chains | aot x oc (levi's sister)

➝ new person, same old mistakes

~ 𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖎𝖓𝖘 ~

- 4 YEARS LATER -

The air was filled with the scent of newly fallen leaves and a breeze blew lazily through the winding lane of the Liberio Internment Zone. Kids squealed naively and ran around, chasing each other or throwing stones at passing birds. Women holding baskets of laundry or groceries hitched at their hip, laughed and gossiped with each other, passing by closed windows of old wood houses.

Everything was perfect, if you overlooked the cheap silk armband that hung loosely on everyone's sleeve, crested with the Eldian 9-spoked star.

"Louise!" The raven-haired girl turned around at the sound of her name, her braid swishing around to rest on her shoulder with the movement.

A group of 3 women came up to her, one holding a woven basket on her head, the others on their hips. Louise was throwing some clothes from a box into her own basket, before tossing the box aside and joining her friends.

A red-haired woman spoke up first. "Lou, you would not believe what happened!" She exclaimed, placing her basket on the floor and pressing her palms on the girl's shoulders excitedly.

"What is it now, Daisy?" She said, hoisting the basket onto her hip and shrugging off the other woman's hands. "Did-"

Daisy cut her off. "Rillian smiled at me today!" She burst into a blinding smile while one of the women behind her rolled her eyes.

Louise huffed. "Aren't you a bit old to be thinking about love? You should've gotten married 3 years ago, when you were "fruitful", as you call it."

A brown-haired woman snorted and laughed out loud.

Daisy gasped dramatically, placing a hand over her chest as if taking huge offense in the statement. She picked up her basket angrily and huffed. "Yeah? Says the person who got married at 23!" She exclaimed, pouting.

Louise's expression shifted and she huffed a small chuckle. "Yeah, whatever." She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"Aw look, she gets all shy when she thinks about her husband!" A blond woman teased, swirling a finger at her.

The raven-haired girl smacked her lightly. "Oh shut it, Cecile! As if you don't swoon every time he's brought up."

The brown-haired girl was full-on cackling at this point. "Oh Heavens, Cecile is in love with Lou's husband! How despicable!" She chortled. "Just you wait, darling, she'll steal him when she has the chance!"

"Zip your mouth, Juliet!" Cecile snapped. "It's not my fault my parents forced me to marry some Grice guy. Besides, Louise's husband is just so handsome!" Her eyes went hazy and she cracked a crooked smile.

"She's literally standing right here."

Louise zoned out, letting her friends argue playfully as they made their way to the river, where they usually did their laundry.

She stepped slightly into the water, the hem of her dress getting slightly wet, before she sat down on a nearby boulder and dipped each item of clothing into the cool water. "Hey, Lou?" The girl looked in Juliet's direction.

"Hmm?" She replied, turning back to wring the water out of a thick shawl.

"I was thinking..." Juliet paused to put her wet dress down and place a finger on her chin. "Are you doing anything special for when your husband comes back? The soldiers are arriving a week from now, you know."

Louise sighed and stopped her actions, looking at her reflection in the water. "I don't know." She said, her voice solemn. "What if he doesn't come back the same? What if he doesn't even remember me? What if he... doesn't come back at all?" The thought terrified Louise and she shut her eyes momentarily to calm herself down.