Disclaimer: I own none of the characters!

Note: This was written and edited in a single sitting. So if there are mistakes, feel free to let me know, please. ^ Eren returns to Levi's castle in the next chapter 3

Of the three kingdoms, Eren never once thought he would ever get the chance to see Sina. It was the richest of the three kingdoms, heavily guarded and, from the stories, the most beautiful too. And Eren definitely never thought he would be escorted there, along with the king of the realm himself.

Nile Dawk, the king of Sina, was quiet. But his expression spoke for him. He watched Eren like the boy was a thief. And Eren was well aware of his judgmental gaze. It was dodgy and fast; the king was nervous.

Eren was too tired to really care. He kept dozing off, but with each bump he would shake awake. And every time he grunted, Dawk would jerk his head up to watch him. Eren rolled his eyes and curled into his seat, trying to rest a little before arriving at the city.

It was still dark when Eren awoke to see the tall buildings of the city of Stohess around him. He quickly rubbed his eyes and peered out the carriage window. His eyes widened as dark shadows passed by, but he could still make out the buildings' designs.

He sighed at the beautiful architecture. The towers were nothing compared to the small cottages of Shiganshina. The buildings of Stohess were brick and mortar instead of wood and straw. The roads were stoned pavement, instead of gravel and dirt. Decorative oil lamps hung from the buildings, instead of flaming posts.

"It's amazing," Eren said. Dawk jumped at his soft voice.

"W-What?"

"I said it's amazing," Eren repeated. "This. Everything. Your kingdom."

"Yes, thank you."

Eren looked away from Dawk and back to the city. He liked admiring the passing buildings more than trying to talk with the king. So he was very sad when the carriage turned to travel up a slight hill, away from the buildings, and come up to a grand castle.

It was nothing like Levi's castle. Dawk's castle was white, the tall steeples blue (at least they looked blue to Eren in the night and through the thin layer of snow). There were no looming gargoyles, like Levi's castle. No dead trees. No rose garden.

Dawk's castle was a standard castle. The type Eren had seen pictures of in storybooks. The type Armin had read about. It was beautiful, of course. A standard definition of beauty. But it wasn't flawed, like Levi's castle.

Its perfection made it ugly and plain. And Eren realized he was already missing Levi's home.

The carriage stopped and the door opened as the footman appeared. He held the door for Dawk to exit and Eren followed quickly after him. Eren still tried to find some beauty in the castle. In its marble white steps and lazuli doors.

Inside it was just as perfect.

They were greeted by a group of servants, all of them already dressed for bed.

"This boy was sent by Levi," Dawk announced. "He'll be helping make preparations for the ball. Find somewhere for him to rest for tonight."

The servants bowed and said their yes sir's as Dawk walked away. Eren stood in the hallway, assuming he wasn't supposed to follow him.

"Boy, this way."

Eren didn't respond immediately to "boy" as his name. When he realized the butler was talking to him, he stood attentive. The butler made a face, his curly moustache snaking around on his upper lip. Turning his nose up, the man marched and Eren followed, the other servants walking with him.

"This place is very beautiful," Eren said with a smile. One of the maids seemed to hiss at his remark.

"Well, yes it is. Everything here is made from the finest material," the butler bragged. "So I would advise you not to touch any of it. Or get any other ideas."

Eren caught his disgusted undertone. Apparently he looked more like a thief than he realized.

The butler took him to the servant's quarters. It was plain, just a few rooms with cots placed in them. Each room had a closet, filled with work clothes. Eren could only assume these rooms were for the lower workers; the butler probably had something nice and a few of the maids probably did too.

Eren didn't argue. He walked into the small room, telling the butler "thank you" and keeping as much bitterness from his voice as possible. He flopped onto the hard cot and pulled the blanket around his shoulders.

The room wasn't any better than the dungeon Levi had thrown him in. But at least the dungeon was in Levi's castle.

Again, the thought of Levi's castle crossed Eren's mind. It was all he could think about. That stupid castle. With its dark steeples and dark exterior and grey eyes and pale skin and awful attitude.

No, that wasn't right. He didn't miss Levi at all. Eren missed the castle. Because he was in a different castle so it was only natural for him to miss the castle he was used to. Not the castle owner. Not the prince. Because missing Levi was silly.

Eren curled into a little ball, keeping the blanket wrapped tight around his body. He thought about his bed; his own warm bed. And his usual warm room. He missed it and he realized that he wasn't thinking of his belongings in Shiganshina. When he thought of his bed and his room, his mind fluttered right back to the castle.

Surely, he didn't consider that to be his home now. It was just something temporary.

He thought.

Eren woke up early the next morning, drawn from sleep by the commotion in the hallway. He dressed and washed up, meeting with the other maids and servants as they jumped in a line. Eren followed them, taking his spot at the back.

The butler from the previous night met with them, giving everyone a bit of a pep talk before sending them off on their daily duties. Eren stood behind, waiting for his instructions. With the same look of disgust on his face, the butler approached Eren.

"Follow me. I will show you to the cleaning closet as well as the ballroom. And try not to touch anything."

And by touch, the man meant steal.

He walked, gesturing for Eren to follow. And Eren did follow, though he was still wondering just why everyone thought he was a thief.

The butler showed Eren the utility closet (one very similar to the one Levi owned) and then to the grand ballroom. Eren was astounded by its size. It was nearly twice as large as the one in Levi's castle, with an even bigger chandelier hanging overhead. There was no design on the marble floor, though there was a large set of glass doors at the back, leading to a terrace.

The butler left Eren to his cleaning duties soon after. Eren was thankful that the man was gone. He could actually work in peace.

He filled a bucket of water and grabbed a mop. He started at the back of the room, washing the floor and making sure it was spotless. He didn't even leave streaks. He didn't want to have to do his job twice, after all.

While at the back, he peered through the glass doors. Beyond the terrace he could see a courtyard. It was covered in melting snow but he knew it must be beautiful. Sighing, Eren kept cleaning, reaching every side of the room.

He made the floor sparkle.

He was almost finished when he heard soft laughter and the clicking of heels. He turned to see a woman, one not much older than himself, prancing toward him. Eren paused with his mop to stand up straight and acknowledge her.

Eren may be illiterate, but he certainly knew the woman had some sort of status, judging by her clothes and the smirk on her face.

"New cleaning boy?" she sang, looking him over.

"Temporarily employed, miss," Eren said firmly, trying his best to sound professional. The girl flipped back her short, honey blonde hair.

"Oh, so what is our castle not good enough for you?" she went on. "Is that why you're temporary help?"

"N-No ma'am! The castle is beautiful. I just work for—"

"You had better keep your filthy, peasant paws off our valuables!"

"Why the hell is everyone assuming I want your fucking stuff?! I don't!"

Perhaps it was the tone of his voice. Or maybe it was the sloshing of water. Or maybe it was even when he waved his hand around, perhaps too fast for the girl's taste. But she screamed, as if under attack, and kept screaming until footsteps were heard.

Dawk appeared first, followed by the butler. He ran up to them, grabbing the girl as crocodile tears rolled down her face.

"What happened, Hitch?" he cried, shaking her a little. "What did this peasant boy do?"

The girl, Hitch, kept up the act.

"He was just awful! I tried being nice to him to welcome him here and he just…AHH! He was yelling and throwing a fit and threatening me!"

Dawk raised his eyes to Eren viciously.

"How dare you?!"

"I didn't do shit!"

"My dress! My dress, look at it!" Hitch whined, holding up the ends of her dress, showing the splotches of splashed water to Dawk. "He ruined it, uncle, it's RUINED."

Eren gripped his mop tighter. He wanted to whack Hitch over the head with it, but he was sure that would cause even more trouble.

"Sir. I had no reason to ruin her dress," Eren said, as calmly as he could. "She instigated—"

"My niece would never!" Dawk shouted, still coddling the girl. He turned to his butler. "See that this…thing has a carriage as soon as possible. This was an awful idea of Levi's. He can have back his lapdog."

Eren took a deep breath, shoving the mop into the bucket and splashing as much water as he could. Hitch squealed as more dirty water stained her dress. Eren didn't bother to acknowledge her this time. He had a floor to finish cleaning.

As soon as he had finished, Eren cleaned his equipment and went to put it away. He did it all with a firm, angry face that kept everyone far away. It was better this was, that was certain. He didn't want to be anywhere near anyone. Especially the people of the Sina castle.

He threw the mop into the corner with the other mops and brooms. And as he threw down the bucket, a sudden movement on the shelf caught his eye. He gasped as a frog jumped from the shelf, latching on to his shirt.

"What the hell!?"

"Shh!" The frog cried.

Eren stared down at the frog as it croaked, its neck bulging above the small cravat it wore.

"Did you just…?"

"Yes."

Eren's eyes widened. The frog croaked again.

"You have to help me. I'm a prince. A real prince. Sort of. And to turn back into a human I have to kiss a princess. A real princess. And the princess here is crazy and a brat and—"

The frog's desperate words started to run together. He bit his long tongue, crying out in pain and croaking again. This time, he knocked himself right off Eren's shirt and onto the floor.

Eren tried not to laugh. He bent down and scooped the frog up.

"Are you alright?"

"Just fine…"

"Why don't you just leave? Through a window?"

"The city is too big," the frog prince said, rubbing his head. "I fear I would get lost."

Eren adjusted the frog's little cravat with a smile. "That makes sense. I don't mind taking you home with me. Just know that the prince I live with is a total asshole. But he's better than a bratty princess."

"Anything is fine."

"I'm Eren, by the way."

"Ah, Eren, you are now officially under the royal service of Prince Auruo Bossard, and it is an honor—"

The frog prince bit his tongue once again, Eren dropping him in shock.

With Auruo carefully tucked into his pocket, Eren made his way down to the servants' quarters to retrieve the rest of his belongings. Not that there were that many; just his regular clothes. He was thankful to get out of the horrendous cleaning uniform he had to wear.

After he changed, Auruo climbed back into his pocket and Eren happily found his way back to the front of the castle, without the help of Dawk or the butler. And to his despair, waiting at the front door, was Hitch.

And in a new dress, of course.

"Your highness," Eren greeted with a mocking bow. Hitch giggled, obviously pleased.

"I got you kicked out pretty fast. That's a new record," she hummed.

"What the hell did I do to you?" Eren angrily asked.

"Nothing," Hitch replied. "I just knew I could get away with it."

"Seriously? It's a game to you? You know, some people probably come to work here and actually need a job. And you get them fired for kicks?"

"What's it to me? I don't care, it's not my problem that they can't handle it," she said with a shrug.

Eren felt disgusted. Truly disgusted. He could see why Auruo didn't want to kiss her.

"You're just a spoiled bitch," Eren snapped, pushing on the door.

"How dare you, you peasant?!" Hitch cried, her mouth hanging open in shock.

"Call me whatever the fuck you want," Eren said. "I never have to see you again."

"That's what you think!" Hitch screamed as he walked down the stairs. "I never forget a face! I'll find you again, peasant!"

Eren ignored her, opening the door to the coach himself. "To Kingdom Maria. Levi's castle."

Because that's home, Eren thought.