A tall man and a child walked through a peaceful meadow filled with waist high slender grass. The man had nut-brown hair, a bit shorter than shoulder length and spectacles that sat on the bridge of his nose. The boy had short brown hair just like the man and emerald green eyes. Around them life thrived—buds not yet flowered of all colours threatened to burst open at any minute; spring was coming into full swing.
"Only a few more days now, Eren, until spring is here." said Dr. Jaeger while ruffling his son's hair. The early bloomers came in all shapes and sizes and were enjoying the keen attention of the bees and the butterflies that filled the air with their buzzing and fluttering.
"Eren, on your best behaviour now." Said the man sternly and dragged the boy out of the spell the meadow had enthralled on him momentarily.
Now they had exited the meadow and were walking along a small lane that ran along side a great green pine forest. The boy felt a twinge of regret tug at his conscience on leaving the meadow; he would have liked to explore it a while longer to discover the different animals that lived there and uncover the mystery that made the air in the meadow seem to sparkle
- and then tell his best friend all about them, maybe even bring him along-. They simply walked in silence for several minutes and Eren noted that the pine trees were easier to walk through. Dr. Jaeger and Eren turned off the lane and before them was a beautiful wooden cabin, hidden in between the pine trees. Walking up to the front door the man knocked without hesitation.
"She's called Mikasa." Said the man, trying to strike up a conversation with the boy while they waited for someone to open the door.
"Mikasa?"
"That's right, a little girl, your age. There aren't many children around these parts so try and get along," petitioned the man nicely.
"That's gonna depend on her attitude," rebuked the boy blandly without batting an eyelid. Maybe we can both go and explore the meadow together… He thought but did not voice his hope aloud to his father.
"Eren…" the doctor rolled his eyes, "You will never make a single friend with your attitude." Sighing with content, he looked at the door, puzzled slightly. "Mm? No one at home?" He asked out loud to no one in particular. "Ackerman-san," he called, "This is is Jaeger…" He reached for the doorknob noticing the door was open, "Excuse me, anyone ho-?" He didn't finish the sentence before a gasp of horror escaped his already parted lips.
In two gigantic steps he was next to a man lying on the floor. The small of his back leaned against the leg of a table and his head hung forward in an unnatural position; blood oozed out of a stab wound in his side, creating a small pool of blood on the floor.
The doctor quickly took the man's wrist in his hand and felt for a pulse. "Dead." He muttered while moving on to the woman who was dumped on her side facing the wall a step away from her husband. She had been cut with an axe on her right shoulder severing he vein and breaking her collarbone. The doctor did the same, taking her limp, cold wrist in his hand and searching for the non-existent pulse. Both limbs of the couple were like ice in Dr. Jaeger's warm hands. "Dammit, no good." He muttered with gritted teeth but didn't let his emotions take over him. "They've both been dead for some time now…"
He suddenly looked towards the boy who stood somewhat shaken in the doorway. "Eren, was the girl Mikasa around?" He asked with a slight hint of hope in his voice. It did not take long to be extinguished.
"No." said the boy simply, stating it as a fact. The doctor answered with a resigned 'I see' while he took the boy's hand.
"We're going to call the Military Police Brigade and request a search party to be sent out." He told his son while they briskly walked out the door.
The boy was wide-eyed and looked was trying to make sense of what he had just seen, and there it was, tangled on to a branch, it shimmered in the light and hovered when the wind whispered. Quickly reaching out to the lock of raven hair he clutched it to his chest and silently vowed over what he thought, well, hoped was the girls -Mikasa's- lock of hair:
I will find you Mikasa, and we'll go and explore the meadow together
Little did the Dr. Jaeger know that Mikasa was long gone…
Okay people! This story will be betaed by the amazing Eucleia! I'm really excited about writing this story and sharing it with everyone, and please read the next chapter before you put fanfic down, I must admit the prologue turned out pretty boring and just basically what we saw in the manga and anime, but the next chapter won't be! I promise!
This is the introduction to the setting in parallel universe different from what happened in the manga and anime where Doc. Jaeger didn't tell Eren to go and wait for him at the base of the mountain but brought him with him, preventing Eren from rescuing Mikasa. Anyone think they know what will happen next?
And of course all criticism is welcome, both negative and positive to keep me on my toes :). Reviews, questions and clearly follows and favs are more than welcome!
Until the next update,
Ultea~