Author's Notes:

I have returned!

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Please enjoy this chapter

Second Debt

That night Levi had no urge to see Mina.

No urge to fix himself or try to find his ice.

He had no desire to change or hide or do any manner of things he'd done all his life to exist within his household.

He was grateful.

Beyond thankful.

She cares for me.

He'd felt it.

He'd lived it.

She'd poured the truth down his throat and taken all the wrongness inside away.

He'd never been so happy than when he'd slid inside her. Never been so completely content holding her in his arms.

Levi lay in his bed and smiled, just for the beauty of smiling.

He was at peace… for the first time.

The only time.

I was just… me.

Mina was right.

Mikasa had the power to cure him.

She held something that after today, he doubted he could ever live without it.

To be cared for so deeply.

To be wanted so fiercely.

Despite all his faults and downfalls, she welcomed him.

Mikasa gave him a sanctuary deep enough and pure enough to hide in.

Levi's eyes burned with thanks. He wanted to shower her with gifts and promises. He relived the intoxicating joy of finding something so treasured.

You came inside her.

His heart skipped a beat at the thought. It was stupid of him to be so reckless. He couldn't remember how long it's been since she received her shot, but in that moment, he couldn't care less.

It was perfect. He had to come inside her. He wouldn't change a thing.

Being with Mikasa today had allowed him to demolish his walls, be strong enough to drop his guard and take her with nothing displayed.

Levi gave her the truth.

The truth of who he was.

And in return, she gave him the strength to believe there might be a way after all.

He might not have to continue hiding.

Levi might finally be free.

~x~

Mikasa's old heart was broken.

It'd been replaced with something not of flesh and blood but diamond and immortality.

She'd fallen for a smuggler, a killer… a fiend.

She'd fallen for a boy from her past, a man from her future… a friend.

For four days after the polo match, Mikasa didn't see Levi. She didn't try to find him. They had things to talk about, but she didn't like the newly blossomed connection too much to overthink it.

She missed him but understood him.

For four days, Mikasa spent most of her time sewing and cutting out patterns for a sequence of gowns that would be headline pieces of her new design. On a daily basis, her mind hurled profanities at her; reminding her that she lived on borrowed time. The reminder telling her that the Smiths were not to be trusted. That she should run and never look back.

But her heart argued just as loudly. Encouraging her to believe in what she'd found with Levi. She had to trust that she had the power to change their fate. To give them a bit more time.

Mikasa didn't know how yet, but there could be a happy ending.

There has to be.

Smithsridge Villa was quiet, more so than normal. Most of the Brotherhood, including the Smiths, was busy with a large shipment that she'd heard held a pink diamond weighing in excess of eighteen carats.

She'd lingered in the dining room long enough to know that such a stone was almost priceless and would fetch untold millions on the black market.

At night, Mikasa slept in her luxurious bed and pondered all things Levi. She became self-absorbed, completely wrapped up in her feelings for him. A small part of her hated the woman she'd become. The old Mikasa would never have removed herself so completely from Eren.

But at the same time; he removed her.

And Levi had snatched her away.

However, there was no denying that her soul was torn and bruised.

Levi had given her everything that day, and by doing so, he robbed her of her hate and the power of injustice that kept her fighting every day.

It wasn't fair.

It wasn't right.

But there was no changing the will of an Ackerman's heart.

Mikasa was alone now; more so that when she'd first arrived.

She would never be welcomed back to Eren and his family; if they survived somehow. And never be able to return home.

Levi had successfully torn her from her past, stripped her of her mind, and abducted her heart.

She wasn't okay with that.

Mikasa couldn't be.

And that was why she had to do the same to him.

She stroked the diamonds around her neck. She'd come here believing she would never be strong enough to fight. But unbeknownst to Erwin, he'd brought a disease into his home. Day-by-day, she undermined his foundations, stealing what was his from beneath him.

She had the tools to continue to wreak havoc… all but one, that is.

Mikasa needed one last thing to make her arsenal complete.

It was time to know where Levi disappeared to.

It's time to find out what exists behind the door on the second floor.

She looked at the clock above the fish tank in her room. Just past midnight.

She'd heard the men rumble off in a haze of motorcycle smoke an hour ago. If there were any night to investigate… tonight was it.

The corridors would be empty, and Reiner would be far away from delivering his threats of harm.

Resolution filled her veins. Mikasa sat up in her bed and swung her legs over the side.

It took her two minutes to pull on a pair of yoga pants and slip into an old hoody before collecting her ruby-encrusted dagger and shoving it down her waistband.

With her heart thundering, she slipped out the door and padded down the corridor.

Her ears strained for night prowlers. She tiptoed to every corner and dashed quickly past cameras blinking above the large tapestries.

Smithsridge Villa breathed deep and dreamless- vacant of its usual inhabitations, letting her slink beneath the moonlight undisturbed.

She found the spiral staircase where Levi had dragged her up and scurried to the top as fast as she could. If she stood at the bottom and deliberated, her bravery might desert her.

Her fingertip itched, almost as if it knew this was the floor where Levi had etched his initials into her skin.

Mikasa peered above the paintings, locking onto the flashing red lights of yet more cameras. There seemed to be more on this level… protecting something. Protecting what?

She did her best to walk beneath them, to try to stay out of range, but she didn't know the first thing about dodging a security feed.

Levi would know where she'd been.

He'd be able to watch her every recorded movement. And even though Mikasa feared the retribution she might face. It didn't stop her from sneaking to the door he'd knocked on.

The moment she stood outside, her heart switched from pounding to frantic.

What the hell are you doing?

What did she think she would do? Knock and ask politely why Levi came up here when he ran away from her? Did she perhaps think she could turn invisible and snoop around a room while the woman she'd heard slumbered?

You're an idiot.

Mikasa stood there dumbstruck. She should never have come.

Her lungs stuck together as something rustled on the other side of the door. A soft light seeped through the crack below, bathing the carpet in a warm glow.

She swallowed her yelp as a shadow interrupted the light, pausing the same way she had.

She took a step back. Stupid. So stupid, Mikasa.

No one in the villa was safe to go visiting on her own late at night. She wanted to slap herself for being so stupid. She'd put herself in moronic danger.

Her fingers reached for the stolen knife.

She turned to leave, fear dousing her blood with ice.

The sooner she was back in her quarters, the safer she would be.

"You can come in, you know," a quiet feminine voice said.

Mikasa froze.

No one spoke, waiting for the other.

A never-ending minute ticked past before the voice came again. "I won't tell and I won't hurt you. I can see you lurking outside my door. I have a camera mounted outside, so unless you want to run and pretend this never happened, I suggest you come in before my brothers of father find you up here."

Mikasa's stomach rolled; sickening wave of vertigo crippled her. She stumbled forward, grasping at the wall.

She sucked in large breaths, repeating Eld's poem for her.

Find an anchor, hold on tight.

Do that and you'll be alright.

The spell disappeared as quickly as it had arrived.

"You don't look well. Come in. Please. Let's talk." The soft voice encouraged and seduced and she craved somewhere to sit for a moment.

Gritting her teeth, Mikasa pressed down on the door handle and entered the room where Levi visited.

Her eyes darted around the large space. Lemons and greys and colorful carpets. Sweeping fleur-de-lis silver curtains framed a huge wraparound window with a comfy seat big enough for a whole family of bookworms to curl up on and read.

"You must be the new Ackerman."

Mikasa bit her lip, spinning on the spot. She missed her on the first sweep. She'd been so still, so well hidden in the welcoming décor.

Mikasa found her sitting beside her bed in a large chair covered by a coral blanket. "You needn't fear. I'll delete the recording. No one will know you came here."

Mikasa should've relaxed in gratitude. Instead, she stiffened.

She stared at the female equivalent of Levi. Out of all of Levi's siblings, his sister looked the most like him. Levi was the diamond; sharp, surfaced, and so pristinely perfect he shot rainbows from every angle. This woman was the mirror image. Her dark hair was sliced with precision, hanging like a silk curtain just past her shoulders. Her eyes were dark while her round cheeks and full lips were the direct contradiction of sweet but sultry.

Mikasa drifted forward.

The woman didn't move, just waited for her to get closer.

The woman's fingers locked together in her lap, her entire lower half covered with a plush blanket.

When Mikasa stood awkwardly in front of her, she motioned toward her bed. The covers hadn't been turned down and it didn't look slept in. The crisp yellow of her linen looked like a lemon meringue pie and just as delicious.

"Sit, please."

Mikasa sat. Not because of her order, but because her wobbly legs refused to stand any longer. Who was this woman, and why did she look at her as if she knew everything about her?

Mikasa blushed.

Everything?

God, she hoped not. How could she face Levi's sister if she knew how much she wanted him? How could she look her in the eye knowing she'd had her brother inside her, and despite her conflicted emotions, wanted him every second of every damn day?

"Do you talk or did you make a vow of silence before entering my room?" The woman cocked her head, her hair cascading perfectly in glossy heaviness.

Shaking her head, Mikasa swallowed. "No. No, vow."

They stared at each other. The woman assessing Mikasa and vice versa. Two women not of similar age, with a man in the center polluting their right to be strangers. They'd only just meet, but whatever they said would be weighed and found wanting, knowing they weren't on equal footing.

The thought depressed Mikasa.

She held permanent place in Levi's life. He openly adored her, she could tell just by looking at her.

Mikasa was jealous.

She was sad and happy at the same time.

She hadn't come here looking to make a friend, but Mikasa hadn't come here expecting to find her, either.

"Should we start simple or would you rather get to the heart of the matter?"

Mikasa shifted higher on the bed. "I think starting with the truth would be more beneficial. Don't you?"

A ghost of a smile tilted her lips. "Ah, now I get it."

"Get what?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Why my brother is struggling."

Mikasa's heart flip-flopped. "Levi?"

She nodded.

"How is he struggling?" Mikasa didn't dare hope for an answer. Could it truly be that easy?

The woman laughed quietly. "You truly do go for the heart."

What does that mean?

Was it a simple turn of phrase playing on her last words or had Levi said she'd captured his heart? She'd tried to entrap him with her games of seduction and charm. But perhaps by giving him her love… she'd stolen his in return?

Could that be love?

Forcing herself to stay present, Mikasa asked, "Who are you?"

The woman leaned forward, extending her hand. "I'm Mina."

Mirroring her, Mikasa looped her fingers around hers, and they shook slowly, still sizing each other up like an untrusted opponent.

"You're his sister," Mikasa whispered, breaking their touch and placing her hands in her lap.

"I'm many men's sister."

"You know who I mean."

She leaned back, sighing a little. "Yes, lucky for you, I do know who you mean. Let's get the introduction out of the way, shall we?" Running well-manicured fingernails through her hair, she recited, "I'm the second child of Erwin and Marie Smith. I chased my older brother into the world as soon as possible, and that fact alone makes us closer than my other two siblings. I love him more than I love myself, and I know what he lives with every day with being the first child of a family so steeped in tradition and persecution that it's become an unhealthy combination. I know what you've done to him, and as much as I want to hate you for smashing apart his world and making him struggle more than I've ever seen, I can't."

Mikasa couldn't breathe properly. Like a dying person only interested in air, she was only interested in what Mina had to say about her brother. "What does he struggle with? And how did my arrival have anything to do with what's happening to him?"

Her forehead furrowed as her hands fisted in her lap. "Don't play coy in my domain, Mikasa Ackerman. Don't come in here and fish for information on my beloved brother in the hope to twist it into a weapon. I don't hate you, but it doesn't mean I won't if you continue to torture him."

Wow, what?

Mikasa held up her hands in surrender. "I don't want to hurt him."

Liar.

Mikasa wanted to hurt him by manipulating him to go against his family- to choose her above all others. Even his sister.

Did that make her a hateful person? To want to be the one person he loved more than anyone?

"I…I…" I have feelings for him.

The truth danced on her tongue, but she couldn't admit it. She'd barely admitted it to herself, let alone a woman who looked at her with curiosity and disdain.

Mina waved away Mikasa's fumble. "Regardless, you've already hurt him. And as much as I would like to stop you, it's your burden now, as much as mine."

"Burden?"

Mikasa's mind raced, wishing she knew just what they were discussing.

"You're the one who's forced him to face an alternative to the way he's been living. Thanks to you, the other method of coping is no longer working. It's up to you to give him another.

Anger took over her confusion. How dare Mina layer her with responsibility when she was nothing more than a captive in her home? "I think you're forgetting one important fact. I'm a prisoner of your father's. I'm a toy for your brother. I have no future thanks to your insane family and have no wish to help either one of you."

Lying again, Mikasa.

Mikasa just hoped Mina swallowed her lies better than her brother did.

Mina leaned forward. It was only subtle, a gentle inkling bringing them closer together, yet Mikasa felt her advance in every cell. This woman rippled with anger and righteousness when it came to Levi. Her unwavering devotion was both humbling and terrifying. "Too late. You're the one who coaxed him into your bed. He fought you. But, from woman to woman, he wasn't strong enough for you. And that excites and upsets me."

Mikasa's shoulders slouched; her riddles made her head hurt. "What exactly is wrong with him? Why does he think he can only live if he surrounds himself with ice and removes himself from any emotion whatsoever?"

Mina sniffed. "That's his secret to tell, and I will not break his trust. And you don't understand… there is nothing wrong with him. He's perfect. Just… not perfect for this family."

"You're of the same blood and seem very close. Are you saying you aren't fit for this family, either?"

Mina smiled. "Smart. I suppose you could say that. Levi and I are a different breed. Born and bred to the same parents but we inherited a different kind of madness than the rest of my relations."

Mikasa didn't want to hurt her, but she needed to know. In over a month that she'd been a ward of the Smiths, Mina was the first real woman she'd come across, not counting the maids, the psychotic doctor and blood thirsty security guard. Why was that?

"Doe's your mother live here, too?"

Mina pursed her lips. "My mother is of no consequence. Besides, I'm the protégé of Elena Smith. I have more than enough maternal guidance."

That was the second time Mikasa had heard of Elena Smith. Eld had told her she was in charge of the family's expenses… his grandmother.

As much as she wanted to meet this elusive woman who held an entire family of men under her thumb, Mikasa wanted to stay under her notice for as long as possible.

They sat in silence for a time, before Mina said, "You should go. And don't tell Levi you came to see me. He wouldn't handle that well."

"Why?"

She stared for a long moment, as if deciding what to divulge. Finally, she said, "Because in his mind, we are both his. Both under his protection and both in our own little domes of reality where he can cope. If he knew we'd met and discussed him, the pressure of keeping us protected would increase.

Mikasa felt like a parrot as she asked again, "Why?"

"Because, Mikasa Ackerman, he's been raised having no one to protect him and living in a world where just the hint of being who he truly was meant he could be gone tomorrow. Ever since he could understand the differences between him and our father, he's lived with the shadow of his own mortality. Erwin wouldn't hesitate, you see…"

Mina swallowed, a sudden flare of pain filling her gaze. "He's lived twenty-nine years hiding, because if he didn't, one day he'd be gone and he'd leave me all alone. Knowing that we had met would only give him something else to fear."

Mikasa's heart pounded with every word she spoke. "Fear?"

Mina hunched, her voice drifting to a fateful whisper. "Fear what we spoke about. Fear how much of his nature came to light. Fear just how much you knew, because ultimately, it's not him who has the power to destroy you… but you who has the power to destroy him"

~o~

By the time Mikasa crawled into her bed, her head hadn't stopped spinning.

Mina was sensitive and wise, an enigma who adored her brother and would do anything to protect him.

Her words were an invitation but also a threat to stay away.

Would she soften if she knew I'd fallen for him?

Would she help her understand him, grant her the help she needed to claim Levi for her own?

Mina was as confusing as her brother.

And she knew their conversation hadn't ended. She would return. Again and again.

Until she learned the truth.

But she also had other questions… many, many questions.

It hadn't escaped her notice that Mina sewed. There'd been an in-progress cross-stitch on her bed, along with a paper chart folded randomly. Was she like herself and enjoyed the simple creation… or… was it more sinister?

Could she be more Ackerman than Smith?

And if she was… what did that mean?

Mikasa tossed and turned, unable to shut off the voices inside her head forming bizarre conclusions.

Just as the dawn stole the stars, sleep finally crept over her.

But it wasn't restful.

Yet more questions chased her into dreamland.

Why did Mina never come down from her room?

And who truly wielded the power of the Smiths?

~x~

The week after the polo match passed uneventfully.

Tuesday, Levi went for a hunt on Freedom.

Wednesday, he saw Mikasa at breakfast before leaving to hide in his office until sundown.

Thursday, Levi was out late dealing with a special shipment of pink diamonds already purchased and due for delivery to a private yacht docked for one night in Southampton.

Friday, Levi tried one last time to 'fix' himself, but Mina was right. The ice no longer worked, no matter what he did.

But he had a better option; a new regimen that Mikasa had selflessly given him.

Saturday, he spent the afternoon with Eld and the Brotherhood playing poker in the billiards room of the Villa- deliberately giving his heart time to adjust to the life-shattering change of what'd happened between Mikasa and him.

He was ready to admit to himself that his world had changed.

It was time to face what he'd been running from all his life.

However, the next day smashed his hopes and dreams and hurled him right back into the darkness where he belonged.

The last day of the week… the day that belongs to love and togetherness, only brought pain and sadness.

Sunday, Levi received the worst news of all.

~o~

"Levi, come with me, please." Erwin popped his head into his bachelor wing.

He jumped as if he'd been caught red-handed, just like he'd done most of his life whenever Erwin appeared out of nowhere. Sliding a pillow over the tiny sharp knife he used to open the old cuts on his soles, Levi glared at his unwanted visitor. "Come where?"

Mikasa had given him hope that soon he could stop hurting himself in such a way, but until he could be sure what she felt for him was irreversible; Levi had to use something to keep him in check.

Ice wasn't working, pain would have to do.

Erwin's gaze feel to Levi's scarred feet. "Do you need a session?"

The concern in his eyes was the key ingredient to how he'd been controlling him for so many years. He made Levi believe that he was there for him. That he wanted to help him. That Levi was the chosen one and deserved to inherit all that he had to give.

Of course, it was all bullshit.

Neither of them could erase what happened between them that night. The night where they used Mina so terribly in a fixing session that they'd stepped over an uncrossable line. Levi had refused. Over and over and over again.

Erwin had pushed and pushed and pushed.

Levi had snapped.

He'd almost killed Erwin.

And he'd said the words that were a noose around his neck and shackles around his own feet for the rest of his days.

"Do you think your life is a gift? Do you think I can't take it away? I've been so fucking close to kill you, boy. A fraction away from ending the embarrassment of knowing what you are. I only hesitate because I believe you can change. You carry strong blood. You cannot be such a disgrace. I won't let you be such a disgrace."

Levi was only alive because he hoped he'd finally cure him. Every year that passed, Erwin hovered over the birthday cake made especially for his first son and contemplated killing him with cyanide.

Or a hunting accident.

Or a shipment going wrong.

So many ways to dispatch him. Levi lived in constant awareness of traps and mercenaries ready to steal his God-given right to breathe.

All because he didn't obey.

Erwin also told him what would happen if he did kill him. What he would do to not just Mina but to Eld, Reiner, and anyone else he held dear- not that there were many. He couldn't care less if it meant he would be left with no heir. Erwin believed he was invincible and lacked the fundamental trait of a father; love.

He didn't love his children. Shit, he didn't even like them.

Therefore, they were disposable if they displeased him.

That sort of panic… that sort of fear… continued to have a hold on Levi. No matter age or strength- he'd lived beneath the shadow of death for so long, he didn't know any other way.

I was a fucking idiot.

Placing his feet into a pair of moccasins, Levi shook his head. "Thank you for your concern. But I'm fine."

Erwin cocked his head. "You're a terrible liar."

Gritting his teeth, Levi stood up and smoothed down his black t-shirt. He wore no color today, only black. He should've known that the color would bring only darkness.

"I'm still following your orders. I'm still loyal."

Erwin smiled coldly. "For now." He ran his fingers around his mouth, eyeing Levi up and down. "However, we shall see if you pass the next test."

Levi's heart lurched. Tests weren't new. He'd been made to complete many of them as he grew, to prove that a son like him could become a man like his father.

"What did you have in mind?"

Skinning an animal while it's still alive?

Hurting another one of the club whores?

Erwin's smile sent shivers down his back. "You'll see."

Levi hated when he did this. He never knew if Erwin was walking him out like a horse to be shot or if he genuinely wanted to prove to himself and to his son that he was getting better.

For a few years, Levi had been good. He'd found how to hide himself in blizzards and snow and be everything Erwin wanted him to be.

That was before he informed Levi that Mikasa was his twenty-ninth birthday present. There'd been no cake that year- no threat of cyanide.

Only the detonation of his soul in the form of a woman he couldn't deny.

Forcing a smile, Levi asked, "What about some father and son time? Forget the test. Let's go for a ride. Talk business."

Over the years, Erwin had schooled Levi on the running of the empire. Those sessions were the only time he relaxed and enjoyed interacting with him. Although, Erwin wasn't ready to give up his power; Levi could tell. Regardless that their customs stated it would be his soon, Levi knew it wouldn't be a simple matter of handing over the throne.

"No. I have a much better idea." Erwin opened the door wider. "Come on. Let's go."

Levi's knees locked. Something inside told him to refuse. This test would be worse than everything he'd been subjected to.

"Perhaps another time. I have to…"

Go find Mikasa and indulge in what she feels for me.

What would Mina say if she knew he'd achieved the impossible? Mikasa Ackerman liked him… possibly even loved him.

His stomach tangled with his heart. He'd managed to stay away for six days, but he'd reached his limit. He needed to feel her fight, her goodness, and her wet hot heat. He needed to forget about his fucked up existence and live in hers, if only for a moment.

Erwin waved his hand. "No. This supersedes whatever you were about to do." Snapping his fingers- a trait Levi had adopted; growled, "Come along. It won't take long."

Hiding his nervousness behind the glacial façade he still managed to invoke around his father, Levi followed him from his wing.

Wordlessly, they moved through the house. Every step flared the pain in his feet, giving him something to focus on rather than his whirling imagination of what was to come.

The nights were getting longer, invading on the sunlight day by day- only seven p.m., yet it was already dusk.

Levi swallowed his questions as Erwin moved purposely out the back door and toward the maintenance barn at the rear of the villa. Most people had a shack that housed broken lawnmower and a few empty flowerpots.

Not them.

Their shack was the size of a three-bedroom house, resting like a black beetle on the spotless lawn.

The air temperature bit into his exposed arms as they stalked over short expanse of grass and disappeared into the must metallic world of saw-dust shavings and ancient tools.

Along with servants to ensure their daily needs were met, they also had gardeners, and gamekeepers. Running an estate such as Smithsridge took millions per year.

The minute they entered, two carpenters who were lathing a chair leg turned off the machine and subtly left the room. Dusk on a Sunday and still the staff worked- his family's insistence for perfection ran a brutal timeline.

"Good evening, Mr. Smith," one worker mumbled on his way out. His eyes remained downcast with respect, his shoulders hunched.

Erwin wielded a power that made lesser men- including himself, want to run and hide.

When Levi was in charge, he would change that. He would change many things.

Erwin moved deeper into the workshop, peering into the other rooms where paintings waited for restoration. Only once he was sure they were alone did Erwin turn to Levi to follow.

With unease building in his gut, Levi did as ordered and moved into the back room where knick-knacks and miscellaneous childhood toys had been dumped.

"What is it that you wanted to discuss?" Levi asked, standing still in the center of chaos. Deliberately, Levi pushed his heel harder against the ground, activating a deeper throb from the new cut. It wasn't that he liked pain. In fact, he hated the stigma and weakness of cutting himself. He didn't get pleasure from it, but he did get relief from his disease by being single minded and focused.

Erwin shrugged out his leather jacket, placing the embroidered Brotherhood apparel on Mina's old nursery cot. His hair was slicked back as usual, his jawline sharp and unforgiving.

"Show, not discuss." With a secretive smile, Erwin moved to the large termite-riddled cupboard at the back of the room. He removed an old brass key from his pocket and inserted it into the lock.

As Levi moved closer, his heart stopped beating.

It couldn't be.

Yes it was.

Erwin grabbed the handles of the cupboard and swung the doors wide, revealing what he'd shown him the night of his sixteenth birthday. That same night, he'd made Levi watch what he did to Hatsu Ackerman. Erwin made Levi witness video after video of what he'd done to Mikasa's mother, all while beating him if he ever dared look away.

Sickness rolled in his gut.

Levi's hands balled.

Palms sweated.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Once again, his father had reminded him of his place and how fragile his wants, dreams, and very existence were.

Levi's eyes burned as he drank in the age-old equipment passed through generations. Shelf after shelf of torturous items used in extracting debts from the Ackermans.

Erwin's face darkened, motioning Levi forward when he stayed locked to the floor. "I think it's time you and I had a little chat, Levi." Taking one particular item from the cupboard, Levi knew what he would make him do.

And Levi knew whatever love Mikasa felt for him would vanish like it never existed.

He couldn't move, but it didn't stop Erwin from prowling toward him and placing the hated item into his shaking hands. Curling his fingers around the salt shaker, Levi hated that something so simple could deliver something so unforgivable.

His father murmured, "You have one last chance, Levi. Use it well."

Ice howled.

Snow fell.

Blizzards blew like fury.

Levi hung his head and gave in.

Motherfucking shit.

~o~

That was yesterday.

A Sunday Levi would never forget.

Today was Monday.

A Monday that he wished he could erase.

Last Monday had been full of freedom, kisses, and passions; polo and sex and blistering new beginnings.

This Monday was full of mourning and pain. Today was the day he became the true heir to the Smithsridge because if he didn't, he doubted he would wake in the morning.

Erwin hadn't said as much. But it was what he didn't say that made the biggest impression.

Do this or I'll kill you.

Obey me or this is the end.

Erwin had seen what Levi knew he would. He took great pleasure in informing Levi that he knew he'd fucked Mikasa. He knew Levi had chased her during half-time at the polo match, and he knew his allegiances were changing.

It'd been a long fucking night.

After their talk, Erwin forced Levi to go deep, deep inside. He tore away any progress Mikasa had made with him and filled him with snow once again.

In an odd way, Levi was grateful.

Grateful because without Erwin meddling with Levi's psyche, there was no way in flying fuck he would've got through today.

Levi thought he'd had months.

He thought he'd been the one in control of when the next payment would happen, but as always… Levi was wrong.

Erwin had seen his ultimate plan before he'd even finalized the details.

Erwin had understood his tentative scheming of dragging out the debts until he was thirty. By then, Levi would've been in charge. By then, he might've found a way to spare Mikasa's life without losing his own.

Levi had the Sacramental Pledge over the Debt Inheritance.

He'd put things in place to end this… once and for all.

But none of his forward thinking mattered anymore.

Today was the day Mikasa paid the Second Debt.

~x~

The moment Levi walked into her quarters, Mikasa knew.

They'd slept together three times, spent only weeks in each other's company, yet she knew his soul almost as well as she knew her own.

Mystery still masked him, still hid so much, but she'd learned to read his body language.

She'd learned how to listen to his heart.

"No," Mikasa whispered, clutching the tulle she'd been working in to her chest.

Levi looked away, his face blank and unfeeling. "Yes."

Mikasa didn't need words to tell her what had happened. The truth was far too vivid to ignore.

His father.

His father had shoved him back into the blizzard and slammed the door in his face. He'd done something to him that wedged a canyon between them and left them with only one thing.

The debts.

Their emotions were on hold.

Their connection severed.

Her heart sank.

Mikasa let the lilac tulle slip through her fingers, destroying the carefully pinned pattern of a ball gown.

Pulling extra pins from her cuff, she shook her head. "Levi… it's too soon."

Mikasa thought she'd have weeks yet… months even. You didn't think… you hoped.

If she had known this would happen, she would've gone to him sooner. She would've forced him to face the truth and discuss once and for all what's happened between them last Monday. Instead, she'd done nothing but work. She didn't wander the premises or go for a run. The constant fear of where Reiner lurked had kept her trapped better than any bars or cage.

Trembles took over her chilled muscles. "Surely there must be a way to stop-"

"Quiet, Ms. Ackerman. I have no patience for your begging." Stalking toward Mikasa, Levi growled. "You know what is expected of you."

Mikasa searched his gaze for the warmth and glow of before.

There was nothing.

Closing the distance, Mikasa wrapped her arms around his cold body. Once again, his extremities were cold. No heat. No liveliness.

"Levi… please…" Nuzzling into his chest, she willed him to feel her panic, to comprehend how terrified she was of paying another debt.

He balled his hands. "Let me go."

Mikasa snuggled closer. "No. Not until you admit that you don't want to do this."

His fingers landed on her shoulders, prying her away from him. "Don't presume to know what I want."

"But it's too soon! The lash marks have barely healed on my back. I need more time."

Time to mentally prepare.

Time to steal you away.

"How do you know the timeline for what will take place?" Leaning forward, he snatched her wrist and dragged her forward. "You don't know a thing about anything, Ms. Ackerman. There is no script… no right or wrong when another debt can be taken. It's time."

The cold finality in his voice siphoned into her blood, delivering a cold chill to circulate.

Levi dragged Mikasa over to the ancient wardrobe where her clothes hung, he shoved aside the hangers to reveal the back panel. Pressing hard on the wood, the walnut surface sprang open, revealing a secret compartment with hanging white calico shifts.

Levi turned his attention to Mikasa's grey blouse.

Without a word, he undid the pearl buttons, quickly and systematically with no hint of sexual interest or burning desire.

Mikasa's limbs were endlessly heavy and cold. She mourned the unjust fate of her last name as he pushed her stretchy black leggings to the floor.

Leaving her dressed only in a white lace bra and panties, Levi snagged a calico shift and dumped it over her head.

Mikasa blinked nauseously as he tugged her arms through the holes as if she were a child.

What was going on? Where was the man who'd held her while he came inside her? Where was the softness… the gentleness?

The minute Mikasa was dressed, Levi demanded, "Take off your shoes."

She stared into his gaze, looking for a smidgen of hope. She wanted to reach inside and make him care again.

He stood taller. A flicker of life lighting up his features. "Don't. Just… it's better this way." He sighed heavily. "Please."

Mikasa tensed to fight. To argue. But his plea stopped her.

Ironically, Mikasa was the one about to be hurt- made to pay a debt she had no notion of- yet he was the one most in pain.

He needed to stay in his shell to remain strong.

Despite her misgivings and terror bubbling faster and faster in her blood, she couldn't take that away from him.

She'd fallen for him. What sort of person would she be if she willingly stripped him bare when he wasn't coping? Even if he'd been tasked to hurt her?'

Only a stupid, love struck one.

Do something, Mikasa. It's you or him.

Wrong.

Grabbing is hand; Mikasa pressed their tattooed indexes together and summoned all courage. "We're in this together. You told me so yourself."

He tensed; his face twisted with unmentionable emotion. Hanging his head, he nodded. "Together."

"In that case, do what you need to do."

They stood awkwardly, both wanting to say things that would break the fragile bravery of the moment, but neither strong enough.

Finally, he nodded, and pointed at her shoes.

Mikasa didn't argue or reply.

Kicking off her flip flops, Levi led her silently out the door and through the villa.

Every footfall sent her heart higher and higher until every terrified beat clawed at the back of her throat. She'd been scared in her life. She'd cried her eyes out when Eren almost drowned at the beach. She'd become almost comatose with terror when she saw her parents murdered in front of her eyes.

But this… this marching toward the Second Debt turned her blood into tar. She moved as if she were underwater, suffering a terrible dream she couldn't wake from.

Mikasa wanted her brother Eren. She wanted him to make it better.

Leaving the villa behind, Levi continued to march her over the freshly mowed lawn, past the stables and kennels where the foxhound lounged in the autumn sun, and over the hill.

His footsteps were spread with an occasional limp, barely noticeable. Was he hurt?

The shift she wore protected her from nothing. The breeze disappeared up the sleeves and howled around her waist, creating a mini whirlwind with her dress.

Mikasa's shivers intensified higher as goose bumps kissed her flesh.

"What… what will happen?" She asked forcing herself to stay strong and stoic.

Levi didn't reply, only increased his pace until they crested the small incline. The moment they stood on the ridge, Mikasa had the answer to her question.

Before them was the lake where Erwin and his sins had fished for trout on his birthday. It was a large manmade creation in the shape of a kidney. Willow trees and rushes graced its banks, weeping their branches into the murky depths.

It would've been peaceful, a perfect place for a picnic or a lazy afternoon with a book.

But not today.

Today, its shoreline didn't welcome ducks and geese, but an audience all dressed in black.

Erwin, Eld, and Reiner waited with unreadable stares as Levi propelled her down the grassy mound and closer to her fate.

Erwin seemed happier than she'd seen him since she'd arrived, and Reiner sucked on a beer as if they were at his favorite ballgame. Eld had the decency to hide his true feelings behind his mysterious secrecy. His face drawn and blank.

Then Mikasa's eyes fell on the woman before them.

Elena Smith.

The name came to Mikasa as surely as if she wore a name tag. This was the elusive grandmother- the ruler of Smithsridge.

Her lips pursed as if Mikasa's presence offended her. Her papery hand with vivid blue veins remained clutched in her lap. Her white hair glowed as she sat regally, poised better than any young debutant, not an elderly croon. The chair she sat in matched her bearing, looking like a morbid throne with black velvet and twilled claw-foot legs.

The maid Krista stood beside her with a parasol, drenching the dame in shade from the noonday sunshine.

It hurt to think the sun beamed upon such a place. It didn't pick favorites when casting its golden rays, whether it be innocent or guilty, it shone regardless.

Mikasa looked up into the ball of burning gas, burning her retinas and begging the sun to erase all memory of today.

Elena sniffed, raising her chin.

Erwin stepped forward, clasping his hands in glee. "Hello, Ms. Ackerman. So kind of you to join us."

"I didn't exactly have a choice." Mikasa shivered, no longer able to fight the terror lurking on the outskirts of her mind. Claws of horror sank deep inside her, dragging her further into panic.

Erwin grinned, noticing her pale skin and quaking knees. "No, you didn't. And you have no idea how happy that makes me."

Turning his attention to his son, he said, "Let's begin. Shall we?"

~x~

Levi nodded.

What else could he do?

If he refused, Eld would step in. If Levi refused, he would be killed.

His eyes fell on his grandmother. She hoisted her nose higher in the air, waiting for him to start. Erwin had deliberately brought Elena to watch, to be there if he failed.

I have no intention of failing.

He'd managed to stay cold the moment he stepped into Mikasa's quarters. Even when she'd looked into his eyes and snuggles into his chest, Levi hadn't warmed. He intended to remain aloof and removed until it was over.

It was the only way.

Erwin stepped back, squeezing his mother's shoulder.

Elena Smith looked at him smiling thinly. He was her favorite. But just like her son, she couldn't stand her grandchildren.

Mina. She stands Mina.

That was true. If there was anyone who'd excelled in this family and played perfectly in the role she'd been given, it was Mina.

Erwin said, "Begin, Levi. Pretend we aren't here if it will make you feel any better."

Levi held back his snort. He never wanted to forget that they were there. If he did, he'd lose any hope of being icy and slip. He'd find a way to take it easy on Mikasa and avoid certain parts of this debt- just like he'd done with the First Debt and not freezing her the way he should have.

Today, there would be no leniency. Today, Mikasa must be strong enough to face the full brunt of what his family would do to her.

Stop avoiding the truth.

What you will do to her. You alone.

In that instant, Levi wanted to hand the power over to Eld. Make him do it, so Mikasa would hate Eld instead of him.

Mikasa stood quivering beside him. The air was chilly but not cold enough to warrant the chattering of her teeth or blueness of her fingers.

She's petrified.

And for good reason.

"Levi, I suggest you begin. I'm not getting any younger, boy," Elena muttered.

Reiner snickered, gulping down another mouthful of beer. "Snap, snap, old chap."

Eld crossed his arms, locking away his thoughts completely.

Levi looked to the piece of equipment that had been secured to the pond's banks. It remained covered by a black cape… for now.

Soon, Mikasa would see what it was, and she would understand what would happen.

But first, he had to be expressive and deliver the speech he'd been taught to memorize since he'd been told of his role.

Grabbing Mikasa's arm, Levi positioned her on the patch of earth that'd been decorated with a thick pouring of salt. He'd done the design. The sunrise had witnessed his artistry as he followed an ancient custom.

Mikasa's eyes dropped to her feet as he pressed her hard, telling her with actions alone not to move.

"Oh, my God," she murmured, slapping a hand over her mouth.

His wintry ice saved him from feeling anymore of her panic; Levi locked his muscles as he prepared to recite.

The pentagram she stood in gave a giant hint as to the debt she would be paying.

Her black eyes met his, her hair whipping around her face, just like it had when she'd found the graves of her ancestors.

It was almost unexpected that she would pay this debt now, especially after he'd thought that she'd looked like a witch casting a curse on the Smiths.

"As you can see, Ms. Ackerman. You stand in a pentacle star. It's well known that the five pointed star represents the five wounds of Christ. It's been used in the Church of millennia. Yet a reserved pentagram is the symbol of dark magic- a tool wielded by Wiccans and practiced regularly in witchcraft."

Levi's family stared enraptured, even though they knew the tale by heart.

Mikasa seemed to shrink, her eyes never leaving the thick rivers of salt imprisoning her in a design of wickedness.

"Your ancestor was found practicing the dark arts, for which she escaped severe punishment. In the 1400's, it was common for poor folk to seek help from those who promised quick riches. They'd be lured into believing a weed would cure boils or a toad would turn them into a prince. Those who had luck with their spell or incantation did more than just seek men or women who practiced magic; they wanted the power for themselves. They became immersed in Wicca and turned their backs on religion.

"Needless to say, they were caught. Their whereabouts would be noted, their stores of dried herbs confiscated, and the sentence no one survived decreed. They were a traitor to their faith, but they would be given a choice- prove their innocence by drowning, or admit to their sins by burning at the stake and returning to the devil they worshiped."

Mikasa's pale cheeks shimmered with cascading tears. Her nose went red from cold and she wrapped her arms around herself, partly to ward off the chill but mostly to keep herself from running.

No ropes bound her. She could leave. She could run.

But she also knew they'd catch her and he'd have to add another punishment for her disobedience.

All that Levi knew. All of it he understood with one look into her glassy eyes.

He even knew she wasn't aware she was crying; completely enthralled and mortified with where his tale would go.

Taking a deep breath, Levi continued, "All of what I said is true. However, it came with rules… like most things."

Erwin nodded as if he'd personally been there and watched the bonfires burning.

"Penniless people were caught while those wealthy enough weren't. It didn't mean that women who dined on cakes and tea and employed servants to wash away their crimes didn't dally in potions… far from it. They were the most proficient. They sold their concoctions to other well-to-do housewives and bribed any official who dared to ask questions about their faith."

Levi made the mistake of looking at Mikasa again. Her lips parted and a silent word escaped.

Please.

Tearing his gaze away, Levi forced himself to continue, "Your ancestor as no different, Ms. Ackerman. She blatantly did what she wanted. She brewed so-called elixirs and cast so-called curses. And she did it all from the drawing room of the Ackerman household- the same household the Smiths cleaned and maintained for her.

"A few years passed where she went undetected, but of course, she made a mistake. She suffered the misfortune of creating a potion for an aristocratic friend's offspring. It didn't work. Her remedy didn't heal the friend's child… it poisoned him."

Mikasa buried her face in her hands.

"Word got out, and the mayor came knocking. He'd turned a blind eye until now, but he could no longer ignore her wrongdoings and buckled under the pressure of whispering folk. When he arrived to arrest her, Mrs. Ackerman announced she'd been doing it under duress. She was a kind, simple woman with no more power in her blood than the next.

"Needless to say, the mayor did not believe her- he'd seen with his own eyes what happened to the boy who'd died from one of her vials. But he was on the Ackerman's payroll. If he sent the richest man in town's wife to the stake, he would kiss his extra salary goodbye. But if he didn't bow to the wishes of his township, he could face the noose in return."

Levi swallowed, hating the next part. When Elena had told him what'd happened, he'd been almost sick with rage. To think that the Ackermans got away with such things.

His lips twisted at the ironic truth. Now it was his family who got away with murder, right beneath the noses of the law.

"Mrs. Ackerman came up with a solution. She promised it would benefit everyone. Everyone but the Smiths, that is."

Mikasa bowed her head, hunching into herself.

Elena snapped, "Listen, girl. Listen to the disgusting actions from the bloodline who birthed you."

Mikasa's head came up; her shoulders straightened. Her jaw set and she latched her gaze on Levi's, just waiting for him to continue.

Shoving his fist into his jeans pockets, he said, "She told the mayor a secret… a lie. She said it wasn't her practicing, but the hired help's fourteen-year old daughter. She said she caught her red-handed selling potions from the kitchens. She fabricated untruths of how my ancestor's daughter had been swindling and tarnishing the Ackermans name for years.

"The mayor was happy with such tale. He would have someone to answer to the angry mob and at the same time keep his salary. The Ackermans gave him a bonus for his loyalty and the poor Smith daughter was carted away to be thrown into jail to await trial."

Reiner laughed. "Get it, Mikasa. Do you see where this is going?"

Levi frowned at him.

Erwin snarled, "Shut up, Reiner. This is Levi's production. Let him finish."

Reiner sulked, tossing his empty beer bottle into the reeds by his feet.

Levi sighed; it was almost over.

No, it's not.

Levi still had to extract the debt.

He hardened his heart, blocking out everything but the next ten minutes. If he sliced up his day and focused on bite-sized pieces, he could get through this.

He would get through this.

"For a week, she rotted in the cells with barely food or water. By the time the trial came to pass, she was delirious with hunger and disease. The Smith daughter pleaded her innocence. She stood before a court of twelve and begged them to see reason. She tore apart every conviction against her and argued her case that any right-minded human would've seen was all Mrs. Ackerman's doing. But the truth does not set you free."

Mikasa twitched as he said it, her eyes flaring with knowledge from their past discussion on the matter.

Looking away, Levi said, "She was sentence to burn at the stake at sunrise."

Mikasa moaned, shaking her head in horror.

Elena Smith muttered, "Now do you see why we hate you so?"

Rushing ahead, Levi finished, "One saving grace was she was granted a choice. The daughter was told she could prove her innocence or admit her guilt." Moving toward Mikasa, Levi wound his fingers in her hair, cursing his heart for tripping as the black strand rippled around his knuckles. "What do you think she chose, Ms. Ackerman?" He brushed his nose against her throat, doing his utmost to tame his member from reacting to her delectable smell. "Fire or water… what would you choose?"

Mikasa shook harder, her eyes like black orbs of dread. She tried to speak, but a croak came out instead. Licking her lips, she tried again. "Innocence."

"So, you would prefer to drown by water than be purged by fire?"

Another tear trickled down her cheek. "Yes."

"Yes, what?"

Bracing herself, Mikasa said loudly "I would choose water."

Levi nodded. "Exactly.

"And that's what my ancestor chose as well."

~x~

I was about to be drowned.

Mikasa was to repent for heinous lies, to prove her innocence from witchcraft that she didn't practice, and perish the way so many innocent girls had done in the past.

In the 1400's, the law system was run by the Church. And the Church had ultimate control. It didn't matter that they sentenced a young girl to death. It didn't matter that she was innocent. Even if she chose trial by water, she would still end up dead.

The proverb from those days came back to haunt Mikasa.

Ye innocent will float upon their demise while ye guilty will sink just like their dirty minds.

Both scenarios ended in death.

There was no justice, only a deranged mob looking for entertainment by heckling and ripping a young girl's life apart.

Shaking her head, Mikasa tried to rid the images inside her brain.

Levi vibrated before her, his back to his family, his eyes only for her.

Beneath the silver ice lurked a need for her to understand. To forgive him or what he was about to do.

How could he ask her that when she didn't know if she would survive?

If you do go to your grave today, don't condemn him any more than what he is.

Somehow, Mikasa had gone from slaughter to just being sacrifice, still unable to hurt him, even while he hurt her.

Mikasa nodded- or tried to nod- she was so stiff her body barely moved.

Levi's nostrils flared. He saw her acknowledgement, her permission to proceed.

You're insane.

Maybe you are a witch.

You seem to believe you're immortal and can't be killed.

That might be true. In fact that moment, she wished it were true.

With his back straight and legs spread, Levi asked the question she'd been waiting for. "Do you repent, Ms. Ackerman? Do you take ownership for your family's sins and agree to pay the debt?"

Mikasa almost collapsed because she shook so hard. It was the exact same question Levi made her answer before extracting the First Debt.

Before she replied, Mikasa asked a question of her own. Looking directly at Elena Smith, she asked, "When I first arrived, I was told I would be used cruelly and with no thought. I was told the first son dictated my life and that there would be no rules on what he did with me." Her voice wobbled, but she forced herself to go on. "Yet, everything you do follows strict repetition. Re-creating the past over and over again. You're bound by what happened as much as us. Surely you're powerful enough to tear up such guidelines and find it in your hearts to let go."

Her hands balled as anger shot fierce and hot. "Let this end!"

Elena's mouth parted half in amazement, half in joy.

Her hazel eyes twinkled as she keened forward, pointing a knobbly finger in Mikasa's direction. "Let's get something straight, young lady. My grandson is bound, as you say, by records kept for hundreds of years. He has to follow each one perfectly. But the rest- anything outside of paying the debts- that is purely at his discretion."

She cocked her chin, looking at Levi.

He stood frozen.

"He is the one who decides if you're to be kept apart or shared. He is the one who decides if you deserve leniency for obedience or punishment for insubordination."

Her dry lips pulled back over cavity- riddled teeth. "There is something you don't know, Mikasa Ackerman. And normally I wouldn't tell a guttersnipe like you what conservations go on within my family, but it should make you grateful to know. Do you want to know, child?"

The wind stole Mikasa's hair, snapping it around her like black lightning. Standing in the pentacle seemed to summon powers she didn't have, transferring ancient magic that should remain dead and buried. The back of her scalp prickled; Mikasa inched closer to the edge of the salt, needing to leave. "Yes. I want to know."

Shooting a look at Levi, Mikasa tried to imagine the conversations he had with the people he held most dear. Was there anyone he let himself be free with? Just his sister. Mikasa knew that from the way Mina spoke of him. He lived with a large family yet remained so alone.

Elena Smith took a shallow breath. "Levi came to me a few days after your arrival with a request to keep you to himself."

"Grandmother-"Levi began.

Elena glared at him. "No. I can tell her. Perhaps she'll obey you better and we can move one before the moon rises."

Levi's nostrils flared as he nodded, looking over his grandmother's shoulder, removing himself from the conversation.

Elena waggled her finger at him once more. "Your arrival was meant to be celebrated. You were a gift for my son and grandsons. You were meant to be shared." Her lips spread broadly. "Do you understand what I'm saying to you child?"

Sickness rolled in Mikasa's gut.

Yes, she knew what she referred to. Levi has said as much before after his chase. He'd said she'd be passed around. But it never happened. Her eyes flew to him.

Even then… even when he was so awful, he was protecting her from worse.

The sickness disappeared, replaced with an unbearable ache inside his heart.

"Yes, I understand what you're saying."

Elena Smith sat back, dropping her bony hand. "Good. You'd be wise to remember that. Remember that we have rules but freedom, guidelines but exceptions, but most of all, immunity against whatever we please to do."

Erwin cleared his throat, moving forward and stealing the limelight. "Enough." Snapping his fingers at his son, he ordered, "Levi. Ask the girl the question again."

Mikasa's back tensed. The breeze died, untangling itself from her hair and letting it drape like a death covering over her shoulders.

Oh, God.

Her feet tingled to be from the pentagram, but at the same time, she didn't want to move. Perhaps she was safe inside this five pointed salt etching. Perhaps whatever pathway was conjured could steal her away and protect her from the Second Debt.

She was only fourteen.

The Smith girl had died to protect her ancestor. She would've been petrified and so betrayed. Why was I any better than her? Why did she deserve to be freed when she was killed for a lie?

Mikasa swallowed as Levi faced her completely. His hands were fisted by his sides. His face blank and cold. "Do you repent, Ms. Ackerman? Do you take ownership of your family's sins and agree to pay the debt?"

His voice echoed in her ears. She wished he were asking her anything but that. She fantasized about a different question. So many different questions.

Do you want to run away with me?

Can you forgive my family for what they've done?

Have you fallen for me, like I've fallen for you?

Infinitely better questions. But ones she would never hear.

She'd delayed as much as possible.

She had nothing left to but get it over with.

Bracing herself, Mikasa locked eyes first with Levi then with each member of his deluded family. He didn't need to ask her twice, regardless of her stalling. She knew her role, her part in their theatrics.

If there was any power at all in the pentacle, Mikasa summoned it now. She summoned age-old wizardly and asked for one thing:

Let me endure, so I may pay the sins of my past. But let me survive, so I may put an end to those who hurt me.

The wind howled, fluttering the hem of her shift… almost in answer.

Balling her hands, Mikasa said, "Yes." Her voice carried loud and clear with a touch of defiance. "Yes, I accept the debt."

Erwin's forehead furrowed as if he were pissed with her strength and ownership of something so terrible. He looked robbed. He looked furious.

Levi, on the other hand, looked tormented. His face went white and he nodded. "In that case, let's begin."

Mikasa closed her eyes, taking one last moment to fortify her soul.

You can get through this, Mikasa.

You can.

They won't kill you. Not yet.

Another fit of shivers overtook her. It could be entirely possible that after this, she would wish they would. Mikasa might want them to kill her and put her out of her misery.

Levi gritted his jaw and moved toward the ominous looking contraption that remained hidden beneath a black cloth. Every time the breeze caught the edge, she tried to see what it was. The brief glimpses of wood and leather gave her no hint.

Wrapping his fist in the fabric, Levi tore it off with a flourish.

Her hear instantly suffocated.

Mikasa stepped back, scuffing the salt line and breaking the pentacle boundary. The thunder boomed on the horizon; heavy clouds inched closer.

She'd seen one of those things- a long time ago- in a book called Fifty Ingenious Ways of Torture. Eren and his friend Armin had checked it out from the local library. She'd hated the book so much. Armin cried when he seen the pictures. Eren thought he would an ass and chased her around the house with it, flicking pages of blood and gore and absolute pain.

She didn't need water to drown her. Her fear did that spectacularly well on its own.

It was a seesaw.

A terrified giggle bubbled in her chest. She liked seesaws. Eren had doubled-bounce her more than once as they played on them as children.

But this wasn't just any seesaw.

This one destroyed all happy memories of ever being on one. She would never ever go on another.

Not after today.

Not after this.

Levi didn't look at her, stroking the end closest to him; what looked like a simple tree trunk. It'd been carved into a smooth past with leather handholds hammered into the wood.

There were four straps in total.

Mikasa's eyes followed the length of the seesaw, taking in the hinge before gritting her teeth and forcing herself to stare at the other end.

That was where she would go.

That end wasn't smooth or basic. It'd been modified. It was… it's a chair.

A simple wooden chair with cuffs for wrists and ankles. There were no cushions, no luxury- a prison cell suspended over the deep lake. It faced toward the pond, barring her from seeing what would happen on shore.

It was worse than any whipping post or dungeon.

Levi leaned on the wooden beam, tilting the weight to sway the chair from the glistening water. It moved as if it was possessed, floating effortlessly, swinging toward her as if it knew she was the one destined to sit.

Mikasa moved back, tripping over her feet in her rush.

She bumped into something solid and warm. Jumping, she swallowed her squeal as Eld's strong fingers came around her shoulders, rubbing her with his thumbs. "Trust us. We won't let you drown. We know you're innocent of witchcraft and don't need to prove that by taking your life." His voice lowered, barely registering in her ears. "Hold your breath and let your mind wander. Don't fight. Don't struggle."

His circling thumbs made her want to vomit. His kind-heartedness only made this worse. Jerking out of his hold, she stood shivering in her shift. "Don't touch me."

His eyes tightened with hurt, and for some mysterious reason, she felt as if she owed him and explanation.

I'm so cold.

Fear had stolen everything.

She'd never quivered so badly, never been so terrified. Her teeth chattered harder and Mikasa bit her tongue. Pain flared, a trickle of blood tainting her mouth.

Levi came up beside her. He held out his hand. "Ready, Ms. Ackerman?"

No.

I'll never be ready for this.

Mikasa paused, swallowing blood and every urge to beg.

If they were alone, she would've toppled to her knees and wrapped her arms around his waist. She would've had no decorum or self- control. She would've promised anything, given him everything, if only he put a stop to this.

Please, don't do this.

His eyes narrowed, glinting with anger. His family watched their every move.

That was it, then. There was no way out. He was resigned to this. And so must she.

Dropping her head, letting a curtain of ebony hair block her from the world, she nodded.

"You need to say it," he muttered. "Say it out loud. Admit that you deserve this."

Closing her eyes, Mikasa died a little inside. Forcing herself to raise her hand, she presented herself to him.

Levi stole her wrist; his cold touch seeped like permafrost into her already freezing body.

With a tug, he stole her from the pentagram, and dragged her toward the chair. "You still haven't said it, Ms. Ackerman."

Her panic had become physical, slapping a gag over her mouth, Mikasa struggled with the word. One simple little word.

Stepping toward the chair, she whispered, "Yes. Yes, I admit I deserve this."

Levi made a distorted noise in his chest.

Mikasa closed her eyes.

It was done.

~x~

Tying her down was one of the hardest fucking things Levi have done.

Not because his family was watching and he had no way of fucking up the debt.

And not because his heart dripped with icicles and frost.

And not even because he was so fucking close to snapping and showing everything that he was.

But because he'd promised himself the next time he restrained her, he would be granting her pleasure not pain.

He'd wanted her to squirm beneath his tongue while she was bound. He wanted to taste her as she came apart while suspended. And he wanted her delicious moans to fill his ears while she was trapped.

Levi wanted her to give in to him. To trust him. To give him every single pleasure she could feel.

When he'd fucked her in her quarters that second time, he'd made a vow to take her completely. To take her his way… all the way.

That meant getting inside her head, her heart, and her mind. He wasn't satisfied with owning her body. It didn't give him what he craved. Only her complete submission and immeasurable love could do that.

Levi would've taken days. Days to extract everything she had to give him. The word 'torture' came from the origins to twist. He would've twisted Mikasa's emotions so she'd carry him forever in her heart. He would've made a home inside her so he could be finally fucking free.

She could give him a cure no one else could grant. She could switch every pain he had into something… more.

He wanted more.

He wanted everything.

And now, he would have nothing.

Now, now she would forever associate being tied up as something to be avoided, especially by him.

Her rapid breath fluttered over his face as Levi bent over her and pressed her forearm against the armrest.

The white shift didn't hide the ghost of her lingerie, or the peaking of her nipples. Her skin was cold, her lips growing bluer by the minute.

Mikasa hadn't even been in the lake and already she looked hypothermic.

She's as cold as me.

The leather slipped a few times from his grip as Levi fumbled to feed the buckle. Luckily, his back blocked his motions from his father, otherwise he would see his frost was thawing. He would see the haunting in Levi's eyes of being so close to this woman while she hated him.

Mikasa was the culprit… his undoing.

She melted him.

She was the fucking sun. And he was about to splash out her heat.

Once her wrists were shackled, Levi ducked to attend to her ankles. Her legs pushed as her shaking grew worse. Her teeth chittered and chattered, her hair sticking to the cold sweat dotting her brow.

Levi hesitated a moment too long. Reaching out, he wrapped her finger around her leg, preparing to fasten the cuff.

She gasped, dragging his eyes to her.

Fuck.

It was a terrible mistake to look at her.

She looked so small. So easily broken. Her eyes were wide for her face, her skin stretched over bones that might shatter if she became any colder.

Levi tried to look away.

He tried.

But he couldn't.

Their gazes locked; he groaned under his breath as the connection between them only strengthened. The diamond collar around her neck sparkled even as the clouds above them blotted out the sunshine and gathered dark grey.

Mikasa stopped shivering, almost as if she found sanctuary in his gaze.

Levi stopped fighting, almost as if she tamed the insanity inside him.

What was this… this chain? How had she captured him so completely, and how the fuck did he sever it?

The deeper he fell into her, the worst it got.

Her panic siphoned into his soul, twisting his gut until he wanted to vomit. Her flesh turned white as the moon and just as ghostly.

In the starkness of what was about to happen, she'd never been so beautiful, so bewitching, so intense.

His knees wobbled, itching to kneel before her and place his head in her lap. To rest… and pretend none of this existed. To have her comfort him.

Erwin growled under his breath, smashing through their moment, rendering it dead.

Mikasa sniffed, tears glossing her eyes.

The link between them had been so bright, but now it was back to darkness.

You're running out of time.

Gritting his teeth, Levi forced himself to work faster. His fingers moved swiftly, securing the buckle around her left ankle.

He looked up on last time. Needing her to know that he'd come to her full of nothing, but now she'd filled him with everything.

She looked into his eyes, and then glanced away.

Levi wanted to tell her he was sorry. He wanted her to see in his gaze what he could never say aloud.

Forgive me.

With a soft moan, she closed her eyes, cutting him off completely.

Her dismissal butchered his heart, dug it out with a dirty blade, and sent it splashing into the pond. The hole left behind filled with algae water, and bracken. He was a fucking bastard. He should stop this.

But I won't.

Levi wanted what he'd inherit on his thirtieth birthday. He was selfish, greedy, and vain. He wanted Mikasa, too. He believed he could have both.

If only he had more time.

You don't have more time. Not today.

Securing her other ankle, he stood.

Levi waited for her to look at him, give him some sign she understood that they were in this together. That despite what he did, the tattoos overrode his loyalty to his family and bound him to her.

His Ackerman.

Her Smith.

He waited another second, and another.

But she never opened her eyes. Her forehead furrowed harder, her fists curled tighter, and she withdrew from him until there was no emotion left- just a tiny dying star that once had shone so bright.

Leaving him heartless and bleeding, she gave him nothing else to do.

Levi slipped into his role as torturer and began.

~x~

Please, grant me strength.

Please, grant me power.

Please don't let me scream.

Bound to the chair, Mikasa kept her eyes squeezed as tight as possible- so tight- no light entered, no swirling colors from behind her eyelids. Just pitch black darkness.

When Levi looked at her with agony in his eyes, she'd pitied him. He held so many secrets in his gray depths. So many rights. So many wrongs.

Mikasa could have a lifetime with him and never understand.

But in that moment, she did understand, and she both despised and bled for him. He was supposed to give her strength by making her hate him. She wanted to rue him as much as she did the day she found her ancestor's graves. Hate would've kept her warm and alive.

But he'd stolen that by looking destroyed, crippled with conflicting loyalties.

It made her fall harder.

It made her slam to the bottom of her feelings for him.

She wanted to praise him for letting her into his heart. She wanted to tell him she had the capacity to love him in return.

But she didn't.

She couldn't.

He didn't deserve it.

And then, she found her hate again.

Mikasa hated him for being too weak and not going against his family.

She cursed him for not having the courage to choose.

Why should he choose me?

He barely even knew her.

But souls were wise things. They always knew before the brain or the heart. There was no discriminating- if you saw your perfect other… you knew- instantly.

There was something there from the beginning.

Just like there had been for them.

And it would remain there until Levi successfully tore it out and killed it.

Because even though they were linked by this fragile, fluttering thing, it wouldn't take much to ruin. It was already on the brink.

He's sentenced me to pay the Second Debt.

How many more would he carry out?

Did she trust him to be strong enough to end this before her life was stolen?

Looking over her shoulder, his family glared at her as if she'd killed their loves ones with a barely spoken curse. They watched with anxiety- as if they believed she'd descended from the witch they hated and would turn them to toads at any second.

Superstition perfumed the breeze. Hate bloomed from roses. And impatience spiced the water lilies.

Mikasa missed the intimacy of the First Debt. She missed the throbbing chemistry between Levi and herself even while he did something so wrong. It had just been the two of them. Together.

Now, it was just her against them.

"Do you know what this is, Ms. Ackerman?" Levi asked, stealing her attention.

She pressed her lips together. Her neck hurt from straining to look over her shoulder.

When she didn't answer, Levi recited, his voice silted and cool. "You're sitting in a ducking stool. It was used traditionally as a torture method for women. Its free-moving arm swings over the river to extract truth and confessions by ducking into the freezing cold water"

He looked away from her, pacing between the reeds. "The length of immersion was decided by the operator and the crime of which the woman was accused. It could last for just a few seconds, but in some circumstances, the process was continuously repeated over the course of a day."

He faced her. "Do you know the crimes the ducking stool was used for?"

Mikasa didn't answer. She refused.

She made an oath not to scream. She refused to entertain them with her cries.

Eld came forward, answering on behalf of Levi. "Most common crimes were prostitution and witchcraft. Scolds were also punished by this method." His lips tilted. "Know what a scold is, Mikasa?"

She couldn't stop her head from shaking.

Shit, I didn't mean to react.

Levi's eyes narrowed, his chest rising sharply.

"A scold was gossiper, shrew, or a bad tempered woman," Eld said.

Levi glared at his brother. "Even though I have experience with your temper, Ms. Ackerman, I cannot say you are a scold." Running a hand through his hair, he finished. "Regardless, this is to show you how death by water can be one of the most frightening things of all. This is how my ancestor died. This is how you will pay."

Snapping his fingers, Levi ordered, "Turn your head. Look away."

Another avalanche of fear tumbled through her. She couldn't do this!

"Turn around, girl!" Erwin snapped.

Mikasa didn't know how she did it, but she slowly resettled on the hard wooden seat, and tore her eyes from Levi. The pond before her twinkled like cold jewels- blue and green and black.

Her heart grew bigger and bigger in her chest until it filled every inch. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't think. She couldn't blink.

Noise came from behind her; she had to fight every instinct to look.

Trust in Eld. He said they wouldn't drown me.

Suddenly, the chair swooped upward. It went from being glued in the mud to flying high over the earth. Mikasa gasped, smashing her lips together to contain her scream.

No. No, no, no.

Her fingers had nothing to hold onto. Her wrists kissed the wood, held in place by tight leather. Her legs couldn't move. She was well and truly caught.

The ducking stool wobbled as whatever forced held her up readjusted to her weight. The breeze was stronger up there, whistling over the water like tiny mournful flutes. The view would've been peaceful with the weeping willows and ducks grooming on the banks. But she was caught in her worst nightmare.

Mikasa didn't want to see anymore.

Squeezing her eyes, she wished she'd been blindfolded. She didn't want to witness what was to come.

Don't open your eyes. Don't open them.

Someone's hands brushed against her ankles. A mechanism was locked then another swoop higher and higher sent her stomach splattering to her toes.

She and Eren had gone to amusement parks for family fun time with the Yeagers. Eren adored the loop de loop rollercoasters. He basked in the joy of making himself dizzy.

Mikasa had found no thrill in being bound to an uncomfortable ride, listening to the clack-clack of the rollercoaster wheels as they clawed its way up higher on the mountain track. Every clatter of the rails sent equal measures of panic and excitement… until they reached the top… and just hovered there.

They'd hovered like a bird basking in being on top of the world.

That was where she hung now.

Gravity defying- a girl in a white dress suspended above a dark green pond. A girl who would've done anything to have been born a Jones, a White, or a Bolton.

And then the rollercoaster slipped from weightless to bullet, freefalling over the mountain and hurling her into terror.

Mikasa promised herself she wouldn't scream.

It was a hard promise to keep.

The chair lost its support, leaving her belly above her as she fell and fell and fell.

Forever she fell, before splashing into frigid wetness.

The moment the water lapped around her ankles, Mikasa gave up trying to be brave.

The water slurped and sucked devouring her legs in an instant.

The human part of her- the girl inside- was shoved aside by instinct and horror.

She squirmed, gasping louder and louder as the ice welcome her, faster and faster. The wooden chair surrendered to the water, letting it lap its way almost seductively up her legs, over her waist, her breasts, her throat…her…

…mouth.

Mikasa arched her neck as best as she could. She fought against the ponds embrace.

She managed one last gulp of life.

Then, she disappeared.

She became a prisoner of the lake.

She promised herself she wouldn't scream.

She lied.

The instant the water crashed over her head, she lost it.

Well and truly lost it.

Her eyes flew open in the murky gloom and she screamed.

Mikasa screamed as if she would die. She screamed as if her body was being torn in two and eaten alive. She screamed as if this was the end.

Bubbles cascade from her mouth, gifting all her oxygen to a passing trout in a riot of glistening foam.

She promised herself she would stay calm. That she would listen to Eld's advice and get through this with complete trust, knowing that eventually she would be hoisted back up.

That was another lie.

She had no understanding of time.

Second were minutes and minutes were years.

Mikasa bobbed in a substance that would kill her with no way free.

It was enough to send her back into insanity.

She didn't care she could break an arm or leg fighting against the securely buckled straps. She didn't care she could snap her neck by thrashing hopelessly in the chair. And she definitely didn't care she could break her mind by letting the horror of being drowned consume her.

She couldn't stand it.

I'm dying

I can't fucking stand it!

And then, just like any rollercoaster, another incline halted the fatal swoop and hurled her back into the heaven once again.

The weight of the water pressed down on her skull and shoulders. Her eyes burned from rushing water. The pressure. The unrelenting grip the lake had on her. It fought the pull. It didn't want to let her go.

The sodden material of her gown sucked to her skin as her chair was raised and raised until…

Pop.

The water relented, letting her break the skin of the pond and leave and watery death behind.

Thank God- I can breathe!

Up and up Mikasa swooped spluttering and dripping rain from above. She breathed and coughed and choked and sobbed.

She sucked in air as if she only had one purpose in life: to revive herself and regain her sanity.

Her heartbeat was frantic- palpating, double beating- far too fast and petrified.

Her long hair plastered to her face. Every mouthful of oxygen she sucked, strands smothered her mouth. More panic screeched through her veins. The claustrophobia was more than she could bear.

Through the forest of her hair, Mikasa had to see behind her. She had to look at Levi and let him see her how much she'd unraveled. She wouldn't be able to stand another dunk.

I won't.

Quaking, she looked over her shoulder. Her hair tugged, interweaving wetly around her throat as she focused on the banks.

Through drips of water, she vaguely noticed the four Smith men. All four had their elbows locked, pushing down on the weight and gripping hard to the leather handholds.

The strength it took to raise and plunge her into the pond exceeded that of one man.

This debt.

This atrocity had become a family affair.

Levi, Eld, Reiner, and Erwin.

Together they played roulette with her life, and in a perfect harmony, they shifted as one and began the rollercoaster all over again.

Their side of the seesaw rose; she dropped.

"No!" Mikasa screamed, thrashing in the chair.

But they ignored her.

Faster and faster they dropped her until they disappeared; once again, her aquatic grave welcomed her.

The water's kiss devoured her feet, her thighs, her breasts… her head.

She sank quicker.

Like she belonged.

The second time was no better.

If anything, it was worse.

Her lungs burned.

They felt as if they bled with her submerged screams.

Her heartbeat sent ripples of horror through the water cradling her. Sonic sound waves alerted fish that she would soon be easy prey… that she was moments from slipping from this world and into another.

One that hopefully treated her better.

Mikasa shrugged harder, bruised deeper, and drove herself quicker into madness.

She screamed again, unable to hold in oxygen. Something scaly swam beneath her, tickling her toes. Leaves of water grasses and quick flashes of movement from frogs all sent her mind twirling into darkness.

Images of Loch Ness monsters and sea creatures with wicked sharp teeth stole the remainders of rationality.

I want to breathe.

I want to live.

Mikasa strained for the lighter green of the surface. Crying and pleading and drinking gallons of pond scum in her struggle to stay alive.

Time played a horrible joke on her. It never ended.

There was no reprieve… no air.

The emerald depth of the water crowded her, closing in tighter and tighter- crushing her like a tin can beneath its gentle waves.

This ducking last longer or maybe she was destroyed already. Perhaps it was shorter, but she'd run out of reserves to hold on.

Mikasa wanted to stop fighting.

She wanted to succumb.

How weak she was.

How fragile.

How broken.

Her fighting gave away to twitches. Her muscles fought on their own demanding oxygen she didn't have to give.

Her hair hovered around her like it was alive, swaying like seaweed, promising an easy existence if she just followed its gentle dance and give in.

Just… give in.

Give in to the gentle lullaby of sleep.

If she died, she won.

The Smiths would lose as she would be free.

Her struggling ceased and she hung there as if she was no longer bones and breath, but weightless freedom. Her shift rose like wings around her, sending her deeper into the abyss.

It was quiet down there. Quiet and calm and… drifting.

Mikasa drifted…

She faded…

Then the weight began again, folding her chin against her collar, tugging her from the deep. Pounding, pounding pressure as she was wrenched from her emerald tomb and hurled into the clouds again.

Gravity was now her foe, making everything so eternally heavy. Her chest was an elephant. Her head a bowling ball.

And she was weak.

So weak.

Air trickled down her throat, mixing with water she'd drank, making her retch. As each mouthful registered, her brain awoke, kicking her into survival. Mikasa moaned and begged and devoured every drop of oxygen she could.

She couldn't look up. She couldn't look behind her.

All she saw was blackness. But something granted her inhuman strength to twist in her bindings and look, just once, behind.

The clouds were dark and threatening, shadowing the Smiths in muted gloom.

Levi's gray eyes burned into hers from the banks, superseding all distance, glowing like paradise.

Paradise…

I would like to go to paradise.

But when Mikasa looked at Erwin, Eld, and Reiner.

Their eyes were the same.

All of them.

Four men. Four wishes and wills.

Evil eyes.

Dreadful eyes.

Eyes she never wanted to see again.

Reiner asked, "Have you given up your power, you wicked witch? Are you cured of the infection of magic?"

Levi shoved him, cursing him beneath his breath.

Then, she fell again. The men released their hold, shooing her from dryness and gifting her to a wet crypt.

As the water crashed over her head the third time, Mikasa gave up.

There was no point in fighting.

She was done.

She lost all track of time.

Up, down, up, down. Wet to dry and back again.

Every ducking she grew weaker… faded faster.

How many times did they raise her, only to drop her a few moments later? She believed Levi when they said some torture sessions went on all day.

It felt as if this lasted forever.

She couldn't move. She had no energy remaining.

Underwater again, her heartbeat raced until it splintered her ribs, slicing her open, letting water pour down her throat and slosh into her lungs.

Delusions were no longer something to fear, but to be embraced. Delusions brought fantasies to life, soothing her, eradicating monsters from her world.

Down here, unicorns existed. Up there, only beasts.

Mikasa opened her mouth wider, slack-jawed and spaced.

Perhaps she had a gift she didn't know of.

Perhaps she was a mermaid and cold breathe water better than air.

Perhaps she could transform and swim far, far away from here.

She would try.

Anything was better than this.

The icy ache in her chest as the water filled her like a balloon was foreign and frightening.

But then it grew warmer.

And warmer.

It comforted her.

The pain left.

The panic receded.

She said goodbye to life.

Death slid over her with the sweetest kiss.

Mikasa smiled and sighed and gave into the deep.

~x~

She was dead.

Levi knew it.

He couldn't explain how he knew.

But he did.

He'd done it.

He'd killed her.

She'd left me.

To Be Continued…

Author's Notes:

Hope this was to your liking… your thoughts?

Side Note: Elena Smith also known as Elena Munsell is from the Shingeki no Kyojin manga Before the Fall.

Going all out here… its 3 o' clock in the morning… {-_-}

Songs:

Banks - F*ck Em Only We Know

Nick Jonas featuring Tove Lo - Close

Utada Hikaru featuring Mflo - Final Distance

Jess Glynne - No Rights No Wrongs

Ariana Grande - The Way

Day 26 - Together

Trey Songz - One Love