Well as I think others have made pretty clear before me, we do not own "TSOM". This is just a story I wrote in for fun and in the lack of inspiration to my songwriting another inpiration came to me.
Why is it that sometimes you have to let others tell you what you really want? Why must you let others tell you what your heart really seeks? And why do you have to let them see you for what you really are and tell you what to do? I have not yet found an answer to this question. But maybe, someday, someone will. And until that day, I, and many others, have to wait.
The Captain stood in the middle of the ballroom. He couldn't understand what had happened to him. Well, he guessed he always had thought Maria was attractive, she had that twinkle in her eye that not every woman had. But after that dance, she had left him speechless. If the baroness hadn't said what she said, he properly hadn't moved. That second, all he wanted was just to stand there, look really deeply into Maria's eyes, and he could have told her everything he felt. And the funny thing was that she looked the same way, it didn't look like she really wanted to leave either. But she felt uncomfortable in front of Elsa and the children.
And now she was joining the party, Max had discovered his weakness. Seen that she didn't take no for an answer, and that he didn't really say no to her either. Now she was upstairs, getting dressed, he could not wait to see her again, see what kind of lovely dress she was wearing. The baroness was up there too. He wondered why.
"You are thinking of letting the children sing at the festival, Georg, I can see it in your eyes. I can feel it!" Max stood right behind him, and made the captain almost jump, being so into his own thoughts. He turned around and gave Max a sort of stiff smile "No Max, that wasn't what I was thinking about, in fact, I think I made that matter quite clear earlier."
" Oh… So tell me then, what were you thinking about?" Georg looked like he had seen a ghost. "Well I think that's kind of private, don't you Max?" Max grinned. "Maybe, but you know me Georg, I like knowing what people think. That's what's makeing life interesting, every single little disgusting detail. And besides, you looked so dreamy over here. So I got curious." Max smiled like he'd just uncovered the secrets of the universe. And Georg had to admit, he was onto something. Not that he thought Max had managed to put it all together yet, but he could.
"No, I was just thinking, about the party, the weather and about…" "About Maria?" Max didn't let him finish. Georg looked around quickly, like he was checking that no one else had paid attention. Then he turned to Max and looked just a little bit confused. "Now why exactly would I be thinking about Fräulein Maria?" Georg tried to look like he absolutely had no idea what Max was talking about, hoping he would fall for it. But he also kept his voice down so no one would hear it. "Now don't you play stupid, I know you know what I mean! But perhaps you want us to have this conversation into your office? That way no one can hear us" He winked at Georg like he said: I know that you are worried about that. "Okay, but I honestly don't think there's anything to discuss." Georg hadn't really decided yet if he was going to tell how he felt. So he thought he would give a diffuse answer.
"It was very kind of you to offer to help me, baroness" Maria said and looked at her. "But I really don't think I have anything that would be appropriate." She went on.
The Baroness stood there. Face to face with the woman her Captain loved, it made her sick of jealousy. She just didn't get it. It wasn't that this woman was more attractive then herself, she could see that... Well not that she wasn't attractive, it was just that she was more lady-like herself. SHE didn't run around in the hills, playing and singing. No, that was Maria. She couldn't understand how a man like Georg could fall in love with a woman like Maria. Maria didn't have the class she herself had. Well, maybe she hadn't really known what kind of man he was when she first met him.
After all, he had blossomed very much lately, and she knew the reason. The reason was Maria. She knew the good; even the proper thing to do here was to step aside. But would she be strong enough to do it? Would she just step aside and watch her man have someone else? She knew that she should, but would she? She had to make a last minute decision.
She was a baroness for Gods sake, baronesses never loose, or at least she didn't think so.
Georg and Max walked up the stairs. When they passed Maria's room Max noticed that Georg turned towards the door and tried to find a way to get a look inside the room, to see what was going on. As he couldn't, he turned to the hallway again, Max could see Georg was disappointed and it made him smile.
When they got to the office door, he turned to Georg and raised his eyebrows, "Now Georg, wouldn't you say it is highly impropriate to spy on a woman who is getting dressed?" Georg looked like he had just fallen down from the moon, and that made Max smile even more. "Eh, hum. Well I was just…" He didn't get the time to finish the sentence before Max interrupted him "You were just what?" "Well if you could just let me finish I might tell you!" He was clearly upset, Max grinned. "Go on." "Well I just wanted to check if everything was all right in there." Georg felt quite satisfied with his explanation, but he could see from Max's expression that he wasn't at all happy with it.
The baroness had come to a decision. She knew what she wanted to do. She had to putt that feeling of guilt she had aside, and just play by her own cards. This was about her, she didn't have to think about how her boyfriends children's governess felt. And she wanted to be the co-captain of this ship. No matter how she had to be to get there. She took a deep breath, it was time.
"Now where is that lovely little thing you were wearing the other evening, when the captain couldn't keep his eyes off you?" she turned towards the closet, opened it and found the dress. Maria couldn't believe what she just had heard the baroness say. And she turned towards the window to clear her mind and find a proper answer. It was no use, those six last words kind of stuck in her head. Couldn't keep his eyes off me? She said he couldn't keep his eyes off me! What could she say to that? She really hadn't got a clue. She decided that it was no use trying to figure it out, but something, something had to be said. "Couldn't keep his eyes off me?" She realized it wasn't at all what she wanted to say the second she did so. "Come, my dear, we are women. Then let's not pretend we don't know when a man notices us. Here we are" With these words she left Maria more confused than ever before.
"The captain notices everybody and everything!" Maria had turned to the window now. As longing for something to happen, something to let her run away.