Dip, swirl, rinse, repeat. Dip, swirl, rinse, repeat. Lili thought of nothing else as she labored in the darkness to develop the pictures she had taken in Berchtesgaden. It was a tedious task, but someone had to do it. Even if the article about the Beilschmidts would never be written, it would be a shame to let the undeveloped film go to waste. A small sigh escaped Lili's lips as she thought about the unfruitful trip. She hung up the last photo to dry and let her mind wander over the thing she had been avoiding for the last few days.

Ludwig.

There were a few pictures of the blonde man that Lili had taken when he wasn't looking. Her gaze found its way to the photos, and she was soon admiring them. This one captured his strong jaw and the way his lips allows themselves to curve up into the smallest of smiles when he thought he wasn't being watched. This one captured the perfect moment when both light and shadow danced on his strong, stubborn face in the evening gloom. This one captured the light dusting of pink that colored his cheeks as some thought Lili could never identify occupied his mind.

"These are quite good you know."

Lili let out a high squeak of surprise and whirled to face the intruder. Her eyes were met by Vash's green ones. He had a slight smirk on his face and had his arms crossed. It seemed to Lili that he always had his arms crossed if they weren't busy doing something else.

"B-brother! I-I wasn't expecting y-you!" she squeaked out.

"Yes, I'm sorry if I startled you." His words were directed toward her, but his gaze was focused very intently on the drying photographs. "These are excellent."

"Oh! T-thank you."

Vash continued without looking at his sister. "I was thinking that I would need someone to take pictures on my trip." He finally glanced her way. "Would you be interested in coming with me to Switzerland?"

Lili gasped. "Would I? I-I mean, I would! Yes! Very much so!"

"Perfect," Vash said with a smile. "You'll need to pack tonight. We're leaving in the morning." He placed a hand on her head before moving toward the door, then paused. "Don't forget to bring more film."

Lili nodded, and he stepped out of the small, dark room without another word. It was almost more than Lili could bear. She would be going to Switzerland to take pictures like a real photojournalist! It took her a moment to locate her chair and sit down. Her heart felt like it was about to burst from her chest. This was Lili's chance to make things right. Her trip to Berchtesgaden had been a disappointment, but maybe this one would be different. Maybe she would see something amazing happen.

It was all she could think about on the train ride the next morning. She had never been out of Germany before, and the thought of watching the making of history on top of traveling to a different country made Lili as restless as a small child. But because she was with Vash, she had to act ladylike, otherwise he might regret asking her to come along. The last think she wanted was her brother to think she couldn't behave herself.

To avoid looking as restless as she felt, Lili watched the world outside go rushing past her window. The scenery was quite similar to what she saw on her train ride to Berchtesgaden. Mountains in the distance with their snow covered peaks glimmered in the sun, and the lush pines next to the train tracks waved their heavy boughs in greeting as Lili sped past them. It was so peaceful that she wished she could get off the train and lay in the fragrant grass as butterflies kiss her face and the sun warms her skin. The image seemed so real that she thought she could feel something prodding her shoulder. Then the feeling intensified, and her eyes flew open in surprise.

"We've arrived in Kleine Scheidegg," Vash said softly.

"R-really?" Lili abruptly stood up. Her head spun, and she had to brace herself against her seat. "That didn't take very long."

"You slept for most of the ride," her brother replied with amusement in his voice.

"Oh, I'm sorry." She had been so excited that she hardly slept a wink the night before.

"It's nothing to apologize for, but we should hurry up and exit the train before we miss our stop."

The thing that surprised Lili the most about Kleine Scheidegg was how crowed it was. People milled about through every bit of available space, and the locals were using it to their advantage. It would have been impossible to count how many vendors were selling postcards picturing mountains and goats or shouting about fresh cheeses and meats. Most of the people there looked like tourists, but Lili noticed several men who stood out from the rest. They didn't speak, only watched, and they had eyes that were sharp like a hawk's. In a way, she was reminded of the look Vash always wore when searching for the golden story in a basket full of plain, uninteresting ones.

"There are other papers here," Vash murmured under his breath. "Be very careful, sister. Do not tell others why we are here. The last thing we need is a group of other journalists following our every move because they're not resourceful enough to find their own story."

He began walking without waiting for Lili to reply, and she followed as quickly as she could while toting her large suitcase. It may have seemed like a mistake to bring so much, but she regretted nothing. The temperature was much cooler than it was in Berlin, and she already wished for the woolen scarf and knit cap in her suitcase along with several other articles of warm clothing. It felt more like March or early April than July.

The two finally arrived at a large resort. They had to pass a team of three men being interviewed by several reporters. This caught Lili's attention, and she stopped to hear what was going on.

"So, what is it you three do here exactly?"

"We're part of the rescue team of course!" one of the men shouted. His bright blue eyes shined behind his glasses, and a curl of dirty blonde hair stood up out of the hat he had crammed on his head.

"What do you think are the chances of one of the teams making it to the top?"

"That's very hard to say," said another man, who seemed to be the very opposite of the first. He spoke softly, but his breath tickled a long curl of hair that hung over his face. "It would be exciting to see a group succeed, wouldn't it?"

"Is this what you would consider perfect climbing weather?"

"I wouldn't count on it to last," answered the third man with an almost bored sounding voice. His large eyebrows did not match the wild blonde hair the poked out from under his hat. "This weather is so bloody unpredictable that it might be raining one minute and sunny the next. You can't count on it to last for the time it'll take any one of those groups to get to the top and back."

"There you are." Vash appeared beside Lili with a scowl on his face. "Don't fall behind or you'll get lost."

"S-sorry." Lili cast one last glance at the men being interviewed before following Vash. It would be awful if they really had to rescue someone off the mountain.

She made sure to stay right behind her brother until they reached the front desk. The man checked his reservation book for their names, and then handed them two silver keys. Their rooms were upstairs, so Lili had to carry her suitcase up a flight of stairs and down the dimly lit hall to get to her room. Even though she had slept on the train, she was still tired enough that she wanted nothing more than to crawl into her bed and sleep some more.

"Dinner is being served in the dining room," Vash said just as she got her door open. "Take ten minutes to change. I'll meet you down there."

Lili didn't have the strength to protest. She nodded and watched as her brother entered his room. Darkness enveloped her as she stepped into her own. It took her a moment to find a lamp and turn it on. A soft yellow light illuminated the room, which was cozier than she had imagined it would be. She stepped toward the large glass doors that lead to the balcony and opened them. A cool mountain breeze floated into her room bringing with it the smell of rain and heather. Her mind drifted from one thought to another as she traced the outline of three distinct, distant peaks with her eyes. The Mönch, the Jungfrau, and the Eiger. If only the Beilschmidts had agreed to come. She thought they were the only other ones who would appreciate the grandeur before her.

On the grassy field below the resort, the two brothers sat hunched by a small campfire, completely unaware of the thoughts had on their behalf. Ludwig stirred something in a small tin pot as Gilbert watched impatiently. His stomach protested its emptiness loudly, and he acted as translator so that Ludwig would know exactly what was being said.

"I'm hungry! When can we eat?" the elder brother whined.

"Asking about it won't make it go faster."

"What's for dinner anyway?"

"Barley soup," Ludwig answered.

"Again? We had that yesterday!"

"And we'll probably have it tomorrow too."

"Bleh! Why don't you make something else for once?"

"Would you like to do the cooking?" Ludwig asked, his patience growing thinner and thinner. He filled a bowl for Gil and gave it to the obnoxious man.

"Nah, I'm good." Gilbert accepted a bowl of soup, which was more like a porridge, and began shoveling it into his mouth. "Ahhhh! Cwap, West! Dis ish hawt!"

"Serves you right."

"Hmph. It seems like everyone here has to scream like barbarians." A dark haired man with glasses stepped out of the shadows toward the light. There was a woman behind him with long, flowing hair that reached her waist and shined in the flickering firelight. The two sat down without an invitation.

"'Oo are 'oo?" Gilbert asked with his mouth still full.

"Name's Elizabeta Héderváry, and this is my partner, Roderich Edelstein," the woman answered.

Ludwig nodded. "I'm Ludwig Beilschmidt, and that's my brother Gilbert." Gil waved his spoon rather childishly.

"We're surprised to see you here. No one has said anything about the Nazis sending a team," Roderich said as he adjusted his glasses.

There was an awkward pause in the conversation "We're not the Party's dogs," Ludwig eventually replied.

"Well, you sure do eat like dogs. What is that? Baby mush?" Elizabeta laughed. Then she looked around before changing the subject. "To be honest, the four of us are the only ones who stand a chance of making it to the top of the North Face anyway."

"Really?" Ludwig watched the pair closely. Their accents suggested that they were Austrians, but the fact that they hadn't disclosed any information about themselves made him wary.

"What makes you two think you're so good?" Gilbert finally had an empty mouth and was also watching the two suspiciously. "Besides, you have a woman in your group. That automatically puts you at a disadvantage."

"What makes you think a woman can't climb?" Elizabeta questioned with narrowed eyes.

"Well, they're small and weak. And they talk too much. Not to mention they're complainers." The older brother lifted a finger for every point he made.

"Then it sounds like our teams are even since both have women in them." She smiled wickedly at the elder Beilschmidt, and Ludwig had to try very hard to hold back his laughter. Even the prissy looking Roderich smiled at Elizabeta's stinging words. "We should be on our way before you Germans try to annex our team," she said as she and her partner stood. "See you two from the top." The two disappeared back into the darkness.

Ludwig shook his head once he figured they were long gone. He still couldn't understand why the Nazi's wanted a country full of people like that. The fire crackled loudly, which pulled Ludwig out of his thoughts, and he cast a quick glance at his brother. Gilbert sat open mouthed with his eyes fixed in the darkness.

"You'll catch flies with your mouth like that, brother," Ludwig joked as he helped himself to some soup.

Gilbert silently closed his mouth, but didn't turn toward his younger brother. A half smirk slowly turned up one corner of his mouth. "I kinda like that girl."

His brother rolled his eyes. "Okay, just hurry up and eat. I want to go to sleep soon."

The white haired man did as he was told. Both ate without speaking, but their minds were too busy to realize how quiet it was. They finished their meal with two very different girls occupying their thoughts.