The Numbers That Brought Our Fates Together 95 Pleased To Meet You.

"This is Wewelsburg, from now on you will be living here," Richard replied, noting the interest in the girl's eyes.

She practically didn't talk all the way, and he decided not to pester her with questions and only occasionally commented on the landscapes that were pa.s.sing by the car's windows.

Wewelsburg Castle was over two hundred years old. It was built in the shape of a triangle, which gave it a special mystery. Lena looked at the gray walls of the castle, and an unpleasant shiver ran through her body.

The car stopped in front of the northern wall. The girl came out and followed Richard.

He led her along a narrow and long corridor to one of the rooms, opened the door and they came inside.

Lena looked around. The room had two beds with mattresses, two bedside chests, a small table. Nearby there were a small toilet and a bathroom.

A small window near the ceiling almost did not let any daylight in, making the room look even more dreary. In any case, even this was like the most expensive hotel compared to living conditions in a concentration camp.

"Is it your room. Another girl lives here as well, her name is Polina. She practically does not speak, so do not pay attention to that. You will be served three meals a day. You can take water in the bathroom, here is the toilet. Leaving the room is prohibited. Only if you are asked to do that, for example, to meet with me." The officer outlined the girl's duties and turned around to leave.

"Excuse me," Lena called out to him, "What am I to do here? If I can't leave the room, what will I do here?"

She was even more confused and did not understand what was happening. This man took her out of the death camp, gave her a separate room with a bed and a bathroom, and the end of the story? It was too suspicious, too unreal. For half a year spent in captivity, the girl saw enough of how the n.a.z.is behaved with prisoners.

And the person standing in front of her was clearly not a simple officer. His aura and how ordinary soldiers behaved in his presence were revealing a great power that he possessed with. But what exactly did this power concern?

Steiner glanced at the girl, and playful lights glowed in his eyes. "Hmm, are you sure you should take the initiative in this situation? Want to do something? Well, you can sleep, you can look at the ceiling, you can lie on the floor. All that comes into your head. But only within this room."

The girl fell into complete bewilderment. If you omit the details of his proposal, he simply suggested her to do nothing.

'What is he up to?' This question tormented Lena more and more.

The man grinned, noticing the confusion of the girl, and left the room.

All the following days were like a boring black and white movie. Lena was waking up at 5 in the morning reflexively, but it was gray outside and the room was dark. During the day, she walked from corner to corner, not knowing what to do with herself. She was brought food three times a day, and the food was quite tasty, which genuinely surprised her.

She was also not used to silence, both inside the room and outside the castle. There were no people shouting, no guards laughing, there was absolutely nothing heard.

Lena's roommate, Polina, was a calm girl and, indeed, did not utter a word while they were together. She occasionally waved her head in response, or simply answered "yes/no" to Lena's questions.

So four days pa.s.sed. The girl felt like she was going crazy. On the fifth day, one of the guards knocked on the room and told her to get ready for the exit.

Lena immediately jumped out of bed, straightened her hair and clothes, and followed him. Her heart happily trembled, as if she were a bird, that suddenly burst out of the cage.

Having escorted the girl to one of the rooms, the security guard sat her down at the table and left the room. The room was clean and much brighter than her modest cell. Large windows opened a great view of the forest covered with snow. Various swords, bows, ancient armory pieces, tapestries with coats of arms unknown to her were hanging on the walls. It seemed as if she had fallen into the Museum of the History of the Middle Ages.

The girl really wanted to come up closer and touch it all with her hands, take a better look at everything, but she understood that doing this without permission from the room owner could turn into big problems.

She sighed and stared at the table. The dishes on the table, that she has never seen before, were tempting her appet.i.te with delicious smells. The girl swallowed her saliva, the lunchtime had already pa.s.sed, and she still hadn't eaten anything. The stomach was asking food treacherously, having got used to a constant dietary regimen within the four days of stay in the lock.

"Sorry, I am late a little," a male voice sounded behind her. Lena jumped out of her chair and saw Richard entering the room.

He was not wearing a military uniform, the top b.u.t.tons of a white shirt were unb.u.t.toned, and droplets of water ran down his hair. It was obvious that he had recently taken a shower.

Blond hair and blue eyes, along with subtle features, made him a very attractive man. But Lena did not care. The girl did not cherish naive illusions and understood perfectly well that she was not brought here for the sake of good intentions.

"You can sit down," the young man replied calmly, and also sat at the opposite edge of the table. "Eat," he ordered, and the girl followed his order.

She slowly took a plate and put a few pieces of meat and vegetables from the nearest dish to her. She tried to chew food as slowly as possible because the situation was uncomfortable for her and the girl was afraid that she could choke at any time.

"How do you like your room?" Richard asked.

"Thank you, everything is fine," Lena answered quietly. The man went on silently eating his lunch.

The silence of the room put pressure on the girl, she could not stand it and decided to ask a question that tormented her all this time, "What do you want? Why did you bring me here? Why me?"

The man's eyes glittered. He licked the sauce from the tip of his finger, leaned back in his chair and replied smilingly, "I thought you would ask this question earlier. Your self-possession is astounding, indeed."

He took a knife from the table, cut off a piece of meat and put it into his mouth, using a knife as a fork, savoring the taste of the dish.

"Why are you here - you are not supposed to know about this. Do not forget, we are in different conditions. And regarding the question of why it is namely you, I can answer that. Your eyes," he answered, and pointed with the tip of the knife in the direction of Lena. "When you first looked at me, your look reminded me of a little kitten that I once had," he cut off another piece of meat and immediately sent it to his mouth again.

'Did I remind you of the kitten? And that's the reason?' Lena was perplexed. She tried to understand the logic of what is happening, but she couldn't.

"It was a very obedient kitten, you can even say, a very good kitten. Until one day he p.o.o.ped in my boots," the young man's face immediately turned dark and he plunged his knife into the table with all his strength. "You know, these were my favorite boots," he added as if the kitten had desecrated the greatest relic in the world.

The man pulled the knife out and began to twist it in his hands. He waved his hand, and the knife flew past the girl's ear with a whistle and hit a wooden shield hanging on the wall behind her. "After that, I had to kill it."

Lena shuddered in surprise, the food stuck in her throat, and she was afraid to swallow it. No, this man only looked friendly from the outside. In reality, he could be even worse than the overseers in a concentration camp.

She hardly swallowed the food and took a gla.s.s of water, with trembling hands, to take a few sips.

"So, my little kitty, watch your behavior and do not upset Uncle Richard, okay?" the young man smiled, and his smile made the gooseb.u.mps run on the girl's back.

"I warn only one time, and this time was just now. One wrong action and I will degrade you to a small mouse and begin my hunt. Is it clear?"

Lena shook her head confirming that she had understood him. Richard smiled, "That's great. In grat.i.tude for your obedience, I allow you to go outside for a while and get some fresh air. Oh, I forgot to mention. You can't go further than 100 meters from the castle. If you cross the line, you will be killed right away."

"Got it. Thank you," she answered quietly.

The young man laughed, "But you shouldn't thank me. Well, I am pleased anyway. Well, as you finish, go out into the corridor and the guard will take you to the gate to the inner garden," he got up from the table and left the room.

The girl sighed with relief and finished her lunch quickly. The guard executed Steiner's order, and after five minutes Lena was standing outside and squinting against the bright winter sun.

White snow was falling slowly and filling the inner garden of the castle with silence. Lena caught several snowflakes and watched them melt in her palm for a couple of minutes. She took a step forward and stepped onto the snow.

It immediately began to melt under her bare feet, tingling the girl in response. She had already become used to the cold in a concentration camp, and it was common for her to walk barefoot in the snow.

The girl took a few more steps forward. After making sure that the guard stayed where he was and did not follow her, she decided to indulge herself a little and went even further.

Pa.s.sing several trees, she noticed the silhouette of a man in front and headed towards him. The young man was standing under the falling snow and looking at the sky. He was wearing only a light shirt and thin pants.

Lena looked at his back and could not take her eyes off him. He was clearly not from the military. Judging by his appearance, he was the same prisoner as she.

"Isn't it cold to stand barefoot in the snow?" The girl asked.

She wanted to start a conversation with him but did not know what to start with.

"And what about you?" He replied with a question, without even turning in her direction.

Lena looked at herself. She, too, besides the dress, had absolutely nothing on. How could she ask him such a question? The girl's cheeks flushed, she did not feel so embarra.s.sed by her own silliness for a long time.

"Ahaha, and you're funny," she heard a cheerful voice over her head.

Lena looked up, and for a moment her heart sank. The young man was looking at her and smiling. His eyes were of the same color as the rays of the setting sun. They fascinated her so much, that the girl could not look away and was silently looking at him in response.

"My name is Daniel. What is your name?"

Lena glanced at her arm with the number and immediately hid it behind her back. "My name is Elena. But you can just call me Lena," the girl replied and looked away.

"So, Lena it is. It's a beautiful name. Pleased to meet you," he said and held out his hand to her.

The girl was confused for a second, but then stretched her hand out in response, "Likewise."

The snow was falling slowly and filling the winter garden of the castle with silence. But Lena did not notice the cold around her at all. After all, at that moment, Daniel's hand seemed incredibly warm to her.