My Sun and Stars II Attack on Titan

Drei - The Captain

Chapter three

They stayed with the scouts for the night and the next day to make sure that the injured showed signs of proper recovering. Eveline had laid awake that night, crying silently to herself. She had lost her family a second time. The world they lived in was cruel, she had always known that. But that day, she really understood it. Nothing could guarantee the life's of loved ones. 

She turned over and looked up at the roof. She followed the cracks in the wood with her eyes till they reached the wall behind her. Everything had an end. Just like the cracks in the roof, life also came to an end. everyone would die at some point, weather its sooner or later. But it was unfair, she thought, that poor Eren, Mikasa and Armin would have to go before their lives had barely begun.

Lillian was sound asleep on the bed beside hers. She didn't hear Eveline walk out. 

Eveline wondered the corridors without a real destination. She felt the need for some fresh air, so she decided to go outside. As she walked by the door to the kitchen she didn't notice that the door was open, neither did she notice the person sitting inside.

She sat down on a bench when she got outside. She looked out at the nature that was lit up by the moonlight. She felt a cold breeze against her bare legs and tried to wrap her arms tighter around her.

The door back inside cracked open and steps came towards her. "I was worried that you would try to leave again."

She looked to the side and there stood the blond man. She sighed and closed her eyes, leaning against the backrest. "Where would I go in just my night gown?" she asked.

She couldn't see him, and he was glad she didn't, then she might have noticed the smallest of blushes appear on his cheeks as he noticed that she was just wearing a white nightgown. He walked over and sat down beside her, without asking for an invitation.

This made Eveline a bit uneasy since she knew that men in the military take the liberty of a woman's body without consent just because of their occupation. She had heard many stories about it, and unconsciously put the right leg over the other.

"Right," he said. "I'm Erwin Smith, Captain in the Survey Corps:" he introduced.

"do you always introduce yourself like that, Captain in the Survey Corps?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. "I'm Eveline Maier."

He smiled slightly at her and looked forwards like Eveline was. "I heard from your friend about your family." He admitted. "I'm sorry."

Eveline breathed out slowly. "Do you have any family?" she asked, changing the subject.

Erwin understood that the girl might not want to speak of her losses, and he didn't mind speaking of his own. "I had a father who passed when I was a child."

Eveline felt bad know for maybe bringing up bad memories for the soldier. "I'm sorry,"

"It's alright. It was a long time ago." He said. "You learn to live with it."

"I know." She said. "My real parents died when I was young."

They sat in silence for a while and she thought how she and the man beside her wasn't too different. She noticed that his eyes were closed, and she took the opportunity to examine his face. He looked younger when he relaxed his facial muscles. He had a strong jaw and quite large eyebrows. 

He must have been several years older than her, judging by the small wrinkles under his eyes. Other than that, he had a very smooth complexion and-

Eveline caught herself. Why was she thinking like this? She did not own the privilege to think like this about a soldier who risks his life for people like her. She felt ashamed of her thoughts.

"How old are you?" he suddenly asked.

She raised an eyebrow. "You are very handsome, Captain, but probably too old for me, sorry." She joked with a small smirk on her face.

He chuckled. "No, I mean, since you look very young, but most Nurses are fully educated when they're close to their thirties, since you need to have very good grades to get into the school. Also, the nurse scolding you today said you were at top of your class, so you have to be very clever for your age. If you now are too young for me."

"Well, aren't you clever," she said. "I'm nineteen, and it's not that deep. I've known since I was six that I wanted to be in the medical field. The age limit is sixteen and I wanted to get to it as soon as I could."

He looked quite impressed as she talked. There weren't many with that kind of dedication in this world. He couldn't help but think that she might really have thrived in the military. He recognized himself in her. How he had known from the day that his father passed that he would expose the theory his old man had most likely died for.

"You wasted no time," He stated. "That's very admirable."

She smiled at him and chuckled. "Thank you, Captain."   

They had soon after that conversation heeded back inside and Eveline felt better when she laid back down into her bed. She rolled over so she could see the stars outside her window. It was mostly covered by trees but through a small opening between two pines, she could see a stain of star-lit sky.

The Years had gone on after this and Eveline did her best to focus on her work and not to think about her diseased friends. Lillian and her other friend Sophia tried to keep her mood up by telling her that they might have survived and that they could go to Trost and look over the refugees. But Eveline couldn't bear to get her hopes up and then crushed once more.

So, she kept on believing that they were dead. It was comforting in a way, not having too many people to worry about. It felt easier to have all the people she cared for close by.

During her many years in Shina she lived a good life and tried to appreciate how good she had it. She wasn't the only one that appreciated her good life. She never noticed it, but sometimes, a pair of eyes would look from around a corner and take a glance at her as she stepped into a shop or into the house of a patient. She would sometimes turn around after getting the feeling that someone was watching her, but no one was ever there, so she brushed it off.

She never saw the man around the corner walking away. She never knew the mixed feelings that he carried, and she would probably never understand.

She received her first proper position as a nurse in the military after two years. Captain Smith had been so kind to recommend her. Erwin had introduced her to the members of the Scouts that he was closest to. She had met Hanji and Moblit again, and they got along well, all though Eveline found the woman's obsession with titans a bit odd. Mike was also an odd fellow with a 10 out of 10 sense of smell, he was also a Captain with his own squad and was one of the best soldiers. Then there was Levi. He was a bitter little man with OCD and difficult to approached. But despite Eveline's personality being the complete opposite as his, he found a respect for her.

It was probably a bad idea to befriend soldiers in the survey corps, since they risked their lives every time they were out on missions. She worried of course, but that made her appreciate her time with them more.