Chapter 12:
The next day, Hange came to visit. Levi sat in his office, writing down reports for the expedition while Isabel played, singing a song quietly to herself.
"Levi, I just got word from the Trost officials. They'll let us come and ask a few questions." Hange said, squatting down and ruffling Isabel's hair.
"Great. Let me just...finish up this report." Levi sighed. He was currently working on Petra's report. This would be the final confirmation of her death.
"Sure thing. Also...I had an idea of where we could put Isabel while we're gone. After all, this isn't a conversation she should probably hear."
Levi nodded. It was a long shot, but they were going to try and see if her Aunt Lila was still alive. If she had at least one living relative, they could give her a proper home. However, the chances were slim, and they'd rather her find out through one of them instead of some random city official or a morgue doctor.
"What did you have in mind?" Levi asked.
…
"Hange, I really don't think this is the best idea," Erwin said, looking down into the expectant eyes of Isabel.
"Oh please, it'll be fine! Levi and I are going to go to Trost real quick on an investigation. It shouldn't take more than a couple of hours. I'm sure you can keep her occupied." Hange waved him off.
"I'm not much of a babysitter." Erwin ran a hand through his hair.
"You deal with her," Levi said, gesturing to Hange. "That's close enough. Isabel actually behaves."
"Hey!" Hange huffed.
"I appreciate that you trust me, but…"
"Alright, we'll see you in a couple of hours. Make sure she doesn't die or anything!" Hange called as she and Levi walked away.
Erwin sighed. There was no stopping Hange once she put her mind to something.
"Play?" Isabel asked, holding up a toy for Erwin.
"Um...I have some work to do, but maybe later. Okay?" Erwin said, ushering Isabel into his office. He helped her get some toys out of her bag so she could play while he worked.
"Okay!" Isabel smiled, quickly picking up toys and starting a game.
Erwin sat down at his desk and shook his head. He was not the best with kids, but he guessed there was a first time for everything...right?
...
"Thanks for agreeing to meet with us, Doc. You have no idea how helpful you are." Hange said as they entered the town hall in Trost.
"Of course. My son is a scout, and I'll do anything to help." One of the morgue doctors in Trost, Doctor Moore, led them through the district hall. "We try to give closure to as many people as possible, so...we have a lot of death certificates."
The two scouts nodded.
"Here it is. Did you have someone specific in mind?" Doctor Moore asked.
"Just a first name: Lila. She was unmarried. We can give you a description if that would help." Levi said.
"Well these are all arranged by last name, but we try to write down as many identifiable factors as possible. Some people remain unknown." Doctor Moore frowned.
"Thank you. If you wouldn't mind, we also wanted to hand out this announcement. Do you think you could send it to the newspaper or something?" Hange asked.
"Of course. I'll leave you to your research." Doctor Moore said, taking the flyers in Hange's hands and exiting the file room.
"If she hears this announcement and contacts us, that means Isabel gets to go home!" Hange cheered.
"I wouldn't get my hopes up Hange. A lot of people died that day." Levi said, starting to fish through the files. He muttered the name under his breath.
Hange and Levi remained silent the entire search, paying special attention to anyone named Lila. So far...no luck. There were far too many people that died. As they flipped through each one, their spirits weakened. If only they were faster. If only they were stronger. Maybe some of these people would still be alive.
They must have spent an hour or so looking through files. They found a couple of brown-haired, brown-eyed women, but nothing else that could help them confirm it was Isabel's aunt. They left the town hall, dejected.
"Scouts!" A woman exclaimed as they walked down the steps. Her blonde hair blew in the wind as she ran up to them. "You're the people looking for Lila, right?"
"That's us," Hange confirmed.
"From what this flyer says, I think I know who you're talking about. Lila Jade. She was my friend." The woman said.
"Did she have any family?" Levi blurted.
"Um...I barely knew them, but she said she had a sister. She had a brother-in-law and niece as well if I remember correctly. I only met them once briefly. Sweet family."
Hange and Levi looked at each other with a glimmer of hope. "Do you know where she is? Was she able to escape?"
The woman's expression fell. "Sadly...her home was demolished. A titan fell on top of it right after it was slain. I...I saw it happen. We were supposed to go shopping that day." Tears fell from her eyes, littering her cheeks.
"Thank you. You...gave a sense of closure." Levi said.
"How is she related to the Scouts?" The woman asked.
"We...have her niece in our care. Her parents died in the invasion as well." Levi explained.
The woman brought a hand up to her mouth, tears streaming down her face even faster than before. "That poor little girl. Is she alright?"
"Yes, she's fine. She's happy." Levi explained.
"You wouldn't happen to be interested in adopting her, would you?" Hange blurted.
The woman's eyes went wide. "Oh no, I couldn't. I don't have the resources to provide for a child. I wish I could, but I can hardly take care of myself right now, let alone a growing girl. I'm sorry."
"Do you know of any other relatives? Anyone else who would be fit to take her in?" Levi asked.
"I...I don't remember. Lila's parents died when she was a teenager, and I don't recall her having any other siblings." The woman said dejectedly.
"Okay. Thank you so much for your time." Hange said. "We better get going. We have a little girl waiting for us at headquarters."
"Please!" The woman shouted quickly as the pair started to leave. "Tell that little girl she was loved. And...please take care of her. I know that's what her parents would have wanted. And Lila."
"Trust me. She's in good hands." Levi stated before walking off. He had to get back to Isabel, and hopefully find a way to tell her that the titans had killed not only her parents but the other person she loved as well.
...
Erwin was fulfilling the hardest role of his entire life. As he snuck through headquarters, he tried to keep quiet, careful not to alert anyone to his presence. A single mistake, and there would be vital consequences.
Obviously, he was playing hero and villain with Isabel. He was the evil Goblin King trying to seek out the only person that could stop him: Princess Isabel. He was doing a fabulous job at being the villain if he did say so himself.
He heard a giggle coming from inside Hange's lab. He should have expected as much. Isabel loved Hange almost as much as she loved Levi. He quietly opened the door, not making as much as a creak as he snuck inside. He crept around Hange's desk and fell to the floor.
"BOO!" He exclaimed.
Isabel screamed with delight, trying to escape her hiding place beneath Hange's desk.
"You aren't getting away so easily, Princess. The Goblin King will never let you see the light of day again!" Erwin exclaimed, snatching the girl off of her feet and trapping her in his arms. He started to tickle her, and a burst of giggles erupted from the small child.
"No! Don't capture, Goblin King! I gotta 'feat you!" Isabel proclaimed in between giggles.
"You must find a way to escape my trap first! My minions will soon arrive, and then no one will stop me!" Erwin let out his best attempt at an evil laugh, hugging Isabel tight to his chest.
"Um...Erwin, what are you doing?"
Erwin immediately released Isabel and looked up to see Levi and Hange. He quickly stood up and brushed himself off.
"Just...babysitting," Erwin said, clearing his throat.
"He's Goblin King!" Isabel exclaimed, running up and hugging Levi. "You be knight?" She asked, her bright blue eyes pleading to Humanity's Strongest.
"You were pretending to be a Goblin King?! That's rich! I never expected ol' Erwin to be good at pretending." Hange cackled.
"Play with us?" Isabel asked again, sticking out her bottom lip for emphasis.
"Only if I get to be an awesome goblin warrior!" Hange smiled, placing her hands on her hips in a heroic stance.
"I guess I'm her knight." Levi shrugged.
"I had just captured her...BUT IT SEEMS THE PRINCESS HAS ESCAPED!" Erwin exclaimed, placing a hand to his chest in shock. "Goblin warrior, seize them! She can't get away!"
"Yes sir!" Hange started to charge them, but Levi was faster. He swooped Isabel into his arms and burst out of the room, running through the hallways with rapid speed.
"Don't let them get away!" Erwin cried, and he and Hange followed close behind.
Isabel climbed onto Levi's back, and she hooted and hollered as he ran through the corridors, ignoring the odd looks from the soldiers.
"GOTCHA!" Hange cried, cutting them off from another entrance.
"I cast magic spell. You good now!" Isabel exclaimed, waving a hand at Hange as if she was actually using magic.
Hange gasped in surprise. "No! You defeated me!" She sank to the ground, groaning with fake agony.
"New soldier, go get Goblin King!" Isabel commanded.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Hange bowed before rushing out to find Erwin.
"Mush, Knight, Mush!" Isabel said, and Levi ran after Hange, giving Isabel a piggyback ride all the way.
They finally caught up with Erwin and pretended to arrest him, locking him up in the dungeon (a.k.a his office). Isabel laughed with delight, celebrating her first success as a princess. And for the other three; it seemed like the only thing they needed to forget their mourning for only a moment was using their imaginations with a three-year-old.
AN: When writing this chapter, I did a lot of thinking about how I wanted Erwin to interact with Isabel. At first, I thought they would just color together, but I wanted something a little more adorable. This was the final product. Love you all and thank you so much for reading!