Shadows of the World » Band of Brothers

01: Half Sick of Shadows

"'I am half sick of shadows,' said the Lady of Shalott." - Alfred, Lord Tennyson, The Lady of Shalott

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Juliette Chevalier was good at her job, for both better and worse. It was a job she was very proud to be in possession of, and indeed had worked very hard to attain, but exhausting in the way that encompassed you entirely, body and soul. Moreover, it was relentless in making sure she never quite recovered from one job before being sent out again on the next.

She was good at her job, and thus was picked time and again to do the dirty work, the jobs that simply couldn't be afforded to be messed up.

To be frank, she was quite tired of being good at her job, and if the stakes hadn't been quite so high might have considered beginning to be intentionally bad at it. But they were, and she knew she never would; she was proud of her work and the trust that was placed in her to allow her to do it, and she'd do it as they expected her to: without complaint, and as cleanly as she could manage.

And yet, the lethargy that accompanied being moved to yet another place was relentless, each day henceforth becoming a waiting game for her next set of orders.

"How long do we gather before this big invasion then?" inquired the man beside Juliette, his shoulder crushing her against the side of the truck for a moment as they turned a corner.

Thomas looked contemplative as he looked between the faces of his companions. He was always eager to know the fine print and was often asking it of the others long before he knew they'd ever know it. To the blank faces he was met with he merely shrugged, tugging at his shirt collar in the hopes of relieving some of the tightness.

"Alex, heard anything yet?" he continued to probe, now fingering his freshly pressed trousers. Juliette rolled her eyes, knowing the answer just as well as he did, but remained silent beside him.

"You know I haven't," replied Alexis, bemused and not sparing Thomas a glance as he continued to watch the English countryside pass beside him through the limited light the moon offered.

"If it's as big as the whispers are saying then I'd reckon a couple of months at least," William chimed in from his position opposite Juliette. He was fiddling with a radio that perched precariously on his lap, and indeed was always fiddling with something, before he glanced up and offered Thomas half a shrug.

"If they've actually got the yanks in on it then it'll definitely be a while," agreed Martin from Thomas' other side. "That lot are so green I wouldn't be surprised if they're still learning how to piss in their ODs."

Juliette snorted at this, the smirk that accompanied her amusement lingering for moments after. The group of Brits definitely resented the Americans a bit for their perceived lack of punctuality where the war was concerned, but who could blame them? It was a conflict that had burdened them since 1939, and only now were they seeing the Americans acknowledge that there was a war going on at all. Where the Brits were concerned, the Americans had a lot of time to make up for, and a lot of work to do.

"What do you think, Jules?"

Juliette glanced at Thomas beside her and tried to muster her very best blank stare. "I don't know, Tom. Would you like me to ask Montgomery for you?"

The fair-haired man chuckled and turned his eyes to watch the passing scenery through the darkness. "Very much so, would you mind?" he replied dryly, to which Juliette smirked and began idly fiddling with a loose thread on her dress.

As the patchwork of fields and forests lining the roads they drove began to morph into small cottages, first sparse and eventually tightly packed, Alexis deemed it time to address the group.

"Sound off on names."

"Warren Sterling," began Martin.

"Henry Jameson," said Thomas.

"Penelope Williams," followed Juliette.

"James Evans," added William.

"Stephen Alby," finished Alexis, looking between the others with a satisfied nod. "Remember to avoid interacting as a group right away, we don't need any extra unwanted attention," he added, to which the group groaned.

"Alex, don't you trust that we know as much by now?" Juliette teased with a good-natured roll of her eyes.

"How many jobs will it take before you trust that we know what we're doing?" added William with a laugh.

"I'm just making sure," Alexis defended. "I can never be too safe with you lot. You do so seem to love venturing off-script."

"Only for the good of the operation!"

"I'd shut your mouth if I were you, Juliette. God knows you're the worst for it."

"Excuse me! I only ever do it when -"

"Would you look at that? We seem to have arrived!" cut in Martin with enough uncharacteristic enthusiasm Juliette could tell he only wanted to annoy her. It worked.

"Hello, Aldbourne!" Thomas remarked as quietly as he was able, getting off of the back of the truck and looking around with great interest.

When Juliette followed she took in her surroundings with a carefully trained analytic eye. In the early hours of the morning the small countryside village was still and silent, the only sounds being the soft hum of the engine of the truck she'd just emerged from. She knew, of course, this would be quite the opposite come daytime, what with the presence of some American army regiment or other, but at the present time was content to merely take in her quiet surroundings.

When Alexis handed her her luggage, having gotten off last, she thanked him quietly and watched as the truck drove away. Aldbourne was a small village by the looks of things, and finding her way around didn't look like it would prove to be much of a problem.

"Let's go then," announced Alexis in a pitched whisper, leading the rest of the group to the house right on the outskirts of the town that had been organised for them to stay in. It was already empty, and had been for a while, so they wouldn't have to explain themselves to any host families.

As Juliette followed Alexis with Thomas beside her, Martin and William trailing behind, she hoped rather than considered that perhaps their superiors would take mercy on them for a while as they awaited this big invasion of Europe. Perhaps they'd be allowed to stay in Aldbourne and pretend, even if just for a little while, that there wasn't a war going on and that they weren't right in the thick of it.

When they eventually reached the front door of their temporary new home, Thomas shot Juliette a pleased smile, which just made her hope for a reprieve even more. All they needed was a break.