Eren POV
Getting the tables out of the way was just the first step to fulfill the plan slowly forming in Eren's mind.
Armin had been right. Why shouldn't they have just as much fun as the nobles would tomorrow?
"Do you think this is a good idea? You know that servants aren't allowed to do this."
"Whatever do you mean, Kasa. Du hast so große Angst vor den Adligen, dass du vergessen hast, dass ich einer von ihnen bin. Wenn der Plan aufgeht, wird es so seltsame Regeln nicht mehr geben. [You are so afraid of the nobles that you have forgotten that I am one of them. If the plan works there won't be such strange rules anymore.]"
Mikasa shot him a warning look.
"Eren."
"I know, I know. Stop talking german. It's not safe. Whatever.", he grumbled. Mikasa took a step forward and punched him in the side to which Eren responded with a quiet gasp, holding his side like a wounded puppy.
"You're not taking this serious enough.", she snarled and wearily looked around themselves. "What are we even doing, Eren? What do you think this will achieve?"
"A night free from all those ridiculous rules.", he promptly answered. "A night where we all can have the fun we deserve. Believe me, Mikasa. They need a little time off."
"And you think this will be enough for them? Won't they be tired from the day? Dancing and playing around wouldn't be on my list if I were them.", his sister mumbled but helped him, nevertheless.
He shot her a small smile.
"It will be worth it. Armin will be happy when he sees this."
"Armin?", she echoed. "You...you are doing this for him? Why?"
"Now you wound me, sister. Don't you think I am capable of caring about my friends?", he huffed and danced around the free space in the room, enjoying the wind he caused around his sweaty face.
"Of course, but..."
"He is somewhere else with his mind. All the time.", he continued, his expression as somber as it had been at his arrival. "He is worried about us, I know that. He always plans every step ahead, tries to help me wherever he can. I fear he will work himself to death if he takes our next steps any more seriously."
He flashed his sister a soft smile.
"He deserves to think about this stuff for a single night instead of having to fear death at every second he is here."
- - -
Armin POV
"Did you know the Crown Princess when she was still alive?"
The older man next to him turned his head to direct his gaze at the gardens, bathed in the stunning red rays of sunshine, the bearer of the beauty the late evening.
"I did."
It had been Erwin's suggestion to go take a walk outside. In between chatter and delightful laughs of the Commander they had found a place to stay at. Armin sat on the stony railing that separated the greenish grass of the gardens from the cold stone of the castle.
His legs dangled in the air and he closed his eyes when he felt the soft wind in his face.
"She must have been quite a hotheaded woman.", he smiled, thinking about Eren and his own periods of stubbornness.
"Quite the opposite, actually.", Erwin disagreed with an amused glimmer in his eyes, watching the younger carefully. "The Crown Princess was a thoughtful person, secluded and not one to stay in big crowds."
"How about her daughter?", Armin inquired, wondering just when he would tell Eren about what information he got from the conversations with the general.
"Princess Faye?"
He nodded and Erwin hummed, lost in thoughts.
"She was a cute girl, laughing and playing around all the time. Her liveliness made her quite famous in the confines of the palace walls. It was such a shame to lose a girl this goodhearted and of innocent nature."
"I have never heard of the Crown Princess Eryn before. Neither of her death nor of her daughter.", Armin cocked his head pensively. "Her daughter was the second-born child, wasn't she?"
"Indeed she was. Princess Eryn died when her daughter was born. A death her husband mourned greatly, only to take his life a day after the coronation of King Grisha."
Armin gasped for air, pity for the couple and Eren, who had lost his grandparents without even being aware of it, pooling in his stomach.
"Why would he-"
"He couldn't bear the thought of living without his beloved wife." Erwin glanced at him, an unreadable expression playing out on his face. "Even though Princess Eryn had been chosen to marry the King out of political reasons, they adored and cared for each other. A love so deep..."
A somber look appeared on the Commander's face and Armin turned his head, worried when the man stopped talking just like that.
He wanted to say something when he recognized the almost sad shimmer in the older man's eyes but held back any comment, remembering just who he was. A servant. Nothing more.
A servant planning to betray and deceive all of them.
He breathed in the air of the coming night, trying not to think about what he was doing right now. Eren would be glad to hear that he tried to get closer to the one in command of all the important decisions regarding the army.
So why did he have to fight such a bad consciousness when facing the man beside him?
"Armin! Armin, are you-"
He turned around only to see Connie and Sasha running up to him, breathless but with joy gleaming in their eyes. Sasha jumped up and down in excitement, barely able to restrain herself from squeaking.
"You have to come! Everyone's waiting for you!", the girl screeched and only then noticed the Commander next to her friend. With a blush Connie punched her in the side and saluted.
"We are sorry to interrupt your..." He looked over to Armin who avoided his gaze at all costs, not sure himself just what he was doing. "...talk. May we take Armin with us?"
"Of course. He is all yours." Erwin smiled a tick too cheerful for Armin to be assured that everything was quite alright with the man but for now he didn't have time to question his odd behavior.
Sasha didn't waste any second and dragged him with her, babbling about something like a surprise in the kitchen?
Connie followed them with a wide grin and joined the conversation of the girl with an excited hum.
"Er- I mean, Faris and Mikasa already tried to gather everyone down there.", he said and Armin furrowed his brow, not sure what his friends were implying. "They wanted to wait for you but when you didn't came back they worried about you so Sasha and I went to get you."
"You needn't worry about me.", Armin chuckled slightly, a flush on his face.
He hadn't meant to cause them any trouble.
They reached the kitchen and Sasha squealed thrilled, not waiting for Armin to come after her and barged into the room, disappearing behind the doors.
Connie noticed the insecure expression on the blond boy's face and grabbed his wrist, following the enthusiastic girl.
He opened the doors.
And Armin was greeted by light.
(Eren wants Armin to feel better, while our blond coconut is getting eaten up by his guilt. How will the night go for them? And is Mikasa right with her concern that Eren isn't taking this serious enough?
Is the way Eren sometimes talks german hard to read for you? Or do you want the translations cursive or bold so you can see where they start more easier?
Tell me your thoughts, your questions, your concerns, whatever -
Hope you had fun!)