Disclaimer- I don't own Shingeki no Kyojin

Halloween Special

Curiosity and the Cat

It was fall. The days were starting to get cooler and the leafs were starting to change color. The wind brought clouds and rain from the sea to this old seaside city, giving its inhabitants relief from the hellfire of the summer. Port Chancellor was a moderately sized city that dealt mainly with exports and imports of goods heading in and out of the areas of the western side of the globe. People say that if you want to find anything you can find it at Port Chancellor's market. The market was filled with exotic items from all over the Western world. From small little knickknacks to exotic fruits and vegetables, they had it all. And with it being fall there was a harvest festival every week.

That is why they are there now. Her mother always takes her to the harvest festivals in Port Chancellor. They were okay, she guessed, but there was never really too much to do. Every year they would drive 5 hours to get to the city. And every year her mother would always lecture her about staying close to her and never running off. Which meant she couldn't go and play with the other children. She thought it was complete crap. She was 10 years old, for crying out loud! She was old enough to be by herself for a few hours. But her mother always said no and that she was far too young to be going off by herself.

So there she was following her mother around like a lost puppy trying to entertain herself by looking at the little knickknacks the stalls sold. They were in the market located in the older part of the city, closer to the old Port. The market stalls filled every inch of the streets and they were packed with people. Her mother was looking for very specific items and she wouldn't take anything less.

It was cooler than it had been for the past few weeks and she was grateful for the light Jean jacket and pants that she wore. The slight breeze flowing in from the port was enough to ruffle her brown hair that was pulled back into a ponytail. Her mother was chatting with a woman that own the stall that she was browsing through. She was asking the stall woman if she had or knew of anyone who had a particular type of cloth that was very specific to the western continents. She was bored out of her mind. Why can't she go and play in the nearby park or, heck, just sit in the car and read a book? Instead she was stuck looking at the wares of the nearby stalls. It's not like she had too much of a choice.

She is fairly tall for her age so she was able to see everything the stalls had to offer with little difficulty. She was looking at a little porcelain doll that was handcrafted on a small island off the coast of the Western continent when her mother called out to her.

"Ymir! Dear child pay attention." Ymir whipped her head up from the stall she was looking at and stared disinterestedly at her mother. "What have I told you about staying with me? Come along now."

"Yes mother" Ymir said with a roll of her eyes. Her mother turned, shaking her head with a sigh, to continue her search through the stalls. Ymir made to follow her when she heard a slight giggle come from the nearby alleyway. Curious, she stopped. She looked through the small opening between the rundown buildings. There's nothing special about it. It was damp and full of trash like any other alley but what did catch her attention was the flash of blue disappearing behind the corner at the end of the alley. She glanced back to where her mother was and saw her just a few stalls away. She was yet again actively engaged in conversation with the stall keeper. She didn't even notice that she wasn't by her side.

She could just walk down the alleyway just to see what that flash of blue was. She would be back in a jiffy. No side tracks. Just walk down the alley, glance around the corner and walk back. No big deal. She would be back before her mother noticed she was gone. Nodding her head, she quickly took off down the alleyway, pinching her nose at the smell of the trash that was around her.

When she got to the end of the alleyway, she was surprised to see the next street completely deserted. There was nothing and no one in sight. She glanced around looking for the thing that caused the blue flash and saw nothing. Just when she was about to leave she saw another blue flash out of the corner of her eye. It disappeared into the entryway of one of the old boarded-up buildings on the other side of the street. What was causing these blue flashes and why didn't she see what was causing them? The building entryways is in plain view nothing blocking her site line. So why didn't she see anything? Giving one last quick look around, she dashed across the street to the entryway.

When she got to the sidewalk in front of the building, she paused and gave it a quick once over. It looked to be about 6 to 7 stories tall, with rusted Juliet balconies over every window pass a second story. The wood of the exterior was worn by time, weather and the sea air. She could barely make out the words written on the wooden banner over the entryway.

Le Nicolas Hôtel

Not bothering to scrutinize it any further, she grabbed the rusted handle on the door and turned it. It was stuck. Damn…

She turned the knob left and right trying to loosen it but it wouldn't budge. She tried pulling on the door, hoping that the age of the door would let it give way. She pulled with all her might, even going as far to put her foot on the other door to give herself some leverage, but it would not give.

"BARK!"

The noise startled her, causing her grip to give way and make her tumble to the ground.

"BARK!"

"Stupid DOG!" She flipped around and glared at the little ankle biter. It was a white and beige long-haired dachshund. It was staring up at the building growling and yapping its head off. She went to go in chase the dog away when she heard a click and the creaking of wood behind her. The dog suddenly let out a yelp and took off down the street.

The heck…

Deciding to ignore the dog she looked back at the door to see it open. The fall must have gotten it loose. Standing up she walked over to the door and glanced inside.

It was a mess. Broken furniture was strewed all over the place. A few tables and chairs were still standing but they looked like they would crumble at the touch of a feather. Dust covered every surface and cobwebs hung thickly from the chandeliers. There was a large curving staircase that led up to a balcony that led up to hallways on either side of the staircase. The only source of light was what little slipped through the boarded-up windows.

"Ehh-eh-eh-eh."

That was the same giggle from before. It came from the direction of the stairs. She whipped her head around and saw a flash of blue disappear into the hallway to the right. She rushed up the stairs and into the hallway. Again, a giggle came in another flash of blue disappeared around the corner at the end of the hall. She followed without a second thought. There was another staircase at the end of the hall. She hesitated for a moment, the stairs looked worse for wear compared to the ones at the entryway. She was slightly concerned that they wouldn't hold her weight. But when she heard the sound again, she threw caution to the wind and ran up the stairs. She doesn't know why she has this desire to find who or what she is following, she just feels like she has to. Besides what was the worst that could happen?

Every time she turned the corner to head up the next flight of stairs she'd always see the flash of blue disappear around the next bend. How is it the things so fast? She was running as fast as she can and she is by no means a slow runner, so why hasn't she caught up to it yet? When she turned the last corner to climb the last flight of stairs she saw the flash of blue once more disappear around the corner heading into the hall. This thing is out of places to run.

She turned the corner and saw the hallway empty. She stood there for a moment quelling her breath before she slowly started to move down the hall. She opened a few doors here and there, glancing into the forgotten rooms. She didn't bother taking in any details she just search for that light blue that she has following. When she was passing a room about half way down the hallway she had giggle come from her right. She whipped her head in that direction and saw a blue figure move deeper into the room. She walked over to the doorway and looked over to the corner where she saw the figure heading towards.

There she saw a little girl, maybe about 7 or 8. She was standing there, hands clasped behind her back staring at the wall. She was wearing a light blue summer dress with a white jacket and a big white straw hat to match. She could barely make out the edges of blonde hair poking out from underneath the rim of the hat. The colors she was wearing was so bright that it made her almost glow compared to the gloom that surrounded them. She was humming very softly and rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet.

"Hey… what are you doing here?" Ymir asked, curious as to why she was in this abandoned hotel. The little girl turned around with a hop in her movements. She smiled warmly at her and giggled once more, her blue eyes a lite with a strange light.

"You found me!" she exclaimed bouncing on her toes and clasping her hands under her chin. "Do you want to play more with me?" She asked in a sweet voice. She sounded so hopeful, like she hasn't had anyone to play with for quite some time. Ymir stared at her for a minute conflicted on what she should do. Those eyes and smile were pleading for her to say yes. She looks so lonely, she just couldn't bring herself to say no. Nodding her answer the little girl motioned for her to come to her. "Come here and let's play." She walked forward crossing the room towards the little girl. There's something odd about her she just couldn't… place it. As she approached her, she kept her eyes intensely on her trying to figure out what was off.

When she was halfway across the room she felt her extended foot met nothing but air. Her heart stopped when she lost her balance and she began to tumble forward. She reached out to grab something anything to stop her dissent but there was nothing. She saw flashes of the other floors fly past her in a blur. She thought she heard a scream but she was not sure who it was from. She was spinning as she fell and the only light she could see was from the hole that she fell in. It was getting smaller and smaller and things were getting darker. Then suddenly, everything stopped. She couldn't feel anything and her vision was fading. She's getting so tired. She just wanted sleep. As the darkness overtook her, she heard one last giggle echoing around her. Before she knew no more she heard someone whisper in her ear.

Now we can play forever…