Princess Ackermann

XVIII: The Return

The door of the cabin in the woods opened. Armin's head shot up, his eyes wide awake. It was already night time and Armin had fallen asleep from his venture out in the woods. More than three squirrels were lazily stored in the bodega, accompanied by rabbit meat.

"You came back late," He stated, yawning.

"Something came up." Eren plainly responded, but his face spoke a whole volume. Indeed, something came up, and Armin knew it. There was no use lying since Armin is perceptive with Eren's emotions - no, inquisitive is the word.

"Don't fool me Eren. Just because I recently slept, doesn't mean I'm not conscious."

"I know that."

"Care to tell me what happened? And why you were out for 3/4's of the day, without telling me, and boss?"

"It's..." Eren cleared his throat, "...complicated."

"Yeah... Eren. Try again."

"Alright. Alright."

"And where were you last night? You had me and boss worried!"

"I'll explain that too."

Armin sighed and sat up. "You better." Eren rubbed his temple and began, "So if you remember, yesterday late afternoon, I went to Mikasa's ho-"

"Who the hell is Mikasa?"

"Er..." Right. Serhilda. "Sorry. I went to Serhilda's house-"

"Serhilda actually came here at the same time." Eren blinked. "Really?" Armin nodded. "But then she went back since I told her you were there by her house." Eren nodded slowly and said, "Can I explain what happened now?"

"Of course." Armin said with a grin.

"Alright, while I was there, I have been waiting for her to come back. Out of nowhere, I found her riding by the Prince of the North's horse. She was riding on the Prince of the North's horse! And it was outrageous! I lost myself for a moment back there!"

"Wow, that must've been... er... how can I say this? Erm...weird."

"Exactly! And then when she came down, she entered her house, and then I knocked. We talked upstairs, and eventually...we made up. And then we fucked."

"You- What?!" Armin gasped and jumped in the air in surprise.

"What?" Eren deadpanned.

"Holy shit! You guys fucked!"

"Heh. Big deal...Yes, Armin! Me and Serhilda fucked! But you know what happened after that night?"

"She's pregnant...?" Armin mumbled sheepishly, but with a hint of excitement. However, he earned a slap on the arm. "No, smart-ass! The next thing I found out in the morning when she woke up, was a clueless Princess."

"What do you mean?"

"Armin. Hear me out when I say this. Hear me out."

"Alright?"

"Serhilda's not Serhilda. Her real name is Mikasa Ackerman."

"Mikasa...Ackerman. Oh, God! As in, the Mikasa Ackerman? But that's- That's impossible! The Ackerman Royal Family died 12 years ago! At least that's what I heard from the boss, since word spread across all towns that the Eastern Monarch rulers were gone."

"Well now that I learned their Princess is alive, and her memories came back, all we talked about was nothing, and everything we did, it all went down the gutter. Serhilda's gone, Armin..."

Eren looked down. "Serhilda's gone..." Armin's eyes shook and he bent down, hugging his best friend in comfort. He didn't know how bad he felt after hearing what happened. Now he had to cope with the loss.

"I...we...I've never expected this to happen...she didn't even tell me! There must've been something that came up 12 years ago! She didn't tell me anything!" Eren cried.

"She's been keeping secrets from me, ever since...the Ackermans are liars! It's good that they died! But no! One of them happened to survive, which is their daughter!"

"Eren. None of it was your fault. It was completely unpredicted. You can't blame Serhilda either, because she lost her memories when she was a child. If her memories came back now, and the Serhilda we know isn't there, then, we'll just move on and accept it,"

Eren sobbed. "Armin...the Ackermans...they murdered my father. They ought to pay for what they've done...and I'll be there to see that happen. I'll even harm their precious heir if I have to!"

"Eren! That's not gonna help! In fact, you're harming of what's suppose to be the future of our country!"

"What's suppose to be the future if what they're made up of is trash and shit?"

"All I'm saying is, there's still hope! I don't think the Princess is bad! You haven't even get to know her that well. And I'm assuming you pushed her away because of that, correct?"

He didn't have to answer him to confirm. It was written all over his eyes. "Eren, you can't judge a person you don't really know, unless you get to know them. You don't see a rose for its beauty, but you see a rose for its roots, and how it blossoms even with thorns."

"None of that matters to me. All I want is revenge for my father, and revenge over the Ackermans. I'm going to sabotage the Crown of the East, and demand justice for my father, and if the Princess fails to comply, then I won't hesitate to kill her."

"Taking the future of the Eastern Monarch's life won't help! That'll just increase tyranny and dissolute over the country!"

"I'm doing this for my father! They need to pay for what they've done! So they can take the easy way out, or take the hard one. It's their choice, and if they took the hard way, I'm killing them!"

Armin stared at Eren with rebuke. "Princess Mikasa Ackerman might not be who you think she is. And if you kill her, because of defying sound judgment, then you can't call that justice,"

Armin stood up and looked at Eren grimly, as if giving him a message.

"It's called murder." And with that, Armin left, leaving Eren to reflect on his words. He was still thinking through everything. Did he mean the words he said? Is he willing to kill the girl he loved over his father?

His mother died from sickness. But his father died because of corruption. Is he willing to take the risk and lose more than what he had? Will he choose justice or freedom?

+•+

The night has just started in the Ackerman Palace. The Reiss, the Kirschteins, the Teibers, the Counselors of the East, West, North, South, and the Pope of all the nations sat on the dining table awaiting for the Ackerman princess.

She was now done after the maidens tied her corset. Her hair is perfectly done and styled into a high, detailed bun. Her bangs covered her forehead, and her face looked rosy. Her gown was purely red, and the pattern of roses cascaded down from the front.

It had a lightly puffy look, but her gown had long-sleeves, reaching her elbows. She then walked confidently in it as maidens accompanied her down to the royal dining room.

As the butlers opened the door, the monarchs stood up, applauding. Mikasa lifted her chin and walked straightly, and with poise, to the table. Jean could only stare at the Princess as she made her way to the end of the table, and being offered to take a seat.

"Welcome, Princess Mikasa Ackerman of the East. You have returned, and we are honored, to have you back." The Counselor of the East began. "Your Honor, it's a pleasure to be back."

"Thank you all, and I hope to start something new."