The passing years
Eldians from all over the world began to arrive in Paradise Island over the next few years, those who had decided to seek refuge, of course. While many Paradisians also decided to travel, to learn more about the outside world and to know other cultures and wonders. All of those who were children of Ymir could come and go as they pleased. They could cross the Wall Barrier with no issues, but any other human would die in immediate contact with that otherworldly force field. So the Military Police officers were very diligent about the rules and gave multiple warnings to the coming refugees, but even then some people ended up dying on the titanic Paradisian Gate.
Queen Historia still granted permits from those who couldn't cross the gate, to live in the large fields outside of the Wall and in the large island coast. But only for a select few and after a thorough investigation on the families' backgrounds, political affiliations and their intentions on Paradise Island. It wasn't an easy process and it wasn't a priority for the Eldian Kingdom, as the regions outside of the Wall were reserved for the Military. Especially the coastline, to protect the thriving island from any possible invasions.
The Survey Corps operations to safeguard the island coast were all spearheaded by the Chief Colonel of the Eldian Army: Eren Yeager. Eren had once passionately told his sister that he would never leave the safety of the Wall, but he did so regularly, leading expeditions multiple times a year to check the coastline and make sure the area outside of the Wall Barrier was safe from possible invaders.
He would always take a day to go alone on horseback to the furthest regions of the southwestern bay, on sunrise. Eren had created a personal ritual to check the Lighthouse from afar, perhaps subconsciously hoping to see movement inside. He watched the giant construction from the far distance as the sun rose, upset to see it slowly decaying, after he and his best friend had built it so arduously.
It had been four years since the Titan Mayhem and the crumbling of the previous Walls, and the formation of the sole new one. And Eren would personally go on outside expeditions at least three times a year, and would still carefully follow the many other expeditions that happened without his presence. He wanted to make sure the island was truly safe at all times.
The new Wall hadn't completely eradicated the severe economic and social division of the three main regions of the Kingdom, but it still created many bridges. And it helped to unite the people. The island was thriving economically and it still maintained a moderated contact with the outside world. All the abundance of resources and the Queen's clever diplomacy helped to keep the peace within and outside of the Wall.
Historia took very good care of her people and extra care with international affairs. She made sure to administer the rebuilding of the island carefully, and solemnly honoured the dead. She honoured not only the many martyrs who died that day. But also the living heroes who risked themselves greatly to keep the island, and the world, from being destroyed. Historia ordered many monuments to be built, in and out of the island, in honour and remembrance of those horrifying twenty-nine hours.
The young Queen took her administrative duties very seriously. And she had delegated the island's defence to her equally young husband; who was a very popular figure among most of the Paradisian population. But was still a very controversial figure nonetheless, in and out of the Wall.
Yeager had come back from the latest expedition, arriving with all his might at Mitras, and quickly riding back to his home. He climbed up the stories of the palace, to meet his queen at her more secluded, personal office. He gently kissed her on the cheek and went towards the large, crystal windows. Eren stood by the window very seriously, in clear military fashion.
He watched his children cheerfully playing in the garden down below. They were quite happy and energised, enjoying the breezes of that cold afternoon. Eren stared intently at the twins, thinking about the future. Ezra and Ymir had just turned four years old, only a couple of weeks before. 'Only nine to go,' the father thought.
Eren was tired of constantly worrying about the island. He knew they would never be truly safe until all humans out there had been completely eradicated, so he was counting down the days until his children turned thirteen.
The father knew how powerful his twins would finally become. They would finally be able to reactivate his precious Wall Titan Army, and destroy the humans once and for all. Eren was secretly very joyful with the thought.
"I got another letter from Marley," Queen Historia relayed from her table, breaking her husband's concentration.
Eren turned to her. "What do they want?" he asked.
"You," Historia cleverly replied, looking up at him from all her papers with those big blue eyes.
Eren only gave her a quick look and walked towards the wall, to pull the cord. To remind the servants, and by extension the governess, to bring the children to them. The afternoon was quite cold and the sun was almost setting.
Historia gently laid the letter over the shining wood and leaned back more comfortably on her large chair.
"They still insist you should stand trial for your actions. For the damage, and more importantly: for all the souls you took in your incredibly flashy declaration of war you decided to pull four years ago," she further explained.
"It wasn't 'flashy'," Eren complained about her choice of words as he walked and sat down on the sofa, gentlemanly crossing his legs just like his father would, without even noticing. He leaned back, giving Historia his full attention as she continued to speak.
"Their new military is offering the Warriors as war prisoners to us, in exchange for taking you captive," she explained and Eren raised his eyebrows.
"Are they aware of that?" he questioned.
"Possibly, but we could check," the Queen conceded. "If needed, they could go into hiding, or just move to the island permanently," she suggested.
"They won't," Eren interjected. "We both know that."
"Regardless, they know they'll always have my protection here," Historia maintained. "I should write to Reiner, and make sure they're all okay," she added.
"Better to Pieck or perhaps even Annie," Eren suggested, slightly scratching his hair.
"Why can't I write to Reiner?" Historia playfully challenged him.
"Don't start," Eren warned her with a small smile.
The small doorbell rang and the large office doors were opened by the guards outside. And the children came running cheerfully into the room. Yeager only gave the servants a small look, it was clear that this was a private conversation, so the doors were immediately closed again.
Ezra rushed straight towards his mother's table, running to sit on Historia's lap. He immediately began to play with the statuettes on top of it, and tried to grab some of the papers as his mother hugged him closer to her very lovingly. She sweetly kissed the boy's large cheeks.
Eren watched as Ymir rushed towards the large windows, the small toddler seemed concerned, for it had started to rain. "Don't worry, my angel, your castle won't crumble, it's just a thin rain," he sweetly told her as Ymir's green eyes were fixated on the playground outside.
The father hoped she would come back to sit next to him on the sofa, but the princess just walked towards the warmer spot on the carpet and began to play with some toys near the fireplace. So Eren turned to Historia again.
The Queen continued to make her case as the toddler played on her lap. "I will politely refuse their offer, of course. I have already publicly pardoned all the Warriors so I do not understand what their game is here," she told Yeager.
"Oh good, for a moment I thought you were going to throw me to the wolves," Eren joked.
"Not just yet," Historia joked back, flirtatiously. The Queen was gently organising her documents back into her purple box, so the boy wouldn't ruin them, while he was distracted with a small paperweight.
"Bap!" Ymir called out and Ezra came down smiling from Historia's lap and rushed to play with his sister.
The Queen stood up regally and fixed up her dress. She then walked towards the sofa and laid comfortably with her husband, and Eren soon passed his arm around her shoulders.
"I'll send them a verbose reminder," Historia proceeded as Eren gently caressed her long, blond hairs. "Of how I am very much aware that Annie and Reiner were only teenagers and had been heavily indoctrinated into warfare since childhood. Also that they have no proof of Pieck's involvement in the decimation of Ragako. And even if so, she was raised in the same inhospitable environment as the other two. And I will also remind them that I considered, in my public pardon, both conflicts in Shiganshina as aggravated war scenarios, and they should consider the festival conflict in the same manner," she proceeded cleverly. "And since all of the Shifters were crucial in helping to stop the island's destruction, I have no intention to trial them or persecute them, in any way whatsoever."
Historia slightly raised herself up. "I have issued an official letter of forgiveness over three years ago. I do not understand why they are pestering me now," the young woman complained as she laid on her husband's lap. Historia looked up at the highly decorated ceiling while crossing her arms. She then looked up into Eren's eyes - as he continued to caress her hairs.
"I suppose they will continuously think of ways to get to you," she told him.
Eren looked down at her and sighed reflectively, turning to look at their children again. The twins were cheerfully playing near the fireplace. 'I'll get to them first,' the father thought.
Historia also turned to check on the toddlers. "Gloves on," she immediately reminded Ymir after seeing the four-year-old playing with bare hands.
The toddler mindlessly put her highly decorated gloves back on again, obeying her mother. Ezra looked up from the toys, staring at his sister for a moment. He remembered what had happened the last - and only - time he had held his sister's hand. While Ymir didn't seem to remember. The boy tilted his head for a moment but then continued to play.
Historia looked up again, the young mother then playfully caressed her husband's ears and nose; and then raised herself up once more. Giving him a small and quick kiss on the lips. "I should send Armin a letter," she commented, sitting up and gently laying her head on Eren's shoulder.
"The reason being..?" He asked, mistrustfully.
"I'm considering making him our ambassador officially, what do you think?" Historia asked, as she now played with Eren's hair, looking into his eyes.
Eren thought for a moment, he tilted his head. "Do you think the Marleans know he was the one who destroyed the harbour?" he asked.
Historia stopped playing with his hair. "They definitely do not know that," she soon noted.
Eren only raised his eyebrows, slowly letting out a smug smile, and a small laugh afterwards. But Historia ignored his tone and continued. "I'll invite them here to stay with us for a while. My birthday is coming soon. And Azzy's is right after."
"Yes, he's turning seven," the uncle realised. "Time flew by."
Historia smiled, she gently rested her head on his shoulder again. "Soon those two will be teenagers," the young mother commented as they watched their small twins play.
"Then adults, and they won't care about us," she let out almost comically, then turned to her husband again. "And we will be old," Historia added with a small smile.
Eren looked to the side for a moment and sighed, staring at her again. "Armin won't accept the post," he soon told her. "He won't even accept your invitation to come here."
"Argh," Historia let out annoyedly. She crossed her arms. "You two are ridiculously stubborn. I'll talk to Mikasa then; she agrees with me. We are a family. One family. And things shouldn't be this way," Historia argued.
"So you not only are exchanging letters with Reiner, but with Mikasa as well?" Eren joked.
"Oh, we don't need to write letters, we talk over the telephone," Historia soon informed him.
"Regularly?" Eren asked, raising his eyebrows once more.
"I would say frequently, yes," Historia replied.
"About what?" he inquired.
"None of your business," the Queen sharply told him.
Eren let out a smug smile once again. "Fritzs and Ackermanns. It never stops, does it?" he joked.
"Don't be annoying," Historia complained.
Eren gave her a look, and she knew he wouldn't drop it. "Yes, we talk about you two," she informed. "And about the children, and the island and the world outside," Historia continued. "Come on! She's your sister," she argued.
"She's not my sister," Eren complained, rolling his eyes.
He turned again to see his wife only staring at him with clear admonishment. "Fine, she is my sister," Eren conceded as Historia prepared herself to stand up. "But she still has a much deeper blood connection with you," he reminded the Queen jokingly and she gave him a small slap on his shoulder while standing up.
Historia went over to play with their toddlers, she sat over the carpet with her long dress and cheerfully grabbed Ymir in her lap. Gently caressing the girl's hair and kissing her on the back of the head as Ymir mumbled, trying to explain to her mother what was the play. Ymir was very imaginative and Historia enjoyed her made up scenarios. So the Queen concentrated on the toys the princess was holding up to show her and on everything Ymir had to say. Or better yet, what she could make out from the toddler's mostly unintelligible mumbling. Ymir was only four-years-old after all. But the small girl was quite articulate and very serious about her play.
Eren slid down on the sofa. He looked up to the highly decorated ceiling for a moment then closed his eyes slowly, holding his hands together. The military man was ready for a nap after the endless travels. He was suddenly surprised by all the weight pushing down his stomach and chest. Ezra had rushed to the sofa and had jumped on top of him.
Historia and Ymir both laughed out loud as they watched. Eren opened his eyes in shock. But soon realised it was just his small son, he held the boy and Ezra climbed closer, readying himself to take a nap with his dad. Eren held him very tenderly and they both eventually fell asleep while Historia held Ymir up in her arms.
The Queen walked with her little princess in her arms towards the high windows and they watched the rain and the night fall, together.
-.-
A little over two months passed and there the Queen was: crying on her own, up on that rooftop in the middle of the heavy rain.
"Historia! What are you doing up here?" Eren shouted through the heavy raindrops as he arrived on the roof.
It was the middle of the night and he had woken up to see Historia's side of the bed empty. So he immediately went up to the roof, knowing he would find her there.
Historia had gone up there multiple times over the past few days. She still hoped, in her lost mind, that she would eventually spot her small daughter walking somewhere down in that forest. Just as she had stood there hoping, with her small binoculars, on the day Ymir had disappeared.
"Come on, we need to get you inside, you're gonna get sick," he told her while approaching carefully. Eren slowly began to envelop her in a warmer blanket. Hoping to protect her from the cold rain, and already knowing he would have to take his wife back down to the safety of the palace by force.
Historia immediately fought him off. "Stop treating me like I'm crazy!" she shouted. "I'm not crazy!" the mother turned to face the dark woods. "She's out there, and it's raining. It's freezing and she's out there alone!" she argued desperately.
"She's not there, Historia," Eren told her softly. "We looked, you know, she's not," he continued, trying to hold her again. But Historia only fought him off again. "Stop it!" she warned, hitting him away. "Stop it!"
Historia continued to protest as they were both dropping to the floor. "Fine," Eren conceded, almost angry, but trying his best to understand and take care of her. "Do you want to stay here? Then we'll both stay here," he told her as he held her on the floor, putting the blanket over her, to protect her from the cold rain.
"She's gonna come back to me, she's gonna come back to me, she's gonna come back to me," Historia repeated over and over again, as Eren held her close in that cold and heavy rain.
.
The rain was only getting worse and the small prince eventually woke up with all the thundering noises. Ezra went over to the door of his large room and peeked through it, looking down the corridor. There were three guards outside. Even at such a young age the boy could understand that he would now be guarded for twenty-four hours a day, every day, for the rest of his life, after what had happened so suddenly to his twin sister.
Ezra turned to face the door of Ymir's room, he knew it was empty, and that thought broke the young boy's heart.
.
Azzy was lying very quietly next to his mother. The family was on that ship, now almost arriving back to Hizuru. And he had been absolutely silent throughout the whole trip back home. Azzy only thought about that strange crystal dimension and of how hurt he suddenly was. He remembered being surprised by the amount of pain, and of blood suddenly coming out of him. He remembered how scared the small princess was. He remembered her running, then eventually falling down in that hollow tree. Azzy would never forget her desperate green eyes staring back at him before she fell into obliviousness. Ymir was dead and it was all his fault.
The boy hid himself in his mother's chest and she held him close, caressing his hair gently. Hoping he could eventually recover from this trauma, or at least forget all about it. Mikasa looked up at Armin, clearly worried and the father only sighed. There was nothing they could do. Armin walked to the guardrail, to watch the waves with their small toddler in his arms.
He turned to her, admiring his small girl's innocence. Sunny was distracted, watching the sunrise.
-.-
Eren received a secret letter, a few months after the princess' disappearance and the information in it infuriated the father greatly.
Hange was arriving at her office and was surprised to see Eren standing there, with that jar in hand.
"I'm sorry, Sir, but who gave you authorization to go through my private things?" She immediately asked Yeager.
"Your things?" Eren questioned her back. "I suggest you pack your bags, Commander. I want you out of my island as soon as possible," he told her firmly.
The glass vase on Eren's hand contained the lost princess' afterbirth. The scientist had kept it, preserved it, and had studied thoroughly in those past four years.
Hange gently tilted her head. "Could she regenerate?" the woman bluntly asked. "Before-"
"How dare you?" Yeager bluntly cut her off. "How dare you even take this?" he angrily asked.
"The servants gave it to me that day," Hange soon justified. "They didn't know what to do with it."
"Then as a woman of science you should know well that this is discarded." Eren told her off as he walked past her and towards the office door.
"I suppose you will want to take my research too," Hange noted, before he could leave.
"I have already seen your research," Eren hissed back at her. "There's nothing there that interests me," he declared, holding the jar very carefully.
"So you know that I found nothing out of the ordinary," Hange concluded. "Your daughter was completely normal," she informed him.
"Is." Eren soon corrected her. "She is alive until proven otherwise."
"Yes. I'm sorry, Sir," Hange soon apologised, she could see the pain in Eren's eyes.
Eren looked down at the small vase on his hands for a moment. "If you knew there was nothing out of the ordinary in my daughter's afterbirth then why did you keep it for all these years?" he questioned the scientist.
"Well, I-" Hange was still thinking of an argument when Yeager turned the lights off abruptly and the two of them were suddenly only illuminated by the purplish blue light emitted by the preserved organic matter.
"So you had time to go through all my research while I was gone," Hange concluded as they both stood there in almost complete darkness in that moment.
Eren turned the lights on again, and the small vase ceased to glow. "I assume this was the true reason why the servants felt the need to give this to you instead of just throwing it away," he considered.
"And despite my best efforts, I couldn't find an explanation for the glowing," Hange informed. "There truly is nothing out of the ordinary with this organic tissue."
"Things that are not from this world, cannot be measured by parameters of this world, Mrs. Hange," Yeager declared. "Now I suggest you take your backwards ethics and your researches elsewhere. You are not welcomed in my island anymore."
"What about the boy's afterbirth? What end did it have?" Hange curiously asked, before the father could leave.
Eren turned back to her. "It was obviously discarded, just as this should have been. And none of it is your business," he explained, baffled. But his clear stagger didn't seem to faze Hange's blunt curiosity.
Levi arrived, surprised to see Yeager there.
"Ackermann, please escort the civilian out of the premises," Eren soon ordered.
The Captain only looked at him confused. "You're firing Zoe?" he asked.
"You're free to go too if you desire," Eren soon told him after noticing the look of indignation on Levi's face. He then turned to Hange again. "And I'm sending MPs here for a thorough research," Yeager warned. "I'm not letting you leave the island with any crucial information about this kingdom."
"Look what you have become. I'd say I'm surprised, but I really am not," the Captain told his old pupil, with arms crossed.
Eren turned to him again. "As I said, Mr. Ackermann, you're free to go too if you'd like," Eren reiterated, staring into his old Captain's eyes, he then gestured with his chin towards Hange. "Ask her what she has done," he suggested, then finally left.
Yeager took with him the last piece he had, the last connection to his daughter.
Hange slowly sat down in her office chair, holding her hurting ribs with care in doing so, for they had never healed properly. "I should have left with the others," she let out, "all those years ago."
Levi looked at her, still with arms crossed. "What did you do?" he asked.
-.-
The Reiss-Yeagers went back to their farm, where the twins had been born, over four years before. The grieving parents had decided to bury Ymir's afterbirth in the same spot where Ezra's had been buried, on the day of their birth.
The boy ran across the fields of the orphanage, almost cheerful, but still quite lonely. The toddler wasn't adapting well to life without his twin, and he never would. There would always be that empty spot in his heart, like that empty room in the palace, right in front of his.
He eventually joined his parents again, near that tree. They had dug a smallish grave to place the afterbirth inside, and were now covering it with flowers. Historia looked up amongst her cries. This lustrous tree had been where she had given birth to her second twin, on that hectic day. It was a place of serenity for the Queen, as it had been her mother's favourite spot and it brought her many memories. Both good and bad.
Eren held her and their boy close as they stayed there together in silence. It was a serene morning and a new memory for the grieving family. Eren and Historia then promised each other that they would be buried there, declaring that spot as their own piece of heaven. Their own paradise.
Underneath the earth that piece of organic matter immediately found its long-lost twin. The two amalgamations of old tissue and old blood activated one another, intertwining and uniting; interlacing themselves with the cursed tree roots down below. Completely surrounded by that eerie, purplish energy. It glowed all around them. The Devil was well fed that night.
-.-
Marley - Year 871
"It's all burning! It was all on fire, everything; everything around me, mum, it was all on fire!" the small boy told his mother among his tears. "It was all on fire," he quietly repeated.
Annie held him close. "It was just a nightmare, cookie, nothing more," she told her son soothingly.
Danso looked up at her as she softly dried the tears from his eyes. "But it felt real," he said.
"But it wasn't real, son, it was only a bad dream," Onyankopon told him firmly, but also soothingly. The father was seated further away on the boy's small bed, caressing his legs gently, while Annie held him in her arms. The father was sad to see the boy was still trembling in fear, it made him feel helpless.
The six-year-old was becoming more articulate as he grew older and his nightmares were also becoming more intense. This hadn't been the first time he had woken up in the middle of the night screaming.
Danso was leaning on his mother's chest, clearly very tired, but also very scared to go back to sleep. His parents exchanged a small look. "Let's go back to sleep now, cookie, you need to rest," Annie sweetly suggested to the boy while caressing his arm. But Danso only shook his head, he was too scared to fall asleep again.
"I'll tell you what, if you sleep again, the full night," his mother proposed. "We and Grandpa will take you for ice cream tomorrow morning."
"Ice cream?" the boy asked, more excited now.
"Only if you sleep the rest of the night," his mother maintained, it was a deal.
She stayed a little longer, caressing the boy's head as he slowly drifted into sleep once more. Annie finally confirmed that Danso was in deep sleep again, so she gently kissed his forehead and fixed up his blanket. She then stood up again, to join Onyankopon; who was standing by the bedroom door, also watching over until their boy fell asleep again.
"I'm trying to remember the last time you were this soft with me, probably never," he joked in a whisper as she approached him.
"Do I have to be?" Annie joked back to him. "You are not a child. You are not my child," she said while he uncrossed his arms, to hold her as she leaned on him.
Onyan shrugged. "Still, I like ice cream too, cookie," he jokingly reminded her, and Annie gave him a half-smile.
He held her close, inside his arms as they both watched Danso sleeping again. And Annie leaned her head on his chest. They were both very worried. It hadn't been many months since the parents had realised who their son was. Or rather who he would have been, in a world that now never was.
"I wish I could help him," Onyan quietly let out, "trade places with him so I could take those horrible nightmares away." The father wished.
Annie looked up at him, very sorrowfully. "That day," she began to remind him. "You only disappeared from existence. He died."
Onyankopon held her closer. He sighed. "It is very difficult not to hate Forster, despite everything he did after," the father let out, equally sorrowfully.
"It's very easy to me," Annie coldly expressed, coming out from his arms and walking to the living room.
The parents knew their boy was haunted by a failed existence, in a world that had completely broken apart. Danso saw all that fire and destruction in his dreams, it was that old reality seeping through. Annie only hoped that these nightmares would eventually stop as he grew older, she hated seeing her sweet boy suffering so much. She herself also suffered, ever since she had connected her child to the pilot she had watched die so mercilessly. Annie could see it in his eyes.
The mother knew that deceased version of her son wasn't the same as the one she had birthed. He had come from a different reality, where she herself wasn't exactly the same person either. But all that didn't mean seeing her son die so brutally wouldn't break her spirit. That image stayed engraved in her brain. She would never forget Danso's lifeless eyes. Annie only hoped to never have to see that again in the remainder of her lifetime.
"It's four in the morning," she quietly complained, after looking up at the wall-clock.
"I'm wide awake, how about you?" Onyan asked as she massaged her forehead. "I can't sleep again either," Annie replied, sighing.
"Come on, cookie, I'll make tea," Onyan told her more cheerfully as he walked to the kitchen.
Annie raised her eyebrows, waking up a little more. "Tea it is," she conceded, walking after him.
.
The sun was slowly rising and Leonhart decided to go for a run. She ran across the empty capital streets, very reflective and almost lost. Annie could see from far away that she was approaching the large, main monument in the titanic, central square.
As she drew closer, Annie also noticed the lonely man on the bench, solemnly staring at the Warriors' monument.
"Coming to appreciate your beauty so early in the morning, Braun?" Annie noted to him while approaching and Reiner looked towards her. He leaned back on the bench. "I look like shit in that," he jokingly replied.
"Why are you here?" she stopped and asked, still panting. "Don't you have a thousand kids to take care of?" She maintained the joking tone - still panting.
"And you're about to drop your lungs out," Braun pounced back. "You're getting too old for this Leonhart," he told her between laughs. "You're joining the club!"
Braun was already forty and was constantly joking to Leonhart as she was about to get to that age too.
"It's very cold," Annie justified. "That's why I started running in the first place."
Reiner turned to the monument again, with a smug. "Look at that young girl over there," he joked, about her statue. "Without a care in the world, quite literally."
Annie sat down on the bench next to him. "That girl is cursed," she replied. "I am not, not anymore," she declared, with a very light and genuine expression on her face.
"How is Danso?" Reiner asked, friendly showing his concern. "Is he getting better?"
"No," Annie coldly and sharply replied. "But he's strong, he'll overcome it, I know," she affirmed.
"Do you know what's causing it?" Reiner asked, almost curiously.
Annie only shook her head. "No," she lied. She then turned to the monument again. "Argh, I wish they would remove this hideous thing," Leonhart complained about the large and extremely extravagant thing. "Sometimes I feel like doing it myself."
"The Queen wanted to make a point," Reiner replied. "And the Queen always gets what she wants," he added jokingly. Queen Historia was quite popular, in and out of the Wall.
"Why are you here, Reiner?" Annie insisted. "It's six-thirty. Are you really waiting for the populus to line up for autographs?" she joked.
"Kirstein's lousy humour clearly rubbed off on you," Reiner complained. He sighed, "I came for a walk," the man explained, "to think."
"About what?" Annie asked.
"Life," Reiner let out, sighing, "Heidi is pregnant again," he decided to share.
Annie rolled her eyes. "Seriously?" she began to inquire - and admonish. "Are you building your own country? When are you two going to stop this breeding madness?"
Reiner let out a small smile. "I like the house full," the father divulged. "It makes me happy. I never thought I would ever live this long…" he paused, contemplative. "And it's like you said," he let out and looked at that large monument again.
"That man out there is cursed and I no longer am." Reiner declared. He then looked down, reflective.
"Then why are you like that?" Annie asked, confused, she could see he was conflicted and even a little nervous.
Reiner turned to her again. "There have been rumours that Yeager's boy has been training, transforming and learning how to use his Founding Titan," he told her with clear concern.
Annie rolled her eyes, looking to the side. "Eren is only making all of that up," she quickly countered. "We both know he's not a threat. He's just trying to create fear, don't pay attention, it's not worth it."
"Do you think the curse could be reset? That we could die?" Reiner questioned her in fear. "I don't want to die, Annie. I love Heidi and I love our children," he disclosed passionately.
"That won't happen. It's over," Leonhart replied with certainty, hoping to ease his mind. "You're just freaking out because you're going to be a father again, but quite frankly you should be more than used to the feeling by now," she added jokingly, to lighten his spirit.
Reiner sighed, still nervous. He looked up to the skies. "Do you ever think of going back to Ninua?" he asked his friend.
"Not now, my father is here, and I want to be close to him," Annie divulged. "And Danso loves playing with him…" she paused, thinking about the future. "But once he's gone we will probably move there permanently," she explained, "there will be nothing left here for me."
"What about your friends?" Reiner asked with a small smug.
"What friends?" Annie asked back jokingly while standing up. She gently ruffled his hair and continued running.
.
After going around the empty streets of the still waking up city, Leonhart eventually circled back to her way home.
She passed by her father's shop and waved at him while the old man opened the shop doors. Mr. Leonhart smiled and waved back at his daughter very happily. Annie proceeded down the street and soon saw Onyankopon messing up with his old jeep in front of their house.
"Are you still insisting on getting that back to function?" Annie asked him while opening the small gate.
"Oh, I'm gonna get it to work," he replied with a smile while appearing from underneath the vehicle.
Danso came rushing towards her cheerfully. "Careful, careful," she immediately warned as the boy wanted to climb up to hug her. "Mummy is all sweaty-" Annie paused, "and you are covered in oil," the mother noticed, turning to Onyan.
"He's a good worker," the father immediately replied, smiling as he cleaned his hands with a cloth.
"Come on," he told the boy while gesturing with his chin, reminding him. Onyan turned to Annie again. "He brought it to show us," he explained to her as the boy quickly went inside the house again.
Danso rushed back out with his tiny alarm clock in his hands. He had brought it from his nightstand. "I sleep the full night, mummy!" he told Annie cheerfully.
"Very good," she replied equally cheerfully. "Well done, cookie."
"He remembers," Onyan added.
"Ice cream!" the boy said cheerfully.
"For breakfast?" the father questioned as Annie was holding Danso up. The small boy raised his alarm clock high in the air, feeling the victory. He then looked down to his parents, to wait for their decision.
"We both know Grandpa is gonna give him anyway," she gently whispered to Onyan, and turned to Danso. "Let's just get you showered up first," the mother said.
"Ice cream for breakfast! Ice cream for breakfast!" Danso shouted cheerfully as his mother took him inside.
-.-
Paradise - Year 874
"You are firing me?!" Eren asked his son back angrily.
"I'm extinguishing your post, take that as you will," Ezra calmly replied, looking back down at his fancy office desk, as his father stood right in front of it.
"It means you are firing me." Eren continued in his admonishing tone. "Do you think that's fair? Or even logical?!" Yeager leaned closer to the table. Pressing his finger on top of the shiny wood in pure military fashion. "Your mother's very first act on the throne was to create the orphanages and yours will be throwing your father to the wolves? Is this what you want to be known for?" He asked the young King, gesturing away with his hand.
Ezra looked up from the desk, without feeling the need to stand up. He leaned back on his large chair, nonchalantly. "Don't be so dramatic, Dad," he calmly complained, and sighed; playing with a small stone paperweight, twirling it in his hand.
"Ezra!" Eren exclaimed, still in high admonishment.
"I don't need a babysitter," the King simply replied.
Eren leaned closer to the table again, looking his son in the eyes. "I am not a babysitter. I am the Chief of our entire Army," he gravely informed. "I'm the head of our country's defence!" he let out more passionately.
There was a brief moment of silence and the King then gently put the small stone down again. Ezra leaned closer to his table, looking his father in the eyes as well. "I want to be known for being a strong King, and that won't be able to happen with my father holding my hand every step of the way, will it?" he soothingly but seriously questioned. "I'm sure you can agree with me on that," Ezra added.
Eren calmed down, and became more reflective. "And who will you replace me with?" the father questioned.
"No one," Ezra simply replied, almost shrugging.
"No one?" Eren asked back with raised eyebrows.
"As I said, extinguishing your post. It never even existed before," his son reminded him. "Mother only made it up to make you happy."
Eren crossed his arms. "Will you be rearranging the Army to the way it was more than two decades ago then?" he questioned dubiously.
"No," Ezra simply replied and proceeded to explain. "I will take all your commissions in my charge. Momentarily. And gradually make the changes I see necessary in our defences," he told his father very politically. "I won't be creating any new posts but rather extinguishing the unnecessary ones," he added regally.
"So you will be taking my place," his father realised, slowly letting out a smug smile.
"I'm the King. It's my Army," Ezra told him firmly. "And I'll do with it what I see fit."
"What do you see fit?" his father asked curiously.
Ezra leaned back on his chair again. "If you must know, I plan to extinguish the army all together," the young King divulged. "But I'll have to handle that gradually, over a few decades. The process might not even be done after my death, if I live until my old age, that is," he added jokingly.
Eren looked at his son completely stunned and baffled. "I hope you are only joking, otherwise you must be completely insane," the father complained sincerely.
"We don't need any incentives to start more wars, we only need the police to keep order among our citizens," Ezra immediately argued back. "I have no use for an army. I have no intention to conquer anything and I hope to leave a line of successors with the same mindset," he told his father solemnly and sincerely.
Eren began to pace around the room. The father was absolutely staggered and disappointed. "They are going to destroy us," he began to complain under his breath. "They are going to destroy us, Ezra!" he shouted. "Are you even my son?!"
"Unfortunately," Ezra let out, under his breath.
"Don't joke, boy." Eren admonished him gravely. "This is a serious matter."
Ezra stood up firmly. "Don't call me boy." He replied, completely serious. The young King then stared into his father's eyes once again. "I suggest you go back to the farm, to accompany Mother. I won't have you here in my Palace to create problems," he placidly and strongly advised.
"You will create more problems than you can imagine if you take our defences down!" Eren immediately shouted back at him.
"I never said I'm taking our defences down. I'm taking any possibility of attacking down," Ezra immediately rebuked.
"So is that what you want to be known for? As a weak King?" Eren challenged him back maliciously.
Ezra sat down again calmly, holding his hands together near his face and looking at his father serenely. "War is not beneficial in any way," he placidly said.
"Aren't you obsessed with science and technology? You know well those sectors only thrive during war time," Eren argued back, hoping to hit closer to Ezra's interests.
"That is a complete fallacy," Ezra immediately rebuked. "There are many other ways to stimulate the progress of science and technology. Through competition, through Art, through Culture. The human mind is not supposed to be only wired into warfare. That fallacy about thriving science and technology is just an excuse for savagery," the young King declared. "To let evil come through," he added, standing up again. "And I won't follow that path."
"You want me to be a king of wars?" he questioned his father. "I will not be a king of wars. Of attacks and of conquering," he declared. "This might be what you ever wanted to be, but it is not who I want to be. It is what all my ancestors were, and I won't go back to the past. I'm looking to the future," Ezra told his father, with eyes filled with hope. "I'll be a king of peace, of science and enlightenment," he declared. "That's who I am."
Eren looked at him stunned, he was confused and upset. But not disappointed. He was actually proud to see his young boy had grown up to become so articulate and so sure of his personal beliefs. Although not agreeing with his son, Eren still respected him.
The father looked down, reflective for a moment, then looked up again. "What if no one follows you?" he calmly questioned his son, and rightfully so.
"Then I'll fail, and I'll be proven wrong," Ezra conceded. "It will prove to the Earth that humans are only savages after all," he let out, upset. "Just animals," he added, looking down.
He looked to his father again, still with a small glimmer in his eyes. "But I hope that is not the case, of course. I hope to prove that humans are intelligent after all," Ezra still maintained. "I hope that they can be intelligent."
Eren smiled at him, brokenly. He still thought his son to be very naive, but respected him nonetheless. He then turned to leave.
"Dad," Ezra called him, and he turned again. "If I die in six years," he began to ask, because of Ymir's curse. "Would you make it so to keep all my plans going? I don't want the island to fall into madness." The King gently asked his father.
Eren let out a small laugh. "Even if I wouldn't want to, I'm sure Sonnenblume would keep me in check," he joked back, knowing of his niece's supernatural capabilities.
Ezra let out a small smile back. "Well, I hope it doesn't have to come to that," he replied, slightly threateningly.
-.-
Paradise - October, 31st - Year 877
The Queen of Eldia stared into the stars, reflective and upset. Sonnenblume's heart was filled with longing and sadness. She had turned to the stars to admire them in silence, hoping their beauty would distract her from her sad thoughts. Sunny was standing on the Palace's lavish balcony, the stunning marble features were much more grandiose than the balcony of her childhood home. Regardless, that open spot still reminded of her last encounter with her brother. She missed him greatly.
It was a dark and moonless night, but the stars still shone bright. The Queen had taken that small moment to herself, before going down to socialise with her new family. Sunny stood there in silence, watching the stars. She sighed.
"Your Majesty," Azzy said jokingly, walking in from the dark shadows, to her utter and complete surprise. Sunny was absolutely bewildered, she couldn't believe he was there. This was truly unexpected.
He walked into the light, coming in her direction and she ran into his arms, hugging him very tight. The siblings rejoiced in that reencounter. Azzy was finally home.
Their energies briefly mixed once again in that sweet embrace, forming a swirl of light blues, yellows and greens. Sunny hugged her big brother tightly, she hadn't seen him in ten long years. Apart from that one night, seven years ago, in their childhood home's balcony. All that had felt like a vision to her over the years, and so did this. So she slightly pinched him to check if the time traveller was real.
"Aargh!" Az exclaimed. "Why would you do that?" he complained while massaging his sore arm.
"So you're not dead then?" Sunny cheerfully asked.
"I did die, but I came back," he tried to explain.
"You're taller than me now," the sister complained while looking up at him. As the last image she had of her brother in her head was of a teenager, not of a grown adult.
"Of course I am," Az replied, gloating a little. Looking at his little sister from above.
She swiftly punched him on the arm, "you just had to run away, didn't you?" Sunny complained.
The younger Ackermann was quite fast, and he did not expect a punch from her. "Okay, enough with the unsought violence," the brother warned her, again massaging the same arm. "I forgot you were like that," he mumbled under his breath. They both felt like children again.
Sunny tilted her head sweetly. "Where did you go?" she curiously asked. The sister looked quite naive and clueless which threw her brother completely.
"What?" Azzy asked, bewildered.
She smiled. Sunny crossed her arms, "I want to know all about it," she said.
-.-
"Father, you could at least wait until Sonnen comes down," Ezra complained to his old man at their dinner table. It was his birthday after all and he wished to celebrate it with all of them together.
"Well, I'm hungry. We spent the whole day hunting, son," Eren replied while grabbing his juicy steak. He was eager for the spoils of that long hunt. "I'm sure she'll come down soon," he added.
"Happy birthday, dear," Historia told him while touching his shoulder lovingly and then caressing his chin and holding the side of his face.
The mother smiled, and her boy smiled back at her while leaning his cheek into her palm. Ezra closed his eyes, enjoying the softness of his mother's hand under his face.
Their sweet and private moment was then disturbed by one of the guards walking into the room.
"Carlisle," Ezra noted, "why are you here? I told you all to take the day off, it's my birthday," he reminded the guard. The young King smiled happily.
The soldier bowed and approached Historia solemnly and quietly. "Your Majesty, we believe there is a strange woman roaming the palace. Looking for you, Ma'am." He informed the Queen Mother.
"A woman?" Ezra interjected, confused. And Eren looked up from his steak.
"Yes, Sir. We don't really know how she got in, the Royal Guard is still investigating. The Palace gates have been closed since yesterday. As Your Majesty is not holding any audiences due to your birthday, Sir," Carlisle noted. "No one has come in or out of the Palace walls since Tuesday," he informed the young King.
"Find and arrest her," Eren nonchalantly told the guard. "You can interrogate her tomorrow, it's late at night and we are celebrating," he gave out the orders and went back to eating.
"Arrest her? Dad, it's probably just a beggar," Ezra questioned his father's reasoning.
"I'm not jeopardising your mother's safety," the father replied while firmly pointing at Ezra with his fork.
Historia had been looking intently at the doors during that whole altercation. The woman was contemplative, she had woken up that morning with her heart full of hope. She eventually stood up and left the room, to the surprise of her son and husband. They both stopped arguing and watched her go, confused.
Eren became concerned, he immediately stood up and followed her, leaving the room as well.
Ezra sighed. The young King had once again been left behind by his parents on his birthday. "Happy birthday to me," he quietly joked. He then stood up as well, regally signalling the Royal Guard with his thanks and then walking towards the large doors. Ezra too left the dining room, the young King was secretly curious.
-.-
Ymir had found her way into her mother's favourite drawing room, a place she had spent a lot of time in as a child. The princess had dressed from the occasion, it was her birthday after all. She chose a simple but sweet pink dress and wore her hair in a classic waterfall, the same style of hair she remembered her mother wearing when she was little. She wore neither jewels nor gold, Ymir had decided to take away from her life anything that reminded her of her past greed. She looked simple, but incredibly beautiful, as it was expected.
She passed her hands sweetly through the mantle, admiring the small trinkets and a couple of pictures. She then turned gently to a small wooden table by the fireplace, to see a lovely picture of her and her brother, when they were very, very little. Ymir's heart was flooded with emotion. Not in a thousand lifetimes she would ever have thought that she would one day arrive at her home once again.
"I knew you would come back to me," Historia sweetly told her while appearing at the door, she entered the room. Ymir immediately put the picture down again, absolutely stunned. "Mother?" she quietly asked.
Her mother walked fast in her direction and held her face lovingly. "You look absolutely beautiful, my angel," Historia told her with a smile full of love and hugged her very tight. The mother was absolutely elated to finally see her daughter again. Historia's heart was flooded with happiness to finally confirm that her lost girl was alive and healthy, and now, finally in her arms again.
Historia had recognised Ymir in the moment she had seen her, and so did Eren as he entered the room. It was impossible not to, they were her parents after all.
The father also rushed into the room as he saw them hugging, he was also absolutely elated to see Ymir again. The three of them held each other close in that emotional moment, all with eyes full of happy tears. "Happy birthday, angel," Eren sweetly told her while caressing her hair.
"Ymir..?" Ezra let out, confused and stunned while seeing her being hugged by their parents. Amidst all the commotion and the flooding of emotions, they hadn't really noticed the young King walking into the room as well.
The young man stood there, feeling very confused and lost, and so was his sister. They stared at each other intently for a full second, and Ymir finally fell into her senses again.
"Ezra!" she exclaimed with eyes open wide, her brother smiled at her and they rushed to hug each other.
They hugged each other incredibly tight, both unbelievably happy. The twins didn't even notice it. But that evil energy immediately began to form around them, as soon as they touched.
Historia soon rushed to pull them apart as Eren just stared at his children, calculative.
"What was that?!" both twins asked their parents in unison, absolutely bewildered and scared.
Ezra looked down, opening and closing his hand, feeling that energy fade away. He had never felt that power before, at least not in an age when he could remember it.
Ymir looked confusedly to the side as many thoughts ran fast into her mind. The old goddess was looking for an explanation. She turned rapidly to her brother again. "You are a Titan..?" Ymir asked, concerned and confused.
"Yes, I was born a Shifter," Ezra replied, almost shrugging.
"This is all my fault," Ymir whispered to herself, feeling deeply upset. She shook her head in deep disbelief.
Ezra smiled. "Relax, if worst comes to worst, I still have at least three years." He joked, hoping to ease his sister's mind.
"No, this shouldn't have happened," Ymir let out, shaking her head, still upset and guilty. She hoped the curse had ended that day. The day they were born. So she couldn't fathom why it would still be affecting Ezra, why it was still affecting both of them, actually.
"This is all my fault," Ymir repeated quietly and in disbelief. She thought she had been freed, but she had only cursed her brother instead.
"No, darling," Queen Historia interjected, gently holding her daughter's shoulder. "Don't blame yourself, this goes far beyond yours or our control." She told Ymir with much love, caressing the young woman's shoulder and then also her hair. Ymir looked stunned.
Eren swiftly opened one of the drawers and threw his son a pair of winter gloves. The young man sighed as he put them on. This was an annoying thing to have to worry about, but he still wanted to hug his sister again during this precious reencounter.
"It's going to be okay," Ezra softly told Ymir, approaching her with care.
He made sure to hug her only where the fabrics of his jacket and gloves stopped their skins from making contact, as Ymir was wearing a sleeveless dress. She gently rested her head on his right upper chest, the woman was clearly feeling a little broken.
"The important thing is that you're here now," he continued in his reassurance.
Ymir looked up at her brother, still broken but more cheerful now. "Happy birthday," she wished him.
"Happy birthday," he wished her back. And the twins smiled.
The family continued to talk, all a little broken but also joyously. This was a birthday the twins and their parents would certainly never forget.
Az quickly stopped near those large, half-opened doors, to appreciate that sweet moment. And his sister swiftly pulled him away. "Leave them be," she quietly whispered. "I'm sure the last thing those three want to see now is you."
"Oh, I know. Believe me," Az concurred as he followed his sister through the corridor. "I just came here because of you," he also whispered. "I know Uncle Eren is going to kill me the moment he spots me-"
"Really? I thought it was my job to see the future," Eren coldly interjected and the time traveller stopped in his tracks. Azymondeus turned to see his uncle calmly walking in his direction.
"I'll go get the car. See you at the door," his sister quietly told him and walked away. The young and clever woman knew she needed to leave those two alone.
The time traveller sighed, looking down. He was avoiding his uncle's eyes.
"I told you I would bring her back," he told Eren very timidly, almost sounding like a small boy again. "I did everything to keep my promise to you," he said. Az then looked up again, feeling more confident and ready to face him. "You can kill me now, you have all the right to," he told his uncle earnestly.
Eren crossed his arms, looking at his nephew very seriously. "And break her heart again?" the father questioned. "You've done enough of that," Eren complained ominously. He then let out a light laugh. "Enough to last over three lifetimes," Eren cleverly added, hoping it would sting a little.
There was a moment of deep silence in that long corridor. Az seemed very lost, again avoiding his uncle's eyes. Eren looked back to the drawing room again, eager to go back and hug his daughter once more. He looked back at Az again, sternly and with arms crossed.
"Go see your mother, she must be very eager to know you're alive. There's yet another heart you need to mend," Eren told him, fatherly and sternly.
Azymondeus only nodded, aware his admonishment should be much worse. Eren looked at him more analytically for a moment. "You look like your father," he commented, as he was now properly meeting Azzy as an adult.
Yeager then walked back into the drawing room again, leaving his nephew alone in that long and wide corridor.
Az looked down, very reflective.
-.-
"I thought he was going to cut my head off," Az commented with his sister as they walked through the large pathway near the rose garden. He stopped once he saw the many brand-new cars. "I haven't seen those in a while," he quietly mumbled, a little trepidatious.
"What? Do you prefer horses? It's freezing out here," the sister commented back as they opened the car doors.
Sunny looked to her brother as they entered the vehicle, the young man was still very conflicted. "It's been too long for you," she commented. "You're getting Uncle Eren and Uncle Levi confused," Sunny joked with a small grin, about his decapitation suggestion.
"Still, he has all the right to and you know it," Az countered.
"Nonsense," Sonnenblume let out as she turned the engine on. "Uncle Eren knows it's all her fault. That witch." Sunny sighed annoyedly as she began to drive.
"He was just playing it up because-" she stopped for a moment and thought about it. Sunny tilted her head. "Well, to scare you."
"To scare me?" Az asked, absolutely unconvinced.
"To put you in your place, you know?" his sister tried to explain. "I mean you two are… you know," she added, raising her eyebrows for effect. "And that's his daughter."
"Oh, come on. You and Ezra are married." Azzy complained.
"That's different. They all like me," Sunny pointed out, and let out a small laugh. "They hate you," she told her brother with much humour.
"With good reason," Azzy replied, earnestly. "Also, it's not her fault," he was quick to counter his sister and she only rolled her eyes.
"Argh, Azzy, give me a break," Sunny immediately complained. "Think with your brain for once and not with your-" She looked down at him, and up to his face again. "Your feelings," she humorously said while looking to the road again.
Az became silent. It was difficult for him to admit Ymir could have any fault. It was true, he loved her too much.
His sister turned to him cleverly. "Where do your powers come from?" she questioned, to hammer down her point.
Az looked out of the window, clearly bothered by it all. The time traveller decided to change the topic.
"So you can drive, impressive," he noted, ironically.
"Don't tell me you're already bored, we haven't even left Mitras yet," Sunny complained. "And I'm driving as fast as I can."
"I don't care for speed," her brother soon explained. "I'm more of a, 'slowly and deeply concentrates and pops-in whenever/wherever I need to be' kind of guy."
"No," Sunny simply replied.
"Come on, I grew up in that house. I can get back there, no biggie," Azzy insisted. Already bored to death in that car.
"No way! You were a toddler. What if we end up inside a wall or in some ditch? Or in the Cretaceous Period?" Sunny argued and her brother rolled his eyes, she was exaggerating. "I'm just saying if I see a dinosaur, I'll scream." she insisted, humorously.
"I've never been that far," Az complained back, squinting a little, annoyed.
"There's a first time for everything," she argued back with a small grin.
Azzy scratched his hair and positioned himself better on his seat. He became a little excited with the thought. "I wouldn't mind seeing one of those," he divulged, "if I can pop out of there as fast as I have arrived," he conceded, also with some humour.
"Ezra loves dinosaurs," Sunny told him with a smile. "He's completely obsessed with them. I guess that's something you two can bond over," she commented.
Az only rolled his eyes with the mention of his cousin and now brother-in-law.
He said nothing, for approximately two minutes. Azzy only looked through the window, observing those modern buildings in the darknesses of the night. He turned to her again.
"But are you sure you don't want to Jump with me there?" Azzy insisted once more.
"I'm not Jumping with you. Ever." Sunny maintained, opening up her yellow eyes widely for extra effect.
"All right!" Azzy let out. He then buried himself in the seat. "What am I supposed to do during all this time..?" he mumbled with arms crossed.
"Goodness, you are still a child." Sunny complained. "How about we use this time to talk?" She suggested. "We haven't talked in what? Ten years?!"
Azzy turned to her with a small smile. "What do you want to talk about?" he asked.
"It took me a bit longer than it should to figure this out," she told him while giving him the small, silk pouch over the windshield panel. "Careful, it's very old," she added as Azzy took it from her hand.
Azzy was a little stunned to see that small notebook again, and impressed that it had survived all those centuries.
"The Tyburs did everything to preserve this thing," Sunny told him. "It's soaked in all kinds of concoctions. And I don't think it ever saw sunlight again… after you died," she added, having difficulty uttering the latter.
She turned to him, Azzy was very quiet, she could see through the passing city lights that he was extremely contemplative with that small book in his hand.
Sunny then also took her own notebook from the car panel. It was a much bigger one, containing the detailed translation of everything. She handed it over to her brother, quite proudly. "It was wracking my head. For two years. Until I finally realised it was you. Then it only took me about three weeks to figure out and translate everything," she told him smiling.
"I thought I made it more difficult than that to crack," Azzy complained, humorously.
"Well, I'm your sister, I have a little advantage there," Sunny commented.
"I can't believe you read my-" Azzy was about to say and she humorously interjected. "Your diary?" Sunny asked with a small laugh.
"It's not a diary" Azzy soon argued, slightly offended. "It's a notebook... with very personal notes in it."
"That is called a diary, Azzy," Sunny argued back, still laughing.
Azzy put the small book away, and her notes, he buried himself on the seat once again. "So that's how you know everything," he commented quietly, crossing his arms again.
"All that for a woman…" Sunny let out, turning to him.
"It wasn't just that," Azzy soon countered her.
She let out a small chuckle. "You had a pretty messed up life Zizi," she commented.
He scratched his head. "Yeah, perhaps not mentioning that to mum would be best," he gently asked of her.
Sunny tilted her head. "It's your life," she replied, agreeing with him. Sunny chuckled again. "I don't think she'd be the biggest fan of her new daughter-in-law otherwise," she commented.
Azzy turned to her, still with his arms crossed. "What? You think Ymir is evil?" he questioned his sister with a challenging smile. "Do you want to know true world annihilation? Where I truly come from, Ez-"
He stopped himself. Thinking of how awfully gruesome Sunny's death had once been. He then became deeply thankful, for that version of reality had ceased to exist.
The brother didn't want to continue with his argument, for he had just realised it would be better to leave Sunny in her blessed obliviousness.
But it was too late now.
"Ezra what?" Sunny inquisitively questioned him as they drove on.
Azzy turned away. "Anyone can be a monster if pushed too far," he commented more quietly, and wisely. "You read my story," the brother quietly added, clearly broken.
Sunny became a little more stunned. She was clever enough to understand what he was avoiding telling her. "What changed him?" she asked. "What do you think?"
She could never imagine a reality where Ezra could be evil. Much less to the point of world annihilation.
"Different circumstances," Azzy tried to guess, shrugging. "You tell me," he added. "You are the one who always knows everything."
"What are you talking about? All the stuff I know is what's on your little book there," his sister soon argued.
"Come on. What about all the times we talked?" he questioned. "You always knew everything that was going on, and probably more." Azzy argued.
"We talked?" Sunny asked back. "When?"
"Oh," Azzy realised. "Nevermind," he quietly commented.
"That hasn't happened yet, has it?" she understood.
"Clearly not," Azzy confirmed.
The small car ride became quiet after that, and remained that way for a while.
Azzy sighed. "This is going to take forever." he eventually commented, under his breath. The time traveller was bored once again.
"No, it won't," Sunny soon countered. "We'll be there at sunrise."
"At the Lighthouse? From Mitras? In this little car?" Az doubted.
"Who says we are going by car?" Sunny asked him, smiling.
.
They drove a little longer, to the outskirts of the giant city of Mitras. And eventually arrived at the airfield. The Queen had called ahead, to make sure they would have her favourite plane prepared.
"I guess Hizuru has made great deals with Paradise Island," Azzy jokingly commented while putting a much heavier coat on, for the night was extremely cold.
"We need to see what is economically feasible and beneficial to everyone," Sunny replied as they walked through the giant field, towards the small, but clearly highly technological airship.
"Spoken like a true politician," her brother joked with her, just like they would when they were young.
Sunny nodded. "Yes, just a not fake one," she noted, remembering their conversations.
Azzy looked around, he put his hands on his hips. "Where's the pilot?" the young man asked.
Sunny smiled, she turned to him. "I'm the pilot," the sister relayed.
.
Azzy was very trepidatious as they took flight, but the free-spirited soul soon became joyous once they were up in the air.
"You can actually fly!" he said with wonder in his eyes, looking down to the clouds and the beautiful night view of the region.
"I had to learn on my own," Sunny commented quietly.
"Right..." Azzy noted, looking down reflectively.
"We'll arrive at the Lighthouse in a couple of hours," she told him.
"It will be weird to see it from up here," Azzy commented.
"We are not going to see it from above, we are not even passing close to it," Sunny soon explained.
"Why?" Azzy asked, confused.
"Do you really think it would be a good idea for mum to see an airplane arriving and landing near the Lighthouse?" Sunny questioned him. The young woman looked back to the control panel, filled with sorrow. "It would be very upsetting to her," she added.
"Oh," Azzy let out. "You're right. Not the best idea..." he trailed off, contemplative.
"I suppose she doesn't even know you pilot then," the brother concluded, trying to lighten the mood again.
"She would kill me," Sunny immediately replied and they both laughed.
Azzy looked down, reflective again. He turned to her again. "So, where are you landing this thing?" the brother asked, curiously.
"In the nearest aerodrome, then we will take another car and drive there," she explained solemnly, articulating it quite properly.
"There will be another car waiting for us there?" Azzy asked, and she nodded with a small smile. "I called ahead," Sonnenblume explained.
Her brother was impressed, he slowly let out a smug smile, raising his eyebrows. "The Queen can do whatever she wants," Azzy teased.
"Yes, I can." Sunny confirmed, with a smile full of charm.
-.-
To be continued...