"Shhh," Garridan hissed to his brother as they crept through the passage. "We don't want to wake them." He handed Cato a knife from his belt and pulled out another for himself. "We'll split up and search the place. If you find anyone but her, slit their throat. And don't you dare wake anyone up."

Cato rolled his eyes. His brother acted like he was the only one capable of screwing up, but Garridan had the exact same chances of doing something wrong. "Whatever. Let's just do this and get out of here. This place gives me the creeps."

"Oh quit your whining," Garridan snapped. "If you hadn't lost her, we wouldn't be in this mess, now would we?"

"Shut up," he grumbled, before sneaking into the main room. "If I hadn't found her when I did, we wouldn't even know she was still in the city."

His brother put a finger on his lips, silencing him. Garridan pointed at a door, signaling for him to start looking there, before he went to another door and slipped inside. Cato threw open the door, blade poised to strike, but froze when he realized the bed was made perfectly made and the room was empty. He tore the room apart, searching for something, but all he found were a handful of dresses in the wardrobe.

Running back out, Cato found his brother, who looked furious. He shook his head. Garridan mouthed a choice swear before pointing towards the only remaining door. The pair burst through the door but only found an empty kitchen. "Where the hell are they?" Garridan whispered angrily.

He shrugged. "Let's keep looking." The brothers stormed through the house, no longer giving a thought to being quiet, but as they quickly discovered, they were totally alone. "Where could they be?" Cato demanded.

"Way to screw this up!" Garridan snapped.

"I screwed this up?" Cato roared. "You were the one that wanted to wait until they were asleep! Now they're gone! This is YOUR fault!"

Garridan punched his brother's jaw, sending him reeling. "If you hadn't lost her, we wouldn't need to be down here no would we?"

"Maybe they left something here that would tell us where they went. I mean, where would you take a whore?"

"You could sell a beauty like her for a fortune to the right buyer."

"But think about it, would you really give her up?" Cato froze when he saw something sparkle. Walking closer, he saw a diamond ring sitting on an organ. "Did you find anything that suggested that they were coming back anytime soon?"

"This place is empty!" his brother shouted at him. "There is nothing here! Does it look like they're ever is coming back?"

Cato showed the ring to him. "Her room was too nice to be just his whore. There were expensive clothes in the wardrobe. And why would you give a girl a diamond ring if you're just using her for sex?"

"What are you suggesting?" Garridan asked. "That he actually cares about her?"

He nodded. "Alright so, if you rescue a girl and fall for her, where would you take her?"

Garridan thought for a long while. "Isn't she German? What if they went there?"

"Do you really think they went to Germany?" Cato cried. "Don't you know how far away that is? It's hundreds of miles away from here!"

"Well do you have any other ideas?" his brother retorted. "This place is deserted!"

"So you want to travel all the way to Germany? Are we supposed to drop everything, abandon everyone, and leave the camp just to chase down one girl?"

"The camp can go that way. There isn't much money being made here anymore. Everyone's getting antsy," Garridan thought out loud. "We've been here too long as is."

Cato crossed his arms. "And what if they come back before we get there? At the rate the whole camp travels, it'll be months before we'd reach Germany."

"This place is practically empty. They won't be coming back. We have all the time in the world."

Katja stared at her room, not quite believing the sight before her. Everything had been left exactly as she had left it over five years ago. Nothing had been moved. Her family really had hoped that she would one day return.

She sat on her bed and ran her hand over the soft, familiar quilt. Katja almost didn't believe she was actually home. It just didn't feel real. Even after spending half the night clinging to her father and brother, it still felt like a dream.

Popping her head into the hall, she watched the door of what was once her brother's room. She had found out that Fredrick had been married about a year ago and lived with his new wife in a house nearby, but still helped out with the family business. Erik had been given his old room to stay in and she was hoping he would come out and wish her a good night, but the door remained closed.

A soft giggle attracted her attention. Katja saw a small child, a little blonde girl about four years old, laughing and playing with some sort of toy, a doll perhaps. She spun around and waved at Katja with a beaming smile, like she knew her well .Her breath caught when Katja saw the girl's eyes. They were the exact stunning shade of green as Erik's.

Before Katja could dwell on it any further, the girl screamed. She whirled around and saw one of the gypsies there. He moved to grab the girl. Feeling a surge of protectiveness, Katja pushed the child behind her, shielding her. With sinking dread, she realized that it was the man who attacked her in Paris.

The gypsy pulled a knife from his belt and shoved it into her stomach. Katja gasped in shock as she stared at the hilt sticking out of her body. He ripped it out just as violently as he had stabbed her. She sank to her knees as a blood stain appeared on her dress. The injured Katja watched helplessly as he snatched the girl.

"Mutti!" the little girl screamed, reaching for Katja. She reached out for the girl, but the wound in her stomach was too much for her and everything went black.

Katja woke in a cold sweat. Her stomach ached although she clearly hadn't been stabbed. The nightmare had unsettled her. She was home. She was safe. Were these dreams going to plague her here too? The gypsies were gone. They would never find her again.

Something else bothered her. The little girl in her dream. She had called Katja her mother and was the perfect combination of her and Erik. But she couldn't have children. And honestly, Erik didn't exactly seem like the nurturing father either. Besides, he didn't even want to stay. Katja knew he would leave the first chance he got.

Looking down, Katja realized her hands were shaking slightly from the nightmare. She wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep tonight. Silent as a shadow, she slipped out her door, into the hall, and then into Erik's room.

He was sitting on the bed, reading a book, but placed it aside the instant he saw her. "What are you doing in here?" he hissed, leaping up to meet her at the door.

"I had a nightmare," she admitted.

His eyes softened, but only for a moment. "I don't think your parents will be so accepting of me if they catch you in here. I have a feeling my stay would be cut extremely short, no matter what promises I made you."

She felt like a small child under the gaze of a strict parent. "I'm sorry Erik. I didn't know what else to do. You're the one that always helps me with them."

"Well what do I do that helps you so much?" he asked.

Katja could feel her cheeks get hot. "You just being there helps me," she whispered, staring at the floor. "I can't explain it."

Erik looked at her for a moment, before caressing her cheek. She threw her arms around him hugging him tightly. He returned her embrace and kissed the top of her head. Katja couldn't help but feel slightly triumphant as she rested her head against his chest. Every time she could get him to show her some form of affection was one step closer towards convincing him to stay.

German Translations

Mutti-Mama