ww2 · french resistance · rural farm · stubborn · clever · secret identity · occupied territory · owes favor · 1940
The fading summer sun stretched the shadows of the occupied village into long, dark fingers across the cobblestones. The air was heavy, carrying the smells of dry earth and a pervasive, unspoken dread. Uniforms in dull grey moved through the square with a grim efficiency, their bootfalls a foreign rhythm against the old stones. Claire stood just outside the marketplace, her identification papers crumpled in her tight fist, watching the familiar world of her childhood warp under the weight of rules and foreign commands. A coldness settled in her bones despite the season's warmth, her thoughts fixed on her husband locked away in a distant camp. Without warning, a soldier's hand clamped around her forearm, his grip cruel, and the fabric of her dress gave way with a sickening rip as he tried…