Distance (Aruani - SNK/AOT) ✔

Part Three: Thirty Seven

"Annie? What are you doing?"

Simon caught me just as I was leaving the stables.

"Oh, nothing."

"Why were you in the stables?" His face looked concerned. I smirked.

"What's that got to do with you?"

His face fell, and he looked away. "Nothing. I'm sorry."

I started to walk away, when he grabbed my arm.

"Can we talk?"

I stopped. "No," I said bluntly, before walking off again.

* * *

The next day was different. After discussing with a few Garrison members, I was given a horse from their stables to use to ride in front of the royal carriage, instead of in it.

I had already told Pixis what I was doing, and he sat watching me from the window of the carriage.

"Annie? Why are you riding a horse?" The king asked, surprised at what he saw. Simon lowered his head to look away from me, his cheeks turning pink.

"Extra security, your majesty. As Commander of the Military Police, I am here to serve my king," I said, albeit a little salty.

The king didn't seem to notice the tone of irony in my voice, and smiled.

"Thank you." He walked away to the carriage, and Simon looked up at me, letting out a small smile, before hurrying along after the king.

I started moving, with the king, Simon and Pixis in the carriage, walking through the busy streets. People watched, and smiled up at me, and somehow I felt a lot more comfortable high on my horse than in a royal carriage where I didn't belong.

"Look, Harry! Its the MP Commander!" A child said to his friend. I smiled to myself, trying to find them in the crowd. When I saw them, I smiled at them. The two dark haired boys blushed, and waved up at me.

"You love her!"

"No I don't! Act natural, she's looking! She's so cool!"

At least the new generation liked me. I hadn't come across anybody my age or younger who had a problem with me raising Emilee alone. That's why I haven't gone away and found somebody new. I have no parents to demand I find a husband, or any other married friend that tries to convince me.

This was so much better than riding in the carriage.

We made our way through the gates and out into the unfamiliar countryside between Wall Rose and Wall Maria. The horse started running faster, and I soon grew comfortable with the open road.

The sky was bright blue and the grass was green. Flowers grew in little clumps, scattered around the area.

Once the wall is rebuilt, people can return to this magnificent countryside. Armin and I always talked about moving to the country between Walls Sina and Rose. A dream that slowly might be coming soon quite soon.

After hours of imagining the wall all finished, and the Scouts returning, I heard Simon send off a visitor signal to signify the Scouts that we were approaching. After watching the sky and the birds for so long, I realised that it had gotten very dark, and my horse wasn't enjoying the darkness. He found it hard to see, so I hung back and started riding next to the carriage to get some light.

"Look Annie! Wall Maria!" Simon cried through the window. I looked up and saw it in the distance.

A few people were standing on the top, signalling their green flames. It was a lot higher than before, almost as high as the inner wall districts. My mouth opened slightly.

We finished the final mile, which felt like forever, and we were welcomed into the new wall around the Shiganshina District. I knew by my compass that we had travelled in a straight line from Trost, and were therefore in the south.

We moved through the gates, and made it through. A line of the Scouts were waiting for us there, along with the MP members that were sent, and the volunteers. I was the first to jump right off and practically run forward towards them.

In the light I made out the faces of the Scouts. Standing in front of me, their arms folded in a salute, was Connie, Reiner, Bertholdt, Mikasa and Jean. I pressured the rest were in their camp, maybe waiting to meet the king over there.

As they saw me, they smiled, but something about them looked sad, beaten up.

As the king approached them, they stiffened up. I turned to see him walk into the light, smiling, shaking hands with Erwin.

"Stand down men. Thank you. The commander and I have some matters to discuss."

Erwin caught a glimpse of me as he walked away, and smiled, nodding. I nodded back, then turned back to the Scouts.

"Hello Annie," said Mikasa. I continued to watch their grey expressions with slight worry.

"Hello," I said. Connie looked up and caught my eye. I raised an eyebrow. He shook his head slowly.

"Let's go to the camp. We can talk then," said Mikasa. I nodded, and started following them back.

"Umm, so, how has everything been?" I asked, as we walked in the darkness. Mikasa was walking next to me, and frowned.

"A lot has happened," she said. I sighed.

Once we arrived at the area they used as a base, I realised something, that sent a shiver down my spine.

Armin wasn't there.

In fact, the only Scout members that I knew were the ones by the gate.

I stopped in my tracks as I looked around the empty village. A small cottage had the lights on, where I assumed Erwin and the king were. Mikasa lead me into the biggest house on the street. The living quarters of the Scouts.

We sat at the large dinner table, with Connie and Jean sitting opposite us, while Reiner and Bertholdt stood, leaning against the wall.

"Where's the rest of you?" I asked bluntly.

Jean sat up, and cleared his throat.

"Listen Annie. To speed up building the wall, a few years ago, we were split up. We were sent here to do work here. Against our will. We weren't allowed to leave."

"You're not together?"

"No. We haven't seem anybody else for years."

I understood why Connie and Mikasa looked so miserable. They hadn't seen their loved ones for almost as long as I hadn't seen mine. My eyes widened.

"Where's Armin?"

"We don't know. He could be anywhere. I heard Erwin say that he tried to run away and him and... Well, him and Sasha are being kept under Squad Levi's guard. But that was like two years ago. I don't know where he is."

"Wait, he tried to run away?"

"Yeah, trying to reach you."

I froze. The pain and darkness on their faces, the tiredness and the grief. They were suffering, they too were separated.

My mind is made up. I'm getting Armin out of here