Yesterday's Enemy [AoT]

TWO

'Havas has played a hand in our history for as long as our records date. We have fought countless wars, attempted countless allyships, and yet we know so little. All that has been made indisputable this past century is this: Havas and the Walls are fated enemies.'

-An Extract from the article 'Royal Questions' written by scholar and journalist Aksel Briggs.

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TWO

Wall Maria, North Region, Islet

"I can't imagine how you must be feeling," said Hange.

They had left the gates only moments ago. The injured Havasians, along with the soldiers who were now their wardens, had all piled into carriages and set off for the nearest hospital.

It all had to happen quickly. If Erwin's plan was to work, at least a few of them needed to survive their wounds.

Presently, Erwin, Hange, Levi, and Havas' leader were following the group in their own carriage.

The Havasian woman smiled laboriously. "Well, I guess the reality of it hasn't set in yet."

Levi was a little impressed with the woman. She was inconceivably strong-willed, or perhaps just wary— he couldn't tell. Either way, for a woman who had just lost everything, her composure was a little unsettling.

Inside the carriage, it was terribly tense. Erwin and his comrades sat on one side and the Havasian woman on the other. They had just agreed to allyship, yet still, her stance was stiff with mistrust.

"If there is anything we can do to help-" began Erwin gently.

"No, sweetheart, I am already in your debt." Her eyes were wide as she spoke, defensive. "It is thanks to you my people are even alive."

Erwin leaned back, retreating for now. "'Sweetheart...?'" he questioned.

"Oh." She caught herself. "Pardon me. It's a Havasian custom."

A silence passed through the carriage, a very, very awkward one. It was unsurprising. They were ancestral enemies; this whole situation seemed unnatural to the highest order.

While Erwin was eager to be allies, the Havasians could not trust anyone. They were weak, injured, and entirely at the soldiers' mercy. They might turn on them at a moment's notice. The Walls may speak of allyship, but the Havasians had no guarantee that they were truly heading to a hospital and not to an execution.

It was clear she had no intention of letting her guard down. And for that, she was wise.

"You are Havas' leader, correct? May we know your name?" Hange inquired.

"With the fall of my home... the role does fall to me, yes." She looked down. "Though before now, I was just a doctor."

This admittance surprised them.

"Tch." Levi crossed his arms. "And why might a common doctor assume such a role?"

"I'm of noble blood. My name is Lorelai Bervik." She saluted tiredly, holding one outstretched hand to her head in what the three could assume was the Havasian salute.

This woman was rather strange to Levi. She wasn't like the rest— she didn't even appear scared or overcome with grief. If anything, there was an odd quality to her voice, as if everything she said was laced with lies.