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.

Katarina's Palace

Kate managed to control all the excitement followed by the handshake with Karine. To control herself was her only option indeed. It didn't matter how much she believed that young woman had been her (Katarina's) special little daughter, she had to keep the focus on the now.

Centuries had passed since their tragic separation, but in the wings of time they were still connected. Not having concrete memories of it didn't take the value it did exist once upon a time, but now she had to keep herself collected to not sound like a crazy woman. She had to pass credibility and re-know her former daughter, which by the way, was now a beautiful young woman with a gracious vibe. Polite and kind, though more importantly, she was free.

The women were similar in age, but in Kate there still lied an old soul that helplessly observed every detail Karine. Somehow seeing Karine had brought her a feeling of relief – a much needed one under the current circumstances.

At that region of Bohma, the sudden fog hadn't formed, so the day was still bright and sunny. The sky was clear. By that time of the day it wasn't hot nor cold, and Karine looked radiant wearing that simple dress and her skin exposed – so different of the last memory Kate recalled.

No bruises. No blood. No darkness.

That young girl moved with the sun, and the cool breeze moved her dress skirt and the excitement in her eyes came across them. Specially proud Kat(e).

Karine didn't have to hide from the sun nor the world anymore, which made Kate silent at times as she recalled some past stories and memories, specially of Henry's.

Watching Karine so radiant triggered a comprehension she didn't have when Henry asked for freedom and Chris obeyed to his request. She now realized that as the same cycle that had happened with Nick that deep down she hadn't forgiven him for breaking his promise, the same happened with Chris about Henry's death.

The on-and-off relationship they still had wasn't completely due to Chris's fault. She had her part too. She still blamed him for killing their son. She still blamed him for a betrayal, the betrayal of taking alone the decision to obey to Henry's request.

Watching Karine looking so radiant and happy made her realize that Chris didn't kill Henry. He freed him.

She should've known it better. Katarina had spent many years in jail, in the dark, alone, only with her memories and few visitors. It was her punishment. Death freed her.

Henry had lived in punishment for centuries. Her guilty feeling blinded her from the truth that keeping Henry hidden from the world and looking so miserable was only satisfying her selfishness.

The books and Lionel always told her, those who love free the ones they say they love. Love is freedom, and the greatest proof of love one could give to another was Freedom.

As the women moved through the property while Nick stayed watching the twins at the front garden, Kate reflected in silence while Karine showed how much she knew about the O'Reed's story, and her favoritism for Katarina which got Kate's attention.

"I'm impressed with how much you know about Katarina…Usually people…"

"Hate her…"

Kate nodded in confirmation

"That's how they teach us Bohma's history, but for some reason I always contested that at school, which got me in some cool discussions with the professors"

"Cool discussions?" Kate lifted one eyebrow as she noticed Karine's excitement mentioning that as if she found it funny

"I don't always do what I'm told…not that I'm a rebel either. Please, don't get me wrong"

"Not at all. I can relate!"

"For me there must be a logic for things, there must be equality of information. Life is not an exact math, there have variants and when you speak of a person, emotions are involved and they need to be taken in account. I love psychology and naturally I analyze things, but this I do for a hobby or something, not as profession…"

"I'm new in psychology world…"

"It's good, but it's not easy and it takes long, though it's a very important tool when we want to change or learn and comprehend more things, people and mainly ourselves."

"It's painful"

"Surely it is, but it set us free."

"Yeah…but tell me about the cool discussions if it's not a bother…"

"Sure, not bother at all. I'll never forget one day the art professor saying Katarina was a cold manipulator and murderer, so I said there was nothing cold about Katarina. It was the opposite, everything was intense, reactive and emotional about her. She gave too much and received too little. She surely played well her physical reactions in public but that's what's expected from people with a rigorous education like hers, but her actions spoke louder for her. She was like a volcano, tough on the outside, imposing, threatening, but inside she was pure fire, combustion. At times the smokes escaped from the gaps, but they were the alert that something was going on inside her. It's like what they say 'where there's smoke, there's fire'"

Kate listened to Karine as they headed to the famous bush garden outside. It was intriguing and weird listening to such psychological analyses, but she kept her mind open for it.

"So he was like 'tell that to Angelique and the innocent unborn child or Christopher himself, he was forcedly married to the evil woman' so I said 'If I ever met Christopher I'd tell him he's the one who killed pregnant Angelique through the hands of Katarina. He better than anyone knew how explosive Katarina could be, how emotional Katarina used to be and he fed it, that was his evil side. He wasn't forced to stay married to her, actually he forced her to the edge and who paid was his precious Angelique. The truth is that he underestimated Katarina. He was aware of her jealousy, he hurt her deeply for two years into their marriage when he slept with other women. He almost made her suicide by starvation because she loved him too much, more than she did love herself. He had to almost lose her to stop being a crap of a husband and give her some value. He was her mirror and she was his reflection. She wasn't perfect but her reactions were started by him. What connected them was also what put them apart. And Angelique had her part too, everybody knew Katarina was a very jealousy woman and she stayed in silence for years, acting behind Katarina's back along with Christopher. The difference between Katarina and Angelique is that Kat shows her cards. She is who she is, she feels what she feels, she shows what she has. Not Angelique. She's silent and subtle. So he was like 'Angelique didn't say anything out of fear, everybody knew Katarina's explosive side', so I was like 'Kat wasn't a bomb, she was a volcano. Angelique hid from Christopher she had his child and they hid it from Katarina. With his history of cheating, Katarina grew suspicious and boiled her magma and exploded when she saw Christopher and Angelique together alone…Again Christopher fed Katarina's evil with his own evil cowardice. I'm sure they would've had fought and a lot, but they were used to that. They were too similar and that's why they had a mismatch as well. Katarina would yell, she would curse and play the bitch but she wouldn't plan Angelique's murder. She knew if she did that she'd play to lose and she had too much to lose, and I add more, every time Katarina exploded was only after some betrayal. All Christopher had to do was to secure her and not provoke her"

Kate looked away at the bushes. Her heart beating fast, she played with her hands that felt so cold. Listening to Karine's words was like listening to the words Katarina had wrote in her diaries. Katarina had vented so many times about how much could she endure loving Christopher like that and receiving so little from him. It seemed that no matter how hard she tried to get his attention, he was oblivious to her. She even thought that he only liked when she burst because that was how he seemed to notice her and more precisely when he was about to lose her. She felt like a ghost to him though things changed over the years, especially when she noticed he was jealous of Nicholas. The golden years of their marriage was when out of sudden Christopher decided to renew their vows and they even had a celebration party as if they were "marrying again", but the truth was that he was only validating their marriage behind her back.

Thinking of that now only made Kate realize that their lack of trust on each other had a long date to simply correct like magic. They needed to learn how to trust each other as for a relationship to work only love is not enough.

"I'm sorry if I talk too much, but Katarina is my favorite topic…"

"It's alright. You spoke no lies."

"I feel like I disturbed you. I'm sorry"

"No way…it wasn't you, but I need to ask you something"

"Sure"

"Are you mad at Christopher? You seem to not be a fan of his…"

"Not at all! I'm not mad at anyone, especially people I don't even know"

"But the way you spoke of him…"

"No way. It was just me being rational about Katarina's side, but there's also Christopher's"

"And how do you see him?" Kate had to ask as Katarina owed a father to their youngest daughter

"He's a reactive man just like Kat, but he's so complicated emotionally. Guiltiness is his Achilles heel. He didn't deal with it well, actually he didn't know how to deal with it at all. He's that generous man, seen as a hero, but he didn't feel it that way because that inflicted guiltiness on his shoulders. He had good intentions but he didn't know how to deal with the people he loved reactions, especially when his choices were linked to it. It was like he projected his insecurities and demons on the people he loved and they mirrored it unconsciously. I feel bad for him because he was a very insecure man deep inside and he masked it with his braveness. He was like a roller-coaster guy. When he was good he was really high and happy, but when he was down he was really miserable. There's no balance with him, or he's 50-50 or he is really 50-50! He didn't know how to relax or how to let go, and that's how he became a hopeless man. He was the dreamy type with idealizations of how the world should be. The world wasn't as colorful, so he grew gray. He really needed to learn how to accept Life, Destiny and people's fate as a result of their own choice and natural free will without taking it personally. He needed to learn that the control he unconsciously took on people around him was in fact the projection of his own problem in not having control of himself. He was a man who needed kindness and not harshness. He was a man with a soul of soldier, he was used to fight, though he wasn't ready for warmness…and that's where Katarina failed giving him, but she was also lost in her own dilemmas, so they couldn't help each other…though they were souls of broken dreams. They needed each other but they were helpless…they didn't need judgments, they needed mercy. That's why I still pray for them and may god bless their souls, especially Christopher's"

Kate was reactionless. She couldn't agree less with Karine's words, it was like she knew him for years without ever meeting him. Karine was better than her at reading his darkness.

"This place is so beautiful and nostalgic. It feels like Katarina is still here…"

Kate widened her eyes. Her hands were no longer cold, but now they were warm. All her body felt strangely warm. All she could think was how special Karine really was. Too bad Christopher never had the chance to meet her…or Chris. Now she felt that she owed him he needed to meet Karine, there was something different about her and it wasn't her skin anymore.

"Maybe she is…" Kate replied

That moment Karine turned her face at Kate. Their eyes met and paralyzed for a few seconds.

"Certainly she is…" Karine replied with a warm smile

A few tears escaped Kate's eyes. She was at the edge of helplessness. She needed a light that seemed to never come.

Instinctively Karine wipe them kindly and pulled Kate into an embrace.

"I'm sorry…forgive me…" Kate sobbed hugging Karine so tight with a mix of feelings of embarrassment and despair

That moment, Nick showed up with the twins and felt intrigued with the scene, "What happened?" he asked in concern

"Everything is going to be alright."

"I'm sorry…I…I…" Kate stepped away ashamed wiping her tears

"You don't have to be sorry. I noticed you were already emotional since the start. If you want to vent, I'm all ears Kate"

"This shouldn't be this way…Now I look the stupid girl with no credibility to sell this property…"

"Don't be hard on you, my only thought is that you might be going through a very hard phase. No judgments, Kate."

"Thank you for your kind words, Kari, but I really feel embarrassed for this…"

"It's alright. Really!"

"We should just go back to business…"

"Kate…if you don't feel alright, don't push yourself. We can talk about that another day and if you don't want to sell the property I understand. I came aware that this place had a special owner"

"No…I'm ready to sell it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes I am! Just tell me how much you want to pay and we'll close the deal"

"This is not how it works Kate…you're the seller, so you give the price and I'll buy it"

"I can't keep it…plus, you deserve it more than me…"

"What?"

"Look…I just want two things and it's because of these things that I don't want to close the deal with the government. You show respect for Katarina, they don't. I don't want it to be a hotel, I want it to be exactly like it is, and you proved me that you respect this place, the story…I'll only close the deal if you keep it as it is. I don't care about price…"

"Kate, you need the money" Nick said reasoning

"Shut up Nick! I didn't ask your opinion"

"Easy guys…I don't want to be the cause of problems here"

"I'm really sorry Karine, I didn't mean things to turn this way. I'm very embarrassed here, so I just want to end things…all I need to know is will you close the deal or not?"

"Only if you give me your price Kate. This is not a donation or an inheritance. I need a number"

"Okay…200K"

"What? No Kate, this is not the price this land is estimated"

"You said you wanted a number…"

Karine inhaled softly but deeply. She knew Kate only wanted to leave out of embarrassment. It was certainly awkward as they never met before…

Although Karine knew who Kate was. She recalled had seeing Kate's picture alongside the soldier who saved Bohma the prior year, but the truth was that Karine had heard about Kate way long ago when she was still a teenage before leaving Bohma to study abroad.

During her infancy and teenage, Karine used to visit Mr. Lionel who had been her professor in the Elementary School. They instantly became friends and as she grew she heard the stories about Katarina and Christopher. She was surprised for having someone with the same thoughts as her about the famous couple. Since she was a little girl, she used to visit the Art Museum and she never forgot how affected she felt when she first laid eyes on one of Katarina's portraits. She had an innate affection for her and apparently only Mr. Lionel used to understand her about that.

She loved listening to his stories and all the knowledge he had about Bohma and she always suspected he had a secret, which he did, but a secret she only found out when she was in High School, and it was "his" secret that gave her a boost about the career she wanted to pursue.

Since she was a kid she liked helping others: animals, plants, people indistinctly. Kindness and caring about the others had always been her biggest traits, and to work on something that could help others became her goal and her satisfaction.

She was privileged to have met Mr. Lionel and having him as her professor, besides a very close friend, and when she met his secret one night at the museum she left Bohma to study abroad. Initially she graduated in Chemistry, and had post-graduation in Biochemistry, and even being so young she already had specializations on several subjects such as Cosmetology, than she focused all her studies and knowledge to develop products for people with very sensitive skins caused by some disease or for having special skins like Henry O'Gregon Reed.

Since they met she felt an innate relation with him and somehow they grew close as he became her guinea pig for the products she developed so he could have some sort of a "normal life" and a very special bond developed between them quickly, until the point he shared with her a secret diary Christopher Reed wrote, a diary that not even Mr. Lionel had knowledge of.

When she learned Mr. Lionel was preparing his departure and selecting the people who he would donate the special houses, she knew he had a preoccupation about Katarina's and so he commented with her about it.

Flashback

Mr. Lionel was sitting at the desk at the Lake House writing some letters when Karine and Henry entered the property.

Henry knew who those letters were for, but not Karine.

She noticed that on a particular one he seemed very preoccupied and had a saddened expression until he let out a long sigh and looked at her.

"I don't know if I'll ever be able to give this letter to the destined owner of Katarina's house. Actually I don't even know if I'll ever meet the destined owner, so Karine, if this never happens, I want you to be the chosen one to have it. Henry and Jerry are already aware of this. The contract is already done, all you have to do is to sign it if I don't find her until my death"

"Mr. Lionel…I can't accept it. All of this only belong to Henry…"

"It's your right" Henry said

She turned to him, "It's not my right. I'm not even part of the family…"

"You're more than you think my dear Karine…you deserve it more than you think…" Mr. Lionel said making a mysterious look

End of Flashback

Back then she didn't understand why she deserved the property, but she recalled the few mentions Lionel and Henry had made of someone named Kate, the destined one.

She never questioned them as she had a reserved nature as well, though she had always been curious about Christopher Reed for some reason she never understood and she loved listening to stories of his. Though, after Mr. Lionel's death Henry often talked about a man named Chris Redfield and his wife Kate who was pregnant with twins, and surprisingly – or not - she had an innate curiosity about the special captain that was currently missing.

So for Karine, none of that was awkward. Actually she was pretty much excited for finally meeting Kate and the twins Henry saved. There was just something about the green-eyed woman that made Karine feel home and welcomed.