symbiosis » levi ackerman

chapter thirty-six; summit.

Fallan

I'd made arrangements to visit my parents again (regrettably). It felt rude to send them a letter saying 'I know you're not my real parents' and so instead I'd asked Erwin if I could ride out to Mitras. Of course, he graciously denied and insisted I was taken by carriage yet again, his excuse being that it was a 'reward' for all of my hard work. It fortunately coincided with my meeting with Zackly the Commander had also arranged. I would be at my parent's for noon, stay with them for a while, then meet the Commander at the Courthouse in the early evening. 

The ride to Mitras was as long and as boring as ever, even more so now that I didn't have Levi to keep me company. I'd selfishly considered asking him to come, but certainly didn't want to introduce him to my parents, and wouldn't want to ask that he waited for me in the carriage. However, it gave me time to reflect. Truthfully, I was nervous. The idea of confronting my parents about the information I'd discovered was well - terrifying. At least now I had an explanation for why they'd treated me so coldly after Edward's passing; I was the reason their golden child was dead, and now all they were left with was an illegitimate street-rat daughter. Maybe I would've earned their approval if I'd just taken the cushty interior job, or not even enrolled in the Cadet Corps in the first place.
When we finally came to a holt outside the extravagant steps of the Reid mansion, I had to swallow down the bile that was furiously rising in my throat. I couldn't help but notice the tremor in my hands as I gripped onto the door handle and let myself out. I smoothed down my hair, then my dress and walked up the stairs. I didn't bother to acknowledge the stupid butler who held the front door open, I'd forgotten his name anyway. 
"Right this way-" Baldy the Butler (I'd since renamed him - it suited him better) began, but I held my hand up to silence him.
"Save it." I grunted and trudged down the hallway towards the sitting room. I could hear the low murmur of my mother and father, and a few other unfamiliar voice. 
Oh excellent. I'll expose my illegitimacy at a soiree. 
I walked in with a lopsided grin on my face, which soon faltered as I realised my parents were sat with a Priest. 
"Well... Hello." I attempted to say cheerily. My mother looked to me and smiled graciously, standing and encompassing me in her arms.
"Oh Darling! We were just talking about you!" She ambled, kissing me on each cheek. 
And so it begins.
I'd missed that fake persona my mother adopted around strangers oh so much.
"You must be Fallan." The Priest spoke solemnly, and I raised an eyebrow at my mother. She narrowed her eyes at me, warning me to 'act proper'.
"And you are?" I asked, looking over my mothers shoulder at the Priest. He was an ugly bastard - thick wrinkles and a bald head littered with liver spots. 
"Nick. Pastor Nick." He said, walking over to me and shaking my hand firmly. 
Ah, the mysterious Nick. Benjin had said I'd meet him.
"To what do I owe the pleasure, Nick?" 
My mother's furrowed brow had morphed into a fully-fledged scowl - clearly unimpressed with my attitude. If anything, I found it amusing. 
By the Walls, you really do need to stop hanging about with Levi.
"I suggest you take a seat before I begin." He uttered, still as serious as before. 
"Strange," I mumbled under my breath before taking a seat opposite my Father, who was looking out of the window with a disinterested gaze. 
"I knew your parents." He began, and I raised an eyebrow.
"I can see that." 
"Your real parents, Fallan." 
I felt my breath hitch as I sputtered and sat up straight in alarm. 
"Their names were Jasper and Alice Pairve."
Jasper and Alice Pairve. 
I liked their names. I'd spent days thinking about them - their names, what they looked like, what they were like, and now I was seemingly about to find out everything, or at least something. 
"What were they like?" I whispered, looking down to my clasped fingers in my lap. I heard Nick chuckle and my gaze snapped to him in surprise.
"Ah... I may've mislead you, my sincere apologies. I did not know the Pairve's on a personal level. Truthfully, I only knew of them."
I couldn't help the disappointment that tugged at my heart as I nodded and looked back down at the floor. 
"However, I did not come to reminisce. It seems you've been made aware of your heritage - but to what extent?" He asked, and I sent him a questioning look. "From that I will assume that you're unaware of the abilities your bloodline has led you to possess." 
I snorted loudly disbelievingly, much to the dismay of my Mother who tutted in disgust and crossed her arms. 
"This is no laughing matter Miss Pairve." Nick spoke seriously, and I tensed up at the usage of my real family's name. It felt almost wrong.
"I'm sorry Pastor, maybe this is simply a conflict of beliefs. I am a woman of Science, and you are a man of Religion, so excuse me for being dubious when you say abilities."  I said harshly, narrowing my eyes at him. 
"This is a matter of Science, Fallan. In fact, this entire situation is an unfortunate byproduct of Science." 
"That doesn't sound very God-fearing of you." I leered and watched as his brow furrowed immediately.
"The only God I fear is Humanity." 
"How very poetic." I sighed and leaned back in my chair. 
"Much like I did not come here to reminisce, I also didn't come here to engage in a debate over arbitrary beliefs. I came here to give you pure factual information that doesn't change regardless of personal opinions, so if you wouldn't mind - I would like to begin." 
I waved my hand as a signal for him to carry on and stared out of the window. 
"The Pairves are a result of the King's experiments using Titan spinal fluid." 

A/N
How mysterious o.O
This chapter literally sounds like a dictionary lmaooo sorry I tried to mimic the formal tone the older characters use