The Titan Queen - Levi X Reader

Chapter 3 - The Forest

"No."

The princess stomped her foot on the ground, the sharp sound making both Orion and Reiner wince. Annie and Bertoldt merely stayed still, watching the princess again square off against her uncle.

"You're making us lose time to catch them," Belua snarled, fury so obvious that her words were almost lost amidst the catches and twists of her growl. "Stop playing Lord and let me go."

"Orion and the rest of your court can go," Lord L/N said, pointedly looking at anywhere but Belua – not due to fear, but due to the fact that Belua would now be seeing red. "Apart from Annie. She can stay and make sure that you are exactly where you are supposed to be. You are not sneaking out again – a mere hour after coming back!"

Orion didn't bother giving Annie a sympathetic look – the female titan would rather accompany her princess over hunting anyway.

"They're all fools – they need me."

Orion didn't blame Reiner for the stubborn hiss in response; he merely rolled his eyes, knowing that it wasn't true. He'd managed well enough when the girl hadn't been here. It was that thought that spurred him into twisting on his heel and walking steadily from the room, not bothering to give a farewell. He knew from the footsteps behind him that Reiner and Bertoldt were following him, and all three of them stayed silent until they reached the entrance hall.

Reiner threw him a cloak, the signature black cloaks that were famed amongst titans. He fastened it under his chin, drawing the hood over his curls so that the edge hung just level with his eyes, obscuring his face from any other looking at him.

Orion could have laughed at the sight of the princess's fuming face as she watched him leave the castle with his hunting crew, but he knew well enough that doing so would be a death sentence. The hunting team had already assembled – a few of them were already seething, already pacing. Anxiety and eagerness rippled off of them in waves; it didn't take long for that energy to be felt by him in equal measure.

Orion grinned – a bloodthirsty thing that was echoed by all those who watched him bare his teeth. "Let's go hunt ourselves some humans, shall we?"

*

The forest was utterly dead.

There was no sunlight creeping through the empty, depraved branches of the trees; winter had long-since hidden the sun behind a thick, choking blanket of clouds that had leeched all warmth and colour that may have once lit up the world. The grass was wild and unkempt; there were no flowers growing at this time of the year, no flecks of colour anywhere amidst the world of grey, white and brown.

But that didn't matter to the two girls that were creeping through the undergrowth, their footsteps carefully monitored so that they didn't disturb the ghostly silence of the ghoulish forest. One girl held a bow ready, the worn wood clenched firmly between her pale fingers, with an arrow already strung. The barbed iron gleamed wickedly even in the absence of light, winking at the girl as though it were begging to be shot.

The girl either didn't seem to notice as her fingers tightened on the arrow – or just didn't care. Her blond hair was drawn back into a messy bun at the top of her neck, a few tendrils escaping to frame her narrow face. Pale skin was drawn tight around her face, the cheekbones sharp and cutting as shadows were cast along her face. But if her skin was pale, it was nothing compared to the pure ice of her eyes. Cold and blue eyes shone with something unstable as the girl darted her gaze back and forth, searching the forest for any sign of life. The girl made no noise except her light breaths as she continued her prowl.

The other girl was quieter still. She was crouched slightly in front of the blond girl, her hands reaching behind to grip handles of twin daggers that were tucked into her tight trousers, the jewels that were embedded in the handles glittering as they moved. This girl knew how to use the blades; she whipped them in front of her with lightning speed, hardly making a noise as the silver slashed through the air. Her E/C eyes were bright with the promise of death.