Notes: This story will probably turn M soon, I think I can get away with a T-rating for this chapter and maybe the next. Let me know if I'm wrong about that. It was partly inspired by the story ''Lessons in Love'' by Warmwoollenmittens: I really like how she slowly builds up to the wedding night, how in every chapter they go a step further (and how naughty Georg is XD). For my story I wanted any sexual activity to take place after the wedding night and try to stay true to the characters in the movie, allthough I must say, this first chapter takes place inside Georg's head and that was hard because obviously you can't see what he's thinking in the movie.
The idea for this fanfic is that they do not engage in sexual relations right away in the wedding night, they take it step by step, day by day. It's important to me that when things do heat up more, Maria is still the assertive, confident woman she is in the movie, allthough she will also probably be a bit timid in the beginning. This is my first attempt at writing fanfiction so any review and feedback is highly appreciated. :) :)
Chapter 1
Georg was standing with his hands on the banister of his balcony, looking out on the grounds like he often did. This time though, he could not see the slender figure of Fräulein Maria wandering aimlessly in the moonlight. He stared at the dark silhouettes of the trees, softly swaying in a late summers' breeze. It had all gone so fast. One moment he had been engaged to Elsa, who he had thought to be his saviour, two lost souls revelling in finding one another. She was stylish, classy, the perfect fit for his standing in society. And yet what he had needed the most he had found in his governess, Maria, his true hearts' desire. She was the one who made him aware of the most important thing in life, his children. She was the one who lit a fire in the heart he had tucked away, to save himself from the deep pain he felt after losing Agatha.
They were to be married soon. Married... he couldn't wait to be joined with Maria, yet... he was worried about what came after. Maria was intended to be a nun, a virgin, forever. Up until now they had traded chaste kisses and caresses. But what came in the wedding bed... was not chaste. And he did not want to scare or hurt her.
He had been surprised though, at how forward Maria could be with her touches. The night of his proposal, she had slid her arms around his neck, and moved her lips closer to his... She liked their kisses and caresses just as much as he did. His heart gave a little tug at that.
Still, to move from the innocence of their touches to... in one night seemed too quick for him to be comfortable with. He wanted it to be slow, he wanted Maria to be ready. He wanted her to want him just as much as he wanted her. Oh, how he wanted her. He remembered that day when he came home from Vienna. How she came out of the water, how he tried to ignore the way the wet fabric clung to her figure. And then how passionately she had stood up to him, not for herself but for the children's sake. When she implored him to love them, love them all, and came standing close to him, he had to walk away. It wasn't just that he did not want to hear her message at the time, it was also that the attraction he felt to Maria, that he had refused to acknowledge until then, came to life in a way that was unquestionable.
He knew, after that. He denied it because he did not want to hurt Elsa, did not want to go back on all the words and time they had shared. He cared about her, knew that she loved him more than she let on. But in his willingness not to hurt her, he had hurt her even more. Had he been honest with himself about his true feelings, he would never have asked Maria to dance with him during the ball. In the days after, when Maria had left the children, left him, he felt her absence in every nerve of his body. He should have let Elsa go then, but in a world that suddenly felt so confusing without Maria, he could not upset the order of things even more.
When Maria came back, it was like the return of the sun, this time even brighter than before because he knew how grey his life was without her. Everything became so much clearer. He could not marry Elsa because it was the proper thing to do after all his attentions. The only proper thing to do was to break of the engagement and set her free.
Elsa's response was that of a typical classy lady. Even with a broken heart, she gave him a goodbye-gift. She told him that Maria would never be a nun, which gave him a sense of hope. Had Elsa seen something in Maria, some little sign that his feelings for her might be mutual?
In the soft summer night he went to her, out by the gazebo. When he sat next to her on the bench, it dawned on him that they had never been alone together, just the two of them. In spite of his fear of rejection, he could not help but rejoice in the simple fact of being near her. When she told him she was sorry to hear that he broke of his engagement with Elsa, for a moment his heart sank. Had he read the signs wrong? Was she only concerned for the children, that they would have a mother? Did she not know how much he cared for her?
He had to tell her. Standing close to her, staring out the window of the gazebo, too scared to look her in the eye, he said: ''You can't marry someone when you're... in love with someone else. Can you?'' And he looked at her. Wide-eyed like a doe she shook her head. He couldn't help himself, he had to reach out for a kiss, and all the fears in his head evaporated as she moved her lips closer to his. Feeling her soft and warm lips caress his own was a pleasure he had thought he'd never experience again. After, he enveloped her in his arms, caressing her hair, feeling like he was holding an angel in his arms.
Georg would never hurt his angel, never scare his angel. He wanted a marriage of equals. He wanted that what would happen in their marital bed to be equal. Right there and then he decided that they would not be joined together until she was ready, no matter how long that would take.