Two chapters in one night. Aw yee. Ahem... Anyway... like I said, this fic will be updated casually. But i am working on my other stories so hold tight. Enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: ALL does not claim ownership of any of the AoT characters or the plot. Her characters and their plots are her own.
Chapter 1
~Three years later~
Alyx woke with a start, bolting straight up in her bed. Her head was pounding, like all of the blood had suddenly rushed to her brain. She has been dreaming but... What had it been about? She couldn't remember.
Deciding it was doing her no good thinking about it, Alyx swung her legs over the side of her bed. The sun outside filtered gently through her window and a generous breeze swirled her hair around her shoulders.
There was banging coming from the kitchen. Cautiously, she opened her bedroom door and peered outside. Iris was there with her back to her, unaware that her sister was up and watching. She was tying a bag closed with a piece of thread hastily, as if she wanted to get it done and get out as fast as possible. Alyx snuck up behind her and, after a second of watching her sister struggle with the bag some more, cleared her throat loudly.
Iris gave a loud shriek and whirled around, tucking the bag behind her back. Her one eye widened in surprise, the other covered by a thick black eye patch. Her cheeks were painted a bright crimson.
"O-oh, Lyxi! It's you... You're up early," she stammered.
"What's that?" Alyx pointed to the bag behind her sister's back.
"What's what?" Iris slowly inched her way towards the front door. Alyx followed. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Those aren't my cookies are they?" she demanded. "Iris you know how hard it is to get sugar here!"
"Uh... Uhh... Uhm..." her sister had her hand on the door handle. In one swift motion, the door was flung open and Iris was dashing down the walkway. "Sorrygottagoloveyoubye!"
"Hey! Come back you little thief!" but she was gone. Alyx sighed and shut the door. Just let it go, Lyx... Forgive and forget... That's what mom always said.
Alyx spent a few minutes straightening up her bedroom after her sister had run off to the Jaeger house, no doubt hoping to see Eren. She opened up all of the windows to let in the gentle breeze and warm sunlight, made her bed, and hung the laundry out to dry. Satisfied, she grabbed her lute from under her bed and strapped it to her back. Maybe I can make a few coins today, she thought.
Alyx had found this lute in her father's belongings after the... accident... three years ago. She remembered how much her and her sister loved listening to him sing and play. She had even found songs he had written during his time as a Scout and she spent hours learning the lyrics and strumming the melodies, even singing Iris to sleep on some occasions. In fact Alyx had gotten good enough to perform for the few people in Shiganshina who would listen. Some even spared her a few coins and told her to keep at it. So every once in a while she took an hour out of her day to sing her father's songs near the market.
Alyx closed and locked the front door and strolled down the lane towards the marketplace. Geese flocked over the buildings and birds tweeted in the trees around her. Children squealed with laughter as they chased each other around, their mothers watching closely from kitchen windows. At first glance no one would guess the world was in peril, but the walls surrounding them were a grim reminder that everything wasn't as it seemed.
The marketplace was filled with cheerful voices and the exchange of coins. Alyx took her spot against the wall of a building next to the fruit stand and tuned the lute to the perfect pitch. Then she began to play, the voice flowing from her mouth like silk:
"It was like a nightmare.
And it's pain for me,
Because nobody wants to die too fast.
Remember the day of grief,
Now it's strange for me.
I could see your face,
I could hear your voice.
Remember the day we met,
And it's pain for me..."
A few people stopped to listen. A child tugged on her mother's sleeve and held out her hand. The woman reached into her pocket and pulled out a few coins. The child listened to Alyx sing a little longer before placing the money at her feet and skipping back to her mother's side.
"The peaceful times are what make us blind.
'See, you can't fly if you never try,'
You told me, oh, long ago.
But you left the wall outside the gate,
Now more than ever, it's real.
It was like a nightmare,
And it's pain for me..."
Some passing gave her uncomfortable stares. The song wasn't exactly a happy one, but her father had written it and she wanted everyone to hear. She continued:
"Sing for reluctant heroes.
Oh, give me your strength,
Your lives are too short.
Sing for reluctant heroes.
I wanna be brave like you..."
When she finished, she had attracted quite an audience and they applauded her. A smile split her face in two.
The trek back to the house was a quiet one. Alyx walked slowly, humming to herself and playing with the strap of her lute. On the next street over she heard children laughing. She smiled to herself, thinking of a time Iris and her spent their days outside, chasing each other around without a care in the world.
The breeze swirled her hair around her face and the sun was already dipping behind the trees. Alyx was thinking about what to make for dinner when everything happened at once.
The birds fell silent, even the geese flying above her head didn't make a sound. Alyx paused at the bottom of the steps and looked skyward. Strange... she thought. The wind stopped abruptly. Everything was still, eerie. The calm before the storm... A chill ran up her spine.
The air around her crackled, raise the hair on her head with static. Before she could react a tremendous BOOM resounded near the front gate, rocking the ground so hard it knocked Alyx to her hands and knees. Smoke billowed over the top of the wall. It was so thick it cast shadows over the city.
Did the Garrison set off the canons...? she wondered, squinting into the sky. No... Wait... That's not canon smoke... It's too thin...
"What?!" her eyes widened in horror. Something was emerging from the steam, something that shouldn't have been there - a hand curled over the wall.
No way... Th-that's... Impossible. These walls are fifty meters high, there's no way...
The steam was clearing and she could see it now. A Titan, standing nearly seventy meters, griped the wall as it peered over the edge and down into the city. It was skinless with skin stretched over an eerie forever smile. It shifted and she wondered what could possibly happen next, when there was an explosion and a rush of strong wind threw Alyx onto her back. Rocks flew by her head and she realized the Titan had kicked a giant hole through the wall. Shiganshina had been breached. The Titans were going to get in.
Panic set in and soon, citizens were screaming and scrambling to get away. They rushed passed, using shoulders into Alyx as they did so, forcing her farther and farther away from the wall.
"Iris!" she screamed helplessly, knowing her voice wouldn't carry in the chaos. The flood of people wouldn't allow her to push back.
Alyx allowed herself to be carried away, years flooding her face. Was her sister okay? Where had she been when the wall was kicked in? Ache didn't want to lose anyone else, let alone her twin sister.
Ahead she saw a familiar figure standing to the side speaking frantically with an older gentleman. Relieved, she broke away from the throngs of people.
"Armin!"
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