Title: An Eye For An Eye
Pairing(s): Omar/OC
Summary: Mei De Vries, a young woman of Chinese and Dutch heritage, narrowly escaped death one fateful night with her mute little sister, Jia, in Nazi occupied France. Their parents? Murdered for trying to hide Jews. Now, she seeks out the Basterds in hope of achieving retribution. But in order to do that, she's going to have to prove her worth. And Aldo Raine ain't easily impressed. Omar/OC.
Rating/Warnings: M, just to be safe. Can't say what I'll dish out in this story, but the basics will be... graphic descriptions of violence, foul language (come on, it's the Basterds), possibly lemons? I don't know, it depends on how the story develops and whether it swings that way or not. Expect anything!
Timeline: AU for the movie, before, during and possibly after.
Disclaimer: I don't own IB, it belongs to the genius known as Quentin Tarantino. I only own my OCs, and their plot - nothing more.
Author's Note: Well, this is my first attempt at a multi-chapter story in quite some time, so you'll have to bear with me lol. I swear I'll update as often as I can!
You'll have to forgive this first chapter; it is, after all, only a prologue, meant to introduce you to the characters and the situation at hand. It was intended to be rather brief, so if it comes across that way, believe me, it was intentional. The Basterds will most likely make an appearance in the next chapter, or the one after that.
By the way, I have pictures of Mei and Jia on my profile if you're interested! : )
P.S. cannot believe there are virtually no Omar/OC stories. Omar's a BABE. Okay well, that is all. ^_^ Also, title is susceptible to changing, as I'm not entirely happy with it.
Prologue
The winter sky was only just beginning to darken when the sounds of a car approaching filled the quiet, cosy home of the De Vries family. Old Adrian De Vries, a retired Dutch architect, looked up from the book that sat in his lap, frozen in his place. The lamp that sat on the table beside him dimly illuminated the small room. He quickly glanced with his wife, Xiaoli, who'd turned from her place in front of the stove to look out the window.
Judging from the fearful expression that flashed on her lovely face, Adrian didn't need to be told who their "visitors" were. He swore under his breath, immediately abandoning the book.
"Tell the girls to hide in the barn, Xiaoli." He paused as he waited for his wife to turn and acknowledge him. "Now, go!"
She hesitated no longer. Her breath hitched as she ran down the hall and to the girl's bedroom. Inside the tiny room, she found her eldest daughter, Mei, perched on the side of her bed, engaged in a quiet conversation with her youngest daughter, Jia. Both girls looked so calm, so at peace, Xiaoli almost felt bad for interrupting them.
Mei's eyes immediately went to her mother's, the moment she'd entered the room. She was frowning. Jia turned over in her bed, nestled snugly in the blanket, looking at her mother with tired eyes.
"Mei, take Jia and go out the back door; hide in the barn. Go quickly!"
Mei's frown only deepened. "But mother-"
"Do not argue Mei. Go now, please. And be quiet!"
It was at that moment that Mei heard the sound of a car pulling up outside, and she understood. Jia's eyes widened in fear, and she looked desperately between her sister and her mother. Mei was up in an instant, pulling Jia from her bed.
Xiaoli kissed both her daughters on the forehead. Mei didn't like the way the kiss made her eyes prickle. It felt like she was saying goodbye. Mei looked determinedly up at her mother, who glanced back at her with a weary gaze. Her gut twinged in response.
"Father and I will come for you when they're gone." She promised, squeezing her daughter's shoulder. "Now go, please."
Mei nodded, urgently wanting to believe her mother. Hand-in-hand, the girls sped out of the room and out the back door, doing their best to remain as quiet and discreet as possible. Xiaoli returned to Adrian, who was trying his best to look natural, sitting at the dining table, a half empty glass in his right hand. His calm demeanour almost fooled her – but she knew her husband too well. He scratched his greying beard with his free hand – a nervous habit of his. Xiaoli came up behind him, and squeezed his shoulders reassuringly.
Outside, the grass was wet and cold beneath the girls' bare feet; Jia made a small noise of irritation at the sudden, unpleasant chill of the air around them. Mei shushed her, pulling her along. The barn door closed at the same moment the front door opened. Voices were heard, and Mei shuddered at the sound of the German accents of the Gestapo officers.
The girls hid behind a few stacks of hay, in the corner of the medium-sized barn that smelled distinctly of tobacco and dew. Mei held Jia close, trying to comfort the shivering girl. She wasn't sure if her sister was shivering from the bitter winter cold or from fear – perhaps a mixture of both. Regardless, Mei didn't ask. She just kept quiet, and rubbed her arms, creating friction to keep her sister warm.
It felt as if an eternity swept by in silence. Mei waited, hardly even daring to breathe, for any noise, any sound at all. She figured no noise was good news. Things were going according to plan. But then, you never knew with these Gestapo officers. They were slimy, sneaky. Monsters. However, they had prepared for this – she knew this would happen sooner or later.
Ignoring her own growing dread, Mei continued to whisper comforting nothings to Jia, hoping to soothe the fifteen year old's violent shaking. Times like this made Mei wish Jia was able to talk back to her. Having been born mute, Mei often wondered what her sister's voice would sound like. Jia could understand whatever Mei said to her – whether it was in English or Mandarin - she just couldn't respond verbally.
The twenty three year old stroked the teenager's dark brown hair (identical to hers), hoping that all her senseless rambling was doing something to comfort her, at least.
"It'll be all over soon," She kept telling her. "Then we can go back to bed. I promise. I'll even make you some soup – does that sound good, Jia?"
Jia nodded numbly in response, seeming to calm down a little. Mei silently pleaded to her parents to get rid of the Nazis as soon as possible. Lie, say whatever was necessary just to get them to go away and never come back.
The promise she'd made her sister repeated itself over and over in her head.
'Don't make me a liar.'
The sudden, violent eruption of gunshots from an automatic shattered the silence like glass. Jia wailed, and Mei quickly slapped a hand over her mouth, terror ripping into her like the claws of a savage animal.
'No...!'
"In ze barn! Get the girls in ze barn!" An unpleasant voice shouted from the porch of the house, causing Mei's blood to run cold. It was like a nightmare. Mei was almost ready to pinch herself. She closed her eyes tightly, holding onto Jia, who was trying to squirm out of her grip.
'This can't be happening, this can't be happening.'
But it was. Their parents had been found out, hiding the Jewish neighbours, and they'd obviously resisted, and been shot dead. Now the officers were coming for them, to do God only knew what. Mei panicked, trying to think of what to do. They hadn't prepared for this.
'Come on, Mei!' A voice in her head scolded her. 'You're the big sister; it's your job to protect Jia!'
Every part of her just wanted to break down and grieve. Her eyes stung so badly, tearing up, making it almost impossible to see. Her body felt numb – weak. But she refused. Refused to break down and condemn the both of them to death. Or worse.
Looking around their enclosed space, Mei spotted a weakened plank of wood in the wall. Whether it had rot from termites, weather or age, she didn't know, nor did she care. She was just grateful it was there and her father hadn't had the chance to fix it yet. Or perhaps he'd left it there deliberately...?
Had he known this would happen?
Of course he would've. Father planned everything. If only he'd told her...
Mei knew there was no point in thinking about it. She was running on terror and adrenaline, and she just hoped that would be enough. At 5'4, if it came down to it, she wouldn't be able to physically resist the assailants. And her sister, weaker and smaller than she, wouldn't stand a chance at all. Fleeing was their only option.
Turning her body, she let go of Jia, and positioned herself on her back, bent her knees, and bucked her legs, kicking the wood as firmly as she could. She winced she felt rotten splinters dig into the soles of her feet. Thankfully, however, after two kicks, the wood splintered and broke, allowing them a small exit.
"Go, Jia, go." Mei ordered, still ignoring the stinging stickiness of her feet.
(Was she bleeding?)
The teenager shook her head in response, tears streaming down her face, choking on her sobs, no longer bothering to be quiet. Mei took Jia's face in her hands, forcing her to look at her. "Jia. We have to go, right now. Do you hear me? I'll be right behind you. Go!"
Jia calmed enough to nod, indicating she understood what her sister was requesting of her. On hands and knees, she crawled through the makeshift hole, and Mei followed directly behind her. Without turning to see whether or not the officers had seen them, Mei sprinted behind Jia, heading directly for the woods, her heart thumping loudly in her head. She stumbled a few times, almost hitting the wet ground, but finally managing to steady herself and keep up with her little sister. She bit down on her tongue to stop herself from crying out in pain with every step she took, her feet screaming out in protest.
She could hear the sounds of boots hitting the ground behind them, but they were steadily becoming further and further away as Mei pushed herself harder to lose them in the dark woods. Eventually, the sounds disappeared altogether, and all that could be heard was the ragged breathing of the De Vries sisters. Jia slowed down, but Mei shouted at her to keep going. Jia started crying again, but did as she was told.
Despite her best efforts, a few hot tears escaped Mei's hazel eyes as she remembered her mother's kiss, and she choked back a miserable sob of her own. This time, she really did pinch herself, and to her dismay, she didn't wake up.