A lifeless gloom hung over the boat, casting a shadow across the faces of everyone who had lost their families.
Time slipped by before anyone realized it.
The boats evacuating the refugees soon reached the territory within Wall Rose.
The shore where they were about to dock was already crowded with Military Police and Garrison soldiers urgently deployed to maintain order. The sheer number of refugees forced them to take the situation seriously.
They had to prevent anyone from ignoring orders and stirring up unnecessary trouble.
The boat carrying Arthur and the others soon docked as well. Thanks to Hannes's status as a soldier and Grisha's reputation as a doctor, Arthur, Carla, Mikasa, and Eren were assigned a relatively spacious place to stay for the time being.
The soldiers also treated Carla, applying medicine and replacing her bandages with clean ones to prevent her wounds from becoming infected.
The remaining refugees, meanwhile, could only follow the Military Police Brigade and the Garrison to the square and bed down on the ground.
Mikasa laid the unconscious Arthur beside Carla, leaving him in her care.
At that very moment, Grisha, who was within Wall Sina, was galloping back toward Wall Rose as fast as he could. He, too, had heard that Titans had breached Shiganshina District and Wall Maria.
Worried about his family's safety, Grisha wished he could sprout wings and fly back to them.
"Eren, Carla, Arthur, Mikasa! Please, all of you, be safe!" Tears streamed down Grisha's face as he lashed his horse's rump, trying to make it run faster.
Dusk fell, and the sky gradually darkened.
After spending the entire afternoon unconscious, Arthur slowly opened his eyes.
"Arthur, you're awake!" Carla, who had been looking after him, was delighted to see him come around.
"Uh... yeah." Arthur held his groggy head and slowly sat up. He hadn't expected to pass out from sheer exhaustion.
"This is Mikasa's scarf." Arthur looked at the scarf that had been cushioning the back of his head and recognized it as the one he had given her.
"Yes, Mikasa put it under your head as a pillow. She's gone with Eren to collect relief supplies," Carla explained.
Arthur nodded in understanding, then looked at Carla's now-bandaged leg and asked with concern.
"Aunt Carla, how are you feeling now?"
"I'm fine. They've already put medicine on it." Carla shook her head to reassure him that it wasn't anything serious.
"That's good." Arthur breathed a sigh of relief. He had feared that Carla's injuries might threaten her life, but thankfully, she had received treatment in time.
"Mom, we're back!" Eren's voice rang out just then.
Eren returned from collecting relief supplies with several loaves of bread in his arms, followed by Mikasa, who had gone with him.
"Arthur!" Delight lit up Mikasa's face when she saw that he was awake. She ran straight toward him and threw herself into his arms.
"Sorry I worried you," Arthur said apologetically, stroking the head of the girl in his arms.
"I'm just glad you're okay, Arthur," Mikasa said softly, nuzzling her head against his chest.
"Yeah."
"Thank goodness, Arthur. You're finally awake." After handing the bread to his mother, Eren spoke to Arthur with equal delight.
He was deeply grateful to Arthur. If Arthur hadn't given everything he had to save his mother, Eren couldn't imagine what would have happened to her.
"Yeah, I was just so tired that I fell asleep." Arthur smiled.
"Eren, is this all the bread you got?" Carla frowned at the bread, which was only enough for one loaf each.
"Yeah. Those Military Police said everyone only gets one loaf." Eren nodded, then grew angry. How could a single loaf possibly fill anyone up?
"..." Carla said nothing. She handed the three children a loaf each, then broke the last loaf into three pieces and gave those to them as well, keeping no food for herself.
"Mom, what are you doing?" Eren looked at his mother in confusion. He hadn't expected her to give them her share, too.
"I'm not hungry. You're children, and you're still growing. You eat." As a mother, Carla gave the three of them the food that would have filled her own stomach.
"No! Aunt Carla, you're hurt. You have to eat." Arthur refused to agree. Carla was still injured, after all, and she needed to replenish her carbohydrates.
"Oh, you child." Carla looked at the stubborn Arthur, feeling both troubled and pleased. Despite his young age, he already knew to think of his family.
"That's right, Mom. If you don't eat, I won't either." Eren joined in, placing the bread in Carla's hand before turning his head away.
"Aunt Carla, Arthur is right. You need to eat," Mikasa said obediently.
"All right, then." Unable to win against the three children, Carla gave in, picked up the broken pieces of bread, and began eating them bite by bite.
Once Carla started eating, Arthur and the other two picked up their own bread and ate as well.
"It's so bitter and dry." The bread tasted like cardboard to Arthur. Clearly, the Military Police had only thrown it together to get the job done.
Soon, all four of them had finished their bread.
"All right, now that we've had dinner, let's get some rest early," Carla told the three children. Going to sleep early would keep them from feeling too hungry.
"Okay," all three agreed.
Eren lay down beside his mother, while Arthur and Mikasa slept together. Mikasa nestled into Arthur's arms, and after such an exhausting day, she soon fell asleep there.
Arthur, however, tossed and turned, thinking about their future. Now that they had lost their home in Shiganshina District, none of them knew how they would carry on.