Caught Between Worlds (Eren x Reader)

Chapter Nine

A few weeks pass while sifting through these old pages of fairytale books. Continuously, the same old thing keeps popping up but just in different words. Looking over at Armin, he keeps a better pace than I do. He leaves two neat stacks of books he's finished on the side of the table. A tiny pile for the books that mention Celestials, and a massive pile that doesn't mention them at all.

With a soft sigh, I close my book and place it in the big pile of nothingness. Due to the limited amount of resources within the walls, there's hardly any information we can gather. Hange does her best to scour the old archives for more information but she's always left with nothing.

"There's nothing." I mumble while running stressed fingers through my locks of hair. "Absolutely nothing more on Celestials. I'm at a complete loss. It's been a month and we've gotten nowhere."

Despite my distress, Armin keeps his optimistic tone. "That's not true. Even if these books aren't of much help, you've learned so much more about what you are."

With a soft huff, I look away and down at the ground. "Yeah. A weapon."

Armin leaves me in a quick moment of silence. "You know we would never do something like that to you." He says in a pained whisper.

"Even so, your people want to use me in some way. Otherwise, they wouldn't have taken me in when I crashed down here all those years ago. And it's only a matter of time until the government finds out about me, if they haven't already."

Armin sighs before he answers. "You're our comrade, a friend. You're in hiding with Eren and Historia to keep you safe. We would never exploit you." Looking into his cerulean eyes, a bit of anger stirs in them.

"I'm sorry..." I subconsciously rub my arm with guilt. "I didn't mean to be so accusing."

"It's okay."

Glancing out the window, the sun illuminates a beautiful pair of emerald eyes. Dressed in his green cloak, he walks back towards the house with Hange, Levi, and Mikasa. He looks utterly exhausted from the excessive training. A soft, sorrowful sigh escapes me as I watch Mikasa walk with him with her hand on his back.

Since they're back from training, Armin and I decide to take a break. Hange greets us loudly as she enters the cabin. "Hey guys! How's it going!? Any progress!?"

Armin answers. "Unfortunately, no."

Eren walks in with Mikasa. His eyes meet mine for a split second before he walks off to the back room. I bring my attention back to Armin and Hange who continue to converse about our findings.

Hange sighs. "Well, that is quite troubling. It seems all of the knowledge lies with Reiner and Bertholdt. Maybe we can just go and ask them."

Ignoring her remark, I question our next move. "What do we do now? There's not much more we can do at this point."

"Oh, cheer up!" She continues to hold her joyful mood. She gives me a slap on the back, the hit a bit too hard for comfort. "We'll think of something." With a wave, she leaves the building. Despite her joyful attitude, I still can't overcome my discouragement.

Day shifts to night.

Lying in bed, I stare up at the ceiling. Heavy moonlight peeks in through the closed curtains of the bedroom. A soft wind brushes against the loose, rattling window pane. Glancing over to my right, Mikasa sleeps soundly on the other end of my bed. Sasha and Historia sleep on the floor.

Hiding deep within the mountain forest doesn't seem to be very progressive. Despite Eren's rigorous training he does everyday, I can't help but wonder what is next. No progress has been made on my end nor his. Reiner and Bertholdt clearly aren't dead. And even if they are, it's like what Ymir said. Getting rid of those two won't stop the titan scourge.