A Promise (An Attack on Titan Fanfic: Erwin Smith)

Turmoil

Hanji had told them they needed to get to Nicholas Lovof before he decided to come down and join the party (she discretely pulled Isanna away and apologized for ruining her 'juicy' moment with Erwin, but Isanna ignored her), because once the noble lord was downstairs, it would be near to impossible to strike a deal with him what with the crowd of guests filling the house; attracting attention was the last thing Erwin wanted, especially since Commander Shadis had entrusted him to take care of the matter. 

"You're free to go up the floors, just don't make too much noise, and don't fucking drag me into your mess." Baldrick had made sure to drill it in their brains earlier on. He then proceeded to tell them to use the staircase at the back of the house and not the ones in first floor because he didn't want the guests making a fuss - something Erwin agreed with him on, which was a rarity. 

Now, the group of four disguised soldiers were stalking up the cold staircase at the back of the mansion that led directly to the second floor, their view of the grassy backyard and evening stars sporadically littering the sky as the breeze softly slapped their skin. Isanna was right behind Erwin, and then followed by Hanji, then Mike was tailing them at the bottom of their file as they walked up the stairs.

Erwin had asked Isanna if she was cold as they walked up the stairs (being the perfect gentleman he was), with the girl shaking her head and refusing his offer of wearing his jacket. The girl could practically feel Hanji and Mike's mocking grins shooting at the back of her skull (could they be any more obvious) but didn't look back to acknowledge them.

"Are you sure little Lovof isn't going to betray us anytime soon?" Isanna asked whilst scanning their surroundings as they entered into the corridor of the second floor; the walls were painted a decorous pigment of hazel wood, the floor in a darker shade, and the ceiling a tone somewhere between the two. The light hanging from the bulbs above provided enough vision for the group as they made their way down the wide hall.

Erwin kept a steady eye around them. "He won't. He wouldn't risk ruining his life when I hand the papers to the General."

Isanna pursed her lips in a hum. Fair point. Baldrick valued his stable life too much for that, besides, he had a wife to take care of.

The halls were winding, curling with a series of twists and turns with countless doors meters between each other in both sides of the wall, and the girl wondered what kind of rooms were behind such doors. It wasn't like this was a hotel of some sorts.

The walk between them was silent save for the soft clacking of heels from Isanna and Hanji's sandals, with not one of them daring to disrupt the suspenseful silence; then, Isanna and Mike felt it.

For Isanna, it was the distant sound of rushed footsteps, coming from more than five pairs of feet; for Mike, it was their human odors prickling his nostrils.

"Erwin, they're here."

Right after Isanna's warning, Erwin leaned and pushed the door to his left while pulling her inside with him, leaving Mike and Hanji to intercept what they guessed were Lovof's personal guards.

"If only we had our gear, I would've just zipped to the third floor and crash into Lovof's office," Isanna grumbled just as the noise of battle from the corridor began. She wasn't that worried for Hanji and Mike since they were one of their strongest soldiers, and she knew the brunette was still more than capable of bringing down measly human guards even when she was rocking heels. Hanji was a badass like that.

Erwin gave her no response following her complaint, instead walking over to the window that overlooked the front garden of the mansion. He placed a hand on the windowsill and poked his head out of the frame as the breeze flowed past his cheeks, his neck craned to see how far was the nearest window to the next floor.