Chapter Text
She had been gone for so long. She'd gone so cold, he could not recognize her. Her cruelty had stung him, blinded him. Her parting words that day had deterred him from chasing after her. And then, she vanished. He collected the pieces of his heart she had scattered, it took awhile but eventually he built himself back up. He went out to search for her. It took awhile but he then heard the tales and rumors.
She'd been crystalized, she'd been taken over by an overwhelming spirit. Some say a witch. Some a wizard. She had gone with it but once she was with it in it's castle she came to her senses and the cloudiness that hung around her fell apart. She pleaded with it until it made a deal with her. If she gave it her soul, it would return her to her love. She agreed almost immediately but the being was not true to it's word. It took her soul and left her body encased in crystal to preserve it.
Sadly for the demon, he broke some godly and universal rule, and was obliterated. This froze time in the castle. The crystal grew a large wall around the castle, leaving her body trapped inside. The only way to get through was to defeat the guards left by the being outside of the wall. Apparently it was quite the task.
Armin heard the story from an old woman asking for spare change outside of his home. It had been four years since he last saw Annie. Four years of her being trapped in a crystal, and four years of him crying himself to sleep because he missed her and she had hurt him so much. He needed to find her, he needed to help her. He went inside and sat by his window to contemplate the situation. The woman said the castle was on the base of the northern mountain.
He looked through the window at the soft petals raining from the cherry tree outside of his window. He knew he was smart enough to get there, he had all the maps and was good at analyzing situations. He needed to best the guards though, and that would be quite a task. He was not strong.
"But I am determined. And I am in love." He whispered to himself. That decided it. He pulled back his hair and dressed in sturdy traveling clothes. He ate a lunch and packed some food. He left that day, saddling up his horse and setting off for the northern mountain. It wasn't a long journey. All these years and she had been just around the corner.
He stopped during the evening to eat a small dinner and get some rest. He stared up at the stars as he slept. The sky wasn't the same without her. They had often gazed at it together when they went on long walks or just laid in the grass together. When she was taken it had dulled down to him, but tonight it dazzled like crystals the way it used to. He knew that he would see her soon. He drifted off to sleep and dreamt that the stars were accessories he could hang just for her.