Unwanted Power: An Armin Arlert Love Story

5. Duties

"Once I become a Military Police, I will devote my life to you." Jean said grabbing Lexie's hand and kissing it. Armin gaped, Marco smiled a bit embarrassed by his friend, Connie rolled his eyes and Sasha giggled.

"Thank you, Jean." Lexie said with a sheepish look, it amused her when they said and did stuff like that. She used to get mad because she thought they were mocking her for her title and because they nicknamed her 'princess', but soon realized it was not with bad intentions.

"That's not fair. I want to devote to Lexie too!" Connie said. Playfully bickering with Jean and pushing him away from her. Lexie backed away a little and stood closer to Armin which chuckling at Jean's and Connie's antics. Their friendly bickering was interrupted by a yell.

"But you can't possibly win!" Thomas yell to Eren came as a surprise, making everyone else go silent and pay attention to them. A bit embarrassed, Thomas continued talking to Eren. "You know full well... You know just how many have been eaten by them. We've lost more than twenty percent of the entire population already. Mankind doesn't stand a chance against them." Thomas sulked.

"So?" Eren replied defiantly. "You're just giving up because you think you can't win? It's true. We've suffered only defeats so far. That's because we hardly knew anything about them! We can't defeat them using sheer numbers. We may have lost, but the knowledge we obtained from those battles is our guiding beacon of hope. Yet you'd discard the tactical progress bought by hundreds of thousands of sacrifices, just to serve yourself up on a silver platter? You've gotta be kidding me. I'll kill every last one of them and break free of these walls! That is my dream! Mankind hasn't lost everything yet!" After that outburst of emotion, Eren left with tears forming in his eyes.

"Eren, wait!" Armin called as he and Mikasa ran after him.

"He had been like that since day one. Suicidal psycho." Jean grumbled.

"We need more people like him." Lexie said softly.

"What? To be cannon fodder?" Jean joked.

"Of course not, Jean." Lexie reprimanded. "I mean people who actually want to make a difference. Most soldiers want to stay in, be safe, have a comfortable life. And that's fine, really, I can understand wanting a peaceful life. But the fact is not everyone can have that luxury while we keep being caged inside these walls. We are not far from famine, resources are not enough, and we can't just kill off the overpopulation like we did when Wall Maria fell." Her friends watched her intently. "If I could have any say, I'd like for us to expand our lands, have more resources for everyone, but for that to happen, some have to face the titans first." Lexie concluded "If we had more brave soldiers willing to do fight the titans, we'd expand faster."

"Why hasn't the crown done this?" Krista asked.

"Politics are complicated. People prefer to stay and happily live without much effort. And it's hard to see someone without many privileges when you are surrounded by luxury, ignorance is a bliss sometimes. Many nobles don't care to help, people striving to be rich hardly try to help others. But I hope we can all learn to have more empathy for one another." Lexie said.

Her friends stayed thinking, they all wanted to be in the Military Police indeed, they wanted to be safe, they had seen no reason to fight titans before, and it was kind of easy to ignore Eren as he tended to talk from his trauma, but hearing Lexie, a noble, raised around the government, and a loyal friend to many, made them have second thoughts, maybe they ought to be brave for their country.

*******

The Survey Corps were heading out for a mission the next day, people crowded in the streets to see them off. Eren, Mikasa and Armin were there with wide eyes, Eren couldn't wait to be one of them. They met on the streets with their old friend Hannes, he was a Garrison soldier who had saved them when they were little. While chatting with him, a familiar red head with a flowy white dress approached them. Her dress had a pin of her family's symbol, a knight helmet with a crown with a rose on the background, her family's emblem, she was also wearing a tiara, her aristocracy was evident.

"Your grace." Hannes saluted her.

"At ease soldier, there's no need for that." Lexie said softly.

"Lexie, why aren't you wearing your uniform?" Eren asked. Hannes gave him a look for talking like that to a member of a noble family, with such little respect.

"I'm going to the inside. My parents said they had important things to tell me about the course of my life." Lexie explained, not so happy with the decision made for her.

"Does that mean you won't be a soldier anymore?" Armin asked.

"I honestly don't know. They said we'd talk in person. I just wanted to say goodbye first, since I know you three will probably be outside the walls soon."

"That's the plan." Eren said proudly. Lexie smiled.

"We need more soldiers like you three. Brave enough to see what is outside and face their fears." Lexie complimented, filling Eren's pride. "Please be safe." The three saluted her and she saluted them back before leaving.

"So, you're friends with a noble, huh?" Hannes asked. "Way to climb up society"

"We trained together. She graduated second best." Eren explained.

"Really? Why would a noble family send one of their own to the military?" Hannes wondered.

"To be involved. They decided it after Wall Maria fell." Armin said. "She is very brave and smart and has a great vision for the county. I know she'll make important changes."

"You talk with such devotion." Hannes pointed out.

"Armin is in love with her." Mikasa said.

"Mikasa! Why would you say that?!" Armin protested with a red face while Eren chuckled and Hannes laughed out loud. Mikasa only smiled knowingly, not sorry at pointing out the obvious to her friend.

*****

About an hour later, Lexie was in her carriage, bored and thinking of what could be what her parents would decide for her. She hoped it was not marriage. Talks on who she would marry had been going on since she turned 12, now she was 15, the age most nobles got betrothed, she really hoped she would at least put her military or medical training in use before she had to marry. She wished she could marry for love, but she knew that was not up to her. Nothing in her life was up to her.

She didn't even want to join the military on the first place, but her uncle Rod insisted, saying she needed to make a good name for the Reiss family, since he had no more children to do it, saying it would help popular opinion of them. She often thought her uncle must had been devastated after his family died in that fire years ago, she was already studying medicine then, she used to be free of any expectations, but after the sudden death of her cousins and aunt, her uncle talked to her father to put on her the expectations of the next generation of the Reiss.

Rod even insisted a lot to her parents to have another child, but Lexie had been a risky pregnancy and her mother could die if she got pregnant again. She remember how desesperate her uncle looked, it seemed very important for their bloodline to continue and to be able to hold their position in the royal coincil. Lexie had always been a loyal daughter, she was actually the example of the perfect daughter in the eyes of all the noble families. Obedient, loyal, smart, educated, polite. So she didn't protest on doing what was needed for her family, she became the hair of all the Reiss fortune and lands, and so she had to act like it and fulfill all expectations and duties to take over her uncle's place when he retired.

She wondered if they would let her take her uncle's seat on the first place, since she was a woman and women didn't tend to have any say in government topics. Maybe they'd marry her off and make her husband take over. She wondered if she'd be able to keep her last name. Or maybe her uncle could marry again and have children, then she'd hold his seat only temporary until his son came of age.

They had prepared her for politics while she was training, they'd send her books od dimplomacy and politics and forced her to send them back summaries fo each chapter of the books. That was partly why she was always reading in privacy before Armin joined her. It was tiring, but she knew it had to be done. She only wished her uncle could have another heir instead of her.

As she contemplated her life, a big thunder and an explosion sounded. The carriage stopped and she rushed out to see what had happened. Looking up she saw it, the face of the Colossal Titan right over the wall on the other side of the city.

"Your Grace, please go back to the carriage." The driver pleaded, anxious to leave the city.

"You go, I have duties to fulfill." Lexie said and ran back to the military quarters.