Coming to the station an hour early had probably not been the wisest thing to do. The minutes ticked by with excessive sluggishness, an interesting, yet aggravating contrast with Elisabeth's racing heartbeat. She was sitting on a bench on the windy platform, all straight back and rigid neck, her incessant glances towards the clock the only exterior sign of nervousness. Inside, however, her emotions were running wild. Watching the trains come and go in the foggy night, masses of people flowing in and out of the gigantic steel wagons in noisy hustle, was somehow soothing, and it served as a momentary distraction until she was overcome with a fresh wave of dread and doubt. The same thoughts came to plague her mind in continuous cycles and she was now back to the point where fleeing the station and forgetting all about this insane plan of hers seemed like a good idea. Her resolve was threatening to fall apart, and lulled by the scramble and clamour around her, Elisabeth willed herself to close her eyes, desperate to release some tension. The October air was crisp and biting at this hour of the evening, and she rubbed her hands together, suddenly frustrated that she had not taken her gloves with her. And gloves were far from the only thing she had left behind… The suitcase on her lap felt incongruously heavy although she had made sure to pack only the strictest minimum. Looking back, the easiness with which she had disposed of almost every aspect of her soon-to-be former life was almost horrifying. Just this morning, she had posted her resignation letter and went to work as usual, as if she would not be leaving the country forever on the very same evening. More than once during the day though, she had felt her throat constrict and her voice waver with emotion that she had valiantly tried to conceal. As the girls had left the classroom after the final lesson, it had taken all her willpower not to interrupt their quiet blabbering and say something, anything… She loved her students dearly and imagining their dismay upon realising she would never come back was incredibly painful. But Elisabeth was also too conscious of the already fragile nature of her escape plan and thus, instead of yielding to a spontaneous, albeit understandable burst of emotions, she had remained at her desk, only nodding briskly at the girls as they had walked past her. Just like any other day, she had kept telling herself. And then she would be gone. It was no longer a matter of whether or not she would leave, because she was leaving, no matter what. The only question was, would Manuela?

She had spent the whole day, the whole week conceiving all sorts of possibilities and imagining both the best and the worst in a terrible emotional uproar that had left her exhausted and confused beyond belief. When she had finally and reluctantly accepted her absolute lack of control over the outcome, she had decided to trust Manuela's love as well as her unparalleled wit and mischief. Surely, she would find a way to extract herself from her terrible predicament and they would be leaving together, tonight. And if she did not, well… Her inner conflict was soon interrupted by a very loud, and very nearby whistle. Her eyes shot open and she jumped on her feet instinctively. Her train was approaching the platform. And still, she noticed after sweeping the busy crowd with worried yes, no trace of a beautiful young lady running towards her with tousled hair, reddened cheeks and a tremulous smile illuminating her face. Elisabeth tried to reason herself, but she could feel the unmistakable weight of dread in the pit of her stomach and the sting of tears burning her eyes. Distraught, she rushed to a nearby railway man.

"Please, sir. I am expecting someone. We are supposed to take this train together but… it seems they have been delayed. Is there any way -"

He eyed her impassively, visibly unmoved by her predicament.

"We don't wait for passengers. Your friend will have to take the next train. Tomorrow," he drawled.

"Oh, but you don't understand…"

"That's right and I don't intend to. This train is not leaving a minute late. You're free stay here."

She watched with helpless consternation as he turned on his heels and walked away without further explanation. Around her, people were saying their goodbyes, some were loading heavy luggage inside and others were running to get in before the train left. It was time to leave and the worst was happening. Manuela was not here. Elisabeth felt her knees wobble and her mouth suddenly became very dry. She was going to be sick. Or faint. Or both.

"Lady!" the same authoritative voice from earlier shouted in her direction. "The train is about to leave. Are you getting in or not?"

It was over, she realised. She would never get to see Manuela again and any hope of a quiet, happy life together was now shattered beyond repair. With one last look around, she nodded mutely and stepped forward with slow, mechanical strides. Her head was buzzing as she stepped into the wagon and her eyes glossed over dozens of unfamiliar, hostile faces. She sat down numbly at her seat even as the whistle resounded from outside and the train started moving at an agonising pace. With one last, foolish surge of hope, Elisabeth pressed her forehead against the window in the hope she would see a longed-for figure run at full speed toward the departing convoy. She remained in this position for a while, long after the train had reached its full speed and was leaving the outskirts of town. Her mind was now completely blank and she looked at her pale, ghastly reflection with detachment. It was almost like staring at a total stranger and nothing seemed to be left of the nervous yet hopeful woman she was just this morning. Elisabeth felt crushed, utterly empty, and she looked like it, too. She did not acknowledge the young man taking the seat just next to hers, nor did she flinch when he kept his hat on without saluting her as he did so. Normally such cavalier attitude would have outraged her, but her mind was elsewhere. Things such as common courtesy no longer seemed to matter, not when life itself had suddenly lost all meaning. Was there even a point now that her reason to live had been so cruelly snatched away from her? The sobs overcoming her body seemed to take her by complete surprise and she modestly turned aside in an attempt to quiet her whimper. The next thing that surprised her was the hand that suddenly brushed her thigh and before she knew it, squeezed it with rather categorical determination. It instantly made her come back to her senses and she turned towards the culprit, outraged and with fire in her eyes.

"How dare y-" she started, but her retort almost instantly died in her throat when her gaze fell upon two bright, laughing blue eyes.

In front of her, most of her face hidden by a large man's hat, was Manuela. She did not realise she had started screaming until she felt a strong, but tender hand press against her mouth. Manuela shook her head, encouraging her to remain silent. Then, she leant forward and murmured in her ear, "Come with me," before taking her by the hand and dragging her along with her through the wagons. They stopped between two coaches and Manuela finally turned to her, taking off her hat quite demonstratively. Elisabeth, still aghast, only stood there with wide, disbelieving eyes. Manuela was wearing a man's suit and apart from her long hair now falling freely over her shoulders, she had to admit the outfit looked rather convincing. In spite of the roaring clatter of steel surrounding them, time seemed to have suddenly slowed down and they studied each other, silently, almost timidly for a long while. The younger woman finally took a tentative step forward, lifting her hand to touch Elisabeth's cheek, but she was outpaced when the woman suddenly threw her arms around her and crushed their lips together in a passionate kiss. Manuela kissed back with abandon and wound her arms around the trembling body against hers, lost in her infinite adoration for this woman. They kissed and kissed, until Elisabeth was crying in joy and Manuela was smiling in amazement against the warm, soft skin that was now undeniably hers, finally hers. After a while and with great care, she took Elisabeth's face in her hands and wiped the ghost of tears on her rosy cheeks as she lost herself into bottomless blue orbs.

"I cannot believe it…" Elisabeth finally admitted, pressing her forehead against Manuela's.

"Well, if I'm being completely honest, neither can I."

"I thought I would never see you again… I almost punched you in the face," she realised with sudden outrage.

"Now, that would have been funny," Manuela chuckled. "But I'm glad you didn't," she added before kissing her lips once again. Elisabeth reluctantly pulled away but she kept her arms tightly locked around Manuela's waist, now eyeing her with a mix of wonder and suspicion.

"But Manuela… how?"

Manuela gave her a crooked, quite mysterious smile and took a step back, quickly pulling her hair back up and hiding it once again under the hat.

"That, my love, is a story for later. For now, we should remain cautious until we reach the boat. You know, just in case they would be looking for two beautiful fugitives attempting to flee the country together," she said with a wink and Elisabeth huffed, although the smile on her face was blinding.

Manuela took her by the waist again and pressed their bodies close together.

"We should go back to our place, pretend we don't know each other. Although… I am not sure how I am supposed to stop kissing you when I just found you again," she murmured, her apparent confidence in total contradiction with the angry blush now spreading over her cheeks.

Elisabeth closed her eyes and sighed as Manuela started kissing her neck with soft, languid devotion.

"Manuela…"

With great difficulty, she pushed her newfound lover by the shoulders and took a step back. She probably looked quite flushed herself, and she looked away in embarrassment while attempting to fix her hair.

"We –hm, we should head back. You're right. Let's not raise suspicion until we are sure it is safe."

Manuela looked down and nodded in resignation, but not before stealing one last kiss.

"See you soon, darling."

"Very soon, indeed."