The characters from the game belong to Capcom. The OC's and story background belong to me.
Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
A/N: I'm not English native speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.
Bohma
Kate, Nicholas and the twins had just left the airport and they were on their way to the hotel they were going to spend a few days before Kate moved in to the temporary apartment meanwhile the sale of Katarina's house had not been concluded.
Nicholas watched out the window the landscape of the town, mesmerized by it's architecture and the mix of medieval and modern contrasts. A picturesque place. Everything was dazzling as for his first time in that famous location he had only heard about from others.
"I could settle here" he commented enthusiastic
"You'd get bored" Kate replied
"I doubt it!"
"I know you!"
"You think you know me"
"I'm sure I know you"
He grinned, "Ha, you know what I allow you to know about me" he replied with a wink
"I know you better than yourself, cherie!" she replied lifting one eyebrow in tease
"Is that so? So if the lady knows it all, what am I thinking?"
"You want to kiss me"
He gasped, "What?"
Kate couldn't help the laughter for Nick's reaction, "I just wanted to see your face. You see? I know you! I knew you'd fall for that one"
"Ha-ha-ha" he replied in a mocking way
Kate grinned as the taxi driver parked the car in front of they hotel they were staying in. This time they weren't staying at the one where Yana worked, just for a change.
Nick carried the luggage while Kate carried the twins in a wrap sling for twins, and presented their documents to check in at the reception, before heading to their suite.
The room was simple but with a cozy atmosphere and equipped with modern home appliances in the kitchen. In the bedroom there were two queen size beds, one for Kate and the twins, and the other only for Nick. There was also a wardrobe where they kept their luggage.
At the living room there was a door to the balcony with view to the local commerce.
The following morning Nick and Kate left early to have breakfast at a nearby café along the twins before Kate was showing the town for Nick who was mesmerized by the local landscape and atmosphere.
"I could definitely live here!" Nick commented smiling as they walked at the plaza nearby the lake property
"You can...before boredom kills you. You're a big city rat!" Kate replied strolling the twins
"You again with this tease?" Nick said raising an eyebrow
Kate blew him a kiss and then smiled mischievously.
They continued the walk until stopping by the gate with entrance to the famous Lake of Bohma. Kate stared at it surprised for it being open to the public again.
"I didn't know sly Angie had opened its gates again...or maybe it was a private land just for me!" she spoke with a shrug
"Sly Angie..." Nick said with a grin
"Do you want to get to see the lake then?"
"Are you sure of it?"
"If it's a public park again, why not? Despite the insects that live there, the location is Bohma's postcard and worth the visit"
"What if 'sly Angie' is there?"
Kate stopped walking and started to smash a leaf on the ground with her foot, "I smash the bug!"
Nick looked away nearly rolling his eyes and keeping the urge to laugh at Kate and her childish and theatrical manners at times.
As they headed to the entrance, Kate told Nicholas some curiosities of the location and took a while to notice she was walking talking alone as she looked back to see Nicholas standing still staring at the direction of the cemetery of the land. The graves weren't visible, only the bushes covered by flowers and other plants.
"You surely have a gothic calling inside you..." she said with a shrug as she approached him
"What do you mean?" he said puzzled looking at her
"Of all the beauty around to be admired, and you ended up staring at the cemetery bushes"
"I didn't know the cemetery is there...you only told me people were buried in the land"
"Exactly! That's why I meant you have a gothic calling that connected you with the cemetery..."
He shrugged, "Is there only the cemetery there?"
She made a face, "Yes and no...there's the bottom of the property into the woods and the end of the lake as well, and more graves..."
"I see..." he replied taking another glimpse at that direction again, "This is a lonely place for a park..."
"Yeah...it's a mournful scenery..."
Nick looked at the two stories house of medieval style surrounded by bushes and flowers, the windows were closed which suggested that or the entrance was forbidden or no one lived there anymore, "Any chance is there anyone inside?"
"I don't think so. I don't sense any sly-evil presence..."
They continued their way to the lake pier when Kate realized the missing barn and saw the exposed grave of Katarina, so well maintained and surrounded by Katarina's favorite flowers. A scene that contrasted to the last time she had seen it, dirty and hidden. Details that intrigued the young blonde.
"Are you alright?" Nick asked noticing silent Kate
"The barn...is not here anymore..." she whispered with a saddened expression
"It was old, no?"
"Yeah, but...there was a lot of history there...but sly Angie is not Mr. Lionel who kept the maintenance"
"History is past, maintenance is expensive"
"You don't get it..."
"I do get it, but maybe it's about time to quit the nostalgia and vendetta"
"Don't ever say that again!"
"What's the point in keeping the grudges for something that happened long time ago, and you're not even sure this whole incarnation thing exists?"
Kate inhaled deeply and pointed at the stroller, "You see?"
"What?"
"Them"
"The twins?"
"Yeah... what about around you? Who do you see?"
"Us..."
"Right! Any one else?" she said with a cynical way
Nicholas finally got the hint, Chris was missing. Kate still blamed Angelina for it.
"Kate...I didn't mean that"
"Thank you for revealing yourself. I was about to regret taking you with me, but is what they say 'time reveals people!'. That's me really trying hard to be optimistic!"
"Kate, please...I know you miss Chris, but..."
"But don't ever say again it's about a distant past that probably did not exist! It is not about a 'fantasy', it is about Now! It is about a recent past!" she yelled out unconsciously changing her accent
Used to Kate's sudden outbursts on sensitive subjects, he remained calm and staring back at her. He wouldn't take back what he said as he was sure he didn't say anything to insult her. He never omit his opinion whenever she talked to him about those things to him, but her selective memory failed recalling that right now. Not that it meant he didn't believe her, but he preferred to keep himself neutral, as Kate had the tendency to take things personally.
He understood her pain and her missing Chris and certainly he supported her on that or he wouldn't have come on that trip with her.
However, for not knowing Angelina, he thought it would be unfair to take sides and condemn her for everything that happened to Kate. He surely loved and believed Kate, but his love didn't blind his reason, despite others saying he made too much efforts for her in vain.
They just didn't understand his love for her wasn't based on possession. He didn't love her more than himself. He loved her essence, and he loved her enough to wish her to be happy with whoever she chose, despite not being fond of Chris for some unknown reason.
They remained in silence for long minutes staring at the lake and the outstanding scenery around. There was an interesting contrast in that place. The beauty overshadowed the sadness of its history. People died there. People were buried there.
"We should get going…There are other interesting places in town for you to see" Kate broke the silence
"Sure"
As they headed back to the entrance gate, Nicholas gave one more glimpse at the cemetery direction as if finding that scenery familiar to him, but before they could leave the land, at the entrance, they spotted a particular redheaded girl standing still wearing a lavender dress staring back at them.
Kate rushed the steps as Nicholas followed her.
"Kate…" the redhead called in a low voice tone as they passed by her.
Nicholas looked back upon hearing the soft voice of the ginger woman, but felt Kate grabbing him by the wrist while strolling hurriedly out of the place.
"I think she wants to talk to you"
"I have nothing to talk to her!" she snapped
He looked back again, immediately recalling the image he had seen so familiar, in a dream, of those woods and a woman in lavender dress holding newly born twins.
Flashback
The sudden storm had ceased. The young merchant had managed to outwit the villagers from chasing the young couple, after lending his own horse for them so that they would flee through the Forbidden Forest. While the executioners waited for the encounter they would never have, Nicholas was walking back to the village by a shortcut trail near Lake Bohma.
While walking through the dense forest imagining he had suceeded helping the young couple in love, he wondered his future after "betraying" his countrymen and reflected on the disappointment he had had about Angeline.
He never imagined that the young woman so gifted was capable of such betrayal towards her own naive sister who always supported her in everything, and after learning about Angeline's participation in the suffering Kate spent all those months in silence, the passion he felt for her became bitter.
He remembered the few times he talked to Kate with the intention of getting close to Angeline and confessing the feelings he had for her, and during the conversations, Kate always spoke well of Angeline and also with great admiration. For Kate, Angeline was the model of woman she would like to be, so well gifted for home cares and the type of wife she wanted to be to her beloved Christopher, she was sure Angeline was the perfect type of wife for a man.
As he left the dense forest, he spotted an old shack that stood by the lake and as he headed towards the end of the trail that would take him towards the village he lived in, he heard moans and soft cries, despite being in the middle of a forest so silent, he was able to hear the noises and ran towards the back of the rustic shack, and nothing had prepared him for the terrible image his eyes witnessed and the pain of the "failure" took over him.
"Kate!" He yelled, running and tripping on the floor until he managed to reach the body of the dying young woman next to her lover who clearly lay inert lifeless, "If I knew you were here I'd have come faster!" He sobbed witnessing the last sigh of the radiant and innocent young woman lying next to the man she loved the most, "Kate ..." he whispered voiceless as he gently closed her eyes and apologized for not being able to help them to stay together
It was too late for any successful outcome for those people involved in the chase of that innocent love. Everyone had been transformed after the last sigh of the sweet free-spirited young girl.
Nothing else could be done but to inform the father of the young boy who had lost his only son after arriving too late at the empty village in an attempt to rescue his son and his beloved one. Inconsolable, the middle-aged man wept and howled in pain at the sight of his son's body and regretted not having helped the young couple before when he had learned the surname of the girl his son loved.
It was simply too late, and all that could be done was just to bury an "innocent love" with the hope that they would be together in the afterlife.
As they dug the ditch in the soft, post-rain land, the young merchant heard hurried rides and recognized his own horse and the young "traitor" carrying two newborns.
"Oh no..." she said, appalled when she realized the tragic outcome that her choice had caused
Consumed by remorse, the young "gifted sister" embraced the innocent twins and the only survivors of pure love, pleading for their and the late couple's spirits forgiveness. Embarrassed, Angeline ran to the old shack and cried inconsolably claiming for forgiveness.
When they finished burying the couple, Barry Greencamp continued to watch the newly formed grave, praying for the couple's soul, while Nicholas, covered in mud, gathered the strength to go to the shack to finally confess all his feelings for Angeline.
"Now you cry?" He spoke with a hoarse when he saw Angeline sitting at a chair while nestling the crying newborns
"Nick..." she replied voiceless
"Don't speak my name with your mouth of gall!"
"Pardon..." she whispered in remorse
"Pardon? You don't even deserve to be here! Who was supposed to be holding these starving babies was their mother and father that you killed!"
"I didn't know they would be hunted like animals!"
"How dare you say that?! Don't be sneaky and hypocritical Angeline, you always knew your father couldn't tolerate dishonor and that his pride is greater than anything he has and you fed it by spreading libel about your sister who so admired and trusted you! You always knew that her "crime of love" would never be forgiven and tolerated by your father" he shouted
"I was angry" she snapped
"Angry at what? What did she do so bad to deserve to pay with her life and Christian's... and almost with her children's?"
She was biting her lips listening to his lecture when she shouted, "You!"
"Me?"
"Your love"
He stared at her confused
"I just wanted you to notice me..."
"And you did...murderer!"
"I am not a murderer!"
"No? Your sister and Christian in that pit bet to disagree!"
"I didn't want things to be like this..."
"Don't play the victim! All your sister did was to suffer for the past 6 months because of you! She got beaten up because of you! She almost lost her children because of you! She starved because of you! She was separated from the love of her life because of you! She ran away because of you! She lost her life and all her dreams because of you! She doesn't have a future and neither do these babies because of you! They couldn't be happy as a family because of you! And you still dare to blame me too? You really are a hypocrite! What a disappointment!"
"I just wanted her to feel what I suffered for not being able to love you! She always got all the attention wherever she went, but I couldn't take it when I missed the chance to have your love... I just wanted you to love me back, but you only had eyes for her!"
"What? I never had eyes for her"
"Don't be a liar! Admit that you always asked about her! Admit that you did talk to her in secret! As for she was already dishonored, what would stot her from giving it to you too? I couldn't handle the horrible images of you touching her when I was the one who wanted to be touched by you! Who guarantees that these babies are not actually yours?"
He was passed beyond any reaction after hearing all that, "I never touched her!"
"But you wanted it! You are a man and she was...easy... Don't tell me she got pregnant on her own"
"Respect your sister who's buried in that pit, more over respect these babies on your lap! I never saw her that way... I always respected her love for Christian!"
"You say that now, but I remember very well the times I saw you two alone and whispering..."
Nicholas looked out the window at the lake and took a deep breath. It was useless to continue that discussion. Nothing said would bring Kate back, but there was time for the last confession.
"Do you know what hurts me the most now?"
"What?"
"What hurts me the most is knowing that Kate trusted the wrong person, especially her love secrets. It hurts me the most knowing that Kate admired the wrong person. It's knowing that Kate lost her life because of the most envious and dishonored person that ever existed in her life! Kate "gave herself" to the man she loved and never lost her honor because of that because in reality she always remained loyal to everyone, including her enemies, but she was too innocent to see the evil around her. These babies are the result of true love and not out of shame.
Shame is having a sister like you and having your blood in the veins of these true pure angels. I'm ashamed of one day falling in love with someone like you. I am ashamed of one day have considered proposing to you and my deepest regret is that I asked Kate for help to approach you...
Forgiveness, I ask to the tearful man outside for being involved in the conspiracy of lies as if I was the "lover" of the woman his son loved! My honor went down the mud too! It is my honor that I also buried in that pit and I cried over it! I regret that I once desired you, but in respect to the good tradition and the honor of your family - and yours - when in fact, you had none!
Your name refers to an angel, but you don't live up to it!
I believed that one day you could be the love of my life, but you became the disappointment of my life!
I failed your sister for not being able to help her to stay with the love of her life, but you can be sure that I will turn their love to eternal and everyone will know who they were!
My name went to the mud along with their grave, but my honor will last for centuries beyond me, and if you still have any trace of dignity, you will protect these babies whose you took away from their parents.
And the reality is one: you were a terrible sister! As a matter of fact you were never a sister, but an envious bitch!
Kate was much more of a woman than you think you are. Kate could be much better than you at anything she wanted to learn because love guided her, not enviness! Kate deserved to be happy... now you? May God bless you because what goes around comes around... And to me you are the best thing I never had!"
Nicholas knew Barry Greencamp was going to raise his grandchildren somewhere away from Bohma.
Disgusted at the villagers, the young merchant left the village to pursuit a lonely path in order to find his balance back. He never forgot Kate and Christian, and did live up to spread their love story that turned into the most famous legend of Bohma thanks to his communicative personality.
Eventually he got married and had children, but he never forgot those sisters and later in his life he did get to know the Greencamp twins and all their doings that started Bohma's golden age.
End of Flashback
Since that day, Nicholas never met Angeline…
Until now…
"Stop looking at her!" Kate snapped pulling Nick strong by the arm so he stopped looking back
"That girl..."
"Is the Sly!" she completed his sentence
"Sly Angie?"
"Sly bitch to you!"
Angelina watched the couple walking away while they discussed. It was obvious Kate too bothered about that handsome man looking back at...her?
Could him be Kate's new lover?
"And I thought she was mourning and loved Chris immensily...I guess I was wrong - shallow love - but one thing is for sure, Kate has good taste for men..." Angeline thought watching the couple disappear in the crowd. Though as soon as she had those bitter thoughts, Angelina shook her head in struggle with her wish to fix things and her jealousy over "Kate's new guy".
Thank you McTamale for the review =D