~•~Book Three~•~
A wedding, a revolution, an uprising and an unexpected tragedy. The Final stand against the Titan onslaught, the lies of the government and the Scouting Regiment.
"Love...cannot save you now."
-
"Will you all fight with me? One...l...
Like she was buried alive, 6 feet underneath. And all the while she hoped every waking second that someone would come for her before she drove herself back to insanity.
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"Fa...ther...?" Valentina warily lowered her branches and tilted her head to examine the soldier. "You look just like mama's drawings..."
"I wonder if he looks the same as mama's drawings without the clothing!" Rory enthusiastically said, despite her knowledge.
"I...don't think we were supposed to have seen those, Rory," spoke Valentina as her father's expression went through many different emotions.
"You two can't be out here. It's dangerous." Levi crouched- though not by much- to reach Valentina's height. "I left you in the care of those soldiers so that you would be safe-"
"We can handle ourselves!" Valentina insisted. "It's been two weeks since Mama was captured and we have to find her and help her escape!"
"Then what?" Levi tilted his head. "Are you three going to run away?"
"Y... You'll come with us, right?" Aurora tapped her pointer fingers together.
"I can't. I have to stay here. I made a promise to finish this out to the end-"
"And you made a promise to be with mama! Until death do you part!" Valentina retorted.
"Death had parted us, Valentina. At least, your mother made us all believe this." Levi placed a hand on her shoulder and sighed. "It's much more complicated than I would like to admit. Even if the three of you succeed at escaping, I can't bear to lose you all again."
"Then come with us!" Aurora insisted yet again. "No one will know! We'll keep it a secret."
Levi sighed and scanned the forest around them. "No...someone will know. Someone always knows. It's not safe yet...to just flee and run away. When we have the time...I'll tell you all about how I grew up wishing to just run away too," he got to his feet and kindly offered out his hand. "Let me take you to back to my carriage, at least, and get you both some food and blankets. It's freezing out here."
Rory looked at her graying toes and giggled. "Oops. Yeah...it's really cold..."
"Come on, you two," Levi offered a hand to both of his daughters. Aurora eagerly clung to his right one, and Val hesitantly held his left with one finger, not even bothering to acknowledge his existence much on the walk back.
At some point, Aurora cut her foot on a sharp rock hidden in a pile of leaves and wailed loud enough to wake all the fallen scouts. Levi placed her gently on a nearby fallen tree, tore up his Scouts cape and created a bandage to wrap around her foot, then let her ride the rest of the way on his back.
"So when do we get to see Mama again?" Valentina rudely asked a third of the way through their walk.
"Very soon," Levi monotonously replied. "Very soon. We just have to make sure that your mother isn't conspiring with our enemies"
