A Promise (An Attack on Titan Fanfic: Erwin Smith)

The Beginning

They first met on a cloudless afternoon, in the year 823.

A young blond boy with striking crystal-blue eyes walked down the pavement of his busy neighborhood. Classes had just finished that day, and he was on his way back home, following the path beside the riverbank where the other kids were busy playing.

The boy only watched as his peers enjoyed themselves. He never knew why, but he always found such activities a 'pain' and 'unproductive'. Maybe it was because his father was a teacher and their home was filled with all sorts of reading materials with various topics, but the boy was more interested in spending his free time reading and learning. He often heard the adults calling him as 'mature for his age', and he lowkey took pride in that even though he knew it wasn't usual to see a young child at his age with such a mindset.

He was just about to turn around the corner and head to the street where his house was located, when he heard a tune playing in the air.

Turning his head, his eyes landed on a small girl with unkempt, dark hair whom he estimated to be a few years younger than him, holding a bamboo flute. A old, worn-out leather hat was by her feet, upturned and waiting for any kind soul to put in some coins.

The blond boy lightly tilted his head in mild wonder at the melody the girl was making, before deciding to make his way towards her.

Upon reaching the girl, he stopped and fished for some coins in his pocket. He stared at his daily allowance which he received from his father that day. It wouldn't hurt to be generous, right? He was aware of the poor economic status of the majority of humanity within the walls.

He threw three coins into the leather hat just as the girl finished playing. She shot a glance at the money before turning to the blond, a huge, grateful smile dancing on her lips. Despite the dirty clothes that were a few sizes larger that was clothing her and her feet being bare, the boy thought she looked pretty the moment she put on a smile.

"Thank you!"

Erwin lightly smiled back. "You're welcome."

He went home contented that day and thought about whether he could meet that girl again the next day.

True enough, every single day since that small encounter, Erwin would allot some of his time after class listening to the girl play on the street. They never really shared any meaningful conversation, but the girl would always smile widely at him whenever he stopped by.

Erwin was never fond of spending his time unproductively, but he thought it wasn't so bad seeing the girl play for a few minutes everyday.

One day, the girl wasn't in her usual spot. Erwin stopped by the road and scanned around him, but the dark-haired girl was nowhere in sight. He thought maybe this was just a one-day thing, but as the days went by without her playing in her usual spot with her bamboo flute, Erwin deduced he was probably not going to see her again.

Well, not that he minded that much. It wasn't like he had any deep connection with her in the first place.

A year had passed and Erwin was heading back to his house from an errand his father had sent him to do. That day was a particularly busy day because it was an annual festival of some sort, but Erwin couldn't be bothered to celebrate. He travelled through the countless crowds out on the street until a familiar face caught his attention.

Erwin paused in his tracks and watched as the person walked passed him, their dark-raven hair flowing and lightly tickling his nose. He turned around and looked at the girl's back.

"Excuse me."

The girl stopped and looked over her shoulder, locking eyes with Erwin. She seemed to remember him as well since Erwin noticed her eyes widening ever so slightly in recognition.