Beyond the Walls || L. Ackerman

Chapter 4: Arriving

The sky was gradually getting darker and darker as the night ride went on. 30 minutes ago, Captain Levi instructed me to steer our horse straight forward and we would arrive at the Scout Regiment's Headquarters in about an hours time.

I felt a sudden weight on my right shoulder. Cautiously, I turned my head slightly to see what was inhabiting the space above my shoulder, still in control of the reins. The sound of light breathing and small snores filled my ears. Or maybe I was just listening intently, solely focusing on the steadiness and the way his chest moved against my back as he breathed.

How could he be so peaceful and still while I'm fighting my own body to slow down my rapidly beating heart? I thought to myself. He looked so calm and serene. Quite a sight, really. Oh god, this was so unlike me. Am I actually debating on whether or not to leave him be? Why would I encourage his happiness? I actually abhorred it, in fact. I despised him.

Or was I just trying to convince myself that I despised him?

I nudged his cheek roughly with my shoulder that he was leaning on. He sat up instantly, straightening himself out. His hands that once hung loosely around my waist subconsciously tightened their grip on me. I found myself struggling to keep a steady breath again, like before.

"Are we there yet?" He asked groggily, voice slightly deepened from exhaustion. Just hearing his voice did things to me that I'd never felt before and I absolutely loathed it. The butterflies came back. I just wanted to kill those stupid little butterflies that danced inside my stomach without my consent. In an attempt to show that he did not effect me in the slightest, I regained my composure and answered him.

"We should be arriving shortly if your directions and time estimates were accurate." Silence filled the time for a few minutes before I felt him perk up behind me, against my back. He suddenly took hold of the reins while they were still in my hands and lead our horse to a secluded castle-like fortress at an increasingly fast speed.

As we drew nearer to the building, human figures started forming clearer in the distance. Levi brought the horse to an abrupt halt as we arrived at the entrance of the Scout Regiment's Headquarters. He got off the horse in one swift motion and offered his hand to help me down. I was hesitant to accept, but his hand was already closed around mine as he helped me down from the horse. I looked around. After spending my whole life tucked away inside the castle behind Wall Sina, literally anywhere else could now be considered home to me. For the next year, home would be right here. This castle in the middle of nowhere, which was actually located somewhere on the interior of Wall Rose.

"MARIAM?!" A voice called out to me. When I realized who it was, I responded ecstatically.

"Historia!" I ran up to my half sister and attacked her with a tight embrace. "I remembered hearing that you would be here but I didn't know if it were true." I said, still hugging her.

"I had no idea you'd be here at all! This is a complete surprise to me, but a nice one at that. I haven't seen you in forever." She pulled away, only to look at me and see how much I've grown since we've been apart. I mimicked her actions and saw that I was actually now an inch taller than her, even though she's a few months older than me. "What are you doing here anyways?" She asked curiously, snapping out of her reminiscing.

"Oh! I'm here to volunteer for the Survey Corps as a medical aid." I answered her excitedly. She just smiled at me and I returned it, it seemed we were just standing there smiling at each other remembering our childhood together. I was rudely pulled away by, you guessed it, Captain Levi.

"No time for socializing. The scouts have work to do, so I need to settle you in as quick as possible." He said looking straight ahead, hand on my arm, leading me to an unknown place inside the castle.

"All due respect, Captain, that was my sister and I was just trying to catch up with her after the Cadet Corps took her away for training oh so many years ago. Have you no regard for the importance of family?" I questioned him quizzically.

"Listen here, brat. I'm trying to save what's left of humanity so that spoiled rich brats like you, can stay in your nice little homes and never have to experience any real world problems. Why you decided to come out here is beyond me, but you're already here so stay out of my way and stay out of everyone else's way for that matter." I gulped nervously. He was never really nice to me and I hated him too so I should've been used to it, but for some reason the way he spoke to me bothered me deeply. If I weren't so damn prideful, I would've felt hurt.

"Yes, sir." I grumbled sarcastically to myself, but he heard anyways and chose to ignore it. We kept walking and walking and he even lead me up a flight of stairs before we finally arrived at a hallway with multiples doors on each wall. The walls were parallel to each other. Levi pulled me down the hall and opened a door on the very end. Practically shoving me inside, he leaned against the doorway, arms crossed.

"This is your room. Probably underwhelming to say the least for an entitled noble like you." He scoffed.

"Actually this will do quite nicely." I gave him a sickeningly sweet smile. "Thank you." I wasn't lying though. Anything could be considered comfy to me as long as I was away from home. When I say I don't really care for lavish items and all those sorts of luxuries, I don't say it to be humble or anything. I honestly mean it.

"Tch. Shut up." Levi sneered. "Your parents requested that your room be right across from mine for the sake of your safety, but to my personal dismay. If you need anything, I'm right across the hall so just knock. In other words, don't knock. I don't like to be bothered and I don't really care about your problems either." He sighed in exasperation and left the room, leaving me no time to say anything in response. 

I awkwardly stood in the center of my new bedroom and examined it all around. All the furniture was wooden. A small bed in the right corner against the back wall. A desk placed next to it with a window above it. A tall dresser on the left wall and that was it. I sat on the bed, it wasn't like my memory foam mattress back home, but not unbearable either. Though I could potentially leave this place in a year with chronic back pain. I stayed in the room for about an hour, just thinking to myself. It was quite boring, probably due to the fact that I had none of my belongings with me. I packed many books covering various topics to pass time if I ever found myself less than occupied, just for moments like these. I didn't leave the room. To be quite frank, I was nervous to go anywhere else in case I ventured to any part of the castle that I wasn't supposed to be in. I didn't feel like getting berated again by Captain Levi for being a spoiled, entitled, useless, princess brat. So I waited. I had no plan for how long I would wait, but I figured I would have to go out eventually.

I gathered every ounce of confidence I had within me to simply open the door and exit my bedroom. I was never given a tour of the castle Headquarters, as I was brought straight to my room but I do somewhat remember the route we took. I closed my door quietly and looked across. Levi's room. Knocking on his door was an option. I could always pretend that my main goal in doing so was to piss him off, when in reality, I just wanted to see someone that I was familiar with. Then again, I was too prideful to do that. It's really one of my greatest faults. I opted for finding my own way around instead. Making my way down the hallway, I heard distinct chatter coming from downstairs. Naturally, I decided to follow the noise in hopes of finding what I was looking for. To be honest, I wasn't really quite sure what I was looking for.

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