‘Don’t,’ said Elsa quietly in German, hoping Sam would understand.
Who was she really protecting? All she knew for sure was that the body of a young German boy, too scared to go to war, would bring them no peace. A breeze rose up, shaking the pine needles in the trees above them. Finally, Sam pushed Hans off him and got up.
‘Aufstehen,’ ordered Sam. Hans obeyed and stood up.
Sam looked at the knife in his hands and then at his enemy. ‘Lauf. Gehen.’
Hans’s gaze darted from Sam to Elsa.
The bewildered youth nodded, turned and ran without looking back.
Elsa reached for Sam’s hand and gently cradled his hand in both of hers. ‘You are hurt.’
‘It’s not painful.’
She ran her fingers over the bruised and grazed knuckles. ‘We should bathe them.’
‘I will when we can.’
She kissed one of the knuckles. ‘Thank you.’
He stepped closer, his other hand slipping comfortably over one of hers. ‘For what?’
‘For coming to help me.’
He smiled and for the first time it touched his eyes.
‘And for not killing him.’
His smile faded, but the gentleness in his eyes remained. ‘How could I?’ he replied, his voice full of sadness. ‘He was barely out of childhood.’
‘But you could have killed him. Some would say you should have.’
‘You didn’t want me to. Or did you?’
She shook her head vehemently.
‘Then what do I care about whattheyhave to say?Theyare not here.Youare. What you think means more to me than faceless strangers.’ He touched her cheek. ‘Did he hurt you?’
‘Not enough that he should lose his life.’
Sam had a look in his eyes as if he was seeing something wonderful and precious for the first time. And in a strange way she felt as if she was both those things, as if by simply being seen by him she had become just as he saw her. The magic of being with him made her giddy and warm. She felt ten feet tall.
His finger grazed her lower lip, making her breath catch, for in that magical moment she thought he was going to kiss her. If she were to close her eyes, he would.
‘We’d better...’ His gaze dropped to his finger as he traced the curve of her cheek. ‘We should...’ He sighed quietly and turned his hand so the backs of his fingers caressed the arc of her neck. ‘Elsa...’
‘Yes, Sam.’
‘As long as we are together, I’ll never let anyone or anything harm you or Klara again.’
‘You can’t make a promise like that.’
‘I just have.’ He smiled. ‘We’d better get her.’
‘Is she all right?’
‘She is hiding in a hollow tree trunk.’ He picked up Elsa’s coat and placed it around her shoulders. ‘She is a good girl. I like her. She understood that I wanted her to hide and did it without question. I was impressed.’
