of Dimo and his men. They had to be alive. Assuming that they would be hot on the First Squad's trail, Hange intended to do what she could to ensure that the Survey Corps had a future.
Before that though, there were other matters that needed to be attended to. She had one final decision to make, regarding the prisoners – or "assets", as Erwin had called them.
On one hand, Hange did not fully trust Reiner or Ymir. On the other hand, she didn't trust either of the other military branches to take custody of them either. The two of them had been cooperative in these last couple weeks, but they had both been responsible for varying degrees of horror... Reiner more so. Ymir's greatest crime was keeping her own secret, but a secret that could have saved numerous lives had she chosen to be open about it months ago.
Surrendering the two of them to another faction was not an option, particularly with the central government's interest in keeping the truth of the world a secret from the general public. There's no telling what they would do if they got their hands on Reiner or Ymir. The only remaining choice was a gamble, but one that Hange knew Erwin himself would likely make if their roles were reversed. This gamble could prove disastrous, but it was the only option.