Thankyou for taking the time to read this, my second fanfic.
This story has been dear to my heart for a long time but I have been so overwhelmed with thoughts and ideas that trying to finish it seemed like too huge a project to complete. Therefore, I have decided to stop rigidly planning this story and begin publishing whilst my writing and continues and see where my mind takes me. This is therefore a long term project but I sincerely hope some of you will stick with it and see how the story develops.
Reviews mean a great deal to me so please, please take a moment to leave any thoughts or comments. I sincerely promise to respond to anyone kind enough to review my work.
Shosanna gasped painfully as she tried to control her sobs. People in the cafe were looking round, staring at the young woman who was sitting alone and crying. Shosanna breathed deeply and tried to calm herself; her cheeks flamed with embarrassment under the inquisitive stares of other diners. It would not be long before a waiter came over to see what was wrong.
She felt her heartbeat fall into a more normal rhythm and her tears subsided as she forced herself to be calm and logical. He had offered her milk but that was surely an unpleasant coincidence; how could he possibly know who she was? They had never even seen each other; they merely knew each other by name. Shosanna felt sick to the stomach as his name throbbed painfully in her head. Colonel Hans Landa, the man who had murdered her family, the man who had ordered their execution and left her alone without anybody. She could still remember the moment, how she and her family had been laying side by side, not daring to breathe as the Jew Hunter's boots clicked ominously above them. Shosanna could still feel how Amos had trembled against her back, still smell the tang of sweat which permeated the stuffy air as their bodies perspired in fear. For a long time she had tried to block out what had happened next, how Amos had choked and spat blood on her face as a bullet entered his chest, how she had made the agonising decision to scramble through the tiny hole in the farmhouse wall and dash to freedom. She had tortured herself every day since, wondering whether she should have wrapped her dead family in her arms and waited for Colonel Landa to prise open the floorboards and finish her off.
Shosanna glanced down at the strudel in front of her, feeling physically sick. How she had managed to force down a mouthful she would never know; it had tasted like cardboard being wrenched down her throat. She glanced at the door, praying that Landa had gone and was not loitering around the entrance enjoying another cigarette. She could not leave the cafe and risk him seeing her upset, his suspicions would be aroused.
She felt suddenly stifled and claustrophobic, anxious to escape from the strudel and Hans Landa's cigarette stub and everything surrounding her, reminiscent of this nightmarish experience. She stood up, her legs wobbling and body shaking, her mind a vague mess of thoughts and emotions. She walked quickly to the door of the cafe and glanced very cautiously outside. She discreetly looked around, focussing particularly on the loiterers who were smoking or chatting in the sunny afternoon. She could not see him anywhere or indeed anyone in military uniform. She decided to take a chance and left the cafe, walking fast with her head bent low, desperately needing to get home and be surrounded by familiarity and comfort.
She wandered the streets primarily in a daze but somehow got home. She found the familiar doors of the cinema and was so hugely relieved that she stumbled inside and collapsed merely footsteps from the entrance as the tears finally overwhelmed her. She sat on the floor and sobbed, gasping hard for breath, her emotional state bordering on hysteria. She heard footsteps and realised Marcel must have heard her and was dashing to help.
"It's ok, it's ok" his deep comforting voice whispered as he wrapped his arms firmly around her "I'm here"
Shosanna clung to him tightly and sobbed until all the tears, tension and fear was finally released from her body. She was completely exhausted and emotionally drained. She smiled gratefully at Marcel, only then noticing the nervous fear on his face. She felt a stab of guilt at her selfishness; poor Marcel had no idea what had happened and was probably thinking the absolute worse at present. She wiped her wet face and attempted a smile.
"I saw him Marcel," she said, her voice hoarse with tears. "I saw him and had to sit there eating fucking cake with him."
The whole story poured out as Marcel sat and listened, stroking her hair comfortingly, his face growing angry as he heard about Shosanna's experience with Hans Landa. The stroking hand trembled with rage when she told him about the Nazi film premier.
Marcel stood up and swore aggressively to himself. He turned and looked lovingly at his beautiful Shosanna; he had spent so long assuring her that Hans Landa would never find her and that she was safe from the Nazi's forever. He felt guilty himself for giving her false hope, allowing her to believe they would never fall into the path of the notorious Jew Hunter.
"Let's not panic, Shosanna," he said reassuringly. "We'll get through this, host the premier they want and then they'll go. I'll handle the screening tonight, you stay upstairs and rest, you don't need to see these bastards again so soon."
Shosanna stood up, her legs still wobbly but her mind calm after the soft reassuring words of Marcel. She shook her head.
"No Marcel, I've got to act as projectionist for any event that these Nazi pigs want."
Marcel looked bewildered. "Why?" he asked.
Shosanna gestured to his face with her hand, raising her eyebrows ironically, hoping Marcel would understand without her having to say the words. He looked puzzled momentarily before realising why his face was an issue. He glowered in rage and muttered furiously under his breath.
Seeing Marcel's hurt feelings strengthened Shosanna, it was her turn to comfort and reassure. She stepped forward and put her hands on his upper arms, stroking him forcefully and reassuringly.
"Don't worry Marcel," she said. "You stay well out of their way and I'll handle this evening. As you say, they want a screening and a premier and that's it. If we can get through this then they'll go and everything will be alright again. Ok?"
Marcel looked insolent and angry but also recognised that this was a time for unity and mutual support, not sulking at injustice. He wrapped his arms tightly around Shosanna and they hugged tightly, not speaking but luxuriating in the warm love and comfort of each other. Whatever the Nazi's did, Shosanna and Marcel loved each other, and nothing would ever tear that apart.
Shosanna bid polite farewells in a deadened state; she had cut herself mentally from the film screening in order to help herself cope. She had forced herself to remain detached from the invasion of Nazi's into her home, made her brain retreat to an imagined fantasy world to escape the reality of screening a film for these animals in the hope that the evening would pass easily. Her plan had worked and she had operated on complete auto pilot, reacting solely to the mechanical functions of the projector, not allowing her mind or heart to be affected in any way by the presence of these people.
When they had finally left, Shosanna wandered slightly dazed into the cinema screen. She sat on a random seat and glanced around the auditorium. After the death of her family, Shosanna had told herself that she should never become attached to people or possessions again. Loving a person or object meant that you forever risked them being taken from you, resulting in the agonising heartbreak which Shosanna could not bear to face again. When she had started working for the Mimieux's she had retained a cold indifference to the beautiful cinema which was now her home and aggressively batted away the affections of Marcel, unwillingly to give her heart to another human being because men like Hans Landa would take them away.
Shosanna knew that as time had passed and Marcel's patient adoration continued, she had slowly waned and grown to love him and her cinema deeply. At first she had admonished herself for such weakness, reminding herself of how painful it had been to lose her family and consequently, how dangerous it was to invest her emotions in another person. But Shosanna was only a normal human being; she craved the love of a man and desired to feel happy and safe in her home. She looked at the cinema seats and resented the fact that they were contaminated with having Nazi's upon them. She sighed and stood up. She left the screen slowly and walked into the lobby; it was dark now and the street outside shone with pale moonlight.
Shosanna's vague mindset was distracted by a sharp tapping on the door. She looked through the glass and almost screamed in fear, her stomach knotting in sick tension. Hans Landa was knocking firmly at the glass, gesturing politely towards the door handle as his way of requesting to enter the building. Shosanna felt an overwhelming sense of panic, wondering how she could avoid letting him in. Her frantic thoughts were interrupted as he knocked again, a pointed grin of amusement on his face as he gestured once more to the door. Shosanna calmed her frantic breathing; she had no choice but to let him in.
With trembling hands she unlocked the door, forcing herself not to look at his face pressed against the other side of the glass. She opened the door and he stepped inside, elegantly attired in his uniform and wearing wild-eyed expression of glee. He swept Shosanna's hand up into his and kissed it lightly, her whole body tensing against the soft warmth of his lips.
"Forgive me Emmanuel for disturbing you at this hour," he said apologetically. "But I wished to see how tonight's screening went?"
Shosanna narrowed her eyes suspiciously; he was up to something, he had surely not come all this way for such a trivial question. He returned her confrontational gaze with one of wide-eyed innocence, although the tiny amused smirk playing around his lips hinted that he was putting on some form of facade. Shosanna was overwhelmed with resentment, she desired nothing more than to strike his nasty smiling face and order him to leave her alone.
"It was fine" she replied shortly, aware that her indifferent tone sounded rude.
Landa smiled and nodded happily.
"That's excellent Emmanuel." he said. "Reichsminister Goebbels will be pleased."
Silence passed between them as they stood looking at each other, both subconsciously aware that Landa had an ulterior motive which he had not revealed. Sensing that this was the time to speak, Landa stepped closer to Shosanna, staring deep into her eyes and making her wince under the glare of his gaze.
"Emmanuel" he said softly, his voice taking on a more seductive tone. "I very much enjoyed being in your company today and would like to know if you would do me the honour of having dinner with me tomorrow evening."
Shosanna's entire body froze in disgust; it took every ounce of her self control to not exclaim in loud and appalled shock. Despite her horror at the idea of having a dinner date with Hans Landa she managed to stay calm, mentally weighing up her options under the pressure of his expectant gaze. Shosanna knew that to refuse his advances was potentially dangerous; she needed to keep him as sweet as possible to avoid his vindictive side flaring up. Landa was a powerful man and could cause her significant harm. Shosanna's heart leapt as she also remembered Marcel and how Landa's offensive attitudes indicated that he would potentially threaten him if they found themselves on his wrong side.
Shosanna could see no way out of this situation, until a new thought occurred to her. Her life would never be entirely happy until she knew Hans Landa could never threaten her again. His sudden interest in her could potentially be beneficial. If she was able to lure him into a sense of security, then maybe she would be in a position to finish him once and for all.
Shosanna's gut instinct told her this was the way to proceed; agree to Landa's dinner date in the hope of gaining his trust in order to punish him for his wrongdoings at a later date.
Shosanna looked at Landa, about to reluctantly accept his invitation when her body involuntarily hesitated. Could she really manage to sit and dine with the man who had ordered the killing of her family? And what about beyond tomorrow night; in order to gain Landa's trust Shosanna had no doubt that a dinner date would have to spiral into a series of dates. Her stomach clenched with sickness as the inevitable thought occurred to her. Could she bring herself to allow this man to make love to her in order to gain his trust? She feverishly imagined the horror of being forced into the bed of Landa and the sensation of his thrusting body driving deep into hers.
Shosanna knew she had no choice in the matter but comforted herself in knowing that she would use Landa's advances to her own advantage. She forced the unpleasant images out of her mind and rationalised instead. Even if the situation came to that, it was only her body; it would be worth allowing Landa to violate her physically if it meant revenge.
She met his face with a forced smile.
"Thank you Colonel," she said, her voice sounding foreign as if it did not belong to her body. "I would be very happy to dine with you."
Landa beamed, although Shosanna shrewdly suspected that he knew this would be the answer he would receive. Few girls were brave enough to turn down an SS officer.
"Would it be acceptable if I arranged for my driver to pick you up at 8pm?" he asked.
"That would be lovely" she replied.
Landa took her hand once more and kissed it, this time retaining eye contact and boring his gaze deep into her. Shosanna's chest tightened, the penetrating power of his eyes proving overwhelming.
Landa broke away from her and bowed slightly.
"Until tomorrow" he said with anticipation.
Shosanna nodded and watched with relief as he exited the building. He began to walk away before turning quickly on his heel and looking back at the young woman standing in the doorway and watching his retreat.
"Au Revoir Emmanuel" he whispered gently.
It took all her strength to stop breaking down in tears.