disclaimer: I make no money out of this and I own nothing.
warning: Just language
a/n: This is my first TSOM fic so I'm very sorry if there's a lot of mistakes. Also, English is not my first language, feel free to correct my grammar and spelling. Please leave a review. Thank you!
ONE
Blume,
Apologies for the excessive smudging, but I believe these are my last words for ich werde bald sterben. First, congratulations and du weißt, warum. Second, beileid für deinen verlorenen; Uncle Albert was dead. Third, they're not satisfied with him, all ist in gefahr.
Fick dich.
- Feuer
Walking slowly along the grassy path, Maria inhaled the fresh air of her childhood town.
Tomorrow, she and her family will cross borders, again, to finally settle in her husband's late wife's parent's place. And she's excited and nervous to meet them.
Switzerland is so peaceful and the people are friendly. It's been a great time for her family. To her, on the other hand, considering that no von Trapp knew her history yet; she's been twitchy all the time.
At first, it wasn't hard for her. Nobody in the town seemed to recognize her, and she couldn't recognize anyone either. It was a fine month of relief for her.
It wasn't until this afternoon at the music shop.
"Mom, don't you think I should get this or that?" asked Liesl as she showed her two different copies of the same song.
Maria, who's been busy keeping Kurt and Martha from blowing any other wind instrument, raised a don't-you-dare finger to Gretl who was about to throw a drumstick to Louisa.
"Darling, those two are the same so get whichever you want. But if one's cheaper than the other then you know my final answer," she finally said with an apologetic smile. She's very thankful Friedrich managed to get a distraction for both Kurt and Martha, and that Brigitta's an absolute angel at such establishments.
They only planned to pass by for the guitar which Georg brought there last week for fixing. But it seemed that they got too much energy walking up and down the mountains.
"Grüetzi," called someone Maria definitely knew, and she's starting to sweat in the middle of a cold December day, "You must be Baronin von Trapp?" the person smiled offering a hand shake.
She hesitantly accepted and just nodded, how she wished for Gretl to throw that drumstick now– just not to anyone.
"I'm Alejandro, I-uh- fixed your husband's guita-"
"That's our mother's guitar," Gretl cutted him, squeezing to get near to Maria, "Father just brought it here for fixing, he usually plays the piano but we can't bring the piano with us when we're ru-"
The rest of the children shushed the youngest before she could finish, or continue. Maria nervously glanced at Alejandro, slightly relieved that he's focused on the children.
He hadn't recognized her after handing her the guitar.
Still hadn't when she thanked him.
But when she tried the guitar~
"Do, a deer. A female deer.." Gretl hummed.
~that's where he saw her.
After they left the store, they walked to their house, and she caught a stone flying towards Gretl. Fortunately, no one else saw it. Discreetly, she read the message:
Meet me at our tree. - R
"You showed up," she got goosebumps hearing that familiar voice. She hadn't been around in five years, yet the feelings continue from where it left off.
She looked at him down and up and scoffed, "That rock could've hit my daughter."
"That rich navy guy's daughter."
If Maria didn't learn anything from the abbey, she must be beating the crap out of him right now.
"You're not fooling me Maria, I know you," he continued, facing her as if he's a threat, "That guy and his family is lucky that you haven't done anything violent yet."
Raising her eyebrows, Maria smiled at him and slowly walked
forward, "Keep talking and I might do something…." she raised her hand to brush the line of his jaw, "...violent."
Never in her life she thought she would go back acting like the teenager Maria, she believed that part of her was buried beneath the bushes of the abbey- hidden away from the sight of everyone she met after she turned eighteen.
But Alejandro, or Ricardo as she knew him, always has something in him that makes it impossible for her to change, or be consistent. That's partly the reason why she left, to be away from him.
"Now that's the bitch I know," he smirked, reaching for her wrist but she's quicker to pull away, "Feisty and-"
"What do you want?" she asked, stepping back away from him, "I don't need you chastising my life now. At least I never need to change my name anymore."
She continued to walk away when he shouted, "Is that so Baroness von Trapp? Or do you prefer Lady Kutschera? Or maybe Miss Rainier? Or Little Ma-"
"Do you really want to say something or you're just obsessed with getting under my skin?"
"Getting under your skin? Pfft, no. If that's my aim then I should've just knocked on your door and present myself as the ex-fiancé slash poor victim of yours," Ricardo smirked following her steps, "It would be rude for your husband not knowing my existence while you know he had seven children with someone else. Does he know you dumped me in the altar?"
Maria stared at him blankly, not responding. She knows he's playing with her, but she can't help but agree– she's not gonna tell him that last bit though, that would only feed his ego.
"Does he know that you're from an illegally wealthy family of spies and traitors? Probably-"
"If that's not getting under my skin then what are you doing?"
"Reminding you of the past," he hissed, "Because you might be lucky you don't need to change names– hide anymore, but luck won't protect you once they found you. I wasn't even part of your clan yet I'm a target, and I live in fear every single fucking day– just like the rest of your living relatives."
As he talked, she continued walking down the path, smirking as she realised his intentions, "Maybe if you're actually smarter with a bigger dick then you might have been lucky like me and the rest of my living relatives.
"And you actually believe they're like you 'living in fear every single fucking day.' You must have forgotten the fact that the family I grew up with are from a long line of traitors and spies, being a target is their living– it's their lifestyle."
She stopped and turned to him, "You set yourself up in that situation– by choice, so don't you talk to me as if it's all my fault. I gave you all the warning– no you can't marry me, go back to Italy, my family is a bunch of mafias, I will hurt you, go away, your life will be in danger– but what did you do? You dated my half-sister, started an affair with my cousin, worked for my uncle; now look where it got you."
Maria pursed her lips as she glared at him intensely. Those rivals of the Kutscheras really did a great job showing him fear that he's traumatised enough to change his name– but to imply that she's lucky, that she's not living it, that the rest of her relatives are dealing with the problem as much as he does…
...what a shithole, she mused.
"You're a fool to confess that you've done it to test me, to get back to me. But thank you for giving me a reason to fall out of you– for making me fall out of you," she looked at him again down and up, then turned around, "You're just as bad as they are, but you're saner, so it's easy for you to cower."
She left him standing there as she tried to catch her breath. I can't believe I just made it out without punching him, she smiled to herself. She reached the cobblestone houses and made her way towards her home. Her family.
On the doorway however, there's a letter meant for her. Picking it up before entering, Maria wished she hadn't gone to meet Ricardo.