A/N: I do not own the characters of AOT (well, except for my OC) BTW, English is not my native language, thus, please pardon my mistakes. If any of you would like to help me edit, please tell me and I am ever willing to permit you to do so.

P/S: I would like to present character nationalities in this story. Therefore, Rivaille is French (according to a random info I got on the net) and my OC is British. The setting is somewhat Victorian, so ladies, get ready for beautiful puffy dresses none of us could ever own xD

P/S/S: Do not worry about heights. My OC is only 158 cm.

Knock. Knock.

"Come in"

Now, I did not need to see, nor did I have to make a guess even if I could call it lucky. As years passed, it was more of routine. A sickening routine that is.

"Another bouquet of flowers, Helen?"

"Yes, milady. But, also, with a little gift. Would you care to take a look, milady?"

I looked up from the book I was reading and gestured for Helen to come forward. The frail girl, in her late adolescence looked like she could topple by the weight of the beast of a bouquet of roses she struggled to hold.

"Helen, your arm will swell that way. Just drop those roses on the floor. I'll get Joseph to pick them up later." I said. Poor girl, I thought. She could still be in school.

"Yes, milady."

"Say..is that the gift?" I asked, pointing to the blue, velvet – clothed box that laid next to her as she carefully placed a few stray roses back into the bouquet.

She looked up surprised, and then glanced to the box. "Oh, yes it is, milady. I'll…"

"It's alright. I'll have a look at it myself." I said, and kneeled beside her to pick up the box. I ran my fingers over the velvet material, before opening the box and a sparkling blue diamond necklace met my gaze.

It's beautiful, I thought, but I have more than I had even needed.

"Helen, is there any significance to why this man had given me a blue diamond necklace?"

Helen stopped for a moment and looked me in the eyes. She smiled. "Why milady…your eyes. This man is trying to compliment your eyes."

Hearing her words made me smile in return. "I thought 'they were as blue as the sky' as many would say."

"Certainly they are, milady, but I do not think it is likely possible to grab the sky and fold it to fit into a box. So, he gave you a blue diamond necklace instead. To be frank milady, your eyes do sparkle like that beautiful diamond." she said.

I picked up the necklace by its chain and held it closer so I could take a better look at it. "Yes, beautiful indeed." then I placed it against Helen's chest just below her ruffled collar. "But breath - taking if it was on you. Take it."

Her eyes widened with shock. "I cannot, Milady. It is for you."

"That I do not care. Now, take it." I said.

"B-but Lady Odella will be very displeased if she finds out."

"No she won't." I said stubbornly and placed the necklace into the front pocket of her uniform. "It is your choice to wear it in discrete or hide it somewhere safe. If you have the need to send extra money to your village you could even sell it."

"I would not, milady. I would not have something I could not afford even I lived a thousand years in exchange with money. Besides, my mother would be very pleased if I had shown it to her. She had never seen a decent piece of jewelry in her lifetime."

It was my turn to feel surprised. "Then…what was presented on her wedding?"

Helen smiled. "In my village, women do not get to choose whom to marry. It is the man who chooses her. However, to win her hand is not easy. He will have to prove of his worth by venturing even to ends of the walls in search for something valuable to present as a dowry. It could be anything, even flowers." she tucked the last rose into place before resuming her story. "My father chose to present flowers to my mother. However, unlike other men who only searched behind the safeguard of the walls, my father went to the outer lands."

"How is that possible? Citizens are forbidden to even speak a word of the outer lands."

"That was…because my father was in the scouting legion at that time."

Amazing...

"Whilst on a mission, my father had also made an effort to search for the rarest flowers. Of course, he was nearly killed by a titan, but it paid off when he finally found what he was looking for. He said that it was somehow that titan had actually led him there." she said. "So my father returned with a broken arm, a large bouquet of beautiful flowers that no one knew of its name until this very day and with the honour of a brave man."

"But did your father not realize that he was putting his life at a great bargain when he had actually come up with the idea?"

"He couldn't calculate his chances of survival since the outcomes are unpredictable at certain times, by he knew if something went wrong he might not just make it through. But then he thought 'I am in love'."

I cocked an eyebrow. "And how did that aid him?"

"Love, Milady, is strength. When this feeling is for a person, strength turns into power. When you love somebody, you will have the strength and power to overcome anything. Even fear. It was because my father was deeply in love; he fought all his fears because he knew he couldn't die just yet, after he could claim the woman he loved as his."

"Pardon me Helen, but I still do not understand how love makes you feel so strong." I said.

"You will, Milady, when you are in love."

There was a short moment of silence. Then, Helen got up to her feet.

"I'm sorry, Milady, but I have some chores left unattended. May I be excused?"

"Certainly. Thank you for sharing your story ."

"You're welcome, Milady." she gave a polite bow before walking out of the room and closing the door gently.

I picked up the empty velvet box and tossed it into the waste paper basket by the end of the leg of my study desk. I approached my large bedroom window and observed the beautiful scenery of the well-tended garden that stretched before my eyes. At the same time, I recalled Helen's story with every single detail arranged one after another until it came to her last words.

You will, Milady, when you are in love.

My window was a little misty from the cool morning weather. I took my finger and traced a little heart. For a moment, I just stared at it.

Will I ever fall in love?

A/N: It's a lil' crappy, I know 'cos I'm not feeling well. I wrote this just 'cos I couldn't contain my ideas anymore. Next chapter will up soon and I promise that it'd be much better. So please review! (and kindly avoid harsh comments. I'm a newbie. Have mercy)