Елизавета Андрейевна Рыжковa She had written it every day for sixteen years. It was her name. It was who she was. She was the daughter of Andrei Ryzhkov, Elizabeta. Everyone in the village knew her, she was the pretty blonde girl that would walk from the family farm and visit with friends. She was kind, and caring, she took care of people. If she had been a boy, like her brother Alexei, people would put her in line to be the next town doctor. But they knew one day she would make a good wife.
Young Elizabeta, seventeen years old, was a beauty. She had long blonde hair that fell down to her lower back, but she kept in a thick braid. Her eyes were wide and blue, her face heartshaped with a slightly upturned nose. She was a slight woman, standing only five-feet two inches tall with a slim waist and flat stomach. Her breasts were a fair size, to go along with her slightly flared hips to give her an hourglass look. She was exotic looking in her little village, full of dark haired, more burly women. The young woman stood out, she was different, but she was welcomed and loved in the village.
When the war started, women were warned to stay inside if there was word that soldiers were coming down the road. Men who had been without physical contact could be unpredictable, they could hurt a woman with their desires. There had been stories of women being taken captive by armies and held as a sexual prisoner, women had died that way, even from their own country's army. The stories were enough to scare anyone, especially a young, sick girl who didn't know anything about that sort of thing, her mind traveled to a million different possibilities.
The army came into their town that day, a farmer had seen them from a distance. Already the women were careful because a French army wasn't too far away, and suddenly even more were coming, straight into Rudnya. The atmosphere changed quickly from one that was careful but still moving around to one that was shut off completely.
Andrei Ryzhkov was furious as he watched one grouping position themselves on his farm land. He was reaching for a gun that he kept in the house, wanting to chase them off when his wife grabbed his hand and shook her head. Elizabeta sat with her older brother, Alexei as their mother pointed out that if he went out and confronted them he would be killed and there would be no one to protect their family, Alexei would be killed, the two women would be raped and who knows what would happen next. With a look at his daughter, he knew that he couldn't, but he wanted them as far away as possible.
"Elizabeta, Anyanka, to the loft, I do not want them to see you." He commanded of his wife and daughter as he put his gun away and straightened his clothing, prepared to meet with the men, to keep his family and farm safe. Her mother was quick going up the ladder and hiding high, while the blonde stood and peeked her face from the window for a brief moment to look at the army, before being summoned again and hurrying up, to hide out of sight. But while it was scare, it was also fascinating to know that there was someone else out there....