Mikasa POV
They rode quietly through the darkness. The soft motions of the horse underneath her calmed her, getting her heartrate to slow down and her thoughts to stop swirling through her mind.
Snow brushed their faces and at some point Mikasa was sure it was leaving bruises on her uncovered face. She didn't bother to pull Eren's scarf up. The cold reminded her that she was still alive.
Accompanied by her brother and with bruises, cuts and swollen body parts all over her. But alive. She couldn't say that about the bodies they had had to leave behind.
Mikasa glanced over to Eren, who was sitting on his mare, its dark fur clad in a coat of white snowflakes like a thin blanket that sat on both of their bodies. His shoulders were hunched, his head hanging low. The mare was trotting along a path none of them could make out in the darkness, merely avoiding to run into the trees they passed by.
Hours had passed by since they had finally admitted to having lost track of Armin's traces or any hint that might show them where their friend was.
It was only when Mikasa whispered to him that they wouldn't be able to go on like that much longer, that Eren showed some kind of reaction. A nod was all she received and yet she saw the unfathomable guilt and regret in the small gesture.
Hours must have gone by when they finally reached the bottom of the mountain, leaving the forests covering it behind, only to face the woods that were the last border between the cold and dangerous lands of Eldia and the threats lingering behind the palace' walls.
Again, she looked over to her brother. Waited for his next move.
Going back was their only choice. Not that the king would care if some of his servants were gone but only inside the palace would they have all the chances to gather necessary intel on what might help them reach her brother's goal.
Their goal.
Not anymore, a quiet voice inside her head whispered and she shook her head, focusing her eyes on the giant trees, hovering above them like a wall of dark creatures ready to devour them.
Kou's death doesn't change anything, she answered that silent voice, that she knew was her own consciousness.
It couldn't change anything. Not with Eldia's threat well and alive on a throne that belonged to someone else and with all those people suffering on the battlefields because of a war neither of them wanted.
She took a deep breath and gently steered her horse over to Eren, who didn't even flinch when the icy winds of the approaching winter hit his face like waves begging him to turn around. Eren didn't outright avoid her stare. Maybe he hadn't even noticed her coming closer.
His eyes were dull; their sparkle dimmed.
"Eren, we have to get to the palace.", she said softly, reaching over to touch his arm. But just when her fingers touched his arm, he jerked away, scaring his horse into prancing a few feet away from Mikasa and her own mount.
She kept the slight jab in her heart and its pain from her face, looking indifferent. She took her hand back, resting it on the horse's locks, cold and wet from the snow. Her fingers had probably turned blue by now but she didn't care to check.
"Eren.", she tried again, more firmly this time. She told herself it was because of her concern and the urgency of arriving back in time, not the slight anger and disappointment of being the one getting pushed away.
Eren closed his eyes. His mouth was a thin line and if there would have been any more light, she could have made out the unusual paleness on his face.
YOU ARE READING
Coming for your heart
Fanfiction|| Book 1 || Eren Yaeger had to flee from his home when he was only six years old. With his mother and his adopted sister he tries to forget anything related to the King and the secrets they left behind. Many years later war comes for Eldia and Er...
