Chapter 5 - reclaim what is ours (part 2)


Friedrich and Louisa made a plan and decided they would go to Liesl first to ask if she had seen the pictures and other belongings in their father's study. They walked to her bedroom and knocked twice. "Liesl? Friedrich and Louisa here. Father is gone, he is in town. We were wondering if…" Friedrich started. "If you saw the pictures and the other items in father's study." Louisa said impatiently.

Friedrich shot an annoyed look at Louisa, for interrupting him. "Yes, if he didn't transfer them to a different place, they should be in his study. But why are you asking? You're not going to sneak around in father's study, trying to get the stuff back, are you?" Louisa and Friedrich looked at each other with a guilty smile.

"Yes we are, but don't worry Liesl. I'm going in and Friedrich is on guard. So we will be fine." Louisa said reassuringly.

"I know that I'm not able to stop you, so all I can do is offer you some advice. Please, if you move anything, be sure to put it back in the right place. Father has a bit of a photographic memory, so please be mindful. But perhaps the most important thing, you can not take everything, because he will notice faster that someone sneaked around. And I promise you, he won't be very happy about that." Liesl said.

"Yes, I know. We'll be fine." Louisa said. "Good luck, make sure no one sees you." Liesl said.


Friedrich and Louisa walked to Louisa's room, and worked the plan out. They made sure that they knew what they had to do, in case something went wrong. After they went through everything, their mission started.

Louisa walked to her father's study and peeked through the keyhole, to make sure there wasn't anybody in there. Slowly she opened the door and closed it behind her. She walked over to the desk, with a cardboard box on it and carefully selected a few items.

Her hands weren't big enough to hold everything, so she held her skirt up and laid the items in it. After she made sure she had left everything (except the items she took) in the place where she had found it, she went back to her bedroom with Friedrich.


"We did it!" she said excitedly. "I know! Let's tell Liesl, I'm sure she would be very relieved". The two of them went back to Liesl's door, and told her the good news. "Well done! Please make sure to hide the contraband well. Not by stashing it underneath your pillow of course. Don't forget he was in the navy, he knows where to look." she said warningly.

"Yes we know. Louisa has a few good spots, underneath loose planks." Friedrich said. Friedrich and Louisa went to their rooms, and started stashing the contraband.


They didn't notice their father had already come home, until he called all of his children downstairs. "Line up please". Friedrich glanced at Louisa. They all formed a line. Louisa had carried Gretl downstairs, while Friedrich had carried Marta.

"I have come to the discovery that a couple of items are missing from my study. Could it be that one of you perhaps, might have ended up in my study, and accidentally took or borrowed a few things?" he asked while pacing around.

"No sir. I kept an eye on everyone, and I'm certain no one has entered your study, sir." Friedrich said. "Very well then. The missing items must have vanished then." he said while folding his hands together. "You may get ready for dinner".

All of them left, and got ready. "I'm pretty sure he knows it was one of us." Friedrich said to Louisa. "No really? You think so?" she said sarcastically. "At Least he won't be able to prove it was one of us, since I'm a pro at hiding things." she said proudly.


Sadly for Liesl, she did not get dinner. Her father was not in a pleasant mood, after he had found out someone had been in his study. Louisa had forgotten to close the door properly, since she had her hands full. When he came back and noticed the door was slightly ajar, he checked the cardboard box, only to find out a couple of items were missing.