Chapter Text
The countries of Marley and Eldia had been in conflict for more than a hundred years. In the year 822, Marley declared war to Eldia. The small but rich Island immediately started building three massive walls, denominated Maria, Rose and Sina. During their construction, that lasted ten long years, the King send countless soldiers to their deaths to protect them. Their heroic sacrifice, made possible the salvation of hundreds of thousands of people inside of Eldia.
However…
Shiganshina, year 842.
The first flowers of spring were already blooming inside Wall Maria, the outer wall of the Island. A little boy named Eren Jäger, was observing with puerile curiosity the cherry blossoms petals dance in the wind, and then fall softly on the ground.
Laying upon the grass, his sight shifted from the pink petals to the blue of the sky.
In the innocence of his seven years of age, it had always been one of his favorite pastimes, to just lay upon the grass on sunny days, observing the clouds. He loved seeing how they moved and disappeared behind that grey, imposing wall that separated them from the rest of the world.
How he wished he could ride one of those clouds, fly over the wall and finally see what was out there. His best friend Armin had often told him about lands of sand, of fire and ice that were hidden somewhere in that mysterious world outside. And one day, the two of them were going to finally walk past that hideous wall, and see those beauties with their own eyes, instead of merely observing the illustrations in Armin’s books.
His daydreaming was interrupted by the sight of raven tresses hovering over him.
“Mikasa.” he raised himself to a sitting position, then turned around to face the little girl.
“Mom needs help with the laundry,” She informed him. Without another word, the little boy got up on his feet, and both children headed home together.
Once home, the two little ones helped their mother carry the baskets full of clean laundry outside. The air smelled so fresh outside, the aroma of cherry blossom was everywhere, mixed with the smell of clean laundry. But the nicest smelling flower, was of course Carla Jäger, Eren and Mikasa’s beloved mother. She was an Omega, whose scent was of sweet lilies, rosewood and cotton. For Eren and Mikasa, that was what home smelled like.
With such a picturesque atmosphere, it was hard not to feel jovial. So, Carla started singing the lullaby she herself composed, when Eren was born.
“A thousands stars the sky will count and you’ll be the brightest one."
If Eren was ever to be asked what home was, his mother’s singing would be the first thing to come to mind.
“But then the sun will rise.”
Mikasa and Eren started singing along. In truth, the two weren’t siblings by blood. Her parents, the Ackerman, gave their life fighting in the war, just like Eren’s father. Since the Jäger and the Ackerman shared a deep bond of friendship, Carla took Mikasa in without question, when her parents died. Despite being a young widow with a child in tow, nothing would have stopped her from adopting the little girl who, like Eren, was only three years old at the time.
Mikasa knew Carla wasn’t her real mother. They had a picture of her biological parents in their house, Carla didn’t want to let the memory of her friends and her late husband die down, so she never stopped telling her children of their heroic sacrifice, of how if they were alive now, it was thanks to them.
Mikasa was grateful to her parents and had a special place for them in her heart. But in her book, Carla was always going to be her mother. She was the only mother the little girl had ever known.
“The Angel will bring you back to me-”
“Eren! Mikasa!” cried the voice of a blond little boy. He was running toward them, carrying a brown messenger bag that seemed to be heavy, judging from the way he was slouching to one side.
“Armin, why are you running like a ghost’s chasing you?” Eren asked, amused.
“I need to show you guys something really cool!” He gestured for them to follow them, when Mikasa promptly interposed. “But we’re not done with the laundry.”
Eren turned around to look at his mom with pleading eyes. The woman giggled, unable to say no to those puppy eyes.
“Go kids, I’ll finish on my own,” She said. Eren’s eyes lighted up, his smile spreading from ear to ear. He ran toward his mother to encircle his small arms around her waist, hugging her tight. Carla run her hand in her little boy’s hair, smiling sweetly at him.
“Be careful ok? Both of you.” She advised them.
“Yes ma’am!” Eren exclaimed eagerly, before leaving with Armin and Mikasa.
*
The three children reached the cherry blossom tree on the top of a small hill, where they always used to hang out to read books.
“So? What did you want to show us?” Eren asked, hopping in place, eyes brimming with expectation.
“I’ve been snooping around my grandpa’s attic…” Armin put his hand in his bag, and pulled out a rectangular black tome. “…and look what I’ve found!” He exclaimed, proudly raising the book up in the air.
“Another book on the outside world?!” Eren started hopping even faster, and this time Armin tagged along.
“And this one doesn’t have pictures like the other one, but actual photographs!” the blond exclaimed, and the two little boys shrieked in excitement. All while Mikasa looked at them and yawned.
“I’ve always dreamed of going behind the walls to see the ocean!”
“I want to go behind the walls too!”
“I’m good here,” Mikasa said, and the two little boys stopped to look at her.
“Really Mikasa? You’re okay with being stuck in the same place?” Eren questioned her, with disbelief in his eyes.
“Yep,” She replied simply.
“Bu-But, the outside world has uncountable wonders, like burning water, lands of ice, fields of sand…”
“Yeah, whatever.” She stopped Armin before he could go on.
“I’m going home to see if mom needs any help.” She added while walking away.
The other two just shrugged, and went back to being excited as they sat on the grass and opened the new book.
*
Eren and Armin remained sitting under the tree for hours, looking at the photographs in Armin’s book.
“I never thought the ocean was this beautiful…” Eren couldn’t stop contemplating the stretches of sea green water that met the blue of the sky.
“If it looks like this on paper, imagine how vivid the green will look in person!” Armin smiled, daydreaming.
A forlorn feeling took a grip of Eren's heart. “Do you think we will ever see it in person?”
“Of course!" Armin's happy and hopeful demeanor was enough to qualm Eren's doubts. "Once the war is over, we’ll be free to go wherever we want. My grandpa told me that when he was young, he traveled to Marley with a ship, and then he went to an Asian country, where he went on a thing called zeppelin.”
“Zeppelin?”
“Yes! It’s like a big, long balloon that floats in the air. I think there was a picture of it in here, let me see…”
While Armin was flipping the pages, Eren looked up at the sky. His pupils narrowed.
“Armin?”
When the blond raised his eyes from the book to look at his best friend, he saw him with wide eyes, the mouth agape, and his face pale. Eren pointed at the sky and asked his best friend a question.
“Is this zeppelin you’re talking about… something like that?”
The blond followed Eren’s pointing and then saw it. The zeppelin he had just been describing to him friend was actually there, big and imposing, hovering over the wall. Part of him wanted to shriek with wonder and excitement, but something about it felt terribly wrong. When the seashell emblem came within his eyesight, everything became clear.
“Eren, that flag…!”
“They’re soldiers from Marley! We’re being invaded!”
The children’s immediate reaction was to hop back on their feet and hug one another, trying to soothe their fears with each other’s warmth. They both started thinking of what to do and where to hide, when Eren realized what he had left back home. He stripped himself from Armin’s embrace and started running.
“We have to tell mister Hannes and the other stationary guards!” Armin cried.
“No! I have to go home! Mom and Mikasa are there!”
Before Armin could stop him, Eren was already gone. He ran. And ran. He didn’t hear Armin calling his name again and again. He didn’t even hear the first bomb being dropped on the front gate. He didn’t see the people running toward the opposite direction. The only things he heard, were the sound of his steps and the beating of his heart. The only thing he saw, were his mother and his sister’s faces in his mind’s eye.
When he finally made it back home and flung the door open, his mother and sister where nowhere to be seen. His house was completely empty.
Panic surged through him.
“Mom! Mikasa!” he called, the tears that filled his eyes were already cascading down his cheeks.
“Eren…?” in that moment, the closet door opened, revealing his mom and sister hugging one another. Eren ran to them, joining the hug. Their mother held them close, planting a kiss on both of their heads.
“Oh, my babies! Thank god you’re both okay!” their bittersweet reunion was interrupted by the sound of gunfire, followed by screams of terror and the soldiers’ thundering voices.
“You see an Eldian, you shoot! Women and children all the same! Kill all of them!”
The children began shaking in Carla’s arms. A fire of determination was ignited in the woman’s eyes. She knew the closet they were hiding in wasn’t big enough to hide both of them, but without hesitation, she got on her feet and pushed Eren inside with Mikasa.
“Quick, get in the closet!” She hurried in a low tone of voice.
“Whatever happens, don’t open the door,” She commanded. The children never saw her speak with such severity in their whole lives. Before the closed the closet’s door completely, her expression softened.
“I love you both.”
Her pained but smiling face was the last thing they saw before the door closed.
“But mom, were are you going to hid-” before Eren could finish, Mikasa wrapped her arms around him from behind, putting a hand on his mouth. From the small crack in the door, he could see his mother hurrying to close the front door, but it was too late.
Two soldiers in their green uniforms and an armband with the symbol of a seashell, had already entered the house. They pointed their shotguns at the defenseless woman, who raised her hands in surrender.
“Where do you keep the money, you Eldian whore?” He barked.
“Upstairs. Under the mattress.”
One of the soldiers went upstairs to collect, while the other stayed downstairs, and kept pointing his shotgun at her.
Carla’s voice didn’t quiver, her knees didn’t shake. She stood tall, and strong. They could take away anything they wanted, money, gold, jewels… even her life. But they weren’t going to take away her dignity. Most of all, they weren’t going to touch her children, their young lives weren’t going to be snatched away like that. No, she couldn’t allow that.
Ignorant to what was about to come after, Eren felt pride and admiration for his mother. He smiled, thinking of how he was going to tell her how awesome and cool she had been.
He had hoped their money was all those soldiers wanted. He had hoped that once they got it, they would just go away. But just as they stored away their booty in their bags, the soldier, who had never stopped pointing his gun at her, asked a final question.
“You’re alone here?”
“Yes. There’s no one else.”
What came after was the sound of gunshot, and then a dull thump on the floor. Eren started thrashing like crazy, trying to free himself from Mikasa’s grip. But she didn’t let go, not until she was sure the soldiers were gone. If anything, she held him tighter.
*
Eren and Mikasa were found hours later, by Hannes who had been informed by Armin of their position. Eren was soaked in blood, clinging to his mother’s dead body, while Mikasa was curled up in a corner, crying silent tears.
“Kids, we need to go, now.”
He took Mikasa by her hand and tried to take Eren away too, but the child clung even harder to his mother’s body.
“No! Mom! Wake up!” he cried, cradling her head. Her closed eyes and peaceful expression really gave the illusion of sleep, if it wasn’t for the blood gushing from the small hole in her chest. It looked like the bullet had hit her heart, causing an instant death.
Carla Jäger had passed away, quickly and painlessly, knowing that her two children were safe.
“Eren… your mother isn’t gonna wake up…!”
Hannes told him with grief in his voice, but the child didn’t hear him. He kept bawling, pleading his mom to open her eyes. The man picked him up by force, carrying him over his shoulder. The little boy kept flailing around and screaming, demanding to be let down.
“We can’t leave her here! Mom! MOOOM!”
When they walked outside, what they saw was the aftermath of hell. The streets were reeking of blood. Corpses lied in every corner. The Marleyan soldiers had savaged and pillaged, leaving the town destroyed and countless victims behind. The only people who were able to escape the massacre, were the ones who were successful in hiding. Like the two children Hannes was carrying away from that inferno.
Out of the 2000 inhabitants of Shiganshina, only 358 made it back alive. The few hundred survivors, mostly children, were put on a train and sent to the internal territories, where the orphanages would take them in. Eren and Mikasa found Armin on the train, curled up in a corner, crying his eyes out. Just like Eren, he too had his clothes stained with the blood of a loved one. There were no exchange of words between the three children, just a group hug in which they cried all their tears.
That day, Armin, Eren and Mikasa were left alone in a big, cruel world. Alone, but with each other. While watching the ruins of his beloved town fading in the distance from the train window, Eren clutched his fists and made a vow of revenge:
“I will kill all of them! I’ll kill every Marleyan soldier on this earth, until there are no more left!”
