Hello faithful readers of this Fanfic! I have returned with new inspiration for a third part to this story. Enjoy!
Out of all the time that Maria spent at the VonTrapp Villa, it had been those first few months that had Maria's brain raging with lots of questions, most of which began with the word, what. What is wrong with the children? What is behind those doors? What do I have that makes Georg so comfortable with me? Leaving the new routines and her freedom had been utterly hard, but her brain was so occupied with the baroness' statement. Maria despised leaving the children behind, but she simply needed time to herself. For days on end, Maria would sit isolated in her tiny room, not even the size of the bathroom in her room in the villa. She wouldn't wear her robe, she deliberately skipped mass, and ate nothing except the food Sister Josephine would sneak her in the evening., just herself, and her plain, white, nightgown, wrapped up in a wool blanket that didn't even compare to the comfort of that at the villa. Four concrete walls, one tiny window that looked out on the abbey grounds below her and a wooden door that she wouldn't dare open until all of her thoughts were sorted out. Nothing had happened the way she expected it to. Not that this was a bad thing really, just surprising on the part of the governess. She had fallen into a routine, one she could not break no matter what she did. Even her brief return to the abbey was not enough to break her of the habits that she had picked up. The sisters had been utter shocked at Maria's carelessness with singing and speaking. She heard on more than one occasion that she had forgotten her place. It wasn't that she had forgotten her place really; simply those old habits, or new ones, die hard. That didn't stop Maria from kissing the floor whenever Sister Berthe passed by her door.
Georg found the letter as he ushered out the last of the guests. It was a plain white envelope, nothing special. But he wondered why there was an empty seat next to Max at the dinner table. After all, he was left completely in the dark. The only thing he truly knew is that Elsa seemed quite happy during dinner. He could feel the tears in his eyes as he read the label on the letter, Captain VonTrapp, in Maria's handwriting. He was quick to tear open the note, skimming it over in horror.
Georg,
I have given some serious thought to writing you this letter. But let me first assure you something. Yes; I will not be returning. I miss my life as a postulant too much to bear and by the time you read this I will be gone. I wish to thank you for your hospitality all these weeks. My bed was wonderful, the food absolutely divine. I also want to reassure you that it is not the children's fault that I left. I made this decision solely for myself. Please do not come looking for me and let the children know this as well.
Maria
The first word that came into Georg's mind at that moment was "unfair". It was unfair to his children, it was unfair to him. Why did she just get up and leave? Georg felt like cursing at the sky. They had taken away his Agathe, and now they had taken away the only hope he had left. After that night, Georg had many fitful nights of sleep. He was constantly tired, irritable, and even though he tried his best to put on a smile for his children, they weren't buying it. They never bought his acts anymore. They were all too upset about Maria's leaving to care what their father did. Georg's eyes stung with tears at the thought of him putting Gretl to bed each night and her asking for mother. Georg didn't know if the poor girl meant Agathe or Maria. He would leave without another word and retreat to his study where a bottle of liquor waited for him.
Then Maria came back.
It was a truly joyous occasion for everyone. Georg managed to hide his joy with a grin at the seven ecstatic children and revoked their punishment of no dinner. Maria's confidence vanished as she coldly replied the Captain's question. She would only stay as long as she was needed. That evening, a surprisingly easy night of sleep came to her, the sheets cool and comforting against her skin rather than the scratchy woolen sheet at the abbey.
Maria woke up at noon the next day, no longer tired or worried. As she made her way into the dining room where the rest of the VonTrapps waited patiently for her, she took notice that only nine place settings graced the table rather than the usual ten. It was during their meal that Georg announced his decision to end the engagement with the baroness. A prolonged gaze towards Maria as this announcement was made heated her cheeks and caused tears to come to her eyes. She excused herself from the table as soon as all of the children were done raving about what may have caused the change. She promptly ran to the gazebo and cried her eyes out.
Georg followed Maria outside when he had finished his meal and watched her from against a tree, only wishing that it was his shoulder that she was crying on. Not that he could do anything about it, the confusion of the past couple days had him wanting to cry as well. He figured that she probably was really confused. Georg no longer blamed her for wanting to leave. He scowled at his actions and retreated to his study. Crying would do him no good, but perhaps he had a bottle of whiskey somewhere. Yes, some whiskey would serve him well.
Evening came, and Maria found herself stiff and lightheaded. She opened her eyes and saw that she had fallen asleep with her arm on one of the marble benches in the gazebo. It was dark out, and she heard the cricket chirps and saw an occasional firefly glow in the yard. How long had she been out? She wasn't the least bit tired anymore, although she was quite thirsty. She stood up and stretched her arms above her head. Her gaze fell to the villa in the distance. She noticed that only a couple of windows were lit, most likely Frau Schmidt or Franz finishing up their duties before retiring for the evening. Then it hit her, the doors! Maria ran as fast as she could towards the villa, hoping that the doors weren't locked. Her hands grasped the handle and surprisingly enough, the door opened. Maria stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind herself and walked silently down the hall. The hall itself was dark, which made Maria wonder which rooms were lit still. She walked into the front foyer, looking around for signs of people. As she looked and listened, she heard a soft groan from off to her left. She turned and found that the door in front of her was the door to the Captain's study. She had seen him go in there numerous times, and it made her wonder why the captain was still awake, if the captain was in there at all. As she grew closer to the door the groaning grew more pronounced and painful. Maria rapped softly on the wood, her hand on the door handle ready to go in. No answer. She knocked again, before hearing the groan. She pushed down on the handle and opened the door. What she saw shocked her thoroughly.
"Georg!" she exclaimed upon opening the door. Her employer stirred slightly. He was slumped over his desk, a bottle of some kind of alcohol in his hand. Maria literally ran over to Georg and tried to wake him up. She put one hand on his shoulder and another on his opposite forearm, forcing him to sit up. He blinked a couple of times before looking at Maria.
"M-Maria?" he muttered sleepily, blinking a couple of times to clear the sparks and eye fuzzes from his already blurred vision. Maria took the bottle from her employers hand and read the label, staring angrily at Georg.
"Georg, have you been drinking whiskey?" Maria asked, holding the bottle up to her ear and shaking the bottle. She was relieved to find at least a third of the bottle left.
"I don't really remember..." he stammered, putting a hand to his temple in attempt to ease the sudden pain from drinking brought upon by his consciousness. He attempted to stand up and watched helplessly as Maria took the bottle he had been drinking out of into the study's conjoined bathroom and dumped out its contents, tossing the bottle into the garbage. She nearly ran into Georg on her way back into the study. She was secretly glad that he was still able to move.
"Georg you really need to go to bed and let all the alcohol out of your system." Maria said, taking Georg's arm and wrapping hers around it. He gave a look of astonishment at her gesture before giving her a smile. He has a sense that his true feelings are no longer masked by his drunken state. He's tried so hard to mask it but this time Georg doesn't care, he has that feeling that he can tell her how he feels, the real reason he sent Elsa home. The thing that makes his forehead sweat and his heart beat is whether or not she'd ever take him seriously in his state. Maria made her way to the desk where a lamp was still on. She turned it off and helped Georg out of the study.
"Fraulein, you really don't need to help me to my room," Georg said sleepily. Maria simply shook her head.
"Georg, I care about you too much to let you pass out on the stairs," Maria stated matter-of-factly. Georg looked at Maria with a fazed expression.
"You care about me?" he asked. Maria blushed furiously.
"I'd be heartless not to care about the father of the children I'm supposed to be taking care of. Imagine poor Gretl waking up to find her father passed out drunk on the stairs," Maria pointed out. Georg took this statement into consideration.
"I suppose you're right Fraulein," he muttered. So much for revealing his feelings to her, she only cared about his well-being not him in general.
"What were you thinking Georg? Is something bothering you?"
"Well, yes and no," he muttered with a groan. Maria's face displayed overall confusion. Her features settled on annoyance.
"Well which is it Captain? Yes or no?" she stated. Georg had to give this some thought as they reached the top of the stairs.
"Yes mostly," he answered, wincing at her jerky movements. He can tell that she is angry it's understandable. He understands perfectly that his actions are something to be angry at.
"Well I'm all ears if you want to talk," Maria said as she approached the door to his room.
"You..." he muttered.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Maria asked, almost offended. "You drank half a bottle of whiskey because of me?"
"That isn't what I meant Fraulein," Georg said. Maria looked around the room before looking at him again.
"Well I'm completely in the dark here Captain, so if you'd do me the favor of explaining to me why I'm the cause of your drinking I'd be very happy to listen," she said, crossing her arms over her chest.
"It's my way of solving problems," Georg admitted sheepishly.
"Oh I see, so you think drinking is going to solve all of your problems?" she asked.
"Well you're here so obviously not all of them!" he exclaimed.
"So I'm a problem now am I?" she accused him.
"I never said that!" Georg retorted angrily.
"Well you certainly implied it," Maria stated. Georg rubbed his aching temples, trying not to lose his temper with her any more than she already had. He was drunk, he was tired, and now the girl he was in love with had misunderstood him. Maria made her way over to the door and put her hand on the handle. "If you want to continue this discussion after you've sobered up a little I'll talk to you then, get some sleep Georg," she said. The Captain jolted off the bed and was quick to approach her, pinning her between the door and him. His lips were upon hers in frenzy, begging her to let him in, physically and internally. She tried to push him away, but she had melted into his movements. When he broke away from her two pairs of blue eyes searched each other.
Maria was out of words to say to Georg's actions. She didn't know if this was real or if he was too drunk to care.
"I love you Maria," he muttered daringly. Maria closed her eyes and shook her head, tears streaking her cheeks. She pushed down on the door handle and stepped out of the room, undoubtedly closing the door in his face. She didn't care anymore. Her bed welcomed her as she cried her eyes out once more. It was for certain that sleep would not come easily to her for a very long time.
This chapter was a lot longer than I intended. As much as it pains me to end there, I must. Part 4 will be up soon! R & R Plzzz!
