A/N: Thank you so much for all of your comments!

Six: The Ice Breaking

September soon rolled into October, rustling leaves were beginning to disappear and be replaced with a severe chill that told all occupants in Salzburg that winter was approaching and its arrival imminent. Although the sun could still force the clouds into retreat as the first few days of October passed, the dismal outlook was strengthening and many an Austrian citizen would wrap themselves up before venturing outdoors.

The same could be said for Maria, who had ordered the ten girls under her care before they left the abbey orphanage for the day that coats must be worn. Maria, owning a short coat herself, had wrapped it around her in a vain attempt at keeping herself out of reach of the cold air that swept through the streets with the wind. As was regular, Maria and the children were venturing into town for their food supplies. The sisters at the abbey would have supplies delivered, but Maria had taken it upon herself to take the girls with her to buy their food, considering it to be a necessary outing each week and giving her charges the opportunity to take initiative with their lives. It would be of no use if, once the girls were out in the world themselves, they would be unaware of some of the basic necessities of life.

The Reverend Mother had wholly agreed with the idea, and so did the children. Although, Joanna would often remark that she would never need to shop for food supplies, because she would marry a rich, eligible man and they would be very much in love, they would have many servants and also plenty of children.

It seemed the girl had her whole life planned out before her, and Maria had laughed when it had been revealed. Joanna always had her nose inside a book, one of her favourites being the epitome of romance Jane Eyre and Miss Brontë certainly had at least one girl wrapped up in its dreamy ending.

Joanna, even now as they left the orphanage, was defending her favourite book to Frau Maria.

"Oh but Mr. Rochester is such a remarkable man, and he does love Jane so…"

Most of the girls rolled their eyes at Joanna's remark. It would become a tendency for the girl to defend her main character every time they went on their errands, and the group had all come to the conclusion that simply smiling and waving away dispute was a much better idea. Trying to counter an argument against the rugged, teasing Mr. Rochester would be a futile gesture.

But the more Maria had heard from Joanna about Mr. Rochester, the more she had begun associating him with an albeit similar man in her life. In some circumstances, Captain Georg Ritter Von Trapp would prove to be similar to the fictional character, although, she had to admit, not in the way some people would believe. She knew, there was no use denying, that the affect the Captain had had on her was similar to that of Mr. Rochester and Jane. Their situation was also vaguely similar, and Maria often had to shake her head abruptly to stop herself from imagining a happy, fairytale ending with the Captain as it happened in the novel.

"Frau Maria, don't you agree?"

The voice belonged to Joanna again. None of the other children thought it wise to put a word in when Joanna was defending her book.

"Agree with what, Joanna?"

"That Mr. Rochester never loved Blanche Ingram, and always loved Jane."

There it was again – the similar resemblances to her old situation. Maria had to shake her head once more to stop herself from thinking the unthinkable. Mr. Rochester was not Captain Von Trapp, Blanche Ingram was not the Baroness Schrader and she, Maria, was most certainly not Jane Eyre. The thought was absurd.

"Perhaps," Maria offered Joanna as the group continued to walk into the centre of town. "Although, you know, I have not read the book, so I highly doubt my interpretation could be taken into account."

It was true; Maria had not indulged herself in the novel. One reason being that it was hardly a fitting choice of literature for an aspiring nun and she was adamant, certain almost, that it would be condoned by rather a few of the sisters at the abbey. The second reason was, as she had previously been fearing, she was afraid of making the connections between real life – she was afraid of confusing fiction with reality, and the fear of a potentially broken heart.

"You must read it, Frau Maria. I shall lend you the book once I have finished with it."

Maria smiled to herself as the girl spoke. "And what is this, the hundredth read?"

"No," answered Joanna adamantly, but then a small smile appeared on her lips. She kept her eyes on the path ahead. "Close, though."

The entire group laughed at her comment.

It was market day in Salzburg, and the various stalls included much of their shopping list. The town was, therefore, extremely busy that day because of the market, and Maria stopped the entire group just outside a shop and announced to all of them.

"Right, I want you all in groups of three or four, and stick together," ordered Maria, arranging all the girls into their groups.

Once that was arranged, Maria led them all through the market, stopping them all at various stalls while she acquired the foods they would need for the next week. Bags were soon collected: fruits, vegetables, potatoes and various other foods that would keep them sated for the week. Maria also left the girls briefly to visit the butcher shop and bought some meat.

She arrived back to the gathering of girls and found all were still present after conducting a prompt head count. Gathering them all together, Maria then began to lead them away from the market place and towards home. She had once been a little wary of calling the orphanage that, but had then told herself that the Von Trapp villa was not, and would never be, her home. It had been the closest thing to home she had felt in years during those summers months, but now that spell had ended, it was no longer that. She had to accept that whatever she had there was now over.

The rather large group was just approaching the fountain when, out of the corner of her eye, Maria noticed a familiar figure walking across from the road. The build of his body was the same structure, the hair on the top of his head was the same and, when he turned around to check that the road was clear, the olive tan was the same too.

Maria found that her breath had hitched, and her heart began to beat faster than it would usually do. Then, when she let out the breath she had been holding, it became quicker until she was certain she would collapse at the feel. The presence of him, just across from the road, was truly breath taking. Never had she felt such a strong, powerful and tumultuous emotion or experience course through her veins, leaving her body shaking.

Although he was much too far away for her to see, she imagined his lips. The image had been permanently fixed in her mind ever since that night, and although she chastised herself for owning such thoughts in the abbey, even that notion would not cause them to disappear. It was an ever-fixed mark – he was an ever-fixed mark on her heart. He had come into her life and almost strived to show her a different way of living, and now she felt it.

The Captain was now crossing the road, walking further and further away from the group, and from Maria. The teacher shook herself from her reverie as he slowly faded from her sight.

About to turn back to the girls and continue leading them all back to their home, a sharp, frightened call caused her to turn even quicker.

"Frau Maria!"

Maria recognised the voice, it belonged to Theresa.

She turned towards the girl with a look across her face.

As if to answer the question that was inevitably going to fall out of her teacher's mouth, Theresa looked at her with almost desperate eyes and pointed towards the road.

Adda had walked out onto the road, seemingly in a world all of her own. But, just to her left, a horse and cart was moving swiftly, and merely metres now away from the girl.

"Adda!"

Maria screamed her name, causing the girl to turn and widen her eyes. Before Maria could even think about her actions, she acted on instinct and ran towards the road, right in front of the cart, sweeping Adda into her arms and holding her tightly to her chest.

Luckily, the cart had noticed the commotion and tried to slow down. The horse was pulled back with the reins and the cart came to a screeching halt as the horse reared its front legs and called out in surprise.

Maria, at this moment, had turned away from the cart in fright, Adda still in her arms as she tried to cover her and protect her from the inevitable impact.

It was only when the seconds continued to pass and Maria could feel nothing, that she turned around to look at the stationary horse and cart. Her blue eyes were wide with fear as she surveyed the scene around her, her arms wrapped tightly around Adda as the girl had her head buried into her shoulder. Maria could feel the girl sobbing softly, and brought one of her hands up to soothingly rub her back.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing? Walking out onto the road like that, you could have been killed!"

Maria could barely hear the cart driver speak; her senses had almost been numbed. Her breathing was intensified, and with a frightened Adda still in her arms, all she wanted to do was go home.

Maria began to mumble a response to the man, hoping that she was being coherent, before she walked across to the rest of the girls and signalled for them to begin walking home. They did, most of them were too shocked to even think about doing anything else. They adhered to their teacher, all of them silent as they passed the fountain and reached the steep climb to the abbey.

Adda, who was still in Maria's arms as they walked, was still sobbing. She was shaking, too, and she clung to Maria's dress as though her life depended on it.

Maria brought one of her hands up to Adda's dark head and began to move it in circles, hoping that this soothing motion could bring the girl to a peaceful resolution. Maria also began whispering soft words of comfort, just as she had done these past weeks whenever Adda would wake in the night after a nightmare struck her. These were becoming a regular occurrence, and Maria only longed for Adda to find the courage to speak with her about them. Maria wanted to help Adda banish those demons, whatever they may be.

The rest of that day passed in a considerable blur for all those involved. Most of the girls were silent that afternoon, finding interest in their own activities. A few of the girls took a book each outside and read, whereas a couple of the older girls were also outside but engaging in a silent card game. Adda was sat by the flower beds when Maria came outside, and from the doorway she stood and watched the little girl, a few tears coming to her own eyes as she imagined how things could have been so different today.

But Maria soon pulled herself out of these terrible thoughts and began preparing their dinner for this evening. Maria would never admit that she was skilled in the art of cooking, but tonight she was completely away and lost within her thoughts. Whilst chopping some of the vegetables, she accidentally cut her finger, leaving a rather large opening with a fair amount of blood seeping from it.

She cursed herself for being so careless, before finding a bandage and stopping the blood.

Dinner was silent that evening: all that could be heard were the sounds of knives and forks scraping at plates and the steady breathing of all involved. Maria would often glance up from her meal to look at all of the children, but each one kept their heads down solemnly, almost as if they too realised how different the situation could have ended today.

Adda looked almost passive, and stared at her food. She had raised the fork to her mouth on only two occasions before leaving it, stationary, on her plate. When she had looked up, as if to silently announce that she could eat no more, her eyes met those of her teacher. Maria silently understood her problem, and gave her a nod and a smile to reassure her that it was all right.

It turned out that only two of the girls would finish their entire meal, and even then it took them longer than usual.

That was when Maria announced, "Right, I think it's time for us all to go to bed."

Looking around at the clock, they all saw it was nearing half past seven, and none of them were going to dispute the idea. After Helga and Theresa had helped Maria take away the plates and clean them up – everyone took it in turns, Maria had devised a schedule since she had arrived – all of them went to bed.

As Maria entered their bedroom just as the girls were about to get into bed, she called out to them all, "Good night, girls."

"Good night, Frau Maria."

A chorus of responses sounded.

Maria went into her own room after taking a refreshing shower and got changed into her nightgown, but she had not settled for long and had hardly opened her book when sounds from the children's room drifted into hers. Maria was used to these sounds by now, and she knew it must be Adda.

Swinging her legs out of bed, she instantly made her way to their bedroom.

As usual, it was Adda. Maria moved across to her bed at the end of the room and instantly dropped to sit by her side. She began smoothing the hair away from her face, whispering to her words of comfort that usually sent her back to sleep peacefully.

But this time it did not seem to be working.

Adda still cried out loudly, and suddenly she woke, gasping for air almost as though she had been underwater for a great length of time. Maria carefully took her face in her own hands, looking her in the eyes. Adda's eyes began to water, and her breathing was still at a quickened pace.

Her whimpers would not cease, even with Maria there. Adda's breathing was heavy, and it seemed as though she was trying hard to catch her breath.

"Sssh, it's all right."

Maria hoped these words would sooth her, but from the look on Adda's face it seemed that she was not comfortable about falling back to sleep.

Then Eva called out from across the room, "Frau Maria, please could you take her?"

Maria turned to the oldest girl. It was not spoken with malice, just that Adda was still frightened and making sounds that made it impossible for the rest of the girls to fall asleep. One look back at Adda told Maria that she needed to be consoled right now, so Maria complied with the request and lifted Adda into her arms once she had stood.

Maria left the room, closed the door behind her and took Adda to her own bedroom.

She placed the little girl down on the bed before sitting down beside her. Almost instinctively she wrapped her left arm around Adda, pulling her into her side carefully. Adda seemed to understand the movement, though, and she instantly shifted into Maria's side, seeking the comfort the touch brought.

They stayed in that same position for quite some time. Maria could not tell how long Adda and her had sat there; she could not tell how fast time was passing. Maria was about to ask the girl if she wanted a warm drink before she went to sleep, but a small voice prevented her from doing so.

"I'm sorry," Adda mumbled into Maria's side.

Understandably shocked, but also deliriously happy, Maria brought Adda's face away from her side so she could look the little girl in the eye. Maria's face was a picture: shock, surprise but also one of the happiest smiles she had ever created.

Now that Adda was looking her teacher in the eye, she felt her emotions rise again.

"I'm sorry," she murmured again, close to tears herself.

It was now that Maria could hear her voice clearer than before. It was a soft voice, a frightened voice, but it was not an Austrian voice. Adda spoken German, but the accent she possessed was definitely not Austrian – there were evident differences in her accent. From her previous experience in the field, Maria found that Adda had a thick, German accent.

Maria looked at her quizzically, although after seeing, and feeling, Adda tense under her gaze, she decided that reassurance was clearly the only thing she needed right now. Pulling Adda back into her side, Maria pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "Thank you," she whispered to Adda, letting the girl fall back to sleep against her, and not having the heart to move her again that night.

For the rest of the week, Maria began to become more and more curious about Adda. She had not spoken again since that night, but Maria often received smiles from the girl which brought hope to her heart. Maria did keep on thinking about Adda's German accent, which only increased the amount of questions she would have about her previous whereabouts and her life before arriving at the orphanage.

But Maria vowed that she would not be one to directly ask Adda these questions, and that if she wanted to speak with her about the matters, Adda could come to her. Of course Maria would encourage her, but not so that she was demanding a response.

It was Sunday now, and Maria was preparing all of the children for mass. It was an act performed each Sunday, and the girls all dressed in their best clothes to attend.

Once the service had finished later, Maria began leading all of the girls back to their accommodation. However, just before they had all left the main parts of the abbey, the Reverend Mother came around one of the corners and exclaimed, "Oh, Maria!"

Maria turned her head in that direction, and instantly went to kneel before the woman she saw as a mother figure, kissing her hand. "Reverend Mother."

The Reverend Mother smiled as she watched Maria rise back to her feet. The older woman then turned towards the children and widened her smile as she saw their apprehensive expressions – it was something that had never altered ever since she had first introduced herself to them. "I see you have all been to mass, I trust you all enjoyed the service."

All of the girls seemed to smile and nod, but none of them spoke. The Reverend Mother was such a prestigious and important woman.

Maria smiled too, and answered for them all. "We did, very much so."

"I'm glad to hear," the Reverend Mother responded to Maria, and smiled again at all of the girls. Only a few moments later and the old woman spoke again, this time referring to Maria directly. "My child, would it be possible for you to come and see me later this evening? Once the girls are asleep…"

Maria nodded, already curious to hear what the Reverend Mother wished to speak with her about. "Of course, Reverend Mother."

With that, the Reverend Mother said her good-byes and went on her way, leaving Maria and the girls to make their way back to the schoolhouse.

"I don't think I've ever seen you all so quiet," Maria teased them once back.

A couple of the younger children turned towards her, as did a few of the older ones.

"She's the Reverend Mother," argued Helga.

"And?" Maria asked, realising there was more to this comment.

"She's important, and we're–" Joanna spoke this time, although she stopped.

Theresa answered for her meekly. "Not."

Maria was silent for a moment, amazed that all of these girls could think such a thing about themselves. The teacher felt her eyes filling with tears as she watched all of the girls stood there, who were also silent and beginning to look at the floor, as if they expected their teacher to agree with them.

"Do you all think that?" Maria asked.

She was met with a wall of silence.

"Do you?" Maria raised her voice, not with anger, but expecting an answer.

"Yes," Eva answered. "Look at us all," she motioned to the group. "Nobody wants us, nobody cares, and that's why we're here. We have no one left, we're not important."

Maria stood there, stunned.

When she noticed that a few of the girls were also close to tears, she spoke up though.

"Now you listen to me, all of you," she raised her voice. "Each and every one of you is important. You all are important to me." Maria made it her own to look at each and every one of the girls, giving them a sincere and serious look that could cause them no doubt about her words. "Don't ever doubt that. Just because you can't see it now does not mean that it's not there. Some day you will see how important you really are. Some day you will have a family," she addressed them all. "Some day your talents will be allowed to shine, and then you will realise your significance. You will all realise just how much people care."

Maria finished her statement, looking at the girls with tears in her own eyes.

She opened her arms to them all. "Come here."

All ten girls rushed into her arms, and although she could not firmly embrace them all, she kissed each of their heads and made sure to hug each girl later that day. Maria knew that all of these girls were alone in the world and that their families were gone – they would need to speak about that sooner or later, and she vowed to spend time with each of them soon. She would find out what had happened to each of them, she would help them through their insecurities and help to mould them into the great adults they could be.

Maria closed the door behind her after turning off the light switch, content that all of the girls were asleep, or close to being. It was nearing nine o'clock now, so Maria hurried towards the main sectors of the abbey and in the direction of the Reverend Mother's room.

She knocked on the door upon arrival, and the call to enter could be heard from within.

Maria opened the door and stepped inside. "Reverend Mother."

"Ah, thank you for coming, my child."

Maria approached the Reverend Mother, kissed her hand and then sat down on the chair opposite after the older woman had motioned for her to with her hand.

"You wanted to speak to me, Reverend Mother?"

The Reverend Mother nodded. "There are two things. One, to ask about your progress with the girls, and two to give you this."

The older woman handed Maria a letter, only her name on the front.

Maria looked up at her, a confused look across her face. "Who–"

"Captain Von Trapp stopped to see you earlier. We told him that you were out with the girls, so he asked if we could hand this to you."

The shock across Maria's face was evident. "The– the Captain?" Maria stopped and looked down at the letter once again, and for the first time looked at the hand writing. It was evidently masculine, and incredibly neat. Maria subconsciously found herself marveling at his hand.

The Reverend Mother smiled at Maria. Although she could see the shock across her face, she could also see a glimmer of something else in her eyes. It was almost a form of happiness and elation; it was something she had not seen in the girl before.

"Did he say anything else?" Maria finally found the conviction in her voice and asked.

"No," answered the Reverend Mother. "He just asked us to give you that, although he looked a little defeated to hear you were not here."

A small smile crept onto the Reverend Mother's face, but it was instantly removed as Maria lifted her head to look at the older woman. Maria's eyes had widened.

Maria looked down again at the letter in the palm of her hands. She swallowed, and then decided that she would not dwell on the matter for much longer. She looked up at the Reverend Mother. "You were going to ask about the girls' progress?"

The Reverend Mother sighed silently as Maria's comment marked the end of their discussions about Captain Von Trapp. She then nodded her head solemnly, although brought a forced smile to her lips. "How are they all? How are their studies fairing?"

Maria soon began to speak about their progress, although the conversation that had occurred between them earlier that afternoon was kept out of their discussions. Maria felt that, somehow, it would be betraying their confidence, since their insecurities had evidently been difficult to admit. She had seen the worry and apprehension across their faces, almost as though the girls were anticipating her response. So Maria spoke and revealed to the Reverend Mother about all of their studies, the progress the girls had made in various areas and the plans for the upcoming weeks.

"And the youngest girl, Adda? How has she been?"

Maria smiled and nodded. "She spoke to me, briefly, the other night. She had another nightmare, and it had been a, difficult, day."

Maria chose her words wisely.

The Reverend Mother looked at her questioningly. "Difficult?"

"We had been in Salzburg, and Adda had accidentally stepped out in front of a cart. It didn't hit her," Maria reassured the older woman. "But she was shaken up. We all were."

The Reverend Mother nodded mutely.

"But she is still making progress. She seems more comfortable around me now, which can only be a good sign."

The Reverend Mother smiled. "Absolutely."

A few moments later, and Maria found herself yawning subconsciously.

Although Maria was embarrassed at the act, the Reverend Mother chuckled. "You're exhausted," she noted. "You should go back, get some sleep."

Maria did not need to be asked twice, and after bidding the Reverend Mother good-night she left the room and made her way back to the schoolhouse.

However, upon opening the door to her bedroom, Maria gasped as she saw that someone was already there. But soon her posture relaxed as she realised who it was.

Maria switched on the light, and Adda was sat there atop of the bed sheets. Her legs were crossed and her hands were in her lap. Her eyes held a soft expression, although amidst that were a certain degree of worry.

"What are–" Maria begun.

"You weren't there when I woke up."

The tone of her voice almost broke Maria.

Moving instantly towards her, Maria wrapped her arms around Adda and pressed a soft, reassuring kiss to the top of her head, just like she had the other night.

"I'll always be here," she promised.