How Far He'll Go | Levi Ackerman x OC

Chapter 2 - Calendula

The disapproving stares and heckling occur about every twenty meters around here, as people clearly have nothing better to do right now than to put their two cents in at the sight of my uniform.

I truly don't need this right now and I am not in the mood to start with anyone. For some, I glared back, warning them of just who they were giving their attitude to. It seemed to keep them at bay for now, but another soldier might not be able to handle it in the near future. Considering the lineup we have at the moment, I don't have much faith in them being cut out for this role.

I began asking around the east side if they could point me in the direction of this unnamed place, but most had not a clue in the world what I'm talking about. It's probably due to the fact that they have no taste when it comes to satisfactory beverages.

I guide my horse down the cobblestone streets and notice a vendor cooking with what I assume to be quality herbs. Perhaps this man might know where I am headed.

"Look at this! What can I do for ya, Captain?" The rather large man peers up and recognizes me with a blinding grin across his face.

Quite the contrast to what I've been receiving all day.

I nod my head out of respect for the working man and proceed to inquire if he collects his herbs from the same place I've been searching for.

"Afraid not, I grow these myself. No self-respecting vendor would dare purchase his ingredients elsewhere," he huffed in response to my question. 

I should have known.

"Apologies Captain, how about one for the road?" he offers, gesturing to his strange concoction of ingredients on the table of his stall.

Bystanders in the area shoot him wary looks that did not go unnoticed from out of the corner of my eyes. Is it because of his offering of scarce goods or for interacting with me? Who knows?

"I know better than to accept gifts from those who need them more," I decline, swiftly turning back to the direction of my horse.

Before I can mount, I feel a gentle tug on the bottom of my hood, preparing me for an altercation. My head whips in the direction of the pull only for my gaze to be met with one much, much shorter. A small girl, probably no older than five, is peering up at me, head cocked, awaiting my acknowledgment.

"What?" I snap, more so than I mean to.

The little girl beckons me to come closer as if she has a secret for only me to hear. I reluctantly look for anyone who appears to be her parents, but come up short. I lean down so as not to cause a scene in public.

"I can take you there," she whispers before propping back onto her heels.

My eyes widen at the information she spares.

"Is that so?" I confirm.

She nods her head vigorously before taking it upon herself to grip the same edge of my hood she did prior to now. Before I could react, I'm being led by this child throughout the streets of the east side.

I protest, grabbing my horse's reins, as I cannot just leave her here, but she turns her small head around and shushes me.

The nerve of this child. If there weren't so many gawking eyes, perhaps I would have been more assertive.

After what seems like a painfully endless walk of shame, she nudges me to stop in front of this quaint building, seemingly blending in with the rest of its neighbors. There isn't a sign to its display, nor anything that reveals just what type of establishment it is. It's certainly homely and nothing pretty to look at. I glance at her as if to ask for confirmation on this being the correct place.