A/N: Slowly but surely, we're getting there. Thank you to all those who still read!

I don't know how long I wept on the stairsteps, but by the time I was done, I felt empty. I resembled a wrung out cloth. There was nothing left of me.

A sigh escaped my lips as I looked down at myself. I had managed to completely crumple Princess Luciana's dress she had so kindly lent to me. But I supposed the stains from the food thrown on me would make the wrinkles seem rather minor.

Sadly, I heaved myself to a standing position on the steps and stared at the door in front of me. The sooner I found my way back to the room where I changed, the sooner I could be back in my own clothes and return to the greenhouse. So I took a step towards the door and stopped when I heard the click of the heel.

I decided I was done pretending for the day. Gently, my feet slipped out of the pink shoes one at a time. The hard ground refreshed my feet. I had missed the cool sensation of my feet at one with the earth.

After I swiftly picked the newly discarded shoes from off the ground, I straightened my back and looked determinedly at the door. I took a deep breath and then pushed roughly on the wood to walk inside the castle.

Everything looked exactly the same. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it just seemed sort of unnatural for a place to remain unchangeable. On the island, nothing appeared the same when you returned. Everything kept moving, kept evolving. It was as if everything became new while you were gone from a certain area.

I almost became dizzy from the thought of how the island, my island, would be different when I returned. I knew that island like the back of my hand. Would I return to a foreign land?

Quickly, I shifted thoughts. I was obviously unable to handle the subject at hand.

Instead I turned my mind to the problem I faced: which way to go.

After debating with myself and looking down each of the three hallways I had to choose from, my instincts told me the left hallway looked the most familiar.

So I set off, hoping to find a familiar door. Mentally, I cursed myself for being so involved with Antonio on our way here that I hadn't payed attention to my surroundings. I was definitely paying for that now.

After roughly ten minutes of wandering, I found my door. Despite my overall somber mood, I cracked a large smile over my face. At least one thing didn't go completely wrong today.

As soon as I kicked the door shut behind me, I strained my arm to reach the corset ties. Why women voluntarily wore these air-sucking demons everyday was beyond me.

When I finally wrapped my fingers around the string, I gasped elated and gave a victorious tug. The dress came off relatively easy after.

I then gratefully returned to my much more comfortable island dress. The fabric clung to me exactly how I wanted it. No more of that puffy frill-of-a-thing. I was me again, yet I wished I knew who that was. Since I came to civilization, I questioned more and more and knew less and less about myself. Maybe I would never learn anything; this could all just be waste of time.

Sighing, I carefully picked up the borrowed dress and walked to the hanger. Just as it was being hung up, I heard laughing from outside.

I curiously made my way around the bed in the middle of the room towards the large window. The view was of the gazebo I had just ran from. My chest began clenching as I watched everyone continue on normally, happily even, without me. Each being had a smile on their face, even Antonio. In fact, Antonio looked the least fazed of all of them.

He didn't need me. None of them did. Just one more proof I never belonged here in the slightest.

Watching them made me feel rather sick. The room seemed as if it was closing in on me. My breathing became harsh and rapid. I couldn't stand there, couldn't watch them any longer.

Frantically I bolted for the door and barreled out of the room. As I tumbled out, I ran into an object and pulled us both down.

"Ohmp!"

I gently sat up from my laying position on the floor and looked at the person I had fallen over and who subsequently made the noise.

Antonio's sister-Sofia-gave me a sheepish smile from a few feet away on the floor.

Heat creeped into my face as I realized I had just ran over a princess. I sat in shock for a few seconds but then quickly jumped into action. Swiftly, I helped Sofia regain balance on her feet and brushed her off. I searched her for any bruises or overall damage done, but there was none to note.

So then I gave her an ashamedly smile and quietly apologized. But Sofia just looked at me concerned.

"I'm sorry to have startled you, Ro," she said earnestly. "It's just, I came inside to get some more flowers from my room for Tika, but I saw you walk by, and I had a question for you, so I followed you, and I didn't think-"

Sofia kept rambling, but I only heard one word.

"Tika?" I squeaked.

Then Sofia's eyes lit up. "Oh yes! She was moping around when Gina, Rita and I found her. We're going to play dress up, but we ran out of flowers, so I came up to get more."

My skin became clammy as I remembered my promise to play with Tika later. But that hadn't been that long ago, had it? A quick glance out the window at the sun told me it had been a few hours, though. How had that much time passed? Tika must have thought I abandoned her. As if nothing else could go wrong today. My body began shaking at the utter disappointment I held for myself. How could I do that to my best friend? My family?

"Ro?"

Sofia snapped me back to reality. I blinked my eyes quickly in succession to keep the tears from coming. If Sofia noticed, she didn't say so.

"Ro, what type of flowers does Tika like?" Sofia asked innocently.

I managed to take a deep breath and give a slight smile. "Anything pink," I said softly. Sofia nodded seriously, and I could see her mind processing the information. Finally, she gave me a bright smile.

"Thanks, Ro!" she said excitedly. Catching me off guard, she lept up and wrapped her arms around me. Before I could regain myself and return the hug, Sofia let go and ran past me.

Staring after her, it felt like an eternity before I began moving. Slowly, numbly, my feet began working. I felt the warm tears start snaking down my face as I slowly processed the day's events. It was easily the worst day of my life. So I just kept walking and crying, not really making a sound. And I didn't stop until I was in the sanctuary of the greenhouse.

When I looked around, I saw hope in my surroundings. Instead of just seeing the greenhouse, I saw the plants, individually. Some were healthy, but some needed care. I had finally found a place in this new world that needed me.

I used my forearm to quickly wipe away my tears; I took a deep shuddering breath. I just needed to get my mind off things for awhile. This was the perfect escape. My body seemed to relax in my environment. I was fairly close to my home as would ever be thousands of miles away. I may as well put it to use.

A slight smile crossed my face as I padded over to my patient: the wild ferns. Most of the plant looked dead, but I knew until the entire vegetation was completely wilted there was always hope.

I started by reaching deep into the fern's roots and tugging the deceased branches off. When I was done, I had a pile of brittle fern leaves at my feet and not even a half of what was fern in front of me. But it was healthier. I could tell. I nodded my head in satisfaction. Then I moved on to the next one.

All the ferns took a good hour, and I decided to take a break. As I sat on the cool stone floor of the greenhouse, I heard distant laughing coming from my right. Curious, I made my way towards the center tree, found a grip on it, and began to climb.

I watched silently as Tika sprayed the little girls with water. Regret from betraying Tika filled me up again. How many times had I said no to her back home?

Not once. Not ever.

I sighed and slowly made my way back down the tree that was not and never would be my home. Nothing here was my island, my home. I missed it. More than I ever thought I would. I missed the way things were.

Seeking comfort, I trudged along the greenhouse paths to the island roses. Their sight depressed me even more. Their wilted and dull leaves were a reflection of my inner self. With a sigh I muttered: "You look the way I feel."

And once I started confessing my thoughts out loud, I couldn't contain them. They all spilled out.

"Everything I do here is wrong," I said frustrated. I couldn't even manage to do one right thing for anyone. I was tired of disappointing. I opened my mouth to continue, but shut it again. Nothing I said was going to change anything.

Instead I pushed the roses away from me, into the sunlight. They immediately responded by perking up. At least I could do the flowers of my homeland homage.

And before I knew it, I was comforting myself by singing my lost lullaby. The sound of it resonating from my voice allowed me to feel safe. As I sang, I slowly made my way around the greenhouse, making any little changes I could to help the life in there.

The lullaby ended with me in front of the ripest pear tear I've seen in a long time. Greedily, I picked one of the lower fruits and stared at it appreciatively. This was going to taste so much better than any food I would have had at that ridiculous tea party.

I smirked to myself, as I pivoted to go back the camp tree to curl up and eat it. A small voice startled me, though.

"Oh! Pardon me!"

"Tallulah!" I stated, my face burning from being caught singing and picking the royal fruit. As if this day could get any worse. "Hello!" I tried to say cheery, but failed miserably. I was now a bigger freak than I was before.

But to my surprise, Tallulah was shifting uncomfortable from the situation as well. I softened my expression as she said, "I didn't mean to intrude." Silently laughing, I noticed her enviously eyeing my ripe pear. I took a few steps closer and held it out to her. There were plenty of other pears on the tree.

"Want one?" I said sweetly, trying to prove I wasn't completely terrible. But she seemed to take an unconscious step back at the thought of having the pear.

Finally she dubiously said, "Without a knife and fork? Don't be ridiculous." But I could tell she was really fighting the urge to grab it from me.

"Just one bite?" I coaxed. When had any island creature turn down fruit as ripe as this? I could see her instincts taking over. Her eyes landed on the pear hungrily. I could tell I had won.

"Well," she said slowly, "If you insist." A grin covered her face as the pear slipped into her hands. "Just one," she stated more to herself than me. Greedily, she sunk her teeth into the juicy pear.

She squealed in delight at the taste. Excitedly she looked up at me. "My brother and I used to climb trees to pick these," she said wistfully. I glimpsed a touch of sadness in her eyes as she stated it. It was the first time I realized that Tallulah had family back on her home island. That maybe she didn't have a choice to stay. This was forced on her.

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I forced a smile for Tallulah. I decided then I would help bring the island back to her. For all she lost, she deserved at least that from me.

Quickly I stood up and scanned the tree behind me. My eyes landed on the juiciest, ripest pear that had probably ever come into existence. A smile turned at the corners of my lips.

"See that ripe one on the top branch?" I asked excitedly stretching out my arm to gesture towards it. "It's all yours," I said satisfactorily turning back to Tallulah. But I was met only with a sudden terror in her eyes.

"Y-you mean climb up there to pick it?" she squeaked.

Assuming her attire was the problem, I quickly assured her. "I hold your tiara, so it won't fall off," I promised.

"Thank you," Tallulah responded quietly, but I could hear the sadness in her voice, "but-"

Her eyes averted to the floor. She paused with a uncomfortable shift. And with an overwhelming melancholy, she blurted, "I've forgotten how."

"Forgotten how to climb?" I asked in disbelief. The words tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop them. Tallulah bowed her head in shame as the tears began forming in her eyes.

How much did she lose to be a part of this world?

Quickly, I aimed to mend my mistake. "We can fix that," I stated confidently.

Tallulah looked up at me with all the hope in the world. I felt my spirits rise at the thought of helping someone find themselves back. So this is what it felt like to do something right.

Gently, I stooped down and picked Tallulah up. Instead of walking up to the giant pear tree, I purposefully walked straight past it up to a smaller, but sturdy, apple tree.

"We'll start with this one," I said softly. I placed Tallulah on one of the branches and looked at her expectantly. But she just looked around lost. It hit me that I would have to show her how. "Here," I said enthusiastically.

I grabbed hold of the lowest branch and heaved myself up. I set Tallulah on the branch just above that, so by using the trunk as a kickoff point, I easily hopped upon it. Tallulah sat in a mix of amazement and longing.

"I'm sure you still have your climbing in you," I confided. "We just have to wake it up." I made it sound simple. Tallulah just looked at me unsurely.

"I don't know Ro," she mumbled. Her eyes glanced down, frightened. "Maybe this isn't such a good idea."

I shook my head. "Rule number one to climbing: you can't do it if you don't try. And rule number two? Don't look down. When you're climbing, you're only going up, not down, so don't worry about it." Tallulah still looked wary. "Plus, you'll have me right behind you. And I won't let anything happen to you. I promise."

Tallulah sighed, and then gave me a slight smile and nod. Then she clenched her eyes shut and took a huge meditating breath. Then she jumped.

I held my breath as she grabbed onto the branch above us and pulled herself up. When she opened her eyes, she looked down in disbelief at me. "I did it?" she asked stunned.

That's when I exploded. "Great job Tallulah!" Huge grins covered both of our faces as we celebrated her accomplishment. Hyped up, Tallulah quickly stood on her branch and grabbed hold of the next one, and the next one. It was coming back to her. As she made her way up the tree, she couldn't control her giggling. I quickly chased after her, making my way up the tree.

With a huff I joined her at the very top. We sat in contentment for a minute; Tallulah broke the silence.

"Thank you, Ro," Tallulah said sincerely. Her eyes shone with the utmost respect for me, and my insides grew warm.

"I didn't really do anything, you know," I said softly. "It was all you."

"But you gave me the push that I needed, and that's what got me here. This is the most alive I've felt in quite some time. So thank you."

I nodded in appreciation, and we turned to look at the view before us. It was of the outside of the greenhouse, of the ocean, of the unending sky. I sighed in the wonder and beauty of it all.

Then I heard Tallulah mumble. "You're not all bad, Ro."

My eyes shone with thanks as I looked back at Tallulah who was shyly looking at me.

"Thank you," I stated with the most sincerity I've ever put into a thank you.

"And you know, Antonio's never been one for girls into poetry or painting."

My face burned at the mention of Antonio. I quickly tried to cover it up and change the subject. Whereas Tallulah and I had just become friends, I wasn't ready to chat about Antonio with anyone yet. All it did was make me uncomfortable and embarrassed. Better for me just to avoid that.

"How about we try to get that pear now?" I asked quietly. Tallulah nodded with a small glance towards me. She knew I had just changed the subject, but we both ignored it.

We had a tree to climb.