The Prince and His Servant

Chapter 9

(A/N) Just thought I'd mention real quick that Levi kind of broke the fourth wall in this chapter... Stay tuned, concentrate, and you'll find out when and how! Oh, and uh... there are some definite feels towards the end, along with an unexpected plot twist, if I say so myself. I promise it wasn't planned! By the way, I feel like Levi's literacy went up by over 9,000% in this chapter. Sorry for the long AN! You may now proceed to the next chapter.

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I latched myself onto the lowest branch of the nearest tree and began to climb.

I was confused, so much so that I stopped climbing and leaned against the thinning trunk of the tree to ponder the idea. Here I was, the personal servant of the one and only prince of Germany, prince Eren Jaeger, hauling himself up a tree to do nothing short of stalk him simply because he piqued my interest. Of course, I would never admit to it being "stalking" per se, but I knew it was true. I couldn't deny myself that.

Knowing myself, though, I don't openly admit to anything. All I do is murmur things quietly, inside my heart and mind. I know in my soul they're true, whatever the topic of discussion may be at some point, but never would I actually come out and say that said thing were true when pertaining to myself. A strange phenomenon, many would call it.

No, that would be incorrect. It's more of a preternatural occurrence that just so happens to be the basis of my life. It was an idea, a theory, that has lived on inside my head, past the world and all it's normality, past the manor, past the staff, and right into my soul. I am the embodiment of this theory.

I hadn't realized it until after some time, but in the time I had pondered such things, I had begun to mindlessly climb further up the tree. I was relieved, mainly because I could see my prince a mere two or three branches in the tree opposite to the one I was in. I was also surprised, considering I hadn't been too far behind him when I started my venture up this tree, and yet here he was, looking as if he had been there for hours before I laid my eyes on him.

Of course, I had to make a stupid decision.

I looked down.

Call it childish, even more than the fact that I climbed a tree simply to follow my prince, but it was true... the one thing I hadn't even thought of, the one thing that never occurred to me. Such a crucial thought at such a crucial time, and yet it didn't make itself known.

Yes... I was severely afraid of heights...

There was never any reason for me to be afraid except one. The two things prohibiting me from telling this tale were the facts that not only was I in a tree, at the very least 10 meters up, already scared of losing concentration and falling, and that I don't tell my story to anyone. That goes especially for strangers.

I quietly pulled myself up the next branch. My very soul quivered at the thought of how high up I was, but my body and mind knew that I had to go a little father if I were to communicate successfully and non-embarrassingly to the prince.

As I stood on a sturdy branch, thankful for it's width and area, I saw my prince through the conveniently placed leaves and twigs growing off of the branches above my head. He seemed somewhat peaceful as he sat with his back against the base of the trunk, his legs stretched out on the branch that was wider than the one I stood on. And yet, something in his eyes told me that his face was lying. Those sea-green eyes said he was sad, lonely, angry.

I wondered, "What's the cause of this? Why sulk, and why in a tree? Is there no one in the manor you can release your emotions to? No one that you can think can bear any burdens?" I will not lie; I was worried. I was saddened to see my prince like this... but more so when it finally occurred to me that it could have been me that caused this.