Hello, lovely readers! I finally finished the first chapter of my new story, Ashes. It's a Rivetra fic set during the Feminist Movement. Keep in mind that I have replaced some historic characters with some Attack on Titan characters. Also, I have researched this topic, so it's all based on what actually happened. Please enjoy!

Disclaimer- I do not own Attack on Titan, sadly.

September, 1909

Levi Ackerman was never one for change. That is, until he met her. After all, what could he possibly want to change? He was wealthy and had a large estate to his name. He, well, his uncle, to be more specific, owned an accomplished company known as the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City. But Levi's never really seen the world for what it truly, and once he did, he wanted it to change. He would change it if she were the last woman on earth.

"Levi!"

Levi groaned. What could his uncle possibly want now? Being the bullheaded eighteen year old that he was, he stayed in his room, ignoring his guardian.

"Levi Ackerman! Get down here now, or I swear-" This time, Kenny's voice bounced off the walls of the mansion, making it impossible for the household to ignore it. Levi's blood chilled as eerie silence crept through the halls. Slowly, he rolled out of bed and lagged down the stairs until a "Now!" urged him to walk faster down the steps.

When he finally reached the entrance to the mansion, or rather, the exit in this case, he was met with his red-faced uncle spitting profanities at him. He almost laughed at the terrified expression of the servant who held Kenny's coat for him.

Kenny slipped the coat on, still screaming at Levi. After his nearly ten minute long rampage, Levi interrupted him. A bold move, some servants would say, given the state of the factory owner.

"Why exactly did you call me down here, anyway?"

After a good slap to Levi's face and a few more curses, Kenny reached common sense again and answered, "I need you to go to the factory today. Manage the little brats while I attend a, uh, business meeting."

Levi nodded, rubbing his stinging cheek. "Manage the brats? What do you mean?"

Kenny's blue eyes flashed. "The immigrant scum that are employed are acting up. Asking for more money, ungrateful brats. I had to fire a whole pack of 'em last week," he hissed. He looked at his nephew, trying to read his face, but like always, it was stone. "Good then. I'll see you tonight. Armin, open the door."

The blonde servant squeaked and hastily opened the large door for his master. Levi followed his uncle, just like he'd been doing his whole life.

The factory, in Levi's opinion, was filthy. It reeked, and Levi picked up the smell of blood, urine and tears. He knew why, of course. He'd seen girls get thrown out of the factory, tears streaming down their cheeks as they begged to stay in all their different dialects. He'd seen women who had worked for fourteen hours get denied bathroom breaks, forcing them to urinate on the already unsanitary floor. He'd seen the women's hands and fingers get caught in the vicious machines, he'd seen their fingers get shredded like paper. The last time Levi had seen a woman get hurt and thrown out, he'd had the urge to throw-up and slap his uncle. He hadn't, although sometimes he wished he had down the latter.

Oddly enough, when he reached the building in which the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory was located; he was surprised to see that no one occupied it. His chest contracted and he swallowed, an uneasy feeling welling up in his stomach. Then, he heard the shouts. He darted to the window, and his gray orbs widened.

Women lined the streets, shouting and holding up signs reading Higher Wages! We deserve to be treated fairly! I thought America was the land of dreams!

Shoot, Levi thought. He raced to the elevator. The ride down seemed to age him where he stood, and as soon as the doors opened, he ran out to the street.

He felt his body slam into something, and he fell on top of it.

"Uh!"

He groaned as his body met the pavement, and the other victim of the collision let out a gasp.

"Are you alright?"

His eyes were met with the chocolate brown orbs of a girl. The first thing he noticed was her eyes. They were bright and innocent, a shade a brown unknown to man. Her hair was a fiery color somewhere between blonde, red and brown. She had a strange dialect. And he was on top of her.

He grunted, pulling himself up. After straightening his white scarf, and took the girl's small hand. Pulling her up, he noticed another unique thing about her. The sign she held in her hand.

"Why do you have that?" he snapped. The girl's eyes widened, then flashed.

"I believe that for twelve hours a day, I should get payed more than two dollars a day. I'm simply standing up for what I believe in," she stated. For such a small women, it surprised Levi that her voice seemed to shake the earth.

Levi studied her. She was shorter than him, and rare occurrence due to his towering height of 5'3". Her body glowed with passion, and her eyes seemed to burn.

"Who are you, anyway?" she asked. She, in turn, seemed to be studying him as well.

"Petra!"

The girl turned as a brunette ran toward her, pushing through the crowd of woman. The brunette, unlike Levi and this girl, Petra, had some height to her name, as well as glasses that fell down her nose.

"Petra!" she called. "Who is that?"

Levi glared when the brunette slipped her glasses down her nose and peered at him.

"Petra! Come on!" the brunette said abruptly. She grasped Petra's wrist and began pulling her away into the crowd of protesters.

"Hanji! Wait!" Petra cried, trying to wrench herself away from her friends grasp.

Hanji stopped again and pulled Petra close to her. "Petra, he's an Ackerman."

Petra let out a sort of gasp, as did the girls around her. She looked back at the short raven haired man who stood on the sidewalk. "Hanji-"

Sirens began to screech, causing screams to erupt in the crowd. Women dashed across the street as police pulled in, wielding their guns and yelling. Petra and Hanji took off and slammed into a large officer twice the size of both of them. He grabbed her wrists and yanked them behind her back, causing her to scream.

"You're under arrest-"

Petra spat in his face.

The last thing she saw was the raven haired man before the baton connected to her back and she collapsed on the ground, her world dark.

What did you think? I'll be updating soon, depending on the response I get. If you are all interested, I'll try to get it done faster. Also, this protest is actually an event that occurred in 1909 after the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fired a ton of employees for no good reason.

Please review/favorite/follow! It means a lot to me and I love to hear feedback!

Love,

Ivy