A/N: Chapter 3! This is exciting! Thank you to those who have reviewed/faved/followed! Especially reviewed. Those make me really happy C: \shot

III

"You are a guest at this house, but don't get it into your shitty brain in any way that this will excuse you from my rules, you hear?"

Those were the first words the duke said to Eren the next morning, after Eren entered the dining room to have breakfast. Half-asleep and quite groggy, the brunette had greeted the shorter man with a friendly "Good morning," only to be met with a strict lecture.

"My rules," Levi continued, "are that you will follow my orders, or you will be punished. I told you that you were to be in this room at 8:00. What time is it now?"

Eren winced as he glanced nervously at the grandfather clock that stood at the other end of the room. "It's 8:05, sir..."

"Exactly. Now sit your ass down before I ruin it with my foot."

Eren was sitting in an instant, eyes glued to the food set before him as to not make eye contact with the angry duke. He wondered, as he chose a fork based on Levi's instructions from the night before, what had come over the man to put him in such a snappy mood. He had been much nicer yesterday - not pleasant, but nicer - and now, he looked ready to hit if they weren't in such an unsuitable place as the dining room.

Then again, Eren thought back, their first encounter had been more or less along these lines, with menacing stares and irritated words. Maybe Levi just wasn't a morning person. That must be it, Eren hypothesized hopefully, but anyhow, he would find out soon enough.

~ o ~

Eren did indeed find out, and the result was not what he wanted.

Levi's mood did not lift in the lightest throughout the day. Not during lunch, not when giving Eren a full tour of the house, not during afternoon tea, and certainly not during dinner.

If anything, it got worse.

"Stop slurping the damn soup, brat."

Eren looked at Levi over the bowl of chowder he was eating from. He hadn't even realized he was making noise. "Sorry, sir."

Levi wrinkled his nose, unimpressed. "You might as well stop eating. I'm losing my appetite just listening to you."

The brunette put down his spoon and bit his lip. He wasn't nearly done with his food, but the duke's words were unsavory enough. He must have looked very obviously dejected though, because Levi followed up on his words:

"Don't give me that look, brat. Unless you want me to punch that worthless face of yours."

"No, sir." Eren's voice was small as he tried to collect himself and put on a more neutral expression. He sat back in his chair and set his hands in his lap.

"Hmph." Levi looked away momentarily, but returned his eyes to the boy that sat across from him. Eren stiffened as he felt the scrutinizing gaze on his figure, bracing himself for whatever comment may come next-

"That shirt fits well on you."

The sudden shift to a half-compliment once again knocked the younger boy off balance as he looked up with bright eyes to his superior. With all the insults and disappointment thrown his way in the previous hours, he felt his chest flutter with nervous pride that he had done at least one thing right. "T-Thank you."

"You may leave the table now."

Eren stood up obediently, quietly bidding the older man "Good night" before heading towards his own room. His head still spun with the compliment the duke had given him, dissecting the short phrase to search for sarcasm - but alas, it hurt his brain and he gave up.

He arrived at his bedchamber, and once inside, Eren fell onto his bed with arms and legs sprawled wide. He was not physically tired, per say - they had not done much other than walk through the estate - but he was spent emotionally, seeing as the duke's words were certainly not for the weak of heart. As a rather simple-minded person, Eren dealt with them well enough, but he could not say that he was ready for another day of them just yet.

At this time, his stomach growled, reminding him of the unfinished dinner that was probably cleared off the table by now. If only he'd been allowed to finish-! But alas, Eren knew he had no right to complain; this day, he had been better fed than any other day in his life. In the orphanage, no one ever had a proper three-course meal. Even with his parents, when they were considerably better off, conditions were still a far cry away from the treatment he received here.

Jean would love to have meals like this, Eren thought - his older friend did have quite an appetite after all. Speaking of Jean, Eren wondered how he was doing right now. Was it duller at the orphanage without Eren? Was the work harder? How was the old man Hannes holding up?

And then his parents... thinking of his family now, Eren reached a hand under his bed. He pulled up his bag of belongings and then, from within, drew out the single shoe that was the memento from his mother.

The fabric was a plain color, a muddy brown that was characteristic of the lower classes. On the sides, however, there were decals stitched in - a feathery design, reminiscent of the "Wings of Freedom" of the special military corps that Eren had wanted so badly to join when he was young. He had gone as far to teach himself sword fighting amongst other skills, until tragedy struck and he gave up on this dream.

It had been a long time since his mother gave him the shoe, but it remained clean and unworn. It was a single shoe, after all, and not to mention that it was made much bigger than his feet were at the time. For when you grow up, his mother had said.

Well, he was grown up now, Eren realized with a nervous thump in his chest. Would it fit...? He nervously reached the shoe to his foot - it was his first time trying it on in a long while - and slipped it on over bare skin.

It was perfect.

With a little inhale of excitement, Eren took it off again, as if to preserve its unworn state. He held the shoe in two hands, marvelling at the size and shape with a small smile. His mother was truly a gifted woman.

But then, Eren frowned. What about the other shoe? His mother had been working on that one when she disappeared, the shoe gone with her. Before she left, she had promised him it would be finished. Of course, Eren understood that promises meant nothing in the face of unforeseen events, but his mother had never lied to him.

As childish as it was, Eren liked to think that the shoe was out there somewhere, finished, and just waiting for him to find it. After all, disappearance was not equivalent to death, and there was a reason that the shoe vanished along with her - right?

Sighing, Eren put away the memento, along with his wistful thoughts. He decided he needed something to pass the time, and so he pulled out his pack of sewing materials and fabric. It occurred to him that, if he continued to stay with the duke, there would be absolutely no point to making shoes.

But then again, Eren had no goddamn clue why he was here in the first place or how long he would be staying, and so he pulled the needle through the fabric once more.

~ o ~

Downstairs in the dining room, Levi continued to sit alone. His food still sat in front of him, nearly untouched, much like the dinner across the table from him. It was true that Eren's messy eating bothered him, but now that the boy was gone, Levi felt even less of a desire to eat.

It wasn't the boy's fault that he was in a horrible mood today, but Eren ended up receiving the blunt end of it, being essentially the only person that the duke came into contact with. That's why, at the sight of Eren looking so damn sad at his previous comments, Levi forced himself to throw some praise at the kid, and what do you know? His fucking face lit right up.

It almost made Levi want to compliment him again.

Almost.

But anyhow, there was no time to think of those things, because there was a more pressing issue - the issue that spurred Levi's irritation in the first place - and that was a letter that he had found at his desk, early in the morning, consisting of a single, neatly penned line:

"How is he?"

Such a message and in such handwriting could only be from one person, and that was the Princess Mikasa. She always seemed so far away and detached, even in her letters, but Levi knew better. She was clearly furious at the fact that Levi had taken Eren first, and had every intention to come see the boy for herself.

The real question, then, is, how soon would she come? To begin with, Levi had not expected that she would discover Eren's presence in a single day. This would have taken serious dedication (and obsession), and as such, he could expect Mikasa to visit within the week. Maybe in a few days.

And that was the part that angered Levi the most.

Eren was in no state - no state - to be presented to Mikasa, especially not when she's had such high ideals of the boy. He had been here not even a full day at that time, and that's not long enough to adjust to anything, much like to a noble estate coming from an orphanage. Eren was a quick learner (Levi grudgingly admitting), but quick has its limits, and the brat was still a brat as far as Levi was concerned.

However, Mikasa could not be stopped, and this left Levi with no choice - he needed to train the boy faster, and the way to do that was through intimidation (after today, the kid would never dare to slurp his soup again) until he was nothing but a submissive pile of clay of which every curve and corner could be molded perfectly to the duke's likings.

~ o ~

Some five miles away, a lone figure stood by the window, gazing out into the moonlight.

I wonder what the answer is like?

Footsteps from behind interrupted the train of thought. A knock on the door, then a hinge creaking.

"Your Highness, it is late. Won't you go to sleep?"

The figure did not turn. Her eyes lit up as she spotted a light in the distance, though it soon flickered, then dimmed.

"Yes. In a moment."

The door closed, and the sound of footsteps faded into nothingness.

Mikasa continued to stand there, in the silence, and in the dark. She looked at down at her hands, where she held a precious object, turning it over and over again, and tracing with her fingers the embroidery on the sides - the 'Wings of Freedom.'

~ o ~

A/N: Back stories and blobs of thinking. I used to think that 2k words was pretty substantial for a chapter, but looking back, it feels like nothing really happens in 2k words o n o. Oh well, chappies be short but the story will still go the same! Things will move forward from here, so hope you'll keep with me!

Also check out my new one-shot if you like fluff! Heh :D xoxo