I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin. All credit goes to Isayama =) I'm just your average fangirl. Enjoy!
He looks at me then back at Eren, both of us facing him. I know he can't see it in his brother's eyes, but I can. He's confused and doesn't know whether to be loyal to his country or to his soul.
"You know this is the right thing to do." Eren reasons, he knows that Levi doesn't waver when he kills; he'll shoot for sure. "Kill her."
He tightens his arm around my neck as I hold on to his sleeves, exposing my chest. "Levi-" I said breathless. I thought about all the moments we had shared together; was this really it? After all the pieces of my heart I've let him see… and touch, he was really going to go through with it. I knew that Levi despised being deceived. At that moment I saw the determination in his silver eyes, and I knew what would happen.
"I'm sorry little sister," Eren whispered in my ear, no trace of sarcasm in his voice. "It was very nice knowing you."
Levi lifted the gun and pointed it toward me. I saw then… yellow flowers, in full bloom. He was smiling then, something I rarely saw and was certain no one else had seen. I love you he had said. Thinking about it now, I finally understood and knew what to say.
He looked into my eyes and I discovered that he was thinking about the same thing. With all the strength I could muster I smiled then spoke. "I love you too, Levi." His eyes widen just enough to show his shock and his mouth dropped slightly open. Before I knew it, my ears were buzzing from the sudden loud noise.
He had pulled the trigger and my eyes blurred with blood as I went limp. He'd shot me.
Some months earlier
"Do you think it'll be ok?" Hanji asked excitedly. She, as well as me, was fed up being trapped in the same four walls, walking the same corridors, sharing my fate.
Hanji was my main nurse, in fact, the only nurse I had allowed to look after me. Father pleaded me to choose at least five more but I refused. I trusted her. Part of it was because of the fact that we'd grown together. Her mother was my mother's nurse, the most trusted one; she had aided my mother during my birth. So I had known Hanji as long as I can remember. But the main reason I liked her was because of the way she was; she wasn't laid back per se, she was… friendlier. Another nurse could very well follow every rule and be strict with me. Hanji was almost as reckless as I was and sometimes it got her into more trouble than I'd like. "It'll be fine. Besides, father is working in his study right now. He won't even know we're gone."
My father is King Dot Pixis, therefore, I am Princess Petra. He raised me in secret, very few know of my existence. The reason for this is that our country is at war with the southern country right below us. Inceles. They have been in dispute with our country, Veulicius, since before I was born. Thirty-three years to be exact. This resulted from my grandfather, King Loucas V, declaring war on the previous king of Inceles: King Viktor XI. King Viktor tried to invade our country because of the lack of fertile land in Inceles. His troops killed hundreds of our countryside people causing my grandfather to grow furious. Since then, a wall has been built to prevent Incelestinians from crossing to our country and vice versa; what once was friendship is now hatred.
How does this apply to me being "The Secret Princess"? Well, in reality, my mother, Queen Riko, wasn't the one who was supposed to marry my father. Her older sister, Queen Hitch, was. However, the day of her wedding with King Dot Pixis, her carriage was hijacked and she was taken prisoner. The culprit was no other than King Erwin II himself, King Viktor's son and current king, who had sent trained spies to her abduction. The Incelestinian King demanded 300,000 acres worth of land to be provided to him in order for Veulicius to be able to see its Queen again. If said wishes were met, the Queen-to-be would return to Veulicius in three days' time.
My father complied but to his horror, after the span of three days, the Veulician King received the Queen's casket with her corpse lying silently inside. The King, as well as all of Veulicius wept her death, and swore revenge. A few years later, my mother married King Dot Pixis and became Queen Riko and soon after, she was to expect a child. I was born on a chilly November evening, with the wind blowing dry and cold, and the final apricot leaves descending from the autumn trees. Because of the fear that I too could be taken hostage, my father decided to keep my birth a secret and confine me in the castle until the day I was to marry an allied country's prince.
Today, the Summer Fair was in full blast so Hanji and I had decided to sneak out to attend as Summer Maidens, a traditional outfit which was to be worn by single Veulician girls, exclusively during this summer event. The dresses we wore for the evening where similar to the other Summer Maidens', long silky loose sleeves, collarbone high, tight around the breast and mid torso then, it poured gallantly and scandalously to our ankles, with designs of summer flowers all over their splendor. Simply beautiful.
Hanji and I walked around and danced in party circles laughing and enjoying ourselves. Once tired, we sat on a nearby stone bench, we held sweet bread that'd been just recently in a farmer family's oven, eating and laughing as we spoke. "So, tell me," Hanji turned to me after swallowing a full bite of her bread. "Are you planning on marrying Duke Jean Kirstein from Trost?"
"No way," I replied, "did you hear the way he spoke? He sounded like he thought he was doing me a favor by asking for my hand in marriage. Horse face freak."
"Petra!" Hanji feigned horror by bringing the tip of her fingers to her lips and gasping. We both giggled at that.
"Besides, father would much rather me marrying a Veulician high ranking military man than a Duke." I explained, "I believe he won't mind me refusing."
"Wouldn't it be wonderful to marry someone just because well, you love them?"
"Perhaps." I replied confidently. "My heart and my dedication belong to my country; my brain belongs in the war."
"Such cold words for a tiny, fragile princess." She said in admiration with just a bit of our friendly humor in between.
"I'm anything but fragile."
"Yes, indeed; considering that you spend your days finding ways to take out the life out of that lifeless punching bag of yours, mistress."
I giggled. "Yes, well, since there's nothing to do but to train in manners as well as in fighting." I said with just a drop of disappointment. "At this rate, I'll be able to defeat the Incelestinian army single-handedly with just a bat of my eyelashes and a polite bow. No broken nails included."
Hanji smiled and shook her head. You're hopeless.
"Prin- !" I heard someone call near us. I turn to find Sasha and her brother Connie, he's struggling to keep her mouth shut as they approach us.
"Are you crazy!" he loudly whispers to her just enough for the four of us to hear. "What do you think you're doing addressing the princess with her royal name in public?" Connie and Sasha are two of the younger servants in the castle; I rarely see them since they work in the garden and kitchen.
At that realization, Sasha seems to go mad grabbing her hair and silently screaming in overly-dramatic shock. She drops to her knees and I grab her elbow. "Get up. You'll ruin your Maiden dress." What are they doing here? "Shouldn't you two be back in the castle?" I ask.
"Shouldn't you? What if someone sees you and you two get in trouble with His Royal Highness?" Connie seemed to grow anxious.
"Don't worry," Hanji grinned at Connie, "we just sneaked out for a little bit. We'll be back before bed time."
"Single young servants are allowed out the castle for the Summer Fair." Explained Sasha, now composed. "Connie and I attend every year." She smiles. I should've figured.
"Hanji, you should be more careful with the princess." Connie scolds her.
"I've been taking good care of her!" Hanji argues. "Look! She's happy and in one piece."
"I guess it won't hurt if we tag along though." He counters.
'"Princess, do you mind?" Sasha asks respectfully and quietly enough this time.
"Not at all, the more the merrier." I smile politely.
We start walking toward the men juggling fire poles. We watched just for a little bit until we decided we were bored; Hanji and I admitted that we were feeling weary and decided to head back. Connie and Sasha decided it was a good idea to at least escort us back to the castle. We saw a group of young Summer Maidens and teenage boys suddenly rush with excitement toward the castle's speech lawn. This was where my father usually gave any important announcements to the people and things of the like. Connie jumped around to face us quickly, startling all three of us, terror written all over his face.
"It's time!" he exclaimed. "King Dot Pixis is about to give his greetings to the people at the fair!"
Crap! How had I forgotten? "The entrance is blocked by guards at that time!" Hanji panicked. "We're so busted. Even if we wait for them to disperse we would be late and he'll know we're not in the castle."
"I know another way!" Sasha said nervously. "There's the entrance by the kitchen in the back. I carry the key since I'm the one in charge of stacking the potatoes."
"Perfect!" Hanji claps her hands together. "Then let's hurry. We've got to go through the forest."
We sprint across the food and toy stands until we reach the forest right behind the back side of the castle. Hanji gets tired quickly from running and honestly I'm panting myself. "Let's slowdown." Says Connie, understanding our struggle. Sasha is just a bit less tired than us but almost as worn out. We haven't run much but I can faintly hear the cheers and laughter of town. We walk a little longer.
"It should be just two more minutes within walking-distance that way." Sasha points ahead.
We continue walking as I realize that this is the 9th time we've snuck out and never been caught by any castle guards. I smile feeling a little sly for that.
I hear him before I feel him. A man has grabbed me from behind and is holding my mouth shut with one gloved hand and my limbs next to my body with the other. Connie, Sasha, and Hanji turn around at the sudden sound of my struggle and they're taken down and position the same way as me fast enough as we're all hoisted to the woods. I kick and futile screams come out of my throat but they're not loud enough. I look to my left where a carriage is waiting for us apparently.
I look at the man holding Hanji and right there, on his left shoulder, I see something that makes my mind go blank and my blood run cold. A pair of wings pointing outward from each other is ingrained on the smooth black material of his shirt. Incelestinian spies.
I struggle; harder this time. With my elbow, I manage a blow right in between his ribcage earning me a groan and a loosened arm. As I try to wiggle off his grasp, another man comes from behind and firmly grabs my wrists, pulling me back as my primary aggressor composes himself and grips me harder than before. Just as I'm about to be stepped into the carriage, something hits the back of my head and my world goes black.
I awake in a dark place I don't recognize that smells like metal and wetness. I get up from the hard bed and look ahead of me. A set of bars separates me from two watching guards. I'm in a cell, possibly a dungeon. I groan as I feel a spreading sharp pain at the back of my skull, this alerts the guards to look in my direction as I'm sitting on the bed.
"She's awake" one of them states. "Call commander Levi." At this, the other guard walks away and I hear the screech of a metal door opening and then heavily closing. The room is silent once again.
"What do you want with me?" I ask after a while, in the brink of hysteria, yet my voice comes out quietly. The man doesn't budge and I wonder if he heard me. "What," I repeat "do you want with me!" I practically yelled and he still doesn't turn around. So he chose to ignore me. "Tell me!" I'm growing impatient and panicked.
The pain on the back of my skull is growing worse and this state of madness isn't helping it. As I decide whether it's a good idea to run up to the bars and seize his neck, the heavy metal door opens and I hear loud footsteps getting closer. "Leave." I hear a deep rich voice as heart-stirring as the pre-jump to a deep river of cold heavily flowing water.
The guards leave and a man steps in front of the bars. He has black hair and silver hard, cold eyes. It's nearly impossible for me to tell what he's thinking. Anger, torture, punishment? Yet, despite his chilling features, he's no taller than a few of inches from my brow. A rare contrast that is hidden behind his strong posture.
I hadn't realized that he was studying me too. His mouth set in a hard press of the small lips.
At last he spoke. "What may I call you?" Again, that deep voice filled the room and echoed from the walls down to where I now stood, haunting me. It was… frightening and it made me want to tremble but there was no way I was going to show weakness to an Incelestinian. But, nothing seemed to slip this man's hard stare.
"Why should I tell you my name?" I tried to sound as composed as I could.
"Then tell me, who are you?" he inquired again.
I tried to think of a lie and all the possible ways one could tell a good lie. I looked up into his eyes as steady as I could manage and answered: "I am a servant; a nurse from the castle. A Veulician, as you may know." I kept my voice firm.
"I figured as much." He said more to himself than to me. I'd convinced him. "There's something I want to know," he then protruded a key out of his pants' right pocket and opened the door. My alerts were instantly on. He stepped inside without closing the door. Stupid. "Tell me the name of the Veulician Princess." He demanded and my eyes flew wide open.
"T-there's no such person," I answered and cursed myself for stuttering. "His Royal Highness has bred no children yet." I tried, much more confidently.
"I know you have the information I need. Tell me and you might run a better luck than your friends." He said, with blood chilling harshness.
I froze. "What… did you do to them?" I asked, fury flaring through my veins as well as grief.
"They're taken care of." He said as he calmly walked toward me.
That was it. I jumped him, kick first ready to pin him down and escape at my first chance. Effortlessly, he grabbed my foot, lifting me off my feet, and fastened me, chest first, across the bed. The impact nearly knocked all of the air out of my lungs. He held me down with his own body and I could feel his steady breathing on my neck.
"You will tell me what I need to know." He hissed.
"I'm not telling you anything and if you're going to kill me do it now." I was enraged, and I'd rather die than lived imprisoned by this despicable Incelestian.
Suddenly, his face was on my hair and he took a deep breath. He was… smelling me! I blushed in embarrassment. "You smell nice," this time, his voice and hot breath was directly on my ear, on a sensible spot. I'd not realized until now that he was heavily built and I could feel the hard muscles of his stomach on the small of my back.
"No…" I moaned.
He stopped and laughed, a sound much deeper and richer than his voice alone. "Enjoying yourself?" he asked and I knew he was mocking me; I hated myself for being so weak. He leaned back down and whispered in my hair: "I didn't know Veulician women could be so deliciously lewd. You're breathing hard and feeling it."
I don't know with what strength, but I managed to elbow him the same way I had done with my raptor earlier. It worked because somehow he got off me, hugging his stomach. I made a run for the door but before I could take a second step he was there; he grabbed my arm and threw me back on the bed hitting my head against the back wall along the way. I looked up dizzy and uncoordinated just to meet his ginning face.
"I will let you live because you have piqued my interest," he said "the next time we meet, I won't hold back." And with that, he walked toward to cell's door and locked it. With one last glance over me, he left.
Soon after, the guards returned to their immobile position. There was no point in trying to get anything out of them, they wouldn't talk.
I returned to sit on the bed and thought about Connie, Sasha, and then… Hanji whose struggling figure was the last I saw of any of them. And possibly, the last I'll ever see. The thought alone threaten to rip out my heart. Suddenly, the thought of that man, Levi, crept in my head and I went scarlet immediately. How could I have responded to that? I felt awful for having done so. I had never felt like that before and it frightened me to no end.
Pushing back tears, I laid on the bed and thought of my father and the anguish he must be feeling right now because of my disappearance.
I'm sorry mother, father, I should have listened to you.
With the thought of my King and Queen, I slowly drifted off into sleep.
A/N:If you have made it this far, then I say thank you soo much!
Sorry you had to put up with my crappy work /.\ & if you guys like my story I promise I'll do my best to go through with it (: Thanks again!