Chapter Text
“I am absolutely positive that you both will love Trost! Even though Ymir technically lived there for a few months, she experienced so little of what my kingdom has to offer.” Historia didn’t bother turning back to look at the titans’ reactions; she knew it was a mixture of confusion and anguish and perhaps acceptance at their fate.
“Oh yes Princess, Trost just sounds so wonderful, I cannot wait,” Ymir bemoaned. The Titan queen had been irritable to say the least. Her plan had been absolutely foiled by the star herself; years of planning had gone down the drain all because she couldn’t bear to listen to some measly rumors.
After all, what merit do rumors have? She bitterly thought to herself. She glanced at the small back in front of her, watching blonde locks bounce with each step Historia took. They were supposed to be whispers floating through the realms for nothing more than entertainment. Common play.
“Well unlike Ymir, I’m absolutely positive that I’ll enjoy the kingdom milady!” Bertholdt excitedly claimed as he sped up to match the princess’s pace. “The Titan kingdom is absolutely dreadful. Ymir doesn’t even bother decorating the castle. I swear, it’s just all stone and dust at this point.”
“Hey, who’s side are you on Bertl?” The brunette picked up a small rock, aiming at her cousin’s head. “I’ve protected you all these years and this is the thanks I get?”
Ymir chucked the rock as hard as she could, knowing that whatever damage she caused would easily be regenerated. Without missing a beat, a pale hand shot out and caught it at an inhuman speed.
“That’s not nice Ymir!” Historia tutted as she set the stone down. She turned to the queen, a stern look on her face. “Violence will lead you nowhere.”
“Violence led us here.”
“This and that are different.”
“Bertl!”
“She’s right y’know.” He turned to face his cousin. “I personally thought you shouldn’t have tried to start a war with the most powerful nation on this land, but someone didn’t want to listen. And if you absolutely had to start a war, Princess Dreyes from the merchant kingdom would have been a much better choice.”
He appeared pensive at that moment, his hand reaching to the back of his head to twirl his hair. “Actually, upon further thought she really would have. I mean, she’s known for being pampered so the likelihood of her being able to fight back would be extremely unlikely. Furthermore, we could have monopolized the trade system of not only her kingdom, but every other kingdom that relied on them. In theory, we would have been able to conquer this land…”
The giant kept mumbling to himself, ignorant of the slowly retreating princess.
“Is he always like this?” Historia slowed her pace to walk alongside Ymir, who in turn took three steps away from her.
“More or less. He’s a brilliant mind which is the main reason why he’s our strategist. This entire operation, however wasn’t led by him. If it was,” the blonde looked expectantly at the freckled woman, “perhaps it wouldn’t have ended up like this.”
“Perhaps not. But aren’t you glad it did?”
“The hell?” Ymir felt a soft pressure encompass her hand. “Of course I’m not-”
The pressure became intensely sharp, Historia’s fingernails digging into her skin.
“...of course I’m not regretting this.” The princess smiled cheerfully at her, and if this were any other situation, Ymir would have found herself swooning.
Desperate to change the topic, Ymir redirected her attention to her surroundings. The once lush green trees had faded into bare trunks. She recalled the princess saying these were distinct to Trost and solemnly wondered if marriage really awaited her in the kingdom.
“It’s not too long until we reach your kingdom is it?”
“It should be an hour from here. I hope that isn’t too much trouble for you, dear.”
Ymir gave a strained smile.
“Of course not.”
-
“Bertl, will you ever stop kissing ass?”
It had been a very stressful journey. Ymir had refused to interact with the princess as best as possible, but considering the tiny girl never once let go of her hand, it was fruitless. At one point Ymir had to swallow her pride and ask the girl to let go as her hands had gotten sweaty, only for the blonde to take back her hand the moment they were wiped dry.
Worse yet, it seemed as though her cousin had taken a liking to the girl. They avidly talked about various subjects that Ymir couldn’t bear to keep up with. Not because she couldn’t, but because they were so dreadfully boring. They had spent ten minutes discussing the best tea, and it drove Ymir insane. When she had called them out for their mundane topics, she had been singled out as someone who wasn’t cultured.
Currently, the two were engrossed in kingdom politics and gossip. The duo were well informed with the current affairs of the world and were overly eager to share their opinions with one another.
“But judging off Polski’s rash decisions up to now, a revolution is imminent don’t you think? The people must be tired of all his terrible actions at this point. There is only so much a population can take before they explode.”
“That’s true, but I implore you to reconsider. Although King Polski doesn’t always make the best decisions, he’s well loved by his people. I agree that his people are exhausted by his eccentric actions, but it’s clear that they don’t want actual harm to fall upon their leader.”
As much as Ymir wanted to ignore their conversations, there were only so many interesting bugs that she could feign interest in. She could only observe her immediate environment, and that didn’t interest her when most things looked the same.
Eventually, the ground they travelled on became soft and light in color. The trees were slowly starting to clear out, leaving more of the land visible. A clear trail was visible; through numerous years of use, the path was driven a bit below the surrounding earth. Flowers were now starting to appear alongside their trail, leaving vibrant colors in the wake of their steps. Soon enough, massive stone walls appeared in the distance, growing closer and larger with each step they took.
The first thing Ymir took note of as they drew closer to the walls was that there was a massive group perched squarely in front of a presumed entrance. The next was said party was dressed neatly in armor, signifying that they were knights of Trost, most likely on a search hunt for the princess. And the last thing the queen noted was the man who sat distinctly in front of the group, perched on a white horse. He had short, blonde, spiky hair and had a large build. His eyes were alert, and worse yet, his mouth was curved into the biggest shit eating grin Ymir had seen in her life.
With nowhere to go, the trio landed squarely in front of the knights. Reiner Braun looked down from his steed, and Ymir swore she could physically feel her blood boil.
“Welcome back Ymir. We’ve been expecting you.”