Chapter Text
Geordo Stuart said nothing as he listened to Katarina Claes talk. He did not know what to expect from this girl. The day before and this morning she had completely stumped him with her actions. And as she talked, some things cleared up, but even more confusing things came up. She claimed that she was not actually their Katarina, but was rather from another universe. That in itself was already something that both made sense and yet brought up more questions. She also talked about her relations with people in her dimension. She said that she knew that her Geordo was only using her as a shield and that she had offered to cancel their engagement several times, but that he always refused. That was shocking for Geordo. Why would his counterpart not take the opportunity that he so desperately wanted? Katarina said that she had offered him the same opportunity since she did not want him or her other self to be bound in a loveless relationship. That was strangely caring of her. But of course since she was not technically their Katarina, she had no right to break their engagement. This of course made sense to Geordo. He could not accept it unless it came from Katarina herself.
Hearing all of this also made Geordo curious to hear about her relations with everyone else. After all, she had been nice to both her brother and to Maria Campbell. Katarina spoke of her love for both of them. This was not entirely shocking as he had already seen it with his own eyes, but it was still very weird. That the two Katarina’s were so completely different was certainly very strange. What had caused them to be so completely different? When he asked her that, she claimed not to know, but her eyes shifted away. She was lying, but even so, Geordo decided to let it go. There were more important things to do.
He looked at the three girls behind her. Sienna Nelson, Elizabeth Harrington, and Victoria Harrington. They mostly allowed Katarina to explain herself, but would occasionally chime in with random little inputs. Sienna was the one who input the most, and sat right next to Katarina on the couch.
After a while the explanation stopped and they all stared expectantly at Geordo.
He took a moment to process everything, and to think about what to say.
“Ok,” Geordo began, “So you have come and you have told me that you are my fiancée from another universe. You have told me about your life and your friendships. And that is all well and good, however there is only one problem: How do I know that you’re telling the truth? Or perhaps even more, how do I know that you are sane?
Katarina thought for a second. Eventually she shrugged. Geordo stared at her. Sienna, Elizabeth, and Victoria stared at her. Nicol stared at her. Katarina did not say or do anything else.
Sienna coughed. “Lady Katarina, Prince Geordo is awaiting your answer.”
Katarina’s eyes widened. “Oh of course!” she said! How improper of me! I should say outright that I don’t know right.?”
Everyone continued to stare at her.
“Lady Katarina, shouldn’t you say something else?” Sienna continued, her voice strained.
“What do you mean?” Katarina asked. “I don’t know is usually an acceptable answer isn’t it? Everybody knows that I have a lot of trouble knowing things so that’s usually enough.”
Geordo felt a headache coming on. Maybe Katarina actually had gone insane. The scandal that would cause was not fun to think about.”
He saw Sienna’s eye twitch. He did not like that woman much, but he felt sympathetic to her in that second.
Nicol was staring at her. Suddenly he spoke up. “You’ve said that you are friends with lots of the people around you, including my sister and Lady Mary Hunt correct?”
Katarina’s eyes lit up. “Yes Mary, Sophia, and Maria are my best friends!!”
“Would you like to see Sophia?” He asked, still staring at her.
Katarina looked at him, confusion apparent in her face. “Are you sure? You believe me to be a villain, and Sophia has been bullied most of her life and is very shy right? Are you sure she would be fine in our presence?”
Nicol’s eyes narrowed slightly. “And how do you know that? I have not said anything about Sophia yet, and considering how different she supposedly is in your world, how do you know of her status in this world?”
Katarina’s eyes widened. “ Well!! I mean!! When I first met her she was really shy and scared, and when I was talking to my friends from this world, they did mention Sophia not being out in public often and stuff like that!!!!”
Nicol stared at her for a bit longer. He turned to Geordo. Geordo shrugged. Whether he wanted to put Sophia into this lion den was not for him to decide. Nicol leaned back, seeming to get lost in thought.
“Oh!!” Katarina suddenly said, “Actually, since me and Sophia are close due to our love of romance novels, perhaps I could talk to you about them!! They’re considered lowbrow, so I’m sure the original Katarina would never read them!!”
The girls behind Katarina stared at her, mouths open in shock. Nicol raised his eyebrow, and Geordo blinked. The Katarina they knew would never be caught dead with a romance book.
Nicol and Geordo looked at eachother for a second. In the end, Nicol sighed and got up. He left the room.
While he was gone, Katarina looked around the room. Geordo wondered what she was looking for. Suddenly she turned right for Geordo. She fidgeted a bit. It was so strange seeing these mannerisms on Katarina’s body. He almost wanted to laugh, imagining how Katarina would feel if she knew about anyone claiming to be her acting so unladylike.
As he thought this, Katarina surprised him even more. “Hey Geordo?” she began. “Do you by chance have any more sweets and tea?
Geordo blinked. He nodded and got up to prepare some sweets and tea.
As he prepared the snacks, he heard the other three girls whispering with Katarina.
“Are you sure you should talk to Sophia?” One of them asked, he suspected Sienna.
“Isn’t she supposed to be a cursed child or something, another chimed in.”
Geordo’s hand clenched around the teapot he was holding. He considered saying something. He would not let Sophia into the room just for her to be insulted. Suddenly Kataina’s voice rang out.
“Girls!” She said sharply. “Don’t you dare say that about her! She’s a wonderful and frankly beautiful and amazing friend and I will not let you slander her.”
He stood frozen. He didn’t hear anything for a few seconds, then Katarina continued.
“I’m sorry for talking so sharply. Sophia was bullied a lot as a child, and I know that she’s bullied a lot here. But she is not cursed. I know that for a fact. Judging people on their appearance and spreading rumors about them is simply inappropriate. Please refrain from insulting Sophia. Honestly I could teach you guys a lot about being nicer!! It’s nice to be nice!!”
Geordo did not hear anything back, and he continued making the snacks.
~~
Nicol Ascart walked into his room. Sophia was sitting on his bed, reading a book. He knew she would be. Sophia always hung out in his room before bed. She looked up and smiled when she saw him. Nicol’s heart warmed.
“Hello big Brother!! Are you done talking with Geordo?” She asked.
Nicol shook his head. “Actually Sophia, I came to get you.”
Sophia stared at him in confusion. Nicol smiled gently.
“You see, Lady Claes has undergone a change. She claims to be from a different universe. She claims to be friends with you in that universe, and she wants to talk with you in order to prove it.”
Sophia’s face froze for a few seconds, as if trying to process what he was saying, and then it shifted into horror.
“You want me to speak with Lady Katarina Claes?” She asked, horrified.
Nicol nodded, holding her hand firmly.
“I know that it’s scary, and I know how she’s treated you in the past, but I swear that I will not allow you to be hurt or insulted. She simply said that she wanted to talk to you about romance novels. All you have to do is listen to what she says about them and confirm whether the information is accurate or not.”
Sophia stared at him, visibly distressed. It hurt Nicol so much to see her in pain. He did not want to put her through this. When he suggested it to Katarina, it had simply been a test, he had never actually planned to bring Sophia in, but when Katarina had suggested it, he could see in Geordo’s eyes that he thought it was a good idea. And Nicol had to admit that it was. While Sophia did not exactly hide her love of romance novels, it was still a little known fact, so knowledge of her love for romance novels was already a flag. Now Sophia just had to confirm.
“Nicol pulled her into a hug. “Please do this for me?” He asked softly. “I swear I won’t allow anyone to hurt you. But this is important. We need to figure out if her claims are true, and this is a really good way. We also plan on talking to some others, but it’s already so late, and it would be good to start with you. I won’t leave your side for even a second, I swear.”
Sophia stood still in his embrace for a second. Slowly, he felt her nod. Nicol breathed a sigh of relief.
He let go of her. He could see that she was still afraid, but there was also a look of determination. He was proud of his sister for taking such a large step. Sophia had been trying hard recently to come out of her shell. Once Maria had started talking to her and becoming her friend, Sophia had started to grow up a bit. It warmed Nicol’s heart. He was so grateful to Maria Campbell. Together they walked back to Geordo’s room.