[In contrast to Eren's agitation, Frieda listens calmly, chained hands resting in her lap. He isn't so much as threatening her, but even if he wanted to harm her, what's the worst he could do to her, who has already resigned herself to death? (He could steal her titan from her, but what good would that do him when he has it already? It's not like he needs to prevent her from using its powers to control him; they'd likely cancel each other out.)
Nevertheless, her eyes widen slightly as he explains. The Attack Titan. That titan was never as prominent in her memories as the others, and she wonders why that is. Even for her with her royal blood, most of the memories of her ancestors don't come in a neat chronology, but rather in unbidden bits and pieces, brought forth by anything and nothing - by innocuous sights and sounds, in the most unwelcome moments.
So it was Eren's father... and he was a traitor to Maryley, as far as Frieda is concerned, because Marleyan-born Eldians should be uplifting their birth nation. For the Founding Titan to have fallen into the hands of rebellious Eldians is just about the worst-case scenario. She can well imagine the Eldians' living conditions in the nation they once oppressed; it's only natural for the tables to have turned in the century since Karl Fritz' exodus from the continent. But for them to be selfish enough to want to use that devastating power for their own gain once more..!
Just as she's about to interject, now less calm as dread rises up insise her, Eren surprises her by revealing that he doesn't want to go back to their homeworld.]
You plan to stay here?
[That throws her for a loop. Does he not care for his father's ambitions? Does he simply want to escape it all - the chance of freeing the Eldians of Marley, the risk of being defeated and having Marley capture the Founding Titan for itself? Or is he calculatedly removing the Founding Titan from their world, stealing its powers away from either side?]
What do you think will happen back home?
[She asks that sincerely, because she doesn't know. Marley still possesses the other titans (to her best knowledge), and with the Founding- and Attack Titans now lost for Paradis Island, they may well conquer it with those titans' powers alone... but it'll certainly be a harder battle for them. Much as it annoys Frieda, the Walls do have the Survey Corps. Moreover, she realises that Eren and Historia, unaffected by Karl Fritz' will, must have told their people the truth about the outside world, enabling them to prepare for the attack. It'll be an all-out war - but one in which the greatest trump card is missing.
There's one more thing about his anger that bothers her, and while she expects him to get angrier at her question, she still wants to ask it, so she tacks it on to her last question before he can respond.]
Why has life within the Walls been hell to you?
[It wasn't meant to be like that. The Walls were meant to be a safe refuge, a paradise without pain, without even the guilt of the Eldians' sins crushing their hearts. Obviously, the reality didn't turn out that way - Frieda knows of the inequality among her people, the crime in both the cities and the countryside, the nobility's lack of care for the lower classes -, but for Eren to hate it that much..! She thought she could, if nothing else, give her people a chance to live innocent lives. (Again, it wasn't her who had those thoughts and intentions, but she can't tell the difference.)]
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Nevertheless, her eyes widen slightly as he explains. The Attack Titan. That titan was never as prominent in her memories as the others, and she wonders why that is. Even for her with her royal blood, most of the memories of her ancestors don't come in a neat chronology, but rather in unbidden bits and pieces, brought forth by anything and nothing - by innocuous sights and sounds, in the most unwelcome moments.
So it was Eren's father... and he was a traitor to Maryley, as far as Frieda is concerned, because Marleyan-born Eldians should be uplifting their birth nation. For the Founding Titan to have fallen into the hands of rebellious Eldians is just about the worst-case scenario. She can well imagine the Eldians' living conditions in the nation they once oppressed; it's only natural for the tables to have turned in the century since Karl Fritz' exodus from the continent. But for them to be selfish enough to want to use that devastating power for their own gain once more..!
Just as she's about to interject, now less calm as dread rises up insise her, Eren surprises her by revealing that he doesn't want to go back to their homeworld.]
You plan to stay here?
[That throws her for a loop. Does he not care for his father's ambitions? Does he simply want to escape it all - the chance of freeing the Eldians of Marley, the risk of being defeated and having Marley capture the Founding Titan for itself? Or is he calculatedly removing the Founding Titan from their world, stealing its powers away from either side?]
What do you think will happen back home?
[She asks that sincerely, because she doesn't know. Marley still possesses the other titans (to her best knowledge), and with the Founding- and Attack Titans now lost for Paradis Island, they may well conquer it with those titans' powers alone... but it'll certainly be a harder battle for them. Much as it annoys Frieda, the Walls do have the Survey Corps. Moreover, she realises that Eren and Historia, unaffected by Karl Fritz' will, must have told their people the truth about the outside world, enabling them to prepare for the attack. It'll be an all-out war - but one in which the greatest trump card is missing.
There's one more thing about his anger that bothers her, and while she expects him to get angrier at her question, she still wants to ask it, so she tacks it on to her last question before he can respond.]
Why has life within the Walls been hell to you?
[It wasn't meant to be like that. The Walls were meant to be a safe refuge, a paradise without pain, without even the guilt of the Eldians' sins crushing their hearts. Obviously, the reality didn't turn out that way - Frieda knows of the inequality among her people, the crime in both the cities and the countryside, the nobility's lack of care for the lower classes -, but for Eren to hate it that much..! She thought she could, if nothing else, give her people a chance to live innocent lives. (Again, it wasn't her who had those thoughts and intentions, but she can't tell the difference.)]