Mikasa POV
They managed to get back to the boy's room without being seen or stopped by anyone. Even if they had run into someone Mikasa doubted they would have addressed them with the pensive scowl on Eren's face.
Armin was walking behind them, the ever-shy guy hiding behind the mask he had accepted the day they had become servants for that monster of a king. Mikasa would never openly admit it in the near future but she admired him for his talent to act like it was just another day for just another ordinary servant in the palace of Eldia.
He never let the truth show behind that false smile. Behind the sincere glimmer in his shimmering eyes whenever he helped someone who he knew he would have to betray someday. No one would ever guess that he was planning to help his friend overthrow the king. That he was planning to commit treason in a way that would cost him everything he had left.
His friends. His life.
The boys were already talking to each other, Armin leaning against the bed, his legs stretched out on the floor and his hands sliding across the parts of the floor he could reach, a thoughtful tug at the corner of his mouth as he listened to whatever Eren was saying.
Mikasa found herself zoning out like that often these days.
Like it would be the last chance she would get to savor every single moment she had with the people she loved the most. Maybe everything would blow up around them and she would never get to see Eren grin just like that again. Maybe she would never get to listen to the interesting stories Armin could tell. The stories he spun only to help her sleep at nights when they had had him over.
She sat down on the bed opposite to Eren's and leaned back, watching the guys with observant eyes.
"-splitting up? Where would we even start?", Eren was voicing the concerns she harbored herself.
The last of the sun was shining through the window and painted the room in warm, red colors with only a hint of orange whenever it wandered across Armin's head.
"We already know some people."
"We're not talking about the kitchen staff and the gardener here, Ar.", Eren interjected, tilting his head so the loose strands of his messy hair fell over his shoulders like a waterfall of nutbrown crème. The blond wig lay forgotten beside him.
"I meant the important part of people around here." Mikasa noticed him wince when he phrased it like that. She knew his hatred of giving someone the role of being more important than someone else; his hatred for those who favored someone just because of a name or something even less vital.
"People like that general?", she asked and both heads turned around to face her. Armin nodded and his gaze touched the floorboards in front of him. She could practically see the gears rotating inside of his head.
"People like General Ackerman. People like...like the Commander."
Eren would never notice the slight darkening of the boy's cheeks nor the tiny slip up. But Mikasa had learnt to read people from a young age. It was either that or dying because of the wrong word at the wrong time.
"Then what do you propose we should do, Ar?"
Armin's head shot up, his eyes wide and he frantically shook his hands in front of Eren's face.
"No, no, no! That was just an idea I know that you have a plan of your own and I will not interfere with it..." His rambling was stopped by Eren's hand. He gently stroked across Armin's shoulder. A gesture that intimate was...unusual for his standards but it seemed to suffice to calm their friend down enough so he could continue talking.
"I trust your plans, mate. We both do." He met her gaze and she nodded her agreement. She would do whatever it took to keep the both of them safe and sound. If Armin knew a way to ensure that she would trust him blindly to lead them through that minefield.
Armin sighed, giving them a small smile.
"Well, if you say so. I...it is only an idea but I guess it could work. As you know, the General and the Commander are both part of the higher-ups in this palace. They control a great part of the army. They have earned the soldier's respect and not without a reason if I may add."
"So you want us to do what exactly? To spy on them?"
Armin shook his head softly, his golden bangs brushing his delicate face.
"Spying is a hard word, Eren. I would prefer the term get to know them."
"Still spying but whatever." The brown-haired boy leaned back, waiting for Armin's next words. Mikasa just raised an eyebrow in question.
"We need the army to get through with our plan. As for now we can only count on Marlow's word that they will tell the Queen about our proposal. But placing our trust in only one source of a powerful ally would be stupid to begin with."
Eren let out a surprised huff when he heard the insult.
"Armin! Language or else I might think you are not an angel after all."
Armin acknowledged the comment with a quiet chuckle but became serious again just a few moments later. Mikasa would never get used to the drastic changes both boys were able to show the world.
"We need to get to know the enemy if we want to really infiltrate them. We have to gain knowledge of the weak points in this palace."
"I know some myself. But I haven't been here for ages.", Eren grumbled and traced some lines on his blanket. "Who knows how everything has changed?"
"That's why we don't have the option to just sit there and wait for anything to happen." Armin's affirmation strengthened the thrilled twinkle in those crystal-like orbs and he jumped up, searching for their surprised gazes. "We have two targets for now. They are our best option to get access to the army and a chance to talk to the soldiers."
"Best option?", Eren repeated, not quite convinced apparently. Mikasa was still waiting for the catch. "So you have a worst option as well? What the fuck could be worse than trying to get close to two of the most dangerous men in Eldia? Not to mention that they will have us killed in a heartbeat if they ever learn about our true intentions."
Armin shrugged seemingly uncaring but Mikasa saw the sweat forming on his forehead and the nervous flicking of his wrist.
He didn't like the idea a bit. He was painfully aware of the consequences if they failed their plans.
Eren let out a puff and reclined, resting his head on his pillow with a hand over his eyes.
"What the fuck are we doing..." He laughed, a dry sound filled with the stress and anxiety their operation was causing them. "I mean...listen to us! We plan to overthrow a man who has tried to kill me when I was only a kid and now...we are only kids..."
His words were more of a mumble, not only meant for them to hear. As if those were the thoughts, he had to carry around with himself all the time.
Those doubts.
"Eren." Mikasa had held back until then. But listening to her brother talk like that... "Do you remember Shiganshina?"
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?", the grumbled answer came after a short second. "As if I could ever forget it..."
"Then you also remember what you have heard."
Eren sat up and balled his fists, his posture tense and eyes squinting.
"Kasa, just tell me what you're on about?"
"Those soldiers standing in front of our house...they were talking to each other. They mentioned their leader. Not their Queen."
"So what?"
Armin was watching her carefully, thinking over what she had said.
"If they were talking about a leader...and if we could prove the theory that not Marley has started the war with the first attack on Shiganshina...then we would have to accept that there is a third party around, planning to use the war."
"Woah, stop it!" Eren stood up, holding his hands up with a confused expression on his face. "A third party? I thought we had already established that we aren't alone in this war."
Mikasa nodded.
"It will pose a danger to our mission if they also plan to get on the throne of Eldia."
Eren mulled those thoughts over, a hand on his chin with clenched teeth while Armin was mostly unfaced by Eren's reaction.
"Eren.", he said earnestly. "You know who you have to contact. We can't risk this group to become a danger."
Eren sucked in a breath and buried his hands in his mop of wild hair, turning away from them.
"How am I supposed to contact them? I don't even know where they are at the moment.", he muttered. "Anyway, wouldn't it be too risky to send them a message?"
"Not if we contact the right person to help us."
Mikasa and Eren shared a curious look.
"Just who are you talking about?"
Armin winked and laid a finger over his lips.
"A person we can trust."
(What do you think about their actions? Would you get close to a person while knowing you would have to betray them?
And just who could that trustworthy person be they are talking about? Any idea?
Hope you had fun and never hesitate to comment or to ask questions because *maniacal grin* nothing can be as silly and strange as me.)