Chapter 9 – The Riddle of White
The Next Day – Military Personnel Barracks
Liette couldn't stop rolling around in her bed. Her head was throbbing and her stomach hurt. "Gaahh….." Her parched voice sounded as she pulled the sheets off. Sitting there with her mind all boggy, she stood up and sat at the table, examining the letter that was entitled to her.
She remembered what Rivaille and Irvin were discussing last night. Even though she was fast asleep, her awareness managed to stay shallow enough to listen to their conversation. "A game… huh?"
Amidst the midmorning quiet that Liette took pleasure and relief in, someone knocked on the door to her room. But for some reason, those knocks felt like boulders smashing on her head as she winced, covering her ears. "C-come in!" she called out in an attempt to make it stop, but her yelling only made it worse.
"Oww…ahhh…" It was like pure misery, the sound was echoing in her head, never ending.
"Now you know what happens when you drink too much?" Rivaille's voice said as he entered.
Liette looked at Rivaille with her head on its side on the table, "What do you need Rivaille?" Her voice was raspy and sluggish.
"Checking up on you, dimwit" The Lance Corporal replied as he took a seat, pouring her a glass of water from the urn that was on the table, "The alcohol takes water from your body. Drink plenty of fluids"
"Thank you" Liette replied as she began to take sips of the cold beverage. The chilling water slithered down her throat that left a lasting relief, soothing her churning stomach.
Leaning back in his seat with that same unamused expression of his, Rivaille began the topic of discussion for the time being, "I'm assuming you read the letter Liette?"
Looking down upon the parchment, Liette glared at it with somewhat melancholic eyes. "Yes, I did…" Her gaze turned away from Rivaille slightly. He took this as a sign of her unwillingness to discuss, and understood her lapse of gloom, saying nothing for the moment.
Taking this moment of silence as Rivaille's way of listening to her qualms, she spoke up, "What is this Paramount thinking…? What does he want with me?"
"You have something that he wants"
"Why would he try to kill me if I have something he wants?" Liette questioned in return, her head throbbing in response to her blurt.
He couldn't reply to her second question, it was indeed true as it didn't make sense. The Lance Corporal fell silent again.
Liette rubbed her temples before speaking again, "You used to be in this kind of thing weren't you… Levi?"
Rivaille's eyes widened at how comfortable Liette must have been to call him by his nickname, "Try not to spread rumors that are true" he said in reply, his eyebrows frowning again.
She did nothing but sigh in return to his comment before smiling lightly, "I don't think you should be talking to your superior like that"
"Superior…?" Rivaille replied leaning forward, with a slightly irritated frown on his face. He suddenly remembered what Irvin had said the night before as Liette waved the parchment in the air in front of him.
"I read the letter, remember?"
Levi sighed at Liette's unwavering wit as he sat back in his chair, "A Private Investigation Squad is hardly a squad with only two members"
"I have a few members in mind already" There were two people in particular that Liette desired to be part of this new squad. There was a common understanding that a Squad with a specific task should only have the finest members, but the phrase "finest members" was subjective. In these two people Liette had in mind, was something that was considered risky: potential.
Peter and Kristell might've seemed like lackluster soldiers despite their one titan killing record, but there was a spark of nostalgia in the pair that Liette found herself very attached to. That nostalgia clawed at Liette's gut, which led her to believe that the uncanny duo would be key to the squad's success.
"Well, since you've got that covered…." Rivaille murmured as he stood up from his chair.
Liette's face tilted a bit, "Where are you going?" She asked.
"To file a report at the HQ. They're going to need to know if we're borrowing Stationary Guard troops." He said as he began to depart towards the door. He had a feeling that it was those two kids that dropped her off the day before, "Besides, we're going to need funds if this Squad has any hope of fighting those Lords. Be prepared to kill." The tone of his voice emitted a sense of warning, "This world isn't like anything you've ever seen before" He spoke from experience, painfully griping experience before the door closed behind him, leaving Liette alone.
"Irene… have those past incidents… come to haunt us today? Is that why you're taking action now? To undo those mistakes… that even you will never fully understand…."
ooo
The Stationary Guard Barracks in the Karanese District has been unusually quiet for the past week. This was most likely due to the mass transfer of Stationary Guard from the other districts to the Trost District in response to the fall of the Wall Maria. They predicted that when the titan's breach the Wall Rose, it would be from the Trost District.
Liette stepped casually through the corridor alongside the courtyard, glancing at the few Guards that were making their way to their designated posts. Some eyed her in return, wondering why there was a Scouting Legion soldier roaming through their barracks.
Upon reaching the room she was designated to, Liette knocked a few times before stepping back slightly, with her hands clamped together behind her back. Unfortunately, she couldn't stand up too straight as her head was still throbbing.
A few moments passed before the oddly loud creaking of the door rang in Liette's ears. Cringing a bit, she look slightly upward at the person who answered the door. A sleepy eyed Kristell yawned loudly as she asked who it was.
"Um… Kristell…?"
Kristell rubbed her eyes before replying with a groggy, "Liette…? Do you need something?"
Liette tried to glance into her room to see if Peter was with her, "I have something important to talk to you and Peter about, is he here?"
The girl with her dusty blonde hair, now hanging loosely from her head instead of her usual bun yawned again before answering, "He said he had to clear a few things with the upper divisions. He'll be back any moment now…."
Around the same time Kristell replied, she turned her head to the side to see Peter walking down the corridor. He was somewhat surprised to see Liette, and as soon as he approached her, he inquired about her presence.
Sitting down with the both of them in their temporary living quarters, she explained the entire situation to them in full detail.
"…and that's why I'm here today. I want the two of you as part of my squad." Liette finished.
At this point, Kristell was wide awake as she asked, "So… this Paramount wants you dead?"
Liette shook her head, "I don't really know. Supposedly I have something he wants, but it makes no sense if he wanted me dead"
"And that's the goal of the squad. To find out" Peter responded, deeply thinking about Liette's offer. "If we join… do we have to fight titans?" It was an obvious question that Peter always asked, for fear of his own life.
"No, well, at least we shouldn't" Liette said shaking her head, "But that doesn't guarantee everything will be safe. We're fighting extremely dangerous people. I want to make that clear for both of you before you make your decisions"
Kristell on the fly accepted Liette's offer. She had thought that this was the perfect opportunity to express herself as a true Stationary Guard, but Peter on the other hand was still thinking it through.
"Hmmm…. What should I do….? If I join… then I'll be fighting other people, bad people. Criminals. But if I decline, then I'll go back to the Trost District, and those titans…. They're just waiting for the wall to breach…and when it does…" In his mind, the various image of titans flashed. Their smiling faces, the faces of death ripped through his heart as he hastily said to Liette, "C-count me in!" He didn't know whether or not it was the right decision, but he sure did not want to fight titans again.
Liette was quite surprised that Peter had agreed to join. She was sure that the thought of fighting other people would cause him to be dissuaded, but apparently, he was afraid of the titans more. Still, she couldn't help but smile at their enthusiasm for aiding her in this campaign.
"Thank you, you two…"
Kristell began to laugh as she waved it off, "Not a problem! We both owe you our lives, and this is the least we could do. If it weren't for you, I don't think either one of us would be here today"
Hearing these corny words widened Liette's smile until it turned into a laugh, before leaving, she rubbed both of them playfully on the head. That moment felt so close to her heart, so warming from all the pain she had been through lately. For once in such a long time, she felt glad.
"Those were the exact words…. Clara said…."
ooo
"Li….tte….Lie….tte…."
"Who… is calling me…?"
"Liete..! Wake up…!"
"That voice…. So familiar…."
"Liette! Wake up!"
The bright spring sun showed itself to Liette as she woke up from her soothing nap. The birds were chirping and the breeze was refreshing. Everything was pleasant.
"Finally awake sleepyhead?" The voice of an upbeat, energetic girl asked as Liette looked about the scenery around her. The wheels of the wagon cranked quietly as they were traveling down the road.
"You could have just let her sleep. We would have eaten everything already by the time she woke up" Another voice said coming from behind Liette. It was a stern, yet dignified and relaxed boy who was holding the reins of the horse driving their wagon.
Liette smiled as she leaned back on the wagon again, "That's right…." She, Clara, Erick and a few other members of the Scouting Legion including Rivaille were going out for a picnic today since it was their day off. It had been two years since graduating from Military Training, and a year and a half since leaving the Military Police to join the Scouting Legion with Clara and Erick.
It was a cloudless day, a time in which each and every one of them simply forgot about the troubles and pain. They ate, they played, and they enjoyed each other's company. Everything, even the titans, seemed to fade into simple memories.
Liette leaned back against the tree, glaring intently at the sky. "Such a beautiful day….All's quiet with the world…"
Slowly drifting to sleep as she closed her eyes, a few others, including Clara and Erick, decided that they have a little bit of fun.
Trying extremely hard to contain her boiling laughter, Clara, Erick and another Scouting Legion member by the name of Petra, each held a part of a blanket that was filled with water.
"What are you idiots doing?" Rivaille asked as he crossed his arms, glaring in a slightly disapproving manner.
"Nothing to concern yourself with Levi!" Clara winked with her tongue out at the Lance Corporal.
Rivaille frowned a bit while he continued to observe what Liette's reaction was going to be. He wasn't going to stop them since he knew that Clara was going to whine to him after about it.
"Hey Liette! Sleeping again? The days only just begun!" Clara said and asked, but gave no time for the dozing girl to answer as they heaved.
"One! Two! Three!"
A blast of cold water was dumped onto Liette as she was rudely interrupted from what was to be a nice rest. "H-Hey!" Liette was extremely annoyed, but at the same time she couldn't help but smile in a fit to try to get back at Clara.
At that same instance, Clara began to dart away from Liette's fine judgment, "Get back here Clara! I knew it was your idea!"
Everyone simply began to laugh as they watched Liette chase down Clara. She was always the faster runner than Liette, even in childhood, but that made Liette more determined to chase her down.
Amusingly, Clara was having a good time despite being hunted down for her prank. But that wasn't the last thing she was planning on doing. Purposely, she was leading Liette towards the creek where there was a small ledge instead. One would not know the edge was so close unless they stepped carefully.
Stopping keenly at the edge, looking as if she were cornered, Clara waited for Liette to catch up. The silver haired girl was charging full speed, and Clara smiled at her determination.
"Clara!" Liette yelled out as she outstretched her arms to grab Clara, but they felt nothing. Clara had darted to the side last minute, and as Liette took another step forward in surprise, she had felt her foot touch nothing except the air over the ledge. "Wh-whoa!" She tried her best to keep her balance to avoid falling off, but even it was too late, even for an acrobat as skilled as her, she couldn't regain her balance. After a few seconds of flailing her arms around, Liette fell over into the water.
It seemed that Clara had gotten the best of Liette again. "Hahahaha! Got you again Liette!" She pointed and giggled. She was laughing so hard that she didn't notice that hand that sprung out from the running water. One strong tug, and it dragged her into the stream. "Eep!"
"Heheh… hahaha!" A laughing Liette emerged from the water, satisfied that she had gotten back at her prankster of a friend. At the same time, Clara stuck her head out of the water, splashing furiously at Liette. She too was laughing.
"Yes….if only…. We could experience this peace…. Every day of our lives….No more titans, no more pain…. Just…. Happiness…."
ooo
All in all, Liette was not too tired the next morning as she woke up. Hastily, she got dressed into her Military Uniform and darted out of the door to the meeting place that Rivaille had designated before they move onto the Madrick Guild Hall.
Usually, Liette would take a calmer approach and walk briskly, but for some reason, she found herself almost on the brink of jogging. Commander Irvin's letter mentioned something about the First Lord knowing everything about Liette, and she wanted so desperately to know the answers to the questions that remain locked inside her past.
Her hastened walking led her to the rendezvous point where only Rivaille was waiting, his arms crossed leaning against the brick wall. His gaze was ever unchanging as Liette approached the waiting Lance Corporal.
"Are the other two here?" Liette asked as she looked down the street ahead.
"No but if those two rookies are late, that'll give me a good impression of them" Rivaille responded very sarcastically. As they were both waiting there, the running figures of Kristell and Peter came speeding down the slightly busy street. After a few close calls with almost knocking over carts and smashing into horses, both of them hastily took a breather as they greeted Liette.
"Ahem…" Rivaille cleared his throat, waiting for them to give a formal salute to a superior.
Pausing to take a deep breath to calm her racing lungs, Kristell asked rather bluntly, "Who.. is this…?"
"L-Lance C-Corporal!" Peter called out in a respectful tone with his fist pressed against his chest.
"C-Corporal Rivaille?!" Kristell exclaimed to herself as she also saluted. "W-what's the strongest soldier d-doing h-here…?!" All of a sudden, Kristell began to feel nauseous. Her anxiety began to build up as her stomach churned.
"Hmm…." The Lance Corporal examined both recruits as if he were reading their minds. His cold, rather merciless eyes glared into theirs and pierced through their souls. He scoffed, "Honestly, I don't see what's so special about these rookies. Nothing outstanding, the girl there looks like she's on the verge of vomi-" Before he could finish his conclusion, Kristell was already hinged over spewing grossly colored liquids into the nearby gutter.
"K-Kristell!" Peter exclaimed as he patted her back to try to comfort her. "I-I'm sorry, she just very nervous to meet you"
"O-Okay okay! I get it I get it! I'll lay off the harshness. Just please stop it" Rivaille replied, squirming at the smell and sound of the vomit. He was slightly turned away with his hand covering the sight.
Liette herself was also rather uncomfortable with Kristell's burst of sickness as she slightly look away.
Fortunately, it only lasted a few moments before she managed to get a hold of herself wiping her mouth of any remaining liquids and her eyes of tears. "S-Sorry about that!" Surprisingly, she stayed extremely casual as she took out a small container of water to drink it.
Rivaille's nose scrunched as his face was frowning annoyingly, covering his nose, he asked in a muffled tone, "You sound as if this is normal"
"Kind of…" She replied recounting the recent times she's had to release the innards of her stomach through her mouth.
"Ugh… never mind. Let's just get the hell out of here before anyone notices the stench"
ooo
"Rivaille, can you answer one question for me?" Liette asked as they walked in a somewhat box formation down the street towards the Guild Hall they were directed to.
"If it's about my reaction to the girl throwing up, it's the most disgusting thing ever" Rivaille replied rather harshly.
"Uhm, no. That wasn't what I was going to ask…"
Eying Liette's rather reserved tone, "Then what were you going to ask?"
She hesitated for a moment, remembering Rivaille's reaction to her inquiring about his past, but she asked anyway. "Irvin's letter mentioned that you were acquaintances with this person."
"Ah… " Rivaille murmured, staying silent for a moment, "Yes, we know each other very well indeed"
"Can we trust her?"
His eyes glared at Liette's with a painful expression, one that she had never seen in him before. He nodded silently, all while trying to avoid eye contact with her.
Choosing not to indulge any deeper than she already had, Liette kept quiet. The Madrick Guild hall was much less extravagant than she expected. It was a stone building that had a very plain façade, and actually showed signs of weariness and time. The stone was stained with the countless years withstanding the rain and snow.
Next to the entrance was a girl, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed and eyes closed. As they approached her, she did nothing except stay there. She was breathing slightly, and it seemed that she was asleep.
"Some spy network" Rivaille scoffed as he shook the girl awake.
"Huh..? Irene, is it time for breakfast already…?" The girl murmured as she looked about, quite embarrassedly, especially when she saw Rivaille.
Rivaille was very apathetic as he said with a hefty sigh, "You never change do you Elsa?"
"It doesn't look like you've changed very much either clean freak!" Elsa snapped back with a sharp tongue.
"Clean freak…?" Kristell whispered to Peter, much to her ignorance that the Lance Corporal had heard her.
"Gahh… Forget it!" He blurted out in an attempt to carry on, "Don't you have someone to take us to?"
The squads dozing sharp tongued guide sighed as she led them through the entrance of the guild hall. During the day, it was quite the decorated place. Windows and skylines were strewn about along the walls and ceiling to let as much possible sunlight through. Occasionally, there would be a drawers and paintings pressed up against the walls of the hallways, but nothing noteworthy of being in fine taste.
One thing Liette noticed was the pot of violets placed on each table, the purple tapestries, and rugs. Even though it seemed to not be made of any extravagant fabrics, the dye color for purple was somewhat expensive compared to the other colors.
Through the somewhat dully colored halls, Elsa had led them through a passage that was the entrance to a somewhat small courtyard. The entire roof was a window, which led radiant amounts of sunlight through. The entire yard was veiled with plants and flowers, both in pots and planted into patches of grass. Vines climbed themselves upward along the stone walls which gave it a very gentle contrast between the nature of the very room and rest of the hall.
In the center was a round garden table with half a dozen chairs. Sitting there was a young woman, adorned in purple garments, sipping a cup of tea by herself.
It occurred to Liette that Rivaille's body had tensed in reaction to seeing this woman. It was as if he really did not want to see her, like he was hiding something. Liette couldn't blame him. She was gorgeous despite looking around thirty.
To be honest, she was expecting someone completely different. In her mind, she was picturing a more, rugged group of people, bandits, thieves, drunks, kind of like the people in the Military Police. It seemed that she had misjudged these Lords.
"Liette Herman" The woman spoke up as she set her cup down, "Please, do have a seat. It is a pleasure to have you in my company. I believe that introductions are necessary for all but one of you"
When she said this, she eyed Rivaille in a somewhat playful manner before standing up, "My name is Irene Hirsch, and I am the First Crime Lord of the nine that you will encounter."
ooo
"I see to it that you know the gist of what these strings of events that are impeding on your life are about correct?"
"This is all just a game" Liette replied, still rather anxious, and somewhat frustrated, "I have something this 'Paramount' wants"
By what Liette had said, Irene stood up, glaring at her with focused eyes, "This is a game for the Paramount, devised by him for his own enjoyment. For you, it's a battle for your lives. If you refuse to play, then he will hunt you down himself. If you still refuse, he will kill the ones close to you. Do you understand?"
"Y..yes…." She replied, not expecting the outburst of tension from the First Lord.
"Very well then…" Sitting back down with her legs crossed, Irene spoke again, "Your Commander should have informed you that I know everything about you, correct?"
Feeling the tension build up again, Liette nodded in reply.
"I know that you desperately want answers, but unfortunately, I cannot tell you anything about yourself until the time deems necessary"
Those words somewhat infuriated Liette as she rudely stood up, slamming her hands on the table, "What do you mean…you cannot tell me?!" She slightly yelled, frustrated and angry.
Unmoved by Liette's flaring outburst, the First Crime Lord spoke again, "It's one of the rules given by the Paramount. Us as Lords, me especially, cannot disclose any information to you until you have completed our tasks." As she finished her statement, she added one more thing, "And… I believe that if you were to hear your tale in full, you would go insane"
"In…sane?"
"Your past is too painful for you to bear all at once. That is why you are on this campaign, not only to defeat the Paramount, but to find out about yourself. When the time is right, I will tell you, bit by bit, who Liette Herman truly is. Those were Norma's instructions"
"No-rma…?" Liette was slightly baffled as her emotions of tension boiled down into sorrow, "You knew…. Norma…?"
Irene said nothing and nodded, "That is all I can tell you for now"
Everyone was silent, staring at Liette as her head was hung low. The breathed in through her nose, still trying to accept her current situation. Someone who knows everything about herself sits here before her, yet, cannot tell her anything. "What am I to do…?!" Her mind was at unrest and she didn't know what to do or what to say, but somehow, there was one voice that spoke out to her.
"You're just going to let something that happened in the past ruin your life now?" That upbeat, encouraging voice bit at Liette's heart. It was Clara; Liette was recounting a memory back in her training days in the Military.
"C'mon now! What's happened already happened! No use in dawdling over it like a bee over a flower! Sure it'll be very satisfying to know what happened, but that's all done for. C'mon Liette! You're stronger than that! I know it! You have to keep going; you have to keep fighting, for me, for Erick, for your family."
"Clara…" That was right, Liette was on the brink of quitting the Military a year into their training, but Clara had talked her out of it. Now that she was on the brink of quitting again, those words her best friend spoke to her seven years ago meant more to her than ever.
Taking a deep breath and breathing out, Liette finally spoke up, "I understand"
"Very well then" Irene replied, "As the First Crime Lord, I am to give you a task. The task is simple, it is a riddle. Solve the riddle by tomorrow dusk, and I shall tell you."
"And if we can't solve it?"
"Then I will give you the answer, but, you must solve a different riddle. And if you cannot get it right that time, I will give you another, then another, until you get it right" Irene explained, "But Enough introductions. Listen carefully, for this is my riddle:
I am a messenger of the gods, a messenger beyond all others.
I fly to heights only mankind can dream; I travel to lands mankind has always longed to see.
No matter how far I go, no matter where I am, I will always know my way back home.
I fear not the unknown of distant worlds, but when I am afraid, I create white.
White as pure as the heavens themselves, but as disgusting as the dirt of the ground.
What am I?
A/N: Sorry about the long delay guys. A combination of a laziness and lack of motivation to properly write dialogue and stuff kept me on this chapter for a very long time. Also, I'm starting to think that this whole Crime Lords ideal seems a whole bit too…. Straight forward? I don't know how to really describe it but the whole thing with this game Liette has to play just seemed a bit too casual I guess?
Not sure if you guys get what I'm trying to say, but if you have any suggestions, please don't hesitate to drop it in the reviews section. Anyway, hopefully I can muster the motivation to write some more, and have a chapter out within a week or two. Otherwise guys, enjoy!
