LEVI
I arrived at the stables with the sun rising to find Aurora seeing to her horse, unaware of my presence, the sight of her in the early morning light and her off guard manner was enough to take my breath away. Dressed in a brown cloak, a simple cream blouse and an ankle-length green skirt with her wild hair loose she was every inch the divine being she was named for.
I wonder if the people of Trost will recognise their battle angel like this.
Coming up behind her, I wrapped my arms around her waist and deeply inhaled the smell of hair before placing a kiss by the shell of her ear. It was surprising how easily the intimacy came to me whenever she was near, of how easily the whole world fell away to just the two of us.
Twisting around in my arms, Aurora smiled widely before she leaned forward to place her lips to my own but before we could connect, the large head of her horse forced itself in-between, breaking us apart before she could seal the morning with a kiss.
"I don't think Kano likes you." she laughed happily as she came forward to grip the horse's reins and run a soothing hand down his neck and following the path her hand trailed along with the chestnut hair, I couldn't help but picture that hand running along my spine as I lay her down on my bed.
"Seems to be the running theme with the men in your life." I quipped trying to contain the shivers of excitement that raced down my spine at the mental image of her hand running along my spine as I lay above her.
"Rian." Aurora groaned in frustration as she rested her head against Kano's flank, breaking my mind free of the fantasy, "He seems to think I'm his responsibility and I believe he thinks you're a bad influence on me".
"Is that so." I deadpanned, entirely aware that Rian did not want me anywhere near his twin sister, not that I gave a shit what he wanted. I only cared about what Aurora wanted, and if she wanted me then I wasn't going to push her away, I had already made that mistake once, and I wasn't going to do it again.
"You don't challenge the darker side of my nature," Aurora said wistfully as she continued to stroke Kano's mane. "I think he believes you enable me to commit more sins."
"Sins? Are you referring to the cutthroats?" I asked incredulously, and her silence was my answer. Sighing in frustration, I placed a hand on Aurora's shoulder and gently turned her towards me but she refused to lift her eyes, staring only at the hay covered floor as she fidgeted with the side of her skirt.
Is she ashamed?
"Aurora, that man gave you no choice." I said intently as I tilted her chin upwards so she would look at me "He would have killed you".
"I could have disabled him, taken him in for questioning" she said, unsure of herself "I didn't have to kill him"
"Do you regret killing him?" I asked gently though I already knew the answer. After all, I was drawn to her for a reason, because deep down, we both knew the price of freedom. The difference between Aurora and me was that I didn't care what people thought of me. In contrast, Aurora cared too much, especially when it came to her family, though she would never freely admit that.
"I regret that we didn't learn who sent him," she said murmured as she averted her eyes from my gaze. Self-hatred did not suit her; it didn't suit anyone. Aurora is what she is, and the sooner she comes to terms with that, the happier she will be for it.
And fuck her brother and his self-righteous opinions.
"That's not what I asked," I replied, tightening my grip on her chin and anger flared in her eyes as she pushed my hand away, meeting me as my equal.
There you are.
"He wanted to kill me, a woman who has given her life to defending his for the promise of coin and his friend tried to kill my brother. So no, I don't regret killing him" she declared, and her eyes dared me to challenge her. There was the Aurora I knew and loved.
Loved?
"Good." I said shakily before cupping her cheek with my hand, "He made his choice and decided his own fate the moment he drew that blade against you"
"And that's why Rian doesn't like you" she scoffed, anger completely forgotten before placing a chaste kiss on my lips and mounting her horse ready for the long ride to Trost.
******
Aurora and I had arrived at Trost just after midday and we had left our horses at the stables before making our way through the demolished city to the Headquarters to deliver the missive Erwin had asked me to. Eyebrows had been so full of himself when he had suggested that I ask Aurora to accompany me, so much so that I had almost refused then and there out of spite but when I thought about how little time I actually spent with Aurora outside of slaying Titans and saving cities, I thought better of it and accepted his advice.
Last thing I had expected to receive, romantic advise from Erwin Smith.
Finishing the task, I had asked Aurora what she had wanted to do for the remainder of the trip, and with a slightly wistful expression, she had asked for the last thing I had expected. To see the plugged breach.
Strolling with her arm linked through mine, we arrived at the battle-scarred entrance to the gate of Trost and coming to a halt, we both stared up in silence at the giant boulder Eren has used to seal the hole that had once been Trost's outer gate. Unhooking her arm, Aurora took a few steps forward and gazed at the massive rock before turning on the spot and taking in the area around us.
People had returned to their homes and had set about rebuilding, a makeshift market had sprung up in an attempt to get commerce working again and people milled between the canvases and chatted amongst themselves. Aurora took all of this in with tears in her eyes and a broad smile on her face as she turned on her heel before returning to look at me.
What is she seeing that I'm not seeing?
"What are you thinking?" I asked curiously as I approached her and wiping the tears hastily from her eyes, she faced me with a softer smile on her face.
"I thought that it's only been a week and people have already returned and began to rebuild," she replied, her voice thick with emotion "It gives me hope for Shiganshina and the other outlier districts when we retake Wall Maria".
"Don't you mean if?" I questioned, surely, she didn't think this was that cut and dry. I know we have a game-changer up our sleeves now, but even with Eren, it would still take everything we had. There was hope, yes, but did she believe that it was inevitable that we would prevail?
"Eren changes everything." Aurora shrugged as if that was explanation enough, and in a way, I suppose it was for her. She knew Eren far better than I, she believed in him with absolute certainty and I found myself wondering if I would I ever believe in anything as staunchly as she did?
You already do.
"Aurora!" A shout rang across the battleground and Aurora and I both turned to see a young female Garrison soldier with wild brown hair running with her arms flailing in the air to get Aurora's attention.
"Nova?" Aurora gasped before running towards the young soldier and engulfing her in a hug. Staying put, I watched Aurora laugh as she spun Nova around to get a better look at her before Nova turned back to Aurora and gently touched her eyebrow, her face full of concern. Aurora took Nova's hand in her own and gestured with her free hand to the breach, no doubt explaining where the newest of her scars had come from.
"You have a beautiful wife, young man." a wizened old woman with tanned leathery skin and a mass of white hair mused as she came to stand beside me as if from thin air. Peering down at the elder, I was greeted with large pale-yellow eyes staring unnervingly at me as she assessed every inch of my face.
"That she is, but she is not my wife" I corrected the old woman and turned back to watch Aurora chat animatedly with her friend.
"I know, but the future looks much like the present for someone like me. Does she know how much your heart yearns for her? Wouldn't you like to know if she feels the same?" the old woman whispered conspiratorially, and I knew exactly what she was.
"You're a soothsayer." I accused as I looked down on the old woman with disgust. Her kind did more damage than good and no doubt she was here to take advantage of the people of Trost in the wake of the Titan attack.
"What gave me away?" the old woman cackled as she latched onto my arm and peered into my eyes with a searching look. This close I could smell the repulsive odour of unwashed elder and Salvia ooze from her and I sniffed in disgust.
"The shit falling out of your mouth" I snarked as I stepped away and pulled my arm free from her clutches "I have no coin for you, so I suggest you go find some witless idiot to beguile out of his earnings."
"Oh I like you boy, so I will lend you my talents for free. A rare gift in these troubled times." the old crone boasted as she appraised me with critical yellow eyes. I had seen her kind often in the underground selling false futures to desperate people who were looking for any way out for themselves and their children. It always ended with the customer looking so hopeful only to starve to death a week later.
"So, what will it be? I marry her, and together we will have many children and live happily ever after?" I quipped sarcastically as my temper began to rise. The Titans were a problem that wasn't going away anytime soon, and I doubted there was a happily ever after for anyone never mind for Aurora and me. But with Eren...
I scoffed at Aurora for believing and here I falling into that same trap.
"That is not how destiny works boy, and you know it." the old crone chastised with her pale-yellow eyes narrowed at my insulting tone.
"A pity." I drawled as my eyes drew back to Aurora. She was still talking to the young cadet, every so often casting shy looks towards me that her friend did not miss. The old woman took a step forward and followed my gaze back towards Aurora before humming in thought.
"Power resides in her blood, and before her time is done the world will know it too." the old crone began "Such bewitching eyes she has, but I wonder, do you even know what they mean? You look at her, but do you see her for what she truly is? What she will become? Fate has its mark on her as surely as it does on you, boy."
"Tch" I scoffed unamused with the old hag's drivel and having heard enough, I threw her a parting look of disdain and made to join Aurora with her friend when a bony hand clasped my arm tightly again. Meeting the old crone's gaze in anger, I startled as her yellow eyes blew wide until only the black of her pupils was visible.
What the fuck?
"There is a darkness on your soul boy, blood dripping from your hands from all the lives you have taken and will come to take." The crone spoke as if the words were not her own, and the hairs on my neck began to rise "You will need that darkness to keep her safe. She must be protected at all costs, from more than just Titans and shifters. The ripper will come for her as he did for those who came before her. You know of who I speak, defend her Captain for she must be there when the guardians of stone begin to rumble"
Gasping the old woman released my arm and stumbled backwards as her eyes returned to their previous pale yellow. Reaching out, I grabbed her arm before she fell to the floor, my mind turning to darker memories.
The ripper.
"Sybil!" A young man shouted in alarm as he ran towards us and prized the old woman from my grip "What have I said about pestering folk? Forgive me, sir, Sybil's mind has not been right since we fled Shiganshina. The Titans they-"
"There is nothing wrong with my mind boy, I see what I have always seen. You just don't want to hear it! And to believe my granddaughter chose to marry you!" Sybil snarled as she whacked the young man across the head.
"Is everything alright?" Aurora asked as she suddenly appeared by my side, her friend no longer with her. Casting her eyes between the old woman and me, a deep V formed between her brows as she picked up on the tension and the crone fixed her bright gaze on Aurora before her leathery face broke out in a wide sinister grin.
I need to get Aurora away from her.
"We should head back." I insisted as I took hold of Aurora's elbow and began to pull the confused redhead back the way we came. The sky had started to darken with the promise of rain which only added to the creepiness of this situation and I felt the old woman's eyes shift towards me.
"Your right there boy, best be off with you. In fact, I would find some shelter, there's a chill in the air today, and I fear a storm is approaching." the old witch shouted after us and I ground my teeth together because somewhere, deep down, I knew she was talking about much more than the weather.