Chapter Three
Aftermath

"I don't… want to go," Fridr said miserably, allowing tears to well in her eyes. She did not care that she was too old for temperamental tears like this. She did not care that it was not ladylike. Nor did she care what Eydis and Katla had to say.

"We have no other choice, my heart." Ansel's words were gentle and understanding. Fridr was almost angry at him for speaking so kindly to her. Why must she be the only one openly suffering? "But we will be together. That is all that matters."

Fridr took one last look at the empty foyer. They sold the paintings and baubles to help pay for the move. They gave the servants pensions and let them go. The manor that served as home, was too still and unfamiliar now.

A stream of tears slipped out of Fridr's eyes. She allowed Ansel to lead her outside to the wagon as they began their journey to Boscana.

-White Rose of Bloodied Thorns, by Ada Barbot

When Taryn was eleven, an epidemic hit Shiganshina. It started so innocently at first, people simply fell ill. They were people she only really knew as customers at the bakery. No one she really knew. But then, a week or so later, they were dead and shortly after that, someone else had fallen ill.

For Taryn, it never really got serious until one of her classmates, Katarina Bierbann, died from the sickness. Katarina was not an adult, she wasn't a customer at the bakery. She was Taryn's age, someone she saw every day at school. And then Katarina was just… gone. Taryn spent the next few nights following the news mulling over this as she tried to sleep. Katarina was eleven, just like Taryn. Eleven-year-olds weren't supposed to die yet. Death was for old people.

But an epidemic didn't care how old its victims were.

In an attempt to control the spread, the Government restricted travel beyond the north gate. One needed clearance if they needed to venture inward. As the death toll grew, Dr. Grisha Jeager encouraged a few additional regulations to help the townsfolk stuck in Shiganshina. It was as simple as staying home with your family. And if one absolutely had to leave, then they should cover their mouth and nose.

It should have been simple enough to follow. But there were always some who weren't willing to listen to a doctor. And in this case, the doctor was a literal outsider (allegedly). A very loud minority would throw a fit at the thought of being "dictated" by simple instructions to gain some control of a deadly epidemic.

The entire situation was nerve-wracking on its own. But what kept Taryn awake at night, stewing in fear, was Iida's health. At the time, her grandma was still alive, but Iida had been getting weaker since the winter of Taryn's tenth birthday. The outbreak would have taken Iida out in a heartbeat if given the chance.

So, Iida stayed upstairs in those days and her absence was felt. The bakery was particularly busy; Taryn was used to making hardtack in bulk before winter. They were easy to make, sure, but if there was a bakery, might as well place an order for someone else to do it while you prepared your home in other ways. Especially since hardtack required being in the oven for three hours.

During the epidemic, Taryn worked in the bakery with the lower half of her face covered. At eleven, she was still too young to be considered an apprentice, but only by one year. Working classes started an apprenticeship at twelve, after they finished their mandatory schooling, and were apprentices for three years before they were considered a full-time worker. There was a bit of leniency when it came to family businesses. Taryn was taught the trade at an early age, but she wouldn't make a wage until she "officially" started her apprenticeship the following summer.

So, she was helping at the bakery, poking holes into rows of square biscuit dough. The orders were coming in so fast that Taryn heard her parents discuss the possibility of another apprentice beside Taryn. Especially since it was becoming more and more apparent that Iida wouldn't be able to work for much longer.

Bethan was often the face of the bakery, dealing with customers, and keeping the books. A set of skills she had developed in her merchant days. But they had gotten so many orders from people stocking up on food while there was no end to the epidemic in sight. On that particular day, she was in the bakery with Taryn, double and triple-checking her list of orders.

When a customer came in, Garit offered to speak to him, not wanting to break Taryn out of the zone she was in or wanting Bethan to break her concentration.

The customer had different intentions.

At first, Taryn was just vaguely aware of the rising voice coming from the shop, muffled by the wall separating the rooms. And then came a bellowing voice, "I'M A PAYING CUSTOMER!"

Taryn had jumped, dropping the fork she was using onto the table. In unison, Taryn and Bethan turned their gazes toward the wall as if they could see what was happening on the other side. "I understand that," Garit said calmly, "but we have every right to turn away people who aren't following-"

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" the man roared. "You're listening to that dog crap?! They're blowing this whole thing out of proportion!"

"Fedde. I have an aging mother, a wife, and a daughter. I need-"

"Oh, I get it. You've got such a poor grasp on your women you kneel for every little mouse that crosses their path, eh?"

"I am merely a man taking care of his family. If that means turning away customers who aren't following the procedure, then so be it."

"God, they have you whipped. You say you're 'taking care of' your family, yet you're letting some scrawny, pissant dick tell you what to think. C'mon, Garit! How about you take an actual stand for your family and put those women in their place? Quit being a pussy and man up!"

Abruptly, Bethan swung the back door open. Despite the cloth covering her nose and mouth, her eyes were fully capable of displaying her anger on their own. Fedde, a man around the same age as Bethan and Garit, kept his nose and mouth exposed. "Either cover your face or get out," Bethan said, marching up to Garit's side. "Actually, if you're going to talk to my husband like that, you can get out, covering or not."

Sneering, the man waved Bethan away the same way one would shoo away an unwanted cat. "Go back to the kitchen, the men are talking."

"Fedde," Garit said, raising his voice. "Get. Out."

"I'm a paying customer!"

"And?! I don't care! You are far from our only customer. And I will not tolerate anyone talking to my wife like that! Nor will I tolerate anyone talking about my daughter as if she were my property!"

To Taryn's surprise, Garit, her warm and gentle father, slammed his fist on the counter. He glared at Fedde. "Now, get out, before we summon the Garrison to take you out."

The last Taryn heard of Fedde, he had gotten sick and died a miserable death.

By the time Dr. Jeager created a medicine to fight the epidemic, every third household had lost at least one person to the illness. The experience taught Taryn two things; death did not discriminate. And she might have taken after Garit more than she thought.

When life in Shinganshina started to return to normal, Taryn was told several times by the adults in her life that the whole ordeal would likely be the event of her generation. The event they would talk about years after the fact and would describe it with such precise detail when they told the story to their grandchildren.

They never did take into account that eleven was still quite young. Taryn's generation still had the rest of their lives ahead of them for something worse than a district-wide epidemic to happen.

And, somehow, Taryn felt that Titan's entering Wall Maria completely eclipsed all that.

When the boat docked, the Garrison kept the Shiganshina refugees together while they tried to get a semblance of organization. Taryn stood amongst the crowd with Jakob clinging to her arm. After they got off the boat, they were led further up north until they arrived in the Trost District and into Wall Rose.

And they kept moving, further up north on foot. Taryn's feet felt like she was standing on a searing hot surface. Her boots were still too new for all the running she did.

A few miles in, they were brought into a town… Taryn couldn't tell which town. It was too dark by the time they arrived and Taryn was too emotionally and physically exhausted to care. Jakob and Taryn were each given a bedroll, and instructed to head into the tavern. Inside the tables and chairs were stored away… somewhere.

Taryn and Jakob picked a spot for themselves on the floor. She helped Jakob lay his out his bedroll beside her. Upon sitting on her bedroll, Taryn kicked off her boots and eased off her socks. She had a blister that burst on the ball of her right foot and both arches were dotted with smaller puffy blisters.

Jakob mimicked Taryn's actions and removed his shoes. He sat, staring at his lap, and Taryn wished she knew if the boy's silence was in character for him. Maybe then she'd know what to do for him.

Her interactions with children were limited to no deeper than flashing kids a friendly smile when they came in with their parents while she was working the counter. Sometimes she'd remember their names, depending on how frequently they stopped by.

But interacting with kids on a personal level? No, Taryn was out of her depth. She didn't know how much she should butt in without crossing Jakob's boundaries.

She was brought out of her thoughts when Jakob started to scoot closer to her. His lower lip jutted out in a pout and fresh tears welled in his eyes. When he scooted close enough to Taryn's side, he laid down on his side so his head was on her lap. Unsure of what else to do, Taryn placed her hand on Jakob's shoulder.

Taryn scrutinized the tavern. Refugees were clinging together, pacing up and down the floor, others were laying in their bedrolls without actually sleeping and Taryn noticed some people talking amongst themselves. She doubted there would be much sleeping amongst them tonight.

There was no sign of either Garit or Bethan amongst the crowd. And, presumably, Jakob hadn't recognized anyone either. Hopefully when it was daylight out they'd have an easier time finding the people they needed to.

Jakob had gone still while Taryn was lost in her thoughts; his breathing had evened out. Yeah… Yeah, the youngsters would likely have the easiest time dozing off. Taryn arched forward, sort of wishing she'd tried to pick a spot by the wall to lean her back against.

She inhaled and stared into her lap, Jakob sound asleep and peaceful. At least one of them would get some sleep tonight.

'When Ansel lost his fortune due to a series of unfortunate events,' Taryn recalled, 'it was decided that his family would move out of the city and to the country town of Boscana. Boscana, however, was a border town by the Veil, the divide between the human realms and the faerie realms. But they did not have many options. The mayor of Boscana was willing to hire Ansel as an accountant and the blacksmith was willing to take Haukr on as an apprentice.

'Fridr, thirteen at the time, struggled the most with these changes in her life. She pouted through the journey. Nor was she thrilled when she learned that she would need to get a job too. She complained when she learned she would have to share a room with Eydis and Katla. And complained still when she was told she'd need to learn how to cook…'

The next morning, they gave the refugees in the tavern a roll of bread. But neither Taryn nor Jakob were particularly in the mood to eat anything. They sat on their bedrolls staring at the lump of bread as though it were some foreign object. "We probably should eat something," Taryn said, turning the roll over in her hand several times.

After Taryn spoke, Jakob started to eat his roll in tiny bites, like a rodent nibbling on cheese. Taryn turned the roll over once more in her hand before she tore off a piece of bread between her teeth. Swallowing it was like swallowing glue. It stuck to the inside of Taryn's mouth and stuck to her throat as it went down.

The events of yesterday felt like a dream like it still wasn't possible for a Titan to peer over the Wall and knock the gate open. That she'd be forced to run from her home because Titans had gotten into the district. Ridiculous, right?

But if it didn't happen, then how did Taryn end up in a town within Wall Rose in the company of a boy she'd just met?

After they finished their bread, they packed up their bedrolls and looked outside the tavern. If Taryn had to guess, they were in a farming village. Like a hub town for the local farms. The blacksmith displayed the heads of farming equipment outside his shop. There was a farmer's market with stalls lining either side of the street. But it looked like it wasn't open today judging from the boarded-up stalls.

There were people out and about. But Taryn realized quickly just how easy it was to tell who were locals and who were from Wall Maria. The locals were staring at them as though they were some roadside attraction. That was the nicer tell. The other tell were the locals who grumbled about losing a few hours of work.

"Emm… Who are you looking for?" Taryn asked the boy at her side.

Jakob's lips pursed to the side briefly. "My mom… And maybe my uncle, and my aunt, and my cousin."

This information relieved Taryn a bit. At least Jakob had multiple people to search for if something happened to his mom. "Let's just… Let's walk around a bit. Hopefully, we'll run into someone."

Holding tight onto her hand again, Jakob nodded.

Should she say something to comfort the boy? But wouldn't verbal comfort risk a false hope? On the other hand, Taryn wasn't sure anything she said could fool him. Should she ask him what he wanted from her? A hug? Just holding his hand? Would Taryn be crossing a line if she did that?

Fuck, Taryn was out of her element with this… She wasn't a caretaker. She wasn't parental! Odds were she'd end up traumatizing Jakob further under her care by accident!

Was wandering around and hoping they bumped into their parents the right thing to do? They would have passed someone and missed them altogether for all Taryn knew! Maybe they should have just stuck to one area and stayed there until someone found them…

What if their parents were in another town? How were they to find them in that case? Would they be allowed to venture out?

What if…

No, no. If they were struggling, Taryn could just ask around and describe Garit and Bethan to them. They could probably get descriptions of Jakob's mom if she asked the right questions. This wasn't that difficult.

But… But…

This wasn't a normal situation. Everyone they could ask was essentially homeless and likely had a 'protect me and mine' mindset. Her simple questions could be met with anger and venom-spitting.

Oh, yes. Taryn would make for a terrible mother if she was this indecisive.

Jakob's hand slipped out of Taryn's hand abruptly. Which sent her heart launching into her throat. Forget fainting, she was just going to straight up die.

Taryn whirled around to see Jakob's retreating figure. His inky, feathery black hair flew behind him as he ran.

"MA!"

Ahead of Jakob was a woman with the same inky hair as the boy. The woman cried out for Jakob, crouching down with her arms spread open. Jakob ran into the woman's arms with enough force that it was a wonder he hadn't knocked the woman over. Effortlessly, the woman lifted Jakob, allowing him to wrap both his arms and legs around her.

The woman, his mother, looked roughly in her early to mid-thirties. Her black hair had a gentle curl to it, causing it to ripple down her back in waves. Despite looking tired and on the verge of tears, it was easy to see that the woman was quite pretty.

Taryn could hear the woman repeat Jakob's name, holding him with a hand braced at the back of the boy's head. Shifting her weight from one leg to the other Taryn wondered if she should excuse herself. It seemed impolite to just walk off without saying anything to Jakob or his mother. But it seemed just as impolite to stick around and watch when she wasn't wanted. Should she just test the waters and introduce herself to the mother?

The reunion between mother and son settled down a moment; the woman kept both arms around Jakob's midsection. Though Taryn couldn't hear, she saw Jakob say something to his mother, and then he half-turned, pointing a finger at Taryn. His mother's grip on the boy loosened enough for him to slide back down to the ground. The woman asked Jakob something and he nodded in response.

The next thing Taryn knew, Jakob's mother was approaching her with open arms. Taryn opened her mouth in an attempt to say something… only for the woman to beat her to it. She wrapped her arms around Taryn and pulled her close. She stood a few inches shorter than Taryn but was still tall enough to rest her head on the crook of her shoulder. The woman's breathing turned harsh, ragged with tears. It made Taryn's stomach turn sour.

Should she say something about her husband? Tell a white lie of some sort? No. Noh, what was she thinking? "Y-Your husband," Taryn began meekly. Her arms were dead at her side. "I-I think he was already… Wh-When I found Jakob, he was…"

The woman squeezed Taryn even tighter, a strangled, anguished sound rumbling through her body. Taryn herself was beginning to feel the pressure of tears build up behind her eyes. She gripped the back of the woman's shirt, not fully sure why she was tearing up like this. Too many things were going on for it to be one specific thing.

When the spell upon them broke, Jakob's mother took a step back. Her breathing was still shaky, she tried to dry her eyes with the heel of one hand, and the other stayed on Taryn's shoulder. "I'm Lorelei Delker." She gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze, as though to further emphasize what she was about to say. "Please, don't hesitate to find us if you're on your own. Alright?"

Taryn tried to smile, tried to look positive. "Ah-Alright…"'

She also tried not to think about being left on her own.

Lorelei gave Taryn's shoulder another squeeze before they parted. The last she saw of them, the mother and son melded into a group of three, two adults and a teenage girl. One of the adults, a man, and the teenager had the same pitch-black hair as Lorelei and Jakob. Lorelei and the man were sharing a few words until Lorelei collapsed into the man's chest. He wrapped his arms around her. The girl had crouched down, eye-level with Jakob, rubbing his back.

Tearing her gaze away, Taryn turned around, hugging herself as she continued her trek to find someone with a familiar face. Even if Taryn couldn't find Garit and Bethan, would she be able to find Lorelei and Jakob again to take Lorelei up on her offer? Would it have been better to stay with them and hope her parents just stumbled upon her?

The people around her may as well have had identical features. Generic, nothing to distinguish them. God, she wasn't going to find her parents at this rate. Why didn't she just head home after visiting Mr. Royce? She would have been home when it happened in that case. She would have made it through the inner gate with Garit, then they would just have to worry about finding Bethan and Taryn wouldn't have to face all of this alone.

When a hand cupped itself over her shoulder, Taryn whipped around. Behind her was a man, as tall and as broad as Garit, but he lacked the gut Garit had. His hair was blonde, long enough that it came very close to touching his shoulders. He was wearing a pair of glasses in place of the fitted goggles he had on yesterday. There was a bit of stubble lining his jaw. Much like yesterday, he was wearing his military uniform, with the emblem of the Survey Corps.

Christoph was only two years older than Taryn, but he could have easily passed as Garit's younger brother instead of his son.

Taryn finally allowed the tears she'd been holding back to flow freely and in full. Her vision had blurred so badly that she missed the look of relief on Christoph's face. She threw herself into his chest, and her breathing quickly grew labored and haggard. "I-I don't-" Taryn said through her muffled sobs. She felt Christoph's arms loop around her, causing Taryn to tremble harder. "I don't know where Mom and Dad a-are! I-I was out when it ha-happened!"

"You saw it?" asked Christoph. Taryn nodded, her face still smooshed against his chest.

They stayed like that until Taryn's breathing settled down. More than a few people bumped into one sibling or the other. It got to a point where Taryn was half-convinced that they were trying to unsubtly tell them to move.

When she pulled away from Christoph, her face was red and splotchy, her freckles almost disappeared into the red in her cheeks. "Okay?" her brother asked. Sniffling, Taryn nodded yes while trying to dry her eyes. "Okay, we're going to look around a little more. I'll ask the Garrison what they know if we still can't find them."

"Do you know what's going on? That Titan broke through the south gate and… and…"

The words caught in Taryn's throat. A chill and dread traveled down her spine as she thought back to it. The giant Titan looked over the Wall, its muscles visible and its face looked like it was giving the onlookers a sinister grin before it flipped the world on its head.

She was brought back to the present when she felt Christoph's hand on the small of her back, ushering her down the road. "All I know is that they've designated them the Armored Titan and the Colossal Titan.

"Creative," murmured Taryn.

Wait… was Christoph even allowed to tell her this?

"I understand that the Commander sent our strongest soldier and our other skilled and experienced soldiers to scout Wall Maria in search of the Armored Titan while the rest of Wall Maria is being evacuated."

Taryn barely put in any effort to hide the roll of her eyes. Oh, yes, even she heard about the famed 'Humanity's Strongest Soldier' who came swooping into the Survey Corps about a year ago. Supposedly, he was worth more than a hundred soldiers alone.

A lot of good someone like that ever did them before the current crisis. He likely wasn't going to be much help during this crisis either.

"But at the rate the Titans are going, we won't be able to salvage this situation," continued Christoph. "I wouldn't be surprised if every Titan in the area outside the Wall managed to fumble their way in. We're no different than that one spectacular dish at a potluck to them."

'Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up!' Taryn wanted to snap. She managed to clench her jaw shut and keep the words down. She was the one who asked for this information, after all. "So, what you're saying is this could happen again…"

Through the corner of her eye, Taryn could see Christoph open and close his mouth three times before he decided to settle for silence. Sometimes silence said more than words ever could.

For the next hour or so, they walked around time. Now and then Christoph would pull them to a stop, debating with himself whether or not to talk to someone from the Garrison. "They could be in another town for all we know…"

It wasn't until they came across a family of store regulars, to the point that Bethan and Garit were on a first-name basis with them, that they were able to find a hint. The Modrows may have been on a first-name basis with her parents, but to Taryn, they were always Mr. Modrow and Mrs. Modrow. Though they had no news on Garit, Mr. Modrow said he had seen Bethan trying to find Taryn and Garit.

Taryn wasn't sure if she should be relieved that Bethan was spotted. Not when they had no word about Garit. She still had no idea if any of the debris could have landed around the bakery. "They didn't say anything about Dad," said Taryn.

"It's fine." She could feel the muscles in Christoph's arm tense. "Even if he's not there I can find out what's going on, see if someone can keep watch for him. I… I'll come up with something."

As they searched, Taryn allowed Christoph to lead her, utterly spent from making all the decisions after taking Jakob under her wing. Besides, Christoph hadn't been the big brother in years. It was about time he stepped up to the plate.

So they walked, Christoph's arm looped over Taryn's shoulder, keeping her close. The gestures could have made many mistake them for lovers, were it not for the similar subtleties in their faces that marked them as siblings.

"Excuse me, I'm searching for my husband and daughter. My daughter's about yay taller than me, brown hair, she's a pretty thing. My husband's a burly man, wears glasses, my daughter has his hair…"

"Mom!" Taryn launched herself out of Christoph's grip and ran towards the woman.

Bethan wore the same shawl she left the bakery with. Her hair had been the same blonde as Christoph's hair once, its luster lost within the last decade and was now peppered with grey strands. "Mom!" Taryn repeated, the force of her body nearly knocked Bethan off her feet the moment Taryn's arms enveloped her.

She could feel the shutter wreck through Bethan's body as her arms snaked around Taryn. Bethan was saying something that Taryn could barely make out, but decided it was along the line of, "Thank god, thank god, thank god…"

Parting, Bethan held Taryn's face in her hand and alternated between the appendages to move Taryn's bangs out of her eyes. "I-I was out when it happened," Taryn said, sniffing on new tears. "I wasn't… I wasn't able to get back to the… to the bakery. So I don't… I don't know…"

"Shh, shh. We'll find him soon enough with your brother's help."

After Taryn calmed down she had her reunion with Christoph, commenting on how she had to remind herself that her eldest was a man of twenty-five and a head taller than her. The times Christoph came home after joining the Survey Corps could be counted on two hands.

Bethan explained how she was about to head home when she could have sworn the ground was shaking. Then she found out that travel through the Wall was suddenly prohibited. People argued, of course, they did. It wasn't until the Garrison started to evacuate the area that she started to hear whispers that the Titans had broken through the south gate.

The three of them continued to ask around until nightfall and the curfew was in effect. Christoph was left with little choice but to return to the Survey Corps HQ with nothing more or less than the promise to ask around. But a thought crawled into Taryn's head as Bethan said her goodbyes to Christoph. They got confirmation that Bethan was alive and looking for Taryn before they found her. And she evacuated the next town over. Shouldn't someone have at least mentioned seeing Garit?

Mercifully, though they're technically was a curfew, the Garrison was being a little lenient, letting families find a place to bunk together after they found each other. The issue was finding a shelter that had room for two people. So, Bethan and Taryn wandered around the storage sheds, with a bedroll in their arms, looking for anywhere that could take them.

"Taryn!" someone called.

Instinctively, her head turned to find Lorelei, her head poking out of one of the shades. With one hand bunching her skirt, the woman ran to the pair. She took Taryn's hands into her own as soon as she was able to. "There's room with us." Lorelei's haze traveled to Bethan. "For both of you."

Bethan's shoulders dropped in relief. "Thank you, miss,..."

"Lorelei."

She led the Ende's inside the shed, to a corner where a man with the same feathery black hair as Lorelei and Jakob, sat with a woman with dark brown hair. A girl, fourteen, maybe a generous sixteen, sat with Jakob in her lap as they played a game with thread laced between their fingers.

"This is the girl I mentioned," Lorelei said, introducing Taryn to the group. "The one who got Jakob to safety."

At the mention of his name, Jakob looked up. His eyes brightened to see Taryn again, he ran up to her, his arms wrapping around her middle as though they had known each other far longer and under better circumstances. It didn't stop Taryn from putting an arm around the boy in return.

"And this is her mother..." Voice trailing, Lorelei glanced at the older woman.

"Bethan."

"And this is my brother and his family." Lorelei gestured to each person as she introduced them. "Tobias Albin, his wife Emillie, and their daughter, Anja."

Tobias gestured to Bethan and Taryn. "You're from the bakery, right?"

"Yes, my husband's family business. You wouldn't have happened to see him, would you?"

The adults delved into a discussion soon after, comparing notes with each other. Meanwhile, Taryn observed Anja and Jakob playing one of the many hand games one learned in the schoolyard. It would appear that Taryn was left in an awkward position of being too young to be considered an adult by the other adults and being too old to be one of the kids.

Taryn pulled the cork off the bottle and glanced at the shop door briefly. Neither Garit nor Bethan ever particularly liked it when Taryn used alcohol in her baking endeavors. The cost would pile up if she grew too used to using alcohol in the product. But a little whiskey would help the flavors in the rosemary for her pound cake.

After a few teaspoons worth of whiskey recorked the bottle and mixed it into the batter until it was smooth again. She'd steal a moment to put the bottle back in the attic after she got the cake in the oven. Taryn was buttering up the cake pan when the door to the store opened. "I smell whiskey," Garit said immediately.

"Did someone from the Garrison stop by?" Taryn asked innocently. She couldn't bring herself to turn around as she poured the cake batter into the pan.

"Well, the whiskey bottle you're trying to hide tipped me off."

With the pan in her hands, Taryn whirled towards the door. "This is going to be worth it, though! Honey pairs well with rosemary and whiskey. So… Combined the three flavors!"

"Whiskey gets pricy and I suspect you're not planning on selling that."

Taryn's shoulder dropped, and she half turned away from Garit. Yeah, there wasn't much of a point in focusing on this cake too much if they were going to be stingy about alcohol. And if she didn't plan on selling the creation, it was a bit wasteful of materials.

She couldn't help but pout her lips. After a few heartbeats, Garit released a staged sigh. "Put it in the hearth. Just don't draw attention to it with your mom."

Taryn flashed Garit a quick smile. She bounced to the hearth and slid the cake pan in.

'Oh, wait, I should have something on my hands…'

Taryn flashed Garit a quick smile. She made sure her sleeves were rolled up enough and proceeded to wrap her hands in a couple of towels. Heading over to the hearth, there was a bounce in Taryn's step until she slid the cake pan in.

"Alright," Garit placed a hand on his waist. "Why don't you man the store for a bit."

"Sure!"

She hung up her apron, washed her hands, and headed into the shop. As soon as Taryn stepped into the store she was hit with the scent of bread and icing, from their displays. Organized by bread, cakes, cookies, and assorted pastries. Behind the counter, Taryn stretched her arms until she felt a satisfying pop on her shoulders. Manning the store wasn't her favorite part of the family business, but someone needed to do it while Bethan was out.

With a chin in her palm, Taryn leaned forward on the counter. It didn't take too long before Taryn found herself fighting against sleep.

'And someone comes in right about…'

She heard the creak of the door opening. Her eyes fluttered open.

The door slammed open. A Titan just barely taller than Garit came hurtling in. Stocky legs, no neck, red-brown hair, and a droll expression with its gaping maw hanging open, headed straight for Taryn behind the counter. It knocked over the displays without a second thought.

Taryn, legs refusing to move, fell back, her shoulders hitting the wall, keeping her up. The Titan arrived at the counter, struggling to get its short legs over it. It leaned forward, its jaw clenching and opening, inching closer to Taryn with each round.

Slowly, Taryn's legs slid out from under her, causing her to sink to the floor. From her sitting position, all she could do was look up as the Titan slowly came to realize she wasn't there anymore. A moment passed when she wondered if it would give up and find its way back out of the shop. But instead, it looked down at her. It looked as though it were grinning, teeth revealed, as its lips disappeared into its skin.

The Titan's skin slowly faded away, exposing the muscle tissue underneath. Its hair fell out of its head, exposing even more muscle. Without the skin and fat, its mouth looked like it was giving Taryn a perpetual, sinister grin.

A tiny squeak escaped Taryn's throat. She looked up at the Titan, with sweat forming upon her brow. She could hear the blood rushing in her ears, blocking out the pumping of her heart. Maybe if she stayed still, it wouldn't do anything…

The Titan's mouth opened as the weight of its head caused it to overbalance.

CRACK!

Taryn opened her eyes, her lungs sucked in as much air as they could. She could hear two things; the pitter-patter of rain hitting the tavern roof… and screaming. Bethan sat up before Taryn had the chance. Lorelei had a trembling Jakob in her arms. But he wasn't the only one who was having a bad night's sleep.

A man on the other side of the tavern had crawled back to the wall, his head turning in each direction. He was breathing so heavily even Taryn could hear him from where she was.

CRACK!

Taryn's heart leaped into her throat, her head turned towards the nearest window. Lightning had lit up the tavern in white light. Her pulse started racing, as she looked out the windows, half expecting to see a giant face looking through them.

"It's just a storm, Johan! Johan!"

Taryn turned her attention back to the man to see him clawing at the door, shouting garbled words as two others tried to get him to calm down. When one of his friends placed a hand on his shoulder, the man screamed even louder. His arms started swinging, batting away anyone who came too close.

Eventually, several men enclosed Johan in a circle amongst themselves, keeping him confined until he wore himself out. It took another three cracks of lightning for Johan to tire out and collapse into a whimpering pile.

An awkward tension hung over them as Johan's friends helped him back onto his bedroll. Anyone who was still in deep sleep would likely sleep through the end of the world. But for everyone else, it was difficult not to stare at the spectacle. Especially when that spectacle woke them up.

The silence, however, meant that Taryn had lost her distraction from the thunder and lightning. With the rumbling thunder, she half-expected massive debris to suddenly crush them all. With a flash of lightning, she was back in Shiganshina, moments before life changed forever.

She didn't know when, or if, she fell back to sleep. Either way, she did not feel rested.

Authors Note: I gotta bad feeling about Dad Ende.