Blessed be the Fruit, May the Lord burn this place down ┃a levi ackerman AU

Chapter 4: What happened?

-"What happened?"

Oferwin looked at the grey eyes in front of her, her eyebrows slightly frowned, she opened her mouth but no words escaped her small lips. She didn't know what to do or say, she felt like she had just woke up from a nightmare and had no idea where she was. Levi still looked at her, his eyes locked with hers, the driver was afraid that if he would break the eye contact the handmaid would just crumble. He was confused, she looked far worse than after the Ceremony, his mind was racing to find out what could have happened in this office to put her in such state. "H-he asked me... to read him a b-book...", her small whisper interrupted his thoughts, the man in front of her looked puzzled for a second, but soon realization hit him, "Tch, he really lost his fucking mind", Oferwin wasn't quite sure if Levi had realized he said this out loud, but she was in no capacity to look further into it, her eyelids felt heavy, she just wanted to sleep and wake up anywhere else but here. Levi must have read her mind, because he suddenly lifted her up, holding he bridal-style in his arms. Oferwin didn't really realised what was happening at the moment, she was in a daze, as her hands were holding on the driver's collar, she felt the warmth of his body and it appeased her a little.

Levi gently placed the handmaid on her bed, "Which house is on fire?", she suddenly asked with a faint voice, "Commander Yeager's", the man simply answered as he put the sheets over her body, Oferwin's eyes widened, "L-Levi, Ofgrisha..." she whispered with a trembling voice. "I'll go see if she is ok, just sleep please.", when the dark haired man saw that her eyes were still fixed on him he sighed, "I promise, now sleep.", his voice was commanding, the woman decided to trust him and she eventually closed her eyes, falling asleep almost instantly.

The fire had made a lot of material damages, it seems like it started in the kitchen, probably the fault of a brainlessMartha; at least that's what the authorities declared. Levi kept his promise, he made sure to look out for Ofgrisha, Commander Yeager and his wife had already left the burning house without a thought for the handmaid that was still trapped inside. Thanks to the black haired driver and -surprisingly- Commander Smith, Ofgrisha was safely escorted out of the burning residence. Sadly half of her face was burnt, her rich brown skin now scarred, a visual reminder that her life was not as precious as the Aunts claimed, if it was not for Commander Smith and Levi, she would have died and her face can now prove it.

As they waited for their house to be renovated, the Yeager's gracefully accepted Commander Smith's invitation to stay at his house. Ofgrisha was sent to an hospital to heal her wounds. Oferwin tried to keep her mind busy as she waited for her return, thankfully the Commander didn't payed much attention to the woman during that time as he had a lot of work. Ruth was glad to have the handmaid with her, with guests staying in the house she didn't mind to have an extra pair of hands. Even Levi had to help, the Yeager's were really demanding, the wife being 'so traumatized' by the fire was asking to be helped every five seconds.

Levi's 'Tch' became more and more frequent as the woman was weirdly asking for his help almost exclusively, sending Oferwin away when she realised it was not the driver that was responding to her demands. The Wife definitely had a crush on him, the handmaid couldn't help but let out a snort when Ruth first talked about the woman's affection for the moody man. When the three of them were together in the kitchen, Ruth couldn't stop herself from teasing Levi about it, Oferwin knew better than to laugh at the man's face, so she always tried so hard to keep her mouth shut but every time she looked at the disgusted face Levi made, she couldn't help but let out a laugh.

'Laughing', since Oferwin arrived at the Commander's house, she didn't have the opportunity to relax and joke around, sometimes she even missed being at the Red Center, she was with the other handmaids there, her friends, her sisters as Aunt Olga would say. The Sisterhood between the handmaids is what kept her alive and hopeful all this time. She looked at Ruth, her rectangular face adorned a teasing smile, a few wrinkles were forming next to her brown eyes and forehead, her copper skin was full of freckles in all shape and forms, she had this motherly aura that the handmaid found comforting, she wasn't with her sisters now, but a substitute mother had replaced the affection she craved somewhat.

A few days later, Ofgrisha returned from the hospital, they couldn't save her left eye, half of her face was covered with bandages, the Yeager's went back to their home, Commander Smith had pressured the authorities to speed up the renovations, maybe the blond man was also getting tired of the couple... Things slowly got back to ''normal'', when Ofgrisha wasn't required to wear bandages anymore, they forced her to wear this skin-tight red fabric to conceal her wounds, she admitted that it was her Commander's request. It seemed like he didn't like to see the result of his selfishness. What a coward...

Ruth was out, she went to town to look out for some goods that Oferwin couldn't find in the neighborhood, the handmaid was in the kitchen, her mind clouded with thoughts, with the Yeager's staying at the house, she didn't have the time to process what happened with the Commander. She tightened her fist that was resting on the table at the thought of the blond man. Reading him a book? Why? Why would he ask her that? Why did she have to sit on his knees? Why? Why, is the only word that was on her mind these days, suddenly Levi entered the kitchen. As always he tried to not look at her upon entering, he often seemed to try avoid her as much as possible, unless he had to ask her something. Oferwin was getting tired of this nonsense, she already felt invisible, she didn't need to be ignored by the only man that seemed to care a little about her. At least the handmaid thought he cared, he wouldn't have helped her get back to bed that night, right? "Why did he ask me to read him a book?", she finally asked, after succeeding to gather the strength to confront the cold man. He turned back to face her, his eyes looking at her suspiciously, "What makes you think, I would know that?" he asked back with a monotone voice. Oferwin sighed, why was he always so cold, she knew he could be nice and reassuring too, she saw it in eyes multiple times that he was not as unbothered as he wanted to be perceived. "You seemed to know something, when I first told you what he asked me to do...", her eyes were almost pleading him now, at that sight, he turned his head, avoiding her gaze once again. "You don't need to know, it won't change anything for you.", she had enough of his indifference, she abruptly walked towards him, she was now standing right in front of the raven haired man who was now forced to look at brown eyes. Levi tensed at their closeness.

Oferwin bit her bottom lip in frustration, "I rarely ask questions, I know my place, b-but every months I have to be ra-", she stopped, looking down at her feet to recollect herself, "- every months I'll have to lay in this man's bed, with you behind me, holding me. So I think I deserve an answer.". Levi's nose wrinkled a little at the handmaid's words, he looked at her, his brows were furrowed, signaling he was hesitating. Finally the man sighed, "His wife used to do this... They would seat by the fireplace in the living room, she would seat on his knees and read him a book.", Oferwin looked at Levi, words failing to escape her mouth, "I told you, there was no need to know, he lost his fucking mind, end of the story." he said harshly before leaving her alone in the middle of the kitchen.