The loud, violent clatter of ladle and pan woke Elise and the rest of the prisoners. "Up! Up you filthy vermin!" the female warden barked in harsh guttural German. The girl at Elise's side was still snoring softly, shifting and mumbling in her sleep until Elise gave her a light knee in the back.
"Get up, Veronika. Now!" She hissed, "Quick! Before she comes!" Veronika woke up, not at Elise's persistence, but at the not so distant gunshot. The smirking guard at the door spat on the bleeding corpse of some poor Jewish woman,
"Look vermin." She addressed the whole barracks, pointing to the corpse with the Yellow star "That's what happens to Jewish filth like you." They scurried out of the barracks as fast as their malnourished legs would carry them, Elise and Veronika would have done the same, had that horrible guard not beat them back with that club she carried around with her, "You two, here now." She said, looking between Elise and the pink star on her chest, "You two have been selected for a special task, that's why you've kept your hair." Veronika suddenly grabbed for her blonde locks, suddenly feeling self-conscious and more glad than ever of said blonde locks as she looked around at the shaven heads of women and children alike. Elise looked about the place, the disgusting muddy ground, the shoddy barracks, and those horrid uniforms they wore, I'm like to die here, she thought sullenly, but a hard slap across the face from the guard snapped her out of her grim dwellings. "Look at me when I'm talking to you, you filthy little dyke." As insulting as that word was to her, Elise fought off the urge to smirk, it was such a peculiar notion, that word should shame her, it should make her feel bad about herself…but every time someone called her a that word, or anything of the sort, she smirked…because for some reason, she was not ashamed of it because it was who she was, it didn't hurt as much as it did before. The guard called over someone…a male, "Are these the ones?" she asked,
"They're to be placed in the service of the Commandant and his family, yes." He said, and led them away.
"But mum it's so unfair." Bruno sulked as he stabbed at his food with a fork, "Gretel gets the bigger room and the better view." A ghost of a smirk threatened to appear on Gretel's lips when her brother sulked about it again.
"You lost the race. It's not my fault you're slow." She laughed and dodged a piece of croissant that Bruno had hurled at her.
"Children enough please, I'll have no squabbling, especially at the table." Gretel, hearing the tone in her mother's voice knew that that was the time to leave it.
"You should listen to your mother." Gretel heard her father say, who was seated at the head of the table, "She's right about most things, you know." He got up and Kissed Elsa, "I have some business to attend to." He said with a smile, and left.
"May I be excused too, mother?" Said Gretel eagerly, "Although breakfast was delicious, I think I've had my fill."
"Go on then, darling. And stay out of trouble!" She said as Gretel skipped out of the kitchen.
Gretel didn't at all like the feel of this new house. It felt as cold and hard as its exterior. She wandered into the spacious hall and lightly ran her fingers along the banister. The sooner the war is won and we leave this horrible place, the better. She thought bitterly. From the corner of her eye, she saw a shadowy figure, maybe two, coming from one of the dining rooms, the two girls she spotted were cleaning the cutlery, they wore striped clothing….the work camp. She realised as the knot started to tie in her stomach. She recognised what the yellow star meant, the blonde girl was a Jew….but the brunette haired girl with her hair in plaits…wore another colour that overlapped the Star of Jude…..
"You, leave us." Elise and Veronika looked up, not sure which of them she was referring to, but when her glare fell on Veronika, they soon found out. Elise was left alone with the girl, "Who are you?" For a moment Elise could not find her words, she wanted to tear the world apart searching for that trademark charm of hers that her father said she had in spades…the charm that seemed to have vanished the moment she laid eyes on this girl.
"My name is Elise." It felt like Elise needed to curtsy or something, this house seemed fit to bear a Lord….or a Commandant….
"I'm Gretel." The beautiful girl said, but looked like she wanted to say more, "Why do you wear a pink star?" Normally Elise was not so shy about saying she was a homosexual, but saying it to Gretel seemed daunting for a reason she could not explain.
She never broke eye contact with Gretel, "Because I'm a homosexual." She said, in a timid manner which contradicted her charming personality.
She saw Gretel's eyes bulge for a split second, before she composed herself enough to ask "You…you like women?" She asked and Elise nodded, "Your-your one of those girls?" Gretel asked again, like she was double checking that she heard right, and Elise nodded again, "Well…I…I have to go." But Gretel stopped and turned back to her, "It was nice to meet you. Elise."
"And you, Gretel." Elise said with a thumping heart.