Coming for your heart

Chapter 43

Eren POV

"Armin is where?"

"He got arrested after you disappeared. I..."

"Why didn't you stop them?", he yelled but his knees gave out under him just when he was about to stand up again. Mikasa supported him with an arm around his waist and helped him lean on a tree.

"Careful, Eren.", she whispered, her eyes wandering around the woods. "You are still not strong enough to walk. We will have to spend the night here."

"No! Armin is in danger! We have to help him!"

"Eren, be reasonable. I'm begging you."

"You don't know how it's like down there, Kasa...", he mumbled. "We can't leave him there. The guards won't do him any favors. He is just another servant in their eyes. And who knows what they will get out of him."

"Armin won't tell them anything.", Mikasa said firmly and lifted her chin with her hands against her waist. "He would never betray you like that."

"He wouldn't do it if this were about what he would do willingly. But they won't give him the choice.", he snarled. "They want him to be guilty."

The wind ran through the leaves above their heads, the soft rustling in the night like the familiar whispers Eren remembered from back then.

He opened his eyes just enough to see the milky moonlight dancing over the branches, bathing them in eerie light. Eren inhaled deeply, the worry about his best friend weighing on his heart.

Mikasa knelt down next to him, her fists resting in her lap. She was watching him. Waiting for him to get back his energy.

Everything was quiet and peaceful and not a single thought of war crossed his mind when a crack next to them echoed through their surroundings.

Mikasa was on her feet before Eren could even crack an eye open.

"Who is there?", she yelled with a stance that told every assailant that she was ready to fight, her arms not raised but tense and her head held high to face whoever was spying on them. "Show yourself!"

"Gee, come down, black fury.", a voice hissed and Hitch stepped out of the shadows, her wavy hair framing her face. "It's me."

Mikasa didn't make a sound. Eren knew that she was too worried about him to forget her primary fighting instincts and so he sat up a bit and grasped her hand, soft but with a firm edge. They needn't look at each other to know what Eren was trying to tell her.

"We didn't expect you back so soon."

"And I didn't expect the only Prince of Eldia to be stupid enough to turn up at this childish festival."

Eren smirked tiredly and put an arm behind his head, supporting himself on the trunk behind his back again.

"Childish, huh? What do you have for us, Hitch?"

The girl snorted and took a step closer to them. Her weary gaze grazed the trees, those playful eyes ready to face any opponent. She was aware of the crime she was committing, even if Eren had been declared an enemy of Eldia. He was still a prince, still the official opponent Marley's.

She pulled something out of the leathery belt around her waist.

A letter.

The soft, crème-like color reflected the moonlight and Eren caught Hitch's hesitation to give Mikasa the piece of paper but in the end his sister held it in her hands, her eyes narrowed and the other hand balled to a fist.