Nothing could've been done to save Eren. Elsie lacked any sensitivity towards his situation and haughtily raised her nose in defiance, although peeked out of the side of her eye with the rest of the squad as Levi chewed him out in the faint distance. For all they knew Levi could've been explaining to Eren how he was going to murder him in front of all these witnesses and no one would bat an eye - the messy haired teen turned red cheeked to glower at his squad members noisily watching from the front steps of the castle.
"Oi, look away, quick." Elsie hissed.
Historia flushed crimson, blonde hair sticking to her forehead as she whispered, "I think he saw us."
"It would be hard to miss us." Jean said with a dry look at the girl bellow him.
"What are they talking about, Elsie? You got to know something." Ymir tried to pull gossip from Elsie's withstanding lips.
She turned her chin, "Eren's a creep, that's all I know."
Ymir huffed as if that was old news and obviously continued to stare at Eren's flustered face. Their horribly uneventful lunch had been ended rather humorously with Levi grabbing the back of Eren's collared shirt and not so kindly dragging him down the yard to have a discussion. The past five minutes were only Levi's lips moving. She was sure at some point (although she laughed at it as she thought) he would allow Eren to explain his side of the story.
"Stop playing coy, we all know you're banging the captain," Connie said from somewhere from his short stature. Elsie hopped off the fence to catch a better look at him and sensing more than words between them, Ymir and Jean held their hands to keep her at bay. "Sorry. Eren snuck into their room last night."
"Really, Connie, have some decency. Not everyone wants their private life shared, or shall I tell them about what I saw back in training?" Sasha batted her eyelashes deviously.
His ears looked rather humongous today as he bashfully apologized to Elsie. The squad fell into an awkward silence of their own making. No better distraction to see what had happened between their comrade and captain. Banging the captain. How... mediocre. How childish. She wasn't banging him - although she fucking dreamt of it - she was in love with the man. She was devotedly his and to be talked about as if... banging. It irritated her rather deeply that Connie had chosen that phrase.
"Oh look, they're walking."
Elsie caught their backs as they headed back towards the side of the castle where the kitchen's side door was. Levi stayed by the door as Eren disappeared for brief minutes - Ymir tickled Historia and during her laughing fit she'd kicked Jean which led to a hissing of disgruntlement - and when he returned he had his ODM gear attached and a broom in his right hand. Hiding behind his hair, Eren flitted to the rooftop and began to sweep.
Levi stood stock still with his arms crossed, squinting against the afternoon light to catch the faintest glimpse of Eren hunched over the wildly swinging broom.
"Is he just going to watch him?" Elsie was the first to ask after a heavy moment of silence.
The others waited before Sasha grumbled, "I guess so."
Elsie allowed Levi an hour of surveillance. It gave her time to speak to Hange. She ran through the list of squad leaders in her head, beginning of course with her most trusted Levi.
He would most likely have her sweeping the roof with Eren or picking leaves off the forest floor. She couldn't handle the punishment.
Miche, although still a stranger, probably would arrest Elsie for treason or just lock her up in the dungeon with Annie by himself. He was close with Erwin, he would not take her keeping secrets about him lightly.
Klaus was off in another castle with other squad members Elsie had yet to meet. If the ride wasn't so far out of her realm she would've taken the trip to tell him instead of stopping at Hange's refurbished broom closet/laboratory door. She was the only one that would take Elsie's words of doom without over indulging with the anger part. She may be a little frantic and rude at first but she would leave Elsie to handle Erwin.
Hange's reaction would be best case scenario. Elsie braced herself before knocking and twisted the door open when her high strung voice beckoned for her to enter. She sat at her bar of strange vials and concoctions, and Elsie knew somewhere beneath it all laid a slab of Annie's deteriorating flesh.
"Oh, hello Elsie," Hange blinked owlishly, cocking her head. "What brings you here?"
Elsie twined her fingers, "Have you heard from Erwin?"
"Ah no besides from what he'd told me. Why, did you want to talk to him about something?" Hange seemed insulted that Elsie would go to him. She turned in her chair and stopped all her previous tinkering to level her with a reading look. "You know you can always talk to me, Elsie."
"Well, Levi said he would be back by lunch."
Hange rolled her eyes, "If Erwin was a fast rider sure. That man likes to take his time on trips. He's probably enjoying himself with Nanaba and Peer in Karanes," Under her breath she threatened Erwin if he went to a place called Himkok without her. "I shouldn't expect him back until we have food on the table. Lucky bastard, it's lamb night."
Not entirely soothed she asked, "Karanes? Is that close?"
"It's the district closest to Levi's base. When you ride towards me I'm near Utopia. Further past is Klaus outside of Krovia," Hange leaned forward, giddy with news. "Levi lives in Karanes."
Elsie paused in her worries about Erwin before shaking her head, "You're not worried about Erwin?"
Her glasses clouded, "Should I be?"
An easy question. Elsie prayed her, "Maybe. I'm not sure." passed her lips without pain. When it did she exhaled and rolled her neck, catching a glimpse of something that resembled her name on a shelf. She looked back, immediately recognizing her name on a blood sample.
"We'll give it another hour before I start to stress as well," Hange said tightly, stressed already, and curled her fists on her knees. "Have you told Levi this?"
"No. Why is my blood here? Are you examining it?" Elsie asked and stepped closer to the shelf. There were two vials, she could see, lined perfectly in a row. There was no dust meaning Hange often touched them.
Hange's metal chair squealed on the stone, "Oh that stuff? I wanted to keep some handy in case another accident happened. Never know if you need a transfusion, right?"
Her voice became higher than usual. Elsie knew she was lying and faced the taller woman with narrow eyes, "So you won't mind if I take it? After all it is mine." Her hand reached as she spoke and Hange's features tightened.
"Of course." She said tensely.
A commotion in the hallway distracted Hange. Loud voices, joyous, of a returned soldier. Elsie wiggled from between Hange and the shelf and opened the door, her lungs lightening at the sight of tall and bushy eyebrowed Erwin shaking hands as he made his way to the dining hall.
"Guess I had no reason to worry." Elsie said loftily, tucking the vials into her pocket carefully. She would put them in her drawer before doing anything else.
"Not this time." Hange's dire tone rang in Elsie's ears as she closed the door.
Erwin's return saved Eren from sweeping the rest of the night. He vanished to shower without speaking to another squad member, not that Elsie had been there to be so sweetly greeted. She heard it from the others as she met with them on the second floor after tucking her blood vials between her bras.
Levi color coded but he never touched her undergarments.
She tried to focus on whatever Sasha and Jean were talking about. Historia and Connie seemed interested enough and it made a few laughs break out but all she could think about was the night Levi and Hange had been hush hush at dinner. He'd sent her to stop Eren from feeding Annie and Hange had acted strange later that night, but things were normal the next day and she never thought twice of it.
Had he asked her to look into the blood? Was Hange doing it herself? Were they experimenting? Elsie had a right to know.
Once again she was considered an object of the Scout Regiment. She didn't know whether to blame Levi or Hange for this but when it came time to eat their last meal of lamb (they stopped Sasha from having a heart attack when they said slabs of pork were left) Elsie sat with the squad instead of taking her empty seat beside Levi.
"Aren't we honored tonight, folks?" Ymir crooned, wide eyed as Elsie sat beside her and made her plate.
"Don't you get tired of hearing your voice?" Elsie teased, grinning to let the titan know she was only kidding.
"I never do, Ymir." Historia purred and patted Ymir's arm.
Any further comments that Jean wanted to say were hushed by Erwin standing at the circular table hosting the squad leaders. The four long rectangular tables turned to focus on their commander, ears open and earnest to do their best to win Shiganshina back. Only because Erwin demanded attention did Elsie turn to face the table.
Levi's blank stare bore into her, Hange nervously sitting beside him. Already she began to reach for her second goblet of ale since sitting down. Miche raised an eyebrow before turning to hear the beginning of Erwin's speech.
"I return with approval from the King to ride for Shiganshina in two weeks," Scared but thunderous claps roared in the room. Levi did not shift in all in the commotion and kept Elsie's stare through the wavering hands and nodding heads. "However from this day forward the Scouts are now considered enemies of the Crown."
An appalling silence swiftly ended the claps. Elsie couldn't believe how fast the timeline was moving and Ymir worriedly glanced at Historia and Levi's stare suddenly made her feel dreadful.
"I trust you all with my life. We have ridden back to back against the monsters of this world and we have not backed down. A fraud of a King now stands against us as well. The government has placed a fake King to sit on the throne as they rule for their own gain and create a secret militia to keep the Scout Regiment from expanding our lives beyond these Walls,"
Spit flies, his brown eyes lit with fiery betrayal. His words richoche in the room and hit them all in the chest. No one can turn or blink. They are enraptured with his words, waiting on still breath for his next coarse of action. All is one as they watch Erwin roar his injustice and his cure for the world, the one his father could never accomplish and one he would die spreading.
"They have hidden the truth about the titan race from us. Documents have been hidden and lies have been spread about the Walls. They are trying to stop us from discovering the truth about why we are here and what has happened! I will not let it happen any longer! We will ride to Shiganshina with the King's approval, yes, but we are not doing this for the King. We are doing this for our families and the starved! We will take Shiganshina back and expose the King for what he is!"
Goblets banging on tables. Stomps shook the brick walls. Elsie lost herself as bodies flew upwards and threw their arms out, victoriously cheering their commander for his wit and his words. There never had been love for the crown with this lot, Elsie knew, and it was no love lost.
In the moment it was hard to imagine they could lose.