The long tressed barmaid walked up the stairs with a cat's grace, hips swaying slightly with each step. So the plan hadn't been completely successful and, for that, she'd probably not get all of the money but, with the hefty sum she'd been offered, even half was a lot.
Old door hinges creaked open, revealing a room lit only by a few candles. The rooms at the tavern's second floor were rather simple, having only a bed, a small table and one or two chairs, depending.
"You came back empty handed..", a stern voice came from inside, from a figure sitting by the window, leaning its head against it. "We didn't pay you for nothing, Elaine."
"Please refrain from saying that name here, I am Rebecca, Becca for short.", the barmaid replied smiling only with her lips. "And certain circumstances were too unexpected. I can't do any miracles."
"Not even for me? I'm sure the best whore in the Underground district has a couple of tricks up her sleeve.", the same figure smirked seeing the light glint in the barmaid's eyes when she heard the word 'whore'.
"You flatter me, Roach.", she chuckled, leaning against the now closed wooden door. "I may not have brought her here. But I might've... slipped something into her drink. From my calculations, she'll be out in a few minutes. She just went outside as well."
"Well..? What are we waiting for?", the second figure asked the first. "Now is our chance.", she said, getting off the chair and making to the door, only to be stopped by something gripping her arm firmly.
"Wait.", the first figure called, pulling the other towards the window. "Look at that... Why now of all days...? Fucking hell."
"Well, whatever it is, not my problem...", the maid noted, lacing her fingers behind her back. "I guess I won't receive the rest of the money, will I? Oh well...", she sighed.
"Giving up so easily, Elaine?", the second figure inquired, staring at the woman coldly.
"It's 'Angler' to you, deary. Only that one can call me Elaine.", she spat, gesturing to the first figure, who watched something attentively. "My job is done. End of story."
"You couldn't even do it properly. I'm not seeing Martha here, am I? Or am I blind?", it broke its firm gaze on whatever was going on outside to look at Elaine's slender figure.
"You're not in a position to make demands here, you came begging for my help, didn't you..?", the Angler grinned, words spilling full of poison. The satisfaction she got from seeing the person narrowing their gaze as they heard that was delightful. They'd know each other for quite a while back in the Underground.
She was a Mistress, a woman paid to seduce and kill or rob anyone and was known as the Angler. It was a hired killer, simple and efficient and was known as the Roach.
"Leave her.", the second figure dispersed the increasingly thick aura between the two, looking at the first figure. "We thank you for your services, Angler. However, we won't pay the rest of the money since you failed to give us a clear opportunity to act."
"Eh.. Fair enough.", she shrugged. "I figure you won't request my services anymore after this so I'll be taking my leave from this place."
"Don't draw any attention to yourself Elaine. or they could start asking questions.", the person by the window warned.
"You seem to forget who you're speaking to.", the Mistress chuckled against the tips of her fingers. "Besides, with a face like that, you should be the one to be cautious. Either way, it was a pleasure to do business with you and I hope we can work again some other day.", with a smile, she disappeared in the hallway, closing the door behind her.
"Looks like she wasn't as good as you said.", the second and shorter figure noted in a cold tone.
"We'll have to find another way...", the on by the window replied, looking down to the scene unraveling on the ground floor. "Sit by me, the show is rather pleasant."
"Did seeing Elaine fail affect you? You do seem quite fond of her."
"My personal life is none of your business. You may be my employer but let's not get touchy feely here."
"Good, it would be rather boring to see you get like the others.". These 'others' the second figure spoke about were its partners, two of them, which the person by the window had not met as a safety precaution.
The scene unfolding bellow the two figures was between two men. One was well known to the people and revered; such was Lance Corporal Levi, from the Survey Corps, and Humanity's Strongest Soldier. The other was of the common folk, with a tall build and disheveled appearance. At this point, the smaller man was mercilessly beating the other to a pulp while he tried to resist.
The drugs on Martha system had began to kick in and so her world was starting to spin endlessly before her eyes. This spinning she attributed to the amount of alcohol she'd ingested and, were she not in a severely drowsy state, would have perhaps think it weird that Petra, who couldn't hold her liquor as well, was doing much better than her.
A few muffled sounds came from around the corner outside the tavern and Martha was inevitably drawn to them, wanting to know what was causing them. It wasn't until the corner was turnt that her eyes fixed upon the small frame of the captain, holding up a weeping man by the collar. Even though she was drunk, the rage in his gaze was evident.
He carried on for a few more seconds, kicking and jabbing the man, who could no longer plead for mercy. Was he trying to kill that bum? Martha hadn't noticed the scene inside, which had provoked Levi's anger to this extent and so, for her, he was merely beating up a homeless man, who could even have a family and a loving wife.
How dared the captain do something to an innocent looking person, who had been for the past minute babbling incoherent speech, blood oozing from his nose and lip which glistened in the moonlight.
"What.. da.. fuck.. captain...?", the lieutenant dared to ask, her limping figure beginning to tremble with anger towards the small man. "What are you doing?!", she screamed, blood beginning to rush through her veins as that burning feeling overtook her.
But the corporal didn't bother to answer, too absorbed in his punishment towards the man. He did say that he'd kill him, didn't he? Erwin would not be pleased, should he find out that he'd gone back to his old habits from the Underground. He felt his hands increasingly dirty with the blood and sweat from the prostitute and the thought of him offering himself to Levi was nearly enough to make him want to cut off the whore's limbs.
How these lowlifes used to throw themselves around in those dark and dim lit streets, littered with diseases and always seeking for a new source of money to fuel their addictions.
Through the corner of his eye, Levi saw the wobbling figure of his new teammate. God, did she have to drink that much? Shitty brat, always fucking things up. And now she was interrupting their moment. Of course, with a witness, he couldn't finish what he'd started and would eventually have to stop before the whore died.
A lot of people asked how could he do it? How was he so good at killing titans? They didn't know the answer because they'd never had to fight for their own survival. A titan will grab you and simply try to eat you. It has no intellect to create traps, no weapons to attack humans with, other than his limbs. But humans are far more tortuous creatures, weaving intricate plans and forming alliances with others in order to take down enemies.
He was good at killing titans, because he was good at killing people. And that's what no one knew about him, except for Erwin and maybe Zackarias.
"Let him go! What the fuck is this?!", the woman's voice echoed in the captain's mind, his eyes turning to her involuntarily. She looked shitfaced, completely; but her eyes, even though they closed for a few seconds at a time, burned with intensity, like he'd never seen before.
Martha wasn't one to show a lot of emotion prior to the expedition, always keeping to herself, and only at times smiling and other displays, but nothing extreme, nothing too intense. Not even after the kids had died, she'd never cry in someone's presence and always had a stoic look, albeit sadness stirred in her eyes. When she shouted at him that day during training he wasn't surprised with it. Not really; it was only natural that she'd crack eventually.
And at the camp. That whole emotional display was something that should've happened sooner. But this was different. She wasn't mourning her subordinates nor her friends. She was enraged at the sight of something. The sight of him beating the living shit out of a worthless prostitute.
"Answer me! What the fuck is wrong with you?!", she yelled, staggering and holding the wooden wall of the tavern for support. "Fuck you Levi! Who the hell do you think you are?! Beating up a poor man!"
"I'm sorry... sir... please... I'll do whatever you want... Just please... don't hurt me anymore, I'm sorry!", the now sluggish man dragged himself through the rough soil, weeping as he looked up to meet the captain's gaze. Seriously.. losing his temper over a whore. How ridiculous.
"Fight me!"; she mumbled, stepping towards him. She'd called him by his name and it rang in his ears for some reason. "If you wanna go at it with someone, then fight me. Leave him alone..."
"You, get the fuck out of my sight. Do not come near me again.", the captain spat to the man on the ground. "I'm not going to fight you, Krieger."
"Fucking fight me, you asshole!", she screamed, lunging at him but losing her balance and tripping onto the dirt. Although, before she could hit it, the small man caught her, kneeling in front of her.
"I won't fight you. Enough of this.", he said, getting back up.
"Why won't you do it...? Do you enjoy hurting people who can't fight back...?", her anger had dissipated completely, only a faint sad tone on those words.
"He received a warning."
"It's not the first time I've seen this happen..."; she sighed. "Yet I can't seem to be of any help.."
"Oh, Martha...", the first figure scorned, looking at the scene from above.
"He could've beaten her up.", the second noted.
"How would he explain that to Erwin?"
"Doesn't really matter, does it? He wouldn't do that. I'm certain."
"How? That man is unpredictable."
"I have a feeling he cares for her."
"Well... that could be good for us, tell me more.", the first figure leaned back against the chair, yawning.
"Martha, let's go.", Levi ordered but heard no answer. Turning to face the woman, she'd falled over and was fast asleep. Rolling his eyes, he picked up her limp form and carried her into the tavern again. Petra saw them from across the room and hurried to meet them.
"What happ~ned..?", she slurred a bit, trying to maintain composure in from of the captain.
"She's passed out. We can't go like this. Tell the innkeeper we're going to use one of the rooms. Here, pay with this.", he handed her a small pouch with coins and carried on to the second floor. He picked one of the chambers and laid the lieutenant on the bed, careful so that he didn't hurt her already injured body.
Why did she offered to fight for that man? He was just a whore, a lowlife, he wasn't even worth the air he breathed. Yet she seemed so angry, so intense. This woman kept surprising him, the more time he interacted with her. After reading the report on what had happened, he had to take a breather and be alone for a moment.
He'd gone nearly mad when Farlan and Isabel had died and yet, there she was. Trying to be a good soldier and honor their deaths. Seeing her desolated expression when he entered the cave.. it reminded him so much of the initial look he thought he had when he saw what that titan had done to the other soldiers.
Maybe one day he'd tell her about those two. Or maybe not, what was the point in reliving the past again? She seemed restless enough as is with her own, he wouldn't want to pass his on as well. Her lips pursed and her brow furrowed for a few seconds, mumbling something he couldn't quite understand.
Petra joined soon after, sitting on the other side of the bed and eventually falling asleep as well, leaving Levi alone with his thoughts and their calm breaths. The night advanced slowly, with no more things worth of noting and soon, it dawned.