iii. KNOW YOUR ENEMY

episode 16: what needs to be done now; eve of the counterattack, part 3

CHAPTER THREE

KNOW YOUR ENEMY

•••

Living an exciting life, dangerous, problematic, her experience went beyond what most encountered. Struggling from a young age, rising into a dangerous woman, there were obstacles that she hadn't crossed upon yet. Freya had never seen a Titan throughout the entire course of her life. A woman like her with stories that most wouldn't believe still had some things that she would like to cross off her list to accomplish. Love. Guilt. And of course, Titans. She guessed that the latter would be something that she would stumble onto soon.

She heard the talk about them though. Big and ruthless species that had no remorse of their actions. With nothing but one goal; to eat. Years and years of expeditions, nothing valuable was discovered. She thought of how wasteful their efforts went, an opinion that many viewed and agreed to, but then again, she remembered that she just didn't care. It wasn't like she could just about move past and see what laid beyond the walls. Although, she used to dream of escaping this cage. Unfortunately, that dream died a long time ago, with only an intention of living.

Then the following morning came.

Mornings.

Freya hated them with passion. There were only two things to do when the morning sun rose. To eat or to sleep. It was the only time of the day where she truly felt she wasn't disturbed by anything, drifting away peacefully on her own without trouble bothering her. The cold was what made it better. Legs curled up to her chest, hands holding on tight to the flimsy blanket, and half her face rested up against the pillow. The room was exceptionally dark except for the dimly lit lantern that laid on the wooden table on one corner of the basement room. And she realized how satisfyingly quiet it was.

"Time to get up. Assembly starts today!"

Freya gritted her teeth together at the voice and sudden bang of her door opening. A click of boots grew louder as the person neared her. "Well, someone is definitely ready to get their tongue ripped out." She mumbled, turning on her bed and making sure that her back faced them.

"Did you hear me at all? I said get up." The voice continued.

Heavy silence lingered before she responded back. "I heard."

Oluo blinked. "And?"

"Do you see me moving?" She asked. She might as well be feeling dead at this point. Without a window nor a pocket watch, she couldn't decipher what time of the day it was. Oluo might as well be waking her up in the middle of the night. As Freya's stubborn body refused to stand up, she let herself be with continued closed eyes.

He grumbled incoherent words as he kicked one of the legs of her small bed. "Listen here, lady–"

Freya snorted softly before sighing. "Lady? That's a first."

"Corporal Levi ordered me to find you." He told her firmly.

"Aren't you a good boy." She could already imagine the man having his hands on his hips, glaring down at her in disdain.

"I'm not that little brat Eren." He tsked, looking away immediately.

"Obviously." She yawned. "At least he knows when to shut it."

"You shut it." Oluo said a little too quickly.

"Alright." She said without wasting a second, irritating Oluo even further by her disregarding attitude.

He gritted his teeth together, grinding them and releasing chocked breathes as he contained his annoyance, not wanting to give Freya the satisfaction that even half asleep, she could affect him by her unconcerned personality. Oluo inhaled deeply. "Look, we're heading out for a bit. No funny business, got it?"

She gave him a thumbs up in the air while the majority of her face was now sinking into her pillow before she dropped her arm and let it hung at the edge of her bed. Despite Oluo leaving her alone and being so deep underground in the basement, a loud ruckus was what woke her up in a sour mood, stand up and get herself ready for the day.

As it turns out, scouts from within the walls visited, declaring an accident that they needed to see, more importantly for Hanji. She hadn't heard much, but what Freya could gather from the crowd as they assembled together, it was that Hanji's two test Titan subjects were killed in the middle of the night. She didn't know if it was a bad or good thing to perceive, Titans were said to be difficult, the experimentation to gather intel was understandable, but it was a risk she wasn't even going to take.

Granted that Freya had never come across a Titan, the evaporating bones and corpse in front of her was enough to raise her doubts in joining the Survey Corps. It was spread out for everyone to see when they left Head Quarters to check the sight out. Her black hood was on over her head, Eren on her left as she tried to duck her head low. Steam came from two bodies. It was incredibly huge, bigger than what Freya expected to look as it took up most of the middle ground. For once, the attention from scouts wasn't on her or Eren. Now, distracted by a raid to assassin some Titans and surprised by the loud cries of Hanji who fell on her knees.

Even with the morning's incident rattling a few people, it wasn't enough to stop Freya from ignoring her cleaning duty. The moment her morning was interrupted, she had a feeling that the rest of the day wasn't going to be easy or good for her to enjoy.

As it turns out, Levi went through precautionary measures for her to actually do the job when they arrived back at Head Quarters. It implied Oluo making an offer for Freya to accommodate herself in one of the free rooms in the upper floor, instead of taking the basement, in exchange for a tidy garden. Oluo wasn't excited to be the one who had to interact with Freya the most, but what changed his mind was the fact that he was in a somewhat position to order her around. That, and often watch her do actual work.

Reluctantly, Freya had accepted, pulling weeds from floor cracks, raking dried leaves, and sneezing on plants. She found it extremely ridiculous the moment she finished in sweat and heavy breathing, leaning her back on one of the stable doors, with Eren feeding the horses with a bucket. Her pride and dignity was definitely diminishing with chores.

"In the end, we couldn't find a soldier who used their device without permission. Just who in the world..."Gunther trailed off as he sat on the stone steps.

"Who knows?" Eld drank from his tankard beside him. "I'm more worried about the recruitment assembly right now. I wonder how many recruits would be eccentric enough to enlist." The two male Special-Ops members were out with Freya and Eren as to keep an eye on things, while Oluo and Petra had moved out for the time being to check on the assembly that recruited new members and to catch on the speech that Erwin gave out yearly.

"Hey, Eren!" Gunther called. "Are any of your comrades planning to enlist with us?"

"Yes." Eren said. "Well, there were. I'm not so sure anymore."

"Can you blame them?" Freya joined in. Her breathing continued to come out as heavy and tired, eyes closed with her arms crossed as she laid back her head on the wooden beam. "As far as I saw, Titans are nothing but a nuisance."

Eren tilted his head. "You've never even seen one."

"True. But who's crazy enough to even risk their life, apart from you?" Freya asked.

Eren opened his mouth, though nothing came out. Immediately, Gunther stood up, back going straight as he yelled. "Assemble!"

Freya looked up, snapping one eye open to find a black horse galloping its way over. She then opened both eyelids, realizing that Levi sat on top, approaching them at full speed. On time, he pulled the leash of his horse, skidding to a halt in front of them in an impressive and timed pose. Freya pursed her lips at how he pulled it off so effortlessly. Another part of her was irritated that almost her energy had left her body due to his orders.

Levi blinked at the four, almost in a rush. Although, very much composed. "Get ready to leave. We're heading to the assembly."

Gunther and Eld nodded. "Sir!"

"Good morning, Lance Corporal Levi!" Eren acknowledged a little too loudly for a yell, his right fist over his heart and left behind his back.

Freya pushed herself from the beam, walking up beside Eren and lazily drawing out with a nod, "Captain."

Levi pursed his lips. "Listen, you two. Stay within two horses from me. Don't forget the only reason you're not locked up is because I'm supervising you."

Eren's brows furrowed into a staid look. "Sir!"

Levi's eyes flickered to Freya. "Keep an eye on him."

Despite her almost tired state, she gave a mocked salute with a grin.

He accepted the answer. "Let's go."

•••

Freya was far most the least aware when it came to the Survey Corps or Regiment. Her knowledge about it was common, most of what she learned was from the talk of people around her as she never bothered to get involved with the law. Hearing that there was an assembly made her bitter her mood even further, realizing that young cadets would be joining them back at Head Quarters. As she rode her horse with the four, lingering far behind but in view, even she noticed that their current location was far from the assembly.

They passed a large dark oak tree in the middle of the green grass, twisted branches swayed in the wind. Further into the woods, she was still confused as to where their true destination was. Seeing as Eren, who usually was the one asking question, stayed quiet, she decided to do the same until someone explained.

"We of the Special-Ops squad will be here, in the center of the rear on standby." Gunther pointed to the middle of the laid out map, formation squads lined up left and right drawn on the parchment, as he told the group, kneeled on the ground with Eren and Eld, Petra leaning forward to take a glance from behind them.

"That's quite far back." Eren noted.

"It's the safest position in this formation. Even more secure than where the supply wagons are." Gunther clarified.

"And the whole point of this is..." Freya trailed off waiting for an answer as she sat down with her back on a trunk of a tree, knees pulled to her chest, and hands plucking grass blades a few feet away from the group. She didn't take participation in the planning discussion, but she could hear them clearly enough from a distance.

"Well, we don't have a real objective this time. The expedition won't cover much ground since it's just a test run before getting to Shiganshina district." Gunther told her.

"So, you want to risk our lives over a practice we aren't sure of?" She knew the announcement from Eren that some sort of secret was being kept in his ruined home basement. It was a big if, something that Freya wasn't sure if risking her life was worth it, but the sudden expedition to go out the walls was a first.

He shrugged. "Commander's orders."

"Right." She clicked her tongue. "Erwin Smith."

That grabbed Levi's attention who held his hand up to his horse's mouth, tongue licking the skin of his knuckles. With narrowed eyes directed at Freya, he said, "Commander Erwin." Freya only blinked at him before distracting herself back to pulling grass, ignoring the scoff coming from him.

"Um..." Eren's shoulders sagged, his eyes going back and forth between Levi and Freya in uncertainty before dropping his gaze down. "I still have no idea what to do with this power yet."

"Did you understand the meaning of the Commander's question back then?" Eld questioned suddenly.

Who do you think the enemy is?

A question that Freya was pretty sure Commander Erwin asked everyone about for an answer. She first heard him mumbled that closely between her and Eren back when they were at the scene of the evaporating Titans raid. Her immediate thought and answer immediately fell on to Titans. It was obvious that they posed as a threat since the very beginning. Yet, something inside Freya's head echoed that it was too simple and closed minded, supposedly it was an answer perplexing that she wouldn't understand so easily and at first.

As Freya stood up, dusting her palms on the side of her thighs, Eren looked at each member, intrigued. "Did any of you understand?"

"No." Eld bowed his head.

"I'd be lying if I said I knew for sure." Oluo piped up behind them, arms crossed and eyes closed in a condescending look as he faced his back towards them. "That said, I–" He sheepishly grind his together as he was cut off.

"This operation may have another objective. However, the Commander decided to keep that hidden from everyone. So we should just focus on pulling this off without incident." Gunther rolled the parchment away, tucking it on his side.

"This is a suicide mission." Freya scoffed as she walked towards her horse.

"Trust in the Commander." Levi directly stated as his dark streed continued to lick the skin of his hand in esteem.

"Easy for you to say. You're all ready to risk your lives for this." Freya didn't like how eerily calm he was, his words weighing heavily with confidence on the Commander.

"And you're not?" Levi replied, turning his head to look at her.

The air seemed to turn still. The soft chatter from the Special-Ops squad quieted down as the group and Eren closely watched the two exchange words. Freya crossed her arms over her chest and said, "My answer should be clear enough." One look at her, and anyone could tell that she wasn't too keen on the idea of dying. No one really was.

"Then you already know ours." Levi countered easily.

"That doesn't guarantee anything." Freya argued with narrowed eyes.

"Doesn't mean we'll lose everything." His arms fell by his sides as he stopped petting his horse, placing his full attention to Freya.

Sharp. Piercing into the air like a knife as tension rose. Freya clenched her jaw, grinding her teeth together at his nonchalant demeanor and at how quick he was to speak back. Sometimes, this was why talking with Oluo felt better. In the end, it wouldn't be her feeling a sense of defeat.

"Again, have trust in the Commander" He repeated, eyes noticing her hands gripping her crossed arms.

She gnawed the inside of her bottom lip. Eyes heavily pinpointed to his. Looking away meant that his confidence had gotten to her. She didn't want that looming between them. "And if I don't?"

Levi turned, hauling himself over to sit on top of his horse in that effortless manner before staring down at her. "Then have trust in me."

That didn't particularly make her feel better.

She opened her mouth to create a retort. But nothing came out. Her chest puffed up and down as she squeezed her hands tightly into a fist, wishing that her frustration would evaporate much like Titan corpse. Lips tugged up in a grin, sinister and daring, a challenge. Her smile didn't falter Levi, but something flashed in those dull eyes of his.

"This concludes today's training. Prepare to head back!" Eld announced quickly in one breath and everyone nodded their head vigorously, noticing the intensity that Freya held back and how unusually horrendous it was that their Corporal Levi haven't snapped yet as someone like Freya was bold enough to talk in an abrupt manner to him. It wasn't surprising to see him react in a composed way, though at the same time, it was terrifying.

Freya took ahold of the straps of her horse, then there it was, a tickle on her nose, the itch that she wanted to scratch. Her eyebrows scrunched together as she ducked her head low, cupping her nose and mouth with her hand, and before she knew it, she was on a series of small sneezes. As she and her horse was stationed a few inches away from the group, she doubt they would notice her sudden irritation. Her head ringed, shoulders jumping, and eyes clenched shut, that when she opened them, a white handkerchief was offered towards her.

Levi's lips was pulled into a tight line, holding back from a grimace. But his eyes were obtuse and face nonchalant at Freya's condition as he held the cloth between the tip of his pointer and middle fingers of his right hand that he pulled from the inside pocket of his Survey Corps jacket. He didn't seem so happy of sharing his handkerchief to her, but having her spread her sneezes made his skin crawl.

Freya reluctantly accepted it, roughly pulling it from his grasp and gently dabbing it over her nose from releasing another sneeze. She turned her back towards him and scowled as she said while hauling herself over her horse, "That's for having me clean the garden."

•••

The sun was starting to set when Freya arrived back at Head Quarters, the light casting an orange and yellow hue over the castle walls and ground. She was leaned back on the wall again with Oluo beside her, the man drinking cold water from his metal tankard and Freya fumbling with the Corporal's handkerchief with her fingers, folding the material into a small squares before whipping it undone and repeating the same process again. She was out waiting for Eren to be finished with another chore, the boy out in the stables behind the wall Freya leaned on and scooping up manure at this time.

Her head felt dizzy from the series of sneezes that passed minutes prior. Due to her fair skin and complexion, it was easy to notice the bright red tint spotting on the tip of her nose. Her face was still pulled into a scowl at the fact that she didn't discover sooner her reaction with flowers and nature itself. At the very least, she wouldn't be handling any garden cleaning any time soon.

Her chest tightened when she thought back to that small conversation between her and Levi. To be so tranquil and assured didn't seem right to her. She was irked by how easy it was for him to follow the Commander. To put that much trust in a man that it might as well cost your life. She didn't understand how someone could do that and be so unshaken. She bunched the white cloth in both fists and gripped it tightly, eyebrows slightly turning down and eyes glaring at the material. Releasing a breath, she went back to folding it. Again and again.

She was at her seventh time folding the Captain's handkerchief when a commotion of people arrived. She looked up, finding a group of young cadets striding past her and Oluo and further into the castle grounds. Simultaneously, Eren came out, pausing beside the two adults.

"Everyone!" Eren's eyes widened into an excited face. Since Freya neither had any power over herself or him, he turned to Oluo who seemed uninterested. "Oluo, may I go speak with my friends for a bit?"

Oluo huffed. "Jeez, just go already."

At that, Eren sprinted towards the back of the young cadet group to catch up. "Hey, Mikasa, Armin!"

"What the hell is he doing now?" Freya sighed.

"Eren!" Mikasa's raven hair swayed as she abruptly spun on the heel of her boots, mouth parted. The blonde boy beside her followed in surprise.

"It feels like it's been forever." Eren stopped in front of them with a big smile.

"I forgot the kid's got friends." Freya mused as she witnessed the reunion.

"Not that you would know." Oluo grumbled in his cup, side-eying the woman. "You don't have any–" A jab on his side caused him to bite his tongue again, spatters of blood spraying in his drink as Freya elbowed him on the ribs, a tactic she picked up on from Petra whenever Oluo would get ahead of himself.

"At this rate, you're going to lose that tongue of yours." Freya spoke calmly as she tucked the white handkerchief in the back pocket of her trousers.

"Why you little–" She ignored Oluo's heated glare, walking towards Eren and his friends with an interested look, listening in on the conversation.

"Eren, did they do anything terrible to you? Like inspecting every bit of your body or causing you mental anguish?" Mikasa interrogated, bombarding the boy with fused questions as she held his hands tightly in hers.

"No, nothing like that." He denied.

Freya whistled past them with a fleeting gaze and grin. "I wouldn't say no."

As Freya brushed by, Mikasa's face darkened. "That shorty went way too far." She lowered her breath with an irritated feature. "I'll pay him back in kind someday."

Eren's eyebrows rose. "You're not talking about Lance Corporal Levi, are you?"

Freya stopped her legs at that. Moving her eyes to the left where Eren and his friends were huddled behind her as she processed the last statement. "Shorty." She snickered, softly shaking her head in amusement as she raised her fingers over her mouth to at least hide her tiny laughter. She continued to walk, but not long after a second, her body came in contact with something solid.

"What was that?"

Refraining herself from rolling her eyes, Freya shook her head and waved her hand. "Nothing."

Facing forward, she was met with Levi. He held onto the leash of his horse, and judging by that, he just came back from wherever he went to. It was difficult to decipher if he had heard her or not, but she was going to go out of a limb and guess that he did when his eyebrows lowered into an unamused look. It was small but obvious enough to have Freya's grin widen.

He tilted his head to the side. "Tch."

Freya opened her mouth to make a remark, however, something was shoved right into her arms that it was only then she noticed him holding something in his other hand. He walked away without an explanation, gaze averted and back turned on her as she clutched the item to her chest from letting it drop to the ground. Yet, his deep voice resonated in her ears as he said without looking at her, the distance growing between them.

"I expect you to be ready tomorrow."

She looked down, and it was enough to have her face be wiped clean, replaced with a click of her tongue and frown.

•••

— AUTHOR NOTE —

the ending of this chapter was sooooo bad but yes this is only chapter three. the next few updates will hopefully get better? comment any suggestions for this book to be better, i really appreciate it. love y'all