Chapter 158: Chapter 158

"What in the world is this none sense?" Squinting his eyes, Eren stated at the red headed princess, his mind refusing to comprehend the absolute absurdity that came out of her mind...

When Andrea dared to once again bother him in his solitary where he mourned his broken heart, he was about to kill her but the words that came out of her mouth managed to save her life in the last second, for she had announced that his fair lady has finally been seen, and it was by none other than the redheaded princess who asked to meet him...

Meeting the useless princess could wait, Eren first told himself as he searched the perimeter of the castle, looking for any traces of his fair lady, but he found nothing, not even her delicious scent which he craved like his next breath.

She had hid her traces, that was Eren's first guess, but after hearing what the redheaded princess had to say, he started to think that his fair lady never showed up in the first place...

"You can have him, he is all yours, you two will make a better couple anyways, with you equal status and political importance, I believe you will do great, and I am sure he will fall for you with time, you are so beautiful and kind, the living dream of any man...

You two will make each other happy, and will being more peace and happiness to this world...

Me? What about me? I think it is time for me to just...rest."

Eren was no fool, he knew the princess harbored feelings for him, he saw it in the way she adress him, in her erratic heartbeats in her presence, in her glimpses towards him, and in her sad eyes each time he was with Sara, but it wasn't something he planned to worry about or even dwell on for he didn't care about those feelings in the first place, as long as they did not end up with his fair lady harmed in any way...

Nevertheless, his indifference towards the redheaded princess was slowly turning into refusal to what she was saying, a refusal which was slowly feeding into his anger at the useless princess who dared spit lies about his fair lady right to his face.

Sara would never say such things nor behave in such a way! She would never disrespect him or the love they shared that way! She would never give him up to another like one would discard an old pair of shoes...

"You don't really expect anyone to believe this horseshit, do you? Just how sneaky and desperate can you be?"

"My Lord!"

"Eren! Watch how you speak to my sister!" Slamming his clenched fist on his desk, Henry rose from his seat angrily, triggered by the awfully pained expression on Nara's face, ones that his wounded friend failed to notice in his fit of rage.

It was understandable though, unacceptable, true, yet still very understandable, Henry didn't know what would he be doing if his Rima, who was tired by pregnancy and was asleep in their room, said the same words to him as Sara did and disappeared, only for her half sister to tell him the things Nara did, it was hard to take and harder to believe, and the only reason he believed it was because his sister Nara was the one saying it...

It was a drastic turn of events, one that didn't promise any good, Henry thought while his mind conjured the disturbed sight of his young sister in nothing but her night gown, breaking into his private ward where he was laying next to his sleeping bride, caressing her hair while thinking about all the matters at hand, his other sister who went missing, the appearance of Gods, his heartbroken friend, his bride and heir, and to add to that plate Nara rushed inside their bedroom, not caring about the intimate position they were at, her loud hiccups though told him she barely noticed their nudity and proximity, her face was stained with tears and an obvious fear as her lips trembled with one word which she spoke over and over again…

Sara...

Once he managed to calm her down a little, enough for her to form coherent phrases, Nara told her big brother that Sara had visited her in her room, only that it wasn't a joyful visit...

The way Nara described Sara's appearance and behavior was more alarming to Henry than the things that were said, according to Nara, Sara looked desperate, angry, bitter, and overall consumed, she looked like someone who just got defeated once and for all, and for her to give up on Eren, to hand over his love so easily…it only meant one thing and it was terrifying...

No wonder Eren refused to even consider that possibility and directly jumped to the conclusion of Nara making up the whole thing just so he wouldn't have to think of his fair lady leaving him or facing danger...

"I don't believe you, you snake! I know you have always been jealous of my fair lady, for everything that she had been and you haven't, but for you to stomp so low!"

"I said watch your mouth or get the fuck out of my castle, Eren!"

"How about you and you bitch of a sister over here watch your mouths or I will turn this castle of yours into dust, maybe it would work as a good reminder for all of you of who I am and what I am capable off!"

"I am not sneaky! And I am not desperate! It is true, I did harbor some feelings for you in the past, but I am not the kind of woman to betray her own sister for a man, no matter how strong my feelings were." Stepping between her brother and the shadows' lord whose face started to morph into his demonic form, Nara pushed away her pain and fear as she focused on what really mattered to her, her sister's safety, "I don't really plan on being a substitute for my sister, I have enough respect for myself not to be, I didn't say what I said because I wanted anything from you, on contrary, I did because Sara would never give you up to anyone under any circumstances, for her to say such things, it can only mean that something terrible happened or is about to happen..."

Something bad happened or is about to happen...

What thing?

Was he already late?

"I don't believe you..." Shaking his head at the two siblings, Eren summoned his shadows which transported him back to the edge of the dark forest near the river, where he had so many good memories with his fair lady, where he saved her, where he befriended her, fell in love with her, lied to her and then kidnapped her, it was a bittersweet spot that brought mixed emotions to him, all related to her...

How could she just leave him behind, while knowing how much her absence effected him?

It was a slow death, a painful one that did not only shatter his heart but also his sanity, to not know what was wrong, to not know what to do or where to find her, to be surrounded by lies and presumptions and not his fair lady's arms...

"Aghhhhhh' screaming loudly, Eren let out his frustration on the tree, punching it with all his might and causing it to shatter, it was maddening, the peace he had with his fair lady next to him was rapidly dissolving for the madness and chaos to take over, without his anchor, he was losing it and he did not know for how long he can resist it without shattering everything around him.

Taking a deep breath, Eren looked up to the sky before jumping into the river, the cold water felt like thousands of needles poking his skin, distracting him from the pain in his heart, the night sky looked like a dark blanket from under the water, and the moon was nowhere to be found just as it was in the last few nights...

Just like the last few nights?

Why wasn't the moon visible during the last few nights?

"Darkness..." The soft whisper surprised Eren whose eyes shot wide open, trying to locate the source of the feminine voice, wondering if that strange feelt he had of the voice coming from inside his head, alarmed, Eren tried to swim back to the surface, hearing voices was never a good sign and for him, it only meant one of two things, hallucinations and madness or a hidden enemy, but no matter how hard he swam, he couldn't reach the surface of the water that only seemed to be getting further the harder he reached out for it...

Just like his fair lady...

"The end is near, darkness shall eclipse the sunlight, fore shall burn stone and wood, and ice shall freeze summer and blood..."

What the fuck? Eren thought as the feminine voice grew louder and clearer, and this time, it was with no doubts coming from inside his head, but who was the woman? His fair lady? No it wasn't, he would recognize her voice among a million others, a demoness? It didn't feel like it either, and what demoness would be strong enough to invade his thoughts and force him to drawn while listening to the incoherent words..

Darkness...

Fire...

Ice...

Why were those three words so familiar?

The edges! Eren thought to himself, the woman was speaking of the edges, the ones fed with the dark energy, but what did she mean by the end is near?

Looking back at the surface, Eren saw a shimmering light that resembled the moon, only that it kept getting closer and closer to him, freezing hos movements in the process, the light than began to morf as a silhouette of a woman, with with long hair and thin figure...

Sara?

No! Eren thought as the woman's face became clearer, she was indeed very similar to his fair lady but with sharper traits and more determinate eyes...

Historia!! Eren felt the blood freezing in his veins as the woman got very close, his mind conjuring his conversation with Sara when she almost drawn in the same river and saw a woman whom she didn't recognize at the time...

What was she doing there? Wasn't she dead?

Was a part of her energy still in the river? Serving as a guide to her daughter?

"She is going to die with the rest of the keepers, it is the time to fulfill our destiny…" even though the light was nothing but a residue of Historia's energy, Eren noticed the sad tone to her words, which lead him to think that it wasn't just her energy but some of her conscience and well, she spoke with the confidence of someone knowing the terrible fate waiting ahead and the sorrow of a mother dooming her own child...

"It is our destiny, we were only there as guardians to what was never ours, and it is time to give it back..."

Fucking no!

Sara!