"What do we have," Erwin asked while the group was seated at a table in the dining hall.

The entire room was empty save for their filled table. Levi passed a short stack of papers across to his commander. Beside him, River kept her head down, eyes on the brown tea in the cup before her. She was focusing on the thudding of her heart and hoping that she could settle it into silence.

"I have two versions of these reports," Levi stated. "One with all of the details, and one which omits her magic. That one had to be… embellished slightly though if we intended to keep her in our ranks without a fuss. I think we can convince them to forgo military training if we drive home the length of her survival alone."

Hanji was smiling across from the two and admitted, "that was the way I wrote mine as well. Just in case."

The commander nodded while he scanned over the papers. Silence pounded through the room until Levi suddenly drew his frosted arm up to the table, frowning at the sparkling mass by his wrist. He turned his grey eyes to the girl beside him, gently elbowing her to get her attention.

"I don't know what you're thinking, kid, but either way this works out you're not going to help our case if you're this frail. Put your steel back on, would you? We need to show them a hardened warrior if you want to stay where you can trust your superiors."

She chewed her lip, not looking up to acknowledge him, though she almost wanted to laugh at the sentiment of trust. Trust does not exist without a choice. Still, she closed her eyes and pulled up the stone in her heart. After all, only a soldier would be safely walking out of that room tomorrow.

"You know, when I told you guys to gather information by exploring her capabilities, I didn't mean nearly killing her," Erwin mused, putting the reports down again.

"That was hardly my intention sir," Hanji exclaimed, earnestly offended.

"We didn't exactly know the orders wouldn't allow her to use practicality if they weren't specified initially," Levi added.

The blond nodded, furrowing his huge brows in thought. River observed the way his pale blue eyes spilled numbers and words and plans across them too fast for her to track. This was the man who would decided whether or not tomorrow would be easy on her.

He caught her eyes, all the planning stilled behind his gaze and she shrunk beneath the intensity of his stare.

"It would be easiest to keep your abilities secret tomorrow. If we can keep this from getting out, all of us would be much safer, not just yourself," he explained sternly. Then he continued after a heavy sigh, "but at the end of the day, you are the one who must live with what happens tomorrow and its consequences. We cannot guarantee success if you don't hide your abilities, but you have lost too many choices already. I will not take your future from you. How do you want us to proceed?"

The question stopped her heart in her chest. Her lungs even stuttered to a halt for a moment, choking her before they gulped down a heavy breath. A chill crept into the room. Levi's eyes narrowed on the girl, though he was more suspicious by the lack of ice on his skin. Instead, the chill seemed to utterly bypass him and permeate the air itself.

River closed her eyes, pulled in a long breath, and slammed down every skittering nerve in her body. She was solid when her lids lifted. Once again, there was a yellow ring glowing about her iris.

"I refuse to hide any longer. I'm sorry, Commander. I know that will make this more difficult than it needs to be, but you don't know what it's like to measure every step you take for fear that the wrong eyes are watching. I can't go back to that. I won't," there was not a single quiver in her ringing voice.

Erwin's gaze hardened at her admission, his frown deepening. "You'll accept the consequences of that decision? Even if it means throwing the entire equilibrium of what is left of humanity off balance? You understand that they have already been shaken far too recently by a surprise that has drawn suspicion down on us for the power we hold over the titan shifter. They may not be ready for another surprise this soon. Are you prepared to take what comes from this decision? Lives could be lost. Good men and women who have families to return to will be under further suspicion if we take another enhanced person into our ranks. Are you prepared for that?"

River's hands were closed into tight fists at her knees, her jaw set. The yellow ring was growing, spilling across her crystal blues. Hanji held her breath. Levi carefully shifted his arm beneath the table; hiding the metal that had begun to glow pale teal. His gaze remained apathetic to the entire exchange, though he was more than ready to pull his hidden blade back out if the girl so much as twitched the wrong way.

When she spoke, her voice resonated through the entire empty room with an authority that would not be challenged.

"I will not let anyone die because of me. I will protect your entire survey core of that is what is required. Do not underestimate my abilities just because I am bound. But I will not hide any longer. If I'm a freak then so be it, but I want to help people and the only way I can do that is if I am free to use my power for the collective goal of defeating the titans once and for all. And if I have to save humans from other humans too then fine. Evil is evil no matter who wears it. I'm not hiding anymore."

"So be it," Erwin replied, immediately redirecting his thoughts to the case for proving not only her enhancements, but her loyalty to humanity. "How will we convince them that she is truly bound to Levi? It would not be difficult for them to believe you are putting on an act, especially after you reveal you have a power they won't even be able to understand."

Levi tilted his head to the side, casting his steel gaze to his commander. "I have an idea, but it relies on the element of her ignorance to the plan."

He turned to River, relaxing his tense muscles when he looked down into crystal blue with no more hint of yellow. Then he frowned, admitting bluntly, "you'll probably hate me for it though, but at least I'm warning you of that now."

Hanji cleared her throat, dark eyes wide. "You're not seriously thinking of repeating what you did to Eren, are you?"

"Of course not," he replied smoothly with an edge of annoyance. "I don't think it'll warrant anything that over the top."

River did not sleep that night. She did not say a word when the group excused her to talk about Levi's plot, and she did not allow her emotions to swell as she walked back to her room in his office. All she did was remind herself how to breathe.

Pull the air in. Count to five. Let it back out. Repeat.

The metal over her ribs felt heavier than usual, pressing down until she thought she would suffocate beneath them. Your body has adapted to its weight. Your mind is lying to you. Breathe.

Pull the air in. Count to five. Let it back out. Repeat.

Memories flashed across her eyes. She did not stop the sparkling, frosted tears that leaked down into her hair.

Hands and hands and hands.

Her skin was stained and she wanted it off her body.

She was littered with centipedes crawling across her fractured nerves and she wondered if her curling stomach would reject her dinner again. It would be interesting to see if her legs could hold her weight in that moment. But she had more important things to worry about than getting sick; she had to remember to breathe again.

Pull the air in. Count to five. Let it back out. Repeat.

She did not miss the click of the office door closing. He was back. Her lungs halted. A hush overcame her body as she listened to the scrape of his boots against the carpet. His chair squeaked. He let out a miserable sigh.

Silence.

"River, I know you're awake," came his resigned voice from the other room. "Of all the emotions I've been feeling of yours through this damned thing, I think this is the first time whatever going on in that head of yours has made my bones feel like stone."

It was strange to hear that from him. She could have sworn his breathing was labored out there.

"River?"

She wouldn't reply. How could she when she could barely move the weight off her lungs to allow them to fill?

"You know I hate this as much as you do. You have to know that."

No, she didn't know that, because it would not make any sense. Who would hate owning an entire person? Magic be damned, no one could admit the power would not rise straight into their heads when the chain is in their hands and they could do anything, demand anything, and not face a single moment of consequence or retaliation.

The chair squeaked again. There was shuffling.

"I don't want to take away your ability to choose."

The voice was closer. He was at the door. Would he come in? Was he going to demand something from her, tell her to choose, but make sure to orchestrate exactly what she would choose?

She gulped down a breath that tasted like disgust and dread.

"I meant what I said last night. I need you to understand that I am going to do my best to give you a choice whether you will listen to me or not. Whatever happens tomorrow, just remember that. Forced loyalty is not loyalty at all, and I will not have a slave on the battlefield beside me. I hope some day, you will believe that."

Shuffling on the carpet, he was moving away. The leather couch groaned. Was that where he would sleep?

River cursed that dream of freedom he kept dangling over her head. She was not ignorant to the warning inside his riddle, though. He was going to command something of her tomorrow and it would be necessary, but he would not enjoy it. She caught that message. She understood it.

She would try to remember that when he betrayed her in the court. After all, she did bring this onto herself.

Rays of light spilled onto her face. When had she managed to fall asleep, she wondered absently. There were voices on the other side of the door, muffled and quiet. She pulled in one strong breath, pushing up her lungs against the weight of her wings. Held it until she could sit up. Then she breathed out and stood.

"Alright River," she told herself, "you can have until the count of ten to be as pathetic and weepy and scared as possible. And then we have to move."

She brought herself to the washroom, counting slowly even though her heart was strangely peaceful and slow. Perhaps it was too tired for fear. She could respect that.

There was a knock on the door and Levi called her name from the other side.

"I'm up! I'll be out in two minutes," she called back, glad when her voice was calm.

The mirror showed a wild girl again, the cut on her cheek already a pale scar to add to the rest of her silver memories. Just another story written into her skin. How many books had been published against it with blood, she mused.

She turned back to the room, reaching for the bag of clothes Hanji had found for her the day before and threw on the first pieces she found in it. A white button down t-shirt and brown slacks. Her hands did not shake as she dressed. She took it for a good sign.

She was ready for the humans she once lived alongside of to decide her fate once and for all.

River walked out into the office, being met by two pairs of tired eyes. It would seem no one slept well that night. Hanji stood, wearing an uncharacteristic frown that mirrored the familiar one on her superior. He held a mass of grey in his hands. River was not ready to acknowledge that they were chains.

"We can't tell them you're a powerful, inhuman being, and have you free at the same time. You have to understand," Levi muttered, choosing his words carefully to remind her of his statement last night.

The girl nodded. She did understand, not that she liked it, but she would comply. Her hands still did not shake when she raised them to offer her wrists to her master. Physical chains were nothing in comparison to the magical one he wore at his wrist. She could handle this.

The silence between the two was pounding her eardrums as they left the compound. She was given her own horse, but it was ponied by Hanji's as they moved. River reminded herself to breathe one more time.

Pull the air in. Count to five. Let it back out. Repeat.

The ride alone felt like hours.

By the time they arrived, there was a snake at the base of her throat coiled so tight, she couldn't breathe and this time it had nothing to do with the weakness of her chest or lungs. It seemed her master was well aware of the constriction; he was actively avoiding her gaze. She could not force the obstruction away. The snake had a mind of its own. She was nearly certain it would kill her.

River felt her collarbone snap once she passed through the doors. She locked her jaw and dropped her eyes to the floor.

"Why is she cuffed," someone asked to her left.

"We haven't had a case like this in history, why not take extra precautions? Especially after that titan boy came through. You can't be too careful, knowing they have allies behind our walls," someone else answered, speculating in ignorance.

She nearly laughed at the sentiment of titans having 'allies', but bit her lip to silence the mirth. This would be a bad moment for humor. For good measure, once she was stopped, she knelt down to her knees. Don't be perceived as a threat for as long as you can. She let out a breath.

The sound of heavy thuds hitting wood resonated through the room.

A gruff voice called the court to order a minute later. The whispering circling her halted immediately. Then he began to explain:

"We are gathered here for the case of a citizen found outside the walls. This citizen survived titan territory for five years, as I am led to believe, and we are to hear the case from our strongest soldier of his findings to decide if she can join the survival of humanity. I will remind the court before we begin that we are to observe both questions: how did she survive, and what affect has her survival had on her mental capabilities to connect with society again? Levi Ackerman, you may now present your answers and the evidence behind them to the court."

Here we go. She braced herself.

"First of all, she will not join society like a regular, peaceful citizen after what she has seen out there. The disgust of facing titans on a day to day basis alone for that long would drive any regular person to suicide. She wants to destroy them. Therefore, I personally tested her use for my squad and offered her a position as a soldier," Levi droned, sounding as though he was not embellishing her story and this was not about to take a turn that would shatter the tension already building in the air.

She could feel the weight of suspicion on her shoulders already. It was that moment which she understood finally how the state of mankind was controlled by terror: even if she were just like them, they would never trust her again because she survived. Her survival alone was enough to damn her.

River grew calm so quickly, she felt it snap into place.

"Secondly, her survival is based on her genes. Once again, we have another enhanced person that is not entirely human. Except, before you get excited; she's not like Eren Yeager."

It didn't matter, the whispers were starting up again. Protests ringing out. Some talking about insanity, others screaming about blasphemy. She didn't understand a lot of it.

The loud thuds hitting wood silenced the group again as the gruff voice came back, "and what is your proof of your claims?"

Paper shuffling. He was handing the report over. She drew in slow, easy breaths. The minutes ticked by in tense silence. There were no more eyes on her, she could only guess they were watching anxiously for a reaction. She peaked subtly about the room, recognizing the military police and one of those crazy wall cult leaders. She turned to scan the other side. Hanji caught her wandering gaze when it passed over her, sending River a reassuring smile. It didn't meet her dark eyes, though. River returned the expression. She let her gaze fall back to the ground at her feet.

The voice finally spoke up again, summing up what he read.

"This document claims impossibilities. Magic and wings made from razorblades. If we are to believe this, then it also states that her power is distinctly under Levi's complete control through the metal band on his wrist."

There was a collective gasp through the room. The calm before the terror set in, silence graced her for one more easy breath, and then the protests and threats erupted right on schedule.

"You can't expect us to believe in fairy tales!"

"If that's true, we can't risk letting her live!"

"The fact alone that she survived for so long already tells us enough, kill her!"

"You'll regret it if you let these snakes have her!"

Time to laugh again, this time she didn't bother to bite it back. The sound was missed in the chaos. More pounding to the wood.

The gruff voice returned with an easy request, "if these claims are true, you will have no reason you cannot prove it here and now."

"I was only waiting for you to let me," came her master.

She held her breath. How was he going to do this?

"River, show them your wings," was the first order.

She wondered if he knew the bruising was cleared away enough for that to be safe, or if the order was simply a gamble on his part. Still, they split her skin open and lazily came to curve out from her back, scraping the stone ground with their tips. She did not release a single sound at the flames licking across her torn rib cage and spine.

"Th-th-that only proves the part that we've brought a monstrosity into the walls," a shaking, masculine voice declared. "It doesn't prove that you're in control of her!"

Monstrosity? That was a little rude.

"River, break your chains."

Wait, what?

Her head snapped up to meet his half lidded, steel eyes. The snake returned with a vengeance in her throat as her hands pushed to either side, trying to pry apart the metal cuffs about her wrists.

"What are you doing," she asked, not masking the quiver in her voice. "Without the magic, I don't have that kind of strength!"

Her wrists were already beginning to throb with the force her limbs were exerting. Her whole body ached to obey, and this helpless feeling was far too familiar for her nerves to handle.

She should have known better than to listen to his crazy mutterings about freedom and choices.

She should have known.

"Stop me, Levi, please," she begged, her heart galloping behind her ribs.

The sound of her blood rushing through her head was thunderous and drowning out the protests as confused onlookers watched the creature in their midst try to free itself.

White lightning shot up her arms, and she could not stop herself from crying out.

"Levi it hurts! Stop me. Please, I'll break my wrists," she wailed, thrashing against her bonds in a panic as her fists continued to pull outward from each other.

Purple ink was beginning to paint her skin, some places leaking a steady drip of red down the iron.

"I don't have that kind of strength on my own," she repeated, her throat clogged with terror.

The men all seemed to grow more and more pale as she screamed, but her eyes were fixed on her master, who was staring right back with a gaze unreadable and cruel.

"Please stop me," she begged once more. "Levi! IT HURTS LEVI STOP ME PLEASE IT HURTS!"

The room grew cold, frost building across her skin, sparkling like a kiss to her cheeks. She watched his eyes narrow, pinning her with his glare. River couldn't take that look. She wanted to trust him. Had wanted it so badly, she could taste the bitter truth of her isolation on her tongue. She hung her head. Defeated. Resigned to his order. River pulled on her old skin, built of the same steel he stared her down with.

All eyes were on her when the sickening sound of a bone snapping filled the room; all except for Levi's commander. He was the only one who saw Humanity's Strongest soldier flinch, his face filling with raw shame before it flashed to an all consuming rage that he composed a moment later.

"Use your power, River," he finally allowed.

Tears lay frozen against her cheek as black ooze spilled from the lines of her palm and covered her hands. It extended down the right hand across the wrist, setting the shifted bone like a cast as it passed.

The chains snapped from behind with one easy tug, clanging against the stone when she caught herself from falling face first to the ground. She did not whimper at the ache pulsing through her broken bone.

The room remained silent.

"Come to me, River," her master commanded, oddly soft for the aftermath of her torture.

She obeyed. Her legs shook beneath her weight. She did not look at him.

His fingers came to clasp gingerly about her broken wrist, firm enough to demand her attention, yet seeming as if they were also apologizing. She assumed she was imagining it. What she became distinctly aware of, though, was the blood leaking from his palm. A moment later, she realized her wings were still extended: he hadn't ordered her to reveal them just for the show.

Aloud for all to hear, he made a familiar command, "my palm is wounded. Send your healing power to it. Do not seal it until I say so."

She felt the warm syrup stir within her chest, then leave her. It dripped from the metal on his wrist, soaking down into his hand and spreading to glow pale blue in his palm. She didn't realize her power had a light when it moved in him.

Her wrist began to sing within its shattered pieces.

"Quickly, someone go and feel that bone," Hanji shouted, taking the opportunity to its fullest and hoping this moment would never need to be repeated.

There was jostling and boots clapping against the stone. Then one of the men who threatened her life moments ago was too close for comfort with his rough hand wrapped around her wrist, over Levi's gentle hold. She turned her glacial gaze up to her master, confusion and terror bringing out a deep instinct that sunk her into her servant role at its core.

I belong to him and if he wills it, my life and even my body are forfeit. It doesn't matter anymore whether or not I want to fight.

She remained still and resigned. Her bones felt like lead.

Her wrist shifted as Levi's fingers tightened and that syrup seemed to spill from his palm. The man next to her let out an audible gasp, and as easily as her heavy exhale, the bone was healed.

"Do you get it now," Levi asked the court, refusing to turn away from his slave while he spoke. "I am the only one who can control her, and her power is much more than simply destruction. We can save lives out there. We can finally have an advantage against the titans."

Silence followed as the room collectively held its breath. River closed her eyes, she couldn't bear to see grey in that moment.

Finally, they were given a verdict.

"Whether or not she has the proper training is now your problem, but she will not be loose within these walls without your direct supervision. You will take her with you on your expeditions and as long as she lives, you will give a weekly report on everything. You will not release her, nor will you have intimate relations with her. She is a tool to be used for the sake of our survival and nothing more. If you can not be trusted to put her down when the time comes, she will be terminated with no further questions. Am I understood, Captain?"

"Perfectly."

"Adjourned!"

Levi's skull felt like it was splitting in half. He was well aware the girl may never forgive him for what he did to her, but he just saved her life.