Vanity, valor, veracity

Chapter 14

He had been planning the expedition to the Sorkin home for a few months now and decided he could combine it with another initiative he had been working on. The push would be south on a route the scouts had already established and then east to the abandoned town of Heinrich.

It sounded like it was a decent-sized town—comparable to Trost—and from Morgana's description it seemed like it backed onto a wide river on one side and some cliffs on another. That meant titans most likely had limited access and the chances that her house was still there were strong. Her home was toward the area that was on the water on the far side of town, she surmised, knowing that the river ran not too far from her house. Despite his searching, it seemed all the maps of Heinrich were lost when Wall Maria fell. He would have to rely on her memory and was convinced now more than ever that her presence was critical.

This approach had brought some harsh feedback from his seconds in command—mainly Hange and Mike. They were positively horrified that Erwin would consider hauling his gentle singer of a wife out into titan country. She had zero experience with any of the skills needed to survive outside the walls. She'd of course never used ODM gear and never held any kind of weapon, barely knew how to ride a horse, and the only titans she had ever seen were when her father had once secretly brought her up onto the wall as a girl. That on top of the fact that it was strictly illegal for civilians to venture outside the walls—something her father had roundly ignored, of course.

But Erwin had shouted them down. "The expedition won't commence for several weeks," he argued. "In that time, I can familiarize Morgana with some basic skills and improve her riding."

"What the fuck could be in her house that can be so important, Erwin?" asked Hange.

"That's what I'm trying to find out," he responded evenly. "Morgana's father ventured outside of the walls for years—enough to discover information that could lead to some truly startling insights about the world beyond and the origin of the titans themselves. He has referred to charts and drawings in his notebooks that indicate there is more to know. Morgana, unfortunately, never prevailed herself of her father's knowledge and therefore is unable to provide further details—but she is able to act as guide to her home."

Levi simply listened and then offered to provide some rudimentary training to Morgana. Both Mike and Hange glared at him.

"What? Crazy, here," he said gesturing to Hange, "taught her just a few moves to defend herself and we all know how that played out. She's tougher than you think..."

"Oh, she's tough, alright. Look who she's had to put up with," said Hange, rolling her eyes.

"Who do you mean—the other one or this one?" said Mike, jabbing his thumb in Erwin's direction.

"Both," said Hange, as Erwin lowered his eyebrows at her. "But tough isn't enough out there—we all know that."

"This is not up for debate," Erwin said with finality, indicating the time for discussion was at an end. "We will add this leg of the mission to the next push to shore up our latest outpost. Dismissed."

***

The day of the expedition finally arrived and Morgana had found it difficult to sleep the night before. But ever since she had agreed to the mission, she had not wavered once to Erwin. He was proud of her determination and her willingness to support him.

But Erwin would be lying if he thought she was at all ready to head into titan country. She was not an athlete by nature and her riding was that of an advanced beginner at best. On her first day with Levi the usually surly captain had overlooked the fact that she had arrived in an ankle-length skirt—she had no practical training-wear. She had gamely tried to execute on his direction with weapons and on horseback. But, under her husband's stern eye—who had arrived to assess her abilities—she found herself clumsy and out of breath and mortified.