Yesterday's Enemy [AoT]

MEMOIRS OF HAVAS [09]

(SET FIVE YEARS BEFORE HAVAS IS BREACHED)

'Power is in the collective.'

-An extract from traditional Havasian scriptures.

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MEMOIRS OF HAVAS

09

Wall Maria, North Region, Havas, Central Grimold, Ingreed

"Rebellion! Rebellion in Ingreed! Insurgents call for Lorelai Bervik's return to power!" The newspaper seller called, yelling through the busy street— a common occurrence... in these dark ages.

Five years had passed since Lorelai had announced the relinquishment of her title. Five long, chaotic years. She had graduated the Cadets, becoming second in command to the new Military Police commander, Agneta Olsen. Five long, chaotic years where her every motion for stability was met with further unrest deep in the industrial heartlands of Havas.

It came in waves, at first— a rush of turmoil, followed by swift repression. Then another. And another. The waves grew in strength until what began as peaceful petitioning became protests, then strikes, then riots— shops looted, automobiles overturned, the factory lands brought to a standstill.

Anarchy ensued; martial law followed. Gangs roved the streets of Ingreed. Strikers set government buildings alight. Headlines appeared daily, smattered with violence. Havas churned with the fires of unrest, presenting just one ultimatum: reinstate a Bervik... or tear itself apart.

<>

What a goddamn mess.

Lorelai awoke to the shouts of protestors outside her window— as per usual. She sighed, sitting up in bed and raking a hand through her hair.

Her townhouse, what once had been a small oasis, an alcove, safe from the chaos of the city outside, had become a centre for the protests that plagued her every waking hour. In the streets below, she could hear the mob assembling, the shouts, the demands, the posters plastered with her face. No longer did respite exist within the streets of Ingreed.

It was a strange existence. Here, Lorelai stayed, a prisoner in her own home, while the world outside burnt itself to the ground in her name. She missed going outside. She missed seeing Agneta without making the headline. She missed Warren.

Warren, nowadays, was something of a prodigy. Though unconventional, his extremist views had won him a lot of recognition amid this political chaos. Lorelai would read the news, and if she hadn't made the headline herself, the Krüger name would be there for sure. A prodigy dug up from the goldmines of O'Haen. A growing force within the Council and electorate alike.

His picture, when he was eighteen, still hung on the opposite side of her room.

The shouts grew louder outside, and Lorelai's curiosity got the better of her. She slipped out of bed and peered through the curtains. There, her personal attachment of policemen was trying to contain the crowd, struggling against protestors, and even firing warning shots into the air. The city didn't stir. Gunshots meant nothing these days.

Lorelai watched, rapt, as a government vehicle suddenly turned the corner and sped down the street, nearly running over the crowd. It stopped outside her house— tinted windows, Havasian flags waving. The protestors grew rowdier with rage. Out, from the automobile's protection, stepped Agneta and Warren, both fully uniformed. Lorelai watched the two of them push through the angry mob to get to the door. What were they doing here?