Struggle with Lineage
Mohs: For some time, I have received the sorrowful confessions of a certain pious believer. It appears the daughter that he fathered with an attendant to the Queen was substituted for Her Highness the Princess.And with that smack to the face, Natalia finds out that she is actually not the real princess of Kimlasca. She is not truly her father's daughter. Even though the other party members tell her not to worry until they return to Baticul to speak to her father, Natalia immediately becomes obviously depressed. Mohs may not have had any solid proof, but simply the idea that her life has been a lie is enough to severely worry her. She stops calling King Ingobert her father and refers to him as "His Majesty" like everyone else. On their extended trip back to the capital of Kimlasca, Natalia is quiet, completely agreeable and lost in her own thoughts. It is like she has completely lost all of her willpower. She has lost herself. She barely listens to important conversations and often doesn't notice when they are about to leave, she's willing to pay the Dark Wings for something illegal and even worries about something petty about her appearance being a failure to high society. Despite being so motivated before to save everyone and help anyone in need because it was her duty as a princess, she now simply believes "[she] should consider what [she] can do as well, as one who has been involved in public affairs..."
Luke: That's a lie!
Mohs: No, it's not. Look at her eyes. Her hair. From time immemorial, the royal family of Lanvaldear has had red hair and green eyes. But this woman's hair is gold. And the late Queen had hair as black as night. I've informed His Majesty about this matter as well. If you go to Baticul, His Majesty will punish you for conspiring against the Kingdom!
Natalia: That's impossible... That can't be true...
Once they reach Baticul, Natalia is afraid of presenting herself in front of King Ingobert. She informs Luke that she is afraid of him rejecting her more than anything else. She's so afraid of rejection that she's beginning to lose touch with what is truly important. During an audience with the King, Natalia's nanny testifies that she truly is not his daughter. Despite Luke's attempts to convince him blood does not matter, he ultimately rejects her by saying her death will be justification to declare war on Malkuth. Natalia then falls into complete despair. If she wasn't Princess Natalia, then who was she? What was the point of anything that she's done up until now? She's been living a complete lie. Natalia thought she could no longer be the person she was before.
Time goes by, and she starts getting a little better thanks to mainly Guy's efforts. As soon as the idea of meeting her father again is presented, however, Natalia recoils and breaks down. She knows that they need to talk to him in order to do something about the state of chaos overcoming the world, but she just can't bring herself to do it. She ends up running away from the others to think on her own. She feels destroyed about not being the princess, but even more terrible about putting her own personal feelings over the need of the people of the world. Natalia admits her weakness, and feels awful about it. Even though she knows she has tens of thousands of her citizens supporting her as allies because they love her, not the "princess," she can't make herself take a step forward. Her judgment, actions and thoughts are paralyzed by her fear. Ultimately, it doesn't matter what other people say. The only way Natalia can move past her struggle for who she is, is to find the answer on her own.
b a c k . c l e a r . f o r w a r d Defining Royalty and its contents are © Samantha, however Natalia and Tales of the Abyss are © NAMCO. Defining Royalty is a part of AFTER-DEATH.ORG.