Freiheit | eren x levi

Act 18: Folter

Eren felt so numb and cold and he desperately wanted to feel safe again but at the moment that was impossible. His stomach felt as if all his intestines were violently bashed and his lungs just couldn't get enough air and maybe that was reality at the moment but it sure didn't feel like it. It was probably the middle of the night but he couldn't really tell since there was no window in the dungeon. It's been hours and hours but Levi broke no sweat while inflicting pain upon the prince of Maria. He just didn't like showing any mercy at all.

Levi hated germs and anything to do with it but when Eren coughed out blood he did not flinch at all. He basically just watched the younger boy suffocate on his blood and saliva without a moment of hesitation. There was a cruel smirk playing on the king's lips as he gave another strong kick to his stomach.

"All three countries will probably see you as a cross dressing prince and you do know that, right?" Levi asked with amusement flickering in his cold, steel eyes.

Eren ignored him like he did through out the past few hours. Levi just wanted to see Eren suffer and snap but he couldn't let him see that because that would just mean that he already had victory in his hands. He may have lost for now but he won't let Levi have the satisfaction of feeling like he's won this round.

His back felt raw and bloody from all those whips and he felt like he was a puzzle piece coming apart slowly but painfully. His nose was gushing out blood non stop and his head felt as light as a feather. Despite feeling overwhelming pain, he was grateful because he knew there would be way more pain awaiting him tomorrow. The situation he was currently in wasn't as bad as he thought it would be.

The next thing he knew he got a kick to the face and was knocked out cold. He wasn't dead but it sure felt like it. He was flirting with death and it wasn't friendly at all.

---
"That stubborn king can never keep promises. I told him not to rough you up too much that you would be close to dying," a distant voice said.

Eren felt someone repeatedly poking at his cheek and he desperately wanted to tell that person to screw off but he just didn't have the strength to even open his mouth at all. He felt stiff and cold like a statue and his mouth was as dry as a desert. He managed to crack one eye a little open but that was all he could do at the moment.

He saw the blurry figure of Hanji and for some strange reason, she was smiling big and wide. There was no reason for Eren to be happy but maybe that was because she was smiling. They are enemies now after all. Her glasses were slightly tipped to the side and her hair looked as if she didn't even bother to brush it at all. In her hands was two small loaves of bread which automatically made Eren jump up into a sitting position.

"This was all I was able to sneak out for you," she said as she kneeled beside Eren and handed him the bread.

"You poisoned it, didn't...didn't you?" Eren asked tiredly.

"What why would you think that? We're friends!"

Eren was taken aback by Hanji's jumpy and cheery personality. She acted as if the war never even happened in the first place. She seemed to notice Eren's confused expression and began to explain a few things to him.

"Your highness, I'm on your side," she whispered and even giggled for some reason. "I may look like I'm from Sina but I'm from Maria. I used to work for your father."

"W-What?"

"Just because I'm on your side does not mean I'm Levi's enemy because that would be terrible and horrifying. Erwin knows where I'm from and he promised he wouldn't harm you or me so we're a little safe here. Levi won't punish me because I've been friends with him since he was six or something."