CHAPTER ONE
Crash!
11 year old Edwin Blagueur gasped. His heart pounded in his chest, and goosebumps ran up his arms. He sat up straight, his eyes wide. The darkness shrouded his room, obscuring objects such as his dresser. He blinked bleary eyes round the room, trying to judge their threat. There was the table, there was the window…
Before he could focus on anything else, the loud shouting and screeching began below him, barely muffled by the thin, flimsy floorboards that made up his and his brother Regis's room.
It was at that movement in the corner of the room opposite him began, and the dark, lanky form of Regis popped up off his mattress like a weightless shadow. He darted across the room where he stopped at the door.
Edwin drew the bed clothes up to his chest, sweat breaking out across his scalp. "Is it mother?" he began.
"Both of them." Regis muttered. "Mother and Father."
Edwin peered round at the small sliver of candlelight that shone through the crack in the wooden door, feeling an incoming shudder. "Not again." he whispered.
Through the darkness, Edwin could see Regis's thin arm reach towards the door handle. He eased open the door, and peered into the hallway. The muffled yells became louder now. It quickly became clear who the antagonist in the argument was.
It wasn't new to anyone in their small village in the Netherlands that the Blagueur family had problems. It certainly wasn't news that Jannus Blagueur, the head of the family, was the beginning and end of it all. From a father who was frustrated at the arrival of twins to a husband who continually stamped out the honor and the dignity of his wife, Jannus was never the ideal dad that Edwin had desired from the start. Regis didn't seem to care so much. He never seemed to want a father, but for every time Jannus spat in his face, Regis seemed to wish him gone more than ever.
"I wish he had just stayed with Lillian." Edwin recalled Regis telling him one day. The two had been scolded quite brutally by Jannus for coming home late from school, and had decided to sit up in the attic for the rest of the evening.
"Mother wanted him back." Edwin had replied, wedging a cracker in his mouth.
"But why? All he did was run off with another woman." Regis clapped Edwin on the back. "Stop eating like that when I'm talking."
"Sorry."
"All I'm saying is that we all would have been the better without him. You, me and Mother. But because she loves him more than anything – including you and me – she gets him back to stay. I certainly don't want him here."
Edwin had initially agreed. Not whole-heartedly, but he had still agreed right there and then. After all, Jannus wasn't the only one he was afraid of.
His twin brother Regis had always had an element of his father in him. He was headstrong, aggressive, and passionate. He never lost an argument, and was not one to back down. Edwin often fell victim to being bullied by Regis. For the most part, Edwin and Regis kept out of each other's way, but when they did interact, Regis had a habit of putting Edwin with insults. It often stirred Edwin's pride to an uncomfortable low, but he could never let it burst out. No telling what Regis might do.
"Regis?" Edwin squeaked, watching his brother take a step forward out the bedroom door. "What are you doing?"
Regis turned to face Edwin, his dark eyes glimmering in the candlelight. "I'm going to help Mother." he replied, though Edwin couldn't help detect a gleam of thrill in his eye.
"But, Regis, Father -"
"I'm not afraid of Father." Regis spat, wrinkling his nose in disgust. "I'm not a coward…like you."
It was a common name Regis had for Edwin, but he couldn't help feeling hurt this time.
"I'm not a coward!" Edwin protested, kicking the bed covers off.
Regis glanced at him. "Prove it." he jabbed.
Edwin shifted off the sagging mattress he was sitting on and slowly straightened up. His knees were knocking and his head was airy.
"Good lad, Eddie." Regis said, patting him on the back, clearly trying to make him fall over. It worked. Edwin fell to his knees with an "oof", followed by a string of chuckles from Regis.
Edwin glared up at him, feeling tearful. Regis didn't pay him further mind, instead creeping his way out the room. The hallway flickered as he passed the candle, and his shadow crawled up the walls at a great, intimidating height.
Edwin watched as the shadow disappeared from sight before he stood to his wobbly feet. Then, taking a deep breath, he slipped out after Regis.
By now, he could clearly hear the loud cursing and yelling from his father, and the feisty responses back from his mother. The argument appeared to have something to do with the Waffen-SS, and Edwin guessed that his father's volunteering job might be the topic.
Edwin clutched the smooth wooden rails of the stairs as he tiptoed down them, feeling as if he might fall. He had witnessed a few rows between his parents, but he never usually got involved. Usually, neither of them paid the children any mind during their arguments. But sometimes Regis would start up a protest when his parents got into a rift. Jannus once slapped him in the face and sent him outside. Edwin didn't recall him coming back until much later.
Edwin reached the bottom of the stairs, shaking now. He spied round the dim hallway until he spotted Regis peering round the kitchen doorway. He darted up behind him, and clutched his shoulders, making Regis jump.
Peering round his twin's shoulder, Edwin could see the mess their little kitchen had become. The chairs were overturned, the floor was covered in pieces of shattered china, and there was some sort of indent in the wall. The worst part of all was the people inside.
The light of the candle with stood on the small table in the center of the room illuminated the broad face of Jannus Blagueur. His thick brown beard looked as if it were on fire – as did his coal black eyes. Fury and adrenaline were woven into his heavy brow, causing his teeth to clench and nostrils to flare. One hand leant against the table in a fist. The other was clamped onto the small, petite shoulder of Yvette Blagueur.
"You won't stop nagging me!" Jannus bellowed, his deep, resounding voice booming through the house like a drum of war. "You should be pleased…proud, even! But it's not enough for you, is it?!"
Yvette tried to pull away, her large blue eyes flashing. Black hair fell across her shoulders where her bun had come loose, and her sharp little face was shiny with sweat and tears.
"You are putting this family in jeopardy!" she shrieked. "Any affiliation with this idiot Hitler is a sure-fire way to get us all killed!"
"If we don't side with Hitler, we will be killed!" Jannus replied, raising his hand. In one swift movement, he had backhanded Yvette. Yvette gave a short gasp, stumbling backwards. She overbalanced and fell to the floor.
Regis yanked himself from Edwin's grip and tore into the room. The first thing he did was dive into the back of Jannus' legs and cause both of them to come crashing to the ground. Edwin watched in horror as Jannus flipped over onto his back, just as Regis's fists came crashing down into his chest.
"Stop it!" Regis screamed, hitting his over and over again. "Stop it! Stop it! I hate you!"
At first, Jannus simply grabbed Regis by the arm and pulled him off. But when Regis returned in full force, Jannus swiped him in the face. Regis's body went flying off of Jannus and into the corner, where there was a resounding "smack" against the wall.
Edwin darted into the chaotic room, deciding where to go first. Mother? Regis? Perhaps straight back upstairs and into his room?
Yvette was already back on her feet. She slammed her hands into Jannus's shoulders, making him stumble back again. "Get out!" she screamed. "Get out! We don't want you here! Don't touch my children!"
To Edwin's surprise, Jannus stood up and took a step back from Yvette. He straightened his black jacket and sneered, "Fine. Perhaps I'll go pay another visit to your sister. I bet I'll be welcome there." And with that, he turned, grabbed his military suit that stood by the door, and went out. The wood splintered as he slammed the door shut behind him.
Yvette and Edwin both went running to the corner of the room where Regis sat there, his arms wrapped around his head and his eyes squeezed shut in pain. When Edwin went to touch him, Regis slapped his hand away. But when Yvette had knelt down and put her hands on Regis's shoulders, the boy didn't move.
"Regis, Regis…" Yvette said softly, her voice thick with panic and tears. "Are you alright, my son?"
The candle flickered as Regis slowly gazed up at Yvette, and Edwin could see a dark red ring forming round his right eye. "I hate him." he growled through clenched teeth. "Don't let him back in."
Yvette touched Regis's head, separating his thick black hair to see where he had struck wall. "Father doesn't want to come back, Regis." she replied.
Regis pushed his mother's hands away, his nose wrinkled in disgust. "This is you fault." he said, putting his hand to his eye. "You let him back in. Even after what he did with Lillian, you let him back in."
Yvette demeanour changed, and she glared at Regis with snapping blue eyes. "This isn't my fault!" she replied. "I'm not responsible for any of this. Your father is your father – of course I forgave him and let him back in…but wouldn't have let him near you if I knew this was to happen!"
For a moment, Regis and Yvette stared at each other with angry eyes. Finally, Yvette's gaze dropped to the floor, then fell on Edwin. "Edwin." she said softly. "Go to the ice box and get some ice."