TRIGGER WARNING!
Description of blood, wounds and misery
Winter and Spring 1943
Everyone knows that wars are anything but nice. Especially when there was a war that terrified the whole world. Wars are horrifying! They are the worst!
Mary Poppins traveled across the country, helped families in need and it seemed like she was always taken to the most dangerous towns and villages.
Every time she was with a family for a while, something happened… something bad. There was everything; from lootings to attacks.
She didn't told Bert or Elizabeth about it. She just didn't want them to worry about her. No, that was the last thing she wanted!
Mary Poppins remembered one morning walking through the shattered city - she wanted to go to a mailbox. With her bag in one hand, an envelope in the other, and deep worry lines on her forehead, she looked around. It was quiet. Too quiet.
A few hundred meters away she saw a group of women and two teenage boys carrying away debris. 'They will probably be drafted soon' the nanny thought at the sight.
The two boys were about fourteen or fifteen years old and Mary cursed herself for her thoughts!
She felt sorry for the group. All of these people, like so many others, have probably not only lost all their belongings but also their home. And who knows: maybe they've lost one of their loved ones too.
Mary took a few more steps to reach her destination: the mailbox protruded from the ruins like an iceberg in the ocean.
With one last look at the addressee, she tossed the envelope into the slot before walking towards the small group.
Only a few weeks later came the next shock and attack, one that was even worse than the previous one.
Mary Poppins was one of those who could still save herself. For many others, any help came too late.
What shocked her the most was the sight of a young mother lying between the ruins with her baby in her arms - dead. Her eyes were empty, her mouth was slightly open and her body was rigid.
She hated the sight! She hated this terrible war more than anything!
The misery continued hundreds of kilometers away.
Bert was at the front with his division, fighting. Nobody wanted it; neither he nor any of his other comrades. And he was sure that the soldiers on the opposing side felt the same way. Who wanted a war?
As a sergeant he also had a certain responsibility towards 'his boys' and he developed into a real confidante for many soldiers; no matter how long they have known each other.
Often he would still sit down with the usual men and they would talk until the night fell in. They talked about the war, the fighting, the fallen men, their loved ones at home and so on. At first Bert thought it would be like the first war he had experienced. At that time he had only made acquaintances and he thought that was normal.
In the meantime, however, this had changed. Johnny and Peter had been his protégés first, and in some ways also students. Today these men were two of Bert's closest friends.
On a cold evening in early February, the three men sat together and talked, as they often did. But despite the fact that they had a quiet day, Johnny was somehow depressed.
Peter and Bert had asked him what was wrong and if he anted to talk, but he declined and said nothing.
A few cigarettes later and not quite so sober, he told them that it was his wife's birthday that day and how much he missed her.
But like so many, she lost her life in this wretched war.
Bert thought about that often and his thoughts always urged him in three directions.
Either he thought about what it would be like if he didn't survive the war. How would Mary handle it? Would it break her? Would she find another man and start a family with him after the war?
How would Lizzy handle it? Would she be strong and take care of Mary? Would she fall into a hole? Unfortunately he couldn't really assess his foster child and that worried him a lot.
He tried to suppress the thought, but unfortunately it wasn't so absurd that he wouldn't survive this war. With a lot of luck he had already survived one almost unharmed. There is a high probability that he would not be so lucky again. In his dreams he often heard a clock ticking, which was becoming more and more present.
But he thought not only about his death, but also about Mary's.
He had had these thoughts over 25 years ago and was certain that he would not survive her death. Either he would be so shocked that he became careless and would lose his life on the battlefield or he would run onto it voluntary.
In the meantime, however, this had changed. It would still break him, but at least he had another person waiting for him: Lizzy. For her, he would try to be strong.
But... what if Elizabeth didn't survive the war? That would torture both Mary and Bert. It would be worse for him than it was for Mary - he was sure of that.
Unfortunately, Bert had to admit that he suspected that it would most likely hit Liz. Mary would always try to be in safe areas, and Bert was armed and briefed on strategy.
Lizzy, on the other hand, was alone, in dangerous areas, and unarmed. She had her magic, but that would never do anything against an army!
That evening he took a particularly long look at the photo he had of Mary and Liz. He didn't want to forget their faces and decided that he would ask the next soldier with a camera if he could take a picture of him so he can send this photo to his loved ones.
While Mary Poppins and Bert were mostly mentally wounded, Elizabeth was bandaging a grazing shot on her lower leg. It was bleeding and she was sure that it would be infected by the next day.
She was about to take care of a wounded man when a shot was fired from the opposing side - but it missed her.
She helped the wounded man up and tried to pull him out of the line of fire, but the second bullet brushed her just above the ankle. However, that was nothing compared to the battlefield in which she was at the moment: all around her lay the lifeless bodies of the fallen soldiers. The blood soaked the floor and she slipped on the reddish mud.
She was sick of this war! The part of her book with the lines had grown enormously and with each line it became colder. It was only a matter of time before she got so cold and stopped caring. Elizabeth only wanted one thing: she wanted to go home.
She wanted to go to London. She wanted to go to the small apartment. She wanted to be with her family.
Mary and Bert were the reason why she still felt like a human rather than a medicine machine. These two made sure that Elizabeth still had hope and something to fight for.
In addition to her foster parents, she also often thought of Peter, Hans and Martha. She and Peter still wrote regularly, and he was mentioned in Bert's letters from time to time.
Mary always gave her information about the Banks about how little Martha was doing. She seemed to like the country side very much and by now she could speak English relatively well.
But she knew nothing about Hans. At first they wrote each other regularly, but since the beginning of the year it had become quiet. She was very worried that something had happened to him. How should she explain this to Martha? The little girl had already lost her parents, so her brother shouldn't be added.
However Elizabeth was glad that there was someone who was always tried to distract her and who was trying to make her think differently: Basil.
She almost had to hand him over to work as a draft horse. Elizabeth didn't understand the logic behind it, after all he was always with her before that and he never had to work. She tried to argue, but all she heard was that the war was taking its toll on everyone.
Fortunately, Michael Banks heard the conversation and was able to negotiate a compromise: Basil could stay with Elizabeth, but only if he was used to transport the injured and medical supplies.
So did the stallion and the first injured man he had to transport was a young soldier who had been bullet in the stomach. This young soldier was also the first corpse Basil had to transport - and the young man wasn't to be the last.
On the day that Liz was shot, the two had to drag several injured people and countless corpses from the battlefield.
One night when it was clear and no a single cloud was covering the starry sky Mary, Bert and Elizabeth all looked towards the full moon and hoped that this misery would soon find it's end.
Long time no see!
Sorry for my inactivity but… yeah… I'm not gonna lie: I'm stressed.
And I wasn't in the mood to write Never Alone.
But here's big THANKS to The-Eyes-Of-Love-Mary-Poppins (tumblr) for the motivation :D
I know this chapter is just another transition chapter but trust me: This will change very soon and then there's a new story line ;D
As always I would be really happy to read your reviews :)
Stay healthy! :)