Rivetra Week Day 5: AU


"Lady Ral, welcome! Please, right this way. My master will be with you right away."

Levi sighed. Another stupid day of having to greet people in order to find his future wife. It was ridiculous. All the women he had met thus far were more interested in the ruffles on their skirts than intelligent conversation. Either that, or they were shamelessly flirting with him.

He took a look at his latest visitor. The Rals were a very wealthy family in England, but he had only ever met Lord Ral.

"Petra," her mother chided softly. "Please make an effort to appear presentable."

The corner of Levi's mouth turned up. Misery loves company. Petra Ral straightened up but her eyes still glared malice. Evidently, she wanted to be here even less than he did.

His father came to get him, eyes warning him to make an effort to care. Walking into the sitting room, Levi gave a polite bow.

"Lady Ral." He took her hand and kissed it.

"Master Levi, it is a pleasure to meet you," she gushed. At the corner of his eye, Levi swore he saw Petra roll her eyes.

"Pleasure's mine. And Lady Petra?"

She gave a curtsy, eyes never leaving his. It was like she was assessing him from the moment he walked into the room.

Perhaps this meeting wouldn't be so dull after all.

"Why don't you two take a stroll in the gardens?" Lady Ral suggested. "We wouldn't want to bore you here. Get acquainted with each other."

"Yes, Mother," Petra sighed.

Levi led her outside. It was warm out, but not unbearably so.

"These damn petticoats," she growled. Levi smirked. He liked her already.

"I really hate all these stupid visits," Petra muttered. "No offense."

"None taken."

"There are just so many idiotic people. How is it possible to be in a wealthy family with family tutors and still be so utterly stupid?"

A low chuckle formed in his throat. "I don't think we'll ever discover the answer to that question," he replied.

Their relationship developed like the rising sun. Slowly, with soft, tentative colors of pink and blue and purple. Days spent touring the cities, going places Lady Ral may not have approved of, but where they went anyways. Petra adored the libraries, and they spent countless hours there, debating ancient philosophies during long carriage rides.

"Petra," Levi said softly one day.

"Hm?" They were lying by the lake, his arm around her shoulder, watching the sun glisten off the scales of the fish darting underneath the water.

He cleared his throat, unsure of how to broach the topic. "I've greatly enjoyed our days together."

She smiled. "As have I."

"And...I wouldn't mind having to spend the rest of my life with you."

She gasped, wriggling out of his grasp. "Y-you mean..."

"Yes." He stared her in the eye. "Petra Ral, would you do me the honor of being my wife?"

Tears brimmed in her eyes. "Oh Levi," she breathed. "I want nothing more."

He announced their decision to his father that night. Lord Ackerman stared grimly into the fire, saying nothing.

"I thought you would be pleased," Levi snapped, unable to stand the silence.

Lord Ackerman curled his fingers around the hilt of his saber. "Current developments have...changed my view of the Ral family."

"What do you mean?"

"Lord Ral is a cheat, and a liar. A dishonorable man. I want you to cease all contact with the entire family."

Anger bubbled in his chest. "You can't do that," Levi growled. "I refuse."

His father turned on him, malice in his eyes. "Very well. If you will not cut the ties… then I will force you to."

He knew what could do. Knew that he had enough power to get his way. This time, however, his anger blinded him, and he scoffed at his father's words.

"I'd like to see you try."

The next night, the Ral household was ransacked. And every living soul was viciously slain where they stood.

"HOW COULD YOU?" Levi roared, slamming into his father's study.

Lord Ackerman turned from the window. "I don't know what you're talking about. But I offer my deepest consolations. I know how close Lady Petra was to you."

"You did this on purpose," Levi seethed. "You took her away from me!"

"You'll move on, Levi," Ackerman assured. "I know what it was like to be in love. But it is young love. Only to be forgotten. You'll another very beautiful woman who will serve you well."

"Never."

"Oh believe me, Levi… you will."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Petra huffed as she ran, angrily cursing her latest employer. "The nerve of that bastard!" She gritted her teeth and adjusted her hat. "Excuse me if I can't fix your car in five seconds flat! Fine! Go find a man to fix it, because you're too idiotic to recognize a good job when you see one!"

Work had been hard to find. Odd jobs around the city didn't always get food inside her belly. But she would figure something out. Always did. Ever since her parents had abandoned her as a young child, she'd learned how to fight her way through the streets.

She reached the rundown apartment complex she lived in, running a hand through her short locks in a fruitless attempt to tame them.

"Hey, I'm home!" she shouted, throwing her coat onto the hook by the door. It was starting to get chilly out.

"Hey, how was - Petra! What are you wearing?" Gunther's mouth dropped.

She grinned. "D'ya like it? I got the tailor to specially hem some trousers for me. So much easier to run in, dresses are stupid. And I really do like this vest. Matches my hat, dontcha think?"

"Auruo's not going to like this." Gunther sighed. "Not that you care…"

Petra snorted. "Auruo's not going to tell me what to do. Hey, where's my fiddle?

"In Erd's room. Did the job not go well today?"

She rolled her eyes. "Idiot was looking over my shoulder the entire time. Said he didn't want 'some woman' messing up his car. Of course, since he was in the way, I couldn't work as well, so then he thinks I'm slow! Ugh, I'm done with him. Better luck tomorrow."

"I think Auruo found someone who needs help," Gunther said, following her into Erd's bedroom.

"Good." Petra was out the door again with her instrument in tow. "I'll be back in time for dinner!"

The streets were starting to fill up, which was good for her. She found her typical street corner - it was a place where many people walked by on their way home from the factories. Occasionally there was some rich business man who would send a silver coin her way if she was annoying enough. But mostly, she just enjoyed playing her music. It was a good way to let off steam after a long day.

Closing her eyes, she started to play one of her favorite melodies. It was something she made up herself, using a tune she vaguely remembered her father hum.

"That's a nice tune," a deep voice commented.

She lowered her instrument and grinned. "Thanks! Made it up myself."

"It… sounds familiar." The man wrinkled his brow, as if to reach for a memory. He was about her height, wearing a clean pressed suit and cravat. She smirked at that. Who wore those these days?

Petra shrugged. "Maybe you've heard me playing before."

"Maybe." He took a look at a pocket watch and cursed. "I would love to stay and listen, but I have other obligations. Some other time, Petra."

He dropped a couple coins into her case and quickly faded into the bustling streets. "Thanks…" Petra trailed off. "Wait… how'd he know my name?"

The next day, Auruo gave her the address to see another customer, someone who wanted his stove fixed.

To her surprise, it was the quiet man from the street the night before who opened the door. He raised an eyebrow.

"I'm here to fix your stove." Petra waited for some surprised reaction, but he only turned and led her to his kitchen.

"It's been sputtering smoke and the fire isn't nearly as hot as it should be," he explained.

"Hm…" Petra knelt down to examine the stove more closely. "Let me see what could be the problem…"

It wasn't as hard of a fix as she thought it would be, just a loosened hinge here and there. It was a quick fix, and soon the stove was working regularly.

"Should be fine for the rest of the winter." She smiled, wiping her hands on her trousers. "I, uh, never caught your name, by the way."

"Levi."

"Nice house you've got here. Hey, is that a rifle?"

It was a well polished rifle hung up on the wall, with silver plating etched with a winged design.

"It's an older one," Levi noted. "An old friend gave it to me a long time ago."

She admired the weapon for a moment longer. "Oh, sorry, no time to talk! I've got another job to do, but anytime you need a job done, call me!"

She handed him a small piece of paper with her telephone number scrawled on it.

And he did. She ended up seeing him a lot, still doing odd jobs around the city, but he was the one who called her. He was a journalist, and sometimes she tagged along, always eager for an adventure.

One rainy night she stumbled up to his door.

"Sorry," she apologized, shivering. "This rain is crazy. Can I come in?"

If he had been thinking straight, he would have known it was a bad idea. He was moody, not to mention slightly drunk.

It only took a couple of words and heated kisses and soon they were stumbling into his bedroom.

The next morning she woke up groggy, but there was a happy flutter in her chest.

"I'm sorry," Levi whispered, grabbing her hands. He seemed as calm as ever, but his eyes were panicked. "I wasn't thinking clearly last night."

She kissed him. "But my mind was clear as day."

That was a relief, and it was like a burden was lifted off his shoulders.

"I'm going to look at a railroad today," he said, wrapping his arms around her. "Want to come along?"

She grinned. "Of course!"

An hour later, they were breathing in the scent of coal and smoke. "This place is disgusting," Levi muttered.

Petra rolled her eyes. "Get over yourself."

They met up with the manager, but when Levi pulled out his notepad, Petra decided she wasn't going to hang around.

"I'll going to walk around." He gave a nod of acknowledgement.

She walked around the exterior of the train, fascinated by the machinery. Climbing up one of the cars, looked over the top. Out of the corner if her eye, she saw a flicker of orange light.

She narrowed her eyes. Playing around trains, especially with fire, was never a good idea.

"Hey!" she shouted. "What are you kids doing?"

The three of them jumped. "Annie!" one of them hissed. "Let's get outta here!" They kicked at the dirt, scattering embers and headed out of there.

Petra sighed. Crazy kids...

And then there was an explosion. She dived; luckily there was soft grass where she landed. Petra turned to see that the blast had come from the front of the train. The area that was very close to...

"Levi!" She gasped, scrambling to her feet.

But it was too late. The fire had set the grass ablaze, and there was so much debris and smoke.

"Levi!" she screamed, coughing as she got closer to the fire.

"Miss!" A man pulled her back. "You can't go near there!"

People were bringing buckets of water, but in her heart, she knew there was nothing they could do.

Dropping to her knees, she stared at the flames in shock. No...

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Then I'd trade all my tomorrows for just one yesterday...

Levi calmly scanned the airport schedules. Damn. Flight's delayed.

He sighed. Well, at least he had his favorite green hoodie, tea, and iPod. Could be worse.

Suddenly someone slammed into him.

"What the hell?" he growled. She made him drop his bagel.

"I'm so sorry!" He saw a flash of pink as the person bent down to pick something up. A blonde girl pressed the bagel back into his hand. "Sorry! My flight's soon and I'm running late!"

She is just as beautiful as the day she stumbled into me, when she was jostled by the mass of cadets running away from the Survey Corps.

He blinked. Where had that come from? "A lot of flights just got delayed," he said, pointing.

"Oh!" She took a quick look and breathed a sigh of relief. "Wow, thanks so much for letting me know. I would have been running for nothing." She took a quick glance at her watch. "I've still got two hours."

"Where are you flying to?" He had no idea why he was talking so much.

"I'm flying to Germany," she explained, smiling. "Visiting my father."

He raised an eyebrow. "I'm headed there too."

She grinned. "Really? Cool!"

Then she looked at his bagel again. "Oh gee, that bagel's probably all germy now... How about I get you a new one? It's the least I could do for so rudely knocking into you."

He found himself agreeing, and he followed her to a nearby breakfast place.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Watching nearby, a figure sighed and fiddled with an hourglass. This story would end just like it always did. There were no happy endings.

Two lovers

Doomed to meet

With love so strong

'Til death do they part