Greatest Sin | Levi Ackerman x Reader

The Interior

A/N: hi loves, so most of this chapter focuses on your past and upbringing, so don't hate me! It's strictly an important part of the plot <3

The interior to you, was a crestfallen place you grew up in. The skies were always a featureless grey blanket of low clouds and the air always felt murky. You remembered how the people around you were, how they always acted so pretentious.

You remembered where you lived, how prodigious the castle was, yet it always felt desolated. You remembered the naked walls, long hallways, the spiral staircases, the vacant rooms—and how it always felt perpetual.

Though, the outside of the castle was undeniably breath-taking. The mansion loomed over the surrounding gardens and water fountains—the stark white stone gleamed in the sun, dozens of windows glittered, each one kept pristine by the palace cleaning crew.

The corners of the estate rose even higher than the main building, a quartet of towers stood watch, as stern as any royal guard. Though, every time you were to enter your old home, you found it utterly passionless.

You remembered the only routine you ever knew as a child—waking up, making yourself presentable, and impressing everyone around you. Being a royal decent in Sina, was exactly like being a bird in a small cage.

You felt like an easel from the way people treated you—an easel where anyone could draw on you and paint you into whatever they wanted you to be.

You remembered your parents and how they always treated you like some sort of prodigy—it was always their way or no way at all. You weren't allowed to give your own opinions, you weren't even allowed to speak without permission.

You remembered how you had to have the perfect posture, you couldn't slouch and your legs always had to be crossed.

You weren't allowed to do or go anywhere alone without a guard or one of your parents being present, whether you were in a public place or somewhere in the castle—It made you feel utterly constrained.

Which is why you spent most of your time in your room because no one was allowed to go in there—no one, but you. All you could ever do was paint because it was your only escape from reality.

You could only eat a certain portion of food a day—which developed an underlying eating disorder some point in time. Luckily, it's been a few years since you've gotten your freedom, so you've fully recovered from it, but the trauma still besieges you occasionally.

You could only wear certain clothes—your mother wouldn't allow you to wear clothing that would make you resemble people from the lower classes. You remembered how degrading she was, how she insulted your body if you couldn't fit into your dress, how she called you ugly if you didn't wake up "pretty", how she would abuse you if you didn't have the persona she wanted you to have.

To your parents, nothing else mattered to them, only their lifestyle did—only your lifestyle did, which is why they always had to push out this perfect agenda for you to strictly follow.

You remembered the day you ran away—the rising sun casted a rosy hue across the morning sky, you could hear the birds singing and the wind blustering. For once, the world felt alive to you.

You read in the local newspaper that the military were acquiring new cadets for the 104th cadet corps in a couple of days. You knew you weren't strong enough, but it truly was your only scapegoat to evading this lifestyle without being found. Luckily, your parents were in the city hall for a meeting at the time, so it really was your only chance to leave.

You remembered the goodbye letter you wrote for you parents and how you spent hours expressing your feelings, telling them how much you loved them. Even though in the end, they wouldn't have really cared.