To You, a Promise (Levi x OC)

Prologue

Year 835, Shiganshina District

"Mama! Papa!" Look! The Survey Corps have come back!" Twelve year old Rylai rushed over to the window and watched in awe as the soldiers trudged back into town, weary looks on their faces. "Why do they look so sad, Papa?" She turned around and looked over at her father, eyes full of admiration.

Her father sighed. "I'm guessing they've lost many soldiers this time as well..." he murmured quietly. "Rylai, I suppose you want to go and see them again?"

The child grinned widely. "Yes! Especially Captain Levi! He's humanity's best soldier, isn't he?"

Her father chuckled. "That's what they say. He is an excellent fighter though, I'll give them that. Erwin made a good choice, bringing him up from the underground. Come now, we don't want to miss them."

"Yay!" Rylai rushed over to the door and flung it open, revealing the bright sunlight shining on the soldiers' cloaks, the Wings of Freedom flying proudly on each. Rylai jumped up in excitement, and scanned the crowd for her favorite, Captain Levi, only a year of service in the Survey Corps, already proving his worth on the battlefield. As she laid her eyes upon him, she leaped up in joy once again.

"Look, Papa! There he is!" Her voice was full of excitement at seeing her idol. "How did they find him, Papa?" Rylai asked. "I don't remember him from the trainee class this year..."

"They say that Erwin found him in the Underground District, and taught himself how to use the 3DMG, along with his old friends who were the other two new recruits, Farlan Church, and Isabel Magnolia. The latter two died, however, on their first expedition, and it seems that Levi has never been the same ever since."

"That's...horrible..." Rylai murmured, staring back at his grim, stoic expression, and the tall, stiff way he seemed to sit on his horse. She turned back around to her father. "Are the titans really that horrible?"

He placed his hands on her shoulders gently. "Yes. Yes they are." He paused for a moment, then continued. "Rylai, if you do end up joining the Survey Corps when you are older, please remember that no matter what, you must keep the people you love the most close to your heart. You will understand why. Just please, remember that."

She nodded affirmatively. "I will. Papa. I'll remember you and Mama forever. I promise."

Her father chuckled. "You'll make a wonderful soldier, Rylai."

Rylai smiled cheekily at her father, and then felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Your name...Rylai, was it?"

She whirled around, not trusting her own ears. "C-Captain Levi?!" Her mouth fell open in shock.

"That would be me." he replied quietly. "I recognized your father standing over here and I thought that I would come by and say hello." He looked up at her father behind her. "Aris, you never told me you had a daughter."

Her father chuckled. "I'm sure I mentioned it somewhere. She's quite the fan of yours, Levi."

"Oh?" He turned back to Rylai. "Is that so?"

She was taken aback for a moment by his directness, and then nodded furiously in response. "Yes. You are an amazing warrior and I love hearing stories of your accomplishments in battle." The words tumbled out of her mouth in a jumble, and her face was bright red in embarrassment.

He showed no expression at her excitement other than raising his eyebrows. He looked over at her father again, only giving him a curt nod. When he turned his attention back to her, he sighed and pulled a square of cloth from his jacket pocket. "I do hope you join the Survey Corps, Rylai. You'd be...quite successful here." He handed her the cloth and walked off, climbing onto his horse and riding off with the rest of the Corps. As they rode off, she looked down at the patch he had given her, and the Wings of Freedom shone back at her, sewn neatly into the cloth. She raised her head, clutching it close to her chest, and watched them ride off, knowing that she too, would become one of them in the future.