A Different Path

Chapter Twenty-Four

   A few more months of training went by, the trio was getting ready for an expedition outside the walls.

Lilith had been staying home with Anna for most of the training days, she only went to the grounds about once a week. It was barely enough to keep her nerves settled.

She hated the thought of all three of them going outside the walls. What if she lost them all?

Lilith couldn't bear the thought.

Lilith was probably eight by now, the three still didn't know her exact age, simply they go by the date she was brought to them, April 7th.

.   .   .

The morning of the expedition came faster then Lilith wanted it to, but she knew they had to go. It was about noon. Levi, Furlan and Isabel were all ready to head out.

"How long are you gonna be gone for?" the anxious girl asked.

"Just a few days kiddo" Furlan ruffled her hair after his response. "It's scheduled to be a short expedition."

"So you'll all be back in a few days, right?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure? No, 'surprise we're staying out here for a year?'"

"Yes." All adults answered.

"Good. You better all come back in one piece or I'll be mad."

"Yes ma'am." Furlan snarked.

There was a knock at the door. Levi opened it to see little Anna with a smile. He gestured for her to come in and she did.

"Alright, are you guys ready to go?" Furlan said while adjusting his jacket.

"Yeah, lets go." Isabel was the first out the door, then the others followed. Before they left they all gave Lilith a hug and some more reassurance, she needed all she could get.

"Wait!" The trio all turned to face the little girl that ran in their direction. "When you get back," she began while looking at the three, "can we all go riding into the sunset again? Can we ride straight into a fairy-tale?" Lilith let herself smile at the thought, a smile the trio hadn't seen since they told her about the expedition. Simultaneously, the parents answered,

"Definitely."

.   .   .

And so it began, the three ventured outside the walls. Though he was quiet about it, Levi had a terrible feeling in his stomach. He decided to ignore it for the sake of the expedition. A grave mistake he made.

.   .   .

The night came quick, though Lilith didn't plan on getting much sleep. Her nerves were getting the best of her and she couldn't find a way to calm them. Lilith curled up into a ball and held the homemade dolls Isabel made close to her chest. Anna was asleep in the other room so whatever she wanted to do she had to keep quiet. She decided the best thing to keep her calm was to brush out her hair. Whenever Isabel did this to her when she was younger, it would help her right away.

Lilith grabbed the hair brush from her nightstand and began to brush, though this didn't help her settle. 'Screw this.' Lilith laid down and squeezed her eyes closed, hopefully sleep will find her soon.

.   .   .

It was about 03:00 when Lilith heard the door handle shake. She didn't know who could be coming here at this hour. 'That's odd,' she thought to herself. Before she could think, the door creaked open. Lilith looked quickly out her door and saw a tall blonde man with wraps all up his arms, followed by two other men with face coverings.

From what she could see, it looked as if the blonde man gave the other two men directions, sending one to her room and the other where Ana slept.

Lilith quickly slipped under the bed while trembling in fear.

She heard Anna make a small noise before her screams muffled, then there was silence once more.

She covered her mouth, still under her bed. 'This isn't real. This isn't real. This isn't real!' She watched a man's footsteps pace throughout her room. Lilith squeezed her eyes shut and began to think, 'this can't be real, it's just a dream, Isabel, Furlan, Levi, please-'

She felt a hand on her ankle as she was yanked from under the bed.

"I found her!" The man shouted to the blonde. He ran into the room after the man's words. Lilith struggled in his grasp. He had one arm around her arms and chest and the other over her mouth.

'Play dirty.'

Isabel's words rung through her head. Before the man could speak, she bit down as hard as she could, drawing blood. He let go and she brought her leg up, hitting him right where the sun didn't shine. The man leaned forward, letting out a loud grunt. Before she could turn, she felt something metal hit the back of her head. Lilith struggled to keep her balance with the spinning room. It slowly grew dark until she felt herself fall onto the floor.

.   .   .

Lilith felt cold. She noticed she was laying down and went to sit up before feeling a sharp pain in the back of her head. She struggled to fully open her eyes, but managed. Her sight was blurry, but she could make out her surroundings.

Lilith was on a cement floor, chains around her ankles rubbing her skin raw, bars in every direction. She was still in her white nightgown, now covered with blood and dirt. Once she was fully upright, she put her hand on the back of her head. She traced the back of her neck only to feel wetness. Bringing her fingers to her nose, she sniffed, 'blood,' she concluded.

Lilith continued to examine the room she was in, it was definitely a cell.

"Where the hell am I?"

.   .   .

After a few minutes, a man approached, kneeling by the bars.

"Hello precious," he said, a smile creepily stretched across his face. Lilith didn't move. She remembered what happened, she remembered seeing the men break into her house, hearing Anna's muffled screams, feeling a hand on her ankle, a sharp pain on the back of her head. She scrambled to the corner of the cell and tucked her knees in, she trembled as the man opened the cell door. "Come here~" The man said, it was the same blonde man from the barracks. "Get up!" He barked, pulling Lilith up by her hair. She tried to break free from his grasp but couldn't, her head injury was keeping her from thinking straight.

The blonde brought her out of her cell, her hair still in his grasp, and walked down a hallway. Lilith was put into a state of shock when seeing all the cells, all empty with blood and scratches lining each wall.

She was the only one there, the only one left.

.   .   .

Levi couldn't shake this gut feeling, he had felt sick to his stomach ever since they left. Furlan had said he could just be nervous about going outside the walls, but that wasn't like him.

The three sat in the ruined castle.

"She's fine, Levi." Isabel hoped to reassure her partner, but she wasn't sure herself. Something did feel a bit off.

"Yeah, just another day or two and we can go back." Furlan wanted nothing more than to be back inside the walls himself. He too missed Lilith, but more so he had the same bad feeling as the others.

Levi didn't answer either of his comrades, he was too deep in thought. He knew something was off. He knew this feeling wasn't going anywhere until he had his little girl back in his arms. 'I want this to be over.'

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haha... don't kill me pls lol

anyway, this was hella fun to write, but it HURT 

hope you're invested now lol, happy saturday!