Reyna Feldman, a twenty year old Jewish girl from the tiniest of villages in France, is on the run. Captured by German soldiers while trying to escape over the border, she's taken to an internment camp in Freiburg, Germany, where she meets SS Philli...
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TWO updates in less than 12 hours (don't worry, you can hold the applause) (lololol) All jokes aside, I decided to do some last minute editing before bed, and I was able to finish things up just in time to publish this next chapter for you guys! Again, it's on the shorter side, but overall I'm happy with how it turned out! As always, let me know what you think! I love reading ya'll's comments! <3
Reyna strode across the courtyard, arms folded tightly around her frame. The cardigan she'd donned on her way out the door was doing little to keep the chill of the air from biting her skin. She wiggled her toes in an effort to keep the blood flowing through them as she approached her old living quarters. Maybe a new pair of shoes would help keep her feet a bit warmer through the rest of the considerably cold winter they'd been having.
Opening the door to the barracks, she made her way down the corridor, following the familiar route to Liza's quarters. Giving two light knocks against the door, she let herself in, stopping dead in her tracks at the scene before her. Sat on the sofa was the man she knew as Elias. The very man who had been seated across from Lieutenant Muller a few short months ago. Facing him, her legs straddling his lap, was Liza.
"Oh-um-" She stammered, averting her gaze from the pair. "I'm sorry, I-," She rambled on, her face growing redder and redder the longer she stood there gaping in the doorway.
"Reyna." Liza had turned around, and was smiling. "Come in," She said cheerfully as she slid off Elias's lap, and onto the sofa beside him.
"I can come back another time," Reyna shook her head.
"Don't be ridiculous," Liza waved a dismissive hand, as if Reyna was interrupting afternoon tea instead of... whatever this was. "Lieutenant Becker can wait," She added, tossing the lieutenant a sidelong smirk.
"Does the lieutenant in question get a say in this," He smirked back at her, his hand tracing lazy circles over her thigh.
"The lieutenant in question can wait outside," Liza cocked an eyebrow, amending her previous statement. Lieutenant Becker held her gaze, sizing her up to see if she'd meant what she'd said. When he'd decided that she did, in fact, mean business, he stood to his feet.
"I'll be back later," He said, tossing a knowing look over his shoulder.
"Oh I have no doubt you will," She smirked up at him. Reyna swallowed, averting her gaze as Lieutenant Becker strode past her, giving her a pleasant nod as he did.
"So," Liza said, after the door had closed behind him. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Um-" She cleared her throat. "Mrs. Aberman wanted me to get some new shoes," She said, glancing down at the ones on her feet.
"Easy enough," She grinned, and stood up.
"Does ... the lieutenant call on you often?" She couldn't stop herself from asking.
"Who? Elias?" Liza asked, rummaging through the wardrobe in the corner of her room. "Yes ... though I suppose I'm the one doing most of the calling."
"You mean..." Reyna furrowed her brow. "The two of you are..."
"Seeing one another?" Liza smirked. "Yes," She continued, answering her own question. "Lieutenant Becker and I have an arrangement ... not unlike the one you have with the Stubaf."
"The Stubaf doesn't-" Reyna cut in reflexively.
"Yes, yes, I know," She said with mock exasperation. "You've made that fact quite clear on several occasions." Laying the shoes she'd fished out of her wardrobe on the foot of her bed, she made her way back to the sofa. "Lieutenant Becker and I care for one another." Sitting down, she patted the spot bedside her.
"But - how?" Reyna asked after she'd sat down beside her. It didn't make sense... How could the two of them be in a relationship?
"Elias was conscripted into the SS," Liza began after a brief moment of silence. "He was forced to leave an entire life behind. And a fiancé," She added pointedly. "When he arrived here, he was heartbroken and lonely. He'd just received a letter from her breaking off their engagement." A sympathetic smile turned up the corners of her mouth. "I was just a call girl then... Looking for someone who could ensure my safety, and give me some sense of security. So..." She paused, giving Reyna a sly smile. "I set my sights on the young, naive officer who was heart sick over his lost love... My plan worked like a charm. I curbed his loneliness and he ensured that if anyone else came knocking, I would no longer have to answer them. The perfect plan..." She trailed off, the smirk from before disappearing as she lost herself in the memory. "That was until I started to feel things ... things I'd never thought myself capable of feeling - not in a place like this - for someone like him..."
"You fell in love," Reyna said softly, finishing her thought for her.
"Yes... We both did," She smiled fondly. "Though he'll tell you he fell much faster than I did." Her smirk had returned at that. She gave a small shake of the head, and placed a hand on top of Reyna's. "It sounds mad, I know... But if you're lucky enough to find some scrap of happiness in a place like this, you hold onto it - you cling to it. So that's what we've done."
"How long have you two been together?"
"Nearly two years."
"Twoyears?" They'd managed to keep their relationship - their love - alive for two years?
Liza just smiled. "Elias is a good man, and maybe someday, we'll know a life outside of these walls," Her smile turned somewhat sad. "Or maybe we won't. Either way, we'll spend every moment until then holding onto that little shred of happiness we found together."
Liza was right. It did sound mad... Or it should have. If she were honest, she understood it perfectly. She'd found that happiness - that shred of light in the darkness. She'd found it in Phillip. It wasn't quite like what Liza and Elias had, but it was something.
"The Stubaf seems to care for you quite a bit," Liza's words cut through the silence, pulling Reyna from her thoughts.
"Not in that way," She shook her head, dismissing the insinuation entirely.
"I wouldn't be so sure," Liza smirked, arching her brow as she gave her a knowing look.
"Don't be ridiculous," She scoffed, though her cheeks had began to heat up again. "We just - just - enjoy one another's company."
"If you told him tonight you never wanted to see him again, he'd move out of that house by tomorrow just to make you happy."
Reyna cut her an incredilous look.
"Okay," Liza laughed. "That might've been a bit ridiculous, but you get the point... He cares about you."
Reyna glanced away.
"It's okay for you to be happy you know," Liza pressed on. "And it's okay if the Stubaf is what gives you that happiness."
They sat in silence for a long while, Reyna turning over every last one of Liza's words in her head.
"Alright," Liza said finally, her usual light and airy tone returning. "That's enough meddling from me for one day," She smirked. Patting Reyna's hand, she stood to her feet and grabbed the shoes she'd left on the bed. "Here are your shoes so Mrs. Aberman can stop mother henning you... Although I'm sure she'll have no difficulty finding something else to squawk about," She added, her smirk widening.
Reyna giggled. "Thank you." She accepted the shoes, standing to her feet as well.
"It was good to see you," Liza said, her smirk morphing into a genuine smile.
"It was good to see you too," She said, returning that smile with one of her own.
