Ch. 6: Bittersweet and Strange
"Father?" Maria asked as she ran into her small house. "Father! I am so sorry I wasn't there for you!" She exclaimed as she threw herself down on the bedside by where he lay.
"Maria?" He asked softly. "You're back."
"Of course I am back…you were sick." She replied.
"Today is your engagement party, Maria. Lukas is waiting for you."
"Father I am not leaving you, not until you get better…"
"No Maria. You must go you have all your life to live. Anyway the guests are expecting you." He told her.
"Please don't make me marry him. I don't want to. I am in love with…"
"You fell in love with that Captain. Is that what you are telling me? I told you he would never ever fall for a simple peasant girl like yourself. You ought to be grateful that Lukas fell in love with you." He told her slowly.
"Father he doesn't love me for who I am. He loves me because of…well for some reason he thinks I am pretty. That is the only reason…"
"And you have the nerve to think that Sea Captains think of anything more than what you look like on the outside? You are so naïve Maria. Now go to your engagement party I will see you tonight." He answered her.
"Yes Father." She replied as she walked out the door.
She walked slowly to town where she was supposed to meet Lukas. There she saw him sitting with his friends, drinking and talking about absurd things. A tear trickled down her face as she watched him. She hated him. Her tears quickly turned to anger as she saw a Nazi symbol on his shirt and the other men that were sitting there.
"Ah, my darling fiancé is here." He told her as he walked up to her. He gave her a warm hug and attempted to kiss her. Before he could Maria pulled back.
"You are a Nazi." She began.
"Yes I am. I became one of the head Nazis recently. I got the honors of being one of the first to witness our taking over of Austria. It was wonderful. I am so excited that we are getting married Maria. I love you." He told her.
"You told me you would never join them." She coldly stated. His friends stared at her angrily. Though she had assumed he would join them eventually he had always told her he had no intentions to.
"Well, you know…it can't be helped. If you can't beat them you might as well join them right?" He asked. Maria stared at him angrily. Any other girl would have feel to his sweet voice and looks but Maria was not taken by him.
"Can we take a little walk?" Maria asked ripping her hand out of his.
"Of course my darling. I am all yours." He replied while putting his arms around her. His friends gave him thumbs up and smiles, encouraging him. Once they were far enough away Maria began to speak.
"I can't believe you. I thought you were an Austrian. Now all you seem to be is a disgusting old Nazi who hates everybody different from you. You know I really don't want to get married to you. I just don't seem to deserve you." She told him attempting to try reverse psychology.
"Why not? You loved me before you went to that Captain's home…"
"I have never loved you…" She begin.
"Wait you fell in love with him, didn't you?" He asked in amusement. "That is why you don't want to marry me. I have to ask, you really think he loves you too?"
"Yes. He does." She replied confidently.
"How do you know? Has he ever told you he does?" He asked.
"No…but…" She began. His laughing cut her off.
"You honestly think he would fall in love with a little nobody like yourself? You do not have anything to offer…except your beauty…I see what you did…"
"I did nothing like what you are thinking." Maria glared.
"Oh I see he forced you into giving yourself up, huh…more of a reason to arrest him." He told her.
"The Captain never laid a finger on me!" She exclaimed. "I am not marrying you…I am going home this instant…"
"I'll walk you there my love." He snarled as he put his arm around her.
"You can't arrest him. What has he done…you don't have any proof…"
"Darling, I have it on good authority that he was going to escape tomorrow morning to get away from the Nazi regime…"
"I couldn't blame him." Maria mumbled.
"I couldn't arrest him until he attempts to escape, but now that you have given me some wonderful ideas of what he did with you, I can arrest him now." He told her evilly.
"But he never did that!" Maria told him close to tears.
"We don't need any proof. Nazis will rule the world we need no proof and you will become my bride of else I will have you arrested as well." He told her as Maria ran and opened the door to her home.
"I will never be your wife. The Captain never did anything like that…I will tell everyone and they will turn on you in a second!" She shouted.
"Silence woman!" He shouted as he slapped her across the face. Clutching her face Maria stood up.
"I will not be quite…not when such injustice is happening…"
"I told you to shut up!" Lukas yelled. As he punched her then picking her up by the throat. "If you do anything to ruin my plan, I will ruin you. You will marry me. We will be married tomorrow morning once I dispose of that Monster of a Sea Captain."
"He is not a monster Lukas, you are!" Maria shouted. Lukas struck her again.
"I told you to be quite. You will be submissive to me whether you like it or not." He told her. "I wouldn't suggest trying to warn that blue blooded, righteous loving Sea Captain. He will be dead before you can help him." With that word he gave her one more kick in her stomach and left Maria in tears.
Maria stood up slowly looking over at her Father. Her eyes were red and she could tell that the gashes Lukas had laid on her were bruised and bloody.
"Maria…" A small weak voice called her. She looked back over to her Father who she noticed was breathing quite heavily.
"Father?" She asked.
"Maria, I am sorry my daughter. I did not know." He told her softly. "You should be able to marry anyone you like." He told her. "I should not have forced you into marriage. I am so sorry…if only your Mother was still alive, maybe this would not have happened." He told her taking her hand.
"Oh Father it is not your fault." Maria told him. "I am sorry I was so rebellious. I love you Father." She told him while picking up her blue book that lay on the ground.
"What's that?" Her Father asked her.
"It is Beauty and the Beast. The Captain gave it to me to read. He said it was one of the loveliest fairytales. He was shocked when he learned that I hadn't read it." She told her Father. He Father looked at her lovingly with a smile on his face.
"My daughter, you don't remember, do you?" He asked.
"Remember what?" She asked questionably.
"Your Mother used to read that book to you every night before you went to bed. It was your favorite story. Don't you remember?" He asked. Maria thought for a moment. Slowly it came back to her.
"A prince turned into a Beast. A spell cast on the castle until he could learn to love and earn someone's love in return…then a young girl named Belle comes and he falls in love with her and she eventually with him and she eventually breaks the spell…" Maria finished while more and more facts of the story kept flooding back to her. "Then he turns into a handsome prince and they live happily ever after."
"Yes you remember." He told her weakly. "That makes me so happy." Suddenly his breath became very short and her knew his time had come. "Maria promise me one thing."
"What?" She asked clutching his hand, worried that he might die.
"Promise me you will listen to your heart, and do whatever it says. In other words never change who you are for anyone else. Promise me you will always keep your faith in the Lord even in your hardest times. Will you do that?" He asked.
"Yes…I will…I promise." She stammered. "I love you Father…"
"I love you too Maria…" Was his reply. Maria felt his grip on her hand loosen and his breathing slowed down until it stopped.
"No." Maria mumbled. "No!" She yelled as she broke down into tears this time not because of her wounds from Lukas, but because of despair.