Eren P.O.V
"So, why exactly do you need so many books again?" I asked, and he shook his head, his blue eyes clouded with annoyance before setting another very thick book on the already huge stack in my arms. I hope my back holds up. "Because, I don't have access to as many outside sources as you may think, and I need to know as much about the world and the different regions as I can. I also enjoy reading, it allows me to relax." He said, and I smiled.
"Glad I'm not the only one," I replied, and he looked over his shoulder at me with a raised eyebrow, and I flushed. "W-Well, I just mean that... when I lived in the servant barracks, I was one of the only servant who used their free time to read while the others generally watched the guards in training as they exercised." I said with a nervous laugh, and he shook his head, but even I could tell he was smiling a little, and that made me even happier. That is until he put another book on the stack, and I grew an irk mark."Well good. I'm glad to know that you have common sense." He replied, grabbing a book from the shelf and flipping through it."If only common sense was a little more common." I retorted, and I saw him give a small ghost smile again.
With one final book, he placed it on the pile, and my arms nearly gave out. Then he sighed and grabbed the top three books himself before carrying them down the hallway."Prince Levi! That's my job, not yours!" I exclaimed as I struggled to catch up with him, but because of the added weight, I was only walking a little faster than before. "You can barely support the amount of books you have right now, and besides, we wouldn't want them to fall. That would only make more work for you to clean up." He emphasized the 'you', but I'll let it pass, seeing as how I'm his first friend. "Alright then," I said, and I walked alongside him.
Hope you don't chip a nail princess.
-+~•~+-
When we arrived at his study, the two servants, whose names were Isabelle (redhead) and Furlan (dirt blonde), smiled at me and Levi.
"Good afternoon Prince Levi." They simultaneously said before opening the doors for him. He nodded and didn't even glance at them before walking inside, and I trailed behind him. When we were inside, Isabelle and Farllon shut the door, and I set the mountain of books on his side table, to which he set the three books he was carrying on his desk.
"So... do you ever travel to other regions?" I asked as I stretched the heck out of my back, earning a dozen satisfying little pops. "Yes actually, but only once a year. I travel to Stohess to negotiate with their king." He said, and I nodded.
"Are they really as they say they are?" I asked, and he looked at me in confusion."The Nekos(Don't judge I just want to make it more interesting). Do they actually have the ears and tail of a cat?" I asked, and he nodded in clarification. "Oh. Yes, yes they do. They are quite an interesting culture. They also speak in third person. It's a little hard to understand, but you get it eventually." He said in a bored tone, to which my eyes lit up.
"That's so cool! Imagine if I had cat ears and a cat tail! That'd be so cool!" I exclaimed as I twirled around a bit. Prince Levi looked at me for a moment, before flushing a little and turning around. "Yes well, that's impossible, so there's no point." He said after he coughed. I frowned and shrugged. "Sort my books in alphabetical order and you'll be done for the day." He said and sat behind his desk. I nodded and bowed before grabbing the stack and setting it on the floor. With my legs crossed and my hands ready to work, I grabbed the first three books and started sorting them out. "So. What are you working on?" I asked, but I couldn't see him over the table because I was sitting down on the floor.
"We might be acquaintances but you don't get to know everything about me. Why don't you tell me where you learned to fly across a room with incredible grace?" He replied, and I flushed before sighing."For the one-hundredth time. We are friends. F-R-I-E-N-D-S. Seven letters. It means; 'Two people who share a bond of mutual feelings.' The opposite of a foe. The thing that I am to you." I said, putting the book Stonhess and the wonders within.
"Yes well, people usually become friends after knowing each other for a period of three months or more. We've only known each other for one month." He retorted, and I chuckled."I've made friends in one day. Trust me, we are way past that deadline." I said as I smiled. He shook his head and I wiped my hands on my trousers in a feeble attempt to rid my palms off the mountains of dust. To my dismay, it was hopeless."You should really get some maids in the library. It's filthy in there." I said, and he smiled."I'll see what I can do." He sarcastically murmured, and I pouted."I'm serious. If you want people to love books, at least make the source of said books a little more hospitable. It's not very comfortable to read a book in a library that looks like it's about to crumble at the any second." I replied with my arms crossed.
"Are you done?" He asked, and I nodded. "Then why are you still here?" He asked, and I chuckled."If we are going to be, "acquaintances"," I said while using my fingers to add quotation marks. "then you need to be more... inviting." I said, but I quickly regretted my choice of words."I-I'm not telling you what to do or anything! I just... you know..." I trailed off, and he raised an eyebrow as if saying, 'continue'."I-I... well... you told me that you didn't know much about friends, so I was only telling you what a normal friend would do. It was only a joke! I can assure you, I am not telling you what to do in any way shape or form!" I said with nervous laughter as I scratched the back of my neck.
I waited for his response, probably a scolding, but I was surprised when a low chuckle left his lips, and I tilted my head."What? Isn't it normal for "friends" to play jokes on one another?" He asked with a smirk, knowing the answer whole-heartedly. I scoffed, but I couldn't help a chuckle myself. When I looked back up, he was looking down at his papers, but his high cheekbones told me he was smiling even just a little.
"You are excused." He said, his eyes never straying from his documents. I smiled and bowed. "Until tomorrow your highness." I said, and he nodded before I grabbed the door handle and opened the oak doorway."Hi Eren!" Isabelle exclaimed as I shut the door. Since they got to know me, Isabelle and Furlan understood that the rumours about me weren't true in the slightest, so they've warmed up to me quite a bit.
I smiled at her beautiful and practically glowing face before walking down the hallway."Hi Isabelle." I said as I vanished around the corner to my room. Furlan was nowhere to be found, but then again, it was laundry day, and that was her thing.
-+~•~+-
"Hey buddy," I said as the German shepherd leapt out from the bottom of the bed and into my outstretched arms. I giggled and hugged his little figure before pushing my hair out my eyes.
"How's it been?" I asked, but of course, he didn't respond. He licked the tar out of my face, and I could only laugh as he tickled every inch of my face. "You're gross!" I jokingly exclaimed as I set him down on the bed.
He tilted his head up at my face, and I smiled. I walked over to the bathroom and started a shower before taking off my clothes and getting inside. As the warm water-drenched every part of my body, I breathed in the steam it released and smiled.
-+~•~+-
As I dried my hair and adjusted my sleepwear, I looked at the dog that was sound asleep on my bed. He gave out slow, even breaths, and I smiled at how tranquil he seemed. My hands practically moved on their own, and pushed my hair out my face and then opened the drawer in the nightstand and grabbed the leather journal buried underneath a wide variety of books.
I grabbed the pouch inside the drawer beside the notebook and opened it. I was met with ink and quill, rubber which got rid of the mistakes I made with the pencil, and paintbrushes. My paint was stored in my closet, but I didn't want to paint right now.
I turned to a specific page in the book and was met with a drawing of a half-finished eye. It was based on my mother's eye, which I dream about very often. Drawing something of her helps me cope, and her eyes are quite beautiful.
I grabbed the pencil, the white cube, and the rubber before going to work on her iris. The lead stained my fingers, and even my face as I scratched my cheek, but I couldn't care less. I love getting dirty, it means I was working. The pencil danced along the page in careful strokes. Never too light, never too harsh.
The sun was gone, the sky was a dark, dark blue, stars glittered, and the crescent moon sat alone in the sky when I looked out the window, the iris only half done. My hands cramped up and my eyes struggled to stay open, but I continued to smear parts of the pencil in the appropriate places and I bit my lip in concentration. I was set on finishing the iris, and when I'm set to do something, I do it.
-+~•~+-
I felt my face tickle, and I swiped at whatever was stroking my face. The feeling vanished, and I tried to go back to sleep.
Keyword; "tried".
The tickling continued, and I growled before opening my eyes and realizing my face was wet. The pup stared down at me with its open eyes, and I grit my teeth."What?" I asked it, and that was when I noticed the sunlight pouring through my windows.
I'm late!
I leapt from off my bed and scrambled for my uniform before throwing it on my head and sprinting out the door, my fear of being late getting the better of me. When I got to his door, I skidded to a stop and waved to Isabelle before knocking. "Come in." Prince Levi's voice boomed through the door, and I slowly opened the door and crept inside.
When my head popped from out of the crack, I saw him hunched over his papers as always, but he didn't even glance at me as I walked up to his desk."You're late." He said, and I nodded. "I'm sorry," I replied, and he sighed. "One more time and I'll enforce punishment." He said, and I gulped before nodding.
He motioned to the books on his table, and I tilted my head in confusion."I'm done with them. You can take them back." He said with no emotion. I nodded with a bow and picked up the stack before walking to the door. That's when I noticed how cold my feet were."Oh crap..." I murmured. He looked up at me."What seems to be the problem?" He asked with a raised brow. " I forgot to put on shoes," I said shyly as my faves slowly turned a bright red. He let out a long sigh before replying "Get them on the way back."
But what I didn't notice was the small smile that spread across his face. I sighed and bowed before setting the books down and walking down the hallway. Isabelle giggled and I sighed. "Haha, laugh it up." I jokingly said, and she laughed some more. Even Furlan graced me with his once in a lifetime smile. But it was short-lived as I realized that my feet were literally freezing.
As I walked down the hallway my head down, I caught a glimpse of a figure walking towards me. I couldn't make out who it was, but I could tell it was a maid by a dark blue skirt outline and a tray in her hand. I was still looking down trying to avoided further embarrassment, that I didn't see her outstretched leg as she walked by me. I tripped over her limb and hit the ground hard.
I heard a familiar laugh and grit my teeth.
Petra.
"Look what the cat dragged in!" She exclaimed before laughing at her joke. I sighed and sat up before raising my hand to sweep the hair from my face. "Oh! Look at that! Where are your shoes, nature freak?" She sneered, and I sighed and looked away.
She took advantage of this and grabbed a nearby vase before taking the delicate lilies and setting them aside before dumping the water from the vase on my head. I didn't even get time to react as she dropped the vase too, the impact crushing my skull and making me yelp. I fell on my side as I held my head, the pain tearing into my nerves and my skull started throbbing in pain. "Ugly water for an ugly mutt, hey! Maybe it'll help you grow, shrimp!." She chuckled before continuing her walk down the hallway, King Kenny's tray in her arms.
I growled before standing up. I'll clean up the mess when I get my shoes back.
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