Daisy II | Levi Ackerman

Chapter 18 - The Seventeenth of July

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[Naomi]

A couple of days have passed since I sent the letters by express, and so I waited alone in my budding happiness, imagining the look on Levi's face when he learns the news directly from me. I didn't want to say it on the letter because I wanted to know how he would react in person. So I stayed patient, waiting for a response; a letter back, perhaps.

That day, I was finishing my usual load of paperwork on my study desk, the view of the vibrant garden from the wide glass window in front of me giving me a sense of clarity in my thoughts and a brighter bliss in my heart. Every now and then, I kept looking down at my stomach and smiling, thinking, this is the best advanced birthday gift ever.

I had been working for hours, my eyes trained on the words, and my whole analytical mind invested in the complicated matters of state. The documents were stacked before me, and so were the folders I needed to organize them.

Documents... It chimed in my thoughts. In Aunt Celine's journal, I recalled that she talked of some records that she kept to herself, and expressed her hopes that the person who would discover them one day would be Uncle Erwin's child. I wondered where it could have been, for she never truly specified where it was. I asked Dr. Polly about it, and the only thing she told me was that- based on her knowing of her close colleague- she would keep anything treasured at home.

Aunt Celine wasn't the most ardent enthusiast for the freedom of our people, so I disregarded those records as something that might require my concern a bit later than anything else that was preoccupying me. Like these files before me, which were all due any day now.

I was working silently and systematically, making the most out of the tranquil time that I had whilst my stomach and bladder weren't wagers of war against each other on who could discomfort me to the very edge of my tolerance. The room was quiet, until a shrill, feminine voice shattered my focused solitude.

"Lady Naomi!" Vita called from the door of my office, making me whisk my startled attention to her thrilled figure, a wide smile blooming across her face. "It's Captain Levi! He's outside!"

My eyes widened as I felt a strong squeeze in my heart at the mention of his name, making me blink rapidly. "W-What? He's already here? But that would be out of their schedule!"

"I don't know, my lady. But we spotted him outside, on his horse!" Vita said, a giggle escaping her lips. "He's on the way!"

I abruptly stood up, the feet of the chair scraping loud as I pushed it back. The excitement in me piled up as I moved around, becoming larger and larger until my chest could no longer contain it. "Alright, I'll go meet him. Make sure everything is tidy and organized!"

"Oh, the laundry and the dishes haven't been done yet!" Vita mused worriedly, turning back down the hall.

"Do it now, Vita!" I yelled with half a laugh forming in my face, as I continued hastily putting away my things. "Or we'll suffer the wrath of the Dark Dictator!"

"Yes ma'am, yes ma'am!" She replied in a frenzy at the hallway.

I laughed, turning back to the round mirror on the other table near my desk to see my appearance for another moment. I brushed my tousled red hair up with my fingers and straightened my cerulean cotton skirts, as the pricks up my veins and the squeezes in my heart began to quicken.

I'm going to tell Levi today; I told myself as I looked at my reflection in the mirror. I looked fairly well, despite my current downwards direction with physical appearance lately. I was pale and a bit blemished, but I'll always be beautiful in Levi's eyes, right? Frankly, I did not care. He's stuck with me now, so whatever I looked like, he would have to just accept it.