Instinctively and in the midst of panic, Samuel threw himself towards the side, and cried out in pain when he rolled over on his wounded arm; blood had began to spurt out from the bullet sized hole.
"Sam, you're hurt, and there's over twenty of us. Give up," Kenny called, playfully insulting the boy he once treated as if he were his own son, "All we want is the girl,"
Samuel wheezed in an effort to catch his breath. He was tired, and felt as if he would pass out at any second, but he pushed through, "I'll fight you all day and all night if it means (Y/N) is safe," He huffed, scooting himself towards the side to avoid the raging bullets being fired at him continuously.
Reece was next to him, looking at him curiously and worriedly. She ripped a piece of cloth from her shirt and offered it to him. He took it and wrapped it tightly around his wound, "Thanks, Reece," He nods at her.
Edward laughed manically and pulled Samuel's knife from out of his chest. Though he was in immense pain, his ego was way too high for him to show it. The knife was covered in his blood, and it was surprising it had not killed him, seeing as Samuel was the best at hand-to-hand compared to his fellow associates.
Hanji was still laying passed out in front of Edward. She wouldn't die, as the bullet had only hit her in her foot. She was losing a lot of blood every passing minute however. This challenge on retrieving both she and (Y/N) was going to much more difficult as Samuel had now had a bullet in his arm.
It hurts....He complained in his mind, The only defense we have is my knife, and I can't even fucking get it.
The bullets poured on Reece and Samuel as they ducked their heads in their arms for protection. The cover they had hid behind was beginning to bust from being shot at for far too long.
Is this where we die? Dying at the hands of the man I once saw as my father?
"Huh? You're still not going to come out? What do I need to do to make you come out? You seem dead set on this character right beneath my boot. Come get her, Sammy!" Edward shouted, kicking Hanji's head again and again until her goggles were knocked off, "Come get her! You've become soft! This is pathetic!" He bends over and grabs her by her ponytail. Edward was a tall man~Hanji barely made it past his shoulders even while being lifted into the air, "Here's a deal: Give me (Y/N), and I won't blow her brain to bits. You seem awfully attached if you're so willing to lay your life,"
The decision was easy. Samuel would choose (Y/N) over Hanji any day, as Levi once told him: Some lives hold more value than others. Which in all honestly, he completely believed.
Edward nudged the pistol against Hanji's head and pushed it, urging Samuel to do something, for Reece to do something, for anyone to do something.
But there was no movement from the two. There was no protest. Samuel could only sigh and cover his eyes in defeat, praying to God that (Y/N) was either still protected by the bushes, or had regained her composure and called for help.
"We're going to die. Might as well start saying last words," Samuel says with a slight huff, banging his head against the cover-board.
Reece looked at him with her pearly blue hues, unable to figure out what to do in this dire situation. She thought over and over again: I should've killed him. But that was her first love, how could she?
Despite the agonizing pain that took place every time she dared speak, she unveiled her mask and spoke through a muffled, quiet voice, "I hate you,"
Samuel only smirked, "I hate you too."
"Twenty three! Go!" A sudden, deep voice entered the palace. It was loud enough to be heard all the way from their defensive position. There were shouts of horror, and more bullets raged raged through the air. Unaware of what was happening, Samuel could only stare deeply into the porcelain floor stained with blood of fallen Palace Guards.
Reece was the first to make a move. She scooted herself closer to Samuel~much to his dismay, and peeked over their almost destroyed cover-board. At least thirty MP's Regiment soldiers had come to aide.
Usually, the Military Police(depending on the Section you're assigned to) are the Palace Guards, but seeing as they're all dead, she assumed that they must've been reinforcement.
Good for Samuel, bad for her. Reece was known to be a Grade A criminal. They would take her into custody and most likely ship her off to the MP's. She collapsed and closed her eyes. Shit.
One by one Edward and Kenny's men had fallen. At the end, only a handful had remained.
Some soldiers were shot down, but there were still more in the end than Edward and Kenny's group.
"Gah! You lucky son-of-a-bitch, we aren't done. I promise you," Kenny says. As he begins to use his 3DMG to escape, he fires one more round of bullets at the Military Police, shooting down two more men in the process.
The sound of shooting soon ceases. There's the sound of heeled boots and a command to, "Stand up with your arms over your head!"
Samuel and Reece do as told, showing their damaged state. The cloth Reece had given Samuel now had blood seeping through it, and he was sweaty.
The commander of the Military Police, Nile Doc, stood before them. Samuel couldn't help himself but laugh when he saw his lovely mustache, and he even complimented the man on it, "Boy, I hope to have a nice mustache like that one day. I heard even Hanji Zoë is rather mesmerized by it's chilling beauty. Haha."
Nile, however, was not impressed. He clicked his tongue and scowled, "Tch. Samuel Bekket. You've been on our radar for quite some time. Joined the scouts, did you?"
"Yes sir. Now you can't take me into custody. I've outsmarted you once again!" Samuel laughs out loud again, mocking the man.
Nile grimaced and grabbed his musket from off his shoulder. He walked towards Samuel and whacked it hard against his head, causing him to fall onto the floor and rub his temples in pain, "You're right, but that doesn't mean I can't take Reece into custody. I'll torture her is what I'll do. Then I'm going to unveil the location of Kenny and Edward, since you dumb pieces of shit unworthy of being called Scouts can't even seem to handle,"
He walked back over towards the fallen Hanji and picked her up, "I'll be taking Miss. Zoë back with me too. We'll take that bullet out of her. She'll be fine. Your friend is by the exit. Consider yourself lucky: She was the one who sent for us," Nile orders all of his soldiers to leave for their brigade. As soon as he walks pass (Y/N), he holds his right hand over his heart and slightly bows, trying not to drop the soldier in his arms, "My Princess. Oh yes! Almost forgot; Someone put Reece Onselot in handcuffs. If she resists, shoot her in the foot."
A man named Dennis Alblinger comes to put Reece in handcuffs; she does not resist, only looks at Samuel one last time before she's taken into the hands of the Military Police.
(Y/N) is the first to speak after everyone leaves the Palace, "I'm sorry." Was all she could manage.
"It's fine. Are you alright? Did they hurt you?"
He began to check her, searching for any hidden wounds on her body. She seemed fine, only having a long scratch on her cheek that was already beginning to heal.
"A couple of them found me, but I fought them off long enough for the MP's to arrive. They made a break for it afterwards," She answered, running her fingers through his dirty-blonde hair.
"So you're not completely useless after all. I did almost die in here trying to protect you, but whatever. Heh." He joked, interlocking their arms together as they made their way back to HQ.
"Why were they even here? What about the bodies in there?" She asked, genuinely curious over the situation that had just previously unfolded before them.
Samuel hesitated with his answer~"They want to kill you, (Y/N), and the corpses in that building are not our problem. Don't stress yourself over it."
(Y/N) blinked. They want to kill me? Is this what my mother warned me of? The note rang through the deepest depths of her memory: 'There is a merciless gang searching for you. I never told you this, I was too scared, but you possess strength beyond your imagination. Those brute, mindless animals want to take this and use it against you'. She took a look over at Samuel kicking rocks. Is this, perhaps, what he has been hiding from us? No, he would've told me sooner if he knew my life was in danger. If can't be.
For some odd reason, she looked up at the morning sky. Instead of it being a beautiful blue with the sun blazing down on her skin, the sky was a crimson red~like the color of blood. The sun was barely noticeable as it hid behind the greyest of clouds.
"It's rather ugly today, isn't it?" A merchant asked, stocking up a fresh watermelon upon his stand.
She searched for a silver lining in the sky. Her father always told her to search for that in situations that seemed impossible, unhopeful, and mundane.
There's a silver lining to everything, (Y/N). You just have to look. Her fathers wise words came to mind, repeating itself over and over again until she finally gave up.
"Liar." She whispered, a small tear escaping from her eye.
X o X
Levi huffed, "She still isn't here. How long has it been?" He says, pacing back and toward in Erwin's office.
Erwin couldn't help but chuckle, "Try to think diplomatic, Levi. It's a business run. As daughter of the Queen, this type of stuff takes a while to go over."
He knew that, but the thought couldn't stop occurring in his mind:
Something went wrong.
"Why are you so concerned about the princess anyway, of course, if you don't mind me asking?" Erwin adjusts his black glasses and writes down some things on a document laid before him.
Being in a romantic relationship was looked down on in the Survey Corps. It was especially looked down on when it was between a superior and a cadet.
Levi froze in his stride. He took a peek over at Erwin and sighed, "We're involved." Was the easiest he could put it without it seeming unprofessional.
"Involved? What does that mean?"
He growled, "We're....together. You know, 1+1 equals two."
Erwin gasped and let out a chuckle, "Are you suggesting the princess is pregnant with your child? Where'd you get the equation from?"
"N-no! What the fuck, Erwin? I don't have any time for children! How could you even think of something like that?" Levi blushed at Erwin's accusation and bit his bottom lip accordingly, "We're romantically involved, dammit."
Erwin raised his eyebrow in question, "Romantically involved? You know that's against protocol. You could get in heavy trouble with that, and it wouldn't look so good on your reputation."
Levi sighed, "I'm aware."
He clicked his tongue and stomped the floor with the heel of his boot, impatient for his lovers return. They were still quite angry with each other from their last fight, but that didn't change anything. He loved her, though he'd never admit it to her face. They weren't even technically an official couple yet.
Erwin looked at his most trusted companion with wide eyes. Never once have I seen him so uptight. Especially over a woman. To be completely honest with myself, I thought he wasn't even into women.
Finally losing his patience, Levi grunted and threw his arms into the air, "Fuck it!" And left Commander Erwin's office without another word.
"They were supposed to be here. Are they trying to arrive late on purpose just to vex me?" He mumbled through the halls, earning peculiar looks from soldiers, "The fuck are you all looking at?" He asked with a hint of irritation in his voice. The soldiers quickly stopped staring and returned to whatever they were doing.
The limp in his step had completely disappeared. He walked perfectly normal. Which he was glad of course; he was tired of being pried over from the women offering to massage his injured foot. He found it both creepy and annoying having so many females prying over him. He did like attention(Though, for egotistical reasons, he'd never admit it), but only when it was from (Y/N).
He walked outside towards the back of HQ and past the Training Grounds. Where he was going was beyond him.
The large trees that provided an excessive amount of shade wasn't very necessary in this time; the sun was barely showing.
The flowers lying around the roots of the trees had seemed dead. They were all wilting, or had begun to lose their color.
The sight made him grimaced as he remembered how attached (Y/N) was her to flowers. More specifically:
Her red rose.
What she had done with the flower, he had no clue, but he figured she would probably like one. It was the least he could do for getting so upset with her.
He walked farther down the path of dead flowers and trees, listening to the sound of a flowing river nearby. This quietness is so peaceful. (Y/N) and I haven't spent official time together, besides the irrelevant things we do in my office. That doesn't seem to appeal to a woman though. Maybe I could take her here sometime.
Something catches his eye, something blue. He walks towards it, and a large rose-bush appears in front of him, filled with lucious pink, red, white and blue roses. How aren't these flowers dead when all the others are? Whatever, which one would look the best on (Y/N)? He stood by idly and thought hard. Growing frustrated with the time it took, he picked the white(since it was his favorite color) and the blue rose since it was the color that stood out most. He quickly retrieved his hand when a thorn pricked him, "Ah, fuck."
Little trinkles of blood had begun to pour out of the tiny wound on his hand. He ignored it and stuffed the flowers in the pocket of his uniform.
I hope she likes them. I hurt my fucking hand trying to get these stupid things. He sighed and began to stalk all the way back to Headquarters.