[color=c0c0c0]"He spared me once, naturally I'd have to repay the favor. However that doesn't mean I'd extend the same courtesy the second time. The world has been more interesting with him in it, sure, but I have no reason to spare him the most [i]spectacular[/i] ending he could wish for twice."[/color] Nemo replied, a somewhat prideful look on his face. [color=c0c0c0]"You're right, though, Raiya, I could have broken out of that cell anytime I wanted."[/color] He said, his tone turning more serious. 

    [color=c0c0c0]"I remember you at the trial, you know. I never forget a face, even if it's just a glimpse."[/color] He said, tapping his temple a couple times. [color=c0c0c0]"You weren't supposed to be there, but you wanted to get a look at me. And since the Arcanocracy was making my sentencing into such a grand show, that wasn't so hard."[/color]

    [color=c0c0c0]"They were escorting me out when I saw you, so you and anyone with a brain knows the Catholic journalists were lying when they said I begged for mercy and groveled at the high command's feet. You know firsthand that the rumors were true, that when I was delivered my indefinite sentence, I laughed all the way out of the courtroom. But you, and probably only you can remember that I paused when I saw you."[/color] He took another drink fro his teacup. [color=c0c0c0]"I stopped laughing because I was surprised, it was first time since I was a child that a kid had looked at me with not just fear, but [i]hatred[/i] as well. You disagreed with my sentence didn't you? You know that I slaughtered Felix's master, his crew, and nearly Felix himself had it not been for his final gambit. You wanted me to be executed, because that was the only way to be sure."[/color]

    [color=c0c0c0]"That's the one bad thing about never forgetting, [i]you don't forget[/i]. The... faces, they stick with me forever. I had started to become numb to it though, the sight felt like a sign that I had done well in my acts of discord on my persecutors. But yours still hurt, it hurt because I knew I was wrong. You were an innocent kid, you never did anything to me, you were still free from the dark world I inhabited, and yet you hated me all the same. I knew then that if only I had not been so weak and deranged in the beginning, if I had been strong enough to let it all go, maybe things would have turned out differently for me." [/color]

    [color=c0c0c0]"That's why I never tried to break out, because ironically, that prison cell was the only place I knew I was safe from judgement. It was the closest I've ever come to feeling peace." [/color]

    After a long pause, Nemo reached over and ruffled Raiya's hair. [color=c0c0c0]"It's kind of strange to see you now though, after all this time. You've grown up to be quite a talented and beautiful woman."[/color]