Dedicated Chapter Song: Throw the First Stone - Black Veil Brides
Sitting on your throne you rest your pretty bones. Don't act like you're alive. Take another chance to do this on my own. But you will let it die. Feels like a lifetime living in this pain. A whole world passes me by. Losing the daylight but I must admit that you're suiting for this lie. Another lie.
(Hysteria to Anna)
*A century ago*
“Kyeh! Ha...ha...ha...” Hysteria exhaled a breathe, her chest heaving from all the physical activity she'd endured throughout the day. A dead boy laid at her feet— or rather, several did. Hysteria threw her white as snow hair over her shoulder and glared at the line by the training barracks. “Who’s next?!” she barked, hungry for more blood.
A group of young trainees shivered, each looking at one another in fear. “I believe...” spoke a curly fair-haired boy, glancing down at a brunette girl, who was already crying behind her black mask. She knew she was next. “Urrie is next...”
“Cullen, I don't want to go,” the girl whispered. “She’s a monster.”
Hysteria whistled, twirling her dagger about in her hand. “I'm waaaaiting. If you don't get over here now, I'll just kill you where you stand.” Urrie glanced up to Cullen with her bright blue eyes. “Save me...”
Another group of boys grabbed Urrie by her arms and threw her into the fighting ring. Hysteria laughed. “This is pitiful. Whatever. I'll make a tasty snack outta you.”
The young adolescent reached out and took up the two daggers the boy before her had failed to use properly. “I...I...” Anna slowly rose to her feet. “Won’t go down so easily...” she threatened. No one else ever dared to stand up to Hysteria. She was a goddess, after all. At least, the supposed descendant of one. “Puh! All talk and no action. Say ’ello to your mum in hell for me, Urrie.” Hysteria brought her arm behind her head before throwing a knife at the brunette, who ducked out of instinct.
“Huh?” Hysteria blinked, her red eyes filled with confusion. Typically her enemies would freeze up. “You think... that's going to kill me...?” Urrie breathed out. “You're going to have to try a lot harder.” The girl was brave enough to directly strike Hysteria, her double daggers coming in contact with Hysteria’s dagger of Kris— a long wavy blade with a black leather hilt. “You little bitch!” Hysteria gnashed her fangs at the girl.
Urrie recoiled and jumped out of the way as Hysteria flipped her dagger in her palm and sliced outwards towards her opponent. “Woah, Anna is fast,” remarked a blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl. “Not necessarily,” spoke the boy from before, Cullen. “Anna is only managing to dodge the Crow’s attacks.”
“Crow?” the blonde was surprised, pulling aside a redhead girl and wrapping her arms protectively around her. “She insisted we call her that. It's best if we do not know her true name. Remember, Boss informed us that we're on a need-to-know basis and we don't need to know who she is.”
“But she's killed several of us!”
“And she'll kill more if we don't follow her rules.”
“Hyeh!” Anna swiped her right hand across her opponent’s face, leaving the first ever cut in Hysteria’s fair skin. Hysteria was rattled; appalled; agog. She stumbled backwards and wiped her own blood off of her cheek. “You...cut...me...” she growled in a low voice.
“Yeah,” Anna Urrie laughed with pride. “I did.” Hysteria glowered at the girl, rushing towards her. Anna panicked, holding up her arms to block, keeping the metal daggers close in a defensive position. Hysteria’s blade crashed into Anna's and she spun back. “How...? You're just a pathetic human...so how can you compete against me?!" Hysteria kicked out her legs, one of which breaking Anna's left leg. “AH! Nngh...” Anna screamed out in pain. “Because unlike you...” Anna ground her teeth as Hysteria walked over to her, beating her in the face with her fist. “DIE! DIE! FUCKING DIE!”
Anna was certain she would. But never in her fifteen years of life had she been prouder of herself. ‘If you want to live, you've got to fight,’ she remembered what her friend Cullen had told her the day they both walked into Violet Masquerader territory. ‘We can't keep living this way. Nothing will ever change.’ her entire body was shaking and she fell back onto her hands and knees, slowly trying to crawl away from Hysteria.
Anna took one glance at her group of friends, all of whom had nervous expressions on their faces, afraid for her life. Except Cullen. He wasn't nervous at all. In fact, he was smirking. “Show her what you're made of.”
And suddenly, Anna wasn't scared at all. All the shaking and the pain stopped. She felt a rush of energy surge through her like a lightning bolt and she was on her feet in seconds. The raw power and adrenaline she felt allowed her to move at a lightning fast speed to Hysteria, slicing her double daggers at every fiber of skin she managed to knick, scratch, or cut.
She was too fast for Hysteria to properly keep up with. In the end, Hysteria was a bloody mess, but she was still breathing. Anna’s chest heaved as she ripped off her black mask so her opponent could see her face. It rolled off her fingertips and dropped to the ground beside Anna's ankles. “Because...” she repeated with a breathy exhale. “unlike you... I have a heart...and it is strong. I won't go down so easily.”
Hysteria giggled, licking her own blood off of her arms. “Ah, I'll kill you!” she swore. “You...will be my tastiest meal yet! Mark my words, Anna Urrie, I will have your head though hell or high water!”
“That's enough!” Boss’s chilling voice boomed throughout the training quarters. Each and every warrior stood up straight and saluted with their hands to their foreheads. “Come to see the show, have you?” Hysteria teased. Boss glowered at her. “You're hurt.”
“Yeah? Think I didn't notice? Blame that one there.” she pointed with her dagger at Anna, who remained in a defensive stance, just in case. Boss noticed the change in her blue eyes, seeing a stormy sea in them that was never there before. “Urrie, come with me.” he insisted.
“Wh...where are we going?”
“You're going to forget this ever happened. But...your training will be increased to 17 hours a day. Think you can handle that?” his fierce red eyes looked down at her from behind his own mask. “Ah— I have no doubts that I'll manage, sir!”
“Good girl,” he crooned. “You,” he turned back to Hysteria. “It seems I've managed to find you a worthy opponent.” but Hysteria was angry. She tore into the arm of a fallen warrior, eating away at his flesh, muscles and all. Anna almost threw up at the sight of it, needing to turn away. “I...will...kill you...” Hysteria spoke with a husky and desperate tone in her voice. “Mark my words, Anna....I will be the one to end your life...”
“Everyone here is to forget what they saw.” Boss ordered simply. As if by hypnosis or brainwash, the entirety of the group of warriors, except Anna was in a dazed state of mind. “To your rooms!”
“Sir...what about her?” Anna asked once everyone had left. “No need to worry about her, Anna,” since Anna was unaffected by whatever mind spell he'd used on the others, he retrieved a rather large needle from the inside of his coat. Anna cautiously took a step back. “An Ackerman like you is most definitely a worthy opponent of hers. Your mother was right. But I'll cease your power for now.”
The needle plunged its way into Anna's neck. She couldn't scream; she couldn't feel her own lungs or her breath. All the energy she'd awoken inside her remained, but it wasn't as strong as it was moments ago. She felt weak. She felt...
“Sir...?” she glanced at him in confusion when the needle was removed. “Was there something you needed of me?”
“Return to your shack at once.”
“Y-Y-Yes, sir...”
“That girl,” Boss mumbled to himself once Anna had ran off. “If it comes down to it, she'll be the one to end Hysteria...”
*Present Day*
Anna stood tall on the makeshift podium before the general public, all of whom surprised by their beautiful new queen. Dressed in a sky blue dress, with her hair pinned back, Anna was the definition of beauty within the Walls. As the crown came forward, Anna bowed, allowing the crown to be placed on her head.
‘This is wrong,’ she thought to herself once the crown was finally on her head. ‘I’m lying to everyone. I should just come out and tell the truth. But if I do that, my chances of killing Hysteria are slimmer. This is for everyone's sake. I just need to keep this secret. But Eren...’ her eyes glanced down to the crowd, where her friends were cheering for her. Except, Eren had a cold glare in his eyes.
Anna gulped. ‘He knows I'm not of royal blood. I can't have him telling anyone.’ Anna's heart dropped even further when she stood back up and watched her husband be crowned. She couldn't stand lying to him, but it was for everyone's own good. Once Hysteria was dead she would give up the throne to Krista, who she neglected to call Historia due to its close relevance to Hysteria’s name.
Anna turned to the general public, her heterochromia orbs scanning everyone's expressions. Most were happy, some disdained. “The True Ruler of the Walls,” spoke the man who crowned her. “Queen Annalise!”
Anna pushed aside all negative thoughts and smiled, slamming her right fist against her chest and saluting proudly to her subjects. It was unreal. She was Queen. A queen of lies. A queen of pain.