A Matter of Stature

Part 1

A Matter of Stature

Chapter 1: Suspicion

'Maybe this Levi guy I'm engaged to isn't so bad,' you thought as the carriage got ever closer to your destination. The scenery of Sina's luxury evolved into the middle class of Rose. You were supposed to meet him in Rose territory, an area that you had never visited before, as you had been born and raised in Sina. Your life had taken one surprising turn after another lately. 

You miraculously conquered an illness that had plagued you since birth and finally had the opportunity to live a normal life, but then you were told you had been engaged to marry a man called Levi. The whole matter left your head spinning, but while you struggled to make sense of it, you tried to remain optimistic. 

Your father loved you, he wouldn't approve of this mysterious Levi if he wasn't a good man. Then again, you had heard talk among the mansion staff that your father had only met Levi briefly and never really spoke to him. Furthermore, you heard from Mary Anne, one of the younger maids, that Levi was being pushed into the marriage against his will. You tried not to think too much about it. Maybe the rumors were lies.

The carriage stopped and you saw two males approaching it, a blond man and a black haired boy. You wondered if the blond was the mysterious Levi, they were both wearing Survey Corps uniforms. They stopped in front of the carriage and the blond opened the door. You took a deep breath and tried to at least be friendly. "Good afternoon..."

"Good afternoon, miss (name)," the tall blond man extended his hand in greeting, "I'm Erwin Smith, commander of the Survey Corps."

"Pleased to meet you," you replied unsure. You were expecting Levi to be there the second you got out of the carriage, but there was no one else around aside from Erwin and the cranky looking boy. You were told the union was to be kept low key, and you didn't protest to that, since you didn't entirely agree to the union in the first place. Never mind that Melinda, the family's stylist, was making you a dress just in case an actual ceremony took place in the future.

Erwin paused for a moment as if waiting for something to happen. The whole time the cranky boy kept glaring at you. You surmised that he was simply rude. "It's a pleasure to meet you too," Erwin finally voiced. "Shall we finish the paperwork?"

You wanted to say no, but felt you had little choice in the matter. "Of course..." You followed Erwin into the building in front of which the carriage had stopped. It was a tall government building where many types of documents, marriage certificates included, were filed. Normally, the paperwork was either done as soon as an engagement occurred, or right after the ceremony. Sometimes the paperwork took time because the families couldn't decide how much of their fortunes to share and how much they wanted to assure they kept for themselves in case of a divorce. This particular marriage was quite simple, you would share nothing, nothing material at least. The arrangement didn't surprise you. Your father would be called a fool and his business would be affected if the precaution wasn't taken.

The large building held several doors, spaces filled with desks, accountants and secretaries doing various calculations and sorting paperwork. A few people came in and out, to request documents, to sell properties, to argue taxes. There were no couples though, not happy or otherwise. You wished you could have just signed the documents at home and sent them in, but you also knew that it wouldn't make a difference. It didn't matter if you were walking through a building that smelled of dust and ink or sitting in a nice cafe across from Levi, whoever he may be, it would still be terribly awkward.