Chapter 17: Prison Bars

                                    

                                          
The young blond boy sat on the prison bed, the only source of a light being a few candles placed outside his cell. Opposite him were Eren and Mikasa, looking at him through the bars.
                          
"E-Eren. You're here..." Armin spoke. He hadn't done so in a long time since being caught.
                          
"...Hi Armin." Eren sighed. Mikasa stood silently behind him, "Sorry you're...Well..."
                          
Armin stopped him, "It's ok..." his vision on to the prison floor. Soon he spoke again, "...Where's Annie?"
                          
Suddenly Mikasa replied back, her voice relatively soft, "She's being questioned by Captain Levi, Hange and even Commander Erwin. They wanna see what she knows, particularly about if she's connected with and or knows who the Colossal and Armoured Titans are..."
                          
"...I'm guessing I won't be able to see her..." The blond haired boy spoke out.
                          
Eren didn't speak, only nodded as his gaze shifted to the side.
                          
"...Armin, we need you to do us a favour, for your sake." Mikasa said.
                          
He raised his head up, intrigued by this suddenly request.
                          
Finishing her sentence, Eren spoke up, "We need you to cover up why you were with Annie. We need you to simply say it was an attempt to spy on her and get information out of her..."
                          
"But Eren, that's not-" Armin sounded almost shocked by this request before being interrupted by Eren.
                          
"We know, Armin, you and Annie are friends. But for your sake, we need you to lie. If they think you're working with Annie, they'll have you executed-"
                          
"But what about her? Even if I lie, what'll happen to her?" The blond interrupted him.
                          
...The sudden hush that fell upon the room was all the answer Armin needed.
                          
"...No..."
                          
"We're sorry, Armin, but there's nothing we can do about Annie. She's too far gone for us to save her from her punishment..." Mikasa replied back with.
                          
Armin's voice cracked as he spoke, obviously strained, "But-" 
                          
"We're sorry, Armin..." Eren said, "The least we could do is save you..."
                          
He didn't respond this time, only looking down at his cell floor whilst the pair looked at him. After a while, they sighed before nodding, leaving the blond alone to his thoughts.
                          
...How?
                          
How could this be? How did his life spiral into this mess?
                          
Could Armin really just sit there, in the darkness of that cell? 
                          
Could he really just sit there? Letting death fall upon Annie...
                          
The woman he loved.