Chapter Ten: Bittersweet and Strange

The soft summer breeze curled its way around Maria's ankles as she made her way up the stone steps of Nonnberg Abbey. As she raised her eyes up to the sky she smiled at the great expanse of bright blue that greeted her. She couldn't believe it had only been a week since she'd last visited the abbey. So much had happened that it felt like it had been months since she'd been back.

As she finally made it to the top and pushed through the large gate, her smile faltered. Last week, she'd been feeling out of place in the sombre halls of Nonnberg. Of course, she'd been delighted to see everyone - particularly Sister Margaretta - however, she'd hadn't really missed anything else about it. But she tried to shake these thoughts as she made her way through the garden that sprawled along the eastern part of the convent. There were a few other postulants and sisters going about their daily task; a few greeted her politely as she passed but apart from that, the rest all ignored her. Which was nothing new. But it managed to bother her just a little bit more than it normally did.

"Oh, Maria!" came a cheerful voice.

Maria turned and spotted Sister Margaretta sitting on a bench down by a large sprawling rose hedge. As she approached, she couldn't help but smile at seeing that reassuring face.

"Hello, Sister Margaretta," said Maria, sitting next to the older woman on the bench. The scent of the roses blew by and Maria felt herself relax in the kind presence of the nun.

"Oh, dear, it is so lovely to see you," said Sister Margaretta, giving her arm a squeeze. "You are looking so well! The air in Aigen must be good for you."

With a nod, Maria said, "Yes, though I do have so much to tell you!"

At the inquisitive look on the nun's face, Maria launched into the whole story about what had happened with the Captain. She had tried leaving out a few details - particularly how she came to be in the attic - but Sister Margaretta had always been something of a mother to Maria and so she hadn't been able to conceal any of the details for very long. And besides, lying was something Maria had never been any good at it. So any concealments certainly didn't last long.

"Goodness, Maria, I am just so relieved that you are all right," said Sister Margaretta, her brow creasing in concern. "We never thought something like this would happen."

"Everything is fine, though!" assured Maria. "The Captain is all better now." Maria couldn't help the affectionate smile that spread across her face. "He was a bit of a grumpy patient at times, but he's doing so well now. He's no longer bedridden - thank the Lord."

Sister Margaretta's brow knitted further. "Patient?"

"Yes, I helped Frau Schmidt with looking after him."

Sister Margaretta was puzzled. Maria had been sent there to look after the children, not the Captain. And while she cared for Maria deeply, the girl had no training in nursing whatsoever - she was more adept at being the patient with her habit of scraping her knees from climbing trees.

"But you don't have any medical training, Maria," said Margaretta gently. "And I did say you were to make sure to take it easy - especially with your headaches."

"Oh, Sister, I've hardly had any headaches at all," said Maria cheerfully. "And it really was no problem helping the Captain. After all, he saved my life."

Sister Margaretta just nodded and managed to smile warmly at the girl. The look on Maria's face was… strange. It seemed every week when she came to visit on her day off, the girl's opinion of Captain von Trapp had changed. At first it had been 'he's a beast' and then 'he's trying not to be a beast' and now? Margaretta gave herself a little mental shake. Maria was young, and this was why the Reverend Mother had wanted her out in the world - she had wanted Maria to be sure this was the path for her.

"Well," said Margaretta carefully, "I still think you should be careful, don't stress yourself out too much, dear. Now, how are your books going?"

And with that, Sister Margaretta listened as Maria spoke of the Captain's library, and how many books he had, and what he liked and what he didn't like (which seemed to be anything Maria liked). And then she was launching into stories about the children, her voice coloured with nothing but fondness and her eyes bright.

The sun was finally setting as Maria let herself relax against the door to the nursery. After visiting the abbey, she'd returned back to the villa and spent some time sewing - using the lovely fabric the Captain had gifted her the other day. She'd nearly finished it and couldn't wait to wear her new dress. It was such an exciting moment for Maria - having new clothes. Especially clothes made out of such fine material. The rest of the day had been spent reading before she'd gone to put the children to bed. It had taken her a while to get the two youngest children to sleep - she had read at least two fairy tales. They'd been so excited about the puppet show they'd been working on the past few days and couldn't wait to show their father. Maria smiled as she pushed off the door and made her way down the corridor.

Even though it had been her day off, she'd been more than happy to help Frau Schmidt put the children to bed. She knew that the two youngest normally couldn't sleep without being read at least one fairy tale, and Marta had whispered in her ear one night that Maria read them the best. A comment that had both warmed Maria's heart and made it ache with a longing that had frightened her.

She shook her head, trying to banish the creeping feelings of worry. The Captain had finally been declared fit enough to join them all again and so she made her way towards his study. As she took the last step on the grand staircase and crossed the foyer towards the study, she couldn't help but feel a little strange. Even though it had only been for a few days, Maria felt odd going back to his study now. With a polite knock on the door, she pushed the thought out of her head.

"Come in."

Putting his pen down and carefully placing his work aside, Georg watched as Fraulein Maria entered his study and gently shut the door behind her. He saw she had a book tucked under her arm and he couldn't help but let a small smile tug at his lips.

"Good evening, Fraulein," he said with a nod.

It had been utterly tedious catching up on his work all day and he had to admit to being more than glad to see her. It was like as soon as she stepped into the room, he felt all his worries and stresses melt away. Like she was some magical light that chased all the darkness away.

How utterly stupid, he thought.

"Hallo!" said Maria with a large smile as she took the seat across from his desk, carefully placing the book in her lap.

It was strange how much happier she felt in his presence, the Captain was something of a reassuring rock. And seeing him back behind that desk, looking as confident and strong as he had before seemed to settle a worry that had been niggling at her the last few days. But there was another thought that still tried to vie for her attention and it was simply that she had actually enjoyed being in his room while he recovered - as inappropriate as she knew that was. She felt like she had gotten to know a whole different person - well, maybe not - but she'd seen a different side of him. A more relaxed man; who told jokes, and smiled when she read particular passages of poetry.

"Getting away from my children for a day seems to have put you in a good mood," said the Captain with an amused smile, bringing Maria out of her musings.

"Oh, no, Captain! Not at all!" she said hastily. "It was just so lovely to see Sister Margaretta and tell her everything that happened here." She smiled. "I told her about everything the children have been doing - including their little surprise for you tomorrow night."

"Ah, yes."

"Is that still all right?" asked Maria. "Herr Detweiler and Baroness Schraeder are invited too. I know you must be so busy catching up with…" She trailed off, glancing at the documents piled meticulously across his desk. She actually had no idea what it was that he did. "Um, whatever it is you do." The Captain raised an eyebrow at that but said nothing and so Maria continued. "Yes, well, the children have been working so hard and even though you're better now it would mean the world to them."

As she smiled at him with a furiously keen glint to her eye, Georg said, "It sounds wonderful, Fraulein." With a smirk he added, "I'm sure I can take a break from 'whatever it is I do' to attend a little show."

Maria clapped her hands together, ignoring his comment. "They are so excited, we've been practising so much while you've been locked away upstairs."

"Yes," said the Captain slowly. "It is quite refreshing to be out of that room, I do not enjoy being confined to one room all day."

Maria frowned. "Brigitta said you've been in here all day, though."

The Captain glared at her. "By choice, there is a difference."

Maria merely nodded. "Anyway, I need to go return this and grab a few books for tomorrow before I forget," she said, standing up. "The children are all in bed."

"Thank you, Fraulein," said Georg, rising as she did. "You didn't have to do that on your day off."

"It's no trouble," she said, throwing him a smile as she walked through the door to the library.

As if it was the most natural thing, Georg followed her through the door connecting his study to the library and watched as she searched through the shelves of books.

"So, what were you reading to the children tonight?" he asked, lazily spinning a globe on a nearby table.

"'Cinderella'," replied Maria over her shoulder as she slotted the book of fairy tales in place before making her way towards one of the large ladders.

Georg shook his head and tried with all his strength not to roll his eyes. Why did he even ask, of course it would be a ridiculous fairy tale.

"I can practically feel your disapproval, Captain," came the voice of the governess as she stood high on the ladder. She looked down at him from above and laughed. "Something wrong with 'Cinderella', Captain?"

"No, no, no, I just hope you aren't filling my girls heads with any more nonsense," said Georg, watching slightly transfixed as she pushed the ladder across its tracks with the tip of her foot, exposing quite a lot of her leg in the process. He shuddered.

"Nonsense?" said Maria with a scoff, as she searched through the titles in front of her. "What's wrong with a happy ever after? And it's about being good and kind, that cruelty doesn't get you anywhere - it just blinds you."

"There is no such thing as 'happily ever after'.They are just stories, Fraulein. Not real life. "

Maria bit her lip as her brow furrowed in thought. "Well, they shouldn't be!" she declared. "It shouldn't be something that just happens in stories." With a sigh, she gazed up at the ceiling. "Happy ever after should be something anyone could achieve. Everyone wants to be happy. What is so wrong with that?"

The Captain fixed her with that stern, no-nonsense look of his and said, "It's just not logical. There aren't magical wishing trees. Certainly no magic lamps filled with genies ready to grant your every desire. Nor are their princesses sleeping in dark towers waiting to be rescued by some prince."

"I know that, Captain," said Maria with an exasperated sigh. "I just like to believe that there are people that do genuinely want to help others, that do believe in the good fight." She smiled down at him. "Like you."

"Me?"

"Yes," she said. "You're the one that saved my life – the children tell me only heroes do that sort of thing."

"I'm no hero, Fraulein," muttered Georg. "You read far too much nonsense."

Maria had noticed how his normally bright eyes had darkened and she hastened to quell the storm.

"Maybe not like the ones in the stories, Captain," she said, gently dropping down from the ladder and landing in front of him. "But you are to the children." She placed her hand on his arm and gave a small squeeze before drawing it away. "You might not be off rescuing princesses from dragons but you are so important to your children. They love you so much, and I'm sure they'd believe you able of defeating anything."

Georg said nothing, too busy trying to silence the thoughts in his head. It was astounding how much joy Fraulein Maria saw in the world, he wished he could see the world through her eyes. But then again, he sometimes felt like he did. Whenever she spoke, her words seemed to go straight to his heart and nestle there. She had this way of making you believe the world was a better place - that you were a better person. It was as if she casted a spell, bewitching you with her kind words and warm heart.

She gave a happy little sigh as she tilted her head to the side, her lips curving into an affectionate smile. Sometimes - a lot of the time - his mind couldn't help but linger and think about that smile. For it was affectionate, there was no other way to describe it. Georg had seen her smile like that at his children whenever they'd done something she was immensely proud of. He wondered if she was proud of him?

It was such a ridiculous thought - he was a retired naval captain for God's sake. Why should he want her to be proud of him? The question left him a little rattled, his thoughts skittering away like frightened mice. He didn't want to answer that question.

"Well, Captain," said Fraulein Maria breezing past him and heading to another shelf, "whatever you might think, the children think you are truly wonderful." She turned around to face him, her arms holding a few books, and gave him another smile. "Goodnight."

Georg watched her leave, his soft goodnight hanging in the empty library. There was the gentle sound of rain starting to fall outside and he gave himself a mental slap and moved back towards his study. As he came into the room, he found Elsa standing in the middle with her back to him. She looked so out of place, he thought, as he carefully shut the door behind him. Her sparkling evening dress was just too bright, her hair and posture too stiff. It was like he was on the outside looking in for the first time. With a flick of his fingers, he dismissed the thoughts.

"Good evening, Elsa," he said smoothly, walking over to his desk.

Elsa spun around and gave him a delighted smile. "There you are, darling!" She sauntered over to him and leant her hip against the top of his desk. "I am so glad to hear you are free from the confines of your room. I've missed you."

With a tactful step, he made it hard for her to reach for him as he made show of looking through the tomes of books behind his desk.

"I've been awfully busy catching up on work, I do apologise," he said, flicking randomly through a book.

Elsa smiled. "Of course, darling, I understand. How about we go out tomorrow night then? To celebrate your health."

"Ah, well, the children have planned something for tomorrow night," Georg began, but Elsa had stopped listening at the mention of children.

Her smile stayed fixed in place, and she nodded politely. Children, children, children, she thought angrily. What was with him and those children? It was her he was supposed to be lavishing his attention on. Not some damn brats. Elsa realised he was looking at her in question and she tried to maintain her cheery expression.

"Sounds wonderful, darling," she said, giving him a simpering smile. He seemed happy enough with that answer and so she stretched one hand out and gently grasped his arm. "You must let me have you all to myself sometime soon, Georg." With what she hoped sounded like playfulness, and not downright irritation, she added, "You did invite me down here after all."

The man gave her a polite nod and at least had the decency to look somewhat embarrassed. Which he should, thought Elsa. He had barely been paying her any attention of late. Granted, he'd been rendered incapable of doing anything. But still, she was his saviour after all.

A/N Sorry for the long wait on this one. It is a bit short but this was the best place to cut it - the next chapter will be up a lot quicker, I promise!