Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

"Don’t ever close your eyes, child," his mother had once said, her golden eyes bleeding streams of light into the darkness, the gleams and shimmers born out of the shadows flickering softly, like a slowly dying flame, as those dimming eyes fluttered close.

The sound of his cries were fresh on his mind, and so was the wetness of what had seemed like waters upon waters of fuming rivers running down his face, as his own drowning eyes caught fire for the first time ever since their first dawn on this world, mirroring the shine of the stars and the warmth of his mother’s fading glow. And so the hues of emerald seas and lime forests were gone forever, replaced by golden suns cursed to burn themselves out until their last blink.

Such was the fate of Keepers, guardians of the Lights of the Old World. Eren Jaeger, son of Carla and Grisha Jaeger, was one of such Keepers, destined to serve as a bridge between the golden eras of the past and the darkness of the New Age, to hold the flames of eternity for as long as he lived, just as his mother had done before him, and as her predecessors had done before her.

Every morning just after sunrise, Eren would walk through the Path Where the Sun Always Shines, a long, narrow strip of hidden land on the Northern Mountains of Sina, carrying with him the Old Lights that his kin had been bound to guard ever since the birth of the kingdom. Watchers lingered along the path, following his step with their keen gaze as the eyes of the King across the four corners of the kingdom, making sure that everyone, from peasant to craftsman to lord, filled their parts in his play. Eren didn’t know where they were exactly, not even how many there were—he had never caught sight of one before—but he could always feel their sharp, hawk-like eyes upon him. They were never at one place, but always at them all. They were the enforcers of order and law, the protectors of the weak and the defenders of justice—and, above all, they were a force of fear. They were the source of many, many stories from his childhood, haunting stories about ambitious, infamous and deeply unfortunate men who’d strayed too far away from their duties, only to never be seen again.

As he walked, Eren always let his eyes wander about, taking in the lengths of the valleys and clear skies englobing the world. Birds chirped and sang alongside the creak of tree barks and the trickling of the waters of nearby rivers, the calling of nature being the only indication that he wasn’t completely alone in that vast, empty sphere of green and blue. Most of the subjects of the kingdom of Sina had no idea that this sacred, hidden path existed, and even if they did, they would probably steer clear of such an uneventful, lonesomely meagre and narrow path of nothing but dirt and stone. The Path Where the Sun Always Shines was the only path Eren could walk through, since all other strips of land, even those in the immediate surroundings of the golden soil beneath his feet, were permanently threatened by darkness. The flames that he so fervently guarded could be easily extinguished should he ever as much as set foot outside of the edge of the trail, for he would be falling into the perilous domains of the Forest of Shadows, covering the mountains in specks of green charcoal.

His mother had always warned him to never leave his path, to never choose curiosity and the desire for freedom over his obligations, not only because it would endanger the kingdom, but because he'd be punished for it with his life. For once a Keeper abandoned the light, they were no longer fit to carry out their duties, and a new Keeper would have to rise from the ashes of its predecessor. Fighting the temptations of not only the obscure, cryptic lands surrounding them but also the darkness and desires from within was a task not fit for just anyone, and thus Keepers were treasured and regarded highly all through the kingdoms. It was a task accorded only to those who had starlight running through their veins and pyres in their eyes, to those fit to burn themselves out like the oldest of suns.

Despite his mother's words, he'd catch himself thinking about leaving everything behind in favour of searching a life for himself more often than he'd wished, just like the men from the stories of his childhood had done. He was consumed by the longing for travelling to far, mysterious, magical lands beyond his reach and meeting peoples of remarkable kinds, but the fear of punishment, the shame of breaking the vows of Keepers and the strength of his ancestor's will were enough to keep him anchored in place, submerged in his unhappiness. So as he walked, he would always make sure to drown those tempting thoughts away and stay rooted on his path. It was in moments like those, as he stared out at the world that he could only see but never touch, that he felt the loneliest.

Besides the mountains, trees and skies, the flames in his charge, their voice and their warmth were Eren’s only company through day and night. Of course, without counting the Vigils, priests of the Old World who tended to the flames in the Temple of the Light; and the Watchers, who always lingered one step behind Eren, but were never to be seen. But they were more like ghosts than anything else.

It was a lonely, restless life indeed, for on top of it all he had to stay awake at all hours with nothing more than his own company. Keepers of the Old Lights didn’t sleep. Not only did they not need to, but they couldn’t. The last time he'd slept... was exactly the day his mother had passed away. Her dying words were more than a simple echo, they were a hard-etched truth, one more peculiarity of their cursed physiology. For some reason beyond his comprehension, Keepers couldn't, for the life of them, make their eyes shut close, as simple and trivially easy as it seemed, and as much as they tried. According to his mother, it was because if they ever did, the light within their souls would smother out, and their lives would burn out along with it.

Not unsurprisingly, Eren once tried to see if it was true, many many years ago, hazed by an idiotic surge of courage and the blinding ravages of loss.

(His mother had just passed away— at the time, it felt like there was nothing else for him to lose.)

But there had been some unknown, inner instinct within that had kept him from successfully closing his eyes—he'd been, in all honesty, glad that it hadn’t worked, despite feeling a bit disappointed. He could only wonder just how much willpower it would take to surpass that instinct, to win over his nature as a Keeper. It was just like how even if you wanted to keep yourself from breathing, your body would eventually betray you, filling you up with the overwhelming urge to gasp out for air. Which led him to wonder, if that was something they simply couldn't do no matter how much they tried, then why had his mother warned him so fervently against it with her last dying breath? It was one of those things he would never come to know, for there was no one left to ask, so he preferred to just push it into a corner of his mind as he continued to drown himself in his life’s meaninglessness.

He would continue with his journey following the course of the sun through the sky, streaks of obscurity emerging occasionally and surrounding but never managing to touch him, for the lights of the sun, moon and distant stars shining on the path were enchanted to cast those sneaking shadows away through day and night alike. And so he walked and walked, the weight of the flames warm and heavy against his palms, growing brighter and brighter as the day went on, until he finally arrived at his destination—the Temple of the Light, greeting him every afternoon just a few hours before the sun set. Only Keepers and Vigils were allowed past its gates and into the Chamber of Lights, where he was to gently place the flames into the altar filled with the dying, dimming fires of the previous days.

Once the task completed, Eren returned the way he came, the weight of his empty hands a reminder of his lonesome, dull existence. Before the last lights of the sun went out, he arrived back at the place he called home, a small, humble cottage surrounded by fertile, holy lands and near the opening of the cave where the Lights of the Old World were burrowed in, the place where they had sprouted out from the depths of the earth many, many eons ago.

His main duty of the day being completed, he busied himself with farming the lands and tending to the cattle he got nourishment from; with dusting, sweeping and mopping the rooms of his empty home, and doing any of the crafts his mother had taught him. And so his days went on until they turned into nights, his restless, sleepless self doing any and all things that could help him pass the slow, unyielding numbness of time.  

And when night passed and the sun was about to give birth to a new day, Eren made his way into the sacred cave near his little cottage, walking through its damp, dark narrowness with only the glow of his eyes to light the way, going down and under and further and deeper into the most profound parts of the cave, where a room bathing in streaks of golden starlight awaited him. In its centre, a blaze of blooming radiance lay, beams and glimmers of ethereal, astral flames dancing to the tune of silence and turning the place into an ocean of lights from days long lost to men. The Lights of the Old World, as the prideful, picky beings that they were, only allowed the golden hands of Keepers to fall upon their warm, flickering forms, to listen to their hidden wisdom, refusing to be tamed or heard by just any soul; not even by Vigils, who were tasked with their protection inside the Temples. On top of that, only Keepers, those blessed by them—loved ones whose souls would be forever linked to them— and creatures of pure nature were allowed inside the cave, making it one of the safest, holiest places in the whole kingdom.

And so Eren reached out to the flames, enveloping a small cluster of them in between his two bare palms and drawing them out towards his chest, where he would keep them safe and sound for the length of the day until he could fulfill his duty of delivering them to the safety of the Temple, where their raw, brute, volatile forms would be transformed into the very fabric that made up their world. All around Paradis and scattered across the kingdoms, six temples as such existed; together, they were the soul of the world, its source of power and vitality. And, above all, the places where magic was birthed.

Just like that days came and went, flames upon flames of birthed and deceased light accompanying him through his loneliness. What were only days soon turned into weeks, and months, and then years, and yet, nothing changed in his small, sheltered world of only light and silence. And before he knew it, ten years had gone by since his mother had turned back into stardust, rejoining all those who had left before her and leaving Eren completely alone and empty in a cage of meaningless duty. He was trapped by the Lights, by the curse of his golden blood; forced to embark day after day in the same dull, monotonous journey without even being permitted to stray from his path, without being granted even a tiny speck of freedom. He had no idea what the rest of Sina or what the other kingdoms of Paradis looked like, what beings existed outside of the edges of his narrow, unfortunately sacred path, or what normal people with normal lives did day after day. He only knew of the things he’d read through the years in the numerous books in his library, and the memories of the old tales he’d come to learn by heart in those days when his mother had still been around to shower him with nothing but love and affection. And so he often found himself wondering how normal lives with normal duties were, how living without having to carry the burden of an entire lineage would feel like.

He occasionally allowed himself forbidden wonderings, too—what would darkness taste like, if he ever ventured into its core and took a bite of its supple obscurity? Smoke and ash, perhaps, or maybe the obsidian, soft fur of a ferocious beast? Perhaps, even, the utter blackness of starless night skies swallowing up the earth in fits of ravenous greed?

But he made sure to never dwell on those musings for too long, for he knew nothing but trouble and heartache could come out of them. It was no use wondering about things he would never be able to grasp. He would only allow such realisations to bother him for small moments, never too long to completely stain his life in misery, for he would always will himself to stay focused on his daily duties.

Even more days came and went, yet another season rolling by with slightly colder evenings and even colder nights, the warmth of the flames against his palms the only true comfort for the cold inside his bones. And it was in the middle of one such cold evening of autumn that a remarkable, utterly unimaginable event happened. The brunet had been returning home through the Path Where the Sun Always Shines when a particular sight caught his eye. Lying a few meters ahead and some steps away from the edge of the path, was the motionless body of a person clothed in white. Upon approaching, Eren realised the person—a young, blonde woman—was wearing a white, holeless mask over her face. A deep sense of dread consumed him upon noticing the small specks of red coating the side of her chest and the puddle of blood seeping into the ground next to her slumped body. He gave a step back, eyes widening at the shocking sight, head immediately snapping up and around to inspect his surroundings, for he knew he was not alone—Watchers always lingered around, keeping an eye on every breathing soul precisely for this purpose, ready to intervene at any moment, should the situation call for it. However, as much as he looked, the only thing he found was the odd sensation of being completely alone in the vastness of the mountains, the well known icky feeling of someone’s eyes on him wholly missing. And it was right then that it dawned on him, his eyes darting back to the lifeless body a few steps ahead, that this woman was one of the Watchers.

The reality of the situation came to him like a splash of freezing water; the shock and panic didn’t even allow him to feel amazement at finally being able to see a Watcher in person.

For a fleeting, passing instant, he realised nothing would probably happen to him if he were to leave right now and never come back, for the only Watcher in the area was, as horrible as it sounded, conveniently dead. But that thought was immediately dismissed—it could never be that simple, could it? He couldn't just selfishly leave his duties behind like that. Panic came kicking in. The echoes of the well-known stories of men who’d gone missing after neglecting their duties and disrupting order started playing out in his mind, and he could feel himself start to tremble. He had to go home right now and pretend like he'd seen nothing, lest the Watchers who'd soon come charging down to find the culprit think he had anything to do with it.

The rest was hazy to him, all he could remember being the weight of his feet and the sting of the air against his cheeks as he ran and ran for the first time in his life, the adrenaline and fear flowing through his veins like melted brimstone. He suddenly halted a few seconds later, a booming sense of dread consuming him, for something wasn’t... right. No, not the fact that there was a Watcher lying dead not even ten yards away. Something else. He didn’t know what, but he could feel it in… in the air, clinging against his skin, like a distressing, tingling heaviness that soundlessly called out to him. Maybe it was the thrill in his lungs, the absurdity of whatever was going on, the rush of emotions making the hairs on his skin stand on end. Whatever it was, he couldn't stop himself from wanting to know, and so any rational thought of the Watchers was pushed to the back of his mind by the overwhelming, wild curiosity now taking reins of his body. Hence why instead of running into his little cottage and locking himself inside like he knew his mother would have wanted him to—and like he would have done, had he been thinking more clearly—, he let his gut take over, and before he knew it, he was running towards the sacred Cave of Lights, leaving all notion of safety behind as he approached its dark wilderness, only to be stopped a few steps away from the entrance by another equally unexpected, outstandingly enthralling sight.

A dark mist floated about, covering the usually bright, luminous place in swirling shadows. He could see a figure looming from within the darkness, the figure of a pale, dark-haired being dressed in black clothes stained deep red. Eren felt himself freeze, the sight of so much darkness surrounding what he knew to be a sacred, holy place making him tremble in fear... and excitement, for it was the first time he found himself face to face with the world of shadows. Was this—was this really happening? Who, or what, was that being, and what was he doing here? What did he want? And why were there so many shadows? Was he evil—

Eren's thoughts were cut short when the being—a man, by the looks of his sleek, pale and clearly human silhouette—moved forward and emerged from the shadows, dark eyes sharper than the steepest of peaks and glinting silver immediately pinning him in place. He froze, feeling as if he were being cut apart from head to toe by those piercing eyes, strangely bewitched by the thrilling obscurity swimming in them. Mesmerised, Eren almost didn't register himself giving a few steps forward, coming dangerously close to the edge of his path. How could he stay in place, when this unknown, probably very dangerous yet extremely peculiar human was the first outsider he'd ever come across in his life, being the closest thing to getting a feel of the exciting, wondrous mysteries of the outside world he'd ever come to?

Suddenly, the man pulled out a bow from behind him, lifting it up and pulling back on the string to aim at Eren, the word threat threat threat written over each one of his movements. A chorus of voices from his mother and those preceding her screamed at him from within his bones, urging him to run away, to step back from the darkness playing over and over in his mind like a broken song, pleading him to go back into the light that would forever shelter him from all evil. But his ears were shut close and his eyes wide open, more open than they’d ever been, too enthralled by the sight of the unknown, mysterious and beautiful form in front of him to pay heed to any warning. So instead of pulling away like he should have done, he felt himself give another step forward and away from the path he'd never stepped foot out of his whole life.

In the same moment his feet came into contact with the soil just outside the path, he felt the whistle of the wind against his ears as an arrow flew past him, piercing through the spot where he would’ve been in had he stepped back instead of forward.

"Betrayer," a silent voice whispered in that short, confusing instant; perhaps it was the voice of the cold, harsh autumn winds mercilessly whipping his skin, or perhaps the screams of his ancestors, in a chorus of disappointment and fury that hurt just as much.

Only then did the spell break, the shock at the fact that he’d been so close to dying finally snapping him back into reality. He felt as though he were about to faint when he looked down and realised he was standing on forbidden soil, panic immediately engulfing him.

Oh no.

What had he done? How could he have been so stupidly careless? Why was he even here, instead of home? Why couldn't he had just ignored his stupid gut and avoided all this! He couldn’t believe it, in that tiny, ridiculous instant, he'd thrown everything he’d ever had, everything he’d built into the drain. All his life, his boring, meaningless life, meant even less now. He’d chosen the allure of darkness and the sparks of curiosity over safety and duty, over centuries upon centuries of his ancestors’ efforts—

And that was exactly why what actually shocked him the most weren't his own actions or the obvious consequences they entailed, but the fact that it was thanks to him disobeying his ancestors' desperate cries and breaking the one rule he was supposed to always obey without exception, that he was still alive.

Before he could continue mulling over what that all meant, he was pulled back into reality when he saw the man give a step back, realising he’d missed his shot, an expression of pain clouding his features. He fell to his knees, clutching one side of his chest as he growled in pain, before his eyes glazed over and his body dropped to the ground, unconscious.

Eren darted forward without thinking, again, taking in the raven’s wounds as the gears clicked in his mind— he must've been the one who struck the Watcher woman from before!

Ignoring the voices that were still shouting at him to leave and forget about the man before the Watchers came to the scene, he walked closer and closer until he was next to him. He let his eyes wander over his form, taking in the strong build hidden under bloodied robes and the sharp, fine, almost graceful features of his face. Unconscious, he didn't seem as dangerous as before, although the deep red hues he was covered in were still pretty unsettling. It was then that he noticed the faint, glowing haze of light coating him like a second skin, pushing away the shadows that lingered around his form. Eren would recognise those lights anywhere—the sacred, holy Old Lights that had apparently draped themselves over the man’s body, making him writhe and squirm under their warmth.

And Eren now understood why the raven had been standing by the entrance of the cave and not inside; impure beings weren’t allowed to enter, and if they ever dared to, their wickedness would react with the cave's purity, making them feel as if their flesh was being burnt to ash.

What on earth was someone like him doing here? And why had he fought against that Watcher? Was he a criminal, a fugitive, someone who had gone against the King and the rules of the kingdom? Or was he a rebel, a Wanderer of unknown, far-off lands, a soul who'd given up all notions of comfort, security and duty in favour of freedom and adventure? Or was he indeed a being of the dark, a Wicked One, someone who had betrayed the light and all notion of order in exchange for power and the charms of darkness?

Whatever he was, he was definitely someone his mother had warned him against. Someone dangerous. And yet here Eren was, outside of his enslaving, ever-present path, looking down at the unconscious, inexplicably beautiful frame of this stranger he knew absolutely nothing about, as if he were a blind man seeing the light of the sun for the first time.

He wasn’t entirely sure what drove him to place his hands over the man’s trembling body, commanding the flames he was so used to holding into ceasing their torture upon his hurting flesh. Maybe his blood as a Keeper, forcing mercy out of him even in the most unlikely situations; or perhaps his undying, suicidal curiosity and desire to know more about the alluringly dark man. Maybe, he mused, it was the realisation that if this man, this probably very dangerous man who had awakened such a deep curiosity within himself and represented everything he'd always longed to know, was the reason he'd thrown everything away, then he couldn't afford to let him slip away even if it meant putting himself in danger.

Soon the man’s contorted movements stopped, his face melting into an expression of relief as his eyes slowly opened, immediately sharpening upon noticing Eren crouching down next to him. His expression morphed into one of utter confusion after realising he was no longer in pain, sending Eren a quizzical, cautious glance that turned into something akin to disbelief—and was that... disappointment?—when he drank in the sight of Eren's golden eyes.

“You... you healed me,” the raven spoke, voice rough and gruff, coughing right after as if to rid his throat of any lingering pain. The dark, deep tone made Eren almost shiver in fear, his instincts screaming at him to get away before the man could try to kill him again now that he was no longer in pain.

“That I did,” he said slowly, cautiously, regret and worry starting to cloud his mind. What was he getting himself into?

But even if a part of himself was mind-numbingly terrified, desperately urging himself to go back home as soon as possible, another much stronger part kept him rooted in place.

And that part only grew stronger with the realisation that things would never go back to how they were before. He couldn't take back his disobedience, a crime that would cost him his life should any Watcher come to learn of it. He would be punished. He would be disposed of. He would become one of those nameless, forgotten people who disappeared without a trace from those haunting tales that had accompanied him through his childhood. Suddenly, that train of thought came to a halt. That meant… Yes, he’d be in danger, but only if he was caught.

No one knew yet.

Right?

A little voice in his mind insisted they did know, because, how could they not? Watchers must know, they must, they knew everything— But then, Eren remembered a little, crucial detail. The only Watcher in the area was dead.

Yes... he could flee! Leave this place behind for once and for all and finally make a life for himself somewhere he could be free, even if that meant cursing himself to bear a life of guilt. Because even if no one knew, even if he went back home and pretended to be the good little Keeper that he wasn’t, his conscience wouldn’t let him live it through. He couldn't just go back, now that he'd broken the commitment he held towards the Lights, now that he’d disappointed all those who’d ever been proud to hold the same title as his. 

But how would he survive out there? How would he even find a life for himself, if he had no idea how the world worked? And, most importantly, how would he hide from the Watchers? As many times as he’d wondered what a normal, different life would be like, he had never thought this far ahead. He'd simply never thought it to be possible.

But soon, instead of regret and worry, as the questions in his mind increased, other much different emotions started invading him. Notably, the foreign, much too exciting taste of hope. He knew in his heart, despite how bleak and uncertain his future appeared, that this was an opportunity to do all he’d always wanted, to be freed from the dullness of his existence, from the shackles of duty and his cursed lineage. He'd have the power to step into every corner of the world without anything binding him away. If this was the choice he’d made, the choice that had apparently saved him from death, then he would follow it.

And, deep inside, he also felt relieved. For he was not only alive, but also free. He'd spent his whole life wondering how this precise moment would feel like, but he'd never thought he'd actually have the courage—or stupidity—to do it. He'd known what was at stake, and he thought he'd been prepared to sacrifice his desires and dreams for the good of the kingdom. It seems he'd been wrong. And even if it had taken this strange situation and the presence of this man for him to finally snap, the decision to embark on this path had been his choice, and his alone.  

If he was being forced to escape from the Watchers and travel through the dark path of unlawfulness to save his life anyway, then his only option of survival and of fulfilling his dreams was to stick to this man, who clearly knew how to defend himself from both the world of light and shadows alike. This strange man was not only his route out, but his opportunity to learn about the world he’d always yearned to but had never been able to touch. If Eren helped him out, the man would be indebted to him; he would owe him his life. Eren would use that to his advantage.

"You have my gratitude," the raven said, taking Eren out of his deep musings. A look of confusion soon swept over his features, his eyebrows drawing in together. "But, why? You’re a Keeper, aren’t you?”

Before Eren could speak or feel reassured at the man's words of gratitude—that meant he wouldn't try to kill him any time soon, probably—he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, the feeling of dread in his gut and the same heaviness from before alerting him something was coming, and he had a pretty good idea what, or rather who, it was. At the same time, the raven sharply looked back, probably having felt the same incoming presence nearing them. Eren cursed silently, his worry growing; he'd had a chance to flee before, but now there was almost no time. The Watchers were coming, he could feel them. And if they didn’t know about Eren’s crime, they soon would.  

The man’s head immediately snapped back towards him. “What are you doing? You need to leave now ! Do you want the Watchers to take you away too?” he hissed, eyes darting around in alert, vigilant of every movement taking place around them. His comment startled Eren, who hadn't expected him to show concern for him.

“I can’t leave you here, not after all I’ve done. They will soon know I left my path and helped you. It’s too late.”

But, what would he do? What could he do? Take the mysterious man into his home and pray to the Gods the Watchers wouldn’t find them? No, there wasn’t a corner on these mountains that the Watchers couldn’t get into, except…

“Come with me,” he blurted out suddenly, urgently, bravery unknown to him pushing him to grab the raven by the arm despite the fear he felt, pulling him up forcefully into a walking stance and dragging his reluctant body towards the entrance of the cave.

“What are you...!” the man tried to resist, but his body was too weak and injured to pull away from Eren's force, eyes widening upon noticing where he was being led to. “Are you crazy? I already tried that, I can’t go in—”

“Close your eyes,” Eren commanded, coming to a stop right before the entrance, making another decision that would have surely disgraced him if any of his ancestors had been alive to learn of it.

“Why would I—”

“Just trust me, if you want to live.”

The man stared at him for a few seconds, his sharp eyes searching for any sign of danger or deceit in the boy’s golden ones. He didn't like the idea of depending on someone else to survive, of owing someone with his life, especially if it was someone he didn't trust. But he had no reason to suspect this boy, a pure, beautiful being as the tales told. Finding no evil in his eyes, the raven finally sighed, before pulling his eyes shut as he'd been told.

Eren leaned in and down, for the man was shorter than him, before taking in a deep breath of fresh air. He knew he was breaking another taboo, gifting his breath away to not only someone with whom he held no bonds, but also someone who, as everything led him to believe, belonged to the world of shadows. After a few seconds of keeping the air in, he breathed it out softly into the man’s face, blowing away the wickedness surrounding him.

Upon feeling the cool air against his skin, the man’s eyes darted open in confusion and disgust. “What the fuck did you just—”

“I blessed you,” Eren cut him off, feeling light and dazed for a split second, eyes fixed to the mist that was slowly dissipating around the man as if wanting to focus on anything but him, a slight flush staining his cheeks. “Now you can come in.”

"And how will we leave, pray tell? This place will soon be infested with Watchers!"

Eren frowned, searching through his mind, digging up something his mother had told him a long, long time ago. "There's a secret exit out of the cave, close to one of the roads that leads to the village down the valley. After you've healed, I'll show you to it, you have my word. Now come."

Without another word, Eren stepped inside the cave, waving his hand towards himself to urge the man in. The latter just stared at him, seeming reluctant to walk in; he wasn’t really to blame though, since the first time he’d done it to hide from the Watchers, he’d ended up in a state of withering pain. But as Eren's gaze grew increasingly expectant, the man breathed out in resignation, stepping forward with weak, shaky steps and closed eyes, as if to brace himself for the incoming pain. There was, however, none. Gasping in surprise, his eyes widened upon registering not pain, but a tingly, pleasant sensation travelling through his body. He felt light as a feather, and his limp and the pain of his injuries were but a phantom ache. 

“See? I told you,” he said with a smile, stepping further inside. A fleeting thought of warning surfaced in his mind then, worried that he'd done something awful by letting the man come in, but he buried it as soon as it emerged—besides, as long as they stayed inside the cave, no darkness would be able to hurt him.

"What is this... tingling sensation?" the man asked, voice laced with a tinge of fascination.

"If you're feeling that, then it means the Lights are working their way into healing you. Now come, let’s take you somewhere you can rest while you heal.”

“Why are you so intent on helping me?” the man questioned, narrowing his eyes as he caught up to the boy, inspecting the roof of the cave as if someone were about to come charging down at them. 

As they walked further away from the entrance, dimness started enveloping them, but the glow of Eren’s eyes was enough to brighten the way. “As a being of light, I have the duty of helping all those in need, even beings of the shadows.”

“Bullshit," the man scoffed. He knew Keepers to be holy, selfless beings, but how could that be true in this case? It was his own fault that the boy with the eyes of gold was now to be hunted by Watchers for the rest of his life. How could he, knowing his life had been ruined because of his mere presence in these lands, bear him no resentment and help him so freely? "Your duty is to guard the Lights, not to mingle with people like me. You should have left when you had the chance, the Watchers would have spared you.”

“When I had the chance, you say? I would be dead if I had. Shall I remind you who threw that arrow at me?”

The man shut his mouth with a click, looking irritated. “I wasn't thinking clearly from the pain, I thought you were another Watcher. And I meant before that.”

“I'm telling you. From the moment I stepped out from my path, even before I saw you, it was too late. Is it really that strange for me to want to help you, when I'm on the run too? Helping each other out for now is the most logical thing to do in this situation, don't you agree?"

The man hummed, not entirely convinced, even if there was truth in what the boy said. Without his help, he would be dead already. And even if he somehow had managed to escape the Watchers, he'd still be suffering from immeasurable, agonising pain. However, what could he give to the boy? So far instead of helping him, all he'd done was fuck up his life and ensure he would never go back to his peaceful days again, dragging him down into his own world of darkness. "Perhaps. But you see, I don't think I can help you. Bad things come to those who stay too close to me."

Letting out a little laugh, Eren shook his head. "That remains to be seen."

As they continued on walking, the echo of their footsteps was the only sound that could be heard in the emptiness of the cave. Eren's thoughts were, unsurprisingly, stuck on the man walking next to him; for all the things he’d heard about people like him being bad and dangerous, he didn’t seem so at all. But maybe he was being too careless. What if the man was deceiving Eren just so he would help him? What if he was planning to kill him right after healing his wounds? What if—?

“What’s your name, Keeper?” the man suddenly spoke, snatching him out of his hazy, increasingly panicked thoughts.

Taking a breath of air, Eren willed himself to take a grip. “I am called Eren. What about you, Wanderer? Where do you come from, and do you have a name?”

"I'm Levi," the raven said simply. “I come from Avernus, in the south of Paradis.”  

That made Eren halt, turning to face the man—Levi—with interest. "Avernus? That's a very long way away from here. What are you doing in Sina? And why are you here, travelling through these sacred lands?"

"A curious one, aren't you? It's better not to meddle with things that don't concern you," Levi said, fixing Eren with a glare. 

Eren frowned, not willing to let himself be intimidated by Levi's threatening gaze. "But it does concern me, you see. I'm the Keeper of the lights of this land, the lights that spared and healed you. Any business you have with them, you have with me."

"Are you implying I owe you my life because you saved me? Not only that, but my secrets, too?" Levi asked, eyes lit up with something dangerous.

Suddenly overtaken by fear, Eren quickly shook his head. "I—No. Forget it."

The silence that followed in was pressing and humid against their skin, their steps light as they kept on walking through the quiet cave, going deeper and deeper into the heart of the mountain. 

Soon, a source of light appeared at the far end of the passage, breaking the darkness that had accompanied them throughout the way and welcoming them upon their entering into the stone chamber that nestled the Old Lights.

"Is this...?" Levi trailed off, eyes widening at the sight of hundreds of beams and glimmers twinkling against the darkness. In the centre of the chamber, flames of all shapes, colours and sizes twirled around each other, their waving, luminous reflection dancing on the walls and making the place seem underwater. Even beings as dark as the night would be rendered speechless upon taking in such a majestic sight.

"It is," Eren confirmed with a proud smile, making his way inside and sitting himself down on the soft ground next to the flames, calling Levi over with his hand. The man followed suit almost hesitantly, his eyes still pinned to the gleaming lights surrounding them.

"So the tales are true," he spoke after sitting down and placing his belongings next to him, voice slightly hoarse, only now recovering from bewilderment. "Places like these do exist." 

As he observed Levi, Eren had to hold in a chuckle. It was funny to him how such a common, regular place for him was a place of myth for the man, when it was he who had surely traversed unimaginably mystical lands of the most wondrous kinds. He couldn't help wondering how much people knew about his kind—did they think Keepers were mere myths, too?

"They do exist. In fact, there are six of them. Is that something people don't know about?"

"Of course not," Levi scoffed, proceeding to take off the outer layers of his bloodied clothes, dropping them next to him with a grunt of disgust. "No King would want anyone to know. How would they protect their kingdoms otherwise?"

Moving closer to Levi, he asked, "So how do you know about them?"

"Didn't I tell you to mind your meddling tongue already, Keeper?"

Eren scowled, feeling his patience run out. "You keep calling me Keeper, and yet you seem to forget what that means. The Lights are allowing you to stay and heal here only because I asked them to. If I so desired, I could make them scorch you on the spot. You should be more grateful."

"Then why don't you?" Levi challenged, argent eyes dangerously lit by the red of the flames set firmly upon Eren's. The latter was momentarily rendered speechless not only by the intensity of Levi's gaze, but also by the apparent indifference in his voice. "I am grateful, but I didn't ask you to save me. You did it out of your own volition, claiming it was your duty. If that was true, then don't expect me to repay you with anything."

"You truly are wicked," Eren grumbled, irritated at how things were going. Levi's logic was sound, he had to give him that. But if he couldn't even convince him to answer one question, how would he convince him to let him tag along in his journey?

"Wicked? Don't be so childish," Levi rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. "I accept mean, but wicked is just ridiculous."

"But you are! Why don't you want to tell me? It's not like I'll go and tell the Watchers," Eren almost whined, growing increasingly frustrated.

"Then will you tell me why you're helping me?"

"What?" Eren barked, confused. "I already told you, besides from it being my duty, isn't it logical to help each other—?"

"You don’t actually need me. It doesn't even make sense, since the only thing I’m doing is putting you in even more danger," Levi cut off, observing Eren carefully. "So there must be something else. No one would burden themselves in such a way without a motive. What, are you a goblin, luring me into your cave so you can feast on me? Or are you working for the Watchers? Are you a spy from one of the other kingdoms? Were you promised some sort of reward if you turned me in?”

Reward? Spy? Goblin?

What the fuck? “Wait, what? No, I—”

“Do you think I'm a fool who deserves no honesty, then? Is that it? You think I'm a fucking imbecile, you brat?"

Starting to feel himself growing hot with anger, Eren hissed, "No, I don't—I never said that! Stop saying things that aren’t true!"

"Are you're calling me a liar now?"

"No!" Eren shouted, the flames behind him suddenly growing stronger, their blinding light forcing Levi to shut his eyes for a second. Taking a deep breath, Eren willed himself to calm down, as the flames returned to their initial, milder state. "I, I just did it because I wanted you to take me along with you in your journey."

Levi opened his eyes back again, fixing Eren with an unimpressed stare that somehow held some kind of newfound interest, as if just now he were seeing Eren for the first time. He then hummed, thinking over Eren's words with an expression that betrayed nothing. “I see.”

Eren coughed, looking away in embarrassment, wanting the earth to swallow him whole. But before he could try to explain himself or make things less awkward, his attention was caught by what Levi did next. He casually drew his left leg up towards his chest, grabbing the hem of his pants and lifting it up to the knee to reveal pale, smooth patches of skin marred by jet black splotches of a dark, sickly substance. It seemed like the substance was slowly traveling its way up through his translucent skin, becoming darker and more opaque the higher it went, almost as if there were ink splutters running through his veins.

Eren gasped, eyes widening like plates. Something clicked in his mind as he whispered, "You're cursed."

A second later, Levi sharply pulled the hem of his pants back down, covering the foul sight with an expression of contempt, almost as if he were ashamed of it.

"Is— Is that why you're being followed by shadows?"

That seemed to surprise Levi for some reason, his eyebrows darting up to the back of his head. "You can see them?"

Frowning, Eren nodded his head. "Yeah. I mean, not now, since the cave wouldn't allow it, but they were there when I first saw you. Wait— that's..." Eren trailed off in realisation, eyes flickering down to Levi's now covered leg. And all fear Eren held towards him seemed to dissipate in that instant, being replaced by relief because—that surely meant he wasn’t evil, Right...? Or, at least, he wasn’t a cold-blooded, hungry creature of the dark or a highly dangerous, despicable criminal. He was just a man, an unfortunate man, with a terrible curse.  

"That's why you're here! You want to break your curse!" Levi averted his eyes, not saying anything as Eren continued on, "I mean, you were right to look for this cave and not for the Temple of the Light, but in any case I'm sorry to say the flames won't be able to help you since they're not the ones that rule over healing magic—"

"I know," Levi cut off, sighing. "I came looking for the Fountains of Aforetime, not the Lights of the Old World. I knew I was in the wrong place upon seeing you here."

"Me?" Eren echoed, feeling lightheaded for a split second. "Why?"

"Because, as the old tales say, a Keeper with stars instead of eyes guards the Old Lights, not the Sacred Fountain."

"Oh," Eren whispered, dizziness now threatening to take over his whole body. "Wait, so you don't know which of the six temples is the right one? And you don't even know in which kingdom they're in?"

"Unfortunately not. As I said, it's not something you can easily learn or just ask around in the streets."

"How did you know where this place was, then?"

At that, the raven looked slightly upset. "The information I had gathered stated the temple was here, in Sina's Northern Mountains. My plan was to follow one of the Watchers until I found it, but I had to deal with unforeseen... complications," he paused, gesturing vaguely at his leg. "The Watcher ended up noticing my presence, and you know how the rest turned out."

Amazed and a little bit confused, Eren couldn't help to ask, "But, how did you manage to follow her long enough to find this place without the others knowing? I thought—I thought they saw everything."

"Good lord, if they did, we would all be dead," Levi huffed, pushing a few strands of hair out of his face. "There aren't lot of them, and even if they're quite skilled, it's still possible to outsmart and elude them. Besides, they don't concern themselves with normal, mundane affairs. They only take action when something highly suspicious and critical to the kingdom's safety happens, which is why that woman only attacked me when she realised I had entered these sacred, supposedly unknown lands."

Eren felt his lips part at Levi's words. All his life he'd grown to fear the Watchers, thinking he would never be able to escape their grasp, thinking he'd never be freed from them. And after all these years, learning not only that they weren’t as all-powerful and threatening as he’d thought, but also realising that there had always been a chance for something else, another life (even if not for him) was a refreshing splash of water. It meant there was hope, there was freedom for all those people living their little, mundane lives, without having to live in constant fear of the Watchers. Yes, he realised that chance wasn’t as strong for people like himself who were directly related to the safety of the kingdom, but it was for this man—this man that, in Eren’s eyes, each time looked more and more like freedom itself.

"Now, let me ask you one thing. You don't happen to know where the Water Temple is, do you?"

"I... I'm sorry, I don't," Eren mumbled, feeling quite idiotic. It seemed ridiculous that he, a Keeper, had no information about the other Temples, but that was just how things were. "Since a few decades ago, Keepers have been isolated from each other, so we don't really have any contact with any of the other Temples." 

"That's a shame. And here I thought you could be of some use."

Eren just frowned, staring up at him in confusion.

"You wanted to come with me, wasn't that what you said?"

Feeling himself grow hot with embarrassment, Eren grimaced. Right, he'd admitted that... "I... yeah, I guess I did say that. At least until you finish your quest, then I can figure something out."

"Why would you want to?"

"I don't have anywhere else to go. I betrayed my people and broke our biggest taboo. I'm no longer useful as a Keeper,” he found himself saying with a small voice, looking down at his feet. "Besides, I've always wanted to travel the world, see new things, meet new people. I—I'm sure if you let me come with you, I'll be of help! It will be easier to—"

"Taking you with me would be a burden. If someone catches a glimpse of your eyes, what do you suppose they'll think?"

"Oh, I... I hadn't thought of that."

"Of course you hadn't."

Closing his mouth with a click, Eren felt himself deflate. "Please, let me come with you. What am I supposed to do now? What I said earlier was true, I have nothing else to live for. I can't stay here anymore, not as a Keeper, not as anything as long as the Watchers keep looking for me. And I can’t leave either, since I have nowhere else to go, so I—” Eren paused, embarrassingly aware of how desperate he sounded. “I beg of you. Please, take me with you. Please.”

Levi looked down at Eren with a slightly grim expression, feeling quite afflicted by his desperation. It was extremely troublesome and a pain to travel with someone else, not to mention someone he didn't know, but—how could he possibly refuse the boy, when all the despair he was going through was his fault? Besides, even if it weren’t his fault, he couldn’t help sympathising with the openness and sincerity in his sun-gold eyes, shouting out to him with a strange sense of earnest, hopeful determination.

After a few seconds of staring, he finally looked away, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "There's no need for you to beg like that. I'm aware I do owe it to you for saving my life, especially since it was I who got you into this mess."

"Wait, are you saying that..." Eren trailed off, a smile immediately climbing into his face.

"Yes, I'm saying I'll take you with me. But," Levi paused, swallowing a yawn and fixing Eren with a stern look before the youth could feel too happy about his decision, "I can't assure your safety. This is a dangerous road, Keeper. Are you sure this is what you want?"

"More than anything," Eren replied without missing a beat, a new kind of fire lighting up his golden eyes. "I won't be a burden to you. I'll try as hard as I can to help you in your quest. In fact, I might be able to help you find and get inside the Sacred Chambers, being a Keeper and all. You won't regret it, I promise."

"Good, you better hold on to that promise," Levi whispered, closing his eyes for a second before opening them back again slowly. Eren gaped at the sight, enthralled by the way Levi’s lashes fluttered against each other when he shut his eyes close, by how the light in them was snuffed out for a small instant, disappearing behind pale, quivering lids.

And suddenly he was ten all over again, motherless and empty, trying to remember how that felt like. Blinking. Letting your world darken, if only for a split, sinful second.

Getting a grip of himself, Eren shook those thoughts away as soon as he saw them come. "You must be tired. You should get some sleep."

Levi hummed, nodding his head. "Yes, although I doubt I'll sleep more than a couple of hours," he said, before leaning back on his body until he was lying against the ground, using the puddle of clothes next to him as a pillow. "We have a long day ahead of us. It's better if you rest too."

"Ah," Eren breathed out, looking slightly sheepish. "I... I'll just keep watch. That's what I'm good at, you know?"

Levi rose an incredulous eyebrow up at him. "There's nothing to keep watch of. "

"I know, I know. I just don't need to sleep."

Rising both eyebrows now, Levi just shrugged—too tired to question him—before slowly closing his two eyes, the meaning behind Eren's words clearly lost on him. 

He wasn’t sure why he didn’t just explain it better, but it was probably for the better.

"Suit yourself, but don't blame me if you're too tired tomorrow. We'll leave at the crack of dawn."

"Alright. And don't worry, I won't be," Eren assured, eyes pinned to the man's now still form. Some minutes passed, the sound of Levi's breathing against the crackling of the flames filling up the emptiness of the cave, as he regarded with fixation the subtle, strangely soothing rise and fall of his chest. As minutes turned into hours, Eren kept his eyes trained on Levi for the rest of the night, once again surprised at how relaxed and truly harmless he looked when asleep.

Eren had never stayed this long inside the cave, not even when his mother had been around to show him all its secrets. What would she say about… all this? About the choices he'd made, the promises he’d broken? Would she be disappointed, angered? Would she have given up all hopes on him? This felt too unreal, like a dream. It was so incredibly unbelievable, and yet he wondered why he felt so unbothered and calm, knowing his life had taken a complete turn in a matter of just a few hours. 

As his eyes rested on Levi, he couldn't stop himself from feeling excited at the thought of their incoming journey, already imagining what remarkable, exceptional places and astounding creatures they would encounter. And, even if it awakened a sense of dread within him, the prospect of being a runaway was strangely thrilling. Soon, he lost himself in his thoughts of wonder, the steady rhythm of Levi's breathing lulling him into a pleasant daydream, full of magic and marvels.

And just like that hours passed in silence, until Eren heard the voices of the lights that called out to him every dawn urging him to take them into his receiving hands. A sudden ache filled him up, the fact that he would never again caress the warmth that had accompanied him ever since he'd been born only now sinking in. He didn't know whether the pain he felt was entirely his own, or if it belonged to the generations of people who'd guarded the flames for lifetimes and lifetimes before his, but it was a pain that would stick to him like a shadow for the rest of his days.

He briefly wondered what would happen to the flames now that he wasn't there to guard them; what the kingdom would do without a Light Keeper to take them into the Temple of the Light, allowing light magic to be birthed into the world. He knew a new Keeper would have to be found soon, for the future of the kingdom.

But the only way for that to happen, was for him to die.

Suddenly, his attention was caught by the rustling of clothes against the ground next to him as Levi stirred awake, stretching out his arms and repeatedly blinking his sleep-fogged eyes.

"Good morning," Eren greeted as Levi lifted himself up into a sitting position, sleepiness still glazing his features. "Did you rest well?"

"Too well for having slept on hard ground," Levi replied, rubbing his limbs as if expecting them to be sore, but he felt nothing of the sort. "This place sure is something else."

"I'm glad you did. Your wounds should have healed enough, too. Should we leave now?"

Standing up, Levi started arranging the clothes he'd thrown into the ground and gathering his belongings, before throwing a black cloak at Eren. "Yeah. Put this on, and let's hope it covers you well enough."

It was slightly small on him, Eren realised in amusement after wrapping it around his shoulders. "Where are we heading off to first?"

"You said there was a village down the valley, didn't you?"

Eren nodded, momentarily getting distracted by the laces hanging from the neck of the cloak until Levi sent him an irritated look.

"Then we'll go there, get food, clothes and provisions. We can't exactly travel with an empty stomach, especially not in this state," he explained, gesturing to his bloodied clothes and to Eren’s oddly pristine, priestly appearance. "Besides, we need to do something about your eyes."

"Oh..." Eren trailed off, feeling self-conscious for a split second. "Right, of course. Then what?"

"Then, we're heading off to Mitras, a city in the centre of the kingdom. We'll gather new intel on the Fountain's location there."

Soon, both of them were making their way out of the chamber, Eren giving one last glance at the place that had accompanied him through his days of loneliness, bidding farewell to the flames that had gifted him with their company and love as his only friends in the world.

They walked in the dark, Eren leading Levi through the narrow passages of the cave as they approached the exterior. Finally, their eyes were met with the lights of day, a forest of brown and green awaiting them on the other side of the cave's opening. The Forest of Shadows, his mind reminded him, but he was too wonderstruck to feel anything other than awe and excitement upon registering its deep, large width. They walked silently through its brown-green paths with careful steps, cautious and mindful of their surroundings, alert of any movements happening around them.

Well, Levi was the only one who was truly keeping watch, since Eren's eyes were irredeemably stuck to the sights around him. Even if he'd grown up in these lands and was used to the sight of forests, actually walking through one was a completely different experience. He couldn't get enough of the feeling of his feet against the damp, rocky soil covered in shrubs and mosses; of the uneven lights of the sun filtered by the canopies of tall, imposing trees falling like mosaics onto his face; and, above all, enough of the sight of swirling, alluring shadows dancing over the few tree barks and bushes closest to the ground, where no light was allowed to disturb them.

Around noon, they finally reached a much clearer and defined path that led right to the village. After a while of walking, Eren's breath hitched in his throat as the first few houses started appearing in the distance, his eyes widening when the sight of the main street, colourful beyond belief and brimming with people of all sorts, appeared in front of them.

"Careful!" Levi hissed besides him, reprimanding him for staring so carelessly. "Stand by my side at all times, don't stare at anything or anyone and keep your head down, for God's sake."

"S–Sorry," he mumbled, head immediately dropping down and burying itself deeper into the hood of the cloak.

Despite Levi's warning, Eren snuck as many discreet glances as he could while they made their way through the crowded street, drinking in all the sights he could. He noticed Levi looking around their surroundings too, sweeping his gaze over the various establishments lining the street and the numerous people passing by them. But unlike Eren, it seemed like he was carefully searching for something—or rather, someone.

"So... who are we looking for, exactly?"

The raven gave him a long, level look, as if deciding whether to tell him or not. "A witch."

"What! Really?" Eren exclaimed almost a bit too loudly, looking down immediately upon seeing a few heads turning their way.

Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Levi sighed. "Yes, really. We need a spell to hide your eyes."

"Oooh," Eren mouthed in understanding, but then frowned. "Wait, but how are we going to find one? Don't they hide away in forest shacks and the like?"

"Some settle in villages, living off the spells and medicines they sell. We need to look attentively. There has to be one here."

They continued walking, this time Eren daring to take a better look at the people walking past, wondering what kind of look a witch was supposed to have to be recognised as such. As they turned the corner of a bakery, Eren caught a movement coming from the inside of an alleyway and immediately turned his head towards it, despite his mind screaming at him not to. There was now a certain feel to the air that hadn't been there before, a metallic heaviness that didn't exactly fit with the light atmosphere of the lively, colourful village.

"You feel it too?" he heard Levi ask next to him, but he was too caught up in the almost electrifying feel in the air to pay notice to his words. Without really being aware of what he was doing, Eren felt his body move on its own as it ran into the alley, only registering the loud beating of his heart against his chest.

"Hey Keepe—Eren, come back here!" Levi shouted after him, but he'd already ran too far into the alley and then into a smaller alleyway to pay heed to his words. And he ran and ran until he reached a dead end, where, amongst the shadows, he saw the towering figure of a tall man with hands wrapped around a much smaller, cloaked figure's neck. Maybe it was his overly virtuous blood as a Keeper, or maybe his utter stupidity, that pushed Eren to lounge himself at the figure, elbowing the tall man on the neck and effectively making him release hold of the victim's neck.

"What the—" the tall man shot out in surprise, turning around to throw a punch at Eren, who narrowly missed it by quickly giving a step back. The cloaked figure took that as an opportunity to get back at its attacker, knocking him out with a hard kick to the head.

Once sure that their attacker was unconscious, the cloaked person allowed themselves to look up at Eren, something like gratitude swimming across their black, mysterious eyes.

"Kid!" he heard Levi's voice call out to him, right before said man appeared at the scene. In that same moment, the cloaked figure threw itself at Levi, pinning him against the ground before he could as much as register what was going on, making him drop all of his belongings. He wrapped his hands around the person's wrists a second later, wrestling against their force and trying to get them off of him, and all Eren could do was stand on the side, mouth hanging open in confusion as both figures fought against each other.

Coming to his senses, Eren stepped forwards, crying out a, "Stop it, he's with me!" which thankfully seemed to snap the person out of whatever trance had possessed them to attack Levi, staring down at the man in confusion. Right then, the raven used that instant to pull the person to the ground, rolling on top of them to trap them in the position he'd just been in. During the flip, the cloaked figure's hood came off their head, revealing the person to be a surprisingly young, beautiful raven-haired woman.

Before Levi could say anything, his attention was diverted to the woman's cleavage, now visible from his position, where a peculiar marking lay. "Who would have thought? This sure is convenient," he whispered, allowing himself a small smirk.

The woman's eyes widened, before she raised a hand to slap Levi across the face, "You disgusting—"

"Not that, you stupid witch," Levi said, catching her wrist before it could land on his skin. At the mention of the word, the woman froze in place.

"Wait, she's a witch? How do you know that?" Eren almost squeaked, not completely sure of what the hell had just happened.

Getting off of her, Levi stood up and offered his hand to the woman, who just glared at it and got up on her own.

"She has the distinct marking of one on her chest. Besides, it makes sense. The weight of magic was too heavy around this place,” he explained, picking up his belongings from the ground.

"Woah, that was magic?" Eren said, completely awestruck. Sure, he spent his days and nights taking care of the very beings that made magic, but this was the first time he'd come into contact with the pure, completed, real end-product.

“Life magic, to be precise. Unusual in these lands, but still common amongst most witches—”

"Do you need something?" the woman cut in with impatience, her black eyes flickering to Eren's golden ones.

"Is that how you thank me for saving you?" Eren asked back, giving a step towards the woman.

"I didn't need your help, this happens all too often. I was about to rip out his lungs before you interrupted me." At her slightly disturbing answer, Eren gulped, stepping back. It might as well be true, since she seemed to be quite a good fighter, capable of defending herself against Levi.

"What's a Keeper like you doing down here, anyway?" The woman frowned, eyeing the both of them suspiciously.

"We need a spell to cover up his eyes," Levi intervened, sending her a calculated look. "That's why we're looking for someone like you. Do you have anything that can help us?"

"For the right price," the woman answered, sharp eyes flickering back to Levi, looking him up and down as if to asses his worth. The raven stared back at her, unimpressed, his unfaltering, steel gaze holding hers for a few seconds, not the least bit intimidated.

In the end it was she who looked away first.

"Alright. I will help you," she said, setting her eyes on Eren. "Follow me."

They followed her back through the alleyway and into the street, where she led them to a small, ordinary-looking tea shop. Inside, they walked until they reached the far back, passing through a backdoor that led to an alleyway and then to another shop, its insides full to the brim with books lying about, shelves containing jars of all sizes with strange, vibrant herbs and vials with shiny, fishy-looking liquids in them.

"Woah!" Eren gasped, assaulted by the exorbitant, curious appearance of the shop.  

"Close your mouth, or a frog might jump in," Levi said, something like amusement colouring his words. Eren's eyes darted up to look at him in surprise, that being the first thing resembling a joke he'd heard him say. Upon registering the brunet's stare, Levi said, "What? Would you rather I scold you for running off like that when I explicitly told you not to?"

"Hey, thanks to that I found us a witch!"

Eyes twitching, Levi pressed a hand against his temples, sighing in frustration. Well, he had to admit the boy was right, even if they would've found her soon enough anyway thanks to the trail of magic she’d been leaving behind.

Meanwhile, the woman had walked behind a desk full of papers and quirky utensils, starting to rummage through the desk's drawers in her search for something. After a few minutes, the rummaging stopped.

"Alright, I have one thing that might help you. It's a spell that will change your eye colour, returning it to how it was before you were a Keeper. It can be reversed, but only with its specific counter-potion."

Eren's heart quickened for some reason he didn't quite understand. Maybe it was the excitement of being freed for good, if only in appearance, from the life that had imposed itself on him, returning to how things used to be in much happier times when his mother had still been alive.

He registered Levi frowning next to him, his lips pursed pensively before he spoke. "Good, we'll take that. What do you want for it?"

"I want a blessing from him," the woman said in a heartbeat, staring intently at Eren.

"What? No way!" the boy barked out, looking at Levi for help.  

"What's wrong? This is quite convenient, is it not? We won't have to spend money on it, and since this spell is for you, it's only fair you pay it yourself," Levi said, shrugging.

Looking down, Eren fervently shook his head. "I can't do that!"

"But you've blessed me before," Levi added, frowning in confusion.

"You blessed him?" the witch echoed in disbelief and slight amusement, eyebrows rising up.

"That—that was different! We were in a life or death situation..."

"Then you can surely do it for me," she insisted, stepping closer to Eren. "I don't even want it on me. I just want to store it inside a vial; it's for a potion."

"No way, you don't understand—"

"Okay, can someone fucking explain what the fuss is about?"

Eren closed his mouth with a click, averting his eyes as a blush started to stain his cheeks.

The witch sighed, sparing him the embarrassment of explaining it himself. "For Keepers, blessings are a way to bind souls together, much like marriage."

"Wait, you're making it sound weird!" Eren cried out, "of course that's not what it is! Well, not quite, I—It's more like a transfer of energy, a way of marking you so the Lights know you're with me, so to speak..."

Levi blinked up at Eren, seeming at a loss for words for a second, eyes slightly widened.

"I—I'm sorry, I—"

Levi cleared his throat, something suspiciously similar to a small flush painted on his features. "Listen, it's fine. I don't really care and I understand you did it to save my ass. Now think of this as a life or death situation too, and just fucking do as she asks, alright? Let me remind you we're here in the first place because of you. We wouldn't have this problem if I hadn't brought you with me, so don't make it more difficult."

Well, he had a point there.

Sighing in defeat and trying not to look like a scolded child, Eren finally nodded his head to the woman, who immediately smiled in satisfaction and quickly ran off to search for a vial.

"Here," she said, presenting it to him. Both she and Levi stared at him curiously as he reluctantly sighed, unclasping the vial and inhaling a puff of air before blowing it slowly into the glass, filling it up with his golden, silky breath. Putting the cap on, Eren handed it over to her, looking extremely embarrassed.

"See? That wasn't so hard," Levi patted him on the shoulder, which only made Eren sink further into his embarrassment.

After leaving off to store the vial, the witch returned with two more, the first filled with a purple liquid and the second with a red one. "Alright, purple one's the potion. Red one's for breaking the enchantment. Guard it safely, for it is hard to come by."

Eren took the vials into his hands after contemplating them for a few seconds, storing the red one inside his pocket and bringing the purple one up to his lips. After he'd drank its entirety, he started feeling himself tingle all over, as a daze fell upon him for a few seconds. When the strange feeling was gone, he supposed the effects of the potion had settled in and turned his head to look at Levi, who was staring at him strangely, with widened eyes and parted lips.

"Levi?" Eren asked hesitantly. "Is there something wrong?"

Blinking rapidly, Levi looked away. "No, nothing," he paused, clearing his throat. "Green looks good on you."

“Oh,” Eren mouthed, feeling himself flush. "Thank you."

Frowning at himself, Levi shook his head, turning on his heels. "Okay, good, now that we have this settled we can find ourselves something to eat. Let's go."

"Okay." Turning to the witch, "Um, thank you for the potions, miss... ?"

"Mikasa," she supplied, giving Eren a sudden, small smile.

"Yeah, thank you, Mikasa. Please take good care of that blessing and, uh, have a nice day?" he offered, smiling back at her awkwardly before turning around too and following behind Levi.

"Hey, midget," the witch called out before they could leave through the door, making Levi turn around to face her with a twitching scowl. "Don't you want anything for that?" she rose a derisive eyebrow, pointing out towards his legs.

"Mind your own business, Witch," he spat, looking away once more. "Good day."

And with no other words they left the place, returning to the streets with the mission of finding a tavern.

"You can look around all you want now, kid," Levi said, as a wide grin immediately plastered itself on Eren's face. He wasted no time to sweep his gaze over the whole street, staring up at the shops that bordered it, at houses’ colourful window frames lined with flower pots and wooden artifacts, at the quirky coats, hats and skirts of the people walking by, at the beautiful engravings on the doors and roofs of the buildings in their view, at those and all other sights he could, completely mesmerised.

They finally found a tavern a bit further down the street, making their way inside and asking for a meal for two. They ate in silence, as Levi had warned Eren before going in that one must always be quiet in taverns, for shady criminals loved to loiter around, fishing for information and victims to steal from. But even when his eyes took in the frames of the intimidating, buff and suspicious-looking men, he couldn't contain his excitement, eagerly looking around like a curious child as Levi merely rubbed the bridge of his nose in annoyance.

When they were done, they paid and left to look for the marketplace.

"Stay by me," Levi instructed once more, almost as if he'd known that only a few seconds later, upon entering the marketplace, Eren would go absolutely crazy with excitement at the insane amount of peculiar and unknown trinkets, handicrafts and merchandise filling up the baskets and carts of the shopkeepers and traders bustling about. They spent more than half an hour buying food and provisions, although Eren wasn't exactly paying attention to the things the man was buying and making him carry in a sack over his shoulders, too distracted with the sights around him.

"Alright," Levi said about half an hour later, snapping Eren out of his sight-seeing reverie. "We're done here. Let's go." Only then did he notice that Levi had changed clothes, looking way less dark and suspicious than before and more like an ordinary, harmless traveller. In that moment he also noticed that his shadows were still very much gone, for some reason. Was it because he’d blessed him? Or because the cave had somehow permanently lightened the burden of the curse upon his flesh?

Eren didn’t have time to keep asking stuff to himself, since Levi soon threw new clothes at him, telling him to change before they set out towards Mitras.

As they walked, Eren couldn’t help his curiosity and asked, "How far away is Mitras? And how do you know where to go, do you have a map?"

"About nine days on foot. It would take about three on horse ride, but we can't afford such luxuries. And yes, I do. Plus, I asked around a bit while you were too busy being a brat."

Instead of feeling insulted, that comment made Eren laugh. "To be fair, you did give me permission to look around."

Levi clicked his tongue but said nothing, the corner of his lips twisting up slightly in amusement.   

And just like that they walked out of the village and through the forest, always keeping watch of their surroundings for any signs of the Watchers. They climbed through hills and went down rocky slopes in silence, Levi ensuring they followed the way that would supposedly lead them to Mitras and monitoring their surroundings, while Eren was unsurprisingly too focused on sweeping his gaze over the landscapes and scenery around them. Every now and then, Eren would ask the raven about a particular thing he'd lay eyes upon, despite the latter's reluctance to entertain the boy's childish musings. He wasn't much of a talker, Eren soon came to learn.

"Hey, what are those weird, hat-shaped plants growing against the trees?" he'd asked at one moment, fed up of seeing them everywhere without knowing what they were.

"They're mushrooms, have you seriously never seen one before—wait, no, don't touch them!"

That had earned him a scolding. And yet, a few hours later, he was at it again. "Levi, do you know why the sky's blue?"

At which he had only received a, "What the hell, kid. Stop asking useless questions."

But when dusk had come and he'd stopped hearing the sounds of chirping birds around him, he couldn't contain himself. "Hey, Levi... do you know why birds sing? Do you think they get sad and lonely, and that's their way of keeping each other company when they're far away?"

He'd seen Levi sigh then, what surprisingly looked like a small smile gracing his lips. "Maybe, who knows? That would make us humans and birds a little similar in a way."

And Eren could only stare at him in something much like awe, his words making him feel strangely warm against the cold evening winds.

Night soon fell upon them, and when they found a clearing, Levi decided it was best to make camp before it got too dark. Without the light of his golden eyes to illuminate his surroundings, Eren felt strangely vulnerable, as if the darkness would be able to get to him whenever it so pleased.

"Don't worry, there are no bandits around these lands, and I believe we're deep enough to be safe from the Watchers," Levi assured, probably noticing his nervousness.

"Ah, it's not that, it's just, I—I've never slept out in the open before," he said, as the both of them laid out the two mats they would sleep on, one next to the other, tying a rope over them in between two trees and covering them with a cloth to create a makeshift tent.

Well, he'd never even slept before, but that was just a technicality.

"You'll soon get used to it," Levi said, just as Eren's stomach grumbled. With a smirk, he added, "Come, let's make a fire."

They gathered a few branches into a batch, before Levi proceeded to clash two rocks against each other to create a spark. After a few tries, a flame came to life, but it was way too small to hold itself against the strong night winds.

"Let me," Eren said, placing his hands over the flame as Levi regarded him curiously, probably wondering what the hell he was doing. Soon, the small flame grew bigger, turning into a strong, healthy fire.

"Looks like you are useful after all," Levi whistled, looking impressed, remembering something similar happening the day before, when due to Eren's anger the flames in the cave had grown stronger all of a sudden. "Is that something all Light Keepers can do?"

Shrugging, Eren sat himself down in front of the fire, its warmth making him feel like he was once more inside the Sacred Chamber, guarding over the Old Lights. "I guess so? I wouldn't know. I mean, I think my mother could. It does make sense, since we were supposedly born out of the flames."

Levi hummed, taking out two small pieces of bread out of his sack, handing one to Eren, who immediately took it into his mouth. "So your mother was a Keeper, like you? What about your father, was he one too?" he asked despite himself, not usually this curious about other people's lives. But a Keeper's life was something extraordinary, worthy of the curiosity of others, even his own. He'd figured the boy's parents were dead, but he could only wonder what had happened to them.

Swallowing the mouthful he'd taken, Eren's now emerald eyes looked down, shadowed by sorrow. "I suppose you're not familiar with how a Keeper comes to be one."

Levi shook his head, staring at Eren with interest as he started eating his own bread.  

"Well, you see," Eren cleared his throat, snatching his eyes away from the ground and fixing them on Levi. "Decades ago, all those who shared our same blood used to live together in a clan, near the Temple of the Light. There could only be one Keeper at a time, and upon their passing, a clansman or woman would be chosen by the Lights as the next Keeper, and their eyes would turn gold as proof of the burden they were now to carry for the rest of their lives. When I was born into this world, however, my mother was the only person around. Coincidentally, she was the chosen Keeper of her generation. I don't know what happened to the other clanspeople; she never told me, but only a few things could've happened, and her silence made it pretty evident."

Levi hummed, processing Eren's words. "And your father?"

"My father... He didn't belong to our clan. He was an outsider, an intruder, so to speak. I don't really know much about him, because a few years after my birth, he suddenly left. I have no idea what's become of him since."

"So you became a Keeper when your..."

"When my mother passed away, yes," Eren paused, sighing. "I was ten at the time. That more or less confirmed I was the last living member of the clan, since being a Keeper is usually never passed on from parent to child, unless, of course, there is no one else to pass it to."

"I'm sorry," Levi heard himself say, not sure of what else he could've offered, staring intently at the reflection of the flames dancing across Eren's green eyes, lighting them up like forest fires.

"It's alright, that was more than ten years ago. It's a surprise that after all those years alone, I didn’t decide to leave any sooner."

Levi nodded in understanding, resuming to eat his bread in silence. Eren followed suit, finishing it earnestly. Levi was done not long after, feeling the weight of the day finally upon his shoulders.

"I'm going to sleep now," he announced, walking over to one of the mats under the makeshift tent and lying down on his side, giving his back to Eren. "You should, too. I doubt we'll pass by another village tomorrow, so we'll be on our feet all day."

"Alright," Eren said, figuring that even if he couldn't fall asleep, he'd just lie over the mat and look up at the hazy, dark night sky. So after a few minutes of staring at nothing in particular, he finally made his way to the empty mat besides the raven as quietly as he could.

And it was only when he'd laid himself down flat on his back, looking up at the cloth hung over their heads as it was softly blown by the wind, that he felt suddenly too aware of Levi's presence next to him, too conscious of their bodies' closeness. His small, bundled silhouette was at less than an arm's length away from him, his body-heat a beacon of warmth in the middle of the night cold. His smell slowly invaded Eren's nostrils, a mysteriously pleasant, masculine scent as murky and wild as that of the leaves fluttering in the wind and of the fresh, damp earth beneath their bodies. He was even close enough to hear the steady beating of his heart along with the even tune of his breathing, resounding loudly against the emptiness of the clearing. If he were to move forward a few inches, if only a few, he'd easily be pressing against his broad, firm back, his nose burying into the crook of his neck and brushing against the soft, thin hairs of his nape.  

This was the closest he'd ever physically been to someone since his mother had passed away, and he honestly didn't know how to feel about it. Human contact was precarious at the Temple, the most he’d ever had with one of the Vigils being a brush of hands. This feeling, this closeness, was too much for him.

Feeling increasingly flustered and odd, he sharply rolled away from Levi, focusing his attention on the few twinkling stars scattered across the obsidian sky, wondering if perhaps one of those stars was what his mother had turned into.

Dawn came by sooner than expected, and the both of them quickly set out to take as much advantage of the light of day as they could. As Levi had said the night before, they walked and walked through the forest in the hours that followed, and not once did they come across a village. They stopped for a while to eat lunch before setting out again, neither of them wanting to waste any unnecessary time. And like that they walked in mostly silence, exchanging light words every now and then, once again busying themselves with staring at their surroundings, although with different purposes in mind. Night soon fell once more and they found a clearing, where they proceeded to set up camp and make a fire.

They ate quietly around the flames for a while, until Eren broke the silence, looking over at the raven almost shyly. "Hey, Levi? What did you do before you got cursed? I mean, did you have a job or—"

"What makes you think I'll tell you?" Levi cut in, looking up at Eren with a dark, fierce look similar to the one he'd been wearing when they'd first met.

Eren flinched, opening his mouth like a gaping fish as if to say something, only to close it right after. After a while of staring at the raven's sharp, bitter eyes, he looked away dejectedly.

Registering the expression of hurt on the boy’s face, Levi sighed, rubbing a hand through his face. "Hey… I’m sorry. Don't take it the wrong way, it's just not something I like to talk about."

"I understand," Eren quickly assured, waving his hand in the air for emphasis, eyes immediately lighting back up. "Then, could you maybe talk about something else?"

Blinking up at Eren, Levi frowned. "Why?"

"I don't know, I guess I just want to know more about you."

Levi leaned closer to the fire, resting an elbow on his knee and lazily placing his head over his palm. "Believe me, kid, I would like to indulge you, but I have nothing interesting to tell."

"I disagree," Eren said, his eyes unconsciously flickering down to Levi's left leg.

Following Eren's gaze with his own, Levi rolled his eyes upon realising what he meant. Despite not being very keen on telling someone about his past, he supposed he'd have to tell Eren about it at some point or another anyway, since they'd be travelling together for a while. It was probably better to do it now, and get it out of the way.

"If you want to know so badly, I suppose I have no choice," he sighed, rubbing his temples. "About a year ago, as I travelled through the Southern Avernian lands, I came across a very powerful, old witch. It wasn't a very nice encounter, on either part. She not only cursed me, but left me almost for dead in a land of darkness and shadows. The rest you know."

“And, this curse… what does it do?”

Levi clicked his tongue, cussing at himself for having accepted to tell Eren about this. “As it slowly crawls up through my skin, it takes away my strength and life force. Once it consumes my entire body, it's easy to guess what will happen. And as if it weren't enough, she cloaked me in a veil of shadows that follow me wherever I go, bringing upon me and those I crossed paths with a string of disaster and foul, nasty luck.”

Eren bit his lip, resisting the urge to grimace. “At least those shadows seem to have stopped following you.”

Levi only looked mildly surprised at that, offering Eren a small, cryptic smile. “I figured as much. That explains why I've had nothing but good luck since two days ago. I suppose I have you and your lights to thank for that.”

Eren felt himself flushing slightly at the man's words of gratitude, feeling happier than he probably should be. A second of comfortable silence spread between them, before he was at it again, fuelled by his insatiable curiosity. "But… what happened between you and that witch? What did you do to her to deserve such punishment?"

Steel eyes slowly turned cold, despite the ocher, warm hues of the flames painted across their vastness. "I took away the life of the person she loved most."

And Eren saw it then, he saw the form of a man engulfed by impenetrable darkness, wrapping itself around his limbs and squeezing the purity out of him like a ravenous beast. He saw the blue of his eyes stained as red as his hands and as black as the splutters marking his soul, his now dark silhouette standing over the almost angelic, lifeless body of a blonde girl of unpaired beauty, white robes stained deep-crimson and dripping into a pool on the ground. Deafening, gut-wrenching screams of profound sorrow echoed in the background like an ominous, haunting lullaby, as the whole scene was slowly engulfed by shadows.

"Eren?" the raven asked, staring at him in concern.

"W—what?" he mumbled, coming back to his senses. He looked around at his surroundings with wide eyes, taking in the dark green of the trees sheltering them from the evils of night, the brown of the soil beneath their feet and the vibrant reds and oranges of the flames dancing around each other.

"You were... gone, for a couple of minutes."

“Oh, I—I'm sorry, I guess I got distracted," he said with a frown of his own, mulling over the sight he'd just seen in his mind.

"You must be tired. We should go to sleep now, we have a long day ahead of us."

And so they found themselves once again lying side by side, their backs facing each other, Eren's heart pounding so loudly inside his chest that he was afraid Levi could hear it too. He couldn't stop thinking about the strange vision from earlier and Levi's words. He had said he'd taken away another life, he'd confessed to being a murderer; how could he not feel afraid after knowing that? It meant Levi's darkness wasn't a product of his curse—it had come well before it.

Panic slowly crept through his veins at the thought, heavy and constricting, and he had the sudden urge to move, to shake those thoughts away. Rolling over his back to his other side, he almost yelped upon coming face to face with Levi, who had apparently rolled over too at some point or another, without him noticing. Craning his neck and chest away with eyes as wide as plates, Eren had to will himself to stay still and keep quiet, lest he wake him up. As the shock wore off, he surveyed Levi's face with narrowed eyes, making sure he was still asleep; only then did Eren allow himself to relax, dropping his head onto the mat and curling up into himself. From this close, he could see every detail on Levi’s small, sharp face, like the little wrinkles dusting his skin. He could even make out almost every one of the dark, long lashes lining his fine eyelids. For the first time since they'd met, he wondered how old he was—certainly older than he appeared at first sight, if those wrinkles were anything to go by. Though the lack of a glare and a frown on his sleeping features took some years off him, making him look strangely peaceful and harmless, almost even content. Was he truly someone evil, someone stained by greed and wrath, a morally-dubious criminal, someone Eren couldn't trust? But how could that be? So far, all Levi had shown him was generosity and kindness, in his own crude way.

Eren breathed out, slowly, reminding himself that he didn't know the whole story—he couldn't just judge Levi of being a bad, immoral being without knowing exactly what had led him to commit such a despicable act, even if what he'd seen in that strange vision left little to be thought. Maybe he'd done it to defend himself, or because the person in question was dangerous and evil. In any case, there was no way for him to know without asking Levi more about it, though he wasn't too keen on trying. It wasn't exactly an easy subject to approach, at least not without angering him. And who was he to judge, anyway? ... Especially when he was a criminal now, too.

"Go to sleep, Eren," Levi suddenly whispered, voice thick with sleep, almost giving him a heart attack. He immediately stilled, eyes widening, not completely sure how the man had known he was awake. And how had he woken up?

Not saying anything, Eren kept on staring at Levi's face warily, waiting for him to do something. When after some minutes he didn't, Eren relaxed, assuming—quite naively—he'd fallen back asleep.

"Eren," Levi warned, this time opening his eyes. He was met with the sight of two startled, shaky forests of green staring back at him.

"I don't need to sleep!" Eren blurted out, panicking, leaning away onto his back to put some distance between them.

"What?" Levi said, confused and completely awake now, leaning up on his elbows to look down at the boy, his eyes adjusting to the darkness surrounding them. "Just shut up and go back to sleep."

"I told you, I don't need to sleep," Eren muttered, looking up at Levi like a little wild, lost animal.

"We all do," Levi deadpanned, now regarding him as if he'd grown horns on his head.

"I... I think I should explain myself better. It's not that I don't, it's more that I can't." At Levi's utterly blank look, he elaborated, "It's a Keeper thing. You see, we can't close our eyes, not even blink. The moment we do," he paused, his mother's forever haunting words playing out in his mind, "we die."

Levi blinked slowly, the cold night air mercilessly blowing against his skin and making him shiver. His mind was way too sleep-fogged to react despite the shock he felt, because, what the absolute fuck? Eren couldn't even blink? Wait, how hadn't he noticed that? "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I did say! I guess you just didn't understand."

"How could I, when you made it seem like you..." only now realising Eren had been pretending to sleep for the last two nights, he frowned. "Why even pretend in the first place?"

"I don't know," Eren mumbled, looking down at his hands as the quiet noises of the night filled up the void, echoing against their hushed voices. "It's been so long since I saw anything but light below my own skin, so long since I last let my world darken, if only for a few moments. I liked pretending I still could, like in the old times when I wasn't a Keeper. And now that I'm no longer alone, I suppose I wanted to feel a bit more normal, too. I'm weird enough already as it is."

"Being weird is no crime," Levi said, laying back down against the mat, sending Eren a curious look. "Although I understand, it must suck not being able to sleep."

Eren hummed, turning his body slightly to the side so he'd face Levi better, now that both of them were lying on their backs.

"So, what do you do instead of sleeping? Doesn't it get too boring?"

Eren let out a chuckle. "Nothing, really. Just stare around I guess. At some point my brain kinda shuts-off on its own, even if I'm still technically awake, so I don't really get bored waiting for morning to come."

“Is that a burden all kinds of Keepers have, or only your kind?”

“Well, only my kind. Other Keepers have different burdens, depending on who they guard. For example, Wind Keepers can’t speak, lest the winds inside their souls get blown away with their words. Earth Keepers can’t be touched, or their skin will peel off like dirt off a mountain. And Water Keepers can’t cry, for their life will be drained away through their tears.”

Levi could only stare at him in mild awe and horror.

Eren let out a heartfelt laugh, amused at the older's reaction. “Come on, it isn’t as awful as it sounds. And in my case, it’s even good! It means I can keep watch as you sleep.”

Levi snorted before briefly closing his eyes, the urge to sleep growing stronger. He wanted to give more of a fuck at that intriguing new piece of information, but he was just so goddamn tired. “Pros and cons, I guess,” he settled for, yawning.

“Levi, are you—”

“Yes, I am. Shut up now," he mumbled, blinking slowly. "Unlike you, I do need my rest."

"Ah, sorry, yeah. Go ahead.”

Eren watched as Levi's eyelids slowly shut close once more. Without another word, the latter turned away, giving his back to Eren as silence enveloped them once more.

Hours passed slowly after that, Eren feeling strangely numbed-out as he waited for dawn to come. He'd managed to put away the thought of the strange vision from earlier, if only for a while, although it was still present in a corner of his mind. It was better to forget about it, he knew. He'd already concluded there was no point in worrying about something he couldn't know for certain, something that probably didn’t even matter by this point.   

The sun rose not long after, accompanied by a sharp autumn chill and cold morning winds. By the time Levi rose, Eren was already up and about, with a bunch of fruits and berries piled up in his arms.  

"What are you doing?" was the first thing that left Levi's mouth as he stared up at Eren through half-squinted eyes, trying to get used to the brightness of morning.

"I was gathering stuff for breakfast," Eren replied casually, approaching Levi. He sat down next to him, placing the food down over a cloth.

"But we already have plenty of things," Levi said, confused and probably still a little bit drowsy.

"I just thought it would be nice to eat something different for a change." Shrugging, Eren ran a hand through his hair and lifted one of the berries up to his mouth. Levi followed the movement with his eyes, almost disoriented, taking in the way the boy's pink, soft-looking lips closed in around the plump fruit.

Blinking rapidly, he looked away with a frown—what the fuck was he thinking?—busying himself with inspecting the fruits now spread out in front of him. Picking one of the better-looking blueberries out of the pile, he turned it around in his hand to check for mould or bruises, before throwing it into his mouth. As the savour sunk in, he hummed appreciatively, very aware of Eren’s eyes on him and the way they lit up upon seeing his pleased reaction. If he was more awake—and less, well, distracted—he would probably refuse to eat something he hadn't picked out himself, something that hadn't been properly washed and rid of the impurities of nature. And he would have probably scolded the youth for being so reckless, going off who knew how far just to find those berries.

But, that presently wasn't the case.

"Well, you're right, it is quite nice," he said instead, proceeding to pick out another berry, inspecting it in the same manner as the one before. "Although I hope you're aware that fruit isn't enough for a proper breakfast."

"Oh, right," Eren answered quickly, flushing slightly. "We can have some bread too."

After they were done eating, they stored away the rest of the berries per Eren's insistence, who claimed such good food couldn't just be thrown away, despite Levi insisting they'd soon rot anyway. They set out not long after, once more venturing into the heavy, entrancing wilderness of the forest. After a few hours of walking, they crossed paths with a river of calm, shallow waters and quiet, soft streams, deciding to walk along its bank.

"Rejoice once you find a river, for a village is always close by," Levi breathed out, a small smile gracing his lips as he approached the edge. Eren rose a surprised eyebrow, not used to seeing Levi so oddly... content. "And, of course, for rivers serve as balms to our suffering, stinking bodies."

"Stinking... bodies?" Eren echoed.

Sharply turning to him, Levi sent Eren a strange, slightly impatient look. "Get undressed. We're having a bath."

"A—What? Right now?" he stammered, taken aback, following Levi’s movements with his eyes as said man started taking off his boots.

"Yes. Right now," Levi drawled out as if talking to a child, eyelids fluttering down in annoyance.

"B-But do we really have time for one?"

"What kind of question is that? There's always time for a bath, when the opportunity presents itself. Have you no sense of personal hygiene?"

He didn't really pay attention to Levi's words, too focused on his growing panic. He had never, in all his twenty years of life, bathed with someone who wasn't his mother, understandably so. Most importantly, he had never seen anyone else but himself naked. "I get it, you like being clean. But do I really have to bathe too?"

"Of fucking course. We've been traveling for three days, I won't have you smelling like a skunk any longer."

There wasn't much else Eren could say after that. He could only stare, disoriented, as Levi took off his cloak and then his shirt, revealing lean, muscled arms and a slim chest that extended down to a firm abdomen, and even further down to a nest of black—

Eren immediately looked away as if electrocuted, his cheeks burning like fire. He kept his eyes on the ground until he was sure Levi had entered the river.

"Kid, hurry up. We don't have all day," Levi called out from the water, oblivious to his discomfort. His pale, white skin glistened in the sun, almost as if were made up of thousands of tiny, twinkling diamonds.

Eren tried to keep his mind blank as he disrobed himself, doing everything in his power to not feel self-conscious, letting his clothes fall into a heap at his feet. He felt very much aware of the chilly, humid afternoon air hitting his bare skin, making him tremble slightly. Once he was done, he hesitantly turned around towards the river edge, noticing in relief that Levi was facing away from him, at least having the decency to give him some privacy.

He quickly stepped into the water, almost slipping on the smooth, wet surface of the riverbed, trying not to shake and grit his teeth as the cold waters touched his skin. After a few seconds he got used to the temperature, and he had enough courage to dip his head underwater.

As he resurfaced, he heard Levi sigh contently, eyes closed and head rested against the grass on the river’s edge, little water droplets running down the length of his long, arched-back neck.

Eren swallowed, feeling his entire body heating up. After pondering for a second, he decided to swim closer to Levi, and stopped a few meters away from him. Even though he couldn't really see anything from above the surface—or be seen—, he still felt a little bit uneasy. If it was from excitement or from nervousness, he couldn't tell. On top of that, although he couldn't really understand why, he was having a hard time containing the urge to stare (and gape) at Levi's wet, glistening skin, deciding to focus instead on the ever-moving, light-reflecting waters of the river.

Probably noticing his discomfort, Levi's lips curled up slightly. "Ease up, Eren. We're both men, there's no need for you to be embarrassed."

"I–It's not that, I've just never done this before," he quickly explained, hiding the fact that he did, in fact, feel quite embarrassed. "This all is a little too wild for me."

"What, bathing in a river? Don't be ridiculous," Levi snorted, "besides, isn't that what you wanted? To do wild, adventurous things in unusual places?"

"I-Yeah, I guess so," he replied, laughing softly. “I'll just have to get used to it, then."

They stayed in the river for a little while longer, enjoying the feeling of the water against their limbs and scrubbing off the dirt that had settled on their skin during the past few days. In one moment, Eren caught a glimpse of a black, inky splotch of liquid moving underwater, only to realise in slight dread that it was the mark of Levi’s curse on his white, pristine skin. From above the surface it was hard to tell, but it almost looked like the mark had grown in length since the last time he’d seen it, now extending up to his thighs. Did that—did that mean the curse was getting worse? He had no way of knowing, but that seemed logical, didn’t it?

Catching a hold of himself, Eren looked away before Levi could notice, not wanting to risk upsetting him with his prying eyes. He would have to ask him later, even if it wasn’t exactly an easy subject to approach.

Levi got out first not too long after, dressing himself up after letting his skin dry in the sun. Once more Eren had to focus his gaze on everything but the sight of his naked body, refusing to even as much as take a peek at him, his face almost heating up enough to boil the waters in his surroundings.

As Levi packed up camp, Eren got out of the water and dressed up as quickly as he could, almost tripping over his pants in his haste. His hair was still wet when they set out, neither of them wanting to waste any more time than they had, although Levi fervently claimed it hadn't been a waste at all. They walked along the riverbank until the first houses of a village started popping up in their periphery, painting the scene with even more lively colours than the vibrant green of the grass and the vigorous blue of the waters.

Once in the village, Eren couldn't keep his eyes to himself as they made their way through its streets, once more taking in all the sights he could, as if afraid they'd disappear right before his eyes. There were peoples of all ages and appearances bustling about, carrying baskets full of bread, fruit and eggs, pulling on ropes tied around the necks of cows and horses of different sizes and breeds and scurrying off to wherever their presence was needed.

They walked into the village's tavern and asked for something to eat, Eren's stomach rumbling in anticipation. This tavern's food was better than the one from the first village they'd visited, which explained why upon receiving their plates, Eren practically devoured his fill without much decorum, earning himself a disgusted look from Levi.

They continued with their journey once their bellies were full and their provisions replenished, walking through crop fields, grasslands and meadows until flowers and corn plants turned into the tall, robust trees that came together to form mighty, dark forests. And they walked on in mostly silence for the next few hours, Eren a few steps behind Levi, every now and then getting distracted by a curious stone lying on their path, or by an unusual bird flapping its colourful wings over a tree branch. Night soon fell upon them, painting the skies above their heads in red and orange hues that reminded Eren a little too much of home.

"You think we should make camp now?" Eren asked, gazing out at the shadows being cast out by the darkening trees.

"Not yet, these lands are not safe to sleep on, they're plagued by bandits," Levi replied, not bothering to look back at Eren as he spoke. "There's a village nearby where we can look for an inn, we should find it within the next hours."

It was unfortunate, although in retrospect honestly quite funny, how in that same instant the loud noise of horse hooves screeching against the ground was heard against the void of the forest.

Eren and Levi shared a look.

"What the—"

"Quiet," Levi warned, eyes sharpening into slits. "That can't mean anything good."

They silently approached the source of the noise, hiding behind tree barks and bushes as they moved amongst the shadows, until they spotted a thick, suspicious log lying in the middle of a dirt road. It was a few steps away from a refined two-horse carriage, surrounded by eight or so black, huddled figures in the middle of taking boxes out of it.

"That carriage is—it's being ransacked!" Eren gasped out, turning to look at Levi with wide eyes. "We have to do something—"  

"Keep your voice down!" Levi ordered, placing a hand over Eren's mouth to shut him up. "Listen, we shouldn't get involved. We need to leave, hope they don't see us—wait, Eren! What the fuck are you doing? Come back here!"

It was useless, though. Levi could only look in dismay as Eren ran off towards the carriage, disregarding all notions of discretion and good judgement in favour of... what the hell was he even doing? They didn't even know if the person inside the carriage was worth them risking their skin! 

Of course, Eren was aware he was doing something quite stupid, barging right into the wolf's nest, so to speak, but he just couldn't help it. How could he do nothing when a crime was being committed right in front of his eyes? So it wasn't really a surprise that he'd charged right in, throwing himself at one of the black figures lingering over the carriage's door, knocking him off with a punch to the head. He climbed into the carriage and swung the door open, coming face to face with a blond, clearly wealthy young man struggling against the bindings tightly wrapped around his body. Upon seeing Eren, he immediately trashed against the bindings, trying to shout something at him from behind the cloth clogging his mouth. In that moment, two of the bandits threw themselves at Eren, pulling him away from the door and into the ground. He struggled against their weight, trying to get them off of him whilst defending himself from their hits, which was proving to be rather hard.  

His arms were about to give out when he felt the weight of the men being lifted from him, Levi's face popping up into his vision.

"Levi!" Eren cried out in relief, looking around the road once he was on his feet. "Where are the others? Did they run away?"

"No, I took them all down. They won't be waking up for a while," Levi replied with a frown as he dusted himself off, looking particularly annoyed.

"Wha—all of them ?"

"Yes, all of them," Levi sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I had no choice, after you recklessly put both of our lives in danger, just to play hero to some probably ungrateful, deranged capital pig!"

Eren gasped, feeling incensed. "How can you say that? I had to do something! There's a poor boy in there, all tied up and terrorised because he almost got stripped not only of all of his precious belongings but also his life, and all you think about is your own safety?"

"That's a bullshit argument, of course I think about our safety, especially yours!"

Just on cue, the muffled, high-pitched voice of the boy was heard from inside the carriage, calling out to them. Eren sent Levi a dirty look, probably something like a fuck you, before he hastily turned away towards the carriage.

Levi crossed his arms in irritation, before finally sighing and following behind the boy. There was nothing he could do now that Eren had gotten them involved. 

Once inside the carriage, Eren started undoing the blond's bindings. Per Eren's insistence, Levi carried back the boxes the bandits had attempted to steal, placing them in the back. When he was done, he stayed by the door with his arms crossed, looking over with a raised, unimpressed eyebrow at the blond boy's fair, unblemished features and the fine, expensive clothes he wore below a dark blue coat. For some reason, as his eyes took in the shape of his hair and his big, blue eyes, some sense of familiarity washed over him. Did he know him from somewhere…?

When Eren was done, he took the cloth out of the boy's mouth, and he immediately broke into a fit of coughing.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"

"No, no, I'm alright," the blond sniffled, eyes swollen, looking up at both of them with honest, bright eyes. "Thank you, thank you both so very much for saving me! Without you, God knows what would’ve happened to me."

"You don’t have to thank us, anyone would’ve done the same thing," Eren assured, smiling down at him. 

"Still, your bravery and kindness must be rewarded. Tell me, is there anything I can do to repay you?"

Strutting around the small inside of the carriage, Levi swept his gaze over the fancy, intricate decorations on its walls. Alright, he had to admit this was quite convenient. They could do with a few gold coins and jewels; it would certainly make their journey easier.

"Well, for starters, you could..." he halted suddenly, eyes narrowing upon noticing a very particular crest of arms engraved on the walls.

"Is there something wrong?" Eren asked, frowning at Levi.

“You,” he said, turning around and setting his gaze upon the blond boy, eyebrows slightly raised in surprise. So that's why he looked so familiar. "You're the Prince of Maria, aren't you?"

The blond pressed his eyes shut, sighing deeply, looking strangely resigned— as if he’d been expecting this to happen at any moment now. "Please, there's no need for formalities. You can call me Armin."

"D-did you say prince?" Eren spluttered, looking between the two of them in astonishment, about to have a heart attack. Not in all his twenty years of life would he have dreamed to actually meet a real prince! 

"Indeed," Prince Armin said, smiling bashfully. "But please don't think that because I'm a prince, I won't reward you appropriately," he added, standing up shakily to face them properly. Eren could only nod stiffly, afraid that if he opened his mouth, he'd let out a very high-pitched, embarrassing squeal.

Thankfully, Levi was there to take reins of the situation.

"Oh, I'm sure you will. But before that, allow me to ask one thing," his lips slightly curled up, a look that coupled to his sharp, glinting eyes was, in all honesty, quite unsettling. "To what do we owe the pleasure of your presence in our kingdom, Prince Armin?"

If Eren hadn't been as nervously excited as he was, he probably would've made some sort of reaction at Levi's words, not being used to hearing him speak in such a polite way—especially after having insulted nobles so fervently before. But since he really didn't want to make a fool of himself in front of a freaking prince, he stilled as best as he could, whilst trying to seem as confident and in ease as Levi. Apparently, it wasn't working, because he soon earned himself a weirded-out, what the fuck are you doing look from said raven.

"I was headed for the capital. There are some issues I need to discuss with the King."

"You're going to Mitras?" Eren gasped, immediately slapping a hand over his mouth. Levi rolled his eyes as Prince Armin let out a laugh, probably finding Eren's nervousness a little amusing.

"What a coincidence, we were just headed the exact same way," Levi said, resisting the urge to elbow Eren.

"Truly?" Armin beamed, looking down pensively, "you're absolutely right, it sure is a wonderful coincidence. You could travel with me, if you'd so like."

Woah—what?

"That's a most kind offer, Prince Armin," Levi said, bowing slightly. "It would certainly be a pleasure to travel with you."

Eren could only gape as he witnessed the quick exchange, not quite believing this was happening. They were actually going to travel with a prince? How—how would he be able to behave in a proper way for so long? How could he control his excitement and not make himself look like an annoying, mannerless, stupid peasant?  

"It's settled, then! I'm sure you'll make great companions for the next couple of days," Armin exclaimed, sitting back down on the velvet seat. "Of course, since it's going to be a pretty short journey, I'll compensate you fully after we arrive at our destination."

It was surprising to Eren how easily the Prince had accepted to take them along, despite them not being noblemen and him not even knowing who they were. Was he being foolish, or was he just an abnormally kind prince? Judging by his generous, gentle demeanour and words, it probably was the latter. In any case, that reassured him quite a bit, making him feel less nervous and inclined to act in an overly proper, careful manner around him.

Speaking of travelling, Eren looked down with a frown, a little fact bothering him. "Um, Your Highness, there's just one problem. There's... no coachman? And where are your guards?"

"Oh, no! I had completely forgotten about that," Armin worried, placing a palm over his mouth. "We got separated from them right before the bandits attacked, and I'm afraid the coachman seems to have run away."

"Don't worry about it. I'll get us over to Mitras safely and in no more than three days," Levi spoke, approaching the carriage door. "For now, we should head off to the nearest village to rest for the night."

"Wait, are you saying you'll drive us there yourself?" Eren questioned, eyebrows raised.

"I've done it before," Levi merely said, his voice slightly strained. Eren sent him an alarmed look upon watching him walk away, only now realising he'd be staying inside, alone, with the prince. Was Levi seriously going to just leave him there?

Apparently he was, since without another word, he sent Armin a curt nod, before jumping out of the carriage and closing the door behind him.

"I... I guess I'll stay in here, then," Eren muttered, willing himself to relax and to act as natural as he could. He wouldn't want to weird-out or overwhelm the Prince with his slightly fidgety behaviour and irritable questions, would he? Though he knew he wouldn't be able to resist the temptation of asking him all about his princely life. He could already imagine the wondrous, intriguing experiences he must've lived through.

"Oh yes, please do," Armin smiled up at him, eyes crinkling as the carriage started moving. "I can't wait to know all about you two and your journey."

"Our journey?" Eren echoed, averting his eyes as he sat down in the seat opposite to the blond. "Well, I hope I won't bore you, Your Highness."

"I'm sure that won't be the case. Why don't you start by telling me your names?"

"Uh..." he trailed off, unsure of whether he should answer with the truth or not. Well, both of them were on the run, weren't they? He couldn't afford to give out their names so freely, not even to the prince of a neighbouring kingdom. "I'm called Ernst, and my companion is Leon, Your Highness."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ernst. And, as I said, there's not need for formalities. Please, just call me Armin," the blond insisted.

"Alright, A-Armin," Eren tried, flushing slightly at how shaky his voice had come out.

"So, Ernst, why are you two heading off to Mitras?"

"We, uh," he gulped, thinking of something that wouldn't sound too bullshitty. "We're visiting our sister. She's... getting married."

"Your sister? So you and Leon are brothers?"

"Yep." Eren resisted the urge to grimace, only realising now how stupid that sounded. Him and Levi, brothers? They didn't even look alike!

"That's wonderful, you must be so happy! What's her name?"

"...Mikasa," Eren said slowly, fixing his eyes on the moving trees outside the window in an effort to keep himself from grimacing, wanting so hard to hit himself. Was that witch's name seriously the only female name he could think of? "We love her very much," he added, trying to make himself sound more believable. 

"I don't have any sisters. Or brothers," Armin said, lips curling up into a sad smile. "You're lucky to have grown up with other people around you."

It shouldn't have made him feel as bad as it had, lying to Armin. But it did. He knew, he knew exactly what it felt like, to grow up completely alone. He wanted so much to say he understood, to make the prince know he'd suffered from that same loneliness too. But he couldn't.  

"I suppose I am. Although many would argue you're very lucky yourself, being a prince and all."

"Oh," the blond laughed, running a hand through his blonde hair. "Of course. I have everything I could ever wish for, and I've done more things than many will in their lifetimes."

Eren frowned at the Prince's tone. "...But?"

Armin looked outside the window, the reflection of the trees mixing with the blue of his eyes. "But being a prince isn't as wonderful as it seems. There are too many responsibilities, too many duties, too many appearances to keep," he sighed, "and not enough freedom."

And again, Eren knew exactly what he meant. He remembered clearly the pressure, the monotony and meaninglessness of his life as a Keeper, the desire for something more, anything at all. But, even so, his situation wasn't exactly like Armin's. Whereas the Prince claimed to not have enough freedom, even though he'd probably travelled through more kingdoms than Eren knew existed, savoured the most delicious, exquisite foods in all the realms and gotten to know all kinds of unique, prodigious people, Eren hadn't had any freedom at all.

"Then all you have to do is wait until you become king. Won't you be free then?"

Armin pursed his lips pensively, looking slightly upset. Eren wondered if maybe he'd said something impertinent, if Armin would be angered by the dismissiveness he'd treated his unhappiness with. But before he could worry, the prince's face broke into a small, gentle, almost hopeful smile. "Yes, maybe I will."

All remaining light vanished from the sky in the minutes that followed, the trees they'd pass by becoming indistinguishable from the dark void. As the quiet night enveloped them, houses started taking up the place of trees, welcoming them into yet another village. Before they realised it, the carriage had stopped in front of an inn, and soon Levi was there, opening the door for them. They climbed down, Armin making sure his cloak covered him well enough so as to not draw any attention to himself. A porter soon came to fetch their bags, leading them inside the inn.

"I hope this will suit your expectations," Levi whispered to the blond as their eyes took in the interior. It was a very nice, homey-looking inn, clearly for wealthy travellers, although not luxurious enough for the likes of a prince. 

"Oh, definitely, I'm used to staying in austere, cozy places, there's no need for excess."

When they arrived at the front desk, Armin asked, "I suppose you two would be more comfortable sharing a room, wouldn't you?"

Levi turned to Eren, confusion evident on his eyes. 

"W-what? O-Oh, um," Eren said with a grimace, for some reason feeling the need to avoid Levi’s eyes. "Yes, that would be preferable." 

When the blond was done paying, the innkeeper led them upstairs to show them to their rooms, handing them the keys before leaving. 

"I suppose it's in all our interests to wake up tomorrow as early as possible. We should meet for breakfast at sunrise," Armin proposed, unlocking his room.

"That seems reasonable," Levi agreed.

"Alright, then. Ernst, Leon, I bid you goodnight and the most pleasant of dreams."

From the corner of his eyes, Eren saw Levi’s eyebrows rising in what could only be amusement, probably at the names he’d chosen. Both of them curtly answered back with goodnights, watching the blond disappear behind the door of his room.

Once they'd made their way into their own room, Levi sharply turned to Eren. "So, Ernst, what was all that about? What did you tell him?"

"I told him we were brothers," Eren quickly said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, afraid that having gone ahead without permission and telling Armin so many things—even if they were lies—might have upset Levi. "I just figured we wouldn't have to explain anything with that as an excuse. And when he asked for our names, I thought you wouldn't want anyone knowing our real ones, so I made those ones up."

The raven hummed. "Good. That was smart of you."

Eren was slightly thrown aback by that. It was a compliment, wasn’t it? Wait, or was Levi just being sarcastic? "Do… you mean that?"

"Why wouldn't I? I know you're astute, kid. If I didn't, do you think I would've trusted you to stay inside the carriage with the prince?"

"I-I suppose not," Eren stammered, cheeks flushing slightly as he tried to fight down a smile.

"What else did he ask? I'm sure he must've been quite curious," Levi continued, walking over to one of the beds before sitting down. Eren followed suit, sitting down on the empty one.

"He asked what business we had in Mitras. I didn't really know what to say, so I said we were going to our sister's wedding."

"You sure got inspired, huh, little brother?" Levi teased, allowing a small smile to grace his lips.

Eren laughed lightly, shaking his head. "I still can't believe that out of all the nobles out there, we had to stumble across a freaking prince."

"What’s this we I’m hearing? It was you who got us involved despite—"

"—despite you telling me not to, yeah, yeah, I know." Eren rolled his eyes in fake annoyance, although his smile gave him away.

"Well," Levi said, eyes glinting in amusement and something else Eren couldn't quite place, "I can't say I complain, since it shortened our journey by a good six days."

"You're welcome, then," Eren joked, doing a mock-reverence. "Next time, you should just let me throw myself at danger without reproach. Maybe I'll find us a unicorn, a leprechaun or a dragon’s gold."

"As tempting as that sounds, you know I won't," Levi said, leaning back against the bed with a yawn. Eren merely grinned, letting his eyes land on the dark night sky peeking at them through the windows.

After a few seconds of silence, Levi spoke again. "Alright, it’s gotten pretty late. I think we should sleep now—or, well, I should, whatever. Can you blow off the candles?"

"Sure," Eren replied, standing up from the bed. A few seconds later, the room was engulfed by darkness. "Goodnight, Levi."

"Goodnight, kid."

Eren spent the night sitting on his bed, thinking about nothing in particular despite having a great deal of things to think about. It was best to avoid them, and thankfully, he was good at that. Every now and then he would pace around the room, finding himself more often than not stopping in front of Levi's bed and watching over his sleeping, dim features. He didn't really know why, but he enjoyed watching him sleep. He just looked so calm, so peaceful and vulnerable, enticingly so. It was probably very... creepy, but it wasn't as if he had anything better to do.

Morning soon came, and they made their way downstairs to the breakfast hall, where Armin was waiting for them. They exchanged curt words and stories as they ate, Armin taking that time as an opportunity to practically interrogate Levi with enthusiasm, since he had yet to talk to him like he'd done with Eren. When they were done eating, they wasted no time to go fetch their things and leave the inn. Once again, Eren sat inside the carriage with Armin, listening to tales of his homeland and his travels across nothing less than wonderful, bizarre lands full of strange, mythical creatures and wondrous peoples of colours and cultures he didn’t know existed. It was so fascinating, so utterly absorbing, that he didn't even notice when morning turned into afternoon, not until Levi stopped the carriage for lunch. Armin had been carrying with him meat and vegetables, which he kindly shared in exchange for bread. They continued with the journey after they were done eating, the Prince resuming the tale where he'd left it off. Every now and then, he would ask Eren about his life, and Eren would be forced to lie about how he'd grown up with Leon and Mikasa in a nice, peaceful fishing village in the North of Sina.

"When it comes to me, I have no idea how to fish or even hunt. I probably wouldn't survive alone a day out in the wild," Armin said, trying to sound casual, yet sounding a little pitiful and self-deprecating.

"Oh, I'm sure that's not true. You would get the hang of it pretty quickly, it's not something that requires much skill or artful mastery," Eren assured, feeling a bit guilty about having to be so untruthful to the Prince, when he didn't even know how to do those things himself. "Besides, I'm sure there must be many other things you're much more skilled at, like sword fights and battle strategies."

"Right. Because I'm a prince," Armin muttered, looking slightly dejected.

Eren furrowed his brows, not understanding the Prince's sudden change in mood. He knew Armin wasn't exactly all too pleased about being a prince, but why was he this upset? Maybe he didn't think he was truly capable or worthy of being one, a feeling he knew well.

For some reason, Eren felt the sudden urge to reassure the blond, to convince him that he was the smartest, worthiest and most noble prince of them all, but he couldn't just tell him that when he didn't even know if it was true, or else it'd sound like cheap flattery. He didn't really know much about the prince after all, despite, strangely, feeling like he knew him all too well.

"If it's not too discourteous of me to ask," he said instead, setting his eyes upon the blond's, "Is there something you wish you could've been, if you had never been born a prince?"

"There is," Armin's lips pulled up into a little smile and he dropped his eyes down, his expression becoming slightly dreamy. "I've always wanted to be a sailor."

"A sailor?" Eren echoed, finding the blond's answer odd, yet somehow fitting. "I see. It must be an exciting life, full of travels and adventures. Is there's somewhere in particular you'd like to go?"

"There's not really a place, I just want to go wherever the winds take me. Anywhere,” Armin enthused, a gentle yet passionate gleam lighting up his eyes not unlike the last lights of a setting sun reflected on vast, clear ocean waters. "That way, I would always be free."

Eren could only smile in response, feeling warmth spreading through his body at the thought of the prince's heartfelt, unattainable dream.

Slowly and imperceptibly, evening and then night came once more as they arrived at yet another village with slightly less colourful houses and less colourful people than the ones before. According to Armin, that was a sign they were arriving at Sina's core, getting farther and farther away from the modesty, vitality and peace of the countryside. They managed to find a nice inn to rest in, paying for similar room arrangements as the day before.

And it was only when the first streaks of sunlight lit up the sky that Eren realised, as he looked over the quiet, dormant village through the inn's narrow windows, how odd the slightly taller, narrower, more refined yet somehow gloomier houses and buildings of the village looked, in comparison to those he'd grown used to seeing in all the previous villages. After breakfast and once aboard the carriage, as they passed by those same grayish, bleak and depressingly somber houses, he couldn’t help to voice his curiosity to the Prince.

"Whatever do you mean?" Armin replied, looking strangely tense as he smiled up at Eren in apparent confusion, eyes glimmering ambiguously.

"I don't know, It's just," Eren frowned, trying to read the prince’s expression. "Other villages don't look quite as… as abandoned, somber and dimmed out as this one, despite them being clearly poorer."

The prince's smile faltered for a second, before it was up again. "This isn't exactly a village, it's more like a small city. It's bound to be dirtier and more chaotic, don't you think?"

"Well, yes, but that's not what I mean. It's almost as if there was some sort of dark weight lurking about, sucking the light out of every street, house and person in sight."

Armin pursed his lips, shrugging his shoulders. "Really? I haven't noticed anything of the sort. Maybe you're imagining things."

"I'm not," Eren shot in indignation, only to close his mouth with a click a second later, realising his impertinence. "I–I apologise, Your Highness, it's just," he paused, looking up at Armin in exasperation, "I feel something here. I—I can't explain it, but every time I feel this way, it means something's off. Terribly off."

Armin blinked up at him a couple of times, appearing clueless and confused, yet calculatedly so. Eren kept on staring at him determinedly, unwilling to give up, searching for an answer in those big, blue eyes and trying to understand why he was suddenly acting in such an odd, strained manner.

After a while of intense staring, Eren knew he'd won when Armin finally averted his eyes, sighing in defeat and running a hand through his blond locks.

"This is troublesome," the Prince muttered as he shook his head, looking slightly upset. "I'm not supposed to speak word of this to anyone."

Eren only leaned in closer to the Prince, feeling himself growing more and more desperately curious by the second.

"It's… not just this village. As of a few days, every village, especially those farther away from the North of Sina, find themselves in this plight. I was in Rose when I was informed there had been an... incident, so to speak. Of the magical sort. The light enchantments and protection spells that guard and strengthen Maria, and it seems now Sina and probably the rest of Paradis too, are slowly vanishing. It can only mean one thing, and it is the responsibility of Sina's King to deal with it, per the agreement he holds with all the other kingdoms."

Eren felt a heavy weight settle in his gut at those words, and had to forcefully stop himself from wincing in horror. This— was this what he thought it was? Levelling his voice, he asked, "And what was this incident about?"

Looking quite conflicted, Armin bit his lip. "I'm afraid I've told you enough."

Eren tried not to look too disappointed and nodded, focusing his attention on the road.

Shit.

He willed himself to drown the panic, frustration and guilt that were slowly filling him up as the words further sank in. Even if the Prince hadn’t exactly told him what was going on, he’d told him enough. Enough for him to realise it was exactly as he feared: whatever was going on, it was all his fault.  

"Don't worry, I don't really understand any of it,” he claimed, making a big effort so his voice would sound steady, lest he make himself seem suspicious.

That seemed to work, for Armin's seriousness melted away into a soft laugh before he said, "Well, you know what the say. Ignorance is bliss."

"Yeah," Eren huffed, shifting in his seat. "It must be a burden, dealing with matters of such importance on a daily basis. You weren't lying when you said it was tough to be a prince."

“It's a royal pain,” Armin said, grinning wide as Eren let out a laugh at his very bad play on words.

As morning went on, they continued talking about the same sort of light, mundane things as the day before, namely the blond's adventures and his exciting yet taxing life as a prince, and in equal measure about Eren's made-up, peaceful and idyllic and life as a countryboy. And in between stories they laughed and laughed, throwing witty words and jokes at each other, a permanent smile making its way into Eren’s face for the rest of the voyage. His eyes were practically bursting out with glee—not only was he lucky enough to be exchanging words with a prince, delighting Eren’s ears with the most incredible tales, but he’d also managed to get wonderfully along with him. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had so much fun. Was this what having a friend felt like?

They passed by another somber village a bit after midday and stopped for lunch, setting out soon after to take advantage of daylight. And soon enough, the blue of the sky turned into soft oranges and pinks, just as they reached the gates of Mitras. Before he could notice how much time had passed, the carriage had already stopped, and soon Levi was right next to them, opening the door.

"Here we are, in Mitras at last,” Levi said, looking up at Armin. At those words, Eren couldn’t help feeling a pang of disappointment. "I trust you've arranged for someone to lead you to the castle?"  

"I have, you needn't worry. What about you?"

"We'll find our way to an inn easily enough."

The prince nodded and stood up, before approaching the carriage door and handing a pouch over to Levi. "Here, this is the rest of what I promised you."

"We're most grateful for your kindness, Prince Armin. It will be remembered."

Armin smiled, shaking his head. "Thank you, Leon, for bringing us safely, just as you promised. You'd make a wonderful knight. I wish you'd work for me," Armin joked, making Levi let out a small, sincere laugh.  

"Your words honour me, Your Highness. I hope your journey ends with success." Levi then bowed his head, bidding farewell to Armin. Before leaving the carriage, he looked over at Eren, beckoning him with a jerk of the head to get out too.

"I suppose this is goodbye, then," Eren said, smiling down at Armin, feeling increasingly saddened by the fact that their journey had come to an end. He'd really enjoyed meeting the prince and exchanging not only words but also countless stories and smiles with him. His only regret was not being able to be completely truthful to him.

"If we ever cross paths again, it will be as friends," Armin stated, his gentle smile becoming wider with promise as he reached a hand out towards Eren, which the latter took gladly in his own. "Until then, I wish you two and your sister a prosperous, happy life."

"Thank you," Eren smiled back, wide, toothy and warm like a summer sun. "And I wish for all of your dreams to become true, someday."

The expression Armin made then, blue eyes shining with the sweetness of wish and hope, would remain with him for as long as he lived.

Giving one final nod, Eren climbed down from the carriage, following behind Levi as they made their way past the guards and through the city gates, trying not to turn back to sneak one more glance at the prince.

It was silent as they both quickly made their way through the empty, darkening stone streets. As much as Eren wanted to turn his head around in all directions and sight-see, there wasn't much he could do, with how dark the sky was becoming.

Soon enough, they stumbled across a nice-looking inn. Eren was about to suggest they pay for a room with just one bed since he wouldn't be needing one for himself, but didn't when he realised how weird it would sound. They had considerably more money now anyway—and that was thanks to him— so he shouldn't be worrying about cutting costs so much.

Once in their room, Levi immediately made his way to one of the beds, dropping himself down on it.

“You look tired,” Eren commented, walking over to sit on the chair by the window, in front of Levi's bed.

“I’m fine, my muscles are just a bit sore from all the driving,” the man dismissed. “You are the one who looks rather tired.”

“Me? I— I feel alright.”

Levi shrugged, leaning his head back to rest it against the headboard. “Well then, if not tired, then I’d say you seem almost sad. But what do I know?”  

Sad, Eren echoed in his mind, sighing as the feelings of frustration and guilt he'd been trying so hard to ignore earlier surfaced once more.

“I’m... just worried. I learnt some bad news from Prince Armin earlier.”

“About what?” Levi inquired, that having piqued his interest.

“The kingdom. It’s starting to weaken, and—and it’s all my fault,” Eren explained, voice strained, looking down. “But it’s not just Sina. It’s extending to the other kingdoms too, that’s why the Prince was here! Because I—” he cut himself off in exasperation, wincing with guilt. “Because I abandoned my duties, because I was selfish, greedy, and put the weight of my own happiness above that of everyone else’s.”

Levi pursed his lips together in thought. “It was only a matter of time before that happened,” he reasoned, seemingly oblivious to the extent of Eren's affliction. “But whether or not you’re guilty, there’s nothing you can do about it now. You can only move forward, holding on to the decision you made that day inside the cave, willing yourself to honour all the people you’ll wrong by feeling as little regret as you can.”

“But how can I? I know I told you I wanted this more than I could ever explain, and that’s still the case—I mean, if I could go back I would definitely make the same choice—but right now I just can’t not feel regret, knowing that my selfishness will cost the safety of the whole of Paradis!”

Levi brought his eyebrows together, stern eyes boring into the youth. “Eren, you are allowed to be selfish, to fight for your own freedom. There's no reason why you should be a prisoner of the kingdoms, a slave of the whims of magic. Let someone else take responsibility, I'm sure the King will sort things out soon enough and appoint someone else for the role. It won't be the end of the world.”

Eren furiously shook his head at Levi's words. He didn't understand a thing, that wasn't how it worked! There was a reason why his kind served the kingdom. And it wasn't like just anyone could be a Keeper, or like the King would just let him go with impunity! Burying his face into his palms in frustration, he tried to keep himself from breaking down in angry tears.

“Eren,” Levi called, feeling increasingly puzzled by the boy's shift in attitude. He eyed him cautiously as he moved closer to him, trying to figure out what was going on. He could tell he was feeling extremely frustrated and guilty—more than just sad, as he'd guessed before—but the reason why was beyond him. Was he about to have a breakdown? He sure as hell hoped not.

When instead of a reply he received a sob, Levi’s suspicions were confirmed and he cursed silently to himself, rubbing a hand through his face. What the hell was he supposed to do to now to calm him down?

Awkwardly, he crouched down in front of him, hesitating for a second before his next actions. “Eren,” he repeated, grabbing the youth's wrists to pry his hands away from his face. “Eren, look at me. Everything will be alright.”

“No, it won’t,” Eren choked out, swallowing another sob. “Don't you remember what I told you? For a new Keeper to come forth, I can’t be alive. The only way for me to make things right is to give up my life.”

Levi resisted the urge to grimace, feeling suddenly awful. How could he forget that little, crucial detail? Now that explained why Eren was feeling so distraught.

“Listen to me, Eren. You don't have to do anything you don't want to, like throwing away something as precious as your life for the sake of others—especially for the sake of a shitty, capricious and corrupt kingdom. You and your kind are the ones who hold the power, the ones who Kings and Queens should bow down to. It’s only thanks to you that magic exists in this realm, and as such you should have the right to decide over its fate,” Levi asserted, voice unusually gentle, tilting his head from side to side to try and catch a hold of Eren’s eyes, which up until now had been firmly set on the floor.

Eren could only frown at the raven’s words, trying to hold the tears in. Him, being more powerful than royals? Having total control over his own desires and not having to venerate a kingdom that was, according to Levi, unscrupulous and corrupt?

All those things sounded completely crazy. And yet…And yet in a little corner of his mind, they made sense.

And once his mind rationalised those simple, idealistic words, it was astounding how much they could tranquilize him, placating his fears and guilt in a way he could’ve never done himself. The more he thought about it, the more everything Levi had said felt true and right, even if he knew not everyone—especially not the Watchers nor the King—would agree with it. But it felt true to him, and that’s what mattered.

Taking in a deep, calming breath, Eren finally looked up at Levi with red, watery eyes, and was struck by the utter softness and understanding written over his usually stoic features.

“Besides,” Levi went on now that he held Eren's attention, a faint, reassuring smile making its way into his lips. “Paradis can survive without Light magic. In fact, it could even survive without any magic at all, like it used to in the eras of the past when magic wasn’t a tool, but the very fibre of life. Things changed once already, nothing is stopping them from changing back again.”

Having now completely calmed down, Eren came crashing back to his senses, feeling his cheeks growing hot with embarrassment once he realised he'd just broken down in front of Levi, not only making himself look like a total crybaby but also burdening him with the task of comforting him.

“I- y-yeah, you’re right,” he muttered, furiously wiping at his face with the sleeves of his shirt, as if it would erase all evidence of his moment of weakness.  He resisted the urge to look away from Levi, who in the meantime had leaned back against the bedstead and was looking at him with increasingly amused eyes. “I’m—I’m terribly sorry, for making you see me in such a pitiful state. I know I’m already a burden to you, and I don’t want you to ever think that I regret any of this, especially since you insisted so, so much on me being completely sure from the very beginning, and—and I guess what I’m trying to say is, I promise you’ll never see me like this again, and I assure you I won’t change my mind or lose my resolve to stay on this path, so please forgive me for being such a weak—”

“Eren,” Levi cut off, shaking his head softly. “I understand. You don't have to apologise for anything.”

Eren opened his mouth to protest, but the complete sincerity and lack of judgement in Levi’s words and the almost tenderness in his eyes made him close it right back. And suddenly all he could feel was warmth, the sight of the stern yet inexplicably kind man in front of him making his chest fill up with what he could only guess was gratitude—and an unknown, much too pleasant emotion he had no name for.

“Thank you, Levi,” he whispered sincerely, eyelids fluttering slightly, letting a relieved, small smile spread across his face. 

The raven was slightly taken aback for a moment, drinking in the beautiful way Eren’s forest-green, still glassy eyes lit up with a warmth he'd never seen on him before. “Don't mention it, kid,” he dismissed, feeling strangely flustered, looking away quickly.

“I think I’ll go to sleep now,” he announced a second later, lying back down on the bed. “All that talk has made me tired.”

“Uh, sorry,” Eren apologised, although he knew Levi wasn’t complaining. “Goodnight, Levi. Have pleasant dreams.”

“Hopefully I will," Levi said, offering Eren a gentle, almost invisible smile.

Levi fell asleep pretty quickly after that. His breathing was the only thing filling in the silence of the dark, starry night, constant and ever-present until morning came. And for the first time in days and maybe even years, as he became more and more drunk on the warmth that still lingered inside his chest, Eren was able to pass the hours without any troubling, afflicting thoughts eating at him, losing himself in the gentleness of night and the soft echoes of Levi's words.