Chapter 53
Sasha had long since stopped crying, the tears having dried a while ago, too. She'd mourned after he lost friend for what felt like a long while, but eventually, she told herself to get it together, for it was no time to be crying. Tension between both sides was on the rise, and it could lead to more deaths. She knew that Jean and the others were doing their all to not let things get out of hand, but she had to do her part, too, or at the very least not make things worse. Not cooperating with the Marleyans was sure to do that, so she had to decide on what to tell them if Richter or someone else asked for details about her conversation with Jonas again. She couldn't put Nikolo at risk by telling the truth, but if she lied, there'd be a big chance that she'd forget something she'd said and get caught.
Maybe she could go with something that was mostly true? She could say that they had talked about their friends, she could even tell the details. As long as she didn't mention her friend had been a Marleyan POW, no one would even consider that their friend was the same person.
The biggest problem with that plan though was that she probably wouldn't be believed, just like earlier, but perhaps Eric could convince the others that she and Jonas had indeed been friends...
The thought of her other Marleyan friend currently on the island saddened Sasha. She didn't really know how well Eric and Jonas had known each other, it had never been brought up, but they'd seemed rather close since the beginning, so they were probably good friends even before coming to the island.
Deciding to go with the truth minus a few details since she didn't have any better ideas, Sasha starts to work on getting in to a sitting position. It was quite a task, but after a while she managed. It would be less humiliating to be sitting up when someone came to her next, not to mention the arm she had been laying on had gotten numb. She would've massaged it if she could've, but all she could do now was lessen the strain on it. She considered scooting backwards until her back would hit the wall so she could rest against it, but came to the conclusion that it probably wasn't the best idea; it could look like she wanted to run away, to get as much distance to the Marleyans as possible. Not that they'd be entirely wrong if they thought that; she really wasn't looking forward to seeing Richter again. Then again, since Hanji was apparently talking with him, maybe she wouldn't have to. Maybe next time the door opened, it would be the commander coming to get her so that they could figure this all out together.
That in mind, Sasha felt a little better. Things would work out.
Not wanting her positive mood to disappear, she decided to find something else to think about. Not that there was anything like that in her line of sight; with her eyes used to the darkness, she could confirm that the floor was indeed just dirt, the walls and the ceiling just plain wood, looking like one would get splinters if they weren't careful. Then again, the place was probably meant for prisoners judging from the bars on the door, so it probably didn't matter if someone there got splinters. But that raised another question: why did they have a cell like this here to begin with? If their own soldiers caused a little trouble, there'd be plenty of ways for the Marleyans to punish them without needing a place like this, and if they thought they needed to sit time, couldn't they do that once back inland? The only reasonable options Sasha could think of was that they were prepared in case one of their own did something really bad, or that they were expecting things to go badly with the other side. It was reasonable, of course, but still unfortunate.
…This was not the kind of thing she wanted to think about right now.
Closing her eyes, Sasha breathed in and out a few times, trying to clear her mind. Happy thoughts, she had to think of something happy. It shouldn't be that hard; she'd been so happy just last night, or at least she assumed it was last night, when she and Jonas had shared their tales about Nikolo… Sasha shook her head furiously, wanting to get rid of the thoughts about her dead friend. Not now, she could mourn him later. Taking another deep, shaky breath, she decided to think of something that wouldn't remind her of him.
She ended up thinking about her days as a soldier in training. About the first day there, the day that gave her the cursed nickname still occasionally in use. About two days after, the first time she teamed up with Connie for an exercise. The first time the two of them pranked Jean together. The first, and last thanks to the beating they took, time they successfully pranked Ymir. The time she and Jean battled each other in a cooking contest. And lots of others.
Sasha didn't know how long she'd been lost in her thoughts, but by the time she heard the door open again, she was in a lot better mood than earlier. Hopefully, whoever was at the door wouldn't make things sour all over again.
Two men walked in, both familiar sights to Sasha, but not ones she knew the names of. She had tried talking to the younger one a few times, she remembered that freckled face framed with hair yellow enough to be compared to Historia's, but he had made sure to always cut their conversations short. The bigger one, and he was big for real, had to be at least two meters in height, had simply ignored her the few times she'd tried to start a conversation. Clearly, he was not the nicest guy to be around, but he wasn't Richter, so she supposed it could be worse.
"We have the orders to take you to your superior officer. We have the permission to use force, if necessary, but surely you understand that it's in your best interests to come along quietly, do you not?" freckles asks and Sasha nods.
"Are you going to untie me or do I get a piggyback ride?" she was trying to lighten the mood, but judging from the scowl on the young man's face, they were not in the same wavelength.
"I said quietly" he snaps and walks closer. Sasha doesn't say anything when he does, but as the man pulls out a knife, she almost kicks his legs out from under him out of fright, barely stopping herself by reasoning that he's probably just about to cut the ropes. And she was right, though she's a little disappointed when he pockets the knife after only cutting the rope around her legs. He grabs Sasha's arm and pull her up easily with one hand, surprising her with how much strength there is in his small frame. Not that she should be; she'd worked with captain Levi after all.
Sasha staggered a little, taking a moment to gain her balance. She hadn't been on her feet for a while, and she could feel it. Being hungry and thirsty didn't help with that, either, but she forced herself to ignore that. Soon she was fortunately able to walk normally again, though if she would've had to run, that would've probably taken a little longer.
Once they were at the door, the big guy joined them as well, and now there was a soldier on either side of her. The smaller one kept his hold on her arm, but it wasn't a tight grip. Sasha couldn't help but wonder if it was because they trusted her to not cause trouble, or because they were confident that they could handle it if she did.
She almost protested when the big man put a blindfold over her eyes, but controlled herself. Still, she couldn't help but ask: "Is this really necessary?"
"What did I say about being quiet? That's strike two, and with strike three you'll be gagged, too. Understood?"
Sasha officially didn't like this guy, but saying that out loud would've probably been strike three, so she just nodded.
They led her out of the room and through a hallway with actual floors, she could tell from the sound of their steps, and out of the building. The sun was so bright that she could tell that even through the blindfold, and once they got a little further out, she felt a light breeze, too.
The walk to wherever they were going wasn't a long one; it seemed to take just a few minutes before they walked up a few stairs to another building. In from a door, and another short walk along wooden floors before Sasha could hear arguing from somewhere nearby, immediately recognizing the other voice as Jean's, which was a relief. He'd figure out this misunderstanding, and then they could work on what to do about Samuel, Daz and whoever else was involved, together.
Someone knocked, and there was a muffled order to come in, the voice not sounding familiar, and Sasha was pulled along as the soldiers walked her to wherever they were going.
"Why is she blindfolded?" Jean demanded to know right away, and Sasha had known him long enough to figure out from the tone of his voice just how annoyed he must've looked at that moment.
"It's just a standard procedure we have for those suspected of crime" the voice from earlier said. Sasha wasn't sure if he was being completely honest, but since it didn't sound like Jean protested, it very well might have been.
The man ordered for the blindfold to be removed, much to Sasha's relief. After it was gone, she had to blink a few times to get used to the light, but once that was done, she could see the room she was in. Jean and Hanji were both there, sitting at the opposite side of the large table she was standing behind. In front of her was Richter sitting right across from Jean, and another officer, his name was Frank and he was a captain, if she remembered correctly, sitting across from Hanji. That meant that Richter wasn't in charge, which was a small relief for Sasha. Of course, for all she knew the other man could be even worse, but she decided to be optimistic for now.
"You have an hour, as agreed. As has been said, she can't leave this room" the man said before he and Richter stood up, leaving the room along with the two soldiers that had come in with Sasha. As soon as the door closed, Jean and Hanji rounded the table to get to her.
"Are you alright!? Gosh, your face looks terrible." Jean says, hands on her shoulders. Sasha figured that her face must've been bruised, not that that was a surprise, for it did hurt. She didn't want to make a number out of it though, not now, so she just turned it in to a joke "And yours is as long as ever! Be glad the Marlyeans didn't escort you to the stables instead."
Surprise visited the man's face for a split second before turning in to annoyance. Crossing his arms, he huffed "Never mind, you're clearly fine enough."
Sasha stuck her tongue out at him as a reply.
"Well, that's a relief" Hanji said as she walked behind Sasha to untie her. With her hands free, Sasha rubbed her wrists to ease the unpleasant sensation in them. The ropes had left their mark, but it wasn't as bad as it could've been; it'd fade away in a few days.
Hanji pulled out a chair before guiding Sasha to sit on it, saying that she looked like she should sit down. Then, her face grew serious as she told Sasha to tell exactly what had happened. And Sasha did, leaving nothing out. To these two, she could talk about Nikolo. She also told why she hadn't brought his name up with the Marleyans, pointing out that he must be in enough trouble at home as it was. Once she was done, Hanji pulled out a chair for herself, mumbling about what a mess they were in.
"What about Samuel and Daz? Have you seen them? Talked to them already?" Sasha asks. Hanji and Jean exchange glances before the commander sighs.
"Samuel's not talking, not to us or the Marleyans, aside from insisting that you had nothing to do with what they were doing and that you protected the Marleyans from them. Fortunately, Daz has been far more cooperative with both sides. He told us all he knew. The third man you heard talking with him and Samuel was Timothy Werner, one of the merchants from Reeves company, as I'm sure you know. Daz killed him on that night" Hanji held up a hand just as Sasha opened her mouth, not letting her interrupt "It was all part of their plan, or at least so Daz insisted, and it lines up with what you told us. According to him, despite having been able to work, Timothy was terminally ill and would have died soon regardless of what happened. That's why he'd agreed to sacrifice himself for the anti-Marleyan movement he was part of. He had swiped away a knife from one of the Marleyans that worked with him under your lead, and the plan was to set that soldier up for murder. They'd disorganized the storehouse and some of the crates beforehand, setting it up like someone was trying to steal something. Timothy was supposed to go there early in the morning to get something specific, and he was apparently supposed to tell that to at least one of his colleagues, though we haven't confirmed that yet, and then set up a Marleyan for his murder, using the knife taken earlier. Samuel was supposed to find the knife and recognize who it belonged to. That was the plan, and it was meant to sway the opinions of both civilians and soldiers alike against Marley."
Sasha had felt herself getting paler and paler as Hanji spoke on, and she even started to feel sick. She was at a loss of words. She'd been working as a pair with Samuel on and off for a few years now, yet she hadn't noticed a thing. Samuel had been sceptic about the Marleyans, yes, but not more so than average as far as she could tell. He'd even become friends with Eric and Jonas, there was no way that was faked, yet he'd been ready to frame their friend for murder. Worse than that, he'd gone as far as to kill someone, someone that they both knew, she'd recognized the name of the now dead merchant they'd both worked with, with Daz. Just why?
"I'm afraid that's not all" Hanji continues after a while "According to Daz, there's an entire organization out there that tries to destroy our ties with Marley and the rest of the world, their end goal apparently being the rumbling."
"What!?" Sasha yelled out, standing up from her chair by reflex, perhaps too quickly as she started to feel dizzy. Sitting back down, she held her head with both hands "I thought we already handled everyone who supported the rumbling..."
"That's what we thought, too, but apparently. we missed the quiet supporters" Jean says with a sigh "We've already sent people to arrest some of the ones whose names Daz managed to give us, but it seems he doesn't know about everyone. He's convinced that Samuel knows more, but so far, he's not talking."
"…Did Samuel start the fire back then?" Sasha wonders out loud, but Jean shrugs "If he did, he didn't tell Daz. The guy was convinced one of theirs was behind it, but he doesn't know who it was."
It was a lot to take in, almost too much. Sasha wanted to just eat something, go to her bed and get a good rest, but she knew none of that was possible right now. She had work to do.
"Where are Samuel and Daz right now?"
"Held somewhere by the Marleyans, likely close to where you were held." Hanji tells "We've been trying to convince them to hand the two over to us for questioning, along with you, and deciding what to do with them, but they refuse. The Marleyans are set on interrogating and punishing them on their own since one of theirs died. Since Daz and Samuel are from the Garrison, I'll talk about what to do about this with their superiors in a few hours when they get here."
That made sense. And now, a question Sasha had been dreading to ask: "Do the Marleyans think that I was working with those two?"
"No" Jean says immediately "Or well, some suspect that, but since colonel Frank is convinced that you didn't, you're cleared from those suspicions. According to him, it's mostly because Horst was convinced you knew nothing of what those two were up to."
"What was he even doing there so early on his own?" she wondered out loud. She didn't exactly expect them to know the answer, so she was surprised when she got one: "Apparently, someone had noticed some suspicious activity near the store house, and he'd been ordered to investigate."
The Marleyans had noticed something was wrong first? That was a big blow to their credibility, no doubt. They'd have to work to fix that.
"If they know I wasn't involved, then I should be in the clear, right?" that's how Sasha thought it would go, but she knew something was wrong. The captain had said they had an hour, which meant it wasn't up to the three of them to decide how long they talked. Plus, if she was allowed to go, they could've just left right away, probably not even meeting up inside "They suspect me of something else, don't they?"
"They aren't convinced that you and Jonas were just having a friendly chat way in to the night, so they want to know why he was there with you for real" Jean says, massaging his temples "I gotta say, you really made a mess for yourself. Why couldn't you just chat with him in broad daylight?"
Sasha sighs, explaining how Jonas had expected her to get mad. She admitted to now knowing that staying to talk with him at night was a bad idea, not that they never intended to be out for so long, but it hadn't occurred to her back then.
"We could ask them to contact Nikolo and have him confirm that you and Jonas did indeed have a shared friend; that could clear you from any suspicions." Hanji suggests, but Sasha shoots the idea down immediately.
"No" she says, furiously shaking her head "We can't do anything that could bring Nikolo trouble!"
Jean frowns.
"This is kind of his fault, too. Besides, wouldn't he want you to be safe, even if it brought him trouble?"
He probably would, Sasha had to admit. But that didn't mean she'd have to accept it.
"This is about what I want, not about what he would want. And I want him to not be involved in this" she says firmly. They hold each other's gazes for a while, and Jean is the first to look away "Commander, please speak some sense in to her."
They both looked at Hanji expectantly. The woman herself seemed undecided on whose side to take. Sasha's palms started to sweat. If Hanji gave Jean a specific order to not tell the Marleyans anything about Nikolo, the man would be safe, for Jean wouldn't do anything behind Hanji's back. But if the commander decided to put him at risk, there was nothing Sasha could do about it; even trying to deny it wouldn't help if Nikolo admitted that Hanji's claims were true.
"He's probably in enough trouble as is" Hanji finally said, much to Sasha's relief "We won't get him involved. We'll convince the Marleyans some other way. Until then, though, you need to do exactly what they say and avoid annoying them. Clear?"
"Clear" Sasha agrees, and her stomach chooses that moment to interrupt them by growling. Sheepishly rubbing the back of her head, she asks: "Would either of you happen to have something to eat? I haven't eaten anything since I left the mess hall after dinner."
The surprise was clear on her friends' faces, making her frown in confusion "What?"
The two exchanged glances before Hanji said: "Sasha, that was the day before yesterday. You're saying you haven't eaten anything in almost two days."
"Or drank anything" Sasha added before the words sunk in. Two days. She didn't know how long she'd been unconscious and how long she'd spaced out, but it sounded like she'd been out of it for at least an entire day. Worried, she told this to her friends as well.
"We need to get you something to eat and drink. Now" Jean declared, and Sasha thought he might've marched to the door if Hanji hadn't put a hand up right after he finished talking.
"And a medical checkup after that, just in case. You walked here yourself so you're probably fine, but better safe than sorry if they knocked you out hard enough for you to be unconscious so long. Do you feel alright?" the commander asks.
"A little dizzy every time I get up, but that could just be the hunger, or even dehydration" Sasha shrugs "Other than that, I feel fine."
Hanji nodded. She got up and told them she was going to have a word with captain Frank before leaving the room. Once she was gone, Sasha noticed how the expression on Jean's face was anything but happy.
"Alright, let's hear it" she told him "Tell me how much of an idiot I am."
To her surprise, he doesn't. Instead, Jean's look of annoyance turns grim. Sasha's slightly defiant attitude drops at this as she realizes that there was still something that she didn't know, and it seemed like that something was bad. Very bad.
"They haven't come to any set decision yet, though that might be just in order to not anger us too much, but there's already whispers going around among the Marleyans that the two who killed one of theirs would be executed. And we might not be able to stop that."
Sasha didn't know what to say. Yes, she and her friends had killed Marleyans before, and even before this, the other way around had been true as well, but that had been in the battlefield during war. Even Yelena and the few others who'd been executed instead of killed in battle had died during war time. But now there was peace, so shouldn't they stop the killing? Voicing this to Jean, the man shrugs again before taking Hanji's seat.
"Looking at the morale of it, of course we should, but the Marleyans want revenge and to give us all a warning. The thing commander Hanji wants to talk about with the Garrison higher ups is if we should fight harder to keep those two from getting killed, or if we should give up on them to assure the other side that we won't go easy on those who attack them." Jean explained "Regardless of what they did, we don't want them to die, but for the sake of keeping up the peace, we might not have any other choice."
Sasha bit her lip. She wanted to tell Jean to do all he could to protect their friends, that's what they were despite the horrible things they'd done, but she was sure he was already doing just that. She wanted to give him some advice, but she had none. And if she did come up with something, she was sure it'd be something Jean had thought about already. He was smarter her, a lot smarter.
"Sasha, promise me you'll be careful. Your life shouldn't be in any direct danger right now, but they clearly aren't above using violence against those who are only under suspicion of something" at Jean's remark, Sasha's hand went to her swollen cheek "There isn't any way for you to really defend yourself in this situation, and you're far from the wisest person around, but keep your eyes open and your mouth shut as much as possible. Don't trust the wrong people."
Sasha gulped. To her ears, it sounded like Jean thought she might not get out of this mess for a good while. She didn't have the courage to ask if he really thought that to be likely, or if he was simply preparing her just in case.
Not wanting to think of that right now, she asks instead: "Daz gave names, right? Who else was involved?"
Jean told her, but not before reminding her that she couldn't tell anyone, not even Connie, without a separate permission. Sasha had figured that out already, but didn't point it out, focusing on the names. She could recognize most of them, though to her relief, no one that she was actually close with was listed. Most were Garrison soldiers, but there were some members of Military Police, too, as well as one older scout that had transferred from the Garrison shortly after the retaking of Wall Maria. Apparently, some civilians, like Timothy, were included as well, but they seemed to be mostly quiet supporters.
Jean might have had something more to say, but the sound of the door opening interrupted him. They turned their heads, and Sasha cried out in relief when she saw Hanji walk in with a tray of food. She leaped off her chair, stumbling a little as she did, before running up to the commander and declaring her love for the older woman.
"That's nice, though I'm pretty sure the target of your love is actually the food I'm carrying" Hanji laughed as she kept walking, holding the tray out of Sasha's reach until she could put it down on the table "Dig in."
Sasha didn't need to be told twice. She took off the cover to see a plate of potato stew, and as she took the spoon on the tray, she briefly wondered if it was intentional on Hanji's part, but didn't dwell on it. She heard Jean tell her to at least sit down while she ate, she hadn't bothered to waste time doing so once she had Hanji's permission to eat, so she sat down on the chair that was still pulled out, but didn't take her eyes off the food in the process.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd think they'd been having her starve for weeks" Jean says. Sasha knows that tone, but she won't comment on it when there's still food left to eat.
"If they had, the pace she's eating at would certainly be a problem; it'd mess up her stomach. In fact, with anyone else I'd be worried that eating with that speed after going without food for almost two days would be harmful, but since it's Sasha, I'm sure she'll be fine" Sasha heard Hanji say. She didn't know what to make of that, but since the commander didn't have a habit of being mean, unlike Jean, she wouldn't dwell on it.
The salty soup made Sasha thirsty, but fortunately, there was an entire jug of water on the tray. She almost drank straight from it, but managed to control herself and poured the little mug next to it full. A way too small mug, she noted after emptying it in seconds. Good thing the jug was there instead of just that one cup. She filled the cup again, drinking half of it before taking a bite out of the piece of bread on the tray. As she ate, Sasha could almost forget the whole mess she was in. Almost. She couldn't help but wonder when her next meal would be, but by the time the thought of hiding a piece of the bread in her clothes for later just in case occurred to her, it was already gone. Knowing that she certainly couldn't hide the soup, she made sure to eat every last drop of it.
"That was good!" she said after she was finished, more to herself than anything. She drank some more water, only now realizing just how parched her throat had been.
"Glad that you enjoyed it" Hanji commented before her face grew serious again "I got the captain to agree to get you to a checkup, though I fear there's no guarantee of its quality, but I'm sure they'll do something about it if there was something major. Which there probably isn't, since you can walk and still have your appetite and all, but just in case. He also assured me that starving you was not the goal after I mentioned it, so you should be getting something to eat again reasonably soon. But again, I can't promise anything about the quality of it."
"Got it" that was honestly better than what Sasha had expected "…Did you hear anything about Daz and Samuel?"
"No. To be honest, I didn't even ask. While I do want to help those two, you take priority right now and I don't want to risk what little process we make with helping you." Hanji answered after a moment of hesitation. Sasha looks down, knowing that it was best not to object. She didn't like being the reason why Hanji didn't try harder to save the other two, but she understood. If their roles were swapped, she'd do the same thing, too… after Jean or someone else had explained to her why it was necessary, that is. She wasn't smart enough to notice the right times to push her luck or back out, not often enough at least.
"I understand"
Their time together ended soon after that. Sasha did get the promised doctor's checkup, but with how clear the doctor's disdain had been on his face, she wasn't sure if his words about her being fine should be trusted or not, but it was better than nothing, probably. She dared to push her luck and asked to be allowed to use the toilet, and to her surprise, she was led there with no complaints. She supposed that it was because no one wanted to clean up after her.
Afterwards, she was led back to her cell, this time unbound and with a bottle of water with her. That was good, that was improvement, Sasha kept telling herself. Reminding herself of the positive things helped her to feel more optimistic. It helped her in being less afraid, for she didn't know what tomorrow would bring.
Surely, Jean and the others would sort things out, right?
A.N: Yeah, things are getting dark, and they're gonna continue being so for a while now. But that means the story's getting somewhere, too.
