A/N : Hello everyone! Thank you for the continuous support for this fic.
First, I must thank this anonymous reviewer, Luna, for that lovely, motivating review.
So here's a chapter churned out earlier than usual for you.
Enjoy!
A toast to everyone who loves Levi Ackerman.
Stay safe everyone.
Love,
A.615.
p.s: The songs that Freya hummed at first was sung by AMALEE named Call Your Heroes Medley.
The second song was by Hiroyuki Sawano called YOUSEEBIGGIRL/T.T
Kapitel 13 – The Nightingale
The Military Tribunal is indeed issued to all three Regiments. It was to be held in two days' time due to Commander-in-Chief Zackley is currently meeting with the King. Though the Military Garrison's have made it urgent, the Commander-in-Chief is adamant for the Tribunal to be held in a few days' time.
So, in the meantime, they are stuck with the Titan Shifter. Being the cowards they are, Freya only hoped the Tribunal day will come sooner, lest the Military brigade kills Eren out of fear.
Halfway back to the Headquarters, Freya had patted onto her Captain's shoulder to slow him down. Looking down at his charge, he pulled Nacht to slow down to a trot and stopped in the middle of nowhere.
"I'm sorry, Heichou, but can we stop by Trost for a while? We're almost there anyway," Freya said, looking up at him with a strange expression on her face. When Levi kept quiet as a sign for her to elaborate more, Freya bite her lips and fingered one of the buttons on his jacket.
"It's the 3rd day after the Battle at Trost. They are supposed to collect all the bodies and burn them to avoid the possibility of an epidemic. I…I would like to pay my respects to the fallen ones."
Levi sighed. She must have felt that guilt setting in now that they are near Trost. That all too familiar guilt feeling that slowly crushes you from within when you are left alive whilst the rest got eaten up by Titan.
A feeling of helplessness for not being able to help your comrades.
"You don't have to go," Levi said quietly, steadying the horse with the reign on his hands. "No one expects you to go. It wasn't your fault they're dead."
Freya's lips wobbled. She thought back on how close she was to saving Ian and Mitabi's Squad, how she could just go faster a little more to save them, and how useless she felt at the end of the battle for not being able to help more as she watches the rest of them gets chomped up by Titans.
But it was Levi who constantly tells her that it was not her fault, and she was not to blame herself for not being able to reach them in time. And she was the one that promised to herself, to not pity the dead, but instead, to pity the living.
"I-I know," Freya answered, trying to avoid feeling down about it. It was not easy to stay positive, but she assured herself that there are survivors, and they are worth everything the dead soldiers have sacrificed. "I wished to pay them a final respect. They've helped a lot during the battle at Trost."
Levi assessed her face – they showed every sign of distress, sadness, and despair. Normally, if there is no official request or statement, none of the soldiers would bother to go. Because none of them wants to relive the nightmare and watch as their dismembered bodies burn in the fire. No one would attend their funeral. Their days would just go on, trying their might to forget the horrors they have seen.
And yet, here she is still, requesting for him to bring her to Trost, where the soldiers will have their remains burned.
"One hour," he said to her, pulling on the horse's reign to get it back to trotting down the path. "That's all you will get. Once the hour is up, we will leave."
Freya held onto his waist and buried her face into his pine-scented clothes as they ride to Trost District. "Thank you, Heichou," she whispered gratefully, knowing the Captain will hear her over the winds.
CALL MY NAME-CALL MY NAME-CALL MY NAME
The ride itself was short. Between the prison that held Eren Yeager and the Headquarters, Trost is a lot closer to them. They slowed to a trot when they are closing into Trost's gateway from Wall Rose.
"Heichou! Freya!" Petra called, waving frantically at them. She had seen them from afar and called the others out excitedly. Running towards them, Petra saluted her Captain and took one quick look at Freya with the walking cane and pulled her into a hug.
"Oh, what in the name of Wall Maria happened to you?!" Petra said, squeezing the life out of Freya. Freya grunted in pain and patted Petra's back. Levi had told her earlier that everyone had worried about her. He briefly informed them that she needed some time to recover before she can go back to her normal duties. They had summed up the worst about her being incapacitated from the Titan attack on Trost. But seeing her all good, they were relieved.
"Hey, stop it. She's not fully recovered yet," Levi chastised Petra. Petra quickly released her and do another quick look over her. Walking cane in hand, some pinkish fresh scars on her palm. There was a different sort of aura with her. No longer the happy cheerful Freya, but one that Petra sees almost daily.
A soldier who had seen the real terrors of a Titan attack.
Petra almost teared up when she saw Freya smiled, wondering to herself what kind of ordeals have she gone through while in Trost alone. She knew Freya had not begun training with the Three-Dimensional Manoeuvre Gears and doesn't have much knowledge in the battlefield with the Titans. It was a miracle she survived the Survey Corp's return to Trost.
"I'm good. Really. Don't worry Petra. I'm glad everyone is well," she said reassuringly with a smile. Petra worriedly held her hand and rubbed the cold digits, feeling sad at how scarred her palms have been.
Gunther and Eld both met up with them. The last to arrive was Oluo. He never liked the new Secretary to begin with, a little bitter with how easy she is promoted to that position without prior training backgrounds. She has her uses, but that is all she is. A baggage to his Captain.
He was mumbling all sorts of Levi-ish catchphrases until his eyes fell onto said Captain's Secretary. The same thought that Petra had thought about ran through his mind.
She has changed.
"Secretary Walker," Oluo called quietly, looking at her up and down. Walking cane, sad eyes. This wasn't the annoying Secretary he despised.
Freya's attention turned towards him and she smiled. "Hello Oluo. I'm sorry for not helping out here," she said apologetically. "I heard from Levi Heichou that the Survey Corps members will return to the Headquarters tonight."
"A-ah, yeah," Eld replied, stunned with Freya's presence. He notices the difference as well and rubbed his neck to answer her. "We're almost done here. All the bodies have been lugged to the bonfire in the centre of the square market."
"Perfect. I need to pay my respect to the dead. I'll be going there first, Heichou," Freya said with a smile, saluting her Captain and nods to the rest before leaving the group. Levi watched her for a while before deciding to follow her.
"Finish up here and go back to the Headquarters. I want a detailed report on my table before noon tomorrow," he said as he left the group to themselves, catching up to Freya as she slowly hobbling along towards the square market with her walking cane.
The four of them watches as their Captain raised a hand behind Freya, not touching her, but leaving only enough space to hover around, as if preparing to catch her if she were to stumble.
Eld breaks the silence first, "Anybody notices she's a little different from usual?"
Oluo answered with a scoff, "From before the Battle of Trost you mean." Oluo knew Eld had a sort of crush with their new Secretary.
Gunther interrupted and explained, "I heard from Hange Bun Taichou that she was here when the Titans attacked."
"What?" Petra exclaimed in surprise. Would that explain the fresh scars on her palms? And the walking cane? And she had made a noise when she hugged her earlier.
Was her back affected as well?
"I thought the Captain told her to avoid battles?" Oluo asked grudgingly, not wanting the topic to go any further, and yet, he couldn't help but want to know a little more. Maybe just a little more. See if she's really as useless as a paperwork secretary.
Gunther contemplated not telling them, but when Oluo puts his question out like that, he summed that they needed to know the little secretary wasn't just a sitting duck and said, "The Bun Taichou saw her finishing one Titan when they arrived back at Trost to sweep the area off Titans. She's probably not the kind to avoid battles, but only went in when there's no choice. And the Horse Whisperer those cadets were talking about? It's probably her as well."
Eld swallowed. For as long as they have been here at Trost helping since day one of the Battle of Trost, they have questioned and heard several of the cadets and soldiers telling them of one person, who had released all the horses in the stables and sent them ground aids when there are no other soldiers nearby to help them. This person had even felled several Titans on her own, albeit a little awkwardly, as if she wasn't used to the Three-Dimensional Manoeuvre Gears.
As if she wasn't trained to use them.
She was not wearing any military jacket at the time when they spotted her around Trost, hence they are not able to identify which Regiment she was from. But many had the same description of her. Small, petite, and dark haired.
"Then…" Eld let out a breath and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Then she has saved the civilians and the grounded cadets. Many survived because of the horses that came to their aid."
"You guys didn't see the scars on her palms as well," Petra said quietly as she watches the gradually disappearing silhouette of her Captain and his Secretary. "She must have been left with no choice but to fight at Trost."
CALL MY NAME-CALL MY NAME-CALL MY NAME
Freya ambled slowly towards the town square. She sensed Levi stopped following her after a while and left her on her own device. She felt his eyes watching her still from somewhere, and silently, she thanked the Captain for his kind generosity, for allowing her this moment. She needed to do this on her own. She owed that much to the dead and those that she could not save.
The atmosphere is heavy with grief as families mourned the loss of their soldiers, family, and friends. Several bonfires were set up at the square to burn more bodies faster. Standing near the bonfire were several familiar faces that she had seen before at the Battle of Trost.
"Hey, Mikasa," one cadet said to his friend. "Isn't that the Horse Whisperer? She was with us that day."
Freya looked over when she heard her name and waved. It was Armin Arlert.
"Hello Armin, Mikasa. It's great to see all of you again," Freya said with a small smile as they walked towards her. She shouldn't exactly say they're looking great, as each of them had a grim expression on their faces.
After all, what was burning in the bon fire was once their comrades. Now, they are to be reduced to nothing but bits of bones and ashes.
"We're glad you're okay. We searched for you, but we didn't know which regiment you belong to. No one else could tell us which regiment you are as well," Armin started, looking at her up and down. Compared to the rest of them, she appears to suffer the most. A walking cane and fresh scars on her hands and had that same expression everyone else had.
Grim.
"I'm somewhere else, but I'm good. Thank you for the concern, Armin," she answered him and walked closer towards the bon fire. "I'm here to pay my respect to the dead."
The rest understood her intentions and allowed her the space she needed to quietly pray for the dead. She stood there for a long while, with her eyes closed and her walking cane supporting her there. No one could guess which regiment she belonged to, as she was only wearing a simple white shirt and the standard white pants every military soldier and cadets wore.
She begun to hum a song to herself as she closes her eyes, feeling the head of the fire warming her cold digits. It brought back the faces of those whom she failed to reach in time, who dies screaming in fear, reaching out towards her, and of Ian, who screamed of freedom before he was decapitated.
"Can't look back they will not come back,
Can't be afraid, but time after time,
It is like a nightmare, and its pain for me,
Because nobody wants to die too fast.
Remember the day of grief, now it's strange for me,
I can see your face; I can hear your voice."
Until a little girl went up ahead to her bravely and tugged on her white shirt, nudging her out of her thoughts and hums.
She was a little girl, no taller than her knee with chubby round cheeks. Fair with rosy blush and bright eyes, the little girl looked adorable as she shuffled shyly in front of her.
She crouched down with much difficulty to the little's level and asked kindly, "What is it, my lovely one?"
"A-are you," the little girl said hesitatingly. Then bite her thumb and looked back to somewhere in the crowd. There was another boy who looked over at her worriedly. He must be her brother. She turned her small head back towards Freya and asked her, "Are you the Nightingale, Fräulein?"
Freya inclined her head. The Nightingale title was bestowed upon her in the Survey Corps, and it all started because of Hange Bun Taichou as well. It wasn't an official or well-known title, but known only to the cadets and soldiers within the Survey Corps. How would this little girl know about it?
"My…my papa…" the little girl continued quickly. "Papa told us how lovely you sing before he left, that you reminded him of our mama. He wished to bring us to meet you one day."
Freya gasped and understood this immediately. She covered her mouth tightly as her heart constricted painfully in her chest, forcing herself to not break down.
These children. They were orphans now.
Before she could reply, a soldier rushed towards the square and pulled onto the little girl's arm.
"Bertha!" the soldier reprimanded the little girl. "How rude of you! I left you for one minute and here you are! Apologize to the Secretary Walker!"
The little girl bawled miserably at the soldier. Freya tried to stop him but was rendered helpless – she still needed the walking cane to stand and walk. "Herr! Release the girl!"
"I'm so sorry Secretary Walker," the soldier said apologetically. "We shouldn't have disturbed you. I'm Bertha's god uncle, Radulf Kraus. Her father is- was my friend. He…died in Trost that day. We were soldiers in the Survey Corps, and were there when you pacified your horse, Midnight, at the Headquarters field. Bertha's mother used to sing as well as you, until she passed last summer…"
The soldier's voice cracked when the little girl turned around and hugged his leg tightly, bawling her little heart out into him. Another boy trudged up towards them in the square market and patted the little girl's back. It only made the girl wailed louder.
"It appears you are their only relative left, Herr Kraus," she said quietly, watching as the three of them started to weep bitterly. They have lost everyone in the Titan Attack.
"Please, Secretary Walker," the soldier pleaded, choking back as his eyes gleamed with unshed tears from the bon fire. "My friend, he- he had loved your voice. It reminded him of his dearest. He was hoping one day to hear you sing again. Could you please…please…"
The soldier broke down and hugged the two children tightly to him as they bawled in the square market. The little girl's request was simple. She just wanted to hear a voice sing like her mama. It was a small enough request that she could grant for her, as Freya felt sorry for their lost and couldn't help but to reach out to the little girl again.
Probably, this can pacify the families who had lost their loved ones. And probably, this will allow her to finally let go.
A small hand helped her up from the side. Freya realized the team that had survived the Battle at Trost had surrounded her, moving in to help her up from the round. If she remembered correctly, this blond girl was named Krista.
"Thank you," she expressed her thanks to her. Krista smiled back at her courteously.
"Here," Armin said to her, handing her back the walking cane. Freya mumbled her thanks and gave a nod to Armin. She walked forward slowly with the walking cane and leaned down, patting the little girl's head gently.
"It might not be much, but would-" Freya started, but held herself back when she felt a lump in her throat and tried to fight back the tears threatening to spill. Taking a deep breath, she started again. "Would you like to hear me sing for your papa, little Fräulein?"
The little girl nodded vigorously and wiped the tears from her eyes. "I think he would love that, Fräulein," she replied in her small, childish tone.
She swallowed hard and begun to sing.
"Every living being dies someday,
Whether we are ready to die or not,
That day will surely come.
As she sang, she looked deep into the bon fire. There, she can make out the shape of a skull, gradually turning into ashes from the brazen fire lit with several other dismembered bodies. Was this what they will become when they die? Nothing but ashes and bits of bones? And families to remember them by?
If they even have families to remember them by…
Is that the angel who flew down from the twilight sky?
Is that the devil who crawled out of the crevice?
She saw Captain Levi with his hood up from amongst the crowd. There was an unreadable expression on his face while he stares at her. Come to think of it, he really was like an angel that flew down from the skies, salvaging and saving souls from being devoured by the devil Titans. He was someone they could not live without, being the devil towards the Titans and being an angel for humanity.
He is the very symbol of the Wings of Freedom behind every Survey Corps soldiers back.
Tears, anger, compassion, cruelty
Peace, chaos, faith, betrayal
We will fight against our fate
We must not give in to our fate
Looking into the face of the little girl, then towards the soldiers and families standing in a crowd surrounding the bon fire. All of them were attracted by her words and her voice and stood around to listen, appearing mesmerized, and no longer sobbing or wailing. It was as if she is a preacher putting words in her songs, motivating those who had lost their loved ones to stand up again and fight against fate.
This was what they had to do. And this is what they will do. Revenge against the Titans, revenge against Fate for throwing them in this cruel world, and revenge for those who had lost their lives fighting for freedom.
With sorrow and confidence in our hearts,
we show the will to move on,
No one may willfully be deprived of their life.
With sorrow and confidence in our hearts,
we show the will to move on,
No one may willfully be deprived of their life.
Freya stares into the bon fire once again and whispered quietly to the dead, "You can rest now."
The little girl came up to held her hand, kissing the back of her hand and placing it on her forehead. "Thank you, Fräulein."
Freya smiled sadly and patted the little girl's cheeks. "Be well," she told the little girl, and turned around.
Walking back towards the crowd where she knew Captain Levi is standing amongst, the Captain gave her a nod and turned back towards where Nacht is tied up. The crowd dispersed around her, bowing as she passed. It was just a song, not much was offered, but for them, it was worth the world. Their sorrows were appeased, and they moved on quietly into the night.
As she walked, she grasped the bottom of the Captain's cloak. To know he is there is a comfort, and to know he has been watching her brought warmth to her heart.
The Captain is actually a very kind person. He just doesn't show it, and often times, it doesn't portray his kindness enough.
"All good?" Levi asked her quietly as he led them back to the horse. She had hold herself up well by not breaking down in public. She is ready mentally for the gears. Now, all he had to do is wait for her to get well soon.
Freya nodded her head and said yes. Levi led the horse towards one side where there is a flight of stone stairs that he could stand on while lifting Freya to the horse. Getting used to the rhythm of how he works, Freya waited patiently until he extended both his hands towards her.
Walking into his arms, Freya placed her hands on his shoulders and allowed him to lift her up to the horse. "Time to go home," he said to her quietly as he tucked her walking cane to the horse's back pouch. "You've done well today."
Freya bite her lips hard, not wanting to break down now. Levi lifted himself off the grounds and sat behind Freya. Grabbing hold of the reign, he pulled Freya closer to him and said, "You're alright now."
CALL MY NAME-CALL MY NAME-CALL MY NAME
They had arrived back safely with minimal fuss from Freya's side. Only that she had opted to bury her face in Levi's jacket when they are nearing the Headquarters. He had wondered what started up her fuss, until he remembered her talking about his reputation and all. He rolled his eyes and allowed her to hide her face with his jacket before they were to arrive at the stable. Downside of this was, he had to will his heartbeat to not speed up when she did that by taking deep slow breaths.
Looks like she has taken the threats of females murdering her in her sleep quite seriously.
He did notice the females looking over curiously, but all of them quickly looked elsewhere when he directed his gaze at them. He took extra care to look as mean as possible as well while doing so. Didn't want them to get the wrong idea of him being friendly.
He's tired of kicking woman down the stairs and out of his office when they took off their clothes in front of him.
When Nacht stopped trotting, Freya lifted her head out of his jacket.
"Did anyone saw us?" she asked cautiously, eyes looking around to check if there are anyone else here in the stable.
Levi scoffed. "Plenty," he answered simply, getting down from the horse with a swing of his leg. He held up both his hands for her to come down into his arms. But she opted to panic instead.
"Oh hell. Oh no," she cried nervously, cradling her face and neck. "I hope the Washers didn't see me, because-" she looked down at her Captain and notices his arms outstretched towards her. Quietly obeying him, she places both her hands on his shoulders and slides down from the horse into his arms and continued, "-because they love you, Heichou. All of them. I meant all of them love you. Every one of them dreams of having you in their bed and-"
"And they can continue to dream. Let's go," Levi interrupted her and fished out her walking cane from the horse's saddle. How it had managed to stay there throughout the bumpy rides amazes him.
Grasping her hand, Levi dropped the walking cane in Freya's hand and said, "If any humans harass you, you have my permission to use this to beat them up."
They walked past many cadets and soldiers, all of whom was eying the little Secretary. Half wanted to go up to help her, whilst the other half felt the sheer irritation rolling off their Captain that they daren't come closer.
He remembered their faces. Those who dares to eye his Secretary in his presence were those that tried so hard to get a glimpse of her in his room, and those ridiculously ludicrous requests that doesn't even need a Captain class level officer to solve. Blocked toilet? Horse shat more than usual? Fucking mad, that's what they all are now. Probably the expedition got them all to become snowflakes.
Shit heads, the lot of them, Levi thought to himself. Didn't see you lot flocking around her when she's a Washer.
"Hurry up," Levi called as he went up the stone stairs of the castle. "The paperwork is piling up as we speak."
"I'm coming," Freya answered, going step by step up the stone staircase.
Though she can walk just fine now, it was still a bit difficult for her to go up the stairs. Though, now that she noticed, when she walks, it was in small steps. She couldn't exactly bend her knees without feeling that pulled-muscle pain. And her knees as well. Damn. She had knelt so hard that day when Captain Levi saved her on the rooftop. It had felt bruised up till today.
It should do fine for her to practice walking again. Steps are her obstacle, but it is something that she must go through everyday for living in a castle. Practice makes perfect. She assured to herself quietly that it will be fine again. She doesn't need the Captain to shoulder her burden every time she was to step out of his room.
Oh…his room, Freya thought in a daze. I would like to stay there forever if it is possible.
Just as she is going up the stairs, she heard the footsteps of someone coming up. Not wanting to block the pathway, Freya stood more to the sides to allow anyone from behind to pass through her.
"Freya?" said the person behind her. "Oh, let me help you with that."
Before she could see who was it that had called her name, that person promptly pulled her arm over to them and sweep her up into their arms.
A flashback of the creepy cadet that had came into the Captain's room and harassed her. Things could have ended badly were it not for the Captain's timely return.
It was then Captain Levi's voice rang in her mind.
If any humans harass you, you have my permission to use this to beat them up.
Screaming, Freya brought the walking cane down upon the person's head and leaned away, falling on all four on the stone stairs and knocking her head onto its hard surface. The person who had carried her without her consent slipped on the stairs and pulled onto Freya's foot, causing her to lose her footing on the stairs and slipped on her hand.
It had happened so fast. She was just right behind him no seconds ago, but when he turned around in alarm at the sound of her screams, she was already slipping down the stairs with a cadet pulling on her foot.
How the fuck this happened in the span of seconds? He thought to himself as he hurriedly climbed down the stairs and kicked the cadet's hand from holding onto her.
He pulled her to sit upright and finds her forehead covered in blood. He summed to himself that something happened to Freya in that split second he was not watching her, and the main culprit could be that cadet.
The cadet sat upright and rubbed his forehead. Levi recognized him. It was the good for nothings shitshow that tried to hit up on Freya the night before the expedition.
"Oww," the cadet quietly moaned. "You don't have to beat me up like that, Freya. I was just trying to help."
Bloody hell, what the fuck happened?
"And help in what manner, shithead?" Levi questioned coldly. The cadet froze upon hearing his superior's voice.
"L-Levi Heishichou!" the cadet exclaimed in shock and scrambled to stand up and salute him. "I was trying to carry her up the stairs. But then she screamed and beat me with that stick."
Levi assessed Freya carefully with both hands on her neck. She obviously didn't break her neck, just knocked her head against the stone stairs. She looked at him with a dazed sort of expression, and upon realizing that it was him, she grasped the bottom corner of his jacket.
"Le-Levi…Heichou…" Freya managed to say while her world spins from the concussion her head had suffered when she falls. One hand raised up to touch the part where it hurts, she was stopped by Levi's hand pushing her hand down and said quietly, "No. Don't touch it."
Her eyes were seeing stars everywhere. "I-I'm…I'm dizzy…everything just…spins…"
She was wobbly even when Levi held her upright. She could have suffered a bad concussion. And he remembered briefly that Hange had a thing with concussion, since that fellow always did some experiments that resulted in explosions.
"Get Hange!" Levi yelled at the cadet, who quickly scampered off to find the Squad Leader.
Scooping her small frame into his arms, he carefully set her head against his neck and carried her up the stairs. Kicking open his office door, he sets her down on the sofa and knelt in front of her.
"Freya? Freya. Can you see me or hear me?" he asked, concerned that it might looked worst than it is. He checked the side of her face to see if she felt any pain but no, there is no sign of anything broken. Just the forehead.
Freya is still spinning in her own world from the concussion. It was bad enough that her body and head had followed the spinning she felt and is currently wobbling front and back and in a circle. Raising her hand to pat her Captain's hand, she assured him by saying, "…I can hear…and see you, Heichou…I just can't stop…the spinning…so dizzy…"
He left her to sit on the sofa alone and stood up, but she held onto his jacket. Sighing, he shrugged it off his shoulder and went into the toilet to get a clean cloth to wipe the blood on her forehead.
Hange then burst into the office with a scream of, "I'M HERE, MY NIGHTINGALE!"
"Shut up, Hange, and fix her. She said she's dizzy," Levi said, coming out of his room with the wet clothe and met Hange fussing over Freya. In the few minutes Levi left her alone, she had flopped onto the side of the sofa and buried her face in his jacket.
He froze.
"Ne, Levi, wasn't this your jacket?" Hange asked innocently, trying to tug the jacket away from Freya.
She held onto the jacket stubbornly and refusing to budge. "Mine!" she exclaimed.
Levi bites the inside of his mouth to stop himself from smiling. He thought that was adorable.
"Alright, alright, its yours if you want it," Hange cooed to her and patted her head softly. Freya whimpered into the jacket and closed her eyes tightly. "Oh, she's so adorable when she's like this. Don't you think, Levi? Oh yes, pass me the clothe, will you?"
Levi ignored Hange's comment and looked at the Survey Corps Titan researcher up and down. "Have you washed your hands?"
"Eh…no," Hange replied with a smile, hands still shamelessly outstretched awaiting the clothe in Levi's hand.
"Then no," Levi replied Hange and pushed the eccentric scientist aside. "Let me do it. You might be spreading germs everywhere with that hand."
"B-But," Hange protested, but was ignored by Levi when he proceeded to place the cold clothe on her affected forehead.
Upon feeling the cold clothe on her forehead, Freya opened her eyes and looked up at the figure wiping her forehead. It was the Captain Levi.
"Oh, my favourite Captain. Hello~ You still spin by the way," Freya said in a daze, smiling at him brightly and hugging his jacket closer to her face.
He was stunned for a moment, but just for a moment. She had said that so innocently that his heart soared. He is her favourite it seems. He allowed himself to bask in in that short-spanned satisfaction, until he was reminded that she was concussed.
She probably didn't know what she's talking about.
"You knocked your head up pretty hard just now. Just close your eyes," Levi said in a quiet voice. Loud voices might aggravate her dizziness. He did not know how to comfort a person. Hange does that best. Or Freya herself. But she is currently out so that left Hange to-
"Ohh~~" Hange said in a singsong way and slapped one hand behind Levi, who glared at the scientist immediately. "Favourite Captain there. Didja heard that Levi?"
"She's concussed," he assured the Squad Captain and continue to wipe down her forehead as she rubbed her face happily into his jacket. It was just a small break at the skin, and it had swelled to one big red bump on her forehead. "She doesn't know what she's talking about."
"Of course, she knows!" Hange protested. "There's no evidence saying that a concussed patient's conversation are all made up. In fact, it is quite like telling the truth and getting drunk. Let's ask her something else. Ne, ne Freya. How do you find Captain Levi here?"
Freya looked up at Hange, then at Levi. Both of them were looking down at her from where she is laying on the sofa in Levi's office. Levi was watching her with a strangely soft expression on his face while gently wiping the blood caked on her forehead. It was almost clean before he was stunned to shock with Freya's answer.
"Captain Levi is yummy," she said innocently, watching Levi's face with admiration, then hide her face in his jacket. Then looked up from the jacket again and continued, "Very yum."
Levi's heartbeat increased. He could feel his ears reddened up hotly when Hange howled in delight at her answer.
Adding one more to the list of things he wanted to do with her.
Number 1: Kiss her. For real.
Number 2: Tie her up on his bed.
Number 3: Force kiss her.
Number 4: Bite her.
Number 5: Make her his woman.
Number 6: Eat her.
However, they made the mistake of leaving the door wide open. And just right at that moment when Freya described her Captain while concussed, her cousin brother happened to walk past.
From there, it was pure thunder and storm.
"WHAT?!" Erwin hollered in a voice that echoed throughout the castle grounds, appearing outraged by what he had heard. Yum? Did Levi force her to do anything behind closed doors? Furious, Erwin stormed in and slammed the door shut behind him.
"Fuck, its Erwin," Hange said in a panic. The scientist immediately sobered up and hold up both hands in hopes to calm the furious Commander. It will do no one any good with the Commander this furious on something that could have stemmed from a misunderstanding. "CAPTAIN LEVI, YOU EXPLAIN YOURSELF NOW, YOU PUT THIS RIGHT!"
Hange had to hold off Erwin for the remainder of the timeframe that it took for Captain Levi to explain the situation. He had to repeat multiple times to appease Erwin and said, "It's not what you think. Listen to me first, you thick-headed Eyebrows! I'm not even the person you should go after!"
"If its not to you then who will it be!?" Erwin raised his voice again and almost lunged at Levi. Hange, again, pushed against the Commander's towering height and weight to stop a battle from commencing within the Captain Levi's office.
"Calm down and listen, Erwin! Its not even what you think! We'll explain, ne?" Hange said comfortingly, patting the Commander's back to calm the furious man.
The argument could have gone longer had Freya not sit up from the sofa and called at the Commander, "Winnie! My most beloved brother!"
The effect was almost instant. It caught Erwin's attention and he snapped out of his rage. The Commander almost melted in Hange's arms and immediately went to her and started to fuss around the Captain's Secretary. "Sticky? You good? Oh, what happened? How is it that you have a bump this big on your head?"
"She fell down the stairs when this idiot cadet carried her without her consent," Levi blurted all of it in one single sentence. Erwin is like a bomb right now. He really did not want to set off the firework anymore than the misunderstanding just now. Best to get the stupid news over with and drag out the real shithead that had caused this pile of diarrhoea to happen.
Erwin snapped his head towards the culprit and glowered at him. The cadet had been in the wrong place at the wrong time and knelt in fear.
He realizes that he really had stepped on a hornet's nest this time. The damsel actually had connections bigger than his head could comprehend.
"I-I-I-I'm sorry Commander! I-I'm sorry, Levi Heishichou! I didn't mean it to happen this way!"
"Well look, it happened anyway, and you were just standing there watching the fight happen. How fun!" Hange piped up with a cold smile, and the cadet cowered more into the ground.
Hange smiled gleefully. "Now, to wake up the lady in distress, let's give her this and she'll come around in no time." With that, Hange popped one pill into Freya's mouth and tilted her head quickly, forcing her to swallow the pill.
Freya sputtered and swallowed the pill with great difficulty. It wasn't easy to swallow without water, but she was quickly handed a glass out of nowhere by Hange. Downing it quickly, she breathed a sigh of relief.
And stares into the curious faces of the Commander, her Captain, Hange and a cadet.
Where did that cadet came from?
Oh, Levi. He looked so nice wearing only his white shirt and the straps. He would look a lot yummier if he were to take off his cravat.
Yummier. Why does that ring a bell?
She looked down at her hand and noticed she was gripping onto his jacket.
Holy shiet. Things happened. Her mouth had run wild with truth!
"Feeling any better now?" Hange said with a bright smile. Freya momentarily shivered with the way Hange looked at her. She nodded her head and cautiously touched the bump on her forehead. Oh, this stupid bump and the problems that it caused.
"Nothing happened, I swear," Freya said to Erwin out of the blue with a slight blush on her face. In order to make it as if nothing happened just seconds ago, Freya begun to nonchalantly fold the Captain's jacket neatly. "Nothing happened between the Captain and I."
"Yet," Hange added in, rejoicing in how Erwin flared up instantly at that prompt of a word.
Levi clicked his tongue in distaste. "You are not helping, Hange!"
"I sleep talked. I do that sometimes. I was not awake after all," Freya continued to explain while eying the cadet in the room, who had the galls to look apologetic at her.
And even shuffled his boots in embarrassment. Like a girl.
"Who is he?" Freya frowned, pointing one curious finger to the cadet standing in the corner of the room.
"The elephant in the room, so to speak," Hange said jovially. Levi notes to himself that nothing seems to be able to dampen the mood of that scientist.
"I'm so sorry this happened. But I was just trying to help you up the stairs," the cadet explained, looking down on the floor with guilt. "But you beat my head with the walking cane instead and screamed."
Freya looked at Erwin, who looked at Levi, who glared right back at Erwin. Understanding the situation immediately, Freya smiled.
"I see that you have buried the news, Commander Erwin," Freya said to Erwin, and turned to look at the cadet.
"What is your name, cadet?" Freya asked kindly. The cadet shuffled his boots and stuttered out a quiet, "Isaac Luther."
"Well, Isaac Luther," Freya let out a breath and started. "Just this morning I was harassed by one cadet. I believe you have heard the sudden raging gossips about how Captain Levi had me chained to the beds, locked up and the whatnots?"
Isaac's eyes brightened up when he heard about the gossip part. True, there was indeed one cadet who had blabbered the news to everyone. But he hadn't seen him around since this afternoon and wondered where he had been. He was in the same dorm with him. There was something not quite right with that guy, but everyone put up with him, and just pitied him for missing his family so much his head had gone haywire.
Isaac nodded his head. Freya continued sheepishly, "Well, I thought you were him. So, I screamed."
CALL MY NAME-CALL MY NAME-CALL MY NAME
It was after a while before all sides are pacified. Erwin believed Freya to be sleep talking but couldn't help but to feel someone of a truth in what she had just said. Really? She viewed the midget as yummy? Good Maria, what had happened? Its just a few days!
Or wait. Has this been going on longer than he knew?
He sensed Freya staring at him. That prompted him to leave Levi's office after he carefully kissed her temple and tells her to take care.
As he left, he dragged Hange and the cadet, Isaac, in tow. Both of them needed an earful on how to keep secrets within the castle grounds.
By then, it was evening. Dinner was sent up as usual by Emma and was quickly chased out of the office by Levi before she could catch a glimpse of her with the mighty bump on her head. She had avoided eye contact with Levi for quite a while now and ate her dinner in silence.
Levi peeled off an egg and dropped it on her tray. She mumbled a small 'thanks'.
And blushed.
Damn, this was awkward. He had heard what she had commented on him, and at the same time, she remembers what she had said.
She said he is yummy. Was it supposed to meant he smells good? Or that he is her type? What is her type anyway? If she takes him as a basis of comparison towards all males, he will pale in comparison towards all the taller males with gentler disposition.
Not like him, dark and temperamental.
An uncomfortable feeling arises from his stomach before he realizes that was jealousy. He could not imagine her with anyone else.
Other than with him.
Dark and temperamental be damned then.
After dinner, Levi stayed in his room and watched over the Teacup whilst looking through his report. In hopes to dissolve the awkwardness, he had placed a pile of reports right next to her. And as easy as she is to predict as his Secretary, she picked up the pile quietly and started to go through it.
He just had to pretend he didn't notice it when she sneaked the bottom report to the top pile. Probably important.
Halfway through the pile, she started to nod her head off as she goes through one report. Levi noticed this and packed up the pile of reports next to her and places it on the bedside table. He gently pulled the report grasped lightly on her finger and places it together with the rest of the pile.
Though he really did not want to disturb her, she really needs to rest properly. She was sitting upright on the bed and on top of the covers. Sighing and running a hand through his hair, he mentally debated whether to just leave her like this and just get it over with.
Sitting on the bed, he pulled Freya's head gently towards his shoulder, not wanting to aggravate the bump that is already there. Next, he pulled the back of her knee towards him and hooked it over his legs.
And that is when she wakes up.
Freya looked at the situation and mumbled an apology. "Oh, am' sorry Heichou. I fell asleep."
Internally, Levi sighed in relief. He literally had her in his lap and cradled her in his arms. He had thought she would scream or balk or something, but she did not. "Don't apologize," he said in a quiet voice. "You're tired from today's shit."
Tired or not, there is still one more thing to do before she heads off to sleep.
Standing up, he places her back in the center of the bed and pulled the blanket over her legs. "Comfy?" Levi asked, patting the blanket down on either side of her.
Freya blinked in surprise and smiled. "Yes, thank you Heichou," she replied gratefully. Her Captain was being unusually sweet today.
Levi nodded his head as acknowledgement and said, "Good." Then proceeded to sit down on the bed heavily and said, "Come now," Levi said to her while grasping the tub of medicated gel. "It's time again."
Freya blinked.
Oh. No. Not again no, no, no.
"I-I can do that myself, Heichou," Freya stuttered as she struggled to leave the bed. But Levi already trapped her in the blanket with him sitting on one side while the other side held down by his hand.
"You can't reach behind your back yet, Teacup," Levi said to her, again using the leaning in technique, as he called it. He almost smiled when Freya stuttered out a series of incomprehensible mumbles.
"C'mere," he said gently to her, his arms opened wide for her to lean in like how they did yesterday. He never could imagine himself with this voice, but he did with her. It was a sort of instinct. Probably a thing to do with someone so small. But he was never that gentle with any of the ladies, Washers or the Kitchen aids.
Only her.
Biting her lips, Freya looked up at Levi awkwardly and leaned into his arms, placing two small hands on one of his shoulder to lean on without touching him much. Levi had to push her head towards him more and only then she leans in completely to him.
"I thought you hated people touching you," Freya asked him as he lifted the back of her shirt with his thumb and applied the medicated gel to her back slowly. She had flinched a bit when his hand started to roam at her back, but gradually relaxed when the medicated gel's cooling effect sets in.
At first, Levi chooses to ignore her. But after a while, the silence was drawing back that awkward mood around the both of them, and only then he chooses to answer her, "You already asked that today."
"You never did answer me," she tucked her chin on his shoulder as he applied another dollop of gel to her back. It was a nice feeling. So nice she could be lulled to sleep right here and now, in his arms. She noted to herself that he really looked good with this haircut. Clean cut, and it showed off the back of his neck in an enticing way.
She licked her lips at the thought of how his skin would taste and feel like over there.
"I did," Levi answered, jolting her out of her daydream. He hoped that she wouldn't realize about the lie.
"No, you didn't, Heichou," she replied in a plain tone. "I would remember if you did."
Levi sighed. He really could not escape this isn't he? "I don't just hate people touching me," Levi stated simply, continuing to rub the medicated gel into her back in a way he never thought he could be gentle. "I despised people coming into contact with me."
"Oh," Freya answered awkwardly. How troubled he must have felt to have to take care of her. To carry her, to help her with the medicated gel, to carry her down from the horse. He must have felt disgusted.
Freya bite her lips. There was a squeeze in her heart. She did not know how troublesome she must have been for him. An unwanted baggage, attention, and burden. How kind of him to have kept quiet all these while in having to put up with her nonsensical injuries from the Battle of Trost, and now this stupid head bump. She should have listened to him, to run and escape in the face of danger. Not because she is a coward, but that she has not the strength to fight. She should have run that day. She should have-
"But I thought I made it obvious to you," Levi interrupted her spiraling negative thoughts with a whisper in her ears, snapping her train of thoughts to bring her back to reality. His hot breath jolted her back to reality, and she turned to look up at him.
What's done is done. She has survived the Battle of Trost. She is injured. And she is now well recuperating in her Captain's room. But obvious? What was made obvious to her?
All he did was did things vaguely. There was never any confirmation. Did he like her in some way?
Or was she hearing things when his heartbeat increased during the ride back to the Survey Corps Headquarters?
She dared herself to ask.
"Obvious to me on what, Heichou?" Freya asked, her heart started to pound hard in her chest.
Levi looked down at her small face. Her peculiar blue and green eyes glittering so brightly against the light from the candle. It made her looked so ethereal and otherworldly, someone capable of seeing past his walls and straight into his soul. He finds it exhilarating to have her so close, to smell the pine scent that belonged to his hair wash, to feel her warmth and her heartbeat that gradually increases its speed the more he kept quiet and the longer he stares into her eyes. Being so close to each other, it brought him a feeling close to euphoria.
Almost as if she belongs to him and him alone.
He knew then and there that she is not just anyone to him. And her gaze towards him tells him more of how she feels about him too.
"That you're not the same as everyone else," Levi said, lifting his hands out from underneath her shirt and just rests his hands behind her shoulder gently.
Freya inclined her head to the side. It was something that Levi finds endearing recently. It made her looked absolutely adorable. "How's so?" she asked openly, no longer fearing the barrier between them. She knew there was something simmering between them, and all it needed is a little push, or a little more time, for something to happen.
"I hate people touching me," he said to her, almost in a dazed tone. He finds himself liking what he see, and fell mesmerized by her eyes. Brushing a stray hair from her temple, he whispered his last sentence, "But I don't mind if it's you."
Freya blinked.
What?
Eyes widened and staring at him in disbelief, Freya shakes her head to somehow make herself more awake, doubting herself if this is just a random moment in a dream and she is currently still sound asleep in her bed. "I'm sorry; I didn't catch you just now. What was it again?"
Levi clicked his tongue in annoyance. The moment was broken. Damn, he could have just leaned in to kiss her just now. He narrows his eyes irritably, taking a deep frustrated breath. He didn't like repeating himself. But then again, this is not something that he said usually, and of course she would look at him that way when she disentangles herself from his arms – that wide-eyed innocent gaze that seemed to promise so much unwavering trust and kindness.
Those eyes… She judges no one and gazes naively up at him, waiting patiently for him to repeat himself again.
In a way as if she has all the time in the world waiting for him to repeat himself.
Levi growled in annoyance. "I'm done. Go to sleep now."
In his haste, he stood up and picked up the medicated gel tub and its cover, only for the cover to drop on the floor and rolled over to the door. His quickened heartbeat is making him a little dizzy, and he need to get out now.
"Heichou," Freya started innocently, her eyes wide and staring at her flustered Captain. "Are you…by any chance…embarrassed?"
That triggered something in Levi. With one move, Levi lifted Freya from her current position and dumped her unceremoniously onto his bed. Before she could recover, he had flipped the blanket over her swiftly and left the room. It all happened so quickly she did not have time to protest.
But she did catch a glimpse onto the Captain's flaming red ears.
End of Kapitel 13: The Nightingale
Updated on: 27th of January 2021