Alma

"If only you hadn't been born..."

- Alma to Historia

Alma was the biological mother of Historia Reiss, and the mistress and servant of Rod Reiss.

Appearance
Described by Historia as a very beautiful woman, she was a slender woman of average height. She had shoulder length, blonde hair; with bangs that brushed just past her eyebrows. When staying on the farm, she usually wore a simple button up shirt with a dark colored skirt. She wore much finer clothing when going into the city.

Personality
She's likely to have had a more pleasant and understanding personality while in the presence of Rod Reiss, as he felt that she was the only one who could understand what he was going through.

Unfortunately, she carried a deep hatred towards Historia. Most of the time she avoided speaking or even being in the same room as her. She only spoke to her daughter twice, each time she expressed deep regret for Historia having been born.

History
She was a beautiful servant in Rod Reiss' household. She eventually became his mistress, and sometime later she had Historia, after which she spent her time on her parents farm within Rod Reiss' territory in Wall Sina.

During the day, Alma usually spent her time reading on her parents farm, leaving her parents and Historia to deal with the farm work. During the night, she would dress in fancy clothes and a carriage would take her into the city. She did everything in her power to avoid interaction with Historia without leaving the farm permanently.

Once Historia learned to read, she noticed that in books the mother was always affectionate with their child. She wanted that type of relationship with Alma, so one day she decided to embrace her; just to see what would happen. Alma, in shock, threw Historia off of her, and with tears in her eyes, she said "If I only I had the courage to kill her." She walked off leaving a stunned Historia behind her. After that, Alma packed up her things and left the farm. It was only after Wall Maria fell that she came back, with Rod in company. She stood there frightened as Rod formally introduced himself to Historia for the first time. They then began to make their way to the carriage and were quickly surrounded by the Military Police's First Interior Squad, who had been sent to "take care of" Alma and her daughter.

Scared, Historia called out to her mother after Kenny Ackerman grabbed her, causing her to deny any relation to Historia. Taken aback, Kenny questioned Rod if he knew either of them, to which he lied saying that he did not. Kenny then knelt Alma down and prepared his knife. Historia began to call out to her again, causing Alma to cry out "if only you hadn't been born"; after which Kenny promptly slit her throat.

Legacy
Several years later, after Historia killed Rod, she saw a past memory of him in his younger days, crying into Alma's outfit, saying that she is the only one who understands him.

Later, when Kenny was talking to Levi Ackerman, he mentioned how women were Rod's weakness, pointing to the times when Rod would confide in Alma.

Relationships

 * Historia Reiss - She carried deep resentment towards her daughter, even more so before Kenny slit her throat, as Historia's existence is the reason she had to die.


 * Rod Reiss - Her former employer turned lover. She was his confidant, and he believed he could tell her anything. Some time after Rod had gotten married and had children of his own, the two started a secret romantic relationship. Alma eventually got pregnant with Historia, causing her to be sent away to live on her parents farm.

Trivia

 * Her name is Latin in origin, and means "soul", "kind" or "dawn". This is ironic, considering her cruel nature towards her daughter.