"Jean. Wake up."

Jean groans as he rolls over. "Do I have to?"

His mother steps into the room, the light from the open door blinding him. "You only have a week left of school. Don't give up now."

He sits up and yawns. "Fine. I'm up."

After he does his business in the bathroom and eats breakfast, he speeds out the door as he waves goodbye to his mother for the day.

Marco was down the street, already in that direction so Jean jogs to catch up to him. "Morning."

"Morning." Marco says back. "Can you believe we just have one more week and we're done?"

"Fucking finally." Jean grunts. "Now we can finally go to the training academy and learn something of actual use."

Eren appears with Connie beside him as they turn the corner. "I love how you still think you'll get accepted into the academy." He snickers.

"I love how you think you'll even graduate high school." Jean snaps.

Connie cackles and Marco laughs too. Eren frowns. "Aw. Did someone wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?"

"Shut up." Jean replies.

"Maybe him and Thalia broke up." Connie jokes.

"Whoa, you two broke up?" Marco questions. "Why didn't you say anything?"

It was far too early for this. "We didn't break up!" He shouts. "God, I can't believe I have to continue to put up with you three idiots even after we graduate."

Connie throws his arm over his friend's shoulder. "Don't be mean to us, Jeannie. One day when Thalia finally decides to leave you, we're all you're going to have left."

Jean shoves him off and the three boys begin to laugh wildly. It was almost as if they spoke it into the universe because the second they step foot into the school, Thalia calls for Jean's attention.

"Jean." She stands before the four of them. "Can I talk to you?"

"OUUUUU." The boys synchronize together. Jean gives them the death stare before he separates from the group. As they pass him by, they make fists and pretend to rub at their eyes as they make crying faces.

Jean and Thalia now stand alone in an empty hallway. "I was going to wait until after school to tell you but I don't want to spend the day avoiding you or acting strange."

He already knew what was coming. Thalia was a pretty clingy, high maintenance girlfriend. She loved to hold hands in public and always greeted Jean with a big smile and a kiss. With no kiss in sight, he knew something was wrong.

"My dad got offered a job in Marley." She begins. "It's an amazing opportunity. They're offering him a lot of money."

"Oh." He says. "That's great."

Her eyebrows flinch for a second. "Yeah, it's amazing. It's just... we leave in a week."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Does this mean you're..."

"Yes."

"Oh."

She crosses her arms anxiously in attempt to hug herself. "Can you please say something other than oh?"

He looks everywhere but her eyes. "I don't really know what else to say." Jean had only ever had one girlfriend in his entire life and here she was dumping him. He wasn't sure what the right protocol was for reacting to such a thing.

The fact that he wasn't even looking at her seemed to trigger her some more. "Do you even care?" She asks, clear anger in her voice.

He finally meets her eyes. "Of course I care!" He throws his arms out. "But what do you want me to do, Thalia? Beg your dad not to take the job? Tell you to stay here and I'll take care of you? I don't even have a job yet. I can't provide for you the way you want me to."

She scoffs and turns away. As she does, she says, "This is exactly why yn is marrying someone else."

Jean blinks. He couldn't have possibly heard her correctly. "Wait. What did you just say?"

She keeps walking. He rushes after her. "Thalia!"

When he finally makes it up to her, he spins her around. "Hey!"

Who he comes face to face with isn't his girlfriend at all. When she turns around, her face is completely different.

It's you.

"Get away from me!" You shout.

What. The. Fuck.

He struggles to untie his tongue that seemed to be all twisted up. "Yn?"

"Don't touch me." You warn him.

This was the first time he had seen you since you were kids. He was amazed you were even in front of him right now. "It's me. Jean. Remember?"

You look irritated. "Who?"

"Jean." He repeats as he places his hand over his chest. "We grew up together. My mom used to watch over you and your brothers."

Your irritation glides into genuine confusion. "I'm sorry. I have no idea what you're talking about."

You start to turn away but he stops you. "Wait!"

"STOP TOUCHING ME!" You shout.

This wasn't the same person. Sure, you and Jean weren't the best of friends growing up but you were still nice to him and vise versa.

He hadn't seen you in a while, so it was obvious you'd look different and older. But there was something else that wasn't quite right.

Your eyes were darker. You didn't have that smile that seemed to be permanently attached to your face. There was no comforting, bright aura around you.

You were someone else completely.

Marco then joins the conversation by throwing his arm over you. "Hey baby." He then turns to Jean and frowns. "Is this guy bothering you?"

Jean bursts into laughter. "This guy? You know my name."

Marco's dark eyebrows fold together. He looks back at you. "Do you know him?"

"No." You respond. "He just came up to me and started grabbing me."

Marco looks as serious as Jean has ever seen him. "Why are you touching my wife?"

"Wife?" Jean cackles. "You're kidding."

"How about you just stay the fuck away from us?" Marco steps in front of you. "We don't know you."

Suddenly, both of your clothes begin to change. Marco went from his average school uniform into full royal attire. The same went for you. Both of the crowns that rested on your heads shined blindly in the sun.

"Look at you." Marco gestures toward Jean's clothes. "How could we ever be associated with someone like you?"

Jean looks down at his own clothes now. He was no longer wearing what he threw on this morning. He was wearing raggedy, torn clothes that he first owned before his mother got a job at the castle. His shoes were two sizes too big and his clothes were ill-fitted as well.

"The fuck..." He whispers to himself.

Eren and Connie both join in the laughter now as the entire group points and laugh at Jean. The piercing sound of his closest friends mocking his attire was enough to drive him mad. But you too?

"Come on." Marco grabs your hand to pull you into him. He leans in for a kiss and it crushes Jean to see that you don't turn away.

Before your lips meet, Jean snaps awake when he feels a sudden stinging sensation across his face. He shoots up with a scream from where he lay and immediately touches at his cheek.

Eren crouches beside Jean, his hand mid air. Air fills the brunette's mouth as he tries to hold in his laugher. "Sorry."

Jean looks at his surroundings once his eyes adjust. He had taken a break from traveling and laid his back against a tree to sleep. As badly as he wanted to race over there, he was exhausted.

"The fuck are you doing here?" Jean asks as he continues to rub at his face. He knew damn well it wasn't necessary to slap him THAT hard.

"I told you I wasn't going to let you come by yourself!" Eren defends.

Jean moves his head to look past Eren. Mikasa and Armin stand behind him. Armin waves. Jean looks back at Eren. "You brought them?"

Suddenly, an arrow shoots right into the tree Jean leans against, only about 10 feet above his head.

"Sorry!" Phoenix shouts with his hand around the right side of his mouth. He holds up a bow and arrow and Sasha stands beside him. "That was...better!" She smiles as she encourages the prince.

"AND THEM?" Jean yells.

Sasha overhears and marches over to Jean. "Hey! Who do you know that is a better shot than me?"

Eren stands up straight. "We were going to wait for you to wake up since you look so cute sleeping, but there's a shitload of bugs and it's pissing my girl off."

"It's pissing me off?" Mikasa laughs. Clearly, it was Eren who had an issue with the insects and needed someone more feminine to blame it on.

Eren ignores that. "Anyway, get up. Nap time is over. We're on a mission."

He holds out his hand for Jean to take. He does and groans as he stands with Eren's help. His back definitely hated him for choosing that position to sleep in.

Armin hands him some water. "Here." Jean doesn't hesitate to practically inhale the entire contents of the flask. Armin stares at him blankly. "Well. I guess I don't have anyone else to blame for that."

"Sorry." Jean wipes his mouth dry. "You guys really didn't have to come."

Eren groans obnoxiously as he stomps his feet. "Wah, wah, wah. We get it. Shut the hell up. I'm not letting you take all the credit and glory, alright?"

Armin immediately senses some tension. "Okaaaay, so let's go over a plan, yeah?"

Jean doesn't let the comment slide. "Better go accept that job offer while it's still up for grabs."

Eren smirks and places his hand on Jean's chest. "You're upset but not with me."

The fuck?

Jean smacks his hand away. He then turns back to the group. "Was it really necessary for all of you to come? I understand Eren and Mikasa but Armin? Phoenix? Sasha?"

Phoenix is the first to speak. "She may not be my fiancé anymore but she was at the time she went missing. I want to make sure she's okay and bring her home."

Armin smiles at Phoenix's answer. "I came because well, Elijah told me if anything happened to him, he wanted me to make sure the princess didn't end up in a shitty position. I know I shouldn't pick favorites but... Elijah and I had the most in common. We were friends. I want to keep that promise."

Sasha awaits her turn. "Niccolo's hand got crushed during the explosion and now he may never cook again. I want to see to it personally that Marco pays for that. I also want the princess to come home and fix it."

They all had solid reasons. Who was he to tell them no? He just knew it was going to be an annoying 3 days.

Mikasa points to Jean's bag. "Is that all you packed?"

Jean looks down at the bag that hung behind him. "I didn't pack for a vacation."

She shoots him an annoyed look. "That's not what I meant." She points to the shoes she had on. Chunky, tan hiking boots. "The road to Ember is nothing but caves and mountains."

That's when Jean notices the rest of the group had the same shoes on. He felt so stupid. The shoes he had on were terrible for the trip he was about to go on. They were great for walking but not for grip, which he'd desperately need.

Eren puffs his chest and places his hands on his hips. "No worries. We knew you forgot so we brought you a pair."

Mikasa unzips a bag and before she unveils the shoes, Eren says, "Size 6, right?" It was incredible how Eren, regardless of the events happening, still was an annoying, smug son of a bitch.

She pulls out Jean's correct size, proving Eren was just joking. He felt embarrassed saying thank you to the people who knew much better. "Thanks."

"It happens." Armin waves it off. He takes a seat on the ground, dehydrated leaves scattered underneath him. He lays out a map right across the space in front of him. Everyone follows by taking a seat in a circle.

[ quick shoutout to Ryugaikk who helped me make this map for Eldia! i hope this helps everyone get a better visualization lol ]

He points at the outskirts of Eldia right by the mountain range. "We're a few miles away from leaving Eldia. After that, there's going to a mountain range in which we all known as the Hallow Mountains."

"I remember learning about them in school. The name comes from the coal mines inside, right?" Phoenix asks.

Armin nods. "Coal mines inside mountains. When they were blown up during the war, a lot of the entry ways were closed off for good. Besides actually climbing over the mountains, there are only two known entry points."

Sasha chimes in. "My dad took me to see the mountains." She points at two sides of the mountain range. "The far east side is a train passage way through the caves and the west side is a walking passage."

"Good job, Sasha." Armin smiles. No matter what, he was still an instructor at heart. She shines her big teeth proudly.

Mikasa leans aganist Eren for support. "So, our two options are to ride the train through the mountains or walk through them?"

Sasha points up to the sky. "Or climb the mountains."

"I'm not doing that." Mikasa retorts.

Armin looks around at the group. "I don't think I recommend riding the train either. We need to keep a low profile and well, from what I've read, Ember does really like people from Eldia visiting."

Jean sighs as he begins to replace his shoes. "Looks like we narrowed it down to one option then. We're walking through them."

"If it makes you all feel better, I'm pretty sure that's how Marco and the princess made it to Ember." Armin suggests.

"Why would that make me feel better?" Jean fails to hide his tone.

"That way we can go the same exact route they did. It'll be easier to follow their path and get a better idea of where they are." He answers almost instinctively.

"I agree." Phoenix says. "We could miss something important if we go a different way. Besides, the less attention we bring to ourselves, the better."

Mikasa stands up from the group. "Works for me. Let's get going while the sun is still up."

Eren follows and begins to lift their bags. Everyone does the same except for Jean who sits there for just a moment longer. As much as he knew he needed to get up, he just couldn't.

They walk a few feet before Phoenix realizes Jean isn't beside them. He looks back at the seated boy and stops. "I heard you're not a big fan of losing."

Jean snorts. "I hate it."

Phoenix gestures Jean to join the group with his head. "Well, right now it looks to me like you don't mind at all."

Jean could feel his ears burn red. He should've known Phoenix would've had your smart mouth as well as everything else.

And just like your words do magic on Jean's tenacious personality, his do too. He stands up and walks in a quick pace to pass up Phoenix and toward the front of the pack.

The walk through Eldia was a breeze. There was a clear path through the forest. It wasn't until they passed Eldia's borders that they began to struggle.

Mountains stretched for on and on, separating Eldia from Ember. Jean never realized how close it was, even when he took geography in school. The drawings on the reused maps didn't do this landform justice.

Sasha bends her neck all the way back so she can see the peak of the tallest mountain. She exhales and her breath becomes smoke in the freezing air. "These looked much cooler when I was kid. Now they just look scary."

"That's because they're filled with dead bodies now." Eren responds. "Those caves down there? Filled with dead coal miners who got trapped in the explosion."

Sasha's face turn into liquid. "They're haunted?"

"Ghosts aren't real." Mikasa says.

Eren grins, taking the opportunity to mess with both girls. "You two can lead the way then."

Mikasa snatches the freshly lit torch from Armin. "Fine." She takes two steps before Sasha scurries behind her. "I think we should let the boys go first."

"Why?" Mikasa asks. "You can't seriously be scared."

Sasha cringes. "I'm not scared, it's just... being around all those dead bodies in dark caves makes me feel uncomfortable."

"Ghosts aren't real." Mikasa repeats, this time with her teeth clenched together.

Phoenix stands beside Sasha. "It's okay, Sasha. Where I'm from, we live peacefully with spirits. They're not all bad. They're just lost souls who aren't ready to leave yet."

Her eyes enlarge. "Not ready to leave yet?"

"Not like that." Armin laughs. "In some cultures, they have holidays were they commemorate the dead. They see spirits as guides and angels."

Eren joins the group and swiftly pulls at Sasha's hair before passing her. "Yeah, don't worry if you feel hands in your hair. It's just a dead guy wanting to braid it."

Everyone laughs. Even Sasha had to give it to him too. The joke, if anything, made the group feel a little less anxious about going inside.

There was one person who wasn't laughing. Mikasa. "Can we go now?"

They all exchange looks as they follow behind her. Although she seemed fully determined to get through these strange tunnels, Jean could tell there was something heavy sitting on her shoulders.

They light torches before they enter into the tunnels that lead right through mountains and toward Ember. There was no telling how long it'd take to get out of the cave system.

Sasha begins bouncing with nervous energy as she stays close to Mikasa who was holding a torch. "What if we get lost?"

"The tunnel pretty much only goes straight." Armin says as he holds the flame to the map. "There's other passages but they were all closed off during the explosions. They managed to rebuild this one path for travel."

She looks up. "What if there's bats?"

Phoenix answers. "Bats wouldn't be here. They migrate for the winter. They prefer warmer climates."

She looks down. "What if I accidentally misstep and fall into a hole?"

"Watch where you're going then." Jean responds. As soon as he says that, karma laughs in his face. He trips over a large crack and almost face plants the floor before Phoenix catches him mid fall.

He didn't show it but he was furious Phoenix was the one who caught him. Grateful, but furious. Since it was dark, he hoped maybe no one else saw that.

"That's embarrassing." Eren says under his breath toward Mikasa who blatantly ignores him.

Jean pushes him toward the wall, small rocks crumbling over his shoulder. "I can't do three days with you. I can't even do three minutes!"

Eren pushes him harder, Jean's back hitting the opposite wall causing more rocks to fall. "I heard you don't even last three minutes."

Sasha snorts loudly as she slams her hands over her mouth. The next slamming noise is Jean tackling Eren to the ground. They immediately behind punching and kicking eachother.

Phoenix and Sasha were laughing. They thought it was the funniest thing in the world. Armin and Mikasa both stood there with two disappointed faces. They looked like a mother and father getting onto their children.

As the two boys fight, the more the caves begin to quite literally rumble. Dirt and peddles fell from overhead and the second Mikasa felt in get into her eyes, she lost it. "ENOUGH!"

She hands the torch to Phoenix and rips both boys away from each other and off the floor. "What the hell is wrong with you two? Our friends are in danger and you're wrestling in a cave."

She looks at Jean. "Aren't you embarrassed? You're acting like a child in front of the last person you should be. By the way, we all know you're mad at Eren. You hit him. It's over."

Eren rubs at his cheek. Mikasa looks right at him too. "And you? Kicking someone when they're already down? Why are you messing with Jean so much? We all know you're going to miss him. Don't torture us with your love for each other."

Sasha oooooh's. She seemed all too focused on the tea that was being spilt to forget all about her fear of the caves.

Mikasa doesn't spare her either. "And you! Stop asking a million questions! I love you to death but if you don't want these dead people following you, maybe you shouldn't be attracting so much attention to yourself."

Sasha gasps and shuts her mouth. Her presence somehow shrink in size. Eren and Jean were both silent too.

Armin raises his brows in the dim fire light. "That was intense. Want to tell me what's wrong with you?" He asks Mikasa.

She takes a deep breath. "Nothing. Let's just keep going."

Armin steps forward. "No, no. You aired out everyone's business to get it out of the way. It's your turn."

Sasha, who had an air bubble in her mouth, looks at Mikasa with big eyes. Mikasa stares intently at Armin. "Fine. My parents died in these mines. My dad was working and my mom was bringing him lunch. I don't appreciate the dead people jokes."

Eren walks up to her. "I'm so sorry. I forgot."

In the back of the group was Phoenix. "Wow." He exhales. "You guys are deep. I feel like I'm supposed to say something here but I, uh, don't have anything to say besides my fiancé is missing and my in-laws are dead."

"Ex-fiancé." Jean reminds him. "And this isn't fucking alcoholics anonymous. We aren't sharing our problems with each other. Let's just keep moving."

Sasha points at him. "You just don't want to get to your turn!"

He points back at her. "You want the ghosts to come get you?"

She shakes her head and shuts her mouth. The rest of the next three hours were mostly quiet. Eren made a smart comment here and there about the smell. Armin talked about nearly every fossil he came across. Phoenix, Jean and Mikasa only ever spoke when spoken to.

The peace lasted just those three hours. It was maybe now 6pm. Someone in the group was bound to complain sooner or later. Jean could place his bets all on one person.

Sasha drags her feet. "Ugh, how far is Ember again?"

"Far." Jean answers, congratulating himself mentally for being right.

She whines. "Can we please take a break? My feet hurt and I really need to eat something before I pass out."

Mikasa stops. "Let's take a break. We can't show up there exhausted."

"I can make a fire." Eren says proudly as he tosses a rock up in the air.

Jean snickers. "I've seen you try to make a fire. Longest six hours of my life."

Eren hurls the rock toward him. "And you're one to talk? You have the survival instincts of a armadillo."

Jean moves just in time to avoid getting stoned. "Let's have a competition then. Let's see who can make a better campfire."

Phoenix takes a small box of matches out of his pocket. "I brought matches." He then points to the torches. "I literally used them to light those."

"Fine!" Eren challenges back anyway. "Let's do it. No matches! Just rocks."

"But he literally has matches." Sasha reminds them. "We don't have to do this."

They ignore her and begin banging their slick rocks together like maniacs. Sasha still attempts to make them stop. "We could have a fire in seconds right now."

Nonetheless, Jean's spark finally ignited. A small flame begins on the floor in front of him. He fans it wildly and blows on it perfectly for it to grow in size. "Yes! Yes! Yes!" He whoops excessively.

Sasha gives up and takes a seat by the fire. After warming her hands up for probably a second, she rips into her bag and begins to pass out wrapped up sandwiches. Everyone graciously takes one and begins to devour them.

Eren stares in disbelief as he falls to his knees like he's never seen a fire before. "I'm not man. I can't fire."

Mikasa hands him a sandwich. "You can eat."

"Sorry if they're not the best." Sasha says with her mouth half full. "Niccolo can't cook so I made them myself."

Armin smiles. "His talent is rubbing off on you."

The girl grins, food in her teeth. "Aw, Armin. This is why you're my favorite."

"Sasha, close your mouth." Mikasa says.

She shuts her mouth and eats as discreetly as she can. Which isn't as discreet as you'd think.

"They are delicious, Sasha." Phoenix lifts his in the air. "Thank you for making them for us in such short notice."

She swallows hard before she speaks. "You're crazy if you think I was coming on this trip without food."

Jean finishes the last of his food and tosses his trash into the fire. "We should decide who is doing the first round of night watch. I say we do it in pairs to keep each other up."

"Not it!" Sasha shoots a finger straight at her nose.

Mikasa follows suit. Eren too.

Sasha points at the three remaining. "Ah ha! It's either going to be Phoenix, Armin or Jean. You need to pay rock, paper, scissors to see which of you two will be it."

With slight resistance from Jean at first, the three boys begin the game. Armin, of course, wins. Phoenix and Jean will have the first round of night watch.

Sasha doesn't even bother to hide her amusement as she rolls on the floor with laughter. "Oh, this is too good."

"I can't wait to hear what that conversation is going to be about." Eren chuckles.

Sasha gasps as she jumps up from the ground. She whispers in between Eren and Mikasa. "Let's pretend to be asleep and listen in on the conversation."

Eren grins. "Hell yeah."

About 20 minutes later, Sasha and Eren are both passed out cold as they snore deeply into the night. Armin and Mikasa fall asleep shortly after.

Jean knew it was going to be awkward. He had only ever spoke to the guy maybe twice. They didn't have much in common beside being in love with the same person.

Phoenix sat across from Jean, on the other side of the fire. He was watching the flames intently like he was lost in thought. "Do you have any siblings?" He suddenly asks.

Jean lifts his head. "No." He rethinks that. "Actually, yes. I just don't know them."

Phoenix nods. "I grew up with a younger sister. I had to learn to share everything. You would think since we're royalty, we'd have our own of everything. My parents wanted to teach us a lesson. They didn't want us to be spoiled, bratty kids. They wanted us to be humble and share with others."

"I grew up as an only child." Jean explains. "I didn't have much, but I didn't have to share it with anyone. I think that made me the way I am now."

Phoenix looks up. "Which is?"

Jean tries finds the right word. "Territorial, I guess."

"Are you in love with yn?" Phoenix bluntly asks. He was cutting right to the chase.

Jean pauses.

Phoenix chuckles as he adjusts his posture. "I'm not as oblivious as everyone thinks I am. I notice everything but because I don't say anything in that moment, people think it flies right past me."

Jean keeps his eyes on the fire. Phoenix never looks away from Jean. "You're overprotective of her. You drop anything and everything to find her. I've seen the way you look at her too."

Jean finally looks up. "Is this the part where we fight for her heart?"

Phoenix laughs. "So you do love her." He sighs as he leans forward in a more relaxed position. "I don't blame you. I'm in the same spot you're in."

The prince goes quiet for a moment before he speaks again. "Except you've loved her for longer. Haven't you?"

Jean shifts in his seat but doesn't answer the question.

"At least be man enough to say it." Phoenix's voice loses its soft tone. Jean had actually never heard him sound so serious.

Jean's skin begins to light up like the fire he sits by. "Yes. I do love her."

Phoenix nods. "There you go."

They sit in silence.

"Does she love you?" Phoenix asks.

Jean's hand twitches. "Yes."

"She told you that?" He still questions.

"Yes."

Phoenix nods again. "Okay."

"That's it?" Jean questions curiously. He expected more of an uproar.

Phoenix takes a deep breath before he speaks. "She isn't engaged to me anymore. She's free to be with whoever she wants. I want her to be able to make that choice now that she can."

Jean was amazed by his maturity. "So you just give up?"

"I never said I was giving up." Phoenix clarifies firmly. "I still have every intention of marrying her. That is, if she'll have me. I'm not going to force her into anything and neither would my parents. I know that for a fact."

Jean wished he could be more that way. Mature and progressive. Understanding and generous. Phoenix seemed to have all the qualities that Jean lacked. Phoenix seemed to lack...well, nothing.

The truth was, Phoenix was the better man. He had more money, he was a prince, he quite literally owned an entire island, and he was as kind as they came. Jean had none of that.

But there was one thing Jean knew he had that Phoenix didn't and that was your heart. You may care for Phoenix but it didn't compare to the love you felt for Jean. It was almost tragic to even compare the two.

"But Jean." Phoenix calls his attention back.

"Yeah?"

"If she chooses you," He begins. "Please make sure she's happy. After all this, she deserves a happy ending. I want to give her that, but if she chooses you, I am trusting you with that responsibility."

Jean scoffs. "Don't worry, she'll be happiest with me."

♤

Sasha shoots straight up from the ground with a gasp. The first thing she does is look at Eren who she passed out next to her. She slaps him awake. He wakes up exactly like Jean did last morning. "What the hell was that for?!"

Everyone else was already awake. She whispers toward him. "We didn't hear anything Phoenix and Jean talked about!"

Phoenix, who had overheard them the night before plotting, laughs and pats her head. "Don't worry, you didn't miss out on anything you didn't already know."

Sasha turns bright red and brings the collar of her sweater to her mouth. She looks at Eren with panicked eyes as he blinks slowly at her, still mostly asleep.

When they all collect their belongings, Phoenix and Armin lead the way down the tunnels. Mikasa and Sasha walk arm in arm while Eren and Jean support the group from behind.

Jean learned to separate the sounds of shoes stumbling over rocks, mice snickering and water dripping from who knows where, in order to overhear a conversation Mikasa and Sasha were having.

Sasha was attempting to whisper the best she could which did not have much effort at all. She leans into the raven haired girl's ear. "So, who would you choose?"

"For what?" Mikasa replies.

"If you were y/n!" Her brown ponytail wiggles along with her body. "Technically she's not engaged to Prince Phoenix anymore and now that Ambrose, or Kai, will be king, they can be more lenient about her marrying someone who isn't royalty."

Mikasa nods. "That's what you mean. I don't know who I'd choose. I don't know them the way she does."

Sasha seemed dispirited by her answer. "I thought you'd pick the prince." She then turns to glare at Eren. "But seems like that's not your type anyway." She sticks her tongue out.

Eren's mouth drops open but before he can say anything, Mikasa defends him. "Sasha, you're in love with a chef."

"Hey! He's a royal chef!" She then turns to Jean. "No offense Jean, he's just so dreamy and kind and prince-like and you're just...Jean."

"Thanks." Jean grunts.

Armin ditches Phoenix who continues to walk with the map to guide the group. "We can hear you." The blonde holds out his arms. "One hundred percent, everything you guys just said. We heard all of it."

He leans into the group. "Please stop embarrassing me. This guy is actually really educated and he's been to so many places!"

Eren leans forward and pouts. "Aw, are we cockblocking you and your boyfriend?"

Armin's mouth makes a straight line. "Remember that time you had sex in Jean's bed with Mikasa and I chose to keep it secret until now?"

His question echos through the cave. Then there was dead silence. Phoenix even stops in his tracks.

Jean slowly turns to Eren, his eye twitching. "In my bed? When?"

"You were gone, man!" Eren defends. "The bed was just going to waste at that point and when you work in the same place as your girlfriend..."

"Stop talking!" Mikasa stops him.

"I would've done the same for you!" Eren smacks Jean's chest.

"Oh yeah?" Phoenix gained sudden interest in the conversation. "With who?"

Everyone turns to the prince. "Believe it or not, I'm pretty claustrophobic and I've kept my chill until now but you guys..." He waves his hands around. "How do I say this? You know how to suck air out of a room."

Sasha nods. "I feel like that too!"

Eren is the first to speak up. "I know you're new here, but we've all known each other for a long time. Jean was with me when I had braces, got bad haircuts, and when I got my heart broken the first time. Whatever I can do to help my man out, I'm going to do."

"I respect that." Jean nods as he smiles and shakes hands with his friend.

Phoenix wasn't fazed in the slightest. "Oh, I know how close everyone is. I understand I'm the outsider. That doesn't mean I want to hear you and Jean fight and make up for two more days in a row."

"Hey." Mikasa steps in between the two. "Just calm down." She already knew what was about to happen.

Eren seemed to look taller in the faint fire. The shadows worked in his favor. "You don't have to stick with us." He responds. "If we annoy you, you're free to wonder off. Just make sure leave our map behind."

"Okay, okay." Jean laughs as he holds his hand out between them. "That's enough."

"I'll figure it out." Phoenix doesn't stand down. He crosses his arms. "After all, I did come here for a reason. What did you say your reason was, again? Not wanting Jean to take all the glory, right?"

Eren was fuming. But he doesn't speak.

"I'm here because I actually care about the person whose life we came to save." Phoenix tells him. I don't care how long you four have known each other. All I care about is getting out of this fucking tunnel and taking her home."

He looks at the group. "Unless anyone has any other ideas? Any side quests you've got to hit?" He turns in the other direction. "No? Didn't think so. Now whenever you want to stop wasting time, I'll be heading the way that leads to Yn."

The next two days was as timid as they could be. The group walked more and more, taking turns with the torches when someone's hand got tired.

They took short 10 minute breaks when the group needed to replenish and hydrate. Jean didn't even want to talk about the bathroom situation.

Each night, they all took their turns watching for their designated amount of time, and then closing their eyes for the next morning and doing the same process over again.

Finally, they were there.

"Holy shit." Sasha says as she steps out from the cave and into the light. "Why is there so many people? Are we late? Did we miss the wedding?"

"I'm pretty sure people don't wear all black to weddings, Sash." Eren reminds her as he shields his eyes from the light.

Armin takes in his surroundings. "It's a funeral. A funeral for someone pretty important if the entire plaza is filled with people."

People were sobbing as they hug each other. It looked a lot like the way it did back home. Someone clearly died.

Sasha's hand comes up to her mouth. "Do you Marco killed her?"

Mikasa raises her arm. "Please. I think it's more likely she killed him."

Jean shakes his head. "She wouldn't. She'd lose her powers forever if she killed Marco. She wouldn't do something that stupid."

Phoenix debates that. "Unless she had to. Think about it, Marco kidnapped her and she just lost her family. If he tried to attack her or hurt her, she'd have to defend herself. She's not in the best state of mind right now to think rationally."

Armin's eyes darted from person to person. He was completely quiet but the mechanics of his brain were so loud.

Finally, a sobbing elderly couple says something that changes everything. The older woman cries to her husband. "I just can't believe this. The king is dead and by the hands on his own son!"

The group exchanges looks. Jean couldn't believe the bastard actually did it. Marco actually killed his father to get a clear path to the throne. But then again, that didn't make sense considering he still had two older brothers in the way.

"And Prince Leon. He was so young." She continues to cry. Her husband comforts her as he holds her tightly with snow gently falling around them. "It's okay, dear. Prince Nicholas will be punished for his crime. We aren't without hope. Prince Markell is still alive and well."

Jean frowns and looks at his friends beside him but they're equally as confused as he is. Except for Armin who looked like he just figured out the answer to absolutely everything. Jean envied his genius mind more than anything right now.

"Not only that, he just married the princess from Eldia. We will finally have a queen again for the first time since Queen Bella's passing." The old man continues.

Everyone seems to become statues. Mikasa looks like she might be sick, and Jean stands there with a horrified expression. The rest of the team looked ashamed in themselves for not getting here in time.

"She married him." Jean whispers to himself. "We were too late."

Phoenix taps his arm and points to a couple surrounded by people. Immediately, Jean's eyes register its you.

You stand there, dressed in all black, a color he has never seen on you before. Beside you, is Marco, or someone who looked eerily similar. This was Jean's first time seeing Marco since that dreadful night. He had scars all over one side of his face and was dressed much nicer than Jean has ever seen him.

Your arm was wrapped around Marco's. Your bodies closely together. Jean couldn't wrap his head around it. How could you practically hug someone who put you through so much trauma?

"I know the princess is quite forgiving." Armin's thought process echos through his mouth. "But I can't imagine she is this forgiving."

Everyone stares in disbelief. It wasn't a hologram or illusion of some sort. You really were attached to his arm and didn't seem one bit bothered by it.

You weren't smiling since it was a funeral but you still smiled softly at all the concerned, crying citizens who threw themselves at you.

"She seems..." Mikasa begins. "Fine."

Jean steps in front of all of them. "Guys, did you all forget who were dealing with? It's yn. She's going to make the best out of every situation she's in but that doesn't mean she wants to be in it."

"I agree." Armin says. "Something is wrong. Either she's been severely brainwashed or she's got her own plan going."

Sasha scratches her head. "Which is more likely?"

Armin keeps his eyes on you. Every smile, every movement, every blink. "She's a very smart girl. I don't think she's being brainwashed unless she's already developed a case of Stockholm Syndrome."

"That's where a victim begins to empathize with their abuser, right?" Phoenix questions.

Armin nods. "I'd hate to admit it but it's surprisingly common. Especially in young girls who tend to have problems in their lives prior."

"Great." Eren slaps his arms down. "She's in love with him."

Jean couldn't hide his anger. "No! I don't give a damn about some stupid statistic. There's no way she's in love with him. He put her through fucking hell!"

People begin to look in their direction. Armin quickly notices and takes the conversation elsewhere. "Look, we've made it this far and I don't think any of us plan to go home without her, right?"

Everyone agrees. "Great." Armin claps his hands together. "We need to blend in with this crowd and come up with a plan. It's clear Marco isn't hiding yn in some cave. He has her in plain sight."

"That makes things easier, doesn't it?" Sasha asks.

Armin hums. "Not necessarily. If he has her in plain sight, that means more eyes will be on her. It's going to be impossible to get anywhere near her."

Mikasa leans up against a wall. "She has to have ladies in waiting. Maybe Sasha and I could disguise ourselves as some."

"No." Eren immediately responds. "You're not going in there."

She crosses her arms. "Why not?"

"Because I said so." He answers. "You're crazy if you think I'm letting you go in there without protection. Marco is insane and clearly will do anything to get his way. I'm not letting you become collateral damage for his sick game."

Before the argument goes even further, Armin raises his hand. "We might not need to take it that far. Yn is right here in front of us. All we have to do is pretend to be a devastated citizen seeking comfort from the princess."

"How do we do that when she's practically glued to Marco?" Sasha asks. "It's going to be hard to separate them."

Armin turns back around to face the newly wed couple. "That's where I'm stuck. How do we get them apart?"

Jean pays close attention to Marco beside you. You were the picture of perfect health, meanwhile Marco was the exact opposite. Beside the obvious scars, he looked drained. He looked like he was only getting worse by the second.

That's when it hits. "She's taking his energy." Jean realizes. "She's going to try to kill him slowly."

Before anyone even processed what he said, Jean darts forward in attempt to run up to you but Eren and Pheonix pull him back. "The hell are you doing, man? You trying to get us caught already?"

"We have to stop her!" Jean fights. "She's trying to slowly kill him because she think she's can bend the rules but it doesn't work that way. Regardless of how fucking fast or slow she does it, it's still murder. She's going to lose her powers."

Armin stares at him as he brings his hand to his chin. "Maybe not. She can lead him in that direction and let nature do the rest. If she's not pulling the final move, I think she can get away with it."

Jean pulls at his hair as he groans. "You don't get it! Yes, she can possibly get away with it but is that a risk we're willing to take? Also, she gets punished for any tiny bad thing she does. Slowly taking his health is going to effect her too, one way or another. There's no way around that."

"Guys." Sasha calls. "They're gone."

Everyone spins around to see that the crowd has deceased by about three times and the sought after couple was no where in sight.

"Great job, idiot." Eren says to Jean.

"Me?!" Jean shouts back.

Armin pinches his nose bridge and counts in his head to keep his cool. "New plan. We need to get into the castle somehow."

Mikasa grows annoyed. "Hello?! I just told you guys how!"

"Anything other than that." Eren stops her. "Send one of us in there before you send the girls."

"That's sexist." Sasha stabs a finger in the air in her best attempt to back up her friend.

Eren rolls his eyes. "I don't care what it is. We need to come up with something else."

Armin begins to brew something up. "Let's say the princess did develop a nasty case of Stockholm's. It's possible it's because she's under the impression everyone she loves is dead."

"So we just show her one of us is alive." Phoenix finishes for him. "All it takes is one of us to make an appearance and to tell her the rest are alive and well."

"Exactly." Armin agrees. "It needs to be someone she loves dearly to snap her out of it. Someone she'll be so desperately relieved to see is okay that she'll want to drop everything and leave with them."

"Me." Mikasa and Jean say at the exact same time.

Mikasa glares at him. "She's my bestfriend."

"She's my!" Jean stops. He didn't really what was the right term. "Whatever. I've known her longer!"

Sasha leans into Mikasa and tries her best attempt at whispering again. "And don't forget they..." Armin elbows her mid sentence and she presses her mouth shut.

"I'm sorry, Mikasa." Armin apologizes. "Jean might be the best option. He's known her longer and he was the last person with her. He was also with her when Elijah passed. She might be the most comforting for her at the moment."

"I second that." Eren raises his hand.

"Third." Phoenix surprisingly says. "Unfortunately." He adds.

Sasha then slides over to the boys and winces. "Sorry, Mika. I have to take their side on this one too. I rather Jean go in there and get beat up than you."

She was furious but she admits defeat surprisingly easy. "Fine." She steps aside. "I can't wait to see what kind of fool you make of yourself."

"Thanks." Jean scowls at her. He then returns his attention to Armin. "Any bright ideas?"

"None." Armin admits shamelessly. He seemed tired of being the only one doing the thinking. "You?"

Jean laughs. "I have an idea. I just don't know how bright it is."

♤

Katalina knocks on your door. "Come in." You say as you kick your shoes off. Her curly hair makes an appearance before she does. "Someone brought a gift for you. A wedding gift."

She walks in with a woven basket filled with candy that immediately catches your eye. You stop breathing for just a moment.

The basket was full of candy that you knew far too well. Candy from the kids on the street in Marley. It had the same imprinted wrapper on each one. "Who sent that?"

"Someone named..." Katalina grabs the small card attached to the basket. "Prince Orion. He said you two were good friends from back home."

You stand up immediately from your seat, your chair screeching against the floor behind you. "You met him? He's here?"

She looks confused. "Yes, just a moment ago. Should I go see if he's still here?"

"No!" Your hand shoots up. "I, uh, just forgot he said he'd be visiting to see the coronation. It slipped my mind. There's just been so much going on."

Kat sets the basket down. "Of course, your highness. You've had a hectic week. Do you wish to take a nap?"

"Sure." You say as you approach the basket with caution. "Make sure no one disturbs me for an hour."

"Should I send for someone to wake you in a hour?" She asks before she leaves.

You move the covered candies around in attempt to see if there was anything else in there. "No, I'll wake up in time. Thank you."

She exits and you begin to look through the basket with more concentration. They were all identical to their neighbor. Round candy with royal blue wrapping around it.

And then you see it, a single red wrapper. You practically spill candy onto the floor as you dig your hand in to retrieve the singular dessert.

You quickly unfold the wrapper and toss the chocolate aside. Written on the wrapper, there was a small note. In blank ink and all too familiar handwriting, the words read don't give up yet.

"Original." You say as you crumble the wrapper. You march toward the door and open it as quietly as possible. You knew Jean was lurking around here still and you had every intention of finding him before it was too late.

The biggest task was not to get caught. Luckily, you were a veteran at sneaking around. It was easier here since the guards weren't accustomed to your antics yet. You slip through the shadows with ease.

He was leaving clues for you just like you did for him. Meaning, he's hiding somewhere only you would think of. But where?

You sneak past every guard in the interior of the castle and there was no sign of Jean. You swore you looked everywhere but there was nothing in here that reminded you of Jean in the slightest.

You decide to give the outside a try, which seemed easy enough considering the sun was coming down. As the sky changed colors, you used the shade to your advantage as you scavenge the land.

Finally, you see it. A greenhouse.

Of course.

The greenhouse back home was the place where you first said your true feelings out loud to Jean. You remember it like it was yesterday.

You dart past the lawn and straight to the greenhouse. Your hands pull at the doors but a lock tied them together. "Damn it!" You fight.

Suddenly, a hand comes up to your face and over your mouth. You feel your body get dragged behind the greenhouse where the light didn't seem to reach. You squirm and kick but the person doesn't let you go.

You finally break lose and spin around. You come face to face with Prince Orion himself. "What the hell are you doing here?! Are you crazy?!"

"What are you talking about?" Jean questions. "We're here to save you and Ambrose!"

"Me and Ambrose?" You ask, your forehead wrinkled. It then fades away. "Oh. You all don't know, do you? Do people still think Mikasa is the second traitor?"

Jean seemed lost but answers anyway. "No. They know it isn't her."

You let out a breath that seemed like you were holding it in forever. "Oh thank god. Is she...okay?"

"She is and I'm great too, thanks for asking." Jean says bitterly.

You shake your head and begin to look around. "I'm sorry but you really can't be here right now."

He reaches for your hand. "Neither can you, let's go!"

You move your hand out of his reach. "I'm staying here."

"What?" Jean asks. "Are you serious?"

He didn't even need to ask if you were, he could see it on your face that you weren't playing at all. "I have to. I have to get back at him for what he did. I'll never have another opportunity like this again. If I leave, he won't let me around him again."

He was blown away that you, of all people, were choosing to stay in place. The girl who loved to run freely like a horse on an open field or a bird soaring through an endless sky.

"Who cares?" He argues. "We will come up with a different plan to make sure the bastard gets what he deserves."

You don't give in. "It has to be me."

"Why?" Jean asks.

"He ruined my life!" You try to yell as quietly as possible. "He killed my family! Am I just supposed to do nothing about it? Wait for someone else to swoop in and save the day? I waited and no one came. I don't want to be helpless when I'm alone."

He comes closer to you and brings his hand to your cheek. His thumb caresses the skin soothingly. "You're not helpless."

You stay there for a moment, letting him touch you so sweetly. He even watches your eyes close as you enjoy the therapeutic feeling. It only lasts just a few seconds before you pull away and sigh. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"GUARDS!" You shout. "SEIZE HIM!"

Jean begins to look around frantically in a panic. "Are you serious?!"

You step closer so only he can hear as guards begins to approach from every angle. "I'm sorry but this is how I can finally get him to trust me. I promise it'll make sense. He's planning some truly awful things and this is the only way I can stop him."

"You really are turning crazy." He realizes. "You're letting this place change you."

Before the guards get any closer, you look him right in the eyes. "Do you trust me?"

Guards force his hands behind his back. He watches you the entire time. Finally, he nods.

"Take him to the dungeon." You command.

♤

Jean now sat in an empty cell down in the dungeon. Oddly enough, he wasn't the only one locked down there.

A man who looked much like Marco but a few years older was seated in the jail cell beside him. Despite being in jail, the man was dressed exceptionally well.

With just a few minutes of talking to him, Jean is caught up on everything. The man's name was Nicholas and was one of Marco's older brothers. Marco framed Nick for the murder of his father and oldest brother. That's why he sits here alone.

"That's fucked up." Jean sighs. "No offense, but your brother is a fucking psychopath."

Nick laughs. "He's always been very strange. The black sheep of the family. He's determined, I'll give him that. Maybe just too determined."

Jean watches him carefully. "You don't seem nearly as pissed off as I would be right now."

Nick lifts both of his hands in the air, exposing his raw, bloody knuckles. "I already got all my anger out." He points to the walls where blood was smeared by his punches. "I'm at the acceptance stage now."

"So that's it?" Jean asks. "You give up? Let everyone believe you committed a crime that he actually did? It isn't fair. He gets to be king and gets away with everything he did."

Nick shrugs. "As much as I hate to admit it, he won. I can't really prove my innocence. Everyone saw me give the drink to them."

Jean starts to speak but a tiny pebble goes flying at his head. "What the hell?" He rubs at the spot. He turns to the small barred up window in his cell. He sees the top of Eren's head.

Jean stands up from the ground and approaches the window as he stands tall to see clearly. Eren looks him right in the face. "Way to fuck it up."

"I didn't know she was going to send me to jail the second she saw me!" Jean pleads.

"Looks like she really doesn't love you like you think." Phoenix grins.

Jean shoots him the finger and Mikasa pushes both of them out of the way to stand in front. "Look, we did your idea and it obviously failed miserably. Now let's do mine."

Nick stands up from the floor now. "Wait, are you guys talking about the princess? You know her?"

Eren pokes his head as far as he can to see inside. "Who the hell is that guy?"

Jean pushes him back. "Marco's brother. The one that got framed for the murder."

"I can help." Nick says as he approaches the bars that separate him and Jean. "I'm not sure what you guys are trying to do but I want to help."

Sasha pushes her head into frame. "Hey! He's the bad guy's brother! Don't trust him!"

Nick speaks louder so they can all hear him. "He may be my brother but I'm not on his side. I never have been. My family didn't want this. We never wanted revenge."

Jean looks at him. "How do we know we can trust you?"

The prince takes a deep breath. "He killed my family and got away with it by putting the blame on me. Now I'm going to be sentenced to death. He obviously doesn't care about us so why should I care about him?"

They all stay quiet, not really sure whether to believe him or not. He sighs. "Markell doesn't deserve to be king. If he is, he's going to declare war and ruin everything. He won't stop until he's destroyed everything and Ember is the only one standing. It's either me or him."

Eren sighs now too. "Everybody wants to be rule the world."

"Okay." Jean says. "Help us. Prove to us that we can trust you."

He nods. Jean points at Sasha and Mikasa. "Do you think they can pull off being handmaidens?"

Nick cranes his neck to see. "Yes, but they will need to change their clothes. Handmaidens have specific uniforms."

"Any idea where we can get some?" Jean asks.

He pierces his lips shut. "I do. I just don't know how willing you are to get them."

"We're desperate." Jean clarifies.

Nick takes a pause before he speaks. "Most kingdoms would have spare uniforms but because Ember is poor, all staff gets just one uniform that they must wash each time."

"Meaning they have to take the uniforms the girls already have on." Jean realizes. No wonder he was hesitating on saying it in the first place.

"Easy." Mikasa says as she grabs Sasha and disappears.

                                        ♤

"According to the prince, her handmaidens are usually in the maid's quarters below the kitchen." Mikasa says as she leads the way.

It was strange that there wasn't many guards on the way there. In Eldia, there were guards at every corner. It might have to do with the funeral that all of them were busy. Either way, the sneaky journey to the kitchen was unusually easy.

The kitchen was also empty, which was another different quality Eldia and Ember had of one another. The kitchen in Eldia was usually always busy. If the whole staff wasn't in there, Niccolo atleast was. It was rare to go into the kitchen and see it this vacant.

Mikasa could see Sasha struggling to keep her eyes on the task and not on the cabinets full of whatever they ate here in Ember. "Don't touch anything." Mikasa warns.

The second the words leave her mouth, she hears the sound of pots and pans crashing loudly onto the floor. As she covers her ears, she sends an angry look toward Sasha who had her hand over her mouth. "Sorry!" She whispers.

"What was that?" A feminine voice says from down the stairs that lead to the maid's quarters.

The two girls hide quickly behind some shelves when they hear the sound of heels coming up the stairs. Two women, one older than the other, stand at the top and look around.

The younger one points at all the pots and pans scattered on the floor. "Someone must've dropped these and were too lazy to pick them up."

The older one scoffs. "Of course they did. Why pick up after yourselves when women can clean up after you?"

They both squat down as they begin to pick up the fallen kitchen supplies. While their backs are turned and eyes are occupied, Mikasa uses her shoe to slide a pan over to her direction as quietly as possible.

"What are you doing?" Sasha whispers. Once the pan is within her reach, Mikasa grips the handle and bangs the metal against one of the maid's heads. The sound echos throughout the kitchen and is followed by the sound of her body falling to the ground.

Sasha yelps as she leaps into action and does the same to the other girl. Now they both lay on the ground unconscious.

Sasha looks at the frying pan in her hand. "I wonder if Niccolo has ever done that before."

Mikasa begins to take off her clothes. "Let's hope not." Sasha watches her as she begins to strip her clothes. Mikasa catches her. "We have to trade clothes with them. We can't just leave them out here naked."

"Oh, right!" It clicks in Sasha's head. They both pull their clothes off and replace it with the maid uniforms they needed to pry off the unconscious women. It was obviously uncomfortable so they both tried their best to get it done as swiftly as possible.

They place the two sleeping women in a closet with a rope tied around them and close the door shut. Sasha bites down on her thumbnail. "Is it wrong that I feel bad?"

Mikasa ties her dress to fit her properly. "They'll be fine. We could've killed them."

"We could've?" Sasha gulps.

Mikasa begins to walk away, preparing herself physically and mentally, to play a role that was similar to the one she played at home except in another place entirely. Sasha jogs to catch up to her. "We aren't going to be killing anyone, are we? Because I'm not too sure if I'm ready for that."

Mikasa sighs as she rolls her sleeves up. "Let's hope it doesn't get to that point." Sasha walks timidly beside her, avoiding eye contact with anyone they pass by.

"Act normal please." Mikasa says under her breath. Sasha nods and tries her best. The truth is, Sasha may have history with working with royals but only ever outside in the archery range. She probably has only ever been inside the castle once or twice.

Mikasa gasps and pulls Sasha back behind the wall. The sound of your voice follows after. "Do you have a second?"

Sasha peeks around the corner and sees you and Marco standing alone in the hallway. "I do." He responds.

"I was thinking we could sleep together tonight." You say. Sasha impulsively grabs Mikasa's hurt arm and the girl tries her hardest to keep her cries silent.

"Oh?" Marco says with surprise. "What changed your mind? I thought one of your conditions to the marriage was that you sleep in your own room."

The two girls watch your movements carefully. You were light on your feet and dressed quite pretty. Your hair was framing your face perfectly and your complexion was soft. "I've changed my mind. I may have been too harsh in my decision."

Sasha snaps her neck around to look at Mikasa. "What is she doing?" She whispers. Mikasa slowly shakes her head as she continues to watch the scene before her.

You step closer to him. "You don't look too good. You might be getting sick. I can help. You'll sleep beside me all night long and feel better than ever by the morning."

He eyes you with caution but Mikasa could see him slipping. He rubs at the back of his neck. "I have been feeling quite rough." He then looks right at you. "Why would you want to help me? Don't you hate me?"

They watch as your hand reaches for his. "Taking a ride around Ember opened my eyes. I feel terrible. Your people have suffered long enough. I want to help them. I want to help you."

Sasha bounces anxiously. "Should we stop her?"

Mikasa raises her hand. "Sh."

"I'm ready to be Queen of Ember." You say. "Starting tomorrow, I will be. I might as well begin acting like it."

"Tomorrow is coronation day." Mikasa whispers. "We have to act now before it's too late. If she's queen here and we kill Marco, she'll still have to stay here because she has a responsibility to take care of Ember. We won't be able to bring her home."

Sasha begins to lose her patience. "So we have to do something now before she spends the night with him!"

Mikasa pulls her closer. "You don't seriously think she means what she's saying? She's lying."

Sasha frowns. "How do you know?"

Mikasa rolls her eyes as she reminiscences on the many, many times you've lied to her to get out of doing certain things. "Trust me, I know."

"And besides," You bat your eyes. "Shouldn't husband and wife sleep in the same bed?"

Marco looks like he almost might faint. They could literally see his head start to spin. He almost folds for a second before you catch him. You smile warmly as you help him stand up. "Why don't you go lay down? I'll go freshen up and meet you there."

He seemed like he knew he should stay. Part of him had to know it was too good to be true. There's no way someone could switch up that easily. Just a couple days ago, you choke slammed him to the ground. Now you want to sleep in the same bed as him?

But for some reason, he couldn't fight it. He mentally, and physically, did not have the strength to. Marco may have lied about several things but his crush on you was true. He got lucky when he realized the thing he had to bring back home was a pretty girl.

From those eyelashes fluttering at him and that velvety smile, he couldn't resist. That and the fact he could no longer keep his focus.

He brings his hand to his head. "I'm sorry, I'm not sure why I'm suddenly so tired."

"Your body has gone through a lot." You answer. "Maybe I still have some more work to do."

"Maybe." He yawns.

You wave. "I'll be there in 30 minutes."

To her surprise, Marco walks toward his room with no suspicion at all. It was odd really. Surely, he knew you had the power to drain someone of their energy. Why hadn't it clicked to him then that his sudden fatigue was your doing?

When Marco is out of the sight, you take off running to your room. "Shit!" Mikasa says. "Come on."

Sasha grabs the side of her dress as she runs. "How is she so fast?!"

The sound of your door slams shut and the girls are just a few seconds behind it. Mikasa looks at Sasha before she knocks. "It's embarrassing how mortified I am to see her."

Sasha cringes. "If she burned the skin off my arm the last time I saw her, I'd be scared too."

Mikasa's closed fist comes down from midair. "Maybe we should give her a few seconds."

Sasha rolls her eyes and begins to knock loudly on the door. Mikasa begins to smack her arm down. "Can you be anymore obvious?! Her handmaidens don't bang on her door like that."

"You don't know that." Sasha defends.

"Come in!" Your muffled voice reaches from behind the door. Before the two girls slowly open your door, they exchange one last look at each other. They had no idea what was awaiting them inside that room.

When they step inside, your digging through drawers with a towel in your arms. "I've started myself a bath. I didn't want to bother any of you." You say, your head still focused on whatever it was your looking for.

Whatever it was, you finally find it and quickly hide it in between the crevices of the folded towel. "You are free for the day. I'm going to take a quick bath and join Prince Mar—"

You stand face to face to the two girls.

"How the hell did you guys get in here?" You ask, frozen in your place.

"Nice to see you too." Sasha places her hands on her hips. Mikasa is just as starstruck as you are.

You look down at their clothes. "Are those... my handmaidens' uniforms? How did you get that?!"

Sasha is the first brave one to close the space in between. "That's not important! You need to come with us!"

You back up and groan. "What don't you people understand?! I'm not going anywhere!"

"You people?" Mikasa finally speaks up. "If I'm not mistaken, we are your people. Or did you already forget about that?"

You take the jab like nothing. "Tomorrow is my coronation day. I'm going to be queen here. Those are my people."

Mikasa looks at you with disappointment. "Is that what you want? Truly? What about Eldia?"

"There's nothing left for me there anymore!" You fight back. "And since when do I ever get what I want?"

"Since now!" Mikasa shouts back. "You have the chance to run and escape this! We're all here to help you!"

"Who is we?" You ask.

"What?"

"WHO IS WE?" You say much more clear. "WHO CAME?"

Mikasa shoots a quick look at Sasha who looked just as confused. "Me, Sasha, Eren, Jean and Phoenix."

There's a slight shift in your voice but your body remains tough and sturdy. "Phoenix came?"

"Yes!" Sasha answers. "We all care about you so much that we would quite literally climb through mountains to save you!"

You still weren't moved. "Is that it? Is that all who came?"

"Were you expecting someone else?" Mikasa asks, quite frankly offended the five of them together weren't good enough for you.

Your eyes were vacant. You weren't really here in this room with them anymore. You were clearly disappointed by the lack of a certain person. "No. It's fine. Please just leave."

Sasha walks up to you and grabs you by both shoulders. "You need to snap out of whatever fucking trance you're in! Marco is not a good person, he's using you!"

You push her off. "You think I don't know that?!
Do you all think I'm that stupid? That I'm really that naive and helpless? I know he's evil! I know he's sick in the head!"

"And yet you still stand beside him like he's not." Mikasa responds with her arms crossed.

You look at her like you can't even believe she's speaking to you. "You have no idea what is going on. Just shut up, Mikasa, for once! I don't need your opinion or your scolding because you have no idea what it feels like to be in my position! None of you do!"

Your grip around the towel in your arm gets tighter. "This is so much more than him killing my parents. He's done so much worse things that you guys don't even know about yet."

"You're right." Mikasa boldly continues. "I don't know how you feel and I honestly pray I never do, but that doesn't mean we can't help you."

You shut your eyes and breathe. "I do not need your help. In fact, you can help by leaving! You being here only makes things worse."

"Are you really going to let an innocent man get framed for what Marco did?" Sasha asks. "Let him get hanged for a crime he didn't commit?"

"I'm handling that." You respond.

Mikasa loses all fear she had in confronting you. She was no longer settling. She was leaving here with you one way or another. "How? By slowly killing Marco? You're slowly killing yourself by doing that."

"I'll be fine." You say.

Mikasa throws her arms in the air. "Please stop being so stubborn! Just let us help you! You can come home and we can think of a way to beat him."

You finally lose it. "It's not just him! It's Ambrose! Ambrose is apart of this! He was the second traitor the entire time! My own brother, my own blood!"

You hold your hands out and your fingers shake as you speak madly into the air. "This is so much more than just revenge at this point. I can't leave here and let them think of even more ways to mess things up."

"Ambrose?" Sasha repeats quickly. "No. That's...I don't understand. Why would he?"

You start laughing wildly, tears in your eyes. "I told you! I told you none of you knew what I was dealing with! This is my brother's mess too. I can't have someone else clean up his mess. He's my family! My only living family!"

Mikasa stops you. "Living? Yn, Kai is alive."

Suddenly, the entire vibe in the room changes. In just a blink of an eye, your hostile, guarded energy shifts into something vulnerable. Your shoulders fall. "Kai is alive?"

"Yes" Mikasa steps forward. "But he's in a coma and he needs your help. If you want him to live, you have to come home with us as soon as possible before it's too late."

She could tell that changed everything. It wasn't Jean or Mikasa who could bring you back to earth, it was Kai. He was the one who should've been here to bring you back home.

She should've known he'd be the one person who could convince you. No one else would be able to understand your pain other than him. His brother betrayed him too after all. He also lost the same family you did.

She holds your hands. "Please yn, come home. Don't kill yourself trying to get revenge. It isn't worth it. Trust me."

You take a few steps back. "You don't understand. This is my mess. I can't run away and let someone else deal with it. All of this is happening because of ME."

"None of this is your fault." Mikasa tries to reassure.

"It is. It goes deeper beyond what any of you can imagine." You say with agony in your voice. "All this war, all this violence and betrayal, it all comes back to me and this stupid gift."

You looked like you wanted to cry so badly but there tears never fall. It was like you were all cried out. "They have legends of me here. There's an entire prophecy that I would one day return and fix the mess that this flower has caused throughout the years."

You grab a book from your nightstand and point at a photo at the back of the book. "This is my ancestor. She was the first human to ever find the flower. Look familiar to you?"

It did. It looked like a mix of your mother, you and Kai. Your mother's hair, your eyes, and Kai's mouth.

You take their shocked silence and replace it with the words that followed the image. "It is prophesied that a woman from the first holder's bloodline will return in a century to restore balance from decades of war. The woman will share the same eyes and power."

You slam the book shut. "They're talking about me! I'm the one who is supposed to fix things. I can't just leave and have someone else clean up my mess for me."

"That's just a stupid book." Mikasa says.

You flip the book around to show the cover. "This is Ember's version of a bible! This gets taught at schools and at church. These people have expected me to save them their entire life. Children, families. They're all counting on me."

Sasha looked like she was about to have an anxiety attack as she begins to pace the room. "Are we doing wrong? Are we supposed to leave her here to do what she's literally destined to do? Are we being selfish forbringing her home?"

Mikasa wanted to hit Sasha. She had so much anger and despair inside her that she wanted to release it somehow even though the poor girl didn't deserve it. She just didn't know what to do. She was conflicted. She couldn't imagine how you felt.

You set the book down. "Look, I thought of every possible outcome. I could run, leave my problems behind but they'd follow me wherever I go. I was born to do this. If I keep avoiding it, there will never be peace. Kingdoms will continue to fight and innocent people will keep dying."

"So what's your plan?" Mikasa asks. "If we can't change your mind, how can we help you?"

Your grip around the towel loosens and a dagger drops from inside it and lands by your foot. Mikasa and Sasha both stare at it before they look at you.

No one says anything. No one moves.

You kick the blade behind you with your foot. Mikasa looks at you. "What are you planning to do with that?"

You bite your lip, afraid to say what you want to. "I need to get rid of Marco."

"By killing him?!" Mikasa tries to shout as quiet as possible. "You're going to lose your powers!"

"I won't kill him!" You stomp your foot. "I just need to hurt him. Slowly but surely. That's why I want to sleep with him tonight. I'll have the whole night to make him so weak that his body can't help him."

"And what then?" Mikasa asks. "Hm? Let's say you get away with it and there's some loophole in these rules and your powers stay with you. What then?"

You inhale. "I'll release Nick from jail and I'll tell the world what Marco did. They'll want to execute him and he'll be too weak to defend himself. Nick will be king here and I'll return home after I bring Ember back to life."

"And what about Ambrose?" Sasha asks. "He did this to become King in Eldia, didn't he?"

You stay quiet, your chest rising and falling as you try to remain calm. You look at Mikasa. "What will happen to him?"

She wanted to answer in the most bitchiest way possible. She no longer had any respect or remorse for Ambrose. She wanted to say she didn't give a single fuck what happened to the traitor.

But when she looked at your face, your sweet, tired face. She just couldn't. You were heartbroken. You wanted justice but in order to get it, you needed to get past your brother. Someone who you could personally never, ever betray in any way.

"I'm not sure." Mikasa admits. "But he needs to be punished for what he did, yn. I know he's your brother and you don't want anything bad to happ-"

"No." You stop her. "He's the one who killed Elijah. He deserves to be punished. I don't care who he is to me."

Although normally Mikasa would be relieved that you easily agreed with her and she didn't need to spend hours convincing you as usual, she still felt an overwhelming sadness that she didn't need to.

Her heart sinks and she can see a tear slide down the side of Sasha's cheek. They both crash into you embracing you tightly at the exact same time.

At first you don't hug them back. You stay as stiff as a board but eventually, as the two girls begin to cry for you while you couldn't, you feel yourself soften.

As you hug them back, you tell them one thing. "I'm not leaving until Marco gets what he deserves and until Ember is thriving again. If you wish to help me, I'll allow it. Just please do not stand in my way."

Sasha brushes a tear away as you pull her away from you. You look them both dead in the eye. "If any of you get in my way, I will do what I have to to make sure you don't do it again."

Sasha gulps quietly. Mikasa feels her wound start to ache again. "Oh." You add. "One more thing."

Your eyes get even darker than they already were and your voice was firm and heavy. "No one touches Ambrose. Absolutely no one. Got that?"

"But-" Mikasa starts.

"NO ONE." Your voice amplified throughout the room. "I will hurt anyone who tries to hurt him."

Sasha looked like she was two seconds from shitting herself. "But I thought you said he deserves to be punished?"

"I did." You clarify as you reach down to carefully grab the dagger that you dropped. "And he will. We will decide how to handle it once Marco is out of the way."

A second later, a young girl wearing similar uniforms to the ones Sasha and Mikasa stole comes bursting into the room. She was out of breath as she spoke. "Princess, are you alright?! I just found Con-"

All three of the girls make eye contact with Katalina who stood like a statue by the door as she puts the pieces together.

She must've found Constance and Valentina in the closet with strange clothes on and then came face to face with the culprits beside you. To make matters worse, you still had that blade in your hand.

The color drains from Kat's face. "Should I call for help?"

"No!" You answer. You look back at Mikasa and Sasha as you try to make some kind of excuse on why they knocked out two innocent people to switch wardrobes.

Unfortunately, nothing comes to mind. "Aw, fuck it!" You approach Katalina and shut the door behind her. "Sit down."

As you command her action, you don't even realize you're pointing the dagger right at her until you notice her eyes fixated on the sharp weapon aimed at her chest.

"Sorry." You set the knife down. "Please have a seat."

Kat slowly makes her way past the three of you and takes a seat on the foot of the bed. She looked petrified and you couldn't blame her.

You squat down to be at her level. "Look, I know this all seems a little scary right now but I need you to listen to me very carefully."

You point to Sasha and Mikasa behind you. "They are on your side. I'm on your side too. I want to help all of you out of poverty and I want Ember to be a strong kingdom again."

She shrinks into herself. "...But?"

It was obvious there was one coming. "I know you think Marco, sorry, Prince Markell is a hero. Trust me, if I was you, he'd have me fooled too. He wants the best for Ember and he and I both want to make that happen."

She opens her mouth to repeat the word again but you stop her. "Butttt, it's what comes after that me and him do not agree on. I want to make Ember a better place because I feel it in my soul that it is my duty to do so. I can fix the mistakes of the past."

You try to break the news to her as gently as you can. She was still so young and optimistic. You didn't want to destroy that part of her.

"Markell wants to make Ember a better place because he wants revenge. He wants Ember to be the only kingdom left standing." You say. "He's blinded by hatred and he's power hungry. He's tired of being dismissed into the shadows."

She shakes her head. "What do you mean Ember will be the only one standing?"

You adjust your squatting position. "He wants me to make Ember the strongest army there is so he can declare wars all on kingdoms he feels threatened by. And believe me, there's a lot."

She looked like a child who just realized Santa Claus was a myth. You could see the idolized version of Marco crumble in her eyes.

"He will stop at nothing to make this happen." You make sure she hears you correctly. "He will do whatever he needs to including sacrificing anyone in the way. He doesn't care if people die in the process. All he cares about is the end goal."

She forces her eyes away from you and looks at two girls behind you. Then, back at you. "Maybe that's what is meant to happen. Maybe this is the ways things are supposed to go." She says.

You stand up and grab the book from earlier and place it onto her lap. "In this book, it says I will return and make things right. I am the one who brings peace. Not Marco. Not Markell. Not whoever the hell he thinks he is."

She looks down at the book that she has read probably a thousands times in her lifetime. She probably knew the whole thing word for word. You knew this because she doesn't debate or deny any of it.

She knew it was true. Marco is never prophesied in the book. It never says how you return. It never says anything about who brought you back or who helped. He wasn't relevant. He wasn't in that book for a reason. He wasn't meant to be here at all.

"I can fix things." You repeat. "The right way. There will be no war. There will be no more killing. I will fix Ember and anything else I need to. You have my word."

She looks up at you as she holds the book tightly against her chest. "I just want my family to live. I want to have food on the table every night. I want my friends and teachers to have the same."

You smile. "They will. If you trust me, I will make it happen."

She nods as she sniffles. "Okay. What can I do to help?"

"I need to get someone out of the dungeon. Any advice?" You ask.

She thinks for a moment, her feet tapping together. "The guard who usually does the night watch has a crush on me. I try to avoid going down there because he talks to me for hours. I could try to distract him while you go down there."

You shoot up with a smile. "Yes! Don't worry if he talks your ears off, I'll be in and out so fast you won't even realize it."

She stands up from her seat, book still clenched tightly in her arms. "I hope I don't regret this."

"Help me with this and your name will be in one of those books one day." You say as you point to her chest. "I'll make sure of it."

She holds the book out to look at it one last time. Her entire childhood and adult life was taught around that book.

Finally, she tosses it aside. She takes one deep, shaky breath. "Val is going to kill me."

♤

Jean was thirsty. Beyond thirsty. He also couldn't feel his body. He was trapped in a cold cell in the middle of winter. There was no fire to keep him warm. No blanket for him to take shelter.

He almost felt himself begin to doze off. Nightfall was right around the corner and considering he spent the entire day crawling through mountains, his body couldn't wait for the opportunity to pass out. Even if it meant on the cold, hard floor.

He turns to look at Nick who was sat in a corner and was asleep. He used the wall as support for his head. Not even royalty got special treatment in jail it seems.

Jean moves his legs around so that he can lay on the floor. His body immediately hates the feeling but doesn't fight it because he knew he had no other choice but to endure it.

All he had to do was hope his friends would somehow convince you to join them so that he doesn't have to spend another night in here.

He couldn't tell if his mind was already slipping away into a sweet dream, or if he had begun hallucinating, but he heard the distant sound of some keys.

He knew it had to be an illusion of some sort because he sees your face. He even hears your voice.

"Hey!" You tap his cheek. "Get up!"

He sits up quickly when he feels your touch proving it was not a dream. "Yn? What are you doing here?"

"Getting you out!" You stand back up and hold out your hand. "You coming or not, Kirstein?"

He takes your hand and stands on his feet. He seemed confused from the whiplash of your back and forth emotions. "Where are we going?"

"Home." You answer.

He stops. "I thought you weren't going home."

"I wasn't until I found out my brother is still alive." You say as you pull him out from the cell. "And I'm still not going home quite yet. There's still something I need to do."

He watches as you unlock the cell that belonged to Nick. "Which is?"

You pull the door aside. "The less you know the better."

You stand still as you watch Nicholas lean up against the corner. "He's alive. Right?"

Jean nods. "He's asleep." You step out of the jail cell so that Jean can step in. "Can you wake him up, please? I need him in order to do this."

He does as he's told and steps in Nick's cell and begins his attempt to wake him up. He's not even distracted two seconds when he hears you gasp behind him.

Jean quickly turns around and sees Marco now standing behind you with a knife to your throat. He has a large, shark-like grin when he and Jean meet eyes. "Long time, no see, friend."

"We were never friends." Jean says as he stands back up. "Let her go."

As he steps forward, Marco backs up and presses the knife closer to your throat. "Aht, aht. One wrong move and the pretty princess goes headless."

Jean scoffs. "You wouldn't kill her. You need her too much. You're nothing without her."

The knife goes deeper into your soft skin and Jean can see a bubble of red at the very tip of the knife. You wince as you feel the sharp pain.

"Me?" Marco laughs. "I'm not the only one using her."

"The hell are you talking about?" Jean snaps.

Marco steps back with you tightly against him. "Ever since I met you, all you've talked about is getting rich and being on top of the world. What better way to do that than to marry a princess?"

He lays his head against yours. "Aw, did you really think he liked you for you? Do you think he'd honestly look your way if you were just some commoner like he is?"

"Don't listen to him." Jean reminds you.

You almost snap your neck moving away from him. Marco never lets you go. "Face it, this whole fascination with her has been because she was the untouchable princess, right, Jean? You wanted to make her fall in love with you in hopes she marries you and your dreams of being king can become a reality."

"That's not true." Jean steps closer.

The knife pokes into your throat more, the red bubble beginning to swim down your neck. "People like you don't end up with people like us." Marco says. "Her parents rather she marry someone oceans away and rarely see her rather than her marry a poor person."

He begins to cackle. "Hell! They would rather she marry me than you! It was their last dying wish after all."

"You're lying." Jean says for the both of you. You were too scared to speak with the blade stabbing at your jugular.

Marco shrugs. "Maybe I am. You'll never know because you know, they're dead."

Jean felt like he could explode from rage. He couldn't believe that at one point he considered this sick human his best friend. That for all these years, he felt he could confide in the same person who was holding a knife to your throat.

Someone who could brag about how he killed your parents while he holds you forcibly in his arms.

Marco smiles when he sees Jean beginning to get riled up. "Don't worry, I'll keep her safe and sound."

"I don't believe you." Jean responds.

"You don't really have a choice." Marco admits.

Finally, you speak. "Jean." His hazel eyes switch to look at you instead. "It's okay."

He couldn't take his eyes off your throat. The thin stream of blood had slithered toward your collarbone now. He meets your eyes and you use yours to point toward somewhere low.

He follows the way your pupils dart over and over. The dagger he got you for Christmas was in your hand, hidden by the sleeve of your dress. "It's okay." You repeat.

Jean didn't know what he was expecting. He certainly didn't expect what did happen either.

[play run boy run here]

You bend your arm backward over your head and stab the dagger right into Marco's right eye. He releases you as he begins to howl in pain. "You bitch! You fucking bitch!"

You rush over to Jean and he pulls you safely into his arms. You both watch in horror as blood flows out of Marco's eye. He shrieks in pain as he crouches onto the floor.

"What do we do now?" Jean asks.

"I suppose this is the part where we run." You answer.

Without thinking it any further, the two of you join hands as you dart out the dungeon, leaving Marco's screeching in the distance.

"GUARDS!" He screams at the top of his voice. "KILL THEM! KILL THEM ALL!"

You both pick up the pace, running as fast as you can. He was clearly faster than you and it didn't help that you had a dress and heels on.

He could feel himself pulling you a lot further than your legs could naturally go. He had seen you run plenty of times but it was never as fast as this. Not to mention, your body was growing weaker.

You kick off your shoes as you run, tossing aside any thing that was holding you back. "I don't know if we're going to make it."

"We'll make it." Jean says as he tries to moderate his breathing as he darted across the castle.

Your bodies slice through the vacant air as you speed through the halls. When your turn the corner to the back of the castle, Reiner stood at the very end waiting.

Coming to an abrupt stop when you see the guard at the end, you both turn in the opposite direction and run toward the front.

It didn't matter how far or how fast you both ran, because waiting for you at the front was Marco's second guard, Bertholdt.

In the other direction, Annie. They were blocking off all the possible exits. "Now what?" You ask with panic.

A door opens and Sasha and Mikasa appear. "Let's go! Let's go!" They were in the kitchen, by the door that lead to the handmaiden's quarters. You had forgotten about the door that lead to the back.

You and Jean both rush into the kitchen. Dozens of guards coming flooding in behind you. "Shit!"

They luckily all had swords which wasn't easy to dodge but not impossible. However, you could dodge and weave all you wanted, they had weapons and you didn't.

Jean does both defending himself and protecting you simultaneously. As difficult as it sounded in the tiny, confined kitchen, he surprisingly did it effortlessly. It was like his natural instincts just suddenly snapped into place.

You dig through drawers, your fingers fidgeting as you do. "Where are the knives?!"

"Here!" Sasha tosses a frying pan right at you and it almost smacks you in the face. When you catch it, you stare at it lifelessly. "What the hell am I-"

Before you can finish, a guard rushes up to you with a rage you couldn't imagine and Jean swears the entire world freezes. He almost thought it was over.

The loud thung noise echos in the compact space repeatedly after you swing the frying pan like a baseball bat on the man's head. The sound of his body collapsing comes right after.

You laugh. "No way!" You turn to Mikasa. "Mikasa, did you see that?!"

She tries her best to show a smile but she was more concerned with the increasing number of enemies coming right at you. "Yes, good job. Let's go!"

She grabs your arm as she leads you out the back door with Sasha in the lead and Jean following behind you.

Sasha holds the door shut while Jean uses his strength to push tanks of water in front of the door.

"There you guys are!" Armin appears out of breath. "This place is swarming with guards. It's now or never!"

You smile when you see the group. "Phoenix!" You embrace him in a hug. Jean felt an invisible slap in the face. "He gets a hug?!"

"I didn't get one either." Mikasa says as she takes a moment to breath.

"Same." Sasha pouts as she wipes sweat from her forehead.

An arrow comes darting straight through the group, snipping the side of Sasha's arm and instantly drawing blood. The arrow lands in the wall behind her.

Everyone turns at the same time and sees Marco's three guards standing there. Bertholdt was the one with the bow and arrow. Annie and Reiner both has swords. Behind them, hundreds of guards stood in place.

"Uh," Armin starts to panic. "We have more important things to worry about like making it out of here alive."

Everyone begins to dart toward through the back end of the castle's grounds and through the rusted fence. The caves were close but not close enough.

Jean can feel the soles of his shoes ignite with heat with the speed he was going. His lungs filled with freezing air which each breath he took.

As they run in a pack, Jean could see you slowly losing your strength. You were starting fall behind and he found himself pulling you forward again.

You keep your eyes on your feet as you run. "What's wrong?" He asks you. "Are you okay?"

"You don't feel that?" You ask, your voice suffering from your still wounded neck. Your body was still refusing to help you.

He didn't know what you were referring to but he assumed it meant the foreign pain you must've feeling for the first time. "Does it hurt?"

You bring your hand to your throat, forgetting the blood was even there. "No, not that! Do you seriously not feel that?!"

"Feel what?" He asks.

Sasha is the next person to feel it. She gasps as she almost stops in her tracks before she keeps running again. "The ground is shaking."

Armin quickly catches up. "It's an earthquake." As soon as he says the word, there's the gut wrenching sound of the earth splitting underneath their very feet.

Jean had never felt his heart beat so fast. Not only was he running from people trying to kill him but also a literal fucking earthquake that closing in on them.

The caves were now in their eye line. "We're almost there, come on!" Eren commands.

Armin sounded like he wanted to throw up. "We can't go through the caves! The earthquake could cause the mountains to collapse on us while we're in there!"

Eren picks up speed. "We can make it through in time."

"Are you crazy?!" Armin shouts.

Jean looks at you, the only one who wasn't screaming their head off. He realizes it's happening because of you.

"Hey." He calls as he continues to pull you along. "Yn. Stop."

You shake your head. "I can't."

Darkness swallowed the group whole as they enter the caves anyway. The sounds of their frantic footsteps were much louder now in the tunnel.

The earthquake doesn't stop. "You need to calm down." Jean tries to remedy it.

"How?!" You scream. "How can I be calm while running for my life?!"

The roof of the tunnels were shaking wildly, loose rock and debris falling everywhere. There was no way they were going to make it out of here alive if he didn't calm you down somehow.

"It's not me, Jean." You whine as you continue to run but he could see you mentally giving up. "I'm not the one doing this."

He couldn't let you give up. He wasn't sure if you were lying or not but it didn't really matter. All he wanted was to bring you to the light at the end of this tunnel.

They could all hear the mountains groan as they forcibly loose their shape and the walls begin to crumble down.

The caves behind begin to shift in shape. From being a normal curved top tunnel, it was now slated and growing smaller and smaller by the minute.

"Yn, if this is you, you seriously need to control yourself." Mikasa states. "This is going to crush us to death."

"What don't any of you understand?!" You plead. "I'm not the one doing this!"

"Let me guess, Marco has super powers too." Eren sneers.

Jean could tell you were starting to get upset, which probably wasn't making the case any better. He felt partially at fault for that since he started to place the blame on you in the first place.

He didn't want to call you a liar. But the second Jean saw anger in your face, the entire cave began to close down up ahead blocking the path out.

Why were you doing this? Were you doing this?

"Guys, just leave her alone." Phoenix pants as he leads the group. "If she says it's not her, it's not her."

"That's because you don't know her like we do." Mikasa says. "She'll lie her way through anything."

"Mikasa." Armin warns.

Mikasa continues to throw insults toward you even while running like a bullet through air. "You think it's a coincidence that an earthquake just happened to occur when we were about to leave?"

"You think I did this?" You ask. "Why would I trap us in a cave system where we could possibly die!"

"I don't know." She doesn't stop. "You didn't want to leave in the first place. You wanted to do all of this on your own to prove a point."

"That's not what I'm doing!" You yell.

Mikasa turns to the rest of the group. "Ambrose is the second traitor. I'm telling you because I know she won't."

Jean, Phoenix and Eren begin to lag behind as their brains try to process the information. Phoenix is the first to speak. "Ambrose? Why would he do that to his own kingdom? To his own family?"

"Because he's a sick, twisted piece of shit." Mikasa spits. "Yn is trying to protect him."

"No, I'm not!" You grow even angrier.

"Then why haven't you mentioned it to anyone yet? Why don't you want anyone to know?!" She fights.

"ARGGGH, SHUT UP!" You scream. As you do, the path ahead comes crashing down, revealing a new exit.

You couldn't do it anymore. From the small hole in your neck to your body cursing you for doing what you did, your legs give out and you crash down onto the floor.

Everyone stops in their tracks to make sure you're okay even through the wanted to sprint through the exit so badly.

Mikasa instinctively reaches out to help lift you from the floor but you brush away at her arm. "I'm fine." You struggle to stand.

Eren runs up to the brand new opening. "We need to get going. They're going to catch up to us fast."

Sasha is the first to jump out. She pukes the second she gets a breath of fresh air. Eren fights the urge to follow as he waits for Mikasa. Armin follows Sasha instead as he yells at her to stay with the group.

Jean and Phoenix both wait for you to pass through. You gesture for them both to go instead. "I need a second."

He wanted to fight it. He wanted to wait until you were ready to leave this tunnel. But he no longer felt like he could breathe and the crisp air outside was calling his name.

His body was scratching at him to rush outside. It took everything out of him not to. Luckily, Phoenix is the first to fold and he carefully steps out into the open air. Jean exhales and jumps out after him.

Now it was just you and Mikasa left. She waves her hand. "Go first." She says.

You stare at her. "Why? You think I'm going to run?"

"Wouldn't put it past you." She replies.

"God, you're such a cunt sometimes." You say.

Mikasa's mouth drops open. Jean and everyone on the outside gasps in shock. He couldn't believe the word came out of such a pretty mouth.

Jean had been around you and Mikasa for a while now. At one point, you and Mikasa were glued to eachother's side. You always smiled with her and she only ever smiled back at you.

It made him sad to see how far the two of you have come since then.

He also knew that Mikasa would never let that kind of comment slide. He could see her mouth twitch with anger. But to his surprise, and everyone else's, she says nothing.

She takes a deep breath and steps aside. "Please just get out."

"Fine." You say. Jean could tell you expected a bigger reaction. You move for the first time since you stood up from the ground on your own. The second you step forward, Jean watches as your face does something he hasn't seen before.

The face of excruciating pain. Your eyes squeeze shut and your brows pinch together as the corner of your lips turned downward. You cry with pain as you fall back to the floor.

The moment you do, the once open exit closes all the way shut.

Jean immediately rushes over to the now completely covered passage. He bangs harshly on the massive boulders. "Hey!" He screams.

Sasha's hand comes up to her mouth. "Oh my god, did they just get crushed?" Before she even gets the answer, she throws up again.

Phoenix presses his mouth against a crack between rocks. "You girls okay in there?"

"We're fine." Mikasa's muffled voice answers back.

Sasha throws her head back. "Oh, thank god. If I threw up one more time I think it would've killed me."

Eren now speaks through the cracks. "Are you guys hurt at all?"

"I have a few scratches but otherwise I'm fine." Mikasa says. "As for yn..."

"As for yn what?" Jean and Phoenix say at the very same moment.

There's the faint sound of what seems like whispering. Jean wanted to dig his nails into his skin from how impatient he was about the answer.

"Hello!" He shouts. "Is she okay?"

"I can't tell!" Mikasa snaps back. "It's pitch black in here! She said there's something wrong with her leg."

"Okay," He jumps into action and begins to tear the rocks away with his bare hands. "Let's give them some light."

"It looks like we're not getting out of here as soon as she thought." Sasha turns to the army that was approaching at a speed too close for comfort. "What are we supposed to do about them?"

Jean stops pulling at the rubble and steps forward. "Think you can shoot from here?"

Her once anxious face turns as confident as someone who rigged the game. "Easy."

"Good." Jean answers. "Prove it. The tall guard has a bow and arrow too."

He stick his finger in the open wound of her arm and she winces. "Don't forget he did that to you."

She takes the pain and holds her bow into place. Her fingers strategically pull the arrow back and her arm locks into place.

Jean looks at Eren next who was doing everything he could to pull the rumble off the opening along with Phoenix's help. "You're going to handle the other guard."

Eren smacks his lips. "I get the big guy?! What the hell are you going to be doing?"

"I'm going to handle Marco." Jean answers. "It has to be me and you know it."

"Jesus." Eren scoffs as he rolls his eyes. "Talk about dramatic."

Armin steps beside Jean. "What about me? I'm afraid hand to hand combat isn't my strong suit."

"You can make sure the girls are safe." Jean answers. "The second we open the tunnel again, I want you to take the girls and run, okay? We'll catch up with you guys."

He nods and then continues to help Eren pull the rocks apart from one another. Phoenix approaches Jean as he looks off into the distance where the angry people charge their way. "Let me guess, I get the girl guard?" He jokes.

Jean looks at him. "Actually, I have someone else in mind for you. I need you to find Ambrose." He had almost forgotten 50% of this catastrophe was that idiot's fault.

He turns to the rest of the group. "Speaking of Ambrose. Has anyone seen him? Like at all?"

They all shake their heads.

He sighs. "Of course."

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