You’re a prince? Seriously?
Claudia: I appreciate the change in scenery, I think. Oh, thank you. Ooh, God. Uh, why do you live in such a creepy place?
Nikolas: [Chuckles] Well, there’s a sitting room up on the third floor. It’s got plenty of windows. You’re welcome to go up there.
Claudia: Oh, no, no, this is fine, thank you, in a bride-of-Dracula sort of way. I realize I’m lucky to be here. I do, and I’m lucky to be anywhere.
Nikolas: You’re welcome to stay as long as you follow Nadine’s rules, and that’s that you don’t get up. That wound needed stitches, you know.
Claudia: I know, thank you. I will be careful, and thank you for not calling the police, because this whole thing is way too complicated to explain.
Nikolas: Yeah. Are you sure that you don’t remember who stabbed you?
Claudia: Like I said, a lot of people want me dead.
Nikolas: Yeah. Any of them have anything to do with Michael’s shooting? Maybe somebody wants revenge against you for sending Ian after Sonny?
Claudia: If Ian had done his job right, I’d be a hero in some circles instead of the reason Michael Corinthos won’t wake up.
Claudia: You know, nobody knows that I was involved in what happened to Michael except for Johnny and now — and now you.
[Nikolas scoffs]
Nikolas: You don’t think Jason Morgan’s figured it out by now?
Claudia: No. Trust me, if Jason knew, I wouldn’t have crawled my way onto the docks at Spoonmere, or was it Spoon–
Nikolas: It’s Wyndemere. We’re on Spoon Island.
Claudia: Right. Right. Anyway, I’d be dead.
Nikolas: You’re so matter-of-fact about it, like someone trying to kill you is an everyday occurrence.
Claudia: It kind of is.
Nikolas: Why is that?
Claudia: I — I’m a Zacchara, for one thing. And I’m not a very nice person, I guess. I mean, look, in all fairness, in my own defense, I wasn’t raised to be. I mean, mob life doesn’t exactly bring out the kindness and compassion in good old mom and dad, you know.
Nikolas: I do, do. Families can get a little complicated sometimes.
Claudia: I’m not complaining. A lot of people had it a lot worse. It’s just that some people can escape their families and some can’t.
Nikolas: Why can’t you?
Claudia: My little brother Johnny. He needs me.
Nikolas: For what?
Claudia: Well, he’s the next in line.
Nikolas: Ah, yes. The bright, shining future of the Zaccharas, right?
Claudia: How did you know?
Claudia: Johnny’s a lot better than I’ll ever be.
Nikolas: Why do you say that?
Claudia: He’s my half-brother. When Johnny was born, I promised that I would always love him and protect him, but my dad got kind of crazy. He started flipping out, and it made it really a lot more difficult, and then John’s mother died, and Johnny needed me, but Daddy thought that I was babying him, so he sent me away to live in Italy, and Johnny grew up alone, you know, mostly with servants and my father.
Nikolas: So would you say that Johnny is sort of the, uh, the prince of the Zaccharas, so to speak?
Claudia: Yeah, I guess that’s one way of putting it.
Nikolas: Yeah, well, I guess I know a little bit about that.
Claudia: Why?
Nikolas: My full name is Prince Nikolas Mikhail Stavrosovich Cassadine.
Claudia: You’re a prince? Seriously?
Nikolas: Since the day I was born, I stood to inherit the Cassadine fortune. And here I am. Yeah, I grew up isolated on this little island in Greece. My grandmother and my uncle, they just battled each other over my inheritance my whole life. My grandmother, she’s actually criminally insane, too. Yeah. She’s tried to kill me on several occasions.
Claudia: Oh, my God. She’d fit right in with the Zaccharas.
Nikolas: Well, she’s driven by insanity, money, and tradition, yeah.
Claudia: So, Nikky, are you as crazy as the rest of them?
Nikolas: [Chuckles] Oh, I don’t know. Some people think that I am somewhat peculiar.
Claudia: What, because you live on an island, alone, in a castle filled with stuff that looks like it came straight out of a Dracula movie? Go figure.
Nikolas: My uncle purchased this — well, he actually purchased the entire island when we moved here to Port Charles.
Claudia: Why — why Port Charles?
Nikolas: Oh, it’s a really long story, and –
Alfred: If you’ll excuse me, Sir. Your brother is on the way in.
Nikolas: Oh.
Lucky: Feel better.
Nikolas: I will. You can come out.
Claudia: Okay, tell me, is this really as bad as it sounds? Your sister might be a whack job and she’s in love with my brother?
