Shiganshina District, Wall Maria, Year 845
Three years passed since that day. In that three years Levi taught his daughter all he knew about hand-to-hand, better at it than Hanji. Levi even allowed her to venture outside the walls, (protected by the Scouts, of course) and Lilly had successfully made three solo kills by the age of thirteen. She had all of her parents skills at slaying Titans, and her mother's enthusiasm to learn about them and the world. Levi had passed down his cold demeanor when Lilly was angry, his strength, and his height. Lilly was much shorter than her handful of friends.
Lilly had also developed a close friendship with Doctor Jaeger's boy Eren. They shared a passion for what's outside the walls, fueled by Eren's friend Armin, and they both listened in complete awe whenever she told them of her parents' expeditions outside the walls with the Scouts.
She often told them of Uncle Erwin and what he did, of all his plans. This often bored Eren, but had Armin enraptured. She told Armin everything her parents let her tell, and Hanji soon came to enjoy the company of both young minds. Levi seemed like he couldn't have cared less, but Lilly knew he was happy she had "found other brats to waste time with".
But on that day, humanity received a grim reminder...
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Lilly sat in the grass, looking up at the clouds, as Eren and his adopted sister Mikasa collected firewood. Eren, however, was napping under a tree, but Mikasa was gathering wood dutifully, the red scarf always around her neck. Lilly was carefully making a flower crown for Mrs. Jaeger, as per usual when she went outside Shiganshina with these two.
Occasionally she glanced at Mikasa as her deft fingers wove pink, red, and yellow wild flowers together. She didn't like the half-Oriental girl that much. She was oddly protective of Eren, and had begun a rift in Lilly's friendship with him. Lilly hated making Eren feel like he had to choose between her or his sister, so she usually let Mikasa win.
Lilly jumped about a foot in the air when Eren woke with gasp, her startled hands nearly crushing her recently-completed flower crown. She and Mikasa both looked at him.
"Are you alright?" Lilly knelt beside Eren, worry in her bright brown eyes. She hastily pushed up the glasses that were slipping down her nose. She inherited her mother's eyesight in addition to her eye color.
"Yeah... It's just that my dream felt really long..." Eren frowned slightly, his odd amber eyes slightly troubled and clouded from sleep... and glistening with tears.
"Eren... Why are you crying?" Mikasa asked in a flat tone. That girl rarely showed emotion and it bothered Lilly like none other.
"Wha…?" Eren raised a hand and wiped away the tears, but more came. "I-I'm not crying! I have no reason to be!" He frantically wiped the tears away until no more came.
"Shh…" Lilly took Eren's free hand. "It could just be from the dream. That happens to me sometimes. Bad dreams can make you cry." She gave a reassuring smile.
I wonder how bad his was to make him cry without even realizing it... And how he woke implies that it was pretty bad... Lilly thought as she helped Eren stand, handing him his pack of firewood. My dreams are always Mama and Papa not coming home, Uncle Erwin on the doorstep…
She's jolted out of her reverie as Mikasa not-so-gently nudged the smaller girl aside so she could walk between Eren and Lilly. Lilly said nothing, but an offended look passed over her face. She ignored the siblings as she looked up at the massive wall before them. Fifty meters tall, they were surely safe behind them from the Titans that devoured mankind for sport.
I never get tired of seeing this... Lilly looked at the ceiling of the wall as she enters it, imagining it to be a canopy of trees.
"Hey, why is who crying?" Lilly flinched at the sudden sound of Hannes's voice, the blonde Garrison member walking up to the trio.
"No one... Eugh, your breath smells like alcohol." Eren made a face. "You shouldn't be drinking when the Titans could come in at any minute!"
"Whoa, kid, the Titans haven't been an issue for 100 years," Hannes shook his head.
"But you never know when they can come back! You have to be ready at all times!" Eren was getting mad, which was usual for the young boy. "You have to fight, you drunk!"
"Hey, I'd rather be called a drunk than up and fighting." Hannes sighed, looking to the sky.
"You should still be careful! You never know when they could break in!" Eren repeated, since that seemed to be his only argument.
"Ooooooo, maybe the kid needs a drink himself!" One of the other Garrison members laughed, and held up a bottle of wine.
"Look Eren," Hannes looked like he was unsure how to continue, "you don't understand. Being at peace means all is well. If I'm fighting, then that means that our lives just got fucked up."
"But you have to be ready to fight the Titans if-" Eren began
"Shut up!" Lilly snapped, her frustration just bursting from her. "You keep talking like you know the walls will fail. You don't, so quit saying it. And you keep telling Mr. Hannes to be ready to fight, when you haven't even seen what a damn Titan is like in the first fucking place! You have no fucking idea how horrible they are!" Lilly was shaking like a leaf with fury.
"Wait wait wait... You've seen the Titans? Been outside the Walls?" Eren's amber eyes darted to her, shock and awe in them.
Lilly bit her lip, realizing she said too much. Well, there's no turning back now.
"Y-yes, I have," Lilly nodded slightly, "about four times... I've solo killed 3 Titans. But not without my parents there for protection." She added swiftly, seeing the look in Eren's eyes. "It's a complete bloodbath."
"That doesn't change the fact that you've been outside! Why didn't you tell us before?" Eren asked, Hannes forgotten.
"For this reason. Come on, let's go." Lilly began heading to the main road, today being a day when the Scouts would ride through to get home... She hated the sight of it, but she always went to find her parents and Uncle Erwin.
"Right! The Scouts are coming!" Eren started running to the road, Mikasa right behind him, silent as always.
Lilly followed the siblings, standing beside them, trying to see over the crowds. The first member she saw was Uncle Erwin. She saw him take notice of Eren's hopeful face, then turn his head in what looked like disappointment and shame. Lilly's heart broke at the sight, her eyes scanning the carnage before them.
Many of the members, too many, were injured, held up by comrades, or pulled along in carts. Lilly closed her eyes, the scent of blood and death assailing her nostrils. She felt her stomach twist and turn, nausea starting to rise. She pushed it down and opened her eyes hesitantly.
"Excuse me, have you seen my son Moses?" An elderly woman goes up to a Scout member, and Lilly knew what the answer was before the man even gave it.
"Give it to her." The man ordered a subordinate beside him, who gave the woman a thinly wrapped something. She unwrapped it, only to find a severed arm. She began crying and wailing, a sound that broke Lilly's heart even more.
We are such a frail race... Death scares and breaks us more than any other beast and creature that lives. Lilly glanced at the other members, the ones with missing limbs, blood seeping under bandages, and the ones who didn't make it, wrapped in large tan pieces of cloth.
She feared that cloth, knowing one day she may open one and find her parents beneath. She may find her mother's normally bright eyes empty, an enraptured smile forever plastered on her face as her life's work kills her. Or her father's grey eyes, normally bored with everything, staring out at the world he so hated without that glow she knew from whenever he came home.
"Lilly?" Eren shook her shoulder gently, amber eyes filled with concern. "Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost." His voice was nearly silent, hard to hear over the wails of the woman and the declaration of failure by the Scout member.
"I... I'm fine, Eren. Just thinking dark thoughts." Lilly put a hand over his, causing Mikasa to glare at her, the dark eyes filled with something akin to a mix of hate and jealousy.
Look at them, wasting our tax money. The whispers began as such, a normal occurrence. Lilly clenched her fists, knowing more would come.
There's our taxes, going out to die. What a waste.
Why not give our money to something useful?
Give it to the Garrison, to the Military Police! At least they protect us!
Eren hit a man who joined in this whispers with a stick, anger in his eyes, making the amber burn like fire. "Shut up!"
"Watch it, kid!" The man turned to Eren, ready to beat the shit out of him, only to be hit with a stick again.
"How dare you say that?! These people are heroes! At least they have the courage to go out of the walls!" Eren snapped, stick raised again. But before he could get beaten, Mikasa grabbed his arm and dragged him away quickly. Lilly slipped behind them, heart heavy. She didn't see her parents before her friends left...
"Ow! What was that for?" Eren picked himself off the ground. Lilly assumed Mikasa put him there in the first place.
"You need to be more careful," Mikasa said in her emotionless, flat voice that was normal for her.
"Don't tell me that! I'm gonna join the Scouts, and that's final!" Eren began picking up the fallen wood.
Lilly had to bite her tongue to keep from calling Eren a fucking dumbass. How the hell could he still want to join after seeing that parade of death? He must be fucking insane! She looked up at the sky, at the magnificent blue.
"Don't tell mom, okay?" She heard Eren plead to Mikasa, which caused the raven-haired girl to roll her eyes.
Mama's boy... Lilly thought wistfully. Must be nice to have a mother who's actually around... Tch, I've done just fucking fine on my own, thank you very much. She looked at the flower crown, which was miraculously still undamaged, in her hands.
"Fine, let's just get home." Mikasa started heading that way, Eren catching up by jogging for a moment. Lilly followed at a slower pace, not wanting to be by the half-Oriental girl. She knew if she was, she'd just be torrented by hateful, jealous glares, and Lilly didn't feel like putting up with that shit today.
Lilly smiled softly as they approached the Jaeger household. She loved coming here. It was a nice refuge from the loneliness that plagued her at home. At least until Miss Ackerman (she hated that they shared a surname) came and ruined everything. Now Lilly could barely even look at Eren without being mentally stabbed by Mikasa. She hated it… hated the change the half-Oriental girl had caused.
"There you are!" Mrs. Jaeger looked very relieved when the kids arrived. "Oh Lilly!" She blushed slightly as she was presented with the flower crown. "It's beautiful."
"I'm glad you like it." Lilly shifted her feet a bit awkwardly. She didn't take compliments very well, since she didn't get them often.
"Of course I like it. You're such a dear for making me one." Mrs. Jaeger ruffled Lilly's hair slightly, which made the girl blush worse.
"Thanks... I didn't get a chance to see if my parents rode in today... A crazy brunet distracted me." Lilly gave Eren a fake glare, who stuck his tongue out in return.
"Oh, did you get all this yourself?" Mrs. Jaeger said as Eren dumped firewood into a little box.
"Yeah." Eren looked up to his mother with his amber eyes, not noticing his ears turned scarlet.
"You're lying." Mrs. Jaeger pulled one of his ears playfully. "Mikasa helped you didn't she?"
"Yeah…" Eren confessed, before sitting at the table. Lilly instantly felt very awkward.
"Oh, um, I should go..." Lilly turned to leave. She knew she was welcome, but she didn't like intruding on meals. She had a few things at home that she could put together…
Besides, she wanted to be home to greet her parents.
"Oh, no, I insist that you stay," Mrs. Jaeger pulls out a chair for her. "It's not good for a kid your age to be alone all the time."
Lilly smiled gently, then sighed softly. She hated it, but she would have to say no to that tender smile Mrs. Jaeger gave… one she had noticed Eren inherited. "Thank you, but I want to go home. I don't know when my parents come back, and I want to be there when they do." Lilly explained everything in a rush, her voice incredibly apologetic.
"Oh, I understand." Mrs. Jaeger pushed the chair in and then gave her a quick hug. "Just remember; if anything every happens to them, you'll be more than welcome at our home," she says in Lilly's ear.
Lilly couldn't help but smile and hug back. Mrs. Jaeger said this every time the Scouts left or came back and she didn't get the chance to see her parents.
"Thanks." Lilly pulled away, then left with a swish of the raven hair her father had passed down.
Lilly knew it would be a while before her parents came home, so she let her feet take her where they will. She knew most of the back ways of Shiganshina, having had to travel down them to escape pursuers or bullies.
It wasn't long until her stomach gave a mighty grumble, so she slipped home and grabbed some of the small amount of food that was there. On a whim, and since it would seem like fun, she strapped on all of the belts and buckles soldiers wear, before attaching the gear used for 3D maneuvering. She kept the blades in the sheaths, but just removed them from the handles.
"Well, I think I'm ready." She closed the door and took off, having learned how to save gas. She swung down the back streets, feeling free as a bird. She was very careful not to go to any largely populated areas. Didn't need the MP called on her.
This feeling is so amazing... I miss it when I walk around. Lilly inwardly sighed, then her keen ears, used to picking up the faraway sounds of the Titans outside the walls, picked up sounds of a fight. It seemed a bit of an odd skill, but Hanji asked for her to help with research, monitoring Titan "calls".
Lilly immediately turned and ran on the rooftops toward the sound, but slowed when she saw a familiar brunet and half-Oriental girl dash toward the three boys who were picking on a familiar blond.
"Haha! One look at me and they ran!" Eren cheered as he stopped by Armin. "You okay?"
"Yeah I'm fine." Armin looked at Mikasa. "And they ran because they saw Mikasa, not you." He gently ribbed Eren.
"What the hell?" Eren glared at Armin, just as Mikasa arrived.
"You're unhurt?" Lilly dropped down from the roof easily, unable to help herself and fussed over Armin, a little Hanji-like in the way she checked him over. When her parents were home, Armin usually retreated there after the bullies picked on him. At Lilly's house, he could forget the bullies and be lost in science and research and maps of the outside.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Where...? What is that?" Armin pointed to the 3D Maneuver Gear.
"Oh, I, uh, stopped by home and picked them up." Lilly looked awkward. "I was bored."
"By the Walls it's real 3DMG!" Eren knelt and checked out the gear, before Mikasa hauled him to his feet with a reprimanding look.
"Yeah, don't drool all over it. This shit's expensive." Lilly teased, brushing off the sheath where Eren breathed on.
"Oh let me try it?" Eren was begging. "Pleeeeeeeease?"
"Fuck no. Anyway, what got you to leave your house in up such a hurry?" Lilly put the hilts of the blades into their little holsters at her waist. She was eager to change the subject from her technically illegal gear in this setting.
"I fought with Mom. She won't let me join the Scouts." Eren crossed his arms and looked at the ground, moving towards the river. The sight of the water always seemed to calm him down, Lilly noticed.
"Well, it's dangerous out there..." Armin countered, knowing he would just disappoint his friends by saying so.
"I know that, but Armin, you and your books made me long for a world outside of this cage we call home." Eren looked to Armin. "I wish for an adventure too."
"I know... The walls have held up for over a hundred years, Eren. As much as I'd like to join you on that adventure, I don't think it'll happen." Armin gave a sad smile.
All of a sudden, the sky flared yellow, as if with lightning. But the sky was a bright azure, not a storm cloud in the sky. The earth shook as if by an earthquake, causing the four kids to stumble.
"What the hell was that?" Lilly exclaimed once it was over.
"Look! It seemed to come from that way!" Armin pointed to the square, and the kids ran in that direction. When Lilly arrived, she saw terrified gazes of the other Shiganshians directed towards the heavens. When her eyes met what they were looking at, she slid to a stop in complete and utter shock.
The wall, Wall Maria, unbreachable and untouched by Titans for one hundred years was illuminated in the sunlight.
And there was a colossal Titan standing behind it, one scarlet hand cracking the stone beneath its grip.
Again, I do not own Attack on Titan or any characters besides Lilly. Thanks for reading!