COMRADES • Eren Jaeger

CHAPTER 39: Regrets ⁿˢᶠʷ

warning: nsfw (smut) (will be continued)

This chapter is heavier than the others. It was ultimately split into two parts, so the second part will be the next chapter.

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BEAURLIN IS A TOWN OF LOST MEMORIES — you lived in this quaint village at one point in your life before it became run-down and full of dust. A fine layer of ash settled on all that was old and worn, which was practically everything.

Every step your boots took helped dust make itself comfortable on top of creased leather. Above you, clouds darkened and thunder growled in the sky. A storm was brewing, and heavy rain would fall soon.

Behind you, the militia trudged in silence while you and Eren took up the spaces in front, like obedient puppies to their masters. The only sound was the wind howling in your ears and the scrapes of soles on hard gravel, and the occasional whisper, or two. It reminded you of a funeral procession — tedious, drab, surrounded by people you never really cared about. Perhaps you should take out your unresolved anger on one of the soldiers just because you could.

You looked around Beaurlin. It was just as untouched as it had been four years ago, when you first came with a smaller group. Almost nothing remained of this town.

Ever since the fall of Wall Maria and the then-decline of humanity within the Walls, Beaurlin had been ruled out as an unnecessary civilization. It was quickly abandoned by the royal government and the people. After all, all of its inhabitants were now dead, and the sole survivor who had escaped already made herself comfortable in Trost District with the Survey Corps.

That made it an ideal hideout spot for the time being: the place was so deep within Wall Rose, and so outdated on the maps, that no one would ever think to look for you here.

When you were younger, you could remember in much more vivid detail; in fact, you had once told your friends about who your family might have been, a long time ago, before Historia had ascended to her seat at the throne. You had been left there by your mother, found by Levi, and started a new life training to become a soldier for the people.

Dreams that used to plague your slumber, and memories that no longer made sense. You had never thought to stop and wonder why that might have been.

The soldiers walking from behind shivered in the cold breeze that followed. You, on the other hand, didn't so much as flinch. Every push of the wind was like an ice-cold stab to the skin, but it was not as cold as the tension simmering between you and the stone-faced man walking beside you.

Every house looked considerably better taken care of now that preparations had been made ahead of time. The streets were unpaved, but free of the vines and creepers that crunched under your shoes the first time you returned here with your first commanding squad. It had been a brash experience where you were paranoid and lacking confidence, but it seemed like that was no longer the case — or so you convinced yourself.

The more time you spent with Eren beside you, the less fear you felt in his presence. Frankly, he was terrifying. But the only thing being scared of him did was force your courage to rise.

"Where are we going, exactly?" you asked no one in particular.

"There's a stretch of houses in the block where yours was," replied Floch. "That's where all the best-maintained houses are. They'll be used as headquarters in the meantime."

"How many people?"

"Not too many. Not too little, either. Our fellow soldiers are already waiting for us in the block. This place isn't as creepy as it was before."