February 28, 1933
Panicked at the sound of someone about to enter, the two males looked at each other. Odds are, it was the guards, and they would not take too kindly to two stowaways in the baggage cart. Even still, the two of them were cornered. They were on the last cart of the train, and they still needed to rendezvous with Stiles and Lydia at the next stop in Hamburg. "What do we do?" Liam asked worriedly.
Theo knew there was no right answer, as any option they chose would be based on impulse and limited information. However, Theo figured one thing trumped everything else, survival. Rushing to the window as the intruder unlatched the door, Theo noticed that the train was going over a river, and the bridge that they were traveling on wasn't too high. "Get your luggage and put our important papers inside," Theo ordered. Luckily, in their spare time earlier, the two of them had sorted through the man bags in the baggage cart and had found their own bags.
Liam obeyed while Theo ran to the large sliding door of the baggage cart. This door was securely locked during the journey, but it was made to be easily opened in order to help the loading and unloading of luggage during the stops. Theo just needed to find the lever or the latch that would open it. Creek. Theo could see the door shift, and right at the same time, the intruder also made it in through the main door, and it was clear now that they were guards. Mustering up all of the strength that he had, Theo pushed open the giant sliding door on the side of the cart. Liam rushed over with their luggage. In one hand, Theo held his bag, and in the other, he held Liam's hand, who was holding his own luggage. Without so much of a warning, Theo jumped out the side of the cart, pulling Liam and their bags with him, all the while the guard was shouting for them to stop.
The fall made his stomach churn, and the harsh feeling of hitting the water almost made him vomit, but as he submerged into the water, Theo almost felt like he was in another world. With his eyes closed, the world was silent other than the almost comforting hum of the residual sounds of their splashing into the water. In this state, he slipped away, into what felt like a dream. At a lake he'd never been too before, with a girl he'd never seen, but also felt all too familiar with, she assured him they'd be ok as long as they were together, before the two of them jumped into the lake, being submerged into the water.
He snapped back into reality when he felt the hand he was holding pull him towards the surface of the water. In an instant he remembered that he was not playing in a lake with this strangely familiar friend, but he was in a river, on the run, with the all too familiar Liam. Bursting through the surface of the water, Theo gasped for breathe, seeing Liam, whose hand he was still holding, right next to him. "You weren't coming up, you made me nervous," Liam said, still breathless.
Theo nodded as he tried to tread water while still holding onto his luggage. "Can you swim? All we need to do is make to the shore." Liam nodded and the two men swam to the edge of the river.
As they sat lazily in their suite, Lydia looked out the window at the scenery as the train sped along. "Look at this view. The river is so beautiful. I am a bit sad to leave."
"Like a pretty mask, the landscape perfectly hides the sinister things going on in this country," Stiles replied nonchalantly as he wrote in his notepads.
Lydia fell back into her seat with her arms crossed, "How poetic of you, but as pessimistic as ever." But she knew that he was right. Much like the hatred and bigotry in their homeland of the United States, Lydia could see the flames of hatred being fanned even further by this Adolf Hitler. She liked to think, although admittedly too optimistically, that the United States was at least moving in the right direction, but Germany most certainly was moving backwards, or perhaps even worse than anything the world has seen thus far.
"Listen, I admit this country is fascinating, but I am just glad I got you out before anything could happen to us. Its not safe here, and I needed to get you out," He responded in the same nonchalant tone, not even looking up from his notepad.
Lydia looked over at him, surprised at his words. He said nothing about saving the potential Prince, or even himself and Liam. Stiles only seemed concerned with her. Their relationship was strange, they both knew it, Liam knew it, anyone with eyes could see it. They'd worked together for years. They spent endless nights together, and knew each other better than anyone else. Lydia was even invited to Stiles's family's home for holidays, but the two had never so much as kissed or said 'I love you,' even platonically. As true as their feelings were, they both knew it would never work, so trying would only ruin the good thing they already had going. But they both knew, or atleast she knew, that they loved each other, in some way.
They sat in silence for a while, before they heard heavy footsteps rushing back and forth. Lydia began to feel uneasy about their friends in the back of the train. "I think I am going to go check on them,' She said standing up, and putting on her jacket.
"No way, if you get caught you'll be in a load of trouble," Stiles objected standing up as well, "I will go instead."
"Don't take this the wrong way, but you don't really project innocence. I'll go, and I will just play dumb if I get caught. Works every time," She responded before sliding open the door to their suite and making her way to the back of the cart. Something clearly was going, and she just prayed it did not involve Liam or Theo. As she approached the back of the train, she could tell the guard presence was increasing, which made her more anxious. Guards were posted in front of the door to the luggage cart and stopped her. "Um, I was just hoping to look in my bag for an extra coat."
"Sorry ma'am, but the baggage cart is off limits. Please return to your suite," She nodded obediently, but then caught a glimpse from the window and noticed the large door in the baggage cart was open, revealing outside. As she turned to make her way back to Stiles, she smiled a bit, knowing that Liam and Theo had escaped.
After reaching the shore Theo and Liam found a road, and began to walk along it. They were able to hitchhike for a while, hoping to reach Hamburg to meet Stiles and Lydia at the train station as planned, but their progress was slow, as most people weren't going in the right direction for long. "We need a better plan," Theo grumbled as their most recent benefactor drove off, leaving them to walk once again." By the time we reach Hamburg, all travel outside of Germany will be stopped. We need consistent transportation."
"Maybe once we reach a big enough town there will be a bus station of sorts," Liam suggested as they trudged along, but he knew Theo was right. They were in real danger of not getting out of the country. Thats when he saw the sign announcing that they were entering the city of Blankenburg. "We might be in luck. I might have a plan." He confessed as he picked up his pace.
"And what plan is that?" Theo asked, walking faster now to keep with the now excited Liam.
"I have relatives who live in this town. I am sure they could help us!" Liam said happily as they made their way into the town.
It was a relatively small mountain town, but it was bustling with activity. People were shopping, and kids were often playing in the streets. It was the sort of town that had the best qualities of a small town and the best qualities of a bigger town. With the mountainous landscape surrounding the buildings, Theo could not help but to appreciate its beauty. At the center of it all was the castle. It was not as impressive as some castles were, but the Blankenburg castle sat high up above the city, providing the illusion of immensity, like a piece of the forgotten old order still looming over this small town. Theo had to admit, he liked it here. "Have you been here before?" Theo asked Liam, knowing that Liam was not German.
"No," Liam replied as he kept navigating his way through the crowds and the city streets.
"So do you know where you're going?" Theo continued, growing concerned that this could take longer than he thought.
"Yes," Liam replied simply.
On the train, Lydia quickly came back into their suite. "So we have a small problem, but I do think they're ok," Lydia told Stiles after closing the door behind her. "So, I think they got caught and jumped off of the train."
"What?!" Stiles exclaimed as he shot up from his seat.
"The guards are swarming around the baggage cart, and I caught sight of the door being open in the baggage cart. I think they probably were caught but managed to escape," Lydia knew this was not ideal, but at least they were ok, and not captured by the Nazis.
"We are going to be in hamburg in a couple of hours," Stiles replied, worried about what to do, "If they are on foot it could take them days, assuming they are even going the right way! Those two idiots are probably going the wrong way!"
"Stiles, it will be ok. Right now, all we know is that they are alive, which is the best we could have hoped for. When we get to Hamburg, we will check into a hotel and hopefully they'll come find us. They know where we'll be," Lydia instructed in her calm yet warm tone. This did little to ease Stiles's worry, but it did calm him down, because, after all, what else were they to do?
Theo followed Liam, not understanding what was going on, but he did not have any other option. Liam seemed confident, so that was enough for Theo. They eventually reached the gates leading into the castle's estate. Theo was almost in disbelief, but perhaps Liam's relatives worked in the castle. He knew Liam's family life was interesting, and they had connections, perhaps this was it. "Wait here," Liam told Theo, before he walked up to the guard at the gate.
The discussion took a few moments, with Liam showing the guards his passport, and the guard sending someone inside, probably to verify that Liam did know someone in the castle. After a few minutes, the gates opened, and a woman, probably a maid, stepped outside. "Please follow me inside." Liam waved for Theo to come on, and so he did. The gardens and courtyard of the estate was simple, yet elegant, much like the rest of the town.
As they made their way inside of the castle, Theo was entranced by the old world feel to it. Truly a building lost in time. The maid began to explain some of the history behind the castle, no doubt something she recited for most new visitors to keep from an awkward silence while they made their way to wherever they were going. Apparently the castle was built in the 1100s, and was looted and attacked many times. Much of the old structure was destroyed in a fire in the 1500s and was rebuilt before being passed over to the Duke of Brunswick. After that, aside from some modernizing renovations from time to time, the excitement surrounding the castle died down and it fell from relevance. After the German monarchy collapsed it was acquired by the current owners.
Theo was not really interested in all of the history stuff, but Liam clearly was. It made Theo laugh a bit to himself to see how interested Liam was in all of it, and how he would ask questions or even add relevant information that he knew. It almost made Theo forget about their situation. They stopped in front of an ornate door, and the maid smiled, 'Let me know if you need anything, but for the time being, she is waiting for you in here."
They walked into the room, which was an ornately decorated sitting room. Sitting by the window was a woman, probably early forties, maybe late thirties. With her, was another young woman, around 16, and a boy around 10 years old. Theo assumed these children to be the woman's kids, as they looked very similar. Upon seeing the two men enter, they all rose to their feet and rushed over, "Liam!" The woman said. Theo could see her more clearly now. She was beautiful, with dirty blonde hair, and an ornate dress. "Its so good to see you! Unfortunately, Auggie isn't here. Although, I suspect you would find him much changed since the last time you saw him. You are both so grown up, and things here are changing." There was a sadness in her when she said that. One that Theo couldn't place, but he knew it was there.
"Oh I was hoping to see him, it has been so long!" Liam replied, clearly a little upset not to be able to see this 'Auggie' person. "But it is good to see you too, and you as well," He gestured to the kids with a smile. "This is my friend Theo. Theo, this is my cousin, Victoria Louise, and two of her children, Frederica and Oscar."
"Oh please, everyone in the family calls me Sissy, so you should too," Victoria Louise replied before looking at Theo, "Any friend of Liam's is family to us. Although, I must say, I was surprised to hear that you were here. I figured you would be in England or in Italy, especially with everything happening here. Also, let me offer you my condolences, in person, on the loss of your mother."
Liam nodded and smiled a bit, "Thank you, it means a lot. And actually, we are trying to leave for Denmark. We were... uh, denied passage on a train to Hamburg, where we are meeting a few friends. We need to meet them there so we can take a boat to Copenhagen. We were hoping you could be of some help."
Sissy nodded and waved her hand to offer them a place to sit. Theo and Liam took their seats before Sissy responded, "I have heard members of the family were congregating in Denmark, though, if you ask me, America is the safest place for people like us. I will see what I can do for you, but a word of advice. I suggest keeping your thoughts to yourself," She said softly, her tone much darker and more serious than before, "Especially around my husband. He is supportive of the Nazi party. If he asks, you are just going to Hamburg. You are not trying to leave."
Theo was trying to take all of it in. What did she mean with the phrase 'people like us'? He was also shocked to hear that Liam would have Nazi sympathizing relatives, though it should not have shocked him greatly. Theo had witnessed his own neighbors, some of whom were friends, join the Nazi party and support the very policies that were endangering his life and the life of his Jewish mother. "He is?" Liam asked in shock.
She nodded sadly, "A lot of them in Germany are. Its the closest thing they have to the way things used to be, and Hitler is often kind to them. In fact, that is where Auggie is. He joined the SS." The SS was a militant group of Nazis, serving as a not-so-secret police, often terrorizing anyone who opposed them. "He believed it was his way to move up through the party. I fear George will be right behind him. You know how little brothers can be. They want to be just like their elders."
Theo could tell that Liam was saddened to know that his own family members were supporting the very evil they were running from. He closed his eyes and shook his head, trying to get back to their mission. "I pray your family comes to their senses," Liam assured her, "But is there any way you can help us? We must get going as fast as possible."
She sighed and nodded, accepting his words. But then she shook her head, "Sadly no. My husband is head of the house. I must speak with him about it, but I think I can convince him to lend you an automobile, or arrange for someone to take you, but he will not be back until dinner. By then it would be too dark for you two to drive. I suggest you stay here. I will arrange rooms for you." It was not ideal for them to spend the night here, so far away from Hamburg, but it was their only option.
They were showed to their rooms, and finally alone, Theo went to Liam's room. He had hundreds of questions, but he knew they would all be too personal. So he started with something simple. "Who is Auggie?"
Liam laid back on the lavish bed and sighed, "His full name is Ernest Augustus, and he's Sissy's son. We are separated only a few months in age, so we were close as kids. We'd be like best friends when we see each other, and we would often write to one another." Sitting up, he looked at Theo, "But that is gone now. He chose evil, so he is no longer my family."
Theo nodded, before sitting down across from Liam in a chair. "I understand. I watched the kids I used to play with on the streets grow up and start chanting for my parents' destruction." What the Nazis were doing was awful, but it would be foolish to think that these ideas of racism and anti-semitism did not exist before the Nazis. "When she said 'people like us' what did she mean?"
"It is probably best if you do not know. You'll think even less of them than you do now, and perhaps me too," Liam said softly, "I am already related to multiple Nazis, I don't want to make it worse."
"I would never think less of you for someone else's actions," Theo promised.