Chapter 4: Seven Years Until It All Ends Again
Arden's new mother prepared to take her daughter with her to a faraway city. Though, Arden supposed, she was not exactly her "new" mother anymore, after all, it'd been 7 years.
It was such a long period of time, but it felt so distant to Arden. Like she was watching it from behind thick glass. Days seemed to pass like minutes to her as she grew older.
Arden observed the woman who darted around the kitchen, gathering up things needed for the trip. Her mother- Esmeralda was her name- was young. Beautiful. She had long, glossy black hair which was pulled into a ponytail at the base of her neck, and the kindest eyes. A gorgeous emerald green, sparkling with happiness. That euphoria many women get after birth, that pure happiness at having creating life; Esme still carried that feeling with her.
She had slightly rounded cheeks, and a heart-shaped face, a gentle smile ever present on her lips.
No one could help but love Esme. She just.. glowed. Wherever she was, one could likely hear her humming whatever tune. She had a light, silky, calming voice, the kind of person you'd hire to record for audiobooks.
They lived in a small village, in the distant past. Arden was unsure of what country they were in. The language spoken there seemed Germanic, but muddled, like it had been mixed with a bunch of other European languages.
They were going to the faraway city for supplies of some sort; they apparently couldn't wait for the traders to come to the small settlement, that or the supplies simply couldn't be bought from those traders.
Arden believed they lived close to a high-walled city called… Kuroruba.. Chlorba? The accents were strange, despite her having lived among them for seven years. They just never sounded right to her.
The village was quite small, composed of perhaps 50 people. She was a quiet, disconnected child, though she was always showed respect where it was due.
Arden wasn't aware of the city they were traveling to, only that it was much farther away than Chlorba.
They would be leaving soon, with another family from the village. They were excessively wealthy, and why they lived in such a small town was beyond her. Lancaster was their family name. Kind people. Arden's family consistently rode with them in their carriage on trips out of town.
She thought she heard that it was perhaps a 5 hour trip from there to Chlorba.
Upon realizing that the people around her were not English-speaking, she listened intently to conversations carried on around her. Soon enough, she picked up the language.
Esme took Arden's hand and lead her outside to a horse-drawn carriage. The horses were beautiful stallions, one of them a milky white color, the other brown with white splotches, like a cow.
Inside the carriage the Lancasters were already sitting, ready for departure.
Arden was quiet the whole trip, nothing new to her companions. They chattered idly, seldom asking anything of Arden. She tuned them out fairly successfully, finding little merit in paying attention, and fell asleep a few hours into the trip/
The carriage jerked to a stop, jarring Arden from her sleep. She'd been having a dream. About what, she couldn't say.
Esme slightly shifted Arden's arms and lifted her up, hopping out of the carriage. When she set the child on the ground, her young, wide eyes swept the area, taking in her surroundings.
They appeared to be in a market, little carts set up all around them. Vendors shouted in attempts to acquire customers.
"Apples! Fresh apples! Double the price and they're still cheap!"
Her eyes caught on a gargantuan, towering wall. The Great Wall of China? She wondered. But, if we're in China, wouldn't we speak Chinese?
She tugged on her mother's sleeve. "Yes, dear? Would you like an apple?"
Arden shook her head. "Momma? What's that?" She inquired, pointing at the wall.
"Sweetheart, that's Wall Maria." She replied softly, in that soft, silky tone of hers. "It's here to protect us, you know that."
Arden's heart skipped a beat. two. No. No, it can't be. She thought. I can't be.. here. It's not- It's not.. possible. Her thoughts were slow, stuttering. It's been seven years. How could I never have noticed?
If that's Wall Maria, then this must be… I'm in SNK?
Oh this is not good. This is very not good.
She was numb. Shocked. Trying to snap out of her daze, she shook her head.
"Oh. Right." She said, breathless. "Erm, where are we?"
"It's one of the outlying districts. It's called Shiganshina. Haven't your father and I been over this?" Esme was concerned.
Arden almost laughed. Almost.
She always thought Chlorba sounded familiar.
A man nearby was reading a newspaper. Her sharp eyes picked out the date.
Her heart sank.
12 April 838.
Assuming that that world would take the direction of the anime and manga… seven years. I only have seven years.
Seven years until the Colossal Titan would kick through the gate in Shiganshina.
Seven years until the Armored Titan would crash through the main gate of Wall Maria.
Seven years until 10,000 people would die. Countless more.
Hey guys! Sorry for the update. Apparently this chapter was hella corrupted. Yeah, so I changed a few things. Mainly Arden's age. It's kind of totally ridiculous to have Arden be in the Southern Division of the Cadets? Like? She's Eastern? So, yeah. It might be awhile before she gets some interaction with those characters we all know and love. I'm considering having her join the Battle for Trost. That's still up in the air though.