It was a mass of black, atleast 8 feet tall and had a humanoid figure. But this thing was no human. Its limbs were contorted, twisting unnaturally in every way possible. It's arms, legs, torso, head completely disproportionate and grotesque. It hardly had a face. Just a veil of black where its nose and eyes should've been and a great big, gaping hole for its mouth. The only reason why you could tell it had a mouth was because of its cracked, dry, black lips, and rows upon rows of jagged razor sharp teeth. Each one coated in a thick layer of oozing charcoal liquid that spilled from its hideous mouth.
It's hands were abnormally large, atleast twice the size of its head. Fingers long, thin and boney, accompanied by a set of sharpened dagger-like nails that came to a deathly point. It's hind legs extending backwards before jolting in at odd angles. It was symbolic of a beast.
And Arden moved faster, her blood red orbs narrowing as she quickly approached the lesser demon. It was fast, but she was faster. Now she was right behind it and the soldiers horrified eyes bore into hers, pleading that she could save him. Sheathing her blades, she propelled herself forwards with a mighty spin, twisting gracefully through the air. Long, terrifying, black talons had grew from her fingernails as she charged at the demon, ready to slice it to pieces.
But the demon materialised into a cloud of smoke, leaving her to rip through the inky steam. But it wasn't steam at all. It was something fleshy, something hard coated in multiple layers of something soft. Warm liquid spewing out and raining down to the grassy forest floor below. And it was a feeling all too familiar.
Her eyes widened in horror. Slowly glancing infront of her at the blood soaked torso, her hand plunged deep within the chest. White shirt now stained red. Brown leather straps tied around the torso. Green cloak draped over their shoulders. And a beautifully crafted cravat splattered with droplets of blood.
There was only one person who wore a cravat like that...
In fear, her head snapped upwards, an expression full of fear, pain and disgust filling her vision. Steel grey eyes boring into hers, the colour quickly fading as the light left them.
"Levi?..." her lip quivered as she stared wide eyed in horror.
Levi coughed, blood sputtering out of his mouth as more of the crimson liquid seeped onto his lips.
"Y-you... you did t-this..." He whispered, voice strained and croaked.
Profusely, Arden shook her head, whole body trembling. Blood red eyes turning glossy as tears gathered at the corners of her eyes. She opened her mouth to speak, lips quivering vigorously, "N-No-- no... no no no no no-- please-Please..."
"This--" He began again, groaning as his body twisted, her hand still plunged deeply into his chest, "This is y-your fault."
"No..."
"You did-- this."
"I didn't-- I didn't mean to..." tears spilling uncontrollably as her whole body shook. "I didn't mean to... I didn't mean to..." the words spilling from her lips. Vision clouded by the onslaught of tears but yet she could still see him. What she did to him.
"You did it... I h-hate you... you disgust me..." more blood sputtering from his lips as his skin turned paler by the second, the light leaving his eyes.
Rapidly, her head shook. Trying to shake away the feeling of what she'd done. Shake away the reality of it all and prove by some miracle, that this wasn't really happening. But she couldn't.
Pulling her hand from his chest, the squelch of his organs rung in her ears. The jolt of his body as it quickly went limp. And all life had left his once fruitful frame.
"Levi..." She whispered, voice cracking. He wasn't moving. He wasn't breathing. Just a still corpse.
"No, no, no, no..." She rushed out, voice barely above a whisper. Sobs cracking through her lips and wracking her whole body.
Gently, as if he were a fragile object, she adjusted their position, resting his limp head in her lap. Empty, lifeless eyes staring accusingly up at her. Their once gorgeous, steel grey now dull and faded.
Her trembling hand had reached out, bloodied fingers grazing his pale and icy cheek. "I'm sorry..." voice barely above a whisper, hand now stroking his cheek, leaving behind a wet trail of red everywhere it touched.
The words repeated again, "I'm sorry..." breaking and cracking, growing in sorrow and heartbreak.
The tears were streaming now, mouth agape as the only sounds falling from her lips were her heart wrenching sobs.
She leaned down, her forehead connecting softly to his as she squeezed her eyes shut. Hoping, praying to everything out there to return him to her. To stop the cruel joke and allow him to live, even if it meant he'd be free of her. She would give anything to see him smile, to talk, to blink. Any little movement that indicated he was alive.
But he wasn't. Just a frail and withered corpse, a gaping hole in his chest that oozed crimson liquid. The blood seeping down into a growing pool below him.
And as she cried, her tears of heartache dripped down to his cheeks. Almost as if he had been crying them himself. Crying for a life, for a chance. But the world was cruel.
Broken, she began whispering apologies and promises of a better life to his lifeless form. Pulling his body as close to hers as she could. She needed to feel him, but all she felt was cold and death.
Blood red eyes glanced up and through the glassy tears, the faces of her friends shone through. Erwin, Kain, Carlisle, Hange, Lydia, Tobias, Armin, Eren, Mikasa. Everyone.
But it wasn't them. Their eyes had been taken, stolen. What should have been a variety of beautiful colours was nothing. Instead of their eyes, there was a layer of skin, sunken as if the eye used to be there. An old wound that had healed, but not quite right.
And even if they had no eyes, their accusatory glares were still aimed at her. Watching her like a hawk.
"H-help him... Help him!" She called desperately. But they all just stood there, unmoving.
She repeated the words again, and again, again... But still they never moved.
Sobbing wildly, she turned from the unforgiving stares, cradling Levi's limp body in her arms. Bloody hand caressing the skin of his cheek, smearing the blood over his face. "It's gonna be okay... its okay... its okay..."
Rocking back and forth with his lifeless corpse pressed against her.
Then her eyes fluttered open.
And she was finally able to see reality. To feel the soft cotton under her fingertips and wrapped over her shoulders. The light, warm breeze spreading through the room.
Her room. Ashy, stone walls and a dark wooden ceiling with matching wooden floor. Cream sheets of her bed and the chest of drawers pushed against the wall. Ontop was the candle she always lit, the one where she could see the flames dancing as she eased herself to sleep. The leather-bound book resting on the other side of the drawers that she always forgot to read. The sun peering through the window as the curtains had been kept open. It must've been midday or maybe even later.
And a sleeping figure to her right, laying comfortably on the side of the bed. Though still dressed in their uniform. Raven hair falling around their head. Except this wasn't the set of unruly waves and curls Kain had. They didn't look like they had been combed with just their fingers and was in need of a chop.
No, these raven locks were shorter, neatly combed and shaved underneath.
Her breath hitched, attempting to sit up suddenly to get a better view before silently whincing from the sharp, shooting pain of her wound.
Her hand shot to her stomach, gripping it tightly as her face contorted in pain. She spent a few seconds trying to calm her shallow breaths before slowly turning her head to the side.
Arden's blood red eyes landing on Levi's sleeping form and the relief immediately swelled inside of her. Releasing a breath she hadn't realised she was holding, her body relaxed.
He was alive and sleeping peacefully. No hole in his chest, no blood on his body and his skin was full of colour.
Her brows raised for a second before furrowing, eyes fluttering shut, "It was just a dream..." She whispered in disbelief. Two fingers coming up to pinch at the bridge of her nose. A sigh puffing out from her nostrils.
Peeling her eyes open, she gazed down at Levi, an ache in her heart. She knew that the dream wasn't real, but it felt it. She felt the shatter of her heart as his life left his body. She felt that.
It might have been all in her mind but the pain was one of the realest things she'd ever felt. Even thinking about it caused her heart to pound and she had to look up and blink rapidly to rid her eyes of the tears that were forming.
As she did so, she felt her wound pull and stretch, grunting from the sudden pain. And then internally cursing herself when Levi moved beside her.
Slowly, as to not wake Levi and not irritate her injuries, she shuffled to the end of the bed. It was either that or climb over Levi, and with how her body was at that moment she was bound to fall ontop of him, causing him to wake. That was an awkward encounter she was sure to avoid.
And as her feet slipped onto the cold wood of the floor, she glanced over her shoulder to check if Levi was still asleep. And luckily he was. Levi was an insomniac and hardly slept each night. Getting maybe 2 or 3 hours before he was fully awake again. Seeing as he was asleep now, she wanted to let him get as much rest as he could. Afterall, he needed it more than most.
But in that second, her brows furrowed in confusion as she stared at his sleeping figure. Last night, she was sure it was Kain who had came into her room and found her collapsed against the door. It was Kain who carried her to her bed and she was certain that it was Kain she fell asleep cuddled next to.
So why was Levi here instead?
Deciding she'd ask him when he woke up, she rose to her feet, her knees shaking underneath her as a sudden wave of irreversible exhaustion washed over her.
She could feel it in every bone and muscle of her body. She was weak. Weaker than she should've been.
And as she took slow, limping steps towards the bathroom, a pile of neatly folded clothes under her arm, it felt like someone was stabbing relentlessly at her back and stomach. The torture of every step only growing more intense.
When she finally reached the bathroom and closed the door, she had to take a few minutes to lean against the counter to catch her breath. That small amount had taken everything out of her. And after minutes of quietly wheezing to herself, she found the strength to be able to painfully pull off her old clothes and just as painfully pull on her new clothes.
Knowing that attempting to put on her uniform whilst in this state was basically impossible, so she opted for something much simpler: a plain white top and black leggings. Luckily, the top wasn't tight enough to expose the thick layers of bandaging around her torso.
And thinking of her bandages, she whinced as she lifted the hem of her shirt and then peeled away the bandage enough to observe the wound. It was still red raw along the edges and the skin was torn at the stab marks. There was a fair amount of blood still seeping onto the bandage and she knew that it would need changing soon. She'd have to ask Lydia for help because there was no way she was going to be able to do it herself.
Without lifting her arms too high, she pulled her long raven locks to one side, combing through the ends with her fingers. Then flicked her hair back onto her back, grimacing as the movement was too fast and only caused more agony.
Sighing, she shuffled her feet into a pair of flat shoes that were on the floor. Flats weren't really her thing, she much preferred boots as they felt more secure on her feet. But she didn't have the energy to bend down and lace them up.
Grabbing the handle, she pulled open the bathroom door, surprised when a figure was stood only inches from her.
Levi too was surprised, eyes slightly widened and his fist hovering in the air, like he was about to knock before the door opened.
"Huh?" He voiced, eyes narrowing on the deep purple circles under her eyes, "You slept for over 15 hours and you have bags that intense?" The surprise evident in his voice. She really had slept like a rock. So why did she still look so exhausted?
When she didn't answer, or speak, or move for that fact, he rose his gaze to her eyes, watching her worriedly.
Arden was frozen to the spot, bottom lip quivering ever so slightly and her eyes were fixated on his. But what worried him was how they were shot open and glossy, tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. They looked like crystals. But there was no joy or sparkle, just an underlying sadness that he couldn't figure out the cause too.
When she saw his eyes, something suddenly struck in her. The nightmare replayed in her mind, how dull and lifeless his eyes were. How it felt so real. She was tranced like a deer in headlights, unable to tear her eyes away from his. They were normal, how they always were. A stunning steel grey with a soft, yet dominant sparkle. Set in their normal narrowed position which gave them an intimidating look, but hid a flurry of hurt, pain and care.
His eyes were so beautiful, and she was captivated by them.
"Arden?" He called, stepping closer and gently gripping her shoulders. Steel grey orbs scanning her face. The tears in her eyes had given them the sparkle they were missing. Her usual eyes were blank and didn't have that sparkle of life that everyone else's did. But these tears gave them that. And he hoped that one day he'd be able to see the glimmer of her blood reds permanently, where she didn't have to be on the brink of tears for that beauty to show.
As if his voice had woke her, she slowly traced her gaze down to his chest, confusing him even more. Sniffling, a single shaky hand reached out between the close space between them. It hovered for a second before slowly resting on the left side of his chest, just above his heart.
She was feeling for a heartbeat. And when she felt its quickened pulsing inside his chest, she sighed in relief. Involuntarily her body had closed the space between them. Molding onto his as she buried her face into the crook of his neck. If she had the strength, she would've wrapped her arms around his neck, but instead she rested her palms on his chest. Feeling herself sink into him.
Levi was caught off guard, the sudden closeness sending a shiver down his spine as his ears burned. But he didn't pull away or even want to. Instead he wrapped his arms around her waist, gently pulling her as close to him as he could. The warmth of her body surrounding him. "Brat." He spoke softly as he rested his cheek ontop of her head, the citrus scent of her hair filling his senses, "What's going on with you?"
Arden took a few seconds to answer, sniffling lightly as a single tear fell down her cheek. She squeezed her eyes shut as she nuzzled herself closer to him, wanting to feel his warmth, the rise and fall of his chest against her, a sure sign that he was there with her. "Just... stay." Was all she was able to whisper out.
There was a safety and comfort as she was embraced in Levi's arms.
Although being very confused, Levi chuckled lightly. His chest vibrating against Arden and it caused the corners of her lips to turn upwards. Holding her tighter, he spoke softly, "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere."
~•~
The title of this chapter makes me think of that time when Wiz Khalifa went on The Eric Andre Show. 😶
NIghTmAre nIghtMare nIghTMAre 🤸
I stayed up all night rearranging my room and broke my bed 😃
Now I'm sleeping with my mattress on the floor until the new bed frame arrives. 🥲
It's not like I sleep anyway, like the short stack himself I am an insomniac and nothing works to treat it. 🤟
I've tried sleeping pills, warm baths, oils, sprays, the lot and nothing works.
Anyway I'm currently binge-watching The Walking Dead from the start for like the 8th time and I'm not mad. 🧐🤔
My memory sucks balls, it's horrible. 🧍♀️
Also ended up reading a Jasper Hale fanfic and it's the most precious thing ever. I fell in love 🤧🥰