Strawberry Red

Prologue Ruby

1939

The very same night her father hung up on her, Ruby left her mother's apartment. She had packed her bag and left at midnight. The entire night she walked through woods, fields and villages. In the early morning hours, she found an open bakery in a small town. She took a seat in the corner and ate her breakfast.

To be honest she hadn't really thought about what came next. She just knew she had to leave. She couldn't stand it anymore. She didn't want to watch as the Nazis killed innocent people. Ruby thought about calling the agent of the British Special Operations Executive. During the past year her thoughts often wandered to the SOE. They had called Ruby three months after she had moved to Germany with her mother. The agent told her that they were calling all British citizens in Germany to gather as many spies as possible. But they hadn't realized that Ruby was only fifteen at the time and still a child. So, they left her the number of the agent and never called again. Ruby had memorized the number by heart. And now she was standing in a foreign town calling the number. She wanted to help the SOE. She wanted to do something to help her country.

"Agent Smith talking," answered a rough voice.

"It's Ruby. Ruby Davies. You called me a year ago, remember?" Ruby watched as a mother and her three little children walked past the phone cell. The kids were running around laughing. They reminded her of brothers and herself when they were younger.

"That rings a bell. What can I do for you, Ruby?"

"Count me in," was all she said. She patiently waited for the man to respond. She could hear him talking to other people.

"What's your current location?" He asked.

"I think I'm about an hour away from Berlin." Ruby never bothered to find out where she was because frankly, as long as she was far away from her mother, she didn't care. Thinking about it now, she should've asked one of the locals about the name of the town.

"Do you think you could get to Berlin and stay in a hotel until someone gets there to talk to you in person?"

"I can do that. Where should I stay?"

"We'll reserve a room for you in the hotel Kaiserhof. Hang on tight, okay?" The voices on the other end got quiet and eventually it was silent. Ruby hesitated for a moment before she answered: "Great, thank you."

She hung up and leaned with her back against the wall of the cell. After a year of thinking of becoming a spy she was now finally doing it. She knew it was incredibly dangerous and risky, but she wanted to do it, so that hopefully her father and brothers could fly safer.

With her tiny backpack she made her way to newspaper stand and grabbed a map. Before the vendor could say anything about paying, Ruby was already gone again. She mingled with the crowd on the market and made her way through the town. For the next hours she walked towards Berlin. She completely underestimated the time she would need to reach Berlin. The midday sun was shining high and bright. Ruby was sweating from the heat. Luckily, she found a big tree to seek shade under the leaves. Tired she plumbed down onto the grass and drank half of her bottle. Then she looked at her map. It seemed as she wasn't that far away anymore. But she didn't want her illusion to disappoint her again. Hopefully, she would make it before the sun sets. After her break she continued to walk. She walked along an empty road. If she was reading the map right, she was almost there. Soon she'd be in Berlin.

It was almost dinner time when she reached the hotel. Ruby was gawking in awe of the beautiful building in front of her. The hotel looked like it came out of a fairy tale. It looked like a castle with many vins wrapped around it as a form of protection. She entered the building and got the keys for her room. Exhausted she climbed up the stairs and unlooked the room. She hopped onto the bed and fell deep asleep.

A couple of days after her arrival a man came looking for her. She was told that he was waiting for her in the lobby. She left her room curious to know who he was. There was only one person waiting in the lobby. When he saw her, he immediately started walking towards her.

"Miss Ruby, why don't we go up to your room? We can be undisturbed there," suggested the man. He smiled at her, wrinkles appearing at the corner of his mouth. Ruby nodded and led him to her room. The man entered and locked the door behind them.

"Let's get to business. Shall we?" He sat down on the edge of the bed. Hesitantly Ruby sat next to him. "Are you sure about becoming a spy? Once you start it'll be hard to get you out. You'll be all on your own."

"I want to help. I'll do anything." Ruby observed him with her green eyes.

"Alright, then. I have your new papers here. You'll no longer be Ruby. Your new identity is Charlotte Müller a nurse who just finished her studies. You'll be sent to various hospitals to gather information. Do you think you can do that?"

"Yes." Ruby nodded and accepted her new documents. They made her almost ten years older than she was. "How do I pass on information?"

"Every month you'll shortly meet me in a public space. Most of the time it's a café or restaurant. For everyone else it'll seem like two strangers accidently bump into each other. But during that run in you'll pass on a small piece of paper with important information on it. Do not lose it. And if you are picked out for a random search by police officers you have to find a way to get rid of it. Eat it if you must," explained the man. "Any more questions?"

"What's your name?" Ruby closed her new passport.

"Horace Johnson. But you can call me Horace. Now, give me your old documents."

"What? Why?" Ruby started to pick her fingernails.

"I'll send it to England. The SOE will keep it save for you. It's very important that you only have your new identity papers on you. Nobody can know of Ruby Davies. Do you understand?" He gave her a stern look.

"Of course." She got up from the bed and rummaged through her backpack. She eventually found her papers and handed them to Horace.

"You're first job is at the Berliner Charité. You'll live and work there until further notice. You start on Monday," with that Horace left the room.

Ruby checked out of her hotel room on the next Monday. She made her way through the big city. If she'd be in the city for any other reason, she would've loved to visit a few famous places and just be a tourist exploring Berlin. But she had work to do. She entered the old building and went straight to the reception.

"I'm Charlotte Müller. It's my first day as a nurse."

A/N: Please leave a comment and tell me if you like the story so far :)