Hello Everyone.. Long time no write, huh? I have had the worst writer's block for this story... Ugh. I actually started this chapter at Christmastime. Is that sad? I meant for it to be updated so much sooner, but I never had time and energy! But finally, here it is.. Not as long as I'd hoped for, but it's okay..

WARNING: This chapter has Graphic Subject matter for language and just other things. Not sexual things, just graphic language and attitudes of characters..


Rachel wasn't sure what day it was when she woke up, but she knew it was cold and snowy. She knew it had been nearly a month since her mother was taken, and she knew it had been the worst month of her life.

Because she knew what had happened to her mother. There was no doubting it.

She figured it was some day in December, maybe even Christmas. The thought of that didn't make her any happier, though. It did not lift her spirit.

But Hanna seemed to like it. Upon hearing the news about what day it was, Hanna's face lit up. She stood cheerily through roll call, and as they stood in line for breakfast, Hanna bounced up and down. It was more energy in the five year old than Rachel had seen in months. "Hanna.." she asked as they trudged through the snowy path to the Kommandant's house, "What's got you all worked up this morning?""It's Christmas, Rachel! But guess what else..." She said, smiling up at Rachel with her pink nose and flushed cheeks.

"What is it?" Rachel asked, smiling back down at Hanna. Her good mood had, in turn, inadvertently put Rachel in a good mood as well.

"Well, Christmas is also my birthday. I'm six today." Hanna told her, clapping her hands together.

Rachel smiled widely, "Really? You're such a big girl, Hanna." Hanna nodded and stopped just inside the gate, her smile fading a bit. "But my mother is not here this year. She went into the woods and never came out. Why hasn't she come for me, Rachel? You told me she was in heave, but why? What happened?" she asked, a frown on her forehead.

Rachel had always dreaded the day that Hanna would ask this. "Hanna," she said quietly, kneeling down on her knee. "That day, when your mother was taken in to the woods...she was killed by the Nazis. They shot her. But you see, she wasn't in any pain when she died. And I know that she knew you'd be safe. She loved you very much." Hanna looked down to the ground, one tear falling from her eye. "I just want to go home, I don't like living here."

"I know you don't. We'll be out soon, alright? Let's just make your birthday happy, okay?" She said, smiling as she stood up. "Come on, we can't be late."

Inside, Rachel was grateful for the warmth. Her feet were frozen little blocks of ice, but they thawed gradually as she helped Hanna scrub the silver and crystal for the Kommandant's annual Christmas banquet. All of the SS Guards from the Camps were invited, and a select few of the prisoners would be chosen to staff the whole affair. Pouring wine, serving food, and what not. Rachel, Hanna, and a man called David. They, out of everyone in the camps, had been chosen to help with the dinner. Rachel suspected it was because of the fact that they helped tend to the house daily. David had replaced Josef as the groundskeeper after Josef had fallen ill and mysteriously disappeared.

This meant that the three of them had to help immensely before the banquet, polishing silver and crystal and cleaning every part of the house. It also meant that they had to look slightly more presentable, which meant showers and getting clean, after months of going without.

And as she stood around the counter, her fingers rubbed raw by the intensity of her scrubbing, she smiled at Hanna. "You know what this means, right?" Hanna shook her head slightly. "No, what?"

"We may get to eat whatever is leftover. You may have a birthday and a Christmas feast, yet, Hanna." Rachel told her, smiling. "And later tonight, I might, might, sing for you."

The little girl smiled wide and set a crystal goblet on the counter. "Oh would you!? Rachel, please sing for me later!"

"Maybe, if we get through this banquet tonight without a scratch. I'll sing for everyone later tonight." Rachel smiled down at Hanna.

They continued polishing and shining until all of the platters and crystal glasses were shining and their hands were red and raw. Hanna hummed a little while she worked on putting away the silver in the cabinet. Neither noticed when Anne slipped into the kitchen. "So tonight's the big Christmas banquet," piped Anne, leaning against the countertop, "You two are working, I suppose."

Hanna nodded and smiled at her. "Today is my birthday, Anne."

"Really now? How lucky you are to have a birthday on Christ's day." Anne told her, watching them as the girls scrubbed away at the finery. "What are you hoping to receive from Saint Nicholas tonight?"

The younger girl looked up at Anne and thought for a second. "I lost my special bear a while back...I hope for Saint Nicholas to give me a new bear."

Rachel grimly looked down as she cleaned, not having the heart at all to tell Hanna that Saint Nicholas would not be bringing her anything tonight. If anything, they'd get the scraps from tonight's banquet and that would be that.

Anne bit her lip gently and nodded, "Well, you shan't really expect anything, Hanna. I'm not sure Saint Nicholas visits children where you are...at."

Hanna's forehead instantly turned to a frown and she looked down, silently continuing her work. The small girl refused to allow any tears to escape her eyes, because she had become stronger in the camp. Her childhood and innocence was leaving her and she was becoming hardened, less vulnerable to the outside world.

"However, I do have something that might cheer you up." Anne said, scampering upstairs quickly. Rachel quickly hugged Hanna tightly and kissed her forehead, assuring her that Christmas would not be ruined for them.

Anne returned, holding something behind her back. With a wide grin on her face, the young girl pulled from behind her back a wonderful mink teddy bear the color of dark chocolate. "I've had this old thing for ages. I don't play with him much anymore."

Hanna's eyes widened as she looked upon the bear, taking in the full beauty of it. Her hand reached out as if instinctively to touch the soft fur, and when she did, a small smile graced her face.

"You can have him." Anne told her, thrusting the teddy to the young girl. "Although, I think it would be best if we kept him here for a while until I can devise a plan to tell my parents that I've lost the bear. He's still very precious to me, but I think you should have him."

"Oh, Anne.." Rachel murmured, setting a crystal goblet down on the counter to touch the bear as well, "It's so soft and beautiful. You are such a kind girl."

"I know." Anne said, grinning.

Just then, a heavy thud of boots on the wooden floor alerted the three girls that the Kommandant was inside. Rachel knew the sound of his feet on the floor because he was a rather heavyset man, and his walk was much louder and slower than the young guard who often waited outside.

"What is this? What are you doing?" He asked angrily, glaring at the three of them. "Annegret, get away from the pigs. Take your bear back upstairs and don't let them touch it ever again, do you understand? You must get ready for this evening now. Go on, upstairs." He said, shooing her along. He turned his heavy gaze to Rachel and glared down at her, his eyes cutting through her and burning holes into her skin. "And what do you think you are doing, talking to my daughter? You think you are worthy of that, you scum?"

Rachel simply shook her head, looking down. She couldn't meet his gaze. She would freeze, fall on the floor, die. "No..N-No sir."

"I have given you the best jobs in the entire camp, you two. Do you even know how much I do for you, you filthy pigs? You are not worthy of being in my house, and certainly not worthy of talking to my daughter and dirtying her! Now, I have warned you. If I ever catch you again, you can say goodbye to this job and your life. I shall see personally to it that you are hung in front of the whole camp. Both of you. Now, get your asses to the camp and clean your filth off before you infect my entire family with your germs."

Hanna and Rachel nodded in unison and set the silver and crystal back in the cabinets before walking off. Only, Rachel was stopped by the Kommandant's large hand gripping her dress from behind. "SS Officer Schmidt wants to speak with you. Go now, let the child walk back alone."

Rachel simply nodded, although she would rather die than let Hanna be in that camp alone again. The discoloration of her left eye was a constant and painful reminder of what had happened the last time she let her go alone.

Unfortunately, with the Kommandant of the camp watching, Rachel had to send Hanna on her own. Strictly, she told the young girl to stay in the barracks and not to leave for any reason at all. The girl nodded and solemnly walked back to the camp, kicking the dirt up with her shoes along the way.

Rachel stood in front of the blonde guard outside the house of the Kommandant and stared up at his cold eyes. "Yes?" She asked quietly, her hands clasped behind her back.

"I have been watching you every day since you got here. You and the girl are starving. I would like to strike a compromise."

Rachel frowned slightly, not quite understanding what an SS Officer might want from her. "Continue."

"You have something that I am in need of. A service that only a woman could offer a man. And you see, I am not married and we are not in a city with many women.."

"You are asking me to be your...whore? Your prostitute? I won't do it!" She told him, shaking her head vehemently, frowning deeply.

Officer Schmidt wasted no time in grabbing her arm tight enough to leave bruises, shaking her slightly. "You will do as I say. And if you want extra food rations, you will not complain. I expect you to be at Block Eight daily at nine pm. Tell no one where you are going of I shall have you executed. I will let the cook know to give you extra."

"For Hanna as well. Please, for Hanna also."

"Fine. She will die soon anyhow. Children in the camp never last. Not ever." He said, shaking his head. "I don't expect you to tell anyone of our compromise, and I will not expect us to talk in any other way. You are simply there for my use and my pleasure."

Rachel nodded, looking down. This was the moment she knew she'd reached her lowest. She'd give her body away for food to save them. Humiliation covered her face, but she would stay strong enough for Hanna. Hanna, with her dark brown hair and bright green eyes.

"Get back to camp. And be back here at the house at 5 sharp, no later or you'll be going without a meal tonight. You really have no idea how lucky you to pigs are, compared to what the rest of the camp has."

"Thank you Officer Schmidt, sir." She told him quietly before quickly hurrying down the path leading to the camp. The wind whipped her from behind, tearing through the thin dress she wore, chilling her to the bone. She'd lost a good amount of weight since she'd arrived nearly seven months ago.

Upon arrival in the barracks, Rachel was relieved to see Hanna resting peacefully on their bunk, huddled in a corner of the wooden slats, trying to escape the wind seeping through the cracks in the poorly built brick building.

And so they washed their faces with the nearly frozen water dripping from the spout outside the food block. Rachel gently wiped Hanna's face with a damp portion of the skirt of her dress, cleaning off months of grime and dirt. Hanna did the same for her, and they attempted to comb one another's hair. Finally, they deemed themselves worthy and decent looking enough to go back to the Kommandant's house.

They held hands as they walked along the snowy path, not even caring that their feet were frozen and their noses pink. The sky was dark and filled with stars of all kinds, allowing for the most magnificent of views.

Once inside the warmth of the house, Rachel and Hanna were put straight to work, bringing the food out to the nearly 12 guests. Hanna filled each adult goblet with a deep red wine, and served milk to Anne and her siblings. While they ate, Hanna and Rachel stood quietly in the kitchen, awaiting the task of serving the next course.

It seemed to take forever, she thought. Filling and refilling each glass. Hanna reached slowly for the empty glass of the blonde guard, Officer Schmidt, and accidentally knocked it over. The red wine seeped into the pure white tablecloth and dripped silently onto his pants. She'd never seen an angrier man in her life. He stood and shook her by her shoulders, causing her head to fling back and forth like a rag doll's would.

"You stupid Jew! Look what you've done now!" He yelled, slapping her hard across the face. Rachel was stunned, and nearly ran to stop him. She knew if she did, however, that there would be consequences for the both of them if she did. So she held all of her anger inside of her, only allowing a small tear to slide down her cheek. And the terrible thing was, no one stopped him. Not one person at that table of twelve. Anne simply looked down, and Rachel knew in her heart that she wished she could stop him as well.

After one more painful slap to the cheek, he let her go and stood up to let her clean the table and refill his glass. Hanna slowly retreated to the kitchen and hugged Rachel tightly around the waist. She could see a clearly defined handprint on Hanna's face, which infuriated her. "It's okay, Hanna. Just stay strong, my baby. We must carry on, okay?" Rachel told her, planting a tiny kiss on Hanna's forehead.

After a while, the children were sent to bed and all who remained were the adults, drinking their brandy and discussing affairs of the camp and the goings on in different places throughout Germany.

That's when they were allowed to eat whatever was leftover, she and Hanna and David, the groundskeeper.

Gratefully, they stuffed their bellies full of the Christmas meal, and Rachel realized it was the first time since early July that she'd been full.

They were sent on their way back to the camp and Rachel held Hanna's hand once again as they trudged through the snow. She wondered what Finn was doing on this Christmas night. Was he with his family? With his mother and father? Did he have siblings? She smiled at the thought of seeing him someday. Maybe she'd marry him, if she ever got out of the camp.

Hanna tugged at Rachel's dress when they lay on the wooden slats and straw that night, the barracks slowly getting quieter.

"You promised me you'd sing for me..For all of us." Hanna told her, sitting up a little.

"I suppose I did." She said, sighing. Rachel sat up in the bunk and cleared her throat.

Silent Night

English:

Silent night, holy night

All is calm all is bright

'Round yon virgin Mother and Child

Holy infant so tender and mild

Sleep in heavenly peace

Sleep in heavenly peace

Silent night, holy night,

Shepherds quake at the sight.

Glories stream from heaven afar,

Heav'nly hosts sing Alleluia;

Christ the Savior is born

Christ the Savior is born

Silent night, holy night,

Son of God, love's pure light.

Radiant beams from Thy holy face,

With the dawn of redeeming grace,

Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth

Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth

German:

Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht,

Alles schläft; einsam wacht

Nur das traute hochheilige Paar.

Holder Knabe im lockigen Haar,

Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh!

Schlaf in himmlischer Ruh!

Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht,

Hirten erst kundgemacht

Durch der Engel Halleluja,

Tönt es laut von fern und nah:

Christ, der Retter ist da!

Christ, der Retter ist da!

Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht,

Gottes Sohn, o wie lacht

Lieb' aus deinem göttlichen Mund

, Da uns schlägt die rettende Stund'.

Christ, in deiner Geburt!

Christ, in deiner Geburt!


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