The woman who lived by the hill

(50) A cup of tea

Marley
858

There are many paths a veteran soldier can follow after the end of a war. For Levi Ackerman, who was once recognized as humanity's strongest, a peaceful retirement was the way to go. He lived in a small apartment building on the first floor so his exits and entries would not be obstructed by the challenge that stairs has now become.

The terrace and yard were charmingly quiet and decorated with gardens of growing produce and flowers upheld by Gabi and Falco. Levi particularly enjoyed sitting outside on that terrace and sip at a cup of warm tea; it was one of the best places to relax and reflect. Often times, the two brats would join him outdoors, along with watering pots twice as old as Levi, or tiny shovels.

Today was one such afternoon. Levi's wheelchair was on the poorly shoveled terrace, which he regarded with disgust. The air was miserably cold, and yet Levi wore no more warm clothes than necessary.

"You're way too undressed for this weather," Gabi Braun remarked as she stepped out the back door of the appartement building. "Atleast wear a scarf or a hat. You might get frostbite like that."

"I'm fine," said Levi dismissively.

Gabi made a face behind Levi's back.

"Get that stupid look of fyour face, brat," he ordered without turning around.

"Shoot!" Gabi flinched, wondering if Levi had an extra, hidden pair of eyes, or if he just knew her too well. She circled his chair hesitantly until she stood in front of him. "I brought you some tea. Well, Falco made it but I came out here to give it to you. Point for me."

Levi accepted the beverage with an acknowledging nod.

"I'm going to shovel snow," said Gabi. "Is—"

"Did you shovel here?"

"Yes," answered the girl, slightly annoyed at the interruption.

"You did a shit job. Shovel it again."

"You can't tell me what to do!" Gabi exclaimed angrily. "I can shovel wherever the hell I want."

As you can probably assume, Gabi ended up shovelling the terrace.

***

Not ten minutes after Gabi came out—as was to be expected—Falco followed. It was surprising to see him accompanied by a guest.

"Mr Arlert travelled all the way from Fort Salta just to speak with you, Captain," said Falco, introducing Armin, whom Levi was, of course, already familiar with. "Try to be nice, please."

"Go shovel some snow, brat," Levi snapped. "Let me talk with him privately."

Falco nodded and cast a warm smile in Gabi's direction. His loving eyes lingered on her for a moment, then he turned and nodded politely at Armin. He went to join his friend a short while after that with another shovel.

"He calls you Captain?" asked Armin, eyebrows raised with a hint of an amused smile on his face.

"They heard you brats call me Captain and now they do too."

Armin rubbed his hands together, trying to warm them.

"So what do you want?"

"Just... a friendly visit, I guess."

"I'm not going to believe bullshit like that, Arlert. You haven't come to see me in three years."

"Right, sorry. It's just that something sad has happened. Did you hear about Pieck Finger?"

"I have," said Levi. "I still need to tell Gabi and Falco. They were really looking forwards to seeing her and Braun again."

Arlert's shoulders sagged. He slumped against the brick exterior of the appartement building.

"They violated her, Captain," Armin said, his voice nearly breaking. "They hurt her so much and then they just killed her. Cut out her heart. Oh god, Pieck..."

Levi brought his cup of tea to his lips in his own, particular manner. Over the white brim, he could see Gabi and Falco laughing happily together a fair distance away. Gabi threw a snowball which caught Falco in the middle of the face.

How quickly those expressions would change to horror and sorrow once he informed them of Pieck Finger's murder.

"Why'd you come all the way here, Arlert? Surely you didn't just want to tell me something I already knew."

"I need help. I don't know what to do anymore. I've always found ways to think up plans in tight spots, but this has me at a loss. I have no idea how to keep the peace with Paradis after this happened, nor what they want—Historia and Mikasa haven't exactly kept me updated on what's going on. Most of all, I'm just furious about what those devils did to Pieck! I'm... my feelings and common sense and at war right now."

"We will be, too, if the guy who's been pushing for this peace treaty the most starts calling our island's people 'devils'." Levi drained the rest of his tea. "Think of something, Arlert. Hange appointed you the next leader of the Survey Corps because they trusted those brains of yours. Now put them to good use and think of something to fix this shit up."

"Right, right," Armin muttered, eyes wide.

Levi decided it would be best to talk about other matters at present. "How come she was in Paradis? Was she kidnapped or did she go as a Representative?"

"It's the only conclusion we've come to. Pieck would sometimes sit outside Fort Salta away from all the construction work and people. She went out a little later than usual, and Annie said that when she woke up the next day, Pieck wasn't there."

Levi frowned. Problems, mysteries and strategy had never been his best skill—Hange and Erwin's intellect had always surpassed his. Nevertheless, he tried to piece together what little evidence and facts he knew; he found his efforts useless.

Who kidnapped and killed Pieck?

What was their goal in doing so?

Were they trying to plant fear or spark another bloody war?

Levi set aside his teacup. Afterwards, he hooked his fingers on the strong metal wires crisscrossing the interior of the wheels. The veteran soldier turned his wheelchair around so he faced Armin.

He said grumpily, "Retirement was fucking nice while it lasted"