.˜"*°• L I T T L E M O N S T E R •°*"˜.

          Daylight seeped in through the window to the dorms. It cast a soft morning glow across Missy's face as she lay on her stomach, her head turned to the side as she played with a loose thread on her pillowcase.

It was mid-morning, but she just couldn't convince herself to get out of bed. Yesterday's mission was still fresh in her mind, weighing her down on the mattress that had belonged to a girl she had realized she so desperately had wanted to befriend. She hadn't slept. She didn't think anyone had slept last night, yet the girls dorms remained silent until the sun rose.

After being left alone with her thoughts the entire night, Missy had come to a few conclusions. The first one was that people were more complicated than she thought. Whilst being shut away in Turk had been a living nightmare, she hadn't needed to feel very much. She felt pain and anger almost every day, but these emotions were different. They scraped talon shaped claw marks deep into the barrier that Missy had built up around her heart, made to protect her from feeling too much. Leaving Turk and fitting herself into society after so many years of being alone had left her unable to control emotions that she had never felt before.

The second conclusion she had made was that she never wanted to have to watch someone die again.

She cursed her father for keeping her so sheltered from the reality of the outside world. Among everything else he had done to her and her family, of course. It wasn't just a case of fighting until you won. Sometimes no matter how strong you were, you would lose, and that was something he had failed to teach her.

The morning light disappeared from her face, blocked by someones legs. The person crouched down to balance on the balls of their feet, keeping themselves steady by resting their hands on the bunk above her. "You planning to starve yourself to death?".

Missy didn't have to turn her head to see who it was. She had sensed him the moment he had entered the room, scanning the bunk beds until he had found her.

"Your friends are worried about you," He continued, his gaze set on the bruised underside of her jaw. "You didn't come down for dinner last night. Or breakfast this morning".

"Do I look like someone who has an appetite?" She quipped, a little harsher than she had meant too.

Levi grumbled in response. "At least you didn't lose that horrid attitude of yours on the battle field".

"I've been busy thinking," She replied. "Sorting through my thoughts".

"Oh yeah?" He said, shifting so that he was sat on the floor facing her. "Find anything of use in there?".

She turned her head to throw him a heated glare.

"Alright, I apologize," He mumbled, holding his hands up. "Carry on".

Missy relayed to him all that she had been thinking about. She left out a few of the more personal, emotional details to spare her the embarrassment of being judged by her Captain.

"I wasn't aware that you hadn't ever left your village until you joined the cadets," He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "What you're saying makes sense. You're grieving for the people you've lost".

"Grieving?" She questioned, rolling on to her side to face him.

He raised an eyebrow at her confusion, realizing just how sheltered she must've been. "Grief is something you feel when you lose something you care for and can't get back".

"I hate it," She muttered. "How do I make it stop?".

Levi's chest rumbled, but he masked his amusement with a cough. "Grief takes time to overcome. It doesn't just go away".

Missy frowned. "Then how am I supposed to get out of bed".

He tilted his head at her, his black hair fluttering against his eyelashes. "Start by standing up, the rest you can leave up to muscle memory".

She scowled at him. "You're awfully full of jokes for someone who lost half his regiment yesterday".

"I deal with my grief in my own time, in my own way," He replied, standing up from the floor and stretching. "You'll find your own way too, but rotting in bed isn't going to help you".

"I'm surprised you're giving me advice about emotions," Missy responded. "I thought you only had two emotions. Indifference and bad jokes".

"I hate to break it to you sweetheart but bad jokes arent emotions," He replied with a snort. "And you're a fine one to talk for someone who didn't know what grief was until five minutes ago".

Missy scrunched her face up in distaste. "Well, I know irritation very well because you are the main cause of mine".

"Right back at ya," He replied, holding his hand out to her. "Come on, you need to eat, and I have a lot to catch you up on seeing as you missed an entire meeting by being a hermit".

Even though she would have loved to argue, she didn't think she had the energy. She grabbed his hand and let him pull her out from the bottom bunk. She slipped her shoes on and followed him down the stone staircase and into the kitchens.

"Did any of my family die?" She asked from her place on the kitchen counter, nibbling at the corner of her bread.

Levi was pouring them both a cup of tea when she spoke, his back turned to her. Missy's eyes danced over the corded muscle that was visible through his white t-shirt.

"They're all fine," Levi replied, approaching her with two steaming cups. "I'm sure that you're aware that you're friends all made it home safely too".

Missy nodded, taking the cup from him.

"I found your horse, by the way".

Missy's head shot up as he leaned against the counter beside her. "Where is he?".

"He's in the stables now," He replied, taking a sip of his tea. "I went back to the gate this morning with my squad to check that all the Titans were indeed gone, and he was waiting inside the gate".

Missy felt a small weight lift from her chest at his words. "Thank you".

"Eat your bread, brat," He replied dismissively. "And drink your tea. I don't make tea for anyone so you better appreciate that cup".

Missy glanced down at the teacup beside her and tilted her head. She set her bread down and pushed herself from the counter, walking over to the other side of the room to pick up the milk jug. Levi watched with a scowl as she returned to his side and poured a splash of milk in the cup.

"You've got to be kidding me," He mumbled, watching her movements. "Milk?".

Missy shrugged, lifting herself back on to the kitchen counter before lifting the cup and taking a sip. "Much better".

"I'll forget I ever saw you do that," He muttered, lifting his own cup to his lips with one hand.

"Don't you have Captain stuff to do?" She asked, placing the cup back down beside her. "Or is babying me more important?".

"I'm not babying you, you annoying little brat," He snapped. "But you're right, I have plenty of things to be doing so hurry up and finish your tea".

Missy rolled her eyes. As much as Levi annoyed her, she much preferred him when he was out of work mode. Being around Captain Levi all the time was draining. Just being around Levi was rare, so she told herself to enjoy it while it lasted.

"How do you think I should cope with my grief?" Missy asked, her voice coming out smaller than she intended.

Levi pursed his lips, leaning his hip on the side of the kitchen counter as he grasped his teacup by the rim. "I think it'll be harder for you since this is your first time losing someone. It's hard to advise, seeing as everyone feels differently, but I can tell you that no matter how much you hurt from it, you can't let it overcome you. You need to get back up and continue to fight, otherwise their deaths were meaningless".

Missy's eyebrows knitted together as she thought about his words. "I don't want their deaths to be meaningless".

"I know you don't," He replied with a slither of softness that was gone in an instant, replaced by his usual stoic expression. "Get up and carry on. Make sure their deaths are justified".

"I will," She nodded, draining the last drabs from her teacup. "I'll fight for them".

Missy's only motivation to fight before this moment had been to keep her father from pulling her from the Military and forcing her into a marriage to breed more children for the bloodline. Now, she had a new reason to fight.

She watched as Levi washed the teacups and her plate in the sink. Over the past three years she had spent a lot of time around him, yet she found herself not knowing much about who he was. She wouldn't ask though. He was an incredibly private person and she knew better than to dig up his past. He had never asked of hers, either. Maybe a silent understanding between the both of them that some things didn't need to be spoken about.

Apollo was right about what he said, Levi, along with the rest of the walls people, knew their father was a terrible man. Levi had even admitted it himself just days ago on the rooftop that he disliked her father. However, not one person outside of the Rhydduch family knew exactly how terrible he really was.

"Come on," He said, motioning for her to follow him as he dried his hands on a cloth and made for the kitchen door. "We'll talk about the meeting outside".

She followed him out of the kitchens and towards the main door. The fresh air felt like a slap in the face as Missy stepped out of the building and into the courtyard.

"Why out here?" She asked. "You could have told me in the kitchen".

"You need fresh air," He muttered, his arms crossed over his chest as he looked out upon the few squads that were training outside. "Before you go inside and cocoon yourself again".

Missy rolled her eyes, but was cut off by the pounding of hooves filling her ears. Two Military Police officers skidded to a halt in front of her and Levi, their horses flicking their tails irritably.

"Captain Levi, sir-"

"What do you want?" Levi replied, his gaze cold and hard as he assessed the two men.

"We've come from the Capitol," One of the men said, his eyes frantic as he climbed down from his horse. "It's the King. He's been assassinated!".

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Missy scowled at Levi's iron grip on her arm as he pulled her towards the office Commander Erwin was temporarily residing in. He entered the room without knocking, the two MPs following behind him.

"Levi?" Erwin asked, placing his pen down on the desk that he sat behind.

"The King has been assassinated," Levi replied, his grey eyes boring into Erwins. "These MP's just arrived to bring us the news".

Missy watched as Erwin's face fell, his thick eyebrows raising in surprise at the Captains words. "Assassinated, you say?".

"He was poisoned," One of the MPs spoke up, his fist over his heart in respect for the Commander. "It happened last night. We were sent here as messengers. The Prince requests your presence at the Palace".

"Of course, I will be there immediately," Erwin responded, his movements clipped as he stood from his seat. "Is anyone else hurt?".

"No, sir," The second MP replied. "It's believed that this may have something to do with the destruction of the gate in Delegade".

Destruction?

Levi read the confusion on Missy's face, clenching his jaw before turning his attention back the three men in front of him. "The Garrison members who were tied to the incident have been in confinement since the gate was first destroyed, though".

"Yes," Erwin sighed, looking down thoughtfully. "Which tells us that we have more enemies than we thought we did".

Missy could hardly believe what she was hearing. The gate had been broken by members of the Garrison regiment? Purposefully broken?

"The power tool used to slice through the gates mechanism was branded by a company that one of the Garrison members family owns," The first MP explained. "He was one of the soldiers working at that gate on the day it was broken so he was arrested along with his comrades. However, as Captain Levi says, that was over a week ago so it seems it could be an entire group of people plotting these incidents".

Missy frowned, lifting her hand to tug on the hem of Levi's shirt. "Levi, what is going on?".

The other three men turned to her in that moment, studying her as if only just noticing she was there.

"Levi, why is Artemis Rhydduch in the room with us?" Erwin asked, raising an eyebrow.

"She was with me when the MPs spoke of the assassination," Levi replied, his grey eyes flickering to her momentarily before returning to the Commander. "I didn't know whether it was going to be something kept secret, so I brought her here in case we needed to tell her to keep her mouth shut".

"There will be no need for secrets," Erwin responded with a sigh. "The news of the King's death will spread like wildfire either way".

Missy watched as Erwin prepared to leave, before being ushered out of the office by Levi. It seems she really had missed a lot in the meeting she didn't attend that morning.

What did this mean for the people within the walls? An unknown organization carrying out mass murder? As well as the assassination of the King? Missy felt her jaw tighten as she realized these people were the reason so many were lost in Delegade. They were the reason her squad had been killed.

White hot anger seared through her at the thought. Deaths that could have been avoided. Pain that needn't have been necessary. She felt the leftover inklings of her weakened state fade from her, filled with a new rush of emotions that left her feeling determined.

Determined to make sure those deaths weren't meaningless .