Chapter 17:
"Eren! Where's Papa?" Isabel groaned as she entered Eren's room. She flopped down on his bed.
"Commander Erwin sent him to take care of some things for work. He should be back in a couple of hours." Eren shrugged.
Isabel groaned louder. "Always leaving." She said into the sheets.
Eren patted her head. "I'll play with you."
"I want Papa," Isabel replied.
Eren sighed. "I'm sorry, Isabel, but I can't help out with that. Are you sure you don't want to play with me?"
Isabel shook her head, still buried in the sheets.
"Tell you what. How 'bout we go on a walk. You like seeing all of the animals and stuff, right?"
Isabel looked up at him, slightly interested.
"If you want, we can even bring the others along-"
"Only us. Let's go." She said, grabbing his hand and dragging him out of the room. He helped her put on her shoes and slipped on his own as well before opening the door leading outside.
The wonderful thing about headquarters was the gorgeous scenery surrounding it. Rolling hills stretched far as the eye could see. Then, of course, there were the woods. Isabel always seemed intrigued by them, although Levi would never let her go in by herself. The swing Levi had set up for her shifted back and forth in the slight breeze, and Isabel insisted that Eren pushed her. However, that endeavor ended almost as quickly as it had started. Eren didn't know how to do it right. He pushed her too high, and it was too scary. Levi always seemed to do things right.
Eren took her hand and entered the woods. Isabel giggled with excitement, admiring the huge trees and the little beams of light poking through the blanket of leaves over their heads. She could hear the birds chirping, creating a joyful tune as they passed. Forest critters scurried farther into the woods, stirring up fallen leaves and branches in their wake.
One of her favorite parts of the woods was the sparkling stream that led into a lake. Levi would never let her swim unless he was present. No matter how much she pleaded, Eren refused to let her swim.
"But I'm big!" Isabel argued.
"I know that, but you know Captain Levi would have my head if he ever figured out I took you swimming," Eren replied.
"I keep secret," Isabel said, putting a finger to her lips.
"No," Eren said, ending the conversation. Isabel could only reply with a disappointed huff before following him.
Eren made sure that they stayed on the path. Although they used this forest for ODM training, one could never be too careful. He didn't want to get lost, especially with Isabel.
"Eren?" Isabel broke the silence.
"Yes, Isabel?" Eren replied.
"What's favorite part?" Isabel asked.
"What?" Eren turned to look at her.
"Of the woods?" Isabel clarified.
"Oh, my favorite part of the woods?" Eren pondered the question. He had never really thought about it. He had spent too much time daydreaming about the outside world to truly enjoy what was inside the walls. Especially since the titans still roamed, leaving death and destruction everywhere they went. "I...I guess I like the trees. When we practice on the ODM gear, I like to see how high I can go. The trees are so fascinating and tall. I feel like I'm flying." Eren answered.
Isabel nodded, processing his response.
"What about you? What is your favorite thing in the woods?" Eren asked.
Isabel smiled. "I like the lake. But this my favorite." She pointed to the area ahead.
In front of them, hundreds of flowers bloomed. Various colors covered the forest ground, almost like a carpet. Eren could see the little bumble bees buzzing from flower to flower. Beams of light shined down in odd places, illuminating the bright colors even more.
Isabel let go of Eren's hand and knelt down at the edge, picking a couple of flowers. Then, she drifted farther into the flowers, picking out ones and adding them to the group she had already collected. She then skipped back to Eren, displaying her masterpiece.
"For you!" She beamed.
"Oh. Thanks." Eren said sheepishly, taking the flowers. "I think it may be time to head back now."
Isabel frowned, crossing her arms in rebellion.
"Come on, Isabel. Please." Eren pleaded, extending his hand for her to take.
Isabel quickly rushed back to the flowers and grabbed some for herself. Then, she took Eren's hand reluctantly, and they walked back to headquarters. They made their way past the lake and the tall trees, all the way back to the clearing. Eren led Isabel back into the barracks, where they were cheerfully greeted by a few of the cadets.
"Hi, Isabel! Whatcha got there?" Krista asked, kneeling down to Isabel's level.
"Flowers," Isabel said, showing them to the blonde.
Krista's eyes went wide. "Wow. Those are very beautiful."
Isabel smiled softly. "Thank you."
"If you don't mind, would you like me to show you something that you can do with the flowers?" Krista asked.
Isabel nodded hesitantly, handing Krista a few flowers. Krista then started to twist them together in an intricate pattern, her nimble fingers still allowing the flowers to maintain their original beauty. When she finished, a beautiful flower crown was placed on Isabel's head.
"How you do that?" Isabel asked eagerly, already picking out more flowers so she could follow Krista's directions.
Krista laughed and walked her through the steps, and Isabel caught on surprisingly fast. Although they were not as put together as Krista's, they were acceptable, and that was enough to make Isabel's pride soar.
"I have an idea. How about you practice your flower crown making while we do some combat exercises. You can even use my flowers." Eren suggested, handing Isabel his bouquet. Isabel eagerly took them and followed the cadets outside. Since she couldn't practice combat, she could at least practice her creativity. However, there was a huge problem: Isabel eventually ran out of flowers! She had gotten so lost in making each crown as beautiful as possible that she paid no attention to the dwindling amounts of material. Halfway through one of her crowns, she looked down to see that there were no more left.
She looked to the cadets, who were all busy training. She didn't want to bother them, especially since Eren was doing a little bit better than normal. He actually dodged a few of Mikasa's attacks, which few could manage. So instead of interrupting, Isabel decided to be considerate. Carefully and quietly, she took her unfinished flower crown and snuck into the woods.
...
"Since titans are unable to defecate, do you think if we sliced their stomachs open, we could rescue the people that were eaten? If they were swallowed whole and were still alive?" Hange asked as she and Levi dismounted their horses.
Levi groaned. He had been hearing these crazy theories all day, and he was sick of his comrade at this point. All he wanted was to sit down with a cup of black tea and relish in pure silence.
"Tch, it seemed like a great way to get killed," Levi muttered, walking towards the barracks.
"But it is something to think about. After all, Eren said he was still alive when he got eaten by a titan. Who's to say that there aren't other people who are still alive when a titan eats them?"
"Hange, why do you have to be so morbid?" Levi rolled his eyes.
"I'm a scientist! Thinking is my job!"
"Hange, I have a very important question for you."
"Yes, Levi?"
"Can you please shut up?" He groaned.
Hange gasped, shoving the small man and storming off, probably setting out to find Moblit so someone else could listen to her ideas.
Levi made his way over to his cadets. Mikasa was kicking everyone's butts, as usual. However, Isabel was nowhere to be seen.
"Is Isabel taking a nap or something?" Levi asked.
"She was playing over there." Jean pointed in the general direction.
"Where?" Levi asked.
"Over by that tree. She was making flower crowns…" Krista said, her eyes widening when she realized that Isabel was no longer there.
"Oh no." Armin breathed.
"Cadets...you have five seconds to answer this question: Where is Isabel?" Levi stated, anxiety welling within him.
"We...we were too busy fighting, sir." Sasha whimpered.
"Find her. Now." Levi commanded, and the entire group scattered.
"ISABEL!" They all called, searching for the young girl. Some went into the barracks, hoping that she was just playing inside.
Levi walked over to the edge of the woods, thinking she might have gone to her swing. Alas, Isabel was nowhere to be found. Just then, a terrifying thought struck Levi. Isabel had begged him earlier that day to take her swimming in the lake.
"Oh Sina above, please no!" Levi exclaimed, bolting into the woods. His heart raced faster with every passing second. She wasn't strong enough to swim without some extra help. What if she had gotten to the deep part. What if…
He pushed the thought from his mind, forcing himself to take slow, regulated breaths. He was overreacting. She was probably back at the barracks, playing with her stuffed animals or looking at the pictures in her books. But he couldn't leave without making sure.
He made it to the lake, immediately looking around for his little girl. For good measure, he dunked himself under the water, checking to see if she had fallen beneath the surface. Thankfully, her little body was nowhere to be seen.
He had almost given up and gone home when he heard singing. It was definitely Isabel, and it was coming from further inside the woods. Levi bolted towards the sound, hoping and praying that this wasn't his imagination.
He found Isabel in the grove of wildflowers. She was sitting in the middle, playing with flowers in her hands. She was singing to herself as she worked.
"Isabel." Levi breathed.
"Papa!" Isabel beamed, running over to Levi and hugging him tightly. "Made this for you!" She presented her masterpiece: a flower crown.
"Isabel, you had me worried sick!" Levi said, kneeling down beside her.
"I had to make it for you." She said, a slight frown tugging at her lips.
"I didn't know where you were. You should know better than to wander off by yourself! I thought you had gone swimming. And now look, I'm all soaked!" He groaned.
"Sorry, Papa," Isabel said, staring down at the flower crown in her hands.
Levi sighed. He quickly pulled her into a hug. "I love that you wanted to make me something, but I need you to understand, Isabel. When you wander off, it's scary. It makes me very, very scared."
"More scared than the monsters?" Isabel asked. She was referring to his fear of the titans. Her fear of the titans.
Levi smiled at his little girl. "Much more scared. You mean the world to me, Isabel. Don't do that again, okay. You need to have someone with you, or at least tell someone where you are. Can you promise me that you'll do that?"
"Yes, Papa. I promise." Isabel said.
"Can I see what you made for me?" Levi asked.
Isabel's eyes sparkled with excitement. "It's a crown!" Isabel proclaimed, putting her masterpiece on Levi's head.
"I love it. Can we head back now? Everyone is wondering where you are." Levi said, rising to his feet.
"Okay!" Isabel said, getting up and skipping alongside her Papa. She hummed to herself, waving around the flowers in her hands. Levi smiled at her little performance.
All of the sudden, Isabel tripped on a tree root and tumbled to the ground. She let out a wail of pain. Levi immediately knelt beside her, assessing the damage. It seems she scraped her knee on a rock or something because a wound stretched across her knee. It had already started bleeding.
Isabel's eyes went wide at the sight of it. "Blood." She said, the color draining from her face.
Levi realized what was happening. Before she could slip further into her traumatic past, he scooped her up and rushed back to the barracks. "I know it hurts Isabel. Just a little while longer and I'll clean you up. It'll be okay. I've got you." He said.
The kids sighed with relief when they saw Levi carrying Isabel out of the forest, and he quickly carried her to his office. He set her down on his desk and got out the materials needed.
"Okay, Isabel. This is going to sting a little, but it's going to help you. I need you to trust me, okay?" Levi said, pulling out the hydrogen peroxide.
"O-okay," Isabel said, eying the bottle with suspicion.
He applied a bit to the wound, and Isabel cried out once again.
"It's okay, sweetie. Everything's going to be okay. It's not gonna hurt you. Papa would never hurt you on purpose." He said, trying to calm her nerves. He wrapped the bandaging around her knee. "There, all better."
Isabel relaxed, her knee still aching. However, she quickly remembered a ritual that her parents had done whenever she got hurt. She placed a hand to her lips and then patted her knee gently. She was kissing it better.
Levi smiled and followed suit. He pressed a kiss to his fingers and placed his hand on her knee. Isabel smiled up at him, the pain that was previously there dissipating.
Levi rose to his feet and lifted Isabel off of the table. "Alright girlie, you go play with your toys. I need to wash this lake muck off of me."
AN: For a while, I've been trying to find some songs that would go along well with this story, and I found the perfect one. It's called "My Girl" by Elvie Shane, and I think it portrays Levi to a tee in this story. You can find the recording through his official YouTube account. Check it out if you have the chance!