Coming for your heart

Chapter 66

"I'm fine.", he rasped.

"No. You're not."

"Why do you care?"

And wasn't that the question Erwin had been asking himself since day one?

Since he had rescued the young servant he couldn't get him out of his system.
He saw those knowing eyes in every drop of water, smelled him in all the pages of the books he read and heard him in the gentle noise of wind gusting through his now empty room.

It had eaten him up to see that the boy had left him without saying anything.

And at the same time he didn't know what he had expected.

"Why are you awake?", Armin asked, stubbornly refusing to look at him.

"I could ask you the same. Shouldn't you be-"

"Stop."

Erwin halted in the middle of his sentence, awestruck by the fierce and broken edge of the boy's voice.

Armin took in a deep breath and slowly rose from the ground, a hand supporting him on the wall.

"You're talking to me because you feel guilty.", the servant murmured. "Although you don't have any reason for that. I was sleep-deprived, weak and didn't think through my words."

Erwin simply listened to him.

Listened to the one accusing him of guilt while his own words were dripping because of the ugly feeling lacing his tone.

Armin moved along the wall, his knees quite wobbly and Erwin could only wonder how long he had been sitting there alone with his thoughts and torn apart by the feelings he thought were wrong.

"I shouldn't have told you that. Back then.", Armin whispered and laughed quietly, the sound too dry to be real. He glanced over his shoulder to Erwin.

And with the orange light of flames dancing across his hair, his blue eyes glinting in this only source of light and the pain hiding beneath them, Erwin felt awful for thinking that he had never before seen a creature as beautiful as him.

But the moment was over way too fast and Armin turned around, leaving Erwin without uttering so much as a single word.

And hours later Erwin would regret that he hadn't stopped him.

---

Eren POV

"I must admit, I wouldn't have expected Your Highness to show up without any backup at all."

The Queen's gentle voice was carried over to him by the soft wind, the crown on her braided hair shimmering in the tiny bits of moonlight that dared break through the highest branches of the forest that surrounded them.

She took a step forward, her guards exchanging nervous glances at her obvious and still unfounded trust in Eren's harmlessness.

Eren's lips twitched at her remark.

Mikasa straightened up behind him, still sitting on Hannes' horse and Eren knew better than to think she was too bashful to come down.

"It isn't in anyone's best interest to underestimate my sister.", he answered with slightly narrowed eyes. "But feel free to convince yourself of my ability to keep myself safe."

He almost felt Mikasa tense up at the obvious challenge in his tone.

Instead of getting ready to prove his word, the Queen smiled at him, her thin lips stretching until little wrinkles appeared on her cheeks.

"You are brave to challenge a mighty Queen, Your Highness."

"Don't read any bad intent into my actions, Your Majesty.", Eren was quick to answer and relaxed his stance purposefully. "I would never dare underestimate you."

As she moved further towards him, her dress traced her body. It was tight around her waist, littered with tiny jewels and ornate embroidery designs.

Her features were young.

Younger than Eren had expected, to be honest.
He had thought the Queen to be far over her thirties at least. After all his father himself wasn't among the young adults anymore as well.

"How about a short walk?", the woman asked with a small gesture of her hand. He knew immediately that it wasn't a question but an indirect order.

"I would love to."

And the game has begun.

(Whatever the queen is about to tell Eren, she doesn't want to risk getting heard.

Hope you liked it!
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