A Devoted Heart (Attack on Titan // LeviHan) - Part 2

An Ackerman for Luck

After Historia's quick-witted and perfectly snippy "Arrest you? That depends on your conduct", Zoë's family members relaxed a fraction. Well, that was interesting - Zoë had thought her father quite incapable of a guilty conscience, but for a moment, he had looked truly rattled by the Queen's sudden appearance. Begged the question: What was going on here?

Keeping up her regal act, Historia explained haughtily that she wished to stay at Hange Estate for only a few days in the process of visiting several of the exiled noble families. Accepting this without further questions, Zoë's father briskly ordered his house staff to ready adequate rooms for the royal guest and make space for her retainers in the guard quarters. Freddie personally escorted the Queen out, throwing her avid glances from the side. When she bestowed one of her sweet smiles on him, Freddie got so flustered he almost fell over his own feet. Who could blame him, even in a dusty riding costume and unkempt hair, Historia looked like a sunbeam come to earth to grace weary mortals with her presence.

"Go and settle down in your quarters," Zoë told Armin and the others who were gaping open-mouthed at the wanton riches on display everywhere, "keep your heads down and be careful. We'll talk later."

"What is Captain Levi doing here already?" Eren whispered to her, eyeing the man in question suspiciously.

"That's what I mean to find out," Zoë answered grimly, turning around to glare at Levi. Coolly sipping his tea like his presence in this sitting room was an ordinary thing, he had the air of a model soldier from a picture book. Hair: immaculate. Boots: shined to perfection. The leather on his harness: freshly oiled. Ascot and trousers: almost blindingly white. Shirt: not a wrinkle.

It made no sense to her. Unless... but no, it was impossible.

"We'll insist that we want to stay in one room," Armin said. "With the six others next to us."

Zoë nodded. Good thinking - the closer together they stayed, the better. "They will want to separate men from women," she cautioned, "this is a very traditional household. If that happens, invoke the King's Law of 799 - it's about the equality of men and women in the military and has been used before to thwart attempts to treat women differently."

"Oh," Armin's eyes grew big. "The things you know, Commander!"

Well, sorting thousands of documents into place was good for something at least.

"Make sure to report to me immediately if anything seems amiss," Zoë told Armin, who nodded briskly.

"Let's go, Eren," Mikasa said and the whole group disappeared through the door into the great hall, where a servant offered to show them to their quarters.

"What happened to your eye?" Council Hange stood right behind Zoë, startling her.

"What do you care?" she snapped at him, hating how proper and groomed he looked, as if mocking them in their windswept, travel weary state. "And you will address me properly as Commander of the Survey Corps, Council Hange. This is not a courtesy visit. All the soldiers here, including Theodor Treibel who is waiting outside, are under my command."

Her father snickered briefly before he sobered under her death stare. "I understand. Let me tell your mother that you are here. I hope the news won't overwhelm her poor nerves. And you...," his face briefly contorted into the semblance of a smile when he turned to Levi. "We'll talk later."

With that he walked away, bellowing commands at servants in the hall outside. Only her, Levi, and her Grandma were left in the sitting room now. She hadn't seen her father's mother in more than a decade - frankly, Zoë was surprised the old dragon was still alive. A staunch traditionalist, Granny Clothilde had never approved of Zoë's life choices.