Natalia's dream
The chapter is structured like this: Natalia
during the night before the final battle - flashback about Largo - back
to present with Natalia.
During the first part, Natalia is back at
the inn and alone (she shares her room with Tear but Tear is still out with Luke), so she thinks a bit about Largo and what could have been.
She then falls asleep and has a dream about how life would be if she
hadn't been separated from her parents.
In this dream, 'Badaq' is
escorting a caravan through the desert, and 'Meryl' accompanies him,
like she does from time to time. She wishes she could come along more
often, because she loves the desert.
They have stopped for the day, and
they are watching the sunset together. There's nothing really revelant
in this part, but it was a very sweet father-daughter moment.
Badaq Oakland
The
rest of the chapter focuses on Largo when he was younger - how he met
Sylvia, how Meryl was taken from him etc. His real name was Badaq
Oakland.
First meeting
Killy
Quente is a doctor in Baticul and Badaq's best friend. He has a wife,
Nolene, and a little boy, Cal. He's also Sylvia's doctor.
Sylvia is
frail and often falls ill, and it happened one day (on her 21st
birthday) when Badaq was visiting his friend, and that's how they met.
It was love at first site for Badaq, who found her really pretty. (He
also notices how light she is (lighter than his sword, he thinks).) But
he didn't think he'd ever have a chance, because he's so big and
impressive and that often makes people scared/wary of him. Nevertheless,
he still wishes her a happy birthday, which... draws a strange reaction
of surprise from her and her mother.
Silvia and the Score
You
could say she is overly dependent on the Score. That's because it
predicted accurately all the major events of her life - her being born
frail, her never getting close to her dad, that she would work as a maid
in the castle etc etc. Because of that, she never tries to do anything
on her own anymore - she just lets things happen. Funnily enough, what
makes her take her life in her hands again is the Score itself.
Before becoming ill and going to the doctor that day, she had had her birthday Score read, and one part read:
"The man with warm hands that will wish you a happy birthday shall take you as his bride."
This
gives her hope: she had resigned herself to never get married because
she was so frail and so wouldn't make a good wife/mother, but the Score
predicted her marriage, so that makes her happy and ready to believe in
herself again. She decides on her own to go and meet Badaq too talk
about it.
She is still following the Score, of course, but in this case she acts to make it happen, rather than wait and let it happen. This is a big difference.
She is still following the Score, of course, but in this case she acts to make it happen, rather than wait and let it happen. This is a big difference.
Funny moment
Killy and his
wife later heard from Maggie about that Score, but Badaq hadn't heard
about that yet, so when they met again a few days later, the Quente were
all like "Congratulations for your engagement" and he's like "Bwuh?
What engagement?" "Yours with Sylvia!" "wth? I'm not engaged to Sylvia"
"But the Score said you'll get married!". And he's completely confused.
They explain about the contents of the Score, and he objects at first, saying he's probably not the only one who wished her a happy birthday that day - but Killy argues that she wants to meet him, and that since he liked her (he guessed, but he guessed right, haha) too, he should at least try. So Badaq agrees to go and meet her.
Also:
- I'm probably not the only man who wished you a happy birthday that day.
- No, but I don't want the other one. He's an old geezer.
So they spend some time together, agree they're made for each other, and get married.
The Score again
Killy had been clear: no children, she wouldn't survive the birth. And yet Badaq's birthday Score read:
"The rising wind will bring an early child. The child shall be blessed with a long life and the radiance of stars."
This,
of course, gave her hope again (she had resigned herself not to have
children, but now the Score tells her she can). Badaq was opposed at
first, because he remembers Killy's warning, but eventually gave in
(he'd like a baby too, after all).
So Silvia becomes pregnant, she's currently in good health and things are looking good.
The future princess
The Queen became pregnant too at more or less the same time, and that perturbed things a little.
Firstly,
the doctor that was supposed to help Silvia give birth was assigned to
the queen, so he didn't have time for her anymore. That shouldn't really
be a problem, because Sylvia's baby was supposed to be born after the
princess, though she ended up being born earlier and Killy ended up
being the one to help Silvia give birth. Despite their fears, the birth
went perfectly fine.
Secondly, Maggie was to be the queen's wet
nurse. She herself had no idea why she was chosen, but of course there
was a reason it could only be her.
Plotting
The
switching was foretold by the Closed Score, so Mohs did everything to
make it happen: he's responsible for Maggie being chosen as the wet
nurse, and sent two Oracle Knights to supervise things. Note that he was
already a sneaking bastard, because one of them was being blackmailed a
bit like Anise later, and the other... well it's not exactly clear, but
it seems he was disposed of once the deed was done. Anyway, they both
knew of the Score and were to ensure everything happened like it should -
they had Silvia move into the castle after her baby was born, had her
drugged the day the switch would happen, made sure Maggie was alone
(well, they were there too) when the princess was born, and instructed
her to switch the babies.
When Silvia woke up, she couldn't find her baby and went looking for her, first through the castle and then the city. She was completely panicked and still half-drugged, so she had hallucinations and that's how she ended up falling into the water - though to witnesses it looked like a suicide. At first, Badaq thought Meryl had been with her and had drowned too (he didn't know what had happened). He resented the Score because it's what made them have a child, and Silvia wouldn't have died like this if they hadn't had one. Van later explained how everything had been detailed in the Closed Score, and that made him hate it more and he decided to join Van in his quest to get rid of it.
The chapter ends with Natalia, back to the present:
When Silvia woke up, she couldn't find her baby and went looking for her, first through the castle and then the city. She was completely panicked and still half-drugged, so she had hallucinations and that's how she ended up falling into the water - though to witnesses it looked like a suicide. At first, Badaq thought Meryl had been with her and had drowned too (he didn't know what had happened). He resented the Score because it's what made them have a child, and Silvia wouldn't have died like this if they hadn't had one. Van later explained how everything had been detailed in the Closed Score, and that made him hate it more and he decided to join Van in his quest to get rid of it.
The chapter ends with Natalia, back to the present:
If she had lived as Meryl Oakland, her parents would certainly not have died. However, she would never have met Asch. Without the Score, she would have lived without knowing anything about all her precious friends. And above all, she would probably not have loved this big country known as Kimlasca-Lanvaldear as much as she does now. My own insignificance, and my place as the princess... They are not comparable. It is the princess that killed Largo, not Meryl. Natalia straightens her back and her noble face is reflected on the window.
She is sure that Badaq Oakland is still walking somewhere in the desert even now. What kind of flower can he see blooming in the burning sand? Are the butterflies still flying?