Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Suikoden. Suikoden and all it's
characters belong to Konami.
***
None of it rang familiar with her. "I don't recall any of it."
Louis, who looked like he wanted to run ten miles from where he sat, was utterly clueless as to what he should do with the situation at hand.
"Ah...er... Milady?"
"Yes?"
"Before we ended up here, we were on the southern Amur plains fighting against the lizard clan. I believe it was during the first wave of attacks that you were thrown off your horse. Lord Borus was there with you at that time, and he said that he saw you hit your head against a rock."
Again she shook her head.
"Milady, I believe that blow to your head has caused you to lose your memory."
"My memory?" Chris closed her eyes and scanned her mind, but found no traces of the people or places or events like the ones he described, or any other memory for that matter.
"I...I can't remember anything."
She furled her brows in frustration, scouring her memory for something, anything, but there was a wall in her mind, impossibly high and impenetrable that kept her from her true self. She could feel it. For what she'd heard already, it sounded like the former Chris Lightfellow was no ordinary woman. After a long while, she gave up, for the situation was hopeless at the moment, but maybe if he could tell her about herself...
"Louis?"
"Yes Milady?"
She began to open her mouth, but then shut it. She wanted to ask him a question, but then again, she wanted to ask him a million of them. She lay silent for a moment, unsure of what to ask first. So many places to start...
"Louis, you said you once were a trainee under my hand. How long have you known me?"
Louis placed a thoughtful hand under his chin. "Hm, let's see...I've been with you since I was thirteen and I'm twenty-two years old now, so... about nine years."
"And you've been with me only for your training?"
" I've been constantly by your side as your squire and as your helping hand until I became a full-fledged knight, but I still run errands for you every now and then."
"I see. So then...Can you tell me about myself? Do you know me enough to?"
Louis leaned back into his armchair. "Yes, but Milady, there is too much to tell. You are...were quite a woman. Where to begin...square one, I suppose, but this is going to take a while."
Chris cautiously propped herself up into a sitting position, tentative ears on Louis. "Go on."
Louis let out a long sigh. "You are the daughter of Sir Wyatt and lady Anna Lightfellow, born in Vinay del Zexay thirty years ago."
***
"Look, I can see them faltering!"
"So they are! Quickly, now's our chance! Lord Salome.!?"
"Push back their ranks to the hills only; there's no need to kill them all. You there! Send medics at once to retrieve the wounded before they die out on us!"
"Yes sir!"
Slowly, the remainder of what once was a great number of lizards began to move back to the rocky hills of Amur. As the fighting slowed, the Zexens began to chase the stragglers of the group who failed to notice the withdrawal of their comrades, still intent on conquering their opponent, if not the battle. However, once they came to the painful realization that they had no hope of winning because they were outnumbered, they pulled out from their engagements. Eventually, the lizard army disappeared into the hills and all that was left on the battlefield was the fallen soldiers from both sides, dead or badly wounded.
Atop a hill, Salome sat on his steed overlooking the plain, now torn earth, strewn with bodies with the sun beginning to draw low in the western sky. After routing the last of the lizards, the soldiers began to congregate back to the hill from whence they started from, cheering all the way. Pushing through the crowd, Percival rode up to Salome, followed by Roland and Leo.
"Lord Salome, your superior strategies have granted Zexen another victory. Let us thank the Goddess for a mind like yours."
Salome turned to face Percival, a warm smile on his face. "I'm pleased to see that a few years out of the service of the knights has not worn down your fighting skills. You performed magnificently, still true to your name."
Leo threw back his head and laughed, patting Percival on the shoulder. "Of course he did! Being one of the members of Zexen's mighty Six, one would expect no less."
"Heh heh...I am not worthy of such praise," Percival said, modestly. He clutched his right shoulder and rolled his right arm a bit. "However, those lizards put up more of a fight this time. They were more troublesome than I remember them being. Still, it was good training for me after I've been absent these past eight years."
"This battle was too costly," Roland stated, looking toward the fallen on the field. " We lost far too many men for only a border skirmish. It looks as if your theory about the lizards observing the way the knights fought was correct. It is fortunate that we had the advantage in our numbers and that they did not call upon their karayan allies or else we would have kept on fighting till nightfall and lost many more men than we did today."
"Always the one to kill the moment of sweet victory, Roland. That reminds me, where is Lady Chris and Borus and Louis?" Percival inquired.
Salome's warm smile melted to a solemn look. "Lady Chris was injured in battle. She lost consciousness, knocked from her horse by a lizard. Luckily, Borus was close by and was able to protect our fallen Lady from them. Boris was able to extract her from the battle, but he suffered a stab- injury to his left-shoulder while retrieving her, so Louis and Leo had to escort them both back to Brass to ensure their safety. Leo knows more about their condition than I do."
"Leo, what of Lady Chris and Boris now?" Percival asked.
"Yes, I should like to know of Lady Chris and Boris as well," Roland added.
"I didn't ride with them all the way back to Brass, but all I know is that Lady Chris didn't look too bad. It's nothing she can't handle, thanks to the rune she bares, but as for Borus.that was one serious wound."
"I hope Borus will be alright." Percival said with concern carried in his voice.
"Borus? He's a tough lad, it'll take much more than that before he turns in."
Leo's words seemed to help with Percival's concern, seeing that his facial features began to relax into the cool expression he usually wore.
"Alright. Well then, after we take care of business here, let's head back to Brass Castle before sunset and check up on our dear old comrades," Percival suggested.
"Yes, I think we spent more time out here than we should have," Salome said.
"A splendid idea, Percy, and we can also have us a few drinks to our victory, once we know for sure that Lady Chris and Borus is alright," Leo suggested.
"Leo, please don't call me 'Percy'..."
***
She was fascinated by it all. She listened as Louis told her briefly about her past; about how both of her parents were well known, especially her father, but they were deceased and she had no siblings nor did she have any relatives around where she lived. He wasn't able to tell her much about her child-hood, for that was something that she'd have to find out for herself.
She listened closely as Louis told her about her time she spent training to become a knight and how she impressed her superiors with her knowledge, both with the sword and in the classroom, and how she quickly moved up the ranks and graduated first in her class, still a young girl among men. According to him, the stories of her ascension in the ranks was well-known among the knights and is still talked about even among the younger trainees, which is why he was able to tell her about these things even though he was years behind her.
He seemed to have a grand time telling her about the formation of the Zexen mighty six and the stories he'd heard about her when she'd go into battle; how her fierceness was legendary and how one swing of her sword could kill seven men. He told her of the many nicknames she'd earned, such as the White Hero, The Silver Maiden, The White Goddess, The Hero of Zexen, and so fourth. She was astonished to learn of the many battles she'd been through.
He then went on and told her about the second War of the Flame Champion, about how at one time, the Grasslands and Zexen joined forces to team up against the mad magician, Luc, from bringing untold destruction to the grasslands and the immediate surrounding areas. What intrigued her the most was when he talked about the role of the mysterious "true runes" and how she had one of them in her possession. Louis accredited her quick recovery to that rune, called the True Rune of Water, saying that the rune granted her the uncanny ability to survive wounds severe enough to kill a man and the ability to recover quickly. He also said that the rune gave her power over water and ice and, what she thought to be most unbelievable, granted her immortality.
The time flew by amongst the many questions she asked and the many answers he gave. They stopped in between stories to replenish themselves and so that Louis could check up on Borus' condition. Chris was so intent on learning about her past self that she forgot that she was hungry and thirsty. From about the time she came to, around mid afternoon, their talk lasted well into the night. However, during that time, to Chris' dismay, she was unable to recall a single memory, the wall in her mind holding strong. She did feel a bit of familiarity about the things he told her, though.
After the last story for that day, Louis took a breather. Chris looked terribly exhausted from all the information her mind was trying to process, but despite her weariness, she wanted to ask Louis one more question. She was about to speak when they heard a rapping at the door.
Louis got up to answer. "Yes?"
A maidservant meekly entered the room. "Sir Louis, lord Salome and the rest of the knights have finally made it back from southern Amur. He requests that you come and see him as soon as possible."
"Well, it's about time. I certainly hope that the lizards didn't give them too much trouble."
"No, sir, I believe lord Salome said that taking care of the business after the battle was more time consuming than he had planed."
"Yes, okay, thank you."
And with that, the maid left.
Louis returned to Chris' beside. "Milady, I think we should call it a day."
"Who was that?"
"A maidservant. She informed me that lord Salome has arrived back from southern Amur and has requested that I meet with him as soon as possible. It's late in the night now and you should be getting some rest."
Chris nodded. "Alright...but I wanted to ask you something before you leave."
"What is it?"
She took a moment and contemplated on asking him the question she wanted to ask before, but decided that it might be better to ask him tomorrow with the rest of the six with him. Instead she asked him a different question.
"Are you going to tell lord Salome about me?"
Louis took a moment to think about it. "Well, of course I'll give him news of your health because he may want to hear about that first...but I think we've all had enough for one today and news of you memory loss can wait until tomorrow, I suppose. After our little chat, I'm not up for another long-winded explanation of any sort."
"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow, Louis, and thank you for taking the time to tell me about my past."
Louis smiled in response. "Not a problem, Milady. Have a good rest. Goodnight."
When she heard Louis exit her room, she slumped into her bed and closed her eyes, her tired mind buzzing with questions she had yet to ask. She wondered when and how she'd regain her memory, if she'd ever get it back. It wasn't very long until she drifted into a dreamless sleep, her mind finally getting a much-needed rest.
~***~
AyaTheRose: There may be a few of you who know Chris' history better than I do, so if you spot anything I got wrong or forgot to put anything important about her, please tell me so I can fix it immediately. I wanted to look up information on her on suikosource.com, but the web page was gone and I had to use my speculations and what I could recall during the game! Thank you for everyone who reviewed, it was very encouraging^^
***
None of it rang familiar with her. "I don't recall any of it."
Louis, who looked like he wanted to run ten miles from where he sat, was utterly clueless as to what he should do with the situation at hand.
"Ah...er... Milady?"
"Yes?"
"Before we ended up here, we were on the southern Amur plains fighting against the lizard clan. I believe it was during the first wave of attacks that you were thrown off your horse. Lord Borus was there with you at that time, and he said that he saw you hit your head against a rock."
Again she shook her head.
"Milady, I believe that blow to your head has caused you to lose your memory."
"My memory?" Chris closed her eyes and scanned her mind, but found no traces of the people or places or events like the ones he described, or any other memory for that matter.
"I...I can't remember anything."
She furled her brows in frustration, scouring her memory for something, anything, but there was a wall in her mind, impossibly high and impenetrable that kept her from her true self. She could feel it. For what she'd heard already, it sounded like the former Chris Lightfellow was no ordinary woman. After a long while, she gave up, for the situation was hopeless at the moment, but maybe if he could tell her about herself...
"Louis?"
"Yes Milady?"
She began to open her mouth, but then shut it. She wanted to ask him a question, but then again, she wanted to ask him a million of them. She lay silent for a moment, unsure of what to ask first. So many places to start...
"Louis, you said you once were a trainee under my hand. How long have you known me?"
Louis placed a thoughtful hand under his chin. "Hm, let's see...I've been with you since I was thirteen and I'm twenty-two years old now, so... about nine years."
"And you've been with me only for your training?"
" I've been constantly by your side as your squire and as your helping hand until I became a full-fledged knight, but I still run errands for you every now and then."
"I see. So then...Can you tell me about myself? Do you know me enough to?"
Louis leaned back into his armchair. "Yes, but Milady, there is too much to tell. You are...were quite a woman. Where to begin...square one, I suppose, but this is going to take a while."
Chris cautiously propped herself up into a sitting position, tentative ears on Louis. "Go on."
Louis let out a long sigh. "You are the daughter of Sir Wyatt and lady Anna Lightfellow, born in Vinay del Zexay thirty years ago."
***
"Look, I can see them faltering!"
"So they are! Quickly, now's our chance! Lord Salome.!?"
"Push back their ranks to the hills only; there's no need to kill them all. You there! Send medics at once to retrieve the wounded before they die out on us!"
"Yes sir!"
Slowly, the remainder of what once was a great number of lizards began to move back to the rocky hills of Amur. As the fighting slowed, the Zexens began to chase the stragglers of the group who failed to notice the withdrawal of their comrades, still intent on conquering their opponent, if not the battle. However, once they came to the painful realization that they had no hope of winning because they were outnumbered, they pulled out from their engagements. Eventually, the lizard army disappeared into the hills and all that was left on the battlefield was the fallen soldiers from both sides, dead or badly wounded.
Atop a hill, Salome sat on his steed overlooking the plain, now torn earth, strewn with bodies with the sun beginning to draw low in the western sky. After routing the last of the lizards, the soldiers began to congregate back to the hill from whence they started from, cheering all the way. Pushing through the crowd, Percival rode up to Salome, followed by Roland and Leo.
"Lord Salome, your superior strategies have granted Zexen another victory. Let us thank the Goddess for a mind like yours."
Salome turned to face Percival, a warm smile on his face. "I'm pleased to see that a few years out of the service of the knights has not worn down your fighting skills. You performed magnificently, still true to your name."
Leo threw back his head and laughed, patting Percival on the shoulder. "Of course he did! Being one of the members of Zexen's mighty Six, one would expect no less."
"Heh heh...I am not worthy of such praise," Percival said, modestly. He clutched his right shoulder and rolled his right arm a bit. "However, those lizards put up more of a fight this time. They were more troublesome than I remember them being. Still, it was good training for me after I've been absent these past eight years."
"This battle was too costly," Roland stated, looking toward the fallen on the field. " We lost far too many men for only a border skirmish. It looks as if your theory about the lizards observing the way the knights fought was correct. It is fortunate that we had the advantage in our numbers and that they did not call upon their karayan allies or else we would have kept on fighting till nightfall and lost many more men than we did today."
"Always the one to kill the moment of sweet victory, Roland. That reminds me, where is Lady Chris and Borus and Louis?" Percival inquired.
Salome's warm smile melted to a solemn look. "Lady Chris was injured in battle. She lost consciousness, knocked from her horse by a lizard. Luckily, Borus was close by and was able to protect our fallen Lady from them. Boris was able to extract her from the battle, but he suffered a stab- injury to his left-shoulder while retrieving her, so Louis and Leo had to escort them both back to Brass to ensure their safety. Leo knows more about their condition than I do."
"Leo, what of Lady Chris and Boris now?" Percival asked.
"Yes, I should like to know of Lady Chris and Boris as well," Roland added.
"I didn't ride with them all the way back to Brass, but all I know is that Lady Chris didn't look too bad. It's nothing she can't handle, thanks to the rune she bares, but as for Borus.that was one serious wound."
"I hope Borus will be alright." Percival said with concern carried in his voice.
"Borus? He's a tough lad, it'll take much more than that before he turns in."
Leo's words seemed to help with Percival's concern, seeing that his facial features began to relax into the cool expression he usually wore.
"Alright. Well then, after we take care of business here, let's head back to Brass Castle before sunset and check up on our dear old comrades," Percival suggested.
"Yes, I think we spent more time out here than we should have," Salome said.
"A splendid idea, Percy, and we can also have us a few drinks to our victory, once we know for sure that Lady Chris and Borus is alright," Leo suggested.
"Leo, please don't call me 'Percy'..."
***
She was fascinated by it all. She listened as Louis told her briefly about her past; about how both of her parents were well known, especially her father, but they were deceased and she had no siblings nor did she have any relatives around where she lived. He wasn't able to tell her much about her child-hood, for that was something that she'd have to find out for herself.
She listened closely as Louis told her about her time she spent training to become a knight and how she impressed her superiors with her knowledge, both with the sword and in the classroom, and how she quickly moved up the ranks and graduated first in her class, still a young girl among men. According to him, the stories of her ascension in the ranks was well-known among the knights and is still talked about even among the younger trainees, which is why he was able to tell her about these things even though he was years behind her.
He seemed to have a grand time telling her about the formation of the Zexen mighty six and the stories he'd heard about her when she'd go into battle; how her fierceness was legendary and how one swing of her sword could kill seven men. He told her of the many nicknames she'd earned, such as the White Hero, The Silver Maiden, The White Goddess, The Hero of Zexen, and so fourth. She was astonished to learn of the many battles she'd been through.
He then went on and told her about the second War of the Flame Champion, about how at one time, the Grasslands and Zexen joined forces to team up against the mad magician, Luc, from bringing untold destruction to the grasslands and the immediate surrounding areas. What intrigued her the most was when he talked about the role of the mysterious "true runes" and how she had one of them in her possession. Louis accredited her quick recovery to that rune, called the True Rune of Water, saying that the rune granted her the uncanny ability to survive wounds severe enough to kill a man and the ability to recover quickly. He also said that the rune gave her power over water and ice and, what she thought to be most unbelievable, granted her immortality.
The time flew by amongst the many questions she asked and the many answers he gave. They stopped in between stories to replenish themselves and so that Louis could check up on Borus' condition. Chris was so intent on learning about her past self that she forgot that she was hungry and thirsty. From about the time she came to, around mid afternoon, their talk lasted well into the night. However, during that time, to Chris' dismay, she was unable to recall a single memory, the wall in her mind holding strong. She did feel a bit of familiarity about the things he told her, though.
After the last story for that day, Louis took a breather. Chris looked terribly exhausted from all the information her mind was trying to process, but despite her weariness, she wanted to ask Louis one more question. She was about to speak when they heard a rapping at the door.
Louis got up to answer. "Yes?"
A maidservant meekly entered the room. "Sir Louis, lord Salome and the rest of the knights have finally made it back from southern Amur. He requests that you come and see him as soon as possible."
"Well, it's about time. I certainly hope that the lizards didn't give them too much trouble."
"No, sir, I believe lord Salome said that taking care of the business after the battle was more time consuming than he had planed."
"Yes, okay, thank you."
And with that, the maid left.
Louis returned to Chris' beside. "Milady, I think we should call it a day."
"Who was that?"
"A maidservant. She informed me that lord Salome has arrived back from southern Amur and has requested that I meet with him as soon as possible. It's late in the night now and you should be getting some rest."
Chris nodded. "Alright...but I wanted to ask you something before you leave."
"What is it?"
She took a moment and contemplated on asking him the question she wanted to ask before, but decided that it might be better to ask him tomorrow with the rest of the six with him. Instead she asked him a different question.
"Are you going to tell lord Salome about me?"
Louis took a moment to think about it. "Well, of course I'll give him news of your health because he may want to hear about that first...but I think we've all had enough for one today and news of you memory loss can wait until tomorrow, I suppose. After our little chat, I'm not up for another long-winded explanation of any sort."
"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow, Louis, and thank you for taking the time to tell me about my past."
Louis smiled in response. "Not a problem, Milady. Have a good rest. Goodnight."
When she heard Louis exit her room, she slumped into her bed and closed her eyes, her tired mind buzzing with questions she had yet to ask. She wondered when and how she'd regain her memory, if she'd ever get it back. It wasn't very long until she drifted into a dreamless sleep, her mind finally getting a much-needed rest.
~***~
AyaTheRose: There may be a few of you who know Chris' history better than I do, so if you spot anything I got wrong or forgot to put anything important about her, please tell me so I can fix it immediately. I wanted to look up information on her on suikosource.com, but the web page was gone and I had to use my speculations and what I could recall during the game! Thank you for everyone who reviewed, it was very encouraging^^