Imperial Affairs (Levi X Reader) AU

36. Bargaining

Reader's POV

"I feel sick," I groaned as Reiner threw another blanket on me so that I could conserve more warmth and wouldn't feel like throwing up.

"I told you to plan enough breaks between the trip. You and long carriage rides have never been a good combination," Reiner passed me some water, "But of course, since you planned this trip out of the blue, right before some extremely important events that you absolutely have to be there for, you had to travel quickly and make your stay short."

"I hate this," I mumbled quietly as I accepted the water.

"Do you want me to order everyone to stop?" Reiner frowned, "We can wait awhile until you get better."

"Like I said while planning," I explained, "We need to get there quickly. Besides, it's cold and it's getting dark. We need to reach by nightfall or we'll have to spend the nightfall camping outdoors. And I don't think I can sleep in this carriage anymore. I need a proper bed."

"What do you think is waiting there for you, Your Highness?" Reiner scoffed, "It isn't a palace."

"Yes. But there is a castle there," I answered, "It's meant to be fit for royalty."

"That castle is ages old! It's just its ruins left now! Don't you think that the condition will be bad even for commoners let alone royalty, especially someone as demanding as you?!"

"It'll be fine. I'm sure we can get a place to stay for me," I stayed in denial and didn't accept Reiner's words as I remembered my childhood and when Erwin discovered that I had motion sickness. I remember his lecture to me while he explained that that was completely unacceptable because as a member of the Imperial Family, I would have to be taking frequent trips to places hours away in carriages that people normally didn't take breaks in and that I needed to fix it.

Reiner seemed to be reminiscing too and we both remembered the confused glances I, Reiner and Mikasa gave Erwin, trying to understand how the hell I could get rid of my motion sickness while Marlowe tried to convince Erwin against it but wasn't able to budge a firm Erwin who had more of a responsibility to raise me than anyone else when I had lost Mother already.

Erwin made me sit in a damn carriage and had it take numerous rounds around the palace walls with the windows closed and him sitting there with me so that I couldn't escape. He said that it was impossible to fix but I could get used to it so much that it wouldn't bother me anymore. That went on for days until Ymir, who had gone on a trip to some caves to train in her transition from nanny to a commander, came back to the palace and stopped Erwin.

I had gotten used to carriage rides plenty but crossing five big districts which was half the fucking Empire, without breaks and with closed windows to keep the cold air outside was still unbearable.

I thought of a solution as a situation far worse laid itself before me when I suddenly felt a sharp pain a little below my belly and realised why my motion sickness felt worse than usual, "Shit."

"What?"

"God damn it."

"Oh come on," Reiner looked at me in disbelief, "You gotta be kidding me! In the middle of a fucking trip?! What do I do now?!"

"Do you have it right now? And the painkillers?"

"Yes," He groaned, "But you're not supposed to eat the painkillers without Marlowe's permission-"

"Do you want me to write a letter to him now for which the reply will come back when the next turn has started? I told you that the North is mostly cut off from the rest of the Empire. It's not much more than some snow mountains, anyway," I snapped.