TW: graphic violence scenes, blood, death. don't say i didn't warn you!!! this chapter is probably one the chapters i was dreading writing the most but it's necessary for the story to progress so i uhhh apologize in advance! don't hate me too much.

❦
Jean sits up from the cement bench he was asleep on. His back and neck were cramped up in all the wrong places.

Dust was floating around him in the pale sunlight that shined through the window that was merely the size of his hand.

He looks at the bars in front of him. Dull, dry and evenly apart. He had been in this cell ever since last afternoon and he was already sick of it after such a short time. He understood why criminals ended up going insane in their cells.

Based off the position of the sun, he figured it was maybe late morning. Probably around 10am. He was still due to spend his entire day in here before he was released at night.

He tries to stretch his limbs to get his strained muscles moving correctly again. The worst part about getting your heart broken by a woman is when her family locks you in a jail cell with nothing to distract you from the pain.

As angry as he wanted to be with you, he couldn't. Even with his snippy comments and insults he threw your way yesterday, he had grown to feel guilty.

Even though it was your decision that was made, none of this was your fault. He made the choice to follow after you when he was specifically told to bring you home immediately. He made the choice to lie in letters that he hadn't found you when in actuality, he was with you the entire time.

It was his decision to kiss you, even if it were you whom asked him to. It was his decision to do everything else that proceeded after. He couldn't blame you for all of it. He knew what he was doing and he always had the option to say no.

He wasn't forced to do any of it. He did it because he wanted to. For that very reason, he was content with his punishment because he knew that indulging in such a sin could not go without such.

He fell for a engaged woman. His best friend's younger sister. His employer's daughter.

He knew you were trying to save his reputation and his life. You would take all the heat and all the blame, just for him to not lose anything.

But as a man, he couldn't let you do such a thing. He had to take responsibility for his actions. He couldn't run from this. He didn't want to lie and pretend he didn't love you when he so clearly did.

After everything, after his long night of sleeping in a cage and on a cement bench in an ancient dungeon, he still couldn't find it in himself to blame you.

All he wanted was to see you. He hadn't seen you since you both arrived back home and it was driving him crazy. He went from seeing you everyday to not seeing you at all. It pains him to know that's how it will be from now on.

He felt like an addict who quit drugs cold turkey. No slowly pulling back or minimizing dozes. It was straight to the point. The two of you never to see each other again.

He found himself wondering if they'd allow him to say goodbye to you considering he will be banished and could never return. Not that you'd be here for much longer anyway. He was banned from Eldia, not Cicily.

But then again, would he really ever go to Cicily to see you? Wasting his time and money to go to a place where he'll have to endure you married to another man and eventually carrying his children? The idea made him absolutely sick to his stomach.

Maybe it was as you told him that night in his backyard. This was how it was meant to be. You were to get sent off to marry a prince and be queen to a land of people just as compassionate as you are, and he was meant to go to Marley like he always planned and live the life he thought he wanted.

The adventures the two of you shared together will just have been fond memories to look back on.

He leans his head back against the cement walls. "One more time. That's all I ask for. Let me see her one last time." He wasn't sure who he was speaking to. God, the universe, ghosts of people who may have died in this very dungeon.

Whoever was listening, he hoped they'd offer him some kind of insight on what to do.

Suddenly, he hears the heavy dungeon door open and proceeded by the sound of keys jiggling. He knew the chance of it being you was highly unlikely, but he still found himself holding on the tiniest glimmer of hope.

Eren and Connie both proceed toward Jean's jail cell. Connie twirls the keys around his finger and they spin wildly around it. "Well, well, well." Connie sings with a grin.

"You've been a very naughty boy, Kirstein." Eren waves his finger in the air.

Jean groans. These two were the last people he needed to see right now. "Whose bright idea was it to give you two idiots the keys?"

Connie kicks the bars. "Hey! People actually find us responsible, you know? A lot more than they find you now, that is." He snickers.

Eren joins in. "Yeah, I think you're the last person to call anyone an idiot."

"Did you two come in here to make horrible jokes or were you sent here by the king and queen to torture me some more?" Jean asks.

Eren raises a dark eyebrow. "Torture?" He points at the cell Jean is in. "This isn't nearly as bad as I thought they were going to do to you."

Connie crosses his arms as he pretends to be in deep thought. "If it were my daughter, I'd want the guy to suffer. What do you think, Eren?"

The brunette brings his hand to his chin and looks up at the ceiling in the same mock concentration. "Yeah, I think so too."

Jean takes off his shoe and hurls it toward the bars to startle them. The two jump. Connie laughs. "We're just messing you, Jeanboy. Just trying to lighten the mood is all."

Jean groans and lays back down on the bench, his back already despising the feeling. "I suppose listening to you idiots is better than just staring at the walls."

"Again," Eren leans against the bars and crosses his arms. "If anyone is the idiot, it's you."

"Hey, he's the idiot who bagged the princess." Connie comes to Jean's defense. "Eh? Am I right, Jean?" He winks.

Jean glares at him in silence. Eren scoffs. "He didn't bag anything. She's still marrying someone else."

Connie's smile drops. "Well, I know that! I'm just trying to make the poor guy feel better."

"I'm still right here." Jean says loudly, his forearm rested over his eyes.

Eren begins to feel a little bad. "I mean, I guess I do have to give it to you. Not many people like us can say they've slept with a Princess."

Jean sits up as he begins to grow more vexed. "Don't say it like that."

"Okay," Eren says. "Made loveee then."

Jean scoffs and rolls his eyes. "Don't you two have anything better to do?"

"Do you actually love her?" Connie asks. "Like... love love?"

They both stare at Jean as they await his answer. He just stares back at them. "If I say yes, you'll call me stupid. If I say no, you'll think I'm a dick for sleeping with her with no feelings."

"I have to admit it's pretty cool either way." Connie shrugs. "I mean, the guy took a Princess's virginity and he's not even royalty!"

Jean stands up from the bench and makes his way over to the bars. "Stop talking."

"Good idea." A voice at the entrance says. All three heads turn in the direction the sound comes from, only to find Ambrose standing in the door way.

Eren and Connie immediately bow. "Prince Ambrose." The prince walks down the steps and down the row of cells until he lands in front of Jean's.

He looks Jean up and down and then back at Eren and Connie. "Get out."

Eren attempts to speak up. "I'm sorry your highness, but the king and queen told us not to let any of you in here."

"Unless you want the king and queen," Ambrose responds while mocking Eren's voice, "To know that you two were cheering on Jean for taking my engaged little sister's virginity, you will do as I say and leave us."

The two guards shut their mouths instantaneously and lower their heads as they pass by him and out the door.

He then turns his attention to Jean. "How is your face?"

Jean turns to the side to reveal his cheek that was  slightly swollen and more than anything bruised.  "You tell me. I don't exactly have a mirror in here."

Ambrose leans forward to get a closer look. "Ou, good thing you're in here so no one can see you like that, huh?"

Jean sighs and takes a seat the bench. "Did you just come in here to make fun of me too?"

Ambrose begins to walk back and forth in front of the cell. "There's no need to make you feel even more foolish that I can only imagine you already feel."

"So?" Jean wonders. "Don't tell me you came here to apologize."

Ambrose stops pacing. Jean begins to howl with laughter. "No way. You're actually here to apologize."

"I am not!" Ambrose fights. "I actually just wanted to laugh in your face one last time before I never see you again."

Jean stops laughing. Ambrose starts to pace again. "I'm not sorry for punching you in the face." He begins. "You deserve it."

Jean watches as he goes back and forth. "But for whatever reason, my sister really does care about you. She...she loves you."

He stops walking. "Why? Why didn't you just bring her home when you found her? Then she wouldn't have fallen in love with you and you wouldn't have either and none of this would've been happening."

"I hate to break it to you." Jean admits. "But I fell in love with her way before she ran away."

"Not like this." Ambrose denies. "You felt for her. I know you did. I may not be as smart as Elijah or as empathic as my sister but I could see it. The way you looked at her, the way you would speak about her."

He takes a few steps to the left. "Before she left, you were attached to her. It may have hurt you to see her marry someone else but not as bad as it hurts you now. You're telling my parents that you rather die than be without her. You can't possibly tell me that's something you would've said before she ran away."

"You're right." Jean agrees. "I definitely gained more feelings for her while we were away. But the thing you all don't understand is, she didn't seduce me or trick me into doing anything. I agreed to all of it. Willingly and without hesitation."

He adjusts his posture to sit up straight. "I knew I was only getting more attached and that it'd only hurt me more to see her marry someone else but I still did it anyway."

"Why?" Ambrose says like he can't fathom himself ever doing such a thing for anyone.

"Because spending even just a little time with her is better than none." Jean says simply. "The day I found her, I had every intent to bring her home. I had my mind set on it. I promised that I would."

He unfolds his hand on his lap. His eyes trace the lines on his palms. "She asked me to follow her. To lie and say I didn't find her so the trip could last longer. I knew it was a bad idea but I gave in. I agreed to do it."

His open hand closes shut. "I wanted to see her smile. I wanted to make her happy. She wanted so desperately to see those stupid fucking lanterns and I wanted to be the one to take her. I have wanted to take her for what feels like a very long time now."

He thinks back on the night you spoke to him for the first time ever. "You know, the first time she ever said a word to me was when she was looking at those lanterns. She was a kid. We both were. She looked at me with those big eyes and said she wanted to see them in person one day."

He smiles at the memory. "I ran home and painted that very scene so that I would never forget it. I wanted to remember so that when I was older, I'd be the one to take her to see them."

He looks at your brother, fully giving in. "And I did. She offered me the path there and I took it. I couldn't say no. I'd regret it for the rest of my life if I had."

Ambrose looks back at him with an expression that wasn't necessarily easy to read. "You don't understand. I'm not talking about you. I'm talking about her. If you would've just brought her home, you would've saved her from getting attached to you too."

He runs an exasperated hand through his curls. "I know you may think I care little of my sister because I push her around and make fun of her but I care about her more than you know. Her happiness is everything to me."

"It's everything to me too." Jean says. "That's all I want for her."

"Do you?" Ambrose steps forward, one hand rested on one of the bars. "Because now she has to live an unhappy life with someone else when she rather be with you."

"That isn't my fault." Jean speaks. "It's not like I don't want to be with her. I was ready to give up everything to be with her. I still am!"

Ambrose backs away from the bars as he fumes. "You don't get it. If you would've brought her back and kept your distance, she would've eventually fallen in love with Phoenix and she would've had a happy marriage and a happy life. Now she wants something she can't have."

Jean leans into the wall. "You don't have to worry. He chose him over me anyway. I gave her the chance to run away with me and live her life with me but she didn't take it. I told her to choose what made her happy and she chose marrying Phoenix."

Ambrose shakes his head. "You should've never gotten involved in this. Look at you! Look at your situation. We tried to warn you. I tried to tell you to keep your distance. I was trying to help you and save you from this life!"

He looks ready to pull his hair out. "Nobody notices all the things I do for them. Why can't people see I am doing things for their own good?"

Jean frowns. "What are you talking about?"

"It's frustrating!" Ambrose shouts. "Seeing my sister force herself to love someone when her heart belongs to another or to see my brother lead a life he doesn't want to just to make everyone happy. And you."

He looks right at him. "You should be chasing after the life you wanted. You should be commander of some royal guard far from here with a bad ass house and the family inside it. Not here. Not in the dungeon of the castle I live in."

This was the first time Jean ever saw Ambrose so... devastated. So distraught. Sure the prince was known for his exaggeration but it was mainly his passion or anger. Not his sadness.

"I wanted better for you." Ambrose says. "I may not show it but I want everyone I care about to be happy. I would do anything to ensure they are. So to stand here and see you like this. Entrapped in a jail cell looking so pathetic and heartbroken. It hurts me to see."

Jean snorts. "Prince Ambrose of Eldia has a soul. Some may dare even say a heart. Who would've thought?"

The prince responds by laughing as he shakes his head at the ground. "I remember being so happy when you returned to the castle to work here. I know I didn't show it at first but I was."

He looks up. "Now I wish you hadn't come back."

Jean could feel his heart drop. The poor organ had already been beat to death by you now your brother wanted to get some swings in.

"If you hadn't," Ambrose continues. "You would've been safe from all this. You wouldn't have gotten involved."

His eyes looked deeper than they usually did. The cool prince always seemed so careless, so to see his expression so serious was odd. "You would've had a life without me and my family. We wouldn't have ruined your life."

"Why do you keep saying that?" Jean asks. "My life isn't ruined. I at least get to live another day. I get to keep my life, it's just... different now. It's no longer going to be in Eldia."

Before Ambrose can respond, the door comes open again and it's now Kai who stands there. "What are you doing here?" He asks his brother.

"I can ask you the same." Ambrose replies.

Kai walks down the steps. "Looking for you actually." He then meets them at Jean's cell. He switches glances between both of them. "Although, maybe I don't need to talk to you after all."

"What?" Ambrose asks, unbothered to hide his irritation.

Kai sighs. "Yn wanted me to try to convince you to join us in convincing our parents to let Jean stay in Eldia."

"What?" Ambrose and Jean say in unison.

"By us, you don't mean Elijah too, do you?" Ambrose asks.

Kai nods. "She managed to convince him somehow. We're just waiting on you."

Ambrose immediately declines. "No."

Kai scoffs, his head cranked back. "Why not?"

"Because it's a stupid idea." Ambrose states. "You really think we can convince mother, especially FATHER, to change their minds because we all teamed up together?"

Kai tilts his head toward Jean. "Don't you want him to stay in Eldia? And don't say you don't because I overheard all the corny things you were just now saying to him."

Ambrose drops his mouth, offended that his brother was listening into his conversation. "You fucking nosy rat. Do you have no friends that you have to overhear other people talking so you don't feel lonely?"

"I have more friends than you." Kai responds with sass. "Your 'lady' friends don't count either. You don't have sex with friends."

"Sure you do." Ambrose smiles. "But you wouldn't know, would you virgin?"

Kai fails to disguise his annoyance. "Who cares if I'm a virgin? Some of us actually care about who we stick our dicks into."

Ambrose pouts. "Aw, are you saving yourself for your girlfriend? The one you can't seem to grow a pair of balls for?"

Kai laughs. "Yes, that one. The girl who actually likes me. Tell me Ambrose, who actually likes you?"

Ambrose grits his teeth and pulls Kai closer by grabbing unto the collar of his shirt. "I guess you want matching bruises with your bestfriend. How cute."

Kai smirks. "Will I get a heart filled apology after too?"

The boys begins to wrestle while Jean stands there in complete disbelief on how he was having a meaningful conversation with Ambrose one second and watching the same person smack his brother repeatedly on the head the next second.

"Hey!" Jean shouts. "In case you two forgot, neither of you are supposed to be down here. Try not to attract too much attention to yourselves."

The two brothers stop. Kai pulls himself away first and adjusts his now wrinkled shirt. Ambrose adjusts his hair as he rakes his hands through it.

Kai is the first to speak. "Look, if you don't want to do the plan, tell her yourself. I don't want her to keep bugging me about it."

Ambrose shuts his eyes and thinks for a moment. "Fine." He bumps into Kai's shoulder on his way out. "Let's get this shit over with."

Kai watches as his brother walks out. He looks back at Jean with disbelief. "He gets more psychotic each time I see him. I genuinely don't understand his problem. I swear I'm going to end up killing him one day."

Jean laughs. "You can have my cell when you get locked up. I'll keep it warm for you."

Kai begins to walk around like Ambrose was doing but much less hectic and antsy. "Trust me, if I ever kill him, I won't be dumb enough to get caught."

"I said the same thing and look at me." Jean gestures to his cell.

"Killing someone and sleeping with my sister are two entirely different things." Kai says as he continues to pace around slowly.

Jean tries to make a joke in attempt to relieve the tension. He didn't want to leave Eldia on bad terms with Kai. Especially him. He was glad he was given the opportunity to atleast say goodbye. "Killing is much worse, don't you think?"

Kai raises his brows like he actually has to think about it. "The two go hand and hand though. I mean, most people would want to kill their best friend if they found out he was banging their missing sister while pretending to be looking for her."

That was the first time Jean heard it like that. It sounded so horrible that way. He now understood why everyone saw it like he corrupted you. Why it seemed like he manipulated you and took advantage of your vulnerability.

In their eyes, you were missing. They were scared and worried that you in trouble or worse, dead; and yet, he was with you the entire time and never bothered to mention to anyone that you were okay.

"But don't worry," Kai says. He was no longer pacing but standing right in front of the cell. "I didn't come here to make you feel like shit."

"Let me guess," Jean sits man spread. "You've come to give me your sincerest apologizes like your brother?"

Kai looks unamused. "I'm here because of my sister. She's bound to get married soon and I won't see her as much. I didn't realize how much it was going to suck until she ran away. I want to do one last thing for her before she leaves and she asked for this."

"For you to come talk to me?" Jean questions.

"For me to tell you that we're trying to get you out, okay?" Kai clarifies. "As much as it satisfies me to see you locked in a jail cell, it hurts her and seeing her hurt makes me hurt. I'm doing this for her, not you."

Jean chuckles. "So that's it? You don't care about me anymore? Don't care if I live or die? If I stay or if I go? I'm nothing to you now?"

"You know what the dumbest part about all of this is?" Kai laughs. "I'm not angry at you for sleeping with my sister. I'm angry at you for being stupid enough to."

He stops in place. "You think I don't know you two have liked each other forever? My sister used to talk my ear off about you. When I knew you were going after her, I expected something to happen. The two of you alone, sleeping in the same places, unchaperoned."

"So then why are you so surprised?" Jean asks. "Since you seem to know so much."

"Not surprised." Kai admits. "Just disappointed."

Jean laughs. "You sound like my mother."

Kai sighs and sits down on the ground right on the other side of the bars. "I knew you liked her too. I've known for a while now. I think I always just thought you'd never do anything about it. I thought you'd know better."

Jean shrugs. "Sorry to disappoint. You should probably get used to it. I'm sure it won't be the last time."

Kai snorts. "But it will be the last time. If we don't succeed this...plan, or whatever it is, you and I won't ever see each other again."

Jean looks at his best friend. "Maybe you're better off then."

Kai brings his mouth to the side as he says nothing. He clearly didn't want to lose Jean. He just couldn't push his pride aside to show it.

Instead he sighs and leans back, his arms behind him. "I can't believe she lost her virginity before I did. Now I'm the last one."

Jean almost stands up from his seat. "Wait, Elijah isn't a virgin?"

"What?" Kai cackles. "No way. He lost his before Ambrose even did. Who do you think taught us about everything? My father?"

Jean blinks in shock. "How did I not know this?"

Kai brings his knee up to rest his arm on. "It was before you came back to work for us. He lost it to our horse riding instructor before we got Hange."

He couldn't believe it. All the years he had thought Elijah had been a virgin considering he was always the perfect model of everything an unmarried prince should be. Jean thought he'd be saving himself for marriage or something.

"Man, she was hot." Kai reminisces. "Kinda weird though. She was way older than us. Elijah was 16 and she was 20."

And he liked older women? Turns out he didn't know Elijah as much as he thought he did.

"Did your parents ever find out?" Jean wonders.

"You kidding?" Kai laughs. "Elijah knows how to keep a secret hidden. Ambrose and I didn't find out until months later. She wasn't even working with us anymore by the time we knew."

The boy then furrows his brows. "Now that I think of it, that's pretty gross. Why didn't she go after someone her own age?"

Jean cringes. "He was young and a prince. Elijah is smart though. I don't think she manipulated him into doing it."

"Oh, he definitely wanted to." Kai agrees. "He brags about it all the time. He wanted to lose it before us to rub it in our faces. You know he always wants to one up everyone. Sleeping with an older woman was just for extra bonus points, I guess."

"I guess I'm just surprised he broke the rule." Jean realizes.

Kai stands up from the ground and pats his hands clean. "Elijah isn't as perfect as he makes himself seem. Sorta like my sister which I'm sure you now know she's not exactly who she projects herself to be either."

Jean snorts at himself. "You would think I would know you guys better by now."

Kai sticks his hand in his pocket. "We're a misunderstood family. We might say mean things to each other but we always have the best intentions at heart. We look out for each other."

He extends his hand, fist closed. "Here. She told me to give this to you."

Jean reaches his hand out and allows Kai to drop whatever it is he is holding onto his palm. A crumbled up candy wrapper falls from his hand.

"A candy wrapper?" Jean asks with confusion.

Kai shrugs. "Don't ask me. She shoved it in my pocket and told me to give it to you and make sure no one saw."

He then clears his throat. "I'm gonna go now." Before he leaves, he stops. "I don't know if this plan is going to work or not. If it doesn't, I probably won't see you again after this. If this is the last time we see each other, I want to make sure to say goodbye."

Jean waves. "Bye."

Kai chuckles. Amused by the fact that Jean could still have a sense of humor even in his current situation. "Have a nice life, Kirstein. Don't ever forget about us."

When he's left alone again, he unravels the balled up candy wrapper and does his best to straighten it out. When it's flat, he realizes it's the same wrapper from the candy you bought from the kids on the street in Marley. He couldn't believe you had kept it after all this time.

He flips the wrapper around to the side without the logo and sees a small handwritten note. In purple ink, the words read: "Don't give up yet."

❦

Mikasa pulls the curtains open to bring the light into the room. You groan and rip your pillow out from under you and use it to cover your face. "Close that!"

"You need to get up." Mikasa continues to open all the windows. "Your mother wants you to join everyone for breakfast."

"Even more reason not to get up." You mutter into the silk pillowcase.

She yanks the pillow away from you. "What happened to your 'big day?'" She refers to what you said last night.

You replace the pillow with your hand. "I don't feel good."

"Yeah, right." She doesn't take you seriously.

You sit up straight. "I'm serious!"

She stares at you, her face showing she was already fed up with you so early in the morning. "Stop avoiding it. You can't hide in here forever."

You reach for your sleeping eye mask that rested on your nightstand. "Sure I can."

She pulls that away from you too. "Do you want your mother to come in here and personally drag you out of bed? Because you know she will."

You groan and toss aside the covers so you can get up. "I guess I can't piss her off today if I want to change her mind."

"Exactly." Mikasa says as she turns on the bath. "And please bathe before you go out there."

You gasp as you see a huge red splotch right at the center of your bed. "Ew. At least I'm not pregnant right? There's a bright side to everything." 

Regardless of your joke, she was unamused as she pulls your blood soaked sheets off the bed. "I'll get them washed, just go shower."

After you bathe and get dressed for the day, you stand at the closed door of your bedroom. Mikasa was right. Just last night, you were so eager for today to come so you could do everything in your power to help Jean out of his punishment.

But now that the day had come, and the reality had set in, you had absolutely no will to leave this room.

Your very-much-angry-with-you family was awaiting for you to join them at a table where your soon-to-be family also awaits, completely oblivious to what was happening around them.

Mikasa waits as you come up with a million excuses in your mind. "You know Jean leaves tonight, right? Meaning you only have today to magically change everything. You shouldn't be wasting any time."

"Does that mean you're for it?" You turn to her. "Does that mean you think we can actually pull it off?"

She scoffs and opens the door for you since you, for whatever reason, couldn't seem to. "I think you need as many hours of the day possible, that's for sure."

You shove the door closed. "No seriously. Do you think we can pull it off?"

She just stares at you. You could tell she was contemplating telling you the truth or just telling you what you wanted to hear.

She makes her decision finally. "If I'm being honest, I don't think you'll change their minds. If anything, I think you'll only make them angrier by getting your brothers involved too."

"So you think I should give up?" You ask firmly.

"I think you're wasting your time." She answers. "And getting everyone else involved will just be an inconvenience to them too."

You laugh, shocked at what she was saying. You knew she wasn't going to be happy about the situation just like everyone else, but if your brothers could manage to forgive and forget, why couldn't she?

"Since you're against us and not with us, I won't tell you anything about it anymore." You pull the door open. "You know, to avoid being an inconvenience."

She sighs. "That's not what I meant by—"

You close the door shut in between her words and in between both of you. You were already feeling nervous about the situation, you didn't need her negative comments to make it worse.

You take your time walking down the halls and toward the dining area. Guards and other staff all bow when you pass them. There was no whispering or side glances.

No one seemed to know what was truly going on inside this castle. If there was one thing your family was indestructible at, it was keeping things a secret.

It seemed like a normal day and you might've fallen for the illusion if your heart would stop racing for just a moment.

Before you make it to the dining hall, you see Elijah also on his way there. He sees you before you even notice him. "Good morning." He says.

"Morning." You finally allow yourself to breathe. "It's still too early to tell if it's a good one or not."

He chuckles as he begins to walk along side you. "Nervous?"

"Extremely."

He walks with his hands in both pockets. "If we get Ambrose on our side, we might actually have a really good chance."

You raise a brow. "Ambrose? You know, our parents have always favored you. Don't be modest."

He glances at you. "But Ambrose can convince anyone to do anything. I can be the favorite all day long but I can never alter reality to fit my own narrative the way he can."

"He is pretty good at that, isn't he?" You smile as you think of all the times he managed to gaslight everyone into thinking he was right even when there was hard proof he was wrong.

Almost as if he could hear he was being talked about, the man of the conversation struts up the stairs.

"Ambrose!" You chime with your hands tied behind your back. "Just the man I wanted to see."

"So I've heard." He responds with caution. "What do you want?"

You look at Elijah and clear your throat as you signal for back up. The eldest brother rolls his eyes and gestures for the two of you to follow him to a quieter area.

Ambrose scoffs as he enters the room. "Don't
tell me you two actually are considering this."

You figured Kai managed to find him first and filled him in on what was happening. "It may not be the brightest idea but what other option, do we have?" You ask. "We can't just let him disappear forever."

Ambrose crosses his arms. "Why not? He has always wanted to leave Eldia anyway."

It was true. This was Jean's perfect opportunity to leave to Marley and start all over there. He wouldn't have anything holding him back or any distractions while he works on his dream life.

But for some reason, you didn't want it to be this way. If that's what Jean truly desired, you were all for it. You wanted him to live his life the way he always wanted to. But not this way. Not forcefully and without being able to say goodbye.

Elijah takes a seat on the arm rest of a sofa chair. "Aren't you done pretending you don't care? We see right through your little facade. You did this exact same thing the first time he left too."

Ambrose blows air from his nose as he tries to keep his cool. "Am I the only one who thinks this is the best for everyone? Shit could've gone worse. Way worse, and yet, you guys want to keep pushing it. Are you trying to get him killed?"

"If they were going to kill him, they would've already." You say. "They can't bring themselves to do so."

"WRONG." Ambrose echos. "They would've if Elijah hadn't spoken up. That's the only reason he's getting an alternative punishment. A punishment you should be grateful for."

It seemed he was already at his breaking point. "When are you going to grow up, y/n? You can't always get away with everything without consequences."

Kai enters the room now. "I can hear your dumbass all the way down the hall." He insults his brother.

"I wouldn't push him if I was you." You warn Kai. Ambrose had always been a very...special kid. When he was angry, he was furious. He was known for blowing up and taking everyone in the room out with him.

Kai smacks his lips. "I'm not scared of him. He needs to keep his mouth shut."

"Why?" Ambrose asks. "It's not like I'm joining this secret operation. You guys are going to end up making things worse and I want no part of it. Not even Jean wants any part of it. He's willing to accept this punishment because he knows he messed up."

He turns to Kai. "I can't believe you even support this. Out of all four of us, you and Jean have been the closest for the longest. Use your brain, Malakai. Don't make things worse for him."

Kai looks right at him. "I'm looking at it with a glass half full. If there's even the slightest chance we get to help Jean, I'm taking it." He then stands near you. "Besides, I always have her back. You know this. We were twins in another life."

Ambrose keeps his face flat. "Please, if the two of you were twins, she would've ate you in the womb."

"What?" Kai asks with genuine offense. "You think she would've ate me in the womb?"

Elijah agrees. "It's not like you'd even fight back anyway."

"Eh," Kai shrugs. "True."

Ambrose turns to his older brother now. "I can't believe you, out of everyone, are actually backing her up. Surely you know how stupid this is."

"I'm surprised you aren't." Elijah responds cooly. "I thought we always backed each other up. You said it yourself, no one is allowed to hurt us other than us."

"Jean isn't one of us." Ambrose says without much thought.

"He is, you're just mad he banged your sister." Kai says.

"Heyyyyy." You whine.

Kai keeps going. "You have any idea how many people's sisters you've had sex with?"

"This isn't about me." Ambrose defends.

"Well, let's talk about it then." Kai smiles as he sits into a chair and crosses one leg over the other like he's a therapist.

Elijah chimes in. "As amusing as this is, we are on a short schedule and we haven't even started on a game plan." He turns back to Ambrose. "So. Are you in or out?"

Ambrose keeps his arms crossed and body firm. "And what if I'm out? Aren't you guys going to do it anyway?"

"Yes, but it'll be a lot better if— " You start to say before Kai cuts you off. "If you think this is the moment where we say we need you, get over yourself." He says.

Ambrose finally uncrosses his arms. "You guys know you can't pull something like this off without me or else you wouldn't have came to me in the first place."

He got us there.

"So, does that mean you're in?" You smile and bat your eyes.

He acts like he's thinking hard about it. Kai quickly grows annoyed with his theatrics and pulls you and Elijah away. "Whatever, let's just  do it without him."

"Wait!" Ambrose shouts.

All three of you turn around to face him. He rolls his eyes in return. "I guess I'll help."

You clap your hands together. "Yay! Group
project! So what's the plan? Should we bombard her and put her in a room without dad? Try to convince her first?"

"I don't even think getting her on our side would help. Once dad makes up his mind, he's set. You know he's not easily convinced, not even by me." Ambrose adds.

You frown. "It'll give us a better shot than if it's just us. Or maybe we put both of them in a room and try to convince them at the same time. We can remind them of all the memories we have with Jean and all the things Mama Kirstein used to do for us."

Elijah hums as he thinks. "That might help. Mama Kirstein and mom have always had a good bond. She trusts her and you know that means a lot coming from mom. I don't think she would want to banish her only kid."

Ambrose, of course, has a response. "Why would she care? Jean can take his mom with him. It's not like he's not gonna see her ever again."

"That's not the point, dumbass." Kai spits.

"The point is," You speak for everyone else. "Jean and his mother have done so many things for not just us but our parents too. She was loyal and worked for us for our entire lives. She has wiped our asses more times than our parents ever have."

You stand up from where you sit. "I understand that we want to treat everyone equally without favoritism and special treatment but... it's Jean."

You wave your hands in the air as you speak. "Jean fucking Kirstein! Elijah, you taught Jean how to read! Ambrose, you and Jean used to make up a new game every single day, and Kai, you took your very first steps right alongside Jean, holding onto eachother in case the other fell."

They all three smile as they reminisce on the memories they each individually had with Jean. You knew there was several that came to mind.

"He's different. I know they'll mostly be worried about a riot or uproar that we are treating him differently, but no one even knows about it. If we keep it quiet, no one will see." You mention.

"Eren and Connie know." Ambrose points out. "I heard them making fun of him down in the dungeon just before I walked in."

You somehow teleport in front of Ambrose now. "Wait, you saw him? Is he okay?"

"How do Eren and Connie know?" Elijah asks. "I thought the only one who knew was Marco and he signed a NDA."

Ambrose ignores him and looks down at you. "Your fuck buddy is fine." He snipes. "Calm down."

You back off. Kai is the only one who takes Elijah's question seriously. "Do you think they overheard? We weren't necessarily quiet about it."

"And whose fault is that?" You ask. "If you guys hadn't made such a huge scene, mom and dad would've never found out and we wouldn't be in this position."

"I didn't do anything." Elijah defends himself. "I wanted to go talk about it in private. They're the ones who caused a show." He gestures toward his younger brothers.

Kai does the same. "I didn't punch him in the fucking face like Ambrose did."

"You practically had your hands around his neck!" Ambrose protests.

"ANYWAYS!" You speak over them. "I think if we get our parents alone, we have a good shot. There's just one thing. My.....fiancé's," Your eye twitches at the word, "family is here and it seems like the queen and mom are inseparable. Not to mention I'm pretty sure mom has already planned something for me to do with Phoenix all day long."

"She wants to distract you." Elijah realizes. "She wants you to be distracted by Phoenix so you don't try to stop Jean from leaving tonight. She knows you too well. She knows it's not going to be this easy."

Ambrose snorts. "I doubt she'll find that hard."

You step back. "What's that supposed to mean?"

He turns his head toward you. "I saw you and Phoenix cozy together in the rose garden playing with Pascal."

Kai scrunches up his nose. "Ewww, don't make out in front of my dog!"

You smack Ambrose in the arm. "We weren't making out! We were just talking! Men and women can do that without having sex. You should try it, maybe then you'll actually find someone you like."

"Sounds boring and time consuming." He responds dryly.

"Yeah," Kai joins. "He's used to spending two minutes with a girl and being done with her." He snickers. "If he even lasts that long."

"What the hell do you know about either?" Ambrose snaps. "You're single and a virgin."

Kai crosses his arms and lifts his head proudly. "Actually, I have a girlfriend."

"Yeah, the one that you practically piss your pants in front of each time you see her?" Ambrose asks smugly. "I remember."

Kai balls his fists. "I don't piss my—"

"Speaking of that!" You join in. "When the hell are you going to propose?"

His arms come down. "Huh?"

"You heard me." You answer. "I bumped into her while I was gone and guess where she was? At a ball in a very tight dress and being introduced by her mother to some very wealthy princes."

His expression drops. "You're joking."

Ambrose starts to cackle. "So you really are just a single virgin. Even your little sister gets more action that you do."

The two, of course, end up fighting. Arguing and tussling while you look at Elijah. "It's going to be impossible working together, isn't it?"

He takes a deep breath and keeps his head forward, calm and cool. "I thought healing powers were impossible too until you proved me wrong."

You smile back, yours a lot less confident than his. After you manage to pull the boys apart, you discuss the plan.

First was the family breakfast which you were all already late too. Clearly, it would be quite hard to separate your parents from Phoenix's there at the table so it'd have to be after.

During the meal, Elijah suggested you should offer to give his family a tour of the castle grounds. Your mother obviously wouldn't want to join considering she knew every inch of the palace by heart so she'd stay back. That's when
your brothers would get her and your father in one room.

While you pull them away, you'll take them to someone who was hard to get away from and can talk for hours. Hange was the first person to come to mind.

While they get involuntary informed and educated on all things horses, you sneak out and meet your brothers back in the room and attempt to persuade your parents with their help.

It seemed like a long shot. A plan with far too many different ways to go wrong but with such short notice and in such little time, it was the best you could get.

The group dismisses and you all walk together toward the dining hall as if everything was fine. Phoenix and his family were already sat in their seats and your parents were in the room not so patiently waiting for you four to arrive.

"There they are!" Your mother smiles, her teeth pressing together so hard they could almost crack. She holds her arms out to embrace you all in way that looks like she's going in for a hug but instead she was getting onto you. "You're 30 minutes late. Where have you been?"

"Kai wouldn't wake up." Elijah says quickly.

Kai drops his mouth open but closes it just as fast. "I slept pretty late last night. Sorry."

She gives him a dangerous look but completely disguises it with a smile as she turns back around. "Everyone take their seats. I'll let the kitchen know we are ready."

Before she walks off, she points at you. "Oh and y/n, your seat is next to the prince." She made sure to say it loud enough for everyone else to hear.

Phoenix stands up and pulls the seat out from next to him. "Good morning, your grace."

"Good morning," You take your seat and he pushes you in. "You don't have to call me that, by the way. Y/n is just fine."

He returns to his seat. "Y/n it is then."

You sat to his right and his mother sat to his left. On your right was your mother and in front of you, all three of your brothers look right at you.

"Your majesties." You bow your head to the king and queen of Cicily. "How did you all sleep?"

"I slept quite well but I have slept better." Phoenix's mother admits. "I'm afraid I'm have grown accustomed to hearing the waves at night."

You laugh. "All we have here is the sound of wind whistling through the trees. It's relaxing but can also be creepy at times."

Kai, who had his neck craned back the whole time waiting for the food, joins in. "Don't forget the owls."

"The forest is a bit unsettling at night." She says sheepishly. "But from what I've seen, it's gorgeous during the day."

Your father speaks up from his end of the table. "You must see more of it then. We're quite renowned for our scenery."

You sit up. "I was actually thinking I can give them a tour of the castle grounds. No one knows this place better than I do."

Your mother returns back to table and takes her seat. "That's actually a wonderful idea." She seemed genuinely impressed.

Queen Isla beams with delight. "We would love to see everything! Phoenix tells me there's a beautiful willow tree by the lake with a swing that hangs from it. I have such a fascination for weeping willows."

You return the smile. "I'd be honor to show you, your highness."

The kitchen staff pools out from the kitchen, plates in hand. They all individually set the morning meal on the table. Kai doesn't even wait for everyone else to start digging in.

"Actually," Your mother says as she picks up her fork and knife. "I was thinking maybe you could give them a tour of Eldia. Outside the castle grounds."

You practically jump out your seat. "Wait, really?! You'll let me go out there?"

She laughs. "For the tour, yes."

Elijah clears his throat calling your attention over to him. When you make eye contact with him, he discreetly shakes his head. He was reminding you that she was purposely trying to distract you so you're not in the way.

You feel your excitement fade as you sink back down in your seat. You should've knew it was too good to be true.

"I don't think she would make a good tour guide." Ambrose admits. "She's never goes out there so she doesn't know it as well as most."

Queen Solana digs her knife into her food to cut it into smaller portions. "She has her birthday parade route memorized. She can take them through there. Besides, they'll have guards with them for assistance."

Ambrose presses his lips firmly. He looks at his older brother for support on what to say next but Elijah avoids his eyes and looks down at his food.

"I'd hate to burden her." King Adonis, Pheonix's father, speaks up. "I'm sure she's busy."

Your mother shakes her head. "She has too much free time. Believe me. I'm sure she'll be happy to join you all. Wouldn't you, y/n?"

You look up from your plate. You couldn't think of any excuse to get out of it so you just agree. "Of course."

Phoenix's mother turns to yours. "You're so lucky to have such a disciplined daughter. Phoenix tells me she's very accomplished at piano and archery. My daughter is 15 and she's extremely difficult at times. She has the shortest attention span. I can't get her to sit still."

Kai snorts. Ambrose clears his throat. Elijah scoots his chair up. You glare at all three of them. They didn't even need to say anything for you to know what they're thinking.

"I'm not sure if disciplined is the word I'd use." Your mother responds while shooting you a glance. "She just happens to love to learn. I got lucky there."

"Archery is an very disciplined sport." Phoenix's father retorts. "There's a lot that goes into it. You should be very proud. Although, I didn't know princesses were taught archery."

Solana takes a sip of her freshly squeezed orange juice. "They don't but my sons took archery classes and she absolutely demanded she be able to attend them as well."

"Seems like she's a woman who is determined to do what she wants." King Adonis says. "Very admirable. I wish more women were granted the opportunity to venture out in that way."

You smile proudly. You couldn't deny you were loving the praise and attention.

"Looks like Phoenix is going to have his hands full." His mother laughs. She taps her son on the shoulder. "Darling, why don't you tell us about how the two of you met?"

Phoenix stops eating and looks around at the table and then back at his mother. "Now?"

She shakes her head eagerly. "Go on."

He looks at you and you immediately recognize he's embarrassed. "Well.. The first time I found out about her was at Ambrose's 18th birthday party. I was invited and it was my first time visiting Eldia. He introduced me to his brothers and mentioned he had a sister but she wasn't at the party."

His brown eyes turn away from yours. "I thought it was odd that his own sister wasn't there. When I had gone to the bathroom, I passed the family portrait and saw her painted in the photo."

He seemed uncomfortable with the conversation but the way his mother continued to encourage him made him keep going. "I'd ask people if they knew her and no one did. I couldn't find a single thing on her. Then I saw her at her birthday ball for the first time. She was even prettier in person."

Ambrose scrunches his nose. "You think so?"

Phoenix laughs awkwardly. "She was coming from outside and had a big smile on her face. She looked so happy. I went up to her and introduced myself. She was easy to talk to. She was smart and funny."

You can feel your heart drop. The reason you'd came from outside with a huge smile was because it was the first night you and Jean had ever danced together. It was also the first night you realized the two of you were more than friends.

You wondered what he was doing right now. While you sit at this table with everyone, eating this bountiful breakfast, you wondered if he had eaten yet.

Suddenly, you no longer had an appetite.

"And now you're getting married." Queen Isla gleams at her son's flashback. "What a cute story to tell your children."

You may have lost your appetite for good now.

"So does that mean the wedding is going to take place in Cicily?" Kai asks. "Do we all get to go?"

"Of course!" Your mother smiles. "I wouldn't let anyone miss her wedding. It'll be a small vacation for us."

Ambrose looks up from his plate. "Will there be alcohol at this thing?"

"Champagne." Your mother answers with slight irritated undertones. She was warning him not to push it.

He shrugs and carries on with his meal. "Works for me."

"This is the first time we're all in the same room so let's discuss the wedding." Queen Solana says loud enough for the whole table to hear. "The theme is a soft purple with gorgeous orchids everywhere. It's going to take place on the beach too, right at sunset! It practically screams y/n."

How would she know when she never even bothered to ask? How did she even know you'd want that color? How did she know you'd even like the beach considering you've never been to one before.

"It's going to look absolutely stunning!" She says to everyone. She then looks at you. "What do you think?"

Your attitude fails to be discreet. "Oh, you're actually asking for my opinion."

All three of your brothers look up from their plates and right at you. They knew what was about to ensue.

Your mother knew too but she tries to play it off so the guests can remain oblivious. "Of course I am. It's your wedding."

"I haven't had a say in anything this far." You respond.

"You haven't?" Queen Isla scoots her chair forward. "I'm sorry, I thought your mother said you chose all this. The color, the location. Are you not happy with the stuff we've chosen?"

You could practically feel your skin sizzle as your mother burns her eyes into you. You keep your eyes toward Phoenix's mother. "The color is fine. As for the location, well, from what I've heard beaches are beautiful so that shouldn't be a problem either."

Isla seems genuinely concerned with your dissatisfaction. "Is there anything you'd like to change? I know us mothers tend to want to take the reigns but it is still 100% your wedding. We want to make you happy."

You set your fork down. "Well, in that case. There is one big thing I'd like to change."

Your mother kicks your ankle hard with her foot. The table slightly shakes.

"Anything!" His mother responds.

You wanted to just be blunt and say exactly what was on your mind but the way your mother eerily fixed her eyes on you, and the way every other pair of eyes were also on you, it made your reconsider. Especially Phoenix who was looking at you with big puppy dog eyes.

You knew you couldn't just say it out loud that you would want Jean at the alter instead of Phoenix. Not without hurting some feelings and causing a ginormous argument, that is.

But you wanted everyone who already knew about the situation to know what you were referring to.

"The flowers." You answer. "I want lilacs instead."

Your mother looks confused. "Lilacs? Since when do you like lilacs?"

"Since I realize they signify first love. That's beautiful. Don't you all think?" You look around at everyone at the table. Everyone nods except Elijah and Kai who immediately understood what you were hinting at.

It clicks in Solana's brain just a moment later. You watch as she sets her utensils down. "Yes, lilacs are beautiful, but the official flower of Cicily is the orchid so you need to have that in your bouquet. Orchids symbolize fertility and love; perfect for a wedding and to honor your new kingdom."

You don't hesitate to fire back. "That may well be but I've loved lilacs for longer. Lilacs make me happy. I prefer the way they look, smell, feel."

You watch as her face twitches. "Maybe you just haven't been around orchids enough to realize they too can be quite enjoyable."

"Not as enjoyable as lilacs." You answer quick.

She finally snaps. "Lilacs will not grow where you're going so I suggest you tear your attachment to them as of right now."

The table goes silent. You never take your eyes off her. "What about the Sol Celestite then? It's also such a gorgeous flower, don't you think? And if you want to speak of honor so much, let's talk about how much honor comes from that flower."

Elijah practically chokes on his drink. Your mother never looks away from you either. Your eyes stung as you force them to stay in place. Even though her face was passive to the eye, you knew on the inside she was seething.

"I'm afraid I've never heard of such a flower." Isla tries to bring light into the passive-aggressive discussion. "It must be rare."

You force a smile. "Extremely. You can only find it in one place in the world."

"Yn." Your mother warns through clenched teeth.

"Really?" Phoenix asks. "That's amazing! Where does it grow?"

"Paradis." You answer. "Legend has it that it gives you magical powers if you eat it."

Your mother slams her hand onto the table and the dishes scattered everywhere jump an inch. She shouts your full name and the table goes dead silent again.

She takes a deep breath and recollects herself. "I apologize. The Sol Celestite is a book she used to read as a child. She's making a joke."

"Oh..." Queen Isla looks around confused. You could tell she no longer knew what the conversation was about anymore.

"Actually-" You begin.

Elijah quickly stands up from his chair and sets his napkin down. "How about that tour? This is the best time of day to see the grounds."

Queen Isla sets her napkin down on her empty plate. "Yes! I'm ready." She looks over at her husband and son to ensure they're finished and they all stand from their seats.

You do the same and the kitchen staff immediately comes out the kitchen and begins to collect the plates.

Before you leave to begin the tour, Elijah leans in to whisper: "Thanks for making her mad." He says sarcastically. "It's going to be impossible to convince her now."

You felt stupid for doing it but you couldn't help it. She couldn't possibly expect to plan your entire life out for you and for you to remain completely silent about it.

"If anyone can do it, it's you three." You try your best to encourage him. You softly punch his shoulder. "Don't let me down. Jean's life is riding on your persuasion."

His face goes flat. "Great. Thanks."

You all part ways. Queen Isla, King Adonis, and Phoenix, follow after you. Your parents disappear somewhere along with all three of your brothers.

You didn't know how they planned to get the two in a room and keep them there until you join them but you didn't care what they had to do to make it happen as long as it does.

You begin the tour and decide to take them through the garden, past the lake and toward the horse stables. It was the perfect scenic route to lead them exactly where you want to.

Phoenix and his father walk ahead, leaving you and his mother just a few feet behind. You didn't want it to be awkward as you walk beside her so you choose to fill the silence. "I want to apologize for my behavior at breakfast. I want you to know I'm not normally like that."

She chuckles. "It's quite alright. It's normal for mothers and daughters to fight sometimes. I'd be lying if I said I didn't fight with mine too. Are you two having issues?"

"We just don't ever seem to see eye to eye on things." You answer honestly.

"That's funny because you remind me a lot of her when she was younger." She surprisingly admits.

"What?" You cackle. "You have to be thinking of someone else."

She laughs too. "No, I remember as if it were yesterday. She looked exactly like you do at your age. Same build, same hair. You have your father's eyes, however."

You crane your neck toward her. "You knew her at my age?" You always wondered what kind of teenager your mother used to be. She was always so well composed and mature that it was hard to visualize her any other way.

"We used to go to all the same balls back then." The queen explains. "She was my excuse to run from boys I didn't want to talk to. She was so fun and frivolous."

"Frivolous?" You almost stop in your tracks. "Okay, now we definitely have the wrong person. I can't ever imagine a world where my mother was carefree."

She tries not to laugh. "She may be like that now but back then she had no care in the world. She was the youngest of her siblings so she didn't
feel the need to take as much things as seriously. She was always doing things for attention because her parents never really noticed her."

You immediately recognize that sort of behavior. It had Ambrose written all over. If Elijah inherited his mother's watchful gaze, Ambrose got this.

"That's why I found it hilarious when Phoenix and Ambrose became friends because it was like seeing the male versions of me and your mother." She continues.

All four of you finally pass through the garden and make your way to the lake now. "I still can't see her that way." You say.

She shades her eyes as she catches a glimpse of the sun twinkling against the water's surface. "She grew up a lot when she had to get married. She got married before I did and she threw the biggest fit. She cried to me for hours."

"Really?" You ask. It was strange to view her in the eyes of someone else who knew her before she was the person she is today. Before the husband and before the kids. Before becoming queen to a foreign kingdom.

As angry as you were with her right now, the idea of her younger self crying her eyes out broke your heart.

She nods. "Eventually into the marriage, she realized it wasn't that bad and she grew to love your father and then she was blessed with Elijah and she needed to mature even more to become a mother."

She then turns to you. "The same way you can't see her being wild is how I felt when I saw her settling down. I thought to myself, there's no possible way Solana of Celestite was going to be someone's wife, someone's mother."

You were speechless. You were seeing your mother in a whole new light. You keep your head to the floor as you walk through the grass.

"Are you nervous?" She asks.

You pick your head back up. "Hm?"

"About getting married." She clarifies. "Is that way you've been so on edge?"

You watch as Phoenix and his father admire the lake in front of them. Phoenix even squats down to run his hand through the cold water. "Something like that."

She watches too as she takes a seat on the swing that hung from the willow tree. "I don't blame you. It's extremely nerve racking spending your entire life with someone you don't know."

She smiles at you. "But you're lucky. I'm not just saying this because he's my son but Phoenix is a remarkable soul. He's known back home for his generosity and compassion. They all adore him."

She looks at her son again. "And he may play it off well but he's quite nervous about getting married. You're a stranger in his eyes too."

You rest your back against the bark of the tree. "I never really looked at it from his point of view." You just now realize how scary it must be for him too. He disguised it so well.

Isla stands up from the swing but keeps her hand adjusted around the rope. "It's all very new to him. He's never actually courted anyone other than you. He has options, of course, but he's too picky. He knows one day he will be king and he wants to make sure his queen will be a good fit and will care about his people like he does."

You lift your hand up in the air and let your finger run through the hanging limbs of the weeping tree. "I guess I should feel special, shouldn't I?"

She links her arm with yours as you begin to walk past the lake and lead them toward the stables. "You're allowed to feel however you wish. I was just trying to ease your nerves. He'll be a good husband to you, even if he doesn't have any prior experience in the love department." She laughs.

You turn your head to see if Phoenix is near but he's walking beside his father a few feet back. He was too amazed by mountains off in the distance as he points toward them to show his dad.

"What about the chef's daughter?" You ask now that you knew he wasn't listening.

Her eyes jump open. "He told you about that? Wow. He's usually too embarrassed."

Now it was your eyes that jolt with surprise. "Really? He said it to me so easily. I was honestly in awe."

"He's a good speaker. He knows how to talk to people. He knows how to get them to feel comfortable enough to trust him. That's why everyone does." She smiles. "He'll be an incredible king."

You smile too. It was true. There was a reason why you felt you could open up to him about everything. He just had that presence about him. "I see that."

The two of you continue to walk arm in arm with the sound of her son and husband walking behind. There was only the sound of shoes crunching through the icy grass and distant conversation.

"May I ask something?" You break the peace.

"Of course."

"If the girl hadn't chose the fisherman's son and chose Phoenix instead, would you have allowed it?" You ask.

She thinks for a moment. "Well, it's against the rules for a royal to marry someone who isn't of royal blood."

"So, no?"

She actually tries to put herself in that position. "If we were to break the rules, our kingdom would be seen as weak and easily compromised. We'd been shunned by other kingdoms."

It was different seeing it from a queen's mindset. As much as she wanted to do right by her son, she had an entire kingdom to also keep in mind. A kingdom full of people depending on her to make the right choices.

You had begun to understand your mother more and more.

"But if he truly wanted it," She speaks. "I would allow it. I'd, of course, need to speak with his father but I would want him to marry the person he truly loves."

You didn't expect that. "Even if she wasn't royalty? Even if it ruined your reputation?"

"Even if." She responds. "It may not be the right choice and I may end up regretting further down the road, but it'd be worth it if I knew my baby was happy."

You smile at her, your chest growing warm. She truly was just as kind and thoughtful as her son was. She had that natural motherly warmth to her. A lot like Jean's mother. "So you would break the rules for him?"

"These rules have been in place for centuries. It's all we know." Queen Isla says as she marches through the path. "Sometimes, people are born into this world for the specific purpose of changing it."

You feel your smile get wider. "My brother said the exact same thing."

She gives him kudos while also giving it to herself. "Your brother is a smart man."

You look back down at your feet as they go well in sync with hers. "He's a little too smart for his own good."

Finally, the four of you make it to the horse stables. To your surprise, there's already four other people there. Hange, Sasha, Niccolo and Armin. They all four bow before you all.

You're surprised to see Niccolo considering you had just saw him upstairs. "Niccolo? I thought you were in the kitchen."

"Oh, we finished cleaning already." He responds without hesitation.

"That quickly?" You question. You had left the kitchen as soon as the meal was over so how was it that Niccolo cleaned the entire table and kitchen and still beat you over here?

Sasha jumps in front of him and inserts her arm in between yours. "So this is your new boo, huh?" She says referring to Phoenix. She then whispers. "He's cute. Good job."

Niccolo overhears and frowns. "Hey."

She jumps. "Whoops, sorry."

She then sticks her hand out to Phoenix. "Hi, I'm Sasha." She quickly remembers he's royalty and not just someone random. "I mean!" She curtsies. "I'm Sasha, your highness."

Phoenix smiles gently. "Please, call me Phoenix. It's very nice to meet you, Sasha. How do you know the princess?"

"I'm her archery instructor!" The brunette responds with enthusiasm.

"Ah, so you're the one to thank for all the rumors I've heard of her being very good." King Adonis teases.

You point at him. "Hey, they're not rumors."

Sasha smiles. "They really aren't. She's a very good shot. I wouldn't have wasted half my paycheck on getting her the best bow and arrows for her birthday if she wasn't." She jokes.

"I've seen it myself. She's a great shot." Armin says. He then introduces himself with a bow. "I'm the royal children's teacher."

"I see." The queen replies. She looks around at the shaded stables that they all stood around. "Do you all often socialize here?"

Armin rests his hand on a nearby tree, his pale hands contrasting with the dark bark. "I've always loved nature so I'm often outdoors. I can say the same for Hange."

Hange smiles widely. "The world is too beautiful to stay indoors."

Sasha twists her hand around her ponytail. "I like being outside too. I swear I was an animal in another life."

"And I'm really just here because of her." Niccolo admits sheepishly.

"Now these are horses!" Adonis shouts with his arms out as he admires the healthy stallions. "How many do you have?"

You step into the shade to answer his question. "Six at the moment but we actually have eight in total."

"Speaking of 8," Hange pops out from behind you and you gasp. "Where is Midnight and Maximus?"

"Oh," You pull Hange away while the three were distracted by the horses. "We rode back on the train so we couldn't bring the horses back with us. Someone went to retrieve them already so they should be returning home soon."

Hange nods. "I see. But isn't Cicily a ship ride? You must cross the ocean."

You freeze. That's right. You forgot they all were under the impression that you were in Cicily and not in two different kingdoms in one month. "We did come back on a boat but we took a train from the port. They have a station nearby."

"That makes sense." The sunlight reflects on Hange's eyeglasses, blinding you just for a moment and making it hard to through them. "So where is Jean? He did come back with you, didn't he?"

You shield your eyes from the glare. "Yes, he did. I have no idea where he is at the given moment however, I apologize. I will make sure to let him know you said hello when I see him."

"Tell him to get off his high horse and come hang out with us like he used to." Hange responds. "If you do see him tell him I'm looking for him. There's some... stuff I need to discuss with him."

Stuff? Suddenly, that anxious feeling made a reappearance. You resist the urge to pry any further. It might be better for you to remain oblivious to whatever it was.

"Will do." You answer. You bow your head and walk past. "Excuse me."

You make your way to Phoenix and his parents who were mesmerized by the silky coats of the horses. Apparently, horses were hard to come by in Cicily and were considered a imported luxury. "I need to use the bathroom. I'll only take a moment."

They nod with understanding and return back to their fascination. As you attempt to leave the group, Armin steps in front of you. "Princess, how was your trip?"

"It was wonderful. I had a great time. I can't wait to move there." You rush your response and zoom past him.

He spins around. "I'd love to hear about it sometime."

You stop walking for a moment and face him. "It will need to some other time. I have somewhere I need to be at the moment."

"Wait!" The blonde shouts. "What about your tour?"

You put your hands together like a prayer. "I leave them in your hands temporarily." Before he can agree or decline to anything, you take off running. "Don't let me down, Arlert!"

He sighs and turns back. When he does, he sees Phoenix watching you run up the hill, dress in hands and your feet struggling to make it up there in heels. "She must need to use the bathroom very badly." The prince says.

Armin laughs. Not because the joke was funny, which it was, but because he had known you long enough to understand that "using the bathroom" was code for doing something that was most likely going to get you in trouble.

❦

After what felt like searching the entire castle, you finally find the room your brothers were in and to your surprise, they actually managed to keep your parents occupied for long enough to stay in the room until you returned.

Your mother was already at the door, growing impatient and claustrophobic in the room with four men. Kai stood guard at the door and came up with every excuse in the book to why he couldn't let her leave.

When she sees you at the door, her shoulders fall and she groans. "Oh how I should've known this was your doing."

You enter the room and close the door behind you. "I know what you're thinking and I know that my behavior at breakfast was... explosive and that you owe me nothing, but I just need to you sit down and listen."

Your father, who was already sat down, waves his hand in the air. "Get on with it. I know when you want something."

You could feel sweat begin to form under your arms and around the back of your neck. You fiddle with your fingers. "Well..."

Elijah, as always, comes to your rescue. "We want you to reconsider Jean's punishment."

"Excuse me?" The king answers. "I've already reconsidered it once and that was out of respect for Ms. Kirstein. I am not reconsidering again."

"I understand you already diluted his punishment." You finally bring yourself to speak. "And I'm so grateful for that. Truly. But I just think banishment is a little extreme."

Your father stands up from his seat. "Extreme? He got off easy. Jean may be a friend to all of you from childbirth but he is an employee. He works for us. His job is to protect the crown and that includes you. He failed to do that."

"He did protect me!" You fight. "Nothing happened to me! I'm alive! I'm well! Isn't that enough for you?"

He steps forward. "HE LIED TO US."

You fall back. He was fuming. You hadn't seen him this angry in years. "He wrote us letters saying he hadn't found you while we were worried sick thinking you had been kidnapped or killed! The entire time he was sleeping with you!"

"Lying to the crown is a serious offense, yn." Your mother says in a much calmer tone. You could tell she was also startled by his sudden outburst. "Please understand that. I know you don't want to hear it but he committed a crime. More than one. He deserves some kind of punishment."

You knew they had a point. Had it been anyone else, they would've been executed immediately or at least get imprisoned for life. Jean truly did have it easy. He was able to keep his life, just not here.

"I love him, dad." You slowly approach him. "So much love I couldn't possibly put it into words. Pure, undignified love. Before I ran away, I loved him. I always have."

"That doesn't change anything." He answers coldly.

"Doesn't it?" You plead. "Does it truly not matter who I love? I'm old enough to marry a stranger so why can't I marry someone my heart truly knows and longs for?"

He pinches the bridge of his nose. "He is not royalty. How many times must I say it to you?"

"What does it matter if he isn't royalty?!" You hold out your arms. "Elijah will be king, not me. He'll marry a princess and unite the kingdoms. I'm no where near in line for the throne so why should the rules be so strict on me only?"

"You only?" King Hendrix scoffs. "Just because your brothers aren't taking anyone serious yet doesn't mean they're exempted from the rule. They must marry royalty too."

You still hold up your side of the argument. "That's three united kingdoms then! Kai is lucky enough to find a princess he actually likes and Ambrose likes any princess that gives him enough attention. So why does it matter if there's one less kingdom in the mix?"

He only seemed to be getting angrier. "All four of you equally share the same responsibility. Not just Elijah, ALL OF YOU. He just happens to be first in line."

He then looks at all his sons. "Actually, now that we are on the subject. I believe I let you three have your fun for long enough. Starting tomorrow, Kai and Ambrose, you will both be given the same proposition we gave your sister. Choose a partner by the end of the week or we will choose one for you."

Ambrose laughs, mostly out of fear. "You can't be serious."

The king snaps his chilling face toward Ambrose. "Do I seem to be laughing, boy?"

He only continues with his rant. "All this time hiding behind your brother's shadow, depending on him to be the one to learn everything and take all responsibility."

He looks down at Ambrose. "God forbid something happens to your mother and I and to Elijah. You'd be next in line. What will you do then? Party with strangers every night? Boast about how well trained you are in all sports? You will become king and a terrible one at that because you never bothered to grow up and become a man."

You couldn't believe the ruthlessness of his words. Sure what he was saying was true but it was all in the way he said it. He really did mean it when he said he had enough.

He then looks over to Kai. "If anything, Malakai would handle the title better than you. He at least is courting someone where as you, what is exactly you do, Ambrose?"

You felt terrible. You couldn't bear to look at Ambrose's face. Had it been anyone else to spew such ugly things in his face, your brother wouldn't have hesitated to retort with an even more disrespectful response.

But since it was his father, the King himself, he kept quiet. He took all the insults that were thrown his way. Ambrose's usually expressive face was now the complete opposite.

He looked so small. It ached your heart that he didn't even want to be involved with any of this. If you had just respected it, he wouldn't be looking so heartbroken like he did right now.

"Darling, I believe that's enough." The queen tries to ease the heat.

Your father raises his hand. "Let me speak. I have been far too lenient on all of you but enough is enough. From now on, you two will accompany Elijah on his training endeavors so that you can be atleast some what educated."

"Ambrose, there will be no more partying unless it is to find yourself a respectful wife, and Malakai, I suggest you either finally propose or attend the same parties with your brother to find another potential wife." He adds.

"This isn't fair." Kai speaks. "Why are we being punished?"

Again, Kai didn't want to do this either until you convinced him. Because he loved you, he wanted to help. Now he's being punished for it.

"We've passed fair long ago." King Hendrix answers. "My patience has wavered thin. You
three are supposed to be guiding your sister in the right direction, not persuading her to do her reckless ideas. With role models like these, it's no wonder she can't keep her head straight."

"I would like to say—" Elijah begins.

Your father stops him. "That is all. You all are dismissed."

Everyone stands still. It was the last attempt at standing their ground.

"NOW." He yells. He then looks right at you. "Except you."

Ambrose doesn't say another word and walks toward the door. When he passes by you, he bumps you harshly and says, "I told you it was stupid idea."

Kai shakes his head as he walks out the room. His face had disappointment written all over. He doesn't bother to look your way.

Elijah sighs and before he leaves, he looks at you and even though he doesn't literally say it, his eyes say I'm sorry.

When your brothers exit the room, your father walks up to you. His tone wasn't as loud anymore but it definitely still held authority. "You will marry Phoenix and that is final. Jean will be banished and never to return to Eldia. I do not wish to hear another word of this. Is that understood?"

You avoid his gaze.

"AM I UNDERSTOOD?" He says much louder.

"I don't suppose I have much choice in the matter. You've made that quite clear." You throw one more helpless jab.

The response did nothing to him. "I will go see to our guests since you seem to have abandoned them. I expect you to join us whenever you are done here."

You do a salute with a soldiers stance. He gives you the deadliest look before he exits out the room.

You turn to your mother who was still standing there. She seemed to be stunned by the events that just happened. "Your father hasn't been that angry in a very long time." She says softly.

"There was no reason for him to say those things to Ambrose." You say. "Especially when he knows how he is."

"What?" She throws her arms down with defeat. "Does his reaction truly surprise you, yn? He has every right to be angry considering you keep pushing him to that point."

"I'm not saying he doesn't deserve to be angry!" You say loudly and clearly. "But be angry with me! Not with them! I'm the one who forced them to do this with me."

She walks away from you for your own sake. "Oh, yn, how naive do you think we are? You're telling me you're so manipulative and cunning that you could convince four grown men in their 20's to go against their will and do what you want?"

You let her speak. Not like you had much choice anyway. "You think I don't know Elijah knew you were leaving that night and let you go? He is my son. I know how sharp he is and I'm having a hard time believing that he wasn't aware what was happening."

She began to pace the room as her rant ensues. "Hell, Malakai probably knew too. You two tell each other everything. I wouldn't put it past him that he knew all along. The herbs he gave you as a gift are what you used to drug us, after all."

You part your lips to defend your brothers but she doesn't let you get a word in until she's finished. "The only one I believe to be dumb enough is Ambrose but the rest.. they knew."

You couldn't believe that even after all the slandering your father did, she still felt the need to continue to add more.

She still keeps going. "Elijah hides behind his perfect on paper persona but I know he has secrets too. Kai hides behind his laziness so that no one suspects him of anything because he doesn't seem the type to put effort in lying and hiding."

She finally stops pacing. "And you." She stops in front of you, her eyes looking at you up and down. "You have the world absolutely fooled. I must admit you had me fooled for a good while too."

The queen then laughs at herself. "I should've known years ago! The second you learned how to walk, you ran out of your bedroom without anyone noticing. I should've known then. I can never tame you. You will say or do anything in order to have the freedom you want."

You cross your arms. "From what I've heard, you and I aren't much different."

"Excuse me?" She turns her neck.

"You hide behind a persona too." You say. "This facade that you're the perfect wife to the perfect king with the perfect children and the perfect life. But back then, you were just like me. The reason we fight so much is because I remind you of yourself when you were my age."

She stares at you in disbelief. As if you had just made up this story rather than someone telling you.

You take her silence as the perfect opportunity to further your point. "You were the life of the party. Whimsical and flighty. You were in the shadow of all your siblings so you made sure you were seen, you made sure you stood out."

You step forward and she stays frozen in place. "You may think Ambrose is irresponsible and immature and far too stupid to pick up hints but he's capable of a lot more than you think. I would watch my words wisely when speaking ill of someone who is just like you."

She finally snaps out of her paralyzed state. "The
difference between you and I is that I grew up. We may have been the same back then but not now. Even though I didn't want to settle down, I still got married much younger than you are. When I was Ambrose's age, I had already given birth to my third son."

She begins to anxiously move her body around again. Something you just noticed Ambrose adopted from her. "Yes, you are right. I was just like you at your age. Restless, wild and one with the wind. And you're right, I absolutely despised
the idea of marriage but when it came down to it, I stepped up to do my duty."

"I am stepping up too!" You shout. "I told you I'd marry Phoenix and I'll do all the wifely duties that come with it. I understand my responsibility
but I will only do it in exchange for Jean's freedom."

She cackles. "We are beyond the point of gambling now. Your father is right. He can not go without punishment. It isn't right."

You begin to speak but she raises her hand to stop you. "And don't you even dare give me that nonsense of it being a mistake and only your fault. This...thing you and Jean have started way before you ran away."

Now it was your turn to freeze. "What are you talking about?"

"You think I don't know you and Jean would sneak into each other's room every night?" She asks, her dark eyes watching your reaction carefully.

Your heart stops. "Who told you that?" There was no use in denying it. She clearly already knew.

"It does not matter." She responds. "What matters is that it is the truth, and the two of you were alone at night behind closed doors doing who knows what. You must've lost it to him months ago."

"What? No!" You deny. "We would just talk and read and paint. We never did anything wrong! We didn't even kiss!"

She gives you a foolish look. "How can I believe you when all you do is lie? Your words have no effect on me. You planned all of this to happen. You and Jean fell for eachother and you ran away. You left hints for him, and him only, to find you. You knew he would come for you and you were going to convince him to stay with you."

Well. That's exactly what happened. She saw right through you.

"But I came back!" You defend.

"You were CAUGHT and brought back home." She snaps. "There is a difference."

You couldn't bring yourself to say anything else. It was clear you had lost this argument before it had even begun. You were still distraught by the part where someone told her you and Jean would sneak into each other's rooms.

There was only one person who knew about that. Mikasa.

If not her, maybe she accidentally let it slip to Eren, or maybe Jean had confessed to Marco and it was him.

Either way, you were screwed. Whoever told her that small piece of information, ruined any opportunity on redeeming him.

You see her walking toward the door from the corner of your eye and your pride screams at you to get the last word. "You know, the more I learn about you and your past, I begin to feel like I can relate to you and understand you. I begin to feel sorry for you. But I don't understand you at all. No matter how much I learn."

"Give it up, yn." She says as she holds onto the door handle. "You've lost."

"As much as I love to dream you and I are somewhat alike, you prove me wrong each time because I would never do to my daughter what you are doing to me now." You allow yourself to say.

She just stares at you in silence. The door comes apart from the frame and before she slips out of it, she says, "I hope that one day you'll understand why I did the things I did. Take a few moments to collect yourself. I expect you to join us downstairs."

The door closes shut.

❦

After indeed taking a few minutes to calm down and gather your thoughts, you exit the room and practically drag your feet down the hall.

You felt defeated. The one and only attempt you had left was completely shot down before you truly even had the opportunity to execute it. There wasn't enough time in the world to change the minds of two people who hated to be wrong.

You spot Elijah, a few feet away and peering over the balcony, hands dangling off the rail. "Hey." You join him.

He turns to you. "Hey."

You sigh and mimic his posture. "That was disappointing, wasn't it?"

He looks away. "Sorry we didn't help too much. Turns out we're not the dream team we thought we'd be."

"Don't worry about it." You feel your body slowly sink. "I think deep down inside I knew it wasn't going to work but it's like you said, we had to at least try."

"Still," He says. "I'm sorry."

You turn your body slightly to face him. "Why do you keep apologizing? If anything, it should be me. I made them become stricter on Kai and Ambrose and now they have to follow you around everywhere."

He chuckles. "It's not like I'm not used to them annoying me all the time already."

"At least Kai was already half way there but Ambrose? He probably hates me so much right now." You groan.

Elijah keeps his eye on Pascal who was chasing after some birds with no care in the world. "He'll get over it eventually. He's done it before."

You turn your body around so that your back is now rested up against the railing. "Yeah after years of me kissing his ass. Years I do not have this time. I'm only here for a few more weeks."

He smiles either at the conversation or at the dog bouncing around. "Trust me. He'll get over it. He
just needs to be dramatic first. You know he wouldn't let you leave on bad terms."

You tilt your head back toward the sky and watch as clouds float by. "Hopefully you're right."

Theres a small moment of silence that you genuinely appreciate. With all the lunacy going on, you needed some peace and quiet more than ever. Even though your mouth wasn't moving, your mind was racing.

"They're waiting for you down there." Elijah breaks the silence. He gestures over to Phoenix and his family who were now joined by your parents as well.

You shut your eyes and let the soft breeze consume you. "What's the harm in making them wait a while? Maybe if I make them wait long enough, he'll break off the engagement."

He snickers. "Please, the boy is far too smitten with you to break it off over something so insignificant."

You scoff. "Smitten. That's a good word to describe it."

"You're lucky, you know?" Elijah says. "He cares about you. I know you may not love him but you go well with him. The two of you talk effortlessly together and already have inside jokes. He is a friend to you and friendship is an important quality in marriage."

You groan and place your face in your hands. "Please don't tell me you're going to start now too."

He rests his elbow on the rail. "I know it may not be the life you want, but it's the life you've been given. You must make do with what you have. Make lemonade out of lemons, find the bright silver lining in all the darkness, drink only of cups half full."

You unveil your face. "Oh, enough with the metaphors! I have lost all interest in them since breakfast."

He laughs and shakes his head. You turn away from him and back at the view. You could see your mother turning her head in every which way to look for you. They were still expecting you to join and she had given you ample enough time to recollect yourself before you did. 

"So I guess this is it." You breathe. "We lost."

"Phoenix cares about his people deeply. He'll do anything to help them." Elijah reminds you. "Do you really think if he found out you could physically help his people that he'd keep you locked up? You two can create something so beautiful."

You step back to properly look at him. "Until he realizes people will come after me. Then he'll try to hide me away like our parents did in order to protect me."

He turns his body to face you. "Cicily may be a smaller compared to Marley or Paradis but they are a strong kingdom. A rich one. All the luxury meals like stuffed crab, lobster, where do you think it all comes from? Where do you think we get pearls for jewelry from?"

You hadn't thought of it that way. The way Phoenix always described his kingdoms as such a humble place, not one that imported luxury goods. Although, to be fair, you should've done your homework on the place considering you're going to live there now.

"Rich kingdoms can afford proper armies and Cicily is not a kingdom that other kingdoms want to make an enemy of." Elijah adds. "They'll protect you."

You stare blankly at him. He always seemed to have a solution to everything. He always seemed to know the answer to every question. How was it possible for some so young to be so wise?

"If you go to Cicily, we can always visit and you can visit too. If you go to Cicily, you'll unite two kingdom together to help better them. If you go to Cicily, you and Phoenix will have a lot of free time while the current king still reigns. And whatever you ask of him, you know he'll do. You can travel. Save people." He continues to show you the bright side of the situation.

The light however never reaches you. "And what of Jean? Am I just to forget him? Banish him from my memory as well? You speak of friendship but Jean had been the best one I could ask for. He was the first friend I've ever had."

His eyes soften. "I thought you had given that up."

"I don't think I ever will." You answer honestly and painfully. "How does one ever get over their first true love? When does the pain of not being around them go away?"

He bites a small piece of skin off his lips. A slight masochist way of punishing himself for not knowing the answer to something. "Hell if I know."

You hesitate on asking if he'd had ever been in love before. Maybe it might've been with the horse riding instructor. Or perhaps it was someone else entirely. He wasn't the type to speak freely about his personal life.

"Blair." You speak up. "I'm sorry, Princess Blair. Are you two more friends?"

He contemplates his answer. "We're friendly."

"What's she like?" You ask. You had only met her maybe once and for just a few seconds. It wasn't nearly enough time to get to know somehow who was soon to be your sister-in-law.

"She's educated and polite." He answers like he's not even fully listening to the conversation. "She'll make a great mother and queen."

"That's all?" You question.

He frowns. "Is there anything else?"

You sigh. "Apparently not."

Silence again.

"I would like to say goodbye to him." You say out into the universe, your face turned away from his and facing the pasture. "Jean. If I can't spend forever with him, I want to at least say goodbye."

He smiles sadly. "I'm sure it won't be too hard to sneak in there. If Ambrose and Malakai managed to get in there, I'm sure you can exceed their efforts."

You loosen up when you realize he was right. Out of all your siblings, you were the one who could sneak into anywhere. One of the few perks of growing up trapped in a castle. You knew every corner of every room and every hall.

Your eyes look over to the group that was still waiting for you. You half expected all their faces to be irritated and upset but Phoenix and his family looked just as patient as they arrived. "I suppose I should go down there."

"Good luck." He teases.

You take a deep breath. "Here's to making stupid fucking lemonade."

                                        ❦

As you make your way downstairs, you see Marco turning the corner and toward the royal guards' quarters. "Marco!"

The brunette spins around. He looks around almost scared when he sees you. "Princess."

You grab him by his sleeve and pull him into a room. He begins to fidget even more. "I don't think I should be in a room alone with you."

"Oh, shut up." You wave. "Have they been asking questions? My parents?"

He tugs on his collar. "You have no idea." He genuinely seemed so on edge. He was looking at the door like your parents would barge in at any moment.

"Well? What did they ask?" You try to speed up the conversation.

"They asked me what I saw when I found you two at the ball. I just said you were dancing that I didn't see anything else." He answers.

Now you started looking toward the door too. His paranoia was absolutely contagious. "And?"

You could've swore this was the moment where he confesses he's the one who told your mother about you and Jean sneaking into eachother's rooms. It was either him or Mikasa and you knew Mikasa would never.

"She asked if I had seen anything suspicious before you left." He continues. "I guess she expected me to know since Jean and I are close but I honestly never noticed before. But now that I actually think about it, it was so obvious I don't know how I missed it."

You walk away from him and toward the other side of the room. "So then it wasn't you."

He looks confused. "What wasn't me?"

You figured there was no harm in telling him considering your parents obviously already know. And it's not like he didn't walk in on you and Jean doing the deed already. "Before I left me and Jean used to sneak into each others' rooms at night."

His eyes stretch wide and you stop him before his thoughts stray away too much. "We wouldn't do
anything bad! We would just talk for hours on end and do stuff together but it was never anything inappropriate or sexual. It was completely innocent."

Even though his eyes grew in size, he didn't seem too surprised with the information.

"This doesn't seem like news to you." You wonder out loud.

He looks away from you and you immediately know he's hiding something. "Well, it would be if you had told me a few hours ago."

"What do you mean?"

He attempts to flee toward the door. "I really shouldn't say."

For someone who kept a lot of secrets, you sure seemed to hate when someone kept them from you. You step in between him and the door, blocking his way. "Oh, please. I think we're beyond that at this point. Are we not?"

He looks toward the door one more time and then back at you. "It was Lady Mikasa." He whispers. "I overheard her telling your parents."

You step back. "No. She wouldn't. She... She swore that she wouldn't."

His eye switch to the floor. "I'm sorry, Princess."

"There has to be a mistake." You laugh, refusing to believe any of it.

"I saw her with my own eyes." Marco admits.

It did make sense as much as you didn't want it to. Mikasa was the only one who knew. It had to be her. Yet, why were you refusing to see it?

You pull yourself away from the door. "I can't believe it." You nervously twist the bracelet around your wrist. "After what I told her this morning, she still went behind my back and made it worse."

You look down at the bracelet. The golden and purple gemstones catch the light and twinkle before you. You feel your heart sink when you remember who gave you this very piece of jewelry.

"I wish I could be more help." Marco's voice echos in your occupied mind. He sounded close yet so far at the same time.

You pick your head up. "No, it's fine. You've been very helpful." You raise your hand gracefully toward the door. "I'm sorry you've gotten dragged into such a mess. You may go."

You watch as he exits out the room, leaving you alone. For a moment, it feel like your brain short circuits. It lost all function to think. No matter hard you tried, nothing seemed to make sense anymore.

While you stand here, thoughtless and filled with hopelessness, people still awaited you downstairs. Your bathroom excuse only gave you so much time and you've unfortunately have exceeded the limit for a good while now.

Instead of going downstairs, you cross the hall and head toward the direction of your room. All you wanted was peace and quiet to get your thoughts and emotions together. It seemed it would be the only place considering every corner you turned was someone looking for you.

Literally.

You feel something crawl up your spine making the small hairs on your body stand on the ends. You look behind you but it seems it's all in your head because there's no one in sight. Yet, the feeling you were being watched still lingered.

Your pace quickens and when you make it to your room, you slam the door shut and press your weight against it.

You debate on locking the door. Someone was bound to come looking for you whether it be one of your brothers, your mother or the one you dread the most, Mikasa.

Normally, you'd be absolutely thrilled to see her. Her voice would've been the calming sound to your restlessness.

But now, she was the one person you did not want to see. Not only had she been acting strange ever since you've returned but now she was spilling all your secrets to your parents too? Did she think you'd never find out?

Or did she no longer care because you were leaving soon anyway? Maybe she felt the friendship didn't need to be kept anymore. You'd move on with her life and she with hers.

Or maybe...

No. You erase the thought out of your head just as quick as it appears. You felt shameful even considering it an option. Mikasa could absolutely not be the traitor.

She would never betray you. You couldn't even picture it. She had been loyal to you for about 5 years now. She knew everything there was to know about you.

She knew everything there was to know about you.

A loud knock right behind the door causes you to snap awake. Your heart jumps along with you and keeps a hasty pace. "Yes?" You try to calm your voice.

The door comes open slightly and Hitch pokes her head through the opening. "Sorry to bother you, your highness but the Cicily royal family is asking if you'd still be joining them for the tour outside the castle."

"What?" You bat your eyes in a dazed motion. "Oh, right. I forgot about that. You see, I'm not feeling well." You place your hand over your stomach for added drama.

Her green eyes and blonde eyebrows raise concern. "Are you alright? Do you need me to call for the doctor?"

"Ah," You look around your room and see the bed sheets were still missing from this morning. "I'm on my monthly courses and it's bad this month. Cramps, nauseous, breast pain. They'll understand."

You had watched Mikasa pull the sheets off this morning with your own eyes. The entire day has gone past since then. Wouldn't she have finished washing them by now? What has she been doing all day long?

Hitch winces as she sympathizes with you. "Mine was horrible last month too. I'll let them know. Do you need me to ring for Lady Mikasa?"

"No!" You stop her. You look toward the window and see the sun slowly going lower and lower. As you recall, they were planning to release Jean at sundown.

You turn back to Hitch. "Actually... yes. After you tell the king and queen that I won't be joining them, I want you to immediately find Mikasa and tell her to make me tea for the pain."

She nods her head. "Yes, your grace. Anything else?"

You shake yours. "That is all. Thank you, Hitch."

She closes the door behind her and you wait a few moments until you hear the footsteps disappear. Once they're gone, you jump into action and escape your room while no one looks.

You rush over to her room since you were only given such a slim time slot. You had maybe 10 minutes, if that, to try to find anything to prove your brewing theory right.

Part of you hoped you wouldn't find anything and you'd feel stupid for even thinking Mikasa would ever harm you in any way. But the other half of you just couldn't shake off this feeling. Your gut was screaming at you that she was being dishonest about something.

Her room was extra tidy. The bed made perfectly as if she has never spent a single night in it. The curtains that were pulled apart allowed an ideal amount of sunlight to pour into her room.

Her room itself gave you an eerie feeling. You had been in here before, several times even and never noticed how hauntingly staged the room looked. It looked like it had never been used.

You fumble through the drawers of the two nightstands beside each side of her bed. Inside both of them, there was a book she was reading before bed, a hair tie and a tube of lip balm. That was all.

You proceed to the dresser where her makeup products were organized neatly on top. You pull each drawer open and see each one is full with her clothes that were folded nicely. You shove your hand underneath each pile to see if maybe she was hiding something underneath the clothes.

But there's nothing.

You groan with frustration that it was taking this long. You should be happy. Happy that you can't find a single piece of evidence she was being unfaithful toward you. So why weren't you? Why was something screaming at you to keep looking?

Next, you wander over to her desk. You were running out of time and your hands began to work even faster. She had freshly torn pages that were blank and unwritten. She had about maybe 10 different quills and bottles of ink too.

That was odd all on its own. Who could she possibly be writing to so much that she would need all that paper and all that ink? Her parents were dead, she saw Eren everyday, and everyone else she knew was right here. So who?

The suspicious feeling in your stomach grew only more aggravated and seemed to be nibbling angrily at your insides. As odd as the things in front of you looked, it unfortunately wasn't enough evidence to convict her of anything.

Right then, is when your eyes meet with her bedroom closet. You had been in her closet a million times before. You would always play around and try on some of her dresses and pretend to be her just to get her mad.

She would always shout at you and tell you to stop going through her closet. At the time, you thought she was just annoyed that you were prancing around her room in her dresses and mimicking her voice and mannerisms.

But now that you think of it, each time you grabbed for the closet doors, she would flinch and immediately begin to tell you to not mess with her things.

You open the doors and the closet looked exactly the same as it always did. You push each dress to the side, dig through the shoe boxes at the bottom of the closet and shine a candle at almost every corner. Nothing.

You throw your head back as you roll your neck. All the stress was beginning to cause your muscles to cramp up.

That's when you see it. At the top of her closet, there were several boxes that looked like regular shoe boxes that didn't fit at the bottom. Normally, you'd skip right past that but considering that Jean kept all his secrets on the very top shelf in his closet, you wondered if maybe Mikasa did the same.

It felt too easy. What were the chances of both of them hiding things in the exact same spot? Something inside you, however, told you not to disregard it.

You stand on your toes and stretch your arm as much as you can to reach the top. You couldn't even imagine how Mikasa managed to reach up there without a chair.

Finally, you grab at the first box that catches your eye and manage to make it fall into your arms. You knew you had maybe two minutes left and it only made you that more anxious.

You rip the lid of the box open and inside is just a pair of old shoes. You toss it to the side and reach for another box. Annoyed with the amount of struggle it took to reach up there, you grab the chair from her desk and use it to gain more leverage.

Now that you stood taller, you had more access to all the boxes on the top shelf. You open each one individually and each one contained a pair of normal, average looking shoes. Not a single thing suspicious about them.

"Well," You sigh. "That was a waste of my time."

You move your hand around the shelf just to make sure you didn't miss anything and then immediately pull your hand back. "Ow!"

A small red dot forms on your finger and then disappears instantly. "A paper cut?"

You stand on your toes onto of the chair, your body wobbling so you grab the walls for support. You feel around again until you feel the source of your small cut.

An envelope was taped onto the shelf. If you hadn't moved every single box, you would've never seen it since it was hiding underneath all of them.

You rip the envelope away from the grip of the tape and hold it in front of you. "What are the fucking odds?" You laugh. What is it with people and the top shelves of their closet?

You step down from the chair and don't waste another second as you carefully but quickly, open the envelope.

You had about under a minute left before Mikasa returned. You pull the paper that was inside the envelope out and immediately see her full name on it.

Her birth certificate. Mikasa Ackerman. Born February 10th. Parents: Yuka Hirose and Elias Ackerman.

And then that's when your heart stops completely.

Birthplace: Kingdom of Ember. Northwest Hospital.

"No." You reread the line over and over as if it would somehow change. The words, of course, never do.

"What are you doing?" Mikasa asks at the door, cup of tea rested in her hand. Her eyes go from the closet doors that were pulled apart to the boxes thrown on the floor. Finally, her eyes meet the paper in your hands. The color immediately drains from her face.

You hold it behind your back in case she tries to take it from you. "Did you tell my mother that Jean and I would sneak into each other's room?"

She doesn't mutter a single word. Her eyes dart from you and the birth certificate that was behind your back. She was frozen solid.

"DID YOU?!" You repeat louder this time.

She flinches. She takes a step forward and you point right at her. "Stay right there." You warn her. "You do not want to come near me right now."

You didn't trust yourself around her anymore just like you no longer trust her around you. If she stepped any closer or made any remark to set you off, you weren't sure what you would do. Your body was already piping hot with anger.

"I didn't have a choice." She says. "The queen asked me and I didn't want to say anything because I promised you I wouldn't but she threatened me. She said if she found out I was lying, I'd lose my job and get banished from Eldia too."

She takes a step forward even though you had already told her not to. You knew she was just trying to get closer to retrieve the certificate. You take a step further away from her. "Don't." You snap.

"I can't afford to lose my job, yn." She pleads. "I don't have anything else but this job. I don't have family or a house because I live here. I'll have nothing."

As sorry as you wanted to feel for her, you just couldn't. "So you sold me out?" You say through gritted teeth.

She throws her arms out. "You were both in trouble anyway! It's like you said last night you had nothing left to lose!"

"That doesn't matter!" You respond. "We were trying to fix things! I even got my brothers on my side to convince my parents and all of that went to shit because you made it worse!"

She no longer can meet your eye as she looks down at the floor. "I didn't mean to."

Your nails pierce into the certificate as you try your best not to crumble it into your fist. "I don't believe you. How can I trust you when you've been lying to me this entire time?!"

"What are you talking about?" She acts oblivious which only sets you off more.

You hold the birth certificate up in the air. "You're both in Ember! You lied to me and said you were from Eldia!"

"I am from Eldia!" She defends. "I've lived here my entire life. Yes, I was born in Ember but we left when I was a few months old. I've been in Eldia ever since."

Her story wasn't lining up with what she would say over the past few years that you've known her. Not once did she ever, ever mention she was born somewhere else. "You know, I never asked you how your parents died because I thought it was rude and intrusive to ask."

You bring the paper down to your side. "But they died in the bombings, didn't they?"

Her mouth was sealed shut. You couldn't figure out if she was trying to come up with something to say or if she just couldn't bring herself to speak about it.

You take her silence as a yes. "They died in the bombings that my family sent. Celestite, the kingdom my mother is from, sent bombs to Ember and killed your parents."

Again, she doesn't say anything.

"Ember was supposed to get the gift instead of me and my mother. My grandfather is responsible for killing your parents. The place where you were born, the place you're ACTUALLY from, hates me and my family." You continue.

Her hands ball up at her sides and her fingernails dig into the soft tissue of her palms. You could see her begin to grow angry as her eyes start to glisten.

You push her some more. "Is this revenge? Did you come here, pretend to be my friend and to care about me, just so you could kidnap me or even kill me?"

"No!" She yells but doesn't elaborate any further or offer any explanation at all to help her side of the argument.

You point at her desk. "You have all these blank letters and new quills there. Who are you possibly writing to if you have no other family? It's certainly not me or Eren."

She tries to come toward you, her hands together as she attempts to bargain with you. "Yn, I can explain everything."

You move away from her and shake your head. "Historia was right. It's always the person you least expect. The person you're closest to, pretending they'll never hurt you."

You grow even more furious. "The person you considered your closest friend, the person you considered FAMILY."

Everything finally began to make sense. "That's why you were so adamant on pinning the traitor on Hitch! That's why you suddenly got close to Eren after he gave me the coffee that day. Is Eren is second traitor? Is he helping you?"

"Yn, please." She comes even closer.

"DO NOT COME NEAR ME." You yell.

Your heart began to ache. It was breaking slowly the more you looked at her. She wasn't denying any of it.

The way she was standing there, so still and so quiet remained you of Jean when your brothers were grilling him about what happened between you two. He wasn't denying anything and just kept quiet because he knew he was guilty of what they were accusing him of. He knew there was no point in lying.

And that's what Mikasa was doing now. You had the proof in your hands. You had enough evidence to build the case against her and yet.. you just couldn't.

She had been by your side since you were 16. She would help you get dressed in the mornings, do your hair, help you with homework and stay up late for hours talking about whatever it was that was bothering you that day.

She was your best friend. She was the person you told everything to. She gained your trust and became closer to you than anyone else.

It was the perfect cover up. What better way to get information about someone you need to kidnap or get rid of then to be the person at their side at every waking moment?

Why else would an 18 year old fresh out of high school take a job babysitting someone two years younger than them? Why else would she end up in Eldia of all places after what happened in Ember?

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

You were devastated. You had truly loved her so much. She was one of the few people in this world that you could confidently say would always have your back and that you would do absolutely anything for.

And all of it was a lie.

"I know how this all looks." She says. "But Eren has nothing to do with it. Please don't ruin his life. He's innocent."

"Now that you're caught you want to make sure you partner doesn't get caught too, right?" You snap. "If both of you go down then your mission has failed."

She was becoming more vocal now that Eren was involved which only made it that more suspicious. "It isn't him! Ask Jean! Him and Eren have gone to school together forever, it wouldn't make sense!"

"Why should I believe anything you're saying?" You shout. "I trusted you! More than anyone! I told you all my secrets, I let you get close to me," You start to cringe. "You slept beside me for nights straight!"

You could no longer hold back. The heart break and betrayal was too much for you that not even your powers could fix it for you. "Jean is rotting away in a jail cell when it is YOU who should be in there!"

"Ever since I got back, you've tried to pull me away from everyone to get me alone. You tried to stop me each time I tried to leave and you keep asking me what happened each time I do." You put more together. "You have always been so overprotective of me and all these years I thought you just really cared about me, but it's actually because you're not supposed to let me out of your sight."

You look at her desk. "If it's not Eren who is helping you, then you are writing to whoever is. That's why you have all that stuff."

You hold up her certificate. "If you had nothing to hide, you wouldn't have gone through such great lengths to hide this!"

"Please," She cries. "Don't tell Eren."

"So it's true?" You hear your voice crack.

"No!" She screams. "It's not. This is all just a misunderstanding but if you tell him, he'll believe you and never speak to me again."

You couldn't believe she was more worried about losing Eren than you. She didn't seem to care this much about you confronting her until you brought up his name.

The conversation was only getting you more and more enraged. The fact that your powers weren't even attempting to cool you down scared you. All you could feel was the urge to hurt someone. To scream and break everything in your way.

"Yn..." She says softly as she tries to approach you with her hands out.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT." You move away.

She keeps proceeding toward you anyway. "Please give me the birth certificate back. It's all I have left."

You laugh. It was a sound that was so twisted and dark that you couldn't believe it came from you. The last time you felt this way was when you and Levi were sword fighting and he kept beating you and sending you to the floor over and over.

You could recall how with each round he won, you grew more and more infuriated. The way he would send you to floor so easily and look down at you like you were merely wasting his time.

You hated the way he made you feel so weak in comparison to him. The way he looked down at you on the floor was the same way your brother did many years before.

You would stand up and hit them back to defend yourself but your powers would punish you for being cruel and weaken your body. As a kid, you didn't fight it. You just thought you were much smaller than them and couldn't meet their strength.

But with Levi, you did. You fought it. The more he sent you to the ground, the more you wanted to stand up and do the same to him. Even though your body tried to force you to the floor, you stood up on wobbly legs and fought back.

The sky had turned charcoal gray and the clouds twisted together in fear of the storm that was to come of them. Levi himself had begun to grow weak and lose all strength in his body until it was now him on the floor and you looking down on him.

The dark, unusual feeling had never returned since then. Until now that is. You looked at Mikasa with such hatred, such malice, that you actually wanted to hurt her the way she was hurting you.

And the way she was looking at you and approaching you with her arms open was like she wasn't taking you seriously. Like you were a child coming up with some crazy idea and she needed to gaslight you into thinking it wasn't real.

She reaches for the birth certificate and you grab her wrist hard. "I told you not to fucking come near me." You seethe.

She looks down at your hand wrapped painfully tight around her wrist and her face begins to fill with discomfort. She attempts to pull away but you keep your grip firm.

You smell it before you even feel it. The smell of flesh burning. Proceedingly after, you could feel it melting underneath your palm. Mikasa's screams soon follow after.

She begins to howl with pain and tries everything in her power to pull her wrist away from yours but you were in a blackouted rage. You even tighten it further regardless of how badly in pain she was.

"You're hurting me." She wails. "You're burning my skin off!"

It was like the fight with Levi. Even though you saw him growing weak, you kept going. You kept pushing him until you saw him down on the ground. You were like a whole other person, no longer in control of your body.

"Y/n!" You hear her screech.

You snap out of your trance and let her go. The skin around her wrist was sizzling and she couldn't stop crying.

It was for sure a third degree burn. You could see the imprint of your hand and the scorched pieces of skin around it. Her wrist was shades of crimson red and dark violet.

"Oh my god." You stare at the terrible wound. She runs to the bathroom and sticks her hand into running cold water as she cries and cries from the pain.

You look down at your hand that caused her such agony. It was perfectly fine and unharmed like it hadn't melted the skin off hers. "Mikasa, I'm so..."

You were on the verge of apologizing because you almost felt guilty. The sound of her excruciating shrieks rung so deeply in your ears that you almost forgot why you did it in the first place.

When reality hits you again when you feel the birth certificate in your other hand, you race out her bedroom and quickly slam the door shut.

You could hear her run after you but you grab a chair from the hallway and shove it underneath the door handle so she can't escape.

You watch as she attempts to open the door with her one good hand. The door knob shakes up and down but it never comes open. "Y/n!" She bangs. "Let me go!"

You step away from the door and try to process what your next move should be. Someone is bound to hear her screaming and let her loose. You had to find your parents and tell them first.

Racing down the hallways with the certificate tightly in your hand, you search every perimeter of the castle and can't seem to find them. You could hear the clock ticking in your head.

As you turn the corner, you bump into Marco and he sends you straight to the ground. "Shit!" He shouts before he picks you up from the floor. "I'm so sorry, Princess. I didn't see you there."

"It's okay." You adjust your crown. This felt eerily familiar. The first time you ever met Marco was exactly like this. Jean was right beside him at the time and it was their first day working in the castle.

That was also around the time Mikasa started working here as well. "Have you seen my parents?" You ask him.

He frowns and points his thumb backward. "They're in there. Are you okay? You look... startled."

"Well, you just bumped into me." You say dryly. You move him out the way so you can enter the door where you parents hide behind. He steps in front of you. "They don't want to be bothered right now."

"I don't care what they want." You retort. You move him out of your way and start banging rapidly on the door.

He watches anxiously as you basically knock the door down. He knew he was going to get in trouble. "If this is about Jean, you're too late. They already released him."

You stop. "Wait, what? They already let him go?"

He nods, his face to the ground. "Just a few minutes ago. It's crazy to think I'll probably never get to see him again. I didn't even get to say goodbye."

"Imagine how I fucking feel." You feel your emotions take over again. "This is so fucking—"

The door swings open. Your mother stands there and when she sees that it was you who was beating her door down, she rolls her eyes and attempts to shut the door.

You slam your hand down onto the door and push it open again. "Don't you ever do that again." You speak.

She scoffs in disbelief. "Excuse me? I am your mother and I can—"

You shove the paper toward her. "This is Mikasa's birth certificate. She's born in Ember and her parents died in the bombs Grandfather sent. I'm certain she is one of the traitors, I confronted her and she didn't deny it."

She grabs the paper and looks at it in shock. "I..." She looks back at her husband. "Come see this."

"How did you find—" She asks when she turns back to you but you're already gone.

You sprint down the halls and practically fly down the stairs all the way to the bottom floor. Your shoes make a dreadful sound as you turn the corner sharply toward the dungeon.

There was no one guarding the doors anymore which just showed proof Jean was no longer in there. You rush in there anyway so you can see the cell yourself.

The cell he was locked in was open and he was no where in sight. "Fuck!" Your scream echos through the dungeon.

Where would he be now? According to Marco, they had just released him so he shouldn't be too far.

And if you knew any better, they probably sent him through the back gates and not the front just like they did when they sent him and Marco after you.

You leave the dungeon and head straight outside. You mentally prepare yourself to get stopped by a dozen guards on the way toward the back gates but no one does.

Actually, there was none in sight. You stop in the middle of the courtyard and spin around to try to get a glimpse of where everyone may be.

And from the lit up windows that shined against the dark night, you can see all the guards running through the halls. From Mikasa screaming and trying to break down the door, to your mother probably freaking out and demanding that everyone looks for her, you knew everyone was too distracted to even pay attention to what you were doing.

You knew that this was the universe once again giving you an opportunity. Just like the train to Paris that just happened to pull up at the exact same time where no one was looking besides you and Jean.

This time, you wouldn't let such an opportunity go to waste. You grab as much of your dress as you can and begin to race through the mud and toward the forest.

❦

The sound of keys and the iron bars coming apart awake Jean from his sleep. He sits up from the bench and shields his eyes.

"Wake up, Kirstein." Commander Smith says. "It's time to go."

Jean groans as he tries his best to adjust his back. "What time is it?"

He hears Levi before he sees him. "About 8pm."

Jean walks through the now open cell and they cuff his hands when he does. "8? They really chose the worst possible time to banish me at."

Levi tightens the rope around his wrist causing it to graze roughly aganist his skin and making him wince. "You should be glad that's -"

"All I'm getting." Jean finishes for him. "I get it."

They lead him toward the back of the castle. It was so quiet outside that he could hear crickets in the distance. He looks up at the sky and sees stars unveiling their distant glow. "So, I don't get to say goodbye to anyone, do I?"

"Your belongings are packed. You are granted one trip to your home to say goodbye to your mother." Smith answers. "After that, you are to leave Eldia and are forbidden to come back."

Jean sighs with tiny relief. At least he got to say goodbye to his mom. Maybe he could convince her to leave with him even though he knew she loved Eldia too much. It was just as much her home as it was his. It was breaking his heart to leave it behind.

But then again, he did have two tickets to Paris. His mother would most likely consider the thought of leaving if it meant it was to Paris.

He was grateful they granted him this one thing but he selfishly wanted more. He wanted more time to say goodbye to everyone else. His friends, his extended family like his cousins and uncles.

His last few moments in Eldia were being measured by a stop watch. He couldn't truly stop and savor the last time he'd be here.

Then there was you. How on Earth is he expected to just walk away from you? Leave you behind with everyone else as if you meant nothing to him.

Once he's far from the castle and at the very back gates that lead to the forest, they untie his hands and hand him his belongings. He looks down at the bags. "Do I not get a horse, either?"

Levi Ackerman and Erwin Smith laugh. Like genuinely laughing with their hands on their stomachs.

Jean glares. "I'm glad I could amuse you two one last time."

Erwin lands a heavy hand on Jean's shoulder. "I don't like to pick favorites but if I had, you would be one of them. Don't let this ruin your potential. You've always had it since day one. You still do."

Levi shows no affection. "He would be one of your favorites?"

"Maybe this is what I needed." Jean adjusts the weight of his bags. "A push out of this place."

Erwin points up to the sky. "Sometimes you have to go through the storm in order to get to the rainbow."

Jean follows his finger to the sky. The night sky seemed darker than normal. There were ghastly clouds twisting together in a frightening way.

A soft roll of thunder warns the ears around that the storm was coming in quick. Jean snaps his head over to both of them. "You should check on the Princess."

Erwin frowns. "Why?"

"Just trust me." Jean pleads.

Ackerman narrows his eyes but looks back at Erwin. "He's right. We should."

"Is this a distraction for an escape plan?" Erwin questions.

"What?" Jean asks with annoyance. "This isn't a trick! I will leave regardless, just please, check up on her."

Levi turns his back. "I'll go check on the Princess. You can stay and watch Jean leave." Before Erwin answers, Levi disappears.

Erwin pushes Jean forward. "Go on." Jean continues to drag his feet while his head stays up toward the sky. "I can't really be expected to leave in this weather."

"Get through the storm, remember?" Erwin chuckles at his own joke.

"I don't think they meant literally." Jean snipes under his breath. He continues to walk down the dirt path through the forest. Tall trees tower over him and blocked the moon from illuminating the way.

Erwin follows behind him, ensuring his departure. Aside from the faint sound of thunder, Jean hears the sound of some footsteps approaching at an alarming pace.

Eren appears out of what seemed like thin air. He squats forward and rests his hands on his knees while he breathes in and out. "Commander Smith. There's an emergency. You need to come quick."

"What happened?" Jean nearly drops his bags to the ground.

Eren begins to speak but Erwin shuts him up. "Hey! Not another word, Jaeger." He turns to Jean and points down the path. "Get walking. Better hope you don't get caught in the storm."

Jean steps forward. "I can help!"

"You are not part of the royal guard anymore!" Smith shouts. "This is no longer your business. You have an hour to say goodbye and then you need to be out of Eldia by morning."

Jean looks at Eren one last time. He looked like he was on the verge of throwing up. Jean wasn't sure if it was because it was dark outside but there was no color in Eren's face. He even looked like he was slightly trembling. He looked genuinely scared.

"GO KIRSTEIN." Erwin yells even louder. Jean snaps awake. He turns on his heel and walks in the opposite direction as the other two run back to the castle.

It was destroying his pride to walk away right now. Whatever happened was something so bad that it had Eren petrified.

Was he really supposed to just leave when his help was possibly needed the most?

He wished he had asked Eren for more details. Of course, Smith wouldn't have allowed it either way. He just wanted to know if you were okay.

He stops in his tracks as rain begins to fall down from the angry sky. The weather was only getting worse and now with the information he knows, the correlation was obvious. Something was wrong with you.

"What the fuck am I doing?" He curses himself. He knew for a fact you were in trouble. He would never forgive himself for running away and entrusting someone else to save you. That was his job. It had been before he was even hired to do so.

He turns around and begins to race down the forest and back toward the castle. It was too dark to see anything due to how hard the rain came pouring down but he continued to run straight anyway, hoping he didn't crash right into a tree.

However, it's not a tree he bumps into.

You and Jean collide smack into eachother causing you both to go flying back and into the mud.

When he notices it's really you and not a figment of his imagination, he's stuck in shock. "Y/n? What the hell are you doing out here?!"

You stand up from the ground. "I'm coming with you."

He freezes once he's up on his feet again. "What?" He notices you have the same exact expression Eren did. Except yours was more horrified. You trembled just as he did and your eyes never once blink.

He approaches you in attempt to reach out to you. "What happened? Are you okay?"

You jump back. "Don't touch me!"

He steps back. "Why?"

"I.." You look down at your hands. "I did something horrible. I didn't mean to do it."

He almost couldn't hear you over the pouring rain. "I don't understand. What did you do?"

You look up and hold your hands together up to your chest. "I promise I didn't mean to do it!"

He tries to connect everything together. From Eren looking horrified and to you screaming for Jean to stay away from you because you did something bad.

If it was someone else you hurt, Eren might've been shocked, sure, but not like that. It had to be have been Mikasa or maybe even someone in the royal family even though he couldn't see you hurting one of them. He couldn't imagine you hurting Mikasa either.

"Just tell me what you did." Jean says calmly but with enough volume to be heard over the rain that was only getting stronger.

"No." You cry. "I can't."

He tries to get close again. "Yn..." You scream again. "Don't come near me! I don't want you to get hurt."

"You won't hurt me." He says without hesitation as he keeps getting closer.

You keep stepping back. "I hurt Mikasa! I burned her! I..." He could see the terror in your eyes. "Her skin... it was hanging off. I burned her skin off. I didn't mean to do it, I swear!"

The image made him sick to his stomach. He knew that you were capable of hurting someone by reversing your healing powers. It said so in the book. He just didn't expect you'd burn the skin off someone. Especially someone you cared so deeply for.

"Why did you hurt Mikasa?" He asks as he slowly gets closer without you noticing.

"She betrayed me!" You howl. "She's the traitor!" Your tears blended in with the rain. "I was just so angry and she kept trying to get close to me. I didn't mean to do it!"

"I know." Jean answers. He was trying his absolute best not to freak out. If he panicked, you would get even more scared. He needed to calm you down somehow.

He looks up at the sky that was now a charcoal gray. Piercing lightning bolts stab through the furious clouds and thunder shakes the ground. Trees blow wildly in the wind that was picking up pace. It looked like you both were standing in the middle of a hurricane.

[play je te laisserai des mots by patrick watson]

He managed to get as close as he could without you noticing. He quickly wraps his arms around you tightly. You scream and attempt to wiggle out of his grip. "Get off, Jean!"

He doesn't budge. "It's okay. I'm here. Breathe."

You cry and cry as you thrash and kick. He feels heat radiate off you, and he wants to pull away before he gets burned like Mikasa, but he stays in place. He had to prove to you that he wasn't scared of you.

"You won't hurt me." He repeats. "Just calm down. Breathe with me."

"I'm scared." You sob. "I didn't mean to hurt her. Please believe me."

He knew you were probably terrified out of your mind. You find out your best friend betrayed you and then you proceeded to burn the skin right off her arm. It was enough to bring anyone into panic mode.

"I believe you." He hugs you tighter and brings his face to the neck. "It's okay."

He can feel the heat slowly fade away. The wind slows down and the rain goes from raging waters to a soft drizzle.

Your chest against his slows down too. You're no longer kicking and screaming. You're still and calm in his arms.

He runs his hands around your back. "It's okay."

"I love you, Jean." You say quietly. "I'm sorry I didn't it say it at the ball when you said it to me. I was scared. I'm still scared now. I just can't let you leave without saying it back to you."

He still couldn't believe you were standing here in front of him. Outside the castle walls and in the middle of the forest at night.

He looks down at your hands that clung onto his. He runs his thumb across your knuckles for further evidence you were truly here.

That's when he notices the bag behind you. You were serious when you said you were coming with him. "You can't come with me."

You look up at him, water droplets hanging beautifully from your eyelashes. "Please. I'm sorry that I lied and said this is the life I want but it isn't."

"People are counting on you." He reminds you.

"Who cares!" You say loudly. "I'm tired of doing things for others. I do everything for everyone and where does that get me? Absolutely no where! I can't trust anyone!"

"What about Phoenix?" He found himself asking.

"Phoenix would follow his heart like I'm doing." You answer. "I'm not his first choice either. He wanted to be with someone else but it was too late. I don't want to regret not choosing you."

He shakes his head down at the ground. "He's good for you."

You grab his hands and hold them up to your chest. "You're good for me. Yes, you're right, Phoenix and I look good on paper but anyone who really knows me, who knows you and I, knows I don't truly belong with him."

Your grip strengthens. "Phoenix will find someone else. I'll never be able to find another you."

"You're choosing me over your duties? Your family? Everything." He tries to remind you the impact your decision could cause.

"Everything!" Your voice echos. "I don't care if it makes me selfish or a bad person. I don't care if people hate me for it. I want the life I yearn for and that isn't a sin."

"And what if it is?" He questions.

"I'd spend an eternity burning in hell if it meant I could spend my life on earth by your side." You say in return.

He fights the urge to kiss you. He begs himself to show some kind of resist but it was inevitable. His lips press against yours and it's like the past month replays all over again in his head.

Your hand comes up to the back of his neck as you kiss him and his hands slide up your back as he pulls you closer.

He couldn't make up his mind. Does he force you to do the right thing or does he follow your sudden manic disposition and run forever?

He kissed you while his mind somehow came up with the answer. There was no way he could turn this down. It was his final chance to get you to stay with him forever. Or until you get caught at least.

He regrettably pulls away from you. "If you're serious about this, I promise I'll make you the happiest woman alive."

"I'm serious." You bounce, your eyes softening. "I'm all yours."

He stands there mesmerized by your beauty. Somehow you still looked incredible sopping wet. Under the moonlight, your smile glowed and your eyes glistened. You truly were his dream girl.

You smile wider. "If that's a yes, we have to go. The entire royal guard is probably figuring out I'm missing right about now."

He completely forgot he was also on a strict schedule. He grabs your hand as well as grabs your bag. "Come on."

"Really?" You beam.

"Really."

Suddenly, there's the sound of a loud explosion. He almost thought he was hallucinating it a first. Like if brain thought it'd be funny to mimic fireworks during such an important moment.

But when he sees your face, the realization sets in. Your face was scrunched and your eyes forced shut. Your hands protected your ears and you were in a crotched position.

That's when he sees it.

"What was that?" You say as your eyelids come open.

He doesn't move a muscle.

"Was that..." You look up at the sky and see the black smoke that began to pollute the air. "That's the castle."

Seconds later, bright red illuminates the sky. Vibrant hues of orange shower over everything.

Another explosion goes off.

He sees you dart past him and in the direction of the castle. It isn't until then that he races over there too. "Y/n!"

You don't stop running. He had never seen you run so fast before. He had even more trouble keeping up as his boots clung unto the muddy earth beneath.

Another explosion.

He runs faster and reaches out to grab you. He manages to grip your arm. "Are you crazy?! You can't go out there!"

"That's my family in there!" You scream. "Are you crazy?!"

He lets you go. You dart out the forest and he follows behind you. You're the first to make it out and when you stand before the castle, you stand as still as a statue.

The castle was engulfed in flames from every which corner. Even the tallest tower burned brightly like a lighthouse against the inky sky.

"No." Your voice croaks.

He can't pull his eyes away from the scene before him. He couldn't bear to see your face.

"How..." He hears you say.

He finally looks your way. There was so much terror in your eyes. There was absolute devastation and dread. You looked horrifying.

When he follows your eyes, he finally understands why you had such a gut-wrenching expression.

You both were surrounded by dead bodies.

You fumble forward. "I don't understand. Did I do this?"

"What?" Jean finally speaks. "No. Of course not. You heard those explosions."

He couldn't breathe. Mainly because all the oxygen nearby was replaced with thick, heavy smoke that he could practically feel cake up in his lungs.

What was he supposed to do? He wasn't part of the royal guard anymore and this was no longer his business. In fact, he shouldn't even be here.

But how could he turn the other way and pretend he saw nothing? Like he didn't see his comrades all scattered around the ground, completely lifeless.

None of it felt real.

He doesn't even realize you're several feet away, stumbling and muttering a bunch of nonsense. He's scared you may have really lost it this time.

"I need to find my family." You chant over and over. "Do you see them?" You spin your head every which way.

"Yn." He tries to bring you down to earth.

"Where are they?" Your voice gets louder. "Where is my family?!"

You trip over bodies and the smoke blurs your vision making it worse. He sees you spring forward and before he can catch you mid fall, you fall to your knees in front of one of the corpses.

The corpse had a face he knew all too well. His stomach churned in the most excruciating way possible.

"Eli?" You rasp. "Elijah." You repeat a second time in a more frantic tone.

You sit up and grab both sides of your brother's face. "Eli. Hey, hey. Look at me."

His body was like jello as you move him around. He never flutters an eye or moves a muscle.

You bring your hands in front of your face and they're stained red. Blood dripped down your shaky fingers. "No.."

You then begin to pull his shirt off. "I can fix it. I can stop the bleeding." You say to no one in particular.

When the fabric comes apart, Jean sees the large gash in the center of his stomach. Someone stabbed right through him. Most likely with a sword.

Jean knew you could work magic but a wound that big that had been open for who knows how long? The chances were slim.

But still, you pressed your hands into the soft, shredded tissue with every intention to try either way. "I can stop it." You repeat. He hears you say it over and over. He knew you weren't talking to him anymore at this point.

He couldn't bear to see this. He knew Elijah was dead. He knew you knew Elijah was dead. He couldn't stand to watch you suffer. He knew you'd hate yourself forever if you couldn't save someone you loved.

You had named yourself the girl who could heal anything and everything. Yet, here you are being shown you can't heal everything in one of the most horrific ways possible.

He wanted to stop you but how could he stop you from trying to save someone so close to you? "Yn, I don't think..."

"I can fix it!" You shout as your hands press deeper onto the gaping wound.

On his right, Jean hears the sound of someone coughing. He looks in the direction of the noise and gasps. "Is that..Marco?"

He was in horrible shape. He was coated in blood and half of his body was burned off. The skin was practically sizzling.

He realized it was the perfect opportunity for you to get away from Elijah's body. "Yn, come heal Marco. He's still alive. I feel him breathing!"

"I can't!" You push further into the wound. "I can't heal Elijah! I can't heal Marco! I can't heal at all! I'm being punished for what I did to Mikasa!"

He had forgotten about that rule. And although it may be true, he didn't think that was the real reason you couldn't heal Elijah.

No more sugarcoating. He needed to take charge. He needed you to snap out of it and do the same. "Your powers don't work on Elijah because he's already dead."

[play solitude felsmann + tiley by M83 here trust me!!]

He watches as your heart breaks. The deep despair was slowly consuming the light in your eyes. "No..."

He moves away from Marco and squats down in front of you. "Listen to me. I'm so sorry Elijah is dead." He hears his own voice tremble slightly. "But Marco isn't. There's probably a lot of people here who aren't and they need your help."

Your eyes were blurred with tears that threatened to fall out at any second. He knew his words stung violently but he needed you to wake you up.

"He's dead, yn." He says as sympathetically as he possibly can. "Let him go. He would want you
to save as many people as you can. You know he would."

A single tear falls from your eye and you wipe it away with the back of your hand. Your brother's blood was now smeared on your cheek. "You're right. I will under one condition."

"What?"

You look up at him. "Go look for my brothers. Please." You plead. "I need to know if they're alive. I know I'm supposed to save everyone else too but they're..." More tears come out. "I don't want to lose another brother."

"I can't leave you here alone!" Jean says like you said the craziest thing ever. "Look around you! Everything is quite literally up in flames!"

Marco coughs and groans again, blood slowly spilling out from him.

You manage to tear your body away from your deceased brother and crawl over to Marco. You grab at Jean's hand. "I'll be fine. Just go. I'll be right here when you come back, I promise."

He gets flashbacks from the night at Canary's when you allowed him to take a walk with Thalia and when you noticed he was hesitant to leave you alone, you said those exact words: "I'll be right here when you come back. I promise."

He had returned and you were right there like you said you were going to be. Smiling up at the sky as snow fell onto your palms.

He didn't want to leave but he couldn't say no to that face. Those sorrowful eyes that rivers so clearly flowed out of. "Okay." He doesn't think about it for another second longer. "I'll find them. I'll be right back."

You nod and press your hands against the half of Marco's body that was burnt to a crisp. It takes everything out of him to leave you as he takes off running.

As he ran through the fire and suffocating smoke, he could hear several groans and moans from bodies that were scattered everywhere he looked. Some bodies were gone beyond repair and some were barely holding on.

The same people he graduated with, the same people he worked alongside for years now. They were all either dead or halfway there.

He tries his best to not look at their faces. He couldn't bear it. Saliva forced its way up his throat and filled his closed mouth, threatening his gag reflexes. The smell of decomposing bodies was too much. Not to mention his eyes stun wildly from all the smog.

It seemed impossible. Between everyone running around and the dark cast of poisonous smoke, it was unbearably hard to see anything.

Luckily, as he scavenges through the castle, he hears someone croak his name. He looks down right next to his feet and sees Connie's lifeless body right beside him.

Connie's limp body was laying on top of someone else's. It isn't until Jean moves the body that he sees who it is.

It was Kai who was covered head to toe in black residue. "Jean." He groans again.

Jean immediately squats down to his side and he forces himself to move Connie's body aside. It didn't take much to realize Connie died protecting Kai. If he hadn't, Kai would've been just as dead as his older brother.

Kai coughs and blood spews up from his lips. "Where's my sister?"

Jean tries his best to find the wound somewhere on him to stop the bleeding but he had no luck. "She's with Marco healing him. Come on, I'm going to pick you up and take you to her."

"No!" Kai begins to cough more furiously now, more and more blood coming out his mouth. "Get her away from him!"

"What?" Jean wipes soot from his face.

Kai weakly grabs Jean by the shirt to bring him closer. "Forget about me. You need to get yn away from Marco right now."

"I don't understand." Jean says.

"He's the traitor." Kai winces as the pain becomes too much. His bloody hand rests right on his chest. "He's the one who did all this. Elijah tried to stop him but-" More blood comes out as he coughs.

That's why their bodies were beside eachother.

Jean stops him from explaining further. "Stop. Don't talk anymore. I'll go get her. It's going to be fine. It's fine. I'll get her."

He pulls himself away from Kai and takes off in a run except this time, his run was more frantic. His long limbs stumbled everywhere and tripped over debris and more bodies.

When he makes it to the exact spot he left you at, his whole world comes to a complete stop. All the screaming, fire crackling, and bodies dropping went mute.

Your body, along with Marco's, was no where in sight. Elijah's was still in the exact same place now all alone.

He spins around wildly. "Princess?!"

He tried to think positive. You might've healed Marco and just took him somewhere safe.

But he knew that wasn't true. Just like Marco being his friend wasn't true. You were gone and taken by the man himself.

"Y/n?!" He screams more hysterically. He screams and screams your name over and over but you never answer. No matter where he looked, you were gone.

You and Marco had vanished into thin air.