Chapter 2: The Past

                                    

                                          

Chi was sitting down the edge of the fountain, twisted so she could look at the water. On her ring fingers she wore the two rings - the ones that belonged to Mina and Sato, two precious talismans she kept close to her heart.
                          
A hand touched her shoulder and she whipped around, her fists instinctively shooting out. The person backed away in astonishment, and when Chi realized that person was Levi, her hands fell limp to her sides. A confused look was plastered onto his narrow features.
                          
"Why are you crying?" he asked slowly, inspecting her with those intimidating eyes of his. Chi stared at him, puzzled. Crying? She brought her hands to her face and felt that her cheeks were wet. Levi frowned and moved towards her, handing her a small white handkerchief. 
                          
Declining it, Chi wiped away the tears with her sleeve aggressively.
                          
"I - I'm not crying; crying means you're weak," she lied. "Forget about being weak. I need to grow strong, so there's never any time for crying." Levi raised an eyebrow curiously, sighing exasperatedly as he rolled his eyes.
                          
"We need to leave," he sighed, shaking his head. "Because of your sudden admittence, there aren't enough horses to ride back to where we are staying; you'll have to share." He beckoned for Chi to follow and she stood, trailing closely behind him. 
                          
They rounded the dorms and came to a stable where the Elite Squadron, including Eren, were waiting by many stallions. His eyes widened, and he instantly grew furious at the sight of Levi bringing in Chi.
                          
"Heichou, did you make Chi cry?" Eren asked, a slight quaver at the end of his voice. 
                          
Levi rolled his eyes and let out another sigh. "No, I didn't. You can ask her yourself if you want to know why she's upset, because I don't know. Let's hurry and get back before you shit yourself." Eren simmered down and snuck over to Chi while Levi was distracted claiming his own horse to ride.
                          
"You alright?" he asked, a look of concern in his emerald eyes. Chi's cheeks reddened in embarrassment and she crossed her arms tightly. She smiled as best as she could and nodded, trying to show him she was okay. He shot her a sympathetic grin and placed a hand on her shoulder. He started leading her to his horse, explaining their situation.
                          
"Heichou took me in a few days ago and I'm being watched by the Elite Squadron... which you're now part of! Anyhow, we're staying elsewhere, at an old castle, which is partially my fault. Otherwise we'd be staying over there." He pointed at a building off in the distance that wasn't connected to the regular dorms.
                          
It was a huge, white building, bigger than the regular house. Would they have really stayed there if Eren wasn't under surveillance because of his newfound ability to shift into a titan? What was the place they were staying at like? A hand jerked her arm, pulling her out of her thoughts. She knit her brows together in confusion as she realized it was Levi who interrupted her thoughts.
                          
"What're you doing?" Chi questioned, trying to pull away, but he only tightened his grip, leading her to his horse instead. Then he gazed back at Eren, who stood with his eyes wide in shock.
                          
"Eren is still too unpredictable and dangerous to be around. Chi, you'll have to be sharing a horse with me."
                          
"Why?" she denied, crossing her arms in front of her chest, although it was pretty obvious. Levi was among the scrawniest and smallest of the group, only a bit taller than five feet, despite his age. Even though his frame was built up with muscle from years of training and experience with fighting titans, he didn't take up much room. He sighed and glared faintly at Chi with a face of stone.
                          
"Just get on the horse, idiot," Levi demanded. Chi huffed and relented, climbing onto the horse's back. Levi did the same after her, snaking his arms around her waist to reach for the reins.