The Titan Queen - Levi X Reader

Chapter 5 - The Visitors

Isabel fought the flush of shame off – refusing to allow her cheeks to redden. "Yes, I suppose that I am."

Pixis's eyes sparkled – in anger, amusement, Isabel couldn't tell. But she refused to shrink from his stare as those grey eyes went to the letter she was gripping tightly in her fist. "I know who that letter is from – I can't say that I'm surprised."

Isabel's throat tightened, and she dodged the weight of his stare as she looked into the fire. "And I can't say that I'm surprised that you've read the letter already."

There was a pause. Isabel only wished it wasn't as sharp as her rapier.

Pixis broke it first, but it only took a few words for Isabel to regret that fact. "Ah, youth. You must be quite stupid to not be afraid to pick a fight with me, Miss Magnolia."

Isabel lifted her eyes from the fire to meet his stare – but flinched away, once again. The sheer dominance in her headmaster's gaze was like a slap to the face – that hardened stare spoke not of a mere alcoholic streak, but instead of wars and soldiers and blood. "You say stupid – I prefer the term desperate, myself."

"Are you trying to get me to risk the lives of my students simply because you are desperate?"

There it was – the flush to her face, the feeling like she'd just been punched in the gut. Isabel barely registered the sound of the double doors opening before Pixis tutted. "Get out – I barely tolerated you standing guard of the door, and I won't stand for you backing this selfishness."

"With all due respect, Sir," Sasha said, coming to stand at Isabel's side, "I don't care. You need to listen to her."

"I should put you both into detention for two months with Shadis for this – this ridiculousness."

"Did you not understand the letter?" Isabel couldn't just stand there, simmering in shame. She squared her shoulders. "Do you not know who it's from, and what it means?"

Pixis leaned back into his chair, sighing as he looked into the embers left behind by the dying fire. Isabel understood the gesture for what it was – understood that both she and Sasha were now dancing on the edge of the blade, and it would only take a mere slip to fall into a deadly situation. "This letter – it's from Levi Ackerman." Isabel felt Sasha straighten in intrigue, but Pixis remained motionless – the man had probably already known that. Had known from his handwriting – as she had done. She ignored the dull ache of pain that thinking about her brother brought. Later. She'd focus on that later. "It's clearly an instruction, he's asking us for help."

"It seems that he's asking you for help – not me," Pixis interrupted idly, his eyes still fastened on the embers, "I did not get a letter, you see."

"But you did," Isabel said. "You got a letter to me, opened it and read it. Levi would have known that a letter like this would have been read – he would have known that you would have seen it. He only sent one, because –" Isabel came to the realization the moment that she said it – "because sending two would have been suspicious. Whatever the Survey Corps are doing, they don't want people to know about it. And just one letter, addressed to a mere second-year girl? It means nothing to spies from the outside. It's useless. But Levi knew that it would have been searched by the officials of the school – he wanted you to have this message as much as he wanted me to."

Pixis's mouth tugged upwards at the corners, but the coldness of his eyes stayed the same. "Clever."

"You can't simply ignore this message, sir," Isabel said. "It's clear, brutal and obvious what he wants."

"And what is it, Magnolia, that he wants?"

The question brought her up short, enough so that she chanced a glance back at where Sasha was – a movement she regretted, for the girl was just in the process of sneaking a snack into her mouth. Sasha shrugged unapologetically, eyeing their headmaster warily. "Are you being serious? It's obvious what he wants; to destroy –"