"So. You're still giving me the silent treatment after all this time." Duke Herzen rests his chin on his folded fingers, his eerie green eyes fixed on Katia with a gaze sharp enough to cut. "Won't you speak to me, Sophia? Or did you discover more faults with me while you were gone? Did you only return to taunt me? "

"I'll talk to you when you call me by the right name." Katia's stare is just as frightening as the duke's. "I'll talk when you actually listen to what I have to say."

Butterflies whirl in Flora's stomach as she looks back and forth between the two of them, caught in the middle of their bitter debate. She was already anxious before coming here, separated from Luke and the professor, but their argument is making her anxiety worse by the minute. The atmosphere in this mansion isn't helping. Despite the banquet hall's huge size (you could almost fit Reinhold Manor inside of it!), the atmosphere is thick, dark and heavy, as if there hasn't been a window opened in here for a decade, as if something died here a long time ago.

She has to do something; she can't sit and listen to them go on like this any longer. She can tell that Katia's distraught, even if Katia tries to hide it, and even if Flora doesn't fully understand what's going on, and that gives her the courage to speak up. "Um…" she ventures timidly, looking toward the man (Duke Herzen, the villagers had called him). "Her name really is Katia…"

"Who are you again?" The duke turns toward her, bored disdain in his eyes. "This is a family matter, miss."

Flora bites her lip, her face growing hot as she stares down into the tablecloth. She shouldn't have said anything. But she'd only been trying to help…

"Don't talk to her that way." Katia's voice is firm.

"Who is she, Sophia?" Duke Herzen asks again, a different tone in his voice this time. He turns his eyes back toward Katia, darkness in his gaze. "You were supposed to come back alone. Everything was supposed to return to the way it was."

"Her name is Flora, and my name is Katia, Grandfather..."

Grandfather? Flora snaps to attention. How could this young man be Katia's grandfather? Are the villagers right? Is he really a vampire? That would make Katia part-vampire! Is Katia immortal too—?

Calm down, Flora, she whispers to herself. She can't let her imagination carry her away; she needs to be alert, ready to help Katia if she has to.

"... as I've already told you so many times." Katia's voice stays level as she continues to speak, but Flora can tell that she's fighting to keep it that way. "I know that it's a lot for you to take in—"

"You're obviously ill, Sophia." Flora can hear the same tension in the duke's voice that was in Katia's. "You're mad. What you're saying is ludicrous—"

"I'm sorry." Katia stands up suddenly, her eyes closing as she takes in a deep breath. "I'm sorry, but I'm tired of us going around in circles. Flora, we're leaving."

Flora blinks in shock, looking from Katia's tired gaze, to the duke's wide, almost panicked eyes, and back again to Katia. Leave, now?

In a way, Flora feels relieved. She'll be able to breath again, outside of this castle, and now they can look for the professor. But then again, Katia obviously hasn't solved whatever she came here for, and the duke hardly looks any better than Katia. They can't leave yet. "But—" she starts.

"We're leaving." Katia turns her back, leaving the banquet hall with long, angry strides.

Flora sits in her spot, helplessly watching her go. She tries to bring herself to follow her, but somehow, she can't bring herself to get up from the table. Something about this town makes her feel so utterly exhausted.

She looks back to the duke as she tries to will herself to get up. Duke Herzen's head is bowed, his eyes staring blankly through the table, like the eyes of one of the citizens of St. Mystere when they were broken down, in need of repair. The thought of her friends back home makes Flora's heart fill with compassion for the duke. Katia might be angry at him, but Flora can't stand to see him like this.

Throughout this whole trip, Flora's felt unwanted and useless. The professor and Luke hadn't wanted her; she'd had to buy her own ticket and sneak onto the train herself. Then, she'd proved them right by being locked in the barn in Dropstone. Even when Katia had helped her, she'd felt like an obligation to the older girl, an afterthought as Katia completed her unspoken mission.

She feels so useless and unwanted. But if she has any power to help the duke or Katia, then she'll do it.

"Are you okay?" she ventures hesitantly. The duke barely blinks, and Flora, for a moment, wonders if he can even hear her.

"I waited for so long, but she's changed so much." He speaks suddenly, his quiet words swallowed up by the emptiness of the banquet hall. "She may as well have not bothered coming back, if all she wanted to do was torture me. She doesn't listen. She never did."

He sounds so lonely. And yet, he wasn't listening to her, either, was he? Isn't he being hypocritical?

"I don't think you're listening to her, though," Flora says hesitantly.

The duke startles, blinking up at her with wide eyes, and Flora's almost afraid to continue, but all she can do is try to reason with him. "Her name really is Katia. But even if she used to be Sophia, she probably has a reason for wanting to be called Katia. Neither of you are listening to each other, and… and if you're really family, then you should want to listen to each other, right?"

Although, she hadn't listened to the family she had left, when she left St. Mystere.

They'd all wanted what was best for her, and when she said she'd wanted to leave, they bid her farewell without trying to persuade her to stay. But she'd left so quickly, it was almost like she ran away. She didn't say a proper goodbye to anybody—to Uncle Gordon, with his funny stories about growing up with Papa that change every time he tells them. To Cousin Simon, with his half-affected snobbishness that always made her giggle. To Dahlia, who committed the cardinal sin of looking like Mama, but not being her.

St. Mystere was so full of ghosts, just like this city seems to be. She'd just had to get out. But if they came looking for her, would she listen to them, like she's asking the duke to do for Katia?

"Who are you, anyway? Why are you even bothering with us?"

Duke Herzen's voice cuts through Flora's thoughts, snapping her back into reality. Fighting back irritation, Flora breathes in slowly. Katia had already told him. He really isn't listening. But Flora can't snap at him, not when she's trying to help him, and trying to help Katia. "I'm… I'm Katia's… Katia's friend, and I want to help you both." Her bravery is failing, but Flora forces out her last words. "If I bring her back, will you listen to her?"

The duke makes a quiet, choked sound. "If you're able to, which I sincerely doubt."

His doubt in his voice and the sorrow behind his snobbish mask only makes Flora more determined to prove herself. "I will," she says, putting as much confidence into her voice as she can summon up. Then, she turns on her heel, running to catch up with Katia.

Katia isn't as far ahead of Flora as she'd feared; Flora can see her in the distance, her slow steps bringing her to the huge doors of the mansion. Flora struggles to catch up without running; she doesn't want to make Katia upset, but it's to keep herself from running. "Katia, won't you tell me what's going on?" she calls out in between breaths, struggling to make her voice project. "Why did we come here? Who… who is that man, and why does he think your name is Sophia? H-how can he be your grandfather—"

"There's no point, Flora." Katia's voice is clipped. Her strides grow faster, and Flora's afraid that she won't be able to catch up before Katia leaves the mansion. "There's no point in explaining, or staying here any longer. He doesn't believe anything I say. Why would you believe me either?"

"Won't you give me the chance to believe?" They can't leave. Flora promised to bring Katia back to the duke, and if she doesn't, Katia will leave just as defeated as she arrived. Flora can't let that happen. She breaks into a run. She passes Katia, steps in front of her, and holds up her hands in protest, trying to ignore the look of shock on Katia's face. "I… I know we don't know each other very well, but…" she trails away, trying to look Katia in the eye and failing. They really don't know each other well at all. But without the professor, Katia's the closest thing to a friend that Flora has.

Whatever is going on between Katia and that man, whether he somehow really is her grandfather or not, is really none of Flora's business, and that's more than enough reason for Flora to leave this frightening place. If the duke really is a vampire, then that's reason to run away too. But Flora can't run away. She has nowhere to go, without the professor. She doesn't know how to get back home from here. All she can do is try to solve the puzzle. All she can do is help the closest thing to a friend that she has. If she's lost without the professor, then the best she can do is try to do what she can while wandering back to him. Even if she's a burden to Katia, all she can do is cling to her, just like she clings to the professor, and Luke, and anybody who's ever shown any kindness to her at all. All she can do is try to help.

"I want to help," she finally says weakly. "I know I'm not much use, but—"

"Stop. Don't talk that way." Katia's face is grim. "You are useful, Flora—"

"But you're not acting like I am!"

Katia's expression shifts, her eyes widening, and Flora feels awful for making her upset, but she has to continue. "I just wanted to find the professor again, and… and I know it's not your responsibility to help me find him, but since you brought me with you, and since we're not finding the professor now, then I want to at least do a good job solving your puzzle!"

Katia stays frozen for a minute. Then, slowly, regret fills her eyes. "I'm… I'm sorry, Flora," she starts hesitantly. "I'd nearly forgotten all about the professor. I... I don't even know where to begin looking for him; I barely even know what he looks like." She trails away, her voice quiet and ashamed. "To be honest, I should have helped you right away, even if it was only for myself; the professor has the Box, after all. But I just… I couldn't think of anything else but coming here."

Flora's heart sinks. Katia had sounded so sure that she could help her, back in Dropstone, and Flora had nobody else to rely on. Did Katia trick her into coming here, just to have somebody by her side when she came to confront the duke? Or perhaps Katia had simply taken on too much to handle. She can't be expected to take care of Flora's problems when she has so many of her own; Flora should have known that from the beginning.

"I'm just…" Katia leans against the wall, holding a hand against her forehead. "I just dreamed of coming here for so long. I just wanted to meet him, after all of my grandmother's stories. And… and I always said that I wanted to bring him back home, but really, I really wanted an adventure." She stares into the distance, her eyes locked on to something that Flora can't see. "Father would never let me leave Dropstone, and even though I loved it at home, I…" She smiles wryly. "I guess I had this crazy idea of running away on a wonderful adventure, and bringing Grandfather home, and making everyone happy. He… he needs us; he's been locked away in this castle for so long. But it'll never work. Not without the Box. And of course your professor has that. I should have helped you find him right away, instead of storming right in here and trying to convince him through yelling at him."

Flora listens in silence. Katia's life… it's so similar to her own. But Katia was brave enough to run away from her beautiful prison of a town, to try to find somebody that needed her. Flora had never been able to summon up that kind of courage.

"He thinks that I'm Grandmother." Katia laughs bitterly. "Isn't that awful? He's lost in delusion, and without the Box, I don't know how I'm ever going to get him to listen to me. Maybe… maybe Father was right. Maybe I should just go back home."

"No!"

Katia startles, looking up, and Flora flushes; she shouldn't have shouted like that. "I-I mean—"

"No, go on."

There's a kind of desperation in Katia's face, contrasting sharply with how calm her voice is. Does she really want to hear what Flora has to say? Katia will probably hate her if she says the wrong thing, and yet...

She has to try.

Flora clears her throat. "Um… it was really brave of you to come this far. I know that when I… when I was growing up…"

(She's not brave enough to talk about her past with Katia, yet).

"...I wouldn't have been brave enough to run away like that, even if there was somebody that needed me. But you did! You came so far. And even if your grandfather is stubborn, I think he will listen, if you keep at it. Maybe he is delusional, but that's… that's not really his fault."

(Saying those words, she can't help but think about Papa… he didn't mean to do anything wrong, building a city of robots that Flora found herself trapped inside. He was sick and tired, just like the Duke seems to be, and only meant to do the right thing.)

"Now, let's talk to him again, okay?" Flora gives Katia a tentative smile, hoping that she'll return it. "He promised to listen if you came back, so please don't give up!"

Slowly, a smile dawns across Katia's face: tired, hesitant, but a smile nonetheless. "Thank you, Flora. I… I needed that."

Katia doesn't hate her.

A warmth spreads its way through Flora, and she smiles brightly. "I'm glad to help!"

Maybe she is a little bit useful after all.

She keeps smiling as they walk back through the hallways, toward Katia's grandfather, towards the truth. No matter what happens, it's better than running away, and Flora knows that she had a little part in solving this puzzle, no matter how small.


A/N: This was for a request for an AU where Flora came along with Katia and got to Folsense before the professor. Thank you Dana, and I'm sorry for how long this wound up!

I really wish that Flora had been able to come to Folsense... she really got shafted so badly in canon. As much as I love the professor, I hate that he didn't go back and find her after realizing that she'd been replaced by Don Paolo. "Having fun playing with the cows..." Professor, she was kidnapped and locked in a barn, and she's so anxious about losing you that she followed you despite knowing you didn't want her on the journey and that you might be upset with her sahjkasd...

Thanks so much for reading!