A/N: This chapter came out a little quicker because I am now off for the summer. I hope everyone likes it, and please let me know what you think.
Chapter 7 – Climb Ev'ry Mountain
The von Trapp children, along with Kristoff, stood in a circle on the boat landing, bouncing a ball and counting off their numbers. The ball stopped with Louisa, and after half-heartedly announcing a number, she threw the ball to Liesel, who in turn called out a number and threw it to Kurt. While Olaf watched from the terrace, Kurt announced Kristoff's number and threw it to him. Kristoff caught it easily, then announced Gretl's number and gently threw it to her. It slipped past her, and she ran after it. By the time she had gotten back, children and adult alike had already grown tired of the simple game, and by common consent, they decided to abandon it. "Thank you for playing with us, Baron," Liesel said politely.
"It's no trouble," Kristoff said sincerely, and he looked around at them all. "I only wish I could do more," he admitted regretfully, and all of the children knew he was thinking of Fraulein Anna, as were they. With a sad smile, Kristoff retreated to join Olaf on the terrace, and the children sat dejectedly on the stone bench on the landing.
"Have some lemonade," Olaf offered, trying to cheer Kristoff up as the burly man sank gloomily into the patio chair.
Kristoff sighed and took the glass filled with the pink-colored liquid. He took a sip and sighed again. "I just wish I knew how to get her back, Olaf," Kristoff said. "This house is not the same without her. The children are listless and unhappy, and Elsa, well Elsa has turned silent and emotionless. She will barely speak to anyone, even the children."
"She's heartbroken, Kristoff," Olaf replied. "She's lost practically everyone she has ever truly cared about."
"But Fraulein Anna isn't lost to her; I can feel it," Kristoff protested. "I don't know what changed between when Elsa came down and when Fraulein Anna left, but I feel like it's something fixable, if we could only get her back."
The children, hearing snippets of the conversation from where they sat, perked up at the suggestion of trying to get Fraulein Anna back. They looked around at each other and nodded, getting up from their benches and coming to the terrace. "We heard what you were discussing, and we want to help," Brigitta said bluntly. All of her siblings nodded enthusiastically, and Kristoff smiled, happy to see the children taking an interest in something.
"Then help you shall," Kristoff declared, encouraging all of them to gather around. "Does anyone have any ideas?" he asked.
"Go to the Abbey and talk to her," Louisa said promptly.
"Send a telegram that she is urgently needed back here," Liesel offered.
"Sing outside her window at the Abbey?" Kurt suggested.
"Go to the Reverend Mother and ask her to return our governess," Friedrich declared imperiously. "We are a part of the royal family, after all."
"No, not the Reverend Mother," Brigitta disagreed, obviously thinking. "We need someone with even more power. We need…Great-Grandmother. She wants Mother to marry Fraulein Anna just as badly as we do, and she's the Queen. If anyone can get her back for us, it's her."
Her siblings all nodded in agreement, and Kristoff was impressed with the rather brilliant thought. "Yes, Her Majesty was quite obvious with her admiration for Fraulein Anna," he allowed.
"No, she actually agreed with us when we said Mother should marry Fraulein Anna," Marta informed him, adding information that Kristoff didn't know.
"Well then, she would be the perfect ally," Kristoff agreed. "So what should be our plan? Perhaps see if we can visit Fraulein Anna to see why she left, whilst notifying Her Majesty?" Smiles broke out as the children considered and embraced the plan, and Kristoff was glad to see their renewed happiness. "Should we tell your Mother?"
"Absolutely not," Olaf stated firmly, rejoining the conversation. "Elsa is still angry and heartbroken. The only way to get her over the heartbreak is to have Fraulein Anna here. All the pain won't matter quite as much if she is actually standing in front of your Mother. If we just talk about her, Elsa is likely just to get angrier."
Kristoff and the children considered this and quickly realized that Olaf had a point. "Okay, so we don't inform your mother," Kristoff reiterated.
"Inform me of what?" Elsa queried with suspicion in her voice as she strode out from the house and onto the terrace. Surprised and caught in their scheming, the whole group jumped, making Elsa even more suspicious. "What are all of you plotting?" she asked, critically looking at them all.
"Nothing," Liesel said quickly. The glare she received from her mother instantly informed her that her lie had not been believed.
"Would anyone else like to try?" Elsa asked acerbically.
The children shifted around uncomfortably, trying to think of another lie as their Mother scrutinized them. Olaf sighed dramatically, drawing her scrutiny to him. "We were discussing our rehearsal schedule for the Festival auditions," he lied, his face falling in convincing faux remorse and shame at being found out. "We were hoping that if the children auditioned and won a spot, then you would let them compete."
"You know of my views on my children singing in public, Olaf," Elsa said angrily.
Olaf fought to keep his face melancholy even though he was celebrating the fact that the lie worked. "Well, yes," he admitted, still trying to sound contrite, "but the children needed something to cheer them up, and I thought that this would be a good way."
Elsa sighed, softening her gaze slightly. The children were as saddened by Fraulein Anna's sudden departure as she was, but where Elsa had her anger to fall back on, the children only had their sadness. "I can understand that, Olaf," she said, her tone much more calm. "But that doesn't change my feelings about the subject. Besides," she continued, looking first at her children and then at her houseguests with obvious unease, "if everything goes to plan, no one but Olaf will be here to attend the Festival anyway."
"What plan, Mother?" Liesel asked, immediately wary of Elsa's pensive look.
Elsa straightened her shoulders, and the pensive mother troubled by her decision disappeared behind the mask of the stoic sea captain. "With the escalation of the Weselton menace, it is apparent that the Arendellian Navy will soon be called into action," she said, her face almost completely emotionless. "There is a lack of qualified Captains, so I have petitioned the Navy to reinstate my commission. Once my petition is accepted, I will be returning to active duty."
The children looked shocked, and Kristoff looked at his best friend in sadness. Like she often did, Elsa was running away, trying to find solace in the familiar confines of the Navy. He went to say something, but Liesel spoke before he had the chance.
"And what of us, Mother?" she asked, her anger obvious in the tone and volume of her voice. "What will happen to us now that you are running away for good?"
Elsa paused; Liesel's sharp, perceptive question hit its mark, and Elsa had to swallow down the guilt. "You all will be enrolled in boarding school by the fall," she stated, keeping her face neutral at the betrayed looks on her children's faces. "I realize that boarding school is not something that we have traditionally done in this family, but the war is coming, and my loyalty to Arendelle is required, so it's what is best for our family at this juncture," she concluded.
Liesel laughed mockingly at her mother, emboldened by outrage and anger. "No, it's not," she declared. "You abandoning us at boarding school so you can hide behind the Navy is not what's best for our family, Mother. It's what's best for you." Having said everything that she wanted to say, Liesel turned her back on her mother and stormed off into the garden. One by one, the rest of her children looked at Elsa, some with anger on their face, some with betrayal, but all with sadness before they turned and followed Liesel into the garden.
Elsa sat down heavily at the table, the guilt of thoroughly disappointing her children weighing her down. She had fully expected them to be upset, but she hadn't expected the depth of the disappointment and hurt she had obviously caused them. "I didn't think they would take it so hard," she admitted quietly to Kristoff and Olaf.
"How were they supposed to take losing their mother after only just getting her back?" Kristoff challenged with quiet anger much more subtle than the children's. "How were they supposed to take losing yet another person they loved? First it was their father, then it was Fraulein Anna, and now it's you."
"They aren't losing me, Kristoff," Elsa protested weakly.
"Of course they are," Kristoff retorted. "I never thought I'd see the day when you would be this cowardly and selfish, Elsa. You've disappointed me too," he said, getting up from the table and following the children.
Elsa put her elbows on the table and buried her head in her hands. Olaf took pity on her and came around the table to sit beside her and put his arms around her. She returned his embrace and put her head down on his shoulder. "We were a family again, Olaf," Elsa sighed. "How did it go so wrong? And why am I the one that's being blamed when she's the one that left?"
"Because you aren't doing much to bring her back," Olaf replied with maddeningly simple logic. "Everyone in this house loves her, including you. The children don't understand how you can just let her go so easily."
"I didn't want to let her go," Elsa protested. "She left!"
"But why did she leave?" Olaf prompted.
"Her note said that she missed her life at the Abbey too much, and she had to leave us," Elsa replied.
"And why would she write such a thing right after she told you how she felt?" Olaf inquired.
Elsa thought about that question. She had been avoiding thinking about Fraulein Anna entirely, so she hadn't thought much about the governess' motivations. "She is a postulant, and she has promised her life to the Maker. She must have realized she loves the Maker more than me and my children, so she went back."
"Or, perhaps she realized she loves you and your children more, and after a lifetime of devotion to the Maker, it frightened her. Maybe that, plus the burden of vows and promises already given made her go back," Olaf hypothesized.
Hope blossomed in Elsa's chest at Olaf's suggestion, but just as quickly, she tamped it down. "There's no way to know that, Olaf," she said dejectedly.
"Of course there is," Olaf disagreed. "You find a way to talk to her, and you ask her. And if she truly left because she loves the Maker more and wants to become a nun, so be it. But, if she left because she's trying to decide between her dreams, then convince her she can have both. Be her Georg."
Elsa's head snapped up at the mention of her late husband. "Wait…what?" she questioned.
"Fraulein Anna is twenty, the same age as you were when you gave birth to Liesel," Olaf replied. "When you were twenty, you thought you were going to have to give up your dream of the Navy to follow your dream of being a wife and mother. But you didn't have to, because you had Georg. He allowed you to have everything. Find Fraulein Anna; talk to her and convince her that she doesn't have to completely give up one dream for another. She won't be able to become a nun if she marries you, obviously, but she doesn't have to give up her faith in the Maker. Convince her she can have both. Become her Georg," he repeated. Elsa looked at him in consternation, but he gave his niece a lopsided grin, and she gave him an affectionate smile back. Olaf glanced at his watch and sighed, giving Elsa a soft kiss on the forehead and a gentle squeeze before he got up from his chair. "I apologize, but I have to leave. I have a meeting with the festival organizers," he said, purposely leaving out that the Queen was one of the organizers, and he was going to have a long talk with her about everything. "Think about it, Elsa," he advised, before he took his leave. Elsa didn't reply, but she watched him go, a pensive look on her face as thoughts chased themselves around her head.
AAAAAAAA
After all of them had stormed off the terrace, the children and Kristoff spent a few moments talking and strategizing. By common consent, they agreed that they needed to get Fraulein Anna back sooner rather than later, and all agreed that Louisa's plan of going to the abbey to talk to her was best. The group skirted around the house and entered through the side door, gathering their hats before catching the bus to Arendelle. When they got to town, they hopped off the bus and started walking up towards the imposing convent nestled in its foothills.
Nordfell Abbey was large and daunting, and even Kristoff felt a little intimidated as they timidly walked up to its gates. The gates were locked, and as they peered through them, Kristoff could see the sisters scurrying about. Shouting at one of them seemed rude, so Liesel looked around, spotting a chain off to the side of gate. She pulled it twice, and a chime rang out twice, alerting the sisters to their presence. One of the sisters came strolling over, and by habit she addressed the oldest female in the group, namely Liesel. "Yes, my children?" she asked courteously.
"My name is Liesel," Liesel answered.
"Yes, Liesel?" the sister prompted.
"We, my brothers and sisters and I, we want to see Fraulein Anna, please," Liesel requested politely.
"Fraulein Anna?" the sister questioned, looking puzzled, until she realized who these children probably were. "Oh, you mean Anna-Maria," she guessed. The children nodded happily. "Come in please," she invited, opening the gates. The children followed, but she put up a hand when Kristoff came after them. "I'm sorry, sir," she said, "but adult men are not allowed in here unless they are in the service of the Maker." Kristoff nodded in understanding, and the children went in without him. The sister didn't not take the children very far before she put up her hand to signal them to stop. "Wait here please," she instructed, before going over to a different sister that stood some distance away.
The two sisters had a brief conversation, and the older sister, the one who hadn't opened the gate, came over to the group of children. "I'm Sister Marguerite," she told them with a friendly smile on her face. "I understand you have been inquiring about Anna-Maria."
"We have to see her," Friedrich stated emphatically. "Will you tell her we're here, please?"
"I'm afraid I can't do that," Sister Marguerite replied regretfully.
"Oh, but you've got to!" Louisa insisted. "We have to speak to her!"
"She's our governess!" Marta explained.
"We want her back!" Gretl added.
"She didn't even say goodbye!" Kurt said, adding his voice to the conversation.
"It's very important," Brgitta pleaded.
Liesel quieted down her younger siblings before speaking herself. "All we want to do is talk to her," she said imploringly.
"I'm very sorry, children, but Anna-Maria is in seclusion," Sister Marguerite explained. "She isn't seeing anyone."
"She'll see us; I know she will," Friedrich said confidently, and his siblings nodded vigorously.
"I'm sorry, children, but you will have to come back some other time," Sister Marguerite apologized. "I'll tell her you were here. It was sweet of you to call." She guided the children back to the gate with all seven of them protesting as loudly but as politely as they could. Sister Marguerite ignored them silently and politely and ushered them out of the gate, closing it behind them even as they all pleaded with her. "Goodbye, children," she said finally, turning to the Reverend Mother who had come up to see what all of the commotion was about.
"What was that all about, Sister Marguerite?" Mother Gerda asked, as they watched the children file forlornly away.
"The von Trapp children, Reverend Mother," Sister Marguerite replied, as the two sisters turned back towards the interior of the abbey. "They wanted to see Anna-Maria."
Mother Gerda started to say something, but the gate bell ringing drew their attention to the front again. "What now?" Mother Gerda wondered.
Sister Marguerite went to the gate and opened it quickly when she saw the uniform of a royal messenger. The older man bowed and handed her an envelope. "A message for Her Highness, the Reverend Mother," he said respectfully.
"That title has held no meaning for many years, Stefan," Mother Gerda chided, coming up beside Sister Marguerite and taking the envelope from her. Flipping it over, she was unsurprised to see the Queen's seal.
"And yet her Majesty the Queen insists on it, your Highness," Stefan replied with a small smirk.
Mother Gerda sighed in affectionate exasperation. "Give my annoyance of a sister my love," she requested.
"Of course, Your Highness," Stefan said with a crisp bow and a smile before he turned and left.
Mother Gerda opened the envelope and read what the Queen had written. She frowned and turned to Sister Marguerite. "Has Anna-Maria spoken yet?" she asked. "Has she told you anything?"
"She doesn't say a word, Reverend Mother, except in prayer," Sister Marguerite replied.
"Poor child," Mother Gerda said, glancing at the note again.
"It's strange, Reverend Mother," Sister Marguerite said. "She seems happy to be back her, and yet, she's unhappy too."
"It seems I have been wrong in leaving her alone so long," Mother Gerda decided, pondering the children's visit and the letter she had received from the Queen. "I think you'd better bring her to me, even if she doesn't feel like she's ready."
"Yes, Reverend Mother," Sister Marguerite answered with a small bow.
AAAAAAA
Mother Gerda rose from her desk, taking off her glasses and closing her sacred text. "Sister Augusta, take our new postulant to the robing room," she requested of the other nun in the room. To the new recruit, she offered her congratulations. "The Maker bless you, my daughter," she said warmly. The newest member of her convent blushed shyly and nodded, leaving with Sister Augusta. Just as they left, a quiet knock sounded at the door. "Come," Mother Gerda replied, and the door opened, revealing Sister Marguerite. "Sister Marguerite, good. Bring her in," the Reverend Mother said.
Anna-Maria came somberly into the room, and when Mother Gerda had closed the distance between them, Anna-Maria knelt and kissed her hand as was the custom. "You've been unhappy," Mother Gerda observed. "I'm sorry."
"I will be fine, Reverend Mother," Anna-Maria replied as she rose to her feet.
"Why did they send you back to us?" Mother Gerda asked.
"They didn't send me back, Mother," Anna-Maria replied truthfully. "I, I left."
Mother Gerda studied her postulant, thinking about the visit from the von Trapp children and the note from the Queen. "Sit down, Anna-Maria," she said, indicating a chair with an incline of her head. "Tell me what happened."
"Well, I…I was frightened," Anna-Maria admitted reluctantly.
"Frightened?" Mother Gerda said in alarm. "Were they unkind to you?"
"No, no," Anna-Maria replied immediately with a shake of her head. "No, it was me. I was confused by how I felt. I've never felt that way before. I couldn't stay; I knew that here I would be away from her. I'd be safe."
With a single gender-specific pronoun, Anna-Maria confirmed what Mother Gerda had suspected based on her instincts and the message from her sister. "Anna-Maria, our abbey is not to be used as an escape," the Reverend Mother said sternly. "What is it you can't face?"
"I can't face her again," Anna-Maria said, with a sad shake of her head. With that statement, thoughts of Elsa came flooding into Anna-Maria's mind, and in spite of what she had just said, her whole being ached with its desire to go running back to the Captain.
Mother Gerda saw the conflict and the ache. "Her?" she said with a pointed emphasis. Anna-Maria didn't answer, but bowed her head. Mother Gerda sighed sympathetically. "Thank you, Sister Marguerite," she said, and the other nun, knowing she had been dismissed, bowed her head and left, closing the door behind her. "Are you in love with Captain von Trapp?" Mother Gerda asked when she and Anna-Maria were alone.
Anna-Maria hesitated, knowing if she admitted it, the longing for the Captain would become almost unbearable. But, she couldn't lie to Mother Gerda. "Yes!" Anna-Maria finally admitted with a small sob. "And she is in love with me. After she came back and thawed out and showed me what a wonderful person she is, I, I just couldn't help myself, Mother. She's beautiful and smart and funny, and even with as awkward and outspoken and headstrong as I am, she loves me. In fact, I think she loves me because of all of that, which no one in my life has ever done. Ever."
"Then why did you leave her?" Mother Gerda asked.
"I was there on the Maker's errand, Mother," Anna-Maria replied with anguish. "That's what been torturing me. To have accepted her love would have been wrong. I couldn't stay, I just couldn't." Anna-Maria spun away from Mother Gerda before coming to a stop in front of the small altar that the elder nun had in her office. "I'm ready at this moment to take my final vows," Anna-Maria said softly, even though she knew it to be a lie. "Please help me, Mother," she concluded.
Mother Gerda knew a falsehood when she heard one, and she came over to her obviously-distressed postulant. "Anna-Maria, the love of two people is holy too," she said soothingly. "You have a kind heart whose capacity for love is almost limitless. What you need to find out is how the Maker wants you to spend that love."
"But I've pledged my life to the Maker," Anna-Maria protested. "I've pledged my life to Her service."
"My daughter, if you love this woman, it doesn't mean you love the Maker less," Mother Gerda stated. Mother Gerda walked away, thinking. "No, you cannot stay and hide here," she decided as she reached her desk. "You must go back."
"Oh, Mother, you can't ask me to do that," Anna-Maria pleaded. "If I go back, then I won't be coming back here. If I see her again, I won't be able to leave her or the children."
"The fact that you know that means your heart has already made its decision," Mother Gerda observed with a small smile. "And that decision means you would never truly be happy here. Anna-Maria, these walls were not built to shut out problems or hard decisions; you have to face them. You have to live the life you were destined to live, even if it is not the one you always envisioned for yourself."
When Anna-Maria still looked doubtful, Mother Gerda took a different approach. "Think of your new pathway as a mountain, Anna-Maria, one that you must climb in order to know your true self," she encouraged. "Climb that mountain. Search high and low. Follow every byway, every path you know. Ford every stream that may come across your path."
"But what if I fail, Mother?" Anna-Maria asked. "What if she no longer loves me because I've left her, or what if our love isn't strong enough to succeed? Then I will be left with nothing."
"But as much as you love her, you will have nothing if you don't return to her. You have to try, Anna-Maria," Mother Gerda admonished gently. "Where is that fearless courage I know you have? Use it to follow your rainbow, until you find your dream. True, it will be a dream that will need all the love you can give, every day of your life, for as a long as you live, but you need to climb that mountain, Anna-Maria. You need to follow your dream and find yourself."
"But what of the abbey, Reverend Mother?" Anna-Maria asked, even though every part of her wanted to follow Mother Gerda's inspiring advice. "What of my vows to the Maker?"
"Like I said before, you can still love the Maker even though you love this woman," Mother Gerda replied. "The Maker is Love, Anna-Maria. She would never condemn her disciple for following love and allowing herself to love and be loved."
Anna-Maria thought that through, and Mother Gerda's words spoke to her troubled mind and heart. She realized quickly that the wise, older woman was absolutely correct, and her heart soared with joy. A smile, the first on her face in days, emerged and grew, and before the Reverend Mother's eyes, Anna-Maria turned back into herself. Mother Gerda smiled at her warmly, and without warning, Anna-Maria crossed the room and enveloped the older woman in a hug. "Thank you so much, Mother," Anna-Maria said emotionally.
Mother Gerda hugged her back and then released her. "Go pack, Anna-Maria," she said simply. "The robing room will have a dress for you to wear." Anna-Maria nodded ebulliently and left the room. Mother Gerda looked after her with a fond smile before she sat down to write her response to the Queen.
AAAAAAAAA
Elsa, her hands clasped behind her back, inspected her children and Kristoff as they stood in an uneasy group on the boat landing. Even though they were still mad at her, her scrutiny was getting to them, and knowing they would be in trouble for attempting to visit Anna-Maria, they all shifted around uncomfortably. "It's not like my children to be secretive," she stated in a firm voice.
"We're not being secretive, Mother," Louisa disagreed.
"Of course you're not," Elsa said dismissively. She looked at the group for a few more seconds. "Well then, if there are no secrets, why were you all late to dinner? It's definitely not like my children to be late for dinner," she said pointedly.
"We lost track of the time," Friedrich said, somewhat honest in his response, and Kristoff and his siblings enthusiastically agreed with him.
Elsa sighed. "Ok, who is going to be the first one to tell me the truth?" she stated with a Captain's authority. "Friedrich? Brigitta? Liesel?"
Her oldest looked at Elsa with a defiant smirk. Elsa saw herself in that smirk, and she knew no straight answer would be forthcoming. "Where do you think we were, Mother?" Liesel challenged lightly, and Elsa sighed again as her prediction came true. She narrowed her eyes at Liesel in her ire, but the teenager just continued to smirk back. "Well, if you don't believe us, you must have some idea where you think we were," Liesel pointed out.
Elsa looked to the heavens as though she was beseeching the Maker for strength. Unexpectedly, Marta giggled, and Elsa turned to confront her second-youngest. "Ah-ha!" she said. "Marta, you will tell me where you were."
'Yes, Mother," Marta replied, still smiling, as her siblings looked at her in alarm. "We were berry picking," she stated, and Kristoff and her siblings hid their surprise that a seven-year old had come up with such a plausible lie that quickly.
"Oh, you were berry picking," Elsa said, playing along even though she knew Marta's story to be another invention, albeit a clever one. Her children nodded back enthusiastically, and Elsa smirked. "All afternoon?" she asked innocently, setting her trap. Kristoff noticed the smirk and realized it was a trap, but the children spoke before he could stop them.
"We picked thousands of them," Louisa stated.
"Thousands?" Elsa questioned. "What kind of berries did you pick?"
"Blueberries, Mother," Friedrich stated.
"It's, um, too early for blueberries," Elsa reminded him, her smirk still in place.
Friedrich froze, knowing they had been caught in their lie. "Um, they were strawberries," he corrected.
"Strawberries?" Elsa echoed in mock surprise.
"Yes, it's been so cold lately they turned blue," Friedrich explained, glancing over at the rest of his siblings in apology. Liesel and Louisa rolled their eyes, and Brigitta looked at him incredulously, completely in shock that he had made that dumb of a statement.
Elsa looked at him, slightly impressed that her son had managed to make that statement with a straight face. "Very well," she said evenly. "Show me the berries," she requested.
"Well, um, we don't have them anymore," Kurt stuttered.
"You don't have them anymore?" Elsa parroted. "Well, what happened to them?"
"We ate them!" Brigitta announced suddenly, and relieved at the reasonable response, her siblings quickly agreed with her.
"You ate them?" Elsa responded. "All of them?" The children nodded happily in agreement. "Very well, since you've obviously stuffed yourselves full of thousands of delicious berries, you can't be hungry anymore, so I'll simply have to tell Frau Schmidt to skip your dinner," Elsa said, snapping the trap closed.
The children looked at her in sight horror, but she merely smiled at them and turned to walk into the house. Kristoff followed her, hoping to convince her to reconsider. "Of course you are welcome to join me, Kristoff, but since you were on this little berry-picking expedition, you can't be hungry either. It looks like Olaf and I will be dining alone," she said pleasantly before he could get any words out. Kristoff glanced back at the children with an apologetic look before he trailed behind her into the house.
"This is all your fault!" Kurt accused Friedrich as soon as their mother and Kristoff had walked back into the house. "We should have told her the truth."
"And made her boiling mad at us," Friedrich countered.
"It's better than starving to death," Kurt answered melodramatically.
"We didn't do anything wrong," Louisa countered. "We just wanted to see her."
"My stomach's making noises," Kurt complained, unable to concentrate on anything but his hunger.
"The least they could have done was to let us say hello," Marta said wistfully.
"I wonder what grass tastes like," Kurt mumbled, still distracted.
"I feel awful," Gretl said forlornly.
"When Fraulein Anna wanted us to feel better, she sang us that song, remember?" Brigitta asked, trying to cheer everyone up.
"Yes!" Liesel interjected, hoping Brigitta's idea would work.
"Let's try it," Brigitta suggested. She and Liesel started singing the words. "Raindrops on roses, and whiskers on kittens…" they sang.
"Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens," the others sang, joining in. "Brown paper packages tied up with string; these are a few of my favorite things."
"Why I don't I feel better?" Gretl asked dejectedly.
Liesel offered her little sister a hug as they continued to sing, and the little girl went over to her oldest sister. "Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes," they sang. They began to sing the next stanza, only to trail off when a new voice joined in.
"Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes," a familiar and badly-missed voice sang, and the children turned towards the sound of the voice.
"Fraulein Anna! She's back!" came the cry, and the children went running down the river path to join her as she continued the song. She embraced them joyfully, and together they sang the last words. "I simply remember my favorite things, and then I don't feel so bad!" they finished, as the boys picked up Anna-Maria's luggage and the girls led her jubilantly back to the house.
"Oh, children, I'm so glad to see you!" Anna-Maria exclaimed.
"We missed you," Marta said.
"Oh, I missed you," Anna-Maria replied, looking at all of them lovingly. "Kurt, how are you?" she asked, noticing him standing there.
"Hungry," he said promptly. Even in the excitement of Fraulein Anna's return, his hunger had not been dissuaded.
His siblings laughed at him. "Liesel? You alright?" Anna-Maria asked as they walked back to the house. "Any telegrams been delivered lately?"
"None at all, Fraulein," Liesel answered. "But I'm learning to accept it. I'll be glad when school begins again."
"Oh, Liesel, you can't use school to escape your problems. You have to face them," Anna-Maria said knowingly. She looked around again. "I have so much to tell you all," she said.
"We have things to tell you too," Louisa said.
"I'm sure you do," Anna-Maria replied with a smile.
"The most important thing is that Mother has decided to send us to boarding school so that she can rejoin the Navy," Brigitta said, causing Anna-Maria to frown.
"Rejoin the Navy?" Anna-Maria questioned in alarm.
"Yes, because of the war," Louisa confirmed.
Knowing she was the likely cause, Anna-Maria sighed. "Oh, I see," she said, realizing that reconciling with the Captain was going to be harder than she thought.
Just then, one of the smaller girls realized they weren't alone. "Oh, Mother, look!" she cried, calling to Elsa who had come out to the terrace to see what all of the commotion was about. "Fraulein Anna has come back from the abbey!" Elsa stood at the top of the stairs, looking coolly at the woman who had broken her heart. In truth, she was as excited as the children, but her heartbreak was refusing to let her feel it.
Anna-Maria met the cool look with a polite look of her own. "Good evening, Captain," she said formally, knowing she deserved every bit of the frosty distain she could see in the Captain's eyes.
"Good evening, Fraulein," Elsa responded politely before addressing her children so she could talk to Anna-Maria alone. "All right, everyone go inside and get your dinner," she ordered, and the children yelled in delight as they took Anna-Maria's things and ran into the house. When they had gone, Elsa walked slowly down the steps. "You didn't say goodbye, even to the children," she said accusingly.
Anna-Maria bowed her head in shame. "That was very wrong of me," she admitted freely. "Please forgive me," she pleaded.
"Why did you leave?" Elsa asked, her voice cracking slightly with emotion she couldn't keep in.
Before Anna-Maria could answer, they were interrupted by another person coming out on to the terrace. "Fraulein Anna! You've returned! Isn't it wonderful, Elsa?" Kristoff exclaimed, sincerely happy and relieved to have the young governess back. Anna-Maria smiled at him, but it faded when she glanced at Elsa and realized she hadn't answered. Not wanting to reveal her feelings in front of the Baron, Anna-Maria gave Elsa an apologetic glance and walked towards the house to follow the children.
Elsa watched as Fraulein Anna started to leave, desperate to know what the governess' answer would have been if Kristoff hadn't interrupted. Her mind was at war with itself about how she should feel about the young woman's return, but Elsa still had questions. One particular question, quite unexpected, popped out of her mouth without her permission. "Are you back to stay?" Elsa asked softly, causing Anna-Maria to turn back towards her.
"I want to stay, forever, if possible, but since I was heartless enough to leave, I know that decision is no longer mine to make," Anna-Maria replied with honesty and regret. Stunned by the redhead's admission, Elsa said nothing as Anna-Maria smiled at her sadly and went into the house after the children.
After a moment's pause, Elsa glanced at Kristoff. "We should be getting back in; dinner is about to be served," she said, her emotions carefully back under control as she turned toward the house. Kristoff nodded, keeping quiet to allow his best friend her space, and together they went into the house.