Thanks for reading the Chapter 1 and the reviews! I really appreciated it. :D I made this Chapter longer because the Chapter 3 might took a while. School's on the way. I hope I can finish Chapter 3 this weekend. Enjoy!
-Louisa
"Maria" He shouted as he rose up.
It was all a dream, from the party until the figure of Maria. He looked on his surroundings. He closed his eyes and tries to remember what happened yesterday. He only remembered the meeting of the guests, no Laendler after, No Engagement. He only remembered a simple party. He tries to recall the whole event but he failed.
"It must be from too much wine." He thought.
He heard a knock on the door. It opened slowly and there he found his children. They must be surprising him. When they saw their Father already awake, Gretl and Marta run to him to the bed. The other children are also there.
"Good Morning Father!" The two young girls said happily while they hugged him. The 5 children went in and gave their greetings with a morning kiss to their Father. Georg sensed that they want to surprise him.
"What's the Occasion? Do my little Sailors want to stroll at Salzburg with their Drapes?" Georg teased them with a smile.
The children giggled.
"No Father. It was just a beautiful day and you are the late riser in us 8 for today." Brigitta told his Father.
"Really? Well I'm lucky to have the troop to wake me up here." Then He tickled everyone. Gretl and Marta are laughing so hard. Louisa and Brigitta are trying to stop the hands of their Father, While Liesl and Friedrich tickle Kurt.
Kurt couldn't keep anymore and finally stopped them.
"Are we not going to eat? I only ate cake last night."
Everyone laughed at him. Kurt joined them and after a minute, Georg broke the noise.
"Now Children, Go downstairs for breakfast. I'll join you in a little time. ", He ordered them with his 'Captain' voice.
The children looked confused.
"We thought those days are over, Father?" Friedrich said.
"Yes, but I know that sometimes these mischievous children needed it for opening the door without permission, Hmm?" Georg smirked.
They laughed again and the children went downstairs. While they left the room, Georg looked at them and felt blessed. After fixing himself, He went to the Dining Room.
The children greeted while sitting on their chairs, "Good Morning Father!"
"Good Morning Children" He replied with a grin. As He sat, He spotted three unoccupied chairs. Those chairs are for The Baroness, Max, and Maria. Georg is uncomfortable seeing those three vacant chairs.
"Maybe Max is still sleeping, as usual." He thought in the middle of their eating. "But the two, where are they?"
"Frau Schmidt, Is the Baroness awake?" He asked after everyone is finished eating. The children looked to their Father when he asked.
"The Baroness left the Villa an hour ago with Herr Detweiler, Captain. He said that the Baroness will return to Vienna and He'll just accompany her in the train station." Frau Schmidt answered politely.
The children were surprised that the Baroness will no longer stay. They know that she wants to marry their father. They are happy and yet sad because they only spend 1 week with her. Louisa beamed a smile and so the other children.
"Fraulein Ma…" She was about to asked Maria if they could go to the hills but they only found her empty chair.
They looked questioned and the noise in the room paused. That made Georg stopped from drinking coffee and look to her chair also. He remembered his dream. It was not a dream, It was real. The Baroness broke up their relationship and Maria left the villa with the letter. He became anxious. He put down his mug. He can't believe it really happened.
"Where is Fraulein Maria? Is she awake" Liesl asked Frau Schmidt. The children had no idea what happened last night.
"Uhh..?" Frau Schimdt looked to the Captain. She noticed his worried face.
The Captain stood up immediately and checked Maria's room again. She was really not there. It made him so hurt. He lost Agathe, The Baroness, and now, Maria. As he came back to the dining room, He saw his children unhappy. He accidentally put his hand in his pocket and there he felt a paper. He gets it, and there he saw the writings: To the Captain. It is her letter. He opened it and read it again. He realized that it is really not a dream.
"Children…" He sat to his chair as he folds the letter and put it on his side at the table.
"Your Fraulein Maria left for the Abbey." The only words he said. He tries to recall if he did something to her that made her left.
"No way!"
"Fraulein Maria will never leave us."
"She will never leave without saying Goodbye"
"It's not true"
"I don't believe Father"
The Children exclaimed while Gretl and Marta sobs. This hurt him, seeing his children cried because of losing someone. This happened several years ago, when they lost their Mother. And now, they are crying because they lost someone special, someone who made them feel their Mother is with them again.
"Alright, go to your rooms now!" He shouted. Everyone became quiet. He didn't want to use his strong voice. He was just really broken in what happened. He doesn't know what to do now. He lost everything.
The children got scared to their father and immediately went to their playroom. Georg moves to his study and sat for awhile, thinking how he could ask Maria to come back. He tries to solve the problem by knowing the details first. He tries to recall what happened. He remembers something – The Laendler, The Edelweiss, The Puppet show. But there was something disturbing him. It was Elsa.
"What does Elsa means last night?" He asked himself.
"Georg, I know that you feel something for someone."…" I'm not blind, not to see your feelings for her."
"Her…, Is she pertaining to Maria?"He questioned himself.
"I must do something, But how? I should take things slowly or else...I might scare Maria. I'll call the abbey. I want to know if she's alright there." He said to himself. He was about to pick up the phone, but someone knock on the door.
"Who's that? Come in."
"Georg! Good you're awake now. " He laughed.
"Max, you look bored, No one to play with?"
"Well, in a matter of Fact, Yes. You see Elsa left the house. I had no one to talk about money and some rich topics… And the Leader of the von Trapp Family Singers are not here too. I can't prepare them for the festival." Max teases him.
"Max… I told you, I won't allow the children to sing in the festival." The Captain continues to stop his distraction in the room.
"I didn't came here for nothing, you know. You wake up late so you missed the Farewell of Elsa. She just wrote a letter for you, here" He hands the letter. Georg kept it first to his pocket. He planned to read it later without Max.
"You see, after we left your house, we went to the town to meet Maria…" Max accidentally said.
"MARIA?" He immediately cut what Max was about to say.
"Ye-yes.." Max was scared to his reaction.
"What happened?" Georg is eager to know what happened at the town.
"When we arrived there, Elsa invites me to come to the abbey first. She said she wants to thank someone. We met Maria there and they had a conversation. They had a private talk so I don't know the whole detail. After she bid farewell to Maria, Elsa gave her a letter. Then we went to the train station and asked me to give that letter for you." Max answered truthfully.
"What do you think they talked about?"
"I don't know! I saw Elsa smiling but Maria is somewhat confused."
"Hmm. I must eat for a while. Driving consumed my breakfast a while ago. I better leave you first. "Max joked.
Georg grins while getting Elsa's letter from his pocket. As Max left him, he started to read the letter:
Georg,
I left so early today because I need to meet someone for business. Take care always and visit me sometime here with Max and your future wife. I know she's just somewhere out there. Say Hi for me to the children and to Fraulein Maria.
Elsa
Georg noticed the 'Fraulein Maria' at the end of the letter. He knows that Elsa is with him when they found out that Maria left. He really didn't understand. He sat for a while and tries to think everything. He looked at his clock; it's almost 9:00.
Someone spoke at the door, "Father, Can we come in?" It's Liesl's voice.
"Yes." The Captain's face softens at her low-tone voice. His 7 children came and approach him.
"Father, can we play outside?" asked Liesl. Everyone had their heads down, looking scared to face their father.
"Yes, you can play as long as you can except for Lunch and Dinner time." He smiled to comfort them, a way of telling them he's not angry anymore.
They smiled to their father and thank him in chorus. They left the room happily and Georg felt satisfied. He sat there while waiting for Lunch. He did nothing but thinking what he could do to make Maria come back.
The children went to the garden with their ball, dolls, and books. They had no blanket, picnic baskets and all the usual items they had when they will play with their Fraulein Maria. They really want to have fun but they don't know how without their governess so they ended up sitting on the benches quietly.
Brigitta talked first while looking at the lake, "I wonder why Fraulein Maria left."
"We didn't do something bad to her, right?" Kurt questioned.
"Except the first day" Friedrich said honestly.
"Do you think Father did something bad to Fraulein Maria like asking her to leave?" Louisa asked.
"No! Father wouldn't do that. He knows that we want her than any other governesses we had." Liesl said to comfort her siblings.
"We want Fraulein Maria here" Gretl and Marta said.
"Maybe we could ask Fraulein Maria to come back." Liesl said to cheer up her brothers and sisters.
"How? The Abbey doesn't have a phone, maybe for emergencies but not for Information. We couldn't send a telegram either. Father will know it." Louisa said.
"Why are we going to call or send telegram if we could go there?" Liesl asked looking professional.
The children look bewildered at their oldest sister's idea.
"What if Father knew we went to the town alone. He will be mad." Friedrich answered while playing with Gretl's finger. He accidentally hurt her and it got wounded. Gretl was about to cry but was stopped by Louisa, whispering "Fraulein Maria will be mad if you cry."
"We can go there after lunch and come back immediately before dinner." Liesl answered.
"How are we going there? We couldn't ask Franz to drive for us." Kurt questioned them again.
"We can take the bus and walk to the abbey. I still remember the roads to the abbey that Fraulein Maria taught us."
"Great Idea Brigitta! This is our only chance to talk to Fraulein Maria."
"Yes, she can be a nun tomorrow and we can never ask her to stay here again. " Marta exclaimed.
"What's the plan?" Kurt asked. He was too tired that day.
"Hmmm, after lunch, go to your rooms. We'll change into our new play clothes. After that, I'll go to Gretl and Marta's room. When they are ready, we'll come to the garden and I will whistle. That's your signal Friedrich and Kurt. Act like you will play, running with your jumping ropes and ball. As I whistle again, that's your signal Louisa and Brigitta. Then we will leave all our things here and walk silently to the gate. Clear?"
"Clear!" The children salute like they are on duty. The bell just rang which means its Lunch time. They nod to each other and walk to the dining room acting normally. Georg suspected something to the children but he has no idea what they are going to do.
After Lunch, The plan went well. The children use the exit in the ballroom, the one they used with Maria before singing their Farewell song. It exits on the side of the house, a few walk before the lot of the main entrance. Friedrich is the first one who went outside while the others are hiding. No Franz or other housekeepers standing on the front door. He gave his signal to his other siblings and they ran outside the gate without being caught. Georg, that time, is in his study reading some telegrams of Invitation or business. At the bus, Brigitta noticed that she had her favorite teddy bear in her arms. They were about to leave their toys before they leave the house. She had no choice, so she brought Nikola with her. After a few minutes, the children arrived at the town safely. They used their allowances for the ride. The younger ones are held by the older sister while the boys are walking freely. When they reached the abbey, Liesl rang the door bell. Sister Bernice is the one who welcomed them.
"Yes my children?" Sister Bernice asked.
"Uh, my name is Liesl."
"Yes, Liesl?"
"We, My brothers and sisters, we want to see Fraulein Maria.", Liesl spoke for the children.
"Fraulein Maria? ohh, Maria! Come in Please" She invited the children to enter.
"Wait here"
The children saw Sister Bernice went to another sister to tell that the von Trapp children are looking for Maria. They saw that another sister walking towards them.
"I'm Sister Margaretta. I understand you've been inquiring about Maria."
"We have to see her. Will you tell her that we're here, please?"Friedrich pleaded.
"I'm afraid I can't do that"
"Ohh. But you've got to. We have to see her." Louisa answered.
"She's our governess!" Marta exclaimed.
"We want her back." Gretl protested.
"She didn't even say goodbye." Kurt continued.
"She's very important." Brigitta said.
"All we want to do is talk to her." Liesl told her what they really want to do.
"I'm very sorry children but Maria is in seclusion. She hasn't been seeing anyone." Sister Margaretta answered them sincerely.
"She'll see us. I know she will." Friedrich answered. They all nod.
"I want to show her my finger" Gretl said while showing her wounded finger.
"Ohh, some other time dear. I'll tell her that you were here" Sister Margaretta said.
They all asked her for a time to see Maria but Sister Margaretta can't do anything since Maria isn't talking with them yet.
"Goodbye Children." Was the only thing she said while leading them outside the gate. They had nothing to do. She was about to go back to her place when Brigitta shouts making her turn around.
"Wait!" Brigitta exclaimed. Sister Margaretta went to the gate.
"Please give this to her and please tell her to come back. We missed her." Brigitta continued while she hands over her bear she got last Christmas.
"Yes, I will." She said as she gets the bear.
Liesl invited her siblings to come home.
"Did you come here all by yourself?" Sister Margaretta asked.
They all nod. She was surprised. This is her first time to see an Aristocrat's children went to their Abbey for their governess.
"Take Care children." She said. She was touched with the children's actions. They really want their Fraulein Maria to come back. They walk back to to the bus station. It took a while for the next bus to arrived. Going to the Trapp street consumed more time than going to town. It took 20 minutes for them to reach the street. They notice the time from the watch of the driver. It's already 6:15 and they are late for dinner. They hurried immediately to the garden, afraid of what their Father will do to them.
Sister Margaretta found Maria on the chapel. She's really praying hard.
"Maria" She called her softly. She didn't say any word after.
Maria opened her eyes from praying and looked behind. She found a familiar teddy bear held by Sister Margaretta. It looks like Nikola. She is sure that Brigitta owns it. She knows exactly its Appearance.
As she looked to Sister Margaretta, She only nodded to Maria. From the look on Sister Margaretta's eyes, it only means that her prediction is right - the children went to the abbey for her. As she gets the bear,
she thought, "It couldn't be."