Witch's Vein and Blood Stains (ereri)

5. Traces

The next morning, as the Captain and his squad ran through drills, the groundsman showed Eren to the room where Ilse had worked from before her death. It was a long, rectangular basement built below the grounds adjacent to the submerged kitchens. The only light was what of the sun's rays that filtered through narrow barred windows lining the upper walls; one side peering inwards along the dusty ground of the base centre, and the opposite windows level with the grass of the outside moors.

A large furnace stood dusted and cleared at the far end of the room; an empty cauldron ready to be used over fresh kindle set deep into the ancient, soot-stained fireplace. The ceiling was low and lengths of rope fishnet had been nailed up to hang like heavy cobwebs, sprigs of dried herbs and various medicinal roots dangling down like low-hanging fruits ready to be plucked. A long, heavy-set wooden desk ran along the centre of the room, scattered with open books, glass jars and bottles, inkpots and splayed papers as if the previous occupant had left in a hurry fully intending to return to complete what they'd begun. Eren of course knew Ilse had never returned from her last mission. It was obvious that, although the dust and spider webs that would have accumulated in the months since her death had been regularly fended off, no one had touched her belongings even to so much as straighten out the scattered sheets of stained paper or to cork unstopped inkpots. Eren wandered the length of the room in reverent awe, fingers brushing the open tomes and gaze roving the wondrous, full-stocked supplied methodically packed away among the shelves and cabinets. After years cooped up in Castle Utgard with Hanji and the meagre supplies they managed to scrape together from their herb garden and passing merchants, the room seemed like something out of a dream. The things he could accomplish with these things! Herbs and ingredients he'd only heard of in Hanji's wistful stories and seen sketches of in dog-eared books. And all the books! This was the closest thing he'd ever seen to a library; he wanted to dive straight into reading the thick, leather-bound volumes shoehorned into the great, sagging bookshelves. He wouldn't stop until he'd read each from cover to cover, and by then, he'd probably know more than Hanji.

The room was fantastic and unbelievable, but Eren couldn't shake the overwhelming feeling of abandonment that hung over the place; it was a perfectly preserved snapshot of the past and of a person no longer here. He was supposed to work from here now, but he still felt like an outsider. For months Levi's squad had left the place virtually untouched, as if anticipating Ilse's eventual return. Perhaps it had been their way of mourning and they'd all since then come to terms with the fact that their old witch would be replaced and the new one inevitably take up the lodgings and shape it to their fancy. Nonetheless, it had taken seeing this room for Eren to fully comprehend the jarring reality that he was in a new place now; a new home where'd he'd have to foster relationships and goodwill from scratch. And that, as a witch, he was just another cog in an ancient machine; a replacement in an old mechanism that would probably only begrudgingly accept him into their workings creaking, groaning, and complaining as they adjusted to his new and foreign presence. Everything he did differently would be a fresh reminder of that which he'd replaced. Levi and his squad had been friendly and welcoming enough, but they'd yet to get down to business, and ultimately, he wasn't one of them. Not yet.

"Settling in?"

Eren started and whipped around to face the stairs descending into the witch's quarters. An unfamiliar man stood at the top, hand resting easily on the railings and watching him with an unreadable smile. He had a handsome face; straight nose, high cheekbones, fair skin, and a crown of pale gold hair swept back elegantly from his face. Eren didn't recognise him from among Levi's squadmembers, and as he looked over him curiously, his gaze settled on the royal blue cloak sitting on the proud set of shoulders and the row of gold stars embroidered along the trim.