.˜"*°• L I T T L E M O N S T E R •°*"˜.

The ride home on horseback was silent as the twins made for their return to Turk, a small village within wall Rose where they had been raised. The journey was a good few hours long, but Artemis couldn't bare to say two words to her brother anymore than he could bare to look at her.

The initial shock of Apollo's decision to join the Scouts had subsided and now all Missy could feel was annoyance. He had made such a big deal about joining the Military Police and getting away from her, that Artemis had unknowingly conjured up this ideal world in her head where she could finally just be Missy, and not 'the twins'. She had known all along that she wouldn't join the MP's, but she had kept any thoughts related to her career to herself throughout training, silently jumping between the idea of being a Scout or a Garrison. Both would have been fine, but the idea of venturing outside the walls and putting her undeniable skills to good use had won in the end. She had been trained for this her whole life. She just hadn't expected Apollo to give in to Eren's harsh words and follow after her.

Did he do this solely because Eren had called him a pussy? Most likely. Apollo was always the weaker of the twins, and his pride often overpowered any common sense he held within him.

Artemis felt her heartbeat speed up as she neared their home. The village of Turk was small, only around 30 families residing there. Small, brick houses with chipped windowpanes and discolored wooden doors stood scattered around the area. The only nice thing about the place was the large stretches of green fields surrounding it, but even those fields held dark memories that the girl pushed away for the sake of her own sanity. Every corner of this village could be linked to awful memories of her childhood, and the tyrannous training she had endured at the hands of her father.

Alec Rhydduch had what people had deemed the 'Rhydduch Syndrome'. It was something etched deep in his bones that wouldn't allow him to let go of the past. Just like his father, and grandfather before him, he still tried to enforce the rules of their past ancestors, bearing children to mold into the perfect soldiers, eventually sending them off to the training corps to serve in the Military.

He was a cruel man. Artemis couldn't recount a single memory of him acting like a proper father towards her. She doubted he held a single empathetic or paternal bone in that body of his, but she had never known any different. Ria, her mother, would have been a great parent, if she hadn't become emotionally void from the trauma Alec had put her through after marrying him. Love had succumbed her into an unwavering loyalty towards the man, but Ria had been nothing but a shell of her former self ever since. She was sought out and used for her beauty, Alec knowing that same beauty would be passed on to their children. Getting anything more than a sentence out of the woman now was unheard of, even for her own kids.

The navy door came into Missy's line of sight, and in a moment of hesitation she slowed her horse to a near stop. Apollo noticed, looking sideways at her before slowing his own horse down.

"Unless you live on the dirt path, you've still got a good few meters to go before we get to the front door," He quipped with a tone laced with sarcasm.

She bit the inside of her cheek, her eyes flitting around the small area of which she had been raised. Apollo sighed, nudging his heel into his horse's side to get it to continue moving forward.

"Not that I care, but you're about to go out and fight monsters far more terrifying than our father," He called back to her. "If anyone has anything to be worried about, its me".

Artemis stayed silent, but she knew he was right. The door creaked open, a small woman with long black hair emerging from the home with a shawl wrapped around her shoulders. Missy's heart broke at the sight of her mother, so fragile and delicate as if one blow of the wind would break her in two.

"Hey, mom," Missy greeted with a small smile, dismounting her horse, and tying his reins to the wooden picket fence in the front garden.

Ria returned the smile weakly, pulling her in for a short hug before doing the same to Apollo.

"Is dad home?" She asked quietly as her mother moved to the side to let them in through the door.

"He's out with Acrisius," Her mother responded. "He won't be back till dinner time".

"How is Acrisius?" Missy asked again, her heart dropping at the sound of her little brother's name.

Her mother just frowned, disappearing into the kitchen to boil some water for tea.

Missy swallowed thickly, standing in the entryway to her home as she watched her mother disappear. Apollo pushed past her to ascend the old, wooden staircase, muttering something under his breath that Missy didn't quite catch. The house was large, yet old and outdated. Her father had cared more about training his kids than what his home looked like, and Ria was too weak to do much around the place. She lifted her hand and ran her fingers along the peeling paint of the banister.

She hated this place.

She let her thoughts return to that of her younger brother, stepping into the sitting room of the home to perch on the sofa. Acrisius was twelve, and the youngest of the eight siblings. The fact he was enduring their fathers harsh training at home all on his own was something that kept Missy up at night often.

Her mother returned a few moments later with a tray. She placed it down on the worn out coffee table in front of her and handed Missy a teacup with shaky hands.

"Sorry that I've not been home in a while," She whispered, bringing the cup to her lips as she watched her mother take a seat in the chair opposite her.

Ria shook her head gently, her long black hair brushing the sides of her pale face. Missy wished more than anything that she had been born with her mothers genes. Missy's chocolate brown hair and dark, navy eyes were handed down to her by her father, and she sometimes wondered if that's the reason her mother seemed to struggle looking at any of her children directly.

"I joined the Scouts," Missy announced, watching her mothers reaction intently over the rim of her cup. "We have a mission on Monday".

If her mother felt any way about her joining the Scouts, she certainly didn't show it. Her face remained blank as she focused on her own cup. "Be safe".

Missy nodded. "Of course".

"What about Apollo?".

"Scouts," Missy replied shortly.

Ria raised a thin brow, but masked her surprise quickly by taking another sip from her cup. "Are you getting along?".

Missy pursed her lips. Her mother was quite aware of the type of relationship her son and daughter shared. Even so, Ria had never tried to force the two to get along. "I think you already know the answer to that question".

Ria gave a silent nod. "You should go upstairs. Your father will be home soon".

Missy stepped over the threshold of her old bedroom and sucked in a breath as she took in the small space before her. Plain, dark walls and a splintering wooden floor acted as the base for the room she hated oh-so much. An old wooden bed with navy sheets and a bedside table with a broken leg were the only things to occupy the space. Even in the training barracks back at base the girls had littered the walls with posters and newspaper clippings of cute faces they had seen when flicking through the papers in the mornings. Here, there was nothing but cruel memories which seemed to replay through Missy's head like a movie as she walked further into the room.

She may have apologized for not coming home, but that didn't mean she regretted not returning. Every time Missy stepped foot back in the little village of Turk, it was like the ghosts of her childhood were already there waiting for her, infiltrating her very being. It was like walking back into a nightmare. Missy had worked hard to build herself back up to the point she was at now, and coming home usually chipped away at the edges of that progress, so she found it easier to stay away.

She wanted nothing more than to be back at the training grounds with her idiots, listening to Ymir flirt helplessly with Historia, flying through the crisp air on her ODM gear as she raced Connie and Jean to the make-shift Titan's, or even listening to Jean and Eren's arguing.

Hell, she would even prefer her to endure the evening's spent dusting every book on Captain Levi's shelf over being here.

But she wouldn't be returning to the training grounds, she would be making her way to the old Scouts Headquarters in the east of wall Maria. Her first mission as a Scout would be helping retake the town of Delegade, the eastern outcrop of wall Maria which had been overridden with Titans. The gate needed fixing, and the Titans needed to be killed, so people could return to their homes. That's what she should focus on right now.

She let her body fall backwards gently onto the bed, ignoring the way the dust crept up her nose. Her eyes traced slowly over the cracks in the ceiling, becoming heavy with sleep that she had missed the night before. As it was their last night in the training barracks, the girls had stayed up late munching on snacks that Sasha had stolen from the kitchens and talking about anything and everything.

Her heart squeezed beneath an iron grip. It had been less than a day since she last saw her friends, yet she yearned to be back with them. Her group had become family to her. Real family. They were people she truly felt safe with, seen with, and most of all, Missy felt loved when she was with her friends. A feeling she hadn't even known existed before joining the cadets.

One night. That was all that she had to endure before she would return to them tomorrow. She let out a silent yawn. A few hours' sleep wouldn't hurt right? She could just rest her eyes a little before she had to face her father later.

With that last thought on her mind, her eyes fluttered closed as she entered what would be yet another horror-filled sleep.

The ground beneath her squelched as wet mud caked her bare feet. She wiped her forearm across her forehead, smearing the beads of sweat off as she glanced up at the grey sky. The backpack strapped to her back had been filled with bricks, adding extra weight as she stumbled through the dark woods. Every step she took felt like walking over hot lava.

Even so, she pushed her aching legs to carry her further through the woods. It had been four hours since she set off, or at least that's what Missy had guessed. She focused on her breathing, marching forward through the thick trees. She whimpered in pain, the weight of the bricks baring down on her as her knees buckled and she fell to the floor, scraping both her hands on the cold, rough ground.

"This is painful to watch," A voice drawled from behind her. "Your brothers and sisters are miles ahead of you. Do you feel no shame in being such a weak, fragile, waste of space?".

Missy looked up from the ground, her vision blurry as she barely made out the form of her father. She blinked once, her vision beginning to clear as she spotted the four large dogs sat obediently on the ground behind him. She gulped, pushing herself to her feet.

"Twins," Alec scoffed. "I'll curse your mother till the day she dies for handing me such a bad omen".

He took a few meaningful strides forward and wrapped his large, calloused hand around Missy's neck. She knew better than to resist. "You've been a failure since you were born. I ought to throw you and that brother of yours out on the streets and let you fend for yourselves," He tilted his head, a snake-like grin forming on his lips. "Or maybe I should just drop you off at Hordway and give those lovely men a little gift".

Panic flashed through Missy's blue eyes, which only fueled her father to continue. "The fact I even allow you and your sisters to train is generous of me as it is. Do you know what happened to Rhydduch and Ackerman women years ago, girl?".

Missy squeaked out a noise, which was all she could muster from her constricted throat.

"You were all nothing but whores used to keep the bloodline flowing," Alec spat. "Good for nothing but being obedient wives and doting mothers. If you don't get your shit together and grow stronger, I will find the most horrid, awful man I can to turn you into exactly that".

His threat was sincere. Alec Rhydduch didn't bluff about things like that. He released her throat and sent her tumbling back to the ground. "Your brother is 2 miles behind you".

Missy pushed herself up from the ground again, ignoring the seering pain in her joints as she did so.

"He won't be getting much further," Alec muttered, turning to walk away from her. "The dogs made sure of that".

Missy let a small gasp escape her parted lips as she looked up at the four dogs sat growling from their spot. They were salivating from their mouths, and their eyes were wide as they watched every move Missy made.

Alec had trained these dogs even more than he had his own children. Missy believed he liked them more than his own children, in fact. Those dogs had been taught to attack on command, but not kill. They were the perfect punishment for a useless, disobedient, Rhydduch child.

"You can carry on through the forest and attempt to catch up to your siblings, or you can go back and save that useless brat," Alec said with a sigh, marching along through the trees. "I have a feeling I know which one you will choose, but just know that either way, the dogs will be chasing you there".

Sweat beaded on her forehead as she glanced back into the forest where she had come from, then back at the dogs who had begun growling louder. She watched as her father disappeared into the trees, leaving her alone with the salivating hounds. Her heart rattled in her chest as she took a deep breath, bolting back towards the trees where her brother would be. She whimpered as she heard the dogs advance her, their growls filling the air and their paws battering against the forest floor like drums in Missy's ears. Her legs burnt with white-hot pain as she ran back through the forest, her eyes scanning the ever-growing darkness for any sign of her brother. She cried out as her bare foot collided with the root of a tree, sending her toppling over and onto the ground with a harsh crash and a crunch of bone. She braced herself as the dogs caught up to her in no time, and the feeling of their teeth digging into the soft flesh of her leg was enough to warrant a blood-curdling scream from her throat.

Her eyes shot open, a cry leaving her as she felt two hands hold her down to the bed by the shoulders.

"Artemis?"

"Apollo?" She said, her voice barely audible.

The room around her was dark, but she recognized the dusty scent of her bed sheets. Had she slept until dark?

He threw her backpack at her, and she let out a grunt as it collided with her chest.

"Put that on. We're leaving".

Missy furrowed her brows, swinging her legs over the side of her bed to stand. "What do you mean we're leaving? We just got here".

Apollo turned to face her, and even in the darkened room she was able to see the blood dripping down his pale face. "I said we're leaving. Get downstairs before I leave you here on your own," He growled, storming towards her bedroom door. "And trust me, you're next".

Missy didn't wait to find out what he had meant by that. The house was silent as she pulled her bag over her shoulder and followed him downstairs, her body still trembling slightly from her nightmare.

The house was silent. Too silent. No one was here. Where was Acrisius?

"Apollo," Missy whispered through the darkness as he led her outside. "Where's Ace?".

Apollo shrugged, untying his horse's reins from the picket fence in the front yard. "Get on your horse".

Missy untied Comanche's reins, climbing up to sit on his saddle. She took a moment to look at her brother, the moonlight now casting a soft, white glow onto his battered face. His nose was bleeding both from his nostrils and the bridge, and she knew by the strange way it sat that it was broken. His cheek was gaping wide and streaming with blood. Missy didn't know if the damage had been caused by her father, or the dogs, but she didn't dare ask as she followed her brother out into the cold, dark night.