Legato : used when successive tones are to be produced in a closely connected, smoothly gliding manner.
After that visit with Ivan, Natalya didn't bother to go again. Instead, she buried herself in the language of German and paced around her room, talking to herself. She had to perfect the accent. Without this crucial component, the whole mission would be pointless.
Three weeks before she was about to leave for Germany, the pale-haired girl was sitting at her desk, studying the papers before her. They held fake information... The girl in the picture on her ID papers was her, the same as always. But beside her, the name was not written: Natalya Arlovskaya. Instead, in bold typewriter ink was 'Giselle Hans.' As much as she liked the name, she wasn't this girl. She hadn't been born and raised in Berlin. She did not have two sisters who lived in Austria. Nor was she of 'pure German descent.'
But that was who she had to become. While she lived in Germany, that was exactly who she was. Giselle Hans. Secretary to some German official. But, she considered herself lucky. She had been given a job that was coveted by many women she knew. Many women who were much more professional compared to her. To be so close to the man who was hated in the eyes of everyone she knew... Of course, she wasn't going to be the secretary to Adolf Hitler himself. But it was close enough in her eyes. Gilbert Beilschmidt, his name was. Both his brother and him were in 'der Fuhrer's' inner circle of friends.
Rubbing her temples, she closed her eyes, shaking her head with a long sigh. It seemed ridiculous to think that such a man could have friends... That he could enjoy himself with day trips to look at architecture while millions of people suffered because of him. With a disgusted tingle dancing up her spine, she shook the thought from her head and resumed studying her papers. After all, it wouldn't do to forget her name when she arrived in Berlin.
Straightening his tie, Gilbert walked down the hall, headed towards his brothers' office. Despite the fact he had a few papers of his own to sign, the albino male was not in the mood to sit down and be quiet. Unfortunately, he was in the mood to bother. And whenever he felt in the mood to bother, he made it a point to go to 'Herr Beilschmidt's' office. After all, the other officers wouldn't tolerate him bursting in and sitting on their desk anyway.
Opening the door without knocking, he sauntered in, letting the large door swing close behind him. "Guten tag, bruder!" He greeted the male, grinning lopsidedly as he flopped down in the chair opposite the others desk. When all he received was a curt nod, he rolled his eyes and crossed his legs lazily with a dramatic sigh. Sometimes Ludwig could be such a spoil sport!
After a good few minutes of Gilbert staring straight at the other male, Ludwig finally set aside whatever he was doing with a strenuous sigh and lifted his ice blue eyes to meet with Gilbert's crimson ones. "What do you want?" He replied, not sounding impressed in the slightest bit. Obviously he was getting a little tired of the whole 'Gilbert interrupting his daily routine of work' thing.
"Oh, nothing. I'm done all my work," he lied, not even blinking twice, as if this might incline the other German to go out for beers with him. He knew it would be the opposite, however. Ludwig couldn't stand it if someone finished a set amount of work before him, no matter if he knew they were lying or not.
"Really? Hm," Ludwig replied, looking honestly amused for the first time since they started talking. "Well, then I actually have a job for you. We have a new secretary coming in. Or, rather, we have a group of ladies who will be applying. I was going to make the trip out to meet them but seeing as you are done..." The blonde let the sentence speak for itself as he settled back in his chair, a smug look on his face for once.
Silent for a moment, Gilbert rolled his eyes yet again, resisting the urge to pout. "Honestly? You know I hate these types of things... It makes me feel like a common worker! I should be doing something... official," he argued, knowing it would be alright for him to vent his frustrations on the other Beilschmidt. If he responded this way to any other superior's orders, he would have been demoted and possibly shot on the spot.
"Ja, I know you don't like them. But I'm busy, Gilbert. You are free. Go drive out to the base and wait until nightfall. You will greet them along with Albrecht. After that, drive them back here. It's imperative that no one see them arrive," Ludwig stood as he gave the directions, running a hand through the perfectly sculpted hair on his head. The tone in his voice suggested that he was done arguing and for Gilbert to leave as soon as possible.
With a slightly annoyed sigh, Gilbert stood as well and nodded, raising his arm in the air as he said an unenthusiastic 'Seig Heil.' Sometimes he hated his brother for being so efficient.
The few weeks she had left has passed quicker than she anticipated and as she sat, dressed in her best skirt and dress top, she ignored the fact that her palms were sweating. Glancing out the train window, she forced herself to forget the expression on Yekaterina's face and how much she had cried. It wouldn't do to focus on the past. Now, she was Giselle Hans. Closing her eyes, she laid her head against the back of the seat, falling asleep easily.
The only thing that woke her was the loud blaring whistle of the train, alerting her that she had arrived in Berlin. According to the Nazi officer she would be meeting, she had been travelling for a visit to Vienna and had just arrived today. If they had had the time, they would have arranged a house and had her live there for a few weeks. But unfortunately the time had been changed to meet for two weeks earlier than they thought.
And so, here she was, stepping off of the train with a forced expression of ease. She could tell the majority of people around her were Germans. Or, at least, they were supporters of the Reich – whether they wanted to be or not. To be stepping off a train that was stopping in Berlin, the heart of Nazi Germany, would be suicide waiting to happen. As she scanned the platform, there was a Nazi soldier standing at every possible post and she realized that she was doing something a sane person would never dream of.
The walk was short and thankfully she wasn't asked any questions. She attributed it to her blonde hair and violet-blue eyes. Waiting in front of the ticket station, she licked her lips, wondering when her throat felt so dry. Taking a few deep breaths, she felt her muscles tense as a car far too nice to belong to a civilian slowly pulled up beside her. The window was rolled down and she stepped forward apprehensively, carting her luggage with her.
"Giselle Hans?" A gruff looking soldier barked out from the seat closest to her, eying her suspiciously. She nodded, already pulling out her ID papers and holding them out to the man. He blinked before taking them, his expression never changing. Even if she was a woman, it didn't change the fact that she could be a potential enemy. As he read them over, she tried not to fidget. But Ivan had promised her that the German officials had already checked her through and through – as much as they humanly could find out about her, they did. She wouldn't be standing here, waiting to be taken for an interview if they hadn't. It was all just for show.
Handing the papers back to her, he gestured with a curt nod that she should get in the back. Stepping aside as he opened his door, she said a quiet thank you as he took her bags and threw them in the back. As quickly as she could, she got in the back, folding her hands in her lap with a small sigh of relief.
Soon enough, they were driving, slowly making their way through the streets of Berlin as night began to fall upon the city. She chanced a look out the window, feeling her stomach fill with nerves at the sights that greeted her. Everywhere she looked, the red and white flag stared back at her. It was as if the harsh hues of the Nazi symbol knew she was an imposter and was silently screaming for one of the hundred soldiers to notice and eliminate her immediately.
But so far, the two soldiers in the front of the car had not said a word to her. She assumed they had been instructed not to speak to her for some absurd reason. Of course, she didn't mind. As she settled back in the comfortable seat, she closed her eyes and tried to calm her mind. She could tell this car ride was going to be very long...