White Daisies

Chapter 21

September 20, 1941

"What are we going to do?" Eva paces around her room. The grandfather clock downstairs chimes once to signal that it is now one in the morning. "Our best friend just got arrested by Nazis! We can't just stay here and do nothing!"

I watch her movements from my place on her bed. "I don't know," I simply say. My fingers claw through my hair, trying to push an answer out of my head. I flip over on my back and blankly stare at the floral designs on the wall.

Guilt weighs heavily on my chest, making it harder to breathe. Frances punched a Gestapo officer to protect us. My heart breaks at that thought. I should have done something sooner. It's my fault she's in this position to begin with, I was the one who created the White Daisies. I was the leader. I should have been the one who was taken away. Not her. Never her.

I take a deep breath and drag my palms over my face.

It's too late now, I think to myself. Getting upset isn't going to solve the problem.

Eva walks over and throws her self beside me. "What are we going to do?" She repeats herself.

After the reality of the situation hit us, we knew we had to get out of there. We pushed our bicycles, plus Frances', to the closest place we could think of: Eva's house. We then scaled the side of her house and climbed into her bedroom window, careful not to wake her family. Since then, we had been racking our brains, trying to come up with a solution for our unfortunate predicament. 

"Maybe we should just bite the bullet and tell somebody," Eva suggests. "We can't handle this alone. Our parents would know what to do."

"No," I instantly retort.

"Ana, think-"

"No, Eva. We're not on our last resort yet."

"Well then, do you actually have a plan?" She presses. "Because I think we might be."

I scowl. I turn my attention back to the ceiling and close my eyes. Pictures and words bounce through my mind as I try to find a starting point. Frances would have been taken to City Hall Square. They wouldn't have taken her straight to jail, just someplace to detain her. If they recognized her rights, she would be given a phone call or maybe access to a lawyer.

If only we knew somebody who could argue for her and get her out—

My eyes shoot open.

"No, anybody but him," I groan. "Anybody but him!" Just the thought of it makes me want to smash my head into the wall.

Eva sits up. "Do you have an idea!?"

An irritated growl makes its way out of my mouth as I roll off the bed and land on my feet. "Unfortunately."

********************************************************************************************

"Frances! You're okay!"

Frances' head whips around. She rubs her wrists, which are now free from handcuffs. Her clothes are ruffled, but they're the same ones she was wearing last night. She has dark circles under her eyes, probably from a sleepless night spent in a detention room.

"Eva, Ana!" She breathes and runs over. Her arms wrap around both of us. We laugh, delighted to see her unharmed and in good spirits.

She pulls back. "You're the ones who got me out?"

I furrow my eyebrows. "Yeah, who else—"

"Frances! Frances Maisel!!"

All three of us turn around to see none other than Benjamin Koenig, making his way through the crowded inside of Nazi headquarters. He shoves his way through a group of officers, who all turn to glare at him as he passes them by. He doesn't care, though. He only cares about getting to the center of his attention. His eyes stay unblinkingly on Frances.