By the time he exited the Abyssal Hollow, the most secure, infamous and torturous prison in the whole of Meathria, it was already near midnight. And seeing this he sighed, knowing that not only had he missed dinner with his family, but he would also have to go speak with Esmerelda tonight as per her punishment, or else he would begin running the very real risk of her being upset with him.

A dread inducing concept that none in the royal family dared think about, as earning her real ire was a curse that no amount of shame could ever truly polish.

So he quickly made his way to her personal residence, where he knew she would be at this late hour, and even though he felt that he very much didn't want to speak to her at this moment, when he felt at his weakest; but if he were to be honest with himself for a moment, he knew that he could not remain pathetically wallowing in his own personal pit of self pity and grief forever, and throughout his life, there had been only two people who held such a sway over him.

The first was his beloved late mother, and the second was Esmerelda.

Haytham sighed wearily when he found himself at the gates the Empress' Palace, before he then steadied himself with a deep breathe, and solemnly entered. Yet before he could even take more than a dozen steps past the guards, he spotted one of Esmerelda's handmaiden's waiting for him, while wrapping herself in a fur coat, since she was but an ordinary mortal woman, and the desert's chilling twilight winds could seep into the bone.

"Welcome my lord Archduke, my lady has been expecting you. If you would please follow me." She said, bowing to him.

"Lead the way." He smilingly replied, before she led him to one of the largest lounges in the palace, one that perfectly overlooked the Imperial Gardens.

"Thank you." He sincerely told the middle aged looking woman, before he entered. But once he did, he was shocked still, as he beheld my mother sitting near the window with a warm cup of tea in hand, gazing happily out the closed window, while a small table stacked with as many delicacies as it could bear without overcrowding, sat between her and another empty.

"Finally decided to show yourself? I had nearly thought you'd run away, to escape your punishment." She teasingly said, while a joyful smile decorated her arresting face.

"I would never, my lady." As usual he seriously replied, bowing ever so slightly as he did.

"Always so serious." She sighingly muttered, as he made his way to the opposite chair.

"My lady, what is all this?" He asked looking at all the dishes laid out before him.

"You skipped dinner today, so I thought you might be hungry." She replied gently, the earlier playful glint mellowing out into a clementine sparkle.

Haytham said nothing in reply, only shaking his head slightly with an imperceptibly small, nostalgic smile spreading across his lips, before he started eating the food in front of him, regardless of whether it was slightly cold, or that as an eighth rank martial artist, food has long since lost it's place as a daily necessity for him, and instead has become something he only needs to truly satiate once every few months.

Esmerelda's smile only grew in size as she watched him ravenously devour the food in front of him, before she returned to her tea and the mesmerizing sight of the moon bathed gardens.

It was only a few minutes later, that my uncle decided to break the comfortable silence between them, saying his head slightly bent as his eyes remained fixated on his plate "I went to the Abyssal Hollow tonight. That's why I was late."

My mother didn't immediately turn to face him, as she asked "Can you still not give up on him? Even after all that he has done?"

"I gave him a flask of Tears of Dusk." Haytham replied.

Esmerelda froze after hearing his words, before she slowly nodded, understanding why he did it, as she said "Alex told me what was decided to be done with Zadkiel."

This time it was my uncle's turn for his movements to pause, as he suddenly looked up at her, only to see her no longer gazing out the window, but staring directly at him with her soulful eyes.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She carefully asked.

Her words only caused him to frown, before he reclined back in his seat and sighing heavily, but he did not do this in anger or aversion to her kindly offer, but in hesitation, as he suddenly found himself tongue tied.

Yet his actions only served to unintentionally further exacerbate her worries, as she quickly suggested "You know, if you and I spoke with Alex, he would be willing to reverse his decision and..." Yet before she could continue, and for the first time she could remember, Haytham cut her off with a chillingly cold voice "Absolutely not."

Esmerelda stared at him in shock, having never before heard such a detached, unforgiving and terrifying voice uttered from his mouth towards her before; something he quickly realized, as it suddenly punched him the gut, like a with a mountain of bricks abruptly having been dropped on his stomach, before he quickly bowed in profuse apology for his unintended discretions.

"It's fine. I wasn't frightened, merely surprised." She quickly reassured him again and again, before gingerly asking when he finally lifted his head again "But are you sure you are alright with this? The method of his execution is the cruellest of them all, after all."

"My lady, why do you ask me such questions?" He said with a strained smile. "You know as much as I that there is only one way this must be dealt with. For the good of the empire."

"I certainly understand the best course of action for the empire." She suddenly said with regal authority, as she momentarily slipped into her empress persona as easily as one would change clothes, before she then, just as abruptly as she wore it, lost her commanding air and returned to her loving and warm one instead "But I am not asking about the empire's well being at the moment, I am asking about yours?" She then paused for a moment, before she seriously asked, demanding a serious answer "Will you not regret this in the future?"

Haytham did not immediately reply, he thought for a moment, staring directly into her emerald globes, before resolutely answering. "No, I will not."

"Zadkiel..." Esmerelda wanted to speak, feeling as though he was still wearing a mask of indifference before her, refusing to bring down his walls, but he cut her off, saying in the same resolute tone as before, but it now held a twinge of resentment, woven in between his hardened words "Zadkiel knew the weight and repercussions of his actions. He knew the damage and hurt they would cause. He knew that the price of his ambitions was our brotherhood and family, and yet he still chose his path! He chose what was of greater value in his eyes. He chose to be the greatest sinner of our immemorial house's history. He chose to be where he is now!"

My uncle then stopped, his eyes losing their frigid foricity for a moment, as he again sighed self deprecatingly for the umpteenth time this night, before continuing "If you wish to speak of regret, my lady. Then speak of the regret I already hold for being such a blind, worthless coward of an older brother for all those decades. Not only did I allow his warped ambitions to grow unchecked in his mind, but I even actively helped in it's cultivation, as I foolishly shielded him in court time and again for his underhanded and corrupt acts, when I should have been the first to beet the nonsense out of him. The first to see what my little brother was turning into, and fix it!"

Hearing his sorrowful, heart wrenching words of regret and pain; his face twisted into a mask of acceptance when he most likely is still screaming inside, was more than enough for Esmerelda to know that she never wanted to see it again, as she firmly said "It wasn't your fault, Haytham! No could have known." Her tone offering no argument to her statements.

But argue did Haytham, his listless words spilling from him like water from a broken dam "But I should have known. I should have known, my lady. He was my brother."

Esmerelda suddenly stood up with a jump, before she came to his side and towered over the man who usually stood head and shoulders over her, as she grabbed his face to force him to look at her, as she repeated "It is not your fault! You said it yourself, your brother chose his path himself. Even if you had noticed sooner and tried to stop him, would your brother have stopped?" She asked him, but then immediately answered before he could have the chance to "No!" She roared the answer. "He was a man blinded by his ambition! Blinded by the Black Throne! He would never have stopped, even now, when he's imprisoned in the Abyssal Hollow, do you think he would hesitate for a moment if given the opportunity to try again? No! He won't! So stop this foolishness of senselessly blaming yourself already!"

Haytham stared at Esmerelda in awe for a moment, having never before heard her speak in such a manner before. He was utterly stunned, as he stared at her beautiful eyes that were drowning in care for him, when for the first time since the initial news of the rebellion reached his ears, Haytham laughed.

He laughed with such vigour, that the stern mask Esmerelda had worn, began to crack in confusion at his odd, but very much welcome outburst. But her bewilderment was just beginning, as Haytham suddenly stood up and wrapped her in his arms, his laughter still ringing through the lounge.

Esmerelda was caught completely off guard by all of this, before he then put her back down again and said "Thank you, my lady."

"Haytham..." She tried to ask him, but he cut her off, already aware of all she wanted to inquire about "I'm fine, my lady. No, neither you nor I will ask Alex to not perform the Lamasat-Gahannam on Zadkiel; it was designed to be used on those who not only betrayed their country, but their family as well, and Zadkiel has already sealed his fate. No, I will feel no regret over his demise, no matter how unseemly it is, nor will I continue to beet myself over it. And yes, I promise to never again worry like this ever again."

Esmerelda stared at him in shock for a minute straight, not believing her eyes, which only brought another hearty laughter to Haytham's lips.