PARTING OF THE WAYS

Respite

This was the third time Annie was on this ship. The first and second time were with Armin and their friends. Now the third and might be the last one, she was still with Armin but it was not the same. Annie felt depressed. But she was the one who chose this path and she would persist on it. No matter how much her heart would break. No matter how much she yearned for him.

Every day they met at the conference room with Jemma and others in the entourage. There was a Mr Kirk who was a human rights lawyer and Ms Kenna who was a litigation lawyer. There was also Ms Xian who was the spokesperson for the Allied Nations, who spearheaded this peace talk alongside Armin. Ms Xian was a gorgeous lady with dark hair and violet eyes. What made her most lovely was not her physical. She was the most caring and understanding person Annie had ever met. She was graceful like the princesses of old. She really reminded her of Armin. That was why the both of them could be good friends in such a short time. Armin did spend a lot of time with her even when they were married. But Annie knew Armin and she knew Xian. She trusted them both enough.

In the conference room Armin always talked to Xian. She always accompanied him during meal times too. Annie had heard gossips about them. Annie didnt like it but if it was true, then it wasn't bad at all. It's as if life was telling Armin to move on from her. Why not? They were perfect together. A golden haired charming man with a dark haired beauty. And Xian was always on the same page with Armin. They thought alike and had the same aspirations.

Annie never had any time alone with Armin on this journey to Paradis. Nor did she bother to create one. After every meeting she would return to her room, and slept. Annie hated to go around the ship because the ship reminded her so much of the time she spent married with Armin. The starboard was where they kissed, the hull was where they talked about their future. The dock was where, well, you know the drill. So Annie decided to shut herself in and requested for her dinner to be sent to her room. She had the view of course. Of the night decorated with stars. And that soothed her a lot.

Annie, in a way, had convinced herself that Armin had moved on. On the day they arrived at Paradis, while going down the gangway to land, she was walking behind Xian when she tripped, causing Annie behind her to stumble and trip too. People ran to them but Armin went to Xian. He patted away any dirt on her skirt and helped her get up. Annie watched from the corner of her eyes as Mr Kirk came and helped her up. "Oh dear, are you hurt anywhere?" asked Mr Kirk. Annie confirmed she was ok but deep inside something died. And it hurt like hell. Xian later came to her to apologise to which Annie hugged her to say ok. She could never think of something bad about Xian. She was so precious, a diamond among the jewels.

When they arrived, they were welcomed by the Queen herself. It always amused Annie to see Historia acting all regal and magnificent because she always saw her as that awkward, sweet little girl who constantly worry about everybody in the camp. Historia knew that too. Often she would sneak up to her and Armin and talked incredulous things like about married life and children in their previous trips. She would tease them mercilessly knowing how shy Annie was on that topic. But this time, after the formal introduction, Historian came to Annie and requested her to join her in her coach. Annie couldn't refuse.

Annie was worried. She could guess what Historia wanted to say or ask. With a sigh she stepped into the coach. It was a beautiful one, fit for a queen. Historia beckoned Annie to sit next to her and told her assistant to scoot. Annie sat next to her and Historia didnt say anything but hugged her so tight. She whispered something like 'I'm sorry'. Historia must have meant about the divorce. That actually brought tears to Annie's eyes. She didnt know why but her tears flowed down her cheeks. She embraced her in return, swallowing her cries. Sobs rocked her chest. Historia just slowly caressed her back as if to calm her down. And when Annie let go of the embrace, she held her hand and put her head on Annie's shoulder. This was what Annie meant when she said people of Paradis was built differently. Years of being hunted and terrorised but still most humane people that Annie had ever known. Well except for the rising yeagerists.