Word of Katja's return and her masked rescuer spread through the town like wildfire. Everyone wanted to see then man who had brought one of their own home safely as well as learn what happened to Katja for themselves. As a result, Katja and Erik spent their days hiding above the café, and would go explore the small town at night with Fredrick as their guide.

"Nothing's changed," Katja whispered in disbelief, looking around one night. "It's been five years but nothing's changed."

"Remember the lake?" Tanja asked, grabbing Katja's hand and pulling her forward.

Erik and Fredrick followed behind the girls. "She doesn't really remember her," Fredrick said softly as they reached the crystal blue lake on the outskirts of town. Tanja was showing Katja everything from the pier to the wildflowers growing on the banks.

"What?" Erik asked. He hadn't been paying attention to Fredrick. Instead he had been watching Katja. She looked beautiful in the twilight. Erik knew that if he didn't return to France soon, he didn't think he would be able to summon the willpower to go. Katja continued to beg and plead for him to make his stay permanent and he was teetering on the edge of giving in.

"Tanja," Fredrick explained. "She doesn't really remember Katja. She was only five when Katja was taken. I mean, she's always known there was a Katja, and she knew that they were sisters, but she didn't actually know who exactly we were talking about."

"They seem to be getting along now though," Erik replied. "Katja's home and they can make up for lost time now."

Fredrick grew quiet. Finally he turned to Erik. "What happened to my sister? She won't say when I ask. All she does is cry."

"She went through a lot. It's to be expected," Erik said vaguely. Obviously Katja couldn't bring herself to talk about it yet or perhaps still feared rejection if she told them the whole truth.

"But you know what they did."

He nodded. "I do. But it's not my place to say."

"That's not the Katja I know though," Fredrick snapped. "My sister was stubborn, loud, and excited by everything. She would find fun everywhere. But that Katja is gone now. This girl just seems broken."

"I'm not going to tell you," Erik replied firmly, "because she's doesn't want you to know and I respect her wishes."

"Why won't she tell us?"

Erik sighed. "Because she's afraid."

"What do you mean?"

"She believes you will turn against her if you knew. But I can tell you have your suspicions and you're not wrong."

"How could she think that we would ever do that? We were afraid that the worst had happened to her. Having her back was all that mattered to us!"

"Katja gets worried easily," Erik explained. "And I think that's justifiable."

"But she's so quiet and timid," Fredrick protested. "It's so different than the girl I know." Erik couldn't help but smirk. "What's so funny?" he demanded.

"You're disturbed by how quiet she is. I've never seen her so talkative," Erik admitted. "It's just as strange for me as it is for you."

Her brother looked at him with wide eyes. "You're not serious are you?"

Erik nodded. "I didn't know she was German until two weeks after I rescued her. Actually I didn't even know her name until then."

"Katja wouldn't tell you her name?" Fredrick asked skeptically.

"She wouldn't talk," Erik corrected him. "I honestly thought she was mute. It was a huge shock when she actually spoke for the first time."

"You're kidding me!" he gasped. "Why?"

"I don't know exactly. Fear definitely. I have my suspicions that the gypsies would punish her for talking. After all, they somehow held her prisoner for five years without being discovered."

"So how did you find her?" Fredrick questioned. "If they were able to keep her hidden from the world for so long, how on earth did you find her?"

He thought about his answer for a few moments. Just like Katja didn't want her family to know everything about what happened to her, Erik wanted them to know even less about his own past. "I, well, ah, let's just say I had an issue with the man who had kidnapped her. I was after him and accidentally stumbled upon your sister."

"And so you decided to rescue her?"

"She was innocent. She didn't deserve what they did to her," Erik said as his only explanation.

Katja watched her brother and Erik as they talked. She was trying to reconnect with her step-sister, but they were distracting her. They kept looking at her and she could tell the two men were talking about her. She could only hope that Erik didn't tell them what Javert did. She had asked him to never tell them and she was planning on holding him to that promise.

When she was able to lock eyes with Erik, she shot him a pleading look, silently begging him to not tell Fredrick too much. Erik gave her a brief nod, confirming that he would keep his word. Katja let out a soft sigh of relief.

"Look at these!" Katja's attention was drawn back to her sister, who proudly showed her a handpicked bouquet of blue wildflowers.

"I used to know the name of these," Katja said softly. "But I can't remember for the life of me what they are called."

Tanja shrugged. "They're still beautiful."

"That they are," Katja agreed.

"Can I give them to Erik since he brought you home?"

"You can do what you want with them; they're your flowers. Why do you want my permission?" Katja asked in surprise.

"He's courting you isn't he?"

Katja had to repress the urge to laugh. Even this ten year old girl could tell something was going on between them, although her relationship with Erik was indescribable. He certainly wasn't courting her as was expected and proper. They skipped that step, which left Katja bewildered on what was going to happen between them now. "No. No, he's not courting me."

"Oh. Well why's he still here then?"

"Because I was hurt by some mean people and he's making sure they never come back," Katja informed her.

Suddenly Katja didn't feel so good. Her hand went to her temple as her surroundings began to spin. Katja could hear Tanja, Erik, Fredrick all call her name. She could feel her legs give out from beneath her, but instead of hitting the ground, Katja fell into a pair of waiting arms. "We need to get her home quickly," she could hear Erik say as he scooped her up.

"Erik," she started as she tried to get the spinning to stop, but he shushed her gently.

"Don't worry, we'll get you home safely," he assured her. She started to nod, but everything went black.