SNKTALIA, Chapter 3: Freedom, Justice, Protection

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A gentle chatter rose up as the residents of Trost bustled around in the marketplace. Among them was Francis Bonnefoy, and a young short- haired girl by the name of Joan.

"So, you finished training earlier today?" she asked, glancing at the various goods being sold.

"Oui, but we've been training even harder lately because of graduation coming up." replied Francis. "Just look at the state of my hair!"

"Oh no what a tragedy!" giggled Joan, ruffling his hair up even more. "Do you think you'll make it to the top ten?"

"Well, Mr. Adnan likes to say there's no way any of us deserve to reach that, but I've seen him brag to Heracles about how well he's trained us; I think he's just trying to stress us into continuing to work extra hard!"

"It must be exciting; you'll be a true soldier soon! I'm sure you'll end up at the top of the class somewhere... maybe even first place?"

"I'm not sure about that... but at any rate I'll be much better than that bed- headed caterpillar brows!" At this Joan shook her head disapprovingly, but with an amused smile all the same.

"So..." she mused. "Military Police, huh. The afternoons would be quite dull if you go."

"So you'll miss me, mon ami? Of course, who wouldn't want such a good-looking guy to keep them company!" joked Francis, before his expression hardened into a more thoughtful, serious gaze. "At any rate, whatever I choose will mean I won't be around here much if at all. But this isn't goodbye. I promise, that if I get into the MP, I'll find a way for you to get to the interior too."

For a moment, his companion had sunk into silence as if unwanted memories were being recalled. Concerned, Francis rested a reassuring hand on her shoulder until she spoke again.

"... I've lost my family to the titans in the failed mission to take back Wall Maria..." she murmured at last. "I don't even have a proper home- I have nothing left. I'd love to leave those memories behind."


Clutching a folder which contained a batch of papers, Basch Zwingli made his way through the dull-coloured corridors of the military records building, searching for his colleague. That fool's wasting his time playing the piano again... he thought grumpily, as he followed the music which sounded from further down the hallway. Yet, as he peered into the room from which the music was playing, he couldn't help but feel a bit mesmerised as he listened to the piano notes played by Roderich Edelstein flowing together to form a rather calming tune. It was as if all the troubles and worries that had arisen since the fall of Wall Maria were being blotted out by the melody.

"How long have you been standing there?" asked Roderich, his fingers laying still on the piano keys as he finally looked up to see the rather startled Basch. "Sit down and enjoy the music."

For a moment the idea of indulging himself in that blissful tranquillity again seemed tempting to the stern- faced records worker, but a reminder of work that had to be done crept into his mind, causing him to refuse.

"I didn't come here to listen to you not doing work!" with this Basch strode into the room, handing the folder he was carrying to Roderich. "Here's the report I want you to send off to commander-in-chief Zackley."

"Hm..." frowned the Austrian as he adjusted his glasses and scanned through the papers. "The Survey Corps are going out of the walls this week?"

"Yeah, it's just a short practice expedition though."

With a sigh, Roderich put the papers back into their folder and placed it on top of the piano. "There'll still be a considerable number of names in the list of casualties we'll have to sort out... did you get those military division choice forms printed?"

"Yes, we're all ready for signing in new recruits after their graduation tomorrow." replied Basch, then whipped round as a new voice sounded from behind him.

"Big brother?" It was Lili Zwingli- Bash's younger sister- who was timidly peering into the room, holding a small basket containing some food.

"Lili! What are you doing here?"

"You were in such a rush this morning that you forgot your lunch... I just wanted to make sure you had something to eat!"

"You didn't have to..." uttered Basch, taking the basket. "But thanks."

"You take care of me, so I take of you!" beamed Lili, then turned to leave the room. "I'm going to the market, see you later big brother! Goodbye, Mr. Edelstein!"

"Goodbye, Miss Zwingli." nodded Roderich politely, as the young girl disappeared into the corridor. "You have a lovely sister, Basch."

"Yeah..." agreed Basch quietly as he turned away to look at the basket he now held. "Yeah, I do..."


"Alright, ya bunch of potato sacks!" bellowed Sadik Adnan as he stood before the many young faces he had become so familiar with the past two years. "Today's the day you're officially no longer trainees! But don't get too big for ya britches, 'cause you've still got a lot to learn, no matter what division you choose. Leading on from that, the following people will have the choice of joining the Military Police..."

Not a single exhalation could be heard as Sadik began to list those who got into the top ten.

"In first place is Kiku Honda, second- Natalya Braginskaya, third- Ludwig Beilschmidt, fourth- Elizabeta Héderváry, fifth- Gilbert Beilschmidt, sixth- Arthur Kirkland, seventh- Francis Bonnefoy, eighth- Alfred F. Jones, ninth- Ivan Braginsky and tenth- Yao Wang."

Scanning the crowd of faces, Sadik noticed Arthur elbowing the disbelieving Francis in the ribs with a triumphant grin, which was quickly wiped off his face with their instructor's next remark.

"Don't flatter yourself, Kirkland. You and Bonnefoy had the exact same score and are just as bad as each other. We ended up flipping a coin to see who'd get what place."

Some muffled laughter from other trainees followed, before Sadik's booming voice drowned them out.

"As you know, you'll be choosing your divisions in three days: the Stationary Guard- focused on maintaining the walls and making sure no titans break through, the Survey Corps- who battle and obtain information about the titans in their own territory, or, for the precious few, the Military Police- who serve the king and keep order and peace behind the inner walls."

He paused, to let a rare, proud smile stretch across his face. "You've come far from the scared, little brats I came across two years ago. I know you'll do good."


"Wow, can you believe it?" beamed Feliciano, bounding through the courtyard where they had been announced to no longer be trainees the previous evening. "We're proper soldiers now!"

"Well, hardly." nodded Ludwig. "We haven't even joined a military division yet, let alone start our duties."

"But we will soon!" grinned the light- hearted trainee, before a certain thought shadowed over his smile as he dejectedly cast his gaze down. "Perhaps even too soon... it won't be the same without you guys..."

"Feliciano..."

"I'm really gonna miss our days as trainees... I don't want you to go..." With this, Feliciano hugged the stern- faced German, who sighed with an air of regret in his eyes.

"I, too, will miss our time together." agreed Kiku, bowing his head.

"B-but, I don't want to sound pathetic!" stammered Feliciano, as he pulled away from Ludwig. "I'll be fine in the Stationary Corps, with Romano. He may seem very grumpy and is a bit of a jerk but he takes care of me! Meanwhile you'll be the best Military Police soldiers there!"

"Actually..."murmured Kiku. "I'm not so sure about that..."

"What do you mean?"

"I've been thinking about what Alfred-san said last night..."


Elated cheers and the clanging of glasses rang through the air as many trainees rejoiced in the hall over their graduation that evening. In particular, Gilbert, Mathias, Ralph and others were making the most noise- their bellows of laughter could probably be heard from outside the dining hall, and Gilbert certainly seemed to have gotten over the blow of being lower than Elizabeta and Ludwig in the top ten. Surprisingly, Alfred stood quietly leaning against the wall, not taking part in the jubilations or boasting about his high rank.

"Hey, Alfred!" called Ralph- an athletic and pretty loud adventure lover, who was known for trying to sneak all sorts of critters into the training grounds. "Why don't ya come over here? I guess you'll want to celebrate your top ranking!"

"No thanks, man..." declined Alfred, with a shake of his head."The top ranking only means something to people who're joining the military police."

At this, the group quietened down and stared at him in confusion.

"Aren't you?" asked Gilbert, quizzically cocking his head.

"...No. You can go play cards in the interior, but I'd rather make myself of some use."

"I'm guessing you don't mean the Stationary Guard..."

By now, a silence hung over the entire room after the chatter from the main group of noise- makers deadened; expressions of shock or curiosity patterned the faces that had all turned to look at the usually obnoxiously cheerful but now dead serious trainee.

"B-but you're in the top ten!" spluttered Toris, who had built a friendly relationship with Alfred over the years. "You're going to throw away your chance at living well and safely at Sina?"

"Look, I know that most of us here just want better lives than the low ones we've been born into, but I'm here to keep up what the original values of the military are:" raising and firming his tone, Alfred stood up straight to scan over all the faces turned towards him. "Freedom, justice and the protection of mankind."

Almost before he finished listing off those ideals, an exaggerated laugh erupted from Ivan; he had been sitting nearby in an interested silence, but now with a tint of mockery glinting in his eyes.

"Oh, comrade." he chuckled. "I knew you were filled with hopeless dreams the minute I laid eyes on you!"

"Hopeless?" snarled Alfred, subconsciously clenching his fists at Ivan's teasing tone. "Our fight against the titans will only be hopeless when we think that!"

"He's right." multiple gasps of surprise at this sudden agreement dotted the soundscape of the room as Matthew stood at the doorway."Do you really think the colossal titan will wait a few decades before smashing through Wall Rose, and then Sina?"

"We've learnt so much about the titans thanks to the Survey Corps." urged Alfred after giving a nod and smile of appreciation in his brother's direction. "If we don't help continue their work, it'll all go to waste, and none of you will have enough time to live out your lives behind the walls of the interior."

"So you're willing to give your life for that?" enquired Kiku, finally breaking his thoughtful silence to contribute to the discussion.

"Believe it or not, this isn't about me. Man, I can't say I'm not scared of getting mauled on my first mission but if that contributes to humanity taking one step further..." Alfred's gaze of determination hardened as he paused briefly."...I'd do it a hundred times."


"So... that means you're thinking about joining... the Survey Corps?" queried Ludwig,

"I'm not sure yet, I-"

"But you can't!" cried Feliciano, loud enough for a few heads to turn towards them. "I don't want you to!"

"Feliciano, relax-"

"No, you don't understand!" he wailed, overwhelming the others with waves of desperation and agony. "You can't beat the titans, it's hopeless and they're terrifying! You don't know what they're like!"

By now, the entire courtyard had turned its attention to Feliciano's outburst, with even Ludwig and Kiku staring at him. Gritting his teeth, Ludwig recalled that Feliciano often feared and cried about little things, but this was different. With a shudder, he realised that this outburst wasn't something easily fixed, but rather a hissing pot of haunting memories that had been buried deep within. A chilling silence settled as the Italian quaked with the effort of choking out his words between sobs.

"You don't know what it was like..."