Fódlan Alternative II

{Part Two: Crimson Flower} Chapter Twenty-Three: Dying Breath II

A few weeks into the moon, You make your way to Janae's room. Upon arriving, You see that Chris is already there sitting silently at Janae's side. Neither one of them says a word as You walk in until Janae smiles at You.

Janae: It's nice to see you... How are you feeling?

You say that You are doing well and would like to talk to them.

Chris: Yeah... I suppose that's something we're going to have to do sooner or later, huh?

You nod and sit down as well. You look at Chris and ask if she knows where to start. After a moment of hesitation, she speaks.

Chris: I... I owe you both an apology.

Janae: What are you talking about?

Chris: I know about what I did to you both. If I hadn't been brought into the palace, the professor here would have wound up as the heir to the Adrestian Empire. You... You wouldn't have been cast out of the palace if I hadn't been brought around. I replaced the child you loved so much, and that... I understand if you hold enmity towards me for that.

Janae: Nothing that happened was your fault.

Chris: ...

Janae: Hendrix was the one who decided to do all of this... He would have cast me out of the palace no matter what happened when it came to you. He had no other uses for me, and... It was just a matter of time before it all wound up this way.

Chris: Still... I shouldn't have been the one to take the place of your child as far as the rest of the world was concerned.

Janae: Nobody should have been put in that position, but the fact remains that Hendrix was the one who did that. He was the one who decided that he wanted you to be in the shoes of someone who he had cast out. You were only a child when you were brought to the palace, if I recall correctly... You couldn't have done anything about it.

Chris: Perhaps not... I just wanted you both to know how I felt on the matter.

Janae: I know... I could tell that you were an honest person the day we met five years ago.

Chris: You mean it?

Janae: ...When I saw you and heard that you were going by the name that I gave my child... Part of me was upset. How could I not be? I had been torn away from my Crescent so long ago, and... It hurt. I heard for many years that there was someone else going by the name by the emperor's orders, but... I never thought I would meet you myself.

Chris: By that point, Evenor had already taken your child far from the capital because she took an interest in everything that happened during the experimentation.

Janae: Precisely... You are not guilty of the actions of Hendrix or Evenor. That's not your burden to bear. The two of them were responsible for everything that happened in the Adrestian palace all that time ago, and... You're just as much of a victim to all of this as we are.

You nod your agreement.

Chris: I... Thank you. I don't know what to say...

You tell her that she doesn't need to say anything.

Chris: ...There was a time there where I thought that you were my mother, you know... I guess I was desperate to believe that there was someone out there related to me aside from the man I thought was my father at the time. Neither one of my assumptions about my parents turned out to be true... The truth is a far more sinister thing than I could have ever imagined.