Prologue

She dreamed of walking barefoot across grassy planes, each stalk tickling between her toes.

She wanted to know the wind's roar, as it enveloped her in its strong embrace.

She pined for the sun's kisses and to feel them caress her skin all at once.

She dreamed.

She knew she dreamed for when she opened her eyes, her bare feet were cut on sharp rocks and the wind was but a distant whisper.

Still the sun remained, kisses drifting down into this miserable place. Through cracks and crevices, no matter how small, they always found her.

In these moments, the girl would lie in the sun's glow with eyes trained upwards, not towards the rocky ceiling, or the inevitable sky of drifting clouds and soaring birds it concealed.

Her gaze reached upwards towards the light.

Chapter 1 – The Dawn

Sasha whimpered, a bead of sweat forming on her brow. She could barely stand still for fear of the bullet now sitting dangerously close to her head. The man pinning her arms to her back, reeked of sweat and dirt.

She cried out when the resounding click from behind started the countdown to her demise. Moving nothing but her eyes, she found herself pleading to her squad; praying one of them would do something. Forced to drop their weapons however, they looked back at her, agitated by their uselessness.

So she looked to the captain for any sign of reassurance, but he was never one to humour. His gaze, instead, was on the gang of thugs, specifically the one aiming a gun at her head.

"You're coming with us."

Levi's face betrayed no emotion.

"And if I don't."

"I'll shoot this bitch right now!" Sasha contained her shriek as he pushed the pistol against the back of her head with greater force.

"Now, no need to be rash."

A new voice had joined the party. A man stepped into the light – his pressed suit shining spotless to contrast the surrounding slums of the Ehrmich District. There was a delicate nature to his gait though this made him more intimidating than anything else. He wore a pleasant smile.

"Who the fuck are you?"

"I'm a representative of the Hawthorne Household, here to inform you fine gentlemen that the captain and his squad are under our protection and to be treated as guests for the duration of their stay. Now if you don't mind, let go of the young lady."

Taken aback by his polite tone, the thug's grip on Sasha loosened slightly. He remembered himself though, growling and grabbing her arm anew.

"Get lost, little man. This don't concern neither you or that whore! And you can go tell her I said that." He pointed the gun to the centre of the man's forehead.

The man, unfazed, pinched the bridge of his nose. He removed his glasses, pulling a handkerchief from his breast pocket with a flourish.

"Oh there's really no need for that, my good fellow," he chortled, wiping at the lenses. He restored the glasses back onto his straight nose. "After all, you don't want to give them anymore reason to shoot, do you?"

He gestured towards the paling night sky, at the rooftops. Ten heavily armed men and women in black cocked their guns. They had a discipline that could have put even the army to shame. The gang of thugs now made no effort to mask that they were afraid. Hold for their leader, although he too had loosened his grip on Sasha considerably.

"You don't scare me." His voice betrayed him, as did his shaking hand.

"Well, in that case," the man said, stepping forward and pressing his forehead against the gun. "Go right ahead."

A tense pause ensued. More beads of sweat formed across the thug's brow. He could feel the eyes of his comrades, the glares of his hostages and most importantly, the stares of ten guns aimed at him. He weighed out his priorities, albeit poorly and clearly panicking. Eventually though, his face fell in surrender as did his armed hand.

"Excellent choice, sir." The bespectacled man's voice never lost its formality. "Now, please release the young lady."

The thug obliged, though he wore a look that could kill. Sasha fell to her knees, quivering. She was raised to her feet by Hange and taken away from her former captor.

"Also, if you would be so kind as to drop your weapons." The man didn't bother concealing his pleasure in their helplessness. The leader waved his hand and the rest begrudgingly obliged. A clang of metal on cobblestones later, the now armed squad stood behind their saviour.

"We shall now take our leave. Unfortunately, you must stay here with them," he motioned to the snipers still stood on the rooftops, eyes still trained on the gang. "So as to ensure you don't follow us."

The man then turned to Levi.

"Captain, if you and your squad might follow me, our transport awaits."

Levi shared a look with Hange before silently following. The man led them down the alley from where they came, back onto the main road. There, a long black carriage with very tinted windows stood. The driver, almost as smartly dressed as the man, hopped off his perch and opened the door for them. Levi was the first to step in, followed by Hange, Eren, Mikasa, Sasha and Jean. The man remained outside, holding the door open.

"Make yourselves comfortable, we will be leaving shortly."

He pulled out a shiny, silver pocket watch. As soon as the second hand marked a minute since their escape, a crashing medley of gunshots and screams echoed from the alley. Silence followed, and the man chortled.

"Was that necessary?"

The man looked up at Levi, confused for a moment. His face then relaxed as he flashed a knowing grin.

"I'm afraid so. Madam dislikes loose ends."

"Madam seems to dislike a lot of things nowadays."

The man laughed, unfazed by the now evident hostility.

"Captain, you've been keeping up with the gossip, I see."

"I'd have to be deaf to miss it."

"Though your hearing seems to have failed you regarding our current location, has it not? The Household hasn't operated from here for about five years now."

There was a sharp intake of breath among captain's subordinates. Hange, however, burst out laughing, making Levi's eyes narrow. The man continued smiling.

"We shall arrive at our destination within the hour. I'm Dawson, by the way. Should you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask."

With that he closed the door, leaving the squad in silence, hold for Hange's spluttering.

It wasn't long until the carriage drew to a halt. The squad filed out, squinting in the bright light of the newly rising sun. They had been out most of the night. They now found themselves looking up at a massive bricked house, complete with foreboding tall arches, twisting black spires and large, curtained windows.

Dawson led them up the concrete porch to the black, lacquer door. He used the silver knocker to announce their arrival. Upon further inspection, the knocker was in the grotesque image of a lion, its mane crowning its head like sunrays.

Almost at once the door opened, exposing yet another immaculately dressed man. He resembled an older Dawson though he was of a snootier disposition – a fact that was evident from the way he eyed Sasha's dirtied trousers when she walked in.

The threshold opened up to a massive room, where centred at its end was a wide marble staircase. On either side of it were doors lining the walls and leading to the rest of the house. The staircase itself split off at the carpeted landing into two upper wings of the house, a large panelled window letting light flow into the room and exposing the gardens behind the mansion. An enormous chandelier hung above them, the crystals glimmering in the sun.

While the squad took in this grandeur, Levi and Hange's attention was on Dawson who was conversing with the servant in hushed tones. Despite their subtlety, Dawson noticed, halting the conversation and straightening up.

"I have just been informed that Madam's prior engagements have been cancelled. She is expecting you in her upstairs office. So if you would please follow me, your squad may treat themselves to refreshments down here."

Levi nodded and motioned to Hange. The two followed Dawson up the staircase, across the expensive rug on the landing and into the house's east wing. Walking down a few corridors, framed by shut doors and paned windows, they finally reached the office. Dawson opened the heavy door and ushered them in.

The room was spacious and outlined by ceiling high shelves, laden with hundreds of books. An assortment of expensive liquors stood in a cabinet at one end of the room. Not too far from it was another cabinet filled to the brim with documents and folders. Yet another rug stretched across the length of the room, accommodating a large leather couch at one end, and a heavy desk paired with two armchairs at the other.

Here she sat, slender gloved fingers drumming on the desktop of darkened oak. Her brown hair was extremely short, slicked back with gel and accentuated her sharp cheekbones. Her dress, though modest, was clearly expensive and matched the bright red of her lipstick.

When she saw them, she smiled.

Note about the story:

It's not perfect and I'm not expecting it to be – I just want to practice writing, developing characters and interesting story arcs, and to take a stab at the drama and romance genres. As I'm learning and experimenting at the moment, constructive criticism is warmly welcomed and very much appreciated.

The story itself will not follow the manga as I have not read it, though I will be doing my research on the SnK/AoT wikia to make sure the OCs could theoretically exist in the world. The fic will very loosely follow the anime series – though I'll still do my best to stay true to the characters. Again, do let me know if a canon character is too OOC – I'll strive to amend the mistake.

Final warning, the story will get fairly dark and violent though I don't think it will be more extreme than the anime in that regard. Look forward to heavy swearing as well. Should I try smut, it will be published as a separate one-shot on my profile.

I'll try and post regularly, though I guarantee nothing. Thank you for reading and I hope you liked it.

~ Savanna

PS - Oh look, a DISCLAIMER: I do not own Attack On Titan/ SNK. All I own is my OCs. Done.