Nikolai Belinski
Since Nazi Germany attacked Russia, finally tethering their alliance, the US sent aid down to their newest recruit to the Allies. Among the resources sent, the Allies had sent forth a couple of medical agents to assist those that took the most damage from the betrayal, and within those ranks was a young woman dressed in a nurse gown and wrapped in a warm faux coat given by her deceased fiancé for their fifth anniversary.
It was a horrible sight, the trucks slowed down in a burnt down village, there were Russian soldiers solemnly trudging along the snow as they surveyed their lost homes and family. Your Commanding Officer ordered your group towards a large tent, a field Hospital, where you and eleven Ally nurses would tend to the injured. There were men and women of all ages, many were bleeding to death, others had third degree burns on more than half of their bodies, there were no idle hands for the next couple of hours. "Y/n, could you see to that guy at the back, I don't think he's been seen to yet." A friend of yours managed to tell you as she dashed across the room with her arms full with a white plastic tray full of stitching devices. You hesitantly made your way towards the back slightly annoyed of the never-ending pile of work. As you get closer to the man you noticed he was slouched over, his head resting on his hands, in front of him was the body of a woman whose face had been disfigured by fire, but from the parts untouched by flames you could tell that the woman was astoundingly beautiful with smooth and clear pale skin and long curly blonde hair, what was also clear to you was that this woman had long passed and that this man was mourning her death. Nevertheless, you gently placed your index and middle finger against her neck to check for pulse, the lack of any beating confirmed your observations. "You do not need to tell me. I already know." The man said with a strong Russian accent, he did not look up though you know he had let out enough tears to last many lifetimes. "I'm sorry" you said in an attempt to comfort him.
"Why are you sorry? You did not kill her, you are innocent." He looked up at you and by the holy heavens this man was handsome, you felt your heart skip a beat as you stare into his piercing blue eyes, and perfect tight jaw. The man was rocking a handlebar and chin puff beard, you had never thought you'd find any man with such facial hair attractive yet here you were burning up. "I...don't know, I'm not really sure what to say in these situations." You looked down trying to hide the clear pink tint across your frosted cheeks.
"My apologies for any offense I made, I don't really understand American terms. I am Nikolai Belinski." He held out a gloved hand for you as a sign of good will.
"Y/n, Y/n l/n. I wish we had met under better circumstances." You accepted his gesture and couldn't help but think that things are about to get interesting.
Tank Dempsey
"Get down! Get down!" An American soldier furiously yelled at the Japanese man, around him were many more Allied soldiers disarming your captors. You would have moved over behind your saviours from the mud and filth you were on had you had the strength, but the six day March had taken it's toll on you. Many men and women of all backgrounds dropped to their knees crying with tears of joy, though none will never forget the war crimes that had been committed on this sacred soil. A brunette man crouched down next to you and gently tucked strands of your hair behind your ears "You ok?" his voice was deep and husky but his gentleness pricked tears in your eyes. Your feet hurt. you were starving, thirsty, and tired, you let the tears flow down your face, a luxury you are finally able to enjoy. The man simply rubbed your back and remained crouched next to you, the Japanese men were dragged to a separate convoy with their hands tied; you couldn't help but glare at them as they were taken. The American man noticed this "It's over, you're safe now. Can you walk?" You shrug before standing up, there was a sudden jolt of pain as your muscles strained themselves with each movement but you bit your lips and accepted the soldier's shoulder as he led you to another convoy.
Sitting down and feeling the cool tropical wind blow at your face felt like serenity, the man who helped you was sitting near the rear gate, his eyes watching like a hawk on the surrounding forest. "I forgot to thank you sir."
"Tank, Tank Dempsey. What they did to you was a war crime, I'll-we'll make sure justice is served." He said, his eyes gazed at you softly as he recalled the reports and rumours about the Death March. "Yeah, I hope he suffers. My friends, family, were killed just for their sick amusements."
"No doubt that at least the Commanding Officer will be executed. What was your name by the way?"
"Y/n."
"It's nice to meet you y/n, if you need anything, feel free to look for me and I'll gladly help you out." Tank smiled so goofily that you couldn't help but smile back, no doubt this man was attractive, but the recent events had left you feeling paranoid and defensive. But you hope that one day, your heart could learn to open up again...especially to him.
Takeo Masaki
You gripped your child close to you, a hand covering their mouth muffling their cries, you heard a loud crash as an enemy soldier kicked open your door, the sound made you jump causing your hand to lift at the same time your son yelped in fear. Then there was silence, almost as if the man was playing some cruel joke on you, but you knew better and only the work of a miracle could save you and your son. The cabinet doors swung open revealing the dreaded greenish-brown khaki, your son was snatched away from your arms, the butt of a rifle find its mark across your face rendering you near-unconscious. The screams of your child pierced your ears then followed by yours as a hand twisted its way around your hair and dragged you outside your house. There were too many noise in the area, but there was no sign of your son, fear took hold as you thought of the worst possible outcome. A middle age Japanese man who wore a different attire than every other Japanese soldier approached your quivering form and commanded something in his native tongue, another soldier strutted up to him and begin to converse as though the man that commanded the soldier holding you said something offensive. You were a sobbing mess in front of these men but your dignity didn't matter for all that you had were gone, you home, parents, husband, son; the only thing you feared was the thought that comes after these men had finished their dialogue. The Japanese man gave a subtle 'tsk' before ordering the soldier to take you somewhere.
The Japanese soldier holding you was shouting against your loud wailing, however, neither of you understood each other. As you get closer to a big house you finally realized what was about to happen, you cried louder and begin to flail about trying to plead to your captor to let you go, the man then hit you quite hard turning your cries into terrified whimpers.
Once inside the house, you were led to a bedroom were you were thrown on a massive bed, the soldier commanded something at you, though you didn't understand a word, then slammed the door shut. You ran to the door in an attempt to open it but it was locked, you checked the windows and they were barred as if to prevent people from climbing or falling off. Feeling hopeless you crawled to a corner of the room, huddled yourself as if doing so could make you small enough to stay hidden and cried.
The click of the door stirred you awake, the place was unfamiliar, your back and neck ached, it took a couple of moments before you remembered where you were and what situation you have gotten yourself in. The man from before came into the room, he doesn't seem to have noticed you yet so you held your breath and prayed that he just goes over to his bed and sleep-but he didn't. His head turned slowly towards you, eyes staring directly onto yours "What's your name?" he asked.
Silence.
"I will not hurt you, I am helping you."
Silence. The man begins to make his way over to you, you tried to scurry back but your against the corner of the room. "No! Please! Don't hurt me!" your voice and body was shaking. The man stopped in his tracks and crouched down, then you noticed something you didn't earlier, he was holding a tray with bread, fruits and water. "I am Masaki Takeo. I have been sent by the emperor to overlook the division here and make sure no harm comes to the prisoners." He sets the tray down and slide it over to you; the glow of the moonlight on the glass of water tempted you to accept this man, this invader's hospitality. "Where's my son?" you hiss, hoping to at least get answers.
"I do not know your son, but I know that all children have been sent to a camp where they will be well fed and no harm will come."
"As long as your people are here there will always be harm."
"I want to make a proposal, you will eat, drink, rest, and cause no trouble...and I will do my best to find your son." He didn't wait for your answer, he merely stood up and left the room. You stared down at your food, for your son, you did as you were told.
Edward Richtofen
"What are they saying?" a woman with a strong French accent whispered to you, fear clear in her voice, obviously you didn't know what they were saying but you could make out a couple of common words that had been taught to you by your brother who was acting as a spy; that's what's gotten you into this mess, you visited your brother in Northern France just before the Germans took over, unfortunately you were caught in the conflict pass the border, you and a couple of men, women and children were hidden behind large crates, jars, and other goods, a large rough canvas draped over to hide all of you. "Stay still" hisses a man to his child with a voice barely audible.
"Der Artz, was würden sie uns tun lassen?" You heard footsteps approach, then it stopped, you can see his shadow through the veil and you can tell that this man commands respect but also seems to carry a heavy burden. You pray to the Gods that he does not pull the cover off, but... it seems only the devil was listening, with a flick of his arm your face comes to view under the moonlight creating a beautiful smooth glow on your face. You held your breath, and stared with pleading eyes to the man with the pencil moustache. His blue eyes softened when he sets his sights upon you, his brows relaxed, heartbeat sped up, he knew at that moment you were to be his little secret.
"Doktor-" The man quickly pulled the sheet back down and turned to face the Lieutenant, the two shared a couple of words before returning to their vehicles, but not before the German spoke with the coachman "There is a village not too far from here, tell the innkeeper that Doctor Richtofen sent them."
The carriage got moving and within a couple of hours you arrived at a dark village with only the inn lights illuminating the area. The coachman halted the carriage and helped everyone off, there were two men sitting outside the inn talking and drinking beer, they paid no mind to the group of outsiders entering. "Guten Abend, sie wünschen?" asked a burly woman behind the bar, she puts on a tough demeanour but through her eyes she had a kind soul, the coachman went ahead and spoke with the barkeeper and later returned with a couple of keys. "This is as far as I can take any of you. Frelda, the barkeeper, will take care of you and if any wishes to continue your journey there's a train station further west of here at the next village; Frelda can help get you a passport and ticket but you have to work for it." You thank him for all his done and reassure that all of you will be fine "Goodbye, friends, I wish you all luck on your journey."
The group ate and drank, in courtesy of The Doctor, and by the time everyone had their fill the inn was empty. "Alright, I can only accommodate you for this one night" Frelda says with a deep German accent "Tomorrow, Nazi soldiers will come over so you will all need a new identity which I can give tomorrow morning."
"Danke sehr" you say, the limit of your Dutch. Frelda looks at you and smiles and replied something back in her native tongue but you frantically shook your head "Oh sorry! I only know a little bit of Dutch!" Frelda laughs and sends everyone to their rooms. You were so tired that once you lied down you had fallen deep into slumber.
The next day there were a couple of vehicles that passed by the town, some headed straight towards a gondola, which Frelda had warned the others and you to stay away from, while others roamed around town buying, wooing, drinking, and eating. Your new identity was Gretel Schmidt, you're the general good's master's niece and you've been helping him since the Nazi's overtaken the castle.
"Guten tag!" You greet, the man that entered was the same man who saw you back at the carriage, he nodded his head and browsed along the shop; you made your that the two of you were alone in the store "Thank you!" He looked up sincerely confused.
"For what?"
"Last night, you let us go. Had it not been for you we'd probably all be dead." Then as if something clicked on him he smiled "Oh yes! Of course, I didn't recognize you for a moment what with your new clothes and hat, looks cute by the way."
"I didn't pick-it's the store uniform. I'll be working here for a while."
"Oh that's great, we'll see more of each other then. I'm Dr Edward Richtofen, and you are?"
"Y/n, though for now my name is Gretel."
"Well Gretel, your secret is safe with me."