Clearing

Chapter 20

I managed to compose myself on the way back to the ballroom, and started to search for Mikasa amongst the crowd. Eventually, I spotted her dark hair, and weaved through the rest of the people until I reached her spot by the edge of the room.

"You're back!" Mikasa waved me over. "I didn't think I'd see you so soon. Did Jean not find you?"

"No, he found me." I sighed. "I yelled at him and left."

"Oh damn." Mikasa grinned, sipping at her drink. None of us were drinking alcohol for obvious reasons, but even juice was exciting in comparison to water. "You really chose to kick him to the curb? I didn't think you'd be that brutal."

"I wasn't brutal!" I protested. "I could have been a lot worse. I was just standing up for myself."

"Anyway, what happened to that girl you were talking to?" Mikasa asked. "Was she boring or something?"

"No! Hitch is great, but Jean interrupted us." I grimaced. "It wasn't very dignified."

"Eesh. I can imagine." Mikasa cringed, gesturing over to Eren and Armin. "Those two have been conspiring over your disappearance for a while, so have fun when they swoop in on you with all their theories."

I groaned, and then snapped upright. "Fuck! I told Hitch I'd find her after I finished talking to Jean! Where did she go?"

"She's right there, you idiot." Mikasa sighed, pointing to her left at Hitch. I thanked the Lord that she wasn't close enough to hear my almost freak-out.

"Oh... oops." I laughed, turning away from Mikasa. "Sorry. I'm going to go talk to her, if that's ok?"

Mikasa nodded, gesturing me forwards. I walked back over to Hitch, now aware that Jean had walked back into the hall and was watching my every move.

Please, for the sake of everything that is good and pure, do not trip over.

I made it over to Hitch without falling over my own feet, and she turned to me and smiled.

"Hey. I thought you'd made a run for it." She grinned.

I laughed, picking up a glass from the tray next to us. "No, I'm sorry. The talk took longer than I had thought." I rolled my eyes.

"Is everything ok? You looked a little tense when you walked back in here." Hitch asked me, looking me up and down.

"Yeah, yeah. Everything's fine. It was just something about work, you don't need to worry about it." I waved my hand absent-mindedly before changing the topic of conversation. We talked for even longer this time, and she really was an interesting person. She told me about her time in the cadets, her family, her friends. I felt like my life seemed incredibly boring compared to hers, but she still listened carefully whenever I talked.

We were both laughing at a joke she had made when the doors to the ballroom burst open and a pale-faced messenger raced onto the balcony. The entire room fell silent.

It had been so relaxed mere seconds before, but anyone with basic comprehension skills would be able to see that this was not news that we were willing or ready to hear.

He leant against the balcony, heaving for breath as nauseous anticipation pricked the air.

"Wall Maria-" The man gasped for air. "has fallen."

Chaos erupted, and everyone started to move frantically, shoving against anyone they could find in an attempt to run from the building.

"Scouts!" Erwin's voice bellowed over the shouts. You'd think that the room full of seasoned fighters would be more calm in this case, but then again it wasn't the type of thing that the military police normally had to deal with. "Outside, now."

I tugged off my suit jacket and pushed it towards Hitch.

"Keep safe." I told her before pushing my way towards the doors. Her face was paler than it had been before, but I guess that's normal for an event like this.

There were people back at the wall who could hold any titans off for long enough, but they would need all the help that they could get. I had to force my way past everyone to get back into the courtyard and to the carriage where we had left our ODM gear. Eren, Mikasa and Armin were there already, and Mikasa shoved my harness into my hands as she finished buckling hers.

I made quick work of the straps, detaching my horse from the front of the carriage and leading it towards Erwin and Hanji.

"We ride back to the wall now." Erwin shouted over the chaos. "Give everything that you have. We cannot afford to lose this. Jean, you take charge of the Levi squad."

He barked out instructions and we stood still and silent, springing into action the moment he finished talking. I hurled myself onto my horse, dread pooling in my stomach. Ahead of me, Jean's horse stood at the front of the group.

"Ride carefully. We cannot have injuries on the way, and you cannot run out of energy." Jean commanded us. I noticed that my hands had started to shake, but I forced them to be still. "Go."

We rode off into the night.

I didn't have time to be afraid, and none of us had the privilege of making mistakes. It was all or nothing.

—
ooh plot twist
enjoy this update brought to you by the boredom of free periods as well as the urge to do anything except revise