I do not own Attack on Titan, all rights belong to Hajime Isayama.

Paradis Island; Shiganshina; 850 (A Few Days The Eldians of Liberio Were Relocated to Paradis)

"Are you sure you don't want us to go with you, your majesty?" a member of the Military Police asks Historia as she watches Reiner work from afar.

"We can handle it," says Ymir.

"No, I can handle it," Historia says.

"What?" Ymir asks. "Not me? I'm your bodyguard."

"This is something I need to do, alone."

"Ugh, fine. Be careful," Ymir says, shooting a death glare in Reiners direction.

"I'll be fine," Historia says, reassuringly.

Historia walks toward Reiner. She approaches the former warrior and clears her throat to get his attention.

"Hello, Reiner."

Reiner stops working and turns around. He gives her a small bow.

"Your majesty."

"Don't, please there's no need for that, Reiner," Historia says. "I wanted to ask how things have been with your mom."

"She hates you, hates this place, and is disappointed with me," Reiner says sadly.

"I'm sorry," says Historia. "Did you tell her about-"

"No, just Marcel's truth," says Reiner. "I just can't, not right now."

History's places a hand on his arm.

"Take your time," she says gently. "I knew that bringing your hometown here wasn't going to be easy, but I'm trying to make them as comfortable as I can."

"My mother and Porco, they are still loyal to Marley," Reiner says. "The fact that you're guard is the Titan that ate his brother doesn't help." Reiner says, looking briefly at Ymir who gives him the middle finger. "My mother is a different case. She's hated this island her whole life. Been convinced that you are the cause of all her suffering and once you're gone Marley would accept the rest of us. She's not even giving the people here a chance."

"Yeah," Historia says. "Annie said we should look out for her and Porco. I told the Garrisons to keep tabs on them," says Historia.

"Just promise me that if they do something they won't die," Reiner pleads.

"As long as she doesn't kill someone I think I can arrange that."

"Thank you," Reiner sighs.

Paradis Island 851 (Summer; Several Months After Liberian-Eldians Arrival In Paradis. One Month After Marleyans Arrival in Paradis)

Wall Maria; New Braun Family Residence

"My fellow true Eldians!-" Karina says, standing before a large group of non-Paradisian Eldians.

Some are regular Liberian citizens, others are refugees that Paradis has taken in from other countries (specifically countries that didn't want them). She and Porco had spent the past few days dropping invitations on their doorsteps requesting that they meet her new home (which is arguably bigger and nicer than their previous residence) for an "important announcement".

"-After one hundred years of striving to earn redemption for our ancestors' sins, the perfect opportunity to do so has been given to us. By none other than the Devils themselves. Now that we are here on Paradis, the Founder is within our grasp. If we work together, we can take down this cursed island and end 2,000 years of Titan slaughter! We can raze this island to the ground and arrive back in Marley just in time to help them win their war. Then we will finally have proven that the only Eldian left in the world are the Good Eldian Society. Who will join me!?"

Karina expected every single person to cheer in applause and join her against the Devil Queen. However, she was dismayed when not a single person did.

"Why would we do that?" asks a man beside his wife.

"What?" Karina asks. "Didn't you hear what I just said? We can redeem ourselves too-"

"Ms. Braun, me and my wife lived in Tyskland before we were transferred to Marley," he says. "I admit things were better in Marley, but they still hated us. I only enlisted by boy, Udo, so we could get a more comfortable life but the Paradisians have given us a much better place to live than Marley ever would have."

"How can you say that?" Karina asks. "We're practically prisoners?"

"We're far less of a prisoner here than we were in Liberio. At worst, were not allowed in Wall Sina, were treated more-or-less the same as everyone else and were allowed to leave the island. Atleast our descendants born here won't be stigmatized."

"Yeah," says Mr. Grice. "My sons had to enlist as warriors to keep the rest of our family from being turned into Titans since my brother was a traitor. But generational punishment isn't a law here and little Falco's made a lot of new friends at school. My brother isn't even one of the Titans that got turned back, apparently the Marleyans fed him to his own friends once they got here."

"Yeah," says another woman. "I was as scared as anyone when I thought they were devils and we were being sent to her. But what's the worst thing she's done? Coerce Marley into giving our people human rights? Take us to a place where we can live freely? They are negotiating with other nations right now for the same thing. And you want to take them out just to please the people who hate us? I say more power to them!"

Karina stutters, she is completely baffled.

"What is wrong with you people!?" Karina asks. "This is our chance at redemption!"

"Let me stop you right there," a woman says, stepping forward. "I am also from another country. And I also, to my shame, enrolled my little girl Zofia in the warrior program too. But do you know why they hate us everywhere else?"

"Because we're spawn of the devil," Karina says. "Because our ancestors did terrible things when they were part of the Eldian empire and it shoulder's onto us to redeem them. Because these filthy island devils have been giving us a bad name for the last hundred years by threatening the world."

"No! It's because we're Subjects of Ymir, a race that can be turned into Titans! Literally NO ONE else uses our ancestors as an excuse, Karina. Only Marley. My guess, so people like you do whatever they say."

"I agree," says a man reluctantly. "I was a soldier. I fought for Marley. They put us on the front lines and made us do all their work for them. They said that in doing so I was redeeming the shame of being spawn of the devil. But even after I lost my arm they still treat us like crap. They don't even mention our efforts in the papers. Marley uses us for cheap labor and to fight for them but they don't appreciate it. And the ones that aren't in the military are oblivious to that and want us dead."

Virtually every other corner soldier in the room voiced their agreement.

"The so-called-devils gave me back my arm and healed my mind," the soldier says. "I won't betray them."

"And if anything else, Karina, I think Marley has done more to give a bad name for Eldians than Paradis has," says Zofia's mother. "It wasn't just Marley that Elsa ruled it was everywhere. Every time you fight for Marley to "redeem" yourselves you're just causing more pain by Eldian hands elsewhere."

"Yeah!" shouts a man. "I'm a refugee from another country too. One the Paradisians took in a month ago. I used to hate both this island and Marley. Now, I only hate Marley. Do you have any idea how many soldiers have died at the hands of Marley's Titans? How many have come back broken and traumatized. Things get worse for the rest of us every time Marley wins a war. You say that Marley teaches you to hate yourselves for conquering nations and using Titans? For thinking they're better than other races? Look in the mirror! They call Marley the New Eldia!"

"That's…actually what the Attack Titan told me before," Karina admits.

"Well he's right. I'm out of here."

The soldier promptly takes his leave along with several others. One woman, who is still wearing his gray armband, raises his hand.

"Braun, I would just like to state that not everyone here is an idiot," she says, to Karina's pleasure. "There's no way a devil can be as nice as the Queen seems. She must be up to something."

"Yes! Exactly!" Karina says.

"The devil guards were giving me a hard time the other day," says another man, who also has an armband. "Called me a race traitor and that Marley sucks."

"These Devils really think they can just show up after a hundred years of suffering and act like we're the same now? No," says an old man spitefully.

"Yes!" Karina says excitedly.

'Finally, I'm talking to reasonable people.'

"Karina," says Mr. Finger. "I don't disagree with some of the things you've all said, and I would rather not trust the fate of Eldians in the hands of the remnants of the empire. However, they removed the Curse of Ymir from my girl and they healed me. For both I am grateful. But they are still keeping my Pieck a prisoner. I would willingly join you in anything to free her. But I have an important question. Do you have a plan?"

"I have…an idea. Which if we put our brains together can form a solid plan."

"Yeah, good luck with that," says Udo's father. "I'm leaving. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about this."

Most of the other Eldians voice agreement and follow him out of the shop. Karina watches them all leave with a feeling of betrayal. When they are gone Karina sees that there are only seven people left, including Mr. Finger. That's six more people apart from her brother, sister-in-law, niece, nephew, Porco, Mr. Gilliard, Mrs. Gilliard, and Mr. Hoover. It's not much, but it's something. Mr. Finger separates himself from the other six.

"Like I said, you need a plan before I can give you my full support."

"We'll tell our families," says one of the remaining men.

"And look for more recruits," says a woman. "There's gotta be traitors on this island we can use."

Karina smiles.

'Paradis, Island Devils, your day of remaining is at hand. We will build a better world once you're all gone.'

Paradis Island; 851

It is another day at the docks of Paradis Island. It is lunchtime and, as usual, Niccolo is chatting it up with Sasha as she enjoys one of his meals. The current topic is the annual big baseball event in Albion, which is now heard on Paradisian radio.

"So, did you hear the game last night?" Sasha asks.

"Yeah, the guards let us listen on it," says Niccolo. "It was so close."

"The team I rooted for lost," Sasha pouts. "I lost twenty to Connie."

Niccolo laughs.

"You know, since we're getting so many people from other countries there are a lot of new restaurants opening," Sasha says.

"Oh, are you here to tell me you found somewhere better to eat?" Niccolo asks, half-jokingly half worried.

"Actually, I was talking to Levi about you being relocated to work at one of them," Sasha says. "If you want. Just to get you away from the hard labor. I can put in word for you as a chef."

"Oh, um, thank you Sasha but I don't have any actual qualifications," Niccolo says. "I've never been to culinary school."

"Oh, right…" Sasha says.

"Besides, I think I should stay here with my own." Niccolo glances at one of the Paradisian guards, Samuel, who is watching him. "Besides, not everyone here is as friendly as you."

"Fair enough," Sasha says, then she takes a bite out of his chicken. "Mmm! So good!

The two are watched from afar by Griez and Koch, as they work on the sides unloading materials.

"Have you heard him ask one thing about the government or Queen?" Griez asks his captain.

"Not without being promoted first," says Captain Koch. "Ever since that first day, he's been so…casual with her."

"Casual?" Griez faux-questions. "He's practically in love with her. He denies it when I ask for one excuse or another but he talks about that potato-grubbing devil girl every night!"

"Every night?"

"I share a bunk with him. EVERY night."

The Night Before

Niccolo lays in his bed with Griez in his bed above him. Niccolo has a smile on his face as he doodles a picture of Sasha's while Griez is frustrated and annoyed

"Do you wanna hear something crazy?" Niccolo asks. "Sasha once killed a Colossal Boar, that's a boar on this island bigger than a person, with just a bow and arrow?"

"No kidding?" Griez says unenthusiastically.

"She was in a cooking competition with Jean," Niccolo says. "She said that the atoll lost to an inlet though. But the judge said that was just because she didn't include vegetables, just the steak. Funny, she offered to catch one again to show me how it tastes and then we could see if it can be tastier. I said no. Since she mentioned she almost died so no, you know?"

"Yeah…I get it."

Niccolo chuckles.

"You know back home my mother always told me to find a classy girl of good standing. I mean I know I'm a little too old for Sasha, plus there's the Eldian thing, but…"

"She's an Eldian, Niccolo. She's an islander and she's holding us hostage."

"Right, right, I know that."

There is silence for a moment.

"She mentions she likes potatoes. Do you think I should try steamed or baked next time she comes over?"

Griez muffles his screams with a pillow.

"Good news is that she seems to like him too," Captain Koch says, glaring at Sasha as her eyes drift to Niccolo as he reaches for something on the floor. "I think we can reign Niccolo in but use their connection to our advantage."

"Psst!"

Griez and Koch turn to the bushes and they see a little girl peeking through. She has medium-length dark brown hair and wide brown eyes. She cannot be older than nine and she is wearing a yellow armband.

"An Eldian kid?" Griez says/asks.

"It's ok, I'm not a Devil, I'm from Liberio," the girl says, showing them her arm band. "My name is Gabi Braun," the little girl says. "I was considered a candidate for the Armored Titan before the devils stole us away from Marley."

"Braun?" Griez questions.

"Are you Reiner Braun's little sister?" asks Captain Koch.

Gabi frowns at the mention of her cousin. According to her aunt, Reiner has become a traitor who

refuses to help them fight against the devils who have ruined Marley and done nothing but make all true Eldians suffer. And if that wasn't enough he is a failure who didn't earn the Armored Titan in the first place. That's why the Warriors lost, why the rest are too scared to fight back, why they are in Paradis now, and why the world has turned upside down.

"I'm not Reiner," Gabi says. "I'm going to be better than him, you'll see. Me and the rest of us Good Eldians who have stayed loyal to Marley are working on a plan to steal the Founding Titan from the Devils. Just hang tight until we can, then we can all go home."

"Steal the Founder, huh?" Captain Koch asks. "What exactly is the plan for that."

"That…is still a work in progress," says Gabi. "The Devils won't let any Marleyan-Eldians into Wall Sina where the Founder and Queen are and the perimeter of the wall is heavily guarded. They won't let us into the military either."

"But I assume you have more free range than us," Captain Koch says. "Hmm, if your going to have any chance of getting into the Wall and facing the Prime Minister your going to need a Titan. Tell your parents or whoever that three shifters, the Armor, Beast, and Female frequently visit this area."

"That's great!" Gabi shouts. "Yes! We can ambush them and take their spinal fluid for the cause."

"Not yet," says Koch. "The place is crawling with Devil soldiers. I'm having one of them press the Female Titan for information."

"Good, have him find out what the Queen and Smith's defenses are."

"Are you giving us orders, Eldian?" Griez asks, spitefully.

Gabi is caught off guard by his hostility.

"Uh, no just a suggestion."

"We already had him try and ask about the Queen and Founders defenses," Captain Koch says. "She said that it is confidential. Although we do know that the Queen never goes anywhere without the Jaw Titan and whenever she leaves the interior she's accompanied by a troop of soldiers. We don't know the full defenses of the castle. Also, she can take a pseudo-shifter form that is supposed to be tough on her own."

Sasha had revealed this information to Niccolo some time ago during a conversation about their friends. Niccolo mentioned how a friend of his that he knows through his father never leaves his family's mansion without a bodyguard due to his overprotective mother. And that when he was in high school he once dated a clingy girl who insisted on going everywhere with him. Sasha casually mentioned that (along with her receiving her education while in military training and never dating before) Historia often feels cooped up in the interior and with her duties as a Queen. That Ymir, her guard, really likes her so she always goes wherever Historia goes along with extra protection. However, Sasha also stated her belief that Historia can take care of herself due to meddling of the Reiss bloodline with the Founder. However, he regretted that such information only came up during casual conversation. And that Niccolo "made up" for her revealing such information by sharing with her that the Chancellor of Marley is located in Lakua, which is also home to a military base. Niccolo also revealed that the city is heavily guarded and surrounded by a wall that has vehicle trenches and nail beds to keep out invaders. Koch confronted Niccolo about this and he justified that it was necessary to get Sasha to lower her guard.

"But when we first arrived on this island we entered through a train tunnel," Koch tells her. "Try to sneak onboard one of those. The Queen is located in a castle in Mitras so I bet that the Prime Minister is nearby. If you can just take out one then Paradis is a sitting duck."

"Understood," says Gabi. "I'll be back next week to share more information."

"We will try to get as much information on the Prime Minister as we can."

Gabi nods before retreating into the bushes. However, she is discerned when she overhears the two Marleyans lamenting how they need to work on a devil to help them when the devils got them in this mess in the first place.

"So, I guess we need Niccolo to ask Sasha where Smith stays most of the time," says Captain Koch. "If she knows if he has any routine? Does he ever go out and see plays? Who guards him."

"We need to do it discreetly," says Griez. "Let's not let him know about the devil-kid."

"Why not?"

"Because Niccolo has fallen for the devil girl," Griez says with disgust. "He would deny it if you ask but he talks about that damn girl every night!"

"Every night, huh?"

"EVERY night," says Griez. "He's always Sasha this and Sasha that. He won't go along with a plan that could result in her being killed. Which, I'm pretty sure, letting another Eldian drink her spinal fluid will do."

"I see," Koch says. "Well then, we just have to remind Niccolo that she is our enemy. But for now we can just say that we want to know about Smith just so we can make sure the Queen and him aren't planning to meet in secret."

They look over at Niccolo and Sasha who are laughing together. Koch's eyes narrow at the scene.

"And I have a few ideas on how to make Niccolo come to his senses."

Later That Night; Wall Maria

Inside the new Braun residence, Karina Braun and her relatives meet with the members of the Good Eldian society. All of them are wearing the armbands they wore back in Marley.

"Ok, let's go over today's meeting," Karina says to the small group. "First of all, Porco, let's review our notes from last weeks meeting."

"Ok, last week we lost two more members," Porco says spitefully. "Damn fools keep being brainwashed by the island devils."

"They were weak and not truly good Eldians," Karina says. "They became corrupted by the devils and swayed by their false promises. But the rest of us have stayed strong. Here here!"

The group, which aside from the Gilliards and the Brauns was less than twenty people, chanted back in agreement. While half of the original group had left since coming to the island due to enjoying the freedoms they were given. Along with believing their lies for equality, and manipulations about them not being obliged to redeem themselves for anything their ancestors did. But the rest were determined to make the island devils pay for everything they did to them and earn true forgiveness from Marley. And, in Porco's case, make the island (especially Ymir Gottin) pay for killing his brother.

"New recruitments have not been great," Porco adds. "Since it became apparent that at least TWO of the warriors are full-blown traitors, me, Ms. Braun, and our families have been discreetly asking both our fellow Liberian-Eldians and refugees from other countries. The few who claim to still not trust the devils are either too afraid or just want to accept their new lives here. The refugee Eldians hate Marley even more and think the devils are-" Porco gags. "-heroes."

"Thankfully, we still have several unofficial supporters in New Liberio," Karina says. "Likewise, they have sent brave volunteers on our behalf to enter the cities and gain information for us. Porco if you would please."

Porco clears his throat.

"So far the Inner Wall, Sina, is off limits to all non-Paradisians. Because that is where the Queen and Founder are, they are being extra cautious. Likewise, with the exception of Annie Leonhart who became a member of the Military Police while undercover, no non-Paradisian can apply for a high-level position in the military. Although Queen Historia says that any child born on Paradis can, even if their parents were from Marley."

"So shall we start having children to serve as spies?" one member asks.

"Afraid not," says Porco. "Marley is on the losing side of the war. We have already lost our ports to various countries. We need to strike within the decade, hell the next few years or it will be too late."

"It is established that the Queen and the Founder are not one of the same," says Karina. "Ideally we would need one of our own to kidnap and drink Prime Minister Smiths' spinal fluid to attain this but without a Titan of Royal blood or a secure way to get to the Queen that would be useless."

"Option B would be to just kill Smith," says Porco. "Preferably we should give the Founder to Marley but as long as Paradis doesn't have the Founder they can't do the rumbling."

"Although the Founding Titan would be essential for helping our country out of the war," says Karina. "In either case, getting to Smith would be near impossible without a way into the interior."

"We think that the best course of action to start is to gain a shifter power for ourselves," says Porco. "We at first considered going after Eren Jaeger's mother to coerce him into giving his Titan to us but she moved into the interior shortly after we came to Paradis. Also apparently the last person who tried to do that died horribly…"

"However, we do know that three shifters, the Armored, Beast, and Female routinely check in the captive Marleyans," says Karina. "Right now our Marleyan allies are pressing them for information regarding the Founder."

Porch brings out a map of the walls. He points to the four districts surrounding Wall Sina. There are five main entrances to the interior. There are four entrances accessible through the four districts.

"Based on what we learned from the remaining captive Marleyans scattered throughout the island, the entrances are guarded day and night by two guards at each wall and routine patrols along the top of the wall. The guards all have standard ODM equipment, swords, and guns. There is also a tunnel for the transport of goods by train and special passengers that is here." Porco points to the side of the wall. "We know that the Queen lives in the city of Mitras right in the center of the walls which is also accessible by train. If we can sneak onboard one we will be right at the queen's door but what we really need is the Founder."

"The Pseudo-shifters are also a problem," says Karina. "We don't know how many of them are inside the city. Plus we know that the Prime Minister has at least one Ackerman who is devoted to him. Levi, and according to Zeke he's bad news."

"But Pseudo-shifters aren't any good compared to a true shifter," says Porco. "The Military Police also has a serum that gives its members a similar strength to an Ackerman. We need to get at least one Titan for our plan to be somewhat successful."

"If only we had the Warhammer Titan," moans Karina. "But know this. Soon the Founder will be ours. We will save Marley and trample this island flat. Then we will return to the motherland and claim our rightful place as honorary Marleyans as we restore it to its former glory."

The Good Eldians cheer. Gabi tugs on her aunt's dress.

"Aunt Karina. Are you sure that the Marleyans will like us after we do this? Those two I met at the beach weren't very nice to me even when I said I wanted to help."

"We just need to succeed," Karina says, grabbing her niece's shoulders. "Plus I am certain that your cousin's betrayal has trained their trust in us," Karina says bitterly. "But in any case, it is our duty to slaughter the Devils so there will only be good Eldians left in the world."

Gabi nods in understanding.

As this goes on, Pieck Finger has a plan of her own. After she and Zeke arrived on this island a year ago she has had her Titan removed and been stuck doing menial work with some of her other volunteers. Zeke has been relocated to Mitras with his half-brother's family and they talk by mail. Apparently, he is doing well under house arrest with Carla though he is still heavily watched. When Pieck asked why there was a reason that the woman he identified as his mother was a part of the Queen's court Zeke simply wrote back that it was because she was one of the leaders of the restorationists and had information on Marley she provided. This was accepted by Proco when she showed him, but Pieck had known that Zeke was a liar the day she met him. She was always curious why his Beast Titan possessed a power similar to the Founding Titan, and when the Queen let Dina Jaeger (nee Schmidt) into her court she knew for sure why. She would tell Porco when they have a real plan to get shifters and the Founder. For now, she is focused on gathering information. And her informant is approaching.

"Hey Jean," the guard watching her as she picks up trash says to Jean Kirsten as he approaches them for his shift.

"Hey, Marco," Jean says. "Has she been giving you any trouble?"

"No, no," Marco says. "She's been good, as always."

Pieck has been putting on an "obedient and behaved" prisoner routine since she got here. She occasionally made certain poses and flashed a smile at boys to get their attention, though it seemed to irritate the girls. Although one person she was focused on was Jean Kirsten. She saw him eyeing Mikasa longingly the day she came to Paradis. It was clear he had a thing for her, but she was with the other Jaeger instead. She kept an eye on him and noticed that, while he mainly moped over Mikasa, he occasionally glanced at other dark-haired girls. Then, after her father was brought to Paradis and healed of his illness, she walked right up to Jean and told him thank you, with the cutest smile she could muster.

"All right, I'll take it from here," Jean tells Marco. "I'll see you back at base."

Marco walks away, leaving Pieck and Jean alone as the former picks up trash.

"Hello Jean," Pieck says. "Beautiful day, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is," Jean says. "Warm though. Are you drinking enough water?"

"I'm fine," Pieck says.

She has stuck to low-level small talk this whole time. She realized that while Jean was attracted to her, he wasn't an idiot. She knew that if she made outright flirts and asked for sensitive information then he would have realized something was up. So she made herself appear as a friend for him to lean on while he was still hung up over another girl. An attractive friend who meets his tastes. She asked him about Mikasa. How he feels about Eren. Assured him that he would find someone else eventually and his "face doesn't look that much like a horse." She was proud of herself when that got a chuckle out of him.

"How is your father?" Jean asks.

"My dad is doing well," says Pieck. "He's joined a running club."

"Well good for him."

Pieck snorts.

"Not once did I ever think my father would be a runner," she says. "Honestly there are days where I was hoping he would stay alive."

"Yeah, Bertolt said something similar too," Jean says. "And Annie about her dad's leg."

"Ah, Annie," Pieck says. "The one Marleyan-Eldian that you people trust enough to let into the interior." She gives him a coy smile. "I thought that refugees weren't allowed to join the military."

"She joined when we thought that she was Paradisian," Jean says. "And as for trust, well, I don't trust her personally. She's selfish and she admits it. But she does seem to love Armin, I'll give her that. Between him and her dad liking it here I think we can be sure she won't sell us out."

Pieck leans on her pick-up-stick. She lets her shirt collar fall down to show a bit of cleavage and she smiles at him coyly.

"Does that mean I have to date a soldier for you to trust me?"

Jean averts his eyes from her chest to look at her face.

"You are fine…as long as you don't try anything funny," Jean says.

"What about asking questions?" Pieck asks. "Would it be funny if I asked you questions?"

"Depends, what are the questions?"

"Well, how to destroy this island and take down Queen Historia would be one."

"Ha, ha, very funny."

"Reiner said that she was Eren's sister?" Pieck asks. "Same as Mikasa, apparently."

"Well, adopted," Jean says. "His parents took them both in. Historia when the wall fell, Mikasa the year before. Though Mikasa never called him her brother or Mrs. Jaeger her mother. Though to be fair she already had a family before them and she had been in love with him since… the day they met."

"Then it's a good thing you're over her now, right?" Pieck asks.

Jean smiles.

"Yeah, more or less."

"Reiner seems quite fond of Historia," Pieck says. "I asked him if that baby was his but he refused to answer that. You know, rumors are going around about who the baby daddy is. Some think it's Reiner, others think it's Eren, some even think that it was a farmer boy who used to throw rocks at her when she was a kid."

"That's a family secret," Jean says. "Though honestly, I think that the girl is adopted. Historia used to visit Eren back when he was training. And I saw her before we overthrew the king. She was never pregnant. She just showed up after the coupe one day with a baby and said that it was her daughter. No other information."

"So that would mean that Historia is the "only" true Royal on the island," Pieck says.

Jean tenses, realizing that he said too much.

"Oh, I wouldn't know about that," Jean says. "Historia's dad had this mistress before he was overthrown. So it's also possible that the baby is her younger half-sibling."

"That makes more sense," says Pieck. "It would explain how the council is ok with letting a teen mother on the throne."

The truth was that there were still a lot of people in the government who weren't happy about Historia being on the throne. Many of the older remaining nobles, and some in the Parliament, thought that she was too young and inexperienced to be a good ruler. Many tried to undermine her authority but Ymir stood up for her Queen. Many even thought that Historia should have sent a partial rumbling to Marley to weaken the continent before taking it over while disagreeing with her using their limited funds and resources to take in refugees. Jean also knew that, aside from Historia and (likely) her daughter, Zeke and Dina are both royals too. It was a secret kept between Eren, Armin, Mikasa, Carla, Erwin, Levi, Historia, Ymir, and a handful of their closest friends. All of which were sworn to secrecy. That is one of the other reasons that Eren and his extended family moved to the interior. To keep all of the potential royals in one place as a "battery" for the Founder should something happen to Historia. Though Jean knew not to tell anyone this.

"Yeah," Jean says. "Historia is a great Queen. There were a few concerns in the beginning but everyone loves her."

Pieck can tell he is lying. Though a part of her is pleased that he's not the kind of guy to spill everything over a pretty face. It was a good quality but bad for her mission.

"So you're dating Proco, right?" Jean asks.

Pieck's eyes widen.

"What?"

"I've seen the way you two talk whenever he visits," Jean says. "You call him Pock. You two seem quite close."

"If you think we're close then why do you keep agreeing to watch me?"

"Maybe I just like having someone to talk to," Jean says. "Well, I told you a lot about my friends. Probably more than I should have. Tell me about yours. Reiner says that his mom is disappointed in him and still doesn't care much for this island. I take it that the guy whose brother got eaten feels the same way?"

"His name was Marcel," Pieck snaps, then sighs. "Porco looked up to him. Hearing he died left the whole family devastated. He was always hot-headed, but now it's worse."

"Hot-headed huh?" Says Jean. "Reminds me of Eren when we first met."

"I think he was more like you," says Pieck. "Anyways, I used to tease him. I thought he was cute." Pieck realizes what she said and blushes. "But he was always so impulsive and arrogant. He picked on Reiner for being the weakest and he threw a fit when he was chosen over him. He got better after a while, but he was always angry over the rest of us being chosen for Titans over him. It made talking to him pretty hard. Now…"

Pieck thinks of how Porco has changed for the worse since coming to the island. He's always hated this island, but now he's projecting his hatred for Ymir eating his brother into it. Just like how his initial hatred of the island keeps him from accepting that Ymir wasn't in control of herself when she ate Marcel as a pure Titan. Now, Porco constantly rants about how he DEFINITELY should have been chosen as the Armored Titan over Reiner and that he will tell their superiors when they return to Marley. How he keeps ranting about how he's going to get the Founder and flatten this island before devouring Ymir himself. How whenever she tries to talk to him about it he ends up snapping at her.

"…I don't even know him anymore.

Jean pats her shoulder.

"People change," Jean tells her. "Not always for the better. I only entered the military because I wanted to be an MP and live an easy life in the interior. Now look at me. I'm a shifter. If anyone comes knocking on the island's door I'm going to be on the front lines. Though if I had the choice my Titan wouldn't resemble a horse with hands. Eren didn't let me hear the end of it for a month."

Pieck giggles. A genuine blush formed on her cheeks.

'Ok, we're getting into more personal stuff now,' Pieck thinks. 'I will get around to Prime Minister Smith later. I just have to figure out how to work it into a casual conversation.'

Notes:

For more details on how the Liberian-Eldians first came to Paradis, please read my side story "When Liberio Came to Pardis".

Since Dina couldn't call herself a Fritz in Marley, it is my head cannon that she changed her last name to Schmidt (the German equivalent of Smith) to hide her heritage.

So we have Niccolo and Sasha genuinely bonding, but Koch and Griez plan to use him to extract more information. Karina is still as determined to destroy the "Island Devils" as ever but Gabi is starting to doubt Marley's nobility.

Also, don't be too hard on Jean. Pieck came onto him when he was dealing with a broken heart. Jean suspects what she's doing but he's playing along and even trying to get information out of her, for now. But there is a mutual attraction between them especially with Pieck's waning attraction to Porco.

I'm considering doing a prequel to this story, just to outline all the differences between this AU and canon. I will post it when I am done writing the first chapters.

What does everyone want to see in future chapters?