AN: This is a mostly OC based AU. I am adding to the storyline of AOT, not following it exactly. If you have any ideas for me, please put it in the reviews. Probably won't have any of the characters from Paradis/The Walls, but might have some of the Marleyans in the fic. This takes place within the Marleyan Empire, far away from Paradis. Hope you like :D

Winter lasts in Sentora for only a few weeks and it barely snows here, but when it does, it is truly beautiful. The sun shines in just the right spots to make the icy crystals look like diamonds. My mother would always scold me for standing out in it for too long; I guess old habits never die. I was sitting on the roof of our treehouse and sketching the scenery when I heard someone call my name.

"Gracjan! Gracjan come look! The soldiers are coming home!" my sister called me from somewhere in the distance.

Guess I would have to find her, otherwise my mother would scold me yet again. I slid off the roof and grabbed onto a rope leading to the ground. Looking down all I could think of was how high up I was. It took all of the courage I could sum up to climb down.

"Gratsi! We need to get there first!" she yelled again.

God, why does she have to make everything a race? I loosened my grip on the rope a little and I began to slide down. If I didn't have the gloves they gave out, my hands would definitely be split open. I've seen some kids try it on dares. Glad I'm not that stupid. Once I finally got to the ground, I needed to lit a torch. Should've grabbed one before I got down, but nothing I could do about it now. Somewhere in the distance I could see a flame trailing off. Shit, she's already running off without me.

"Marina! Wait for me!" I yelled out, doubtful she could even hear me.

Luckily, there was a torch I found stabbed into the ground; it was taller than me! It would have to do for now. I gripped the wooden pole that made up most of the torch and pulled with all my might. No luck. Taking a deep breath I pulled again and the torch yielded. Almost falling after that, I steadied myself and took out a match. With my torch now lit, I ran off to where I saw that flame. If you could see me in the dark, I would look like the soldiers I was running to. Rifle in hand and all. However, I definitely did not feel like a soldier and it was getting harder to breathe while running this fast. The other boys would make fun of me for letting a girl outrun me, but I never did. Marina won on her own all those times, and much to their surprise, she outran all of them as well.

After a few minutes I had to catch my breath and I took a second. I took a look back at my home amidst the trees. The brightest light in all of Sentora went out for a split second, only to be lit again and my heart dropped. One was a warning, two was a... The light went out again.

"Marina! Marina come back!" I screamed into the darkness with no response. "Marina!"

I saw the end of the forest from here. If she ran out into the plains, no, she couldn't have. Our mother told her better. Still, she must be somewhere up ahead. Trying to run again only left me more tired, enough to drop my torch to the ground. The torch luckily hit some rock and not the grass, otherwise the whole forest might have went alight. I searched the ground, completely blind from the dark.

"Marina! Where are you?" I took a deep breath before yelling out with all the air in my lungs.

"Gratsi?" I heard her voice say back, but it was faint.

How far did she run? It doesn't matter yet, I need to find the torch before I can chase after her again. I remember where the torch hit the stone and went out. So if I go from there... Yes! I got it. After relighting it, I held it more tightly and looked up to run forward again. Someone ran into me and we both fell to the ground. I saw his body be trampled by a dozen others and the adrenaline began to rush through my body. A man tripped over me and fell, while another stomped my arm and I heard an audible snap. I was nothing but a twig to this mass of humans. The reality of the situation began to wash over me and I knew I was likely to die. But, if I could, I had to get to Marina. She could outrun them, unlike me. If these are enemy soldiers like the light from home suggests, she couldn't outrun their bullets. Barely able to crawl away, I came up with a plan. Grabbing onto one of their legs, I yanked them to the ground. A boot met his head and blood began to drip out of the fallen man's head. This caused someone to order a halt of their forces. That was my chance, I got to my feet and ran off in between the trees. A number of guns rang out towards me, all hitting the trunks around me. When before I could barely breathe, the adrenaline completely carried me off. My flight or fight taking over. And I most definitely chose flight.

I could hear a few men running after me, but they wouldn't catch me. This would be the day I ran faster than Marina.

AN: Okay! Done with the first part/chapter! Really hope you like it :D If you have an OC you'd like to see as a minor character, put them in the reviews! I might use them for the future. Btw, in this current part, Gracjan is about 13 and Marina is about 7 or 8.