1 September 20th 1940, A small village in German occupied France

Lucia Castelló walked through the small French village into the market area. It had been about 2 and a half months since France had fallen to the German army and with it, her hopes were shattered for any hope of the war ending. But if she kept up this job, maybe, just maybe, this war could end with the side she wanted to win. The allied side. She couldn't bear the thought of her and Antonio living in a world where the Nazis controlled everything. The brunette loathed them. Their unpleasant faces walking past her on the street, that ugly symbol of the pure evil of black, white and red following them in their arms. She thought of the soldiers as disgusting creatures. Though, Lucia wasn't the only one who loathed those evil and inhumane beings. A few members of the village did too.

It was a sunny September day, and the village was full of people aswell, buying things before the curfew hit. Lucia walked up to the fruit and vegetable stall, the flashy red and white roof staring her down as she walked towards it. She was after some tomatoes mostly. But also something else. Something that could help them win the war. A letter of intelligence.

"One red apple, 4 tomatoes and 2 bananas please." She asks for the specific order, holding a small bag of francs. The man immediately caught onto her message, taking the pouch from Lucia's cold hands. She smiled at the man after all this job was extremely risky so he needed to be paid quite a large sum of money. The blonde placed the pouch in a box underneath the table before turning around, facing the cartons.

He then went to the boxes in the back, picking up one specific red apple, moved to another grabbing four tomatoes and two bananas. He then covered the table with a linen cloth, placing certain fruits onto the fabric. The short, blonde man then folded them over, tying the four ends into a neat bow.

Lucia was fighting the urge not to look around for any German soldiers in the area as it could draw immediate suspicion to her. She distracted herself by flicking off a bug that landed on the shoulder of her purple coat. She wondered how Antonio was doing, back at home. Was he alright? Was he at the house cooking like usual? Her thoughts were intruded as she heard the man speak. She immediately looked back up at him, her head rising to the sound of his melancholy voice.

"1 red apple, like you said." He says indicating to her where the letter was, placing the linen cloth on the wooden table in front of her with a thud. "4 tomatoes and 2 bananas."

"you are correct." She says smiling, taking the cloth off of him and placing it into her the woven basket with her careful hands, trying not to ruin the neat little bow. Lucia places her arm through the basket, lifting it so it rests comfortably on the back of her elbow.

"Anything else?" He said, leaning his weight on his hand.

"Nope that's it. Thank you!" Lucia says turning on her heel towards the left path. Her next job was to pick up some goats milk and cheese for Antonio and go home before curfew hits. Her heels made a clicking sound as she walked up the stone pathways looking around the market for the milk stall, which she found shortly by taking another left. The setting sun was now stalking the city, and darkness would be following within the next hour and a half.

Before Lucia could get there, she saw a small black cat ran past her legs, into the alleyway on the right side of the street. Lucia looked over to where the cat went and what met her back was 2 German soldiers, glaring at her as she walked past. Her heart started racing so she gave a friendly smile, as to not act suspicious to them as even one wrong expression could get her killed. The loathing for those 'things' rose when she smiled at them. Still, she kept her anger down and kept walking.

Lucia turned her head back to the cobblestone pathway and continued walking for a while longer, until she recognised Natalié, the dairy woman, standing at the stall with the blue and white cloth over the table. She could still feel the German soldiers' eyes fixated on her back. Lucia's heart was racing but hearing a friendly French voice had made her feel a tiny bit better.

"Well hello, Lucia! It's lovely to see you again!" The woman said, a friendly grin on her face as soon as she saw the Spaniard walking over.

"Lovely to see you too Natalié." smiling nervously, Lucia tapped the table. She just wanted to grab the milk and go. "Can I have some goats milk please?" The tanned girl asks politely looking at the brown-haired woman stood in front of her. Natalié looked pretty today. She was wearing a black beret on the left side of her curly hair was clipped back with the other side falling down the left side of her face. She was also wearing a black coat to accompany her beret.

"Oh, you don't even need to ask dear! I already know what you want." Natalié smiles adjusting her beret, turning 180 degrees and grabbing a bottle of goats milk before the blue eyed-girl returned to Lucia's gaze. Natalié places the bottle in Lucia's hand. The floor felt bumpy under her feet as she reached her hand into her basket for the money before realising she forgot the cheese.

"Oh, I almost forgot can I have some goats cheese too? Antonio's planning on cooking something good tonight." Lucia asks, her deep green eyes locked on Natalié's Sapphire ones.

"Of course! How is Antonio anyway?" She questions, preparing the container of goats cheese in a cloth of linen similar to how the man did. "I haven't seen him for a while you should bring him down someday."

"He's perfectly fine. Toni's just a bit anxious when speaking to people so he makes me come out and get things." Lucia complains. "But he does all the cooking so it's alright I guess. I do help him some nights though."

"I wish I could spend some time with mine. He left to go fight in the Luftwaffe ages ago didn't he?" She says with a small frown. Though Lucia had only met Pierre twice, he was a very cruel and inhumane individual. He believed in both Hitler and Mussolini's ideologies. Lucia never understood how Natalié idolised him that much. God, she should've just stayed in Spain with Antonio. It would've been much safer.

"What about Antonio? Will he be going off to fight?"

The Spaniard smiles as Natalié passes her the linen cloth with the goat's cheese.

"Antonio isn't much of a fighter. He's more of a peaceful kind of guy. in fact im pretty sure I've fought more than him. I've had to defend him from bullies when we were kids."

The two begin to laugh but it soon turns into silence when they hear German soldiers barking orders for everyone to step out of the way. Lucia quickly puts the cheese in the wooden basket, glancing at the soldiers dragging two people down the pathway. Both of the woman's eyes were wide in shock. Though Lucia was acting as she had seen it be done a few before times. But never down this street.

When Lucia had gotten a closer look at him. it was one of the men from the market. The man that sells meat.

Slowly, Lucia pieced it all together. The man must have been giving the other man intelligence letters aswell. The German soldiers must have caught onto it and found some more of them. Lucia made a quick note to turn around as to not be recognised as it could be her being dragged down there next.

The two men were dragged down to what Lucia thought to be the village square, as they carried the two men taking a right towards it. She could hear the mean hollering for mercy like frightened animals. Lucia gets another pouch of Francs out for the milk and goats cheese from her right pocket.

Natalié looked at Lucia, averting her eyes to the right corner the Germans took.

"Well they must have been snuffed out as resistance members," Natalié says. The 2 men were still pleading for their lives to the German soldiers. Lucia soon felt pity for them and hoped that somehow those German soldiers would let them both go. But, Lucia knew deep inside that they were done for.

Suddenly two gunshots rang out all over the small French village. Nataliés body froze for a split second hearing the noise that went straight through the twos ears. The cries of the 2 men went instantly inaudible. Silence now swept over the village like a blanket for a minute before, only the hushed whispers of the wind flying by were heard. The German soldiers soon started barking at everyone to get on with their day or it would be the next. This happened quite often. Some poor person was exposed for being a part of the French resistance, a group fighting against the germans to bring back true France. The only thing that bugged Lucia is the fact that one day it could be her and Antonio being dragged down to the village centre and shot for having something as simple as an intelligence letter on them.

"At least they had a quick way out," Lucia mutters. "They could've been sent to a camp or tortured for what they know." There would probably be more shots ringing out later from the spies families. Sometimes if the soldiers wanted to, they had the right to kill the whole family to stop any chances of any more spying happening within that specific family.

"Yes your right, they definitely could have had it worse. I just hope god has mercy on their souls." Natalié said. The brunette had once believed there was someone up there. But as the war unfolded and France fell, that belief shattered. Natalié was very religious as far as Lucia knew. She never mocked Natalié for believing in God and Jesus, Lucia wanted to believe herself that there was something out there. But Lucia always thought that if there was, Why was there so much cruelty and evil in this world? Why would he let so many innocent people die?

Lucia looks at the two soft white linen cloths and the bottle of milk that was lay in her basket, She still remembered the letter that was lay inside of the red apple and knew she needed to get home.

"I take it you've got to get going now then?" Natalié questions, taking the francs off of the table, snapping Lucia out of whatever world she was in. Lucia looked back at her with her deep green eyes.

"Oh uh yes, I have, thank you." She trips on her words and waved to her, picking up her basket.

"Tell Antonio that I said hi!" She says waving at Lucia. "Tell him to come down sometime too!"

"I will do!" Lucia confirms walking off. She wanted to get home quickly. If you were apprehended with anything involving the resistance on you, You would immediately be shot or something worse. Lucia was ninety-nine per cent certain that they kill your family too depending on the soldier. It was disgusting.

Lucia walked up the hill to the small house as the sun was sinking into the mountains behind the French village. Her hands were shaky as the nineteen-year-old opens the door to immediately be greeted by Antonio who was stood by the door, holding his stuffed animal in his large arms. The 17-year-olds leafy green eyes filled with worry. He looked like he was about to burst into tears.

"Hermana!" Lucia didn't even get a chance to put the basket down before being bear-hugged by her little brother. She shut the door with her right foot.

"Toni, what is the matter?" She asks, concerned.

"I heard the gunshots so I wanted to come out looking for you... But I was worried if I did, I would get caught... I didn't know what to do im so sorry Luci!" He says.

Lucia smiles at him softly. Antonio Castelló was much taller than Lucia. He was a gentle giant who was terrifyingly strong but he didn't like to hurt even a small bug. He was a very friendly soul. But his anxiety plagued him sometimes to the point where he struggled going out in public. It's hard to think someone like him was a part of the resistance.

"It's ok." She mutters, Dropping the basket on the floor and hugging Antonio. Lucia always had a massive soft spot for her little brother. He was the only one Lucia had ever wanted to protect. Antonio is the only person Lucia truly cared about. The yellow halls were thin leading to the kitchen at the very end. To the right is the living room and the left had the stairs taking you to the twos bedrooms and the bathroom.

Once Antonio detached his arms from Lucia, he picked up the basket walking through the hall into the kitchen. She peeled off her purple coat from her tanned body, revealing her red dress underneath it. She placed it on the brass hooks before wondering into the kitchen. Lucia's feet ached so she sat down on the seats as Antonio prepared the food. Lucia was busy slicing the apple that had the letter of important information in it. She wasn't allowed to read those important letters yet. The higher-ups would usually tell everyone everything in the group meetings which they would usually have in a place nearby which they would sneak off to past-curfew.

"Thanks for picking up the stuff for me. Here's your food." Antonio says placing a plate on the table.

"Your welcome. I appreciate the food it looks lovely." She smiles looking at the risotto.

"So did you learn anything new?" He asks moving some of his brown hair out of his face.

"Other than this letter I have to take to the coffee shop tomorrow, that's it really," Lucia says picking up the small compact letter before slamming it back on the furniture with a small thud.

"Ah. I see."

"Also Natalié says you should drop by the dairy stall some time. She said she hasn't seen you in forever." She says remember Nataliés face. Lucia holds the fork, pushing the food into her mouth, smiling at the strong cheesy flavour exploding on her tongue.

"Do you know the people who got shot?" Antonio asks with a mouthful of food.

"He was the butcher. I have no idea who the other guy was though."

"Ah. Well, at least he didn't sell you anything else you would've been taken to."

Antonio takes a sip of the water that was sat staring at him. Antonio wasn't wrong. Lucia turns her brown head behind her, toward the clock on the left side of the room.

'10 PM' It speaks to her silently, sat on the red walls. The lights stared at the two eating, every so often placing another fork in their mouths. The two would talk about random things, like how the rest of their families lives are back in Spain, and just talking about what would happen if they went back and saw their parents. Lucia did want to see them, but there was a specific reason for why they left and the two forbid themselves from ever letting that incident come up in their conversation. The reason why Antonio had such bad anxiety, The reason why Lucia stopped believing there was ever a god in the first place.

About an hour later, Lucia was sat in her bed, reading one of her favourite books. Antonio was sound asleep in the next room which gave her some sort of stability. She skimmed the pages lightly. She was always a slow reader and always had her finger trailing along with the small words that glared at her with great difficulty, trying to read them.

Once Lucia had finally had enough of struggling to read the challenging words in the book, she set it onto the bedside table with a small thud. Her eyes squinted worried that something as small as a thud could wake Antonio as he was quite a light sleeper.

Lucia blew out the fire in the lamp that was sat next to her, placing her curly brown head on her pillow. She begins to shut her eyes slowly, worrying about what was going to happen tomorrow. Loads of thoughts began to run through her head. Was another person going to get shot? Was it going to be her next when she goes to that coffee shop with the letter? What about those soldiers? What if they thought she was acting suspiciously?

Lucia stared up at her ceiling. The only thing that looked back was the flat white top, sensing her uncertainty. Her hands lay on her stomach as she looked on at plain white. The brunette wondered how she could protect Antonio with all of this going on. She also wondered about her parents too. The siblings had moved from Spain 2 years ago to escape the civil war that had started in 1936. But, bad luck seemed to follow the trail of the two everywhere, With France later becoming a victim to Germany's brute strength 2 and a half months ago.

The two had their difficulties living here, but both made a deal to each other that if the one had died, that the other was to commit suicide. They could not return to Spain after... That. And they both had nothing else to live for without the other. Of course, they had their parents but they hadn't been in contact with them after the two left Spain so they may have forgotten about their children, they didn't even know where Antonio and Lucia even lived now. It was a shame because they were good to them. They didn't deserve any of this. Hopefully, one day when the war ended, they may be allowed to see them again.

But, Lucia knew they were safe for now. The war in Spain ended a year ago. But they didn't dare go back. either way, the two were happy there, having made a bond with the village and its inhabitants. Lucia also had a favourite place where she and Antonio could escape when they were feeling miserable. It was a small forest with a lake around a mile away from the village. Antonio used to sing in front of people on guitar, but thanks to his anxiety, he only sang in front of Lucia and only there since he knew people weren't around but those two. He had a favourite song to sing. And it was a British one by 'Vera Lynn' which he loved. It was called "Somewhere in France with you." It was a rather beautiful song he accidentally heard on the radio one day. And he became addicted to that particular tune.

After an hour of Lucia's thoughts had come and gone and she was fast asleep while so many terrible atrocities were happening to others that the Germans had committed.

But with the letter of German intelligence, hopefully, It would get conveyed to the Brits and they could hopefully help their situation. But that was tomorrow's struggles, For now, Lucia would sleep.