We reached the captain's lodge, and I sat down in one of the wooden chairs, and rested my head on the table. I let out a tired sigh as I watched Hangi and Erwin take a seat, and then Levi. He ran his finger across the gritty wood surface of the table, as though inspecting for dust. He let out a "tch" as he sat up in his seat, arms crossed. I sat up straight as well, as the training corps captain walked in with a tray of tea and biscuits. I took my cup, and smelled it. I could already tell this was weak tea, but whatever. I took a sip, before placing the cup back on its saucer. "That was quite a show you put on out there, you two. Impressive indeed," the captain said, as Erwin nodded in agreement. "Yeah, well as impressed as you may be, I am not here to entertain you. I was merely show the idiots out there that you can't fight by only moving in a certain way each time. Otherwise, you're just as useless as a robot," I said glaring at the captain down. A dreary silence fell over the room, no one moving an inch. Erwin cleared his throat, and I glanced at him. He gave me a pity smile, and I sat back, mentally cursing him. He always gives me that smile, ever since the day he spotted me at training corps. He acts as though I'm a little girl, useless and defenseless.
The rest of the time was spent talking over business, as I kept my mouth shut. "I suggest we have at least 3 speeches from each Corp," Erwin said, before turning to Levi and I. Of course. "Levi? (Y/ N)? Will you two do the honors?" he asked, and I rolled my eyes. "Why not have Hanji do one?" I asked in an annoyed tone. "Because she is helping in leading the main ceremony. She won't be available," Erwin said, and I turned to see Hanji nodding. I rolled my eyes. "Guess I don't have a choice then," I said with a sigh. "Oh come on, you'll do great," Hanji said, playfully slugging my shoulder. "You certainly have a way with words," Levi said sarcastically. I glanced at him, before back to Hanji, who at this point was going on about how I would be an amazing speaker and what I could talk about. I simply rolled my eyes, taking another sip of my tea, which at this point was cold. The meeting came to a quick close, and we left the training corps after a quick inspection of the trainees one last time. Once we were back at the Survey corps, Erwin suggested that we all begin preparations for the ceremony. "It is in two months, and we will begin preparations for another expedition soon." I sighed, before going to my room, humming a song my father taught me long ago. I closed the door behind me, before sitting down on my bed. I let out a sigh, rubbing my face with my hands. On our way back, Erwin had suggested I talk about how I came to join the Survey Corps. No one know about my past, or my 'drive' to join. And I wasn't sure I was quite ready to let that secret out. There was a knock at my door, and I let out a "Come in." The door opened, and there stood Petra. I smiled at her. "Hi," I said a little too cheerfully. She let out a giggle. "I know you're faking it," she said, before sitting down on the bed next to me. "So. What's up?" She asked, and I shrugged my shoulders. "Nothing really. I have to do a speech at the graduation coming up in a couple months," I said, looking down at the floor. "You will do amazing! You always know what to say," Petra said in an excited tone. I couldn't help but give her a smile. If only it was real. "That's what they keep telling me," I said, looking from Petra to my black ring. Maybe I should let the world know. "Well," Petra said, standing up, "I have to go. Cleaning duty. If I'm late again, I'll be punished and have to clean the whole fourth floor of the castle again. By myself." She shuddered, remembering how she had to dust every single cabinet, table, and chandelier about three times just to gain Levi's approval. I nodded, and she gave me a smile. "Good luck on your speech," she said, before closing the door behind her. "Yeah," I said in a bit of a whisper. As soon as she left, I fell back onto the pillow, closing my eyes, and letting out a sigh. I reopened them, staring at my ceiling. The song was still stuck in my head, and I couldn't help but hum to it. I sat up, looking out my window. The sun was on the verge of setting, so I stood up and walked out to the stables. I didn't run into anyone, so I made it there easily. I hopped on my pitch black horse, patting her neck, before kicking her sides. She took off down to the forest, to the same tree I was at before. I stopped her, hopping off. "Stay here girl," I said, rubbing her nose, before I turned to the tree, proceeding to climb up it. I reached the top, and sat down on a large branch. The sun was half-way down by now, and I began singing the lyrics to the song. "Baby we built this house of memories. Take my picture now. Shake it till you see it. And when your fantasies, become your legacies, promise me a place, in the house of memories." I watched the last rays of the sun fall dead, the stars and moon taking its place. A cool breeze flew by, and I inhaled the fresh air. I let out another sigh, resting my head against the trunk of the tree. I continued singing, when I heard a noise. I froze, focusing my attention on the silence of the night. Another noise came from below me. It was the sound of someone, who was seemingly climbing the tree. I sat up, looking down at the tree below me. "(Y/N)?" a voice called, and I began making my way down the tree, one branch at a time. "Yeah?" I said, landing on the branch she was on. "You okay?" Hanji asked, and I gave her a nod. She crossed her arms. "You sure? You seemed kind of upset about something all day," she said, and I gave her reassuring smile. "I'm fine. Just contemplating what to say at the graduation ceremony," I said, and she laughed. "I'm winging mine," she said, and I nodded. "I probably will too," I said looking up at her. we hopped down from the tree, and made our way back to the castle. I gave Midnight some oats, as Hanji brushed her horse's mane. I closed the gate to Midnight's stall, walking out of the stables. "Well, get some sleep captain," Hanji said, and I nodded. "You too," I said with a nod, before heading to my room. I closed the door behind me, and let out a sigh, collapsing onto my bed. Fatigue washed over me, as I forced myself to sit up and at least change out of my uniform and into my nightclothes. I slipped under the covers of my bed, closing my eyes as soon as my head rested on my pillow
A/N: Sorry this chapter is a little off...but meh. -L and Iggy
