When Landa returned from his travels nearly five days later, he always had a surprise waiting for Francesca. Since they had married he had showered her with thousands of little expensive dazzling gifts that he had collected, carefully choosing for her. One special evening, he returned exhausted and more than a little home sick to find his darling wife curled up in bed asleep. Taking his coat off and carefully folding it over a chair, he sat down on the edge of the king sized bed they shared and reached over gently shaking her awake.
Her eyelids fluttered, showing those cloudy eyes that he had fallen deeply in love with. Whenever he stared at his wife's haunting hazy eyes, he felt two very opposite emotions. One was love, so overwhelming and powerful it seemed dangerous. Every time he stared into them he remembered exactly why he had fallen in love with her, and how ever since he saw her he counted himself one of the luckiest men around. Instead of long boring days filled with his military duties, he now felt he had other purposes. He had something to look forward to at the end of the day, and he had found a partner and lifelong companion. He knew that some of the others around him were talking behind his back. Most of which remarking about the age difference and the fact she had been a dancer in a night club. She wasn't a woman of wealth or noble upbringing, she was simply a lounge dancer he had fallen madly in love with.
The second emotion was anger. Not towards her but of this horrible disease that was slowly but surely stealing his love's eyesight with each passing month. He had been insisting ever since they married that she go see some specialist he had heard of. He told her that he would spend all the money in the world in order to restore her sight. Yet, for the moment she had stayed stubborn on the subject. She said her sight wasn't that bad at the moment and she didn't want to bother with it until it became a real problem. He tried to get her to even attempt to try out eye glasses but she claimed they made her too dizzy. So at the moment he was left to respect her wishes, yet feel terrible whenever she got one of her awful headaches and had to go lay down.
A slow fear had been rising and he knew that in no time he would force the issue in making her see a doctor.
That night when he stared at her eyes and saw her pale drawn complexion, he knew she had retired to bed early because of her headaches. Frowning, he gently brushed back some of her fallen hair from her smooth face and smiled.
He surprised her with a gorgeous sparking diamond and ruby necklace. One he had picked up shortly before returning home.
Opening the velvet box, he smiled showing the sparking necklace that shimmered against the dim light from the nightstand. Her eyes widening she sat up, the sheet falling down against her bosom. Gasping she sat up straighter and gently touched it with her slender fingertips, acting as though if she touched the necklace it might bite.
"Oh Hans..."
Smiling at her reaction, he slowly unhooked it from it's box before slowly lifting it over her head and clasping it around her. As the gems laid against the skin, she stared down and stared at it speechless. Pleased, Hans laughed.
"Do you like it my darling?"
Lifting her eyes, Francesca smiled in complete awe.
"Oh Hans...it's gorgeous."
Placing his hand over hers, he smiled and leaned in closer, whispering in her ear.
"Nothing but the best for my love..."
Kissing her neck gently, he held onto her feeling he had truly come home.
1943
Hans was off duty for the rest of the holiday. After a very long dinner party with most of the members of the third reich. It had been held in the city and for most of the night Landa led Francesca around. Many commented on what a handsome couple they made. Landa dressed in his best dress uniform, Francesca in a sparking golden and black evening gown. The entire night Landa held onto her arm, leading her around. They made their rounds and finally when he noticed that she seemed to be getting another headache, they flagged their driver and returned home.
A few hours later both were stripped and sharing their large foot claw bathtub together, sitting on opposite ends. The water had been steaming when they carefully slipped and eased themselves in. Now that it had cooled off some, they drank wine and used the slat wooden plank that laid across the center of the tub to rest their glasses on and play another rousing game of dice.
Their record player softly had a record going in the background and candles were lit all around. Both had been enjoying their evening, commenting on the party and who had brought who.
Sipping her wine, Francesca sat up and shook the two wooden dice in her hands, spilling them down she counted before Landa laughed and scooped them up.
Landa had been very determined to have a child with Francesca for nearly a year and a half now. Both had been trying desperately and so far nothing had happened. Landa feared that they might end up having to go to a doctor. He had all ready begun to worry about his wife's sight and health, and the headaches seemed to be coming more and more often.
Still, he just couldn't understand why he couldn't make himself a father.
It was an unspoken thing between the two of them, but they both very much knew that there was a heavy emptiness around them.
Shaking the dice, he chuckled when one of them rolled off the slate and onto her side of the tub making a tiny plop noise in the water. Both laughed as he reached over, feeling his wife's thigh underneath the cloudy luke warm water and slowly tickled his fingers up between them. Closing her eyes in pleasure, she laid back and smiled at him.
That evening after making love, the two laid in each others arms. Landa was worried, he had to go away again and wasn't exactly happy about leaving Francesca alone. He knew she had started getting nose bleeds the other week. He found one of her lace handkerchiefs stained and thrown out.
He hoped he could talk her into finally seeing a doctor and being able to figure out what exactly was wrong. Laying with her, he slowly drifted off to sleep, comforted by his wife's light breathing.
Two weeks later
Landa was gone.
India was sixty or so miles outside of the city in a small village. She had traveled traveled there alone carefully as always. She met up with the other agent quickly. As always India brought a change of simple old worn clothes. She would tie her hair up and wear it underneath an old dusty hat, blending in with all the others.
She reported the latest, along with a quick map she had drawn up.
She then heard a rumor...that there was a new group leading this way. It consisted of Jewish American men.
They were called The Bastards.
She was offered to aid them.
Listening carefully India agreed and listened to her instructions before leaving. Making her journey back another horrible nose bleed began to trickle down her face. Wiping it away, a horrible dread began to build deep down inside of her.
She knew the truth...she was dying.