A/N: Hey for those reading this story!
I decided to edit the story because I realized it would be too big if I separated the chapters the way I was doing; so i decided to put them together in one big chapter, i hope you don't mind! It's the same thing, though.
[…]
I
Year 841
The cold wind was blowing, making her hug her arms around her body to try and get warmer. The back cloak she was wearing was big for her small frame, and it felt like a blanket, so she clung to it as hard as she could. Inside the carriage was all dark being only illuminated with the light of the moon, and she was starting to doze off a bit with the bumping movement of the wheels against the pavement. The excruciating silence didn't help either.
Peeking through the small, battered curtain protecting the carriage, and her identity, of any unwelcome curious looks, she saw the lack of movement in the city at that time of the night. People were probably sleeping at their warm, cozy homes right at that moment, whilst she was sneaking away as a fugitive – which she indeed was -, freezing to the bones and barely awake. Her companion, an old man with no teeth in his mouth and a dark sense of humor, didn't help her cause much, for he had remained silent through most of the journey. Not that she really wished to talk to the man; after all, she still was making her mind about her not-so-brilliant idea of taking a ride with an unknown man like that.
It wasn't as if I had a choice, anyway, she thought to herself, sighing softly. It was either him or him; no options allowed. I just hope he doesn't kill me and leave the body somewhere.
She clutched the cloak even tighter around her, biting her lip. On her side, her few possessions sat – she had only brought another dress, a pair of pants, three shirts and three pairs of undergarments, which were important to bring if she intended to start over her life. She had also brought another pair of stockings, but that was it. Besides clothing, there was a loaf of bread and some jerk beef she had managed to sneak away, together with a fine pot of tea she simply couldn't live without.
Never in her life had she had so little. She just hoped it was enough, at least to begin with.
The carriage finally stopped after ten minutes more or so, and her heart leaped in her chest with the anticipation of what would happen next. She took her satchel, waiting for the man to open the door, but he never did. She frowned, deciding to open it to see what was happening.
"Hey-" she started calling, but the man roughly interrupted her.
"It's the end here, miss." He said looking over his shoulder at her, the reigns of the horse still clutched by his huge hands.
She stared at him for a second before looking around, trying to identify where they were with no success. It was completely dark with not even the moonlight to guide her.
"Sorry but where are we?" she hesitantly asked, trying to see anything recognizable.
"In the underground, as promised."
Her eyes went wide. "What? The underground? What do you mean?"
He sighed impatiently, wanting to go away before someone appeared and robbed him, which was pretty common to happen in that area of the city.
"The underground city. It was what that man agreed with me."
"But-"
"Look, miss, I was paid to bring you here and give you this," he took something from his back pocket, handing it to her. "I have to go. It's dangerous here."
She shook her head in disbelief, desperation starting to build inside of her mind. "No, it's not right…"
"He said you should open the note. It'll help you." He then nodded his head, moving forward. "I wish you good luck."
"Wait-"
He didn't even look back, going forward fast and steady, and leaving her behind with her satchel and the note that was meant to help her somehow, though she couldn't even see it in the darkness. It was also silent, not even the sound of crickets could be heard; it was a complete nothingness.
"Shit," she muttered, blinking rapidly to try and make her vision adjust to the darkness. Thanks to Sina, soon she could figure out some things. She realized she was inside a tunnel, and there was a flight of stairs going down, to where she had no idea. Looking up, she saw the tunnel stretching out, and in the far end there was some sort of light that she imagined was the entrance.
Now, she had no idea what to do. Should she go to the entrance of the tunnel or down the stairs?
"Shit, shit, shit,"
She sighed loudly, clutching her cloak and moving her head to both directions; she thought about the options – if she went to the entrance, she probably would end up in Sina once again, and that wasn't her plan to begin with, though coming to the underground wasn't either. If she went down the stairs, it was most probable that she wouldn't be able to come back; it was known that once in the underground, if you didn't have the right documents that showed you were from the capital, you wouldn't be able to go back there. The military police and Nicholas Lobov, who was responsible for the trading business and the underground, were pretty strict about people leaving the city.
Her hands started shaking with the nervousness; then, she remembered that the coachman had given her a piece of paper that was meant to help her. Opening it, she squinted her eyes to try and read what was written there. She tried really hard with no success. It was far too dark to see anything, imagine read a note.
That's it, she thought, taking in a deep breath and turning around.
The flight of stairs seemed to go on for miles in her head. She took each step with caution, afraid of falling and of going down. At that moment, her heart was pounding so hard that it was ringing in her ears; her breath came in pants, and her legs and hands were shaking. With each step she took, the fear of the unknown, and what was saved for her ahead made her stomach into a knot. Soon, the tunnel was becoming less dark and silent; she could hear rumblings of people talking, and that only made her feel even more nervous. Finally, at the end of the tunnel there was a light.
So cliché, she rolled her eyes, taking in her last step and coming face to face with the underground city entrance. Contrary to the tunnel, the city wasn't dark – well, at least it wasn't as dark as the tunnel. There were lights all around illuminating it and keeping it dark at the same time; there were a lot of buildings and old constructions, as she could see, but what caught her attention was the group of heavily armed men standing there, chatting amongst themselves. She took hesitant steps in their direction, even if her mind was screaming for her to run. Gulping, she finally made herself seen.
"Mhm, excuse me," her voice faltered a bit, but it was enough to attract the men's attention.
They all turned at once to her, their weapons raised in her direction as if she was the most dangerous person in the world. She recoiled, taking one step behind, and what was her surprise to find there was a man right behind her, and he gripped her shoulders, making her jump with the privacy invasion.
"Where the hell did you come from?" one of them, a tall, bulky man with dark hair and small eyes barked at her.
She gulped hard, starting to fear for her life more than never. "I-I w-want to go in,"
"What? Did you leave clandestinely?" he frowned and took one step in her direction while the man behind her clutched her arms, as though she would start running at any moment.
"N-no," she answered right away, knowing pretty well that saying yes was not the best option. "I come from…Wall Rose. I'm here to visit a relative," her voice faltered again, which made the man's frown deepen.
"Who?"
"M-my cousin." He stared at her, and she felt her legs start to shake so much that if the man wasn't holding her, she would probably fall.
"Do you have the cash?"
She didn't think twice before nodding. "I do,"
She had come prepared for that; he had told her that for her to survive, she would have to bring as much cash as she could – or at least valuable things. She took from her cloak three golden coins with Sina's face on it and handed it to the man. If she wasn't so nervous, she would have noticed the way his eyes shone with the amount of money she was handing him.
He nodded towards the man holding her, and soon he left her. She stumbled a bit, which made the men all laugh at her.
"You can go, princess." He opened his arms, smirking at her. Without thinking, she just walked right pass them, so fast that after seconds she was already far from them, though she could still hear them bragging about the amount of money they had received from her.
After walking without paying attention to where, she decided to stop. She was panting, and there was a cold sweat coming down her back. It was at that moment she realized that she had entered one of the most dangerous places on her country, and to make things better, she had no idea where she should go from there. Her eyes swept around, taking in her surroundings. She was on the middle of a street, but there were few people passing by. The ones who were didn't mind her; they walked slowly, their heads hanging low with a hopeless and empty look on their tired faces.
There were a varied number of constructions on both sides of the street, but they all looked closed and empty. Perhaps it was because of the time – it was around two in the morning, if she was not mistaken, and people were probably sleeping. Taking in a deep breath to sooth her nerves, she decided to take a look at the note once more. This time, she was able to read what was written there.
Seven street, 95. Levi.
An address. Nothing more, nothing less.
She kept staring at the terrible handwriting, not really knowing what she was supposed to do at that moment.
Maybe find that address would be a good idea, she thought, smashing the note in her closed fist. Damn him! That wasn't the deal.
[…]
She walked around the underground city for hours, until her feet were sore and hurting. She had zero idea of where she had to go, or where that address was, and no one was able to help her. She had stopped a few strangers, but as soon as she started talking, they would just pass through her, as if she was invisible. After ten people, she got tired of doing the same thing and ended up walking around trying to find her way.
That place was very strange. The whole atmosphere was heavy, and it seemed there was a cloak of sadness and sorrow covering it. The people were very different from the ones she was used to in Mitras, were the population were the richest from all the walls. There were merchants, politicians, wealthy farmers, and business people, all very well dressed and soft spoken. In the underground, though, there were the poorest, and while walking there, she realized, with sadness, that people didn't even care if there were corpses on the street or if they were sleeping with rats.
The difference between realities was huge. She felt ashamed for having lived in Mitras her whole life, having all the best her family could provide, while people in the underground were dying of starvation and diseases. It was a reality shock, a slap on her noble, soft face. Now, she was as the people there; hopeless, wandering without knowing what to do with herself, or where to go.
Sighing for the hundredth time, it seemed, she turned around on a street and her eyes shone when she saw what looked like an open store. There were sounds coming from there, and the lights were on so that meant that there were people there. Running, she didn't think twice before going in. Indeed it was a store, but not just a store.
There were lots of men, and as soon as she closed the door behind her, the eyes turned to her, and she felt like a deer in the spotlight. Her hood was down, which left her whole face in the open for at least twenty men to stare at. Their eyes swept all over her body, and they started to whisper amongst themselves.
It dawned on her, then, what kind of business that was. She wanted to turn around and leave, but before she had the chance, a mid-aged lady appear right in front of her. She had dark blonde braided hair, blue eyes and a smile on her thin lips.
"Good evening, dear. How may I help you?" her voice was sweet, almost too sweet. She gulped, realizing that maybe she had made a mistake entering that store.
"I-I'm looking for a place," she told the lady, blinking rapidly while she recited the address and the name she had memorized. "Seven street, 95. Levi. Can you tell me where this place is?"
The lady's blue eyes widened for a fraction, and her smile lost a bit of its vivacity.
"Oh, my, may I ask why you want to go to that place?"
"It's private," she snapped, feeling like it was the right thing to do. She didn't trust that lady, nor her smile, even less the amount of men looking at her like she was a piece of the most delicious meat being displayed on a fair.
"All right, I can help you," the woman never stop smiling when she took her hand between hers. They were calloused and harsh, much different from hers. "But you see, I have to refresh my memory as to where this place is; maybe you can help me?"
She blinked, understanding what the woman wanted. "I guess I can."
"Great! Come with me, then."
There was an alarm in her head telling her not to do that, but she decided to ignore it for the time being. She had been wandering around for hours, she was feeling tired and wanted nothing more than sleep a little, and for the first time someone agreed to help her – even if it came with a price tag to it. She followed the woman, passing through the men, who were still watching her, and entering a door at the back of the room. The woman opened the door and smiled suggestively, something that gave her the creeps. They entered another room, though it was smaller and quieter.
"So, I can see you aren't from around here," the woman motioned for a chair, and she sat down. "Do you come from the capital?"
Her eyes went wide, but she didn't confirm.
"Can you help me?" she asked in return, not trusting that woman in the slightest and deciding the best to do was leave that place as soon as she could.
"As I said, I can," she smiled again, showing her yellowed teeth. "Do you have something for me?"
Sighing, she took another coin from her cloak; this time, though, it was a silver coin, not a golden one. She decided she wouldn't be fooled like she had been in the entrance. The woman turned the coin between her fingers, bit it – she had no idea why, but it was disgusting -, before nodding in appreciation.
"Good. You're looking for Levi, huh? Is he something to you?"
She had no idea why, but she nodded. "A friend."
"Mmm," the woman hummed, her head shaking up and down. "Interesting. Well, he lives right next to the Pitch alley, his house is the one in the middle."
"And where's the Pitch alley?" she asked, not understanding a single thing the woman had told her.
"Oh, honey, you don't know?" she shook her head, though the answer was obvious. "It's a bit far from here, but I can draw a map, maybe?"
"Please, do."
The woman smiled again. "Well, you see, a map will cost another coin."
She wanted to groan, but decided against it. Nodding her head, she gave the woman another coin, and again she bit it.
She took a piece of old paper and drew something on it, a sort of map that was very difficult to understand, but she took it without complaints. At least now she had a place to go, not just the address and the name.
"Thanks."
"It was a pleasure doing business; if you ever need anything else, come here again, honey. I have some jobs if you're interested."
She only shook her head, turning around and leaving as fast as she could. Again passing through the room full of men, she felt their eyes on her back. She had never felt so nervous and anxious in her life; not even when she had to make an open speech, or sing in front of a room full of people had she felt like that. It was like there were eyes on her all the time, watching her, waiting to catch her. She used the map the woman had drawn, and thanks to Sina it wasn't as hard as she had imagined it would be.
In the end, she found the alley the woman had talked about, after walking for about forty minutes or so. It was a place surrounded with apartment buildings, with an open space right in the middle. She saw the one she was supposed to go to, in the middle of the others; the lights there were off, but that didn't stop her of going up the stairs and knocking on the door.
Perhaps, if she had given more thought to her actions, she wouldn't have been so brisk on knocking on someone's door in the middle of the night, right in the underground city. She didn't know who was living behind that door, she had no idea if they were good or bad, and soon she realized that.
However, the damage was already done, and after what felt like seconds, she heard footsteps inside the house. Her breath caught in her throat, and her hands started sweating and shaking again. A minute later, the door was opened.
They say that when you are about to meet you end, your whole life pass through your eyes and you have a sort of epiphany. That didn't happen to her, though, so that probably meant she wouldn't die that day. Probably. Maybe. She hoped so.
She stared at the face of the person who was now looking at her; it was a man – or a maybe a boy? -, about her height, maybe a little taller than her, and he had dark, straight hair with an undercut, a thin, sharp face, and gray eyes. He was handsome, she realized, and looked very young and old at the same time, if that was even possible. He was wearing black pants and a loose white shirt that made his chest show up a little.
They stood there staring at each other for some time; neither said anything, and the silence was uncomfortable and sharp. She felt like she had to say something, anything, but what?
"Hey, I'm Syn, and I was told to come here by this crazy, psycho man. Nice to meet you!"
It surely wasn't going to go well. She blinked, moving her feet nervously, praying for Sina, Maria and Rose to help her at that moment. They heard her, for the one to break the silence was the man himself.
"Who the fuck are you?"
Perhaps it would have been better if he hadn't said anything at all.
[…]
"Who the fuck are you?" he asked, staring at her with what looked like boredom.
She gulped finally deciding now would be a good time to talk. "I'm Syn." She answered, her voice so weak and low that it was difficult to hear.
One of his eyebrows rose, but he remained silent. She decided to continue, then.
"Y-You don't know me." That's obvious! Stop saying stupid things. "I was told you could help me."
His face remained emotionless. "What?"
She handed in the note she had received earlier, her hands shaking so badly that it was impossible not to notice. And he did; once more his eyebrows rose, and he looked from the note to her face.
"This man, he told me you could help me here. I just needed to hand you this." It wasn't completely true, but maybe if she was convincing he would believe. He took the note, eyeing it with no emotion showing on his face.
After staring at the crumpled piece of paper, he stared back at her.
"Fuck off." Was all he said, closing the door right at her face without hesitation.
Syn stood there, her mouth hanging open in an "o" while she stared at the surface of the door. A minute passed before she processed what had just happened, and she knocked on the door again, outraged by his rudeness. This time, she used a bit more force than necessary.
"Hey, please open up! I need help! Come on!" she continued pounding her fist on the door over and over again until he opened it up once more. He didn't look happy in the slightest, though.
"I told you to fuck off. I can't help you, I don't even know you, bitch. Get out!" he yelled right at her face, and it made her recoil a little with fear. However, it wasn't her intention to back down. She needed him.
He was the only thing that she had at the moment to guide her. If she turned around and went away, where would she even go? She had money, yes, but for how long? Besides the fact the underground was a dangerous place, so she would just end up being robbed or even worse, she had a limited amount of money with her. She couldn't have taken more, for the money her family had was safely guarded, and the only coins she had brought had come from the jewelry she had sold. Thus, she needed to find a place to live, a job, any sort of income so she wouldn't die of starvation. And the only person who could help her was this guy who was looking at her as if she had two heads over her shoulders.
"Please, you have to help me. I have nowhere to go, I don't even know the underground. Please!" she begged, not even caring if it made her look ridiculous. She wasn't a proud person normally, and at that moment she was so desperate that she was ready to do anything just to have a roof over her head.
"It's not my fucking problem. I don't know you," he snapped, getting more and more irritated by her insistence.
"I know but-"
"No buts! Get the hell out of here or I'll make you." He was going to close the door again, but this time she was smarter and put her foot on it, stopping it from closing.
"Look, Kenny told me you could help, so please recon-"
"Kenny?" he stopped pushing the door and repeated the name, his brow twitching for a moment. Syn realized, then, that she should have told him the name sooner, after all, Kenny was the one responsible for that whole situation to begin with.
"Yes, he told me to come here. He said you'd help me," She explained, once again stretching the truth.
He stood there in silence again, probably munching over the new piece of information. Syn hoped to the goddesses that he would change his mind, but of course life wasn't going to go easy on her.
"Well, you can tell him to fuck off, too. I don't do charity," and, for the last time that night, he closed the door.
When Syn was younger, she would always have anything she wanted right away. If she wanted to eat pudding for dinner, she would have it; if she wanted to sleep in the garden to watch the stars, they would make a camping site for her there; if she wanted to have a horse colored with all the colors of the rainbow, someone would give it to her. She only needed to ask, bat her eyelashes or pout and she would have it. For that reason, it was unnecessary to say that she didn't deal well with unanswered desires, and that she ended up being a pretty spoiled young adult. Well, if she had learned how to cope with frustration and not having whatever she wanted at any time, she would have dealt with that situation much better than she did.
She kicked the door in anger, tears already starting to fill her blue eyes, and she wanted to scream at that asshole's face for not helping her when she needed it. She let herself fall on the ground, the tears running freely on her face now; thank goodness there weren't people walking around to see her crying like a baby on the ground. Inside the house, she heard some movement, but Levi didn't come back.
She cried for some time, but eventually she noticed that that wouldn't help her. Her head was pounding because of all the emotions and crying, and she felt sleepy. Soon enough, with her back against Levi's door, she dozed off.
[…]
It had all started with the sweets; Elisa had given her the package and told her not to tell anyone, but she couldn't keep her mouth shut when she saw her cousin. As usual, Frey was playing with her dolls in the playing room, and as soon as she saw her coming in, she ran in her direction.
"Sy, do you wanna play with me?" she eagerly asked, and Sy couldn't say no to her. She loved her cousin like a sister, so patting her head, she nodded.
"Yes, but I can't stay long, I have piano lessons later."
"Okay,"
They played for a very long time, pretending their dolls were warriors from another realm. Suddenly, she remembered the sweets inside the pocket of her dress.
"Look what I have, Frey." She showed it off to her cousin, and the girl's blue eyes, the same color as her own, shone.
"Give me one,"
The sweets were really good; they ate many, so many that during lunch they were too full to eat food, and that was when her mother realized that she had eaten sweets before eating real food.
"You can't eat sweets before lunch, Sy, you know it." The woman told her, shaking her head.
"Sorry, ma. I won't do it again," she said, slightly pouting in a way she knew made her mother's heart swell.
"That's okay." Her mother kissed her head, and Sy was happy about it. She loved her mother's kisses. "Now, you have to wake up and find you way. Remember? You're free to go now."
"Oi, wake the fuck up!"
Syn's eyes snapped open when the surface where she was lying on gave in and her body fell backwards onto the cold stone floor. Her head hit the floor, making a loud noise that echoed through the silent morning – or was it still dawn? She had no idea. It was still dark in the underground, and there was nothing that showed if it was morning or night.
Above her, not looking very happy about the fact that she was lying on his floor was Levi. As soon as she saw him, she sat up.
"Hey, did you change your mind about helping me?" she asked hopefully, her eyes bright with sleep and anxiety. She looked like a mess with her face tear streaked, pale lips and hair all over the place. He scoffed, rolling his gray eyes.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" he shook his head, and before she had a chance to speak again, he pushed her forward with his feet like she was a rock blocking his way. "You're on my way."
Finally, she stood up completely, coming face to face with that man that refused to help a person in need. Her back ached for the terrible position she had slept in, but she didn't show it.
"Please reconsider. I have nowhere else to go. Please!" again she started begging, much to his displeasure.
"It's not my problem." He walked past her, closing the door to his home and going down the flight of stairs; she stood there, not knowing what to do with herself. Again, desperation started building in the back of her mind.
"Listen, I have money! I can pay you. Please! I just need a place to stay for some time." She went down the stairs after him, running to catch up – he was really fast for his height.
"I don't want your money," he retorted, not even looking back at her.
"I can do shores. Cleaning, cooking, whatever you want."
"I can do that myself, brat."
"I know how to knit, to dance, to play the piano, whatever you want I can do it! Please, help me!" he sighed loudly, not even sparing her another glance. He continued walking, and she continued following him. "Look, I have jewelry. Expensive jewelry;" she offered, even if she didn't want to give him more than she should for a place to stay. "I'm useful, I can help you."
"As I said," he turned to look at her, emotionless. "I don't need any of this shit. Fuck. Off."
She stopped walking, frustrated and angry with that terrible little man! In a moment of outraged impetus, she took off one of her shoes and threw it on his head; the sandal hit the back of his head and fell on the floor with a thud. It took three seconds for her to realize her mistake, and it was too late.
Levi slowly turned around, and instead of his emotionless face, she was faced with a very angry expression. His brow was creased and his eyes were so dark that they could have been mistaken for black. Syn swallowed tickly, taking one shoeless step behind, trembling all over.
"Do you have a death wish?" his question made the hairs on the back of her neck stand. She blinked rapidly, feeling her heart pounding madly in her chest and her legs started shaking.
"I-I'm sorry, I s-shouldn't have done that," she stammered, taking another step behind. He glared at her, hard, and if looks could kill, Syn would have been dead right at that moment.
"You fucking pigs from the capital," he bit, taking one step in her direction. "You think you own the fucking world, don't you?" he took another step, and she took two behind. "I have some news for you, bitch, you don't! Now get the hell away from my face before I fucking show you how we do things down here."
With that, he turned around and walked off, leaving Syn there, flabbergasted and almost pissing herself. Minutes passed by and she continued there, trembling from head to toes. She felt stupid; she shouldn't have done what she did. Levi had no obligation whatsoever to help her, and he had been right. She realized how arrogant she had seemed, throwing a shoe at his head only because he refused to help her – a complete stranger. Feeling worse than shit, she went forward and took her shoe, putting it on again before turning around and going back to his house. She climbed the flight of stairs and sat down again, hugging her body with the cloak.
What would she do? Now Levi would be less willing to help her than before, and she didn't blame him. If she was on his shoes, she would probably react the same way. Putting her head over her bent knees, she started thinking about how she would live her life from there on.
Her stomach started grumbling, and she took a piece of bread from her satchel, munching over it thoughtfully. She had about a hundred pieces of golden coin, safely tucked inside her pants in case someone tried robbing her, fifty silver and a bunch of bronze ones; she had no idea how expensive things were in the underground, but she imagined it must have been very; everything came from the capital, all the food and other goods, brought down there by merchants and smuggling. She knew that because of her economy and political classes; her teacher, Mrs. Heisenberg, told her about everything that made the money move in the country. From the farms on Wall Rose and Maria, the small markets responsible for a good part of the exchanges, to the huge factories responsible for weapons, and pretty much all the storage from Sina.
Once her teacher had mentioned the underground, a place not mentioned very often in the conversations of the noble people, and the fact that many merchants – mostly corrupt ones – would go there to sell their goods with the highest prices. Things like good food, medicine, clothing were all expensive down there because of the lack of market. Then, the rich people took advantage of the poorest in the kingdom, and fattened their bellies with money coming from desperation.
Now that she wasn't in Mitras anymore, she would feel exactly what it was like to live in such conditions; she wondered how she could find a job there, too. Were there regular jobs like waitressing, or was it only like the one from that place she had been the day before, where women sold their bodies?
She didn't want to do that, and couldn't even imagine how it would feel like. She was pretty much a virgin, after all she never married, and she had always dreamed of losing it with someone she loved and cared about. Of course she also realized that she would probably have to marry for convenience, so this romantic notion served for nothing. However, she wasn't so hopeless that she thought about doing something like that.
Shaking her head, she bit another piece of the bread.
Maybe she could open her own business? She did know to knit; maybe she could make some clothes and sell them? But how would she find the fabric? And she would have to rent a place to open it; was it something they did in the underground? Or could she just take one of the empty buildings and claim as hers like the kings of old used to do?
Damn, she was lost. She felt like crying again. Perhaps all that had been a bad idea; she shouldn't have run away from her home. She shouldn't have made that damn deal with Kenny of all people. What did she expect? The man wasn't known for being the most honest person around. In fact, his reputation preceded him, and everyone knew about it. He had been a killer before becoming member of the Military Police. And he had come from the underground, too.
What about Levi? What was his relationship to that man? He seemed pretty moved when she mentioned Kenny's name; maybe they were family? Or acquaintances?
Was Levi a killer, too?
The thought sent another chill down her spine; if he was, would he kill her for what she had done? Shit, she was so stupid and reckless! How could she do something like that to a person she didn't even know? If he decided to kill her, no one would even know. She would be lost forever, without a trace.
She shook her head. No. If he was going to kill her, he would have already. After all, she slept right in front of his home, and he saw her doing it. What was easier than killing someone while sleeping? Unless he enjoyed seeing people suffering. But then he would have done it when she hit his head with the shoe.
It was a lot to think about. She should apologize more profusely. Perhaps give him something; money? A piece of jewelry? Food? She had no idea. Would he even accept? After what she did, it was probable that he wouldn't even look at her. Well, she should at least try.
[…]
The day passed by without Syn realizing; she spent the whole time sitting in front of Levi's door, waiting for him to come back so she could apologize, but he never did. Still, she didn't move, afraid of doing so and losing him. It was boring; soon she started to become restless, but there was nothing for her to do. There was a moment she felt the need to pee, and she had to find a way of doing it in a dark alley – it was the first time in her life that she had to pee somewhere that wasn't a bathroom. The entire time she watched out, afraid someone would appear and catch her doing it. No one did. It was surprisingly quiet in that part of the city, and only a few passersby appeared.
After peeing, she went back to Levi's door, and there she stood. She managed to fold all her clothes, eat another piece of bread, sing some of her favorite songs softly to herself, pick on her hair – which had some split ends that she hadn't noticed before. Eventually she dozed off with boredom, and it was at that moment that Levi reappeared. She was drooling when he kicked her foot, waking up with a startle.
"I told you to fuck off, brat." He said, visibly annoyed with her presence. She felt like a bug.
"Hey," she greeted, smiling despite the fact that he was looking at her as if she was a dirty old dog.
"Tsk," he clicked his tongue, opening his door and he was about to enter when she stopped him by grabbing the back of his shirt.
"Wait, please." She asked, standing up. He turned around, the same bored look from the day before on his face. She passed a hand over her clothes, seeing the mess the dress probably was after her sitting on it the whole day. "I'd like to apologize to you for my behavior; it was uncalled for, and I'm deeply ashamed by it."
One of his eyebrows rose. "What's with the formal tone?"
She frowned, not understanding what he meant. "Look, I really didn't want to have done that. So I want to give you something to show my regret," she went to her satchel, feeling his eyes on her, and took off her beloved tea. "It's not much, but it's one of the best leaves in the kingdom. I hope you like it."
He took the package with interest, analyzing it briefly before turning back to her. She smiled expectantly, waiting for him to accept her apology.
"Mmpt," he turned around with the tea and opened the door to his home. He entered without glancing back and closed the door on her face again.
Syn stood there, feeling so many things at the same time that she was only able to sigh. She sat down again, closing her eyes and thinking about all the happy time she had on her seventeen years living on that earth. She was thirsty, now that she started thinking about the tea she had given to Levi. Gosh, why was everything so difficult? Damn Kenny!
[…]
Three days. Three goddamn days. That was the amount of time Syn spent in the underground, outside Levi's house; at that point, she was tired beyond saying, looking all dirty and smelly, after not showering for three entire days! – that was the longest she went without a bath, since she took baths every day before. Her food, too, was starting to end, and now the only thing she had were some pieces of jerk beef and an already old apple. The worst of all, though, was her thirst. Three days and only twice she drank water, and it had been from a small pond on the freaking floor. It was sewer water, she knew, and the first sip she took made her almost throw up. She could have gone around to try and find a store or a restaurant, but she was too afraid of roaming in the underground with her money.
Her head was aching due to lack of proper food, of water, of sleep, of everything. She wanted to lay down on a soft bed and sleep, take a shower, eat some hot soup, and forget that she spent three days in that hideous, forsaken place. She regretted leaving now; she didn't know what she had on her mind for doing something like that. She was going to die down there, alone, dirty, and no one would care.
Even her tears had dried at that moment; she had cried many times in the three days, but eventually she stopped. Also, crying only made her head hurt even more. As for Levi, every day he would go out, therefore every day he saw her there, and she would always ask for his help, which he simply ignored. He had made the tea she had given him, she smelt it from his home, and didn't even bother to offer. He was a bad man. A really, really bad man.
Syn had lost all hope that he was going to help her, and in the morning of the third day, when he opened the door to leave his home, she just stared at him. She didn't ask for help; she didn't say good morning, like she had done before. Her bright, blue eyes only looked at him, heavy bags shading them. She looked terrible, she knew it. And the look he gave her – of disgust -, made her want to punch right through his face.
"Still here?" he asked, one of his eyebrows rising.
"Barely," she muttered, lowering her eyes. She heard him sigh loudly, before stepping over her legs, which were spread in front of her – so unlady like -, and going down the stairs like he usually did.
She watched his back, wishing she could inflict pain in him with her vision. Soon, he disappeared in the alley, and she was left alone yet again.
Sighing, she closed her eyes, thinking about sleeping some more – at least she didn't feel hungry or thirsty if she slept. It was during her dozing off that a thought occurred to her. She opened her eyes, the idea swirling around her mind in a dangerous haze.
Her eyes slowly darted towards the door in which she had been standing in front of for days; it was closed, but it wasn't locked. She was sure of it, for she had seen Levi leave his home several times now and not once did he close it with a key. Tentatively, looking around her to make sure she was alone, which she was, she tried to push the door open. What was her surprise when it cracked and slowly opened, giving her the partial vision of Levi's living room. Her heart started pounding loudly in her chest, and adrenaline punched through her veins.
That was it! She could go in, do whatever she wanted, and then leave, Levi would never even know. She knew he wouldn't come home until late, thus she had all the time in the world. Well, after three days, hope made her stand up excitedly. She didn't hesitate. Maybe it was the fact that she was dirty, desperate to take a bath, to drink proper water, which made her break into someone's house like that. She didn't care, though. As soon as she could, and with another look around to make sure no one was watching, she entered the house and closed the door behind her.
The house was tidy, organized and spotless clean. There was a single green couch with a coffee table in front of it, a small, round wooden table with two chairs, a cabinet, and a long sink, which was the first place she darted towards; she opened the faucet and put her face under the water, drinking as much as she could take, humming in pleasure. Gosh, how people took thinks for granted. There she was, almost crying in emotion because she was finally able to drink water.
After drinking enough water to floor her insides, she turned the faucet off and looked around, deciding what would be her next course of action. She didn't want to mess with his food, or with anything, really, so she didn't touch the cabinet. However, she did think it would be nice to take a bath, so she went about the house trying to find the bathroom. It wasn't that difficult, since the house wasn't that big. On the corridor, there were three doors, and she went on opening each of them to try and find the correct one. She was sure of them was the bathroom.
The first one she opened was a bedroom, with a double bed in the middle and a wardrobe. As the rest of the house, it was pretty tidy, but she didn't linger – besides her obvious dislike for Levi, she didn't want to intrude more than she already was. The next door was an empty room, there were only a couple of boxes spread around, and that was it. The last door on the corridor was the bathroom, and she almost squealed in delight when she saw the shower and an actual toilet. She didn't think twice, which she should have, but at the moment, she did what her mind was telling her to.
She striped her clothes, taking off the dress she had been wearing, her undergarments, her stockings and finally climbing under the shower. The water was freezing, and she almost embraced it. There was a bar of soup that was scentless, and she used it without a care in the world.
Never had a shower felt so good. She stood there for at least twenty minutes, washing everything twice – she had a bit of a cleaning habit, and not being able to shower was driving her crazy. Finally, she turned off the water and dried herself off with her cloak. There was mirror, and she turned to watch herself; she surely looked tired, but now she was clean, and she looked cute again. Her long, blonde, wavy hair fell down her back, dripping wet, framing her heart shaped face and matching her blue eyes. She was what people called a true beauty, and everything on her was in perfect harmony – from her straight, small nose to her full pink lips, her curvy body – she had medium sized breasts, wide hips, which was perfect for having babies. Her mother had been chosen for her body, and Syn's were just like hers. Her face, though, was all her father with her light complexion.
She wasn't a vain woman; for her, being beautiful was a fact, something as natural as breathing, so she didn't really mind it. She had heard people commenting on it frequently, and as it would do to most people, it boosted her ego, too. However, the fact that she was beautiful made people judge her too soon. She didn't know where it came from, but usually people thought that looks and intelligence was no match – it was either one or the other. Syn was very intelligent, though, and she enjoyed studying and reading as frequently as she enjoyed combing her hair.
She dried off the waves, passing her fingers through them to untangle the locks. Then, when she was satisfied with her work, she started getting dressed. Instead of an uncomfortable dress, she opted for the pair of pants and a shirt; it was easier to move on them. After that, she turned to open the door and leave, collecting everything and drying the floor.
As soon as she left the bathroom, she came face to face with no one other than Levi himself. He was standing in the corridor, leaning on the wall, arms crossed over his chest, and face emotionless like always. Syn squealed, frightened by the sudden appearance of he who should have been gone for hours.
Shit!, she mentally yelled, taking several steps backwards, feeling as if her death had finally arrived.
"Enjoying yourself?" his voice was sharp as a knife, and it made her heart beat wildly in her chest.
She took in a sharp breath, biting her lip hard. She didn't know what to say. Sorry for breaking into your house? Was she even sorry? After all, she was enjoying herself minutes ago, under his shower. Levi kept staring at her, and his gray eyes were unnerving.
"I-" she started, blushing from head to toe with embarrassment. The words died in her throat, and she was clueless about what to say. Then, she did the expected. "Sorry."
"Eh?" he raised an eyebrow, uncrossing his arms and going in her direction. "You break into my house and sorry is the only thing you can come up with?" she took two steps backwards, hitting the wall and having no place to escape to.
Levi's expression didn't change; he didn't look particularly mad or angry at her, but then again he wasn't one to display many emotions – the only time she had seen him pissed off was when she insisted on knocking on his door and when she threw the shoe on his head. He stood right in front of her, looking down to her and making her feel like a lamb facing a big, scary wolf.
"I- I had to go to the bathroom." She tried explaining, which only made him roll his eyes at her.
"I didn't know my bathroom was public."
She swallowed, averting her eyes to the ground. "I'm sorry, please don't kill me. I won't do it again, I promise." Her voice was wavering and her fear was showing off; she felt her legs shaking a bit when he raised his arm and put it right beside her head; Syn didn't dare look up.
"How would you like it to be? I'm thinking about slitting your throat and leaving you to bleed. What do you think?" his voice was low and menacing, and when his words clicked in her mind she felt her eyes water.
"Please," she pleaded, looking up at him with blue eyes full of tears. "I'm too young to die; don't kill me, please! I do whatever you want,"
He smirked, bringing his hand closer to her face and touching her cheek; she flinched away, tears running freely down her face. "Anything I want?" he asked suggestively, and her head snapped to look at him.
Oh, no. No, no, no. She chanted in her head, recoiling even more from him.
"No, I won't do that." It was surprising how firm her voice sounded even if she was shaking in fear. Levi noticed it, too, and his eyes sparkled with interest.
"Mm, well, that's the only option I'm thinking of. Would you rather die?" again his finger touched the side of her face, and she slapped it away with force.
"Yes, you damn asshole! I'd rather die!"
They glared at each other for a long time, until Levi nodded. "Fine. As you wish,"
She closed her eyes, not really wanting to see what he would do to her. She only hoped it would be fast and painless. All her life, Syn had feared death; she didn't know why, maybe it was the "curse" of her family, or the fact that everyone would eventually meet their end, but for her death was a shadow that always lurked around people, waiting for the perfect chance to strike. It could be at any time; she once had heard some servants talking about a lady who had died eating soup – a piece of meat had gone to the wrong place, and she died without being able to breath. She remembered how she had been shocked by that. She was about ten, and hearing that someone could die eating soup made her afraid of the food for a long time. She would always ask a servant to cut the meat into tiny pieces, and if they were too big, she would chew on it for a very long time.
It was a stupidity, she knew it. Death would come to anyone, and it was impossible to prevent it. She could chew all the meat, and die climbing down the stairs; now, never had she imagined that she would die in the underground, by the hands of the man that was supposed to help her somehow. She was really unlucky. How come the one time she is finally free she ends up in a place and three days later dies?
She felt some movement, and her heart pounded loudly.
That was it. She was going to die.
"Oi, brat, open your damn eyes."
"No, I don't want to see it." She said, shaking her head.
"Tsk, are you fucking kidding me? I'm not killing you,"
Her eyes snapped open, and she realized that he had stepped away from her and was now staring at her with boredom.
"B-but,"
"What? I was just fooling you, idiot." He turned around and walked towards his living room, leaving her there, astonished. She heard the sound of a chair being pulled, and then silence.
She went in that same direction, grabbing all her things on the way. Levi was sitting at his table, a pocket knife on one hand a handkerchief on another. Syn stood there, watching him cleaning the object as if he didn't have a single care in the world.
"Are you going to stand there like a creep?" he asked, not taking his eyes off of the knife on his hands. Syn frowned, not really knowing what do to.
"I really thought you were going to kill me," She said quietly, clutching her cloak – which now was all wet from the shower she had taken – on her hands, trying to ease off some of the nervousness she was feeling.
He briefly looked back at her, before sighing. "I don't kill women," though it was a strange sentence, she felt relieved.
Slowly she walked towards the table, pulling out one of the chairs and sitting down. Surprisingly enough Levi didn't mention it, and continued to clean his knife. They stood there in complete silence, and the only thing possible to hear was the sound of their breathing. It was unnerving and a bit uncomfortable, but it was better than him trying to kill her.
"Listen," Syn broke the silence, wetting her lips before continuing. "I'm sorry for breaking into your home. I shouldn't have done that. I-I was really needing the bathroom…"
Levi quirked one eyebrow, looking at her. "And you thought that would be a good idea?" she nodded, ashamed. He scoffed, shaking his head. "If you're going to live in the underground, first thing you gotta learn is to not enter a random person's house. There are some pretty shady people here."
"I agree." She nodded, biting her lip. "So, did you change your mind?"
"About what?"
She took in a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. That was it. She was going for it again. "Letting me live here with you."
"Tsk, I already told you-"
"Please, reconsider!" she interrupted before he turned her down again. "As you may have seen, I have no place to go. I have money; I can pay for my stay here. I can work for you, as I told you, I can clean your house, cook, knit, whatever you wish. I know how to sing, to dance, I'm very useful, so please-"
"Fine, brat. Don't need a fucking curriculum."
Her eyes widened, and her heart pounded faster. "What?"
He rolled his eyes. "You can stay."
Syn squealed in delight, jumping up and down. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" she said over and over, barely containing the excitement. After three days, he had finally agreed to help her.
Thanks Sina, Maria and Rose! Thanks, Ymir! She thought, smiling brightly.
Levi looked at her, jumping and squealing as if he had just told her that unicorns were real. "You'll have to work, though. I like my house cleaned spotless, not even a grain of dust. If you do it wrong, I'll kick you out, hear that, brat?"
"Yes, yes! I understand!" she said, not even paying attention to what he was saying.
"And you'd better be quiet, I don't like noise."
"Okay!"
"And never leave you stuff lying around. I'll kick you out if you do."
"Agreed!"
"Tsk," he clicked his tongue, going back to his work on his knife.
Meanwhile, Syn smiled from ear to ear, happy that she wouldn't have to sleep once more outside. Finally things were starting to work out for her.