The Elite: Wings of Freedom (Levi x OC)

Chapter 30: Cleaning Up

Present - Elena 

A small smile drew out my lips as the scout's castle came into view in the distance. The ride from the Eastern defensive line back home seemed to take longer than it did to get to the defensive line yesterday. It's possible that I felt this way because of how exhausted I am, how much I longed to be back.

Judging by the looks on my squads' faces, I wasn't the only one who felt this way. The only one who didn't seem to mind was Eren.

My entire body ached as we slowed our pace, approaching the main field that led to the stables. I ignored the curious, wonder-filled eyes that followed us in, glancing behind me to Eren.

We had to adjust our normal positions in order to accommodate the cadet, and to make sure that he was in the safest place in the formation as possible. He was in the middle, with the rest of us surrounding him on all sides.

We converged into a single line as we entered the stables, and I stopped in front of my horse's stall. Once my feet hit the ground, a shock wave of pain shot through my left shoulder, so intense it made me double over and let out a heavy groan.

"El!" Severin's voice was next to me in an instant, and I felt his hands on me, keeping me from falling over. "Are you alright? What is it?"

I took a moment to collect myself, taking a few deep breaths and trying to shake away the haze that was creeping in. After a moment, I finally looked up, meeting his eyes. "I'm okay. It's just my shoulder, it's killing me," I responded, feeling and sounding out of breath.

He sighed, helping me straighten myself out. "I told you to take it easy," he whispered softly, his voice filled with concern, but gentle.

Looking past him, I scanned the worried faces of my squad and the cadet watching us. After a moment, I locked back onto Severin. "If I had taken it easy, those other cadets would have died," I replied, keeping my voice low.

Severin clenched his jaw but nodded. He knew that I had no choice, so he couldn't argue with me about it.

Taking another deep breath, the pain finally subsided, making it easier for me to stay upright. I swallowed, nodding back to Severin to tell him that I was okay now.

He seemed reluctant, but he released me, taking a step back. "You go on ahead. I'll take care of your horse," he offered, taking the reigns from my hand before I even responded.

I knew there was no use in fighting him on it, so I just released control of them with a sigh. "Don't take too long putting your horses away, you hear me?" I ordered, looking to my squad. "Make sure you guys get some rest."

"Yes Captain," they all responded with firm nods, turning away to tend to their horses.

Glancing back at Severin, we made eye contact. He motioned with his head for me to go, giving me a small smile. I returned it with a half-hearted one, and then turned and walked out of the stables.

My mind felt blank as I walked to my office, it was almost as if my body was on autopilot, and I didn't have any awareness of what I was doing. I was too exhausted to shake myself out of it, and before I knew it, I was standing in front of my desk. A deep sigh sounded from my throat, and I was about to start towards my bedroom when loud hurried knocking shoved me back into reality.

I blinked a couple of times to focus myself, and then turned to the door as the knocking started again.

Swinging it open, I came face to face with Levi. His hand was still up in the air, in the knocking position. We stared at each other, neither of us moving, neither of us speaking.