The Guardian's Tale (AOT fanfiction)

-Children of the Forest-

The cold air slowly ate away at my skin yet refused to go in my lungs, as though they had just been surrounded by metal bands which tightened with every passing second as I ran through the forest, the icy wind threatening to freeze my muscles in place if I didn't keep going. Haunted by the horrifying realization of what I had been fighting for this whole time, I felt as though if I rested even for a moment, they would finally catch me and remind me of my cursed existence, of the reason that I was still alive. However, as much as I knew I had to keep going, I had been running for the past hour and could feel the glass shards slowly cutting their way into my heart and, surely enough, after one crucial step, my muscles finally gave out, forcing my body down onto the hard ground.

"M-Miss !" A Scout called out before helping me get back onto my feet. "Are you injured ?"

With my vocal chords feeling as though they would tear at the simplest word, I simply shook my head and made my way to the center of the small clearing in front of me, to come face to face with the man I had been wanting to kill ever since Commander Erwin's death. At that moment, my eyes reflected nothing but pure hatred towards the man who had taken yet another family member away from me, who had so easily torn apart the love I had finally learned to give after years of emptiness. Suddenly, a warm hand came to grip mine and I could feel it shaking with the very same rage, the same desire to see Zeke's blood splattered onto the ground before us but I knew that he was telling me to forget it, to forget how he had massacred the man I had once called a father.

"Yuki." Captain Levi softly greeted. "What are you doing all the way out here ?"

When I turned around to face him, I could see utter exhaustion painted on his face and the hope that he once held was gone, replaced by the realization that the man he had sacrificed so much to keep alive had now become our enemy.

"I'm sorry father..." I whispered. "Premier Zachary has been murdered by our own recruits."

Those words felt like acid in my mouth and the knowledge that this betrayal had come from the man I had always trusted with my life, the man who I had gone through absolute hell with and fought the hardest battles with. Why would you do this...we promised, didn't we ?

.............

I tightly hung on to Jean's hand as we walked through the halls of the restaurant, which had been decorated with vibrant colors and delicate designs that made me feel as though I was a child again, amazed at every single chandelier we passed. As I turned to point out all of the interesting things to Jean, my eyes locked on the middle of the corridor where Niccolo was standing, clearly on edge as I could pick up his fast and heavy heartbeat.

"What's wrong ?" He asked. "Something urgent ? I'm busy dealing with important guests right now."

The Commander, who seemed really out of place and uncomfortable brushed it off and reassure him that he could go back to work and that we just wanted to talk to him later but for one reason or another, I felt as though something was drawing me to a room somewhere behind us.

"We have some concerns about the detained volunteers." I spoke up. "We'd like to ask you some questions if you don't mind. But I really don't think you have a choice. Do you ?"

After a few moments of silence, he led us to the very room which felt as though had something I was drawn to, something that made my blood boil though my body's heat had no changed one bit. Suddenly, Jean picked up a wine bottle and shoved it in front of my face but just as my finger brushed against it while I was lifting my hands up to protect my face, I felt a strange electric feeling course through my veins. This feels like...

"Look Yuki." Jean said, snapping me back to reality. "This is the wine that people in the military keep talking about. I heard only the officers get to drink this."