Hello again! This is the end of chapter 23... Hope you'll like it!
Usual disclaimers here.
As usual, many thanks to my prereaders!
Enjoy!
"Just have a seat," Georg said calmly as he closed the door of his study behind him. Finally, he sat down on his chair too and waited for Viktor to start to speak.
"Is it that bad?" he asked seriously, encouraging his brother.
The younger von Trapp nervously looked at Georg who was sitting in front of him then at Maria who had taken a seat next to him. Both were staring at him expectantly. They were blissfuly happy, their home was a real harbour, yes. However, they also were very conscious of what was going on, much to his surprise. Seeing their serious glances, the fear he would shatter their blind happiness faded immediately. Clearing his throat, he began to speak:
"Well, horrible would be more exact. I've heard last week that the Nazis want Chancellor von Schuschnigg to accept Seyss-Inquart in his government at all costs. If he doesn't comply with their wish, they will ask for Hitler's help."
"Seems like they are fed up with the guy's resistance, aren't they?" Georg joked bitterly. He had met Kurt von Schuschnigg once in Vienna and had been quite impressed by the man. A bright lawyer who had become the Chancellor of Austria after Dolfuss' murder, he had tried to preserve the country's independance at all costs since then.
"Yes, you can say that," his brother confirmed.
"If that bloody bastard joins the government, it's the end," Georg went on darkly.
"That's why the Chancellor is still resisting. However, I doubt he will be able to go on like that for a long time..." Viktor explained, his eyes never leaving his brother's. Now the most difficult part of the discussion was coming.
"Georg?" he asked softly.
"Yes?"
"Run away. They know everything about you. Your acquaitances. Your political opinions. Everything. They remember how much you criticized the Germans' tactics during the war, how many times you said that that slaughter was their fault, that they had pushed Austria in the war. Just take your wife and your children and run away," Viktor finally let out, not letting his brother enough time to answer. "And you're too much a good soldier, you know. They'll want you at their side or they'll want you dead," he concluded, not daring to stare at the couple. "I'm sorry, I know it's not the moment to say that."
Maria looked at him in shock. Deep inside she was aware that, since he did not hide his political ideas at all, her dear Mani was a possible target for the Nazis. However, feeling things like that and hearing them were two very different matters. As for him, Georg simply resumed staring at his brother calmly, not showing his relief yet. Finally, a small smile formed on his lips.
"Is that all?"
Viktor looked up at him with utter surprise. "Is that all?" Was that all the man had to answer whereas he just had told him that Damocles' sword was hanging upon him?
"When I saw you with such a worried stare, I almost thought that the Gestapo was on your heels to arrest me or something like that," he exclaimed with forced cheerfulness and lit a cigarette.
"Mani! Haven't you heard what he just said? How can you be so calm?" Maria asked, her voice shaking, tears forming in her eyes.
"Don't worry, Maria, I'm well aware of that," he went on with a reassuring voice. "The moment the Germans set a foot in Austria, you can be sure we'll be somewhere where they aren't yet... There's no way I can stay in a country where the Nazis are. Absolutely no way," he finished, stressing on each word.
"But... Why are you waiting for them? Why aren't you leaving now?" Viktor exclaimed. Once again, he just couldn't understand his brother. Too proud. Too stubborn.
"Because I can't, Viktor, I simply can't. If I run away now, it will mean that Austria is definitely lost and dead. I don't want to believe that yet. I'm still hoping, even if it's foolish, that something will stop the Nazis. I don't know... Great Britain, France, the USA, even the Sovietic Union... I don't care. I just can't believe that they will go on watching Hitler do whatever he wants without reacting forever," he explained sadly, as if, deep inside, he did not believed what he was saying.
"Don't tell me you're counting on your old enemies! It's because of them that we're in such a situation! They don't care about us! They want us dead!" Viktor almost shouted angrily, inconsciously repeating the same error as in the past.
"As far as I remember, they were not the ones who began the war, Viktor," Georg answered calmly, not paying attention to the other man's outburst. "Besides, that's not the point here. Even if we don't agree on many topics, I think we can agree on that very one, can't we? Hitler is our one and only enemy, that's all. Personally, I don't care who's going to help us against him. There isn't a day when I don't regret that the English and the French have been too coward to follow Pilsudski's plan, and you know how much I despise the guy."
"You'll never change," Viktor sighed, shaking his head. However, at the same time, he could not help noticing how much influence Maria had on his brother. In the past, he would have punched him on the nose for saying something like that. Today, he calmly had answered and almost succeeded in convincing him.
Maria looked at the two brothers in disbelief. Were they the same men who seemed to hate each other twenty years ago? As far as she remembered, Mani never had spoken of Viktor in a kind way. Yet, they were sitting in the same room, accepting, or trying to accept, the other's opinions. Nonetheless, even if she was happy to see her fiancé able to talk to his brother without shouting at him or, worse, punching him, their discussion frightened her. Silently, she prayed God to protect their family from the growing darkness.
A soft knock on the door startled the three people sitting in the study.
"Come in," Georg answered.
Max appeared in the doorframe, looking quite worried.
"Well, Frau Schmidt told me that..." the older man did not finish his sentence, noticing that, contrary to what he had thought, the von Trapp brothers were not at each other's throat, much to his surprise and relief.
"Herr Detweiler, I presume? Good morning," Viktor greeted him from his chair, yet not bothering to get up. He never had understood why his brother accepted such a friend.
"Good morning, Baron," Max answered with iced politeness. Then, turning to his old friend, he asked: "I guess everything is alright?"
"Yes, Max, thank you for your concern," Georg reassured him with a knowing smile. "Maria?" he went on. "Could you help our friend to find his way back to the terrace, please? It would be lovely."
The young woman immediately understood that he wanted to be alone with Viktor a little, even if he was too proud to say it clearly. Getting up, she walked to him and left a butterfly kiss on his temple.
"Of course, darling, I'm going. I suppose I also should tell Frau Schmidt that we'll have one guest more for lunch?" she proposed, looking at Viktor.
"Please, tell her," her fiancé agreed. With that, she took Max's arm and led him downstairs.
Viktor, utterly surprised by his brother's uncommon and unexpected invitation, impatiently waited for Maria and Max to walk out of the study then exclaimed loudly:
"Why are you doing this? I never intended to stay here and disturb you..."
Georg did not let him finish his sentence, replying softly:
"Let's say I would like you to stay today for lunch as much as I hope you'll make me the favour to be there next Saturday, that's all."
"But why?" the other insisted. Of course he always secretly had hoped that one day he would be able to get closer to his brother. However, everything was happening so quickly that he was afraid. He was not ready. They were not ready. There still were so many things that kept separating them!
"You want an honest answer? I don't know, I really don't know... Maybe because I've cut myself from the outside world for too many years. Maybe because I took conscience, or, better said, someone made me take conscience that I've been pretty close becoming an old stupid and bitter man just like Father," Georg answered calmly, his eyes still staring at the door Maria had closed a few minutes before.
Viktor looked up at his brother in shock, not quite understanding what he really meant. He stood silent for a while, partly because he tried to figure out what Georg wanted to express, partly because, for the first time since he had walked into the room, he had noticed how much their Father's old study had changed. It was as if his brother had wanted to erase any sign of the stuffy paternal presence in this particular room. Now the study was filled by his brother's own personality: books were scattered everywhere, on the shelves, on the floor, along with memories from his days in the Navy. On the desk, pictures of swimming dolphins he had taken in Trieste along with some photographies of his friends and crew. Some necklaces made out of shells were scattered on the shelves along with old compasses and sextants. Several japanese swords hung on the wall next to a painting of the antic Raguse. If the rest of the house had not changed that much, that particular room had nothing in common with the old stern study he and Georg disliked so much. The older von Trapp noticed his brother's sudden curiousity and excused himself in a silent chuckle:
"Sorry about the mess... I must buy other shelves but I never remember to do it."
"Other things on your mind?" Viktor asked pleasantly, smiling too.
"I guess so," the other aknowledged, his smile getting broader.
"Personaly, I like it better this way, you know..." the younger one went on dreamily. "Even if I don't quite agree with your sense of decoration, I must say the room is more friendly like that," he added, playfully pointing at a strange musical instrument sitting in one corner of the study.
"That's from Peru," Georg sighed. The man could be so narrow-minded at times!
"Glad to learn it...I'll go to bed a little less stupid tonight," Viktor answered ironically.
"Shut up."
The two brothers remained silent for while, not knowing how to go on with their conversation without hurting each other. Both had many things to say to the other, but they did not know how to formulate them. Finally, Viktor broke the tensed silence one more time.
"She's wonderful, really. I mean it," he began timidly.
"Yes, she is, and more than that," the older one answered, his face suddenly shining with tenderness.
"Can I ask you a question?" Viktor tried after what seemed to be a long reflexion.
"What do you want to know?" his brother agreed a bit hesitantly.
"Well, what happened? I mean, you were almost engaged to Elsa. It's not I'm disapproving or something, but I'd like to know..." he finally asked the question that had haunted him since he first had heard about his brother's engagement.
"I don't know myself..." Georg explained honestly, smiling at the sweet remembrances. "It's just that, as soon as she had set a foot in this house, everything had changed. When she's here, everything seems to be easier. You know I don't buy all that kind of stuff, but it's as if we were bound to be together in a way or another. I just can't live without her, that's all. And the kids adore her, you should see them." Then, after a pause, he added at last: "I would give my life for her. Maria saved me twice, even if she's too modest to accept it."
Viktor looked at his brother in awe as he humbly tried to explain his feelings, a very difficult task since the man hated to confide himself in anyway. He could not help to feel a bit jealous. Georg was very lucky and he knew it.
"A wonderful woman indeed!" he chuckled softly. "Marrying a stubborn man who is twenty years older than she and already have seven children is very courageous and generous!"
"For once, I agree with you, Viktor," the older von Trapp answered with a broad smile. Then, as if he had decided the moment had come, he whispered after a few seconds of silence: "And talking about you... I'm very curious too, I must say. Less than a year ago, you kept on saying that the Nazis were the best thing that could happen to Austria and Germany, and now, you seem to stand up against them. What happened?"
Viktor did not reply immediately. Here they were, talking about that difficult topic at last.
"Well, I hate to admit it, but I must recognize you were right since the beginning as I told Elsa," he explained finally. "We had been fool to believe that we could handle them, that we could use them to our own advantage. I don't think that many people had become aware of that, but it's what I believe now."
A knot formed in Georg's stomach as he listened to his brother's unexpected confession. Even if he knew that they did not agree on many things, seeing and hearing that his own brother, a man who shared the same blood as he, kept on praising the Nazis' achievements in Germany had hurt him in his flesh. However, now, they were sharing the same ideas about those madmen, and that was the most important. His brother was not blind anymore.
"I'm very glad to hear you saying something like that, you know. Very, very relieved, I must say," Georg managed to utter at last.
Silence filled up the room again. A relieved and peaceful silence.
Suddenly, fear almost submerged him and Georg stood up, as if something had just hit him.
"Viktor?" he asked urgently in whisper.
His brother looked up at him and read in his eyes the silent anxious question. The concern in his brother's eyes warmed him and unnerved him at the same time. Seeing that he seemed to care for his safety was a sweet feeling. On the other hand, noticing that he did not think he could manage alone, just like when they were children, really bothered him. Shaking his head slowly, he answered calmly, reassuring Georg:
"Don't worry. I'm not half as stupid as you. I've money to make. I've a family to feed. I just want to help you and then shut my mouth until this nightmare is over, that's all. Useless heroism is not my cup of tea."
Georg slowly walked to him, not quite convinced by his brother's words. The other stood up too and they looked at each other for what seemed an eternity, the real meaning of brotherhood entering their mind for the first time in their lives. All the memories they shared, that they were the only one to share came back to the surface violently. They were brothers and could not deny it in spite of all that had been separating them for years. Both could read the same anguish in each other's eyes, the same devastating fear to see their unique bond be destroyed by the growing darkness.
"Promise me. Don't do anything stupid. Run away as soon as you can. Don't wait for them," Viktor whispered one last time. "Take your family and run as far away as possible."
"I will. Neither do you, don't try to be a hero, it won't fit you," Georg pleaded again.
For the first time since their early childhood, the two brothers clumsily held each other for a while, unable to express the new feelings they were experiencing in another way. Then, Georg walked back and asked timidly:
"Will we see you on Saturday?"
"Yes, I'll hide somewhere in the church, but I don't think I'll stay in the evening. That's not my place and you know it. Still, thank you, nonetheless," Viktor answered with a small grin.
"Just thank Maria," the eldest concluded and led his brother out of the study.
Author's notes
Here it is! This the end of the "A brand new start arc". I hope you liked it! Next chapters will be about the long waited wedding: "When two lost souls get married"... As I just began to write them, you'll have to be a bit patient!
No review ransom here, but don't forget to leave little something!
Read till the end, there's a little surprise...
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Omake (le retour de la vengeance)
Author's notes: I read that some of you really liked the "1919 arc" so I decided to write a small thing more... This is a missing scene, hope you'll like it!
Vienna, February 1919
Georg and little Maria were walking down the cold streets of Vienna, the little girl desperately clunching to the young man's coat not to slide on the iced pavement. Once again, Maria nearly fell and clunched to the coat tighter. Noticing that his charge really had a hard time to walk, Georg stopped and proposed gently:
"Do you want me to hold you?"
"No!" the little girl protested in a proud frown. "I will do it."
"Alright, as you wish."
The young officer resumed his walk when a timid voice called him.
"Mani?"
"Yes, ship-girl."
"Is it a long way still?" she asked tentatively. Walking on iced pavement definitely was something she did not like.
"We're almost here," he answered, slightly caressing her hair. "You're sure you don't want..."
"I'm sure," she cut him decidedly.
"Alright then, stubborn girl..." the other sighed.
Three hundred meters farther, and after a few more slips, the two had arrived at their destination and Georg knocked softly on the door and openned it. The owner of the place was not a defiant guy at all.
"Max? We're here!" the young man called happily. "I hope we're not waking you up!"
"Don't shout like that!" a voice ame from the bathroom. "I nearly cut myself, you idiot!"
"Jesus Christ! You'll never change," Georg sighed, shaking his head. Maria let out a silent giggle, obviously amused by the scene.
"Maria, I already told you not to make fun of people like that," he scolded her gently, trying not to laugh himself. "Still, in this guy's case, I must say you're quite right," he concluded, twinkling at the little girl who giggled harder.
"My, my, my, what a terrible guest you make, Captain von Trapp," the older man said sternly as he walked out of the bathroom to welcome his guests at last. "It's not very kind to make fun of your host like that. By the way, I didn't wait for you so early. What happened? You've fallen out of your bed?" he went on while putting a vest on.
Georg shook his head again and little Maria giggled harder. The man was really funny as Mani already had told her.
"Max, we're almost half-an-hour late, y'know," he answered, an amused grin forming on his lips.
"You should be ashamed, Captain. You, always so punctual, half-an-hour late? Shame on you!" the older one exclaimed, putting his own fault on the other's shoulders. Then, deciding it was time to change the subject before his friend found something to reply, he knelt and greeted the little girl:
"So here's the famous little angel... Happy to meet you, Maria."
"Good morning, Herr Detweiler," Maria whispered timidly.
"Oh don't!" the man protested jokingly. "I'm Max, that's all."
"Good morning, Max," the little one repeated more confidently, her smile getting broader.
"Perfect! Now, don't you want something to eat or drink, you two? I think I have something more or less correct left," Max proposed while standing up.
The two friends and little Maria sat in the main room of the flat, enjoying a cup of coffee and a not so fresh cake. Things like that were hard to find in Vienna these days and this humble meal was a real treat for all of them. Setting more comfortably on the couch, Max lit a cigarette began to speak, smiling mischievously at his friend.
"So, my dear Maria, could you tell me something?" he asked, inviting the little girl to sit on his lap.
"Yes, Max?" she answered uncertainly, not sure if she should join the man or not.
"Is it not too hard to live with a man with so many bad habits?"
"Max!" the younger man exclaimed.
"Mani is very kind!" Maria protested vehemently.
"I know that, darling. I perfectly know that," Max answered dreamingly. Then, smiling again, he added: "Still, don't you think, for instance, that his cooking skills are, how could I say this gently, unsufficient?"
"Max!" the other repeated more loudly.
In the meantime, little Maria began to giggle helplessly, remembering how her dear Mani had burnt the milk the night she had met him, how he used to always forget something, making out of potentialy good meals a real disaster at times.
"Maria..." Georg warned her sternly, trying to get out of this before his already bad reputation fell lower.
"So?" Max insisted, totally disregarding the furious glances his friend was shooting at him.
"Yes!" the little girl exclaimed finally. "But that's very funny! And he never knows where he has left his things!" she went on enthusiastically. "Yesterday, he looked for his wallet for one hour! And I was the one who found it," she added proudly.
"And does he still have this bad habit of oversleeping?" the host went on, his smile getting broader.
"Oh, yes! He always gets up late and never has the time to have breakfast. And on Sundays, he never wants to get up!" she told, giggling harder.
"Maria..." the young man sighed. "Stop it at once! You don't want me to tell Max the results of your ironing efforts of last week, do you?"
"But! I..." the little one stuttered, her face blushing at the remembrance.
"Stop teasing this poor girl, you bad guy!" the older man replied and took Maria on his lap. "Here, come with me, darling." Then, staring at his friend mischievously, he menaced him mockingly: "You should be ashamed, Captain! That's not Maria's fault if your cooking skills are terrible. Nobody's perfect, y'know!"
"You must know that better than anyone, you dork!" Georg mumbled, helping himself with another cup of coffee.
"THAT was mean, Captain," Max replied with all the dignity he could while Maria finally burst out of laughter.