Coming for your heart

Chapter 57

Levi hummed, going back to being as quiet as a bat.

"It happened on this stormy night.", Eren continued hoarsely. His heart was beating so loud he wondered if Levi could hear it. "The Second Prince was sitting in the alcove over there, waiting for the storm to pass so he could finally go to sleep. That's when he heard the rustling coming from the door."

Eren shivered and drew his knees to his body, hating the way the memories alone made him feel.

"It got breached open. Men stormed into the room; their weapons raised. They were ready to fight." Eren sucked in a breath, tears gathering in his eyes without his notice. "They were ready to fight a child. And they did."

"Why would they do that?" Levi furrowed his brow.

"They followed the King's order. To bring his second son into the basement. Where no one would be able to see or hear anything." Eren wanted to hide away from Levi's stern gaze, hot anger flaming in his silvery eyes. "But...the Second Prince was stubborn. He tried to get away. To fight those grown men."

Eren looked around the room, forcing himself to remember what had caused this bloodshed.

"They tortured him. Hurt him in every way...they spilled his blood as if it was water from a fountain." The words sounded so broken that even Eren flinched. A tear escaped his eyes and he breathed in deeply, reminding himself that he had survived. That this night was over. That he would live to see another day.

"Grisha is a bastard without a doubt...but..."

Eren heard the questions in Levi's remark.

He huffed a quiet laugh.

"The King ordered them to bring him down and if he doesn't go willingly...then it was their job to force him. And they did." He gestured all over the room. "You have the proof sticking to every wall in this room and yet you still doubt what I am telling you."

"And the Second Prince...told you...all this?", Levi asked again and Eren sighed.

"He did."

"And...why would he do that?"

"Because he trusts me. Armin isn't the traitor you were looking for. He isn't the one who knows everything about the Second Prince." Eren trained his eyes straight on Levi's face, his next words calculated and he himself aware of the great risk he was taking. He placed so much trust into this man.

"I am."

- - -

Erwin POV

Warm fingers danced through Armin's golden locks.

They scraped his scalp, massaged his head until the pained expression on the boy's face disappeared and a content smile fell on his lips.

Erwin watched him, while sitting next to him on the bed. His eyes never left the servant who had confessed his love to him like it was nothing but...nothing but the simple truth. As simple as any general truth of the universe.

"As simple as the color of the sky.", Erwin whispered in the quiet of the room and tilted his head, inspecting the wounds of the boy that showed on his fair skin. They must have been there before since they were already fading a bit.

Armin turned around in his sleep, fingers curling and a sigh leaving his mouth as he exhaled the air kept in his thin body.

Blond hair covered his sweaty forehead and his eyelids fluttered softly.

Erwin would have liked to know just what the boy was dreaming about.

What is this special mind of yours showing you in the depths of your sleep?

He could still remember the first time he had met him.

How he had rescued him from killing himself accidentally when falling of the ladder in the great hallways of the palace. How he had tried to help him gather all the papers together he had let go of without thinking twice about it.

And he remembered Armin's horrified remark when he read about the planned attack on the sickbays of the enemy. The way his innocent eyes had shone with pure terror as if he was facing the devil himself in form of the words on those papers.

Erwin winced at the memory of his defeated look when he raised his head to meet Erwin's eye. As if he were asking for his confirmation. Or his denial.

Erwin shook his head, his fingers still tangled in the blond boy's strands of soft hair. If he closed his eyes, he would surely see a pair of blue eyes in front of him, waiting for him to say something. Expecting an answer even though Erwin knew that the fever had spoken to him just now.

Armin would have never said anything if it wasn't for that...unfortunate incident.

Erwin cringed, not liking how ordinary it sounded in his head.

It was much more than just an incident.

He leaned forward.

Enough to touch the sick boy's forehead with his own and Erwin closed his eyes, begging him for forgiveness without the servant even knowing about it.

"I will get shamed for it...and yet...can't...regret..."

Erwin wanted to yell at the boy, tell him to wake up and to explain just why he had fallen in love with a man like him. Closed off and the reason behind him being ill and weak in a stranger's bed.

"Why would you do this to me?", he whispered. "What...what should I do now? Please...wake up...and tell me...what shall I do?"

And what about Marie?

He needed to talk to someone about this.

But...Armin was right. The love between a servant and a Commander of the army was forbidden. Armin would probably get thrown out of the castle if Grisha ever got word of it. And Erwin would never see him again.

The war would come for that innocent soul and take it into the depths of destruction and death that followed them everywhere they went.

And suddenly it dawned on him.

He sat up, let go of Armin's hair – if unwillingly – and a small smile appeared on his lips.

I know who I can talk to.

(Erwin is still fighting with his feelings, Armin is sick and what the hell is Eren up to? How do you think will Levi react? Although he should have guessed by now that Faris is the 'traitor'. Ha. If only he knew...

Can't wait for the great reveal.

It will probably go not even a bit like I want it to but whatever.

Hope you enjoyed it!)