Attack on Titan: Bloodline - Chapter 42
Following their arrival at Orvud District's regiment branch, The Scouts swiftly began to unload their weapons and supplies. Many soldiers from both Regiments were scrambling from one place to the next. Levi helped Lorraine down from the carriage, holding her hands as she hopped down.
"You okay?" he asked gently.
She nodded and said, "Yes. I'm fine." He nodded in response, then reached into his pocket.
"Here," he said, handing her the shard of armour she had lost. She gasped and reached for it quickly, as if on instinct.
"Oh, thank you. I thought I'd lost it for good."
He said, "Armin found it on the ground where you went missing."
She reached up and tied the cord around her neck, tying it in a tight triple knot before wrapping her arms around Levi. He reeled for just a moment, but then awkwardly placed his hands on her shoulders.
"I'm glad you're safe, Lorraine."
"I…I was scared," she said in a whisper. He sighed and pulled away.
"Unload quickly, Scouts."
Another soldier approached the captain and said, "Commander Erwin alerted us to your arrival, Captain. Please have your Squad stand by in the hall in five minutes tops. They're almost ready to begin the meeting."
As Eren helped her out of the carriage, Levi turned and said to Historia, "Historia, I forgot to tell you, there's something we'll need you to do." She looked up at him.
"This is a direct order from Commander Erwin."
She bit the inside of her lip. Levi said sternly, "Once we finish off this Titan, seeing as you're the true successor to the throne, you'll become Queen." The group gave a collective gasp.
Sasha exclaimed, "Wait. Queen Historia?! You're kidding, right?!"
Levi said, "Erwin's coup d'etat was successful, but the people won't follow military rule forever. We need to give them a heartwarming story. One where the rightful heir retakes her crown from the pretender." Historia looked at the ground.
"Oh," she said, "I see."
Connie raised his hand and said, "H-hey, you heard what Historia was saying earlier, didn't you, Captain? 'Cause, well, to me, it sounded like, maybe, in siding against her dad, she finally broke off from that part of her life, you know?" Levi stared at him.
He lowered his hand and said under his breath, "It's just like…."
Levi said, "Like what? If you have something to say, then say it."
Connie stammered, scrambling to find words. Jean stepped forward and said, "What Connie is trying to say is that Historia finally broke free from the Reiss family and decided that she's more than just a bloodline." Levi hummed softly.
Jean continued, "So, for us to force her into another role for that reason…I…I just don't think it's fair, Sir."
Historia said, "It's fine." Jean and Connie both looked up at her.
"If my next duty is to become Queen, then that's what I'll do."
Armin stepped towards her and said, "But, Historia…?" She smiled at him.
"I do appreciate your concern," she said, "but, whether this is 'forced' on me is truly up to me to decide and I've decided."
She turned to Levi and said, "Captain, before that, I have one condition for you. While my fate is still my own, I want to put everything I have on the line. I want to fight and take down my father."
Levi nodded.
"Very well. Get into your uniform, then. Meet us upstairs."
"Yes, Sir."
She turned and walked towards the building. Lorraine jogged to catch up. Levi turned to the others and said, "Right. While those two get into uniform, we are to get upstairs to the briefing room. Eren, we'll get you new gear on the way."
Lorraine and Historia swiftly changed, throwing their old clothes onto the floor nearby and pulling on pants and a button-down. Historia tied her hair up into a low ponytail and started to buckle herself into the leg harnesses. Lorraine paused for a moment, looking down at the shard of amber-coloured armour in her hand.
"Historia?"
The blonde looked up at her, finishing the top buckles of her thigh straps. Lorraine said softly, "Are you…are you really okay with this? Becoming Queen?"
Historia said, "Of course I am. Why do you ask?"
Lorraine pulled the back panel of her gear over her shoulders and buckled her chest strap, pulling her hair free before moving onto her legs. She said, "Well, it's just…I heard you talking to Eren a while back." Historia paused.
Historia said, "Oh. I see."
She crossed the straps over the front of her hips and said softly, "Lorraine, before she left, Ymir told me to live a life I could be proud of. I wasn't sure exactly what she meant, but now I think I get it." Lorraine pulled her waist straps across her hips and Historia explained.
"I wasn't sure what my goal in life was. Ymir chose her own path, but my path was paved with lie after lie."
She adjusted the straps on her lower back and said, "When I was in the Cadet Corps, I lived a lie. That sweet, innocent Krista Lenz wasn't me. Even though my father wanted me to take the Founding Titan, he wasn't being truthful with me and, in hindsight, I would have been little more than a puppet. I would have fallen victim to the First King's ideology." She smiled.
"I didn't know where I was supposed to go after she left…but when I was talking to the Captain just now, something occurred to me. Even though it's my duty to become Queen, It feels like I've found where I truly belong. This is my true path in life."
Lorraine stared at Historia, her eyes welling up with tears. Historia said, "If I don't do this, Ymir would have left for nothing. This is the path I am meant to walk now."
Lorraine smiled. A tear fell down her cheek and she sighed.
"You…you're still doubting your own path…aren't you?"
Lorraine nodded.
"I am…but I…."
Historia put her hand on Lorraine's shoulder. She said, "It's okay, Lorraine. I understand how you feel. You'll find your path. You just have to keep searching." Lorraine reached up and wiped her tears away with her sleeve. She sobbed lightly and Historia wrapped her arms around her. The girls stood there in silence for a moment, then Lorraine pulled away.
Historia said, "Whatever it is you want to do, just live a life you can be proud of. That's what Ymir told me before she left."
Lorraine sighed and watched as Historia grabbed her ODM Gear boxes and strapped them onto her hips before walking out, leaving her alone with her thoughts. She picked up the armour shard, staring down at it for a minute.
"A life I can be proud of. I joined the Scouts so I could fight the Titans, but is that truly what I want? What have I been fighting for all this time, anyway?"
She threw the cord around her neck and picked up her old, torn, blue dress. She smiled softly and ran her hand over the buttons that ran down the front of the garment. She sighed, then set the dress on a nearby crate.
"The sea. The fiery lakes. The lands of ice. What lays beyond the walls. Freedom from the Titans. Freedom from the ever-present fear that no child should have to endure."
She strapped her own weapons onto her waist and walked out, pulling her hair into a low ponytail and twisting it into a messy bun, securing it with another tie.
"I'd lost sight of my goal in life. I joined to face my fears and free the world from that very same fear I had felt the day the Wall fell. When Reiner came into my life, I forgot all about it."
As she walked into the room, she saw Mikasa whispering something to Historia, who just smiled back at her. She furrowed her brows and took a deep breath, walking into the room.
Mikasa said as she stood between her and Armin, "Are you okay?"
She nodded and said, "I've never felt better."
Mikasa glanced back at Historia, then smiled at Lorraine, grabbing her hand.
"Good."