Wick, Chapter 11
Title: Wick
Author: accio_cowbell
Rating: PG-13
Chapter: 11
Characters: Anna, Melchior
Summary: Three years after Wendla’s passing, Anna and Melchior find each other and form a new connection.
Preview: “Anna,” Melchior chokes out, “I may be ill, but I know well enough to say that you will drive me mad if you keep doing that.”
Author’s Note: I AM SO STOKED FOR YOU GUYS TO READ THIS ONE. xD That’s all I’m gonna say. Please leave a comment, letting me know what you think!
“Do you believe he truly cares for you?” Leisel inquires carefully, once Anna has confessed all that has been tugging at her thoughts. (And Anna cannot keep a thing from her older sister.)
Without a moment’s pause, Anna nods firmly. “I do, Leisel, I can feel it,” she confesses in a long sigh, smiling.
Leisel cannot help but smile at her baby sister, reaching across the table to grasp her hands. “And you care for him.” It isn’t quite a question.
“Oh, more than I ever expected to! More than I thought,” she replies sincerely, patting her sister’s hands.
“You know Mama’s been wanting to find someone to court you,” Leisel reminds her, hating to burst Anna’s bubble, but feeling it necessary to bring her back to reality. “And being with a boy who was sent to a reformatory…”
Anna nods slowly. “I know. However, he’s quite responsible, working and living on his own, Leisel.”
“How is he to support you? Your children?”
“Support? Children? Why-“ Anna freezes, her eyes growing wide. “I never imagined…!”
Leisel smiles wryly. “Truly, Anna?”
“Alright, I confess, the fancy may have crossed my mind once or twice, but… Melchior doesn’t even believe in marriage!”
“So you understand why this will not work?” Leisel asks slowly, carefully.
Anna tugs her hands away. “Leisel! Why must you be so-“
“Sensible? Anna, I know Melchior Gabor has charmed you and perhaps his feelings are sincere, but Anna, please consider this before you are hurt,” Leisel replies, her eyes full of concern.
Anna merely nods in response.
“I am sorry,” Leisel adds, tucking a blonde curl behind her ear. “I’m only looking out for you…”
She looks up and chuckles softly. “I understand. It isn’t as if I hadn’t thought it it before… I suppose Melchior is rather distracting at times, though.”
She laughs at this. “Oh, is that so? Pray tell, dear sister!”
Anna promptly blushes. (She’s wondering how to phrase this properly.) “He… he’s-he seems to enjoy kissing.”
The blonde covers her mouth, trying not to laugh at Anna’s bashfulness. “You are certainly lucky that I do not intend on telling Mama about this or why you are here quite frequently.”
“And I thank you from the bottom of my heart!” she exclaims, hopping out of the chair to embrace her sister, wrapping her arms around her slender shoulders.
Leisel returns the embrace, kissing the top of Anna’s head and hoping for the best. Anna is a smart young woman, she reminds herself, and she will know how to handle any complications.
+++
“What have you been writing about, Melchi?” Anna asks curiously, as they pause in the middle of a small bridge during their stroll.
“Lots of things,” he replies, lacing their fingers. “Musings, rants, stories…” Melchior pauses, looking at Anna directly. “You.”
Anna looks completely astonished and gasps, “Me, but why?”
“You are…” Melchior takes a second to gather the correct set of words, “frustrating, thoughtful, intelligent-we disagree on many things, but you fascinate me and I find that I always want to know what you think.” (He takes another moment for this next confession.) “You mean the world to me, Anna, and I mean this completely, even if it has only been a short time since we had become reacquainted.” Melchior finally breathes, not even caring any more that the look in her eyes makes him feel as if he is twelve years old again.
Anna is at a loss for words, letting the ridiculous smile on her face speak for her instead. (There! He does care! He cares and that is all the matters.) “I don’t… I don’t know what to say!” she blurts out, shaking her head.
“Then, you don’t have to speak,” he says, kissing her hand. “As long as… well, as long as you know. How I feel, I mean.”
Anna turns to face him, lifting her free hand to cup his cheek. Melchior towers over her so she has to stand on tiptoes to kiss him. (Now that he’s reentered her life, she cannot imagine it without him.)
After a while, they are walking again, not saying a word. The moments they share are exclusive, private, and sometimes, words are not necessary. Melchior glances at Anna out of the corner of his eye and his lips twitch into a smile.
“Do you share what you write with anyone?” Anna asks suddenly.
“Oh, no,” says Melchior. (With the exception of a certain essay.)
“These stories-would you ever consider publishing them?”
Melchior laughs, “Oh, goodness no, Anna. I find my stories to be trite, unoriginal, inspired by other pieces of fiction, sometimes almost plagiarism.”
Anna simply squeezes his hand and says, “Well, it’s certainly a place to start.”
“Are you thinking about the future, Anna?” Melchior asks, “Our future?”
“Well, yes! Leisel and I had been talking, that’s all, and my mother always drops hints about what she wants in a husband for me.”
Melchior snorts. “A husband? Truly?”
Anna shrugs. “Leisel married at nineteen. I’m seventeen…” (She refrains from telling him that he was the main topic of discussion, especially regarding Anna’s future.)
“I think I’ll steal you!” Melchior proclaims, grinning at he takes Anna’s hand, twirling her giggling self into him, catching her by the waist. “I’ll steal you away from this place.”
Anna laughs and touches her forehead to his, her hands on his shoulders. “Is that so? Where shall we go?”
“Berlin, perhaps?” Melchior muses, sliding his arms around her. “Paris? London?”
“I don’t know French or English!” she exclaims.
Melchior steals a kiss. “America? New York? Someone is bound to know German there. We’ll start anew! Purchase a flat, learn English. I can write, you can do whatever you please. You can become a singer!” And another kiss.
Anna smiles against his lips and murmurs dreamily, “And we will truly be free.”
“Yes!” Melchior breathes, “Yes, we will.”
She pulls away, sighing. Anna, sensible and levelheaded Anna, says, “But that is merely a dream.”
“No.” Melchior grasps her hand and tucks a curl behind her head. “I shall steal you one day,” he promises, cupping her cheek.
Anna closes her eyes and places her hand over his, wanting desperately to believe him.
+++
Melchior has promised Anna a glimpse at his writing for he wants to know what she truly thinks and Anna always gives an honest opinion. Today, though, he’s feeling lightheaded and stumbles a bit to answer the door, clearing his throat in frustration However, before he can choke out a word, Anna’s cool hand is at his forehead and she’s looking at him with a furrowed brow.
“Melchior, you’re ill!” she gasps, ushering him back to the bed.
“Anna, I-I’m not---“ but a series of coughs interrupt his sentence and he groans, too weak to resist her pushing him onto the bed again.
Anna removes his shoes and lifts his feet onto the small bed. (Had Melchior been in a healthier state, he could have enjoyed Anna stripping him of his vest and tie, unbuttoning his shirt a bit.) “You are sick, and I’m going to care for you.”
He smiles feebly. “You’re wonderful,” is all he can really say, finding her hand and grasping it tightly.
Anna smiles and blushes (prettily) as she presses the back of her free hand to his forehead. “You’re so warm, Melchi! I’ll fetch you a cool cloth.” She finds a clean handkerchief and soaks it in the basin of water. She returns, sitting on the bed and gently, slowly runs it over his face. “Close your eyes,:” she murmurs. (He does.) Without much of a thought, she runs the cloth down his neck, over the exposed part of his chest.
“Anna,” Melchior chokes out, “I may be ill, but I know well enough to say that you will drive me mad if you keep doing that.”
“But, I thought it might-“
He clears his throat awkwardly.
“Oh,” She blushes again. “I’ll go speak to Herr Baer. You get some rest.”
Uncomfortable and sweating, Melchior closes his eyes, slowing down his breathing. As he drifts off to sleep, he feels the feverish cloud seemingly lift and his dreams are filled with pink ribbon, brown curls, and creamy skin.
Soon, he feels a cool hand on his face and he slowly opens his eyes. “Anna?” he murmurs groggily, waiting for his vision to clear. (Ah, there’s the headache.)
“Shh…” She smiles as she sits herself on the bed, facing him. “Herr Baer is going to get you some medicine. He cares for you a lot, you know.”
“Nice man,” he mumbles, slipping his arms a round her waist, much like a child would a stuffed toy. (Oh, his head…)
“A very nice man,” she agrees chuckling. Anna pushes Melchior’s dark hair away from his face. “Just close your eyes, Melchi, I shall take care of everything.”
(Oh, his head!) “But, work…” he trails off as she gently runs her fingertips to his forehead. He closes his eyes and she brushes them across his eyelids before lightly kissing each of them. He cannot help but shiver for her skin feels cool against his.
“Don’t worry about a thing.” (Even her voice is cool - smooth, soothing.) “I told you Herr Baer cares about you.”
“As you care about me,” Melchior mumbles, one hand fiddling with the material of her pale green dress. “No, you care more,” he prattles on, pulling Anna closer, “you care… a lot.”
Anna holds back a bemused chuckle and slowly stands up after kissing his warm forehead. “I do, Melchior, which is why,” she says on her way to the door, “I’m off to fetch your medicine.”
“I love you.”
Anna freezes in her spot and her heart nearly stops as well. (She certainly cannot take his fever-laced words seriously, can she?)
“I love you, Anna.”
She turns around quickly, her heard pounding in her chest, palms sweaty, her eyes wide. (Now she feels feverish!) “Melchior?” she squeaks.
But he has fallen asleep again.
Author: accio_cowbell
Rating: PG-13
Chapter: 11
Characters: Anna, Melchior
Summary: Three years after Wendla’s passing, Anna and Melchior find each other and form a new connection.
Preview: “Anna,” Melchior chokes out, “I may be ill, but I know well enough to say that you will drive me mad if you keep doing that.”
Author’s Note: I AM SO STOKED FOR YOU GUYS TO READ THIS ONE. xD That’s all I’m gonna say. Please leave a comment, letting me know what you think!
“Do you believe he truly cares for you?” Leisel inquires carefully, once Anna has confessed all that has been tugging at her thoughts. (And Anna cannot keep a thing from her older sister.)
Without a moment’s pause, Anna nods firmly. “I do, Leisel, I can feel it,” she confesses in a long sigh, smiling.
Leisel cannot help but smile at her baby sister, reaching across the table to grasp her hands. “And you care for him.” It isn’t quite a question.
“Oh, more than I ever expected to! More than I thought,” she replies sincerely, patting her sister’s hands.
“You know Mama’s been wanting to find someone to court you,” Leisel reminds her, hating to burst Anna’s bubble, but feeling it necessary to bring her back to reality. “And being with a boy who was sent to a reformatory…”
Anna nods slowly. “I know. However, he’s quite responsible, working and living on his own, Leisel.”
“How is he to support you? Your children?”
“Support? Children? Why-“ Anna freezes, her eyes growing wide. “I never imagined…!”
Leisel smiles wryly. “Truly, Anna?”
“Alright, I confess, the fancy may have crossed my mind once or twice, but… Melchior doesn’t even believe in marriage!”
“So you understand why this will not work?” Leisel asks slowly, carefully.
Anna tugs her hands away. “Leisel! Why must you be so-“
“Sensible? Anna, I know Melchior Gabor has charmed you and perhaps his feelings are sincere, but Anna, please consider this before you are hurt,” Leisel replies, her eyes full of concern.
Anna merely nods in response.
“I am sorry,” Leisel adds, tucking a blonde curl behind her ear. “I’m only looking out for you…”
She looks up and chuckles softly. “I understand. It isn’t as if I hadn’t thought it it before… I suppose Melchior is rather distracting at times, though.”
She laughs at this. “Oh, is that so? Pray tell, dear sister!”
Anna promptly blushes. (She’s wondering how to phrase this properly.) “He… he’s-he seems to enjoy kissing.”
The blonde covers her mouth, trying not to laugh at Anna’s bashfulness. “You are certainly lucky that I do not intend on telling Mama about this or why you are here quite frequently.”
“And I thank you from the bottom of my heart!” she exclaims, hopping out of the chair to embrace her sister, wrapping her arms around her slender shoulders.
Leisel returns the embrace, kissing the top of Anna’s head and hoping for the best. Anna is a smart young woman, she reminds herself, and she will know how to handle any complications.
+++
“What have you been writing about, Melchi?” Anna asks curiously, as they pause in the middle of a small bridge during their stroll.
“Lots of things,” he replies, lacing their fingers. “Musings, rants, stories…” Melchior pauses, looking at Anna directly. “You.”
Anna looks completely astonished and gasps, “Me, but why?”
“You are…” Melchior takes a second to gather the correct set of words, “frustrating, thoughtful, intelligent-we disagree on many things, but you fascinate me and I find that I always want to know what you think.” (He takes another moment for this next confession.) “You mean the world to me, Anna, and I mean this completely, even if it has only been a short time since we had become reacquainted.” Melchior finally breathes, not even caring any more that the look in her eyes makes him feel as if he is twelve years old again.
Anna is at a loss for words, letting the ridiculous smile on her face speak for her instead. (There! He does care! He cares and that is all the matters.) “I don’t… I don’t know what to say!” she blurts out, shaking her head.
“Then, you don’t have to speak,” he says, kissing her hand. “As long as… well, as long as you know. How I feel, I mean.”
Anna turns to face him, lifting her free hand to cup his cheek. Melchior towers over her so she has to stand on tiptoes to kiss him. (Now that he’s reentered her life, she cannot imagine it without him.)
After a while, they are walking again, not saying a word. The moments they share are exclusive, private, and sometimes, words are not necessary. Melchior glances at Anna out of the corner of his eye and his lips twitch into a smile.
“Do you share what you write with anyone?” Anna asks suddenly.
“Oh, no,” says Melchior. (With the exception of a certain essay.)
“These stories-would you ever consider publishing them?”
Melchior laughs, “Oh, goodness no, Anna. I find my stories to be trite, unoriginal, inspired by other pieces of fiction, sometimes almost plagiarism.”
Anna simply squeezes his hand and says, “Well, it’s certainly a place to start.”
“Are you thinking about the future, Anna?” Melchior asks, “Our future?”
“Well, yes! Leisel and I had been talking, that’s all, and my mother always drops hints about what she wants in a husband for me.”
Melchior snorts. “A husband? Truly?”
Anna shrugs. “Leisel married at nineteen. I’m seventeen…” (She refrains from telling him that he was the main topic of discussion, especially regarding Anna’s future.)
“I think I’ll steal you!” Melchior proclaims, grinning at he takes Anna’s hand, twirling her giggling self into him, catching her by the waist. “I’ll steal you away from this place.”
Anna laughs and touches her forehead to his, her hands on his shoulders. “Is that so? Where shall we go?”
“Berlin, perhaps?” Melchior muses, sliding his arms around her. “Paris? London?”
“I don’t know French or English!” she exclaims.
Melchior steals a kiss. “America? New York? Someone is bound to know German there. We’ll start anew! Purchase a flat, learn English. I can write, you can do whatever you please. You can become a singer!” And another kiss.
Anna smiles against his lips and murmurs dreamily, “And we will truly be free.”
“Yes!” Melchior breathes, “Yes, we will.”
She pulls away, sighing. Anna, sensible and levelheaded Anna, says, “But that is merely a dream.”
“No.” Melchior grasps her hand and tucks a curl behind her head. “I shall steal you one day,” he promises, cupping her cheek.
Anna closes her eyes and places her hand over his, wanting desperately to believe him.
+++
Melchior has promised Anna a glimpse at his writing for he wants to know what she truly thinks and Anna always gives an honest opinion. Today, though, he’s feeling lightheaded and stumbles a bit to answer the door, clearing his throat in frustration However, before he can choke out a word, Anna’s cool hand is at his forehead and she’s looking at him with a furrowed brow.
“Melchior, you’re ill!” she gasps, ushering him back to the bed.
“Anna, I-I’m not---“ but a series of coughs interrupt his sentence and he groans, too weak to resist her pushing him onto the bed again.
Anna removes his shoes and lifts his feet onto the small bed. (Had Melchior been in a healthier state, he could have enjoyed Anna stripping him of his vest and tie, unbuttoning his shirt a bit.) “You are sick, and I’m going to care for you.”
He smiles feebly. “You’re wonderful,” is all he can really say, finding her hand and grasping it tightly.
Anna smiles and blushes (prettily) as she presses the back of her free hand to his forehead. “You’re so warm, Melchi! I’ll fetch you a cool cloth.” She finds a clean handkerchief and soaks it in the basin of water. She returns, sitting on the bed and gently, slowly runs it over his face. “Close your eyes,:” she murmurs. (He does.) Without much of a thought, she runs the cloth down his neck, over the exposed part of his chest.
“Anna,” Melchior chokes out, “I may be ill, but I know well enough to say that you will drive me mad if you keep doing that.”
“But, I thought it might-“
He clears his throat awkwardly.
“Oh,” She blushes again. “I’ll go speak to Herr Baer. You get some rest.”
Uncomfortable and sweating, Melchior closes his eyes, slowing down his breathing. As he drifts off to sleep, he feels the feverish cloud seemingly lift and his dreams are filled with pink ribbon, brown curls, and creamy skin.
Soon, he feels a cool hand on his face and he slowly opens his eyes. “Anna?” he murmurs groggily, waiting for his vision to clear. (Ah, there’s the headache.)
“Shh…” She smiles as she sits herself on the bed, facing him. “Herr Baer is going to get you some medicine. He cares for you a lot, you know.”
“Nice man,” he mumbles, slipping his arms a round her waist, much like a child would a stuffed toy. (Oh, his head…)
“A very nice man,” she agrees chuckling. Anna pushes Melchior’s dark hair away from his face. “Just close your eyes, Melchi, I shall take care of everything.”
(Oh, his head!) “But, work…” he trails off as she gently runs her fingertips to his forehead. He closes his eyes and she brushes them across his eyelids before lightly kissing each of them. He cannot help but shiver for her skin feels cool against his.
“Don’t worry about a thing.” (Even her voice is cool - smooth, soothing.) “I told you Herr Baer cares about you.”
“As you care about me,” Melchior mumbles, one hand fiddling with the material of her pale green dress. “No, you care more,” he prattles on, pulling Anna closer, “you care… a lot.”
Anna holds back a bemused chuckle and slowly stands up after kissing his warm forehead. “I do, Melchior, which is why,” she says on her way to the door, “I’m off to fetch your medicine.”
“I love you.”
Anna freezes in her spot and her heart nearly stops as well. (She certainly cannot take his fever-laced words seriously, can she?)
“I love you, Anna.”
She turns around quickly, her heard pounding in her chest, palms sweaty, her eyes wide. (Now she feels feverish!) “Melchior?” she squeaks.
But he has fallen asleep again.