My first chore was cleaning the Northern stables and after rolling my sleeves up and pushing my hair out of my face, I got to work; pulling the horses from their stalls and cleaning them one by one. When chores were up for picking, I tended to pick cleaning the stables. Nobody really wanted to get dirty, but I didn't mind. I enjoyed bonding with the horses. Each time I pulled a horse from the stall, I made sure they were given some attention and care because they were just as important as any Scout or cadet. They were beautiful creatures. They really were.

The horse I'd pulled out of its stall and tied up was none other than Captain Shorty's himself. I'd learnt that from Eren the last time he'd joined me during chores. He was tall, taller than most of the horses here and intimidating to look at. Scratch just behind the ears though and he melted into my hands. He was in need of attention, much like the other horses. I wondered how Shorty got paired with such a magnificent beast. I also wondered how he got onto the horse. Even I would have struggled. Oh, what an interesting unanswered question.

I cleaned out his stall, replacing the straw and his hay and once I was satisfied with my work, I lead his horse back into its stall. "How you get along with Shorty is beyond me," I muttered, stroking his nose tenderly. "Maybe you can teach me."

Something that also played on my mind was the fact that neither Shobha or Merche had to follow me around anymore. Erwin had pulled me into his office not long after I got out of the medical wing and he'd told me that until further notice, I was no longer considered a flight risk and that meant I no longer had to have personal guards. It only took me nine months, I commented with a small grin on my face. I won't lie and say that I don't miss the company. I actually grew to like Shobha a lot, once we got past our issues of course.

Lost in my thoughts, I didn't hear the tall figure approaching me until I was tapped on the shoulder and spun around, ready to smack whoever it was with my pitchfork. "It's only me," he yelled, hands in the air while he eyed the pitchfork carefully. "It's just me."

Eren? "Whoops," I chuckled nervously, leaning the tool against the wall and smiling sheepishly at him. "Sorry. You caught me off guard."

"No problem," he replied, grinning because he knew what I got like when I was engrossed in my own thoughts. "I saw you from the courtyard. I just thought I'd come and check on you, see how you've been doing since the fire."

"I'm doing okay," I said, continuing with my chores while I spoke to him. "My ankle doesn't really hurt anymore and both of my hands are healing as best as they can, given the situation and circumstances. I mean my left hand is fucked. Even with Hange's exercises, it's still tight and pretty useless, but I can't complain. I'm alive. My voice… well you can assess my voice for yourself." My voice was still hoarse and gritty, but the more I spoke, the stronger my voice got and I was back to my sarcastic insulting self. "So overall, I can't complain and not that I don't enjoy our conversations, but shouldn't you be finishing your own chores? It's getting pretty late and we've got gear to clean in an hour."
"I'm late," he yelled and ran off in the direction of the training room. He must be cleaning the training gear then. "I'll see you later, Salem."

I chuckled and watched him disappear. That kid is special, I thought to myself. He somehow managed to always find hiself late, even though he was the most eager out of us all. I went about my business, finishing every stall and once I was satisfied that every horse and stall was in top condition, I told myself I should probably get cleaned up before going to the gear cleaning room. Shadis and Shorty can't say shit now about my cleaning.

I walked to my room and got washed up, making sure I was spotless before heading back down towards the gear cleaning room. Every week, all of the Cadets would sit in a room and clean their gear, making any adjustments they needed to make sure the gear worked best for them. I was given new gear by Shadis after mine was smashed to smithereens in the fire and had been making sure I took care of it well. I joined the other Scouts and sat next to Eren, who was already busy cleaning his gear. We both wore mirrored grins when we laid eyes on each other, but opted out of saying anything. I started with the straps, going over the leather to make sure there weren't any tears or damage. Damn, I really do forget sometimes how much equipment is involved in 3DMG gear. I examined the harness carefully and once I was satisfied, I laid it out in front of me and moved on to the gas mechanism. I started cleaning the metal and made sure the gas cylinders were full. In the background, I heard Armin and Jean talking about home, telling each other about where they came from. I listened in silence but found myself thinking to my own home. I hadn't heard from Sebastian in a while and I could only think the worse; that they had to relocate because their location was compromised. It wasn't uncommon for the business to relocate. Sometimes it was just necessary to move for safety reasons., but to think that it was my fault. I hope to god he's safe.

"What was your home like, Salem?"

What? I blinked at Armin, who was staring at me expectantly. Bold, Artlet. Very bold, but that's a stupid question. "I thought you all knew where I came from?"

They were all listening. Did they all really not know, or were they prying into things that didn't concern them? "We know where you came from," Jean piped up. There we go then, I thought. "But what about your home?"

"You want to know about my home?"

They all nodded, including Yaeger and I raised an eyebrow in his direction. He only shrugged with a small grin on his face. I wonder how long he's been sitting on this question? "Well if you're all interested," I said, putting the blade box down and facing them. Damn, they were all listening. I suppose it can't hurt to tell them. "I used to live with six people in a little house in the Underground. It was quaint. There was only one bedroom, so we all slept on the floor together. They weren't my biological parents, but they may as well have been. It was nice."

I mean it may not have been what they were looking for, but it was enough for today. Well, that's what I thought. "What about the chains?" Eren asked, looking like he regretted asking the question and I raised an eyebrow. Nosy little shit. "Ever since the fire, you've been wearing them. You don't take them off. You're always playing with them."

I bet nothing slips past him, I thought sarcastically. I couldn't fault him though. He was right and he was curious. Hell, they all were, but Eren was the only one who had the balls to ask. "They're special," I said, pulling them from my chest and placed them in front of him. Eren fingered them lightly, picking them up and examining them. They may not be interesting to you, but they're important to me. Armin had moved closer, watching our interaction with interest. "They're the only things I have left of my family."

Eren's eyebrows scrunched in confusion. Here goes then. Buckle up kiddos, because it's a long story. The others had stopped what they were doing and were listening intently and once they were all comfortable, I started my tale. "My parents died when I was young and I spent a lot of my childhood on the streets. Being homeless in the Underground is a pretty common occurrence, but it was rough. I went so many days without food or water. Things like that aren't common down there. It's kill or be killed. I came close to death so many times; dehydration, starvation and fights. I got into a lot of fights as a kid, though I don't suppose that's much of a surprise to anyone. That was, until I was taken in by a group operating in the Underground."

I stopped briefly, observing each of them to gauge their reactions. Eren had a look of disgust on his face, Mikasa was frowning and Armin looked down right sad. They're young, I thought. They haven't learned about the hardships the residents of the Underground faced every single day.

"They took me in. Fed and watered me. Cleaned me and gave me new clothes. Such kindness was unheard of. They helped me, even after four years on the street had turned me into and distrusting skeptic. It took me a while to trust them and open up to them, but they were patient with me. When I was twelve, they started teaching me how to defend myself, survive and to steal. It's a dog eat dog world down there and I needed to learn. Hell, I wanted to learn. Children wielding weapons isn't uncommon and when I came to build my business, I made sure the children knew how to use their weapons. It was better to have them know what to do than run around like headless chickens. They taught me how to fight and kill-"

"-to kill?" Armin said, uncertainty in his voice. Poor thing, he looks terrified.

"Yes, to kill," I replied, watching him carefully. "Now stop interrupting. We were unstoppable. We stole from the rich and gave to the poor when we had enough. The military police didn't like that. They couldn't enforce their bullshit rules if they weren't the distributors. For once in my life, things were looking up and I was happy. And then it all went to shit. On the night of my fourteenth birthday, I had been left alone while the others went out and I was waiting for them to come home, except they didn't. When they didn't come home I started to get worried, but then Sebastian came home in a complete panic, telling me we needed to pack the essentials and go."
"Who's Sebastian?"

I looked at Jean who'd asked the question and sighed quietly. "Sebastian is my older brother. No relation, but I love him as if he was. We packed what we could carry on our backs and left our home. I still didn't know why we had to go but I trusted him enough that he would only do this if something bad had happened. When we were safe and in hiding, he final explained the situation. They wanted to get me something for my birthday and they'd heard word of a cart of valuable items moving through the Underground. They didn't know it was a trap. Sebastian was the lookout so he managed to get away, but the others weren't so lucky."

"They died, didn't they?"

I chuckled bitterly at Eren, who'd repeated the same thing I'd asked him when we spoke that one dinner time. "Was it that obvious? There was a public execution. The Military Police made sure of that. Executions were a form of entertainment. Sebastian and I were in the crowd, but we couldn't do anything. We couldn't risk being caught. I watched as they were lead up to the podium and the chains were wrapped around their throats. They were hung until they died and those are the chains that did it. It's a reminder of what happened. What I did. If they hadn't of gone out that night for me, maybe they'd still be here. The heat was still on Sebastian, so he had to leave me and I was left alone again. He was only doing it to protect me, but still. And that's when I started building my empire. I decided that no one else would lose their family the way I did, but I think that's enough sad talk for now, don't you think?"

The room was silent and they all looked solemn. Well if I knew they were going to react like this, then I wouldn't have told them. It did, however, feel good to get it off my chest. Talking about them, in some ways made it worse. It just reminded me of what had happened. What I'd lost. Armin went to open his mouth, but he was interrupted by Shorty, who'd marched into the room, oblivious of the conversation that had just occurred. Well, that's what I thought. "If you're done with your sob story," he said disinterestedly, though I didn't miss the hesitation in his words and on his face. What's that about, Shorty? "You've got gear to clean and training to attend. Salem. Commander Smith wishes to see you in his office. Follow me."

I glanced at Eren, who returned a look of confusion but I just shrugged; I hadn't done anything. I followed Shorty to the door but Armin called out, making me turn back to look at him. "What were their names?"

I smiled sadly. "Alec, Lilah, Mave, Micah and Adrian."

Hey everyone! So here's chapter 6b. I thought it was going to take me longer to write, but I did some editing and moving and decided that I was happy with ending it here. I know it was a bit of a filler chapter, but I definatley think there were some important points. So we finally know who Sebastian is, [*wink* Kawaii-Anya *wink*] and why Salem decided to build her empire. And how about Levi's reaction, ay? Maybe he isn't as cold as Salem thinks he is. And what does Erwin want? I've got some writing to do! Well anywho, I hope you're enjoying the story so far and I'll see you in the near future with a new chapter.

-QueenOfTheWarFlowers