Freedom: Levi Fanfiction

Will you stay down?

2

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"MOM! DAD!"

"IRIS, RUN! RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN AWAY FROM HERE--"

She jolted back up, the reoccurring, hellish nightmare kept Iris from having a good sleep. Sweat stained her face and tears had subconsciously fallen down her cheeks. Iris placed the ball of her palms hard against her eyes, trying so hard to forget.

        "Nightmares?" Squad leader, Erwin Smith, asked. It has been a few days after the attack, and every day has been a living hell for her. She hadn't even noticed that he had been monitoring her all along.

       "N-no... It wouldn't count as a nightmare. It was like I was re-living what happened that day." He frowned and looked down, still feeling sorry for the trauma that Iris had gone through.

        "I'm sorry. I understand, when you feel better, let's have a talk." Standing up, he looked back at her with consideration.

        "Talk? About what?" she replied.

Erwin sighed and debated whether or not he should ask you now or later. When he realized how mysterious Iris's case was, he decided to go for the question.

        "About where you came from, and about the fact that your house was very far away from here." With a rather straight-forward question, Erwin looked at her with curiosity.

        Taken aback, Iris shook her head. "My mother told me... that they came from a place that imposed great fear amongst its citizens. But other than that... I don't know what to tell you. My parents had never told me about their birthplace and their lives in the past nor do I know anything else about mine. All I know is that I've lived in that forest for as long as I recall."

Erwin nodded, taking her words at face value. "I see. I'm sorry for making you uncomfortable. Get some rest, and we'll have a real talk when you're comfortable." Iris agreed with the suggestion and did as he told. When he first introduced himself to Iris, all she could sense was compassion and pity. The mysteries of this island still bothered her, why were there gigantic walls surrounding it? But even within the walls, life seemed serene. Just like how her life was before. Iris promised herself that she'd be contented. After all, Erwin Smith had given her a second chance.

The next day, the sun was shining bright. You stepped out of the barracks that were used as living areas by the survey corps. With all this information coming in and out, it was natural for Iris to feel intimidated.

She spotted a man with blond hair similar to Erwin among his squad and Iris waited like a timid girl.

         "Is that her?" One man's voice overlapped in between all the voices. He had long hair, presumably shoulder-length, and had round glasses that made him mature. The blond man nodded and pointed at Iris. As the two of them approached, she felt incredibly nervous. Never had she been surrounded by this many people in her life and it made her feel like some freak show.

         "Iris Schmidt?" The man with glasses spoke. Her eyes widened in shock, how'd he know her name? She was certain she never told anyone about her full name before, just Iris.

        "Yes..." she timidly replied. He looked at her, eyebrows furrowed in concern.

        "You poor girl. You must've been through a lot. I heard about you." Another man with kindness, she thought. Iris nodded sadly. The two men looked at each other, ignoring the fact that she came from outside Paradis Island.

        "I'm Grisha Yeager, a doctor. Come with me and you will have a home and a place to feel safe." His large hand landed over her head as he gently rubs her hair. The other man nodded in reassurance.

         "I talked to the man who rescued you, he seems to understand the situation," said he. So naturally, Iris agreed. At this point, she just didn't want to feel alone. She would've gone with anyone and the offer of having a safe place to live convinced her.

        "I have a little boy, he's about 5 years old and a kind wife who I'm sure will love you," Grisha told as he and Iris were walking toward his home. She took this time to look at the place around her. It was lovely. The homes were carefully built and the city looked well-built. The people, however, were the opposite. Their faces looked tired and rather hopeless as if something had drained all their energy away. When the two arrived, Iris was greeted by a young boy who had an excited look on his face.

         "Papa!" the little boy squealed. Without knowing it, Iris had a smile on her face upon looking at the joy on the boy's face. A lovely woman, whom Iris assumed was Grisha's wife, greeted them with a smile on her face.

         "Dear, this is Iris. The girl I talked about yesterday. Iris, this is my wife, Carla." Her kind smile extended and she enveloped you in her arms warmly.

         "I'm so sorry for what happened to your parents," her kind voice warmed your heart. It sounded like a sweet melody like her mother's. If people were this kind, why did her parents separate themselves from them? Why weren't they inside the walls? Why... did they have to die? Iris's eyes teared up. She couldn't even answer her own questions.

Grisha lifted his little son and showed him off to Iris. "And this is Eren." He looked at his son with loving eyes. "Eren, she will be your sister from now on. Got it?"

         "Sister..." you mumbled. And little Eren did the same. He reached out his small hands and formed the brightest smile on his face. For the first time, she felt joy. Just looking at the innocence of a young child warmed her heart. Even after Iris felt like the world has done her wrong, these small things made her re-think that. Now she had a home to go home to again.

Holding back her tears, Iris's voice was weak. "Thank you... so much," she told them, holding little Eren's hand as they wrapped around her fingers. "Eren..." Iris smiled.

           "You don't have to worry about anything anymore, Iris. You're safe," Carla Yeager reassured her, and Iris took that to heart. She promised herself that she'd do anything for the people who offered her a second chance. Anything.