HI!

Finally an update! I know... don´t hate me :(

16 Février 1944

As much as she didn´t want to go, she was left with no choice. Reluctantly she left Jonathan alone, and it broke her heart to see he was doing the same as yesterday, but she knew the meds needed time to take effect. She had brushed her hair, something she hadn´t done in a long time. She didn´t particularly want to, but well… she couldn´t go there looking like a homeless person. She wasn´t homeless… yet.

She ever so slowly made her way through the mostly empty streets at this hour. Nobody wanted to face the cold. She only saw a few soldiers patrolling on her way. She had doubts if this had been a good idea.

What if he actually didn´t mean it and I come there uninvited?

She didn´t want to get on their bad side. Everybody feared them, and there was a reason why. They could easily make her life look more like hell than it already was. She stopped in front of the building. She could hear music coming out of the building as well as laughter. If you could see the city from above it would have been the only building lighting up. Nobody had enough money to afford candles and the electricity had been cut. The only building still powered by electricity was the hotel de ville.

She took hesitant steps towards the building. A guard gestured her to come as soon as he saw her. She froze before forcing herself to follow him. He pushed the large wooden door aside so she could enter and closed it right behind her. Her cheeks flushed at the sudden warmth in the building. She had to admit it felt good to feel such warmth again. She prayed for the summer to come again soon, if she could make until then…

She followed the guard, who was now marching up the stairs. They arrived in a familiar corridor and he ordered her to wait. Not needing to be told twice, she stopped in her tracks, while he disappeared behind a nearby door. Soon he came back out and left without looking at her. She shifted on her feet, clearly not knowing what was going to happen now. Suddenly she heard the same door open and Sebastian came out wearing his uniform. He smiled as she saw her.

"Guten Abend Clarissa. Ich bin froh zu sehen, dass sie gekommen sind!/ Good evening Clarissa. I´m happy to see you came." She simply nodded and greeted him.

Placing one hand on her back, an unpleasant shiver ran down her spine, they made their way to the ball room. A few soldiers were already in the room drinking a few bears. There were also a few women mostly sitting on the soldiers´ lap, giggling as they whispered something into their ears. Sebastian offered her a drink, which she accepted. She acted as if she took a sip, she didn't like the taste of alcohol at all.

After a few minutes, where Clary forced herself to relax as she listened to music, if she kept looking this tense if would probably don´t leave a good image of her and cause her problems in the near future. Suddenly Sebastian took her glass out of her hands, breaking her thoughts about willing herself to relax, and offered her a hand. She raised an eyebrow not knowing what he was exactly expecting from her. He let out a quiet chuckle.

"Wollen Sie nicht tanzen?/ Don´t you want to dance?" Clary let out a surprised sound, her lips parting slightly.

She took his hands and he led her to the middle of the room. They stood facing one another. He placed his hand on her waist and felt uncomfortable, but knew this was how people were dancing. Placing her hand on his shoulder, they started dancing across the room. She was looking everywhere but his face.

I wouldn´t even be able to look at his face. He´s too tall, it would only hurt my neck.

They kept waltzing around the ball room. Clary listened to the sound of laughter around of them and looked at the play of lights emitted from the three chimneys. She let the warmth of the room, warm her up, soaking deep into her flesh, which seemed to be frozen since the beginning of this harsh winter.

"Ich bin überrascht, sie tanzen wirklich sehr gut! / I´m surprised, you´re a great dancer!" Sebastian complimented her, after some time.

Of course she was. Her mother and father had been teaching her since she was five. She always loved it to dance with her father. It was a tradition that they would dance together at each event they attended. They would always dance at each one of her birthdays; her mother would always tell her that even when she was still a new-born and a baby that her father would waltz with her through the house and the garden. She only smiled at his compliment, not really knowing what much she could add. He smiled down at her as he saw her red cheeks.

After an hour, her feet started to hurt and without even informing him, she stopped. He gestured for her to follow him, even if she just wanted to do one thing: sit down. He didn´t seem to have that in mind, since they exited the room and made their way back to what probably was his office.

He opened the door with a key and let her enter first. The room must have been the same size of her apartment. She was still turning her back to him as she took in the old paintings in the wall. She stumbled as he gave her a light push towards the chaise. She quickly looked back at him and sat down as he nodded and asked if she wanted some champagne. She didn´t even had the time to refuse he was already handing her a filled flute. She tried to precious alcohol and was surprised to actually like it. He sat down next to her and asked how her brother was doing. She kindly thanked him again for his help.

He kept looking at her intently with a mysterious glint in her eyes she didn´t like. He smirked as he saw her confused expression. Taking her glass away, he put their glasses down on the nearest table. She still looked a bit confused and her eyes widened as he scooted closer to her. She visibly froze, even if the only thing she wanted to do was to widen the now non-existent space between them. He leaned forward slightly as his eyes scanned her face. Her heart started pumping faster as she dreaded what his next move would be. His gaze drifted to her lips, while she continued to look right into his dark eyes. He kept leaning forward until he pressed his lips to hers. He lifted his hands and cupped her cheeks. She was completely frozen. It didn´t seem like he minded as he continued kissing her, while all she could do was think how she could get herself out of this. He pushed her lightly and she lost her balance. He caught her by the waist and kept holding her this way. She kissed him back hesitantly, not really wanting to. She still felt she didn´t have any choice.

If that´s what he´s asking for as a repayment for the meds then so be it.

After a few minutes, he broke away, an enormous grin on his face; she had to admit it scared her a bit.

The clock struck eleven times and she shot up. She wiped around to see his surprised face and excused herself. She quickly opened the door and stormed out.

It was pitch black outside and she couldn´t even see where she placed her feet. She fell over as she accidently slipped on some ice. She quickly stood up and continued her way, checking behind her if anyone was following her.

It was slightly warmer once she had entered their apartment. She could hear the soft snores from Jonathan. She took her coat and her shoes off and slipped in bed next to her sleeping brother. She hoped he had remembered to take his medication before falling asleep again. He scooted over to be closer to her and she softly caressed his soft brown hair.

While she looked like her mother with her big green eyes and red hair, Jonathan was a copy of their father. His brown hair was slightly curled just like him. Sometimes he even acted a bit like him even if he hadn´t really know him. He had their mother´s green eyes as well. The howling wind outside made the old wooden windows rattle. She couldn´t get the recent events out of her mind. The evening had been full of surprises. Surprises can be good or bad, needless to say she never had liked surprises. As much as she was thankful for Sebastian´s help, she hadn´t expected that she would be repaying him like that. She wasn´t willing to do anything of the sort in the future. She prayed that they would never cross ways again. She would do her best to avoid the areas where she had been bumping into him, even if it meant she would have to walk a much longer way. She was willing to do everything to avoid being this uncomfortable.

Her mother had always taught her that she always had a choice. Right before she died at the beginning of the war, she had told she shouldn´t get too much involved with soldiers and boys in general, but more importantly she had told her to trust her gut. And this is what she was currently doing, she didn´t feel well next to him, even less when they were alone. She finally fell asleep, exhausting overtaking her.

The next weeks she was careful with every step she made outside their apartment. She always took the way the most far away from the area of the hotel de ville. She picked up her routine and went to the farmers. She kept praying each time she headed outside, that Sebastian Werlak wouldn´t cross her path.

Hi!

Sorry that you had to wait so long for another chapter :( But I have to think this story through, since I don´t want to make a historical mistake or anything, but you have to know that this story is the fruit of my imagination and not a true historical occurence! Some interviews (made after the war) are picturing that the Germans occupying France had been "nice", even if the interviewer wanted them to say the contrary.

I´m sorry, but you will have to wait again for the next update. I absolutly need to finish some of my other stories first (not TMI related), so I can concentrate on the restmore. But right now I don´t even have time for my other stories so it´s going to take some time :(

Thank you for your positive reviews, reading this story, following, favouriting!

I´m happy to see that my first TMI fiction, is not all that bad :)

Eat chocolate!