Shingeki no Jiyu

XX

        Adria's eyes fluttered closed at the sound of crickets. The sun was on its afternoon descent, dusting the sky in a gold and pink hue. She nestled herself deeper into the bed of flowers and took deep breaths. For the first time in a long time, she felt at peace. All of the negative energy that had coiled up in her for months was dispelled by a gust of wind.

        Skkrrrrrr.

        Her brow creased. Wires?

         Rolling onto her side, what looked like a squad of Military Police rained down on her. On the surrounding portion of the wall, more MPs gathered with their blades and rifles drawn. The yellow and purple of the field was tainted by military green.

        She sat up with a gasp, pressing the doll close to her chest.

       Iris extended her left blade and shook a warrant teasingly, "Adria Jørgens, you're under arrest."

       "W–what?" she stammered.

        "What?" Iris mimicked, rolling her eyes. "Get up!"

         Adria rose to her knees but was quickly pounced upon by two armed MPs. They knocked the doll from her hands and bound them behind her. One of the men pinched the sensitive spot between her neck and shoulder to keep her submissive.

        "Hey!"

        Iris grinned manically. She stomped over to the doll and squished it beneath her boot, "Aren't you a bit too old for dolls, huh Adria?"

        "I don't understand," Adria pulled against her restraints. "What have I done wrong?"

        "Don't play dumb," Iris tipped her chin up with the blade. "You murdered Burchard Rolf, remember him? We lived and trained together for months. . .mmmm then you crushed his skull at your mother's execution before fucking off."

        "E–execution?" Adria shook her head. "I've got no idea what you're talking about. I haven't seen Burchard for months and my mother lives in Civil District. You've got this all wrong!"

         Something seemed to snap in Iris, she dug the serrated edge of the blade into Adria's cheek, piercing it. With a flick of her left hand, she silently commanded one of the men behind Adria to break her arm. Iris's smile only grew at Adria's scream of agony.

       "You're not the girl that came second in the Thirty Fifth, you're fucking pathetic," Iris snickered. "I don't know how you kicked our arses the first time, but it won't happen again—I can promise you that!"

        Adria inhaled a sharp breath and waited for Iris to decapitate her.

       Skkkrrrrrr.

       "Oi, Yeltsie!"

        Leo kicked Iris to the side with ease, spinning as he did so to slice her guards. His blonde hair was plastered to his scalp with sweat as if he'd run the whole way from Trost to get her. He smirked slightly and split the ties binding her wrists.

      "Run!"

        Leo shoved her shoulder as Iris regained her composure. She and Leo locked blades viciously.

        Adria couldn't push past them due to the circle of MPs, so she turned on her heel and ran to the opposite end of the meadow. She didn't know how she'd scale the wall without any gear, but she had to try. With each step, a flicker of a memory flashed across her eyelids—a wooden podium, His Majesty laughing, multicoloured flashes, blood. . .