Chapter Text
Soft morning light crept silently across the meadow, like a pulse that grew stronger until the land breathed with life. The sun rose into the sky behind the trees, beating steadily in a ribcage of tangled branches as warm light spilled into every corner, bathing the countryside in a golden, dream-like haze.
The silence was chased away by two galloping horses, and all at once the stillness of the meadow was gone. With a pull of the reins, one rider brought his horse to a stop, and waited for the other to do the same.
“It’s a fair prospect,” the first rider reflected, after his friend’s coal-black horse had trotted to a stop beside his dapple gray. Sensing his friend’s disapproval, he spoke again. “I know it’s nothing compared to Pemberley, but I have to settle somewhere.”
“Then you should take it.” The other man, smaller in stature than his companion, spoke in a low, composed voice. His sharp steel-grey eyes cut through the landscape as he surveyed the manor in the distance.
Bright sea-green eyes watched curiously from afar as the two strangers rode off in the direction of the manor. The wind ran cold fingers through his dark hair, brushing roughly against his cheeks as the corners of his mouth quirked up into a thoughtful smile. He gazed at the low rolling hills that reached up for the pearl-blue sky, admiring the view once more before turning away. He sauntered down the hill, pausing to look about himself once he reached the winding road at the bottom. Seeing that he was alone, he laughed and raced down the steep slope, filled with a sudden rush of childlike exhilaration. His pace slowed as the road dipped down, patches of ethereal light filtering through the leaves of the trees and dancing across his face as he walked.
He could hear his sister’s music float through the household even before opening the door. Sure enough, she sat at their mother’s piano, soft music escaping from her fingertips while she played the tune with ease. As soon as she heard the door open she glanced over her shoulder, her eyes softening when she saw who it was.
“Mikasa, these are for you.” Her brother bent down to kiss her cheek just as their mother used to do, and gently placed a bouquet of bluebells in her hands. An affectionate warmth filled her dark eyes.
“Thank you, Eren.” She arranged the flowers in a vase on top of the piano and looked over at their father, who sat in silence as he read the morning paper. “Won’t you tell him the news?”
Mr. Jaeger glanced up at the sound of his daughter’s voice. “Netherfield has been taken by a man of large fortune from the north,” he began, adjusting his glasses. “I intend to call on him tomorrow morning.”
Eren wondered if his father would be so intent on becoming acquainted with their wealthy new neighbor if he was not quite so rich.
“We may meet him at the assemblies,” Mikasa added.
“When will the next ball be, Mikasa?” Eren asked. Eren always looked forward to dances, as he was fond of dancing. More importantly, dancing made Mikasa happy, which was all he really wanted. Anything that allowed her to be happy and forget, even for just one evening, was what mattered most.
“Tomorrow fortnight,” Mikasa replied, before turning back to the piano. Her fingertips danced lightly across the black and white keys, once again filling the house with her music. Eren could never be sure if he loved or hated to hear it. It tended to conjure up memories of his childhood, of days spent running through the garden with Mikasa, the red ribbon in her raven hair trailing behind her in the breeze. When their mother played her piano in the parlour, soft, gentle music would float from her fingertips, through the window, and out into the sunlit garden. Eren would never stop missing those days.
***
The assembly room was alive with music. Light floated down from the chandeliers, spreading a warmth throughout the room that seemed to reflect in the smiles of the dancers. Gloved hands reached for their partner’s, lace and frills swirling in time with the music as the women swept across the dance floor. The melody of stringed instruments sped up as the dance went on, and Eren couldn’t help but laugh, his movements light and energetic as he took his sister’s hands and danced down the row of couples that clapped and cheered them on.
And then, in an instant, the laughter and music had faded away, replaced with a heavy silence.
The dancers parted to either side of the room, making way for the new arrivals. A gentleman walked beside a lady with a poised countenance, whose gown brushed lightly over the floor with every movement. Another gentleman walked in front of them, his face impassive and unreadable.
“Which gentleman is the man from the north?” Eren asked under his breath, loudly enough for his sister to hear.
“He’s on the right, and on the left is his sister,” Mikasa murmured.
“And who is the other man?”
“That is his close friend, Mr. Levi Ackerman.”
Mikasa grew quiet when the man in question walked past them. Eren bowed, the light catching in his eyes when he looked up so that they flashed a vibrant emerald-green, and for a brief moment, blue-grey eyes locked with his. The gentleman turned his head away sharply, leaving Eren to gaze after him in confusion. Eren laughed softly under his breath, somewhat amused by the strange encounter.
“What is it?” Mikasa asked, her brows drawing together in confusion.
“Nothing of consequence.”
The wealthy newcomers turned to face the crowd once they reached the end of the room, and the music began again, prompting everyone to hurriedly find their dance partners. The laughter and conversations exchanged between the dancers brought the room back to life, so that it was bubbling with excitement once more.
Eren watched as Mr. Jaeger made his way across the room to speak to the wealthy guests that had decided against joining in the dancing of those beneath them. It did not surprise him that his father wasted no time in seeking out the attention of the elite members of the upper class.
“I’ve heard Mr. Ackerman earns at least ten thousand a year, and that he owns half of Derbyshire,” Mikasa remarked, pulling Eren away from his thoughts. Eren looked toward the man his sister spoke of. His cold eyes surveyed the dancers with disapproval. His facial expression was entirely impassive, with the exception of a small smirk that pulled at the corner of his mouth. He seemed incredibly bored and unimpressed by his surroundings.
“He is quite...short,” Eren commented with an amused smile, before turning away to laugh with Mikasa.
Mikasa’s laughter faded. “Eren,” she muttered, tugging on her brother’s sleeve.
“What - ” Eren followed her gaze, the question dying on his lips when he saw their father approach them from across the room, accompanied by the gentleman from the north, whose name, Eren discovered, was Farlan Church.
“Mr. Church has expressed a wish to become acquainted with you, Mikasa,” Mr. Jaeger said, addressing his daughter.
Mikasa curtsied, her eyes glinting like dark jewels in the light of the chandeliers. Snow white flowers were artfully woven into her jet black hair at the crown of her head, the rest left to fall in ringlets that framed her face. "You do me a great honor, sir. How do you like it in Hertfordshire?”
"Very much. I especially love the dances held here." Farlan was tall and elegant, and although his eyes were a cold, stormy grey, they expressed a warm kindness that seemed to radiate from every fiber of his being. His hair was a dark sandy blond, and seemed to be in a permanent state of disarray due to his fondness for horseback riding.
“Are you fond of dancing?” Mikasa asked.
“There is nothing I love better," Farlan replied warmly. “And if you are not otherwise engaged, may I be so bold as to claim the next dance?”
A small smile bloomed on Mikasa’s lips. “I am not engaged, sir.”
“Good. Oh, may I introduce my friend, Mr. Levi Ackerman.” Farlan turned to Levi, who stood alone a short distance from him. Levi looked towards Farlan at the mention of his name, his brows drawing together slightly. Reluctantly, he stepped forward and bowed, but before anything more could be said, the music for the next dance had begun. Farlan bowed, excusing himself before taking Mikasa’s gloved hand into his, and guiding her out onto the dance floor.
Eren turned to Levi, realizing that they were now alone.
“Do you dance, Mr. Ackerman?”
Levi's cold gaze rested on the young man standing before him. Eren's smile was bright and earnest, and his brown hair was hopelessly windswept; it stuck up in different directions no matter how many times Mikasa tried to tame it. Levi's gaze lingered a moment longer before he looked away. "Not if I can help it.”
Eren's smile faded. Feeling the silence begin to weigh down on him, he bowed and walked away. Unable to find a lady without a dance partner, Eren resigned to watching his sister dance with Farlan. He felt happy for his sister, but a cold sense of foreboding began to wrap its icy fingers about his throat. He would never forgive himself for failing to protect her if she were to have her heart broken.
The music and laughter of the dancers seemed louder than before, echoing in Eren’s head until it almost seemed as though the laughter were mocking him. The light of the chandeliers was no longer warm and inviting, but blinding and overwhelming. There were too many people - it felt as though the room were shrinking. It was suffocating. Eren slipped out of view to rest for a moment, finding an unlit room separate from the ballroom, where he could be alone and unseen. He tilted his head back against the wall draped in shadow, and closed his eyes, willing the music and laughter to fade away.
“Be sociable.”
Eren opened his eyes at the sound of Farlan’s voice. It came from the other side of the wall, in the ballroom where the dancers continued to dance.
There was a long silence, and then Farlan’s voice again, softer this time. “I’ve never met so many pleasant girls in my life. And several of them uncommonly pretty.”
Eren didn’t need to look to know that Farlan’s gaze had rested on one dark-eyed lady in particular.
“My sister has told me she finds Eren to be very agreeable,” Farlan continued. “She remarked on his eyes in particular. If I recall correctly, she found them rather striking."
Silence again.
"Do you think they could make a good match?”
“I don’t know what your sister could possibly see in him.” It was Levi’s voice this time.
“Come now, Levi,” Farlan scoffed. He had lowered his voice so that no one could overhear, although unbeknown to them, Eren could hear every word.
“He is tolerable, I suppose, but not handsome enough to tempt me. Return to your partner. You’re wasting your time with me.”
Once again, silence, and then the sound of footsteps, indicating that Farlan had left to continue dancing with Mikasa. Eren’s heartbeat was rapid, his breathing shallow.
Not handsome enough to tempt me.
Eren let his back slide down the wall, closing his eyes and resting his forehead against his knees. This was perhaps unbecoming of a gentleman, but nothing mattered now that he was in the dark, hidden from the prying eyes of others. No one would see him. Thoughts raced through his mind, reciting Levi’s words over and over again until it was all he could hear. Levi’s voice had been so filled with contempt and disapproval when he uttered those words. Only one thing was clear in all of this; from that moment onward, Eren Jaeger could say without a shadow of a doubt that Levi Ackerman’s contempt for him was entirely mutual.