Hometown

Chapter 37 - The World

"I– I'm not so sure I should say..." She grabbed my arm urgently.

"Reiner, you've already told me that there's more to the world that I've ever known. You're from Marley, a place I've only just heard of. We could leave and find planes, cameras, cars, whatever those things are... but why is it only us who has to fight the titans? Why did no one else come and help us all these years? And why were you sent here, anyway Reiner? You always said to trust you, but tell me the truth! Please!" I looked at her and her tears, and felt her tight grip on my arm. I couldn't bare it anymore. Tonight was going to be the night I'd tell her it all anyway, and Annie's capture barely mattered at all compared to everything she was going to hear. And if we truly were to run away, she had to know it all. Everything.

"Alright. I'll tell you." I pushed off my boots, and moved up to the pillows of my bed and laid back. Y/N must've seen how anxious I was to tell her. She took off her own shoes, and scooted next to me, her arm caressing mine as she let her tears dry. "I have to start from the beginning Y/N... just please listen, and promise me that no matter what, you'll still love me..." Her eyes grew sympathetic.

"Just like you, I've tried not to love you. It didn't work. I don't think it'll ever work again." I turned my head to her as she continued to caress my arm. I took my other hand and touched her cheek with the back of my fingers.

"I don't deserve you..."

"You do!" She protested.

"No... I don't." She watched me, awaiting my reasoning, and I began. "Marley is my home country. It's across the sea. The main capital is a beautiful place. The streets are always crowded with people wearing modern clothes far different from the clothes here. Elegant ladies wear dresses with frills and the men wear tailcoats and top-hats. I guess you wouldn't know what those are, but it's far different from anything you've ever seen... The streets are filled with different types of foods from other countries besides Marley, but our specialty in Marley is seafood, something you've never tried because you've never seen the sea..." Y/N's eyes were filled with wonder as she gazed at me in fascination. It seemed I was fulfilling her desire to know more about the world. She was always right in thinking there was more to what she knew, but I was afraid whether she wanted to know the rest. "Yes... Marley is a wonderful capital, and I'd see those wonders on rare occasions when I was permitted..."

"Permitted?" Y/N asked, her brows furrowing in confusion.

"Only Marleyans have that freedom to explore their city. I'm an Eldian, Y/N, and so are you. We're devils, and we always will be. The rest of the world fears us, and rightfully so." It pained me as Y/N retracted her hand from me.

"Eldians? Devils? What do you mean, Reiner? I'm human, aren't I? Aren't we both humans? What are Eldians?" I paused for a moment, wondering how I could even explain.

"We are humans... humans with the ability to become Titans." Her eyes widened, and she watched with an even deeper fascination, but the wonder in her eyes transformed into worry. "We're apart of the Eldian race, Y/N. A race with the capability to become mindless man-eating giants. I may be from Marley, but I'm not a Marleyan. I'm an Eldian, just like you. The Marleyans and the people of other countries are normal humans. They're spared of our tainted blood and our abilities. But many years ago, not having the Titan power was a curse. Our kind killed millions of people around the world all for conquest and sport. Our ancestors devoured, demolished, and destroyed. We made the world a living hell."

"Reiner, I don't understand..." Y/N piped up. "You're saying that everyone within the walls – on this Island, has the power to turn into Titans? Even me?" She seemed terrified.

"Even you." I touched her cheek again. "But that won't happen. There's no serum available on Paradis to do such a thing to you. The serum is back home in Marley, and I'll make sure nothing happens to you even if we left Paradis."

"Reiner... If we can become Titans... Does that mean..." She paused, a horrified look riddled across her face. "Oh, God! Reiner! All those Titans... All those people!" She began to cry. I sat up and held her. "Who were they?! Oh god, who were they, Reiner?" I pulled back from her, my chest aching. 

"In Marley, there's a district called Liberio. That's where I'm from. It's where all the Eldians that reside in Marley must live. We can't leave unless given permission. Y/N, the rest of the world will never forget what our ancestors have done, and they'll never forget what we're capable of. Everyday, Eldians are killed across the sea. We're treated like vermin. We must wear armbands signifying our race. If anyone doesn't wear them, or if they question the laws or break them..." She looked terrified. "They're sent to Paradis Island and turned to man-eating Titans." She paused looking at me, almost examining me.

"Reiner, why were you sent here? If you weren't destined to be a mindless Titan, what's your role in it all? Why are you here?" I grabbed her hands.

"Y/N, you crave freedom from the Titans. You don't want to be at their mercy. I wanted freedom from the Marleyans. I wanted my mother to live well, and I wanted to be treated like a person. I wanted to be valued, and I wanted to belong. I now see none of that truly mattered... your love and acceptance was all I ever needed..." I kissed her hand gently, getting lost in the swiftness of reality.

"Reiner, but I don't understand... Why did you break through the walls? How did you become the Armored Titan?" I held her hand with my right palm, and stroked her delicate fingers.

"My father was a Marleyan, and my mother an Eldian. The only way to see my father and for my mother and I to live with him as a family to become an Honorary Marleyan. To be an Honorary Marleyan, we'd be accepted. It was the only way. I started training when I was either six or seven, and I was chosen to be the Armored Titan when I was ten. They took me to an underground cavern. When I walked in, the previous Armored Titan, my predecessor was chained up high on a piece of stone jutting out from the wall. I couldn't remember what happened next, but they told me in the morning. They injected me with Titan serum, I became a pure titan, the kind that mindlessly eats people. And in that Titan form, I ate my predecessor, inheriting his abilities."

"You... You ate someone?" I looked at her horrified expression, and I realized how terrible the words coming from my mouth were.

"No! Well... Yes, but I had no idea what I was doing. When you become a pure Titan, you aren't you anymore... You're nothing. Even before they turned me, I knew I'd be becoming the Armored Titan, but I never knew I'd have to eat someone for that to happen. They never told me..." Y/N's hand began rubbing my back, and she once again looked at me sympathetically.

"With the power of the Armored Titan I had to do things... Terrible things... When I was twelve, they told Annie, Bertholdt and I about the mission... We needed to protect Marley... We needed to protect our families and the world and retrieve the Founding Titan from Paradis Island... The Founding Titan which Eren has inherited..."

"Protect your families and the world? Protect them from what?" Y/N asked curiously. 

"The Rumbling."