My mood had decreased noticeably. I was upset, and angered more easily, it just was not a good time for me. 'Work' had been gone for two weeks, the beasts… those monsters must have taken him. I never stopped waking up in the early hours of the morning, though. As if I was hoping for something to wake up for.

Mother and father must have caught on to my horrid mood, so they kindly made my workload less, which I was very grateful for. I did not have to go out and continue to work after dinner was served. But, the work somehow put me at ease, it got my mind off of those horrible monsters.

Just laying in my bed until sleep would consume me, made me feel utterly lonely, more so than I have ever felt before.

That was why, one night before father left to go to town, I snuck out of the house just after dinner.

The sun had set, so the darkness covered me well as I scurried over to the wooden wagon father attached to one of our great horses. We had just recently bought the fella, since we came up with the money finally. It made fathers trips to town much more simple. He could collect more supplies so he did not need to revisit as much as before.

I smiled to myself as I moved the tarp that covered the wagon out of the way, then I climbed in. Father had some portions of food and water in the wagon for when he would stop for a break; he'd only discover me then, when it was too late to go back. I laid against the wood then pulled the section of tarp back over the wagon and I just waited. Father should be out of the house shortly

Maybe ten minutes passed before I heard father's footsteps pass the wagon. I closed my eyes as I heard him mount the horse, and felt the wagon begin to move. The roads were rocky and uneven, I was jostled a bunch as we ran over potholes, but it was fun. I enjoyed the adventure of sneaking away with father, without his knowledge. He definitely would be mad once he found me in the back, but he'd eventually saddle back up and bring me with him.

Hours went by and the jostling of the wagon became lulling. I found myself dozing off, and I eventually fell asleep.

The next time I awoke the sun shone brightly into my right eye, causing me to squint and groan. I hadn't realized that my father's yelling had woken me up. "Eren you imbecile! What the hell are you doing in my wagon, boy! We are in beast territory, do you want to be killed!?"

"Father.. Father please be quiet it's okay.. I just.. I just want to see the outside world..," I yawned after speaking then I pushed myself up into a seated position. Half the tarp was removed from the wagon so I had room.

My gaze went to father, then began to scan the surrounding area. We were right in front of the opening of a forest that looked.. Too perfect to be real. The trees grew in rows, in perfect lines, the branches and leaves trimmed to perfection. What was this place..

"There's no way we can go back now.. Jesus Christ Eren.. If I hadn't noticed you sooner you could have been killed..," Father's voice was raw with frustration and anger. "You do not even have a citizenship pass to enter the town.. You must stay here then. They will check the wagon,"

"Oh Father please.. You must let me come with you. All this way for nothing? That's poppycock!" I received a cold warning glare from father, but it did not affect me. I needed to see what it was like out there.."We haven't a choice Eren. You are not a registered citizen. So You will stay here and you will not move. Understood?"

"But-!" Father quickly cut me off, his voice low with anger. "Understood?"

"Yes father..," And so I was given a pouch of water and a bit of food, then father left me there alone, at the edge of that strangely perfect forest.

Many minutes passed, I was bored and the sounds in the forests were menacing, so I quickly climbed up a tree, the food and water pouch tucked away under my shirt. It was disappointing that father made me stay back before I got to see anything. This place seemed deserted.. Hopefully father would not take long.. I didn't want to stay the night in an oddly perfect looking tree, all alone with the threat of beasts. If father was here he could have definitely fought them off if they had shown themselves.

It was when I had finally calmed, my shoulders less tense as I relaxed against the wood of the tree, when a voice startled me enough to almost have me jump out of the tree in shock. I was not expecting to be bothered, by what sounded like a woman no less. Perhaps she waa beast, though. That would make plenty of sense. "Hello, young boy! Now what are you doing in that tree?"

The voice definitely came from below me, she must have been standing under the branch I was perched on. Her voice was gentle though.. and kind sounding despite the fact she had to raise her voice for me to hear. "Do you hear me boy? Why don't you come down from there, you must be lost! You aren't allowed here on your own!"

"My father told me I mustn't leave here, ma'am," I replied casually

"It is quite illegal to be there. I wouldn't want to see such a young boy face the penalties. So please come down here and I can escort you to town," My eyes brightened up at the mention of the town. Well.. if father was not going to allow me to go, I could get her to take me.. "Alright.., I'll come down," I called down to the lady, then I began to climb down the tree trunk, until my feet landed square on the ground.

I faced the lady, and I noticed right away she was checking me over with her eyes.. not too subtly anyways. I wondered why. "Did you get injured?" She motioned to my eyepatch. Something inside me told me to simply nod, so I did. "Ah, poor thing. Perhaps it'll heal in time,"

"Perhaps," I agreed, my voice weary. The woman looked kind, her eyes were gentle and her smile soft, comforting even. Even the strawberry colour - maybe even a sunset orange hue -of her hair made her look kind and trustworthy. Perhaps if I was dimmer, I would easily have trusted her, but I kept my weariness around her.

"Do you have your citizenship pass, dear?" The lady asked me as we mounted her horse. Ah.. that pass father was talking about, the one I did not have.. "No ma'am. My father has that with him,"

"That's what I was afraid of.. oh well then, perhaps I can pull a few strings for such a young boy," The woman then pulled at the reins and the horse went speeding off into the heart of the forest.

WIth awkward arms, I held onto the woman 'round her waist. We were going so fast that I had to hold on, but she did not seem to mind. "My name is Petra Ral, by the way. What is your name, boy?"

"I'm Eren Jaeger. My father is Grisha Jaeger,"

"Oh, yes, I've heard of that man. Though, I never knew he had a son. Which is peculiar," I could only shrug a little to that. "Perhaps he doesn't talk about me much when he goes to town,"

"Most likely. You own a farm, correct?"

"Yes, it is quite isolated though. It's very lonely,"

"How peculiar," Petra sounded a little distant ever since I mentioned my father's name, and it was quite odd. Maybe she had a load of feminine things on her mind- whatever that could be.

It took long for the great horse to reach a gate of sorts, one that was very tall and surrounded by a brick wall. Isolation… was that what this place was? It was isolated from the forest and everything beyond. It was quite the strange looking thing..

"Citizenship pass?" I heard a man with a gruff voice speak quite loudly. Petra seemed to take something out of her breast pocket and handed it to the man, whom looked it over for a few seconds before handing it back to the woman. What a strange ordeal.. "You're good to go,"

They did not even ask about me, how strange.. or perhaps that was the norm.

"Where is your farm located?" I heard Petra's soft voice as soon as the horse galloped through the gates and inside a place that looked like nothing I ever saw before. Walls surrounded the place.. it was very strange.. and it was hardly a town, but rather a large village, several of them at that. How would I ever find father.. "Uhm.. I'm not sure how to find it from here. Maybe if we look for farther..,"

"Will do," The great horse galloped through the bustling streets for what seemed like a very long time, and yet.. father was nowhere to be seen. The town was not what I expected.. I was thinking it would just be a whole market of mini farms all next to each other but this.. it was strange. Houses aligned next to each other, all perfectly similar. Trees grew perfectly, no flower was out of place. It all looked fake, nothing could attain such perfection without manipulation. "Have you seen him, Eren?"

"No ma'am.. which is odd..,"

"It is quite so. Though.. I'm afraid I must go back to work, Could you find your father on your own?" Well, I'd definitely have to if she wasn't helping anymore.

"Yes ma'am,"

"Good luck then Eren. If you need anything more, visit the gate and ask for me, alright?" I nodded then climbed off of the large horse. As soon as my feet hit the ground, Petra was off, her horse speeding towards the gate. I was all alone.. on such a busy lane.

It was a great adventure though, weaving through all of those people to find my father. It was like a maze.. made up of prissy looking men and women whose noses stuck up in the air. They did look very.. arrogant, I suppose. And their clothing was very extravagant. I was in a different dimension, it seemed.

I couldn't find my father, though, no matter which lane I looked, his wagon was not to be seen. And it did get frightening after several hours. The sun was setting, the streets beginning to lose all its people until I was alone. I didn't really know what to do, my feet hurt from walking but I had no place to rest. The sidewalk would have to do.

It was hard and cold, falling asleep was impossible, but I managed it somehow.

Though, when I woke up, I was startled by the group of men that surrounded me. And the fact that my eyepatch was missing. As soon as my eyes were open, gasps sounded from the quite scary looking men. Their eyes were menacing, the bows in their hands were aimed at my chest. I was done for.

"Blasphemy," One of the men growled out. He looked so murderous.. I could only hope they'd end me quick. "Two different coloured eyes,"

"He shall be burnt at the stake at noon, for a blasphemed boy cannot live,"

My mouth opened for a few seconds as I tried to get words out into the air, but I couldn't. Blasphemed boy? I was not anything of the sort! How cruel were they to judge, mother and father were right. These were the beasts they spoke so badly about. Cruel and heartless beings that looked like humans..

Two of the men stepped towards me and grabbed my arms in harsh grips, pulling me to my feet. I did not want to comply to these beasts, I did not want to stumble in their grips as they tugged me down the lane, but I hadn't a choice. People parted at the sight of these men, they must have been important.. Or feared. I could believe the latter.

The looks of pity from the women I passed was what made me feel undoubtedly defeated. They knew what was going to happen even without a notice. It must have happened a lot, that was a sad thought.

When I glanced at a crowd of people, I met gazes with a pair of silver eyes that were narrowed in what seemed to be annoyance. I felt a flame of hope in my chest ignite for a second, before I was pulled away and our gazes were disconnected. I could only hope that those eyes belonged to my friend who disappeared from his farm.

I had no clue where those men took me, I just knew it was dark and very cold. Also, there was an old lady, who had greeted me with a pitiful look as soon as my eyes adjusted to the dark. "My boy, what has gotten you in here?" Her voice was shaky and sounded very weak. The poor old woman most likely needed some water. "They said I am a blasphemy,"

"What has those men saying such a thing?" She most likely could not see my eyes, because I did look quite normal without them. But.. What really was normal? The word must have a different meaning for each person, because to me, my eyes were normal. But to those men, they were not. So perhaps normal is not a proper word to use. "I have two different coloured eyes, ma'am,"

"God bless you then, karma will come to those who deserve it. Perhaps your karma shall be your savior," The lady was just sputtering nonesene.. Because what she spoke meant nothing to my ears, it was hard to understand.

"Perhaps you as well?" I hoped that was a proper response. But with the way she laughed grimly and shook her head slowly told me it was not. "My time for good karma has come and passed. You see, when you get to be as old as you, you will not be afraid of death. You shall just be waiting for it,"

"I am going to die tomorrow ma'am,"

"I have a feeling that only I shall be burnt at the stake at first light tomorrow," It had me wondering why she was here in the first place though.. How could such a sweet, though maybe a little confusing, old lady be locked up like this? Beasts truly were evil.. "What has you here?"

"I am a woman with only one breast. It was easy to hide it all these years, but the body inspections just started merely a month ago. Every Sunday those men who took you here will go out and search for more faults to condemn. They are awful beings, really," The woman's voice was somber, it really seemed like I was not the only one who hated these beasts.

"So you are not one of these beasts then, ma'am," Through the dark, I saw her head shake slowly. "I am definitely not like those.. Who condemn the innocent. You have a right mind, my boy, to call them beasts; that is just what they are,"

"My mother and father taught me of the beasts, they gave me the knowledge.. I'm glad to be reassured of what they say,"

I spent the whole morning in that cell with the lady.. All until two men opened up the cell with a pair of keys and forcefully dragged the woman away. Even in the darkness of wherever those beasts held me.. I could hear her cries of agony and smelt the disgusting scent of burning flesh.

It created a coldness in my chest, made my mouth go dry with distaste. I knew what they had done to the woman; burnt her most likely. As they were going to do to me when dawn arrived. But without company, the wait was so much more agonizing.

What I didn't expect, though, was the sound of fingers strumming against the metal bars of the cell late into what I presumed was the night. The sound startled me from my sleep and I sat up slowly. "Who- who's there?" My voice wavered a bit in its whisper, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't slightly afraid.

"Trust me," The words were spoken in a low tone, the man's voice hushed quietly to the point my ears were straining to hear each syllable. "I will get you out of here, in the morning," Before I had the chance to speak up, the presence of another person was gone, and I was left alone wondering if the man- whoever he was- was going to really rescue me from my fiery demise.

The morning must have came sooner than expected, because before I got the chance to fall asleep once more, I was being dragged out of the dark cell with my hands bound together. The metal around my wrists were painful if I tugged on the too hard, so I made sure not to struggle much.

The blazing sun caused my eyes to squeeze shut as soon as I was pulled outside, into what seemed to be a square patch of land that had cobble for flooring. In the middle of the cobble square, there was a large structure made of wood branches that held poles of torches right next to them. The hope that man gave me last night of being rescued was gone as soon as I was tied to the stake, my body bound tightly to the wood.

The words one of those arrogant looking men spoke were nothing but gibberish to me as my gaze stayed on the torch he picked up, the fire burn brightly as if it was just waiting to lick up my skin. The nerves caused my muscles to tense up, the man shouted a final phrase that I managed to comprehend "May all deviations die!" He then threw the torch towards the stake, the flames bursting and popping at my feet as the wood caught flame.

The fire spread slowly, inching its way towards me, as if the heat of behind near it wasn't torture enough. Just the waiting though of the flames licking my skin caused fear and dread to pool into my stomach.

My eyes closed as I awaited my fate, no other sound but the crackling of the fire reached my ears. When I felt something on my arm, I yelped, thinking it was the flame but to my surprise, it did not hurt. In all of my confusion, I opened my eyes in time to see someone quickly untying me, the fire had almost reached my feet.

The person - a man - had a straw hat tilted on his head, causing shade to rest over his face. I could not see who exactly it was, as he gripped my wrist tightly. The fire had almost surrounded the whole stake, but at the back the fire had not yet reached. It was my lucky break, honestly. The man pulled me away from the burning wood, only managing to catch the bottoms of my trousers and shoes, but I quickly patted the fire out.

I was confused, though, no one was in the square anymore, only a few bodies of men that had red liquid painting their shirts. "What.. Happened?" I managed to pant out as the man pulled me along in a fast sprint, running away from the square. "I saved you, idiot,"

"Yes but.. How?" The man shook his head as we approached one great horse, that was all saddled up and ready. The man climbed ip onto the saddle, which had my eyebrow raised. The horse definitely was much taller than him, it was a wonder how he even got on.

"Hurry up, get on," I nodded quickly then hurriedly pulled myself up onto the horse behind the man, my arms awkwardly wrapping around his torso. As soon as I was holding on, the man whipped the reins and the horse was speeding off, I had no clue where though. "Sir.. I was wondering.. Do I know you?"

The man clicked his tongue in disapproval. Had I done something wrong? "You're an idiot kid. You trespass on my farm countless amount of times, and you are unable to remember my voice. I am disappointed, really,"

"You mustn't be serious...," It couldn't be 'work'... I would have remembered his voice definitely, even his.. Short structure.. As this man had. "I believe I am quite serious,"

"But.. Work disappeared a while ago..,"

"And now I am back. Also, don't call me that ridiculous name. I'm Levi," My brows raised a little, was Levi his real name or just another joke? Well.. I should just assume it was real, it sounded so. Perhaps it would be fair if I'd tell him my own.. "Oh alright... Well you can call me Eren then!"

"As you wish, brat,"