...Rescuing...
You and Levi entered the Underground City with the Scouts.
The first royal decree Historia issued as Queen was to rescue all the orphans and build a home just for them. She had said that you were her inspiration for this ideaâto give the children a chance at building something for themselves without having to trudge through mud and dirt to get it.
So, while she was in charge of leading the workers and your friends to build the orphanage on the Reiss Estate farmlands, you and Levi were in charge of the rescuing. Since he'd grown up in the Underground, it was one of the first places you two visited.
The two of you rode on horseback, followed by some MPs and two wagons in the back with a few orphans already inside, munching on delicacies that Historia had prepared. You were back in your army green uniform, the crest of the Survey Corps embroidered on your sleeves.
The horses attracted some attention, so civilians were already lining the streets. That was fine; it was a rare sight, after all. But then, someone with a bigass mouth just had to make it known, "Look! It's the new Princess of the Walls!" And then all eyes fell on you.
You let out a frustrated sigh and forced on a presentable smile. Now that you were this "important figure," you were told to be a bit more mindful of your appearance and mannerisms. You gave a little awkward wave at the people, trying to seem regal as Historia had been.
"Don't do that," said Levi. "You look stupid."
"I'm trying my best," you gritted through your stiff smile. "I don't see you ever trying to fix that scowl."
"I don't need to fix my face. It's not my job."
"Aw, well, lucky you," you snapped. "Stop bragging on me."
"Pretty sure any other girl would die to be the Princess."
"So?" you carelessly shrugged. "What they'd die for has nothing to do with what I'd die for."
You both halted your horses, spotting a crowd blocking the road. Seemed like a commotion. When you hopped off your horse, two other MPs immediately got off theirs. You held a hand up, and they stayed where they were.
It was a new requirement that you have "protection." It wasn't that you didn't understand whyâyou just found it utterly pointless. Realistically speaking, it was like mice trying to guard a cat.
"What's happening here?" you asked as the people parted a way for you.
A fuming, stout man with an apron around his flabby stomach had a boy under his foot. The boy was beaten up, clutching onto remnant pieces of bread. A stray dog with spots was barking at the man. "You little runt steal from me again, and I'll cut off your ear! You hear me?!" He stomped down on the boy.
One roundhouse kick from you, and that man was sent rolling backward. A move taught to you by someone you refused to name anymore. "I asked what was happening here. Now, you answer."
"That boy's been stealing from me, that's what's happening!" shouted the man. "Who the hell are you to barge into my business like that?"
"She's the Princess. That's who the hell she is," said Levi, who stood off to the sides, arms crossed, slightly enjoying a show.
The little boy gasped. The man spat on the ground. "Impossible! King Fritz never had any daughters!"
You scratched an itch on your neck. "Somebody clearly doesn't read the news."
"I don't care who you are! He stole my bread made out of hard work, so I'm teaching him a lesson!" He whipped out a kitchen knife and lunged forward.
You sighed tiresomely. Okay, so we're doing this. With one single move, you swiped out the knife, twisted his arm, kicked him to his knees, foot on his back. "It's just goddamn bread. Get over it." You kicked him forward and he landed splat on the ground. You pulled out a couple coins from your pocket and tossed it over, bouncing off his head. "For your trouble, 'cause I'm actually in a pretty generous mood today. Now piss off, you greedy pig."
Just as you had expected, he pathetically scooped up the coins and dashed off into an alley. Hm, money does solve problems.
You glanced down at the little boy. Dark hair, blue eyes. "You good?"
He couldn't have been older than twelve, but he seemed to be on the shorter specture. He was staring up at you, speechless, almost terrified. "I'm...I'm..."
You crouched down in front of him and extended a hand. He flinched. "It's okay. You just got a little something there." You wiped away the dried blood below the nose with your thumb. "There. All good. Got a name?"
"Vinny," he said.
"And who's this?"
The stray puppy circled around his ankle. "Spot."
You stuck out a hand. "Nice to meet you both. I'm Y/n." He hesitantly shook it. "Got a home?"
His gaze dropped down in shame. "No..."
"No parents?"
He lightly shook his head.
"Do you want a home?"
"Home doesn't exist," he muttered.
"Is that what stupid guys like him tell you?" He nodded. You softly sighed. Can't believe I'm actually pulling this move, but, "Well, tell you what." You pointed to yourself. "I'm the Princess. Not some stupid, greasy guy. And I'm here to tell you that I can bring you to a real home, with all the food you can eat and all the friends you can make. How does that sound?"
"...Like it's a lie."
"Eh." You shrugged. "Fair enough. But how would you know for sure if it isn't? Only one way to find out, right?" You stood up and offered out a hand.
After a moment, he took it. Maybe kids aren't so bad after all, you thought as you led him and Spot through the crowd to the wagon. There, he and Spot immediately started munching on the treat. Before you left, he grabbed your sleeve. "Thank you, Your Highness!"
"Oh, no, Y/n's fine," you quickly told him. He probably thought you were just being humble. But that word made your ears bleed and your teeth grate.
"For someone who hates this position so much, you're not half as bad," said Levi as you both continued the stroll down the city.
"You think?"
"Not bad at all."
You smiled. "I just know Eren would be proud once I tell him about this."
Levi let out a quiet, low noise, almost like an annoyed grumble.
"Ugh, what did he do now?"
"Nothing."
"Then what's up with that reaction?"
"Just wondering what you even see in a guy like him. I understand what he sees in you. But for him? Only thing I've seen him do is piss you off six times a week. And on that one day off, he probably gets himself captured."
You scoffed. "Do you even have room to talk? Bet every girl who ever liked you is dead."
First time you've ever seen his jaw slightly parted in shock.
"What? Don't look at me like that. You started this shit."
"Erwin clearly made a mistake giving you a choice," he said. "We should've forced the Queen's crown on your head with a hammer and nail."
You huffed, turning away. After a while on the road, you broke the silence again. "Because he understands me more than anyone else," you muttered, answering his earlier question. "He was my first friend. Inspired me to dream bigger than anyone else in that orphanage. And instead of holding me back, he's always determined to catch up. Yeah, he does piss me off every other day, and I might have to do some heavy lifting, but he's always willing to make amends. That's what's important."
After a moment, he responded, "You'll always do the heavy lifting 'cause you'll always be a year ahead of him. Physically and mentally. That won't ever change. And you're willing to take on that responsibility?"
"Well, I'm not the smartest, and he's not the dumbest." You shrugged. "So, I think we'll be fine."
He hummed. Maybe your points were finally getting through to him. "Tell me if he ever upsets you again."
"What, you protective over me now?"
His horse sped up.
"Wait, actually?" You followed after, but he didn't slow down. "Levi! Hey!"
* . * .
Word traveled fast, but news printed faster.
The headline of this week read: The Princess Who Protects Saves All Orphans of the Underground! Your little interaction with that man and saving Vinny were prominent parts of the story.
Although Historia was the one creating this project from behind the scenes, you were the face of it. "Project Orphan Sanctuary," as they called it officially. Pretty soon, it was a walls-wide story, gaining you a lot of popularity and earning you respect from people you didn't even know existed. Considerably even more popular than the Queen herself, but she didn't mind it one bit. And the attention did boost your ego a little, even though you wouldn't admit it.
Within two months of balancing your work between being a Scout and this project, all street orphans of Wall Sina and Wall Rose were successfully gathered. So far.
You rode towards the farmlands of the Reiss Estate, where the orphanage had been built. Two MPs rode behind you, always there for you as protection that you never needed. One was Otto, a blond man in his late twenties, a faithful husband to his wife and his newborn of three months. Another was Hugo, a ginger boy around your age, but he favored other men, so Eren didn't have a problem with him. Both were quiet, dutiful, and overall, kind. Decent company.
"Your Highness, Hugo and I will be stationed at the stables if you ever are in need of us."
"Thanks, Otto," you said, and their horses diverted from your path. You still hadn't grown to like the title by any means, but you heard it so much that you were forced to accept it, even though it didn't feel any less pretentious. Not like you could change anything now.
You spotted the backs of three figures leaning up against the fences. You cupped your mouth, shouting, "Guess who the hell is back after two weeks!!"
Eren whipped his head around, a wide smile immediately gracing his face. Armin and Jean turned around too, waving. You guided the horse along the fence with one hand on the reins. Once within the vicinity, you pitched yourself over the fence and toppled Eren to the grass with a thud.
Your lips collided with his, hungrily tasting away at each other as if neither of you had a meal in days, moving like magnets, disconnecting and reconnecting. His arms snaked around your waist, squeezing a hug as your fingers combed through his thick hair.
"Yeah, go ahead and forget everyone else exists. Again."
You broke the kiss and sat up, straddling Eren's waist. "Just say you're jealous that Mikasa still doesn't like you back, Jean."
He cleared his throat. "Well itâwell maybe it would've already happened if I got some help from all of you like how we always helped the two of your asses!"
"Well, Jean," started Armin, who had his back against you, hands in his pockets. "Eren and Y/n worked out because they already liked each other to begin with. They just needed some clearing up and pushing. I don't think it would be the same story if it was one-sided." Jean grumbled something under his breath. "Anyway. You two done yet?"
"I don't know," you met Eren's eyes, "are we?"
Eren, one hand resting on the back of your waist and the other twirling a loose strand of your hair, was too busy being amazed at just the sight of you, as always. "Not really?" Never.
"Mmm, too bad." You rolled off him onto the grass. "Only for Armin's dignity."
"Thank you for being considerate," said Armin, finally turning around.
"Y/n!" Historia came skipping across the meadows with a bright smile. "Uh, what're you two doing on the ground?"
"You really want to know?" "You don't want to know." You and Eren said at the same time.
"Yeah, I probably shouldn't. Here, why don't you two help bring the blankets and bedsheets into the building? And then, Y/n, you can tell me all about the past two weeks."
You stuck your thumb up. In the shed, you and Eren took a big stack of sheets and blankets each and headed into the building. "So, what's new? Still stuck helping out the kids? How very noble of you."
"Hell no. I nearly lost my sanity the last time I stayed on the farm for three days," he said. "Still continued with Hange's experiments. Good news is that we've finally invented a new anti-titan weapon."
"Oh, great. Bet the Scouts are real happy some of them get to live one more day."
"Your Highness!" Vinny came dashing down the hall. Before you could greet him back, he swept the stack of blankets out of your hands. "I'll carry them for you!"
"Oh, okay. It's Y/n to you, but thanks," you said as he ran around the corner.
"What?!" exclaimed Eren, exasperated. "You again?! That's not fair!" He chased after him.
You furrowed your eyebrows. The hell? "Oh, hi, Spot." Spot circled around your legs, clearly having grown bigger. You crouched down and rubbed his furry back.
Behind the wall, you heard them arguing it out: "I'll carry her stack!" "You already have your own stack!" "She's my girlfriend!" "She's my idol!" "I don't care!" "I don't care about you either!"
After Spot wandered off to a different hallway, you waited with crossed arms until Eren came back with a smug smile. "God, you're so embarrassing."
He made an offended expression. "You have no idea how many times that little thing has tried to steal my job. And he doesn't even try with anyone else. Not even Jean!"
"Still, with a child?"
"Please, he's joining the Training Corps soon. That child's 'childhood' is already ending by the clock's ticking."
You shook your head, unable to suppress a smile. Titan or not, soldier or not, he still managed to act like a child in front of you sometimes. "Where's the rest of us?"
"By the pond. They're playing duck-duck-goose with the younger ones. Here, I'll take you there." He crouched down in front of you.
You tilted your head. "You got a loose shoelace or something?"
"No? I said I'll take you. Get on my back. Come on."
An eyebrow bounced up. "Piggy back-rides? Seriously? Eren, how old are we?"
"So what? You used to carry me on your back all the time. And now I'm finally strong enough to carry you, so hop on already."
"Fine, fine," you sighed. You wrapped your arms around his neck and his hands slid under your thighs and dashed with you out the building.
. * . *
During a conversation with all of your friends at dinner, Eren finally remembered something useful. About the man he saw with his father right before he ate him. It had been Shadis.
So the next morning, Hange and the Levi Squad headed back to the Training Corps. Your two bodyguards didn't come with you because, according to Erwin's orders, "When Levi is present, that's enough protection." Which was fair. Still unnecessary.
He invited you all into the conference room and seated you at the long table. One seat was short, so Sasha let you have it and chose to stand by the wall. You sat in between Hange and Mikasa, and Eren sat at the other end of the table.
"What's the matter, Braus? Not going to pull another chair in here?" asked Shadis.
"No! I'm quite fine standing here, sir!" She must be getting nostalgia from the days when he used to call her in. Those days seemed like years ago for you.
Shadis turned to you. "And you. Isn't it 'Your Highness' now?"
"I'd really rather you call me Cadet L/n, sir."
"Not Cadet Fritz-Ackerman, or whatever your new last name is?"
"L/n works fine, sir."
He nodded. "It's only been a handful of months and I barely recognize any of you kids."
"So, Commandant, we should be prepping to recapture Wall Maria now," Hange began. "But why do you suppose we came to speak with you instead?"
Instead of answering her, Shadis looked directly at Eren. "You look like your mother in almost every way. However, the daggers I see within your eyes are from your father." No offense to the late Dr. Jaeger, but you often thanked god that Eren got his good looks from Carla. Wouldn't make you like him any less if he looked more like Grisha, but still, thank god.
Eren slammed his hands on the table, like the dramatic ass he always was. "Tell me everything you know about him!"
The story began there. Grisha Jaeger was found outside Wall Maria, claiming to have no memories other than his name and that he was a doctor. But somehow, his mentalityâthe way he thoughtâhad always been odd. He built a home in Shiganshina, famously saved a plague, and won the heart of Carla and wed her. Then after the Fall of Shiganshina, Shadis helped Grisha find Eren. And the rest was history.
"At least now I know the real reason you resigned," said Hange spitefully. "Not to atone for all the soldiers you got killed, but because you realized you're not special. Just a delusional, self-centered man."
"Hange, lay off," muttered Levi.
"You had no right to keep all of this to yourself just to spare your own ego! We pledged to dedicate our hearts for the good of mankind!"
"Please let it go, Commander," said Eren. "The Commandant was right. Just like him, I was never special. I was just the son of a man who was. I should've never even existed in the first place. That's all there is to it."
It was like a flower pot being dropped to the floor. Because there it was, again. At this point, you didn't even want to try anymore. Because, as always, Eren was too blind to see himself for how truly amazing you saw him as.
In that moment, as the conversation moved forward without you, you realized it: Eren couldn't be changed. No matter how many times you got mad at him, yelled at him, ignored him, or how many times he apologized to you and promised he'd do better, he could not change.
Then Shadis told him Carla once said that her son was special enough just because he was born into the world. That seemed to lit a new hope in Eren. You tried not to take it too personally because time and time again, you've always told him the exact same things, yet he always ended up following outsiders.
Even though Carla was a saint, she could never change Eren. So, for the first time, pushing away all of your stupid faith and your undying hope, you wondered if you ever could.
On the way back, you asked him, "How do you feel?"
"Good," he said. "I think it's good that we came here. Even though we didn't find out much, besides the fact that my dad must've come from the outside world."
"What about what Shadis said your mom said?"
He lifted a small, reminiscent smile. "I miss her. Everyday. But I'm glad she said that. It gives me hope."
You made a smile, too. "Then I'm glad too."
In the past, you would've started scolding him, arguing with him, and demanding more from him. But you were going with a different approach. Because it all came down to one question you asked yourself: Do I accept him as he is or should I keep trying something that cannot be helped?
The answer couldn't be any more obviously plastered out in front of the eye of your mind. You answered: I accept him as he is. Because I love...
You stopped breathing and your eyes bulged. Where the fuck did that word come from?! You shook your head frantically, cleansing it all out of your brain.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Everything's fine." And you hoped it'd stay this way.
* . * .
In the 107th Training Corps, Commandant Shadis continued his annual ritual of grilling the newcomers.
He eyed a boy on the shorter spectrum, with dark hair, blue eyes. "Who are you supposed to be, pipsqueak?!"
He pounded a fist to his heart. "Vinny O/n, sir!"
"O/n?! That's the name of the new orphanage created by the Queen and the Princess, isn't it?!"
"Yes, sir! I was rescued by Her Royal Highness the Princess herself! I'm here to follow in her footsteps!"
"Is that so?!" Shadis leaned in closer, aiming to intimidate, but Vinny refused to cower down. "Those are some massive shoes to fill! Y/n Fritz-Ackerman is by far the most multi-talented Cadet I have seen in all my years! You looking to become an MP to serve under her?!"
"No, sir! I will join the Scouts and slaughter the titans for the good of mankind! Just as she is doing!"
Look at this, already having little ducks trailing after her as their rolemodel. "Do not let your pathetic self fail her!" He continued his way.
"I will not, sir!"
*
Pls i wanted the whole royal thing to be at leat a lil bit cool but every time i use the word "pr*ncess" i feel like i lose 10 hairs
also yn talkin shit ab annie while the fic's been #1 in her hashtag for 12 days and still counting. same with ur pops #kennyackerman 10 days
anyway ty guys for 5k reads! nice to kno ppl acc enjoy this shit cuz i got into this expectin like 20 readers or smth