From Across the Sea (Attack on Titan/OC) [ON HOLD]

Chapter 2

The man, whose name she came to learn was Keith Shadis, brought her further down the main street of the marketplace. He pulled his horse to a stop outside a large building, tying his horse on the post outside. He turned to look at her before walking inside. The interior was filled with tables along the walls and a large, curved bar in the middle. The patrons of the bar turned to look at the young blonde woman before going back to their conversations.

            Walking up to the bar, she slowly sat herself on the stool next to Shadis. A young barmaid came up to them. Angharad could see that she was young. She looked to only be a year or two older than herself. She was wearing a half-sleeve shirt with puffy sleeves, and a dark red bodice. Angharad could see she was also wearing a skirt that fell to her ankles. Her golden eyes looked at her for a moment before turning to the man to her left.

            "Back so soon, Keith?" She asked with a slight smile on her face. "Did something go wrong on the expedition?" Angharad turned to look at the man in question.

            "No, nothing too unusual." He responded. Since they'd entered the bar, Keith hadn't taken his eyes off the woman before him. "Well, other than this one." Keith gestured to the blonde woman on the stool next to him. Angharad's green eyes turned back to the woman behind the counter. She was particularly pretty. Her long black hair hung around her shoulders in one low ponytail.

            "Who's this?" The young barmaid turned to look at Angharad once more. Keith, having realized he didn't know her name, turned to look at her as well. Realizing the question was directed at her to respond, she fidgeted with her thumbs on her lap before answering.

            "Angharad." She told the truth. Nobody here knew who she was, but she knew that any mention of Marley would probably be met with disdain. By telling as much of the truth as possible, she decided that it would create less problems in the future if she didn't have to remember details of a lie.

            "That's a pretty name." The barmaid smiled at her with a smile. "It's interesting. Though, I can't say I've ever heard of it before."

            "Thank you." She licked her lips before speaking again. "It means 'much loved'." Her eyes darted between the two people still looking at her. She suddenly felt very self-conscious of her appearance. Angharad knew she most likely didn't look that great. She felt the tangles in her hair, and the dirt and sweat had since dried and caked itself onto her skin. "You can call me Ang though. That's what most people call me, anyways."

            "Well in that case you can call me Carla." Angharad was met with the barmaid's pretty smile once again. It was calming, and she could tell why the man who rescued her found the woman so attractive. The dark haired beauty smiled at her before reaching below the counter and producing 2 mugs. She filled one with a beer from the tap barrel behind her and set it in front of Keith before turning back to the platinum haired woman "What will you have?"

            Angharad pause for a moment and looked at the foaming mug that sat on the counter to her left. "I'll just have a water, please."

            Carla smiled and filled the mug with ice before topping it off with the crystal liquid. Carla then paused and looked at her again, regarding her with a question she was not at all prepared for. "So, how come I've never seen you around before?"

            Crap! What do I say?

            "I don't really have a place to stay." Her voice was shaky, and she couldn't stop fidgeting with her fingers. "I usually try to keep to myself and stay out of the way."

Carla thought for a moment before deciding that this was plausible. The recent tax increase had caused more problems for those in the Southern district. And Shiganshina was definitely much more crowded now that citizens were struggling to make ends meet.

"Well, I know of someone who needs a roommate if you're willing to meet her." Carla smiled again before continuing. "She can be a little eccentric though."

Angharad took a few more sips of her water as she weighed her options. I can either say no and struggle, maybe even starve. Or I can take a risk. What's the worst that could happen?

"Sure, I'd love to meet her." Angharad cracked a smile towards Carla.

"Perfect! She usually comes in around dinner time. And my shift doesn't end for a few hours." Carla waved to another woman who was waiting on a few tables, her tray stacked with empty cups and bowls. Angharad turned to se a pretty young strawberry blonde now walking towards where she was sitting. "Marie! Since you're almost off, can you take Angharad to my place and help her clean up?" Carla looked to her again. "You can just borrow some of my clothes. We seem to be about the same size anyways." Marie nodded and set her tray down behind the bar.

Angharad paused and looked between the two smiling women staring back at her. She was at a complete loss for words. "Thank you. I don't know what to say."

"It's no problem." Carla's smile never left her face. "You seem really nice." Marie smiled to Angharad and gestured towards the exit. Hopping off the barstool, she turned to look at the man who had ben silent the whole conversation.

"Thank you," She spoke. "For saving me." Keith regarded her again before waving her off with a slight shake of his head.

"It's no problem." And with those words she turned and slowly followed Marie out of the bar and down the street.