traitor reader x reiner

Charlotte

"ALRIGHT SOLDIERS, HEAD TO YOUR GROUPS. WE LEAVE IN 20."

You led your horse, a sturdy chestnut mare you'd named Charlotte, down the streets. Once in position, you put your forehead to hers for a second. Her fur was coarse against your skin. You let her breathing ground you and gave her a quick pat before mounting and preparing for orders.

The commander shouted some words of encouragement, but they did not land on you. Your focus was on the kids beside you, whispering with frantic excitement. Poking at each other's sides as they pointed at the scouts. When they noticed your gaze, they gave an excited wave. It was hard for you to understand their excitement. What is there to be excited about in riding to your death? In killing yourself for something so fickle as progress, freedom.

You gave them a solemn nod and turned back to the commander. His hand lifted, and the gate rose. Charlotte tapped her feet in protest to the rumbling ground as the wall rose. Sun flooded your eyes as it came through the opening.

"FOWARD" the commander shouted. You dug your heel into the side of your horse, she whinnied, and you were off in a fast gallop.

Your place in the formation was back of the third row, right wing. The first hour was quiet, just following the smoke signals and keeping your eyes sharp for titans. The sound of clattering hooves and your own oppressive thoughts were the only thing to keep you company in the vast green. Despite your opposition, Reiner filled most of these thoughts. He had for a month. No matter how much you pushed or he pulled away, you could not keep your thoughts from him. The press of his lips against your head. The rain speckling dark spots in his shirt and placing itself as sparkles in his hair. That entire night replayed over and over. You had scrutinized every detail, every decision, and shamed yourself in all of them.

Charlotte noticed before you. She whinnied, her gallop hastening, quick and frantic. A few moments later you could feel it too, the ground vibrating in a rhythmic beat. It got louder as seconds passed. It was fast. Black smoke shot up above you, abnormal. From the horizon, you could see it. Glimpses of a red body, similar to the colossal in composition, though smaller and feminine in frame. Your hands clattered the pieces of the smoke signal together and sent a puff of black smoke barreling into the blur of sky above you. Before the smoke could dissipate, she was practically on top of you. She was faster than you expected. Her strides shook the earth beneath you as she rushed you.

Fuck fuck fuck, you had nowhere to go. Odm gear wasn't worth shit in this terrain, and you had been specifically ordered to avoid combat. The only option was to continue this feeble game of tag.

"Y/N!" a voice screeched in the distance. Your head whipped around to see Armin, Reiner, and Jean riding towards you. You pulled Charlotte's reins towards them, but she had gained on you faster than you anticipated. Her foot came crashing down just in front of you, barely missing you. The gust of air from her stomp pushed you back, but her foot on Charlotte's head launched you forward into her heel. You could hear her skull crack and the innards squelch as the titans foot met the ground with shattering force. You had no time to compose yourself before the foot lifted again, removing the thing your body's weight had been on and letting you fall headfirst to the earth. The stomps continued to shake the ground, lessening as she got further away. Though, as you lay on the grass next to your bloodied companion, it was hard to differentiate that between the pounding of your heart and your head spinning violently.

"Fuck, y/n"

Reiner's face came into view over you. Next came Armins.

"They're bleeding." One of them said,

And next Jean.

"Shit"

Their faces morphed together in unnerving ways as your mind continued to spin all of your surroundings.

The next thing you could make out was being placed on a horse and Reiner's back. His arm reached behind him and wrapped around your torso, ensuring you didn't fall. Your body felt cold, then hot, and your vision went black.