Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin characters and story line. I only own the OC :)
Chapter 1
The Fall of Shiganshina
Year 845, Shiganshina, the Day of the Fall of Wall Maria
It was a usual, quiet and peaceful afternoon on Shiganshina. Being the outermost southern district of the Wall Maria made them the most susceptible of the titan attack but nothing happened for 107 years. The citizen did their daily life in peace. Children played with happiness showed on their face, mothers strolled around the market to buy for their food stocks and the men went to work, most of them as a merchant or a farmer.
The Garrison Corps, who was stationed to guard the wall, was just sitting around on the wall and enjoying this peaceful moment. The guys guarding the wall entrances while drinking beers and playing cards while the girls just walking around the town. One of the girls in the military uniform with a Double Rose symbol, walking around the market, watching the resident.
"Giselle!"
The red-haired girl turned around to see who called her. She saw a girl with glasses came towards her.
"Hange!"
She was so happy to meet her friend again. They knew each other because they were on the same team of the 94th Trainee Corps. While Giselle chose to be on Garrison Corps, Hange wanted to be on Survey Corps so they parted ways and met sometimes.
"Hey! What is the member of Garrison Corps doing here? Waiting for your boyfriend to come back, huh?" Hange teased her.
"Kinda like that." Giselle laughed, "Is he already back?"
"Not yet. I wish Commander Shadis let me went with them." Hange sighed, "They put me on the HQ, telling me to help the senior researchers."
"Maybe Commander Shadis think that your brain is so valuable, Hange. You're the number one on our top 10." Giselle said.
"Yeah and you're the number 2." Hange replied.
They both heard the bell ringing, indicating the Survey Corps was back from their outing outside the wall. Giselle and Hange ran together, getting nearer to the Wall so they could see their comrades came back. They stayed on the back of the crowds.
Giselle, Hange and the others heard the sound of the horses' steps. They saw Commander Shadis, Captain Smith and a few of others rode the horses. Giselle smiled to Captain Smith and he saw that but he only averted his eyes. Feeling hurt, she started to worry because there's a lot of blood on his cape. Behind him, there were a lot of the soldiers who got injured. The sight was so painful. It was the price the Survey Corps had to pay for going outside the Wall. Then the crowds started to whisper when the carts which brought the injured were coming. The crowds talked about how the Survey Corps looked so beaten up and only a few them made it back.
"Moses? Moses!" An old woman came to Commander Shadis, "Excuse me, I don't see my son, Moses…"
Giselle and Hange looked at each other. They both knew Moses Braun personally. He was one of the trainees with them and they knew very well that Moses was a nice man and a brave one.
"It's Moses' mother." Commander Shadis said and gestured to his subordinate, "Bring it over."
The old woman was taken aback with his words and more surprised when she received a bundle. She braced herself and opened it. She saw a bloody right hand that once was Moses'. She let out a wail and started to cry.
"That's all we were able to recover." Commander Shadis said.
The old woman cried so hard while hugged the remained of her son. Giselle watched it solemnly with her hand covered her mouth. It was such a heart-breaking scene. Giselle couldn't understand how the Survey Corps could deal with this. The losses of their comrades were so great yet they were all brave soldiers that sacrificed their lives for humanity.
"But… My son… Carried out his duty, right?" Moses' mother cried, "Although it may not have been anything significant, he contributed to mankind's retaliation somehow, didn't he?"
The crowds were just only watching them silently, some of the women cried. The soldiers of the Survey Corps were just stayed silent. It wasn't their first time to encounter moment like this but it got more painful every time.
Commander Shadis answered her question with his usual answer, "Of course!" but suddenly he realized something and changed his answer, "No… Through this mission, we… No… Through all our mission, we…"
"We've failed to achieve anything!" He shouted and started to break down, "Because of my incompetence, I've gotten soldiers killed for nothing and failed to learn the slightest thing about them!" His revelation shocked the crowds.
After the things got calm, the Survey Corps continued to their Shiganshina HQ. Giselle and Hange walked towards the Survey Corps HQ too. After they got there, Hange walked to her comrades and patted the survivors one by one.
Giselle looked around and didn't find the one she wanted to meet. So she walked out from the HQ and towards the stable. She found him there, tying his horse. His back faced her and she patted him a few times.
"Erwin…" Giselle said softly. She noticed his slumped shoulder, "It's alright."
Erwin turned around and looked at her face, the beautiful face that could make his world upside down. He put his arms around her waist and put his head on her shoulder. She smelled nice, a unique mix of vanilla and cinnamon.
Giselle stroked his blonde hair. Erwin was much taller than her. She was only 170 cm, 18 cm shorter than him, so he needed to bend down. There also a lot of age differences between them. Erwin was 32 and Giselle was only 22.
"I guess a lot of things happened?" Giselle said while Erwin still on her embrace. He nodded silently.
"It's so bad this time and we suffered a lot of casualties. It's all for humanity." He said and stood up, his arms still around her waist, "If only Commander approve my idea of the Long-Distance Enemy Scouting Formation, maybe…"
"I know, your idea is so good. You should try to talk to Commander Shadis again." She caressed his cheek, "You made me worry."
"I'm sorry but you know it's my line of duty." Erwin smiled sadly.
Giselle nodded, "I understand." She then saw his green cape that full of blood, "Give your cape to me, I'll wash it for you."
Erwin handed his cape to her and she took it from him. He was so proud with his green cape with the Wings of Freedom symbol on the back of it.
"Thank you, sweet heart." He kissed her lips. The kiss turned into a passionate and lustful. It was inappropriate but they both couldn't hold it anymore. With their job as soldiers and they were on different corps, they had to part ways most of the time and they were really valued all the time they got to be together.
"I love you, Giselle. I really love you."
"Captain Smith!" A man's voice broke their romantic moment. Erwin pulled his lips and Giselle couldn't help but feel disappointed they got interrupted.
Mike Zacharius came to them and got surprised when he saw Giselle was there but he said nothing. He noticed the double rose emblem on her uniform and knew for instance that Giselle was a member of the Garrison Corps.
"Commander Shadis is looking for you." Mike saluted and delivered the message.
Erwin nodded and whispered on Giselle's ear before he left her, "I'll see you later."
Giselle found a basin and a washer near the stable and started to wash Erwin's cape, cleansing the blood stains on his green cape. After she finished, she dried it off on the hanger. It didn't take long until it completely dried because the wind was pretty strong today. She gave it to Hange to pass it to Erwin and she started to walk back to her own HQ.
Time passed by without her noticing and it was already evening. The sun was setting down and made an orange glow in the sky.
The peaceful moment got disturbed by the sound of thunder and the ground started to shake. Giselle lost her balance and fell to the ground. The citizens screamed, scared with what's going to happen before things got calmer again.
Then Giselle saw a smoke from outside the wall. She stood up and ran with all her might towards the wall but before she could arrive at the fall, a big, red hand grabbed the wall. Then, a skinless head appeared.
Giselle couldn't believe her eyes.
A titan.
The titan breached the wall, making a lot of houses destructed in process and a lot of people died from the impact. A huge rock landed near her. Giselle started to panic but she tried to calm down.
"The titans are coming!"
Shiganshina turned into chaos. Many people died because of the impact of the sudden attack from the Colossal Titan. The breached wall made a gate for the mindless titans to come to the town and devoured the citizen. Even though it wasn't the first time for Giselle saw titans, she and the others always saw them up from the wall but she never saw them so close like this. She arrived at the HQ and saw few of her comrades were still there, doing a very quick briefing.
"Evacuate the town! Now!" Captain Hannes gave his order. Giselle saluted and run outside again with the other soldiers.
She started to give instructions to the survivors. "We're evacuating the town!"
"Move, move!"
"Quickly!"
"Giselle!"
She saw Erwin on his horse came towards her.
"You okay?" He asked and Giselle only nodded, he sighed in relief and continued, "The Survey Corps will help the evacuation process."
Erwin helped Giselle up to the horse. When he sure that she already well positioned on the saddle, he paced the horse and they both did a quick patrol. They successfully avoid a few titans near them. With Erwin as a captain of the Survey Corps, he was more experienced when encountered titans and Giselle felt a little bit more safe.
"Hurry! Get to the inner gate!" Giselle shouted, "We have boats anchored there! We're evacuating Shiganshina!" then she gasped, "Erwin, the titans are coming closer!"
"We need to leave." He said firmly, still composed as always he did. They were riding until the near of the inner gate when suddenly Giselle hopped down.
"Giselle!" Erwin shouted her name, not expecting her action.
"Go, Erwin! It's my job as the Garrison Corps!" She answered while running to the others who started to line up the cannons as the last resort to protect the inner gate.
"I won't leave you here."
"Just go!"
"The gate's closing!" They all heard the other soldier shouted, started to look panic, "We're going to be left behind!"
The gate began to seal slowly. The soldiers, who still inside the town started to run to the gate before it completely sealed. Erwin scooped Giselle back to his horse, held her tightly and paced it while silently prayed that they would make it.
They made it passed the gate and suddenly the ground started to shake again. Giselle could hear cannons being fired. Erwin, Giselle and the other soldiers boarded he last boat for the soldiers and departed in time when they heard a loud crash and a titan came in their sight. This time it was an Armored Titan.
Giselle started to slightly tremble in fear. Erwin noticed it and he held her hand tightly.
"Everything will be fine, Giselle." He said before he silently added, I hope so…
