It was a cozy day, the farmers were harvesting their crops, the shopkeepers are tending to their customers, the workers are taking a rest and the children in the local orphanage, named the Meissen Orphanage after the village itself. Are happy, smiling, playing, running, and helping the caretakers with chores, all have a smile on their faces.

Except for one child, that child is sitting in the corner of the orphanage staring at the other children playing games without him participating, and none of the other children asking him to participate. The caretakers are walking around him, ignoring him as if they are ignoring a piece of street filth that is left alone because the streetsweeper got drunk that day. Ignoring him as if it isn't their job to take care of the skinny, brown reddish haired child. Everyone ignored him except for one.

"Why aren't you playing?" Said the curious black haired child.

The silent corner child widened his eyes in shock revealing his bright blue eyes.

"Don't talk to him Braunschweig! The caretakers will scold you if you do! Even if you are new" Said the blonde haired one.

"We need one more player for our game, it isn't fun with only the two of us playing, so how about it?" said Braunschweig.

"Um ye-"

"Now children, what are you doing here?" A caretaker with black hair appears and approached the group.

"Nothing, miss!" Said the blonde.

"We were missing one more player for our game, and everyone else is busy so i invited him" Braunschweig pointed at the lonely child.

"Oh my child let this be a lesson to you" She says kindly to Braunschweig and the blonde, then she takes their hands and starts walking away from the lonely child. "Do not talk or approach him under any circumstances" "But why miss, isn't he lonely?" "Because, he is the Devil's Son" The caretaker says with disgust and hatred. "And you don't approach or talk to devil unless you want to get hurt, you don't want to get hurt do you dear?" "No" Said Braunschweig timidly. "Now let's go then"

The child is alone once again, he thinks to himself why?, why are they saying that?, what did i do?. Of course he has thought of this since the day he gained consciousness, and always he could never know the answer, everytime he asks all the caretakers would give him faces of hatred and push him away. Except for two.

The child looks up to get away from his brooding and sees her the caretaker that's always been nice to him, her blonde ponytailed hair blown by the wind.

"Sister Maria!" He yells with excited happiness and runs towards her, in total contrast with his previous isolated situation.

"(Chuckles) quiet down Siegfried everyone in this village can hear you yelling like that" She smiles kindly and warmly at him.

Siegfried hugs her legs as tightly as he could, as if she would disappear and go away if he let's go. "Be careful now, can't you see i'm carrying food?" Maria says kindly reprimanding him.

"Sorry sister" Siegfried blushes in shame.

"(Chuckles) it's okay as long as you learn from it" She says kindly. "Now let's go inside and help me with this, the afternoon bell has just rung after all" "Yes sister!" They head inside the orphanage walking on the grassy used road.

Maria ignores the vitriolic stares the other caretakers is giving her, she ignores them and instead looks forward to Siegfried carrying the groceries into the orphanage, and starting to plan on how to give him his birthday present for his 9th birthday.

Siegfried happily trots into the orphanage and making a B line towards the kitchen. "Now look what we have here" says the raspy elderly voice, belonging to a hunchbacked white haired woman, Siegfried turns to the voice and exclaimed in surpries "Mother Holda!" He hugs her tightly same way as he did sister Maria. Because only these two are the only ones that he's close with. "(Cough Cough) Be careful child i am still sick after all" She says kindly. "Sorry" Sieg says, ashamed by the fact he's been reprimanded by the two people he loves in such a short span of time.

"Mother Holda? You shouldn't be up and about with that sickness still plagueing you, here let me help" Maria says, she then puts down her grocery bags on the kitchen table and offers a helping hand. "No, no you don't have to help me, just seeing sieg smile is enough for me" Holda smiles kindly to sieg. "If you insist mother" Maria bows, then picks up the grocery and starts unpacking everything in it "Sieg can you put these there and cut these too please?" "Yes sister!" He then with spirit starts doing his given tasks.

"He's growing up healthy isn't he?" Holda says after Sieg is out of sight. "Yes, by a year or two he should be able to start school" Maria smiles warmly trying to hide the worried expression bubbling up in her. Yet Holda somehow knew that something was wrong. "What is it child?" "It's just money mother, schooling is starting to get more and more expensive, especially with the cut wages" "I am sorry child, there is nothing we can do at the moment but be patient" "Patient for what?" Maria says with a sour expression "Patient for the government to decrease their taxes to before the underground city debacle, until then there's nothing we could do"

"(Sigh) You're right mother sorry" "it's alright child, anyways how much money did you use to buy these?" "Two Silvers" Maria says bashfully. "That's two months worth of wages! Here let me compensate you for some of it" "No mother i cannot accept it, you need it for the medication, besides as long as it's for Sieg i don't mind missing a few meals here and there" "Please at least accept a quarter of it, you need to eat child" Holda says pleadingly. "If not for you for Sieg at least" "(Sigh) I'll accept it then for him"

"Good, anyways thank you for everything you've done for Sieg" "It's no problem mother, why are you saying this now anyways?" "Because i will not live for long child, i can feel it" "Don't say that" "there's no hiding from the truth, all we could do is accept it and live with it. When i die i want you to leave the orphanage" "What?" "The only reason Sieg is still here in this village and not dead in the streets, is because of me preventing the villagers from doing it, and when i die there'll be no one to protect him besides you" "I can do it mother even if humanity is against me protecting and caring for Siegfried i will still do it" Maria says with extreme determination.

"Can you do it when the barrel of a gun points at you?, can you do it when they also aim that gun at your family?" Maria hesitates to answer. "As much as you love him the power of love will not do anything against the hate of the villagers. So the moment you hear of me dying immediately escape to your family's house or anywhere outside of wall maria" "But how?" "You will take Sieg and run from here, I've prepared you a horse and a pass through wall Maria and into wall Sina. Your family is from there right?" "Yes but" "Don't worry as long as you're fast enough and get through wall Sina you're safe"

"Won't that count as a kidnapping taking Sieg and disappearing? The walls may separate us but the MP can still pass through and arrest us" "They can't accuse you of kidnapping anyone if Sieg doesn't exist" "What?" "For all this time I've left Sieg out the registration, making him not exist in the government eyes" "How?" "Small bribes here and there and you'll get the MPs to turn a blind eye to murder in front of them" Holda gives a confident smile. "The legality has been taken care of but what about the villagers?" Maria asks. "That's why you must move fast, the moment they see Sieg and you past the orphanage fence they'll string you and him up at the town square"

"Why?" "Huh?" "Why do the villagers hate a child a mere child for the sins of his parents? Why must they torture him so?" "Becaus-" "Sister, you need any other tasks for me to do?" Sieg appears once more done from his task. "No need Sieg you can sit on the chair in my room now i need to make some little preparations" "Okay sister" He goes to sister Maria's room as always to stay away from the hateful stares of the other caretakers.

"Anyways what was that?" Maria asked. "Nevermind it's better if you don't know, anyways you should keep what i told you in mind, and go on to celebrate Sieg's birthday" "Aren't you coming?" "I can't i must start the dinner ceremony after that i can go, say sorry to Sieg for me" "It's alright I'm sure he won't mind too much about it"

Maria makes her way upstairs to her room while carrying baked goods and dodging and oncoming caretakers, she didn't want the time when another caretaker purposefully elbows Maria's plate, making the food for Sieg inedible to happen again.

As she enters her room she sees Sieg reading his old worn and torn Biology book, he's always been fascinated with it ever since he saw it at the orphanage library trash and has been reading it since even before Maria came here, apparently mother Holda was the one who taught him to read and took care of him before her.

"Ah sister Maria!" Sieg gets up from his reading and runs to sister maria to help her prepare. "Thank you Sieg" Sieg begins to look proud. As he sets down the plate Maria prepares the altar, "Come Sieg" "Yes sister"

The altar potrays a statue of apparently a martyred man that fought for the freedom to express a certain religion and the freedom of a certain nation that has long ago been lost because of the titans, the statue of the man is standing proudly at attention and holding his heart with his right hand while bowing his head.

This particular religion is uncommon inside the walls largely because the majority religion is either god king worship, or the praising of the walls. Apparently according to sister Maria only 12 families of 10 in the walls still practice it including hers. Siegfried and Maria put their hands together and bowed in front of the statue and started to pray.

After praying Siegfried immediately started to enjoy the food that he's been given. After finishing his food, Maris stood up and pulled out a rectangle shaped thing covered with brown paper out of her bag "What is that?" "This is a present for you Siegfried" Sieg timidly touches it, and begins to open it. When he sees the title his bright blue eyes lit up and he smiles.

"Merkatz Biology 7th Edition" Siegfried says excitedly, immediately he opens the book and starts reading it excitedly "It's time to rest child you'll have time to read it all tomorrow" "Why can't i read it now?" "Because if you read in the dark your eyes will go bad you don't want that to happen do you?" "No" "Good, let me tuck you in your room"

As they head over to Sieg's room Mother Holda appears and gives him his second and last present "What is this?" Sieg asks "It is a brooch child" "Brooch?" "Yes it was given to me by my mother and herb by her mother and so on, take it as a good luck charm" "Thank you mother" Sieg beams with a shining smile and hugs mother Holda "Anyways I'll go to my room now good night Sieg, Maria" As they said their good nights, Sieg and Maria could hear the Mother's coughing becoming more and more intense.

As Maria is tucking Sieg in he says thank you and drifts in to sleep with his brooch and book next to his bedside.

Next Day

As Siegfried wakes up from a nice sleep he hears a commotion outside his room, usually it's still quiet before the first morning bell but for some reason everyone is rushing somewhere. He follows one of the caretakers and they seem to be heading to Mother Holda's room. "What happened?" Asked a black haired caretaker "It's mother Holda" "Oh no!" They rush towards the mother's room, Siegfried starts to get a bad feeling in his chest and approached the Mother's room and started to eavesdrop "The mother" said a unknown caretaker "Is dead"