As Levi walked in with the brawny escort and the still-panting Witch, he couldn't help but notice all of the guard's eyes were on them. He knew that it was because they were 'important' visitors of the Queen, but he still couldn't help but feel uneasy as they all just blankly watched them walk in.
"Would the father of the great witch Ymir, and the Witch of the Waste please continue to follow me?"
Levi barely even noticed that they had begun to lag behind the blonde man, Levi due to his thoughts and the Witch due to her own heat-induced exhaustion.
Levi gave a half-hearted glance to the Witch behind him, and said, "For Pete's sake, pull yourself together. Isn't this what you've been waiting for?"
He would say that he felt a tiny sliver of pity for the woman, but any pity he had for her was lost when she cursed him.
The over-heated woman ignored him and chose to instead fan herself with her hand, despite the fact that it didn't help her very much.
"Everyone, please welcome the Witch of the Waste, and the father of the Great Witch Ymir!"
Levi knew that this was just a formality, but he couldn't help but be a little irritated at the fact that Eren hadn't even given his own alias a last name. Due to this annoying fact, he would forever be referred to as 'the father of the Great Witch Ymir'.
"Ymir? Why does that name sound so familiar? And since when were you old enough to have a daughter?" She whispered.
"Um," Levi said, as he wracked his brain for an excuse. "Ymir is… um, part of the name of my 'tacky little shop'. Y-Yep, I named it after my own daughter which I am old enough to have, mind you. How dare you assume my age."
It hadn't been his best lie, but he had had a long journey and was still a bit worn out from it.
"Is that where it's from?" She muttered, too hot and tired to even question it.
The blonde escort led them into an elegant room with one single chair sitting in the middle. The room had many chandeliers and expensive paintings, so it creeped Levi out that there was only a single chair sitting in the middle of the room.
"Wait in here, please. The Queen will be with you shortly," the escort said as he walked out of the room from the door he just entered and closed it. Levi began to feel worried when he heard the faint sound of the door locking.
He was about to ask the Witch if she noticed anything strange, but she cut him off before he could.
"A chair? It's mine!"
She hurried as fast as she could to the chair and sat in it, taking her black broad-brimmed hat off and using it as a make-shift fan.
Levi rolled his eyes and noticed that he was still carrying 'Eren' around. He gently set the dog down and sighed as he was finally able to stretch out his back.
As soon as he set the dog down, the little rascal started to run down a dimly lit hallway that he hadn't even known was there.
"Eren! Get back here!" He whisper-yelled at the cute little miscreant.
He quickly gave a glance to the Witch, only to find she wasn't paying them any mind, and began to quickly make his way over to where the dog had run.
He walked into the hallway, only to find that it wasn't a hallway at all, it was only a tiny dark room, no bigger than a closet. If 'Eren' had run in here, then where had he disappeared to?
Suddenly, the 'wall' to Levi's right slid open to reveal that it wasn't a wall at all, but some form of secret passageway.
In the passage's doorway stood a young girl with short platinum blonde hair styled in an undercut and bored blue eyes. She gave Levi a kind smile before ushering him into the passageway with her.
"This way please, sir."
Levi didn't know if he should trust this random lady that appeared before him, but he was kinda low on options right now and he needed to find 'Eren', so he followed her into the passage.
Right before the 'wall' slid back into place, Levi could have sworn he saw a bright light flash from the room he was in, along with a shriek from the Witch of the Waste. Before he could question the young woman about what had just happened, she simply began walking to an unknown location, so Levi just followed her in silence.
The young woman led him into a giant tropical looking room with various species of flora growing around. He could have sworn that he even heard some birds chirping inside of the large room.
The blonde girl led him to a woman sitting in a chair beside one of the very large windows that ran all across the walls of the room. There were a few men in black suits that had been talking to the woman, but once they caught sight of Levi and the blonde girl they gave their goodbyes and exited through the door Levi and the girl had entered.
The girl signaled for Levi to give her a moment while she walked over to the woman in the chair and whispered something in her ear, before promptly leaving.
"So," the woman said after she had finished sipping her tea. "You're Eren's father, are you?"
Levi was taken aback.
"E-Excuse me? I-I'm Ymir's- "
"The Great Witch Ymir does not exist. She is just an alias that Eren came up with to try and protect his identity. But you, of course, know this already, correct?"
Levi composed himself before saying, "Y-Yes, but he told me that you only knew him by Ymir."
While still not his best lie, it was better than the one he had come up with before.
The woman, who Levi now recognized as the Queen, gave a dry laugh before setting her drink down on the small table beside her.
"That Eren has always taken me as a fool…. But please, excuse my manners." She said as she finally looked at Levi. "You must be tired. Please, have a seat."
Levi was able to get a good look at her face and took in her features. She was a very short woman with blonde hair that was tied back in a sort of messy bun and stone-cold blue eyes. She was very pale and had a very… unique nose, not that Levi thought it made her look ugly. She was dressed in something that would have been more commonly seen on a male royal, and she didn't seem to fit the impression of a Queen. Many of the citizens had no idea as to what the King and Queen even looked like, so this was Levi's first time seeing her, and to say that he was surprised was an understatement.
"Oh, um, thank you." He said as he sat in the chair directly in front of the Queen.
Levi took his seat, and the Queen gave him a chilling smile.
"I am Madame Leonhart. Annie Leonhart. While you may know me as the Queen, I am also his majesty's head sorceress."
Levi was about to comment before his eyes landed on the doggie lying under the table next to the Queen. The same doggie that had followed him in to the castle.
The dog stared blankly back at him while sniffing the air.
"Th-That's not your dog, is it?"
The Queen gave a short chuckle.
"His name is Mike. He's my errand dog. I had him escort you here."
Levi gave a small sigh at this fact.
'So you mean to tell me that I lugged that fat dog up here only to find out that it wasn't Eren!? That doggo better be glad he's cute….'
"I take it Eren won't be joining us today?"
Levi sat up straight at this question.
'Alright Levi. This is the whole reason you came here. You can't mess this up!'
"He's such a lazy son, so he sent me instead. I'm afraid you and the King would find him completely useless to your needs."
The Queen leaned forward in her chair, letting her chin rest on the knuckles of her hands.
"Well, I am very sorry to hear that. Eren was the last apprentice I ever took on. I'd never seen such a gifted student."
She leaned back in her chair once more.
"I was so thrilled to have finally found someone talented enough to replace me…."
Levi's mind was whirling with thousands of questions, but he was unable to ask them as Annie continued speaking.
"Then, one day, his heart was stolen by a demon. He never returned to complete his apprenticeship." She said with a sigh. "And, from that day forward, he has been using his magic for entirely selfish reasons."
There was a pregnant silence before Annie spoke once more.
"Mr. Jaeger."
Jaeger? Was that Eren's last name?
"Y-Yes?"
"That boy is extremely dangerous. His powers are far too great for someone without a heart. If he stays selfish, I'm afraid he'll end up just like the Witch of the Waste. Send her in!"
Before Levi had time to react, the same platinum-blonde girl from before walked in with a very young and very scared looking Witch of the Waste. The poor thing looked to only be about eleven, and the Queen's servant hadn't even bothered to replace the clothes she came in with, which were now much too big for her small frame. The young girl was struggling to keep her long dress from falling off while also trying to keep up with the quick servant-girl.
Levi gasped as soon as the Witch was brought up to stand beside him, her big black eyes welling up with tears.
"W-What on earth happened to you!?" Levi asked the poor girl, not really expecting an answer from her.
The Witch just looked at him as the tears in her eyes began to overflow and she started crying.
"Are you impressed, Mr. Jaeger? All I did was merely turn her into her true form; a simple spell, really."
"W-What are you talking about!?"
Annie rolled her eyes.
"You see, I used magic to have her turn into what she truly is in her heart, just a scared little girl afraid of her own shadow." She said with a snarl. "It's actually really sad. The once great Witch of the Waste has been reduced to nothing more than a child."
"S-So has she always been this young?"
"No, no…. My God, are you really that inept? With all of her magic and power, you'd think that on the inside she was a proud little thing, wouldn't you? But no, I'm actually a little disappointed in what she truly is…."
Levi simply looked back and forth between the Queen and the crying girl standing next to him. It's as if his brain had forgotten how to take in information or form words. All he could do was listen as the Queen spoke.
"Once, she too was a magnificent sorcerer with so much promise. But then, she met Eren, and everything changed. She loved him so much that she didn't even notice how her heart began corrupt and greedy. She wanted that boy all to herself, and she would do anything to have him. Eren saw the greed in her heart and tried to break his connections with her, but this tore her up inside. I saw my once promising student turn into nothing but a jealous little girl bent on making Eren hers. What I had failed to notice was that Eren's rejection had turned her into… this."
The Witch simply continued crying, muttering "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," over and over again. Levi wasn't sure what she was apologizing for. Her love of Eren? Her defiance of the Queen? The curse she put on him? Levi hadn't the slightest idea, but he didn't exactly have the time to ask her either.
"Oh go on and apologize all you want, Mikasa, but our kingdom can no longer afford to turn a blind eye to disreputable witches and wizards."
Her tone was cold and unforgiving. It was as if she was now speaking to a crying little girl on the cusp of a breakdown.
Annie then returned her attention to Levi, who was doing his best to stop the little girl- Mikasa, was it? - from crying.
"Mr. Jaeger, if Eren reports to me and vows to use his magic to serve the kingdom, I will show him how to break from his demon. If he does not, I will strip him of his powers and turn him what he truly is on the inside just as I did to her. And let me tell you Mr. Jaeger, Eren is not a scared child like this incompetent witch here. That boy is a monster, and if you don't believe me then you will when he turns on you just as he has done to countless people- "
"That's enough!" Levi shouted, cutting her off.
Annie, Mikasa, and even Mike stared at him in surprise as he stood up from his chair and gave the Queen a cold glare.
"Now I understand why Eren was so concerned about coming to see you. It's nothing but a trap! You lure people here with an invitation from both you and the King, and then you strip them of all their powers!"
The Queen stared at him with a look of both shock and interest. No one had ever dared to stand up to her as Levi was doing, and she was honestly impressed.
"Eren would never be so heartless! He may be selfish and cowardly, and sometimes he's hard to understand, but his intentions are good! He just wants to be free! Eren would never come here. He doesn't need your help!"
Annie's eyes widened ever-so-slightly as Levi began to change during his speech. He no longer had the appearance of an elderly person, but he now looked like a young man. His hair went from grey to black-while growing slightly- in a matter of seconds, and his once dull-grey eyes turned into a passionate and fiery blue. The now-young man didn't seem to notice as he continued talking.
"He can fix his problem with his demon on his own! I am certain of it!"
Everyone in the room stared at him in shock until the Queen gave him a dark and knowing look.
"Now I understand…. You're in love with Eren."
Levi gasped in shock, his appearance changing back in the blink of an eye, and he gave the Queen an incredulous look.
"W-What what do you mean? I-I'm his f-father, of course I love him!"
The Queen rolled her eyes, appalled that Levi had even attempted to keep up his act after his speech, and Mikasa's eyes began to dry as she looked up to Levi in shock.
The young girl grabbed Levi by his pant leg and looked at him with wide-eyes.
"E-Eren? D-Did you say Eren was coming!?"
Levi looked at her with uncertainty, but Mikasa ignored this.
"I-I need him to come! I want his heart! H-His h-heart belongs t-to me!"
The young girl began sobbing into Levi's pant leg, and Levi his best to put his grudge against her aside and try to calm her down.
"S-Stop that, just calm down." He said as he gently pulled her away from him. "Eren's not coming here, okay?"
Just as he said this, a plane flew over the castle, causing all four occupants of the room to look towards the window-ceiling.
The Queen gave Levi a smug look before saying, "Oh, I think he will. I now know his weakness, Mr. Jaeger."
Levi gulped as she said the last part of her statement with such sarcasm and hate. While he was starting to worry that this whole meeting had gone awry, he did his best to look as brave and unbothered as he possibly could.
But, the sad truth was that on the inside, he was a scared child just like Mikasa….
-End of Chapter 10-
A/N: AHHHHH, I'm sorry I stopped the chapter on what I guess could be called a cliffhanger. I feel like a lot had happened this chapter, so I decided to cut it off before things got too out of control….pls dun hate meh…
Also, can you guys guess who the buff blonde escort is, or who the short platinum-blonde servant girl is? And can you guys guess who the King is, he appears next chapter. Also, Mike is best doggo.
(On an unrelated note, please go watch a little show called 'Nanalan'. It's a show for babies but I just find it pretty hilarious to watch for some reason. I suggest looking up 'Nanalan Peepo' and 'Nanalan lollipop'. I laughed so hard and I don't even know why. You guys might think I'm a little weird because of this but I have to share this wonder with you… Mkay, bye)
Preview: The King stops by and everything goes to shit….