Servant

Chapter 17

Eren P.O.V

Today is the day that Armin comes back, and while Furlan is calmly waiting by the palace gates with me, Isabelle is standing on her toes and jumping around like an idiot.

"I'm so excited! It's been an entire month since we saw Armin! I can't wait to see him again! How much do you think he's changed?!" She asked us, expecting an answer.

Thankfully, Furlan did it for me.

"Enough as can be expected in a month."Isabelle nodded. "That makes sense... Oh, I can't wait!" She kept blabbering nonsense like that until the carriages came into view, which took fifteen minutes of this girl spouting gibberish and making me want to stab my eardrums.

I love you Izzy but sometimes you just need to shut up.

As they passed by and apprentices walked out, about seventy per cent of them were crying and left the castle.

They probably failed.

I felt a pang of pity for them but then panicked as I thought about Armin's.

Did he make it?

Armin's carriage was made of wood, just like every other one, but the horses were both white instead of brown or black and gold-encrusted the edges of the chassis. We stared at in bewilderment until he stepped out.

Instead of being his usual uniform, he wore a long black jacket that went to his feet and a red button up top underneath, as well as blue jeans and new brown boots, and, to my relief, a traditional witches/warlock hat that signified he was officially a witch's apprentice.

I was about to ask why he had such a fancy carriage when Mistress Rico herself stepped out from behind him. Her hair was cut to her shoulders so it wouldn't get caught in a potion or get in her way, but she was undeniably beautiful despite that.

Her hair was mist grey and her eyes were a beautiful blue that was so bright that if they were compared to the colour of the sky, they would win. She had the traditional witches hat and her outfit was just a short dress with no sleeves and boots that went to half of her knee.

We all panicked and bowed while she walked by. She only pat Armin's back and whispered something in his ear. Armin smiled and nodded as Mistress Rico walked into the castle, not giving us a glance.

Our eyes widened and we stared at Armin, our mouths agape, and Isabelle was the first to snap out of it before launching herself at Armin and wrapping her arms around his neck.

This was expected, but not when the force of Isabelle was too much and they both hit the ground. Armin seemed dazed as Isabelle mumbled incoherent words and hugged all living daylights out of Armin.

When the apprentice got his bearings, he chuckled and hugged his redhead friend around the waist. "Hey Izzy..." he mumbled as Isabelle buried her face in Armin's short hair. Isabelle pulled away and looked down at Armin before hugging him again.

"You're just as cute as you were before you left!" She exclaimed, and Armin's cheeks turned a vibrant shade of red, meanwhile, I tried to convince a nearby guard that Isabelle wasn't, in fact, trying to kill Armin and that he didn't need to get involved. He eventually nodded before leaving and Isabelle finally allowed Armin to breathe.

As Furlan and I sweatdropped at Isabelle's exuberance, they both walked towards us, and Furlan and I gently hugged his small frame. What made me laugh was when Armin had to readjust his hat because it was too big for him, and Furlan chuckled. "You're adorable!" Isabelle exclaimed and held her own cheeks in a dreamy state.

Armin blushed and looked at the ground with a tiny pout on his face. I rolled my eyes at Isabelle's antics before looking at Armin again. "So? How was it?" I asked, and he immediately got excited again."It was amazing! The other students were so nice, and Mistress Rico was incredibly helpful! Even though the place I went to can be horrifying, it was a lot of fun, and I also finished at the top of the class!" he exclaimed, making all of our eyes widen. "You did?! Armin!" Isabelle exclaimed, and wrapped her arms around Armin's waist before twirling him around. Armin yelped in surprise, and Furlan and I couldn't hold back our laughs at the surprised look on his face. When Armin's feet had finally got back on the ground, he had to hold onto to Isabelle's arm for balance as he reoriented his surroundings. For some reason, Isabelle seemed unaffected.