Summary: The Von Trapps encounter a problem during their escape from Austria that is painful for the whole family. This story gets quite angsty at times, so if you don't like this, then I'd urge you not to read it. Some parts have threats, but nothing physical happens to any of the characters, I promise!
This story takes place after the Von Trapps sing at the Salzburg Music Festival, but it is to be assumed that this was their original escape plan. It is also assumed that the family still knows that the Nazis are waiting for them to finish singing to escort the Captain to his new position in the Navy of the Third Reich. Nothing past this point in the movie is the same…Rating: PG-13 for some violence.
Disclaimer: I don't own 20th Century Fox, The Sound of Music, or any of its characters. I have been working on this story since December, so any similarity to other recently-posted stories is purely coincidental.Thank you: Thank you to my two wonderful betas, Joolsfan and imnotacommittee, without whom this story would not have been possible. Their suggestions, concerns, and praises helped to mould this story into something of which I am very proud and also kept me going when I felt like giving up (and that was MANY times!) They (luckily) saved me from making Maria a meek, weeping, backboneless person at times and Georg a hotheaded, moody control freak! Both of your support is very graciously appreciated and it is a pleasure to work with you both.
OUT OF REACH
"Will you two keep quiet, please," Liesl Von Trapp said to her two younger siblings, while glaring in their direction. "You know Father would not want you arguing, especially now."
"Well what's taking them so long?" Kurt asked with a sigh. As he spoke, five faces turned towards him in the darkness and he saw one of his sisters roll her eyes.
"Louisa, please," Liesl pleaded with her teenage sister as she witnessed her discourtesy. Looking upwards, Louisa met her elder sister's gaze for a moment and the worry in the younger girl's eyes seemed to offer an unspoken apology for her action.
Liesl smiled with reassurance and patted her sister's hand gently. She returned her gaze to her younger brother. "You know why we are here, Kurt. Your impatience is not making the situation better for any of us. Mother and Father will come as soon as they can; I'm certain of that."
She continued speaking, voice softening, "Please, just trust me on this and be patient."
Kurt nodded his head in surrender. "Sorry," he stated, not directing his apology to any particular sibling. The boy slumped back in the seat of the family's car. Even in the dark, Kurt's nervousness was apparent, as it also was on his five siblings' faces.
"It just feels like we've been waiting here for so long," he said glumly.
Earlier in the evening, the Von Trapps had been at their home in Salzburg; without much advanced warning, the family was now on the brink of fleeing Austria to escape the Nazi regime. Within a matter of hours, the happy and carefree lifestyle to which the children were accustomed had turned uncertain and potentially dangerous.
After a moment of thought, Louisa sighed and looked at her younger brother, their bickering moments earlier forgotten. "I suppose you're right. It does feel like we've been here forever."
"And Marta and I left first, so we've been here the longest," Kurt added while absently looking up and drawing imaginary circles with his finger on the ceiling of the car.
"I was nervous leaving the Festival," Brigitta admitted, a tinge of fear in her voice. "I was afraid that someone would see us and ask where we were going."
"Me too. I kept hearing the soldiers walking around and thought they'd see us," Friedrich added with a slight shake of his head.
"So did we," Brigitta said with a glance toward Louisa. As she spoke, she let out a forced laugh. "Their shoes made more noise than Kurt's stomach when he's hungry."
Louisa nudged Kurt lightly with her shoulder and let out a nervous laugh in agreement.
Kurt rolled his eyes sarcastically. "It's so hot in this car," he complained, lightly kicking the seat in front of him.
"It's not that bad," Friedrich countered with a chiding look at his brother, "Besides, you better get used to it. We'll be here for a while."
Brigitta began to twirl her hair between two of her fingers and Louisa wrung her hands together and leaned her head back against the seat.
"I wish Mother and Father were here so we could leave," Brigitta sighed.
Liesl nodded her head with understanding. "Not too much longer," she whispered.
Marta listened to her siblings with uncertainty. Being only seven, she did not fully understand why her family had to flee the Salzburg Music Festival in secret after they performed. She had witnessed the heated display between her father and Herr Zeller prior to their performance, when Zeller had made his presence known backstage. Yet, Marta could not make sense of the whole situation and was trying to determine this for herself, as she listened to the worried chatter of her siblings.
"Friedrich?" the little girl asked after a few moments of silence, "Are we going home tonight?"
As she spoke, the grave reality of the situation filled the air. Marta glanced up at her oldest brother with wide eyes of confusion and slowly the boy shook his head.
"Well, we—" Friedrich started with a slight hesitation.
"Marta, we are not going home tonight; maybe never again," Brigitta interjected as she met Friedrich's gaze.
Friedrich nodded in agreement, as he took Marta's hand in his own. The little girl glanced from Friedrich to Liesl, searching for an explanation.
Liesl spoke with hesitation. "Marta, a group of angry men want Father to fight against Austria in their navy and he doesn't want to. So, the only thing for us to do is leave the country tonight."
"Can't he just say 'no'?" Marta asked wide-eyed.
Brigitta and Louisa locked eyes for a moment while Liesl and Friedrich both shook their heads, wishing the solution were that simple.
"They don't take no for an answer," Brigitta explained to her little sister. "That is why we have to run away."
"Oh," Marta said with surprise. She continued to speak with hesitation, curious to know the answer to her question, but scared of the truth. "Will we get in trouble?"
Silence filled the vehicle as the elder Von Trapps reflected on the family's dangerous situation and determined the best way to answer the question without further scaring their younger sibling.
"Brigitta?" Marta persisted, her wide eyes filling with tears.
Brigitta met Liesl's gaze for a moment and took a deep sigh before speaking. "I hope not," she whispered with a shake of her head. Her voice caught slightly as she spoke.
Friedrich rubbed Marta's shoulder and brought her onto his lap. "Father has a plan to escape. I'm certain of it," he said to everyone with renewed confidence, though not tangibly aware of his father's strategy.
The others nodded in agreement.
A moment of tense silence passed as the Von Trapp children stared quietly out the windows, anticipating the arrival of their parents.
"Where's Gretl?" Marta asked, breaking the silence once more.
"With Mother and Father," Louisa answered.
"Mother will take care of her, Marta," Liesl comforted her little sister. Marta leaned against her oldest sister's shoulder and nodded with understanding. Despite all the confusing thoughts clouding her mind, Marta had complete confidence in this.
"I wonder where we'll go?" Kurt asked in a small voice.
Friedrich looked at his brother and shrugged his shoulders. "Someplace outside of Austria. I heard Father on the telephone reserving train tickets, so I suppose we'll take the train."
"But that could be anyplace," Louisa added as she reached across Friedrich and began to twirl a strand of Marta's long hair with her fingers.
"As long as we're together, it doesn't matter where we go," Brigitta countered with contrived encouragement. She glanced between her siblings with wide eyes of hope.
"Yes. Brigitta's right. That's all that matters. As long as the nine of us are together, we'll be fine," Liesl agreed. She glanced at Brigitta as she spoke and the two girls nodded with reassurance, both for themselves and the others.
"I'm scared," Louisa whispered. The usually enigmatic girl glanced downward toward her lap as she spoke and felt Brigitta lightly squeeze her hand.
"So am I," Brigitta softly agreed, while looking around the car at her siblings. The others nodded without hesitation.
Friedrich put his arm around Louisa and Liesl reached across her siblings to pat Brigitta's leg in comfort. Silence filled the car as the six Von Trapp children stared out into the darkness, searching for the rest of their family.
Applause echoed through the night as Captain and Baroness Von Trapp exited the stage at the Salzburg Music Festival with their youngest daughter. While the audience hoped their enthusiasm might lure the Von Trapp Family Singers into a second encore, Captain Von Trapp was preoccupied with quickly fleeing the Festival and leading his family to safety.
"I'm nervous about the children. I pray they've made it safely to the car," Maria whispered to her husband as the trio walked backstage.
"They're fine," he answered curtly with a slight nod of the head.
Maria glanced upwards at her husband's distant and calculating demeanor. Memories of the cold disciplinarian she had first met at the beginning of the summer flooded her mind; the resemblance of her loving husband to his former, aloof self had been uncanny since they had finished singing moments earlier. Maria tightened her grip on little Gretl's hand as she led her down a corridor backstage. At least she had peace of mind that her youngest child was safe in her presence.
"Well I won't be settled until I see all six of them together and unharmed," she confided.
The Captain nodded with distraction and turned to face his wife.
"Maria, you're going to take Gretl to the toilettes. Right next-door, there's another door marked kesselraum. Max cut the lock before we went on-stage, so it's accessible."
Georg was extremely grateful for his friend's structural knowledge of the Festival House. As a music aficionado, Max had been a regular in the building for years and therefore was able to quite easily devise an escape route for the Von Trapps.
"Go inside this room- the boiler room- and in the back you will see an exit. It lets out in the rear of the building and isn't manned since it's never used. Take Gretl to the car and wait with the children. I'll meet you there—"
Maria crossed her arms on her chest and shook her head slightly, her eyes consuming with stubbornness. "Georg, I don't think we should separate," she interrupted.
"Maria."
"I just don't," she repeated with urgency.
"Please," Georg pleaded, taking hold of her hand, "just trust me." He gazed into his wife's fearful yet obstinate eyes in an attempt to quiet her protests. He leaned forward and met her lips with a soft kiss, as he stroked her hand.
"I can't help how I feel," she retorted, meeting his gaze. "I fear for everyone's safety, Georg."
"We have a plan to escape that will work."
"I realize we have a plan, but something could always happen," she whispered so that Gretl would not hear her. Her eyes glazed over with fear.
"I know what I'm doing, Maria," Georg defended, his mood darkening as he sensed his wife's seeming lack of confidence. Georg shifted his stance slightly and turned his face from Maria so that her insistent stare now met his profile.
"Yes, I don't doubt that, but those monsters are capable of anything. They'll come after us once they discover we're missing. I just think we should stay together; it's not safe to separate," she reiterated while placing a hand on her husband's forearm and gently rubbing his skin. Maria glanced downward at her hand, but a moment later brought her eyes upwards, resting them on Georg's profile.
As she gazed at her husband, Maria saw Georg set his chin and purse his lips, his irritability becoming apparent. He continued to stare straight ahead, breathing deeply.
"Maria," he retorted with frustration, "what is not safe is having my wife and child in my presence as long as the Nazis are scrutinizing me so closely. It's best we separate; at least until we reach the car and have a means of protection and escape."
"But Georg, I just feel—" she interjected. As she began to object, Maria saw the aggravation in her husband's eyes and ceased speaking.
"Maria, we don't have time to argue about this. Max and I thought it through very carefully. I don't need you making this situation more difficult than it already is. Now, take Gretl to the toilettes, please!" he ordered.
The Captain stared straight ahead, but nonetheless saw Gretl move closer to her mother and cling to her waist. He could feel Maria's persistent stare at his profile and her eyes seemed to burn into his flesh.
Turning to face his wife, Georg felt his stern mask dissolve as he beheld the unmistakeable fear in her eyes.
"I'm sorry," he lowly stated while locking eyes with her, "The stress is unbearable and I took it out on you. Forgive me, Maria." Gently, he reached up and caressed her cheek. He also gently stroked Gretl's hair, as she embraced her mother.
Maria softly nodded, confirming acceptance of his apology. "Remember God is with us, Georg. He will guide our way, " she lowly stated.
Georg nodded in response and leaned forward to kiss Maria's cheek. He took hold of her hands and looked deep into her eyes. "Please just trust me. Take Gretl to the car and wait for me with the children. Your presence will be soothing to them. I will be there soon after you," he pleaded with his strong-willed wife.
Maria gazed into Georg's eyes and nodded slowly. "I trust you, Georg," she assured him while taking Gretl's hand and leading her down the hall.
As the Captain wasted a precious moment watching his wife and child walk away from him, he closed his eyes and exhaled some of his anxiety; he would do anything to get his family to safety.