A/N: Please mind that this is the first time I'm writing for SOM, so it'll probably be a bit OOC and all that. It was quite hard to get the language right because it all happens in the thirties and I'm not even English, so I hope you won't mind that it might be a bit too modern sometimes.
A more extensive summary: This fic is set the evening before the party. The Captain finds out more about Maria's past and they become closer. That's all I can tell you, because else you'll already know everything.:P
Anyway, have fun reading and please let me know what you think because I'm kind of nervous about this one.
Looking out over the lake from his spot on a bench he sighed in content as he gazed at the reflection of the moon on the lake, going over the events of that evening. It was then that he heard their voices near him. He looked to his right and saw Liesl and Maria make their way to the lake, not noticing him. She was still wearing that blue dress that made her so breathtakingly beautiful and he found once again that he couldn't keep his eyes off her, just like when he had sung to her earlier that evening.
"Fraulein Maria, can I ask you something?" Liesl asked Maria as she looked at her governess. He got up and slowly walked closer, trying not to think about the fact that his eavesdropping was wrong.
Maria looked out over the lake with a small smile on her face and leaned against the fence before looking at Liesl. "Of course, Liesl," she replied curiously.
"Well, you are so full of life and love, you would be the last person I would see becoming a nun. It seems like such a waste. Why?" He certainly couldn't disagree with that.
Maria chuckled softly. "Do you see that mountain right there?" she asked Liesl as she pointed across the lake. "That's the Untersberg."
Liesl nodded. "It's the mountain where you learned us how to sing, isn't it? It's your mountain."
"It is." Maria laughed softly and nodded. "I learned how to sing there as well. When I was a little girl my parents would take me there and we would sing and dance, and just simply enjoy each other's company," Maria explained as she gazed at the mountain, a wistful smile around her lips. He took another step towards them, eager to hear more about the woman that had without knowing it captured his heart.
"Just like we do whenever we are there," Liesl spoke softly, smiling eagerly.
Maria looked at her and smiled. "Yes, just like we do." She looked down at her hands and sighed deeply, her expression suddenly serious. "When I was around Marta's age, my parents," she started, not looking up from her hands, "they died."
Liesl's smile was replaced by a look of compassion and sadness and she went to say something, but Maria looked up at her, the look in her eyes silencing her. "I came to live with my uncle on his farm, but well, he wasn't very happy that he suddenly had a child to look after." She trailed off and gazed at her mountain again, a distant look in her eyes.
Liesl looked at her with sadness on her face as she waited for Maria to speak. It was then that Maria's sad voice cut through the silence. "Let's just say that it was not the happiest time of my life," she continued, giving Liesl a brave smile. The pain in her voice was evident, and he couldn't imagine what had happened in her youth that made her so sad.
"That mountain, is the place is where I would go to sing and dance and run, to feel free and happy for a moment, to be away from him," she continued in a more composed voice as she looked at Liesl again, a small smile on her lips.
"When I was around your age I went down the mountain more often and I would end up near the walls of the abbey. I would climb a tree and look over the wall." Her voice was becoming warmer again and a small sparkle appeared in her eye. "I would see the nuns in the garden and hear them sing, they seemed so happy and safe, they seemed like a family, while I could barely even remember what that felt like. For the first time in all I could remember I had the feeling that I could belong somewhere again, that I could have a family. That was when I decided I would become one of them." Maria smiled softly and looked at Liesl's sad expression.
"Don't be sad for me, Liesl. I'm still here and I am fine now." He stared at her in wonderment, it amazed him that she could still be so optimistic and see good in everything and everyone, she truly was an angel.
Liesl nodded softly. "I… thank you for telling me, Fraulein Maria."
Maria smiled lovingly and put a hand on Liesl's cheek. "Isn't that what friends are for?" Liesl smiled and hugged her governess tightly.
"Yes, yes they are," she responded with a delighted smile. "But you are much more than just my governess or my friend, Fraulein Maria, you are more than that to all of us. The smaller ones barely remember mother, and as much as I love her, you are the closest we've had to a mother in a very long time." She looked shyly at Maria, gauging her reaction, as he silently stared at his daughter with his eyes shining.
He had never realized how much his children had been hurting for the last couple of years, he had been too busy feeling sorry for himself. But now he realized, they had suffered too, and they needed a mother, a proper one, not a woman who happened to marry their father, not a Viennese Baroness they knew nothing about.
"Oh, Liesl," Maria began, tears in her eyes as she looked down at the younger girl.
"You could belong somewhere, Fraulein Maria," Liesl continued, before Maria could say anything more. "You could have a family, right here."
Maria smiled at the girl beside her, a hint of sadness on her face. "It's not that simple, Liesl, surely you must know that."
That stubborn look that she probably knew just as well as he did crossed Liesl's face. "It could be," was her hopeful answer. "Like father said, you brought the music back into the house, you changed us, you even changed father!"
Maria shook her head at that and looked at her hands. "I might have made him remember the sound of music, but it is the Baroness who changed him." He shook his head, she had never been more wrong.
"Oh, don't be modest, Fraulein Maria," Liesl told her governess as she raised her eyebrows. "Didn't you see how he looked at you?"
Maria's head shot up in surprise and her alarmed expression mirrored his own, but Liesl just went on, not having noticed the effects of her words on her governess. Only just recovering from the shock himself he realized that his insightful daughter was right, he had looked at her, in a way he knew he never looked at Elsa.
For a moment he hung his head, ashamed he had let himself get so carried away. If Liesl had noticed, surely Elsa had too, and though he knew, now more certain than ever, that he didn't want to marry her, it wasn't fair to her.
"You saved us, Fraulein Maria, because of you we became a family again." Liesl's words shook him out of his little reverie and he focused on the conversation again. "I know I speak for us all, including father, when I say we love you. And I know you love us too," Liesl told her governess with a soft smile on her face.
"Oh, Liesl, of course I do!" Maria exclaimed as she smiled lovingly at Liesl.
Liesl smiled back happily and then asked slowly, "father included?"
He wasn't sure he had heard her correctly since she had said it so softly, but when he saw the adorable bright shade of red Maria had become there was no doubt those had indeed been her words.
"Liesl, I…" Maria started, her voice desperate as she tried to say something while she had no idea what.
"It is not that simple," Liesl finished in a whisper for her. Part of him wished she hadn't said that, now that she'd given Maria a chance to change the subject he wasn't sure if he would ever hear the answer to the question.
She looked down for a moment and coughed. "I think it is time for you to go to bed now, Liesl."
Liesl smiled and nodded. "Goodnight, Fraulein Maria."
"Goodnight, Liesl," Maria answered warmly, smiling back at the girl.
Liesl turned around and started up the steps. It was then that she noticed him and she stopped short. "Father," she started, a guilty expression on her face.
He raised an eyebrow at her, trying to hide his amusement, while at the same time Maria spun around at the mention of him. "Oh, Captain, I… I'm," she stammered, afraid he would be mad at them due to the fact that Liesl was still up.
"Why don't you go inside, Liesl, I agree with Fraulein Maria, it is time for you to go to bed," he told her softly, a twinkle in his eye.
She smiled a relieved smile and walked up the steps, kissing his cheek and whispering 'Goodnight, Father' in his ear before running to the villa.
He looked after her with a proud smile on his face before turning to find Maria looking at him. He smiled at her and slowly strolled closer, never looking away from her eyes. Finally coming to a stop next to her he looked down at her.
"Good evening, Fraulein."
"Hello, Captain. I'm sorry about…" she started to explain, but trailed off as he smirked at her with a glint in his eye.
He looked down at her with soft eyes before tearing his eyes away, looking out over the lake. "Beautiful, isn't it?"
She gave him a small smile before mirroring his position, leaning against the fence and looking out over the dark lake. "Yes, it truly is."
They stood together in silence, gazing at the lake and the Untersberg. After a while he mustered up the courage to speak again. "I am sorry, about your parents."
She looked at him and smiled softly. "Oh, you heard that?" It was a simple question, but he knew she meant more with it. He hadn't just heard about her parents' dead, but he had heard everything, the part about her belonging with them and them loving each other included.
He nodded at her and she blushed shyly. "Well, thank you."
They looked at each other for a while. She seemed to become more comfortable in his presence and he could hardly hide his relief. The sadness and pain was almost gone from her eyes now, but he couldn't help but notice it and wonder.
After a while she smiled and looked out over the lake. "My uncle, he would always tell me I wasn't good for anything." He looked at her, surprised she was sharing something so personal with him, even though she knew he'd heard everything by eavesdropping. He then started to object, wanting to tell her that was absolutely not true, but she rendered him speechless with a simple smile and the moonlight in her eyes.
"I know I am good for something, I wouldn't be here if I wasn't," she explained as she looked up at him again, his heart warming at the hidden compliment. "That was what I wanted to tell you. Your children, captain, give me the feeling I am doing something good, please don't ever forget how remarkable they are, sir, don't ever stop telling them, either."
He smiled in wonderment. How she managed to amaze him time and time again with simple honesty and sincerity was beyond him. "I don't think I could ever stop, Fraulein. It is you who changed me, and I couldn't change back, not even if I wanted to."
She looked down as a blush crept up her cheeks. "I-I, thank you, Captain."
He nodded at her and just thought for a while, unknowingly keeping his eyes on her. "She's becoming so big, I never realized how smart and observant she really is."
Maria chuckled, realizing he was talking about Liesl, and looked away from his strong gaze. "She's growing up, sir."
He smiled and nodded. "Yes, I guess she is." His voice was soft, as if he only just realized it, and as he looked out over the lake he couldn't help but think that it was all because of her.
A/N: Maybe this is kind of a weird place to stop, but else the chapter would become way too long, so next chapter is kind of a continuation of this one. I'll try to update soon, but school is starting again this week so we'll see about that one.;)
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