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Chapter 25

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This chapter is a little short, so I will add another one for you.

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Tonight was the night. Illyria was sat in Hanji's room in her chosen dress, shoes and shawl, her hair cascading down over her shoulders after being thoroughly washed by the scientist. Hanji was applying a touch of make up to Illyria, applying a beautiful shade of red lipstick to her full lips after she had finally finished accentuating her eyes with dark powder, liner and mascara. Illyria felt ridiculous. She was never one to experiment with make up, mostly because it was so damn expensive and in her opinion, a total waste of time. But Hanji had insisted. Had even gone out of her way to pick everything up that very morning to make sure Illyria looked the part.

A delicate silver necklace hung from her neck, aiming to draw attention to her breasts underneath and a small bracelet on her left wrist. Hanji had tried to convince her to let her pierce her ears but Illyria had drawn the line at that.

According to Hanji, make up gave people a sense of confidence, it created a mask that they could hide behind, they could be anybody they wanted to be. Illyria certainly needed confidence right now. She was terrified. Her palms sweating slightly and foot tapping recklessly against the floor.

Hanji looked remarkably beautiful herself, sporting an off the shoulder purple chiffon dress, though she still wore her hair in that messy ponytail. It suited her. Hanji beamed at Illyria.

“All done, come and take a look at yourself.” She said, dropping the lipstick onto the table and practically dragging Illyria to a mirror. Illyria almost gasped at the sight of her own reflection.

Hanji had done an incredible job. She had never looked so good in all her life. This only aided in fuelling her nerves though. She felt completely out of place, not herself at all. She heaved a sigh, fiddling nervously with her fingers. She looked like she was ready for a most elite party, which in theory, she was... but she felt overdressed. Like a whore dressed up as a princess. She grit her teeth and looked at the floor, avoiding her reflection and turned to Hanji, who was smiling at her.

“You’ve got this. Don’t look so nervous! Trust me, you’ll be beating everybody off with sticks.” Illyria forced a smile as she grabbed her own shawl, asking Illyria if she was ready before they headed out of the room.
Illyria took another deep breath, holding her head high and fighting down all the nerves that flowed through her body. It didn’t matter anymore. None of it did. Not the stupid dress, the make up, it was all just a costume. She was undercover, and she had a mission to do.

She passed countless cadets as she walked with Hanji towards the carriage that would take them to Nile's base. She ignored the wolf whistles and cat calls, the gasps of shock and whispers. She would definitely beat their asses in combat tomorrow, when this little charade was finally over.

Historia had squealed excitedly when she had seen her, Eren’s jaw had practically hit the floor, Reiner's eyes popping out of his head. She threw them a scowl, each one of them quickly avoiding her gaze. She smirked, happy to know she could still terrify them even if she was dressed like a clown right now.

The cold night air soothed her burning skin, calming her nerves as she took a deep sigh, filling her lungs with the cool air. It helped ease her racing heart. She briefly heard Hanji mention something about Erwin and Levi meeting them at the base but was far too focused on the task at hand to really think about it. She had to mentally prepare herself, put on that mask that Hanji had mentioned earlier. Otherwise all this would be for nothing. She was determined to get that book. These efforts would not be wasted, and it all depended on her.

The ride to the base was a quiet one, Hanji quickly realised that Illyria was in no mood to talk right now and had quickly silenced herself. Illyria was thankful.

The carriage came to a quick halt and Illyria and Hanji exited the carriage, heading towards the base. Two men greeted them at the door and escorted them to the main hall where everybody was socialising. The sound of music filled Illyria’s ears as one of the men pushed open the door, allowing them entry.

It was a very large room, nothing incredibly fancy but clearly some effort had been put in. Illyria stepped in first, feigning confidence and taking in the room around her, hoping to spot Erwin or Levi amongst the crowd. Hanji handed her a glass of red wine.

“Here, calm your nerves with this.” She whispered. Illyria smiled, taking a sip and following the scientist through the crowd. She finally caught sight of the captain and commander, Erwin talking amicably with a couple of people she did not recognise while Levi stood, unimpressed as always and looking incredibly bored. Illyria smiled as she remembered him telling her about the last event and how boring he found them. She glanced around for Hanji, realising she had lost sight of her and instead, made her way over to the other superiors.

“Illyria, you look beautiful.” Erwin praised, causing the stoic captain to pay attention as his head lifted at the mention of Illyria’s name. His heart stopped beating in his chest as he took in the woman standing before him.

She looked absolutely stunning. Her silky hair flowing freely, dark shadow a sharp contrast to the bright greens below. Her red lips smiled softly at Erwin, a slight blush tinting her cheeks from his kind words. The dress, framed her body perfectly, highlighting all of her assets, showing just enough to tease, defining her curves. Levi’s throat was dry, heart hammering at the rare spectacle in front of him, blood surging through his veins with intense desire. He wanted to take her there and then. He grit his teeth, forcing all the lewd thoughts about her from his head for now, fixing his face to its usual hard stare before anybody could notice.

But Illyria did notice. Her gaze had drifted over seconds before Levi caught himself and she had seen the lust in his eyes. The thought that Levi found her appealing right now made her heart sing. She no longer felt as stupid as she had done at the castle. Now, she felt sexy.

“You scrub up well, brat.” Levi commented, holding her soft stare with an almost feral one of his own. Illyria felt her body heat up, pressing her lips together shyly before she smiled back at him.

“You’re not too bad yourself, sir.” She teased, taking a sip of her wine and earning a soft smirk from the captain. Illyria was almost drowning in the sexual tension between the two of them in that moment. Luckily, Hanji arrived to destroy the mood.

“Wow this place is like a maze! I got so lost! Hey guys!” she cheered, raising her almost empty glass in the air and breaking the incredibly tense atmosphere that had formed between Illyria and the captain.

Not too long afterwards, Nile made himself known. He strutted over to the commander, greeting the three that he knew in turn before his attention turned to Illyria. His dark eyes widened momentarily before they scoured every inch of her body, a sickening grin pulling on to his features.

“And who is this?” He asked, eyes locking on to Illyria’s who forced a very convincing flirtatious smile at him. She knew exactly who he was, the commander had greeted him by name. This was her target.

“Illyria Light, sir.” She replied, noticing that he had reached for her hand. She allowed him to take it, his other hand caressing the back of it gently. It made her skin crawl.

“Illyria... I don’t recall seeing you before.” He commented, eyes flittering to the exposed area of her chest before securing themselves back on her eyes. She smiled a bit more, feigning shyness.

“I’m recently promoted, sir.” She explained, twisting her body slightly, invitingly. Nile nodded once, realisation dawning on him.

“Oh I see, I was going to say there is no way I could forget such an exquisite creature.” He drawled. Illyria felt herself falter slightly at the term, her mind immediately reminding her of her last encounter with Levi...

“This look suits you, Illyria... you look exquisite.”

She felt her face heat up slightly as his words brought back the all too vivid memories of Levi and he chuckled, completely unaware that her blush was not directed at him. She clenched her jaw, forcing another smile onto her face, though nowhere near as convincing as her previous attempts and brought the glass to her lips, trying to fight away the emotions running through her right now. Nile abandoned her hand, taking the glass from her.

“Oh no, who served you this? This wine is so inadequate. Please, allow me to find you something more befitting for a woman such as yourself?” his hand slid around her back, pressuring her to follow him and Illyria had to fight down not only the shudder or repulsion, but the urge to smack him straight in the face. She cast a quick glance at Levi, who was watching the entire thing like a hawk, arms folded tightly across his chest, a prominent scowl etched onto his handsome features. He turned his head, choosing to ignore whatever request she was silently asking for.

Illyria quickly shifted her gaze to Erwin, who gave the most subtle of nods, eyes speaking volumes. This was what they had planned. Nile was interested in Illyria. She allowed herself to be escorted to a separate section of the base, a small room which held an abundant amount of alcohol. Nile reached up, taking down another bottle of red wine and fetching Illyria a fresh glass.

“Now this, I think you will enjoy much more.” He informed her, pulling off the cork and pouring her a glass. She smiled coyly at him, taking the glass and sniffing it before taking a small sip.

“Mmm, that is good, sir.” He chuckled, handing her the bottle.

“Please, feel free to keep it. I insist.” She tenderly took the bottle, making sure her fingers glided suggestively over his.

“Thank you, sir.” She whispered, her voice laced with lust. She saw Nile's jaw quiver and couldn’t stop the genuine smile. This was too easy.

“I must go and mingle. But, I hope to see you again before the night is over, Illyria.” She smiled up at him, taking another sip of wine as he left. The minute he was out of sight, Illyria downed her drink and poured another.

This was going to be a long night.

She immediately headed back to the commander, noticing that the three of them were still stood in the same place. Levi looked over, the same angry expression on his face. Illyria was starting to regret ever deciding to agree to this. At first she had been happy to know that Levi would be accompanying them, now she wished he wasn’t here to witness it. Illyria rolled her eyes as she stood next to Hanji, who grabbed her by the shoulder.

“Did you get it?” she asked, far too excited. Illyria frowned, knocking her hand away and clicking her tongue at her.

“Christ Hanji, give me time will you? Do you want some wine?” she asked holding up the bottle. Hanji’s eyes widened as she snatched the bottle from her fingers, examining it carefully.

“He gave you this?” she exclaimed. Illyria shrugged.

“Yeah.” Hanji looked beside herself, in total shock.

“Illyria do you know how expensive this wine is? Wow! He must really want a piece.” She teased, nudging Illyria playfully. The auburn haired woman rolled her eyes again.

“Great, so do you want some?’ she asked, completely uninterested in anything the woman was saying right now. She didn’t care about the wine. She was focused on her task. She would get that book.

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I hope it was okay?
I feel like I could have done a bit more here, it feels kind of half-assed, but I also didn't want to drag out long, lengthy chapters and bore everyone either Haha!

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