The Prisoner | Eren x OC x Levi

Chapter 4

It was more luxury and space than she'd ever had to herself. But she felt suffocated. She couldn't be locked in here—she would go mad.

Without thinking, she struck her hand between the closing doors. Luckily, Floch stopped them before her fingers were smashed.

"Something wrong?" he said.

"It's just—" Her eyes flitted from door to door. She closed them and took a deliberate breath. "I'm fine," she said to herself. She met Floch's confused look. "Will you get to see Eren?"

"He and I will rendezvous regularly for reports and instructions, so yes."

"Could I come with you to see him?"

Floch must be under strict orders because it was clear he was biting back annoyance. "No. Until The Rumbling is complete, you are not to leave without Eren's permission." Karma knew her watering eyes looked pitiful because Floch's tone softened. "Look, there will always be someone on the other side of this door. You won't be alone, alright?"

Her hand fell back to her side and she gave a dejected nod. She watched the last sliver of space between the doors disappear. Then a heavy bolt slid into place and she was locked inside.

* * *

Days passed. 

Karma had not exhausted her amenities. There were plenty of books to keep her mind occupied and paints and canvases to busy her hands. But being shoved in a drawer sucked all the enjoyment out of such activities.

Instead, she found herself slouched in the pearl-studded chair, eyes unfocused on the brown-ringed flowers in the crystal vase. Even dying, the arrangement retained its beauty. Blush roses. Myrtle leaves. Sunset carnations. And the drooping heads of lily of the valley speckled throughout.

She remembered chubby, small fingers reaching for the white bells that peeked through the neighbor's fence. Her mother had snatched her by the wrist and scolded her because lily of the valley was poisonous.

Poison. Was that her only escape?

Once Eren found Zeke, The Rumbling couldn't be stopped. His motives stretched beyond the dream of a peaceful future with Karma. He was seeking vengeance and finality. Even if he were here, sitting on the white loveseat in front of her, it would be impossible to reason with him.

Besides, he would just tear down her walls and convince her to take his side. Just a finger or a touch of his lips and she too would want to watch the world be trampled.

Karma crumbled the dried edges of a rose petal and straightened a stem of myrtle leaves, jingling the poisonous bells.

Her imprisonment had started long before Floch slid that lock into place. It even started before she relinquished her body to Eren and forwent her duty to the Scouts—she became his prisoner the moment she got too close. The moment she broke her promise to Levi.

Would her sentence really end once The Rumbling was over? Its sole purpose was to grant freedom, so if Eren wouldn't free her now, who's to say he ever would?

Karma dropped her hand back into her lap. She eyed the wispy curtains that led to the balcony. Maybe poison wasn't her only option—she could jump over the ledge and run away. But that would only free her from this physical confinement. Eren would hunt her down forever.

What if she broke his heart? She could tell him that Levi really did kiss her, and she kissed him back. If he no longer loved her, he'd have to set her free. Or would he lock her up for spite? Or even kill her? He'd proved himself capable of much worse, after all.