Turning Saints Into The Sea

Chapter 5

~Chapter 5~

~Ivy~

The green trees pass by overhead like a sea of emerald gems. The leaves sway here and there creating a calming sound, like waves breaking on the beach of a lake. I cannot help but watch them as Hanji steers the horses to the castle just ahead of us. It's blue rooftop and white plaster adds to the fairytale ness of it all. Green ivy vines cling to the walls for life as the wind blows, causing more leaves to rustle above our heads. Because Levi's team needed more supplies and I wasn't ready to ride Gunpowder just yet we took a supply wagon with us.

We arrived there just after eight in the morning and there was still crisp air around us. The palace was once used by nobility but has been long since abandoned and now used for special training. Walking inside I felt like Cinderella who had just missed the ball, by about a hundred years. Everything was coated in dust and cobwebs, I'm not sure how long it's been since any squads have been here but it sure went to hell.

Hanji continued walking down the hall while I inspected the scenery trying to catch up to her. She led me to a door and went to kick it open, but It didn't budge. I then grabbed the knob and opened it for her.

"Good morning Team Levi!" she beamed.

"What do you want" a dark haired man sighed.

"We're here to help with Eren's titan training. Remember, you're not the only one in charge of keeping an eye on him" she wagged her finger, walking around his chair to face him.

"Fine, do whatever you want shitty glasses."

I mild mannerly stood by the door, watching the scene go on. Hanji had started talking about how much we still need to learn from Eren. I felt awkward, I had been introduced to the other members of the squad but I still haven't met Levi. I was about to move inside the door when Hanji grabbed my hand and pulled me in.

"Come on don't be shy. Levi! This is the newest recruit to my team! Her name is-"

"Ivy!" Jean came out of the corner of my eye picked me up and twirled me around.

"J-Jean!" He put me down and ruffled my hair, which I automatically started grooming back to normal. "Hehehe, I didn't know you still did that shortcake" he grinned. I have a thing about my hair, it has to be perfect and in place all the time, you could say I have OCD.

"Anyway... Levi, this is Ivy," Hanji spun me around to face the dark haired man.

For a moment his eyes wavered as he looked at me. I felt some sort of recognition but it soon faded.

"Hmp," he scoffed. "The name's Levi, I'm captain of the special ops squad. I've been informed you have already met the rest of the team so there will be no need for introductions. If you have any questions, Hanji or myself will answer them," he looked to the rest of the group. "Alright, time to clean this filthy place up. You know the jobs assigned to you, move it. Ivy," he looked back at me, "you'll be scrubbing the floors with Armin and I."

I nodded reluctantly. The corporal seems kind of scary, well, at least I have Armin, he's nice. I grabbed a sponge, bucket, soap, and mop. We started on the bottom floor that was covered with grime and grit. I don't think I've ever scrubbed so hard in my life. I used to clean the house before I enlisted but nothing ever got this filthy. Just about done with my section I began to move onto the next one.

"Hey Ivy!" Armin waved.

"Oh, hey Armin."

"Is this your next section?"

"Y-Yeah," I nodded.

"Alright! We get to clean together!" I nodded happily, at least Armin's a nice guy. Unlike Corporal Crankypants.

My hair kept falling in my face while I was trying to clean so I decided to put it into a high ponytail. But even with that my hair was so long it still would hit the floor when I scrubbed.

"Here, let me help you with that." Armin came over and pinned my hair into a bun.

"Thanks!"

"No problem, so how did you get hair like that anyway?"

"Oh I just don't cut it that often so-"

"No, I mean the color. Is it naturally that color?"

"Haha, nope. I buy indigo dye and let my hair soak in it for about a half hour."

"Huh, I've never thought of someone ever dying their hair. Did you not like your natural hair color?"

"Ah, no, I like it. It's just I didn't want to spend my whole life being the same all the time, a small change can make a big difference." I couldn't tell him that I was running from my past self.

"Armin, Ivy, get back to work!" Levi hollered from across the room.

"Y-Yes sir!" Armin immediately replied, even though we hadn't stopped working. "So, what made you want to become a Scout?" he asked.

"You start," I challenged.

"Well, I joined because of Eren. We've been best friends since we were little and I wanted to stick by him. I also wanted to prove that I could stand up for myself and prove useful to him and Mikasa."

"Mikasa?"

"Oh, yeah, she's Eren's adopted sister."

"Oh, I see..." Sister huh.

"So, what about you?" he asked again.

"I joined because..." I had to pause and think about it. "Because if I'm going to die someday, I want to dye knowing that I helped humanity's survival in some way." My part of the floor was done downstairs so I stood up to start cleaning upstairs.

~~~

Cleaning took all day. Levi and Armin had to go work on cleaning other areas of the castle so I was alone to work on the floors. It wasn't that hard, but my knees did start hurting on the third floor, I'm now on the fifth floor. I decided to make a stupid promise to myself that I wouldn't eat until I was done with my share wor work, and now my stomach is growling.

"Damn it..."

After this there was only one more floor to go, then I would meet the rest of the team for dinner. I picked up the bucket and trudged up the stairs to the last floor where I continued to scrub as hard as I could, not wanting to get chastised from leaving any marks like Hanji had warned me about. My knees were nearly rubbed raw by the time I had finished my duties. I began to feel drowsy from the orange sunlight and lack of nutrients in my body. No, I have to get up and get some food downstairs... I guess I could just rest for a little bit though before heading down...

He sat there, a single tear escaping his eye. She kept telling him not to cry but he couldn't hear her calls. He held her in his arms, pain laced through every fiber of his being to see her like this. He had vowed to protect her, but she made the same promise toward him. And she was the one who had kept that promise.