ROUGHLY A YEAR AFTER THE ATTACK ON TROST DISTRICT---
The sound of hooves against dirt resonated in the atmosphere. The smell of fresh air wafting through my nose. Excitement bubbling up inside of me, yet a sense of dread remained at the pit of my stomach.
We're doing it. We are past Wall Maria for the first time in six years. Today's goal is to locate the ocean.
I was galloping across the lands Charlie, Else and I once dreamed of setting our feet upon, and I'm doing it for them. Rather, I'm doing it with them as they're in my heart.
"It's just like you thought, Hanji." Levi starts. "The Titans inside Wall Maria were pretty much all of them. We thinned out the majority in just a single year." I hum in agreement.
"In that case, let's head straight to our target as planned." Hanji reply's. Bird's fly overhead, bird's I've never seen before. The noises they make are unique, different from the geece that nest at the rivers back home.
We gallop over a hill to find something we didn't want to come across at all. I grit my teeth and fumble in my satchel for a red flare. My fingers wrap round the red coil and I load it into the gun, lifting it up in the air and pulling the trigger.
The Titan was at least a six-to-seven-meter-class but it's body was uneven and it wasn't standing. It's legs were tiny and so was it's arms. The head was massive and half of it was showing as the other half was in the ground.
There was a trail behind it where it crawled here. Not even a few meters behind it there was baby trees sprouting from the ground. It had blonde hair and blue eyes, with a look of sadness in them.
I pull the reins back and Gypsy halts. I swing my leg over the saddle and slide off it. I walk up to it slowly. It didn't move an inch.
I lift my hand and lightly sit it on the Titans forehead. Poor person...
Eren suddenly comes up to me and also sits his hand on the Titans forehead. "H-Hey!" Floch stammers, drawing both of his swords and getting into a stance.
"It was shipped to paradise. It's a fellow compatriot." Eren says in a dead tone. His eyes had a hint of pity lingering around his teal orbs. He lifts up his hand and walks over to his horse. "Let's go. We're close."
I nod in agreement and run over to Gypsy, sitting one foot in a stirrup and bouncing my knee then launching myself upon the saddle. I slide my other foot into the other stirrup and grab my reins, adjusting them to their original length.
I nudge Gypsy in the ribs and she takes off in a fast gallop, catching up with Hanji and Levi, who didn't stop to inspect the Titan.
--
The lands seemed to start changing as time went on. At least an hour later we were in sand dune biome instead of a plains.
Gypsy was still at the same speed as she was a little while ago, still on par with Levi's horse. You could smell salt in the air, making a feeling I've not felt in a whle bubble up inside of me. Exhilaration.
We pass a massive sand dune and a giant wall appears. A familiar one at that. The one from Mama's memories. The one where thousands of Eldian's got turned into Titans.
I swallow a lump in my throat and look ahead. I pull the reins a bit and fall back behind the superiors and ride beside Sasha, Connie and Jean. I glance over at Sasha who also turns to me.
"Is... Is this the place... you saw in your mothers memories?" She asks, a excited look on her face.
"Y-Yeah. On the other side of this is the... the ocean." I stutter, feeling the need to cry. No Ezlyn, don't cry yet...
"Yo, Ezlyn. Once we get there, do you wanna goof about?" Connie grins, wiggling his eyebrows. I smile gently.
"Sure. Once we clarify the ocean is an actual thing." I reply in a soft voice. I look ahead and Hanji turns a corner to go up a hill.
My heart starts pounding in my chest and my breathing quickens. I'm gonna do it, Marco. I'm going to see the ocean for you. I'm going to see it for Marco, Charlie and Else.
We reach the top of the hill and I'm blinded by a bright light. I cover my eyes with my forearm and wince. Everyone around me gasps and I lower my arm.
Euphoria. Complete and utter euphoria washed over me. I was at loss for word's. An unbelievably large, greeny-blue body of water stood before us. Small waves pushing towards us, rippling the water surface.
My jaw hung open. Starstruck by the sight in front of me. I've only seen the ocean in memories or Armin's book, but... I can't believe it's actually real. And this close to home...
I open my mouth to speak but nothing comes out. It's best not to say anything yet.
Connie was the first to move. He jerks his horses reins and starts galloping back down the hill. "C'mon losers! Last one to the sand is Titan fodder!"
Armin was next to follow after him and then I have enough and jerk Gypsy's reins and bolt down the hill. "You heard what he said! Last one there is Titan food!"
The wind rushes by me at insane speeds as I rush past Connie and Armin. The sand flying up behind Gypsy's hooves as we gallop onto the 'beach'. I spot a tree and steer Gypsy in the direction of it, so I can tie her up there.
I slide off the saddle and wrap the reins around a branch. I finish strapping up the reins and run over to the 'shoreline'.
I quickly pull down the zip on the back of my boot and slip my foot out of it. I do the same for the other and toss them behind me, away from the water. I then roll up my jeans from the bottom up until my knees.
I slowly wade into the freezing water, giving me goosebumps on my arms. I go until the water reaches the middle of my shins, and I bend over, weaving my hand through the crystal clear water. The waves were splashing up my knees, but I don't care.
I feel my breath go ragged and I fall to my knees, soaking my jeans. "I done it, Marco... I done it. I fulfilled the promise I made with you..." I sigh and stand up, looking into the horizon.
"Life is beautiful, yet so cruel," I say in a hushed voice, but loud enough for the others to hear me. I look up at the blue sky, trying to supress the tears that were ready to cascade from my eyes. I smile softly as I think about my Cadet years.
"All people are nothing but tools. It doesn't matter how it's done. It doesn't matter what's sacrificed. In this world, winning is everything. As long as I win in the end... That's all that matters..." I let a pathetic laugh slip from my lips, but it doesn't last long. I start full on crying, letting all the pain I endured in one whole year out, finally.
I take a deep breath and turn round to face my my comrades, with a fake smile to tell them, 'I'm okay', when I'm not. They seemed taken aback, not believing the smile over my lips. Yet, I don't blame them. Most of them haven't seen me like this before. Not since I got the news Marco died.
Levi sighs and approaches me, regaining his posture. He sits his hand on my shoulder, reassuringly. As if he was the big brother I never had. "Ezlyn, no matter what, we will win the next war. We'll... do our best and you do yours." He says confidently, but I knew he was masking something beneath it. I can't sense it, he's too good.
Hanji starts coming up to me aswell, Levi moves aside. "That's right, Ezlyn. We'll win this war and get the freedom we deserve. No casualties, I promise." She wraps her arms round me and pulls my head onto her shoulder. But, I know fine well that that's impossible to keep.
---An Hour Later---
"Ah! Don't do it, please! Jean!" I shout in between giggles as he picks me up and slings me over his shoulder.
"I shall not have mercy on you, princess. Not after what you done to me." He says casually, marching into deeper water. He was soaked and I wasn't, so he was gonna throw me ino the water as revenge for pushing him over.
"No! Please! I won't be able to touch the bottom!" I wail, now getting scared. Although I could swim, I never go into water where I can't touch the bottom. He pulls me off his shoulder and holds me up like a lost puppy.
"Sorry." He pulls me back and launches me away in front of him. I scream out as I hit the water, falling below it. I look down to see just a dark abyss. My eyes widen and I start to tread water, swimming up to the surface.
When I reach the surface, I gasp for air, my hands splashing against it. "Shit! Jean help me please! I can't see the bottom!" He chuckles and starts walking towards me. He soon slips under the water and floats back up.
"Holy shit!" He swims towards me and wraps his arm round my waist and starts simming back. He lets go when I can feel the ground below me again. He pushes back his wet hair and looks at me with a confused look. "What was that?!"
I let out an exasperated sigh and glare at him. "It's called a fucking 'continental slope', according to Armin's book." I groan. I glance to where the beach should be and it's ages away.
"Ah... we should get back to them." He sighs, peeling the top of his shirt off of his chest. I look at him with an evil grin.
"Wanna race?" I ask with a challenging look. He returns the look.
"Last one there is a rotten egg!" He shouts, diving into the water. I jump and diving into the water aswell, pushing my legs together and pushing them up and down as one big propellor. I lift my head up and down, weaving through the water, my body doing the same thing until it hits the tip of my toes. Charlie called it the 'Butterfly'.
I'm soon in line with Jean as he swims like a normal person. I let bubbles slip from my lips as I run out of breath. But, we already reached the point where you can't swim anymore. I stand up and turn to Jean.
"Good game, my guy." I smile, offering him a hand to shake. He looks at me and starts blushing. I raise an eyebrow. "What is it? You gonna shake or not." He avoids eye-contact with me and runs off. I furrow my brows and watch as he runs towards the horses.
What's his deal?
He soon comes running back with something in his hands. "What was that all about?" I ask as he gets in earshot. He doesn't reply and unfolds the thing he had in his arms. My cape? He sits it on my shoulders and buttons the button on the front. "Huh?"
"Oh... erm... Your shirt was see through. So, I... er- Thought I should help you." He stutters, scratching the back of his neck nervously. My eyes widen and I turn round quickly.
I unbutton the cape and take a peek at my shirt to see if he's telling the truth. Jean is my friend for a reason. He doesn't lie. I feel my cheeks heat up. He... He saw... My body...
I laugh nervously and button the cape back up. "I cannot thank you enough, Jean. God know's what would've happened if someone else saw... something they shouldn't of." I turn round and smile. He returns the smile and nods. "Anyways, we should get to where the others are." I point to where everyone stood, watching Eren. Is he talking about the memories?!
I break into a sprint and dash towards everyone, Jean following shortly after. I skid to a halt next to Sasha and Connie. Eren's pointing towards the horizon, a horrible look on his face.
"Hey... If we kill all our enemies.. over there... will we finally... be free?"
Those words fell down on me like a tonne of bricks. What he said was logical... What if he's right though? Will we finally be free after this war...? How bad is this war gonna be...?
I'll just appreciate this moment, more than anything...
As there's always a calm before the storm.
---------
EEEKKKK, I've finally finished this book!!!! I can't believe I got this far. I almost cried at the bit where I wrote Ezlyn crying for the first time in ages and fulfilling Marco's promise.
I've not planned out CH.1 for the Wither Titan, yettt. But, it will be posted within this week as I do not like leaving my readers on a cliffhanger although I've done it many times before.
Anyways, thank you all for your support. This means alot to me as this is the first book I've written... ever.
I'll see you soon in CH.1 of The Wither Titan.
Sayonara, kiwotsukete, soshite arigato。
(Goodbye, take care, and thank you.) -Noeva Senpai
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