FLASHBACK CHAPTER :D
just a reminder, this is 9 year old Rie so I tried to write the vocabulary of an average 9 year old
This...Where am I?
Ugh, my head hurts..
I haven't opened my eyes yet I hear many voices just a little bit far away from Where I am...
I feel there is something soft and nice underneath me...It's...a bed...?
I'm tired of guessing things so I decided to open my eyes. The first thing I see is the brown wall...?No, wait...It's a ceiling..
I sat up but I held my head immediately. It hurts.
I looked around me. Indeed, I was lying on a soft white bed. There are a bunch of furniture around me also. There is a small circular table right beside my bed. The rest of the furniture are cabinets, drawers ,A large table and a set of chairs, A fireplace and many more. I looked to my left to see a window covered by a blue curtain .I peeked through the window and what's outside amazed me.
Whoa...It's amazing to see how many people pass through this small road
"Oh! You're already awake!" A soft voice called behind me. I immediately stopped peeking and slowly looked at the one who called me.
It's a pretty lady. She has soft brown hair that is tied to a ponytail. She wears the same type of clothes of the people who I saw passing through the small road, dull but looks comfortable. Although, even if her clothes are plain, Her face wouldn't be called like that. She has such a soothing and warm smile that compliments her whole face.
She's so beautiful.
I can't help but look down. For some reason, I find it hard to talk to such a beautiful lady.
"Y-yes,...W-who are you?...Where...am I?" I shyly asked the beautiful lady in front of me without looking at her. I grew nervous when I hear her soft footsteps going over to me.
"Oh Sorry, right. I am Angelica Vricht. You are currently in Wall Maria. Shiganshina, to be exact. May I know your name?" The Lady introduced herself in such a soothing voice that it made me calm down.
"Angelica...I...I am..."
Uh...What's my name? What...What do you mean "What's my name"?!
"I...I don't know...my name...What do I do?" I panicked, How can I not remember my name?!
"What...?...Is this...what they call "Memory Loss"?" Angelica muttered but because she is so close to me, I can perfectly hear it..
No, No! I'm sure I would know even my own name!...Think!
My eyes suddenly landed on my chest, where I noticed something hanging off my neck. It's...a necklace. It's so beautiful. It has that beautiful Red stone decorated with golden lines..?
The more I look at it...The more...I became enchanted by it...
"Rie"
"Come again?"
"M-My! My Name is Rie" I proudly said to her "That is all I remember.."
"I see...so it IS Memory Loss..."I can hear her tone became sad" But don't worry! I'm sure your memories will come back to you!" She said happily.
"So your name is Rie...Truth be told, Rie, I found you last night unconscious outside of my door, Do you remember something before that?" Angelica looked at me but I still kept my head down.
"...No...I only remember now...Why...?" Angelica seemed to notice the sadness in my tone, hurriedly patted my shoulder.
"O-Oh! But don't worry! I'm sure My family back in Wall Sina can find records of you even with just your first name and appearance! So together, let's visit them sometime okay?" I just only nodded
"Walls..."
"Hm?"
"What do you mean... by Wall Maria? or Wall Sina?" I asked just a simple question but it made her go quiet. Is that supposed to be a sensitive topic?
"You...You don't know about the Walls?" I stayed silent "I can't believe it...Wait, maybe it's because you have Memory Loss..or if I'm going to think big here...You..." She cut her sentence off
"I guess, I should teach you about it..Rie..The World now is being overrun by Giants that wants to wipe humanity off the face of the Earth. The remaining surviving humans built three huge walls. Wall Maria, Wall Rose and Wall Sina. Where we are now, this is Wall Maria." Angelica explained.
"I see" Angelica stood up and grabbed a glass of water for me to drink. She's been looking at me for a while now.
"Rie ,You've been looking down this whole time...Can I see your face?"She mentioned while bringing me the glass of water. I really can't help but not look at such a beautiful lady but if she wants me to, I guess I could.
I raised my head and looked at her straight in the eyes. She was already in front of me.
*Crash!*
"Hieee!" I unintentionally squeaked at the sound of the glass shattering. I shot a confused look at Angelica just to see her directly looking at me in the eyes, with a puzzled expression mixed with shock.
"R-Red eyes...and why... does it glow in...in such a scary way? " She quietly muttered, thinking that I'm not able to hear it. D-does my eyes really look scary? I happened to see a reflection of my eyes on the glass shard on the floor
"I-is there something wrong...with my eyes?" I hesitantly asked, afraid of the answer. I relaxed a little when Angelica also did. She sat in my bed and patted my head.
"N-No. It's just rare for someone to have such beautiful Red eyes" She smiled at me, I stared at her for a moment before looking down again
"You don't have to lie about it..They're scary, right? They are like the color of blood and it shines in such a scary way too" I said to her ,copying what she muttered a while ago.
"No. Not anymore. If the person itself is not scary, then the appearance don't matter, does it?"She once again smiled.
"Say...What do you think about being a part of my family? I'm currently living alone now and I certainly don't mind taking care of someone. Rie Vricht seems like a nice name .What do you think?" I looked at her face ,seeing if she is lying or not. She only smiled at me and I also smiled back.
"I don't mind!"
I don't really get and know what's going on around me but at the time I need someone. At the moment, I don't remember anything except for my name, She was the one who took care of me. She who invited me with her warm smile. I swear that I will protect her and her smile. No matter what it is.
"Hey Rie! Let's go play! We're playing with the others too! Rie is super fast so I want you to join my team!" A small boy spoke to me. This boy, whose name I don't remember , and his friends started to befriend me when Angelica introduced me to other people in the neighborhood. Not a day has passed but other kids already approached me and I thought I will be having fun...
"Sure! I'll be on your team! "
" Alright! You're super fast so Victory will be ours!" The small boy laughed and brought me to where we usually play. The other kids are already there and they were surprised to see me arrive but they smiled anyways. Hm. This is what I've been noticing lately
"Hey guys! Rie will be on my team!" The other kids started to complain
"Whaaat? No way! Rie is super fast!"
"Yeah! Rie, be on our team instead!"The other kids just laughed and I awkwardly laughed with them. Soon we started to play, We were already about to win, all I need to do is catch the girl, I'm currently chasing. This girl, I knew I'm going to lose. I've seen her run before and she's faster than me but...
Why? How did I catch up to her? I saw it. She was running faster than me but she purposely slowed down.
She sat down and the ground and laughed with her teammates, saying sorry for losing. I approached her.
"Oh Rie! Gosh, You're so great ,Rie! I really can't win against you! You're like the best at everything we play!" The girl complimented over and over and the other kids did too. This is what I've been noticing lately. Whenever I'm with them, they always shower me with compliments with no reason at all.
"Why?...You...You purposely slowed down so I can catch up to you" I told her. She went quiet for a moment and stared at me like I was crazy.
"Wha-What are you saying, Rie? I didn't slow down. You are really fast, Rie!"
Ugh...This is so...!
This is normal?!
How boring...
"Oh? I know you're faster than me yet I was able to catch up to you? Just so you know, I hate being spoon-fed like I'm so stupid. This is so...boring" I spat and walked away leaving them to stare at me. I hid behind a nearby wall .Once they knew or so they thought, I was far away, they started speaking.
"What the heck is that?! What's gotten into Rie?"
"Yeah! She suddenly saying some mean stuff! After I SO kindly invited her in our game!"
"We always complimented her, right?!And I was nice enough to let her win in every game! She's so ungrateful! What is wrong with her?!"
"No, more like, She's always been such a weirdo, right?!"
"Agreed ,Always saying stuff like "Don't you feel like a caged bird here?" or even "Why not go out of these Walls"?! Like seriously! She want to be eaten by Titans or something?, Hahaha!
"And her eyes too! Talk about creepy! Let's be honest guys, We never really want to get friendly with a girl like her in the first place, right?"
"Yeah" "Uh-huh" "Of course!" "I know right?!" "I agree with you"
"The only thing why I was friendly with her is because my mom said that , who adopted her, is from Wall Sina! So that's why we should be friends with her because Rie, in case, might give us gifts that are only in Wall Sina!"
"Yea! My mom said that too" "Can't believe we're all the same!"
Hm..I already noticed it anyways. I just want to hear it loud and clear from them. Not like this, behind my back. Hmp! They're boring anyways. Is this normal for them? What a boring thing. They did not even notice that I was just showing them a fake smile.
I walked away, not bothering to hear their useless insults.
"Oh no! Rie, they did?!"Angelica exclaimed, her face filled with worry. As soon as I get home ,Angelica bombarded me with question about how my day went. Of course, I just can't lie to her.
"Angelica...Sis...Wall Sina...Are they really important?"I asked her with a confused face.
"Hm..Let's just say..The people in Wall Sina are really rich, far richer than the people in Wall Maria and Wall Rose"
"Then why did you come here, in Wall Maria?"I glanced a look at her expression. Her smile still remaining and her eyes focused on the road outside but her mind seem to go elsewhere.
"I guess, I want to experience something that is outside of the World I'm so used to seeing. Back in Wall Sina, I had everything I need and Want. My world only focused on that, that is why I don't understand how the people who are poor, who suffers and who sacrifices feel. So I guess It's because I want to experience it.
You know, I didn't really planned to come here to brag about being from a family in Wall Sina. I haven't really got a clue on how they found out. Even though ,I went through the trouble of changing my last name and rarely visited my family. I really apologize, Rie because of me ,Your friends are..."
"N-No! They aren't going to be my friends anyways if they are not honest about their personality"
"Is that so? That's good, Rie. You should always be true to yourself. I am really lucky to have you as my little sister ,even if it's adoptive "She smiled at me. I can't help but stare at her. We had our dinner and later on, slept peacefully. Angelica is really nice..I wonder if there are other people like her inside Wall Sina..I thought as I slowly drifted to sleep.
Morning came and I don't know why but I'm dressed. Not anything special. Just a slightly loose top and long skirt. I'm not really comfortable with skirts but since Sis said I'm a girl and this is what girls wear, I just let it go.
"U-uhm, Angelica-I mean, Sis. Can I go outside?...to explore...I guess" I asked and she only nodded with her trademark smile in place.
I headed outside and walked to nowhere in particular. I just roamed around the neighborhood but my peaceful walk was disrupted when somebody tapped me in the shoulder. I glanced to who did it, only to see the three kids from yesterday. I faced them, not minding if the way I look at them is of one who is bored.
"Hi! Rie!" The girl in the center cheerfully smiled. Tch . "You know what? You were TOTALLY right yesterday! Us ,being boring...and ..stupid! You're so smart , Rie! I really am sorry! So...what do you say? Friends?" She reached out her hand and smiled so wide, I would've believed her sarcastic speech. Too bad for her, though.
"...What..?. Your boring speech was so DULL and STUPID, I did not hear it exactly. I can't really hear something stupid. How about you bow down and beg, maybe I will make an effort to hear your useless cries?" I may or may not be enjoying the shocked faces they have now.
"Oh! but seriously, I won't let you trouble Angelica nor me with your failed attempts to be friendly just so you could have the 'Gifts that only exists in Wall Sina'. You are so annoying ,don't ever speak with me again" I finished about to walk away. Oh! I forgot something.
"Oh! and You know what? You were TOTALLY right yesterday! Me, being ungrateful and ..Uhm...Weirdo, was it? You're so bright!" I said copying the tone she used earlier "But...what are you going to do? I really am like this. This is my real personality. So..What do you say? Quite different from what you expect?"With that said, I walked out. Leaving them dumbfounded, just like yesterday.
"H-Hey! Who do you think you are?!" the boy beside the girl shouted and I looked behind to see him running up to me, ready to punch. I was surprised yet I was also unhurt.
I can't believe that I managed to grab his arm and lift him over me so that he would fall roughly behind me. The other boy was shocked but also run up to me to get revenge for his friend. Only to fall to the ground by just a simple kick in the stomach.
How am I able to do this?! They're boys! Generally speaking, they have much more strength than girls! I did not fight before too yet it feels like I've been doing this since forever!
"M-Monster!Just like a titan !You're a monster! "The girls shouted at me and ran away. the two boys also stood up and ran away
"More like Demon! Demon-girl!" because of that "fight", many people have been around us for a while. I'm pretty sure they saw it and heard what they say. Geez, Angelica will not be happy when she hears this..Furthermore, I just embarrassed her.
I quickly walked away from the scene preventing people to further notice me. It's because of those idiots! They're the ones who attacked first! And..I just defended myself...without actually knowing how. Uggghhh.
I was in my own world dealing with my troubles when I passed by an alley and heard voices. Curious, I entered the narrow space and ended up with another road in front of me but I stopped and hid myself when the voices I heard was just around the corner.
"You Weirdo!" I flinched at the nickname. Is this another fight? Are fights common here in Shiganshina?
"Stop spouting nonsense! You want to go out of these Walls?! Ha!"
I peeked a little more. No, it's not a fight. More like it's just a bullying scene
There were three boys ganging up on a small boy who was kneeling down. He looks like he's holding something...?That looks like a book. The small boy has short blonde hair and..well...That's the only thing I could see right now.
"Oi ! Stop that, YOU JERKS!" I backed away to hid in the alley some more when I heard a new voice. Another small boy with brown hair and green eyes was running furiously to the bullies.
"Hey! It's that Eren!"
"The other Weirdo? Let's also beat him up! We need to knock some sense into these weirdos" The bullies shared a laugh and prepared their fists. That did not stop...Eren, was it?
I was prepared for a fight but the fight was pretty much one-sided. That Eren kid is losing. How stupid.
*Blam* *Bloogsh* *Wam* (It's punching SFX)
*sigh* Since when did I start being such a little nice girl except for Angelica?
"What the hell is up with that girl? Ouch"
"H-Huh?! You're that girl from earlier! She's the one I saw who beat up two guys earlier!"
"They called her a Monster! No, A demon-girl"
"Tch! We'll remember this!"The three bullies scrambled to get up and ran away. The Eren kid..I can sense him standing up and rubbing his swollen cheek.
"Oi, I didn't really need your help. I could take them on anytime" He said ,glaring at me. I stared back, not really fazed by his glare but I was slightly annoyed at his attitude
"Oh? Don't misunderstand. I did not want to help you at all. They just did something really annoying." I said to him, glaring back.
"plus, it looks like you were losing, so I don't really believe what you said earlier" I said, glancing a look at the blonde boy who was still kneeled down.
"I was not losing!"
"Why would you declare something like that? Going outside of these Walls? " I said, now looking at the blonde boy who was trying to stand up. Eren, who notice who I was staring at, helped him to stand up.
"What? So you are like them too? People don't realize that inside these Walls we are trapped when there's so much out there to be seen! People think that as long as they are caged here, they are safe. Also, they don't believe that there's something out there but we do, right? Armin? Like the Ocean!"Eren smiled at the blonde boy who he called, Armin.
"O-cea-n...?" I phrased the word on how he pronounced it.
"...What is it?" I asked, curious of this thing they said that is outside.
"..It's a big blue mass of water that almost covers the entire land and it's filled with salt too! There are a bunch of other stuff too! In Armin's book, there's one where there is a land that is so high that it might be higher than the Walls! It's called a 'Montan!"Eren said, phrasing the last word with difficulty.
"Eren, It's ' Mountain'.Moun-tain."Armin muttered to the boy .Eren, just laughed his mistake off.
"...I sort of want to see this...O-cean" I said. The two boys stared at me in surprise.
"Wait, You...Believe us?" I nodded. The two looked at each other than to me. Looks like I'm the only addition to their belief. I looked at the sky to see it was getting dark. I was about to walk away without saying anything at all.
"Wait, What was your name again? Was it...Mo- No, I think It was De-...?"
"Rie..Rie Vricht" I said stopping him from calling me in those nicknames the Idiots have come up with.
"I'm Eren! and this is Armin" I only nodded 'Like I didn't know already' and walked away.
Hm...O-cean...I'm curious of it...
Eren and Armin, huh? They're the only two people I've met that is thinking what I was thinking.
Caged..inside these Walls..
Hm...? Come to think of it..They did not react when they saw my eyes...
...
Oh~, How Interesting.
Next Morning:
"Ah ,Eren"
"Rie?!"
Right now, I coincidentally met up with Eren and Armin. I was just roaming around when I heard bells and seems like everyone is rushing to somewhere so I followed and that's where I met these two.
"You live in Shiganshina?" I rolled my eyes at him and only nodded
"Where are they going?" I asked, pointing to the people running
" To The Survey Corps .of course!" When he sees my confused look, he was also puzzled.
"No way, Rie. You don't know who the Survey Corps. is? " Armin asked me which is the first time he talked to me. I gave off a face that said ' not-a-clue-'
"What? You've been staying in your room in all your life? Don't tell me the first time ,you stepped outside is yesterday" Eren smirked and made fun of me. Annoying.
"What? You've been fighting off bullies all this time? Don't tell me you always lose. Ah ,on second thought, never mind. I know the answer. I saw it firsthand anyways" I said, keeping my blank look. Eren looks like he was about to say something but Armin stopped him
"Anyways! If you want to see the Ocean, then you must go outside the Walls first! The Survey Corps. are the group of people who are always outside of the Walls!
They are risking their lives just so we could take back what was rightfully ours in the first place !The lands that was lost to the Titans!
They're the real heroes!" Eren said excitedly, as if I cannot see it. Eren is jumping and is so giddy ,it's practically annoying.
Survey Corps.. huh..
How Interesting.
WOOPS SORRY.I did not meant for the flashback chapter to be so long!
I initially thought that I should end it in Angelica's part and have the next scenes for other flashback chapters but I don't want to have too many Flashback chapters so together with Angelica's, I included here too on how he met Eren and Armin. Mikasa will be on the next flashback chapter.
So next chapter,is the continuation of the story.
Next chapter will be the day when Survey Corps found her and recruits her!
R&R!
