Vanity, valor, veracity

Chapter 4

He'd be lying if he said he wasn't counting the minutes.

"What's with you?" Mike asked, as he saw Erwin drumming his fingers, impatiently waiting for the afternoon meeting to come to an end.

Erwin looked at him—he had obviously been deep in his own thoughts. "Nothing at all is with me," he said, irritably, glancing at his comrades.

"Something's definitely up," added Levi. "I've never seen you so—well—distracted, antsy. Got a hot date?" he taunted.

Erwin unexpectedly colored slightly. "Oh ho! He does!" laughed Mike.

Hange's ears perked up and she seemed to be across the room in a single bound. "Who has a date?" she asked eagerly.

"The commander," said Mike. "And as far as I can tell, he seems a bit anxious about it."

"Who with?" demanded Hange.

Erwin had had enough. "If you must know, I do not have a date. I am simply attending a performance by Morgana Sorkin. I was lucky enough to obtain a ticket."

All three went silent. "What?" asked Erwin, growing more exasperated by the minute.

"Erwin—I told you to stay away from her. No good can come of pissing off her keeper," Mike warned.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm going to be in an audience of several hundred people, I assume." He, of course, had no intention of being only one of her hundreds of admirers. He had an invitation afterward, after all.

"Then you won't mind if I go with you, right?" said Hange enthusiastically.

Erwin clenched his jaw slightly. "Don't you have to finish those reports this evening?"

"Oh! That's right! Well, I'm sure Mike or Levi would be happy to go with you..."

"I only have the one ticket," Erwin continued stiffly.

"Well, Levi and I will just take our chances, right Levi?" baited Mike. "I'm sure humanity's strongest soldier can muscle his way in..."

"What? Not on your life," said Levi. "She was pretty and her singing was nice and all, but spending an evening in some stuffy, smelly theater in this heat makes me want to puke."

"Listen, I don't want any of you to come," admonished Erwin.

They all looked at him suspiciously.

"Commander..." Mike said. "Don't do it."

"Mike," said Erwin coldly. "I'd appreciate it if you'd mind your own business."

And with that, he marched off, leaving his strongest soldiers shaking their heads.

* * *

Once again he was wowed by the young woman's sublime voice. He was especially touched by her rendition of the hymn he had asked her to play for him when they last met. Overall, though, it was quite a different audience than when he had last heard her sing and the repertoire was more lively and upbeat. No tears this evening. People who pay don't like to cry, apparently. The audience was no less enraptured, however.

He was impressed by the large number of people at the performance. He'd never been in a hall quite so large or lavish before and every seat seemed to be filled. She was indeed famous among this crowd. It was a world he only moved around in at the very outskirts. His role as commander was allowing him more access and yet he still found the opulence unsettling. Especially after the hardships he had witnessed with the fall of Wall Maria. The refugees streaming in, children without parents, not enough food to go around. Even a year in, the privations endured. He couldn't understand how the Interior could be so oblivious.