So there's going to be a few more chapters until our two main character's finally meet! This story is definitely more of a slow burn, since I want to really stress back both Lucy and Bucky's back story. BUT I promise they will eventually meet soon! A couple big thanks to all those who favourited and followed this story, as well as the Guests who reviewed, as well as darkwolf76, who has been a wonderful reader and friend since my last story I published on this site. Sorry about the crappy editing job in this one, I was feeling a little lazy today so I jut put it into grammarly after only doing a brief check.

Disclaimer: I own none of the Marvel storylines/characters.

Trigger Warning: Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts


Chapter VII

University of Chicago, 1941.

After both Captain Woodward and Lieutenant Beaty left her office, Lucy collapsed in sobs.

She had fallen to the floor, climbed in a ball as she wailed in agony from the news. Tears filled her eyes to the point where she couldn't see properly and her head pounded from all her crying.

Her chest physically ached, and she could hardly breathe from the sobs that ran through her entire being. She had never felt a pain quite like this. Nothing would ever hurt so much ever again as this would, and Lucy knew at that moment that she would never recover.

It seemed like years until she could finally pick herself up off the ground. She sat up finally, knowing her eye makeup was streaming down her face and her lipstick was no longer there. Lucy wiped her eyes with her shaky hands and then reached into her desk drawer and produced a large bottle of vodka that one of her students had given her as a joke; saying she would need it after reading their paper. She didn't even bother with a glass, and instead unscrewed the cap and took a large swig.

Grimacing as it went down; Lucy put her hand or her mouth and groaned after she swallowed, feeling physically in pain after she choked on the harsh liquid.

She took another swig for good measure and then stopped. She couldn't stay there, she knew that. She couldn't stay in Chicago; she had to go. Especially since she had now rashly agreed to join the army. Putting the bottle back where it belonged, she grabbed her bag and her keys and stood up to leave.

Not even locking her office door, she marched down the halls of the university feeling as though she were a ghost. She felt like a stranger in her body as if she didn't belong. Others stared at her as she hastily walked down the large passageway with her bloodshot eyes and her black, makeup stained, face. She didn't care though, she just had to leave.

Lucy didn't even know where she had to go, but she knew wherever it was it wasn't in Chicago. She needed to go home, she realized. Back to New York to be with her sisters.

Lucy matched to the Dean's office of the university and barged in without even knocking. He was in the middle of a meeting with three other men, and they looked up in shock at the woman who stood in their doorway looking like she had been through hell.

"Dr. Heinrich, are you alright?" Dean Hutchins asked her, concern in his voice.

"I quit," She told him, her vision going blurry again from her tears.

"Oh, Doctor surely there is something we can do to convic—,"

Lucy only shook her head quickly and held up her hands and just said over and over "I quit," Murmuring it madly as she walked out. The Dean ran after her, yelling that there were forms she needed to fill out if she ceased her employment. Lucy kept walking though, the words he was saying not registering in her mind.

He didn't come after her and she thanked God for that. She knew that this would reflect badly on her eventually, and she knew she had put women a step back. She knew they would speak of how emotional she was, and that they knew better than to hire another female professor (after all, they already had four...) but Lucy didn't care at that moment. She didn't care about anything at all. And as she waited at the street to cross, she realized she really didn't care about even life itself. She wouldn't even care if the truck that was approaching on the street went up on the sidewalk and stuck her.

For a dark moment, Lucy wondered what would happen if she stepped out in front of it. As it approached, she stayed atomic and still, in some trace where it felt all the weight of everything collapsing on her. She didn't know how this happened. One moment she was sitting in her office, waiting for a student to come by and Daniel was alive and well. The next, two men came in and told her otherwise and her entire world came crashing down. At that moment, she understood how her father had felt. She understood his drinking and the way he had been able to pull that trigger after sticking the pistol in his mouth. She had always wondered what had happened to bring him to that state of mind, but at that moment she understood. All it took was one event happening, one tragedy, to change someone's life.

Wanting to step out, Lucy wanted to force herself to do it but her heels stayed firmly planted on the cement. The truck wisped past her, and Lucy snapped out of whatever state she had been in. Blinking a few times, she looked twice before crossing the road and walked as quickly as she could to her car. The thought of ending it all had vanished as quickly as it appeared as her sister's faces and the Lee's popped in her head. Although, the idea still lingered in the back of her mind, and she knew she was nowhere near to being finished with the dark thoughts that had begun to consume her whole.

Lucy didn't know where exactly she was going, but she knew she needed very few things. She would go home first though, not for any material items in specific because she wouldn't need them where she was going, but for one thing and one thing only. She was going back for Daniel's letter.


Close to 14 hours later, Lucy had arrived in New York. She headed to Queens, where she knew her sister Beatrix lived.

Before she left Chicago Lucy had gone to the closest enlistment placement, where she was registered and given her first physical inspections. It was odd for a woman to be there, and besides a few nurses, she knew she was the only one who would be present. But after presenting the Captain and Lieutenant's letter, she was hurried through the process. She was even given a uniform to wear, which she changed into in one of the bathrooms and threw her dress and shoes into the trash.

For the next 12 hours, she drove to New York after she had prepared to get away from Chicago as quickly as possible. She hasn't even called Beatrix and Adeline to know that she was coming. She didn't even think about it, she just got in her car and immediately drove off.

It was almost two o'clock in the morning when she pulled up to her sister's apartment in Queens. All three sisters had lived very different lives after they had left the Lee's. Lucy, being the first, went to school at Columbia and then moved off to Paris for her Masters. She then became a seasoned archaeologist and professor, traveling for a few summers to different sites with a Daniel, who had also become a professor in art history.

Beatrix ended up going to NYU but dropped out after she fell in love and got married to an engineer named Jonathan. She eventually went back to become a teacher. She had two children, a girl named Anne, and a boy named Robert.

Adeline was the only one who kept the Lee's upper-class lifestyle. She lived in the Upper East Side in an apartment backing on Central Park, similar to the one they had lived in during their later childhood after their parents died.

She had a life of luxury, where she attended balls and galas and met famous movie stars and musicians. She was catered to perfectly and dated some of the most handsome bachelors in all of New York. She never understood why Lucy especially wanted to leave their cushy lifestyle to go dig things up in the sand in some far away country.

They had all starkly different lifestyles, but each one suited them. And despite the differences, the three of them had remained close over the years.

At 2 am, Lucy knocked on Beatrix's apartment door. She stood there in the dark, her eyes still bloodshot.

No one came to the door at first, and Lucy had to knock again. She saw a light come on in the house, and the door unlocked and her heart pounded in her chest.

The door opened and Jonathan stood there in his pajamas and with sleepy eyes. He seemed surprised to see her "Lucy what are you—Oh." His eyes widened at her uniform. "Oh, dear."

"Hi," Lucy said shakily, "I'm sorry, I know it's late but I didn't know where else to go."

He held the door opened for her and said "Come in! Of course, you can come in!" He had never seen his wife's sister so emotional before. "Please, come inside." Was all he could say, completely frazzled by the emotional woman in his doorstep.

"Thank you," She said in a small voice as she stepped in their small entrance way as he closed the door behind them. Beatrix and Jonathan both had very successful jobs, and they had an extremely nice apartment and a nice car, given to them by the Lee's. Even after the girl's had moved out, their adopted parents were constantly sending them money and writing to them. Mr. Lee had even walked Beatrix down the aisle and had tears in his eyes the entire time. Lucy had also asked him to give her away at her and Daniel's wedding, but clearly, that would no longer happen.

"Jonathan?" A small, tired, voice emerged from the house and a sleepy looking Beatrix appeared. She had her hair in rollers and was in a nightdress and slippers, rubbing her eyes. "Is everything alright?" She asked and then stopped in her tracks as she saw Lucy.

Her mouth fell open upon seeing her. She suddenly appeared more awake than she had the moments before and she gasped at the sight of her sister in uniform. Tears welled in her eyes and she asked in a shocked tone, "What have you done?" Tears filled her eyes and she covered her mouth with her hand. She had hoped she would never see any of her family members donning a brown uniform like that, ready to go to war. Jonathan stood there awkwardly, watching the two sisters interact and he suddenly felt as if he were intruding.

Lucy had a single tear fall before looking down and shakily exhaling, "Daniel's dead, Bea."

Her face fell more, "What?" She gasped.

"Oh my God," Was all Jonathan could say, and he placed a gentle hand on Lucy's shoulder sympathetically. They had both loved Daniel also. In 1938, the two of them and their small children had flown to Paris to spend two weeks with Lucy and Daniel. As he had done with Lucy, he had simply enchanted them, and they were more than happy to welcome him into their family.

"H-how do you know?" Beatrix's voice faltered and tears also began to flow from her eyes, "Luce, I am so, so sorry." She almost flew down the stairs and engulfed her sister in a hug. Lucy almost felt her knees collapse as her sister held her tightly. Lucy let out a broken sob as she felt her sister gently caress her back, and she could hear her sniffle as well as she tried to be strong.

Johnathan, although a kind man, was not overly emotional. Regardless, he joined in the hug, gently wrapping his arms around the two girls as they all held each other.

As thankful as Lucy was for support, she suddenly felt as though she couldn't breathe. Breaking away and trying to laugh, she asked, "Do you have anything half decent to drink around here?"

Beatrix touched her face gently, trying to wipe away the tears. She and Adeline had always been lucky enough to get their father's blue eyes while Lucy inherited her mother's hazel ones. At that moment, they were glossy and red, and Beatrix was trying to hold back tears for Lucy's sake. Lucy knew that no one in Beatrix's household drank due to their father, but Lucy had never been able to form good habits like that. She has begun drinking as early as 13 with her father after he had forced her to sit and drink with him, and often she and Daniel fought about how often she would drink. One or two glasses of wine at dinner would turn to four or five, but she had managed to cut back significantly over the last two years.

Johnathan only answered, heading past them "We have some wine from that dinner party we hosted a little while back and some gin."

Lucy nodded, "I'll take it all."

Beatrix only looked at her and shook her head, again wondering if she had heard Lucy correctly when she came in. "How?" She asked in wonder, wondering how she knew Daniel had passed.

"Get me that drink and I'll tell you."

Beatrix held Lucy's arms as they walked up the stairs, making sure she didn't fall down. Jonathan already had a light on in the kitchen and he fished out the bottle of gin they had hidden in their pantry for when they had guests over. He grabbed the bottle of cabernet they also had stored away somewhere. Getting a low ball glass, he poured the gin in it as Lucy sat at the kitchen table across from her sister. She looked as if she had been through hell and back in the last 12 hours. She stared blankly at nothing, her eyes lifeless and missing the sparkle it usually had.

Although Jonathan had given her a more than generous pour, it wasn't enough for her and she reached for the bottle and added more to her glass. Beatrix gave Jonathan a look and he went to a kitchen drawer and produced a pack of cigarettes, which he also placed on the table in front of Lucy.

Lucy didn't reach for it. Instead, she took a sip of her drink, tasting the pine and other sharp flavors as it burned down her throat. Beatrix reached for the pack of smokes, and lit one up in her mouth, knowing she would need one for the stressful night. Jonathan also grabbed one, and they stood around waiting for Lucy to speak.

"I told him," She shook her head as she stared blankly at her glass, watching as she swirled the clear liquor around at the bottom of it. Her eyes filled with more tears which threatened to spill over, "I told him we should go." Her voice hitched at the end of her sentence, and she shut her eyes tightly, causing tears to spill down her cheeks.

Jonathan stayed pressed against the counter, looking at tired eyes at the scene happening in his kitchen. Beatrix tapped the end of her cigarette and ashed it into a bowl. Neither of them said anything; they just let Lucy speak.

"I told him we should go and he didn't listen," Lucy said as she bit her lip to keep from breaking down and crying even more. She took a large swig of her drink, downing it in a few gulps. She poured herself another, "Now he's dead…"

"Lucy, what happened?" Beatrix urged, needing to know as well. "Start at the beginning."

"What beginning? The beginning of today? Or in 1938 before I left?"

"Try today."

Lucy took a deep breath and then exhaled before rubbing her eyes and taking another swig. "I was holding office hours earlier, and I was expecting a student to come by to… It doesn't matter. But, two men showed up in uniform instead. They asked if they could speak to me, and-and they told me that they needed my help trying to save and record art and sites and other things. And they told me how there are Germans who are trying to use artifacts to harness their power or something?"

"Wait, what?" Jonathan asked, confused. "So they asked you to join the army to do archaeology?"

"I don't know. They laid it all out for me and it all made sense at the time but now it's such a blur. It made sense, but I didn't know why they needed me, especially since America isn't even involved in the war yet. I said no at first and then they tried to convince me and showed me these awful pictures… I said no again, and they kept pressing. I didn't want to join the war. I mean, I'm not brave. I don't even know the first thing about what to do or what I need to excavate or if there are excavations at all!" She swallowed more of her drink, cringing as it went down. "An-and I'm definitely not equipped to be doing all they ask of me, like stopping the special divisions from gaining certain artifacts. I don't know the first thing about locating them, let alone extracting them! So, I told them no." Lucy explained and got choked up again, "And then they said I was an asset for a number of reasons. That I had the most 'cause' to do it, and I was suited for it because I knew German and French."

Beatrix frowned, "Cause? What do they mean by cause?"

Lucy wiped her nose with her sleeve. She then took another large sip of her drink, feeling its effects begin to kick in. She wanted nothing more than to forget the events of that morning and wipe it clean from her memory. She wanted to go back to when she had no idea of what happened and was able to live her life and pretend nothing was right. Oh, how she longed for ignorance.

"Because of Daniel," She choked on her words. Saying his name was like a shot to the heart, and she felt her breath hitch as she thought about him. Raising her cup to her lips, Lucy noticed the small stone on her ringer, glistening in the dim light of the kitchen. She remembered when Daniel had asked her to marry him, and how she was the happiest she had ever been.

They had already been dating for a few years when he finally popped the question. He had at last finished his schooling, he was a full-fledged professor and she had only a year and a half until she completed her own Ph.D. They were happy, not quite living together yet, since she had wanted to wait until they were married or at least engaged to avoid a scandal. The last thing Lucy wanted to be known for was harlot, even though Daniel had been the only man she had ever been with on an intimate basis.

For months he had been teasing the possibility for marriage. Every now and then he would say things like 'when we get married,' or 'our children,' and 'after we get married'. It had begun to get quite vexing for Lucy, and each time he would do some grand romantic gesture she would think that it was finally the time he would ask. But it never came, and she began to get very frustrated with him.

There was one moment where he even took her on a bike ride and bought her fresh flowers to place in her the front basket of her bike as they cruised down the side of the Canal St. Martin that she was sure he would ask. It never came though. One other time, he took her for a midnight walk where they had stopped to gaze at the Eiffel Tower, he whispered sweet words in her ear as he kissed her head as they stood there arm in arm.

That time he had dropped down to his knee, and Lucy gasped, only to roll her eyes when he began tying his shoelace. He had laughed and teased her, asking 'Did you really think I would propose? I hardly like you enough to do that!' He then pulled her in for a kiss and then promised her that it would happen soon.

Another time in the summer, they had spent the day in her favourite area of the Montmartre in Northern Paris where some of her favourite artists had loved to paint. They found the cafe in which Vincent Van Gogh had based The Night Cafe on. They had sat and drunk wine, and he stared at her as she spoke of her passions for modern artists of the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist periods such as Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, and Édouard Manet. She spoke of Marcel Jonco's Mask and Otto Dix's controversy after displaying the Great War in such a true and dark way, unlike previous artists who romanticized war. Lucy spoke with passion as she sat in a lavender coloured summer dress, sipping her chardonnay. She went on and on about Fauvism and the newly popularized Surrealism, which was just coming onto the scene, and how she would like to see some pieces in an up and coming art show her friend's were putting on. They also discussed Degenerate art at length, and how in Germany they had begun holding exhibits displaying the grotesque and horrifying pieces that they deemed was against the state. Cubism and Dada were banned, as well as certain artists for promoting an anti-Aryan ideal. Lucy and Daniel had both known it would likely be their only shot to see many of the pieces in that exhibit, but as half Jewish, Daniel wouldn't have been able to attend. Though, he urged her to go, so she could see some of the masterpieces at least once before they were destroyed. Lucy refused and said she wouldn't even want to see them if he couldn't be there with her.

Lucy then changed the subject and continued on about Matisse and Picasso, and Daniel only listened. A small smile had been on his face as he took in every word as he rested his chin on his palm. Daniel hated modern art with a passion. After all, he was an art history professor who specialized in Greco-Roman art, but he particularly loved the Renaissance's revival of classical themes that they incorporated. The two never ever agreed on their taste of art, which would make furnishing their first apartment increasingly difficult. Where she was all spunk and fire, he was set on his ways of tradition and convention. The two were polar opposites, yet they made it work.

After they left and the sun had set they walked past a small cafe terrace, which he then pulled her in close and asked her if he thought Van Gogh based Cafe Terrace at Night off of it and she squinted for a moment, trying to picture it. She decided no, although it looked strikingly similar. He pulled her against an alley wall and kissed her to the point she forgot her name.

Even then, Daniel did not ask her to marry him. Lucy eventually began to get impatient, especially with the increasing number of weddings they attended that summer and how people kept asking when they would finally tie the knot.

It wasn't until the had done their weekly Friday picnic in the park following the end of his lectures that she finally asked him why he hadn't proposed. It was still summer, and the sun was beating down on her in her yellow dress. Every Friday they went to the same spot under one of their favorite trees and watched as people took boat rides down the canal. Daniel would always pack sandwiches and sometimes bread and cheese as they would lay on one of their blankets. Sometimes they would read their own books, or he would mark his student's papers. Other times, they would read to each other, the heat of the sun setting in their bones, a slight breeze keeping them cool. The smell of flowers was in the air, and she would eventually doze off as they laid on the blanket and he would rest his head of her stomach and her hands would play in his hair as he read to her softly.

But that day she had not been able to keep her mind calm. A question kept itching at her, and it would drive her mad if she kept it in any longer. Bubbling and building in her chest, she sat there as a cool breeze brushed against her body. She sat up, and Daniel continued reading as he was laying on his side, being propped up by his elbow. The Odyssey by Homer was in his hand, and his velvet voice continued on, not even noticing that she was frowning at him.

"What?" He finally asked her with a raised eyebrow, looking at her sour expression.

She huffed and brushed a piece of hair out of her face, "Are you ever going to ask me to marry you? Or do I have to get down on one knee and ask you myself?"

He looked shocked at the question and was taken aback by surprise, he looked down at the book and closed it gently before looking back at the water which had paddle boats glide across it. "Am I ever going to ask you to marry me?" He repeated the question. "I don't know. I hadn't thought about it much. I was kind of counting on being a bachelor my whole life, you see. There are just so many beautiful women out there, I don't think I should commit myself to only one. That would just be robbing the women of Paris of a fantastic lover!"

She huffed, annoyed and rolled her eyes before she hit his chest. "You're an ass!" He laughed as he was pushed over by her. "And you give yourself far, far too much credit! You're not that good of a lover."

His hand brushed the soft skin of her thigh as he chuckled, "Funny, you seemed to think differently last night…" He kissed outside of her knee, which she had tucked under her chin as she pouted. "And this morning," Daniel smirked as he sat up from where he was laying. He took off his glasses and folded them up and sighed. He was dressed in grey slacks and a white button down shirt that was rolled to his elbows. To her, he looked like a vision and she was positive he was the most beautiful man she had ever seen.

She only huffed as he sat beside her and brought her into his arms, he kissed her cheek, which she angrily brushed off with her hand and he snickered "Are you really that angry at me?" He asked as he wrapped his arms around her center.

"Yes!"She exclaimed, "I would have liked to think I would be married by the time I received my doctorate. Besides, Camille Laurent won't stop waving her stupid ring in my face every time I see her. I swear if she asks 'Oh, hasn't Daniel asked you yet?' I will lose my mind."

"Don't listen to a single word Camille says." He told her and brushed some of the hair in front of her face behind her ear. He stared at her features, completely immersed in them. He had thought she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, ever since she had walked into that first lecture they had shared together.

Lucy looked back at him, her eyes catching his. She had never had a man look at her the way he had before, and each time she found butterflies rising in her stomach. "You know you're the love of my life, right?" He asked her.

She nodded and then sighed, "I know but…" She looked down, defeated "I guess it's just discouraging to be waiting and waiting for something and not have it happen,"

"Something… As in a ring?" He asked her again.

"Yes, like a ring." She told him and Daniel only hummed in agreeance and nodded, understanding how she felt.

He then removed his arm that was wrapped around her waist, reached into his pocket, "You mean like this?"

Lucy all but dropped dead in that moment. Her mouth fell open as she stared at the small, gold ring with a modest diamond. Her heart pounded in her chest and Daniel spoke up again, "Lucy Brünhilde Heinrich, will you marry me?" He asked her.

With tears in her eyes, she turned to look at him and nodded, saying frantically "Yes. Yes! Yes!" She laughed before colliding her lips with his. They were locked in a passionate kiss and he pulled her into his lap, his hands running through her hair with still managing to hang onto the ring.

"Do you want to try it on?" He asked her with a large smile.

She only bit her lip and smiled just as large as he was. She put her left hand out so he could help her put it on and she squealed in happiness. Having it on her finger felt right, and they both smiled at each other once they established it was a perfect fit. Lucy looked up and chuckled, saying "You know my middle name isn't Brünhilde, right?"

"I had to improvise!" He laughed, "You won't tell me what it is so I am only left to assume it's something German and slightly embarrassing." Daniel pressed his forehead to hers affectionately, his hands still on her waist.

"German and embarrassing, yes! But not Brünhilde." She giggled. He ran his hands in her hair again and flipped them over so he was on top of her, settling between her legs. Usually, in any other scene, it would have been inappropriate to do such a thing in public, but they were young and in Paris. It was the city of love, and they never even received a second glance from the people walking by if they kissed while on a picnic.

He held himself above her his weight on his elbows as he hovered, "Will you tell me after I make you my wife?"

She ran a hand in his sandy brown hair. Their faces were centimeters from each other, and just before they kissed she smiled and whispered "No."

He couldn't help but chuckle as she pulled him onto her, kissing him so deeply and she wanted nothing more in that moment than to drown in him.


It had been such a sweet dream they were living in, Lucy realized. It had never been meant to be, even from the beginning. And now there she was, at her sister's dining room table, only left with the memory of him.

Lucy took a shaky breath and was drawn from her thoughts and back to reality. Beatrix and Jonathan still stared at her, waiting for her to explain. Lucy's thoughts were swimming from the alcohol, drifting back to that day which seemed like a hundred lifetimes ago. She drank more and wiped a tear from her eye again. "After I told them no, they said they had some information that may make me reconsider," She touched the necklace on her neck, Daniel's Star Of David which he gave her right before he left to New York. "That I had more of a reason to join that anyone else,"

Both Beatrix and Jonathan looked at each other. "And that reason was Daniel?" She asked her in a cautious tone.

Lucy drank more, now well past the point of intoxication. She didn't slur though, a skill she managed to perfect to prove to convince Daniel she was less drunk than she actually was. Lucy nodded and put her glass down. Tears streamed down her face as she cried silently, she rubbed her face with her hands, trying to regain some feeling in it after the numbness had settled in. "He had joined a French Partisan group," Lucy explained. "He all but told me in his letters before. He said that he had put himself in a dangerous situation with things getting worse. He sent me a letter to open in case he died. He never said he joined the Resistance though and I didn't believe them until they showed me pictures. They told me he saved lots of people and foiled a lot of the German's plans…"

"But?" Beatrix asked hesitantly, not even sure if she wanted to know.

"But," Lucy let out a shaky exhale and pressed the cold glass to her forehead, trying to ease her pounding headache from having cried so much. "They had a mission failure, and he and three others were captured."

"They know that for sure?" Jonathan asked, worry present in his eyes. He hadn't moved the entire time Lucy had been talking, standing again the kitchen counter with his arms over his chest and still in his pajamas.

"I'm sure." She looked at him and sniffled, "I saw pictures. They had them on their knees with their hands above their heads and guns pointed at them. The Captain that came said it was shocking they didn't shoot them immediately."

"So what did they do with them? How do you know he's dead?"

"I just know," Lucy choked out, a sob catching in her throat again. Talking about it almost made it worse, but if she didn't tell at least someone she would go insane. "They told me as much too. They said they have places for all the Jews and the political prisoners. Remember, from the papers? That radical journal issued something a few months back reporting on it and no one took it seriously. I thought it was just a labour camp, but apparently it's-it's worse." Lucy began to bawl, the tears racking through her entire body and making it hard for her to breathe.

Beatrix was up in a single moment, wrapped her arms around Lucy's shoulders as she shook. She only said comforting words to her and gently rubbed her back, much like how she used to watch Lucy do to Adeline years ago.

"I-I don't know what I'm supposed to do without him." Her voice cracked, and she couldn't believe she had to yet again say goodbye to someone who she loved. "I don't even know if I'll have a body to bury afterward. They told me of all the awful things that are happening there. Bea, thousands are getting killed every day. I don't think he'll last."

Beatrix couldn't even say anything back. She couldn't give her any false hope, and tell her she was sure he would survive. "He's strong, and he has you to get back to." Was all the comfort she could give her older sister. Lucy knew that she was only saying that.

She knew that Daniel coming back to her was impossible. She knew it was better to go on with her life, and she hoped that whatever the army brought her it would at least be enough to stay distracted from all the pain that was to come.


I promise the depressing themes of this story will eventually come to an end. Please just bear with me until then! Thank you again to all my lovely readers, and I hope to publish another chapter by next week.

ALSO, I would like to highlight that in the World Wars, the Allied and Axis Powers did actually hire archeologists and art historians to try to procure art/preserve sites like what they were doing with Lucy! :)) Lawrence of Arabia was a famous one who was also a spy in WWI, and the movie Monuments Men (Matt Damon, George Clooney, Cate Blanchett + others star in it) reveals some stories! It's a great film if anyone is at all interested, and there's also a documentary called Raiders of the Lost Art which also provides some details.

Please review, follow, and favourite. They definitely inspire me to update a little faster ;)

- Amelia