The Crimson Harmony (Shingeki no Kyojin/Attack on Titan fanfic)

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

   “Wake up.”

   Huh? I awoke inside a dusty jail cell with dim light seeping through the metal bars. The corners were crowded with cobwebs and the air was dusty and moist. It almost felt like I was breathing with ash in the air, clouding my vision. Why? I looked up and saw Levi standing on the other side with his arms crossed.

   “Why am I in here?” I asked innocently.

   “You’re to be confined in here until the court trial,” he answered, staring down at me.

   “When is the court trial?” I interrogated with by voice wobbling.

   “Today.”

~*~

   What’s happening? Why is everyone here? This place is strange to me. The ceiling had paintings of people I’ve never seen before… How do I know all this? Some strangers put handcuffs around my wrists and a bar that come down on the chains to the floor so I couldn’t escape. It was unusual… but this place has a bit of familiarity. How do I know this place? There were many people lined up behind these long, wooden tables and there was a grand window with light shining through. Who are these people? I scanned people’s faces to see if I knew anyone and I saw Levi and Lukas. They were staring straight ahead in a stiff, standing position so they couldn’t see me when I smiled at them.

   Suddenly, a man walked in wearing a jacket with three symbols. Survey Corps, Garrison, Military Police… How did I know that? He took it off, rolled up his sleeves, and sat down. Pushing up his glasses, he looked down at me sternly and declared, “Let us begin. I am to interrogate you and then decide your fate that rests entirely in my hands. This all depends on one criterion; is it good or bad for humanity? Now, what is your name?”

   “Ria,” I stated proudly with my new name given by Levi. I was finally identified after all.

   “I heard from members in the Survey Corps that you were found in a forest outside the walls, correct?” he said, asking for confirmation.

   Assuming that he was talking about the forest with Erik I replied, “Yes.”

   He gazed down at Levi and Lukas and demanded, “Levi, Lukas, tell me everything you know about Ria.”

   “She was crying when I first met her and didn’t know what a titan was. Apparently she was friends with the titans I killed and said they gave her food which were humans, cared for her, and lifted her up into the branches. This indicates some sort of intelligence in the titans that she lived with. Even though she lived with titans, she showed some humanity by panicking when she realized that she ate humans. She didn’t have a name, thus the name Ria was given by me and she understands the human language. She knew what a hug was, had feelings, and seems like any other human to me.”

   Lukas hesitantly peered over at Levi, not sure if he was done or not, and announced, “Also, she tried to piggy back ride heichou which resulted in him kicking her off. I saved her and she seemed to not want to talk about titans.” Was that detail really necessary?

   A brown haired girl with glasses laughed a little, probably at the thought of me piggy back riding the serious Levi. But she was a little too excited there, I’m not sure why but the excitement started after Levi mentioned titan.

   “Let us get to the proposals from the Military Police,” the man boomed.

   “I believe that she should give us all the information about the titans and then execute her. She is an unknown object from the outer walls and is trespassing on our territory. We already made a big risk in bringing her within the walls which causes grave danger to all of us. Her identity is unknown and by what we’ve heard so far, we do not think she will do much to help humanity. In fact, even if we let her stay, she would just be a burden because she might side with the titans and doesn’t seem useful. As part of the Military Police, I think that we should eliminate anything that risks citizens getting hurt. That is all,” a man wearing the Military Police uniform proposed.