Levi sat by the wall-sized third floor window, staring down at the large willow tree in the courtyard, its leaves flowing about in the breeze. Bored, he then turned his attention back to his book, turning a page idly. With most of the titans wiped out, his days had become longer and much less exciting. He sighed and crossed one leg over the other, leaning back and closing his eyes. Who was he supposed to release his aggression on if not those stupid beasts?

The captain was snapped out of his reverie when the loud clang of the doorbell rang throughout the mansion. Levi got up wearily and made his way down to the heavy oak front door. He heaved it open, still getting used to its size, and was greeted by an old man in fine clothing, presumably a servant of the king. He also spied someone kneeling shyly behind the man, but he couldn't make out much else. The figure was silent, hidden behind the servant's flamboyant coat. Levi narrowed his eyes. "What do you want?"

"Honorable Lance Corporal Levi, for your service to humanity, I bear a gift from his majesty," the man said, bowing deeply. The captain crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "And what might this gift be?" The servant straightened back up and tugged on a leather cord wrapped around his wrist, causing the figure to reveal itself from behind the man. Levi's eyes widened as he beheld the boy kneeling at his feet, his hands shackled in front of him. "Now raise your pretty face up so the nice captain can get a good look at you." The boy reluctantly did as the servant instructed and gazed up at Levi with large blue eyes, his cheeks rosy pink and his brown hair soft and shining in the sunlight.

Levi reached under the boy's chin and ran his fingers along the fine leather collar around his neck. He looked at the bronze tag attached to it and read the boy's name. Eren. Hmmm, a lovely little name for a lovely little gift. The captain examined the boy's long lean body and looked up at the old man. "How old is he?" The servant grinned and untangled the leash from his hand. "This beauty's only fifteen. He's still fresh if you know what I mean," he chuckled. Levi's eyes flashed in a bout of momentary desire. "I see, and how's his temperament?"

The servant pulled the key to Eren's shackles from his pocket and handed it to the captain. "He's a good boy, but he's got enough fire in him to keep things interesting." Levi smirked, taking both the key and the leash in his hand, "Well then, aren't I lucky?" he breathed, gazing down at the boy. "Send his majesty my regards and tell him just how much I appreciate this precious little gift he's given me."

The old man bowed once more and tipped his hat to Levi. "This one is a real gem. Enjoy him, Corporal." With that, the servant strutted off, happy to have fulfilled his duty. Levi watched the man's retreating form and held the leash tightly. "Oh, I will." He looked down his nose at the boy. "Come, Eren," he ordered, turning back into the house, pulling on the leash. The boy stood and walked behind the captain into the grand dining room.

Levi turned and faced Eren sternly. He put his hand on the top of the boy's head and pushed down, causing Eren to sink to his knees. The boy looked down at the ground, his hands shaking in their shackles. He had been a palace slave all his life, but accepting it never got any easier. This time he wasn't going to take everything lying down. But for now Eren would have to pick and choose his battles. He turned his face up to the captain, his eyes wide and seemingly innocent.

"You must be hungry, Eren," Levi murmured holding up the boy's delicate chin to examine his lovely face. "But before that, I have some rules," the captain said menacingly. "First, I never want to see you walking. You will crawl like the dog you are." Eren's pulse quickened in anger, but he pushed back that feeling for now. "Second, you will address me only as 'captain' or 'sir'. Do you understand?" Eren nodded, "Yes, sir." Levi smirked in satisfaction. "And third, you won't be wearing anything on your body but that collar ever again," the captain whispered, his eyes wide, satisfaction dancing behind them.

Eren clenched his jaw, but kept gaze with Levi. The captain unhooked the leash from the boy's collar so he could remove his clothing. Eren's fingers were clumsy as he unbuttoned his shirt and shrugged it off of his shoulders. He sat back on his behind and slipped his pants and underwear off, refusing to make eye contact with Levi. The captain stretched out his hand to take the boy's clothes and brought them up to his face. He relished their scent, so clean and fresh-just like Eren.

Levi folded the clothes and laid them on one of the chairs at the dining table. "You stay put. I'll be right back with your dinner." The boy nodded and kept his eyes down. He had never been ordered to go about nude around the palace before and the cold marble floor shocked his skin. He was sure he had been blushing the whole time as Levi watched him strip. Eren hadn't been in the house for ten minutes and he already hated Levi, just like he hated every last person in the palace who had trained him and prepared him to be presented to the captain.

Eren had been warned not to cross Levi, as the captain was absolutely ruthless. He had also been told that cleanliness was held at the utmost importance. However, Eren had resolved that he would not succumb to Levi's whims as easily as he had in the king's palace; they had thought he was innocent and unassuming. And he was—until now. But he snapped out of his reverie when he heard the captain's light footsteps as he came back into the dining room with a steaming bowl of stew. Levi sat at the head of the table and motioned for Eren to come forth. He set the bowl on the table and patted his thigh. "Get up here, Eren. Sit."

The boy hesitated—he didn't want to be in such close contact with the captain—but he obeyed, climbing gingerly onto Levi's lap and clasping his hands tightly by his belly button. "I have to feed and dress you quickly before the guests arrive. I hadn't anticipated that you'd be dropped on my doorstep so early; it'll definitely be a pleasant surprise for them." Eren raised his face quickly, confused. Levi ignored this, reaching around him to take the bowl in his hand, and stirring its contents lazily. "Open up." The boy parted his lips and allowed the spoon into his mouth. The stew was thick and filling, spiced beautifully, better than anything he had ever tasted in the palace. Some of it trickled down his chin, as he was not completely used to someone feeding him like this. It really was rather awkward.

Levi smirked and gently wiped the stew away with his thumb, licking it curtly. "What a messy little thing you are." Eren averted his eyes angrily. He did not appreciate Levi toying with him like this. But there was nothing he could do, so he opened his mouth once again when the captain brought the spoon to Eren's lips. "There we go, that's our good boy," Levi whispered. The boy's nostrils flared in frustration as he chewed. So guests were coming, eh? He would show them just how much of a good boy he could be.

The captain scraped the bowl for the stew's remnants and gave Eren one last bite. He then set the bowl on the table and slapped the boy's upper thigh lightly. "Get up, we need to get you dressed." Eren slipped off of Levi's lap and got on all fours, as the captain had instructed earlier. Levi wagged his finger at Eren and walked out of the dining room quickly and into the hallway. The boy padded along on his hands and knees following closely at Levi's heels. They reached a heavy wooden door and Levi pushed it open firmly. He then leaned down and patted Eren's behind, bidding the boy to enter first.

"Up on the bed," Levi ordered, turning towards the bureau to paw through one of the drawers. Eren knelt on the mattress and strained his neck to see what the captain was searching for, but to no avail. Levi turned back toward him with a large ribbon and a bottle of crème in his hands, his eyes betraying nothing of his intentions. Eren raised his eyebrow in confusion but knew better than to question the captain, he had to seem as innocent and unassuming as possible. Levi let the ribbon fall delicately onto the bedside table and faced Eren. "On your back." The captain stood at the side of the bed and leaned over Eren, unhooking the boy's collar and slipping it out from under his neck.

He opened the bottle matter-of-factly and spurted the crème on his hands. The corner of Levi's mouth turned up. "We're going to get you nice and pretty so I can show your little ass off."

To Be Continued:)