"...To Stay by Your Side..." (AOT Alternative Universe)

35. Soldier

AUTHOR'S POV:

The full moon illuminated the castle grounds.
.

Horses drank from a trough and a metal teapot and some mugs were fallen over next to a small, old campfire circle.
.

Inside the tower, the veterans talked, sitting on the floor.

"Looks like someone was here recently." Lynne said.

"That's odd for a place this near the Wall." Henning said.

"Some bandits probably used it as a base." Nababa said. "It said 'Ruins of Utgard Castle' on one of the signs. Who would have thought there was a castle around here?"

Gelgar entered the room, holding a green bottle. "Hey, check it out. Look what I found."

"Gelgar..." Lynne said, glancing at him. "Is that booze I see?"

"Yeah." Gelgar replied and swallowed visibly. He read the bottle. "What the heck does it say?"

"You're not gonna drink it now, are you?" Lynne asked.

Gelgar gasped and closed his eyes. "Don't be stupid." He turned around and threw the bottle. "Not at a time like this." He walked towards them.

Henning looked to his squad mates. "Convenient... All this contraband to enjoy for ourselves."

"Now you're making us sound like the bandits." Lynne said.

"You rookies should try to get some rest." Gelgar told the recruits, getting their attention. "Titans won't be roaming around at this hour, but the rest of us will take turns keeping watch. We'll leave from here four hours before daybreak."

"Um..." Christa said, looking up at them. "What if the Wall isn't actually broken after all? The Titans... Where could they be invading from?"

Gelgar was silent for a moment. He turned around. "Finding the answer to that..." He walked away. "...is our job for tomorrow." He climbed the stairs to head up to the roof.

"But what if-maybe it's not nearly as bad as we thought from the start." Christa said.

The veterans stared her.

"I'm just saying, but..." Christa said.

"Yeah... There's barely any Titans around here." Henning said. "If the Wall was really broken, that is."

"The only group we've really seen was during the initial sighting," Nanaba said.

Ymir's eyes were wider than normal. She looked at Connie. "Connie, what about your village?"

"It was destroyed. Crushed to sticks and rubble by Titans." Connie said plainly.

"I see... How awful..." Ymir said.

"But nobody there was eaten." Connie said. "I think they all escaped, so there's that to be thankful for."

"Wasn't the village destroyed?" Ymir asked.

"The houses and stuff were wrecked, but the villagers made it out safely." Connie said. "If anyone was eaten... then there would've been blood and remains. But there wasn't any of that, so it's the only explanation." He looked down. "Still... I can't stop thinking about it... There was that Titan at my house." His mind went back to the Titan in his house. "It couldn't move on its own, but it was lying right on top of my house. But it's weird... I don't know why, but it reminded me of my mother... What does that-"

"Connie..." Reiner cut in, looking at him. "You're still saying that?"

"You-" Connie was interrupted.