Nina Cried Power ━━ Attack On Titan

01. The Liars, The Pretenders

CHAPTER ONE

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845. Jinae Town

               In Nina Holzer's eyes, the world is filled with two types of people- the liars and the pretenders.

Nina had her own justifications for the ideology, and although most of them were based on the facts presented to her by her parents, Nina had her own reasons for believing it. Liars and Pretenders- roles that would eventually lead to conspiracy and betrayal. That was precisely why Nina understood at a young age that trusting others would be nothing short of a mistake. The only people she'll ever allow herself to trust are her family.

Her classmates who often hang out with her act like nothing is wrong with the world and go about their lives blissfully- the pretenders. They would confide their secrets with her and the other so-called 'friends', only for the secret to be spread like wildfire because someone couldn't keep their promise- the liars.

And her classmates had the audacity to ask her why Nina never opened up to them. She was ten, not stupid.

But that didn't mean she had no friends. Nina was a blaring extrovert, everyone wanted to be friends with her. And Nina would be lying if she said she didn't like the attention.

Besides, she knew things about this world they were ignorant of, things that Nina could get killed for just for knowing. Unless her classmates wanted to die, it would be better for them to mind their own businesses.

The Holzer family were both types- the liars and pretenders. They lie about the truth like the royal family does; they pretend that everything is dandy and fine like every other human being as if being surrounded by walls in order to be protected by man-eating giants was normal.

To everyone else living in the small town of Jinae, the Holzers were an underwhelming lot. Nina's father- Viktor Holzer- worked as a postman, delivering letters and packages between the districts within the walls, and because of this, he's often away from home. Her mother, Marie, was just like most other women in the district, so to speak. (It's not like they were aware of what Marie really was like behind the scenes.)

Her brother, Leone Holzer who was older than Nina by two years had to be the second coolest member in the Holzer family (after her, of course.) This year, he will be training as a cadet so he can become a soldier and protect the world from the outside danger only her family is aware of so far.

The day went on swimmingly. It was a sunny afternoon, and Nina was helping her mother peel the potatoes as they cooked lunch. Leone sat at the table, boredom evident on his face yet he studied the book in his hands intently. Taking a peek at it, Nina was confused to see that it was a book about plants. She frowned. Since when was Leone interested in plants? Or flowers?

Leone usually read only the newsletters, and Nina never really understood why. There wasn't anything out-of-the-ordinary happening within these walls- and most of the news was either about more Scout soldiers becoming Titan fodder, robbery, or some achievements by the big families in Wall Sina. Nothing interesting ever happened, so Leone's behaviour perplexed her.

But watching him read a book about plants so interestingly shocked her. Did he have a secret dream to be a farmer or something?

Feeling a pair of eyes on him, Leone averted his green eyes to meet his sister's confused gaze. He shrugged at her, pointing a finger to the potatoes Nina was peeling. She was doing a messy job of it but he kept that thought to himself. "Solanum tuberosum."