The Prince and His Servant

Chapter 16

"Don't beat yourself up. We'll find him together, Sir Ackerman."

I flinched at the voice and jumped up to my feet, smacking away the hand that had placed itself upon my head at the same time. I was confident I was alone, so to have someone sneak up on me was near impossible. And yet, I heard the voice of... of a woman? I couldn't remember exactly, what with how low they were speaking.

My eyes soon confirmed my suspicion. Before me stood a girl about my height with snowy-white hair. Two ribbons tied her hair at the opposite sides of her head, creating what looked like two small bundles of snow under her ears. She seemed pale in the broad daylight, to say the least. Despite this, she had an intimidating look to her. Strangely, however, she wore a mid-length kimono, also white, like something you'd find in Japan.

"How dare you sneak up on me and lay your hands on me, you beast of a creature! I know you not, yet you act as if you know my troubles, and even my name! I demand you tell me who you are, or else-"

"Jesus, Sir! It's only me!" She giggled as she lightly spoke to me, her voice somewhat feathery. It was quite soothing to hear, but I wasn't about to be distracted by a girl who claimed my acquaintanceship.

"You speak like you know me. Tell me who you are, and I'll consider letting you go free to whatever realm you belong in!" My voice came our harsher than expected. Had I been speaking to someone like the prince, they would have burst into tears. This I know because such a thing has occurred before. It was a small child, and when I spoke to them harshly, they fell to their knees and sobbed.

Of course, the creature just sighed, effectively ignoring my inquiry. She sat in the snow, obviously unaffected by it. I could see her kimono starting to dampen quickly, but I refused to mention it. I was too busy awaiting her next words, which I was sure would come.

"I'm surprised you don't know me, sir... but at the same time, I'm kind of not. I mean, I did kinda come to you like this out of nowhere. I guess you deserve an introduction, huh? My name is Isabel. It's nice to properly meet you, Sir Levi Ackerman. I'm a little intrigued by the fact that you have yet to catch on, though..."

"Isabel, is it?" I wondered why she chose the words she said. I mean, really... "I did kinda come to you like this out of nowhere"? "It's nice to properly meet you"? And what did she mean when she said I hadn't caught on? Caught on to what? "Now that I know your name, I can have you trapped and killed if I like."

Isabel seemed to lose her temper slightly. It sounded like she was growling at me almost, like an animal would. It was worrying, to be honest, but she was a mere girl; if she were to pose as a threat, I could easily take her out.

"You are such an idiot! Geez! Do you not see the fox ears on my head?!" I took a moment to actually abide to her statement. I indeed saw a set of fox ears on her head. When I failed to see human ears, however, I was sure I was hallucinating. There was no way that such a creature could exist, was there? But again, there was the superhuman killer running around, so it may not be that hard to believe...

"It's me! That fox cub you found in the forest! You gave me the name Taube! I'm a kitsune!"

I blinked in surprise. I scanned her up and down, and the details I noticed previously now made sense. The kimono in the dead of winter, not to mention Germany, the white hair, the fact that she appeared suddenly, the fact she knew my name and hardship, everything. Of course, this includes the obvious, which would be the fox ears on her head in place of human ones. I'd wondered why Taube acted so human... this must be why.

"You... are you really her?"

"Yes! I'm glad you finally understand." Her anger subsided and was replaced with a sense of happiness. She smiled warmly at me, then proceeded to stand up and tackle me in a hug. Both she and I fell to the ground, her landing on top of me. She laughed loudly as I struggled to break free of her grip. It wasn't working at all, so I just admitted defeat and accepted it, hugging her back.

"Listen... I'm sorry about what I said to you earlier. I didn't know that... that you were Taube..."

"Nah, it's okay!" She released me, somewhat. The hug dissipated, but she was still pinning me down, a way. She was perched on my legs as she continued her sentence. "I had a feeling that's what you'd do. You get reeeeaaally defensive when it comes to strangers, don't you?"

"Don't mock me. I got it-"

My sentence was cut off by my train of thought. Realization hit me like a speeding bullet.

"-from..." Taube's expression changed as I started to drift away from my words. She looked somewhat worried.

"...from... from my..." I could feel my eyes start to water as I struggled to finish my sentence. It was hard, because part of me never wanted it to come out in the first place.

Taube sensed the oncoming flood, and she hopped off of me. She then pulled me to my feet and embraced me, this time with comfort instead of energy. I clung to her desperately as I nearly lost it. My voice shook severely as I attempted to speak, tears now streaming down my face.

"My prince...! God, I can't believe I possessed such cowardice... I abandoned him, and now he's likely in the clutches of that damned killer...! I've failed my duty, I've failed him! How could I have been so cruel to him all these years! He saved my life, and now I won't be able to save his...!"

She said something to me. I had no idea what. I was preoccupied with trying to regain myself, but it wasn't worth it. No amount of self scolding could bring me out of this pit.

It was then that I realized something, something I hadn't thought about since my last encounter with my prince. Taube, she spoke to me, and I was too worried about myself to listen...

It was exactly like the time I ran from my prince, as he shouted after me, but I refused to listen because of my trying to run.

"You really care about him, don't you? The prince. He means a lot to you, doesn't he?"

I was sobbing loudly, but I took care to listen to her this time. I calmed myself down enough to speak properly, though it took several minutes and lots of silence from Taube. When I was finally ready to speak, I pulled away from her embrace and spoke, looking her dead in the eyes.

"Yes... I do care about him... I've cared about him for a long time now. I was always there for him, supporting him, whether he knew or not. I've been so content with being his servant, but now... Listen, before I go further, will you promise not to tell anyone? Even if this entire mess is ever sorted, will you swear not to tell a soul what I'm about to tell you?"

She nodded understandingly, and I continued.

"I used to be content, but now... Now I want something more. I don't want... I don't want to be just his servant, you know? It took me until now to finally realize this, but... I realize now that I love him. I love Eren Jaeger with all of my blackened heart. I just wish I knew before... none of this would ever have happened had I known my true feelings for him..."

Taube took my hands and smiled at me. Simply looking at her calmed me, and I was thankful for it. She and I had bonded over the past week, and she, in her fox form, had comforted me to many times, so it was only natural that I felt that way.

"I know he's still out there. You and I will find him, I know it. And when we do, you'll be able to confess your feelings to him. I'm sure he'll not only forgive you, but reciprocate your feelings as well."

Hearing her words encouraged me. My face was still tearstained, but it didn't matter. Taube- or rather, Isabel- had given me a newfound hope, and for a while, I couldn't muster anything but "Thank you" as she embraced me once more.