I looked out the window as I woke up. It had been just about two weeks since I'd made the deal with the drunk Damon, and I'd gotten a little used to him showing up every few nights, sober or slightly drunk, and climbed into my bed. I didn't like him, but no longer absolutely hated him after seeing his softer side.

He also made me laugh sometimes, most of the jokes at the expense of the visiting diplomats. And, in reality, I couldn't completely hate him because he was the only way that I could see Levi now, even if in a twisted way he was apart of the reason that I couldn't still be in the Survey Corps, but I chose to blame the king for that.

I tried to move, able to sit up a little before realizing that Damon's arms were fast about me, still sleeping. I sighed a little, and then touched his shoulder some. I hadn't been able to sleep very long, only pure exhaustion putting me out. We were going to leave for Stohess district today, where Erwin said we could meet. "Damon." I said, touching his shoulder again.

He shifted, pulling me back down. I sighed, chuckling. "Damon. Get up. We're leaving for Stohess today." He nodded, still half asleep, and I managed to untangle myself from his arms. I stood up and went to change, the clothes already set out. It would be a dress, the "future queen" apparently wasn't allowed out without being in a dress. I hated it, missing the comfortable clothes I got to wear in the Survey Corps.

"Why can't I wear pants?" I asked, pulling the dress over my head.

I felt Damon's finger start to do up the millions of little buttons in the back, and I sighed. At least touching him didn't make me want to vomit anymore. "Because, my love," he said, laughing. "You're going to be the queen." He said.

I scoffed. "Why can't a queen wear pants?" I asked. "And stop calling me love, already." I said, pulling my hair to the side so he could get the few tops ones.

"Nope." He said. It was his usual reply. "If I call you that, everyone will think that we're "in love", and then this whole marriage will be more convincing." He said. I rolled my eyes as he finished the buttons.

"Go get dressed." I said as I pulled on a pair of shoes I could ride in. at least the dress was a little shorter and not extravagant, more practical than anything. I looked around for anything else I might need, save for the hat I could wear if I rode, which I would, and saw nothing. I looked down at my hands, the sleeves of the dress longer, and saw my fingertips trembling. After this long, I finally got to see the Survey Corps again.

I had no idea how it was doing, save for the overheard conversations in quiet rooms or what I could get out of some servants. But at the same time, it was as if the king was trying to hide everything about the Survey Corps from me. He didn't know that we were meeting Erwin and Levi, only that we'd been gone for a few days.

I sighed, looking in the long mirror at myself. I could still see the soldier girl standing there, and I fully planned to ask Erwin why the hell he hadn't broken me out yet, and what his plan was, and then beat him senseless. And Levi... all I could think about was hugging him, kissing him. My friends would also be ecstatic to see me. We'd been informed that there'd be a big dinner waiting for us when we got to Stohess district.

Damon came back into my room, and offered me his arm. I took it, smirking at him. We were more friends now, at least. We walked through the hallways, most people still sleeping because we were leaving early to get there on time. I was practically humming as we went to the awaiting horses and carts, and single carriage.

I glanced up at Damon as the door of the carriage was held open for him and I. "I though you said that—" I said, but he nodded.

"You can ride once we get out of the inner wall." He said. I'd been able to ride a little in my time here, but I'd been closely watched and always had to have a guard or Damon with me. I nodded and got into the carriage without any more complaints. The seats were comfortable, and I snuggled down into the them, realizing how tired I was, but still tried to stay awake.

After a little while, Damon and I both reading books, I felt my eyes drooping a little, partly from lack of sleep and partly from boredom. "You look tired." Damon said, smirking at me.

I made a face at him and closed my book, setting it next to me on the seat. "Whatever." I said, and leaned my head against the side of the seat. I looked out the window, the glass nice and clean, and watched the buildings move by, seeing people waving to the carriage. I waved back once, and then closed the little curtain, tired. I thought I'd just let my eyes close for a moment...

I jolted awake as the carriage stopped, and Damon smiled at me over his book. "We're stopping to eat lunch." He said.

"Isn't it early for lunch?" I asked, and he smirked, setting his own book down.

"We didn't eat breakfast, (Y/n)." he said, and stepped out of the carriage as the door was opened. I climbed out after him, ignoring the offered hand, and smiled a little as I saw the surrounding meadow about us. There were a few trees here and there, and I could see a town off in the distance, but other than that it was just an expanse of green grass.

"(Y/n)!" Damon called to me for lunch, but I was already taking my shoes off and running off into the field. After about sixty feet, I spun in a circle, and fell in the grass, the short blades warm and feeling nice on my skin. The soft light blue fabric of my dress was spread out around me as Damon walked up to me, offering his hand.

"Lunch." He said, smiling at me. I got up, and he turned me, wiping stray pieces of grass from my dress. "You should've worn a darker color if you were going to pull something like that." He said, but the grass had been dry so I knew it was fine and he was just trying to find something he could criticize me about. I rolled my eyes.

We went and ate, and Damon told me that we could ride our own horses now. I finished eating quickly, and pulled my shoes back on, which Julian, who apparently had been instructed to escort us, along with Leo and a small army of other guards a little ways away.

I made my way to my horse, and swung myself up onto him, adjusting myself, grumbling lowly about 'if I had to ride in a dress one more time'. Damon laughed at me, riding up next to me. We started moving again, everything from eating packed up and already moving, and our escort of guards behind us while the small army (of about twenty or so) were behind them. I really didn't see the need or bringing all those guards. I could take care of myself, and Damon if it came to that, and it wasn't like there was going to be any titans anyway.

"It seems that you're enjoying being out of the castle, I guess." Damon said, catching my attention from where I'd been gazing down the road before us. "I guess it could always be arranged that we make a few more outings than we might normally."

I laughed at him. "Wasn't that the arrangement from the beginning?" I asked him, smirking as I returned my eyes to the road as we passed a small kind of creek thing.

He shrugged. "Whatever you say, my queen." He said, running a hand through his dark hair. We rode in silence for a little while the sun having passed its highest point in the sky and begin to make its slow descent into the hills. I thought, if I squinted enough, I could see the sparse forest we had to pass through to get to the wall to get into Stohess. I smiled a little bit. I knew that the headquarters was just outside the district, that particular area having no direct danger to titans. Damon and all the guards had seemed skeptical and refused to be in even the slightest threat to titans, until I'd pointed out the safety of being with some of the strongest soldiers in all of the walls, and that anywhere there was a chance of titans getting in.

I sped up a little, making Damon call after me, but I rode ahead of him, only slowing when I was a little ways away from everyone else, enjoying the almost silence of the calm day. I drew in a breath, thinking about the Survey Corpse, my friends, Levi. I smiled, leaning my head back and looking up at the sun.

A few hours later, we reached the walls, the sun only starting to turn the sky pink with it setting. We rode through the district, Damon making me go back into the carriage. There was a short stop while they opened the gate, and then ten minutes later, we'd seemed to have reached the headquarters. My heart was pounding as I heard a running go to tell the Corpse that we'd arrived a little early.

Damon looked at me as I placed my hand on the door of the carriage. "I'm glad to see you like this." He said, his voice soft.

I looked at him, slightly confused. "Like what?" I asked.

He shook his head, grinning and nodding at the door. "Never mind. Go. See your friends." He said.

I pushed the door open and stepped out, the sky still lit up a little, but torches still burning around the large headquarters. I smiled up at it, taking a few steps before pausing. It looked familiar and I recalled it as the headquarters I'd been in those few months ago when the MPs had come... had that much time already passed?

I heard a voice call me and I turned, my shorter dress fluttering about my knees, the blue fabric tickling my skin. My face broke into a grin as I saw my friends running toward me, Mikasa, Eren, Armin, Krista, Ymir, Sasha, the others. I ran to them and was engulfed in a swarm of "hellos" and hugs. After a few minutes we split up for air, Mikasa and Reiner almost having broken my ribs collectively.

"What's this?" Eren said, trying to hold back laughter as he lifted the hem of my dress before letting it fall.

I blushed and crossed my arms. "They won't let me wear anything else, and it's aggravating." I said, earning a chorus or laughter that made me smile. "I miss the uniforms..." I said, tugging at Mikasa's jacket.

"(Y/n)?" A voice yelled from a little bit away, and my friends moved so I could see Levi standing across the yard from me, his usually neat hair a mess and his cravat all twisted.

Armin leaned in. "No one told him." He said, and I grinned.

"(Y/n)." Levi said, crossing his arms and trying to give me a stern look from twenty feet away. "What are you doing here—" But I didn't let him finish, already having run across the yard. I flung myself into his arms, knocking him over in a flurry of blue fabric. We hit the ground, my arms about him as I lay on top of him, trying to hold back tears. My friends laughed, and the castle MPs looks tense, but I didn't care at all.

"Levi." I said, pushing myself up a little and looking at him.

He smiled and sat up, quickly wrapping his arms around me, one resting on the middle of my back and the other holding my head, pulling me closer to him. "It's good to see you, (Y/n)." He whispered.

We stood up as Commander Erwin walked over. I dusted myself off as Hanji ran up too, crushing me with a hug. I looked up at Erwin once Hanji had released me. The rest of the Corpse had gone inside with the MPs and Damon, leaving us outside with two guards watching from the doorway.

I crossed my arms as I stared up at Erwin, meeting his eyes with a cold resolution. "So?" I asked, waiting for an answer.

He nodded, breaking our eye-contact by closing his eyes, seeming to think. "I'm deeply sorry, (Y/n)." he said, and I was a little taken aback. He'd said sorry. "I should've... well, you have to understand that I couldn't simply send a letter to you, explaining my reasons for not breaking into the castle at that moment to get you out because it would've been read and then I would've been arrested and most-likely executed, or worse, for treason." He continued, and I nodded. He folded his arms nodding once. "No. So instead I thought you'd figure things out, because you're smart." He said, and I blushed at the compliment.

"I left you at the castle because I knew that an opportunity like this wouldn't happen again in a thousand lifetimes. The amount of control that you could potentially have in the near future is something that could drastically shift the survival of mankind. The ability to provide more for the forces that need it, or begin research of another way to kill titans.

"So I apologize for leaving you in a situation that you are now in, but I hope that you can understand my reasoning, and that you can continue to do what you're doing." He said.

I laughed a little, making his eyes flash open and cause Hanji and Levi to give me odd looks. "Political control." I said, smirking at the thought. "Currently, I'm helpless to the king, even Damon—the prince, my husband, not by choice mind you—has almost no power, and I doubt the king will relinquish anything as far as control goes until he's on his death bed." I said.

The tension between the four of us was almost visible as I stared the commander down, and he did the same back. He bowed a little, and once again I was surprised. "I thank you for the sacrifices that you are making, and have faith in me that I will soon be able to make your situation more useful, but for now you need to continue, as your duty." My cheeks heated up with anger, him talking to me about duty when I'd thrown away my life just for some control I knew I'd never have. I opened my mouth to retort, but he simply walked away.

I opened my mouth to yell at him, enraged, but Levi gently placed a hand on my shoulder, Hanji shaking her head with a warning. "I'm sorry about him, (Y/n). He's been stressed lately because the capital has been questioning his trustworthiness since they captured you." Levi said. I crossed my arms.

"Well I've been stuck up in that castle for weeks upon weeks, and the best he could tell me was to continue to hide the fact that—"

Levi hushed me, and I calmed down. He looked at Hanji, nodding once, and we walked into the dining hall, the room filled with loud laughter and the sounds of people getting drunk. Levi walked me to the head table where Damon was. The man's eyes met mine, and he nodded, eating a piece of bread as I sat next to him, the commander on the other side of him, and Levi taking the seat next to me.

"It's nice here." Damon said, giving Levi and I a calculated look, seeming to realize that yes, I could've had someone before being dragged to the castle. For some reason, I felt a little bad as he turned and began to speak to the commander. I looked to Levi who was eating, but still looked at me, a small smile on his lips that I knew was a rarity. 

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You guys better not get spoiled just because I've been updating a lot lmao have a good presidents weekend