A warmth spread throughout your body as you reached out toward the group. The numbing feeling of the crisp rain dissolved away from the emerging comfort. Even if you were going into the fight knowing you would most likely die, it felt better to die by your friends than watch them suffer from the sidelines; however, your body froze in motion. You looked down to realize the sudden warmth was coming from a muscular arm wrapped around your waist. You looked behind you to see flakes of golden hair pulling you back.

"I'm sorry but ve can't save zhem," Ludwig said solemnly. He spoke to you softly but made sure to articulate every syllable. His golden hair was soaked as it laid over his face. You couldn't tell if his face was filled with mud, rain, or tear stains. His eyebrows were pinched upward and his seashore eyes only displayed grief.

You didn't say anything back. You stood there frozen in the tarnished grassy field. The land echoed the thoughts of your sorrow and grief as the tears rained down your face. You couldn't take it anymore. You couldn't hold in the tears anymore so you allowed to spill with the rain.

Ludwig was right. You couldn't go back. That's not what Elena nor anyone else on your team would want. They cared for you just as much as your cared for them, so in times like these, they would want you to live. They would want you to survive, to run through the field into the forest where you'd be safe. The grief overwhelmed you, suffocating you into the ground while Ludwig held onto you.

He knelt down next to you still holding you with one of his arms. You continued to sob into his jacket letting your tears muzzle your desperate cries. The drops mixed with the mud and rain making it sting to your face. You sat there crying for a few seconds before turning around to take one final look at your group.

They all held their ground in the deep mud as they looked up to the Russian tanks and soldiers. Even though they were all terrified, they stood their ground knowing escape was not an option. You could barely make out Elena standing on the edge of the group. She stood up tall and stiff as if she alone could intimidate the entire Russian fleet. You took in one last look of your friend as the gunshots rang in your ears.

The sounds of cannon fire and shots pierced your frozen ears. You reached out to Ludwig and buried your head in his chest. You couldn't take the sound. You hoped the comfort of someone else could drown out the sounds, but you couldn't escape the awful noise.

Ludwig froze at first unsure of what to do, but he eventually relaxed into the embrace and moved in closer. He wrapped his arms around your back as you clenched onto his black tank top. Your anguish and pain was muffled by Ludwig's chest and you rested your head into him. He looked down noticing you were still crying. Ludwig reached out to rub your head in a comforting motion. You both sat there in embrace for several minutes, allowing the torment to wash into the beaten field.

When your tears finally stopped falling and your vocal chords gave out from screaming, you moved away from Ludwig. As you both stood up not saying a word, you held onto his hand. He held onto your hand too, not letting you go. You kept your vision on the horizon not allowing yourself to turn around for any reason. You both stayed silent, holding hand and hand as you made your way to the westward forest.

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The rain had finally led up by the time you and Ludwig reunited with Gilbert. Ludwig and you didn't say a word to each other when you made your way to Gilbert, so he was the first to break the awkward silence.

"I-I'm sorry ," Gilbert said as the usual fire in his eyes fizzled away. "I wish I could help you but not even zhe awesome Prussia can perform that kind of miracle..." He looked at Ludwig who already had a map out to search for the quickest way to his base. Ludwig looked up for brief second to give Gilbert a 'tell it to her not me look'.

"Thank you Gilbert, it means a lot," you responded to Gilbert. He gave you one of his infamous smirks and followed Ludwig into the brush.

For most of the trip through the dense forest not one of you spoke. You were all muddy, cold, and wet, but above all exhausted. It reminded you of a time when Elena and you would lay under a massive oak tree after a long day of meetings and training. You and her would often fall asleep under the tree and sleep till dusk. She would always tell you how it was her secret base when she was younger. It was simply a small field in the middle of Italy that had a single tree, but you could always tell it was an important place to Elena. While the clouds rolled across the blue sky, Elena and you would eat watermelon popsicles and listen to (favorite genre of music). Even though you had only known Elena for a few years, she was like a sister to you. She always put herself first, even if it ended up hurting her.

About a year ago, she'd saved you from a falling tree branch. The oak tree Elena and you sat under was dying so it often broke easily under high velocity winds. One day a massive storm appeared out of nowhere while Elena and you walked to the tree. You both immediately bolted under the tree to cover yourselves from the rain.

Both of you stood under the tree huddled together to hide from the sheering rain. The thunderstorm was raging on with a few flashes of lightning appearing the sky. While Elena and you laughed about how wet you both were, a loud noise came from the top of the tree. At first you just thought it was thunder, but Elena immediately pushed you out of the way. You hit the ground fast unable to see or hear what was happening. The sound was a tree branch that snapped from the top of the tree. It landed on the muddied ground with a thud, as mud splashed up on you.

You looked over to where Elena was standing but saw her huddled over her knees, gripping onto her ankle.

"Hey are you ok?" You asked Elena as you rushed over to her. She was in a lot of pain as she rocked back and forth holding her ankle. After she didn't respond you called an ambulance so she could be sent to the hospital.

You sat in the back of the ambulance looking at Elena with guilt. She got herself hurt to save you. It was your fault she was hurt. You looked down at your feet wishing it was you who was injured instead of Elena.

"You would have done the same for me," Elena told you as she squeezed your hand. Her voice was gentle but she held your hand to reassure you.

Elena could always tell when you were upset about something. Even though she was hurt, she still found a way to make you feel better. You looked up and grinned at Elena. She was going to be fine. You stayed with her for the rest of the hospital trip. Luckily it didn't take her long to be released after the doctors gave her proper medical care.

Elena is a good friend. You thought to yourself.

She was a great friend.