Eren POV
The battle behind them, Eren cursed himself for having to leave his family and friends while he ran away like a cockroach to flee into the small, dark world and its ugly corners like a coward.
Only having Ida's back in front of him, where she clung to Ceadda, kept him from turning around and doing what his heart longed to do. His fingers itched to do something, and his second half growled at the frustration that led to a stream of hissed thoughts in his head – all telling him to save what he had left.
"Get your head out of whatever hole you've stuck it into.", Levi hissed and the prince flinched when he noticed that the other man had caught up to him and was now prowling through the dark with him. Armin and Lio also stayed close by their side and just hearing the sound of their footsteps on the cold ground, earth and stones mixed together beneath their shoes...it gave him some sort of reassurance. It kept him going.
Moving forward.
Why was the wall still so far away? The heavy breathing of the children too loud in the darkness with so many enemies around each corner, Eren forced his feet further and further through the gardens.
"Get down!" Levi's calloused hand suddenly pushed his head down until Eren fell to his knees. He held his breath, his eyes focused on Armin, who was hidden behind one of the trees with his back pressed against the wood.
Ceadda pressed his small body into Eren and the prince quickly held the two children against his body with Levi shielding them in front of them. A few soldiers ran by with their swords held tightly and raised to attack whoever surprised them in the dark. They didn't exchange a word beneath their dark veils.
Eren held his breath and begged his heart to calm down.
Only when the sounds of the battle were far away again, the distance between them and the enemy big enough, did Levi push them forward and Armin urged them on with their voice. His hand was intertwined with Lio's and his frantic glances in all directions not the least bit reassuring.
They moved on and step by step the wall came closer until they stood right in front of it. Armin carefully dodged Lio in the direction of the hole where he and Eren had slipped through back then when they had met up with the Queen.
"Crawl through it.", he ordered the boy softly and pressed a kiss on the back of the child's head. "Don't stop. No matter what you hear. No matter what happens. You just need to get out and hide."
Despite the young boy's scared face, he did as he was told and fell down on his knees, quickly pushing his small body into the darkness until not a single limb could be seen by them anymore.
Eren put a hand on Ceadda's back and rubbed a thumb against his clothes. "You too. Follow Lio and wait for us on the other side."
"What if you won't follow us?", the boy asked and Ida's grip tightened where she held on to her brother. Eren kneeled down next to them and Levi instantly took a protective stance behind them, eyes on their surroundings while Armin took a deep breath and then continued to follow Lio through the hole.
"I told you that I wouldn't leave you, didn't I?", he asked gently and caressed the boy's cheek. "Give me a chance to prove it to you."
Ceadda swallowed, his eyes wide and unbelieving but in the end he nodded and turned around to let Ida down on the ground. He directed her in front of the hole but was the first one to crawl through.
Eren helped her put her small fingers around Ceadda's ankles. "Hold on to your brother, Ida. Don't let go and trust him to tell you when you're good to stand up, alright?"
The girl nodded and for a second Eren was glad that her blindness would keep her from seeeing just how small the hole was. The siblings moved forward together after Ceadda shot Eren one last glance.
Suddenly steps came closer to them, their sound distressing and disrupting the quiet around them. Levi tensed up, his hands once again tightening around the weapons in his hand as he moved closer to the children and Eren.
"Hurry up.", he growled and blew the dark strands of his hair out of his face. Sweat gathered on his forehead and he made himself appear smaller, an animal ready to pounce forward to kill its prey.
"Go on.", Eren said one last time and watched the children move through the hole before turning towards the approaching enemy. He sent Levi a short look and couldn't help the flutter in his stomach as he watched the man. "Think we can take them on?"
"The two of us? Don't make fun of me, Your Highness.", Levi responded with a smirk that didn't quite fit the tension in his body and the swift movement of his eyes. "What about your little powers? Ready to show them what you are?"
The creature inside of him growled at the suggestion and anticipation filled his guts but Eren pushed the lust and lingering need to kill back inside of him. "Nothing would be left if I freed it right here and now."
"That's the reason you're not doing it?"
Eren ducked his head and reached for a dagger himself, hidden in his coat. "I need something I can come back to. Besides, we still have family left here. They would get dragged into this mess."
Levi chuckled lowly. "Clever, aren't we?"
"Don't tell me that's what you fancy about me."
"I don't fancy you."
"Keep telling yourself that."
Their bickering was interrupted by the enemy as the strange soldiers came closer with their arrows in hand. They lined up in front of them, too much of a distance between them and each one put one knee on the ground to support their bows and direct the deadly tips of their arrows towards Eren and Levi.
"If we get out now, we would show them exactly how to follow us.", Levi said under his breath. Eren didn't respond.
They were left without a way out. No matter what, they couldn't escape all of those arrows.
"Admit defeat?", Eren joked half-heartedly as he lowered his dagger. A fight against those weapons was useless with their back to the wall.
"Like hell.", Levi murmured. "Guess that's it, brat."
Eren heard him muttering something else but just as they were about to accept their fate, a screeching noise and the whining of horses prompted all of them to turn their heads around.
About ten horses approached them, the soldiers riding them holding their weapons proudly while screaming their words of reassurements and declarations of battle.
"Get those motherfuckers!"
Levi's eyes widened significantly and the corners of Eren's mouth turned upwards as he recognized the voice.
"Hanji."
They were a force, joined by Eren's soldiers as they rode towards them and attracted all of the soldier's attention until they were too busy handling the closer coming force of nature to care about the General and the Prince.
"I thought they were stationed somewhere else.", Eren said in astonishment as he watched them take down enemy by enemy. The body's piled up, the fight went on and the screaming echoed through the night as they watched the tables turn.
"Your questions will have to wait, Your Highness.", Levi urged him on and dragged him towards the hole with one hand gripping the prince's arm. "Let's not waste this chance."
"Stop calling me that.", Eren grumbled but was the first to fall down on his knees and crawl through the small space after one last, thankful look in Hanji's direction. Levi made a tsking sound when he wasn't gone the second he turned around as well and Eren hurried up, pulling and pushing his body through the small ring of hard and cold stone. The earth dug into his hands and he inhaled the sticky air that barely filled the space. His knees were cold and scratched open by stones, roots and twigs and only the sound of Levi's breaths behind him kept him going when he felt the familiar urge to throw up as the effects of his panic slowly set in.
"Go on, Eren.", Levi said behind him and Eren focused on the softness that lingered in his voice when he felt the prince's hesitation in his movements. They crawled and crawled and finally the tunnel found its end and Eren inhaled the sharp coldness of the air around him.
It felt like the first breath he had ever taken in his whole life and he slumped down on the ground, exhaustion almost taking over all of his body. Behind him, Levi pushed himself across the last meter seperating him from freedom.
Two arms grabbed Eren's shoulders and tried to get him to kneel.
"It's alright. You're through. We're free." Armin's voice was as soft as the rain and for a second Eren thought to feel small drops on his face. Only when he raised his face did that assumption prove to be true. The sky opened above them and down came the first cold sprinkles of water, covering the ground in diamonds of the brightest color.
"Eyebrows, what the fuck?"
Eren turned his head and focused his eyes on the tall man standing beside Armin without so much as wasting a glance towards the blond, who looked as miserable as all of them felt.
The man held on to the reins of four horses, dark in color and nervously moving around behind him. Their tails swished through the air and the white in their eyes didn't make them out to be as calm and collected as Eren would have liked but they would have to do.
"I didn't know you got out. Where-"
"We will sort this out later.", the former Commander said sternly and helped Levi on his feet. Armin supported Eren and put an arm around his waist. After a second glance, Eren spotted Ceadda and Ida, who were both already sitting on top of one of the horses. No one could deny the relief Ceadda's face reflected upon seeing the prince and the General coming closer.
"Where are we supposed to go?", Lio asked quietly. "We have no home left and...what are we supposed to do now?"
Eren thanked Armin quietly and gently pushed the blond away, sharing a look with Levi and the others. "We will go to Shiganshina."
Armin gasped and the doubt on his face was clear to see. "Why would we go back there?"
"I have lost something and Shiganshina is where I will find it. It will change the tides in this war and might finally finish what my father started so long ago."
Levi walked over to the horses and grabbed one of them by the reins as Erwin slowly let them slip through his fingers. "Neither one of us has a better idea and no one is going to look for us in a village that technically no longer exists."
The words were sour and felt bitter on Eren's tongue but the man was right. They had already left their friends behind. Their sacrifice needed to be worth something.
Armin and Lio shared one horse and while Levi helped Ida over on his horse, Erwin got into the saddle of the third one after giving Eren the reins of the one with Ceadda already on top, holding on to the mare's hair.
"So that's our plan?", Levi asked again as they all sent the wall and everything behind it one last look. "Flee and find whatever can be found in the ruins of Shiganshina?"
Eren nodded and swung himself on top of the horse, placing himself behind Ceadda. This time, the boy almost naturally leaned against him even though it was done hesitatingly. Eren pushed his heels down, prompting the horse to raise its head as it waited for the signal to move on.
As the Second Prince of Eldia looked towards the wall, he promised himself that he would return. He would neither leave his kingdom nor his family behind. Never again.
"Let's show them what they got themselves into when they came for my soul."
The end
To be continued...
| My dear readers - god, it has been so long, hasn't it? I deeply apologize but my personal life hasn't allowed me to dedicate my time to writing this book. As promised, I would never call it quits and thank you so much for being so amazing and patient and whatnot!
We have now finished the second book of this series and yes, it's shorter than the other one but - SURPRISE, IT'S NOT THE LAST ONE!
Yep. We're not finished, not for a loonnggggggg time, my friends. So stay put if you're still interested and never stop leaving your amazing comments and DMs!!!!
The next book will be called "Coming for your trust" so hold out for that! I will answer as my questions as I can (literally, half of the time I have no idea what's going to happen next) and will now continue planning the third book of this series! |