Ring

Nikolai was waiting for Werner with a pocketknife and a pair of pliers. He had them both pocketed in his army coat. He was smoking, as usual, and as Werner hurried over to him his face broke out into a big smile. "Abend, Kolya" Werner said. 

"Abend." Nikolai responded. "Are you ready?"

"Yep." So Nikolai led Werner into one of the buildings that wasn't used too much. It was one of the only places in Auschwitz with a oven that wasn't used to cook. Nikolai had never been quite sure what exactly was made here, but it didn't matter. "We should probably take some metal from here." He whipped the pliers out of his coat and proudly presented them to Werner. "Here!" 

"Thank you, Kolya." Werner took them. The two started on their journey to find metal. It took a while to find something they could cut through with the pliers. Most of the metal strips were rusty, or far to big or impossible to cut. After about half an hour of searching they found a little bit of metal jutting out from under a pipe. They cut off a strip and headed back to the front of the building where the furnace was. "Should we clean this first?" Werner asked. Nikolai nodded. 

After cleaning and drying it, they took the pliers and clipped off the edges, leaving only a small strip of metal. Nikolai turned the oven on. They didn't need to let it get to full power and they didn't want to completely melt the metal either, so they put it on the board in front of the mouth of the oven. 

"I forgot a hammer." Nikolai said all of a sudden. "Wait here, I'll go get one. By then the metal might have softened a bit. I'll also get some better gloves." He promised. A second later Nikolai dissappeared out of the building, leaving Werner alone. 

At first it didn't bother the young man. But as the minutes slowly piled up onto each other he began to become impatient and a bit nervous. The building wasn't very well lit, every open door led into a pool of darkness. Werner shuddered. There were definitely ghosts in Auschwitz. He leaned against the side of the oven, it was warm which was comforting. I hope Nikolai comes back soon. His thoughts were interrupted by a creak on an upstairs floor. He shivered. But he had to smile after a second; of course it was creepy to be in a building alone at night, but it still wasn't even a fraction as terrifying as the day in Auschwitz. At least there was nothing to see at night. 

Nikolai was facing problems of his own. He'd managed to nick a hammer, but he was still searching for better gloves. The ones they had were sturdy and warm, but he wasn't sure if they'd hold out the heat enough or if Werner would burn his fingers. But after ten minutes of searching he had to give up and head back to the building where his friend was waiting. 

"I brought the hammer but I couldn't find other gloves, sorry." 

"No problem. I don't think the metal is soft enough yet." 

"Let me see." Nikolai took the hammer and gently tapped it on the metal. "You were right, it's not ready yet." 

"How long do you think it'll take?"

"Probably too long. Let's turn the oven up." So they cranked up the heat. It was nice and cozy next to the oven. Both had forgot that they needed a bucket of water to dunk the hot metal in, they'd first realize that while preforming the act of bending it. 

"You're only by Marie one night, right?" Nikolai asked. 

"Yes. Why?"

"I just wanted to know how long I'll have to go without you." He answered with a wink. Werner rolled his eyes. "No but really, have fun. And bring me back something to eat." He added. Werner laughed and promised too. "Especially if it's meat...chicken or something. I haven't had a good meal in a while."

"Yes, the food from the kitchen is alright but not great." Werner agreed. "I have a question, Kolya."

"Ask me." 

"Is your name really Nikolai?" 

"Why would you ask me that?" 

"Because, well, you probably changed your first name as well. I'm guessing your surname isn't Hart either." 

"Why would I chose a Russian first name if I was supposed to be German?" Nikolai challanged.

"Because you're cocky." Werner answered. Nikolai burst out laughing. His eyes were gleaming, Werner was pretty sure that he was right. But Nikolai didn't tell him his real name, not yet.

They waited another hour before it was possible to bang the ring into place. Nikolai had to rush out to get a bail of water. Werner carefully forged the ring, Nikolai helped him a lot, showing him how and where to tap the metal with the hammer's head. 

All in all it took them about four and a half hours from beginning to end. The product was beautiful even in it's plainness. It was a slim metal ring that curled around the finger three times, both ends were slightly pointed. 

"I think she's going to love it, Killy." Kolya said. Killian nodded, proud of his work and full of anticipation. Would she love it?