Falling Star- Chapter 1

………………………….

Mourmelon-le-Grande, December 16th

Roseanna Caine, 22 years young, sprayed an even layer of hairspray through her tightly-pinned back coffee-coloured curls as she surveyed her face in the mirror. Setting the bottle of lacquer down on the vanity desk, she reached for her ruby red lipstick and applied a slick layer to match her red figure-hugging dress, blotting it on a tissue before pouting into the mirror. Yes, perfect. Clucking her tongue, she surveyed herself. Something was missing. What? Ah yes, she reached into one of the nearby boxes, rummaging through it for her oversized red hair flower. She paused as her eyes caught the poster attached to the nearby wall of the small, makeshift dressing room. A picture of her and her stepsister, Lola Caine, 2 years her senior and a steely, icy expression on her face. Underneath the USO Logo, a large printed piece of text declared: "THE CAINE SISTERS- SETTING THE STAGE ALIGHT FOR US SOLDIERS AFTER 4 YEARS APART". Sisters, she thought bitterly to herself. She'd never classed Lola as her sister, and resented the happy family image portrayed in the media. In fact, they were only stepsisters. When Roseanna was 11, having lost her mother at childbirth, her father, a household name famous singer in his own right, William Caine, married (in her opinion) an odious and self-centred widowed socialite, and thus adopting her equally detestable daughter, Lola. The Stepmother, ever-hooked on the sweet taste of fame and celebrity, encouraged the two girls, both of whom had talent for singing, into a singing duet. Luckily, on the back of her father's success, their duo took off and from 1936 to 1940 they dominated the US radiowaves and ragtime magazine covers. But Roseanna had never been happy, not for a single second, caught in the snare of a domineering stepmother and stepsister, and receiving no help from a thoroughly under-the-thumb father. Shaking her head, Roseanna grabbed the hair flower and positioned it carefully behind her left ear. She smiled satisfactorily. It would do.

"No!" A panic-stricken voice rang out from behind her. It was Annie Wilkes, the girls' personal assistant and Roseanna's best friend since childhood. "Not the red, Roseanna!"

"What?" Roseanna wrinkled up her nose, turning in her hair to look at the stressed, petite, redhead. "What are you talking about?"

"You can't wear red, not tonight. Lola is, and she said it's her signature colour," Annie sighed, glancing weary eyes at her. "She told me explicitly that you were not to wear red, you know that."

"But I'm all dressed," Roseanna spat out indignantly. "Besides, it's only a colour. Who cares?"

"Well, evidently Lola does."

She rolled her eyes, sick of everyone allowing Lola to act like a petulant child in spite of her 24 years. "Well Lola can grow up."

Annie sighed, knowing that each of the young starlets were as stubborn as each other and that any attempts to persuade either would be futile. Defeated, she sank into a nearby chair.

"How is the venue?" Roseanna asked, sliding a bracelet tenderly onto her wrist.

"Not very big, as we expected when we drove in," Annie replied. "Small crowd. Plenty of good lookin' fellas, though."

"Why are we playing here anyway?" she asked. "Seems an oddly small venue to bring the whole USO troupe to."

"Well it's full of bored, restless soldiers who've been given nothing to do but training drills for the last few weeks," Annie mused. "Guess they thought it wouldn't go amiss bring some cheer to them, especially in the run up to Christmas."

"Ah Christmas," a smile spread over her face at the thought as she pursed her lips into the mirror. "One more show tonight, and then back to the U.S for Christmas. I can't wait!"

"Tell me about it," Annie sighed, equally as excited at the prospect. "So you're father hasn't managed to convince you to have Christmas at the Caine mansion this year yet?"

"Oh God no," she frowned, making a face. "I'll only be there for Christmas Eve, when Bizarre Magazine is coming to take photos for a feature spread- "Christmas with the Caines". I'll be leaving for Iowa that night though for Christmas day with my Grandma."

"As far away from Lola as possible,"

"Exactly," Roseanna smiled happily. "Christmas in the flyover zone. About as far from flashing lights, reporters and would-be family members as you can get."

They were interrupted by a quiet knocking at the door. A young private, blushing immediately, gingerly put his head around the door. "Five minutes to curtain, Miss Caine."

Smoothing out the crinkled chiffon of her dress, She stood up and began to walk towards the door.

Reaching out, Annie held her arm for a brief, last moment. "Are you sure you won't consider changing your dress?"

Roseanna rolled her eyes. "Absolutely. Why should I change?"

…………………………

Waiting in the wings of the makeshift stage, Roseanna peered around the curtains to look at Lola Caine on stage, mid-song. She had pulled a young, cheeky-faced and elated looking soldier onstage and was presently serenading him with her dulcet, iconic tones that had since made her a star in her own right. Her red dress was exactly identical to Roseanna's, the only difference being the way that it contrasted against her more porcelain white skin and ash blonde curls in comparison to Roseanna's rather more olive skin and brown curls. From her dark corner in the wings, Roseanna let her shoulders sag slightly as she watched her stepsister on stage. She hated to admit it, but she felt inferior to the blonde bombshell. She'd always felt Lola to be the prettier one of the duet and, at times, the more talented singer. Then, when Roseanna had reached 19 years old, found the courage to stand up for herself and leave the group and enrolled at Sarah Lawrence College, Lola took the opportunity to launch herself as a solo star, which she achieved to great effect, plunging herself into stardom on the same level as many of the established starlets and singing sensations of the time. Roseanna watched as Lola plucked the identical red flower from her hair and traced it along the jawline of the ecstatic young private, staring into his eyes whilst singing seductively at him. Whoops and cheers filled the small auditorium. The crowd loved her. The song came to a close and Lola demurely clasped her hands over her chest in appreciation as the applause roared in.

"Well thank you! Thank you all so much," Lola's sickly sweet tones floated through the microphone and over the crowd. Roseanna knew, however, it was all part of the Lola Caine Act, and that her real tone was distinctly icier. "It's been such a pleasure singin' for you all tonight. You all serve our great country so bravely and we're all so grateful to each and every one of you. Now…the entertainment for tonight doesn't stop here, fellas. Comin' up next is a very special person to me, someone you all know very well. That's riiiight, it's my former singin' partner and dear, dear baby sister. Now she's been off betterin' herself at college for the last few years so we haven't heard too much from recently, but myself and daddy, William Caine, were able to convince her into joinin' the USO with us so that we could entertain all you brave, brave soldiers. Now she's busted back onto the singin' scene and, let me tell you, she has been setting stages alight at USO performances all over the world! So please, fellas, put your hands together and let out a big cheer for…Roseanna Caine!"

Hearing her cue, Roseanna put a big, enthusiastic smile on her face and began her walk onto stage as cheers filled the room. Instantly, she caught Lola's face. If looks could kill, she would have been in pieces right that second. Lola's angry eyes looked her up and down, taking in the identical dress and lipstick, before boring daggers into her eyes. Only for a brief second though as, being the star she was, Lola knew persona was everything and she plastered the grin back on her face and turning back to face the crowd. Roseanna, laughing on the inside, strode up beside her stepsister and stood next to her, waving to the crowd and placing on hand on her hips.

"Well hello there," she said into the microphone. Cheers flared up again.

"Well they just love you, don't they Roseanna," Lola purred into the mic.

"Well gee I don't know, Lola, I think they're still just excited from hearin' you play," Roseanna winked, used to the necessary pre-singing "banter".

"Hush now, that's not true," Lola cried over the cheers. "Well would you listen to the racket of that crowd, they are really havin' a good time. You know what I think, Roseanna?"

"What's that, Lola?"

"I think they'd like to hear us do a duet later, whaddya think?" cheers rang out deafeningly around the room.

"Well it sure sounds that they'd like that," Roseanna, put both hands on her hips as she leaned into the mic. "Would y'all like that?"

The cries said it all.

"I think that answers that one, don't you?" Lola giggled. "Righty folks, I'm gonna leave you now in that capable hands of my dear sister, but I might be back later for that duet, you never know!"

The girls shared an unenthusiastic hug, before Lola sloped offstage, leaving Roseanna alone with her audience. Sitting down on the stool in the middle of the stage, she lower the microphone down to her height and waited for silence to fall over the room. When the noise ceased, she leaned into the microphone and gingerly said. "I'd like to start with a song…"

…………………………

As Roseanna finished her last song, the crowd burst into rapturous applause, much to her delight. She still got such a kick out of applause.

"Thank you, thank you!" She said into the microphone, addressing the men who looked at her expectantly. "Well, that's about it from me tonight. On behalf of the entire USO troupe, we'd just like to thank you again for your dedicated service and we hope you've enjoyed the performance tonight. The USO is all about treatin' you fellas well so for those of you who feel too exhilarated by tonight's performance to be able to sleep, a film will be provided for you immediately after the show. Tonight we're showing Seven Sinners with John Wayne and the beautiful Marlene Dietrich. So I hope you'll all enjoy that. But now, as you've waited so patiently all evening, I'd like to invite someone back onstage to sing duet with me and to sing you fellas out. So please, put your hands together as we welcome back onstage…LOLA CAINE!"

………………………

Fifteen minutes later, after their final duet and two encores, both girls shimmied off the stage. The plastered-on grins left each of their faces the minute the set foot backstage. Immediately, Roseanna felt Lola's hand on her back, her nails clawing into her back as she felt herself being roughly ushered through a set of double swing door and into the back corridor.

"What are you doing," Roseanna erupted, turning around the face the red-faced and seething Lola. "Get your damn hands off of me!"

"Ladies…," Annie pleaded, appearing uneasily behind them. "Let's just calm down."

"How dare you!" Lola spat out, her height giving her a temporary advantage over her younger stepsister. "I told you not to wear the red dress tonight!"

"And who let you decide?!" She retorted. "It's only a dress, Lola! Jesus, it was the first one I saw and I put it on, I didn't remember you'd booked it. Do you think any of those soldiers actually gave a damn?!"

Embroiled so deeply in the moment, no one saw a uniformed man enter, look alarmed at the scene and gingerly ask if everything was alright.

Lola's face reddened with anger and both Annie and Roseanna winced slightly, knowing what was coming- both had often been on the receiving end of one of Lola Caine's infamous physical bouts of rage. In one move Lola lurched forward, roughly pushing her stepsister, screaming as she did. Roseanna tried to steady herself, but the force sent her back, her high heels losing balance as she fell backwards, hitting the ground with a hard crash . As if on cue, the uniformed soldier rushed to her side, squatting down to her level.

"This is my show, Roseanna! Don't forget, you're only here because Dad made me take you with me!" Lola stamped her heel, fuming as she turned on her heel and placing a rough hand on Annie's shoulder. "Come on, Annie!"

Annie stared at her best friend for a brief moment as if she wanted to protest but then looked down, shaking her head as she let Lola drag her down the corridor to her dressing room.

"He's not even your dad!" Roseanna couldn't stop herself from shouting after her down the corridor, as though the anger had been infectious. Breathing deeply, she suddenly became aware of the hands on either side of her shoulder and looked up for the first time the uniformed soldier, tall and kind looking, with red hair.

"Are you alright, Miss?" He asked, using his gentle grip on her shoulders to manoeuvre her back onto her feet.

"Thank you," she said, looking down and blushing slightly, embarrassed that he'd seen that scene.

"You're welcome," he said, offering her a little smile as though sensing the tension. "Sisterly spat?"

"She is not my sister," Roseanna replied automatically and indignantly. "But yes, something like that."

"Stepsister, sorry," he corrected himself. "My mistake."

She shook her head dismissively, smiling at him. She wanted to change the subject, now. "Did you enjoy the show?"

"I didn't get to see it all," he said, nodding. "But yes, I enjoyed what I did see. I like your music very much, and I'm a big fan of your father's."

"He'd be so pleased to hear that," she smiled.

They stared at each other for a few seconds, a slightly awkward tension settling over the corridor.

"Well, I should get back to the mess hall, if you're alright, that is," he piped up.

"Oh, I'm fine. Nothing I can't handle," she said, beaming at him. "Thank you again for helping me."

"It was my pleasure, Miss," he said, tipping his head gently at her. "You have a good night."

"And you," she called back over her shoulder, making her way to her dressing room.

……………..

In the comfort of her makeshift dressing room, she changed from her dress into a comfortable pair of slacks and a sweater. She sighed, preferring comfortable fabric of her sweater to the tight dress. She heard a gentle knock at the door.

"Come in," she called out, folding her dress into her travel bag.

Annie shuffled quietly into the room, looking deflated.

"Are you alright?" Roseanna asked quietly, almost guiltily. She knew Lola would have taken out her anger and then some on their poor personal assistant.

"Not really, no," Annie said, leaning against the wall. She was silent for a moment. "Why didn't you just change your dress?"

She paused for a moment. "Well…why should I have?"

"Because I asked you to," Annie uttered simply, her face heavy and despairing. "You know, it's not just you she takes it out on, you know. I had to bear the brunt of that, you know. Didn't you think about that?"

"Look, I'm sorry," she said genuinely. "But everyone tiptoes around and bends over backwards for that girl. It's just not right…."

"I know, but that's just the way it is," Annie shrugged her shoulders, opening the door. She turned back to Roseanna before slipping back out. "You think you'd be used to it by now."

Alone again, Roseanna looked down, her shoulders heavy. Annie was right, it would always be this way, and nobody would never know what an axe wound she really was except those on the inner circle. She hated that, hated that so many people were being duped by this angelic-looking girl. Getting to her feet, she decided she needed to walk. Where? Just anywhere, really. She found herself back in the mess hall, where most of the soldiers were still congregated, engrossed in the film. Trying to be inconspicuous, she grabbed a nearby army jacket off of the back of a soldier's chair at the very back of the hall and slung it around her shoulders. She'd return it before he noticed. Eager not to be spotted, she hid in the shadows in the very back corner and began to watch the film. She loved this one, despite watching it around 40 times at various USO shows on her travels. Marlene Dietrich was her idol. So beautiful and seductive, a really powerful woman. She'd heard by word of mouth that she'd recently been in Reims performing, but Roseanna herself had been booked for a USO show in Paris, so hadn't been able to go and see her. Pity. As she watched Marlene interact with John Wayne on the screen, she became so engrossed that she barely became aware of lights suddenly flooding the room and the rush of feet. She suddenly snapped to attention, watching the soldier addressing the room.

"Elements of the 1st and 6th SS Panzer Division have broken through in the Ardennes Forest. Now they've overrun the 28th Infantry and elements of the 4th. All Officers report to respective HQs. All weekend passes are cancelled," he rang out to the room, amid groans and protests. She wasn't well-versed in military speak, but she gathered that it meant they were on the move.

Quickly, before the men began to rouse themselves from their chairs, she slipped out of the room, before anyone could see her.

"Hey, where's my jacket?!"

……………………………….

When Lola got back to her dressing room, she'd been met by a very stressed Annie who'd already been made aware of the situation. Get your things together quickly, she'd warned, we're outta here in 30 minutes.

So Roseanna had quickly packed all her belongings, well as quickly as one can pack countless dresses, make-up and hair products and manoeuvre a clothing rail outside. But she'd managed it, and stood outside amidst all of the chaos of the army preparing itself to move on. Everywhere she looked, bodies were moving around, hurrying onto their next task or to wherever they needed to be. Everything was in such disarray, she began to get worried. Suddenly, she spotted Annie and ran over. "Which truck are we in, Annie?"

"Ummm, I don't know yet, one of those ones," she pointed into the distance.

All of the trucks looked the same.

"I'll be right back, wait here for Lola. I told her to meet us right here," Annie said, rushing off, clutching a clipboard tightly to her chest.

She stood by herself, shivering against the cold as she grasped tightly onto her holdall, watching the men whizz by her.

"Hey that's my…," A voice came from behind her. She whizzed around, face to face with the soldier that Lola had invited onstage for a serenade.

"That's my jacket," he said, looking sheepishly at her. "Sorry, Miss Caine. I didn't realise it was you."

"That's alright," She said, noticing she was still wearing the jacket. She took it off and held it out to him. "Sorry, I only borrowed it because I came in to watch the film and I wanted to…blend in a little."

"Not a problem, Ma'am," he grinned sheepishly. "I wish I could let you keep it on this cold night…"

"No please," she smiled, waving her hand dismissively at him. "I think you'll be needing it much more than me."

"You're right about that," he returned the smile. "Can I just say. I am such a huge fan…"

"Oh, thanks," She blushed.

"…of your sister," he said, realising the confusion and reddening. "Such a huge fan of your sister. Sorry…you're great too though, of course. I loved all the songs you did as a duet."

"Oh," she looked down. "Well, I'll let her know."

His face lit up. "You will? Hey, that's great. Tell her George Luz says hi."

"I will," she nodded politely.

"That's George Luz," he repeated.

"Yes, alright," she nodded again.

"L-U-Z, "he repeated slowly.

"Okay…," she looked at him tersely. "I think I got it."

"Ok," he said, looking at the soldiers rushing by. "Well I should really get going. Thanks for the jacket back."

"Nice to meet you, George Luz," she offered him a final polite smile, watching him run off to his platoon.

"There you are," Lola appeared from behind her, trussed up against the cold, December air in a long fur coat, with a scarf swept around and over her neck. "What are you doing just standing here?"

Roseanna looked at her sister with tedium. "I don't know which truck we're in yet. They all look the damn same as the one we came in on. I'm waiting on Annie letting me know."

"Well she just told me," We're taking off from that one there," Lola pointed to the distance. "It's already been loaded up with troupe boxes."

"Well, come on then," Roseanna rolled her eyes at her stepsister's tone, picking up her holdall and slinging it around her shoulder as best as she could.

"I still have a few more things to pack, since Annie doesn't seem to be doing it for me," Lola tutted, tapping her heeled shoes impatiently off the ground. She took off her scarf and handed it to her."Why don't you go and get us some good seats, put my scarf on mine. I don't want to end up sitting next to those new USO guys with the accordions. They played those damn things all the way from Paris to here, and I don't want to listen to that again."

"Will you pick up winter coat from my dressing room?" She asked, watching her stepsister turn on her heel. "I forgot it and it's freezing!"

"Fine," Lola sighed, walking away and muttering under her breath. "As if I don't have enough to do."

Roseanna struggled with her holdall over to the truck and pulled herself up onto it. It was filled with boxes, so much so she wondered how they'd all fit in it. She was used to that though, the troupes travelled with everything they needed for their show and also all necessary provision so she was well used to travelling in cramped conditions. Unlike Lola, however, she never bitched about it. Finding a little quiet spot behind some boxes, she nestled herself into the seat and placed Lola's scarf on the space beside her. She sighed, waiting for everyone else to join her, enjoying that the boxes created a barrier from the wind. As she waited, the exhaustion from the show and the friction with Lola began to catch up with her. She yawned…and then next thing she was asleep.

…………………………..

Absent-mindedly, Roseanna opened one eye groggily. She could feel that the van was in motion. Finally, she thought to herself. She couldn't move, so sleepy she was. Closing her eyes again, she allowed the rocking of the moving van lull her back to sleep.

…………………………..

"Excuse me."

She felt someone poking her in the arm.

"Excuse me."

"Go away," she moaned, not opening her eyes.

"Who are…shit!" the person let out a scream. "Roseanna Caine?!"

Hearing her name, her eyes flew open and immediately she sprang to life. She sat up quickly, looking around her and at the soldier staring at her, half in confusion and half in alarm.

"Who are you?" she stared at him in confusion. Suddenly, her eyes darting around, she realised there was no one else from the troupe in her truck. "Hang on…where the hell am I?"

"Uhh…you're in Belgium, ma'am," he stared at her, cock-eyed. He held up one finger at her. "Excuse me for just one moment."

Bewildered, she watched him walk off. Shit, shit, shit. She crawled to the edge of the truck and peered out the side of the canopy. Soldiers, everywhere. Trucks, everywhere. Belgium?! What the hell was going on. Where was Annie? Where was Lola?! A sense of fear growing in her stomach, she crawled back behind the temporary safety of the stacked boxes.

"Excuse me," a familiar voice sounded out.

"She's in there, Captain Winters. I told her I'd be right back."

"Miss Caine?" the familiar voice sounded out again, sounding slightly stressed. "Are you in there?"

Clearing her throat, Roseanna composed herself, emerging from behind the boxes and coming face-to-face with the soldier who'd picked her up after Lola had upended her. "It's you."

A slightly panicked look befell Captain Winters' face. "Miss Caine, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she nodded. "Slightly confused, and embarrassed but…"

"How did you get here, Ma'am?"

"Well…," she bit her lip. "It appears that I've somehow gotten onto the wrong truck. Simple enough, I suppose. Now if we could just somehow right this little wrong."

His face was worryingly sceptical. "That's the thing you see…."

"The thing?" She repeated, worriedly.

"I…," he held up a finger at her, much in the vein of the first soldier. "I'll be right back."

"For the love of God," she whispered to herself.

Several moments passed, and then another face appeared at the foot of the truck, grinning inquisitively at her.

"Who are you?" she asked bluntly, alarmed, shimmying over to the end of the truck to get a better look at him. He was handsome, short with jet black hair and the signs of incoming stubble.

"Captain Nixon," he replied, grinning at her amusedly. "Captain Lewis Nixon. I had to see this with my own eyes before I could believe it. Keen to join the fight or somethin'?"

She paused for a moment, taken aback slightly by his bluntness. "No, just got on the wrong truck is all." Smart, Roseanna, smart.

"Here," he held out a hand to her. "Let me give you a hand down."

She accepted, and in seconds he'd hoisted her down onto her feet, finally free of the confines of the truck.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS, DICK?" an approaching voice thundered from nearby. Roseanna winced slightly at the tone.

The redheaded soldier from earlier returned accompanied by an older gentleman, an altogether more irate looking gentleman. Roseanna tried to remain composed and appear confident, even though he scared her slightly.

"Well Sir," the redhead explained tentatively. "It appears she mounted the wrong truck, a cargo truck."

"And nobody noticed?" The older man fired, angrily.

"Apparently not, Colonel," Nixon cut in.

"Unbelievable," The older man looked at her. "Unbelievable. Young lady do you realise what a situation this has put us in?!"

She felt herself getting a little angry at the question and, before she could stop herself, shot out. "Excuse me! Don't you know who I am." She instantly chastised herself and regretted this, wrinkling her nose in disgust. It made her sound like Lola.

The older man just stared back at her. "…No. Who is she, Captain Winters?"

The redhead coughed slightly, before piping up. "This is Roseanna Caine sir. She's a singer with the USO and…well…a singer in her own right in the US."

His expression didn't change. "Still don't know her."

"Her father is the single William Caine," Nix added, smirking.

His expression finally softened. "Oh…I like his music."

"Oh really?" She smiled, keen to get this man on her side as, frankly, he seemed too scary a man to be on the wrong side of.

"Smoky Summer Blues…I liked that one," he said, seemingly forgetting the situation for a moment.

She smiled. "That's his favourite too. You know he wrote that about my mother."

"No kiddin'," He raised his eyebrows, interested.

Dick coughed again. "If I could just direct us back to the matter at hand, Colonel Sink."

Colonel, Roseanna remarked to herself.

"Right," Sink snapped back to reality. "Well, Miss Caine, there appears to be a bit of a problem."

"What's the problem, Colonel?" She bit her lip.

"Well to put it bluntly…getting you out of here," he said, matter-of-factly.

"Surely you can just set me back the way I came on an outgoing truck," she said, sweetly yet panicked.

"Unfortunately for you, Miss Caine…we're entering into a major offensive that I won't bore you with the details of. But suffice it to say that, as of now, any trucks leaving here in either direction are going to places you don't want to be going," he informed her.

She paled. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that we'll get you out of here ASAP…but for the moment…I'm afraid you're stuck with us, Miss Caine."

The words spun around her head, making her feel increasingly dizzy. Excusing herself, she dazedly wandered across the crowd of soldier preparing themselves for the offensive, and noticing her at the same time. Amid the hushed whisperings of Isn't that Roseanna Caine, she could hear phrases that were filling her with dread such as the krauts, they slaughtered us and you gotta get outta here and what the hell are we s'posed to do with no ammo. Feeling on the verge of fainting, she sat on a nearby crate and put her head in her hands. She shouldn't be here, she shouldn't be here. She felt somebody kneel down in front of her and uncovered her face to reveal Dick Winters, holding a coat in his arms.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his face full of concern as he looked at her.

She didn't reply.

"I thought you could use a coat," he said, standing up and draping it round her shoulders. "It's cold out. I have to get back, I've got things to prepare…but I'll have someone check on you and keep you informed of when we're moving out."

He left as quickly as he'd come, and she was alone again…. Alone. And Scared.