Here's the next chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Attack on Titan or any of the characters except my oc.

Chapter 2: Awakening

My eyes slowly opened as I started to wake up. Wow, how long was I out? The first thing I saw after opening my eyes was what looked like a wooden ceiling. Turning my head to the side, there was a woman with ginger hair sitting on a stool next to my bed. She was wearing what looked like a uniform that people wore in the military. A light brown-jacket, white pants, and her body was covered with straps. She seemed to have a worried look on her face, but then she smiled at me.

"Ahh, you're awake." She said happily. Then she got up from the stool and went out the door for a moment.

"Hey everyone, come quick, the girl is waking up!" I heard her call out.

I slowly sat up, rubbing my head. It felt like there was a bandage wrapped around my head. I felt another one on my cheek too. I rolled up the sleeves of my white robe and found bandages on my arms. Wait, where did this white robe come from? If I remember right, I think I was wearing a pink dress before. I looked around the room, wondering where I was. Then I looked at the woman who was standing at the doorway. It looked like she was waiting for someone. Did...did she help me?

After a moment, the ginger haired woman came back in along with three men. I noticed the men were also wearing the same uniforms as the woman. They all gathered around my bed.

"Ahh, so the kid is awake now, huh? Well that's good." I heard the man with dark brown hair say.

"Yes, she must be getting better." The ginger haired woman replied.

Where was I, and who were these people? I was so scared, my body shook and I let out small whimpers. The woman then sat down on her stool and placed a hand on my shoulder, like she was trying to comfort me.

"Hey, don't be scared, it's okay." The woman spoke gently while smiling at me. "We won't hurt you, I promise. You're safe with us now."

Then the woman introduced herself and the rest of the group.

"My name's Petra, and that's Eld, Gunther, and Oruo. We're the Special Operation Squad in the Scout Regiment. Or you might simply call us the Levi Squad." She added with a giggle.

The Scout Regiment? Oh that's right, my father told me about them once. They were the group of soldiers that ventured outside the walls. Whoa, I never thought I'd get to meet them in person. The man named Gunther started to speak up.

"We found you unconscious in a field while we were on patrol. We brought you back here and had the medics treat your wounds. Then we all took turns watching after you." He explained.

"You had us worried there, kid," Eld said. "You were out for almost 4 days. We were afraid you'd never wake up."

4 days, was I really out for that long? Oh man, I guess I was more worn out than I thought. My wounds were treated and bandaged up, but my legs were still aching from all that running. I was a little scared of speaking to the soldiers. My mother always taught me to never talk to strangers, but these people saved me. They were worried about me too. It would be rude of me not to thank them.

"Umm...th-thank you...for saving me." I said to the soldiers while my voice sounded shaky.

"We're glad to help." Petra smiled. "I'm sure it won't be long now until your injuries are fully healed, but if you need anything you let us know, okay? You're in good hands, we'll take good care of you."

"Hmph, don't buy into that, kid," Oruo spoke up. "You're only here for as long as it takes for us to help you find your parents."

"Oh hush." Petra replied with annoyance.

My parents...I guess they don't know. But how can I tell them that I don't have parents anymore? What should I say? And what about the bandits that kidnapped me, should I tell them about that too?

"So the child has awakened."

I gasped after I heard another voice, it sounded deep. I looked around and then saw another man standing in the doorway. He had short black hair and he seemed to have a blank look on his face...creepy.

"Captain Levi!" I heard Petra call out to him.

The man who was named Levi walked in the room

"You must be recovering well if you're able to sit up straight." He said as he knelt down beside my bed. "So, now that you're awake, I'm gonna ask you some questions and you're gonna answer them for us. Think you can do that?

My heart sank when I heard him say that. I guess that means I'll have to tell them about what happened now. It wasn't really something I wanted to talk about, but still I told myself that these people saved me. I probably would've died out there if it weren't for them. They're soldiers, right? So maybe they'll keep me safe if the bandits show up again. I held my hands together against my chest and silently nodded my head.

"Good." Levi replied. "Now first off, what's your name?"

"Yeah what is your name, kid? We go out of our way to save your hide and you don't even introduce yourself?" Oruo said kind of rudely.

"Oruo!" Petra exclaimed angrily.

She then spoke to me again but more calmly.

"It's okay, don't worry about him. But we'd really like to know your name. Please, tell us."

I took a deep breath and managed to introduce myself.

"Ma...Mari...Marianne. Marianne Haywood, 7 years old."

"Marianne huh? Hehe, that's a pretty name." Petra smiled.

We both shared a small giggle before Levi asked me another question.

"Well then, Marianne, what were you doing in the field before you passed out?"

Well, here goes.

"I was...running," I spoke softly to them. "I trying to get away...from those bandits."

"What...bandits?" Petra gasped

"Yes," I replied. "I was staying with Aunt Hilda in a small quiet village. We were planting flowers in the garden, but then these two bandits suddenly showed up. They killed Aunt Hilda, and then they captured me. One of the bandits hit me on the head and I got knocked out. When I woke up, I was on a carriage, tied up."

Petra seemed horrified while Eld and Gunther seemed concerned. Oruo and Levi's expressions didn't change, but...maybe they were worried too?

"That's horrible," Eld replied sadly.

"Yeah, even now there are still thugs out there that cause trouble for people. They don't even go easy on children." Gunther said.

"Do you know what their motives were? The reason for kidnapping you?" Levi asked.

"I'm not really sure, but they said something about selling me to a place called the Underground Market." I answered.

"Oh, so they were gonna take you to that underground city huh?" Oruo spoke. "Yeah there's a whole lot of criminal activity going on there."

"And not only that, but the people living down there fall ill and die due to the lack of sunlight. I wouldn't even leave a fly in that place." Eld said.

Levi seemed to be thinking about something for a moment until he asked me another question.

"Now then, you were captured by bandits, so the fact that you were passed out in the field means that somehow you got away from them, right? How did you manage to escape exactly?"

Umm...let's see, how do I describe it? I closed my eyes as I tried to recall the night I escaped from the bandits. Once I thought of something, I opened my eyes and answered.

"I guess it was more or less by chance. We were going over a bumpy road in the forest. The carriage shook so much that I fell out and rolled down the hill until I hit a tree. After I managed to wriggle myself free of the ropes, I started running through the forest. I didn't know where I was going though, I just ran, trying to get as far away from them as I possibly could. It's kind of hard to remember, it almost seems like a blur to me. One minute I was in the woods and the next thing I know, I was in a grassy field before everything went blank."

"You must have ran quite a long way before passing out. You've got guts, kid." Gunther said.

"Yeah, that's actually impressive I got to admit. It's dangerous out there in the forest, especially at night." Eld said.

"Then one last question." Levi spoke. "Do you know what happened to your parents?"

I lowered my head and clutched the edge of my blanket. Tears were dancing in the corner of my eyes. This was it, I had to tell them.

"My...my mother and father are...dead." I replied with my voice shaking.

I heard Petra gasp before I continued, with tears flowing from my eyes.

"I...lost them...ah...when the titans...invaded Shiganshina. My parents...ahh...uh...we were trying to get...to the boat...to evacuate. But they...uhh nnh...they were killed. I was...ahh...the only one that made it."

At that point I couldn't say anymore. All I could do was cry as the memories played in my head. The soldiers were silent after I told them about my parents. As I continued crying, Petra held my hand.

"I'm so sorry, Marianne." She said quietly. Her voice sounded like she was about to cry too.

"That's too bad. Nothing we can do about it though." Oruo simply said.

The soldiers all gasped except for Levi. I even stopped crying as soon as I heard that.

"What are you saying?" Petra asked surprised at him.

"What do you think? This is headquarters for the military soldiers, it's no place for a child." Oruo stated bluntly before turning to face me. "Sorry kid, but you can't stay here."

I became scared of what Oruo just said. Was he serious, were they really not gonna let me stay? Petra was angered by this. She stood up from the stool and shouted at him.

"Oruo, did you not hear what she said?! She's lost her parents, you want us to abandon her?!"

"What about the village she came from? Surely there's other people there that will take care of her." Oruo countered.

"And what about the bandits?! They're still out there somewhere, what if they come after her again?! If we don't help her, no one will!"

"Well then, there's always the Garrisons, or even the Military Police. I bet they'll protect her."

"Listen to you, Oruo! It's almost as if you don't want her here!"

"We're the Scouts, and she's just a little brat. The most she'll do is get in the way!"

"That's ridiculous!"

That's when Levi stood up and spoke sharply to them, breaking up the argument they were having.

"Petra! Oruo! That's enough, both of you!"

Everything was silent for a moment until Petra apologized to Levi.

"I'm sorry, Captain."

I watched as Levi started to walk out of the room. He stopped at the doorway before turning to face me.

"If you stay here, you're gonna learn how to clean. Once you've recovered that is."

That's what he said to me before he walked out.

"Well, I suppose we oughta get back to work now." Gunther said

"You rest up now, ya hear." Eld told me.

I watched as he and Gunther walked out of the room, followed by Oruo, though he said nothing and just scoffed. Petra, however, sat back down on her stool.

"Are you alright, Marianne?" She asked as she tried to comfort me. "I'm really sorry about your parents. But try to cheer up, I'm sure they are watching over you knowing that you're safe."

"Umm...will I...be staying here?" I sniffed.

"I'd like to think so. Of course that's really for Erwin to decide."

"Erwin?"

"He's the Commander of the Scout Regiment. I think Levi's gone to his office to talk to him about it. Once he's explained the situation, I'm sure the Commander will understand."

I lowered my head as I thought about the things Oruo said. I wondered if he really didn't want me to be here. Does he really think I'll get in everyone's way?

"You poor child. You've been through a lot, haven't you?" Petra gently stroked the side of my face. "It's true that we don't usually have kids living here at headquarters. Don't worry though, we'll make sure you have everything you need."

Hearing that gave me a bit of hope. I looked up at Petra and smiled.

"By the way, don't pay attention to everything Oruo says, okay? I don't know what's going on with him. It's like he's trying imitate Levi's way of speaking." Petra explained.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah, and he's doing a really poor job at it too. Even the Captain himself finds it annoying."

So Oruo was trying to imitate Levi? That's kind of weird.

"Well Marianne, I've got to get back to work now." Petra said as she stood up from her stool. "But when I'm done I'll bring you a nice hot bowl of soup. Sound good?"

"Umm, okay sure." I replied while holding my stomach. "I guess I am pretty hungry."

"I'm sure you must be after sleeping for 4 days." Petra giggled. "I'll see you later then."

With that, Petra walked out and closed the door behind her. I laid back down on my bed, thinking about the soldiers that saved me. Petra sure seemed like a really nice woman. She was so kind to me. Eld and Gunther seemed nice too. Oruo I wasn't sure about. It did almost seem like he didn't want me here, but I guess I shouldn't worry too much. I wonder about Levi though. He said I would be doing some cleaning when I got better. I hope it's nothing too difficult.

After a few minutes of staring at the ceiling, my eyes grew heavy. So I pulled up the covers and fell asleep.