Equanimity » Levi Ackerman

15 | 𝔚𝔥𝔢𝔢𝔩𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔱𝔬 𝔯𝔢𝔠𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔶

· · ─────── ·𐂃· ─────── · ·

Days had slowly gone by and Maria wasn't sure how long she had been cooped up in the same boring room. Although she had to admit the bed was a lot more comfortable than the one she had in the infirmary in Calaneth.

Her bandages had been changed and she was given some kind of pain-killing medicine. Levi wasn't wrong when he said the medical attention would be better in the Capital, but that could be expected from the wealthiest district within the walls. However, Maria could only feel bad for receiving this kind of treatment – it continuously eating away her conscience. Telling herself it was because of her position as Lieutenant only made it worse.

After she had woken up in the carriage alone, to more chaos than she was used to - apart from their expeditions outside the walls - she was almost certain it had something to do with Eren.

The only thing she remembered was the commotion outside and MP's pointing their rifles at Erwin's head, with behind him: a calm and collected Levi. How he had managed to get her off his lap without waking her was still a mystery to her. The black-haired male had only left her with his black coat for head support. Nobody had explained her the details, not even when Erwin got handcuffed and was led away from the carriages on foot.

Not soon after, Maria was escorted to a fancy-looking building in the city center by the remaining MP's. To her dismay, she hadn't seen a single familiar face since. The book on her nightstand was a bit too sappy for her liking and she longed to see any other individual than the woman who came to fix her bandages on a daily basis.

The nurse would blabber about all kinds of things, but the one thing that sparked her interest was the story about two titans fighting within Wall Sina. Although Maria was being kept in the dark, her suspicions about Eren being involved were now confirmed.

Maria threw her head back with a small sigh. She was definitely done not being able to do anything. It had almost been two weeks since she'd lost her leg and despite her smooth recovery, she wasn't sure how Levi and Hanji would handle her return to the Special Ops squad. Levi had reassured her he would devise a solution.

Her train of thoughts was interrupted by a soft knock on the door, which made the small woman lookup in curiosity.

"Come in." Maria hummed as she focused her brown eyes on the door. "Good afternoon, Lieutenant."

Of all things, she hadn't expected Armin Arlert to come in. "Maria or Mimi is just fine Armin." She smiled at the teen who blinked at her in response. "Ah oh... Well, we thought you'd like to go out for a stroll. I mean-" "We?" Jean popped his head out from behind the doorframe and gave her a weary smile.

"No matter how much I'd like to go, I don't think I can walk with crutches just yet." The honey-blonde mused.

"Yeah we know, but they have this so-called wheelchair and we can push it for you." Jean moved in a broad-looking chair on wheels. "I suppose a little fresh air won't hurt." She agreed. "But if you want me to get in that chair, a little help would be great boys."

"Oh! Yes of course!" Armin immediately jumped into action to carefully assist Maria to the side of her bed. The two teens supported her as she placed her weight on her right leg for the first time in days, but it started to buckle as soon as she stood straight.

The small woman yelped, feeling her knee give out, but luckily Jean and Armin were there to catch her in time. "I'm not quite used to this yet..." She whispered as they brought her down in the wheelchair.

"Are you comfortable?" "Yes thank you, Armin, Jean." Armin took the initiative to push Maria out of the room while Jean followed closely behind.

The three of them silently made their way through the hallways. Although Maria was tempted to question them about the situation back in Stohess, she also knew it wasn't their job to inform her about such matters. Instead, she made a quick notice of their little detour.