↳ Mara's parents were born in Marley, but Mara was born within the walls. She knew a lot of things about the world beyond the walls, one of them being that Titan Shifters were at fault for the fall of Wall Maria. The cause of so many deaths, includi...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Chapter six: 104th Cadet Corps
Mara's pov:
It had been almost five hours since we had arrived at the 104th Cadet Corps Training Grounds.
This is where we would be staying for the next three years. It was kind of bleak, if you asked me, but I supposed it wasn't meant to be nice and pretty. But I admired the grounds as I strolled through them towards the Head Commander of the Military Training Corps's office.
I knocked on the door and waited for the response, it came a few seconds later.
"Enter." The clipped voice said from inside. I twisted the old, rusting doorknob and stepped inside, fiddling with my fingers nervously.
Shadis looked up from the paperwork on his desk menacingly.
"What do you need, Cadet?" He asked in a bored tone. I licked my dry lips. Why did the scariest person always have to be the one incharge?
"Um, I have a request," I paused and chewed the inside of my cheek while I frowned to myself. "My younger sister, she's too young to be a cadet but I can't leave her alone for the next three years." I trailed off, hoping he would get the idea.
He gave me a quizzical look.
"I- Well I was hoping you could provide her with a place to stay while I'm a cadet, I can cook and clean and look after her completely, she just needs somewhere to stay." I explained, praying the Shadis did have a heart despite what his actions may have suggested.
He seemed to think it over for a second, one in which I felt my heart drop. Then he sighed and waved a hand next to his head dismissively.
"There is an extra dorm building for when we have guests stay. As long as you hold true to your word, she can have one of those." A smile etched across my face at his words. I bowed and saluted him, then left the room hastily.
I strolled through the woods surrounding the woods, back to where Armin was looking after Yana for me. I arrived at the place I'd left him and Yana to see him reading a book to her. I smiled softly.
Armin was my best friend, but I honestly wished he was my brother. He acted like an older brother to me, even though he was younger. I knew I could trust him with anything and everything, and he had already proven he trusted me just as much.
I walked over and greeted them with a smile.
"What'cha reading?" I asked curiously as I sat myself down beside Armin. He showed me the front cover, but said the title out loud anyway. I hummed and nodded as if I'd heard of it before. I hadn't.
"Is it good?" I asked. Armin smiled and nodded while Yana shook her head up and down violently. She obviously had a strong opinion then. I laughed.
"So what's the Yana situation?" Armin asked, scanning the page while still paying full attention to me. The way this man multitasks is a mystery.
"It's all fine. She can stay in a spare dorm in the extension dorm building. But I have to provide fully for her, cook, clean and make sure she stays out of trouble too." I said, sighing. Armin pursed his lips in thought.
"We could take it in turns if that helps? I think of Yana like a little sister too, so it would only be fair." He said, not really leaving any room for argument. I opened my mouth to object, but quickly decided against it.
"Thank you. That'd help a lot." Was what I said instead. Armin offered a bright smile as if to say 'don't worry about it'.
Suddenly, Yana sprung out of nowhere and begged him to continue reading. Armin laughed quietly, and I gave a smile before zoning out.
I yawned, I'd barely gotten any sleep last night with the whole, 'you're becoming a cadet tomorrow' thing. I had been way more nervous than I should have been. Apart from Shadis being the scary mf he is, everything else had gone smoothly and as planned.
I still hadn't told Armin about Titan Shifters, or beyond the walls, but I knew I'd have to eventually. He deserved to know. But he was so pure and fragile, like Yana. Could I really ruin his innocence like that?
I sighed, realising that I would never be able to find the right time. I would put it off and put it off until there was no more time to put it off.
I curled my knees into my chest and rested my eyes on them, this world really was one cruel place, huh.
Three hours later everyone was sitting in the dining hall for dinner. A crowd had gathered around Eren's table while he told the tale of how the titan's broke into Shiganshina, then Wall Maria.
I wasn't particularly interested in bringing up those memories, so I didn't listen. I sat with Armin and Mikasa, eating in silence. I would have to bring Yana her food in a minute.
"Mikasa, Armin and Mara were there too. Ask them what it was like, that was just my experience." I was yanked from my thoughts when I heard Eren direct all the attention in the hall at us. I sighed but didn't look up from my food.
I hadn't known Eren for all that long, but sometimes his obliviousness annoyed me. I knew he meant well, but sometimes he just couldn't fathom that other people might have different views from him.
The three of us sat at the table remained silent.
"Were you really there?" Someone asked. None of us replied with more than a single nod. People didn't even try to take the hint, just began bombarding us with questions.
I sighed and stood. I grabbed an extra loaf of bread and soup for yana and left. As I made my way to Yana's room, I heard people talking. I paused, then walked the rest of the way around the building to see three girls.
One was Potato Girl from earlier, the second was the tall freckled brunette that radiated raging homosexual vibes, while the third was the literal angel in human form.
I watched the three curiously. Potato girl had passed out on Ms. Angel's lap, and Ms. Raging Homosexual didn't seem to happy about it. But nevertheless, she helped pick up Potato Girl and carry her to her dorm, the one we all share, actually.
I smiled at the interaction. If the whole three years of training to be a soldier was going to be that amusing, maybe I would have some fun instead of just watching three Titan Shifters get training they didn't need.
I hoped it would be.
I sighed, then continued on my way to the extra dorms. I arrived outside Yana's and opened the door to find her dangling upside down from the top bunk. I laughed at the sight.
"Food!!" Yana screeched. She quickly got down, stumbling a few steps when she messed up the landing, but then ran over and grabbed the loaf of bread. She shovel it in her mouth hungrily and took the soup to drink.
I ruffled her hair and grinned.
"Careful now, you'll get a stomach ache if you eat that too quickly." I warned. She just shoved me off and continued munching away happily. I shook my head at her, but made no move to stop her.
She needed to learn her lesson, that's what our mother would have said. I smiled with a mix of amusement and sadness.
