Chapter 66

Sasha stares at the two men in front of her, and they stare right back. None of them move, but she's well aware that it's because of the two soldiers who just walked in, who they're all hiding from. She hears them talk for a while, probably looking around a little, before the light goes out and a moment later the door closes. She hears them walk away, but that doesn't exactly calm her down as now she'll have to deal with the two strangers in front of her.

"Er… hi?" she says once she's sure the soldiers are out of hearing range "I was just… playing hooky here?"

She can't see how they react to that, but she doesn't hear any movement.

"I'll just get back to work and- "she stands up, but freezes in place when she hears the safety of a gun going off.

"Thomas, what are you-?"

"She heard us" the man cuts his friend off "If we get caught, you'll be killed."

"If you shoot, they'll hear it" Sasha tries to reason, slowly putting her hands up "But if you don't, I won't tell anyone. I'm sort of a stowaway, too."

"Sort of?"

"Erm, it's a long story" Sasha says, wondering how to make it short enough that the man wouldn't lose his patience "You know Nikolo, right? I heard you talking about him, has he mentioned me? I'm Sasha."

Throwing out Nikolo's name like this was risky, she knew, but since these two clearly had things to hide themselves, it was likely that at the very least, they wouldn't tell anyone.

Silence follows her words, and Sasha starts to get nervous, wondering if she'd manage to disarm the man. She was close enough, and her eyes were starting to adjust to the darkness, so it might be possible. Then, she could hopefully convince them to listen.

"Herbert, go put the light on. The switch is next to the door."

Sasha can faintly see the other man moving, and soon after the lights are back on, making her even more aware of the gun pointed straight at her face.

"But he's still crouched down while I'm standing, so maybe- "

And that's when Thomas stands up, much to Sasha's worry.

"If you're a stowaway, why are you in a uniform?"

"It's called a disguise" Sasha snaps, realizing right after that it wasn't the best time to be a smartass "I mean- "

"Thomas, it's her. How else would she have known the name Nikolo told us? She's on the ship, just like she was supposed to." Herbert says as he comes back, but Thomas doesn't look convinced.

"…Who helped you on the ship?"

"Captain Frank did"

The man had, after all, told her to say his name without hesitation if she got caught.

Thomas eyes her for a moment more before lowering his gun. He doesn't put it away yet, but Sasha considers this to be a good start.

"Sorry about that; we're just really on edge here" Herbert is the one to speak, continuing before Sasha can ask anything "Nikolo asked Thomas to come and see that you really got home; he didn't trust the captain to keep his word. And since he was going anyway, he decided to- "

"Herbert" Thomas says. He doesn't yell, he's not even loud, but there's an undeniable hardness in his voice that makes the man snap his mouth shut immediately "No need for details."

He eyes Sasha, who tries to look as harmless as possible, still keeping her hands up just in case. She can't help but wonder if the man was distrusting in general, or if he was like this because she was from the island. Since his companion was an Eldian too, that's what he'd said, she was sure, then she doubted that'd be his main issue with her.

After what feels like an eternity, that happens a lot to Sasha these days, Thomas puts his gun away.

"I apologize for that" he says. It sounds forced, but at least he said it "We're in a dire situation, so we need to be careful. Nikolo told us about your situation, as you've already figured. He wanted me to confirm that Captain Frank keeps his word."

"I guess he couldn't just trust the man… well, I wouldn't have either if our roles were switched." Sasha says, lowering her hands.

"I take it that the captain has shared whatever plan he has with you?" Thomas asks. Sasha nods and is about to explain, but Thomas holds up a hand, stopping her "No need for details. If things go wrong for any of us, it's better to know as little as possible about the other's business." he addresses Herbert "I need to go now. Be careful, and stick to the plan. Understood?"

"Ye-yes" Herbert stutters, surprised about suddenly being addressed. Thomas nods. He takes a few steps to walk away, but then stops and turns back to Sasha.

"You be careful too. I hope you make it to the island as planned."

Sasha smiles wryly.

"That makes two of us"

And Thomas is off. He stops by the trunk first, getting his personal supplies, before walking out.

Once the door is closed, Herbert and Sasha turn to each other, staring. Wanting to lighten the tense and awkward silence, Sasha says the first thing that comes to mind: "Well, he's a real ray of sunshine, isn't he?"

Her temporary companion makes a startled face before letting out a chuckle. Brushing a strand of hair that had escaped his ponytail again aside, Herbert says: "Actually, he usually is. When he isn't stressed about protecting someone, that is."

"Guess he's a good friend, then" unable to contain her curiosity, she asks "So, how do you two know Nikolo?"

Sasha can see the hesitation on the man's face from the way he frowns, was she that easy to read, too, she wonders, but he ends up talking without further prompting, telling her about how he and his brother had met Nikolo. Sasha listens attentively, at first wondering why Nikolo hadn't mentioned the two at all, but soon realizing that he hadn't wanted to risk someone overhearing them.

He talks about Thomas too, and reflecting back on it, Sasha realizes that Nikolo had mentioned a guy by that name a time or two. Herbert doesn't exactly say what sort of relationship there is between the two of them, but from what she'd overheard, Sasha had gotten a pretty good idea and was able to fill in the blanks. The only thing left unclear in the end is how and why a Marleyan soldier had ended up hiding an Eldian fugitive, but Sasha realizes that if Herbert had wanted her to know, he would've told the details. He must've had his reasons for withholding that particular information.

By the time the man's finished, they've turned off the light and are sitting at the very back of the room side by side, Sasha's lone lantern bringing them dim light. It's enough for Sasha, long since used to the dim lighting of her cell, and Herbert doesn't complain, either.

"Say… do you think this will work out? Will I be able to get sanctuary on the island, or will they turn me in?" Herbert suddenly asks. Sasha ends up thinking for a moment; nine months ago, she would've considered it a given that the man would be safe, but if much had changed while she was gone-

"You'll be fine" she decides to say before she could get too stuck on what ifs "I'll put a good word in for you, and we'll work it out! Besides, it's not like anyone knows you're headed to the island, so as long as no one recognizes you, we don't have to worry about causing extra tension between the two nations. What Marley doesn't know won't piss it off!"

And just like that, a bond is formed in one of the most unexpected places as Sasha tells stories of her own about Nikolo. As she does, the ship starts moving, but she only pauses for a moment before remembering that right now, all they could do was wait, so she continues her story. Herbert also asks her about the island, and she answers his careful questions and more, telling him things that she thinks might interest him or be useful. She promises him that once he can go further inland when all the formalities have been handled, he can follow her to her village, and take all the time he needs to figure out what to do with his life. The offer catches Herbert completely off guard, Sasha can tell, and while he worries about being too much of a burden, he's enough of a realist to know that he needs the help, causing him not to argue it.

Herbert had a pocket watch, and so they knew it was well past midday when Sasha starts looking around to see what they could eat, assuring her companion who's horrified at the idea that it was fine; she knew how to make it look like nothing was missing, and she even had captain Frank's permission, though he did tell her to be smart about it. And for once, she would; it would be dump to get caught because of this, and with that in mind, they end up with some water, bread, and a fresh apple each. Herbert had been against the later, but Sasha had insisted, mentioning how she hadn't had fresh fruits in months. Her companion hadn't argued after that.

The day was almost over by the time a man walks in. Sasha's sharp ears had picked his approach in time, hiding with Herbert, but she comes out when the captain's voice calls out to her, making sure she was still there and unspotted. The later wasn't actually the case, but of course, she didn't tell him that. He hands her a change of clothes, and Sasha's very surprised to find out it was her own scout's uniform.

"That'll make getting to safety at the harbor easier; we can't have any newbies on your side to mistake you for a Marleyan, can we?" he explains to her as she stares at her uniform in nostalgic wonder. He also tells her they were on schedule, and that the ship would dock late in the morning, and unloading it would start around midday. That was a surprise to Sasha; usually the unloading didn't really start until the next day, but she supposes that the captain had arranged this for their plan. Or maybe things had simply changed while she was away, who knew.

The captain reminds her of the words she needs to keep her ears open for, and tells her to make sure she knows which crate she's meant to hide in. And then he leaves, completely obvious to the fact that there were actually two Eldians stowed away in his ship instead of one.

Sasha lets out a sigh of relief once he's gone, and she could swear she heard Herbert let out a breath he'd been holding.

Sasha changes back to her own uniform, loving the sight of it on herself more than she'd ever loved even the finest dress she'd ever worn. After she's done, she notes how Herbert eyes her uniform curiously, but doesn't comment on it. Soon after the two go to sleep, Herbert curled up at the very back of the room, and Sasha as close to the door as she could while still being hidden from sight if someone walked in, wanting to be able to hear if that were to happen. No one comes during the night, as was expected, but as the two Eldians look at each other in the morning, both can tell that the other didn't get much sleep, either. Sasha smiles sheepishly at Herbert, who gives a smile of his own back, though his is far more uncertain.

They eat a small breakfast, and as they do, they have to hide again as they hear someone coming again. Fortunately, it's just Thomas checking in, which Sasha knew not to be a part of their plan, but she supposes he got worried because of the unplanned, potential complication that was her.

"You did what?" the Marleayn hisses angrily when Herbert confesses that he'd told Sasha their plan. It makes Herbert flinch and take a step back, which is enough to get Sasha to talk before she can second guess herself.

"C'mon, it was smart! I can help; it'll be good to have someone to speak on his behalf!"

Thomas turns to her, an angry look on his face as he opens his mouth to speak, but then he pauses, sighing.

"…Right, you're right. I'm sorry, I'm just tense with so much at risk."

With a sincere smile, Sasha assures him that it was fine, greatly liking the guy despite his attitude towards her. After all, he was putting himself at huge risk to help an Eldian like her to safety… and he was Nikolo's friend, but so was Grior, so she reminded herself to not put too much weight on that part.

Thomas reminds them yet again to be careful, but Sasha can tell who the words are really aimed at. It makes her wonder what the two men would talk about now had she not been there, or if Thomas would still act distant like this.

"Maybe I'll tease Herbert about it by asking his opinion on it later when we've gotten to safety" she muses, entertaining herself with her mischievous intentions.

After Thomas leaves, the two secure a hiding place for Herbert, hoping the crate would be dropped off near the same place as Sasha's, but subtly marking it in case it isn't, as was part of the original plan so that Thomas could find it. The two Eldians wish each other good luck and go in to their separate hiding places, not wanting to risk having to hurry later.

Waiting in the dark and narrow space is uncomfortable, but not nearly as nerve wracking as Sasha would've expected, and she assumes it's because she knows that if everything goes according to the plan, this is her last hurdle before getting to safety. They could pull this off; she was getting more and more convinced of it as the minutes went by and nothing went wrong.

Minutes turn to an hour, then two, then some more, and Sasha thinks she might have dozed off at some point, but now, as she hears the door open and people come in, she's at full alert. This was it; the riskiest part left was starting now.

Some of the soldiers unloading the ship talk among each other, and while Sasha recognizes some of the voices and connects them to faces, she'd met, she doesn't recall any names. She doesn't hear Thomas nor the captain, or anything resembling the key phrase. But that was a given, it was too early for it to come, she reminds herself, biting her lip to keep from making any noise as the crate gets tilted, causing her to slide in to an uncomfortable position. It makes her wonder how Herbert was holding up; would he be able to stay silent? If he couldn't, would the sound of waves that she now clearly heard drown out any sounds he made?

"Well, even if it doesn't, all the other hassle around us probably will" Sasha thinks, fully aware of the sounds of footsteps and the barked orders she heard. Even if someone did manage to hear something, they would probably not notice where the sound came from.

After a while, Sasha feels how the crate is put back down, so she focuses, but the sign doesn't come. She thinks that there are likely to be too many people around still, or that whoever was supposed to give her the sign was still busy, yet she couldn't help but worry. But of course, she was smart enough to not act on her own, even if she was all sweaty from nervousness… or was it simply too hot? She wasn't sure.

She could still hear orders being shouted around, ones without urgency, and the sound of feet going back and forth. Someone laughed a bit further away, and if she concentrated, she could still hear the waves faintly. She wasn't too far from the shoreline, then, which should mean that her crate would be carried further away before she'd get the sign. But even after figuring this out, Sasha doesn't let her focus falter, keeping her ears open for any signs of trouble, any signs of someone being suspicious of something, of her hiding place.

Angry muttering about devils carries itself all the way to Sasha's ears, and whoever is speaking is close, perhaps even right next to her. She swallows. More voices, more sounds, people going back and forth. She manages to hold in a surprised squeak when she's moved again, this time not tilted so much, making her hope that whoever was at the task was someone who knew she was there.

Sasha starts counting seconds as she's being carried and gets to 487, over eight minutes, before being put down. She waits, but hears nothing but the shuffling of feet. After what must've been at least two minutes, she finally hears the signal, and wastes no time standing up, removing the cover as she does, welcoming the fresh air and sunlight that hits her face.

Seeing movement from the corner of her eye, Sasha turns her head to the direction of two Marleyans, already walking away. She doesn't recall their names, perhaps she'd never even heard them, but she recognizes one as a man who has brought her food many times past these three months, but didn't really recall seeing before that.

"Guess captain Frank assigned some of his more trusted men to look after me once he decided what to do with me."

A brief idea of calling "thank you" after them pops in to her mind, but Sasha stops herself, knowing it was a bad idea, so instead, she gets out of the crate, taking a look around. She was standing between rows of crates and barrels, tall enough to block view of her entirely from every direction except one, which was where she ended up heading. She wanted to run, to get out of the Marleyans' sight and to safety as fast as possible, but knowing it would've attracted too much attention, Sasha controls herself and walks instead, head held high with brisk pace, one that still doesn't quite make her look like she was running from something, even if she was clearly in a hurry.

She passes by Marleyans only at first, which she soon realizes is no wonder as she notices she'd gotten out right outside the fenced foreign settlement. While their troops were technically allowed as close as they could get as long as they didn't cross the fence, Hanji had ordered everyone to not loiter around there without needing to in order to not unnerve the other side since the founding of the place. The rule had probably held the past nine months, for she got quite a few nasty looks, but no one seemed to have recognized her yet.

"They can't see how nervous I am, can they? I was told to have a bad poker face after all… but maybe it won't be suspicious even if they do? They're probably nervous to be around us, too, just like Eric used… to… be…" Sasha's thoughts come to a halt, her breath hitching nervously as she realizes she's walking straight towards the man who she was just thinking about. And from the shocked look on his face, she knows he's seen and recognized her as well.

Trying not to panic, Sasha goes through her options. She could run; she knew for a fact that she was faster than Eric, but he probably had a gun, as did many of his comrades around them. If she clearly ran away, their reaction wouldn't be a favorable one.

"I could also keep walking", as she was still doing, she realizes, "And pretend that I haven't just arrived, like I'd been let go long time ago and am meant to be here. That should work, right? It's not like he's high up enough to hear about everything that's been going on."

Mind made up; Sasha keeps walking straight ahead. Eric hasn't moved, still staring at her, but the shock on his face is giving way to anger.

"I just hope he doesn't start a scene" she thinks, swallowing when the man is only a few steps away.

"What are you doing here?" he hisses when she raises her hand to a little wave, trying to be polite.

"Making sure the new arrivals get settled" she answers, adding "Commander's orders."

"That's not what I meant. Why aren't you rotting in a cell, or better yet, simply dead?"

Sasha flinches. She hadn't been expecting a happy reunion with Eric, but she hadn't expected him to be that harsh, either.

"But I can't blame him" she thinks, fixing her composure "I was let free once the misunderstanding was cleared. I'm sorry, but I have to go now."

She walks away, trusting that at the very least, Eric won't shoot her in the back. And he doesn't, nor does he make a ruckus, but Sasha's sure that if she turned around now, she'd see him glaring daggers at her. And so, she doesn't, opting to continue walking straight ahead.

Seeing the first scout, Sasha almost cries out in relief. She knows the guy, Muller, a former Garrison soldier who's close to retirement age, and when he notices her, he comes over, clearly surprised to see her. She hopes he doesn't say anything that would attract the attention of too many Marleyans, but she has barely opened her mouth by the time the man reaches her and starts to speak.

"Sasha, it's good to see you!" he says, patting her on the back "I didn't know you were back to the docks!"

Sasha winces a little from the force of the man's gesture, hoping that he really was using more strength than necessary, that it didn't hurt just because she'd gotten weak. His laidback attitude startles her too, making her wonder if he hadn't known where she'd been at.

"Could it have been kept under wraps? The incident must be common knowledge among soldiers by now; even if nothing was officially said, whispers go around. But… how many people knew I was taken to Marley?"

"Where did you expect me to be, then?" Sasha asks, needing information. She keeps walking, wanting to get away from here, but at much slower pace than earlier to not make her comrade, who starts to walk by her side, matching her gait, suspicious.

Muller shrugs, the smile not leaving his face.

"Don't know; no one told me any details. I asked Jean, but he just said that you had to be repositioned for the time being, said that it was to calm down the Marleyans after what happened. They gave you a bit of a hard time, didn't they?"

"Yeah…" Sasha mutters, mind racing as she tries to make sense of everything "There would have been no reason for Jean to lie just to Muller, so this must be a cover story most people were told. Was it to not cause more conflict? Or to not give Samuel's likeminded friends more reason to cause trouble? …Both? Wait, did they tell my family some lie, too!?"

Sasha wasn't sure how to feel about the idea. At this point it would probably be better; it would've saved them from the worry, but if no one had told them and she hadn't managed to come back, how long would Jean have kept up the lie?

"No point thinking about it now; I'll ask Jean once I'm safe. I still gotta get a little further."

"You, okay?" Muller asks suddenly, making Sasha nod, perhaps a bit too curtly, she realizes right after.

"Ye-yeah, I'm good!"

Muller frowns, but leaves it at that. Sasha's grateful for it, and for the company, for having an ally in this hostile environment.

When more scouts come to her line of sight, her tension eases a little, but Sasha doesn't truly relax until she spots Jean, who somehow looks older than she remembered, some ways away, a few other scouts by his side as they talk to some Marleyans. She wants to rush over there, over to him, but she knows it's a bad idea; she doesn't recognize the Marleyans Jean's talking to, but they might recognize her. Or they could find Jean's reaction to her suddenly appearing suspicious, which could lead to trouble of its own.

For a moment she just stares, basking in the safety of his presence, but then she's pulled out of her thoughts by Muller asking if she was really alright.

"Yeah, I'm good" she's not sure when was the last time she'd meant it as much as she did now "Do me a favor, okay?"

"Sure"

"Can you tell Jean to come to the barracks? Don't tell him it was me who asked, just say that it's urgent and really important, okay?" Sasha was hoping Muller wouldn't ask any questions, but from the look he gave her, she knew she wouldn't be that lucky.

"Why? If you're going to prank him again, and don't try to claim that you and Connie don't do that anymore, I know you do, I don't want any part in it."

Out of habit, Sasha pouted. She and Connie didn't pull all that much pranks on people since hitting their twenties… well, except on Jean, but since when did he count? But this was about Jean, so she supposed Muller's suspicions were justified.

"I'm not going to prank him. Promise" she says "This is… um, a little complicated. A classified matter, and we can't have any details leaking out, especially to the Marleyans."

Muller stares at her for a moment, but in the end, Sasha seems to have convinced him. He agrees, though not without a warning that if this was a prank after all, Sasha would regret it. She assures once again that it's not and heads over to the barracks with a relieved laugh leaving her mouth.

As she walks, Sasha passes by people who are surprised but happy to see her again, just like Muller had, and she answers to their greetings, polite and genuinely happy to see them too, but she keeps it short and keeps going, knowing she has to be at the agreed meeting spot when Jean arrives. She'd have the time to talk to all of them later, which is what she thinks even when her eyes lock with her surrogate brother's bright ones that widen in surprise. He's running over to her before even saying anything and grasps her shoulders firmly just as she gets a greeting out.

"Sasha!? But… how?! I thought- Connie said-!"

"Emil, good to see you too!" Sasha cuts him off, loud and cheerful as she notices how they'd gained attention. Wrapping the young man in to a hug, she urgently whispers: "Whatever Connie told you; you need to keep it to yourself; people are watching!"

Pulling away, Sasha catches sight of Emil's confused face, and she prays he's smarter than Connie was at that age… or now.

"…Right, good to see you" he says, still clearly confused, but catching on enough to not make a racket "Where are you going? I was just about to take a break, so I'll walk with you so we can catch up."

Sasha agrees, telling him she was heading for the barracks, and they start walking. Emil doesn't ask her anything, clearly realizing that the things he wanted to know shouldn't be overheard by wrong people, so instead, he starts getting her up to date about their family. Sasha's glad for that, and does her best to listen as she truly does want to know, but she thinks that at least half of the information must be going in from one ear and out from the other as her attention is mostly on their surroundings, fearing an ambush or an unlucky coincidence of the wrong Marleyans spotting and recognizing her.

Again, some people stop to greet her, but Emil cuts it short before she has to, telling them they were in a hurry. Sasha's glad for it, fearing that every time she opens her mouth she might make a mistake, something that would contradict whatever excuse had been told about her absence.

"An excuse that Emil wasn't told… did he find out the truth by accident, or was he told because he's part of my family? Does the rest of our family know?" Sasha wonders. She needed to know, and she'd ask as soon as they were safe from any prying ears.

Suddenly, Sasha feels a pull on her arm. Startled, she grasps the arm having a hold of her, about to throw the person off, but Emil's voice stops her just in time.

"Woah, stop, it's just me!"

Freezing, Sasha realizes there were no Marleyans, or anyone else for that matter, within an arm's length of them, and that she'd been about to attack Emil. And that she still had a grip on his arm, a rather uncomfortable one judging from the face he was making.

"Ugh, sorry!" she says, hastily letting go. She sees a few people looking at them curiously, but with how far they'd gotten, it was only their comrades by now. Most simply stared for a moment before returning to their duties. Sasha's relief over it is replaced with embarrassment when she hears someone mutter: "It's just the usual, Blouse making a scene."

"It's fine" Emil says, rubbing his sore hand "But you were about to head to the wrong direction."

"Huh?" Sasha looks around. She was sure she wasn't mistaken; she recognized the warehouse to her right, having taken crates there, time and time again late in the evening before taking the short walk back to the barracks. This was the right way, no doubt, unless- "Have they been moved?"

Emil nods.

"It was considered safer to be a little further from the Marleyans at night, and they seemed to like the idea of us being a little further away, too, so relocating didn't bring any bad feelings. We moved some of the simpler buildings, but the ones with stronger structure are used as storage for now. Jean hopes that we can move in to them again, eventually."

Sasha nods. She hoped so, too, though she also hoped to stay away from the harbor herself for now. Better let the dust settle, as they say.

They keep walking. Emil has stopped talking, and Sasha only answers the surprised greetings she gets from people, but doesn't stop walking for a moment until her surrogate brother confirms that the neat row of small cottages were the barracks of the officers stationed at the harbor.

With a heavy sigh, Sasha sinks down to the stone step leading inside of the very first one. Emil sits down next to her, mentioning that it was Jean who used this one. They sit in silence for a while, Sasha finally relaxing, closing her eyes as she listens to the sounds of birds and the footsteps that come from further away with no intention of bothering her. She was okay, she was safe. She'd done it.

Feeling something poke her cheek makes Sasha open her eyes and turn to look at Emil, who is looking at her with a frown.

"Explanation. Now, please. How come you're here? You were taken by Marley, right? Connie told our family the whole situation, but we were told to not tell anyone so that unease wouldn't spread. From what I've heard, most of our comrades are under the impression that you were let go on the day before the ship left nine months ago. After that, you were said to have gone home to rest for a few weeks before heading far north. It was said to be Jean's idea; something about the area needing an experienced soldier for inspiration… or something. I'm not sure of the details; I knew it was a lie, so I didn't pay it much attention. The few times someone asked me about you, I just said you were busy and we hadn't really kept in touch. But when did you come back? Why didn't Connie, Jean, the commander or anyone inform me? I'm your family and a soldier; I should've had the right to be among the first to know!"

When Emil finishes, he's out of breath, having said that all as a long, hurried litany. Sasha wasn't sure she even understood it all, but considering the circumstances, it wasn't hard for her to guess the key points.

"You are among the first to know; I just got back today. Even Jean or the commander don't know yet, though I did send a word out a little before running in to you." she felt like it was important to start with this; had their roles been switched, she would've been strict about her right to know about her family, too "I kinda came back in secret… it's probably better that I don't tell you the details; I should go them over with Jean and Hanji before deciding what I can tell."

Emil scowls.

"What, you don't trust me?"

Sasha frowns.

"I do, just not your ability to not let anything slip. I don't know if I should trust myself on that, either, but it's not like I can change what I know."

"You can be kind of a blabber mouth"

Sasha swats him for that. Emil laughs, and swats back.

"…How are things at home? Is everyone doing okay?"

Emil shrugs.

"As okay as they can, considering that they know the truth. I think Kaya took it the hardest, but Connie's been there for her, and the whole family, really, saying that he isn't smart enough to do anything for you, so the least he can do is to help your family… actually, forget what I said; I think it's Connie who took it the hardest."

Sasha doesn't doubt that; she knew she was like family to him, just like he was to her, but the difference was that she was close to all he had left. There was Jean too of course, but he must've been busy the past nine months.

"I'll have to do something for them to make up for all the worry I've caused"

"Look" Emil suddenly says, pointing in the direction they had come from "He's here."

Sasha looks up and sees Jean walking towards them. He hadn't noticed her yet, his attention taken by whatever was said on the papers he was carrying.

"Hey, Jean!" Emil calls out as Sasha stands up "Look who's back!"

Jean looks up, locking eyes with Sasha, which makes him stop in his tracks. He blinks a few times, like he's wondering if he's seeing things. Sasha waves at him, and Jean opens his mouth, but nothing comes out and it just hangs open. Unable to help herself, Sasha laughs.

"That makes your face look even longer, Horseface" she tells him, and that seems to be enough to convince Jean that he wasn't seeing things, for he snaps out of his shock and rushes over to her.

"Sasha! How- how did you-?" he stammers as he reaches her, hands on her shoulders. She grins.

"Surprise!"

They embrace each other, and Sasha has never felt safer as she buries her face in Jean's chest, arms wrapped tightly around him. It's weird, she thinks, because she knows that despite being on the island now, the Marleyans weren't all that far away. But she wouldn't let logic bother her, not now.

Then, far too soon for Sasha's liking, Jean pushes her away, hands on her shoulders, and demands an explanation. And of course, she's ready to give one, but like earlier, she's not sure if Emil should hear it. Fortunately, all it takes for Jean to realize the issue is Sasha glancing at her brother once.

"Emil, you can stay, but you must pretend to not have heard a thing unless the commander or I give you the permission to talk about something. Can you manage that?"

"No worries, my lips are sealed. I'm not the one most likely to let something slip here."

"Hey!" Sasha protests, turning to glare at Emil as she catches on to what he's implying "I might occasionally slip on family business, but I know how to keep military secrets!"

Jean clears his throat just before Emil is about to reply, cutting him off.

"As much as I'd love to continue watching you banter, and no, for once I'm not being sarcastic, so don't give me that look, Sasha, now's not the time. Explanation. Now."

"Yes, sir!" Sasha salutes, and then she tells the two about the past nine months, sugar coating some of the worse stuff. Jean would definitely notice and ask questions later, but she was fine with that; it was Emil she was trying to protect from the details, not him. She also leaves out Captain Frank's story, deeming it not her story to tell, and simply says that the man was thinking of what was best for the world. As a finishing touch to her tale, she takes out the letter the man had written for Hanji and passes it to Jean.

"I'd like to hand it over myself, but I'm sure she's busy, and it'll be easier for you to get to her; I'd just attract too much attention."

"Yeah" Jean nods "Just to clarify: you hid in one of the crates that are now off the ship, right?"

"Yeah?"

"One problem less then, I suppose" Jean smiles, looking relieved. Sasha gives him a confused look, so he explains: "Hanji and I noticed one of the Marleyans acting weirdly, constantly glancing at one of the crates, and a few times it looked like he wanted to talk to us, but didn't because he would've been seen by his comrades or something. I guess he was one of those who knew, and just had a worse poker face than the others."

That sounded like it could be it, but somehow, it felt off to Sasha. Was she forgetting something...?

"AH!" she suddenly exclaims in shock, standing up from Jean's doorstep where they'd all sat down and startling the other two "I forgot about Herbert!"

"Who?"

Anxiously, Sasha tells the two about her encounter with the Marleyan soldier and his Eldian friend he was trying to smuggle to Paradis. After she finishes, Jean scratches his chin thoughtfully "So the soldier we took note of must've been this Thomas… if I go now, I might be able to find him before he or his friend chooses to do something risky."

He stands up, pointing at Sasha.

"For now, you hide and lay low. Go to my quarters, it's this one, and stay there until one of us comes to pick you up; better safe than sorry. Emil, you're coming with me; I'm going to need to talk to that guy without any of his friends overhearing, and might need a distraction."

"Yes, sir" Emil says and stands up to salute at the same time as Sasha lets out a simple "Got it."

"…Do I need to send you to instructor Shadis to re-learn some military discipline?"

Sasha makes a face of horror.

"After all I've been through, you plan to torture me even more!?"

"If you make it necessary" Jean says with a smirk. Sasha pouts at him, saluting as she does, making both men laugh before they head off.

Once they're out of sight, Sasha lets out the laugh she'd managed to hold in despite having been unable to maintain the pout. Then, she heads inside, Jean had given her the key, and once she'd locked the door behind her, she collapses on the bed, exhausted.

"And to think all I've done is take a short walk… I need to get to work to get my stamina back as soon as possible…" Sasha thinks as she drifts off to sleep without even realizing it.

A.N: The next update might not come on the 15th day this time; I finished writing chapter 67 yesterday, but if I post it this month, I might not get a chapter done in time for September 1st, and I consider the first day of the month to be the more important day for updates since I've kept that up longer. I hope I can return to updating twice a month again at some point, but for now, it's once a month.