I didn't know if I had the courage to do this. I stood still on the hard, wooden floor, my palms sweating, a small, brass pocket watch with the Prussian flag emblazoned on the back clutched in my right hand. Shakily, my finger pressed down on the little catch, opening it to reveal the image of the man I had loved more than anything. His signature grin was plastered across his face, and yet, in his eyes shone an overwhelming and heart-breaking sadness that I wish I could have cured.

If only… if only he'd been here today instead of…

1944 – AUSCHWITZ

"Come on, mein little birdie, I need to get you out of here," the lieutenant muttered anxiously, his bright white hair all messy and his stark red eyes darting across the muddy landscape ahead of us. He pressed a hand to my back, manoeuvring me hastily through a gate in a tall wire fence and up a small hill. I stumbled as he increased his pace.

"But- but Gilbert! They'll kill you! If they find out you're helping me to escape, they'll shoot you on sight!" I was panicking. If the other German soldiers ever knew of Gilbert helping a Jew run away from the camp, they wouldn't even hesitate before they shot him. My heartbeat pounding in my ears, I clutched his uniform with my dirt-covered hands, tears stinging my eyes.

"Shh, don't worry, my Austrian prince! I, the awesome Gilbert Beilschmidt, will make sure you make it to safety! I promise." The look in his eyes told me that he had sincerely meant those words, but they did nothing to calm my palpitating heart.

I wanted to believe him – I really did – though I knew nobody ever escaped from the camps. Of course, there'd been stories of prisoners allegedly running away, however they'd always be found and killed more brutally than they would have been in the first place. I… Obviously I didn't want that to happen to me, but Gilbert…

I squeezed my eyes shut, thoughts of Gilbert being killed at the hands of those merciless robots filling my head.

"Come on, Roddy, not much further now! We only have a few minutes until the soldier at that lookout post come back." I smiled half-heartedly at the nickname. He was trying to alleviate tension by calling me one of his silly pet names, and for that, I was thankful.

"It's Roderich. I told you to stop calling me Roddy!" At this, Gilbert just chuckled.

"Aw, you know you love it really," he teased, a smile playing on his lips. I opened my mouth to object, when a sudden barrage of angry shouts rang out from behind us.

"Scheiβe!" Gilbert cursed, and he roughly grabbed my hand, tugging me as fast as possible towards a densely packed forest looming ahead of us. "Quick, Roddy, if we can just make it to the trees- "

Bang.

The fire of a gun. The falling of a soldier. A German soldier; one that called himself a Prussian. One with a high rank in the army and an expensive suit, now stained with crimson. A soldier that fell to his knees, still clutching the hand of his most beloved.

Screams. Were they my own, or were they his? Pain. Oh, so much pain. Now that- that was mine. My other half had been shot. My silver haired Prussian, with the most beautiful red eyes, and the most wonderful grin.

"Roderich- Roderich, you need to go."

No, I couldn't. He was dying. He was dying because of me; I had to stay with him. I couldn't leave him behind – not now, not ever. I loved him too much for that.

"Please, Roddy," he choked out, blood splattering my striped clothes. Tears ran down my cheeks, and onto his, as I laid my forehead against his. Bullets fired at the ground around us, mud spraying up into the air and cacophonous noises filling our ears.

Wordlessly, Gilbert pressed an object into my hand. A small, brass pocket watch. I sat there for an hour, a minute, seconds maybe, before Gilbert's shouts finally registered in my brain.

"Roderich, get the hell up, and GO!"

I did. I got up, and I ran as fast as I could. How the bullets didn't hit me, how they managed to avoid my broken body, I'd never know. Past the trees, past the fields, past the towns, I ran. And I never, not once, looked back.

1974 – HUNGARY

I didn't know if I had the courage to do this, and yet, as I stared at the only man I'd ever loved, I knew it was time. Time to move on. Tucking the pocket watch back into my suit pocket, I looked up, catching the gaze of a brown-haired woman wearing all white. She smiled kindly at me as she joined me at the altar.

"Do you, Roderich Edelstein, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

A pause.

"I do."