Across the Universe of Time

As the rain falls from the sky, can I bring you back from a distant lullaby?


When Lieutenant Aldo Raine reached the bottom of the steps to the godforsaken basement because of the commotion he heard from upstairs, where he was waiting just in case of an incident, what he saw was not what he expected at all. Hugo Stiglitz, his most vicious and antisocial of soldiers, had a woman, who he was guessing was the tavern owner, pinned down to a table telling her to calm down while she thrashed against him violently. All the while, the three other basement occupants stared on not really sure what to do in this sudden and awkward situation.

"Th' fuck is goin' on?" Aldo asked, also not quite sure on what to do just yet.

Wicki shrugged his shoulders still taken back by what was happening. "Not exactly sure. The lady tripped then Stiglitz went to help her up and it seems they know each other."

"Yeah, they look like they know each other really fuckin' well." Aldo said putting his hands on his waist trying to decide on what to do.

Hugo wasn't having any luck in calming Elenore down. "Elenore, stop it! This is ridiculous." He grunted when she kneed him.

"Get off me! Get off me, you pig!" She shouted continuing to kick and shout.

Before Hugo could get another word in, Aldo decided this was the time to take some action. "Alright, shut-up!" The Apache shouted.

Elenore immediately clamped her mouth shut at the volume of the foreign man's voice. She looked away from Hugo and at the bulky southern man with wide eyes.

Aldo stepped over to the pair but Hugo didn't get off of her. The lieutenant didn't give him any signal to. "Now, darlin', before I tell Stiglitz he t' get th' hell off ya, thought I'd introduce myself; Lieutenant Aldo Raine." He said giving her a nod. She stared at him. "This's where y' introduce yer self now, doll."

She blinked, looked at Hugo briefly, then licked her lips and spoke. "I am Elenore Ferland." She said shakily, her French accent getting a little bit thicker with her nervousness.

Aldo nodded. "So, yer French?" It seemed like the answer was obvious, but he was mildly surprised when she shook her head.

"Canadian, actually. Lived in France for almost ten years now."

"Interestin', now how 'bout—"

"Terribly sorry to interrupt, Lieutenant." Hicox suddenly spoke up. "Perhaps you should tell him to get off the woman." At Aldo's glare, he continued. "This is a tavern, anyone could walk in."

"I knew you weren't German." Elenore said more to herself and she immediately regretted it because now all eyes were on her.

"How th' fuck would y' know he wasn't no nat-zi?" Aldo asked and Hugo gripped onto her a little tighter and she didn't know whether it was to intimidate her or protect her.

She felt like a mouse caught under a lion's paw. "I could tell by the accent. It's not a regular German's." She explained quickly.

Aldo glared at Hicox while the British man pouted at his lack of convincing. "Yer damn lucky no one else was fuckin; here. Ya'd blow yer fuckin' cover." The lieutenant darkly told the man.

"Now, I don't mean to sound rude," Elenore snapped. "but will you tell this beast to get off of me now."

Aldo gave the woman, who was glaring intensely at Stiglitz, a hard look. "Y' two see, t' know each other pretty well." He said somewhat suspiciously.

"Unfortunately, yes." She said distastefully and Hugo made a growling noise, which seemed not to faze the former brunette.

"Alright, Stiglitz, get off 'er." Aldo ordered.

Hugo gave a grunt of reluctance, but just as he was about to get off of Elenore, Donny actually walked down in the tavern. He stopped dead in his tracks at the sight before him.

"Oy! Aldo, why you always fucking busting my balls when I suggest we go to a brothel when Stiglitz here gets to fuck 'em on tables?"


Moments later they were across the street in the abandoned building that the Basterds were staying in. Aldo thought it unwise to continue their conversation in the tavern where anyone could walk in at any moment. And honestly, he still didn't like that their operation had been taking place in a damn basement.

Elenore sat across from Aldo in the middle of the poorly displayed room. Hugo sat next to her, much to her displeasure, but she scooted so there was a big gap between them. Donny, who she found out was called the Bear Jew, was lying on a bed watching them with interest. Apparently they didn't get much entertainment. Hicox was standing by the window smoking. Wicki leaned himself against the wall by Elenore; she liked him, he seemed nicer than the rest of them. There were three other soldiers scattered around the room who had been introduced to her earlier as Utivich, Omar, and Hirschberg. Bridget von Hammersmark had left telling them she'd see them tomorrow night at the premiere.

She's heard of the Basterds, it was impossible not to hear about them. However, she didn't know much about them. She hated gossip. All she knew is that they went around killing Nazi's. She never would have guessed that Hugo was a member of this American group of soldiers.

But now there was a problem for her and these men. Elenore, who the Basterds were silently declaring as Stiglitz old squeeze, knew everything now… well, most of everything.

"So," Aldo started before quickly snorting some snuff, earning a distasteful look from Elenore. "now that y' know bout or plan, what we gonna do?" He asked giving her a crooked stare.

Her eyebrows creased together. "You're going to go according to your plan I'm guessing. I just want to run my tavern." She said confidently even though on the inside she felt like throwing up due to the stress.

Aldo gave her a look. "Well, now s'pose I letcha go an' y' run off t' go tell some nat-zi's bout us? Our whole mission goes kaput." He said staring her down. It made her uneasy.

Before she could talk, Donny decided to butt in. "Hey, it's either we take that chance or we kill 'er." He said with a laugh.

Elenore's eyes widened and her whole body stiffened. Hugo sent the Bear Jew a dark look. It didn't seem to bother the big Jew though. "Donny, shut it." Aldo demanded to which Donny immediately did so. "Most likely, we ain't gonna kill ya." He emphasized on the 'most likely' just so she'd know that if she gave him a reason to he would kill her. "But how do I know y' won't go runnin' t' some nat-zi's?"

"I'd never tell any dirty Nazi anything." She spat hatefully.

Aldo raised an eyebrow and even Hugo was shocked by her tone (of course he didn't show it). He never heard her speak with such hate before, even when he left her. "Y' hate them nat-zi's, huh?" The lieutenant asked curiously.

"More than anything." She confirmed.

"Why?" Aldo implored.

Her eyes flashed angrily. "That is none of your business, sir!"

"Well, now, that's where yer wrong, m'am." Aldo retorted. "I do need t' know cause y' could jus' be makin' up that y' hate nat-zi's."

"She sounds quite convincing to me, Lieutenant." Hicox piped in giving Elenore a charming smile. Archie Hicox was never one to not flirt with a beautiful face, even under theses circumstances.

Hugo glared furiously at him and Aldo gave the Brit a disapproving look. "Yeah, I bet she sounds way more convincin' than y' did." He said with a glare while the rest of the Basterds, minus Hugo, chuckled in amusement. Hicox frowned then returned to looking out the window. He didn't need this. "Now, back t' you, darlin'. Y' gonna talk?" Aldo asked Elenore. She stayed silent. "Look, I need t' know so I can understand why y' won't go tellin' anyone 'bout us." Still she said nothing. He was getting impatient. "Y' can either tell us or I'm gonna seriously consider Donny's suggestion." He said nodding towards the big Jew who grinned at her.

Elenore shuddered inwardly. It seemed like she had no choice now. She bit down on her bottom lip and she glanced at Hugo who looked stone cold… as usual. She looked back at Aldo, her face had gotten a bit red and her eyes shined with unshed tears. Aldo suddenly became uneasy.

"I would never tell the Nazi's about this because… they killed my daughter."


A/N: I'm gonna try to make the next chapter longer. They all seem to be coming out short and it makes me feel like I'm not putting enough in them. I left it on a cliffhanger. Yeah... that just happened. Sorry, if there are any grammatical errors; I'm in a hurry right now.

I don't own the Basterds.

P.S., Elenore officially has a face. Go check it out on my profile!!