Erwin POV
The first guests arrived as soon as the sun showed so much as an attempt to leave the sky. They filled the halls with laughter, talk and discussions, the throne room with music and dance.
Nearly everyone in Eldia had been invited to the ceremony of King Grisha and it showed.
"He couldn't have invited more of those shitheads, could he now?", Levi grumbled. The smaller man stood next to him, arms crossed and a familiar glare on his face.
"Levi, behave. This ceremony is for the second prince. It should be as splendid as possible."
"Fuck splendid." Levi looked around the throne room that was filled to the brim with countless people. A band on the side of the room was the cause for the pleasant tunes in the air around them. "Those guards aren't here to watch the fucking fun everyone's having. You and I know that there is something else Grisha is unwilling to tell us."
The soldiers were in the background, watching the ordeal without batting an eye. Erwin knew about their every position and understood Levi's concern because yes, concern was the reason for his foul mood on such a special evening although the many people in the room would have been reason enough.
"Where is Marie?", Levi suddenly changed the topic, watching his friend carefully with a raised eyebrow. Anyone else would think he was only being polite but Erwin knew better than to assume the general would spend his time doing 'something as fucking useless' as small talk.
"She will be here soon."
"Have a date for the wedding already?"
"No."
"Tsk."
"Levi."
"What?"
"What are you doing?"
The other man didn't look at him. Instead he busied himself with watching over the guests, ignoring the servants who were striding through the room with plastered smiles and polite gestures in the direction of every source of food and drinks in the room.
"I don't know what the fuck you're talking about, Eyebrows."
"Of course you don't.", Erwin replied with an amused smirk on his lips and was about to say something more when a blond head in the crowd caught his eye.
Levi noticed the sudden change in the man's center of attention and turned his head to see what the older one was seeing.
Armin wore the same uniform every servant had to wear – black and white with silver lines pointing out his small stature. He politely smiled at the men and women standing around him, taking some filled glasses from the tray he was carrying with his right hand.
His hair, delicate and beautiful in the shine of the candles above them was caught in a bun on the back of his head.
"That servant again?", Levi mused, tilting his head. "What is it with you and lil' coconut?"
Erwin snorted softly.
"Coconut? Why, I didn't know you head a knack making up nicknames, Levi."
"You like him or what?"
Erwin's smile disappeared from his face but just as he was about to deny what Levi was silently asking him, a new voice asked: "Who do you like, darling?"
Armin POV
Posing as a servant had been hard enough. But dancing through the crowd with trays and little smiles while taking notice of the hateful gazes of the nobles around him was just cruel. He would do anything for Eren and his friend knew it.
But he wished they would just ignore him.
Let him be the lowlife they thought him to be. The lowlife he probably was. In retrospect to Eren he had no deep dark secret of a royal lineage.
"Are you alright?"
Mikasa's indifferent voice was comforting and the smile on his lips when he heard it was as real as it could get. The dark-haired girl let her gaze wander over the crowd, a tray in her hands.
"Ah, sure." He rubbed his neck nervously and nearly lost his tray but Mikasa caught it in the last moment. Worry glinted in her eyes. She knew he was lying. But he also knew she wouldn't press the matter.
"Armin, just breathe. Everything is going to turn out fine.", she whispered, leaning forward so no one could hear what they were talking about. Not that anyone would have listened in to their conversation.
He wanted to reply to her assurance when a uniformed man, blond and beautiful, tall and mysterious, caught his eye. Next to him was General Ackerman. Their second target.
Eren had told them about the night when Levi had brought the drunk servant back to his room. While Armin thought it to be a sweet gesture – he could have just left him there – Eren only thought about how to use the softhearted side of the man's heart.
He had never known Eren to be so coldblooded.
"Armin? What is it?" Mikasa put a hand on his shoulder, trying to get his attention back on her but he couldn't tear his eyes away from the woman leaning against Erwin.
Laughing at something the man had said.
Kissing his cheek.
Armin swallowed, not paying attention to the tears threatening to suddenly overcome the happy and upright façade he had been keeping up since they had been ordered to do their duties in the throne room.
Of course., Armin thought bitterly. Of course he is married. Why do I even care?
"Let's go, Mikasa.", he said firmly, not giving away the devastated feelings that bit and clawed at his heart. "We have a plan to carry out."
(The next chapters will probably all be shorter but I hope that's not all too bad for you.
So, the ceremony has started.
Will everything go according to plan?)
YOU ARE READING
Coming for your heart
Fanfiction|| Book 1 || Eren Yaeger had to flee from his home when he was only six years old. With his mother and his adopted sister he tries to forget anything related to the King and the secrets they left behind. Many years later war comes for Eldia and Er...
