Perennial Rose | {Levi x OC} | Shingeki no Kyojin |

Chapter 41: Castle in the Sky

Within Wall Rose, Survey Corps Headquarters

Like a ghost creeping out of the shadows of the room, a medic stealthily slips through the door. She glides to my bedside, places a tray next to me, and mutters with a wispy breath, "Thank goodness you're being cleared tomorrow."

She disappears into the far darkness with quick steps, unwilling to wait for my response.

I turn to my side and twist my torso to reach for the bread. A hook penetrates deep into my back and through my ribs, making me subject to the infamous puppeteer called Pain. He has evidently weakened as the hours have passed, yet he returns to restrain me when I least want him to.

Losing the motivation to reach any farther, I fall back into the valley I had made on the mattress.

It is night. A somber night. A very dark night. There is no light to clear my eyes of the dark concealment which night brings.

I notice that there is no apparent difference between what I see when I close my eyes and what I see when I open them again.

But I'm scared to close them.

I let my eyelids fall and see dark hollows in his eyes as he draws closer to the bloody mouth.

I let my eyelids fall and see a body dangling from the ceiling.

I let my eyelids fall and see Engel's naked back scarred and flared with red from the wings that have been stripped from him.

I let my eyelids fall and see a young boy who is alone and afraid, cowering from the menacing stalactites that corner him to another wall of pointed rocks.

When will these images go away?

On my last night in this forsaken infirmary, I want to be free from them. Everytime they are displayed in the black space in my head, my consciousness is awakened and is prepared to hold onto them. I am forced to watch everything against my own will.

I am about to immerse myself into the hustle and bustle of military life again. Therefore, nothing shall prevent me from fulfilling my duties. If this one night provides me with this nothingness I seek, then I can rest assured that my state of mind is slowly beginning to return back to normal.

At long last, I let my eyelids fall.

A black space lies in front of me.

There is no image to torture me.

Instead, my consciousness drifts elsewhere as deep sleep nestles in me.

A greyish mist clears away and I find myself sitting on the edge of a white marble floor. My legs dangle over empty air, swaying to the direction of the wind. I look over my knees and see a vast land underneath cotton clouds that drift over the ground. They cast faint shadows over the lush greenery below.

I can see everything from here. The three great walls make wobbly circles over the lands, spanning over a huge area with dimensions I cannot even estimate. There are patches of olive green, light green, and vivid green randomly splotched on the earth and dark blue strings of rivers slithering across valleys and plains.

The wind picks up and blows against my left side. I try to resist, but at the very moment when I feel as though I may fly away from the strong breeze, my shoulder is pushed against something. Strong arms press me into a familiar embrace, shielding me from the gust.

The monster of the wind gradually shies away as I raise my head against the shoulder of the person who had saved me.

"Engel."

The surrounding brilliance of light whitens his face as he lowers his head. He stares at me with glowing blue eyes and smiles in a way I've never witnessed before.

Yet the warmth of his body is more suttle than I had expected; this only reminds me that this Engel is not real. This is only a dream. A mere illusion that I have created.

Nevertheless, I relish every detail and minute of this dream.

I bring my arms around him and press my face against his chest. "Engel..."

He combs his fingers through the hair on the back of my head and greets me, "Hello, Renata."

His voice was muffled and soft. Not nearly as vivid as the sound of my own voice. Is it because I am slowly forgetting the sweet resonance of his voice?

"Renata, look at this breathtaking view."

I follow his orders and shift my eyes down. The land remains to be the grand world I had first seen upon coming here. "Is this what you see all the time?" I ask as I follow a passing cloud.

Engel's chin brushes against my forehead while he nods his head. "Yes. It's so amazing. I get to see the whole world from up here."

"I'm glad," I whisper, "I'm so happy that you can finally see how huge our world is."

His chest echoes with the low vibration of his laugh. Engel tightens his grip over me and says, "Well would you look at that. Time's almost up."

My muscles clench as I bury myself further into his embrace. "No, please don't go, Engel."

Another gust of wind rises. However, it's strength is so immensely powerful that it blows everything away. The land below. The marble floor. Engel. Even myself. I don't feel his warmth anymore. I don't feel anything.

A blank white space expands and fills every inch and corner of what lies in front of me.

"Engel, I don't want to go back down there."

"Why?"

"I can't do anything. I can't help the people who have gone through unfathomable misery. I can't even protect the people I hold dearly to my heart."

"That doesn't give you a reason to refuse to go back, Renata."

"What do you mean?"

"You'll learn sooner or later. For now, you should go back."

"So this is goodbye?"

"It never was a goodbye, Renata. I was always with you, and always will be."

"...."

"...."

"I love you, Engel."

"I love you too, Renata."

"Renata."

"Renata."

My consciousness seeps into my body as I am shook awake by firm hands. I open my eyes, not knowing whether or not I did so due to the still obscurity of night.

"Renata, we're going somewhere."

I feel for the speaker's face and ask, "Is this you, Levi?"

He brings my hand back down. "Just get out of bed."

He pushes my back forward as I bring my feet to the floor. Levi grips my elbow while I wobble up to a stand and take one step forward. "Can you walk properly?" He asks.

I grab his sleeve and answer, "I think so."

We make our way towards the door, out into the hallway, and through a maze of dark corridors.

"Where are we going, Levi?"

"You'll see."

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I changed the cover!! It's not that I didn't like the original one, but I'm a girl who likes to change things up once in a while. Please let me know your opinions in the comment section: Which one is to your liking? The original? The new one?
I know it's not as awesomely made as other book covers, but I don't have photoshop skills so the only thing I can do is draw.... Haha...So lame...

Thank you once again for every single read, vote, comment...just everything... We have truly come far together and it has really been a wonderful experience for me.

Thank you *bows*

-Kamisama961