"You have some nerve," I scowled over at Levi, my nails digging into the palm of my hand.

"Look at yourself," Levi held open a pocket watch, my expression reflected back in the silver metal.

dear god

"Oh my god, you're right-"

"Right?"

"I CAN'T BELIEVE I'VE LOOKED LIKE THAT EVERY SINGLE TIME AND NO ONE HAS SAID ANYTHING."

"It's impressive, you're intimidating when you need to be, that's something to be proud of."

hold on-

"Are you implying that I'm not intimidating normally?"

"Yes?"

):

"I wanted to be hot scary."

Levi stared at me, smirking slightly.

HELP THAT'S SCARY

and hot

yes and hot

"Don't just stare at me say something-"

"I'm weighing my options," he rolled his eyes at me. "I'm not sure I want to feed your ego anymore."

that's literally your job

"Why do I keep you around?"

"To feed your ego," he chuckled, relaxing more as our carriage began to depart from the stifling atmosphere of the palace.

exactly <33

"My half-brother and sister are trying their hardest to damage my ego I need you to dote on me."

"As if it's working."

just a little bit

"You're right but still-"

y/n you don't need a fancy ring to be loved

I KNOW THAT'S NOT WHAT BOTHERS ME

THE RING IS DISPOSABLE

"Last time I came here I received an invitation from the first princess to attend a ball being held to celebrate the engagement of some young lady that she's close to," Levi paused, "it sounds like a shitty event to me but-"

are you asking if i want to go?

"I'd rather not see her for another five years."

"I'll decline," he nodded. "The place would be crawling with assholes anyway."

i don't want to make a scene at someone's engagement party

"Stop right there!" A loud voice called from outside of the carriage which came to an abrupt stop seconds later.

and we almost escaped

"Levi let's run away."

"On the count of three," he nodded, dead serious.

i do not want to stay here

"Don't think of running away," the voice continued.

i hate you whoever you are

"How many people do you think are outside of this carriage?" I began formulating a plan, "how many can you take?"

"It doesn't sound like they have us surrounded, we can just make a run for it."

WE WERE JUST ABOUT TO LEAVE THIS PALACE- LET US GO

"Let's run all the way home I'm tired already."

"One-"

"Duchess Y/N!"

oh- someone in this place knows my title

"Two," Levi nodded, reaching for the door handle.

it's not like there's someone out there who wants to kill us

i mean they probably just want to talk to us, or invite us to some stuffy event

both of those sound worse than death at this moment

i didn't even get to sleep in

AND I LEARNED THAT I LOOK TERRIFYING WHEN I'M NEGOTIATING WITH PEOPLE

"Thr-"

"The third princess has requested your audience!"

oh

"You're sure it's Historia?" I pulled back the curtains, sticking my head out of the window, "lying to a Duchess is a serious crime-"

"I'm pretty fucking sure," the 'voice' appeared to be attached to Ymir.

oh

in that case-

but levi's here

"Take us to her palace," Levi sighed, helping me out of the carriage.

help he looks so grumpy-

"What happened to you?" I murmured to Levi as the two of us followed behind Ymir.

"I'm holding a grudge."

FROM WHAT ???

"You look like you have a stick up your ass," Ymir commented, chuckling into her hand.

i mean i wasn't going to say it but-

"You have some nerve-"

"She's kinda right, you look constipated."

ymir is really gutsy though-

maybe she's confident in historia's ability to protect her

but i think she's more confident in her own ability- i don't think she would do anything that would hurt historia

whether that be physically or socially

they're a good match

"The third princess is an awfully careful person," Levi murmured quietly to me.

huh?

"What do you mean by that?" I whispered back, the two of us slowing down a bit to put some distance between us and Ymir so that she wouldn't hear our conversation.

"She has a lot of guards around her area of the palace, they're all members of her own knight order, not a single one of them is part of the imperial guard," Levi pointed out.

what is he talking about?

"There are only a couple?" I frowned, noting four guards stationed by various exits and entrances.

levi ???

"A few more have been following us at a distance since we entered this section of the palace, there are a couple of others hiding in various places around this courtyard." Levi seemed impressed.

instead of impressive isn't it-

kinda silly to think about ??

there are grown ass ppl hiding in the bushes somewhere- and my husband is impressed by how good they are at it

I stifled a laugh behind my hand.

IT'S A REALLY DUMB IMAGE

I MEAN I CAN UNDERSTAND WHY IT'S IMPRESSIVE

BUT IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT FOR TOO LONG IT JUST STARTS SEEMING RIDICULOUS

"We're here," Ymir stopped in front of a familiar greenhouse, "I'll let her know that you've arrived, keep scheming."

she totally heard all of that

she's a friend-

i think ??? maybe ??

"Could you kill all of them if they jumped out and started attacking us?" I asked Levi just in case.

"They could certainly try to do that," he scoffed.

that cockyness is going to get you killed one day

"She's ready for you," Ymir stepped out to get us.

alright

what do you want historia?

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i wrote one of the best chapters i think ive ever written this weekend while i was on vacation- im excited to share it w/ you in a few weeks

- amwahi