- in which a french civilian and an english solider fall in love in a war torn town.
- they were two people caught up in war. if only they met at a different time, a different place, and under different circumstances.
WILLIAM SCHOFIELD. 19...
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WILL WAS LUCKY that Rosine studied to be a nurse before the war overran her town. He was lucky that her father was wealthy man who believed all his children were entitled to the best education possible. Although she was only through her second year of nursing, she still did her best to recall on the information she had learned and treat him.
She started with the light scrapes on his face from before they met. She tore a piece of clothe and dipped it in water, she dabbed the spot until all that was left was irritated skin and bruises.
Next she moved into his head, she poked around it at first, to which he hissed and flinched away. She placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, and let her hand travel up his neck until it reached his jaw. She turned his head slightly, then applied pressure to the back of his head with a cool damp clothe— the same one she used for his cheeks. He relaxed and leaned into her touch, basking in the gentle touch of a woman.
He turned his head to face her. They were so close they shared the same breath. Will's heart raced as his nose lightly tickled the tip of hers. "Thank you," he whispered, as his eyes trailed from her lips to her eyes— her diamond blue eyes.
He finally saw the colour. Although it was still a bit dark, he could now make out what colour her eyes were. He focused on her hair, and now he could make out the tint of red. She was beautiful. A beauty caught up in an ugly world.
She nodded to recognize his thanks. She took his hand in hers and replaced her own hand with his. While he applied pressure to his head wound, she changed the bandage on his other hand and cleaned it out.
"Did you choose to be a soldier?"
The soothing sound of her voice almost made him forget she said something, as he stayed silent for a minute or two. His cheeks heated up a bit as she waited for his reply.
"Yes," he croaked.
"You're very ... brave. Not all men can be like you."
"Thank you. If I may ask, why didn't you leave yet? You could've left at any moment, why stay here?"
She wrapped the bandage around his hand and tucked it in itself once she was done. She didn't let go of his hand though.
"I stayed because this is my home. I didn't want to leave where my family and I grew up."
"I'm sorry, are they gone?"
Rosine looked into the eyes of Will. He could feel every emotion in her face, and immediately he knew he crossed a line. They didn't know each other. Why would they share sensitive information with one another.
"My family..—"
"You don't have to answer that. I shouldn't of brought it up."
She laughed lightly. Will adored the sound, it was such a bright light in a small dark room. He studied her face as she continued to talk. "I haven't talked about them in a while, it's good to keep their memory going.
I had a mother and a father, and two older siblings. A brother and a sister. My father, mother and sister died from a sickness two years ago. The sickness really took a toll on our small town. My brother moved to Canada with an Acadian woman he met. The last time I received a letter was a couple months before the war began. He was residing in Halifax, Nova Scotia at the time."
Will nodded his head, pretending to know what an Acadian was or where Nova Scotia was located, as he toyed with her fingers in his hand. He never paid much attention in school. Instead of asking her to explain more, he just focused on her hands.
He knew that his growing feelings for her were ridiculous. Here they were, barely acquainted, in a small town overrun by war. He was soldier and would need to leave her. Then, he would probably die fighting for this war or she would die trying to get away from this war. The likelihood of them lasting longer than a day was low. William kept trying to convince himself that she was just being kind, but he couldn't help but to wonder if she felt any sort of way towards him.
"I'm sorry to hear that. I hope you find him someday," Will replied. Rosine smiled at him kindly.
"What about your family? Parents? Siblings? Children?"
Rosine's mouth stung from the word children. She hoped he didn't have any, otherwise that would mean there's a woman waiting for him to come home. That would mean the gentle touches between them were forbidden and frowned upon.
"My parents are home. In England. No siblings, no children, no woman."
She relaxed at that. She ran her hand down his uniform, feeling the cakey dirt and blood on him. She rubbed her fingers together as she noticed fresh blood on his chest.
"Take off your shirt."
Will looked up at her with surprised eyes. But he obeyed. He unbuttoned his uniform, peeling off all the layers he had. He wasn't the most chiseled man, but it was obvious he's been pushing his body. If he had a good amount of food, he'd be a muscular man. But, since food was scarce, he was lacking some body weight.
Rosine presses her lips in a thin line as she looked at him, admiring the man in front of her. She took the bloody clothe and dipped it in more water, and then dabbed the cut.
"It would seem that I got cut on my journey here," Will chuckled, watching Rosine closely as she focus.
"It's not deep. You'll live. But I'd like to wrap clothe around it to keep dirt out."
Will nodded and allowed her to do her work. She wrapped the bandage around his body, lifting his arms when she needed to. Once she was done she tucked it into itself and sat back. With a sigh of relief she was done.
They sat across from each other, both feelings a light bubbling of warmth from being in each other's presence.
