A Promise (An Attack on Titan Fanfic: Erwin Smith)

A Mission

After Baldrick had left, Isanna relayed to Erwin everything she'd found earlier that day while scouting Reiss territory. It was already late into the night by then.

"I dug everything I could," she said, taking out a roll of paper from her jacket and handing it to Erwin. "Rod has some secrets of his own, it seems. Secrets we've yet to uncover."

Erwin unrolled the parchment with one hand and skimmed through the contents. "This should be enough for now. Good work."

Isanna nodded before she plopped onto the bed and slumped forward, elbows on her knees and a hand on her chin. "So tomorrow.. Lovof and I will be heading to the interior, then?"

"Correct," Erwin said. He walked to the table by the window and tucked the papers underneath a book.

"Sneaking into the capital's prison.. that's a risky move. It's bound to be tight in Interior MP security."

"It's needed if we want to get answers from the inside," Erwin said. "Nicholas Lovof is our best bet. He may know something more about the government, seeing as he's worked closely with the Lang company in the past."

When he didn't receive a reply, Erwin turned around and noted the way Isanna's brows were furrowed together and lips were pursed.

"A penny for your thoughts?" said Erwin.

Isanna seemed to be deeply drowning in her thoughts, seeing how she didn't even acknowledge him. Erwin had to call her name to get her attention.

"Right." She blinked and shook her head. "Sorry. Didn't hear you."

"Is there an issue?"

She shook her head. "No."

Erwin gave her an analytical stare in silence. And then, "You cannot lie to me."

Blinking, Isanna turned to look at him across the room. A silent beat passed.

"It's just, this whole bit about the government and stuff," she admitted, sighing. "Don't get me wrong, Erwin. I trust your plans, I really do. But, we still have little information over everything, and overthrowing an entire monarchy that's been reigning for over a century feels too overkill, even for you." She swallowed. "Can we.. can you even get out of this unscathed?"

After hearing her thoughts, Erwin went silent. The hush in the room was ironically deafening, Isanna thought, and she could practically feel him mulling over his answer.

"Have you grown timid?" Erwin said, confusing her.

"What?"

"I remember you used to approach ideas like these with more vigor," Erwin recalled. "You were always the first one to jump into action and enjoyed doing operatives that required your fighting prowess."

Isanna went silent after his honest observation. Her gaze lowered. It was true she used to enjoy fighting in the past—but that was before the Fall, before everything turned for the worst. Recently, she was always on edge.

"Yeah, probably," she muttered, her still voice loud inside the quiet room. "Honestly... I feel like I'm on a steady decline. I made a hasty decision back at the 57th expedition.. then I let Eren get kidnapped right under my nose, and then I eventually made you lose an arm. And Mike—" she bit her lip— "nothing's.. been going right for me. I feel anxious."

Erwin watched as Isanna released another loud sigh and held her head, continuing her rushed spiel.

"What if something bad happens again? I mean—something bad always happens, I know, but what if it's a different kind of bad? Worse? I can't even imagine anything happening that's worse than what we've been through, but—"