Flashback:

They could have easily traveled to any of the other outlying districts that day, but Shiganshina was a popular and well-populated one, and of course the southern districts tended to be wealthier than those in the north. Freak shows like the one Amelia took part in were occasionally invited into the inner-lands for festivals or drunken entertainment, but it was beyond wall Rose where they made most of their living and had a home. They were too poor and filthy for the rich citizens living in the interior.

Amelia enjoyed her time among the traveling freaks, filled with the most eclectic group of people one could ever hope to meet within the walls. And people would flock to see the strange looking humans, and the incredible performances they put on. The strange ebony-skinned strong-man, rumored to be the last person with dark skin among humanity, the deformed and dwarves, telling stories of how they had the blood of titans in them to make them look the way they did. Contortionists and acrobats, clowns and men on stilts, it was a mixture of the rejected scum of humanity.

Living with them was hard, those who didn't earn their keep often went hungry, and it wasn't always fair, stealing from audiences and from each other was common practice, and Amelia had learned to sleep with a dagger beneath her pillow. The fellow freaks and long-term hands were usually fairly trustworthy, needing to band together to survive, but there were always hired hands who posed unknown dangers to those around them.

Amelia could remember one in particular who had joined up when she was thirteen. He was handsome, long blonde hair frequently pulled back in a ponytail and the other girls loved to talk about him, but the way he looked at her gave Amelia the chills. She frequently felt as if he were following her around, watching her practices too often, and turning up in places he shouldn't be. It took weeks before he had managed to get her alone, she'd had a late practice and took too long cleaning up afterwards. When his arm wrapped around her neck from behind, knife gleaming in the light, Amelia couldn't bring herself to scream.

She was frozen as he groped her breasts, licking and biting her neck. It was only when he began to pull up her skirt that Amelia snapped out of her disbelieving stupor. Biting down hard on his hand, he yelled out as she crawled away. When he caught hold of her ankle, she snatched up a handful of dirt, throwing it viciously in his eyes and kicking him in the nose, snatching up the dagger he'd dropped. Amelia tried to make a run for it, hearing him come after her, quickly gaining and she knew she had to stand and fight. With a terrified scream Amelia turned to face him, and he, not expecting her to stop, ran into her, knocking them both on the ground.

His gasp of pain accompanied the blood that began to leak over her body, soaking her as he slowly died, Amelia trapped beneath his dead body. One of the dwarves had heard her scream and quickly shoved the man off of her, holding her as she shook in fear and hate at the corpse of the man who had almost raped her. One of her close friends, a skilled contortionist, wrapped her in a blanket and took her to get cleaned up. The freaks disposed of the man's body and nothing ever came of it, they took care of their own, and Amelia was one of them.

It was because of her fellow friends that she had grown her hair long, always being told how pretty it was. Oh Mia, they would coo, always offering to braid it or weave in flowers or beads before a performance. And Amelia loved to comply with their tender hands, enjoying the love of her sisters as they trained her and helped her grow. She remembered one of the old wizards teaching her how to write her name in the mud in her sixteenth year of life. A beautiful dancer who had run away from a home in the interior often read to the girls in their tent before they fell asleep, lounging on each other's laps, gossiping innocently about their lives.

This had been her home, the first place she'd really known as hers, before the freaks there was only darkness and sadness. It was with them that she had seen the stars for the first time, through a crack in the lid of one of the crates as she was smuggled out of the Underground. And with them that she was taught how to darn and sew, how to pitch a tent and make a fire, how to move her body in a way that would earn the most money from the crowd and how to make people stare with excitement and envy.

Thinking of their bodies, crushed beneath the weight of brick and board, or being consumed alive by the horror of the titans was still enough to make Amelia break into tears. She had never wanted to leave that life, she still wished she could go back to those days and lay lazily in the summer sun, unaware of the monsters just beyond the walls. But those days would never come again, and Amelia had joined the military, intent on protecting the way of life she had enjoyed, and anyone else from being killed by the titans. And she especially wanted to be like him, strong enough to save a life from them, strong enough to make a difference and to fight back.

It was in only after meeting Hange that Amelia had even begun to suspect that she could find another home. After the horrifying experience of trying to reclaim wall Maria, Amelia had seriously thought about dropping out of the Cadets. It was when she was sitting in the stables, trying to find peace and quiet, working on a basic sketch for her 3DMG design, weeks after the failed reclamation that Hange had gotten her alone. They'd been coming around more frequently during practices, and Amelia wasn't sure how to feel about that.

When Hange had dropped down next to her, Amelia had jumped, dropping her papers, Hange snatching it up before Amelia could grab it. Amelia blushed red, trying to snatch it back but Hange scooted out of her reach.

"Where did you get this idea from?" Hange asked at length, looking up at her curiously.

"I, I just remembered, when I used to do aerial straps, there was a device to keep the straps from getting tangled together when I spun, and it reminded me of the 3DMG. I'm not sure what the best solution would be, but I think it could help a lot in the field." Amelia rushed through her explanation, knowing it didn't make sense, and was surprised to find Hange smiling at her as they handed the papers back.

"Keep working on this," Hange told her. "And when you graduate, if you choose to join the Survey Corps, I want you in my squad."

"Th-thank you Captain."

"I'm a Major now," they said with a wink.

...

Chapter 8: Promotion

Levi stood in front of Erwin's desk as the commander went over his proposed list for the winter expedition. These expeditions were usually confined to a small number of Corps members, rarely numbering over 30 scouts and led by Levi himself. On these missions their sole task was to restock supplies at the checkpoints, make sure the gear was not compromised, and keep an eye out for any unusual titan movements in the area.

Due to the lower volume of sunlight in the winter, the titans tended to be a little more lethargic and the smaller ones very rare to run across. Hange theorized that the titans below the 5-meter class might even hibernate for long stretches of time due to the darkness. However, that meant that the titans that the expeditions did run across tended to be the more dangerous, larger titans that could withstand the reduction of sunlight. In addition, the freezing temperatures, unreliable weather, and quirks of the 3DMG in the cold made these expeditions treacherous. Wagons could not be brought along, bound to get stuck in the snow and difficult to protect with the reduced numbers, meaning that all extra supplies had to be carried on horseback. The more heavy-laden horses mixed with the snow and ice made outrunning titans above the 12-meter class nearly impossible. Engagement with titans was a certainty on these expeditions.

Levi would hand pick members for these expeditions. His own special operations squad was always included, but then he would rotate through the more elite members of the scouts, mixing in a few promising rookies to give them experience on winter treks. Setting down the list, Erwin's eyes locked with Levi's in a battle of wills, and Levi prepared himself for the ensuing fight.

"Private Amelia is not included on your list," Erwin observed, and Levi bit back a sarcastic response.

"No."

"Why not?" Erwin pressed the issue, and Levi ground his jaw in frustration. After that stunt she and Ness had pulled, and Amelia's second solo kill in under five months in the corps everyone was treating the bitch like some damned prodigy. But she still couldn't hack through a titan's nape in one cut more than half of the time.

"She's unresponsive to authority and too unpredictable for this type of expedition."

"Hange never seems to have a problem with her."

"Dammit Erwin, Hange isn't leading this expedition. I need scouts who have experience and who I can trust."

"Private Amelia's stats have already surpassed some of our veterans of a year or more, and she's the best in the Corps with the 3DMG… except for maybe one." Erwin observed clinically. "Skill with the 3DMG should be your most important factor in picking scouts for a winter expedition."

"I don't want her on this team." Levi retorted in frustration.

"I do." Erwin responded immediately. "She shows promise, and winter expeditions are where our elites gain invaluable experience, I believe that's where members of your own squad developed the majority of their skills. I want her to gain as much experience as possible before we start running real expeditions again in the spring."

Levi's eye twitched in annoyance, knowing when a battle had been lost. The majority of the kills and assists accomplished by his team members had been because Levi had seen their promise as rookies and had made sure to include them on the winter expeditions.

"See to it that she's added to this list," Erwin said with finality.

Levi nodded coldly, taking the list from Erwin and turning to leave. He would never disobey a direct command from Erwin, the man's intelligence and tactical skills were unparalleled. If he had an ulterior motive for putting Amelia on his team, he'd either tell him or he wouldn't. Even though Levi thought Amelia was a damned nuisance to have around, if Erwin wanted her on this expedition then Levi would drag her along kicking and screaming. Erwin's gambles always paid off eventually.

Walking into the mess hall, Levi's eyes narrowed at the girl sitting between Hange and Zacharius at the officer's table. A table she had no right to be sitting at. It hadn't been the first time Levi had seen Amelia sitting there, but she was usually bright enough to keep an eye out for him and scamper off before she saw him coming. Today she was too engrossed in Mike Zacharius' eyes to notice as he approached the table. Levi felt the familiar tightening of his stomach when he saw them together and brushed the feeling off as being annoyed that she was getting special treatment from officers who should know better.

"Tch." Levi clicked as he dropped into the seat across from her, and Amelia started in surprise, locking eyes with him. She quickly stood up.

"Don't bother yourself on my account, princess," he said sarcastically.

"Alright then," Amelia retorted with just as much venom in her voice, sitting back down and returning to her conversation with Zacharius. Levi tried to disguise his shock at the rebuttal—he'd expected her to run off, but it seemed her initial shyness in his presence had long since worn off. Ever since the day she'd slammed the door in his face, Amelia and Levi had been especially cold towards one another.

"Private."

"Yes sir," she turned impassive eyes on him, a huge change from the bubbling and enthusiastic expression she'd been giving Zacharius. Hange eyed the two curiously.

"You've been selected for the winter expedition. Get your supplies together, we leave tomorrow at first light." He told her, and her eyes betrayed her surprise, a smile appearing on her face.

"Thank you, sir, I will," she said, jumping up and heading towards the women's barracks. Levi watched her go, long tumultuous hair swirling around her hips as she hurried away.

Hange snickered, and Levi leveled a glare at them.

"Got something to say, four eyes?"

"When are you going to do something about that?"

"What shit are you spewing," Levi drawled, deciding Hange was proving their insanity once again. He hoped they'd drop it, but instead they leaned towards him with a conspiratorial smile.

"You like her." Hange said, and Levi glared harder. What were they, children?

"That brat?" Levi snorted, "Hardly. And if you hadn't noticed she's in love with our esteemed Captain over here."

Zacharius had also turned to watch her leave but just flicked his hair out of his face in an impassive response to Levi's comment and went back to finishing his meal.

"Stop making excuses and go for it," Hange encouraged with a suggestive wink, and Levi balked at their blatancy.

"I'm her superior, even if your fantasy did exist it wouldn't be appropriate."

"I'm her direct superior, not you. Besides, she'll outrank you soon," Hange said with a grin, "Didn't you hear she just received her first promotion: Lance Corporal."

"You know that isn't how that works," Levi frowned at Hange in annoyance. It was true that Levi's official military rank was only a Captain, but that had been negated when Erwin had put him in charge of the Survey Corps soldiers. Technically, he outranked even Hange who was a Major, unless of course something happened to Erwin and Hange gained the command. God forbid that ever happen. They would be inviting the titans in for tea.

"You know Levi, for once in your life you should do something that's good for you." Hange sighed.

"And your idea of what's good for me is fucking some rookie with no impulse control?" He retorted, and Hange crinkled their nose at his coarse response. Levi's appetite was gone, and he stood up in annoyance. "I'm going to go inform the rest of my team."

As he walked away, he missed the glance that passed between Zacharius and Hange. Hange shook their head with a sigh, and Zacharius just shrugged impassively. This was going to take work.

Amelia felt pangs of guilt in her stomach as she left the mess hall. She knew she shouldn't have snapped at Levi like that. He'd made her so angry when he'd implied she only joined the Survey Corps to get a citizenship. As if she'd just been using the people who had become her family. And afterwards, when she'd considered apologizing, he'd been so rude to her in return that her anger had only increased. Clenching and unclenching her hands, Amelia sighed, closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Damn," she muttered irritably.

"Can you have your moment of introspection somewhere else," a snarky voice drew her out of her thoughts. "You're blocking the hallway."

Amelia jumped and bristled when she saw Levi standing there, arms crossed over his chest, gray eyes narrowed hostilely. She quickly stepped out of the way to let him pass. Only when he was partway down the hallway did another pang of guilt cajole her into speaking.

"Thank you," she called, and the man paused, craning his neck around to look at her skeptically.

"What for?"

"For trusting me enough to bring me on this assignment," she said earnestly.

"You can save your kowtowing. Erwin added you, not me," he said, turning to face her. Amelia's eyebrow twitched at this obvious attempt to get a rise out of her.

"It's not kowtowing; it's called gratitude," she replied, a small smirk appearing on her face. Levi surveyed her with an impassive expression before clicking his tongue derisively.

"Never heard of it," he replied, earning a grudging chuckle from the young woman. She thought that maybe his shoulders relaxed the tiniest fraction.

"Obviously I haven't either… otherwise I wouldn't have slammed that door in your face," she said, her voice softening. "I overreacted… I'm sorry."

"Tch." Levi unfolded his arms, setting one hand on his hip. "Interesting what you'll apologize for and what you won't. A slammed door, but not a broken nose for instance."

"Well…" she replied with a cheeky grin. "The nose was an accident. The door was intentional."

He rolled his eyes at her.

"Just get out of here and get ready," he huffed. With a quick salute she headed down the hallway.

"See you tomorrow then, Captain."

"Till tomorrow, Lance Corporal," he replied. She beamed at him.