Chapter 47: Between Rose and Maria
The ride to the closed gate on the next day is uneventful. They would have to face two more day´s of riding before they reach Wall Maria and Levi can´t wait to be outside again. Three years inside the wall is a punishment. With every day he notice how much he despise people. Being a teacher at the military academy helped but still, too much contact with stupid people who think they know better.
Levi has his eyes on Eren. The boy had slept last night, better then the nights before. Their talk could have helped. The insecurity as Eren asked about leaving and fighting. How had Levi not notice it? To be fair he had notice that Eren wasn't sleeping well and that he uses every moment of the day to distract himself but that it is the thought of fighting against his friends that let him think of running away never came to Levi´s mind. What he said the day before, that he would go with Eren and fight against everyone that wants to stop them was the truth and it slowly sinks in that from one second to the next the soldiers around them could become their enemies. Levi doubts Eren´s friends, especially Mikasa and Armin would fight them, they would most likely stand by their side.
A strange thought he could be outside the wall tomorrow with three children to defend a live without walls and other people. How that would work out. Levi would be the ´adult´ in this thing, a strange thought. Maybe Hanji would go with them and play the adult … ok, better not. If she is the one responsible, they are all doomed.
They chose the direct route from the castle over the gate and through the area between wall Rose and wall Maria. Titan-free and empty of everything else. No humans live here and no one is stopping them. The only people that could be there are the two shifter that had run and are most likely hunting Eren. Before Levi met Eren, before Titan-shifter became a thing he never had thought about titans in any other way as his prey. His prey to hunt and kill before they are given the chance to do so. With Eren and the shifter abilities there are question, not only the ones Hanji is asking, or Erwin want´s answer to. No, there are more.
Where does the titans come from?
Are there more shifters, or are the three the last one?
Is there a way to make the other titan´s to shifters or are they special?
And most importantly, do titans reproduce in anyway or are there a limited number of the monster, ready to kill so that they can someday have an end to this fight.
All of Levi´s thought come to a stop as the heavy steps of a titan break though the silence of their ride on the second day. If you can call the noses of twenty horses silence. They saw her, the female titan, Annie, Eren´s friend. Levi knows her too. Of course he does, he was her instructor like he was for all the brads. For Reiner and Berthold too. Now these three children are his enemies and he has to fight against them. Capture or killing them. Anyway he won´t like it.
Suddenly to his right, a shocked noise reaches his ears and Levi looks at Eren who rides beside him. They don't need words to communicate. Levi meets up with Eren´s eyes and he sees everything he needs to know. His little titan can´t fight her. Maybe later but not now. He is frozen and the fear in Eren´s eyes is nothing new. Levi had seen it countless times by new soldiers who thought themselves prepared to fight but can´t when they see their first titan.
"You don´t have to Eren." Levi´s words are quiet, not more then a whisper, just for Eren. "I will fight for you. For all of them. You don't need to." And Levi gets ready to attack. It´s as if he feels a hand reaching for him from behind where he leaves Eren while he gets his horse closer to the titan, faster then the others. Levi will take this hand again when he is finished with this.