Tears of Blood

Written by Violetofen4

Chapter 1
I didn't love Sabine.

As cruel as it was, I broke up with her. I...I just didn't love her. She and I were distant and apart.

And I couldn't deal with it anymore.

She doesn't talk to me anymore but that's okay.

So here I am.

I stand in the forest, staring at the clearing where this girl is singing.

Her brown hair is long and wavy, halfway down her back with an inward curl at the tips. Her eyes are like dewdrops from fresh rainfall, bright and curious to every wonder.

Now you're probably thinking, "Why are you watching her?"

Because I'm in love with her.

I hold onto the rough brown wood and stare from a small peek. She strums her guitar gracefully.

And her name...her name is Adelina Gustaf.

Me? I'm just an average guy. Senior year. Next week is a class presentation to Chancelor Hitler. And I'm going to have to be there.

It sucks.

But here I am. Kramer von Frederick, or just Kramer, really, as my friends call me. My blue eyes flash as I watch her, entranced by her voice.

But there's one thing standing in my way. Her obnoxious boyfriend, Alois.

He yells her name from somewhere close by. I duck to the side so they don't see me. He walks out, his messy gold hair unusually straightened.

Oh right. Prom night.

He hits her. I scowl. I never hit Sabine!

But I can't do anything about it. He grabs her wrist hard and drags her away.

That night I go home, relax, but later leave for the river to hang out with Edward, Maxis, Schuster, and Groph.

Lilith isn't there. Good. But I can tell Edward's distressed about something. For once he didn't look...so beaten down, but he's still upset.

"What's wrong, Ed?" I ask while sharpening my knife on a rock. Sparks fly off it but it doesn't bother me. It is pretty dark out here.

His green eyes look unfocused, but he jerks up at his name.

"I'm sorry, what?" he says, forcing a smile. Then I realise he'd been writing something in his journal.

"You seem troubled." I tell him persistantly. Maxis, Groph, and Schuster are all skipping rocks in the river.

''I wish Edward was feeling better. Maybe I'd join them then, ''I think to myself.

"Oh, I vas just zinking about ze presentation. I don't want to go in ze army. I vant to do vat I vant to do." he says worriedly.

"We won't get picked. Just don't look at him and keep silent and still." I reassure. I can tell he's untensed a bit. We lay down and stare at the stars.

"Sometimes I wish we were kids again." I yawn.

"You mean when we played at the park and took turns pushing An on the swing?" he says nostalgicly. I bite my tongue to keep me from saying anything about his little sister. She'd been so nice when she was alive.

It was tragic the day she died from pneumonia, dying in Edward's arms as he desperately tried to help her.

No one talked to him that day. His eyes had been round and dull, mourning and occaisionally teary. He not uttered a word for weeks. And I had been extremely worried and under stress as a result.

But we stare at the sky again, before we head home. It's almost midnight and I had ought to go to sleep.

Chapter 2
Another day at school. Edward doesn't sit with us again, rather he's with his girlfriend, Lilith, and Sabine and Heidi. Sven and Alois are there too.

Somehow I feel ignored. He's left me behind in his sudden popularity and ignores me completely.

And that just pisses me off.

However, at least I still have Schuster, Groph, and Maxis.

"I got a telegram from Berlin today. I'm going to be headmaster of Group 935!" Maxis boasts.

I stare at him in excitement.

"Oh my, really?" I ask, curiousity taking over.

"Of course. I took the test, remember? Perfect score." he explains.

"Lucky." Schuster grunted.

"Don't worry, I'll invite all of you to join...and Edward if he ever talks to us again." Maxis groaned.

"What is with him these days? He's very distant." Groph points out.

I shake my head.

"He's enveloped in his new happiness. I just know he's going to marry Lilith. I never liked her anyways." I growled.

"Yeah." Maxis sighs. He adjusts his glasses.

"I always from childhood wanted to get close to my twin brother but...I was forbidden to tell." Maxis adds.

I nearly gag on my drink.

"You have a twin brother?" I exclaim.

Maxis nods.

"And it's Edward Richtofen."

This is a bit shocking. But I guess it makes sense. I force myself to swallow the sweet tea.

Maxis and Richtofen both have the dark brown hair. They both have sharp green eyes, like cold chips of emerald. And they both had sight issues and required glasses.

"You see, Carlene, my biological mother, was too poor to take care of twin children at the time, so she put me for adoption and kept Ed. I guess you can say my real name's Ben. But I was adopted in as Ludvig. Eh. It doesn't bother me anymore, though I've grown up happy I could at least have him as a friend rather than knowing he's my brother." he explained.

Now I felt a stab of guilt for being mad at Richtofen. He hadn't lost just one sibling-he lost two.

"Later on they adopted a boy named Elric, though Ms. Richtofen doesn't let him outside. Edward tells me he's homeschooled." Groph adds onto the conversation.

Elric, Elric....catchy.

I spy Adelina sitting and talking to Lilith. She has a black eye and a red mark on her cheek. Something inside me boils to a pulp.

Chapter 3
Over the next few days I got the courage to talk to Adelina. She's as nice as I thought she'd be...maybe one day might she love me too?

Presentation day is today.

I gulp as Hitler enters. We're lined up. Edward squeezes my nervous hand reassuringly, gives a slight nod, before looking away, the same nervousness coming from him.

Chancelor Hitler. A fox-faced weirdo with a small, measly mustache. But it's his eyes that scare me. Sharp and narrow, antagonistic and frightening. His voice is hissy and angry when he speaks.

He slowly walks down the row before he's two people away from me. I gulp and struggle not to glare.

I can see him stop right in front of me.

"Are you Kramer von Frederick? It's a pity your fool father died when you were young, he practically walked into russian hands." Hitler mocked.

Anger suddenly takes over before I can stop myself.

"My father was not a fool!" I snap. I try not to cry. My father's death had nearly ruined me forever in a world of mourning and guilt. Hitler laughed. I balled up a fist to punch him, raising my arm, but Edward grabbed it and jerked it behind my back in a lock. I struggle for a moment furiously, but he keeps a steady hold.

"Kramer, now is not ze time for fighting." he says gravely. I could tell he was mad too, but he didn't show it. He was better at this than me. However, I'm somehow grateful he stopped me.

Our teacher, Mrs. Blumfielde, is staring at us with shock. The class is looking at us with relief in their gaze.

Hitler clucks again.

"Ah, and is that your notorious friend Edward Richtofen? His father was killed too. In a similar raid. Both fools."

Edward grits his teeth. In a moment he might burst into tears. When Richtofen's father had died...that was even worse than when Antoinette was seized by fever. He sat on his porch, tears on his face for a whole month. He wouldn't do anything but sit, eat, and sleep. He didn't talk. He didn't move. He didn't play. He was unhappy.

Our government official turns to Mrs. Blumfielde.

"I don't need to look anymore. I'm assigning Kramer to Waffen-SS and Edward to be part of my personal guard. A brigadefuhrer rank to be exact." he says, and begins to walk away. Edward is trembling in shock. He lets go of my arm and stares at the ground.

When class is dismissed, niether of us talk. We're both shocked. Maxis walks over in between us.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I snapped at Hitler and Edward grabbed my arm to keep me from pounding ze hell out of his face. Demon, talking about my father that way!" I hiss.

"Ouch." Maxis says.

"But that's not all. He insulted Edward for his father's death too, and assigned me to Waffen-SS. Edward is going to be a brigadefuhrer and part of Hitler's guard. The tyrancy! He's...he's...."

"Shh..." Maxis pats me on the back.

"It's going to be okay. Once your term is done I'll immediately get you to 935 where you're safe from him."

Immediately I see Adelina. She's waving to me.

"Kramer!" she calls.

I stand up.

"I'll be back soon."

Edward doesn't reply. I can see his eyes are watery with grief and anger. Probably thinking about his father.

Maxis nods, and I think he's going to help him back home. Edward needs someone to be with now. To help him through this. He's so fragile hearted, I'm scared what Hitler will do to him. Change him. What Hitler will do to me.

Chapter 4
COMING SOON