The characters from the game belong to Capcom. The OC's and story background belong to me.
A/N: I'm not english native speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.
"We are facing a new era. A time when, above all else, loyalty must be cultivated. But I do not mean your loyalty to a king or a queen. But our loyalty to the people, to you!
I am aware of my mistakes, but I have paid dearly for all of them. For the honor of this honor, which I receive today with great pride, I promise that I will rule in defense of you: of the people of Edonia... All united by the hope of a better future!"
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Lake Province
Oliver Talbot ran. In the forest. With nowhere to go.
Finding out the man he so admired was in fact his father caused him a mix of feelings he couldn't really comprehend. Anger. Happiness. Doubts. Disappointment. It was too much for him.
His vision of his mother at that moment wasn't the best either. She knew all the long he was close to his father. She knew all the long how much he wished to know his father, but she kept it all to herself. Omitting the truth from him. His truth. His origin. His male progenitor.
Maddy was his sister! Well… half-sister.
When in fact his dreamed father was there, so close to him.
His mother didn't seem to love him that much as she knew how painful or frustrating it was for him to now know his father. For not having his father like his other friends. Still, she acted like his father didn't exist. His pain and frustration didn't exist. She wanted him to take George as his real father.
He wasn't! George was not his father and never would be! He didn't have his genes!
The boy ran in the forest, ignoring the screams of his parents. He ran until he couldn't hear their voices.
A sudden mist formed.
"Where do you think you're going, child?"
He heard a mysterious female voice. He looked around. Scared.
"Running away from the truth?"
"Who is it?" he yelled
From behind a thick tree, he saw a figure coming.
"Get away!"
"I didn't come to hurt you, child."
"Who are you?"
"It doesn't matter my name. what matters is the truth"
"What are you talking about? What truth?"
"The truth you longed for your entire life and now here you are… running away"
"My mother lied to me!"
"Did she?"
"She did! I heard her saying if it depended on her I'd never know my father… She doesn't love me. She doesn't care!"
"Ah she does love you! And care immensely about you!"
"No, she doesn't! She had been lying to me my entire life! She promised she would try to contact him and… and I've been close to him all the long! And she acted like he was no one! She's a bad mother!"
"Oh child. Sweet child… don't say that about the woman who gave life to you… you don't all the adversities she had to go through to have you. Don't be an ungrateful son… that woman will give her life for you. For your safety…"
"And my father? Wouldn't he do the same?"
"Ah child, he certainly would! He certainly would face any evil for you…"
"So why? Why can't we be like father and son?"
"Child… you're still so young to understand some things of life… the adversities that separate people who love one another. People with tainted fate… but through you the change of fates will start and the wheel of time will turn…all things have their own pace to happen…"
"I don't understand…"
"Someone will…"
"So what do I do now?"
"Do you really want to know?"
He nodded in confirmation
"Stop running away and face the truth. Don't blind yourself like your parents did in the fog of the truth"
"What? Wait!" he yelled as the woman disappeared.
And so did the fog.
"Olly!"
"Mom…"
Angelique knelt close to him and hugged him tight. Relieved. A couple of hours had passed since they lost track on the child due to the mysterious fog.
"Don't ever disappear like that again! I can't lose you!" she spoke in tears
"But I was here all the long…"
"Olly…I know you're thinking the worst of me, but… but I never intended to harm you with my omission… I just… I just didn't know how to tell you the truth about your father…when you see him in a way I don't…"
"Did he hurt you?"
She covered her mouth holding her tears, "A lot…" she whispered
"Is he a bad man?" the boy asked
She bit her lips, reluctant.
The fog formed again.
"Is Christopher a bad man?"
"He's not to you…" her husky voice
"He's a good father to Maddy and to the others… He's good to people… how could he be a bad man to you?"
"It's complicated Olly… adults' thing…"
"Maybe you should stop running from the truth…"
"What?" the redhead frowned in confusion. That didn't seem to be her son's voice. She blinked and Olly wasn't there anymore. In his place, she saw a mysterious woman. Staring her with an unreadable gaze.
"Who are you?" Angelique asked suspicious
"Whatever they call me…I'm just a messenger"
Angelique frowned thoughtful. From the depths of her memories, she recalled the stories her grandmother used to tell about a witch. A dowser. A seer. A mysterious woman who lived in the forests of the kingdoms.
She never thought that woman did exist.
"What do you want from me?"
"What exactly do you want?" the dowser replied rhetorically
Angelique made a face, "I didn't call you…"
"You called for a message. I have a message for you"
"What message?"
"Stop running away from the truth. Things are not exactly what they seem."
"I don't understand…"
"You do."
"Are you talking about Christopher?"
The dowser made a face, "Christopher… the young knight in the forest…a while ago" she spoke randomly
"You had a message for him too?"
"And for his friend"
Angelique made a face wondering if the friend was Pierce.
"And for the other woman too…"
Angelique turned her eyes to the woman. She frowned. Thoughtful.
"It's been some time ... you found my husband here in the woods, and that day he made a prediction about a woman in his life. Yes, I saw a woman in the way of his life. The hatred. I saw the evil in their lives. He didn't believe…"
"Is this woman of the prophecy me?"
"Why do you think that?"
"I love him so much that I did not think I was capable of bringing hatred into his life... but ever since we met so much has happened... He was running for his life and I saved him in the lake. I gave him shelter, I've risked my life for him and… he always seemed to be running away.
"He was running away from his destiny"
"What?"
"This isn't over yet…"
"What do you mean?"
"I can't tell you the answers that belong to him"
"So please tell me, am I this woman who brought hatred and discord to his life?"
"No…"
"No? So who is this woman?"
The dowser remained in silence for a while, "I only know what appears before my eyes" the dowser paused, "But why does the girl want to know? Come on, ask the question you want to ask"
"You can see the future, can't you?"
"The future is not a straight line. It's winding. It gradually reveals itself. It is like a painting in which we only see the complete result at the end. Sometimes there may be missing a part, but still, we can perceive the image that will form at the end…"
"Is the woman Katarina?"
"What makes you think that?"
"I know Katarina is a bad woman. She's bad to Maddy… and I could see the evil in her eyes the other day…"
"You seem to have your answers but still run away from the truth"
"This truth will bring the discord and I don't want to cause the discord …I never saw a bright future for me, but I do want a bright future for my children…"
"The fate is already written. It doesn't matter what you do, the end is still the same"
"But…"
"You can't stop the wheel of life. The truth is one, but with multiple versions…But now you need to take care, your body has won the venom of the snake, but you will still have other poisons more dangerous than the this one that you will have to face…"
"I just want the evil to end…"
"And it will…"
Angelique opened her eyes and looked to the sides. She saw George and Olly at the bedside table. They smiled at her in relief.
"You're finally awake" the man spoke
"What happened?"
"Mommy. You were beaten by a snake… I'm sorry…" the boy spoke apologetic
"What?" Angelique didn't have any memory of that
"When you found Olly. Soon after, you were beaten… but I've taken care of it with the help of a traveler that was passing by…weird but fortunate…"
"What traveler?"
"A woman. She said she was searching for fruits for the trip while the people in her carriage took some rest nearby"
Angelique made a face, yet remained in silence. She was happy to see her family.
Wondering if all that was just an illusion…
Castle of Edonia
Katarina was sitting on the chair of the dressing table. She leaned closer to the mirror for a better look of her face. She moved her face skin in several ways, examining it. She frowned in disgust. She didn't like what she was seeing. Some lines of expression. The realization that she was aging. She passed more products and makeup in attempt to disguise it.
"Your majesty" the maiden entered the chamber
"Yes"
"Nicholas Keane has arrived."
Still not knowing what the call came from the castle, the merchant Nicholas Keane was told to enter through a secret passage and waited in a secret garden.
"What can I do for you, your majesty?" He asked bowing the brunette
"That is just what I would like to know…" Katarina replied rhetorically
He made a puzzled face
"You are not an Edonian, so I believe you may have guessed, most of Edonia's population do not like the idea of me as their governor"
"As you may know, not being from Edonia's as well, I think just the opposite"
"That is indeed the reason why I requested you. Because at this moment I need someone like you. I need eyes and ears among the people. I need to know what they say about me and, especially, who speaks about me. I need to know everyone's opinion, and especially I need to know about Albert Walker's brother, William. And also Jillian Valence, as from what I already know of her, she is given to instigate the people against their sovereigns. You will be compensated every time you pass information"
He bowed to her, "Your majesty has in me a faithful vassal"
"Good. I would like the poorest to have a maternal image of me. From today on, I will be like a mother to the needy!"
"May I make a suggestion?"
"Yes"
"Your husband could join you too. The people wouldn't feel orphan of a strong male regent as they see the king of Bohma as an inferior figure…"
Katarina made a thoughtful face. She didn't disagree with his point of view.
A few days later
To measure her popularity with the people. In other attempts to conquer the Edonians, the empress opened the castle gates for an afternoon of playtime with the children and give free beer for the adults.
While the plebe had their fun and were watched by other guards, Katarina walked to a garden where she spotted a unique couple and listened to part of the discussion between Jillian and Leonard.
Leonard poked Jillian as soon he noticed Katarina watching them.
"Is this how you talk about someone who is here only to help the people?" Katarina said walking slowly towards them.
Leonard bowed to her.
"Your Highness…" Jillian greeted her
"Your majesty!" she corrected the blue-eyed woman
Jillian gave a shrug, "You are wasting your time fooling those people like that. Soon they'll stop buying your lies. You're not their queen."
"Not a queen. An empress!"
"Whatever" Jillian rolled her eyes, "You can sit on the throne, wear a crown, but you will never, in fact, be the queen of these people."
"Jill…" Leonard tried to intervene
Katarina gestured to him, "It is alright Leonard. You do not need to defend me on that" she spoke calmly and turned to the blue-eyed duchess, "You are a petulant woman Jillian. I admire that, but it is also your disgrace"
"What? Will you send me to prison?"
Katarina smiled with mischief, "No"
"Kill me?"
"Your death is not necessary."
Jillian remained staring the imposing woman
"You are an ignorant. You envy me and you are jealous that you are all alone"
"Excuse me?"
"I took your men from you. I married Christopher, Leonard married another woman, and I told you so! Now you serve as his mistress and he serves me in whenever I want! You crushed both and you got none!" she spoke with a mocking tone
Jillian couldn't disguise her hatred. She despised that woman since they were young.
Many years ago, Katarina, Christopher and Leonard lived in Arthena. Jillian's father served as a diplomat between Edonia and Bohma, and often, the blue-eyed woman crossed the boarders to stay in Arthena where she met the three of them. And Pierce.
Christopher was an adventurous boy. Leonard a flirty one. She admired Christopher's "wild" nature. Since that young age, Christopher demonstrated to be fearless and so did Leonard. Seeing that Leonard didn't hide his wings towards Katarina and she didn't reject him as he had told her they had kissed, despite Katarina's evident wings towards Christopher who always seemed to dodge her.
Jillian thought she had a chance with Christopher, but the brave boy was also a shy one. And somewhat clumsy with female advances. She thought that about him until the day Katarina told her about the girl in the barn.
She knew the girl from the barn, she was a plebeian. Christopher seemed to like plebeians more than the noble girls. She was a quiet girl, daughter of peasants and Christopher's first love. Or first crush. Christopher was the opposite of Leonard when women were the subject, but she was surprised to know the level of intimacy he and the girl from the barn had. Probably they would've had married if the girl have gotten sick and died. She still remembered how affected he was when he learned about his girlfriend's death. He felt bad he couldn't help her or give her any assistance as he had to separate from her to return to Bohma's court. Abigail was her name.
At some point during all that, Leonard turned had his wings back at her again. With Christopher away and still having feelings for Leonard, she decided to give him a chance. They seemed to work. They were not in a hurry. The beginning was a bit difficult because of Leonard's flirty trait, which always got her jealous of any woman approaching him. Until she realized he did it just for the fun. As they matured, he seemed more refrained in his flirting, probably because their relationship had matured as well as they took it to the other level of intimacy. They talked about marriage and children. He dreamed of having a family. They postponed their wedding several times due to the adversities of belonging to different locations. She belonged to Edonia. He belonged to Arthena. Their families were against their union and in a decision to keep them separated; her family arranged her marriage to an Edonian. The marriage was short; it lasted about two years. He died in a battle in the sea. They had one daughter.
As a widower, Jillian was allowed to marry again. She and Leon reconciled and thought that this time they could finally stay together, however things didn't go that way.
Leonard's father had fallen sick and as his last wish, he arranged Leonard's marriage to a Bohman girl. Once again, they broke up and back to Edonia, Jillian lost contact with Leonard for some time
She heard the news that his father had died, but the marriage didn't happen, although Leonard did get married to a wealthy Arthenian noblewoman, Nicole.
And here they were all again. In her territory. Christopher and Katarina as the new regents under the power of King Charles of Bohma. Leonard as the head of strategies and Pierce as the second in command of Christopher in the military forces.
"You may have married Christopher by force, but you don't deserve him. He's too good for a woman like you…" Jillian replied coldly looking at Katarina from head to toes in a mocking way
"Take this woman out of here!" Katarina yelled upset
"I'll leave your presence with all the pleasure, your majesty!" Jillian spoke bitterly
Somewhere in the Castle of Edonia
"Are you out of your mind? Talking to Katarina like that is reckless and stupid! She can order your death any moment!" Leonard lectured her
"I'm not afraid of her! I'd rather die instead of watching her poisoning everyone and everything to make them see her as a savior, as a goddess, when all she want is just the attention and turn the kingdoms into her playground!"
"You don't know that!"
Jillian gasped, "I don't know that? Leon, different of you, my brain doesn't stop working and is not affected in the presence of a beautiful woman… bitch in this case! I remember very well who Katarina O'Gregon is!"
"You're wrong about that... Charles entrusted Edonia to Christopher and not to her"
"Bullshit! Everyone knows Charles had always been fond of her! He even intended to marry her! That tragedy just didn't happen because of the brilliance of his late father in stopping her plans and marrying him to a true princess and a good woman! That man was wise enough to see the evil within her! Behind that smiley beauty, hides the evil! What she has of beauty is what she has of evilness!"
Leonard rolled his eyes in incredulity
"What difference does it make entrusting Christopher when he's married to Katarina? She played the strings so well, that she managed to marry Christopher, knowing he was a favorite to both Charles and his father and that he would continue been granted with promotions and ascensions in the kingdom! I admit that woman is wise! She's clever! She machinated it too well, seduced all of them, she uses Christopher to rise her position because the truth is that she never forgave the late king for taking her chance to be a queen! Katarina is a vain woman, her ego doesn't have limits. Losing her chance to be a queen, enraged her! Affected her pride! Her fight for the women's freedom and social liberation is fraudulent! It's just her excuse to fool the people so she can get their trust and admiration. She's a cold, selfish and calculating person. She only cares about herself!"
"I agree when you say she's vain and proud, and she's somewhat selfish, but saying she uses Christopher doesn't make any sense! According to my affected memory, Katarina always crushed Christopher…way before all the ascension thing. She loves Christopher and always did! She's from the most important family of Bohma, their influence is beyond history. Charles wasn't the only available prince at that time. There are other realms she could've had found a prince or even a king to marry! But no, she wanted Christopher, a boy that wasn't a plebeian but wasn't a nobleman either! He was below her level and she fought for their love"
"Her obsession…not love"
"Whatever Jill! Katarina might have loved more, but Christopher is not a victim either. And if you pay a better attention, Christopher loves her! He cares about her and he's even jealous of her with any other man next to her. Her insistency wasn't a null act. Christopher deep inside liked and corresponded to her attempts! And he does enjoy their ascension! He's not that naïve as you think"
Jillian let out a sigh. They'd never agree in that matter. And in fact, she didn't totally disagree with him, but in her opinion it was more due to him being a man who fell seduced by Katarina. Even as a woman, she bitterly admitted Katarina was beautiful.
"I know he's not naïve, but let's just end this topic. We won't go anywhere with that…"
"Yeah…"
The pair turned their heads to the same direction as they saw a woman staring them.
"I'll go home. Mother's duty calls me" Jillian spoke recognizing the woman, Leon's current wife.
The women greeted politely. Leonard greeted her with a faint smile.
Castle of Edonia, Afternoon
"Nothing like a bath to take away the scent of those people who impregnated me. Well, at least my initiatives are having some effect. The plebs begin to see me with other eyes. With good eyes" she commented with Lucy as her maiden helped her undress
"Your majesty, I am sorry to ask, but isn't it serious that this same plebe is so dissatisfied with the king?" The maiden asked
"Charles has no way out. There is nothing to do… Sooner or later he will lose his power"
"And will you reign over Edonia and Bohma alone?" The maiden asked in curiosity
"No! For that, I would need to have their royal blood in the veins. Or in the womb. Which, in this case, can be solved as soon as I set the arrangement of Maddy, Philly and/or Lilly's marriage with relatives of Charles and they get pregnant with their children" Katarina revealed her plan
"So you still need Charles until that happens"
Katarina nodded in agreement, "See how fate can be ironic, Lucy: just when a new life is announced, the one who helped generate it will become unnecessary…" she spoke coldly as her maiden helped her with the bath
Thank you Pin for the review! :D
So, is Jillian right in her opinion on Katarina or is she overreacting?
What about Angelique and Oliver? Wondering what they'll do next...
Stay tuned!
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A/N: Thanks to Pin Potato for helping me decide the new introducing picture of Katarina :D
Models used
Katarina: Nurgül Yeşilçay (in Muhtesem Yüzyıl: Kösem)
Jillian: Hande Doğandemir (in Muhtesem Yüzyıl: Kösem)
Leonard: Kadir Doğulu (in Muhtesem Yüzyıl: Kösem)
Olly: ginger boy on google