"So, Arlert, having trouble sleeping?", I asked suddenly, starting him.
"Mam!", he jumped, turning to face me. "Ham... well.. I'm worried about Eren, that's all. But you said he can't have any visitors so..."
"It's just a precaution measurement. He's fine, probably asleep as we speak.", my lips curled into a faint smile. "Don't worry about that.", I murmured, silence encompassing the camp for a few moments. "You say you can't sleep? Come with me then.", I said, leaving him no choice but to obey my request. I was his superior afterall.
I told him to get his 3-D equipment before we proceeded. Afterwards, headed towards the edge of the clearing, where the line of separated the campsite from the forest and we climbed up, to where I'd been with Eren the night before, sitting on the thick tree branch.
"So tell me.. You and Eren are childhood friends?", I asked the blonde boy, not bothering to face him and watching the peaceful swaying of the leaves instead.
"Him, Mikasa and I are, mam. They used to... protected me from the bigger boys around our neighborhood."
"Hm... I understand.", I nodded. "Either way, he's fine. Luckily, his titan powers helped him survive his injuries.", I turned to Armin and smiled sincerely. It seemed to calm him down a bit.
-BEGIN FLASHBACK-
"Hoy, Martha, have you chosen which military branch you're going to join?", Amy asked, peering over the top bunkbed and looking at me with her amber eyes wide open. Her blonde hair framed her upside down face as she spoke.
"I've decided already.", Sheila answered, even though the question wasn't meant for her. She lifted her head off the pillow and looked at us.
"Soooo?", I urged her to continue.
"I'm going to join the military police.", she said, in a assertive tone.
"You don't even know if you're in the top 10...", Amy rolled her eyes, scoffing.
"Like hell I don't! Of course I am, we three have amongst the highest scores in the whole squad. Besides, I heard they where going to annouce the top 10 today, so I'll know soon enough.", she replied, rather harshly.
"Eh...", I sighed, weighing my options. "Militar police..? Nah... Survey Corps..? Fuck no... I'm honestly thinking about joining the Garrison."
"What? Those mediocre folks? Martha, you could do so much better than that. Come with us to the police.", Amy smiled, her face becoming flush from being almost upside down.
"No, they're all corrupt... Like you haven't heard the stories about those dorms. Besides, Wall Sina is full of priests. Ugh...", I shivered at the thought. "My father is more than enough to fulfill that role, thank you very much."
"But you joining the Garrison won't piss him off even more?", Sheila asked, laying down with her head hanging upside down off the edged of the bed.
"Whatever I do, it doesn't matter; it always pisses him off. Ever since I decided to come here, when I get home, he makes my life a living hell...", I huffed, furrowing my brow.
"But didn't your mom said she wanted you to join the police?", the blonde girl asked me.
"Well yeah but... listen, the final decision is mine; not theirs'.", I fell onto the mattress and sighed again.
"How's it gonna be when we split up?", Sheila asked absentmindedly.
"How's it gonna be what? It's not like we're never gonna see eachother again. We still live all in the same district.", I remarked.
"Well, sure but, if we make it into the Military Police, we're gonna move to Wall Sina. After that, it will be hard for us to meet. Even talking will be hard.", the brunette replied, her voice turning into a whisper.
"Hm... maybe not.", Amy muttered, jumping off the top bunk and sitting at my feet on the bottom bed. "Mail exchange between army branches is farely efficient. Using that instead of the normal courriers would save us about three weeks of waiting time. According to my dad, they go through a special network of shortcuts and all that. It's very complex.", That's right... Amy's father works at the post office that makes the Wall Rose-Maria connection...
"Well, anyways", I sighed, "when do we get to eat at your house again, Shei? That cake your mom made was simply too good for words."
"I don't know... with the new twins and all... the house is a tad full. Atleast it's what they said on last week's letter. But I think that stopping just to say hi won't be an issue.", she smiled. "Annaleigh really liked you guys the last time you went there."
"She's so cute!", I smiled widely. "In fact, all of your siblings are just so adorable!..."
"Eh..", scoffed Amy. "Me and kids... we don't really get along... But Annaleigh is cute... I'll give you that. We should be heading out to the courtyard, the others are probably there already."
"Let's go, let's go!", I jumped from the bed. The commander was very strict with tardiness and no one wanted to get on his bad side. We went outside and the group of cadets was already starting to form.
"Run!", Amy barked before launching into full on running towards the amorphous mass of cadets.
"Phew..", I panted, looking at Sheila out the corner of my eye. "We made it just in time."
"Yeah."
"Attention, vermin!", the commander shouted. "During the last three years, we've been watching your progress, or lack thereof, and the moment has arrived for us to finally present you with the top 10 ranking soldiers in this squad. I'll call your names and you will form a line in front of me, understood?!"
"Yes, sir!", we replied. My heart was racing. Sure, I didn't want to go to the MP but... if I didn't rank amongst the top 10 and the girls did... well... I don't know..
"Hoy, don't worry, Martha.", I heard Amy whispering, elbowing my side to pull me out of my thoughts. "It's in the bag.", she smiled softly.
"Caleb Sigmund!", the commander yelled. The guy stepped foward. I'd never spoken much to him but I always saw him studying and training harder than anyone else so, it was a well deserverd victory. "Amy Tristan!", the commander called out. What? That's awesome!
"Nice!", I smiled at her and squeezed her shoulder while she rushed to take her place in line. My eyes fell on Sheila's clenched face, as a dark aura seemed to encase her. Well... you can't always be the best, deary, I laughed internally. They were my best friends and I loved them, but things like this where just too funny to let slide.
"Kara Fulton! Urkel Abner! Benjamin Herhand! Pamella Marcel! Mathias Gerard!", the mans voice successively called them. Mathias, Mat.. He used to by my hand to hand combat partner most of the times. He was a really cool guy. Wait... seven down, and I still wasn't called? Neither Sheila... I looked at her and could see the nerve wreck she was, almost shaking. Discreetely, I took her hand.
"Relax, Shei.", I whispered in a soothing voice. "You're in the top 10, for sure..."
"Sonny Lennard! Sheila Herb!", a toothy smile appeared on her face and she almost skipped happily towards the front of the formation. I sighed. Maybe I'm not as good as I thought afterall... "Martha Krieger!" What?! Yes! I made it!
I walked until I'd joined and completed the line and, as I arrived, Sheila nudged me, a large smile embelishing her features.
"I knew we'd all make it", she muttered, barely moving her mouth.
"Barely, but I guess...", I replied.
"You have the honor of being the new recruits of the Military Police Corps, should you choose. The cerimony will be held after dinner, dismissed.", the commander finished and walked away. Amy came to meet up with us.
"We're all here, how awesome is that!", she hopped, visibly excited.
"I told you so...", Sheila added.
"Yeah, you also said you'd rank higher than me, pfff", the blonde girl laughed. I couldn't avoid doing the same and not long after, we where all chuckling about the argument.
"So you guys really are going to join the police...", I smiled, happy for them.
"You should come too Martha, seriously", Shei said.
"I'll decide tonight...", I ended up replying.
"Bleh, Garrison...", the brunette rolled her eyes. "Hey, wait a sec... Taryn and Careen weren't called...", I soon realised the same.
"Yeah... they weren't.", I mused. "And they wanted to join the police... now what.?"
"Now; we improvise. We had our backup plans, Martha", a voice behind me answered. I felt a hand on my shoulder.
"Taryn!", I almost jumped. "So... what are you gonna pick?"
"Survey Corps."
"What?! Are you even serious?", Amy half yelled, looking like she'd seen a ghost. "You wanted to go to the police and now you choose the excat opposite?"
"I wanted the police because I didn't want to worry my mom but... I've always wanted to go outside. Outside the walls.", he answered.
"Oh, how poetic...", Shei muttered mockingly. "Amy here will miss you oh so very much, won't you?", she nudged the blonde.
"What'?! Yeah, but not in that way! You bitch!", she yelled. Taryn started chuckling softly. Everyone knew about Amy's crush on him, even though she didn't openly admit it. She ended up chasing Sheila around, trying to strangle her, while Taryn happily chirped behind them.
"Congrats for making the top 10", a voice said softly. It was Mathias. I'd sat on the doorstep of one of the cabins, thinking about what I was going to do.
"Yeah, you too.", I smiled. He sat by my side, looking at the dusking sky, now orange.
"You don't know what you're gonna pick either?", he broke the silence.
"Eh... I've got a pretty good idea. Why? Don't you?", I asked.
"Not really, no... I wasn't even expecting reaching the top 10...", he replied, in a trance.
"Oh please, don't bullshit me, Mat. Judging by our fights, I was almost certain you'd take a spot up there. Why don't you join the police then?"
"I... I know this is a stupid reason but.. I didn't want to leave my sisters alone here and I can't take them with me if I move to Wall Sina", he answered.
"Oh... so.. the Survey Corps is out of the question as well then... You're left with the Garrison.", I concluded.
"Looks like it."
"Wait, who takes care of your sisters while you're here then?"
"My grandma... But she's old and I don't want to burden her with more work. She's done more than enough for us.", he smiled. "Well, I guess I'll go pack up, see you later, Martha!", he got up and entered one of the cabins. I didn't even know he had siblings... what about his parents? Poor guy...
"Fawning over Mat, are we..?", Amy mocked, suddenly appearing.
"Oh, shut up... He's a good person and we were just talking because he hasn't chosen a military branch yet. And you guys see couples everywhere, I swear..."
"No, no.. he was all giddy around you...", Sheila teased.
"Ugh, can we stop this nonsense, please? We should go pack up...", I mentioned.
"You're right.", Shei nodded, nudging Amy. "You're going straight home tomorrow or what?"
"I am... it's still a long way 'till I reach the farm.", she replied. Amy lived in a farm, outside the district. Her mom was a horse breeder and her older brother also worked there. She'd been the only person in the family to join the military, according to her.
"So it's still not time for us to go visit you, I see..", I spat. During the years we'd been together, she'd only gone home once every year, always at the end, when we were on leave. On the other hand, she'd always come with us to our houses. Not mine though, because of my father's dislike of the military but we were always warmly welcomed in Shei's house.
"If you really really wanna go there... it's only a six day travel on horse.", she joked. It was a lot, and I didn't have that much time, since I wanted to check on the people back at home. News of an epidemic got out and I hadn't recieved almost any letters from them. We entered the cabin and began packing up.
"Very well!", yelled commander Keith Shadis, of the Scouting Legion. "We're here to...", I stopped listening after a few seconds.
"I don't even know why they go through all the work of coming here... No one wants to join the Dead Corps...", Shei whispered to me.
"Don't say that!", Amy scolded her, silently. "Their work is important."
"Judging by the number of casualties... their job mus be feeding the titans...", I mocked.
"Come on, you don't know what it's like to be outside. The army wouldn't have a useless branch, right?", the amber-colored eye girl snarked.
"Meh... it doesn't matter...", I shrugged.
"... whoever wishes to join us, stay where you are. The others are dismissed.!", the man announced. We started walking towards the other recruitement podiums and I saw Taryn and a few others standing still. Amy fell behind and went to meet him. I couldn't hear what she said but I assume she was trying to convince him to change his mind.
He simply smiled and hugged her, conforting her. Farther up front, Amy ended up meeting us, her usual wide smile gone and replaced my a limp set of thin lips.
"Come on, cheer up...!", I wrapped my arm around her and held her tight.
"It's time to go join the police.", Shei said, hooking her arm with the other girls'. "Meet you after.", she told me.
"Okay, see you then.", I walked towards the Garrison podium, where people were writing up the names of the future soldiers.
Half an hour later I was done and got back to the cabin, where Amy and Sheila where already laying down.
"So?", asked me the brunette.
"It's done. Garrison until I die.", I smiled, sighing. "I'm super tired, let's sleep, shall we?", the other occupants of our cabin were fast asleep by now.
"Do you think Taryn is going to be okay?", Amy asked, in a shaky voice.
"I don't know... He'll manage somehow.", I answered, not wanting to tell what I really thought.
"Shhh, let's sleep.", Shei scolded us.
"Goodnight.", I muttered, gazing at the top bunk's underside. We were on leave for two whole weeks before we had to present ourselfs for duty. I felt sleep taking over me and closed my weary eyes.
I woke up early and jumped off the bed, waking up Amy in the process. Sheila was already up, since her bag was outside the cabin when we left for breakfast.
"Morning!", she chirped excitedly, her face stuffed with bread. We smiled and sat next to her, eating as well.
"It seems like it's our last day all together...", Amy sighed.
"Yeah...", I followed, suddenly hypnotised by my plate.
"Come onnnn! Cheer up! We will see eachother, don't go all 'Oh, so sad, sob sob... we'll never see eachoter again.. the horror'..", Shei interrupted our sad moment. I laughed hard at her impressions of us; they were spot on.
"Well, we do have letters.", I mentioned.
"And the leaves...", completed Amy, smiling.
"The wagons are leaving in a moment. I think yours', Amy, is different from ours.", Shei stated.
"As usual, right?", the blonde snorted.
"Yeah, little miss special needs to have a different wagon that doesn't even fill up!", I complained, making her laugh.
"It's not my fault that you commoners are all neighbours."
"Not everyone can have a ranch...", I commented.
"Are you gonna tell you parents you joined the Garrison?", Shei suddenly asked.
"Wow, way to kill the vibe, Sheila... I don't have much of a choice, do I? Afterall, my house is rather close to the outer wall and having my dad always protesting against the soldiers would eventually lead to us meeting...
"True... How do you think they're gonna react?", Amy inquired.
"Eh...", I shrugged. "My mom will probably be disappointed that I'm not going to the police but she'll be happy that I'm staying closer to home. My father... pff", I laughed. "He'll probably try to kick me out or something."
"Damn...", Amy gasped. "Your dad really is a fanatic.."
"Pretty much... He wanted me to be a nun...", I rolled my eyes.
"Ugh, it's not gonna be pretty, then.", Shei concluded. "If anything happens, you can move to my house for a couple of days."
"Thanks but your house is full as is. I do accept, however, an invitation to have lunch there, just so I can see those cute new little brothers of yours; they're probably adorable!", I smiled.
"Deal."
"Heeyyy, stop making plans without me...!", Amy whined.
"If you came with us to Shiganshina, the plans would include you...", I tried to lure him, but to no avail.
"I really can't...", she sighed. The bell rang and we formed in the courtyard, our bags beside us.
"Cadets!", he shouted. "I say my farewell, three years after we first met and I hope you're successful in the path you've chosen.", I felt myself getting emotional. Not at his words but it was the last time I'd serve beside Shei and Amy. I turned to face them and saw the blonde girl sobbing and couldn't hold back my tears anymore.
"I'll miss you..", I hugged her tight.
"Stop being so lame...", Sheila scoffed, rolling her eyes.
"Came here, stupid!", I pulled her into our hug.
"We'll talk through letters, won't we?", asked Amy.
"Of course!", I replied, drying my tears.
"Come on, relax... It's not the end of the world.", Shei muttered. We let the hug fade.
"You're so insensitive, Sheila!", I complained.
"Am not!", she pretended to be annoyed, sulking. We took our bags and went towards the wagosn. After a final hug with Amy, we parted.
"Mom, I'm home!", I smiled, entering my house, only to find it empty. I should've remembered that, at that hour, everyone was usually out. I decided to help out then, since I had nothing else to do. Grabbing the dirty laundry basket and a bar of soap, I pranced towards the washing tank that was installed on the small neighborhood square.
Around the long tank, my neighbors gathered up and gossiped for hours on end. I, not knowing anyone well enough to talk to, stood there in silence, listening to the conversations.
"Have you heard? Dr. Jaeger has left the district again...", one commented.
"Really? That man..", another sighed, relieved. "He saved my little boy. I don't know what would be of us, if it weren't for him... that awfull coughing disease, dreadful!"
"I heard he's into some shading busines...", one stated.
"That's just street talk trying to stain his good name!"
So Dr. Jaeger handled the epidemic... I sighed in relief. Atleast we're safe now... Sickness, ugh... , I shivered, thinking about sick people and hurried to finish up the clothes. After folding the wet cloth, I stepped away, towards my house again.
"Martha? Miss Martha Krieger?", an older woman turned to talk to me.
"Yes, it's me, what's the matter?"
"Oh, you're so grown up... I still remember when you were like this", she gestured at about her hips' height. "You trully have eyes as your mother... such a beautiful grey tone..."
"Oh... thanks", I smiled. "I'm sorry, I don't really remember your face..."
"Ah, no harm done. I listen to your father's sermons.", she had a coughing attack and covered her mouth with her hand. It looked pretty bad, from the sound it made. "I'm sorry, I've been feeling rather ill...", she extender her hand to touch me and I couldn't recoil in time. "It's good to see you back, miss.", she smiled and walked away.
I felt the mark where she'd touch me with the infected hand and rushed to get home, almost throwing the basket on the floor when I got there. I ran towards the sink, reaching for the soap and washed the exposed skin, only stopping when it was red.
Yuk... sick people... I can't get sick now.. I turned to the basket and started hanging up the clothes outside.
"Martha?", I heard mom calling me from inside.
"I'm here!", I yelled. I turned to the door and saw her smile.
"Come give your mother a hug!", I greeted her with a tight embrace. Afterall, she was my mom and I'd seen very little of her during the past three years. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm on leave. We've chosen the branches.", I replied. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be working?"
"Mrs Milles dismissed me for the afternoon.", she smiled. "Come on, dear! Tell me everything! Which branch did you choose? Did you score in the top 10...?"
"Yes, I did.", I saw her hope filled eyes lighten up. "But... I didn't choose the police."
"But sweety... you could go live inside Wall Sina...", her expression changed and she spoke in a serious, stern tone. "You'd have a better life than you have here."
"My life is fine here, mom. Don't worry about it. I chose the Garrison."
"The Garrison? Martha... what about your father? Did you even consider him when you chose that?"
"It's my life, mom; not his.", I spat.
"He's a priest of the Church of the Walls. Do you think the flock will trust him if his own daugther spends her days stepping on the great Wall Maria? You really are selfish."
"What would you rather I'd done, then? Join the police, where everyone in a sellout very capable of trading their own mothers for a good deal?"
"The police keeps us safe. There you'd have the chance to find a proper husband, someone who'd take care of you."
"But I don't want that!", I backed away. I didn't want to yell, I didn't want to fight her. "Listen mom, I chose the Garrison and I'm going there. If that bothers you, I'll gladly move to their dorms."
"You don't need to do that...", she pulled me into another tight embrace. "We just want the best for you... Even if I don't agree, I'm still your mother and you're still my lovely daughter.", she kisses the top of my head softly. "Your father will undestand, eventually. We don't need to worry about it right now."
"We don't?"
"No, he had to attend a seminar at Wall Sina. He'll be back in about two months."
"He... left you here alone with Fred? Again?", I sighed. I knew my dad was a good man, according to the more traditional sense of the word: he didn't steal, he didn't lie, that sort of stuff. But his priorities were seriously fucked up. His religious obsession overcame the family's pleads of attention.
"Don't make a big fuss about it... You know how your father is. Come, let's prepare dinner before Fred arrives.", she smiled. We spent the rest of the afternoon peeling vegetables and making a stew and, as the night approached, we heard the door creaking open. "Fred! You're back, sweetheart!", my mom greeted him. "Hey, what happened to your face?", I turned and saw his left cheek a bit swollen and bruises on his legs.
"What happened?", I asked. He simply lowered his head and tried to escape, running up the stairs.
"Come here, let's take a look at that", mom grabbed him and forced him to stay.
"Leave it mom, it's nothing..."
"Who did this to you, Frederik?", I got a bit closer and tried to lift him chin up so I could see better but he pushed me.
"Don't touch me!", he yelled. "It hurts... Its was... a group of boys at school... I.. had a fight with them.", he finally answered.
"A fight? Honey, you shouldn't be fighting!", my mom pleaded.
"But they were bad mouthing dad!", he raised his head and his eyes were full to the brim with bitter tears. "They said that he was crazy and that he was a coward for not being in the military... and that's a lie! Dad isn't like that! He's strong... not like what they're saying..."
"Of course not, dear... Those boys are just jealous, they wanted to have a father like yours.", mom smiled. Tche.. what a fucking lie... a man who abadons his family to go pray at walls... what a disappointment... "Come on, let's put cold water on that and fix these bruises.", she added.
"You shouldn't get into fights, Fred.", I told him. "Not because of dad.", mom flashed me a warning glare.
"You shouldn't fight anyone. Simply ignore them, fluffy-cakes.", she stated, rubbing an ointment on the dark patches. "Aren't you happy that big sis is finally home?"
"They also say bad things because of her...", he admitted, looking away from me.
"What do they say?", I asked, squatting until I was at his eye level.
"They say that... if dad was right about the things he says, you wouldn't have ran away and joined the army. And that, if he couldn't even convind his own daughter, then it's because everything he says it must all be a lie.", he answered, making me break a sweat. "But that's not true, isn't it? You're gonna join the police like mom said and you're gonna help people, right?, he looked at me so innocently, eyes filled with hope.
I wanted to talk but I couldn't force myself to tell him I hadn't chosen the police and, instead, I'd gone to the most unholy branch of them all, where the soldiers stepped on the walls, staining its pristine divinity with leather boots and rails and cannons, the Garrison. Not while he looked at me with such an expectant gaze, waiting for me to agree and say that dad was in fact all of those wonderfull things he thought he has and not just some wackjob religious fanatic, whose family's sole purpose was to fill the house.
"I... uhmm-"
"Come on, dear, enough talk, let's chat later. Now it's bath time, you're completely covered in mud...", she let him go up to the second floor alone and called me over. "Don't tell him anything. He doesn't need to know for now."
"Come on mom!", he yelled from the bathtub.
"Wait, son, we need to turn on the boiler first!", she yelled back. "Martha, can you light the boiler while take care of your brother?"
"Yes, of course.", I vagely answred, gaze into the void. How's it gonna go when Fred finds out I went to the Garrison instead of the police. I grabbed dry wood and put it under the metal pot, lighting the fire.
Mom left to give Fred a bath, so I finally was sitting in silence. I thought about how the rest of my life would be there. Probably, I'd endup fighting my dad so much he might actually throw me out. No... he wouldn't... I think so.
I went up to my room and laid, my face looking at the ceiling. I hadn't even unpacked, I noticed, looking at the bag my the bed. I could hear Fred's laughing as it came out in fits, muffle by the bathroom's closed door. Two weeks... before I have to face the truth..., I sighed, closing my eyes.
"Honey...? Martha...?", I heard a voice whispering and the words caressed my ears. It was mom, siting by my side, on the bed.
"Hm...,?" I rubbed my eyes, "What time is it?"
"Time for dinner, come on, let's go.", I followed her to the table, on the ground floor, where Fred had already sat down. I sat on a free spot and mom served me with stew.
"Martha, how was it in the trainee corps?", Fred asked.
"Hm? what...?"
"Like... what did you do there?", he completed, fumbling with a piece of potato on his plate.
"Oh, we trained hnd to hand combat and gear proficiency.", I answered.
"Did you pray?", he took a spoonful to his mouth, without looking at me. My eyes darted towards mom and she told me to lie, gesturing with her head.
"Yes, of course..", I forced a smile when he looked up.
"Really? Dad said they were all enemies of the Lord but people who pray can't be an enemy of the Great Architect, can they mom?"
"No, dear, of course not.", she quietly replied.
"Dad's always right about other things though..", he remarked, moving his food around the plate. "He's awesome... when I grow up, I wanna be like him.", I followed his movements with my eyes, horrified at what he said. How could he wish to be the same as the man who didn't take care of us...?
"You still have a lot of time to decide what you want to do when you're older, sweety.", mom sighed.
"I've decided already; I want to be a priest.", he declared proudly.
"A priest?...", I mumbled. "Why do you want to be a priest?"
"Because dad is one and he helps people... He's not like those soldiers... they don't care about anyone."
"How should you know?", I inquired, my voice raising itself on its own. "The soldiers are good people, they protect us. You have no idea of the training required to even get there!"
"Martha, Fred, that's enough. No fighting at the dinner table.", mom silenced us, calm but stern expression on her face. "You ust came back dear, I want all of us to get along. Atleast, while your father is away.", she added.
"Right... I'm sorry..", I apologized. I'd just arrived at home and I was already getting mad at Fred... It wasn't even his fault that he thought like that. Dad was the one filling his head with those ridiculous ideas but, I tried changing his mind about all of it, maybe he wouldn't end up an obsessive maniac... He was just a kid, after all... How can mom even stay with a man like dad...?, I wondered.
"All done!", the boy yelled, leaping from his chair and out the door in seconds.
"Come back here, young man! Go put your plate on the counter, come on.", mom ordered.
"Ups, sorry, I forgot...", he replied, running back in and obeying. As he was about to leave again, mom stopped him.
"Where do you think you're going at this hour, mister?"
"I was gonna see Mrs. Gertrude, that old lady who has a fruit stand on the market..."
"It's late, dear, she's probably asleep by now. Tomorrow you can go there after school.", mom said.
"But mom... she said I could go there whenever I wanted...! She said she feels lonely after her daughter got married and moved to Wall Rose...", he pouted. "Pleaaase? Just this one time?"
"It's late, the streets are dark and dangerous. Only if Martha goes too."
"Will you, Martha? Please, please, pleaaase? She's super duper nice, come on...", he begged.
"Fine..", I huffed. I couldn't ust say 'no' to those puppy eyes. Besides, I could trade this favour for something. "But you'll do the dishes tomorrow, instead of me."
"Deal!"
"Exploiting your poor brother, missy?", chuckled mom, escorting us to the door and giving me an oil lantern.
"Sibling business, mom. Don't get involved.", I smiled.
"Don't stay out too late, dears.", she requested before closing the door. Fred darted through the night and I ran behind him, trying to keep up. He turned the corner and I lost him. The street was dark, only illuminated be the light coming from some houses and my lamp.
"Fred...?", I called, pacing around. "Fred, it's dark, come here! It's dangerous! Come on, mom's gonna get mad at me if she knows I let you out of my sight!"
"...what's a little boy like you doing running around at night?", I heard a semi distant voice say.
"Hey, isn't he father Luchas' son? That fucker gave my dad a hard time...", another added.
"Yeah, that fanatic! Seems like now's the perfect oportunity to get revenge on him..."
"My dad is not a fanatic! He's a good person and he just wants to protect us from the titans! And if the soldiers continue to disrespect the will of the Great Architect, then we'll all pay!", I heard Fred yelling. I ran towards the origin of the voices and saw three guys, a bit younger than me, by the wall of one of the house, with Fred backed up against it.
I couldn't see their faces but, I saw the tallest one of the lot grab my brother and fling him back at the wall.
"What do you think you're doing?", I asked, approaching them. "Let him go and no one gets hurt."
"Oh... the little boy needs his big sister to come get help him!", one of them mocked.
"That's not true! I can defend myself alone!", Fred yelled, pushing one of the boys. When they grabbed him again, he bit one of them and that guy pulled his arm back, preparing a punch. I lunged foward to stop him and caught his wrist.
"You're not going to hurt him. If any of you touches my brother...", I began threatning them. When the guy I was holding tried to break free, I locked his arm behind his back and made it so it would be painful but not enough to break anything. "I won't have a problem beating you ip. Now scram.", I threw the guy to the floor and they ran, disappearing in the night. "Fred, are you okay?", I turned to face him. He was flushed, his shirt wrinkled where the other guy'd grabbed him.
"I say I could take care of it!", he yelled, tears prickling down his cheeks.
"I was ust trying to help... you don't need to get so upset...", I walk closer to him. "Let me see your face."
"I'm fine...", he muttered, lowering his head. "They didn't hurt me."
"You still wanna go see the old lady?", me hand rested softly on his shoulder.
"I'm not a baby anymore... Stop treating me like I am..", he swatted my hand away. "Lets go.", he walked in front of me, leading the way.
Finally, we arrived at a house. It's lights were on but there was no sound coming from inside.
"Mrs Gertrude, can we come in?", he asked, knocking on the door. No one answered.
"Fred, she's probably asleep, we best be heading home...", I saw him lean down and take something from under a rock. "Is that a key?"
"Mrs Gertrude said I could use it when I needed to."
"That's going too far, we are not going to break into peoples' houses like that, come on!", I reached for his arm but he escaped my grip.
"Go back if you want to, I'm gonna see how she's doing.", he turned the key and entered. Inside, the air felt heavy, probably a result of no windows having been opened the whole day. It smelled of creams and ointments like the ones mom kept for when we got hurt. "Mrs Gertrude?..."
We heard someone coughing and my instinct was to recoil immediately. I hesitated to go further into the house but I had no other choice but to follow Fred when he crossed the hallway to reach a small room at the end. It was modest, with a small wardrobe where and old Survey Corps' uniform was hanged and, on the bed, a woman with short long hair seemed to sleep.
I couldn't make out her face from behind the covers but I recognised her voice.
"Frederik...?", she wondered vaguely, coughing.
"Yes, it's me.", he smiled, going closer.
"Fred, she's sick, don't get any closer.", I warned but he didn't listen.
"I'm strong, Martha, I won't get sick."
"Is there someone there with you, Frederik?", the old lady asked.
"Yeah, my older sister, Martha. She came back today."
"Oh... I saw her today... when I went to the tank.", she seemed to smile softly before breaking into a coughing fit.
"Did you forget your ointment again?", he asked, worried.
"I'm not sure... my head isn't what if used to be.."
"I'll help you. Martha, help me sit her up.", he requested.
"I'm sorry, I won't.", I backed up when he held out the hand that hand touched her.
"She needs help and I'm not strong enough to lift her alone!"
"Don't worry, dear. I can get up on my own...", the old lady smiled. Slowly, with his help, she sat on the bed. "The ointment is there, on the table."
"If you saw big sis near the tank today..", Fred began to chat her up, while he gestured me to get the flask she metioned. "That means you finally left the house today, right? You're much better, then!"
"Thanks to your care. Your father has been of much help, young man.." Dad? Helping..? With what...? "If he hadn't come here to pray with me when I was worse, I don't think I would've made it... It brought me great peace.", she smiled.
"And now that you're feeling better, you can got to church and meet your friends there.", Fred smiled, massaging her back with the cream. "Mr Jaeger said you'd get better if you put this ointment every single day, so you do that, okay?"
"I try to remember it, but I'm old..."
"Oh, no you aren't! In a couple of days, you'll be jumping around.", he laughed and she followed.
"You always cheer me up. I have sweets in the kitchen if you want any. I've been making them but then I don't have a lot of appetite to eat them... When I went to the church, I'd bring them along but now that I'm still feeling weak, they end up going to waste..."
"You're too kind, we can't accept it. In fact, our mother is probably worried, we should be heading home.", I apologized, trying to get Fred out of there but he refused once again.
"What? Mom said we could stay a little while. Besides, I had an idea; why don't we take the sweets to church tomorrow?", he turned to the lady. "How does that sound?"
"Would you do that? Thank you, you really are angels."
"Now tell me, what did you do today?", he began talking to her again, while he cleaned her room. "Martha, help me clean this, please.", he whispered, trying not to interrupt her. I couldn't refuse again without looking blatantely rude. Atleast, cleaning the house didn't involve direct contact with sickness, so I took a deep breath and began helping.
"Hm... Mrs Gertrude...", I started.
"Call me Emily, dear.", she corrected me.
"Mrs Emily, whose uniform is this?", I asked. She reached her hand out to touch the brown fabric and smiled.
"It was my husband's. He used to belong to the army; Survey Corps, I think..."
"Oh..."
"I tried to warn him it was dangerous but he longed to wander outside the walls...", she sighed, remembering. "That was all before I found the true path and began going to church. I suppose my husband was punished for his actions against the Creator..."
"I understand...", I nodded. Geez, everyone's a religious fanatic here.
"Martha is going to me a policewoman, did you know?", Fred commented. My heart skipped a beat and I stopped what I was doing.
"Really, dear? That's nice.", the old lady smiled.
"Yeah, she's gonna help people and arrest the criminals, right?", he looked at me. I almost didn't smile on time.
"Of course...", I didn't want those weeks to pass. I didn't want to have to tell him the truth. Just seeing that wide smile and the spark in his eyes and knowing they'd disappear... My gut clenched into a knot. He'd hate me.
About half an hour later, we'd finish cleaning and went to the kitchen, where the table was full of sweets that looked fresh. Fred took a cookie from one of the plates for himself and another for the old lady. When he offered me one, I refused, reaching for the sink and starting to do the dishes. Whilst I scrubbed the plates, I felt the soapp cleaning my hands.
A while after, Fred emerged from the hallway, starting to grab de sweets' plates.
"Will you help me with this, Martha?", he asked.
"Sure. You shouldn't get so close to her, she looks very sick.", I grabbed a couple of plates and dumped the contents into a basket. "Does mom know you're attending to a sick person?"
"Sort of... She doesn't know mrs Gertrude is sick... don't tell her please. Please?", he begged, and seeing his pleading look stopping me from telling the truth again.
"Of course I won't tell her. Now, we should go. Emily probably wants to sleep."
We left soon after and got home without any problems.
"Wow, did you raid mrs Gertrude's pantry?", mom laguhed, when we reached the kitchen.
"No...", he answered, nervously. "I offered to help give out her cookies before church tomorrow.
"Why doesn't she do it herself?"
"Hm... because she's.. old. I'm really sleepy and tomorrow I have to get up early, goodnight, mom, bye.", he ran up the stairs, not saying anything else.
"Your brother is a terrible liar..", mom sighed. "What happened?"
"The lady is sick, with a bad cough. He helps her."
"That's too dangerous! Your brother is still a child, he could get seriously ill! I'll go talk to him right now."
"No, mom, please. He asked me not to tell..."
"Of course he did. I won't tell him you told me. Now, go to sleep, I love you dear.", she gave me a light kiss on the forehead, before heading up the stairs.