Together, we heal | Levi Ackerman

༅ 5. To Worship The Stars

To Worship The Stars

Year 850: The Night before The Battle of Trost

The wind blew through the dark and serene night as it swept along the fields of a vast land filled vibrant green grasses -- though the luscious greenery didn't seem to be that evident at that time of the day. The dark grey clouds glided on the dusky sky, slowly revealing the gloomy gleam of the moon.

And from there, the moon casted its light on a small two-story cottage made of cobblestones that stood by the roadside. On one side of the cottage was a small farmhouse which housed a few chickens and two horses. On the other side laid a garden that was lined with a variety of herbs, and notable plants that had its special medicinal purposes.

The window on the second floor was wide open, allowing the gush of the evening breeze to enter into the master's bedroom, and brush the long red hair of a woman who sat by the window.

Vanya continued to gaze at the night sky that was now adorned with the multitude twinkling of the stars. She sat cross-legged on the bed that was pushed to the wall, where the window was. She was wearing a cream-colored nightgown and her long auburn that was usually tied in a ponytail was let down to cascade over her shoulders and her whole back. There was a candle on the nightstand that lit a faint source of warm light, just enough to provide luminosity for her to read her book, which now laid forgotten by her side. The moon and the stars were just too beautiful that she had to stop her reading just to marvel at it.

Even after 6 years of finally living above ground, free from the shackles of the below, she never got tired of witnessing how endless the skies stretched above her. When she was a child, the only sight that would greet her whenever she looked up would only be the grimy underside of Mitras. There was no telling if it was day or night time. All she knew that all her life, she was encaged under a roof -- or rather, a floor, the floor of a thriving district in the interior to be exact.

The door behind her opened, and in went Vanya's husband whose dark hair still damp from taking a bath. He wore a loose white long sleeve shirt paired with dark brown trousers, the complete opposite state of the Scouts uniform he would always sport during the day time. Levi meticulously gazed at the back of his wife's figure, whose attention was once again on the sky outside the window. He'd always catch her doing that every night. Sometimes, he would jump at her to scare her out of spite (It always ends up grudgingly, with Levi being ordered to sleep on the floor.) but most of the time, he would just stand still from where he was.

Just so while Vanya was marvelling at the beauty of the moon and the stars, Levi was there to marvel at the beauty of her moonlit face and her starstruck eyes.

He sauntered further into the room, noticing how Vanya didn't budge a muscle. Even if the latter already sensed that he had just entered the room. Levi stood by the nightstand, leaned down, and blew the candle as darkness filled the bedroom.

"Hey," Vanya finally looked at him, her expression calm. "I was reading," she nodded to the book beside her.

"No, you weren't," Levi replied blankly, dropping onto the bed beside her. "I need the lights out. Early day tomorrow."

Vanya didn't need any further explanation. She was well aware of the fact that Levi had another expedition the next day. The Scouts were about to embark in yet another dangerous mission to salvage whatever that was left beyond the Wall Rose and into the Titan territory. And because of Vanya's uncontrollable anxiety knowing that her husband was always risking his life, Commander Smith would always allow Levi to spend every night before an expedition at their very own abode a few miles away from Trost.