Coming for your heart

Chapter 55

Armin POV

The sun hit the glass of the windows in Erwin's room.

Armin watched how it reflected in the brightest colors, his blue eyes directed at what was outside this wonderful bed.

Thankfully the fever hadn't been worse this morning, his eyes weren't as tired as in the last days and for once he even ate a bit of the tray Mikasa had brought him with a small smile just when his eyes had fluttered open some time ago.

When he asked her about Eren, a dark shadow crept over her face and her eyes narrowed at something only she could see. She mumbled something about Eren having been in his old room.

When he returned to the servant's track, he hadn't uttered even a single word and hadn't left his room since then. So she had taken over his chores so the guards wouldn't pay any attention to their 'lacking' servant.

Armin would have loved to just stand up and look after his best friend.

But with Mikasa right by his side it had been impossible to even attempt an escape. She told him to recover and to not even think about leaving the room before she made to continue her work.

Armin could tell from the strain in her voice that the worry about his friend was shared by her.

He sighed, his fingers dancing across the soft blanket draped across his lap. A pillow behind his back prompted him to wonder if this was just a dream. Nothing more than a fantasy after having fallen asleep down in the cells or at the kitchen table in between Sasha and Connie.

Do they even know what happened? They got out of the throne room that night, I'm certain of it.

He leant back, resting his head on the pillow.

Every movement of his body, even a simple nod of his head, was apparently still too exhausting for his body.

A smile flew across his features when old memories found their way into his mind.

Memories of Carla.

Memories of how she had been there for him when he had been so sick his grandfather thought it would be better for him to stay with his friends. Armin knew of course that, if his grandfather had become sick as well, he wouldn't survive it. So he sent him away for a night or two.

Sometimes even a week.

When Armin was still younger and had only just met Eren, he would miss his grandfather at night like crazy. Crying and sobbing would he curl in on himself, whispering words of longing for the familiar surroundings of his grandfather's hut.

Eren would roll over then and tell him to stop crying.

And he would tell him old fairytales and stories about knights and dragons and woods with secrets hidden behind giant trees.

Armin sighed at the pictures flooding his head. He could still hear his friend's voice in his head when he chuckled about one of his own jokes and remembered the small snigger of his own.

"I will never stop missing those old times, won't I?", he rasped and ignored the tears gathering in the corners of his eye.

"Not if you aren't ready to let go of the past and to welcome the future."

His head jerked around and with wide eyes he took in the appearance of the man standing in the doorframe, a hand on his sheathed sword and the other propped up on his hip.

Blond hair fell into his forehead and shimmering eyes met his startled gaze.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you.", the man said softly and took a step forward. He acted as though Armin was short of running away. The thought alone made him giggle under his breath.