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“Bow to your queen!” A guard yelled to the audience of people. Slowly, the rows of people got on their knees out of respect for their ruler. From the old to the young, the strong and the weak, they all got to their knees. It wasn’t forced upon them; they wanted to bow for their queen. She was well liked and respected among her people.
The queen stood in the center of the crowd, the crown resting upon her head gleaming. She stood tall and proud but she was still incredibly small. Her presence was anything but however; she was a seasoned veteran full of wisdom and battle experiences. The people of the lands knew how terrifying she could be. Other kingdoms who dared underestimate her were left utterly decimated, and the queen showed no mercy to anyone who tried to hurt her people. The people rose, listening intently to the guard.
“The queen has declared that she shall retire out of her position!” The crowd gasped and groaned. The queen herself quirked an eyebrow, chuckling. “That is not all!”
“The queen does not wish for a single person to hold all the power as she deems it too dangerous. Her majesty has spent countless years trying to devise a system that would equally balance itself out in case a person of corrupt nature takes power. The people of the land will be the essential part of this plan.”
The crowd listened, not daring to interrupt. The guard went on about the queen’s new democratic republic. The queen retreated from the meeting, tired and weary. As she made her way from the hall to her residence, she thought quietly to herself. She didn’t live in the castle where her predecessors before her lived; no, that was too lavish for someone like her. She lived in a humble home where the rest of the people lived. She may have been a queen, but she was also a person.
Her feet carried her to her home, and she stopped in front of the door. She took a deep breath, smelling the flowers, and entered her home. The inside of her home was decorated in dozens of hand drawn portraits, showcasing all of her friends. Her friends that had made her laugh until her sides hurt, her friends that would lovingly tease her, her friends that made her feel warm. Her friends that were no longer there. Not a single one.
She inspected each and every one of them. They were portraits drawn in their youth, back when the war on those beasts was still in motion. They were children back then, forced by fate to sacrifice themselves over and over again. They didn’t know any better, just doing what they were told to do. They had been full of passion, full of life.
She walked slowly as she stared at the portraits. A boy with strikingly green eyes and a messy smile stared back. A boy with blonde hair to his shoulders and blue eyes that shone with intelligence. Both dead from a curse that took their lives after thirteen years. Incredible power in exchange for their lives. Next to them was a girl with dark hair, looking unamused with her red scarf. But the queen knew better. The girl was incredibly excited to have her portrait drawn by her, she was unable to sleep the night before. Dead from the grief of losing her family once again.
The queen walked more, looking at the portraits above her fireplace. A girl with mischievous brown eyes with a loaf of bread in her hand. A boy with a shaven head, his eyes shining with amusement. Old age took them. Next to them was a boy with a long face and hair with two tones. Her friends joked that he looked like a horse much to his dismay. The war took him.
She walked, inspecting each and every one of the portraits. Some were drawn by memory, her friends gone before she had the chance to properly draw them. She had started drawing them in an effort to remember, to never forget the happiness they had given her. But she never did forget. Not once, not ever.
She stopped at the portrait in the center of the room. It was wrinkled from past tears staining it over and over again. She had drawn her so many times, but it was always this portrait that made her cry. It was yellow with age, drawn so many years ago, back when she was a cadet training for the war that would kill them. The other portraits had been drawn much later after this one, this particular one being the first of the series.
The queen touched the paper, as if she was able to touch the person captured on paper. Golden eyes stared at her, piercing through her soul as they did every single time. Freckles scattered on her face like stars splattered in the night sky. Her lips formed a smirk, a signature trait of hers. But what caught the queen’s attention every time was the look of absolute adoration she had on her face. She would learn much later that it was adoration and love for the queen herself.
She felt tears prickle at the edges of her eyes. She had been so foolish, so naive. They thought they had the entire world in their hands. They thought that their love for each other would save them. She hadn’t seen the freckled fool since the day she left. She still doesn’t know where her body is.
The queen gingerly took the portrait off the wall and brought it with her to bed. She laid, feeling the tears freely escape her eyes, rolling down her face. She clung on to the portrait of her lover tighter and drifted off into slumber.
-
She didn’t know where she was. It was a place that had light, but at the same time it didn’t. It was white all around, but despite how white her environment was, it was not bright. She felt warm and safe despite never having been in the place before. With nothing better to do, she started walking.
Not too long after she started walking, she stumbled upon a mirror. She inspected herself. Wrinkles covered her body. Her hair that had the color of angel’s halos was now white. She had grown shorter than she was thanks to old age, and her eyes that used to be full of love and hope were hardened with experience. They were still the same striking blue as they had always been.
A boy called out to her, saying her name. She turned to face him and was met with energetic green eyes and a messy smile. He laughed, commenting that although she had grown, she was still as beautiful as ever. His blonde companion joined in, flashing the queen a smile. He also commented on her beauty, saying that he was envious she got to live for so long. Their friend came along, smacking the two on the head. She pulled her red scarf down to talk, saying that it was rude to comment on a lady’s age.
The queen turned her head upon hearing laughter. Two sets of mischievous eyes met her own, and she was suddenly bombarded with a hug from the energetic brunette. The boy with no hair laughed, saying that it had been too long since they last saw her. The boy resembling a horse agreed, complaining with a smile about how long she had made them wait.
They surrounded her, smiling and commenting about how much they had missed her. She responded by saying she had missed them, letting her tears fall freely. She knew what her being there meant, and she was incredibly glad that she could meet her friends once more. They talked for a while, catching up on what they had missed. They laughed and joked around, teasing the queen with all her wrinkles. She laughed with them, having missed their company.
The boy with the striking green eyes exclaimed, scolding himself for not remembering the most important part. The queen looked at him in confusion, but he replied by saying it was a surprise. The brunette covered her eyes, and the group led her to their destination. They kept telling her how much she was going to love it, and her nerves grew with anticipation and joy.
Finally, they came to a halt. The brunette removed her hands from the queen’s eyes, and she was met with the familiar sight of freckles and a smirk.
“Took you long enough,” the freckled girl laughed. The queen felt more tears come to her eyes. She had waited years, decades , for this moment. But she couldn’t move. Anxiety and fear came crawling in her stomach and the tears flowed from her eyes. She sobbed openly, clutching her mouth as she felt the tears roll from her face. She was overjoyed that they met again, but what if she didn’t want the queen? She had left her so many years ago, she was worried she would do it again.
With long strides, the freckled girl closed the distance between the two. Their friends watched with smiles on their faces. Their reunion couldn’t happen in life, but now, after so many years, they met again.
“Look at you,” the freckled brunette laughed. “You’re an old lady and yet you still look stunning.”
The queen’s sobs became harder, the anxiety and fear from earlier fading. She reached a hand out to touch the freckled brunette. As she brought her hand up, she noticed that with each passing moment, the wrinkles were disappearing. By the time she was close to the freckled cheek, her hand and arm looked as they did in her youth. Her hair was no longer grey, it was the color of sunshine and warmth. She felt herself grow a bit taller, but it wasn’t anything drastic.
The queen touched the freckled girl’s cheek. It was warm and familiar. She had missed the sensation. Her cries were beginning to calm down, but the tears still rolled down her cheeks.
“I missed you,” the queen’s voice was hoarse. It wasn’t the voice of a battle hardened ruler, it was the soft voice of a scared girl. A voice that belonged to a young girl who had seen too much for her life.
“I missed you squirt.” The two girls slowly leaned for the other. The queen’s blue eyes were stuck on the girl’s golden ones, and she thanked every god out there that she could have this moment with her.
After decades of waiting, the two kissed. Their friends hollered and whooped with joy, yelling that it was about time. They pulled away, and the queen giggled. The freckled girl rolled her eyes, but smiled. She took the queen’s hand in hers and began leading her away. The others followed, joking and laughing.
She was too absorbed in studying her freckled lover, laughing and thinking that now they would have an eternity together.
-
“It is my deepest regret to inform that Her Majesty has passed away. Queen Historia Reiss has passed away at the age of ninety-three with no heirs. She was the last of the 104th Training Corps, and in death we hope that she may meet them again. May her majesty meet her comrades Eren Jaeger, Armin Arlert, Mikasa Ackerman, Sasha Braus, Connie Springer, and Jean Kirstein. And we wish with all of our hearts that Queen Historia may reunite with her love, Ymir.”