Chapter 12: Captivity

Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin

Previously: Petra is tricked into going with Traute. Levi compiles a list of baby names. He worries for Petra, who he learns is missing, and makes a deal with Reeves for baby goods.

Traute seemed like a woman of few words but she turned out to be an easy conversationalist. Petra enjoyed her company very much and didn't even realize how far they'd gotten until they reached Wall Sina's gate. The strange feeling in her gut from earlier returned. Erwin Smith was a greatly influential man in the military. But even he did not have the clout to get someone into the interior without them being inspected at the checkpoints. Why didn't they ask for my identification? Petra thought, unsettled. Forget requesting paperwork, their carriage was barely stopped at the gate before being ushered through.

"You need to work on your poker face," Traute remarked casually. "It was easy to tell you were suspicious of me when I first approached you. But the mention of your commander's letter put you at ease. Now you're wary again. What tipped you off?"

I should have listened to my gut. Petra combed through her memories. It took her a few seconds to figure out what had bothered her about Traute and the driver approaching her. This is a double-horse drawn carriage, she realized. The Corps didn't have funds to waste on such a useless expenditure. Most carriages were drawn by a single horse as that was all it took. A two-horse carriage was simply a show of status or money.

"Getting into the interior is very difficult," Petra said, citing the reason for her suspicion. "But they just waved us through. That's highly unusual."

Traute shrugged, arms crossed over her chest. "Can't waste time. Gotta get you to the safe house quickly."

"Who are you? The commander definitely didn't send you."

"I think you're smart enough to figure it out."

"Were you sent by the Royal Government?" Petra finally asked after thinking about it. Who else would have the authority to allow just anyone to pass through the gates without a proper inspection? Traute had said they were the ones after her, conveniently leaving out the fact she herself worked for the Royal Government.

"Close. I do work for them—or at least as far as the Assembly thinks, I answer only to them. But I wasn't sent by them."

"Then who sent you? And why?"

"You'll see soon enough."

"Is this about Eren?"

"He's part of it, yes." Traute tilted her head, observing her. "No need to be afraid. We won't hurt you. Your pregnancy is the reason you're here."

What did her pregnancy have to do with anything? Just when I thought I couldn't get more confused. Petra moved to pull aside the curtain and was stopped by her—kidnapper? Companion? She wasn't entirely sure what the correct term was.

"If you could indulge my paranoia and not do that, please." Despite the polite words, the undertone was clearly more of a statement than a request.

The rest of the ride they spent in silence. She knew Traute wouldn't answer any of her questions about who sent her and why, and Petra wasn't exactly in the mood to talk about inconsequential topics again. It gave her time to think about her situation. A chilling thought occurred to her. No one knows where I am. As far as her father was concerned, she was still back at HQ. And since she'd submitted her paperwork for maternity leave, everyone at HQ thought she was home. A few had even seen her leave of her own volition, a packed trunk in hand and everything.

No one was going to look for someone they didn't even realize was missing.

These people who'd taken her could do whatever they wanted with her and no one would be the wiser. She would turn into one of those unexplained mysteries. Her disappearance would be the source of gossip and stories even decades later. She couldn't imagine what it was going to do to Levi when he'd learn she was missing.

Traute held up a hand when the carriage stopped and exited first. "Come on out," she said, waving a hand.

A large estate stood in front of them. Green fields surrounded the large, two-story, dark-roofed house. Adjacent to the manor were the stables, a shed, and another small building. Some of the horses were roaming in the grass behind the wooden fence that ran along the perimeter of the estate. Whoever lived was very wealthy, possibly even nobility.

Sharp-eyed men and women wandered around, nodding to the Traute. She's probably someone in charge. Petra could feel their stares on her back, too, as she walked with Traute to the house. Escaping this place was not going to be an easy feat. These people were observant and trained and armed on top of it. And the terrain was flat, the estate relatively isolated. By some miracle, if she managed to give them the slip they would hunt her down without much effort.

Inside, the spacious house was as richly decorated and well-furnished as Petra had expected. What happened to the owners?

Traute opened a door for her and gestured for her to step in. She had been careful not to show her back to Petra at any point. "I've brought her, Kenny," she said to the tall man sitting with his feet on the desk.

Was he the master of this house? There was something very rough and unpolished about him. Not just his clothes, which were rather plain and not something a wealthy man would wear. It was the air about him. Something about his whole demeanor was off. He clashed against the elegant study they were in with the polished, hardwood furniture, elegant rug, and bookcases filled with thick, leather-bound texts.

"Huh," Kenny said, squinting at her. "You're very easy on the eyes. The brat has better taste than I thought."

Traute pulled back a chair. "Sit."

"Thank you," Petra said out of habit. Although it was probably best not to aggravate people with guns. Proper manners couldn't hurt in this situation. She studied the man, Kenny, while he did the same to her. She didn't miss his eyes flitting to her stomach for half a second. "Would you mind telling me what's going on, please? Your...colleague wouldn't say anything other than that the Royal Government is after me."

"Pretty and polite," Kenny marveled, nodding his head. "Can't believe you're carrying that brat's evil spawn. How did he manage to get into your bed?"

The way he talked it sounded like he personally knew her former captain. But he's calling Levi a brat. What was their relationship that he would refer to Levi as a kid? "You know Levi?" Petra asked him outright.

"Of course. I was his mentor once."

She had never heard Levi mention a mentor before. But it explained the brat comment. And she also felt her chances of maybe being able to sneak out of here go further down the drain—though the chances were pretty low, to begin with. If Kenny had taught Levi, he had to be very good. "What's this about the Royal Government trying to get Eren? Is that why they're after me?"

"It's not just the Yeager boy, they also want Historia Reiss. Or you may know her as Christa Lenz. Ah, but wait, where are my manners?" Kenny lifted his feet off the desk. "I haven't even introduced myself yet. The name's Kenny Ackerman."

Petra wondered if he was possibly a relation of Mikasa Ackerman. Eren had talked about her during his month with them, his childhood friend who Petra had seen a few times.

And then Kenny revealed about the Reiss family and the Founding Titan while she listened, stunned. Next, he went on to tell her about his grand plans to become king.

It made her mind whirl.

So many pieces of the puzzle fit.

Yet it was so unbelievable. And frustrating. If the royal family had the power to control Titans, why didn't they free humanity? Why did so many soldiers have to die outside the Walls? What was the point of their sacrifice if there were people inside the Walls who knew the truth the entire time? And they even had the power to actually do something about it, Petra thought bitterly.

She had to blink several times to get rid of the stinging sensation in her eyes. Aggravating as it was, she had bigger issues at her hand right now. There was one thing that continued to confound her: her kidnapping and what she had to do with Kenny's coup to become king.

"But what does that have to do with me? I'm guessing you want to use me as a bargaining chip against Levi to make him hand over Eren. But you said you took me before the Interior Police could come after me. It wouldn't have mattered who kidnapped me, you or them. You're both on the same side for now. The end result would be the same: trying to trade me for Eren. So why hide me from your own side?"

Would it really matter who did the blackmailing? Wasn't the important thing for Kenny to get his hands on the Founding Titan and then he could reveal his betrayal?

"Cause of that little bun you've got baking in your oven. You're right that you're a good bargaining chip because of it. But I won't let Rod Reiss's loyal dogs get their hands on Levi's brat. After all, it's my blood, too."

It took a second before it came to her. "Are you Levi's father?"

"In a sense," Kenny replied, a faraway look on his face. "I did raise him for sometime when he was a kid. But by blood, Levi Ackerman is my nephew. His mother Kuchel was my little sister."

"Why doesn't he use the name Ackerman?" Petra asked curiously.

"My sister never told him about it. And I never told him my name, either. Or the fact we're related." He eyed her cryptically. "Your child will inherit a dangerous bloodline from Levi."

"What—"

"That's all I have time for today." Kenny stood and circled the desk. "I've got work to do. I can't entertain you all day long. Just know that enough Ackerman blood has been shed by the royal family and I won't let Levi's brat be another victim of theirs. Not that I'd trust them to keep their word about leaving you alone even if they do hand you back to Levi."

His words had the opposite effect. Rather than be comforted she was more worried than ever. Why would the Royal Government have the Ackermans killed? Did she have to fear assassins in the night or something? What was this about Levi's bloodline?

"Don't leave the house." Traute pushed off from the bookcase where she had been listening to them silently. "Take whichever room you want. Pantry and library are both fully stocked so you can feed and entertain yourself."

Petra hurried after Kenny, very aware of Traute at her exposed back. Though if Kenny was telling the truth, Traute wouldn't hurt her unless Petra attacked first. "Wait, is this the Reiss family estate? Isn't it dangerous to keep me here? What if they come back?"

"This is Rod Reiss's wife's estate she got from her family so it's in her maiden name," Kenny said and she scrambled to keep up with his long gait. "No one will think to look for you here, right under their noses. Plus as far as prisons go, this is a luxurious and comfortable one."

"What am I supposed to do here?"

"Nothing. Just kick back, relax, and don't make trouble." Kenny left with a cheery wave, Traute following loyally.

That's it? Petra watched them leave, mouth slightly open. I'm just supposed to lounge around this big house all day like some fat, lazy, house cat?

Djel Sannes appeared eerily unfazed, sitting tied up before them.

Levi should have known. Sannes was a member of the Interior Squad. He wouldn't be intimidated the way most people would be in his place, restrained and being stared down by two people dressed in aprons and long gloves. Still, not seeing even a fleck of fear in the man's eyes pissed Levi off. He wasn't one to enjoy terrorizing others, not unless they truly deserved. And this fucker, he decided, deserved nothing but the absolute worst that could unleash on him. To see him so unafraid now was maddening. That'll change soon enough.

Hange had ordered him to let her do most of the questioning and follow her lead. She'd understood he'd most likely lose his temper and go straight to outright pummeling the bastard.

Levi had to admit she had been right. He'd only agreed because he hadn't thought it'd take much to break Sannes. But Sannes held strong and Levi knew his rage-fuels methods of interrogation would never have worked, no matter how much it would have made him feel better to bash Sannes's face in.

Hours passed but the man refused to give up anything of importance, only sharing his own personal beliefs.

"At least tell us where Petra is if you won't rat out the royal family," Hange said. "Even you can't be that lowly to hurt a pregnant woman."

Sannes was silent, staring intently at them.

Levi's patience began to dissipate. "Just fucking talk, you worthless piece of shit!"

"Easy, Levi."

"I'm not telling you anything," Sannes said stubbornly.

"You will," Hange told him calmly. "We've many other methods of making you talk that we haven't tried yet. Always good to have variety, yes?" She gestured to the tools of torture on the cart that still lay clean.

Sannes's eyes shifted to Levi. "You'll never see your woman again, or your child."

"Don't!" Hange stopped him.

"This isn't working," Levi growled at her before turning to Sannes. "Listen here, bastard. I've never claimed to be a paragon of virtue. I was raised by a serial killer and I have no issues coming down to your level and getting my hands dirty. So tell me what I need to know or I'll slowly skin you alive."

"Perhaps," Sannes started slowly, "one day you'll find her body in a shallow ditch with her throat slashed. We'll keep the baby, though. Considering who its parents are, might make for a useful tool."

Hange threw herself at Levi, grabbing him hard enough that he'd have to hurt her to get her off. "Levi! Stop! Stop it!"

Levi was too furious to think straight. "Let me go! Let me kill him!"

"If you kill him we'll never find her!"

It made him stop. The fury continued to surge in his veins, sending his temperature through the roof.

"She will—"

"You just shut it." Hange stuffed a rag in Sannes's mouth. "Levi, get out."

"But—"

"You need to leave and cool off. He's getting into your head too easily."

Much as he hated to admit, she was right. Still, Levi ripped off the apron and gloves and left the room in anger.

The table and chairs were empty when he went to the room his squad tended to gather in as a group. That was just as well. He was in a foul mood. It was better they weren't here to see him in this state.

Needing to release his frustration, he intended to only throw one chair. Yet somehow, he broke all the furniture in the room, kicking over chairs and hurling the table at the concrete wall. But he did feel better after smashing all the furniture, pretending it was their prisoner's bones he was shattering.

His squad must have heard the destruction he was wreaking but wisely kept away, knowing he needed to be alone with his desperation.

Levi sat against a wall, staring at his hands, feeling something he wasn't used to: helplessness.

Levi clenched his hands into fists. He still felt a small impulse to go beat Sannes bloody. We do still have the other asshole. It's not like we'll be without a lead if I rip that fucker's tongue out and strangle him with it. The thoughts of unleashing untold violence on their captive further made him feel better. He fantasized about all the ways he could torture Sannes. It was better than the anxiety-inducing thoughts of Petra being held captive and tormented while he sat here uselessly.

Despite trying not to think about it, his mind started to wander. Where were they keeping Petra? Were they feeding her enough? Was she being kept warm? He couldn't imagine how much stress she would be under. A bitter feeling rose up in his chest. His kid wasn't even born yet and already he was failing at his parental duties.

All of a sudden, he couldn't stop picturing Petra scared and alone and cold. And I'm just sitting here twiddling my thumbs. Why hadn't his dumbass thought to get Petra out of dodge when the shit first started to go down?

Don't lose focus, Levi told himself. What was done was done. There as no changing the past. Exhaling sharply, calming himself, he started to make his way back. He couldn't give in to his worry and frustration. That's not going to get you anywhere. Only cold logic and calculation would help him get the answers he needed. Emotions only made things messy and complicated. Petra needed him to not be an impulsive hothead right now.

"Do you have your head on straight?" Hange asked when he joined her.

Levi gave her a firm nod.

Hange focused on Sannes again. "Back to business," she said, holding up a bloody pair of pliers. She shoved his head back and stuck the pliers in his mouth. "Which one should I take this time?"

Levi didn't even flinch at the sound of the tooth being ripped out. He rather enjoyed the pitiful moans and tears coming from their prisoner.

Sannes tried taunting him again using Petra and their unborn baby but this time, Levi's composure didn't break. Sannes gave up eventually, realizing it wasn't going to get him anywhere.

They continued drilling him about the royal family and he still didn't break.

"You want them back?" Sannes finally said. "Let's make a trade."

"I know your type all too well." Levi wiped the blood off his knuckles. "Don't think I'll fall for any empty promises. Your word isn't worth shit. To begin with, the exchange will probably be a trap you don't intend for us to walk away from. And if by some chance we are allowed to leave in one piece, I'm sure we'll have to look over our shoulders for the rest of our lives. You'll come for us one day to tie up the loose end."

"You really are a heartless man, aren't you?" Sannes grunted. "Any decent man would desperately grasp at the smallest chance to save his family. But not you. No, you're okay with letting this opportunity slip by because you're trying to be clever. You're a cold bastard, Levi. Willing to gamble with even your child's life. Perhaps your baby is better off dead than having a psychotic fucker like you as the father."

Levi may not have allowed himself a visible reaction to the words Sannes had been spitting the entire time, but his taunts had been slowly building up anger in his stomach. He was going to reach his boiling point soon. Don't get baited and side-tracked. Keep your shit together.

"Huh," Hange said, something odd about her tone.

Levi welcomed the distraction. It was something to focus on, instead of the feelings roiling in his gut, worsening with time and fueled by their prisoner's sneering words. "Hange?"

"You don't have Petra," Hange said to Sannes.

Lev scowled at her. "What're you talking about? Of course they have her. Where else could she be?"

"I don't know," she said honestly. "But I bet it's not with his group. It's silly that it took me until now to notice, but why didn't he start making a deal with us from the beginning? Petra for Eren and Historia. Why else would they kidnap her? It only makes sense because she might make a good bargaining chip against you. Instead, he didn't start doing that until after we brought her up first."

"We have your bitch and if you want her and your—"

"See how he goes on the offensive when it comes to Petra?" Hange pointed triumphantly at Sannes. "When we question him about the royal family, he's vague and dodges our questions. Sometimes he refuses to talk outright about them and changes the subject. But he turns real vulgar and rude when it comes to Petra."

Come to think of it, Levi realized Sannes did tend to get nasty and mean when Petra was involved. Otherwise he only babbled about his faith and his loyalty to the royal family.

"See, I'm thinking the reason he's talking about her so much is because they don't actually have her, so he's gotta bullshit us. He does possess knowledge about the royal family so he must be careful about not letting anything slip there. That's why he's more tight-lipped with them but not with Petra. He's just trying to rile you up and get under your skin so you might kill him in anger and he'll take his secrets about the royal family to the grave."

"It's easy enough to check," Levi said, coming up with an idea. "I can go bring up Petra to his buddy Ralph and see how he reacts. Even if he manages to figure out Sannes here is lying his ass off about kidnapping her, Ralph won't be able to confirm or deny any details about it that I can slip in."

"No need. She's right. I'm lying," Sannes admitted freely. "We don't have your woman," he said to Levi.

Hange raised an eyebrow. "You gave that up surprisingly fast."

He shrugged, face swollen. "I can't see the harm in it. And I'm sure you'll be able to confirm it with Ralph soon enough. We did send someone to spy on her on the off chance she was communicating with you, Levi. Then we could track you down and get our targets. But we couldn't find her anywhere at your HQ. The last thing our spy gathered from the other soldiers was she left in a carriage, her trunk packed. Her father didn't seem to know where she went either. We thought you had arranged for her to leave and were keeping her hidden away."

"We've just been wasting time questioning you about Petra," Hange said in disgust. "You've been buying time for your friends to locate you. Us interrogating you about Petra meant we weren't grilling you about the royal family."

"Don't feel bad. You wouldn't have learned anything anyway," Sannes said in a patronizing tone.

"C'mon, Levi, let's go."

They ditched the aprons and gloves and went to the room with the destroyed furniture.

Hange didn't comment on it.

"Where is Petra, then?" Levi crossed his arms over his chest. "If she's not at HQ, not at her father's house, and not with these asshats, then where? Where could she have gone?"

"I have no idea. At least she's safe from the Interior Police."

"That doesn't help me," he said, still agitated.

"It's not good news," Hange agreed. "But it's not bad either. We know for sure she would have been in danger with the Interior Police. But now there's a chance she's safe and sound."

"Until I know that for sure I won't be able to rest."

"Then let's get to the bottom of this mystery with the royal family. That's how this whole mess started. I'm sure once we have that figured out we'll be able to find Petra."

Levi rubbed his face with his hands. "And how do we do that? Nothing's working."

"Perhaps it's time we try a different approach, use our brains instead of our fists to get our prisoner to talk and spill his guts."

Petra was bored out of her mind.

She had never thought captivity could be so dull.

There was barely anything to do to fill up all the time she had on her hands.

When Kenny and Traute had left her here six days ago, she had mentally prepared herself for stress and anxiety. Not only for herself, but also for Levi, Eren, and the rest of the Corps. They were facing the Royal Government itself. But instead of being overcome with worry, she was overcome with boredom, stuck wasting time trying to entertain herself.

Fortunately, her guards allowed her to go around outside and take care of the horses to help fill the time. Once they figured out she had no ulterior motive, that she wasn't trying to trick information out of them, a couple had started talking to her about mundane things like cooking recipes.

Much as she'd like to escape she knew realistically she couldn't. And a large part of her didn't want to escape either. With the Royal Government after her, she was much safer here. As annoying as it was having nothing useful to do all day, she knew it was better than falling into enemy hands and being used against Levi. If I can't be helpful to the Corps but I'll be damned if I become a hindrance by getting myself captured by Rod Reiss's followers. It was bad enough she was caught by Kenny but at least he wasn't using her to get his hands on the Founding Titan.

There was always the chance Kenny was lying about keeping her here for her own safety.

Captivity had given her plenty of time to think about everything and she had found herself unable to come with a better reason for why she was being kept here than the one she was given. It really was just about keeping his nephew's unborn child out of the hands of the man who's family had shed Ackerman blood for generations. Otherwise, if she was truly a means to an end, they would have tried to make use of her already. Why wait and give the Interior Squad time to kidnap Eren?

Petra couldn't wait for Kenny to return. She wanted to learn more about Levi and his family. Soon to be her and her baby's family. What exactly did it mean that her child had inherited a dangerous bloodline on the paternal side?

Also, she was hoping that maybe she could finagle some novels or art supplies out of Kenny. Anything to help the time go by. Unfortunately, the library only had a few novels. Most of the other books were tedious texts about uninteresting subjects such as laws, economics, and agriculture—some of which Petra had, admittedly, read because she was just that desperate.

What I wouldn't give to have some of Levi's paperwork. A thought she'd never thought would ever cross her mind.

When Kenny and Traute finally returned, Petra was on the floor, creating paper boats as one of her guards kept an eye on her.

"I see you're taking house arrest well." The way Kenny plopped himself on the sofa, arms out and one leg over the other, reminded her of Levi. Some of his speaking habits and the way he moved were like Levi. Or rather, Levi mirrored his uncle's mannerisms. It made her miss Levi terribly. As sad as she was to think he had no idea she was being kept prisoner, at least he wasn't going out of his mind with worry. He probably thought she was relaxing at her father's house.

"I was hoping to do a boat race today with Jansen and a few others," Petra told Kenny. "They're bored of keeping an eye on me too like I am of sitting around having nothing to do."

Coming under scrutiny from Kenny and Traute, her guard Jansen immediately said, "I'm here to make sure she doesn't write any secret messages in the paper boats."

"Wait, what?" Petra gaped at him. She'd thought he was hanging out with her because he liked her company.

"Not that it would have mattered even if she was," he went on, ignoring her. "We have someone down the stream to catch and discard all of the paper boats."

"To think I was going to share my favorite pie recipe with you," she muttered as the guard left. Petra sat up and joined Kenny, who eyed her curiously. "I wanted to ask you about the Ackerman family."

Traute left without a word to give them privacy.

"You said they were killed by the royal family but you never explained why or what happened. And how did you find Levi? Does he know about you being in the Interior Police? What did you mean when—"

"Slow down, slow down."

"I just want to know what's going on." Her hand touched her stomach. "And what it means for my baby."

Kenny clicked his tongue.

Again, she was reminded of Levi. "You told me you'd tell me next time."

"I did." He took off his hat and began while she listened eagerly. "The Ackermans, at one point, used to be the bodyguards of the royal family..."

The more Kenny spoke, the more things started to make sense. Why his mother hadn't told Levi her full name. Where Levi's freakish strength came from. She suppressed a shiver when Kenny fondly recounted his past as a serial killer and how he eventually met Uri Reiss.

Everything started to come together.

There was still one thing that she couldn't understand. "Why didn't the royal family use the Founding Titan's power to free humanity?"

Kenny shrugged. "Couldn't say. Maybe because they're using it to stay in power. This way, they can keep tight control over the population and stay in charge. It's worked out well for them for over a hundred years."

Now that she knew about his family, she wanted to learn more about the father of her unborn child. "How exactly did you come to find and raise Levi?"

The picture Kenny painted was not all that different from how she'd imagined Levi had grown up. His rough and reckless personality as a boy wasn't far off the mark either.

"I thought he'd be all grown up by now but his midget ass has remained the same," Kenny said and laughed.

Petra sighed, rubbing her belly. "Wonder how tall you'll be. Probably not very considering how short Levi and I both are."

"Can't speak for your family but Kuchel and our parents were tall. I am, too, as you can see. Levi is just the runt of the litter. Maybe it's because of his father, or how he grew up before I found him."

Mikasa's tall, too. Petra thought. "My parents were the same height since my dad's kind of short but my mom was tall. Wow, maybe you do have a chance," she said to her stomach.

"You're not really like her."

"I'm sorry?" Petra asked, puzzled.

"My sister. She was tall and dark-haired and I remember her being a nervous little thing when she was a girl. Always trying to hide behind me and so easy to scare. You're her opposite in almost every way. Short and light-haired. Curious, brave, and crazy enough to join the Survey Corps. Mentally and physically you're made of stronger stuff than she ever was. But you seem to have a big and compassionate heart like she did."

Perhaps she was hearing things but Petra could swear she detected a note of longing in his voice. Maybe Kenny was missing his sister. "She must have loved Levi a lot then," she said and smiled. It was cute, picturing a skinny little Levi all happy and affectionate with his beloved mother.

Kenny snorted. "Kuchel loved her son to pieces I'm sure, but she would have raised him to be a weakling and a complete pushover. He may have turned out like her, too soft and meek, and the world, especially the Underground, would have swallowed him whole."

Petra had a hard time processing Levi as a "weakling." Surely Kenny was exaggerating.

"When I found Levi, he was sitting there beside his mother's decaying body, all skin and bones. The boy couldn't even leave and tell the other brothel workers she had died. He just sat and starved by her corpse, unable to do a thing for himself. He was too weak and unsure to make his own decisions."

Creepy goosebumps broke out across her skin at the thought of it. Kenny had mentioned he'd found Levi after Kuchel died but she hadn't thought Levi was sitting right there with her dead body. He just stayed in that room the entire time? Petra felt ill at the thought.

As a soldier in the Survey Corps, the division with the highest mortality rate, she was familiar with death. She had been around enough dead bodies to know when you die, all the muscles relax and loosen, releasing whatever's in their bowls. And once his mother's corpse had begun to decompose, she would have released an even more putrid smell. It almost made her nauseous. How long had Levi sat in the sight and stench of his mother's corpse before his uncle came for him? What if Kenny had never shown up? Or showed up a few days later? He might have starved to death.

Kenny didn't exactly strike her as loving and paternal but he did seem to care for Levi.

"Hey, wait," Petra said suddenly, "you said Levi hasn't grown up at all. Does that mean you saw him? Did you tell him I'm here?"

"Eh," Kenny said, scratching his cheek. "We were kinda busy trying to kill each other and I didn't really—"

"What?" Petra yelled and he winced at her volume. "What do you mean you were trying to kill him?!"

"He was trying to kill me, too," he said defensively. "But I guess I did kill that soldier with him."

"What soldier?"

"Relax. They weren't members of his squad. Too old."

That did not comfort her as he seemed to think it would. "But he's your nephew. You went to the trouble of bringing me here to safety because I'll be his wife soon and give birth to our child. So why would you attack him, your own family?"

"Because he was in my way. And you're not."

To think she had started to almost become fond of this psychopath. He'd scared her and made her wary when he bragged about killing a hundred MPs. But she'd pushed it down and only acknowledged the appreciation she felt for him for saving her. She hadn't wanted to risk getting on his bad side if he thought she wasn't being grateful he was keeping her out of the Royal Government's hands.

"Why?" Petra finally asked. "What's more important than your family?"

"My dream," Kenny said, meeting her eyes. "My dream to become king." There was a strange intensity to it. Something more than greed.

For that? Really? But of course she should have realized he and Levi would end up on opposing sides. Eren was under Levi's protection and Kenny would have to go through his nephew to get the Founding Titan.

Kenny patted her head. "Don't you worry, long as you don't stir up shit and make trouble, you and your kid will stay safe and happy and well taken care of, I promise you that."

Petra was too stunned to say anything.

To think a week ago her biggest worry was how the news of her pregnancy would be received by her friends, neighbors, and fellow soldiers. That over a month ago her main concern was surviving the next expedition, never having heard of Titan-Shifters, secret government divisions, and crazy uncles of her ex-captain—soon to be husband and father of her child—with megalomaniacal plans of becoming king by eating an entity that gave him mindwipe powers over the population.

How did my life get so dramatic?

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