Chapter 5: Final Reunion

Tara found herself back in her quarters, still feeling anxious. The muffled sound of voices chattering nonchalantly outside her door filled her with angst. She needed something to take the edge off, but couldn't think of anything that could on such short notice.

The princess sighed as she seated herself by the edge of her unkempt bed. A mere two quarters — barely enough time to get a decent nap in — remained before she was to report to the dock for her first-ever descent. Thankfully, the fact that her room was windowless had shielded her from envisioning the thousands of ways it could go wrong.

Across the room, in the dimly lit corner near the closet, was a printed photograph of herself and her dearly beloved. Even back then, Eren had the same smile. The only thing that had changed was his goals; pursuing the life of a family man had taken the back seat to leading one of the most important expeditions in history.

As the memory of their first encounter replayed in her mind, a gentle knock came from the door.

"Annah," she sighed. Before moving from her spot, she held up her wrist, causing a projection of her message board to appear in the space before her. She then glanced at the 'create message' option.

"Tara, you have a moment?" asked a sweet voice. Another knock followed shortly thereafter, to which Tara rolled her eyes. She had just hit 'send' when the gatekeeper's screen next to the door awoke. In bright red letters, it read 'Report abuse?'

Tara tapped 'no' before dispersing the hexagons that made up the doorway with a quick swipe of the hand. A startled look showed briefly on her friend's face.

"Wowie, did I catch ya at a bad time?" asked Annah, bearing a sheepish smile. In her hand she held two caffeinated beverages.

"No worse than any other time," Tara answered as she eyed Annah's skin-tight suit, the design of which had changed from a black and gray scheme to a white and orange one.

Her friend noticed her wandering eyes and giggled. "Ready to profess your love to me, after all these years? Didn't realize you swung that way."

Without a word, Tara stood to the side and gestured toward the inside of the room. Annah winked as she passed her. She then seated herself on the stool next to the mirror.

"So do you want something sweet or savory?"

Tara let out a puff of air and shook her head with uncertainty. "Whatever takes the edge off, I guess."

"Savory it is then." Some of the brownish liquid dripped from the small slit as she passed it over. The two of them took a sip before Annah spoke once more.

"I understand that this mission's your first. Well, not including our failed attempt at that gas giant. You can trust me when I say I know how you feel."

"Do you think so?" questioned Tara as she furrowed her brows. "I've got a lot more riding on my shoulders. Need I remind you that I'm the one and only daughter of the Messiah?"

Her friend chuckled. Then she laughed, much to Tara's annoyance.

"I fail to see what's so funny!"

"Sorry, but you're not being honest with yourself," said Annah, wiping a tear from her eye, "See this pressure you're putting on yourself? That's all in your head. Your. Head."

"What do you—"

"Look, I understand that being the heir of our world's savior puts you in a tight spot. Not that I can truly emphasize."

Annah could sense the anger radiating off of the begrudged Tara. But for as long as they had known each other, the black-haired girl was never one to lash out at others.

"But after millennia, nearly all of us knew that you had inherited none of his godly power. Not one drop. Barring your appearance, you were normal like the rest of us. And as such we expected nothing—"

"Okay! I get it!" the princess interjected. She then paused for a moment. As blunt as they were, her friend's words held truth to them. Even before the Devil's third resurrection, a great many of her citizens saw her position as Kasai's overseer of political affairs as nothing more than an act of nepotism. Those who survived the Armageddon only had their beliefs affirmed, and the day of her coronation never came.

Tara continued in a whisper. "It isn't about my pride as the former princess, as much as I say that. I just want to prove to them — all of them — that I'm worthy of my father's name, even without his power."

"I figured as much," admitted Annah. Smiling, she scooted over to Tara, who now sat on the ground with her face buried in her arms. "And I'm sure you will. But there's no need for you to strain yourself, okay? When your chance comes, you'll know it. Just like when you saved me."

Tara remained silent. She glanced at a miniature projection she hid beneath her forearms. There was one notification.

Upon opening it, she saw that the sender was just who she had hoped for. But when she looked down, tears welled up in her eyes.

"I'm busy. Please contact me later." the text from Eren read. The callousness with which he responded to her text sent dread rippling through her nerves. Each word clawed away at her, leaving her with a deep well in her stomach.

"Did something happen?" asked Annah.

Tara sniffled. She thought back to when she and Eren had all the time in the universe together, as two souls bound by oath. But as time went on, it came to be nothing more than yet another worthless title.

"Nothing," she finally replied. Standing up, she glanced at her friend, then at the cloth-ridden floor. "I'm sorry, Annah, I need some time alone."

Annah nodded before promptly heading for the exit.

"I'll always be here if you need me," she said with a concerned look.

As soon as the entryway had sealed itself shut, Tara's vision began to blur. Through her tears, she fumbled with the message board.

"I won't bother."

She stared at her reply, contemplating whether it was worth sending, when another knock rang loudly from the door.

"Tara? Hey, it's me." a familiar voice sounded. Tara glanced over. The intercom showed just the brunet she didn't want to see.

"Tara?" Eren repeated, "Please open up. I sent that text by mistake."

The man then paused and scoffed. "I realize how stupid that sounds, now that I think about it. But please, you gotta trust me. I meant to send that to Marcus!"

Skeptical, Tara looked back at their message history. Her first text contained a winky face emoticon — something that Eren's lieutenant was unlikely to have sent. The second text immediately following contained image files, each of which showed off a present she had custom made for him.

"Not in a million years," she muttered to herself.

Eren knocked once more, hard enough so that the intercom displayed an alarm.

'Contact security?' it read. The bright red letters in which it was written began to flash with each pounding knock. Doing so crossed Tara's mind, but she quickly perished the thought. With a deep sigh, she wiped away the tears to the best of her ability, then approached the door. As Tara placed her hand on the cold metallic barrier, she braced herself for confrontation.

The look of angst plastered across the man's face quickly turned into another of relief. Much to his dismay, however, Tara held her arm up near the level of his waist, preventing the door hexes beneath from disappearing.

"Tara, please, there's a perfectly good explanation for this," he said as he grew more and more desperate.

"I heard you," answered Tara dryly, "but I don't get it. How could you possibly make that mistake?"

Eren stared blankly. "Would you believe me if I said it was because I'm exhausted? I'm absolutely bushed after talking to the lot of you."

Tara frowned.

"You know I didn't mean you. I meant your fellow Explorers. Y'know, like Janson."

The red-headed private just happened to pass by as his superior uttered those words. He stopped and looked at Eren with utmost disdain before discreetly making poses reminiscent of the admiral's own. Tara couldn't help but giggle.

"Didn't think you'd find that funny," Eren snickered snidely, to which Tara shook her head. Realizing what had happened, he quickly glanced back. But by then the culprit was long gone.

At last Tara relented. She placed her hand down, for she felt rather exhausted herself. She then felt her anger vanish as Eren gave her a warm smile. Beneath the blinding hallway lights, his silhouette glowed like that of a guardian angel, reminding her that he was, indeed, just that.

"Those pictures you sent," Eren remarked once the door had closed, "They were a bit misleading to say the least."

The admiral eyed the open trays of makeup visible in one of the drawers. Next to it was the black strap of a garter lingerie that was haphazardly stuffed into a bin.

"I-I knew I wouldn't have time. It's just that..." The princess found herself struggling through a catch in her voice. "It's just that I wanted to see you one last time. So when I saw that—"

Eren sealed her lips with a kiss. Tara closed her eyes as he pulled her into his embrace, his touch melting away all that remained of her pain and worry.