AN: Heyyy, Henyyo here. I just wanted to say that the first few chapters are going to be a bit short but don't worry, they're going to start getting bigger. Hope ya enjoy!

Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Trill of The Nightingale

(Year: 844)

"ZZZZZ…" The subtle snoring of a child coincided with the prominent trill of a nightingale. The full moon up above illuminated the the wide, fertile fields and the nearby forest. Out of nowhere, a rock flew square into the boy's nose. "Oi! Who threw that?!" Silence. " Ah said, Who threw th-" Another rock flew, this time, it collided with his mouth.

"Quit yellin', Gustav." An older, more gruff voice replied.

"Albert! Why can't ya just let me sleep in peace?" Gustav questioned, genuinely frustrated. The older boy just yawned and ran his hand through his charcoal-coloured hair.

"Father wants us to sleep early today because tomorrow we head for Shiganshina as early as possible… 'Bout time we sold some produce and cattle. We're also hopin' to find a doctor for Johannes." Albert finished as he extended his hand to his younger brother.

"Johannes still ain't gotten better?" Gustav pondered, worried for his younger brother. In response, Albert just sighed; "ever since his fever appeared a week ago he has not gotten better at all." Albert croaked out. "It's wearin' us all out."

"Well at least that means we'll skip part of our training tomorrow." There was silence the rest of the way to the house from the field that Gustav fell asleep in.

Albert placed his hand on the door knob and slowly twisted. The door opened and revealed a family of five sitting at a dinner table. "Took ya long enough; did you breed the goats together, Gustav? Or were just slackin' off and sleepin'?"

"Yes dad, Ah did." Gustav answered sounding drowsy.

"And Albert, did ya spread the fertilizer on the potato fields?"

"Yes father Ah have." Albert said seriously. Their father gestured for them to come sit down and eat.

"Albert… Did ya … Inform daddy… About our… decision?" Hermann spoke in between bites. It was clear that Albert almost totally forgot.

"Hermann and I will join the cadets." Albert casually stated. Their father just instantaneously chuckled in response. "Ah can't say Ah ain't see that comin'. To be completely honest Ah sort of planned it all along." Their father paused to let his initial opinion sink in. "Ah have been training ya to a ridiculous degree: endurance tests; making ya all run to the nearest village and back many times; handling weaponry- and overall everything from hand-to-hand combat to how you would theoretically use ODM gear, in addition to overworking ya in the fields and homeschooling ya. Mah old man did the same thing to me and his old man did he same thing… All Ah can say is that Ah am proud of ya."

He very briefly paused before speaking up again. "Y'know, Ah was also a soldier… For some time." Their father became very visibly angry and his tone switched from pride in his children to something akin that was overwhelmingly bitter. He gripped the knife in right hand so hard it broke and damn near shattered. "Ah was a soldier until-"

"That's enough, Henning, let's change the topic." His wife Margaret- and their mother, interrupted him and prevented him from ruining the dinner's atmosphere.

"Tomorrow, Albert, Johannes, Gustav and Ah will head to Shiganshina. Hermann, you and your twin sister, Julia, will continue training and workin' as usual." Henning spoke up again but he was much calmer than his previous outburst. After that, dinner continued. Casual conversations; jokes and light-hearted insults ensued. It was just a normal family dinner.

Creaking was heard. The door was suddenly opened; a hooded figure stepped in and closed the door. Henning placed his hand on a rifle which was under the table, in response, the hooded figure pulled down its hood: revealing a feminine face with light blue eyes and thick, long charcoal-coloured hair- the same hair colour as Albert.

"FRIEDA!" Albert exclaimed happily while rushing to hug her.

"Oi Oi, Albert you're crushing me!" Frieda said while gasping for breath.

"Sorry." Albert said while a faint pink tint dusted his cheeks and a slight glow took hold of his emerald eyes. "It has just been too long since ya visited."

"Yes, it has been exactly four years. And what happened in those four years Albert! We're the same age and you've doubled in size!" Frieda said with a genuinely shocked tone with a hint of jealousy. It was true, though. Albert did indeed have around twenty centimeters of height on her. His father and Gustav slowly walked towards them.

"Uncle Henning!" Frieda piped up while hugging him. "I missed you guys…"

"Likewise Frieda." She looked at who replied and found a smiling Gustav.

"Little Gustav…" She said while attempting to pick him up. She barely succeeded, however.

"Oh, you're very heavy, Little Gustav. How old are you now?" She questioned while wincing as a result of her struggle to carry him.

"Ah am eleven, Johannes is eight years old and Julia and Hermann are fifteen." He replied with an innocent grin. She remembered that a family member was missing. She set Gustav down while asking Henning.

"Uncle Henning… Where is Johannes?" She asked more curious than worried.

Henning sighed heavily before responding to her. "Johannes has been… very sick lately… We don't know what's wrong with 'em." Henning replied somberly. Frieda saw how bad this affected her uncle; she also realized how mentioning Johannes' illness caused everyone's expression to dim in an abrupt manner. She appeared to have been deep in thought about something. 'What is she thinkin' about?' Gustav thought while realizing Albert and his father looked like they were thinking about the exact thing. They clearly knew something he didn't but Gustav didn't really care. "Hey Frieda, how 'bout ya come join us for dinner and sleep in with us: we have an extra bunk bed for ya." Gustav optimistically suggested. Frieda looked conflicted but in the end she agreed. They finished eating dinner with Frieda before they cleaned the table and went upstairs to finally go to sleep.

HEY! BOY

BOY

BOY

BOY

BOY

Gustav groaned as he abruptly woke up. Slowly blinking, he found that the carriage driver was violently shaking him to wake up.

"BOY! Wake up damn it."

"Fine I am awake… I am awake."

"You looked like you were in one hell of a dream." Gustav just nodded in agreement to the carriage driver. "Anyway, we have arrived at boot camp; the other would-be cadets have already left. Get your belongings and get off the carriage, son." Gustav complied and collected his stuff before getting of the carriage. He had finally woke up to reality. This wasn't the year 844 anymore. The titans broke down wall Maria in 845 and he had enlisted into the military this year. The year of 847. This is his story.